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Maris Wicks–Science Comics: Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean (2016)

December 6, 2016 by Paul Debraski

coralSOUNDTRACK: SACKVILLE-These Last Songs (1997).

lastsiongs Sackville released two full length albums.  This was the first. They’d added a second guitar which gave their songs a bit more texture.  But they still had a kind of gritty folk music sound.  I saw the term “urban country” used to describe them, which is strangely apt.

“Sydney Mines” is a slow folk song with a quiet slow guitar motif.  I love the descriptive lyrics: “In the dead of winter in Sydney Mines they take their cars out on the ice.” The song is accented by a slow, scratchy violin that comes in after the first verse.  But the chorus gets rocking and kind of fun/sloppy with the drums really taking over.  The vocals don’t really change the laconic style but they do get noticeably louder.  “Clothesline” retains that slowness although the verses have a bit more sing-song quality.  And once again the chorus bursts into life with a raw violin and loud drums.

The excellent guitar riff that opens “Good Citizen” is quite a change—the song picks up speed (and the vocals sound very different–clipped and quick).  It’s a great alt folk song.  The chorus is lurching and interesting as well.  “Upstate” has an early 1990s guitar line and pounding chords at the end of each verse.  The juxtaposition of his voice with this electric song works nicely.  “Tie Back Yr Hair” returns to the slow style of the earlier songs although this melody is mostly led by the violin.  “Lines and Barriers” is a slow ballad, mostly guitar—it reminds me of Syd Barrett.

“The Frame-Up’ has more loud drums and quiet creaking violins.  Nearly four minutes in, the violin takes over with a staccato refrain that gets the song sounding more intense.  “Bender” adds a pleasant surprise with guest vocalist Genevieve Heistek taking lead vocals.  The music is much the same but her voice changes the overall style of the music quite a bit.  The addition of fuzzy static at the end adds an alt-rock touch.  “Invisible Ink” has the prettiest violin melody yet, an unscratchy ascending melody that complements the slow guitars.  And just as it seems to be another slow ballad, the 3rd minute ramps up the electric guitar and the song soars for about 20 seconds before returning to that main melody.

“Her Ghost Will One Day Rise Again” has the most country feel of the album—the violin is much more fiddle than violin and the simple melody is very catchy, but in a drunken hillbilly kind of way rather than a country song proper (which means a I like it better).  On “Border Towns” he sounds the most like the lead singer from Social Distortion.  This is a lurching kinda punk y song, although it’s the chorus that really has that Social D feel—a slow catchy chorus in which his delivery is uncanny.  “Pioneers” ends the disc with a downbeat song with really catchy lyrics: “It’s hard to be a pioneer” in the keening voice of the 12-year-old protagonist.

Given the popularity of alt-country, Sackville was sadly ignored.

[READ: June 10, 2016] Coral Reefs

Wicks created the Human Body Theater graphic novel (also from First Second), which I absolutely loved.  This book is part of First Second’s new Science Comics series, in which they take a good hard look at scientific things and present a ton of information in a fun cartoony format–easily digestible chunks with awesome pictures that convey a lot of information.

I loved the dinosaurs one for just how much new information I’d learned from it.

This book has a really inspirational forward about scuba diving which I thought was by wicks (and I wondered how she was so scholarly AND an artist), but it was actually by Randi Rotjan from the New England Aquarium (and is still inspirational).

I didn’t know a ton about coral reefs going into this book and man, is it full of information about them: how they grow and form (yes, they are animals), who lives among them and what we can do to protect them. Continue Reading »

Posted in #10yearsof01, Canadian Music, Children's Books, Constellation Records, Corals, Environmentalism, First Second :01, Fish, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Maris Wicks, Non-fiction, Randi Rotjan, Sackville, Science, Seahorses, Sharks, Social Distortion, Syd Barrett | Leave a Comment »

Deb Olin Unferth–“Pet” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #5] (2016)

December 5, 2016 by Paul Debraski

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: FIRST AID KIT-Tiny Desk Concert #204 (March 28, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

firstThis Tiny Desk Concert is what first introduced me to First Aid Kit.  It was “The Lion’s Roar” that really sold me on this exotic duo with the beautiful harmonies (they are sisters from Sweden–that’s Johanna Söderberg with the lighter hair and Klara Söderberg with darker hair singing lead).

