From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V4 #156 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, May 18 1998 Volume 04 : Number 156 Today's Subjects: ----------------- The Connecticut Ballet goes ecto [meredith ] Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) [woj ] Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) [Neile Graham ] Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) [Richard ] It was true [Steve VanDevender ] 2 questions [Ariana@excelsior.net] Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) [Neile Graham ] Re: 2 questions ["Bill" ] Chat reminder :) [meredith ] Tori in Borders [cjmacs ] Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine [kerry white ] Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) [Joseph Zitt ] Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) [Riphug ] Chantal Whatshername [Richard ] Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine [Richard ] Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine ["Jeffrey C. Burka" ] Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine [Riphug ] Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine [Neal Copperman ] duh [dave ] just in case any of you are interested.. [dave ] re: Goldie [Neal Copperman ] Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine ["Bill" ] Re: Concert Reviews (Bittova, Cole, HErsh) [Neal Copperman ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 02:02:04 -0400 From: meredith Subject: The Connecticut Ballet goes ecto Hi! While Joe Zitt was having a religious experience thanks to Iva Bittova (whose name, btw, I always assumed is pronounced EYE-va bit-TOV-a, am I right?), I attended the Connecticut Ballet's world premiere of their interpretation of "Romeo and Juliet". I think the best word to describe it would be "surreal". :) Prokofiev's score was interspersed with the songs of contemporary singer/songwriters, and the entire production was staged to take place in "any modern American city". To be honest, sometimes it reminded me of "Grease" (which considering it was a ballet is probably pretty frightening). Some of the concepts were pretty cool, though: the Capulets and Montagues were portrayed as rival gang members, as well as opposing basketball teams: the big fight between them was "the big game", complete with basketball hoops and shots taken (but only one was made :). The songs provided the music only in Juliet's room and the motel room where R&J consummated their marriage, and the transitions between them and the Prokofiev weren't too jarring. With the exception of one song by Veda Hille, all of the music was pre-recorded. The songs were, in this order: Act I - -- Ani DiFranco, "Not A Pretty Girl" (2nd scene, in Juliet's room - our introduction to Juliet) - -- Dar Williams, "If I Wrote You" (5th scene, after "the big game", again in Juliet's room, with her friends) Act II - -- Dar Williams, "Teenagers, Kick Our Butts" (1st scene, at the school dance - during this scene Veda sat in the back on the bleachers with her guitar, trying to blend in :) - -- Veda, "Seasoned" (performed live, while the kids at the dance, sitting on the floor, "slow-danced" and R&J came onstage to dance halfway through) - -- Bruce Springsteen (not sure which song - 4th scene, in the motel) - -- Ani DiFranco, "Sorry I Am" (the last half of the song, in Juliet's room while Romeo tried to apologize to her - not sure for what, I was *completely* lost by this point because the ballet wasn't synching up with Shakespeare very well) - -- Sarah McLachlan, "Hold On" (the Freedom Sessions piano version - in Juliet's room, before and while she commits suicide) All in all, it was pretty weird, and not very successfully staged. The first act was definitely much better than the second. The set was really amateurish, the costumes didn't make much sense, and Veda wasn't very well-lit at all. She sounded great, though! I freely admit that I don't know jack about ballet, but Hillary, whom I ran into there stated that only Juliet was any good as a dancer. I don't think the choreography was all that great - sometimes it all seemed to be one big muddle. One amusing thing, though, was during the consummation scene there was a big-screen television on one side of the stage showing a bit from the Leonardo DiCaprio/Clare Danes _Romeo and Juliet_ movie. :) It took me a minute to figure out what it was (they were in a pool, and from the 10th row of the balcony it looked a *lot* like the infamous Xena and Gabrielle hot tub scene, which would have been even more hilarious). Once I determined