Hammond and Harmonica

Posted on June 15, 2003 by Goat

John Hammond’s performance as the opening act for the Blind Boys of Alabama was good. But while I was watching him play, there were certain things I noticed; I’ve decided address them directly to him:

You play a mean guitar… by that I mean that you can play fast, complex and accurately… but the blues don’t respond well to being rushed. They’re meant to be felt and savored… and they need to make the audience empathize with the pain of the song.

I believe that you feel a lot of the blues as you play them. But the speed of your emotion (if there is any such thing) exceeds that of the audience’s emotion. You’re off in your world, feeling the blues, as they watch and listen and are left in the concert hall. I believe there’s some adage about performance that says it must be larger than life– exaggerated to some degree– so that it can be perceived by the largest number of people in the audience. I’m not talking about “dumbing it down”– just that the speed of the performer’s mind and emotion far exceeds that of the audience. Don’t leave ‘em in the dust.

And the harmonica… dude, can’t you just have somebody up there to play the harmonica, while you play the guitar really well? I don’t need to see you wheezing out an oral sex session with a harmonica mount around your neck… I’d rather concentrate on listening to you play the instrument with which you’re truly skilled…

And you don’t need to play the classic blues, either… when you played that Tom Waits song, everything in your performance (even the silly harmonica) seemed to converge to “just right”. To your credit, before this performance, I’d never connected Tom Waits directly to the blues… and your performance illustrated that connection. But somehow I got the feeling that you were “into” the song, and although you “felt” the other songs, they didn’t fit your performace as well as that song.

P.S. If the headline act is expecting you to play on stage with them, you really ought to come out and join them when they ask you to… otherwise– no matter what the real situation/extenuating circumstances are– you end up being perceived as an ungrateful prick. Just so you know.

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What I’m Listening To These Days

Posted on June 12, 2003 by Frog

We went to see The Blind Boys of Alabama with John Hammond at the Carpenter Center tonight. Much to our surprise our seats were the front row–we could touch the stage. John Hammond opened and he’s a very talented guitar player. He also played the harmonica and I don’t know if it is because we were right there or what but I wish he hadn’t played the harmonica. It looked like he was eating the thing. The better half thought the sound/playing was off…it was a little too visceral for me.

The Blind Boys, however, rocked. They were outstanding. Jimmy Carter is the smallest and most delicate man but with a huge voice. He brought the house down or up–everyone was standing–he came off the stage and whipped everyone into a frenzy. I had no idea old men singing gospel could be so terrific.

Here’s what else is going on musically…

Here’s a decent article on The Thorns (my new boyfriends). I am really enjoying the album and, if it is possible, I’m trying to wear a hole in the CD. There’s even a Jayhawks cover–what could be better?

Something else I’ve been listening to is the new Lucinda Williams CD World without Tears. She rocks. I really love “Righteously”, but I also find myself drawn to “Sweet Side” and “Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings” (that’s a mouthful). The other night I pulled into the driveway and refused to get out of the car until “Essence” was finished (from her Essence album). What’s a girl supposed to do? Jump out of the car instead of finishing singing (even if it is poorly) at the top of her lungs-doubtful.

The better half’s friend gave him a copy of Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and that is wonderfully haunting and what a shame that he offed himself shortly after recording….of course that was years and years ago so I shouldn’t start wearing the black now.

Hem-Rabbit Songs is another CD that I recommend. I really seem to be on an introspective/mellow listening track these days. Probably because I didn’t get A3′s La Peste for my birthday. I love that song “Too Sick to Pray”. And, there really is no excuse for me not running to the store for it.

We’re scheduled to see Buddy Guy and Los Lobos next Friday at Wolf Trap. Yes, we drive to Northern Virginia for shows. We’ve already bought tickets for the Tracy Chapman/Joseph Arthur show there in July. The Indigo Girls are appearing there in August and we may go to that show as well. Have I mentioned that there aren’t that many outdoor concerts in Richmond? What do we expect–radio stinks in this town and so does the city’s mindset on anything that may draw people to downtown, this in spite of the huge new convention center. One day I’ll be installing Satellite Radio in my car, I’m sure. We already listen to Music Choice constantly at home and that introduces us to tons of songs we’d never hear on regular radio. So, until the installation of Satellite Radio, the radio will be on the local NPR station and the CD player will be spinning.

Posted in Listening | 1 Comment

Getting Away with It

Posted on June 11, 2003 by Frog

I was driving home from the dentist thoroughly enjoying my clean teeth when I saw a high school kid driving a low rider. He looked like he was smoking (it will stunt your growth kid) and for some reason I wondered if the cigarette was a regular tobacco product or if he was smoking pot. Then I leapt to an incident that happened when I first started school. Some kids TP’d the neighborhood and my parents said I should keep my ears open on the school bus so I could find out who did it. My parents said “people like to brag” and that the truth would come out. My thought on that is if you don’t brag you may not get caught and then you can continue to do whatever you want. That’s what I thought about that kid in the car. Whatever he’s smoking he’s not supposed to be doing it but if he’s not bragging about it then he won’t get caught…ok, maybe he will when he walks into his house smelling like Philip Morris (oh, excuse me, Altria–what a stupid name).

I, apparently, don’t have enough to do.

We’re going to the Houndstooth tonight for dinner. They have outstanding BBQ.

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Rain, Rain on My Face

Posted on June 4, 2003 by Frog

Guess what? That’s right it is raining again. I’m sure everyone is sick of the rain and the whining about the rain. I know I am.

Luckily there was dryness on Monday and I was able to cut the grass. Our great yard project seems to be a success–no doubt due to the huge amount of rain we’ve had.

