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Friday night we went down to the Pearl Company again, to see the Marigolds. Now the Marigolds, you may recall, is a trio of solo singers joined together to create some heavenly harmonies. Suzie Vinnick, Gwen Swick and Caitlin Hanford (in reverse alphabetical order) each have solo CDs for sale at the show, but a Marigolds' show is a night for groupwork.
Gwen Swick plays bass and sings in a rich voice that seems able to shift into any range. Her enunciation is precise and crisp, and her lyrics are filled with images that are at once obvious and surprising. It's like, "How clever! Why didn't I think of that?" "Anyone Can Dream" is the perfect example as she sings of the raft that dreamt of being Noah's ark! Brilliant! She lives in Elora, ON with Randall Coryell, who is an associate Marigold, being the drummer of the group.
Coryell is a king of percussion, and uses everything at hand, from the regular kit, to a long bolt holding washers and nuts to get the right sound. L:egend has it he even used his daughter's head to percussive effect!
Caitlin Hanford hails from Washington State, and brings the country inflection to the group. She plays a big ol' Gibson guitar, and writes songs about trains, and walking along the highway. Listen to "Ramble Down the Line" or "When I'm Walking With You" to get an idea. She's the tallest Marigold. Sometimes she tells little stories, like how she saw a cardinal outside the window and "just knew that Jacvkie Washington's spirit" had inhabited that bird. "Yes, indeedy!"
That leaves Suzie Vinnick, who plays lead guitar (she's got some chops!), and sings anything from blues to jazz to old standards. She can rock too, as you'll see if you listen to her solo CD. She also seems to be the business head of the group, doing the ads for the merch table, and carrying the little bag of change. Her songs show a tremendous range of styles and subject matter. Flying is one concern of Suzie's as "Trip To the Moon" and "Sometimes I Think I Can Fly" exhibit. And when she sings, you'll be sure she can fly!
Now that's the group, individually, but when they perform together, they become a separate entity...the Marigolds. And there's nothing like Marigolds' music to brighten a day, or night. In the warm and comfortable setting of the Pearl Company the feeling is like a living room concert, with a group of friends. Oh, wait a minute, I had invited about 16 people, so in fact it was a group of friends. There were another 20 or so folks in the audience, and I have to say, it's a bit disappointing. The Pearl brings in these remarkable musicians and they play to a half empty room, and yet every performer I've seen here has given their all to the group who turned out.
The Marigolds sang tunes from both their CDs, to the obvious delight of all who attended. They came back for an encore of Jackie DeShannon's "Put a Little Love In Your Heart" and then said "goodnight"...and what a good night it was.
Thanks Barbara and Gary for keeping the Pearl Company rolling. Thanks Gwen, Caitlin and Suzie (and Randall) for a great Friday night!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Jon Anderson...
at the Studio Theatre, Hamilton Place (April 3, 2010).
That's Jon Anderson, the lead singer from YES! That's right. In a theatre that holds, maybe 400. And, there was no-one else on stage either. Not Rick Wakeman, or Patrick Moraz, not Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, or any of the other dozen or so members of YES from the past 40 years. Just Jon Anderson, and a couple of acoustic instruments. Oh, and of course, his extraordinary voice!
After being close to death from acute respiratory failure only two years ago, Jon has come back to play these solo shows. He has released a double live CD, called Live From LaLa Land which is very similar to the show we saw the other night except you might even say that the show at the Studio Theatre was stripped down even further. No midi-guitar this time, just a nylon string guitar, and a 'strummer', and a trusty ukulele. And a piano, for the weirdest part of the night, but more about that later.
Starting with "Long Distance Runaround" and "Yours is No Disgrace" Anderson gave us a virtual history of YES, focused on the vocals and without the symphonic backing we're so used to. The melodies were all there, and Anderson's alto-tenor voice pure and clear, but a song that might take up the whole side of a record was reduced to only a couple of minutes as Anderson sang the chorus and verses, with no long solo spots.
