Taking the bad with the good December 9, 2006
Posted by bbop in music, technology.2 comments
The bad: Sometime after I left school yesterday (around 5:30 p.m.) to when I arrived at the Mercury Lounge (around 11 p.m.), my cell phone — a trusty Sidekick II — was either lost or stolen. I got on a really crowded subway and someone could easily have taken it off my belt. Or I could have somehow left it on the bus I took to the Merc. There’s also a small chance I could have set it down at the Lincoln Center Tower Records, where I stopped in to see what was left at their going-out-of-business sale. But that’s really about it.
When I told my roommate Peter about it after I got home, he said — and rightly so — that I must just not be meant to have a Sidekick. I think that was literally like the fourth Sidekick I’ve owned and something bad has happened to all of them. I stupidly cracked the screen on two of them, lost another one and then this one. Argh. So that’s it. After I post this, I’m going to go get a BlackBerry Pearl. Hopefully I’ll have better luck with that model.
I actually was considering making the switch soon anyway, so this just expedited the process. My only real regret about this latest incident is the loss of the SIM card. I had a bunch of contact info on there, though I had backed up most of it, and some little notes. What can you do? At least I think I’ll still be able to keep my number.
The good: I was going to the Mercury to see the Pernice Brothers, who are always so great. Joe Pernice said this was their last weekend on the road after like 31 straight shows, so that’s why they sucked. Well, they might have been a little tired and we might not have gotten Grudgef***, but Joe and band (which included Peyton Pinkerton on guitar and James Walbourne on keyboards, guitar and even saxophone) are nothing if not professionals and Joe really has written so many great pop songs by now that you can’t really expect to get everything in a single show.
I’m really liking the new record, “Live A Little,” more and more every time I listen to it. And those songs formed the bulk of the setlist last night, including the main set-closing “Somerville.” Fitting that they played a Zombies cover, too, because quite a few of the new songs wouldn’t sound out of place at a Zombies show. And I think I never appreciated “Bum Leg” (which originally appeared on an album by one of Joe’s side projects, Big Tobacco) fully until Joe opened the encore with a solo rendition of it last night. He noted that it’s his mother’s favorite of his songs and that she always refers to it as “the one about the bad leg.” Haha.
Pernice Brothers//12-8-06//Mercury Lounge, New York, NY//support: Sono Oto, Elvis Perkins
High As A Kite/The Weakest Shade of Blue/Overcome By Happiness/Automaton/Water Ban/Conscience Clean (I Went To Spain)/The Ballad of Bjorn Borg/There Goes The Sun/Microscopic View/Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914) [The Zombies]/Zero Refills/Lightheaded/B.S. Johnson/PCH One/Baby In Two/Flaming Wreck/Somerville//e: [Joe solo] Bum Leg/[w/James Walbourne on guitar] Please Mr. Please [Olivia Newton-John]/[rest of band returns] Working Girls/7:30
Rhett redux December 2, 2006
Posted by bbop in music.Tags: Rhett Miller
1 comment so far
I’ve seen Rhett Miller many, many times, both solo and with the Old 97’s, but somehow I never really get tired of seeing him. Maybe it’s that he’s written so many damn catchy songs, maybe it’s that I get to hang out with some fun regulars I’ve met at shows over the years, or maybe it’s just the drinks that seem to flow at his shows. Probably some combination of the three.
So it was that I headed down to the Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night to catch Rhett with the band that has been backing him since the release of his second solo record, the Believers. That record is called, surprisingly, “The Believer.” (Rhett always has the wittiest band names; after his first solo record, The Instigator, came out a few years ago, his backing band became known as…drum roll, please…The Instigators!) Anyway, I do think that the Believers could be around for a while. They — guitarist Tommy Borscheid, bassist Greg Beshers and drummer Angela Webster, who play/played in a New York band called Low Talker before joining Rhett — keep getting better each time I see them. I’m sure that a year-plus of shows has helped, but it’s been fun to see their development. I think Rhett really likes playing with them, too; he mentioned doing a covers record with them sometime next year. Here’s hoping…
As for the show, I just made it in time for Rhett’s set after working on my terrible but final RW1 project for most of the day. As Rhett shows go, it was a fairly standard setlist — i.e. no real rarities. He did not (thank God) play the “baby back ribs” song that the Old 97’s recorded for a recent Chili’s commercial; I heard he had been doing that at a few recent shows. I also heard that there were a few industry types in the crowd because Rhett is reportedly looking for a new label for his solo projects, and industry types in the crowd usually leads to a more “regular” show in my experience.