For the first song, “New Year’s Eve,” Johanna plays the autoharp as Klara sings lead.  They both do the lovely harmony chorus.

For “The Lion’s Roar” Klara plays guitar.  And while she sings a lovely lead, it’s Johanna’s haunting low harmonies that really make the song amazing.  The album version has keys but they are not missed in this beautiful rendition.

I also fell in love with “Emmylou,” a song about Emmylou Harris Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash and June Carter.  Klara’s lead is beautiful, but when both sisters sing lead in the second verse it’s stunning.

I have listened to the audio of this many times but haven’t actually watched it for a while.  This looks like it was filmed after hours at the NPR offices.  It is very dark with just one light shining on them.  It’s a shame as it would be fun to see them a little better.  But it also gives the whole recording a kind of subversive feel.

What a great introduction to a great band.

[READ: December 5, 2016] “Pet”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

This is the first story I read in this calendar (I received it on the 5th).  I wasn’t sure if the stories would be thematic or if they would avoid dark subjects (it being advent after all), or if they would just be a box of good stories.

I was pleased that the first story was by Unferth, whom I really like.

This story is told in a very interesting way–a strange sense of removal that comes with the first line: “Somehow they have wound up with these two turtles.”

The “they” are a mother and her teenaged son.  The mother rescued these turtles from her sister.  She was house sitting and saw the turtles down there–pathetic, one rock between them in a dark basement.  And she felt compelled to take them home.  Her sister is all too happy to get rid of them.

Her son is dismissive.  Of the turtles and of her in general.

And the story telling also seems to be dismissive of her, in a way.  The story is not told from her point of view and yet it seems to take on her voice for this paragraph, but it seems to slowly morph into her son’s:

Besides, the turtles aren’t much work.  She has to feed them and check their water temperature and turn the light on and off.  She has to clean the tank each week.  She has to take the tank’s water out, cup by cup, pour it into a bowl, then carry the bowl to the tub, walk through two rooms to do it (drops of dirty water falling on he floor).  She has to empty bowl after bowl….

One of the turtles is sick and she takes it to the vet.   But the vet only deals with mammals and has no advice (and charges her $40).  Then she is stuck carrying the turtle with her everywhere else that day–even to her AA meeting, where they all insist she leave with the smelly thing.

She gets some medical advice from a friend and the turtle gets better.  But then it starts fighting with the smaller turtle.

Her son tells her to just leave them in the road and let them get run over.

The story seems to loom as a story of helplessness, but then she sees a ray of hope.  A man from her AA meetings asks her to dinner.  Her son, of course, is dismissive of him as well.  But he is willing to come over and help with the turtles.

And I love that he gives her an answer she was completely unaware of.

Posted in Canadian Content, Deb Olin Unferth, Emmylou Harris, First Aid Kit, Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, June Carter, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert, Turtles | Leave a Comment »

Jay Holser–Last of the Sandwalkers (2015)

December 5, 2016 by Paul Debraski

sandwalkerSOUNDTRACK: SACKVILLE-Low Ebb EP (1996).

lowebb Sackville was a Montreal based folk group who released one album through Constellation Records, and a couple of other releases on other labels.  When they broke up, most of the members of the band went on to play with other bands, many of whom were later released on Constellation.

The focus of the band is really singer/guitarist Gabe Levine whose voice shows a lot of folk, rock and avant garde influences.  His voice sounds at once familiar and also strangely unique.

And this EP was their first release.

The first song is “Messengers.” I love the way the violin cuts through the slow verses to add a great melody to the chorus (including some raw scratching sounds before the verse starts again).  There’s a hint of Mike Doughty in his delivery too. “Donkey Song” opens with some quiet verses and violins has a loud clamorous chorus—super fun and stomping with a nice side guitar riff.  “William” has a standard American folk song melody but the way he sings it is very Social Distortion (through a tinny modulator).  The fiddle gives it more of country sound, but still kind of alt

“Showcase Showdown”  opens with a cool slide guitar and very different vocal style delivered by Kurt Newman.  And the chorus is fund and perhaps a little silly in three-four  dance rhythm “your eyes scare us more than the mirrors on the dance floor.” It’s the most fun song on the disc.  “Low Ebb” continues with the more rocking sound with big brash guitar and crashing cymbals.  It also features some quiet but cool backing vocals—a kind of scream that acts as a drone.   “Thomas” opens with a slide guitar and quiet vocals, the chorus is a major highlight with the vocal duet playing against the loud crunching stop-start guitars.  “This Thing I Want, I Know Not What” is a straight ahead folk song with a lead violin and a pretty melody.  “Cheap” has a quiet melody ending with some slide guitars and violin.