what it was, I still had to squelch memories of a college production of Sartre's _No Exit_, in which televisions on either side of the stage showed nothing but the opening credits to several "Love Boat" episodes for the duration of the play. Anyway. It was definitely interesting, if nothing else, and I think Veda won some new fans, at least. I'm sure she's convinced I'm certifiably insane for going, but hey. :) I can't just sit home on a Saturday night! +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | "things are more beautiful when they're obscure" -- veda hille | | *** TRAJECTORY: the Veda Hille mailing list *** | | *** http://www.smoe.org/meth/trajectory.html *** | +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 07:53:39 -0400 From: woj Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) Joseph S. Zitt wrote: >BTW, *if* the Knitting Factory decides to turn on its RealAudio cam >Tuesday night, she'll be Webcast live at 8 PM EDT. hmmm. katell keineg goes on at 9pm at mercury lounge with an opener. hmmm. i already feel bad about blowing off troka (excellent scandinavian trad folk band) this past monday. i don't need to be functional on wednesday, do i? ;) by the way, the knitting factory page makes mention of a "self-titled debut" by iva bittova. must find... +w n.p. my crying nephews ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 19:20:58 -0500 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) woj wrote: >by the way, the knitting factory page makes mention of a "self-titled >debut" by iva bittova. must find... It's on Nonesuch, so should be available, though it is hard to categorize and you might be best to ask a knowledgeable employee--that's what I finally had to do after browsing unsuccessfully. - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 20:41:46 -0500 From: Richard Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) I just kinda assumed EYE-va... But what I *really* want to know is how does one pronounce "Kreviazuk"? Also, I have what I assume is the deluxe paperboard-cover version of Kristin Hersh's _Hips And Makers_ in which the lyrics and credits are printed on separate cardstock inserts, and of course, the previous owner apparently lost the card that contains the credits, so..... Anyone know who that is singing male vocal accompaniment on _Your Ghost_? Thanks in advance, r - -- n.p. _The Best of Eliot Fisk_ n.r. Sundry tech manuals... bleahhhh ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 18:04:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Steve VanDevender Subject: It was true My friend really did obtain a "for promotional use only" copy of _Many Worlds Are Born Tonight_ through a record store. For a variety of reasons I think it would be inappropriate of me to leak any details about the album before its official release, especially when few, if any, other people will be able to hear it before then. I didn't at all mean to tease anyone by sending last Saturday's message or this one. Please don't ask me to make copies -- I'm not even going to make a copy for myself. I'm definitely awaiting August 11 as anxiously (if not more so) as everyone else here. ------------------------------ Date: 17 May 1998 21:19:24 EDT From: Ariana@excelsior.net Subject: 2 questions 1. Does anyone have the song listings to the album "Breed" by Lauren Christy. I have a promo which does not list the songs. 2. Does anyone know anything about a magazine called "Paper". I got an offer in the mail for it. I never heard of it before but it looks interesting. Thanks, Melissa ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 20:27:45 -0500 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) Richard wrote: >I just kinda assumed EYE-va... From the review of the disc that was on All Things Considered about two months ago I vaguely remember that it's EVE-a but I don't remember how her last name was pronounced, only that I know I'd never remember. >Also, I have what I assume is the deluxe paperboard-cover version of >Kristin Hersh's _Hips And Makers_ in which the lyrics and credits are >printed on separate cardstock inserts, and of course, the previous owner >apparently lost the card that contains the credits, so..... Anyone know >who that is singing male vocal accompaniment on _Your Ghost_? Michael Stipes of REM. - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 18:34:26 -0700 From: "Bill" Subject: Re: 2 questions >1. Does anyone have the song listings to the album "Breed" by Lauren >Christy. I have a promo which does not list the songs. lauren christy -- breed Mercury Records -- 134 534 876-2 01. breed 3:05 02. i want what i want 4:02 03. magazine 3:28 04. you make me laugh 3:32 05. 