From: owner-ecto-digest To: ecto-digest@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto-digest V2 #170 Reply-To: ecto@nsmx.rutgers.edu Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, 27 July 1995 Volume 02 : Number 170 The Ecto digest is now being generated automatically. Please send problems and questions to: ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "r. n. dominick" Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 10:49:21 -0400 (EDT) Subject: About PDQ... Vicki (hi!) said: > Does anyone know if there are any commercially released videos out there? > I have _The Abduction of Figaro_ (taped from TV years ago) and one or > two appearances by Schickele on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. > I'm sure there are lots of other things floating around. P. Schieckle did PDQ's "little bunny, hop hop hop" (they never said the real name of the piece, and I'd never heard it before) song on the late eighties resurrection of the Smothers Brothers' Show, along with a famous opera singer whom I had no idea who she was at the time. I've got it on tape (somewhere), along with the original "Frankenstein" (restored version) and my high-school english project video, "Rome Wars". Ah, memories... - -- http://w3.one.net/~cinnamon/ cinnamon@one.net ------------------------------ From: Michael Stevens Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 11:02:23 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: PDQ fans running silently away? > > PDQ Bach's "biographer," Peter Schickele, wrote the score for the > > Bruce Dern film _Silent Running_ (anyone remember that? about the > > orbiting greenhouses and the crazy guy who hijacked one of them > > when they were ordered destroyed and his cute little robot helpers > > Huey, Dewey and Louie?) > > I didn't know that. I remember seeing _Silent Running_ in my youth, > and thinking it was a sad movie. I haven't seen it since, so I might > have to rent it. > And don't forget that Joan Baez sings several longish songs, mixed pretty loud relative to the dialog. If you rent it, be prepared to frob the volume control at each end of a song. (You might also simply press MUTE, depending on how you feel about overdoses of vibrat-- er, trem-uhhhh, warble-iness. :-) ) Be seeing you. - --Michael ................................................................ "Ma-blu-ectric (ma-blu-ectric!) Ma-blu-ectric (ma-blu-ectric!)" Michael Stevens mjs@biostat.mc.duke.edu \ --Cocteau Twins ------------------------------ From: Neal Copperman Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 11:56:19 -0400 (EDT) Subject: ani in DC Hey everyone, I'm catching up on my backlog that built up while I was on the west coast. Thanks again to Michael Bowman and Neile and Jim for letting me stay with them in Portland and Seattle, and for showing me around town and bombarding me with books and music. As always, it was great fun to meet new ectophiles and visit with ones I'd met previously. Best tip I got while there came from college friends who took me waterskiing for the first time - "Let go of the rope when you crash" Oh, and I got to see an entertaining show by a (literally) feverish and only partially present Land of the Blind in Portland which definitley piqued my interest. Any band with a didgeridoo (sp?) player and inventive percussionists, who also cover Jane, Kate and the Eurythmics as well as playing original tunes, has got to be worth checking out. Too bad the 3rd female vocalist and extra percussionist were out sick when I saw them though. On the home front, I just bought 3 tix for me and friends to see ani difranco at the Lincoln Theater in DC on Friday, September 15. Tickets went on sale over the weekend, and are $17.50 plus $3.25 at your favorite (?) Ticketmaster outlet. For what it's worth, I grabbed the 3 middle seats out of row J (107-109), and the whole row was still available at the time, so if anyone else in the area is planning on going, rush out and get neighboring tickets. Neal ------------------------------ From: art@cs.sfu.ca Date: Thu, 27 Jul 95 10:22:58 PDT Subject: PDQ Bach Aaah... Bach! My PDQ fanatacism goes back to the mid 70's. I first saw Schickele and company perform "Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice", plus the other stuff from the Intimate album when I was living in beautiful Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. The show was fantastic! Since then, I've collected all the recordings plus the book and the video "The Abduction of Figaro", and have been a member of the fan club. I've seen him live a handful of times. The last time I saw the Professor was several years ago in Toronto. After the usual late arrival - he worries me with his bizarre entrances - he had a special bilingual treat for us: a translator who repeated his (English) remarks in English with a French accent. Lovely. A highlight of the show was an opera which he hasn't recorded yet - The Magic Bassoon. Very nice. I remember that he wanted to visit an oracle, but it was too far to Delphi, so he went to his local branch oracle. You could interact with the (mechanical) branch oracle if you had the appropriate card. After consulting the machine, he walked away from it, forgetting his card, and the machine beeped at him to remind him to retrieve the card. :) Over the course of the opera, the bassoon gradually disappeared until it was only