It's a fascinating exercise, to reduce these classic tracks to their ultimate facets. Melody and lyric. That's it. All accompanied by Anderson's rather clumsy guitar strumming. No fine finger-picking for him, he picks a beat and stays with it. And I have to say, it works somehow. It's like Jon Anderson 'folk-singer' and I imagine it takes a lot of gumption to do it. He admits he came to guitar playing late, but my ears told me he meant only a year or two ago, he confesses that he began at age 22. Well, that's over 40 years ago. I'm pretty sure I've improved more than this over the same length of time! I hope so.
But I don't want to dwell on the guitar playing because it was the singing that was impressed me, that and his spirit. The man is filled with good vibes. He is contagious with them. And his fans were rabid to soak them up. We sat in the balcony, but those on the floor close to the edge of the stage, were sending back all the love he put forth. And his wife of 13 years sat right there too, in front of the stage, dead centre. He sang to her, on this their anniversary. It was lovely.
The piano songs? Odd, abstract bits of noodling with noodled lyrics too. My least favourite part of the night, but still he's a charming performer, and well worth a ticket.
That's Jon Anderson, the lead singer from YES! That's right. In a theatre that holds, maybe 400. And, there was no-one else on stage either. Not Rick Wakeman, or Patrick Moraz, not Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, or any of the other dozen or so members of YES from the past 40 years. Just Jon Anderson, and a couple of acoustic instruments. Oh, and of course, his extraordinary voice!
After being close to death from acute respiratory failure only two years ago, Jon has come back to play these solo shows. He has released a double live CD, called Live From LaLa Land which is very similar to the show we saw the other night except you might even say that the show at the Studio Theatre was stripped down even further. No midi-guitar this time, just a nylon string guitar, and a 'strummer', and a trusty ukulele. And a piano, for the weirdest part of the night, but more about that later.
Starting with "Long Distance Runaround" and "Yours is No Disgrace" Anderson gave us a virtual history of YES, focused on the vocals and without the symphonic backing we're so used to. The melodies were all there, and Anderson's alto-tenor voice pure and clear, but a song that might take up the whole side of a record was reduced to only a couple of minutes as Anderson sang the chorus and verses, with no long solo spots.
It's a fascinating exercise, to reduce these classic tracks to their ultimate facets. Melody and lyric. That's it. All accompanied by Anderson's rather clumsy guitar strumming. No fine finger-picking for him, he picks a beat and stays with it. And I have to say, it works somehow. It's like Jon Anderson 'folk-singer' and I imagine it takes a lot of gumption to do it. He admits he came to guitar playing late, but my ears told me he meant only a year or two ago, he confesses that he began at age 22. Well, that's over 40 years ago. I'm pretty sure I've improved more than this over the same length of time! I hope so.
But I don't want to dwell on the guitar playing because it was the singing that was impressed me, that and his spirit. The man is filled with good vibes. He is contagious with them. And his fans were rabid to soak them up. We sat in the balcony, but those on the floor close to the edge of the stage, were sending back all the love he put forth. And his wife of 13 years sat right there too, in front of the stage, dead centre. He sang to her, on this their anniversary. It was lovely.
The piano songs? Odd, abstract bits of noodling with noodled lyrics too. My least favourite part of the night, but still he's a charming performer, and well worth a ticket.
Jean-Paul De Roover & City of Glass
at The Pearl Company, Hamilton, ON, March 10, 2010
Do you remember as a child, playing with Lego? Building some imaginary thing with dozens, no hundreds of small plastic pieces and being amazed as it took shape before your eyes? My father spent his retirement years constructing beautiful models of houses out of popsicle sticks. He worked with an exacto knife and white glue, even cutting sheets of sandpaper into representations of shingles which he then glued to the roof. Hinges on the doors? Made from pins! An artist I know creates his sculptures by tirelessly welding thousands of rods together to create huge representational constructions. This desire to create a whole from many disparate pieces is what keeps Jean-Paul De Roover working on his music. Even when playing to empty rooms, he displays an excitement about the creative process that is contagious, even thrilling. The first time I saw him play was last fall on a Thursday night, the Pearl Company accommodates nearly 200 but there were only five of us there. Last night the numbers were more like twenty, and we were scattered around the room, on the most comfortable chairs. Did the small turnout bother J-P? Not so you'd notice. He bounced, and danced with his guitar, a Fender acoustic that he borrowed from his sister. He's an energetic performer, I don't think I noticed that the first time, but watching him last night left me exhausted.