25 back then 3:28 06. boomerang bang 4:05 07. burn 3:10 08. letterbomb 4:06 09. could've been 3:46 10. the night i saved peter ustinov 3:58 11. breed (coda) 2:30 - - Bill. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 22:07:17 -0400 From: meredith Subject: Chat reminder :) Hi! Just a quick reminder about the online chat with Veda tomorrow (Monday) night at 10:00 pm Eastern time at Yahoo!. Hope to see a bunch of you there... directions can be found at . +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | "things are more beautiful when they're obscure" -- veda hille | | *** TRAJECTORY: the Veda Hille mailing list *** | | *** http://www.smoe.org/meth/trajectory.html *** | +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 98 10:28:41 -0400 From: cjmacs Subject: Tori in Borders Hello all! Philip David Morgan wrote: >but I know that the music >department at my local Borders, savvy as they may be on Tori Amos, could >benefit >from some adds to their in-store collection.... As an interesting side note to this, Joe (who is the manager of the music/video department at Borders in Mt. Kisco NY) received a letter from upper management the other day asking him to refrain from playing Tori Amos in the store! Seems that a customer complained when she heard the word "fucking" while shopping! *GASP!* Chuck "Bouvier....is that french for virgin?" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 17:12:06 -0500 (CDT) From: kerry white Subject: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine Hi, inside the cover page, a question was asked about "I will remember you" as it related to the TV movie, My Sergei. Answer:"...composed and performed by Canadian pop diva Sarah McLachlan, 30. ...for The Brothers McMullen...also on Women In Song...only available in Canada. Incidently, McLachlan's music video for "I will remember you" cost $60,000 to produce--three times more than The Brothers MacMullen." Apparently, they did not know that "IWRY" is the only B-side to the single (Umm, at work now..the something Mystery 'hit') which I got only for "IWRY". bye, Kerry R White ............................... ............................. zzkwhite@washburn.edu KTWU PBS TV kerrywhite@webtv.net Topeka KS KrW Hark! What rock through yonder window breaks? Bah! Tis that Juliet and her catapult!! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 20:14:49 -0400 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) woj wrote: > by the way, the knitting factory page makes mention of a "self-titled > debut" by iva bittova. must find... It's on Nonesuch, a compilation of tracks from two imported albums. It should be widely available; Borders near me had it in the classical listening station. - -- - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 19:44:52 -0700 From: "Bill" Subject: Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine On 98/05/17, at 7:37 PM, kerry white wrote: >Hi, inside the cover page, a question was asked about "I will remember >you" as it related to the TV movie, My Sergei. Answer:"...composed and >performed by Canadian pop diva Sarah McLachlan, 30. ...for The Brothers >McMullen...also on Women In Song...only available in Canada. Incidently, >McLachlan's music video for "I will remember you" cost $60,000 to >produce--three times more than The Brothers MacMullen." > Apparently, they did not know that "IWRY" is the only B-side to the >single (Umm, at work now..the something Mystery 'hit') which I got only >for "IWRY". bye, Maybe what they meant was that "I will remember you" is on the "Rarities, B-Sides, and Other Stuff" disc, a disc which, as far as I know, is only available in Canada. Of course, I have a copy of the disc. :) - - Bill. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 23:10:47 EDT From: Riphug Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) In a message dated 5/17/98 8:54:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time, rkonrad@javanet.com writes: << I just kinda assumed EYE-va... But what I *really* want to know is how does one pronounce "Kreviazuk"? >> I've always pronounced it KREH-vee-uh-zuk........hope I haven't been embarrassing myself all along..... :-/ Jill :D ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 23:19:31 -0500 From: Richard Subject: Chantal Whatshername Nobody can pronounce it?? I feel much better.. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 23:17:08 -0500 From: Richard Subject: Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine > Maybe what they meant was that "I will remember you" is on the "Rarities, B-Sides, and > Other Stuff" disc, a disc which, as far as I know, is only available in Canada. Nah, Borders and Newbury Comics here in Maine have it, so.... r ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 23:36:21 -0400 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine Bill wrote: > Maybe what they meant was that "I will remember you" is on the >"Rarities, B-Sides, and Other Stuff" disc, a disc which, as far as >I know, is only available in Canada. > > Of course, I have a copy of the disc. :) Well, when it first came out, it was only available in Canada...and I was entirely too lazy to mail order it. Dunno why. Anyway, it was originally very difficult to find in the US, but I stumbled across one at the DC Tower probably, oh, 12-15 months ago, but I'm not positive. Since then, it's become increasingly more common in DC shops, including Olssons and I believe I've also seen it in several local Borders. (the B-Sides disc, for those of you who haven't tracked it down, is far more interesting and listenable than _Surfacing_) For Kerry, let me add that "I Will Remember You" was released as a single when _The Brothers McMullen_ came out (which, of course, would make a lot of sense, since there was a video!). I remember picking it up at the Rockvill Tower, and feeling cheated because it was something like $4 for a a single with two tracks...the first of which turned up later in various places, and the latter of which was just the version of "Ice Cream" off of _The Freedom Sessions_ (not that you can ever have too many copies of that track; it's a studio version of the live version of the song, which beats the hell out of the FTE version). jeff np: Michael Dorf, guest DJ on KCRW's _Morning Becomes Eclectic_, 9/10/97, via RealAudio ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 23:53:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Neal Copperman Subject: Re: It was true On Sun, 17 May 1998, Steve VanDevender wrote: > My friend really did obtain a "for promotional use only" copy of > _Many Worlds Are Born Tonight_ through a record store. > > For a variety of reasons I think it would be inappropriate of me > to leak any details about the album before its official release, > especially when few, if any, other people will be able to hear it > before then. I didn't at all mean to tease anyone by sending > last Saturday's message or this one. Oh come on. Some general impressions and comments about the sound and packaging (if there is any), certainly can't do any harm. ecto always seems far too "appropriate" when it comes to Happy anyway. On anyone else's list, a track listing would get leaked before the album comes out, as well as various album snippets or copies from dubious sources. Seems kind of an unfair tease to SAY that you've heard it, but be unwilling to make any comments. Neal np: Goldie - Saturnzreturn (Disc 1 is blessedly free of that endlessly skittering drum 'n' bass sound, which seems plentiful enough on disc two.) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 00:03:23 EDT From: Riphug Subject: Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine I thought they just meant that the album "Women and Song" is only available in Canada......because that is true........However, I ordered it from A&B Sound......it's a great CD! Jill :D ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 00:07:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Neal Copperman Subject: Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine On Sun, 17 May 1998, Jeffrey C. Burka wrote: > For Kerry, let me add that "I Will Remember You" was released as a single > when _The Brothers McMullen_ came out (which, of course, would > make a lot of sense, since there was a video!). I remember picking it up > at the Rockvill Tower, and feeling cheated because it was something like > $4 for a a single with two tracks.. heh, you were cheated Jeff. I picked up gift copies of it when it came out, and they were only $3. And later, another single came out that had 5 tracks on it. I WILL REMEMBER YOU DRAWN TO THE RHYTHM (Live 1992) SAD CLOWN (CBC Session) POSSESSION (John Fryer Mix) STEAMING (Dance Version 1989) Not sure if these show up on the b-sides disc, since I never got it either. But I"ve seen it in stores in Baltimore as well. When I finally got around to seeing The Brothers McMullen, I was surprised to find that the rest of the music in the movie was some rollicking Celtic stuff by Seamus Egan, making me feel like