a reed. Jeez, I've got to go listen to him now. Art ------------------------------ From: CBFK39B@prodigy.com (I GRAU) Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 14:14:06 EDT Subject: Lurker no more... I'm finally getting around to responding to some of this stuff, rather than just lurking and reading... Marisa wrote: >After listening to _Macalla_, I promptly went out and >bought everything of Clannad's I could get my hands on. Of course, being >a folkie myself, I like their earlier material better than their more >recent stuff, but I still love _Macalla_. WARNING: This is a good >"introductory" album for someone into mainstream music, but may be too >MOR for some seasoned ecto-ears! There's a Gaelic folk song, "Buachaill >an Eirne," another song in Gaelic which I'll call "the spooky one," since >I don't read Gaelic (it starts out the album). Then there are a lot of >rock n'roll tunes...those sounded like an Irish Fleetwood Mac on first >listen. Hope that helps! Hmmm...interesting comparison, Fleetwood Mac and all. I'm definitely going to have to keep my eyes out for Clannad. Unfortunately, the West coast doesn't seem to be as "up" on many of the new/unknown artists, which makes them difficult to find oftentimes. Took me 8 months to find all of Happy's CDs in the stores... Michal Doyle responded to the Top-40 issue with his ideas as far as sharing likes/new artists with the ignorant, as well as the hope that those we love who are in relative obscurity get to be known among the masses. I would tend to agree. I know that I've shared Happy, Julia Fordham, Loreena, and many others with friends and have converted many of them. Some of these artists aren't necessarily "obscure" (Tori and Sarah, for instance), but my friends aren't listening to the stations that play and promote them. (I tend to have very musically boring friends. :) ) So, yes, I do want others to share in my treasures, and if getting them played on mainstream radio stations will do that, all the better. Finally, if an artist being popular with the masses makes him/her less attractive, then it's the problem of the listener, not the artist. Along the same lines: From: Doug Mayo-Wells >reason number one is that if i *really* like something (not just music, >i also recommend films and books and art exhibits to anyone who shows >the least glimmer of interest) i think that other people will probably >find pleasure in it too, and i want to share it... Yes! >reason number two is that i like to support the arts...i think art >is what keeps the species sane, or reduces or insanity, or something. >part of doug's big list of attributes of a utopian society is that >people who are artists would just be *given* a place to live and >food and clothes and general stuff, so that they would be free to >create their art in the absence of any economic constraints. Doug, you might be interested in a book I just recently finished reading called THE FIFTH SACRED THING. Rather long to get into in describing here, but in there there IS a community (sort of a collective) which supports its citizens in that which they're best at, including musicians. Each citizen does work at something, but the musicians' work is making music, for which they're given a stipend to live on. Very interesting... From woj: >In the news department, the xtc tribute album, to which sarah >contributed a cover of "dear god" is moving along. This is really the only xtc song I know, but I've loved it from the first time I ever heard it. I tend to like songs that question the existence of God... :) From: "Matt Bittner" >Anyway, does anybody else listen to PDQ Bach? This stuff is too >great. I've only just discovered PDQ Bach with A LITTLE NIGHTMARE MUSIC (only because the "real" version is one of my favorite pieces) and just about died while listening. I've been reading voraciously all the notes from the others with regards to titles and skits--I'm going to definitely keep my eyes open for more of his stuff. Makes me wonder, however, if this doesn't mean that ectophiles might not be slightly demented...?? :) Irene ------------------------------ From: "Joseph Zitt" Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 13:51:13 +0000 Subject: Re: Seth theory On 27 Jul 95 at 10:17, awphili@xs4all.nl wrote: > Reality is defined as all that is. This is not a fixed concept, since > reality can change, obviously. For example, what you experience is part > of reality. > > Beliefs, because they are, are a part of reality. > > Therefore, changing beliefs changes reality. Hmm... Underwear is part of reality. Therefore... - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ==== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Organizer, SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List \|| |/ Online Representative, Austin International Poetry Festival \| / Joe Zitt's Home Page\ ------------------------------ From: awphili@xs4all.nl Date: Thu, 27 Jul 95 21:59:35 Subject: Re: Seth theory Joseph Zitt wrote: > On 27 Jul 95 at 10:17, awphili@xs4all.nl wrote: > > > Reality is defined as all that is. This is not a fixed concept, since > > reality can change, obviously. For example, what you experience is part > > of reality. > > > > Beliefs, because they are, are a part of reality. > > > > Therefore, changing beliefs changes reality. > > Hmm... Underwear is part of reality. Therefore... You'll need stronger underwear. 