One interesting thing about Rhett/Old 97’s shows is always the behavior of the crowd. Inevitably, some woman tries to get up on stage and dance around. It happened again Thursday night during “Point Shirley,” oddly enough (unless her name was actually Shirley). And then there’s the attempted passing of notes to Rhett. A friend managed to save one such note for me the other night, which I later read: “Dear Rhett, Take off your shirt, then play ‘Wish The Worst,’ please. From: A Friend Who Cares.” Hilarious. On the other side of the note was a post-script: “P.S. No more barbecue ribs, please.” At least we agree on something!
Rhett Miller and the Believers//11-30-06//Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY//support: AM, Tom Clark & the High Action Boys
My Valentine/The El/King of All the World/Lonely Holiday/Things That Disappear/Brand New Way/The New Kid/I Believe She’s Lying/19/Rollerskate Skinny/Delicate/[Rhett solo] All I Want Is You For Christmas/Brilliant Mistake [Elvis Costello]/Timebomb/[band returns] Question [no French verse]/Fireflies [duet w/Angela Webster]/Help Me, Suzanne/Come Around/Point Shirley/Singular Girl/Murder (Or A Heart Attack)/Barrier Reef//e: World Inside The World/Buick City Complex/Ain’t That Strange/Our Love
Home for the holidays December 1, 2006
Posted by bbop in family, music.2 comments
OK, so it’s been a hectic week after getting back from Thanksgiving break in Madison and Chicago. I know that’s not a very good excuse for failing to update until now, but all I can say is I’ve been hanging out at hospitals looking for people with asthma and trying to write a hopeless final piece for my RW1 (Reporting and Writing 1) class. And working on organizing another, er, “project.”
But anyway, I got back Monday night the 27th after a very pleasant five or so days in the Midwest. First up was a swing up to Madison, Wis., to catch Wilco at the cozy Barrymore Theatre. I really wanted to make this show since the other Wilco shows I’ve seen in Madison have been at the Orpheum Theatre with its very high stage that basically makes it necessary to sit in the balcony to see anything. I got there in the early afternoon and found Brianne and Evonne in line (Dick was across the street getting lunch and Uyen was working at a downtown Starbucks). I wanted to make a surprise appearance, but someone had let my secret out. Nonetheless, I was warmly welcomed and we proceeded to gab away until doors opened. The Barrymore is a neat little venue, which holds about 1,000 I’d guess. It’s pretty much an ideal place to see Wilco, especially these days, so it was exciting to be there. The show wasn’t terribly different from recent ones, except for a new song “Shake It Off” that made its live debut. And there was also the fact that everyone had a sort of giddiness about them because of the birth of bassist John Stirratt’s daughter just a few hours earlier. Give John credit, somehow managing to concentrate on the show with his newborn daughter back in Chicago. Afterward, we briefly spied the band all hopping into a limo right away — presumably to get home as soon as possible.
After a postshow meal at the Weary Traveler, where I just remember being really sleepy, we bade farewell to Uyen and Evonne and I headed back to Brianne’s place to crash. The next day was Thanksgiving and I had offered Evonne a ride to Chicago. We took our time and eventually got there by early evening. It turned out to be a pleasantly low-key night, getting some turkey at a restaurant and catching the new Christopher Guest movie, “For Your Consideration.”
