Brief histories of many things from the last few months that I never got to write about (part 1)

Wilco with Andrew Bird, 

Tanglewood, 8.12.08
In Attendance: Fletch, Bob, Jeremy, and Niki

Wilco is my favorite band on the planet, and dare I say, the best live band on the planet? Maybe the best band on the planet? Every time I see them my opinion on this matter gets stronger. Sure, the absolutely gorgeous surroundings and perfect outdoor-summer night atmosphere didn't hurt. But that should take nothing away from Wilco's excellent set- maybe a bit too heavy on the Summerteeth for me but I'm not complaining. Wildly enthusiastic crowd, excellent seats- a near perfect concert experience. 

Andrew Bird's opening set was lovely as always but got a bit lost in the then-empty shed- Not much of a crowd for a 6:30 opening set. Had to laugh when my friend who was out on the lawn and couldn't see the stage asked me how many violin players were playing. 

The two hour drive home at midnight was not fun but I would absolutely go back to Tanglewood for a show like this.

Sox vs. Rangers

8.13.08
Sox 8 Rangers 4
In attendance: Kristen

Not much notable about this game aside from the fact that we sat among what might have been the geekiest drunk crowd I've ever encountered. Lots of loud talk about cell phones and computers and in the 8th inning, an impromptu acapella singing of the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego theme song. No joke.

Bill Frisell
Cambridge YMCA Theater, 8.16.08
In Attendance: Brian

Brian Blade Fellowship Band
Scullers Jazz Club, 11.6.08
In attendance: Anna

I have found live jazz in Boston to be challenging for one reason- the crowds. Maybe this isn't limited to Boston but I find them to be the most smug, self- important crowds in all of the live music that I see. Lots of over-excessive nodding and grunts/laughs of acknowledgement during solos, as if they are in on some joke with the musicians (and making sure EVERYONE knows it). It always makes me think of the David Sedaris story where he recounts the terrifying experience of attending jazz shows with his father, who would obnoxiously tap his foot and shout out "Blue Rondo a la Turk!" requests at Dave Brubeck concerts. I can deal with drunk guys talking and bumping into me at rock shows. For some reason I have a harder time dealing with jazz snobs.

Anyway, these 2 shows were notable exceptions and made me wonder if I've been too harsh and missing out as a result. The completely under-publicized Bill Frisell show was a truly unique experience. Last time I saw him was at a sold out Berklee Performance Center, this time was in an old, run down, sweltering theater with 100 or so people in attendance. Frisell played solo with his trusty loop pedals, with which he continues to do amazing things despite the current ubiquity of that technology. Like everything Frisell does, this show was completely different than every other time I had seen him. A hypnotizing performance.

I first saw Brian Blade when he played drums for Bill Frisell in 1999. I was completely knocked out by his drumming and had always hoped to see him again, and for some reason, it took me another 9 years. In the standard jazz club setting of Scullers, he played to a packed and very enthusiastic house. I'm not sure how to describe him without sounding corny, but this is one of the most soulful musicians I have ever seen. And by soulful I don't mean soul music- I mean he seems to be pouring his soul into every second of his drumming. He is coming back for a big Wayne Shorter birthday concert at Berklee soon, which I was thinking of going to despite the fact that it is sure to be a jazz elitist explosion. Then again, I think I might just keep the memory of this spectacular show fresh in my mind instead. 

Wow (revisited)

11/4/08, Copley Square

Wow.

The Sox were down 7-0 into the bottom of the 7th, at which point they scored 4 runs. Then 3 more in the 8th. And a walk off in the 9th to win it and stay alive against the Rays in the ALCS. 

Never been to anything like it. 

Quiet, please.

I've watched a lot of cartoons throughout my life. Like most kids I was on a steady diet of Looney Tunes throughout my childhood (and beyond- I still usually make it over for a night or two of the annual Bugs Bunny Film Festival at the Brattle). But one particular cartoon has always stuck out in my mind, and I have never been able to find it. For years I have been looking around, hoping I would come across it on TV, but I never did. It occurred to me recently to look around the internet for it and of course, about 2 minutes of searching yielded success on You Tube. Not sure why I hadn't thought of it before. In any case, I present Tex Avery's cartoon short from 1955, "Sh-h-h-h-h-h".

Watching this years later, it is easy to know why this particular cartoon stands out for me- safe to say I can identify with the main character a bit more than I'm comfortable with. I remember finding this whole thing hilarious, and it still holds up for me. The slapstick section is fairly standard, but I love the reaction of the hotel clerk when Mr. Twiddle asks for the room, and the little sound signs are brilliant.

But the thing that really struck me after watching this now is just how completely odd, and very dark, this short is. It is easy as an adult to pick up on themes in cartoons that we would have missed as kids, and there are often the intentional "wink-wink" jokes in children's shows and movies that are intended only for the adults who are watching. But it is hard to tell exactly what is going on in a cartoon where we have an anxiety-ridden protagonist who ends up exploding in a fit of rage.

Weirder still is our trombone playing doctor. Why exactly is he at the Hush Hush Lodge playing trombone? Why is he playing this sad song? And why on earth is it making him and his wife laugh so hard? I suppose the point isn't to understand why, it's just supposed to be funny on its own. And it is. But I couldn't help but think that there was more going on here- was Avery making some kind of a statement with one of his final shorts?

Unfortunately some research didn't reveal too many answers about this in particular, but it did give some insight into the trombone and laughing. Turns out it is from an old novelty 78 called "The Okeh Laughing Record", recorded in 1922. It's basically three minutes of what you hear in the short- a slow, maudlin performance interrupted by uncontrolled laughing. Apparently this kind of thing was a big hit back then- you would gather the family in the parlor, crank up the victrola and put this on, and laugh, laugh, laugh. And we all wondered what we did before video games.

Anyway, here's the original recording. Kind of creepy when removed from the already strange context of the cartoon.

Boomp3.com

Well put

Many, many more of these here. 

Three sides of Lucy Vincent beach

September 28, 2008

We're the one!

What a lineup! So crazy that this is from 1978- I remember all of these shows so clearly, but considering that I was 2 at the time I guess I was watching them all years later in reruns. But I never knew that they were all on the same network in the same year.



Some other observations:

- I miss cross-TV show guest appearances. The fact that Mork's world would somehow intersect Fonzie's is awesome.

- What is that weird depression era show? I have no memory of that at all. Also, the grandfather on it seems to be the exact inspiration for Mr. Stokes on Extras.

- I forgot how big of a deal it was for a movie to be on TV. Think about it- Pre video, when a movie finished a run in theaters, there was basically no way to see it again until they showed it on TV. I completely remember having big dinners around the TV and staying up late when something like Star Wars was on.

- Only 30 years ago, that insane ending song was allowed to happen. Let us never let it happen again.