8-P Albert P.S. This was a Happy joke. :) - -- Albert W. Philipsen | "Your name is being called by sacred things United Mooseheads Inc. | That are not addressed nor listened to President | Sometimes they blow trumpets" -- Kate Bush ------------------------------ From: sheila@bgnet.bgsu.edu (Sheila Rieser) Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 15:21:32 -0400 Subject: Happily ignorant...not ignorant and happy >I hope I'm doing this right! I'm still looking for ANY info on how to get >Happy's CDs: "Rearmament" and "The Muse of Intent". If anyone has ANY info >on them PLEASE e-mail me at: >Bahb in LA@AOL.com THANKS!!!!! :-D This question brought me out of lurking mode to pose somthing similar. I joined the ecto list because I like most of the artists discussed on here - - Jane Siberry, Sarah McLachlan, etc. However, I have never heard Happy Rhodes on the radio or anywhere else and I have been unable to find *any* her CDs at my local stores. This is terrible considering that this list was initiated by *her* music! I'm sure I'm missing out on something great. Can anyone suggest where this lost soul can go to receive a Happy initiation? Sheila ------------------------------ From: "Matt Bittner" Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 15:40:42 -0500 Subject: Re: Lurker no more... On 27 Jul 95 at 14:14, I GRAU offered: > I've only just discovered PDQ Bach with A LITTLE NIGHTMARE MUSIC (only > because the "real" version is one of my favorite pieces) and just about > died while listening. I've been reading voraciously all the notes from the > others with regards to titles and skits--I'm going to definitely keep my > eyes open for more of his stuff. Makes me wonder, however, if this doesn't > mean that ectophiles might not be slightly demented...?? :) This brings up a good point. Anybody know of/have a discography? The only one's I know of are those that I have; which, if no one can supply a discography, then I'll add to one. Matt - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Matthew Bittner WW1 Modeler, ecto subscriber, new dad meba@cso.com Omaha, Nebraska "I don't know about you, miss kitty, but I'm feeling a whole lot yummier!" Catwoman, _Batman Returns_ - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ------------------------------ From: Richard Holmes Date: Thu, 27 Jul 95 14:36:57 -0700 Subject: Re: Lurker no more... Irene writes: Marisa wrote: >>After listening to _Macalla_, I promptly went out and >>bought everything of Clannad's I could get my hands on. Of course, >>being >>a folkie myself, I like their earlier material better than their more >>recent stuff, but I still love _Macalla_. WARNING: This is a good >>"introductory" album for someone into mainstream music, but may be >>too >>MOR for some seasoned ecto-ears! There's a Gaelic folk song, >>"Buachaill >>an Eirne," another song in Gaelic which I'll call "the spooky one," >>since >>I don't read Gaelic (it starts out the album). Then there are a lot >>of >>rock n'roll tunes...those sounded like an Irish Fleetwood Mac on >>first >>listen. Hope that helps! > >Hmmm...interesting comparison, Fleetwood Mac and all. I'm definitely >going to have to keep my eyes out for Clannad. Unfortunately, the West >coast doesn't seem to be as "up" on many of the new/unknown artists, >which makes them difficult to find oftentimes. Took me 8 months to >find all of Happy's CDs in the stores... I've not had too much trouble finding Clannad, or De Danann, but they tend to get shoved off into weird places by those stores that over-categorize... I've found them in pop/rock, folk, country, ethnic / foreign, to name a few... they are definitely here, tho, cuz I've even seen 'em at Blockbuster! - -Richard (BlueFire on #ecto) ------------------------------ From: sagetodd@postoffice.ptd.net (Sage Lunsford & Todd O'Reilly) Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 18:24:43 -0400 Subject: Re: Happily ignorant...not ignorant and happy Hi Sheila (and the rest of the world :) ) It's my Second Post to Ecto! Everybody duck! >Rhodes on the radio or anywhere else and I have been unable to find *any* >her CDs at my local stores. This is terrible considering that this list was >initiated by *her* music! I'm sure I'm missing out on something great. Can >anyone suggest where this lost soul can go to receive a Happy initiation? You might want to try the CD Connection, which is an online cd "store". You can telnet to cdconnection.com and go from there -- they have a search capability that allows you to search via artist, song, album title, etc. I looked up Happy Rhodes and came up with eight of her albums. Their prices are pretty decent too. Hope that's helpful, - -Sage (who is listening to Ani Difranco's song "You Had Time" for the 2,045 time and not even sniffling anymore) Obligatory disclaimer: I'm not involved with CD Connection beyond buying a couple of CDs from them. They have never offered me large sums of money to post nice messages about them. (Not that I'd object if they did *grin*) ------------------------------ From: Ulrich Grepel Date: Fri, 28 Jul 95 00:31:04 +0200 Subject: Re: ectopics Hi! Kevin and woj (happy birthday) discussed the differences between the German verbs 'kennen' and 'wissen'. Kevin's rule-of-thumb sounds good: 'know' followed by a noun translates to 'kennen', 'know' followed by a preposition translates to 'wissen'. Obviously, with all the games you can play with German word order, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find examples working the other way round. Actually, I don't find the difference itself hard to explain. Let's go: 'wissen' is for facts you have learned. Like in scholary knowledge. 