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Jonathan Safran Foer–“Maybe It Was the Distance” (New Yorker, June 6 & 13 2016)

June 5, 2018 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: GUSTER-Live Acoustic (2013).

There was one more Live Guster release around the time of those three full album recordings.

This one is called Live Acoustic and it comes from a tour in 2012.  There’s no dates or locations assigned to the songs and indeed they are all done acoustically.

The most notable aspect of this disc is that none of the rockers are included.  This is good because it means they aren’t trying to strip those songs down.  But at the same time, it means that the disc never really takes off like a Guster show would.  It’s not all ballads, mind you–most of the songs from Easy Wonderful that are included are uptempo, and of course “Satellite” is a super fun single, but there’s nothing like “Fa Fa” or “Barrel of a Gun” or “Amsterdam.”  It speaks volumes to Guster’s songwriting skills that I didn’t even miss these favorites until I really looked at the track listing.

They include songs from all of their albums (except Parachute which was all acoustic) and a “deep B side” from the Satellite EP.

For the most part these songs sound great in an acoustic setting.  My only quibble is that some of the songs have really great orchestration which I miss (but that’s personal preference I suspect).  A bunch of the songs have strings which are a nice addition, especially on a song like “Either Way” and the amazing wild violin solo in “Satellite.”  This reminds me of when we saw them with Kishi Bashi and he played the violin on “Satellite”

The one really nice factor is that with everything stripped away, the guys’ voices sound really powerful.  And as I say, because the tone is somewhat mellow the song selection works to this and you don’t miss the bigger songs.  Plus any show that ends with “This Could All Be Yours” is a great one.

  • Backyard [KEEPIT]
  • Do You Love Me [EASYWON]
  • Long Way Down [KEEPIT]
  • That’s No Way to Get to Heaven [EASYWON]
  • What You Call Love [EASYWON]
  • Beginning of the End [GANGING]
  • Diane [KEEPIT]
  • Rocketship [GOLDFLY]
  • Empire State [GANGING]
  • Rise and Shine [SATELLITE EP]
  • Two Points for Honesty [LOSTANDGONE]
  • Either Way [LOSTANDGONE]
  • Satellite [GANGING]
  • Rainy Day [LOSTANDGONE]
  • Hang On [GANGING]
  • This Could All Be Yours [EASYWON]

[READ: January 19, 2017] “Maybe It Was the Distance”

I enjoyed this story so much, I could have read twice as much (and it was pretty long).

This is the story of a Jewish family: Irv and his 43-year-old son (Jacob) and 11-year-old grandson (Max).  It begins very amusingly with them heading to the Washington National Airport (they refuse to call it Reagan National).  Irv also hates NPR (which they were listening to) because of the flamboyantly precious out-of-no-closet sissiness and the fact that they had a balanced segment on new settlement construction in the West Bank.

The first half of the car ride devolves into an argument between the three of them about opinions and Jewishness.  Jacob is frustrated by his father and Max is both precocious and still a child–it’s all very funny.  Especially when they argue while the light is green.

They were heading to the airport to pick up their Israeli cousins.  They were picking up Tamir, who was Jacob’s age, and his son Barak.  Jacob and Tamir’s grandfathers were brothers in a Galician shtetl that was overlooked by the Nazis.

Issac (Irv and Jacob’s family) moved to America while Benny (Tamir’s family) moved to Israel.  They would visit every few years.  Isaac would show off his American lifestyle and then spend two weeks complaining about Benny after they’d left.  And then Isaac died (he had outlived cancer and Gentiles). Tamir surprised everyone by coming in for the funeral.

Jacob discussed Isaac with Tamir and said that basically he did exactly same thing every day (and the details are very funny, if not sad). Continue Reading »

Posted in Adventure, Circumcision, Death, Funny (ha ha), Israel, Jealousy, Jonathan Safran Foer, Nazis, New Yorker, NPR/PRI/PBS, Pee, Short Story, Steven Spielberg, Zoos | Leave a Comment »

David Gilbert–“Fungus” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2018)

June 4, 2018 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: GUSTER-Keep It Together Live from The Beacon Theatre (2014).

In 2014, Guster released three CDs of them playing their early CDs live in their entirety (excluding for some reason their second disc Goldfly).  This is their fourth CD ‘Keep It Together’ recorded live in concert at The Beacon Theatre on November 30, 2013, ten years after its release.

As the disc opens, Ryan shouts, “Keep It Together starts now.”  This makes me think that they played other songs before it?  It would be great to hear an album in its entirety but not if that’s all they played.