On Tuesday morning the better half put down two bags of grass seed in all the bare patches where grass didn’t sprout the first time or it came up too weak. I realize that we’re pushing the envelope on when grass seed will actually germinate and then take root but it is just too darn hard to pass up all the rain action.

On Sunday night we decided to put out some bait (a piece of week-old kielbasa) to see if I can finally get a clear picture of the grey fox that visits our backyard. I’ve taken one picture so far and I’m afraid that the level of light will make it very hard to figure out there’s a fox in the picture (I didn’t use the digital camera because instead of an actual zoom lens there’s just laughing when I press that button). Daggone if I didn’t put the camera away just in time to have another fox walk right by the porch…I could have spit on that fox. So, we either have a family of foxes or we will soon have a turf war going on.

We’re having take-out BBQ tonight for dinner. I am thrilled. If you are ever in Ashland, VA, check out Virginia Barbeque Co. on England Street.

Posted in General Spleen Venting | Comments Off

Greek Festival Weekend

Posted on May 29, 2003 by Frog

This weekend is the Greek Festival. Thank heavens for the Greeks.

Here’s the lowdown:
Thursday: the Greek Festival opened at 11am.
We were there for lunch at 11:15am. No lines, drizzle falling. 2 gyros, 4 spanakopita, 2 orders of yahni–really good this time, 2 orders of grape leaves and two very full people.
Friday:We walked over to the festival today (sunny!) and here’s what we ate: 2 moussaka, 1 souvlaki, 1 tiropita, 1 spanakopita, 1 order of grape leaves, 1 order of smelts, 1 order of calamari, 2 orders of yahni, 2 orders of rice pilaf and a bottle of red wine. Delicious.
Saturday: Had veal chops at home instead.
Sunday: Met our friend C. at 1pm and headed over to the last day of the Festival. We had 3 orders of the yahni and rice pilaf, soulvaki, 1 spanakopita, 1 triopita, 1 pastichio, 1 Galatoboureko and 1 order of Loukoumades. Delicious. The sun was out and so were tons of people.

Posted in Eating | 1 Comment

Yes, Virginia there is a right way

Posted on May 29, 2003 by Frog

The other day I was on my way to work and I was behind another one of those idiots who doesn’t understand the whole concept of Month vs. Year. In the good old Commonwealth of Virginia when you get a new license plate you have to put your month and year sticker on the plate…the plate is printed with the correct locations so you can’t mess it up. Every anniversary afterwards you put new stickers on. It is not a difficult concept. So, why, oh why, can’t people do this correctly? The latest idiot had 03 in his Month spot and 02 in his Year spot. In case you are rooting for the idiot, the 03 does not mean March it means 2003. My thought on this is if that idiot can’t even do something as simple as apply stickers to his license plate then how in the world did he pass his driver’s test–the written part? Couldn’t he have asked a friend, neighbor or even his dog for help in applying those stickers?

I will say this for the idiot, at least he figured out how to remove his old county sticker instead of letting those pile up on his windshield.

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Memorial Day

Posted on May 26, 2003 by Frog

Last night the better half suggested that we go to Anthony’s for a pizza, some salads and iced teas. It sounded like an excellent idea. Anthony’s has been a pizza choice for years. I used to go there when I was a kid and it was the closest pizza place. That was before everyone and their great aunt Bertha moved to town. The shopping center where Anthony’s is a fixture is a laugh. It is really just a bunch of blacktop that no one seems to want to spend the dime and plow under. A few years ago one of the buildings was condemned and had to be torn down…there’s just gravel there now.

The pizza was good and we had two slices to take home for lunch today. Before we left we talked to the waitress who said she thought the sky looked scary. (If you live on the East Coast then you know it has done nothing but rain this month). It was raining when we raced out to the truck and because it has been raining so much lately there really wasn’t a place for the water to go so we had to jump over a pretty good stream to get from the asphalt to the curb and into the truck. On our way home we had to cross the Chickahominy River (which is really just a swamp at that point). The rain was coming down so hard we could hardly see and the right lane (the closest to the swamp and the storm drains) was so full of water that I’m glad we had the truck and not my car. We eventually had to get out of the right lane because the water was so high. Water was flowing so quickly that it was bypassing the storm drains and creating eddies. If I were 6 inches tall I could have launched my boat and sailed for miles.

We’ve been talking about sleeping on our screened porch for weeks now…kind of like camping out but without the bugs, damp ground and a tent. We decided to go ahead and do it last night. We pulled the mattress off the futon and put it out on the porch. We made sure the mattress was as close to the house as possible since occasionally if it rains really hard water streams into the porch. At about 10:30 we decided to turn in. Everything was groovy, but a little louder (the crickets, the wind and the frogs) than we’re accustomed to even though we sleep with the windows open every chance we get. I was having a hard time getting to sleep but then the thunderstorms happened. I guess it heavily stormed for about 2 hours. Lightning, Thunder and huge rain fall. It was loud and scary and cool.

I checked rain totals for the month, unfortunately I slept too late to see the local news (to get the daily total), and we’re just under 7 inches of rain. I guess Mother Nature is trying to balance herself after the drought we experienced last year. The creepy thing about all the rain last night is that our well water is brown…we have a long deep well but I guess the water table is out of whack.

The sun is out right this second. I’m sure that will change in the next second.

Posted in General Spleen Venting | Comments Off

First Entry

Posted on May 24, 2003 by Frog

I’ve just spent the day riding around in the car and shopping. What is wrong with people?

On the excellent side of things, my friend S. from Germany called me today. I haven’t talked to her since 1997 when we were there. It was very cool to hear from her…there’s only so much you can convey in email.

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