'kennen' is for things (or people) you've met before. Like on parties ;-). Examples: Ich kenne Happy Rhodes. [I know Happy Rhodes.] Ich weiss, dass Happy Rhodes gute Musik macht. [I know (that) Happy Rhodes makes good music.] Ich weiss, dass du mich kennst. [I know that you know me.] Zu glauben ist nicht zu wissen. [To believe is not to know.] Now the counterexamples: Ich kenne, dass wisst Ihr genau, Happy Rhodes nicht persoenlich. [I do not, you do know that very well, know Happy Rhodes personally.] Bye, Uli - -- "Ein 32-Bit-Betriebssystem fuer uns?" - "Wozu? Wir haben doch zwei mit 16." [IBM ad promoting OS/2] "Bah, ich habe 4 mit 8!" [comment from Sven Wachter] ------------------------------ From: "Mitchell A. Pravatiner" Date: Thu, 27 Jul 95 19:29:41 EDT Subject: Stuff WRT Brad's query: Capitol has released a Joy of Cooking coompilation on CD, in their "American Originals" series. I used a track from in it in the intro sequence to last year's HBP. WRT Jessica's query on where else to look for a hard to find CD: Rose records in Chicago is said to be good for such things, and they have a toll free number: (800) 955-ROSE. NPR clains the Public Radio Music Source is also good for the purpose: (800) 75-MUSIC. WRT Peter Shickele (a soundbite and a song from whom I also used on the same HBP): He also did a western-themed classical album, whose name I forget; and conducted the orchestra for a Joan Baez album (not tongue in cheek that time). I forgot to mention yesterday: WRT Amy's vacation, delighted someone has found a 107-degree environment they like :-). Wonder if the Hoover Dam snackshop she visited was the same one where a scene in _North by Northwest_ took place. She may not have gotten to climb a nose on Mount Rushmore, but at least she wasn't buzzed by any biplanes in fields :-). Mitch ------------------------------ From: "JOHN SHEPARD (CALAMARI)" Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 20:03:50 -0500 Subject: Sarah McLachlan/Chieftains Indianapolis July 26 SPOILERS!!! From a message on 27-JUL-1995 16:51:11 Ahoy, mate! Thar be spoilers here! If you haven't yet seen a Sarah/Chieftains show yet, here's your last chance to bail. (What did Little Red Riding Hood say to the giant squid?) ("My, what big eyes you have!") OK, nuff spoiler space. This is being crossposted (spammed?) to fumbling-towards-ecstasy and ecto. It features some boring personal dreck, which some may find entertaining, and others can just hit pgdown. :-) I did finally go alone. Of my possibilities, two had cancelled out beforehand (one the night before the tickets went on sale, the other this Monday), at least two were unable to make short- notice schedule changes when I asked them (which is understandable), one doesn't even like Sarah McLachlan, and two others I did not want to take, because they were close to me when the "Forgive me" thing was happening, and I did not want to be reminded of that incident any more than necessary. I didn't feel bad about having the extra ticket, when I finally turned off HW38, and saw the string of sportscars, with football-player-looking guys waving handfuls of tickets (some of which looked fake). I shoulda rolled down the window and said, "Hey, I've already got one more than I need, and I bet my price is a helluva lot cheaper than yours!" In any case, Wednesday, July 26, 1995 was one of the most complex days of my life. I'm used to "simple" days, where I get up, go somewhere, come home, play Amiga or whatever, and go to bed. Concert days are, for me, always complex, feeling mentally like several days in one, but yesterday seemed more so than usual, because I was still actually planning the trip as of yesterday afternoon, wrt: who goes with me. So yesterday felt like, maybe ten or twelve days in one. And with some seven hours before I actually had to be anywhere, I did a lot of stuff I don't normally do. I made trips all over what seemed like southern Indiana; I went shopping, I re-read parts of "God Emperor of Dune," I defragged part of my hard drive, I finished homemade tape #85 (complete with Sarah's appearance on House of Blues), I put gas in the car, I drew a picture or two, I did some school paperwork, I read my email, I searched desperately for someone to take to the show, I went shopping some more, etc. The road between Greenwood and Noblesville probably counts for a day in itself; from 65 to 465 to 37, in weird multilane traffic. I'm used to driving, and in fact, it's often one of my major pastimes, due to the circumstance of living/working 24 miles from home. But the jerks who lay out these highways just don't have navigation in mind, do they? You're looking for the exit to get you to a town; you bypass an exit that you think isn't the one, because it doesn't mention the town name on the sign, then you look off some distance down that ramp you just passed, and you see a sign mentioning that town! Then you gotta go six more miles to find a place to turn around! Oh well. I was in no hurry. I was told to expect lousy things from Ron Sexsmith, so... amazingly enough I got there on time. :-) On