It’s a solid E.P. with even better music on their full lengths.

[READ: June 25, 2016] Last of the Sandwalkers

This is a fascinating book that proves to be an amazing look at beetles and insects and a somewhat interesting adventure story.

I actually found myself a little confused by the story when it started because while I knew it wasn’t going to be realistic (the beetles are leaving their civilization to discover the world) it was also very rooted in real insect knowledge.  And then it got a little out-there so the level of reality in the story wavered from time to time and I found myself getting pulled out of the story to try to puzzle things together.

Which was a shame.  Another shame is that it doesn’t tell you that there are notes at the back of the book (do most people flip to the end to discover this?  Because I didn’t).  And the notes are one of the best parts of the book.  But more on that later.

The protagonist of the story is Lucy.  She is in charge of a small team who have decided to leave their home to go exploring.  Her team includes Professor Bombardier; Raef, a lighting bug (with a secret); Mossy, a giant beetle with a big horn and Professor Owen who has huge mandibles. They also run into Ma’Dog, an old storyteller who is rather cantankerous.

The story begins with Lucy’s diary as the teams sets out from Coleopolis.  They quickly discover Old Coleopolis which was destroyed by coconuts falling from a tree.  It was said that the city was destroyed 1,000 years ago by the god Scarabus, although Lucy can’t believe how not-overgrown it looks after 1,000 years.  It all seems very suspicious. Continue Reading »

Posted in #10yearsof01, Adventure, Bats, Bees, Beetles, Canadian Music, Charles Darwin, Constellation Records, Death, Explorers, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Jay Holser, Jeff Smith, Life in the Undergrowth, Mike Doughty, Moths, Nature, Osamu Tezuka, Paleontologists, Religion, Research, Revenge, Richard Owen, Sackville, Scholarship, Scientists, Social Distortion, Violence, YA Books | Leave a Comment »

Thomas Wharton–“Bestiary” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #4] (2016)

December 4, 2016 by Paul Debraski

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: LAURA GIBSON-Tiny Desk Concert #200 (March 5, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

gibsonLaura Gibson performed the first Tiny Desk Concert in 2008.  The whole enterprise was started because of her.  Bob had seen her in a club and her quiet music was overpowered by the audience.  So he invited her to play in his quiet office.  And now, here it was 200 shows later and Gibson is back–the first person to headline twice.

Things have certainly changed since then.  There was one camera on her face and another on her guitar.  There was minimal editing and the sound was fine.

Since then they have stepped up the game–multiple cameras, professional lighting and, as Stephen Thomspon writes: Bob’s desk “permanently houses a microphone that’s worth more than my car. (Three hundred dollars!).”

2006 was the release year of her debut album.  She had put out her third album in 2012.  She was quite back in 2006 and is still quiet in 2012.  But for this show she has brought along some help:  Brian Perez – Vocals, Percussion; Matthew Berger – Drums; Johanna Kunin – Vocals, Piano, Flute; and Jill Coykendall – Clarinet.

The songs are very quiet.  “Feather Lungs” begins with some lovely harmony vocals and then Gibson on keyboard.  The flute and clarinet add layers of music which really fleshes out this quiet song. The thumping drum that opens “La Grande” really sets the tone of a much heavier song.  This proves to be a romping song with Gibson on guitar and a lot of intensity behind her.

“Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed” slows things down again, with quiet percussion and Gibson’s delicate guitar and vocals.  She says that the last time she was there it was a Monday morning and there was not much enthusiasm to sing along with her.  But since it’s a Friday afternoon, she invites eveyone to hum a long to “The Rushing Dark.”  Of course, she has backing vocalists so it’s unclear if anyone else joins in, but this a capaella song sounds lovely.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Bestiary”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

“Bestiary” is an interesting “short story” because it is not exactly a short story.  It’s not even exactly fiction.  Rather, after an excellent epigram from Robert Kroetsch “We are the animals who talk the fables in which the animals talk.  We are talking animals, claiming that animal’s don’t talk.”  The piece consists mostly of factual stories about animal behavior.