The Wilco shows at the Auditorium Theatre were the main reason for my trip (well, also to see Mom and see the new South Loop condo). On Friday night, I sat in the first row of the balcony with Laura. It was actually a very nice seat and very good company. A couple of friends — Brianne and Judy — brought their moms and, all in all, it just seemed like a very family-oriented night. It’s hard, at the Auditorium, to find people and mingle because it’s so huge, but Laura and I really wanted to make sure we got to say hi to Judy, so we lingered after the show and finally found her. We had spent an hour in the lobby trying to call her and wound up missing the openers, Detholz!, which was OK by me since I had just seen them in Madison. I’m just glad it all worked out in the end.
On Night 2, Dick and I found ourselves in the front row because I had won an eBay auction that the Wilco management had held for charity. Sooz decided to come to the show after all — I had had an awesome brunch with her and Laura in the afternoon — so that was nice. And the pit area in general was filled with familiar faces. The show itself was good, although maybe a little shorter than I had expected — it seemed as if they had a curfew for some reason. We got the live debut of another new song, “Side With The Seeds,” as well as some gorgeous guitar work by Mr. Nels Cline on “Impossible Germany,” and “Ashes of American Flags.” Another fun night, made easier because we got what we wanted (to be up close) without having to do what we usually do (wait in line a long time). Why can’t that happen all the time?
One unexpected treat of both nights at the Auditorium was the brief opening set by Nels’ buddy Bobb Bruno, who played a set of digital drum pads while dressed up in his trademark white bunny suit. I’d seen it before in L.A. and I almost gasped the first night when he came out. It’s just a sight to behold.
I guess my only other thought about the Auditorium shows were that there was just much less of a goodbye sort of feel about them compared with the first Auditorium shows back in 2003. Despite the fact that the situations were sort of similar — both the 2003 and 2006 shows were sort of the wrapping up of a long tour and figured to be the last band shows for a while leading up to the release of a new record — the 2003 shows just had much more of a sense of nostalgia about them, for lack of a better word. They went on and on, like the band almost didn’t want to leave the stage. This time things were more joyous, maybe, like a celebration of the past two years combined with a sense that “Of course, we’ll be back.” I suppose that’s a good thing, a kind of assurance about the future. Whereas in 2003, it felt much more like things were coming to a close in a way.
Wilco//11-22-06//Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI//support: Detholz!
Hell Is Chrome/A Shot in the Arm/Handshake Drugs/Shake It Off*/IATTBYH/Impossible Germany/Muzzle of Bees/Company In My Back/Sunken Treasure (electric)/Airline To Heaven/What Light/Jesus, etc./Walken/Theologians/I’m The Man Who Loves You//e1: War on War/The Late Greats/Let’s Not Get Carried Away/Kingpin//e2: Hummingbird/The Thanks I Get/Heavy Metal Drummer
Wilco//11-24-06//Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL//support: Detholz!, Bobb Bruno
Shake It Off/Hell Is Chrome/Handshake Drugs/A Shot in the Arm/Impossible Germany/IATTBYH/Muzzle of Bees/Company In My Back/War on War/Sunken Treasure (electric)/Remember the Mountain Bed/Airline To Heaven/Jesus, etc./Walken/Theologians/I’m The Man Who Loves You//e1: Hummingbird/Via Chicago/What Light/The Late Greats//e2: In A Future Age/California Stars/Heavy Metal Drummer/Let’s Not Get Carried Away/Kingpin
Wilco//11-25-06//Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL//support: Califone, Bobb Bruno
Radio Cure/IATTBYH/Handshake Drugs/A Shot in the Arm/Impossible Germany/Poor Places/Shake It Off/She’s A Jar/Airline To Heaven/Jesus, etc./Side With The Seeds*/Forget The Flowers/Walken/Theologians/I’m The Man Who Loves You//e1: The Late Greats/Ashes of American Flags/Heavy Metal Drummer/Let’s Not Get Carried Away/Kingpin/Passenger Side//e2: Hummingbird
*—live debut