After the first song, “Diane,” Ryan jokes,  “I guess there no real surprises in the setlist from here on out.”

Midway through the show, he comments that as an active band making new music, you want to be careful not to trade in nostalgia.  But he also knows that if one of his favorite bands played one of his favorite albums…it would be magical.

The band sounds great.  And, fortunately, it’s one of those shows where the live recording sounds at times even better than the original.

The only real divergence from the album is that after “Homecoming “King” they play “Chariots of Fire” on piano and strings.  I’m not sure why, but it’s fun.

One of the great moments of any Guster concert is when they play “Come Downstairs and Say Hello” and the Thundergod plays the bongos and smashes the cymbals with his hands.  It’s more fun to see it, but it’s great in this case to hear it.

“Red Oyster Cult” sounds great with the horns as an addition and Ben Kweller comes out and sings lead on the first verse of “I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today” (I had no idea he co-wrote it!).  They even leave a slight pause for the “hidden track” of “Two at a Time.”

This is a great version of this album, and well worth the listen.

[READ: June 2, 2018] “Fungus”

This is a story about carrying on after the unthinkable. But not just carrying on, carrying on with the mundane things that you can’t live without but remind you of exactly what happened.

The story opens with an insurance check and talk of geckos.  But the tone is not lighthearted like Geico commercials.  Andrew has access to Ingrid and Ron’s car, but really, he can only borrow it for so long.  It is time to buy a new one.

So Andrew and his daughter Willa go to the Subaru dealer.

These two scenes are simple enough, but they are fraught with meaning–with the undertone of what happened and how Andrew is allowed and allowing himself to deal with it.   There’s darkly funny thoughts (he’d like a homemade sign around his next that says “I don’t know”).  But the reality is that he has to go on for Willa’s sake, if not his own.

And then there’s this idea which is perfect for the story but works wonders in everyday life: Continue Reading »

Posted in Ben Kweller, Cars, David Gilbert, Death, Funny (strange), Guster, Led Zeppelin, Little Feat, Marriage Trouble, Neil Young, New Yorker, Oddities, Parenting, Short Story, Yes, Yuck! | Leave a Comment »

Japanese Breakfast (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018)

June 3, 2018 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast is the creation of Philadelphia-based Michelle Zauner.  She sings pretty melodies and has a variety of tones when she sings–some high-pitched notes and some lower parts as well.

A lot of bands celebrate in some way when they play a home town.  Sometimes its an extra song or a guest.  I don’t really know how this show deviated from other in terms of set list, but Zauner had a lot to celebrate being back at Union Transfer.

[Quotes and quoted passages are from an article in The Key

“I fucking used to work coat check here,” Zauner told the audience as she gazed into the sold out crowd at UT.

She said this just after she’d sung her first song “Diving Woman.”  It was the first time she had headlined Union Transfer.  She said she felt a bit shy playing here because so many friends and family were in attendance.  And she talked a lot about her connections to the city.  She graduated from Bryn Mawr college and she recorded both Japanese Breakfast albums in Philly.   Continue Reading »

Posted in Japanese Breakfast, Philadelphia, PA, Radiator Hospital, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

LVL UP (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018) [JAPANESE BREAKFAST]

June 3, 2018 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] LVL UP

I had two ideas of what LVL UP sounded like.  I thought they were either a punky crazy band or were a poppy band.

Turns out they were neither.  They’re more punk than pop, but there’s a kind of a DIY quality to their music more than anything polished.

I was also delighted to see that they have three singers (and I assume songwriters) as well.  For this show, they basically went around the horn with who sang lead.

Bassist Nick Corbo started off with “Angel From Space.”   He was followed by guitarist Mike Caridi with his more angular song “Blur.”  Then came second guitarist Dave Benton with his more chill sounding “Soft Power.”

The only one who didn’t sing was drummer Greg Rutkin.

Then they repeated the cycle.  Nick Corbo with his big old-fashioned looking bass played the slower “Five Men on the Ridge.”  Back to Caridi with a new song (all the others are, I believe on their new album.  It was followed by Benton’s “I Feel Extra Natural” which references the Silver Jews.

They went through the cycle of singers one more time and then played a couple more songs at the end.  It was cool that they kept things moving and all sounding pretty different while maintaining their overall vibe.

 

 

Posted in LVL UP, Philadelphia, PA, Silver Jews, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Radiator Hospital (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018) [JAPANESE BREAKFAST]

June 3, 2018 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] Radiator Hospital

Radiator Hospital is a Philly band led by Sam Cook-Parrott.