the soundtrack album would be worth owning too. never did get around to buying it though. Neal np: still goldi ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 00:16:03 -0400 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: It was true Neal Copperman wrote: > np: Goldie - Saturnzreturn (Disc 1 is blessedly free of that endlessly > skittering drum 'n' bass sound, which seems plentiful enough on disc two.) D&B quotient aside, how is that? I'm curious about anything that has Bowie on it... - -- - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 00:24:52 -0400 From: dave Subject: duh I guess it would've helped if I'd remembered to put the URL in before sending that... http://magpage.com/~sspan/ regretfully yours, Richard M. Nixon, Mrs. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 00:19:36 -0400 From: dave Subject: just in case any of you are interested.. My new webpage is now completed enough to show to the general public.. What's on it ya ask? Okay, so ya didn't ask.. I'm gonna tell ya anyway. Basically, it's to introduce people to some of my favorite musical artists. So far there are seven, each with a picture or two, a sound clip or two (.WAVs, about 30-40 secs, roughly 300k-400k.. say...2 minutes or so loading time apiece with an average connection) and a link to a more detailed website on them. There's also a Link page for better known artist, although it's rather sparse still.. So, take a few minutes out of your busy day and check it out, listen to some clips (that the whole point of it after all) you might even find something you like.. later dave ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 00:33:44 -0400 (EDT) From: Neal Copperman Subject: re: Goldie On Mon, 18 May 1998, Joseph Zitt wrote: > Neal Copperman wrote: > > np: Goldie - Saturnzreturn (Disc 1 is blessedly free of that endlessly > > skittering drum 'n' bass sound, which seems plentiful enough on disc two.) > > D&B quotient aside, how is that? I'm curious about anything that has > Bowie on it... Oh, you should get this! (You being Joe Zitt, not collectively all of ecto.) I'm on my first listen to disc 1, and have listened to disc 2 once from the other room last week. So these are very sketchy opinions, subject to being completely changed in the future. Disc 2 disappointed me because of the heavy drum and bass sound. I liked it better than much of what I'd heard in that style, and there seemed to be a fair amount going on outside of the rhythm. (9 tracks over 70+ minutes.) Disc 1 I'm finding much more intriguing. There are only 2 tracks in 70+ minutes, and they are very lush and orchestrated. There is a mini-orchestra involved (16 violins, 8 violas, 4 cellos, 2 basses). The Bowie vocals are on the second track (Truth), and are very gentle and soft. Crooning, might be the right word for it. They were barely recognizably Bowie to me (though if you are a fan, maybe it's more obvious). It's the gentlest I've heard him sing in years. It has almost a hint of Chant to it. The music is lush ambient, with some nice piano stretchs and thick vocal and instrumental layering. There is a lot more going on than I've been able to absorb so far. Needless to say, disc 1 has impressed me much more than disc 2 on one listen. The song with Bowie is only about 10 minutes though, while the other song on this disc is an hour. np: dana & Karen Kletter - dear enemy (also first listen. Dana of the blackgirls and later dish [what is dish?] and backup vocals on Hole's Live Through This.) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 22:24:19 -0700 From: "Bill" Subject: Re: Sarah in Sunday's "Parade" Magazine On 98/05/18, at 12:03 AM, Riphug wrote: >I thought they just meant that the album "Women and Song" is only available in >Canada......because that is true........However, I ordered it from A&B >Sound......it's a great CD! I have this disc as well; it is a nice compilation indeed, but for some reason I am finding that I rather listen to an entire disc by the same artist, sort of like reading a whole novel by the same author, as compared to an anthology of authors from the same era. Of course, those of us fond of mixes (read "Jill") would find this compilation an enjoyable one, as would those of us (read "Bill") interested in discovering other ectoish artists. The barrier of geographical distance notwithstanding, I still think that a day spent at a well-stocked A&B Sound store somewhere in Canada is a day well spent. - - Bill. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 01:25:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Neal Copperman Subject: Re: Concert Reviews (Bittova, Cole, HErsh) hErsh, hErsh, hErsh.... I don't know why I can't ever remember that. - - neal ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 01:19:02 -0400 (EDT) From: Neal Copperman Subject: Concert Reviews (Bittova, Cole, Hirsh) I'm way way behind on commenting on the concerts I've seen this month. There has been an endless stream of great music in town. I'll try to work back through it, but I'll only have time to cover this weekend now. I had an insanely full weekend. I started by seeing a production of the hilarious Nicky Silver play Raised in Captivity. (I highly recommend anything by him. I've seen a few and they are all a riot.) Ecto connection: the theater played Lisa Germano's Small Hands as outro music. (Perhaps to clear the room?) Saturday I met up with Joe Zitt for the much mentioned Iva Bittova show at the Metro Cafe. On Sun, 17 May 1998, meredith wrote: > (whose name, btw, I always assumed is pronounced EYE-va bit-TOV-a, am I > right?) Almost (I think). On the recorded message, it was very clearly EVE-ah, and less clearly, bit-TOE-vah On Sat, 16 May 1998, Joseph Zitt wrote: > The Metro Cafe was jammed, and the audience was riveted. (It was plagued > by some of the same semi-competent management Neal had mentioned before: > they had only set out a few chairs, and had a lot more piled in the > back, so people coming in took their own chairs and put them wherever > worked.) I don't think they were expecting that large a crowd... This was much better than my previous bad experience there for Holly Cole. At least they let people into the club. The chair set-up was dramatically stupid though. And they never seem prepared to have a large crowd. > The gig was unbe#$%^&lievable! I'll gladly second this. The club was full and noisy as everyone watied for the show. The stage was sparse, with two mics and not much else. one was low by a chair, the other set for someone standing on the side. Iva came out in the dark, put on a pair of black gloves with small lights on the tips of the fingers, and started to dance while she sang a capella. Conversation immediately stopped, and everyone remained silent and riveted through the entire show. I can think of dozens of comparisons to sections of the show, but they were all blended up into something unrecognizable and unique. The first song (with the gloves) had a real Marta Sebastyen feel, like a spare Slovakian folk song. At other times I was reminded of most of the world music performers I know: Rhythmic songs like Mari Boine does, stuff with phrasing like Noa's Hebrew music and vocal sound effects like her Pieriette (sp?) song, Sheila Chandra's speaking in tongues (crossed with some of the frightening noises Dianamda Galas can make), wild sound effects like you can find in African music and some Zap Mama songs, the playfulness of Bjork, the possession of Mimi from Hugo Largo, the electronic gadgetry of Laurie Anderson (with the gloves and later, glasses with lights on the side, like Peter Gabriel had on US) and also some or her solo violin playing sounded like some of LA's instrumentals, Philip Glass-like repeated patterns, Kronos Quartet-like violin abuse. She performed a piece that was from the viewpoint of a baby (from Mars, perhaps), accompanied by a babies rattle with some extra sound effects. Another piece was from the point of view of a fly, eventually squashed. Plus, she took advantage of the percussive Metro stage, stomping out counter rhythms, while singing and playing violin. I don't have a clue how old she is, but that was another interesting aspect of the show. She sometimes looked as young as late 20's, and sometimes as old as late 40's. Oh, and those two mics? She used them on occasion, but a good portion of the show was sung either in front of or far from any mic, and her voice carried easily. She's a very powerful singer, and performer. Not to be missed if it sounds at all intriguing. - ------- This show got done early enough for me to take Joe home, try to park for free in Georgetown (on a Saturday night, right!), park in a lot, and walk to the Bayou just as Chris Stills took the stage. I saw him open for Victoria Williams last month, and I felt about the same this time. You can definitely hear hints of his father's voice, and he seems to be a pretty good songwriter and guitar player. But except for a few of the catchier songs, I don't feel particularly drawn to him. Holly Cole's show was as wonderful as ever. This was my third HC show this year, and I can now identify what song she is going to