Upon arrival at the Pearl Company, Hamilton's gem of a new performance space, J-P greeted me like an old friend. (I had written about the autumn show on my blog.) He looked at the small group of friends I'd brought, and said, "Well, you did your part! You've quadrupled the audience!" We laughed and shared stories about what we'd been doing since last we met. He is just starting a new, longer tour. And playing with opening acts. Tonight it's Vancouver's City of Glass.
City of Glass is a quartet made up of Michael Champion (guitar/vocals), David Phu (guitar/backing vocals), Georgia Korba (bass) and Alex Cumming (drums). They list New Order, Coldplay, Weezer and Deathcab for Cutie as their influences, but they play mainly original material. They joked about doing an AC/DC tune but when it came down to it the one cover version was a Radiohead cut. That's the kind of ambient rock they play, chilly almost spiky guitars, against solid rhythm from Alex and Georgia. Georgia plays a Fender Precision and it's bigger than she is, but she has mastered the beast. Their set was plagued by a few audio problems, the wrong mix in the monitors and a rented amp that gave up the ghost, but they weather the storm well, and their fifty minute set was well received. Then they repaired to the merch counter to flog their T-shirts, buttons and CDs. And they come back to watch De Roover. They opened for him the previous night in Toronto. They know what's coming.
Jean-Paul doesn't take too long to set up. His gear is all placed on a construction of red plastic tubes, not unlike a building toy from his youth. His whole thing is constructivism. Even the package his CD/DVD comes in is an art piece, it has no text, and unfolds to create a house. But on the red construction is a series of little boxes, looping gear, a drum pad, samplers, cables, buttons, pedals into which the guitar is plugged and a pair of microphones. He wears a set of headphones, and begins to build. Whether he starts with voice, "Ahahahahahahaaah!" maybe "Bada, baadaa, baaaaadip!" or a guitar part, he then adds harmony, rhythm, texture. Beats appear out of the ether. He sings the melody, and his melodies are strong, and then layers a harmony, and a third voice over top. He controls all of this by bending and twisting, stopping this track, starting that one, playing some rhythm guitar, he looks like he might fall, but catches himself, eats a bite of a butter tart, and all the while the audience is enrapt. They are singing along with songs they did not know three minutes ago. They spontaneously applaud. You can hear them whispering, "Wow! How does he do that?"
It's like this for over an hour. He plays his original songs. Most of them have one word titles like "Walk," "Lapse," "The Knife," "Fix." My favourite might be the new one, it's untitled so far. The chorus is "I love you," but J-P thinks that's too obvious a title, a bit too generic. I think of it as "Blue." It's a fine song. He wraps up with an audience participation tune, where he puts down his guitar and walks around the entire place shaking everyone's hand and thanking us for coming. It's a nice touch.
Jean-Paul is building his audience the same way he builds his music. He bonds an ever growing number of people together with the glue of his personality, his creativity and his imagination. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that he's just plain musical, too!
Thanks to Barbara and Gary at the Pearl Company for bringing outstanding new music like Jean-Paul De Roover and City of Glass to this city.
Do you remember as a child, playing with Lego? Building some imaginary thing with dozens, no hundreds of small plastic pieces and being amazed as it took shape before your eyes? My father spent his retirement years constructing beautiful models of houses out of popsicle sticks. He worked with an exacto knife and white glue, even cutting sheets of sandpaper into representations of shingles which he then glued to the roof. Hinges on the doors? Made from pins! An artist I know creates his sculptures by tirelessly welding thousands of rods together to create huge representational constructions. This desire to create a whole from many disparate pieces is what keeps Jean-Paul De Roover working on his music. Even when playing to empty rooms, he displays an excitement about the creative process that is contagious, even thrilling. The first time I saw him play was last fall on a Thursday night, the Pearl Company accommodates nearly 200 but there were only five of us there. Last night the numbers were more like twenty, and we were scattered around the room, on the most comfortable chairs. Did the small turnout bother J-P? Not so you'd notice. He bounced, and danced with his guitar, a Fender acoustic that he borrowed from his sister. He's an energetic performer, I don't think I noticed that the first time, but watching him last night left me exhausted.