They write short, punky songs with Cook-Parrott singing most of them.

In an interview he said

Usually, I write simple songs so we can learn them quickly and then play shows. But then six months after we recorded it, we will look back at the recorded version and think we play [those songs] much better now after playing at shows all the time.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Radiator Hospital, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Lu Yang–“Silver Tiger” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2018)

June 3, 2018 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: GUSTER-Lost and Gone Forever Live (2014).

In 2014, Guster released three CDs of them playing their early CDs live in their entirety (excluding for some reason their second disc Goldfly).  This is their third CD ‘Lost and Gone Forever’ recorded live in concert, ten years after its release.

I’m not sure why they don’t say what show it is from, unless they picked the best recordings from a tour?  He does mention Boston at one point, but not sure if the whole show was recorded there.

As with the other two releases, the sound is great.  On “Barrel of a Gun” you can really hear the bongos.

There are a few more guests, which again, makes me think it’s different shows.  Ryan says “We’re inviting a bunch of people to help with instrumentation. Donnie and Amy are going to play strings” [on “Either Way”].  And later, “Fa Fa” has an amazing horn section.

For “All the Way Up to Heaven,” Ryan introduces, “Alright snow kitty bring up the children. It’s 10 o’clock.  It’s late.  Did you teach them the big rock move at the end?  That’s the most important part of the song.”

Like the other discs, they thank everyone for coming out and supporting this album.  He talks about how when they first started playing in 1991 they were all skinnier and had more hair.  They had no idea that so many years later they would still be together and be selling out shows.  “It’s a humbling experience.”

Incidentally when they announced this tenth anniversary tour, they made a video announcement.

[READ: May 31, 2018] “Silver Tiger”

This story involves realism and magical realism.

The narrator Ah Yang, is an adult looking back on his childhood when he lived with Deaf Granny.  He was sent to her early and only rarely saw his parents.

He first saw the titular Silver Tiger near a well pond by Deaf Granny’s house.   Well ponds are an ancient water storage system in China.  They are shaped like pools but are the depth of wells.  It was always off-limits to him  Deaf Granny feared that if he fell in there’d be no saving him (not unreasonable).  But that’s all he wanted to do after he first saw it.

It became even more enticing when a local boy found a turtle in a neighbor’s well pond.  Oh how the narrator wanted his own turtle. Continue Reading »

Posted in Deafness, Death, Eric Abrahamsen, Guster, Lu Yang, New Yorker, Short Story, Supernatural, Tigers, Translation | Leave a Comment »

Karen Russell–“Orange World” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2018)

June 2, 2018 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: GUSTER-Parachute Live from Brooklyn Bowl (2013).

In 2014, Guster released three CDs of them playing their early CDs live in their entirety (excluding for some reason their second disc Goldfly).  So this is a recording of their first album ‘Parachute’ performed and recorded live in concert at Brooklyn Bowl on December 1, 2013.

This album sounds quite different from the other Guster albums.  I don’t really understand what the difference is.  It sounds like Guster, but not exactly.  Is it that they both sing in harmony through most of the songs?  Is it that Ryan sings “better?”  Are the songs just more folkie?

Whatever the case, even after several albums that don’t sound like this album and nearly twenty years, the band jumps right back into it (the harmonies on “Window” are perfect, for example).

They aren’t the same three-piece they were back in 1994 (they have drums now for instance), but it all works very well.  They also aren’t terribly funny between songs.  Usually Ryan is pretty silly in a show, but they seemed to take it more or less seriously.

After “Dissolve” Ryan says, “we’re playing in a bowling alley I just realized.  Cool.”  You can hear someone in the crowd shout “steeerike.”

I know the guys have made jokes about their song “Happy Frappy” a few times when I’ve seen them, so it’s no surprise that before the song, Ryan shouts, “Alright its ‘Happy Frappy’ time, stoners.”  Although I have no idea what the song is actually about.

When the disc is over Ryan shouts, “Parachute the album–19 and a half years old!”

I think it sounds even better than the original.

[READ: June 2, 2018] “Orange World”

I love when a title gives you an idea but it is totally not the idea of what  the story means–and the new idea is even better than what you had imagined.

“Orange World” conjured up many things to me, but not the devil, not a woman nursing the devil and not a woman nursing the devil every night because the evil saved her baby’s life.

When Rae was pregnant she was worried about a lot of things: ABNORMAL RESULT, HIGH RISK, CLINICAL OUTCOME UNKNOWN.  When the third test came back, she started begging for anything to save her baby from the unknown.