play by the stage banter beforehand. Even though I've heard most of it, she's still a lively fun presence. The band is exceptional and the live reinterpretations of the songs worth seeing again and again. Plus, the stripped down, racing, teasing version of Tea For Two is worth the price of admission every time. River was missing from the encore this time, though we did get the extended Jersey Girl. I'd say be sure to see her, but I know her tour ended earlier tonight in Philly. - ------ It was now 1 am, and I buzzed by Iota to see if there were any Lisa Cerbone tunes still to be heard. I saw Eric (lisa's husband) outside, so I parked and chatted. The show was done, but it was nice to talk. Lisa & co aren't playing a lot of show right now, as they are busy trying to work out the arrangements on a bunch of new songs. The few I've heard are quite good. Lisa said it was the first time she'd seen me outside of the wierd light inside a bar. (I never learned if that was a good or bad thing!) - ------ Sunday I stopped at Olsson's to buy the new Mimi album, but couldn't see any reason to pay $17 for it. Did pay more reasonable prices for the Dana & Karen Kletter disc, as well as Perfume Tree's feeler, mistle thrush' super refraction and the paperback The God Of Small Things buy Arundhati Roy. Then, back to Iota to meet up with Craig G. for the Kristen Hirsh show. 1.5 hours before showtime and we grabbed the last two seats in the place, right in front of the stage, a bit to the side. Later the place was packed to the gills with another quiet and attentive standing room only crowd. I'd seen her before, so I knew what to expect, and that's what I got. Drop dead hilarious between song patter followed by songs performed in a trance with frightening intensity. Seriously, the instant a song starts, her spirit seems to leave the stage. She stares fixedly at a point above the audience in the middle of the room, and her eyes go blank and completely glaze over. You can see her personality come and go with the songs. Her face is a mask, with no sign of emotion when she's singing, but with plenty of intensity and feeling in the singing and playing. When she stops, the sparkle returns to her eyes, a smile skips across her mouth, and she launches into some hilarious story. Like how she just had her third child, and her 6 year old son was confused about the concept of getting to name things. He was worried that they had made up all the nouns that he had learned. Once he got the hang of the idea, he wanted to name something. There was the dog, but it already had a half dozen names (and at only a few pounds, perhaps didn't deserve any). It was first called Captain John Smith ( a name AND a rank), but the kids didn't like that and called it Monkey Two Times. So KH taught it to come to Monkey MOnkey, which the kids all thought was a really stupid name for a dog. So now it only answers to Kathy. But that's all an aside. Looking for something to name, she said he could name her album. He thought for a few moments, and said "Stupid Men Are Good To Eat". Kristen didn't want to use this, claiming that we "wouldn't want to offend the smart men - thinking that they aren't good to eat too." Pick another. This time he responded immediately, with .... "Michael Jordan". Then she started a song, which she announced as being on her new album "Michael Jordan .... is good to eat." And that was just one of easily a dozen stories. And that's it for me, I'm going to bed. Neal np: dear enemy, Dana & Karen Kletter ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 00:24:34 -0500 From: Neile Graham Subject: re:Dish Neal Copperman wrote: >np: dana & Karen Kletter - dear enemy (also first listen. Dana of the >blackgirls and later dish [what is dish?] and backup vocals on Hole's Live >Through This.) Dish was an alterna pop/rock band that Dana Kletter was the lead singer for. They had a song "Headlights" on a CMJ compilation that in addition to the blackgirls compilation led me to pick up their disc, _Boneyard Beach_. Well, that song was great but the rest of the album was forgettable and blandly pretty except for Dana Kletter's great voice. I just pulled it out and the way the disc was in the sleeve was a way that we haven't put discs away for 2 years!! Later Art Liestman played me an ep that I liked a lot and I later found a copy of it. That one was called "Mabel Sagittarius"--lots more edgy energetic and blackgirl-like. But only 5 songs! - --Neile n.p. Mabel Sagittarius - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V4 #156 **************************