Each one opens with a title that ties into the piece beneath it. Continue Reading »

Posted in Animals, Birds, Canadian Content, Dolphins, Fish, Horses, Laura Gibson, Lions, Monkeys, Penguins, Robert Kroetsch, Short Story, Spiders, Superstitions, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Thomas Wharton, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, War, Yuck!, Zoos | Leave a Comment »

Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic II, Night 3] (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2016)

December 4, 2016 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 4, 2016] Strand of Oaks

2016-12-04-23-07-54I had gotten a notification  that Strand of Oaks was adding a 3rd show at Boot & Saddle because the other two sold out.  I really liked Heal a lot and thought that a chance to see the band in a small setting would be great.

I had no idea that the “band” would be only Tim Showalter (naturally) with opening act Jason Anderson.  I thought the show might be really loud, but it wasn’t.  They both played electric guitars, but not at ear splitting volume.  They played perfectly off of each other–waves and waves of guitars layered wonderfully (with occasional keyboards as atmospheric background).  There were no drums or percussion and the whole set was like an electrified folk show.

There’s a new Strand of Oaks album coming out soon, and this was a chance for him to play some new songs.  So his setlist was a mix of new songs and a few of the more recognizable songs from Heal.

I initially thought I’d be late for the show and that I’d never get close (150 person capacity seemed like it might be packed tight).  But no, I was able to get up nice and close to the stage.  Anderson started playing some gentle guitar sounds, then–and this is what I love about Boot & Saddle–I heard someone saying excuse me, and Showalter himself was making his way through the crowd to the stage right next to me.  So that was pretty cool. Continue Reading »

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Happy Birthday, Jason Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks | Leave a Comment »

Jason Anderson (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2016) [STRAND OF OAKS Winter Classic II, Night 3]

December 4, 2016 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 4, 2016] Jason Anderson

I thought that this show started at 8, but parking wasn’t very friendly near the Boot & Saddle so I wound up getting in the place at 8:15.  I didn’t know who Jason Anderson was, but I always try to see the opening act.  Well, I was pleasantly surprised to discover he wasn’t going on until 8:30.

So I was standing there waiting for him to come up on stage, when the stage lights went out and a light above me turned on.  I thought they were just putzing with the lights, but then a guy with a guitar grabbed a chair and stood on it right behind me up against the side wall.

This was Jason Anderson.  He had opened for Strand of Oaks all three nights at the sold out shows at Boot & Saddle.  He said that he had told the crowd the last night that he would play an electric set, but it felt right to do this acoustic set right there.

The room was dim (so dim that I couldn’t even get a picture of him–this one is of him playing with Strand of Oaks (I didn’t realize he was going to do that)).  He had someone holding up a lyric book as he told us he was going to sing a couple of songs that he had just written.

And what came next was an incredible half an hour.

From the start, Anderson was passionate and personable and won everyone over as he described what each song was about. He was honest and emotive and was really earnest about how pleased he was that we were all there and how we needed to really appreciate where we were at the moment.

And it sounds kind of cheesy to write it, and it felt a little cheesy at first, but Anderson was able to break through the hard exterior of everyone in the place and allows us all to give into the moment.

The first song was called something like “Sometimes Windows, Sometimes Walls.”  He said it was about those times when we scroll through Facebook over and over in case you missed something.  After he sang the chorus, he asked us to sing along with it.  And we did.  And we sang louder when he asked and quieter when he asked.  The Boot & Saddle is so small (the show was sold out at 150 tickets) that it sounded amazing.  And we all fed off the energy.

Each of his six songs had a story (usually funny, but not always).  He often interrupted the song to comment or fill us in on something else.  And then he continued, talking about how great the vibe was in the room.  And it really was.

His second song was a bout a toll booth worker in New Hampshire (he’s from New Hampshire).  The song was full of wonderful details. He told us that his friend loved the song and that his chorus “I remember you.  You remember me” was totally Sarah McLachlan-and he sang a line of her song too.

Anderson continually asked everyone to step closer, making it ever more intimate as more people came in.  He said that he doesn’t go to church but his spirituality comes from music and events like this where all different people–friends and lovers and relatives ans strangers–all gather together and live in one moment as it happens.