the last stretch of road, hwy 69, I think, I had homemade #85 in the tape deck, sinking into the music, when a car gets in front of me. On its back bumper: "It's a child, not a choice." Argh. Not again. I was doing so good, not thinking about that little flamewar at all, and suddenly... never mind. Hard to believe, but I actually remember a time when I _wanted_ Sarah to be big and popular. Now, I'm aching for small theaters again, you know, the ones without the parking problems? The only thing worse than Deer Creek's crowd control must be Deer Creek's traffic control. Getting parked, in all honesty, wasn't that bad, although the walk to the pavillion was more than I'm used to. (I spend all day in front of a computer, sitting on my ass, remember? :> ) I found the multimedia stand, and played the usual game of Laugh Silently at the Pitiful Macs. Met a person from the list, though I have no idea who she was, and I doubt she was ever aware she was speaking to Squid. Y'know, the guy with the red hair, mustache and fresh goatee, who pointed out David Kershaw on the cd-rom to you when you asked? And from there, I was myself again, standing slightly apart from any gathering crowd, always 1/2 phase behind any existing conversation, unable to enter any without making a fool of myself, unable to stay in any for long because my brain just wasn't working fast enough (despite the caffeine). Met Jurgen, told him I was the Squid, to which he answered, "You look human to me." There's _one_ person at Nettwerk who doesn't yet know who the Squid is... :-) (fte-ers will no doubt imagine Jurgen casually telling Lane, "Some guy came to me and said 'I am the Squid,' any idea what he was talking about?" and Lane's ears blowing steam) Got consistently confused, as nobody was explaining the careful differences between the fte-list and the Nettwerk tour list. Finally I bailed. On the way to my seat, I passed the control board which is set up in the center of the pavillion, in the middle of the seating plan. And standing within the control section was a man who looked exactly like Ash Sood. Maybe I should have stopped. Then again, maybe I was better off not to. What would I have said? That was, in any case, the closest physical proximity I've ever been to a member of Sarah's band, for whatever that is worth in the general scheme of the universe. Found my seat. Hard right, maybe ten seats from the right wall, but closer than I expected, because section C is missing like the first five rows. Eventually made small talk with the folks who sat down beside me to the left (I reserved the one on the right for Valen's return); they'd come to see the Chieftains. I took out my sketchpad and tried to draw, finally got bored and put it away. Ron took the stage. The guy has promise, but frankly right now he sucks. There are those who like him, and he _does_ sound like Jackson Browne with a tinge of Roy Orbison, but between the bizarre Deer Creek acoustics (or lack thereof) and the not-yet- matured songs and the overall timbre of his voice, I just wasn't impressed. Plaid Descent, the band playing out front, were better, though I know some will disagree and be right - we're all entitled to our opinions, even though mine are the only ones that matter. :-) I gave up paying attention to Ron. Instead, I found myself watching a silvery shape moving in the darkness just behind the left stage curtain: someone in a silver dress dancing ethereally to the music. So Ron brings out Ash, Dave, and Brian to help him out on a song or two, and Ash is wearing the same clothes as his lookalike in the control booth - no surprise. And needless to say, the woman in silver is still dancing back there, up until Ron's last song. The guy from the couple next to me got up to get drinks, and I guess he visited Ron's booth, because he came back with a handful of tapes, one for everyone, and even gave me one. I may play it someday. :-) Sarah came out wearing - small wonder - a silver dress, the same one she wore last summer when I saw her in Cincinnati, the same one she wore on Conan O'Brian. Her hair was done in the usual style, no braids or ponytails or such. She was wearing sandals, instead of the boots she seems to wear virtually everywhere these days (can you tell I don't like the boots?). She sat down at the piano, and did "Possession," and suddenly, half the population of Indiana decided to find their seats. :-( No surprise, even after everyone had sat down, there were still large sections, maybe ten contiguous seats in a given row, sitting empty, which I presume those tickets were on Highway 37. Anyway, Sarah's voice seemed a bit rough; she kept taking drinks (and I'd already tried braving the lines at the drink counters), so every time she did, it made me thirsty. :-) But it would seem her voice is getting tired, and after almost two years on tour, whose wouldn't? Still, we said this after the last time she was in Indy, and ten days later she was in crystalline perfection in St. Louis. This is a transient thing, I suppose, sorta like my allergies where they're there one day and gone the next. I haven't said it before, but I'll say it again anyway: Deer Creek's sound sucks. Everything was clipping. It was all pouring together into the midrange until all the instruments sounded alike. It might have worked for Yes (to hide Tony Kaye's inability to play an instrument) but Sarah is