Upon arrival at the Pearl Company, Hamilton's gem of a new performance space, J-P greeted me like an old friend. (I had written about the autumn show on my blog.) He looked at the small group of friends I'd brought, and said, "Well, you did your part! You've quadrupled the audience!" We laughed and shared stories about what we'd been doing since last we met. He is just starting a new, longer tour. And playing with opening acts. Tonight it's Vancouver's City of Glass.
City of Glass is a quartet made up of Michael Champion (guitar/vocals), David Phu (guitar/backing vocals), Georgia Korba (bass) and Alex Cumming (drums). They list New Order, Coldplay, Weezer and Deathcab for Cutie as their influences, but they play mainly original material. They joked about doing an AC/DC tune but when it came down to it the one cover version was a Radiohead cut. That's the kind of ambient rock they play, chilly almost spiky guitars, against solid rhythm from Alex and Georgia. Georgia plays a Fender Precision and it's bigger than she is, but she has mastered the beast. Their set was plagued by a few audio problems, the wrong mix in the monitors and a rented amp that gave up the ghost, but they weather the storm well, and their fifty minute set was well received. Then they repaired to the merch counter to flog their T-shirts, buttons and CDs. And they come back to watch De Roover. They opened for him the previous night in Toronto. They know what's coming.
Jean-Paul doesn't take too long to set up. His gear is all placed on a construction of red plastic tubes, not unlike a building toy from his youth. His whole thing is constructivism. Even the package his CD/DVD comes in is an art piece, it has no text, and unfolds to create a house. But on the red construction is a series of little boxes, looping gear, a drum pad, samplers, cables, buttons, pedals into which the guitar is plugged and a pair of microphones. He wears a set of headphones, and begins to build. Whether he starts with voice, "Ahahahahahahaaah!" maybe "Bada, baadaa, baaaaadip!" or a guitar part, he then adds harmony, rhythm, texture. Beats appear out of the ether. He sings the melody, and his melodies are strong, and then layers a harmony, and a third voice over top. He controls all of this by bending and twisting, stopping this track, starting that one, playing some rhythm guitar, he looks like he might fall, but catches himself, eats a bite of a butter tart, and all the while the audience is enrapt. They are singing along with songs they did not know three minutes ago. They spontaneously applaud. You can hear them whispering, "Wow! How does he do that?"
It's like this for over an hour. He plays his original songs. Most of them have one word titles like "Walk," "Lapse," "The Knife," "Fix." My favourite might be the new one, it's untitled so far. The chorus is "I love you," but J-P thinks that's too obvious a title, a bit too generic. I think of it as "Blue." It's a fine song. He wraps up with an audience participation tune, where he puts down his guitar and walks around the entire place shaking everyone's hand and thanking us for coming. It's a nice touch.
Jean-Paul is building his audience the same way he builds his music. He bonds an ever growing number of people together with the glue of his personality, his creativity and his imagination. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that he's just plain musical, too!
Thanks to Barbara and Gary at the Pearl Company for bringing outstanding new music like Jean-Paul De Roover and City of Glass to this city.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Pearl Company last night...
Jean-Paul De Roover was back in town last night, at the marvelous Pearl Company. A group from Vancouver called City of Glass opened and did a Coldplay thing. Not bad, a pleasant hour, well, apart from the downer lyrics, and the failed amp. They said they were going to Long & McQuade today to throw the amp through the window. That'd be a sight to see.
J-P was excellent as he demonstrated what one guy with a lot of loops and effects, and unlimited imagination can do. The thing I like most about him is his sense of melody. It's not all abstract art...there's real structure to it.
I bought a copy of John "Drumbo" French's book Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic from the man himself, and it arrived in the mail yesterday. It's a honking big book filled with dense print and pictures galore. Memories from everyone who was there, and great stories. Over 800 pages means I won't be reading it at bedtime, it's too heavy to hold up! But I will spend quite a bit of time with it, the excerpts I've previewed are fascinating. And don't forget Mike Barnes' biography of the Captain; or Zoot Horn Rollo's Lunar Notes; or Kevin Courrier's Trout Mask Replica written in the 33 1/3 series.
I watched Paris, Texas the other day. The new Criterion Blu-Ray is a tremendous transfer, and includes a wealth of extra stuff. Even interviews with Ry Cooder.