For one of the songs he asked us to echo the first line of the chorus, which we did.  And when we echoed the second line, he stopped us and said that he didn’t think it worked.  he confirmed it with us and then said we should only do that first line.  We laughed and agreed and continued.

He thanked Tim Showalter (the heart of Strand of Oaks) for letting him play like this and then he said “This song is for Tim, it’s “For Mike.”” And we laughed and he said he didn’t realize how strange that would sound.  This was a touching song written for a friend whose wife had recently died.

The final song was “All My Love For You.”  He had the lights turned down even further (almost dark) and taught us the chorus.  As the song was moving along he jumped off of the chair and walked to the middle of the room and told everyone to take two steps closer.  He was surrounded as he sang.  And he encouraged us to close our eyes as we sang along.  As we sang, he told a story between our lines.  Eventually we opened out eyes and ended the song and it was over.

I have never been in an environment quite like that.  It was really amazing–warm and comfortable and strangely powerful.

The only bummer thing about it was how quickly the vibe dissipated after his set was over.

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Jason Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Sarah McLachlan, Strand of Oaks, Tim Showalter | Leave a Comment »

Vanessa Hua–“Just Like Us” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #3] (2016)

December 3, 2016 by Paul Debraski

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: CRAIG FINN-Tiny Desk Concert #193 (February 9, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

finnCraig Finn opened for My Morning Jacket when I saw them in New York.  However, we arrived late, so I missed him.  I was fairly certain that Craig Finn was actually Neil Finn when I saw his name, so I expected Crowded House, not The Hold Steady.

For this solo venture, Finn has crafted some slow folk songs.  He sings slowly and deliberately on these three acoustic songs.  The melodies are simple and his voice sounds very California to me. He’s accompanied by Ricky Ray Jackson playing a great-sounding echoey slide guitar.  In fact, I feel like Jackson is the highlight of the show.

“Apollo Bay” and “Western Pier” are from the solo album.  They are story songs.  The final song “Jeremiah’s Blues” is not on the record, but it’s fun to challenge yourself.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Just Like Us”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

I really enjoyed this story about a girl and her mom and the struggles they have had.  It opens with the excellent line: “It wasn’t easy to get kicked out of Happy Trails RV Park and Camp.”  The owner put up with a lot.  Including her son, who was rather a layabout.  He was injured in a construction job and is on disability–meaning he doesn’t do anything around the camp either.

Nina was fourteen, part white, part Chinese.  Her father returned to China when she was a baby  and sent them money for the first two years.  And then suddenly he stopped.  So her mama had spent time with many different boyfriends.  Her last boyfriend, Roy, seemed promising until she caught him cheating on her (for the third time).  And after that she decided it was time to get outta California.  So they got in their camper and took off.

There’s a line that I really enjoyed: “She turned on the radio…the lead singer wailed about a small-town girl escaping into a lonely world–the coincidence of a song about our lives.” Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Craig Finn, Crowded House, Marriage Trouble, Neil Finn, Parenting, Racism, Sex, Short Story, Summer, The Hold Steady, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert, Vanessa Hua | Leave a Comment »

Weezer (Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, December 3, 2016)

December 3, 2016 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 3, 2016] Weezer

2016-12-03-21-34-05Comedian Hari Kondabolu has a funny bit called “How Weezer Broke My Heart.”  He says that he was a huge fan in the late 1990s but when he went to the show a few years ago he discovered that their fanbase is still fourteen years old and that he was the creepy old dude–at 28!  But he rejects that and says that Weezer are the creepy old dudes–forty-year old men singing songs that teenagers can relate to is really creepy.

Well, my show was full of college students (and at least one dad who brought his daughter who was either too young to drive or maybe they bond over Weezer–I didn’t ask–but more on them later).  I may have been the creepy old dude, but since Rivers Cuomo and I are basically the same age, we’re both the creepy old dudes.

It was cool to like Weezer for about two years (circa 1996).  But before and after it decidedly wasn’t.  Nevertheless, I’ve always enjoyed them.  I often wish that Rivers Cuomo would write more substantial songs (musically and lyrically since he studied classical composition and graduated with a B.A. in English from Harvard) but it’s hard to deny how much fun his dumb songs are.