Between 4 and 5 A.M. one night something answered and it promised the baby would be okay.

So what does this have to do worth orange world?  Well, “Orange World is where most of us live.”  It is a nest of tangled electric cords and open drawers filled with steak knives.  It’s a used crib  It’s compromises that could hurt the safety of your baby.  You take a shower with your baby and suddenly….

“Green World” is a fantasy realm of soft corners and infinite attention. The Educator say that Green World is ideal but Orange World is the reality.  Next week’s class is “Red World” and Rae doesn’t want to think about it.

Rae takes the baby doll.  Its head falls off and she steps on the blanket.  Sneaker bacteria: Orange World; decapitation: Red World.  The educator encourages her to go to new moms group. Continue Reading »

Posted in Babies, Depression, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Guster, Karen Russell, New Yorker, Parenting, Short Story, Supernatural, The Devil | Leave a Comment »

Primus (Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ, June 1, 2018)

June 1, 2018 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 1, 2018] Primus

My friend Al and I saw Primus back in 1990 or 1991.  It was an amazing show and I have been a fan ever since.  And yet for some reason I had never seen them live again.  During all of their iterations and tours–headlines, festivals, everything.  In recent years I have really wanted to see them but something always kept me from going.

I missed their Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2014) show because of a vacation.   I somehow missed a summerstage tour in 2015 with two other bands I would have loved to see.  There was no local show in 2016 and then I was busy in 2017.  So here it was, finally a chance to see them.  (Setlists for those shows do show rather few songs, I must admit…really I should have gone to the two-set shows back in 2012).

Anyhow, it had been nearly 30 years and I was excited to see anything.

So it’s a bit of a shame I couldn’t see much.  I don’t know if their light show was designed more for outside, but in this cavernous dark auditorium, the band members were almost entirely obscured. Continue Reading »

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Convention Hall, Primus | Leave a Comment »

Mastodon (Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ, June 1, 2018) [PRIMUS]

June 1, 2018 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 1, 2018] Mastodon

I saw Mastodon two years ago.  The band was great, but I left the show somewhat unsatisfied.  Was it the venue (Electric Factory, I think so); was it the crowd (a large and unceasing mosh pit, I think so).

I felt like I wanted to see them again.  But when they came back around a year later, I decided against it.  In part because it was the same venue and in part because it was an all day event with four bands (most of whom I liked, but that’s practically a festival).  A note on the setlist says that Brent Hinds was visibly upset with technical problems the whole show, so I’m glad I didn’t go.  Especially since this show’s setlist was very similar.

When this tour was announced co-headliners Primus and Mastodon, it seemed pretty ideal.  I have been wanting to see Primus and here was redemption for Mastodon–I’ve been pretty happy with the shows I’ve seen at Summer Stage.

Well, a thunderstorm was forecast for the entire day in Asbury Park, so they moved the show inside.  It wound up not raining at all, but you have to make a decision early when you have so much gear and they made the right choice–even if it may not have sounded as good.

I arrived late and missed  the opening band All Them Witches entirely.

But Mastodon sounded great.  The crowd wasn’t that large for them, I was surprised to see.  A largish pit started in the middle but it never really took off that much.  It was nicely contained and I was on the edge of it, where I like to be.

I like nearly everything Mastodon has released, although I don;t really know which album the songs come from.  So I didn’t even realize that so many songs came from their newest album Emperor of Sand (7 of 17).

The one good thing about it being inside is that it was still light out when they went on, but it was dark inside, which meant that their backgrounds and visuals worked well. Continue Reading »

Posted in All Them Witches, Asbury Park, NJ, Mastodon, Philadelphia, PA, Primus, Starland Ballroom, The Electric Factory | Leave a Comment »

All Them Witches (Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ, June 1, 2018) [PRIMUS]

June 1, 2018 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: June 1, 2018] All Them Witches 

I didn’t know All Them Witches before this show.  And I don’t know them after this show.  Parking in Asbury Park was pretty rough and, it being after Memorial Day traffic was worse than when I had driven down there in the winter.

Because of the impending torrential thunderstorm (which never actually materialized), the show was moved from the Stone Pony Summer Stage to Conventional Hall.  It was the right decision given the forecast, but….well, whatever.

Anyhow, I missed them entirely.  I walked in as they were packing up their gear.

Sorry.

Posted in All Them Witches, Asbury Park, NJ, Convention Hall, Mastodon, Primus, The Stone Pony Summer Stage | Leave a Comment »

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