The Patti Smith book, Just Kids is a good read, and the DVD Dream of Life makes a great complement to it. And you might as well go all out an pick up her compilation CD set Land and you'll gain a new appreciation for Patti!
Going home to listen to some new Jimi Hendrix music. I'll let you know what I think.
See you!
J-P was excellent as he demonstrated what one guy with a lot of loops and effects, and unlimited imagination can do. The thing I like most about him is his sense of melody. It's not all abstract art...there's real structure to it.
I bought a copy of John "Drumbo" French's book Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic from the man himself, and it arrived in the mail yesterday. It's a honking big book filled with dense print and pictures galore. Memories from everyone who was there, and great stories. Over 800 pages means I won't be reading it at bedtime, it's too heavy to hold up! But I will spend quite a bit of time with it, the excerpts I've previewed are fascinating. And don't forget Mike Barnes' biography of the Captain; or Zoot Horn Rollo's Lunar Notes; or Kevin Courrier's Trout Mask Replica written in the 33 1/3 series.
I watched Paris, Texas the other day. The new Criterion Blu-Ray is a tremendous transfer, and includes a wealth of extra stuff. Even interviews with Ry Cooder.
The Patti Smith book, Just Kids is a good read, and the DVD Dream of Life makes a great complement to it. And you might as well go all out an pick up her compilation CD set Land and you'll gain a new appreciation for Patti!
Going home to listen to some new Jimi Hendrix music. I'll let you know what I think.
See you!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Happy New Year (belated)
Wow! I can hardly believe it! I haven't blogged since a month before Christmas! And so much has happened.
I told you about Bruce Cockburn at Hamilton Place.
I picked up signed copies of Stephen Stills Manassas Pieces and Rosanne Cash's glorious The List. This is one of my favourite albums of 2009, excpet for the weird version of "Long Black Veil" it's perfect. Then I read Always Been There which tells the story of the list Johnny Cash gave to Rosanne and how it impacted the recording of that album. Lots of other new releases too, McCartney's Good Evening New York, Norah Jones, Fire In My Bones (a 3 disc set of African-American Gospel), a re-issue of Bob Carpenter's Silent Passage which features Lowell George! Tom Petty's bargain of the year, 4 discs of live material for under $20! Wow! Read the new McCartney bio, which tells the same old story. There was an interesting quote from Ringo the other day. Someone has asked him to write HIS autobiography, but they only want the Beatles years. He says he's done a lot more stuff, and I for one would be interested in that! We've read everything there is to read about Hamburg, and Pete Best...let's move on!
Still thinking about Billy Bragg. That was a remarkable show! Saw The Good Lovelies at The Pearl Company. And Randy Bachman at the Glenn Gould Theatre.
And here we are in February, 2010. FEBRUARY! Where does the time go?
Ry Cooder will be releasing a new album in a month or so, with the Chieftains. Looking forward to that one.
See you soon.
I told you about Bruce Cockburn at Hamilton Place.
I picked up signed copies of Stephen Stills Manassas Pieces and Rosanne Cash's glorious The List. This is one of my favourite albums of 2009, excpet for the weird version of "Long Black Veil" it's perfect. Then I read Always Been There which tells the story of the list Johnny Cash gave to Rosanne and how it impacted the recording of that album. Lots of other new releases too, McCartney's Good Evening New York, Norah Jones, Fire In My Bones (a 3 disc set of African-American Gospel), a re-issue of Bob Carpenter's Silent Passage which features Lowell George! Tom Petty's bargain of the year, 4 discs of live material for under $20! Wow! Read the new McCartney bio, which tells the same old story. There was an interesting quote from Ringo the other day. Someone has asked him to write HIS autobiography, but they only want the Beatles years. He says he's done a lot more stuff, and I for one would be interested in that! We've read everything there is to read about Hamburg, and Pete Best...let's move on!
Still thinking about Billy Bragg. That was a remarkable show! Saw The Good Lovelies at The Pearl Company. And Randy Bachman at the Glenn Gould Theatre.
And here we are in February, 2010. FEBRUARY! Where does the time go?
Ry Cooder will be releasing a new album in a month or so, with the Chieftains. Looking forward to that one.