I thought about seeing them this summer, but decided against it.  However, when they announced they were playing in Bethlehem, a close venue that I like, I decided it was time to see them.  I’d been checking their recent setlists (to see what albums they were laying songs from–I try to never look at actual songs), and I was bummed to see that they weren’t playing anything from Pinkerton, the cool person’s favorite Weezer album.  In fact it seemed like the sets came mostly from their self titled albums (blue, green, red and white).

But whatever, because even if they weren’t playing my favorite album, I knew that they’d be playing a bunch of songs that I knew and liked, right? Continue Reading »

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Hari Konabolu, Kiss, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, The Menzingers, Weezer | Leave a Comment »

The Menzingers (Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, December 3, 2016) [WEEZER]

December 3, 2016 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 3, 2016] The Menzingers

2016-12-03-20-13-55I hadn’t heard of the Menzingers before this show.  I looked them up and saw that they were a punk band on Epitaph Records, which meant I knew what to expect–poppy punk, kind of like Rancid (without the ska-although I understand that they were formed out of a Scranton based ska-punk band).  And that’s a fairly accurate blanket statement of what they’re like–catchy songs with a kind of growly singer and lots of harmonies.

Their previous album was highly regarded and they have a new one coming out.  I was excited to see them.  I was also pretty excited to be at a show at the Sands again–my last show there was when I got a drumstick.  But imagine my surprise when there was a huge snarl of traffic getting into the venue.  I’ve seen a few shows there and have never seen traffic getting into the venue.  And then an enormous line to present tickets inside.  So I wound missing–well, maybe it was only part of the first song.

And that delay was because the show was packed.  Packed I say!  (I guess every college student in Bethlehem was there?).

I’m usually early enough that I can pick my place, but, wow, I was further back than I’ve been for almost any show I’ve seen lately.  And there was a pretty pushy crowd too.

So that kind of sucked.

But the band was good and a lot of fun.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Rancid, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, The Menzingers, Weezer | Leave a Comment »

Anakana Schofield–“Under the Taps” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #2] (2016)

December 2, 2016 by Paul Debraski

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: ANNA CALVI-Tiny Desk Concert #189 (January 26, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

calviAs with many artists on Tiny Desk Concerts, I thought that Anna Calvi was someone else (conflating two other names I’m sure).  But I certainly didn’t know this British guitarist born in 1982.

I find it unsettling that Calvi doesn’t take off her overcoat.  The drummer leaves his hat on, but that’s another thing altogether.  It seems odd that a woman who rocks would remain in her coat seeming very unrelaxed.

She plays three songs in under ten minutes and it’s a shame that the audio is mixed so poorly on this one, because the drums are louder than just about anything else and you really can’t hear her voice all that well.

“River To The Sea” is a cool instrumental that really shows off her guitar skills.  She’s all over the fretboard with different tempos and sounds.  It’s slow and moody (with a neat echo effect) until the end when there’s some really cool fast soloing.  I love the section where she’s playing some crazy looking chords on the high notes and that she emphasizes the individual strings and the chords at the same time—it’s great to watch (and to hear).

For the next two songs, it becomes apparent that she has on jeans and that she doesn’t seem quite a stiff and bundles as he coat suggests.  Phew.  “Surrender” has a very moody surf guitar feel.  This comes from the way she plays and the harmonium chugging along behind her.    Her singing style is very moody as well—I could see this song appearing in Blue Velvet.  Calvi has a captivating voice, but it is mixed way too quiet (it’s also embarrassing that there appears to be about 10 people watching her).

“Jezebel” is a rocking song, staying in that same vibe of 1950s surf guitar.  I like the way she plays the three brash chords at the end of each section.  She really belts out the last few words—I wish she was mic’d better throughout the show.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Under the Taps”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

This story started out in a very confusing way.  Set in Ireland, it opens with the narrator saying “This is what I intend to say tomorrow in court.  Be assured.”

It jumps to third person to give some context: she was the middle child, she had to learn to wait.

Then it jumps to the present.  She has brought her statement (what we are reading) to her solicitor.  He didn’t look at it when he filed it away.  He believes that she should compromise–it’s the only way to get her off.  But she will not compromise. Continue Reading »

Posted in Anakana Schofield, Anna Calvi, Bathtubs, Blue Velvet, Canadian Content, Courtroom, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert | Leave a Comment »

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