a decidedly different creature musically. Re: the new version of "Path of Thorns", after three years, I'm finally beginning to like the song. Am I going nuts, or did anyone else, upon hearing the "Doots," have to shut off that voice in their head wanting to add "Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side"? Maybe Lane was right, I do need help. :-) The lighting along the backdrop, although static, was pretty; three broken beams shone almost parallel to the back curtain, putting me in the mind of sunlight peeking through curtains at sunrise, though it was already getting quite dark. "Ice Cream": as expected, it depressed me. The vacant seat to my right began to get mysteriously vacanter, if such a thing is possible. I noted the constant exchanges of looks between Sarah and David Kershaw, while singing, the sort of knowing looks that might be carrying telepathic exchanges of inside jokes. I think that display could bring the hammer down one more time on the stake in the heart of the annoying "Is Sarah a lesbian?" Longest Thread Ever hellspawn. And besides, in a twisted way, it's nice to know even if I don't have a special someone to share the evening, Sarah does. ("Too bad it's not me" - who said that?) "Plenty" started off with a somewhat cost-reduced redesign of the usual speech. When she got to the part about finding out the man was an asshole, some woman in the audience yelled out something like "Who needs 'em?" to which Sarah answers, "I do!" Crowd cheers. "I love men," she adds. "I love women too. I love people in general." Great: newsgroup fodder. (Which reminds me, I've gotta figure out a way to post this to the newsgroup!) The song began with the same acoustic guitar intro as on the first parts of the tour, but where I was used to the goose- bump-generating shift to rock motif, it shifted only to a slightly more uptempo acoustic-pop deal. As I'd been complaining since April, once you're used to the incredible energy from the full performance, "unplugged" stuff like this just don't get down and boogie like it should, for me anyway. That fateful day has arrived: I've burned myself out on Sarah concerts. "Mary" was the expected jam, with extended solos and exhibitionism from the band, including Sarah and David rubbing their butts together (have we seen enough proof that Sarah and David are the item?). Entertaining, though I'm embarassed to say I can't remember much of it. "Full of Grace" really made more sense with the earlier lyrics. And the 'winter' lines could not have been less appropriate after what the midwest has been through the last few weeks (and Sarah commented on the weather we've been having). But I actually took note of the melody this time, and noticed that - whoa, imagine that - I _like_ the thing! I'm anxiously waiting for it to be released. "Elsewhere" the intro was both fascinating and amusing. She described taking too much Contac, plus some codeine and Tylenol, and then having what she called an "out of body experience," and she said to herself, "I haven't felt this good in a long time!" This, as expected, brought cheers from the season ticket- holders. :-) She said she wrote the song partially to figure out what it was about that experience that made her feel so good, besides the Contac. Having experienced this many times myself, with no chemicals, I can tell her staying awake for 42 hours will do it, as will a sugar high if you're not used to it, or basically lying alone on the threshold between wake and sleep, where the chemicals in your mind that produce dreams are already being made, and gravity begins to lose its grip on you. My guess though, or rather my hope, is that she'll continue to explore that event, and derive more musical inspiration from it, and perhaps someday others like it (substance-free). I think this was the one where Paddy from the Chieftains came out to help with the whistle. I honestly could not hear the whistle, courtesy the talented sound engineers. I couldn't hear hardly _any_ of the instruments distinctly. What'd I miss? Oh yeah: "Hold on." By this time, I'm sorry to say, I was beginning to slip. The day had taken too much out of me; I paid attention to little of the song. But the biggest reason I was ignoring the song, was that Deer Creek's sound sucks. They just haven't invented the live sound rig that can handle her doing that song. "Ice," they brought out the melodica again. I really missed the sound of that thing; Dave had it in Chicago and Cincinnati, but not since then. The rest of the song was suitably eerie, slightly crazed (an interpretation I'd posted once, wrt: the version on Freedom Sessions, and although this version is slower, more like what's on the album, it still has undertones of insanity), and the lighting was beautifully evil: lots of purple and green (Drazi?) slowly shifting, and all the while Sarah kept singing, unaware of her color changes, another phenomenon from Chicago, April '94, that I had almost forgotten. I think this is the other one where they had help from a Chieftain: one of the violinists. I think. I've slept since then, ya know. These have all been out of order, BTW. So she leaves, and I start to head for the drink stand to try again. But the lights don't come up. I'm thinking, "She's done all the major songs off Fumbling, what's left to do?" She comes back out and does "Good Enough." I nearly laughed myself