See you soon.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Studio Theatre, Hamilton Place
The Studio Theatre in Hamilton Place is an intimate venue, just right for a singer-songwriter (Stephen Fearing), but also very suitable for some blues (Steve Strongman), or the music of The Rankin Sisters, or even the intricate keyboard noodlings of Garth Hudson. In the last week I've been there twice. A week ago Friday for Bruce Cockburn and last Wednesday for Billy Bragg. Both singer-songwriters, I suppose, but both with very political agendas. They were great!
I'm not a big Burce Cockburn fan. I don't know what it is. He plays the kind of music that I usually go for. Guitar based, folky, with a touch of blues, and I generally agree with his message...so what is it about him that I don't like? Maybe I only had room in my ears for Richard Thompson doing that stuff. Anyway, last Friday I went along with my good friend Frank (who is also not a Cockburn fan) and we sat in the front row, just to the right of centre. This is not a good place to sit, when seeing Bruce. Right of centre is definitely not the place to be! But that's where the seats Ann and Emmitt had saved for us happened to be.
Bruce came out dressed in a baggy outfit, dark pants and an oversized jacket, and picked up one of the two green-topped 6-string guitars and began to roll through his songbook. Tunes from the 70s, 80s, 90s and new songs. Not too many "old songs" mainly "middle-aged songs". And a couple of new ones. "Slow Down Fast," "This is Bagdad," mixed with "Wondering Where the Lions Are," "Waiting For a Miracle," and "Lovers in a Dangerous Time." It was good to have so many familiar songs, because some of the others sounded similar, like riffs just designed to carry the words. There's no doubt that Bruce is an extraordinary guitarist, but there was a sameness to much of what he played. The virtuosity lifted these moments. I was touched, personally, by the new song written after visiting his brother (an army doctor in Afghanistan). My own son is training to go there, and Bruce's lament brought me to tears. Cockburn answered three curtain calls and on his last encore claimed he "[didn't] know what to play." He satisfied the rabid fans, and he satisfied us hangers-on too. All in all a fine night.
Wednesday's show with Billy Bragg was also a dandy night of music, and politics. This time our seats (again, saved by Ann and Emmitt) were in the front row, but appropriately well left of centre! Where else would you want to be for the author of "Power in the Union," and "All You Fascists"!!
After an intriguing set by Toronto's Ron Hawkins (check that guy out!) Billy took the stage. He had played for 2 hours the night previous at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, and his tour manager wanted to keep this one to 90 minutes. But once Billy got rolling there was no stoppping him. Playing an electric guitar turned up loud, he rocked the joint with songs of love and justice! He sipped from a mug of tea (he called it Throat Coat) and sang in his London drawl, songs from his long career. He called Woody Guthrie "my boss" as he introduced the songs he had completed (with Wilco) for Woody's daughter Norah, for 2 albums. He sang a classic Guthrie children's song about wetting the bed, and Woody's "Ain't Got No Home". He spoke about oxyomorons like "military intelligence" and "american football". The English call it "runny, runny, catchy" since it has very little to do with the pure "footie" they play in the rest of the world. He expressed his displeasure over France "cheating their way to victory over Ireland" referring to Thierry Henry's handball the night before. He played a few tunes on an acoustic guitar, with STRUMMER emblazoned on the front. He went well beyond his 90 minutes, much to the chagrin of the manager. And then he came out for a meet and greet during which he spoke personally to each person who waited. He heard their stories, and answered their questions, signed their scarves, and LPs, CDs, tickets, and shirts. He gave everyone their money's worth. Long live Billy Bragg!
I'm not a big Burce Cockburn fan. I don't know what it is. He plays the kind of music that I usually go for. Guitar based, folky, with a touch of blues, and I generally agree with his message...so what is it about him that I don't like? Maybe I only had room in my ears for Richard Thompson doing that stuff. Anyway, last Friday I went along with my good friend Frank (who is also not a Cockburn fan) and we sat in the front row, just to the right of centre. This is not a good place to sit, when seeing Bruce. Right of centre is definitely not the place to be! But that's where the seats Ann and Emmitt had saved for us happened to be.
Bruce came out dressed in a baggy outfit, dark pants and an oversized jacket, and picked up one of the two green-topped 6-string guitars and began to roll through his songbook. Tunes from the 70s, 80s, 90s and new songs. Not too many "old songs" mainly "middle-aged songs". And a couple of new ones. "Slow Down Fast," "This is Bagdad," mixed with "Wondering Where the Lions Are," "Waiting For a Miracle," and "Lovers in a Dangerous Time." It was good to have so many familiar songs, because some of the others sounded similar, like riffs just designed to carry the words. There's no doubt that Bruce is an extraordinary guitarist, but there was a sameness to much of what he played. The virtuosity lifted these moments. I was touched, personally, by the new song written after visiting his brother (an army doctor in Afghanistan). My own son is training to go there, and Bruce's lament brought me to tears. Cockburn answered three curtain calls and on his last encore claimed he "[didn't] know what to play." He satisfied the rabid fans, and he satisfied us hangers-on too. All in all a fine night.
Wednesday's show with Billy Bragg was also a dandy night of music, and politics. This time our seats (again, saved by Ann and Emmitt) were in the front row, but appropriately well left of centre! Where else would you want to be for the author of "Power in the Union," and "All You Fascists"!!
After an intriguing set by Toronto's Ron Hawkins (check that guy out!) Billy took the stage. He had played for 2 hours the night previous at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, and his tour manager wanted to keep this one to 90 minutes. But once Billy got rolling there was no stoppping him. Playing an electric guitar turned up loud, he rocked the joint with songs of love and justice! He sipped from a mug of tea (he called it Throat Coat) and sang in his London drawl, songs from his long career. He called Woody Guthrie "my boss" as he introduced the songs he had completed (with Wilco) for Woody's daughter Norah, for 2 albums. He sang a classic Guthrie children's song about wetting the bed, and Woody's "Ain't Got No Home". He spoke about oxyomorons like "military intelligence" and "american football". The English call it "runny, runny, catchy" since it has very little to do with the pure "footie" they play in the rest of the world. He expressed his displeasure over France "cheating their way to victory over Ireland" referring to Thierry Henry's handball the night before. He played a few tunes on an acoustic guitar, with STRUMMER emblazoned on the front. He went well beyond his 90 minutes, much to the chagrin of the manager. And then he came out for a meet and greet during which he spoke personally to each person who waited. He heard their stories, and answered their questions, signed their scarves, and LPs, CDs, tickets, and shirts. He gave everyone their money's worth. Long live Billy Bragg!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Spectacle: Elvis Costello with Elvis Costello
Last Friday I received an e-mail from the Elvis Costello fan site (which I hadn't even remembered joining). It said that the first 50 people to reply would receive 2 free passes to the taping of the final episode of Season Two of Spectacle with Elvis Costello. Well, who could resist an offer like that? Especially since it was going to take place in Toronto! I replied within 3 minutes, and waited. Later that night I received another message. It said !!CONGRATULATIONS!! You've won! and laid out the rules for picking up tickets. Monday my wife and I headed out early to find parking and a place to have dinner. Parking, no problem, right across the street and only $15. Dinner, two blocks down at le Pain Quotidien, zucchini soup, fresh bread, and smoked salmon salad. Good coffee too! It began to rain, a steady drizzle. We arrived at the Masonic Hall on Yonge Street at about 6:15, a lineup had begun. At 6:30 they checked our photo ID and gave us wristbands. Then they checked our coats, searched my wife's purse, and showed us to our seats. The theatre is beautiful, very art deco. The set featured chandeliers, a 1000 lightbulbs showing the Spectacle logo behind a drum kit, and amps and guitars. We sat in the front row. The front three rows were reserved for the Fan Club winners! Here's someone who knows how to treat his fans.
The place was alive with a buzz. "Who's the guest?" "I hear it's Paul McCartney!" "It's McCartney for sure! I got the word!" People from as far away as Rhode Island were there.
It was 8:00 before the show began, and the air conditioning was blowing on us all the time. "Oh, it'll get hot in here once the lights go on!" But it never got that hot, by the end we were frozen (more of that later).