out of my seat when I realized my self-fulfilling prophecy: the only really forgettable song Sarah's ever done, in my opinion, and sure enough, I forgot it. :-) The intro, as always, makes for great newsgroup fodder, I don't remember much of it, but I know there were a lot of women on the far side of the venue cheering. As always, the song bored me. Go ahead and blast me for it. Thematically, the song doesn't do much for me, mostly because I'm not female, at least not usually, and musically, the song lacks a lot of the compositional elements that make Sarah's songs stand out. I may consider the song forgettable, but unfortunately, Sarah doesn't; she doesn't ever get tired of it, though I did a long time ago. Sigh. I suppose we can't always expect musicians to produce music we'll love 100% of the time, can we? :-) I finally got my drink. They didn't have Pepsi; I would up with a Coke instead, at a price even ESCOM would have cringed at: $2.25 for a small. Urgh. Small, you ask? Of course, small! I didn't want to have to make any trips to the restrooms! Then the Chieftains arrive. Paddy takes center stage and rambles incoherently for several seconds, then looks around, and says, "Oh, excuse me," and begins speaking. I like these guys already. After the first song, the couple beside me turn to me and ask, " Do you have any Irish blood in you?" I pointed to my red hair and said, "Of course! This had to come from somewhere." Then I added, "Besides, everyone is Irish." It's true: that music strikes something universal, and no matter who you are, which lands run through your blood, whether any of your ancestors even knew where Ireland was, you _will_ feel that music in your soul, and you _will_ try to dance. The jig is part of human DNA; one does not "learn" the jig, one merely "remembers." :-) Of course, some remember better than others. :-) While Sarah's set (and I'm gonna get it for this) ranged from good to boring, the Chieftains really stole the trophy and danced in victory, a jig no less. Those guys (particularly Paddy and the harpist, the one who looks sorta like Calvert Deforest) have so much personality, often acting as if they aren't aware they're in front of several thousand people. It's utterly hilarious, and utterly entertaining. Between Paddy's mock modesty, and the harpist's hamming it up (sorta like David Kershaw), ne'er a dull moment there be. Oh, and did I mention these guys can play? And play they did. These men were performing riffs, melodies, and structures that were centuries old, and yet you'd never know. Amazing sometimes how much of what we listen to as ectofolk is descended from the Isles. So then they did a medley of stuff from the album. I heard a Rolling Stones song in there; there was Van Morrison in there; there were a number of delightful Irish ditties I didn't even recognize. They did "Cotton Eyed Joe," and during it, several audience members actually stood up and danced at their seats. I wanted to, but didn't have the backbone (nor does any squid). One of the violinists did Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel." Of course, _all_ the members took turns soloing. They brought out a guy from Spain who plays a Spanish variant of bagpipes. That guy was proof that everyone is Irish. Awesome. They brought out a violinist. The guy was young, probably the Chieftains had been together since before this guy was born; his head was stubble, he looked as if he might have worked at a record store in Bloomington as recently as that morning. But he takes center stage, and from the moment that bow hit the strings, he never looked back. Not only was he playing with power, sending flames and sparks shooting off the bow, but halfway through his song, he started to jig! And good too. More solos, etc. The big moment: Sarah and Ash return to the stage for "Foggy Dew." Urg I hate the sound at Deer Creek. Having been listening to the audio from House of Blues earlier, and in mono on my car tape player it sounds bad, I was profoundly disappointed by the murky sound. I also thought the tempo had been slowed considerably; emotional, I suppose, but damn annoying for those who're used to a faster version, and are sitting there with time to impatiently wait for the next note. Sarah was at the soul- wrenching top of her form, at least as could be, given the rough sound of her voice that night. One outstanding remark is that the combination of the bodran player and Ash on the kit made the earth literally shake. I suspect the paint on the brand-new fence (the Jerry Garcia Memorial Fence) was peeling off from the sound of those drumbeats. Intense. Now, let's recap: I spent $60+ on two tickets and only used one. I lost my job the night after buying those tickets. Twice, I had people cancel out at the last minute. I spent a day racing all over friggin' Jackson County looking for someone to take. I'd spent days on FTE bitching about the very idea that Sarah might play a large venue. I spent a couple hours on the wonderful highways of Indiana. In all, quite a high price to pay, mentally and financially. Was it worth it? The finale. The Chieftains are joined at the end by the bagpiper and the fiddler, plus Ron Sexsmith, plus Sarah and Ash. And it becomes an all-out freeforall jam that would put any rock awards show to shame. Watching that fiddler nearly get run over by the jigdancers; watching various members of