Elvis came out, followed by The Imposters, did his usual Spectacle rap, picked up his Fender Jaguar and launched into "Accidents Will Happen". It was fantastic. After another tune ("Chelsea") he explained that Elton John was to have been the interviewer and he, Elvis, was the guest tonight. Elton was sick (as the newspapers had told us all weekend) so they looked for a "rock journalist" do perform the task of raking Elvis over the coals. Since they couldn't find a presentable rock journalist...they got Mary Louise Parker (she of Fried Green Tomatoes fame). She came out dressed in black. She looked very slim, and quite lovely, although her interviewing techniques were adequate at best. It was clear that she was a bigger fan, more in awe of her idol than most of the rest of us in attendance. When she closed her eyes and swayed to Elvis's crooning, I thought she might fall off the chair! Nevertheless Elvis was charming and forthcoming with information about how he wrote and recorded, and his life in general. Marriage and fatherhood has agreed with him, and not drinking!
For over 2 hours he shared stories, and songs, some solo on acoustic guitart, others backed by Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher. I saw Elvis on his first tour of North America. He played about 14 songs and was done in 35 minutes start to finish! Wow! He explained that the Attractions were using "speed up drugs" and that later when he listened to My Aim Is True to relearn it for a tour, he "couldn't believe how slow the songs were"!
He spoke about writing with McCartney, Bacharach and trying to co-write with Sammy Cahn (it didn't work out) and played songs from each era. "Almost Blue," "Brilliant Mistake," "So Like Candy," "I Still Have That Other Girl," "Bedlam," "I Hope You're Happy Now," all done beautifully whether accompanied by himself on the Gibson, or with the band.
After the show, he came out to re-take the first two songs. "Accidents..." and "...Chelsea". Then he sang a couple more, a couple after that, and more, giving us a 40 minute concert to end the night. At 11:00 he said "Goodnight" and bowed, and walked off. It was tremendous. The audience had been standing through the final few songs. It was rock'n'roll!
On the way out everyone received a copy of the new CD. It was a night to remember. And I can't wait to watch Season Two.
The place was alive with a buzz. "Who's the guest?" "I hear it's Paul McCartney!" "It's McCartney for sure! I got the word!" People from as far away as Rhode Island were there.
It was 8:00 before the show began, and the air conditioning was blowing on us all the time. "Oh, it'll get hot in here once the lights go on!" But it never got that hot, by the end we were frozen (more of that later).
Elvis came out, followed by The Imposters, did his usual Spectacle rap, picked up his Fender Jaguar and launched into "Accidents Will Happen". It was fantastic. After another tune ("Chelsea") he explained that Elton John was to have been the interviewer and he, Elvis, was the guest tonight. Elton was sick (as the newspapers had told us all weekend) so they looked for a "rock journalist" do perform the task of raking Elvis over the coals. Since they couldn't find a presentable rock journalist...they got Mary Louise Parker (she of Fried Green Tomatoes fame). She came out dressed in black. She looked very slim, and quite lovely, although her interviewing techniques were adequate at best. It was clear that she was a bigger fan, more in awe of her idol than most of the rest of us in attendance. When she closed her eyes and swayed to Elvis's crooning, I thought she might fall off the chair! Nevertheless Elvis was charming and forthcoming with information about how he wrote and recorded, and his life in general. Marriage and fatherhood has agreed with him, and not drinking!
For over 2 hours he shared stories, and songs, some solo on acoustic guitart, others backed by Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher. I saw Elvis on his first tour of North America. He played about 14 songs and was done in 35 minutes start to finish! Wow! He explained that the Attractions were using "speed up drugs" and that later when he listened to My Aim Is True to relearn it for a tour, he "couldn't believe how slow the songs were"!
He spoke about writing with McCartney, Bacharach and trying to co-write with Sammy Cahn (it didn't work out) and played songs from each era. "Almost Blue," "Brilliant Mistake," "So Like Candy," "I Still Have That Other Girl," "Bedlam," "I Hope You're Happy Now," all done beautifully whether accompanied by himself on the Gibson, or with the band.
After the show, he came out to re-take the first two songs. "Accidents..." and "...Chelsea". Then he sang a couple more, a couple after that, and more, giving us a 40 minute concert to end the night. At 11:00 he said "Goodnight" and bowed, and walked off. It was tremendous. The audience had been standing through the final few songs. It was rock'n'roll!
On the way out everyone received a copy of the new CD. It was a night to remember. And I can't wait to watch Season Two.
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