the supergroup take solos; watching members of the audience (including some squid- looking fellow) actually get up and dance like fools; watching Sarah onstage also attempt (and fail) to dance a jig. Okay, so maybe it was worth it. So Sarah and the bodran player (what the hell's his name again?) take two mikes and do that "will you marry me marry me marry me?" thing. I've always known Sarah isn't exactly used to singing at that kind of speed, but yet she made it work anyway, and it was beautiful. Not a single note she made during that interlude fell below, let's say, two octaves above middle C. _Now_ it's worth it. But the jam ain't over! There are more jigs, more solos, more jams. Then suddenly the guest violinist makes the damn thing talk: "Ah ah ah ah stayin' alive..." The $60 concert is becoming a bargain quite rapidly. More jigs, more solos, more jams, more slower interludes, another round of "marry me"s, the dancers come back out, etc. etc. Sarah attempts (and fails) more jigs, as do I. At one point, I notice she's doing many of the same moves I am, and I finally realize that, since I haven't had any dancing skills in years, I've basically learned to dance by watching her. Difference is, she looks beautiful when she screws up dancing, while I just look like an idiot, which I do all the time anyway. And finally the band leaves. Into this night I wandered, finally aware again (for the first time since Ice Cream) that I had come to the show alone. I had a jig permanently stuck in my head; when I spoke to anyone, I had to make a conscious effort not to speak in brogue. I was going the wrong way; the multimedia thing was on the other side of the thing. I did head back that way, for one final round of the popular game "Let's Laugh At the Macintoshes." And finally I headed for the gates. I knew there was no chance I'd meet Sarah at this gig. Before the show, someone emailed me and asked if I knew a way to meet Sarah backstage at Deer Creek. Well, the amphitheater and service areas are built in a circle; _everywhere_ at Deer Creek is backstage. "Backstage" is in the center, and I have no idea how they get in or out, unless there's a concourse level or something. Anyway, no big loss. I don't need to meet some Canadian singer. I need to meet someone local, someone who might actually give a damn that I exist, someone who doesn't already have a sharp-dressing boyfriend like David Kershaw, someone who isn't on the road touring for two years at a a time. Whoa, stunning realization there, Squid. The conclusion? When I was inside the amphitheater, music playing, that empty seat meant nothing. My reality was saturated. I was perfectly happy and then some. When I was dancing like a goofball at my seat, my legs didn't hurt; when I was clapping along, my hands weren't hurting. Ironically enough, with melancholy Irish ballads filling me, I didn't notice the empty seat beside me. But I got in the car, I turn to say "What a great show!" to the person next to me, and realize, hey, there's no person next to me. There's that sinking feeling. In the end, I must say that Sarah's set was not entirely up to my expectations, and it's no one's fault but my own. I've overdosed on Sarah, to the point where stuff that once would have sent me flying no longer does; this makes the fifth Sarah concert for me since April '94. There's nothing new to be seen, and the old stuff just doesn't do it anymore. I'm depressed and ashamed of this, as if I've eaten too much candy and now am sick. This is a transient thing; by the next tour, in 1996 or 1997 if all goes well, I'll be starving for more Sarah concerts like a vampire for blood. It happened like I feared it would: I went to so many Sarah concerts it became routine, even boring. And while it's unlikely she'll return to this locale anytime this year, if she does, I'd do well to skip it, and let the hunger in me build again. But other than that, it was a great concert. :-) Questions list: o Who was the lurker from the list I met at the multimedia tent? o When that guy gave something to Sarah and she held his hand, what did he give her? o Was Sarah aware we could see her dancing? o Who was that person who screamed as if in pain? o Is Ticketmaster now a Coca-Cola distributor? o What were those spinning yellow things on stage? o What was with the skylights? Were they trying to signal Batman? And it's worth noting this concert is one of the few this season at Deer Creek which had _no_ crowd control problems. To my knowledge, there were no injries (except a few hearts), no riots, no arrests, and no property damage. Well, that's it for now. Indyvax has just slowed to the pace of a frozen snail, as if to tell me I'm breaking its back. So... anyway. Catchal8r. | http://www.columbus.iupui.edu/~jrshepar | IUPU Columbus, Indiana | |John Shepard jrshepar@indyvax.iupui.edu I wanna go to a real school someday! | | Internet is too important to be taken seriously. | Artist, writer, net.loon | | Amiga owner & Sarah McLachlan fan: God help me! |in the making. Finger me &| |"Enrich the soil, no soul no soul" Sarah McLachlan| tell me that you love me.| ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V2 #170 ************************** ======================================================================== Please send any questions or comments about the list to ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu