From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #299 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, September 5 1999 Volume 05 : Number 299 Today's Subjects: ----------------- ectofest ["cjmacs" ] CD sorting & spares ["Martin G Bridges" ] New Tori singles ["Martin G Bridges" ] Touched by Ecto [MarkSuss@aol.com] Ways of discening a LH from a Free Mason.... [Ted Jacobs ] ectofest [meredith ] ectofest: don keller's review [meredith ] fun weekend for all [JoAnn.Whetsell@oberlin.edu] Re: Paula Retort [JoAnn.Whetsell@oberlin.edu] ectofest (crumb of Kate content) [puppycakes ] RE: Ways of discening a LH from a Free Mason.... ["Foghorn J Fornorn" ] Alan's Ect-spectations were met and surpassed [sae@zeus.cas.suffolk.edu (] ectofest [Paul Blair ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 05 Sep 1999 02:56:03 -0400 From: "cjmacs" Subject: ectofest hi all! hey i hope everyone that made it to ectofest had a great time...it was incredible!!!! thanks and lots of love to all who were there; it was a WONDERFUL day and it was _fantastic_ meeting so many ectophiles in person for the first time: Jeff Burka, Neal Copperman, Josh Weichel, Mike Mendelson and Debbie, Alan Ezust (welcome back to ecto!), Joe Zitt, Craig Gidney, Marc Power and family, Binnie and Valerie!!! -Thanks SO much to the WPKN folk!, Suzanne Cerquone, Laura Clifford, Michael Colford, and i KNOW i'm forgetting people... Mike Weis! Ectopia rules!! and if any of you haven't ordered it yet, dammit DO IT NOW!!!! and as always it was awesome to see Paul Blair, Paul Kim, Ofer Inbar, Val Nozick, Erik "Grey" and Liz and Lisa, Mike "that bastard" Curry, Jeff (Mr. Smoe) Wasilko (in those oh-so-fashionable eyeglasses!), and happy's personal stage assistant Pattycakes...i mean, WOJ..... what can possibly be said about John Henshon and Tony donating the PA and their time and talents....thank you a million times over! everything sounded fantastic! and meredith... geez without meth kicking me in the ass and convincing me that we could do it... how can i possibly thank the one person that helped ME hold everything together when it seemed the bleakest! meredith's dedication to ectofest was what kept the wheels in motion and i honestly can say that without her it could NEVER have been done!!! ectofest was an astounding success on so many levels! we had drama chic blowing the unsuspecting crowd away, rob brereton's captivating dulcimer music, the palpable rush through the crowd during rachael sage's superb set, the overwhelming vocals of sloan wainwright followed by the stunning susan mckeown...hearing sloan and susan singing together was itself well worth all of the effort of putting the show together!... and then we had mila's gorgeous set, with the beautiful and talented elissa linowes and the incomparable superstar lyris hung ;-) (notice how i left out anything about the song that the ectoplasms sang about rachael, susan and happy...) and then after all this incredible musicianship we got to hear happy.... wow!!..... what can possibly be said!! i'll leave it to others more coherent than i at the moment to fill in all of the details, but suffice it to say that the hapster RULED ectofest as well she should!! all i know is that ectofest was a wonderful event and i look forward to doing many many more in the future... as long as the ecto-folk are out there i say let's keep it up!!! thank you EVERYONE for showing up and for supporting these unbelievably talented artists and the good causes we raised money for!! love to ALL of you!!! chuck ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 18:18:02 +1000 From: "Martin G Bridges" Subject: CD sorting & spares Hi folks, Well, the CD storage unit I designed and commissioned a local carpenter to build finally arrived this weekend so my wife and I spent a few fun hours sorting through all my CDs (most of which were still in boxes from our move down to the southern hemisphere). I decided to finally sort them into alphabetical order, although with a few funnies which annoyed my wife (filing Annie Lennox under E, Fish under M, Dido under F for Faithless etc.). We also went through our ancient cassette collections which were an embarrassment to us both (my dodgy Heavy Metal phase, her religious nut phase). As a result, we spotted a few duplicates which have popped up, and one notable missing-in-action. I thought I'd list the duplicates here so if anyone wants to do a swap deal, we can do that. Otherwise I'll be on the lookout for a secondhand CD shop in Sydney (north side preferred for our Sydney friends!) or they might pop up on eBay. Anyway, the duplicates are: Blues Brothers Soundtrack (Cassette) Marillion - Real to Reel (Cassette) Beautiful South - Welcome to .... (CD) Sheryl Crow - The Globe Sessions (CD) Lilith Fair Volume 1 (CD) Milla - Gentleman Who Fell (UK CD single, still wrapped) And the notably missing one was Morcheeba "Who Can You Trust?" which most have disappeared somewhere en-route coz I have the "Beats And B-Sides" CD which accompanied it. Anyway, if anyone is interested in doing a swap deal for any of the above, let me know. Apart from the Morcheeba CD which I'd quite like to replace I don't have any serious wants, just make me some suggestions if you're interested. Now to get down to the proper cataloguing.... Cheers, Martin ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 19:35:09 +1000 From: "Martin G Bridges" Subject: New Tori singles Hi folks, OK, colour me confused. I am aware that there is a new Tori live+studio album due out imminently and that it has been preceded by at least one single, and another one is apparrently due out tomorrow. Problem is I don't understand whether there are different versions of these coming out in different countries with different b-sides. I had a look at the "official" Tori site but that didn't help much, and even woj's incredibly detailed post didn't fully clue me in. Various online CD stores have got 2 or 3 things listed but it isn't clear where they were released and what they contain. So could someone please make it plain for a poor Brit now living in Australia. And comments on whether or not the songs are actually any good would be most welcome. After being thoroughly underwhelmed by "...choirgirl hotel" I'm being a bit wary. Cheers, Martin PS. Is there any truth in the rumour that Sarah McLachlan is due to head down to the southern hemisphere any time soon? Just you watch - it'll co-incide exactly with the time I'm visiting back to the UK! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 10:44:08 EDT From: MarkSuss@aol.com Subject: Touched by Ecto <\Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... HAPPY\BIRTHDAY\Mark R. Susskind (no Email address)>> Hello Ecto. Thank you for Ectofest 1999. And Wow! Thank you for remembering me after all these years. I haven't read Ecto much for 5 or more years due to your incredible volume, but I have stopped by the archives from time to time. Thanks to Ofer, I found out about Ectofest from sister smoe list "Hollow" for Trina Hamlin, a performer I have heard play live for 3-4 years. When I read the list of performers, I knew that I should try to make it. And thanks to Chuck's offer, I was able to attend without having to look for taxis between MetroNorth and Ectofest. I don't know if I will be able to contribute much, since most of the stuff you used to discuss and (Goddess-love-you) still discuss, is either over my head or outside my experience. I was also in fear of contracting Empty Wallet Syndrome due to buzz generated here; now I am subjecting myself to it again, so do your best. And if you still need my shoe size, it's 10-1/2-EEE. Yours in Ecto, Mark Susskind, MarkSuss@aol.com - http://hello.to/marasu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Sep 1999 12:28:55 -0400 From: Ted Jacobs Subject: Ways of discening a LH from a Free Mason.... Hey guys, We should come up with a way to spot another LH or Ectopian in a crowd. Has this been discussed already, and did I just miss it? It occurred to me at Ectofest that a bunch of us could be seated next to each other at a show and never know the other was there. I usually post on LH, and am new to Ecto and not as familiar with the people on that list, so I didn't go out of my way to say hi to anyone, and it turns out that there were a few LH's that were there and I didn't know it. I thought we might open a discourse on the subject in general; 1. Should we adopt some sort of way of distinguishing a LH or Ectophile in public? 1_a. If so, should Ecto's and LH's trademarks be different? 1_b. If so, what discerning trademark would you suggest? I think Red and Blue flannel shirts are taken. I would suggest that the more subtle would be the better (unless we adopt the Monty Python Free Mason Antler Hat, of course, I'd wear that). 2. There is no Public question 2, but feel free to add one along with all of your other glorious comments and snide remarks! -ted ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 20:01:54 +0200 (CEST) From: Yngve Hauge Subject: Icq Active List Hi, Just created an Ecto inspired active list on icq called Project 499, which is up an running as long as I'm on. If someone would like to share the admin-work with me, then be free to do so, as I can't be on between 0600 till 1800 as it is damn expensive to be on at those times I could need some help in that time period. Don't need to be one person only - it would be nice to keep the list running around the clock if possible. - -- Yngve n.p. Lene Marlin - Unbelievable Sinner (First time someone from Norway has been topping the lists in Sweden. And not only that - she got an amazing talent and not 20 yet (dunno if she's 19 yet either)) n.r. Melanie Rawn - Exiles - Book II ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Sep 1999 15:42:43 -0400 From: meredith Subject: ectofest Hi! I just logged on to check -- did we really throw a party yesterday where 8 amazing bands played and people actually came? There were ectofolk sleeping on my floor this morning, so I'm guessing it wasn't a dream, but at this point I can't quite be sure. :} I'll post some of my thoughts about the day once I've had a chance to process them a bit. For now, though, I just want to join Chuck in saying a big THANK YOU to everyone who played, everyone who came, everyone who helped out, and to John Henshon and Tony for making the whole event sound damned good, even when there was way too much stuff on the stage. ;) And Chuck overestimates my contribution to the day -- without him and the fact that he knows simply *everybody*, this thing could never have come together. Oh yeah, and a shout out to the weather gods, too - it could have been bad, but it was gorgeous all day. We couldn't have asked for anything better (except maybe for a touch less humidity, but I'm certainly not going to complain!). It was great to meet everyone I didn't already know, and to see the rest of you again. If I didn't get much of a chance to chat I'm sorry ... hopefully we can do it again when I'm a bit less stressed. :) Stay tuned for info on how you can purchase ectofest shirts, caps, bumper stickers, and the stunningly beautiful posters even if you were unable to attend. We're also going to be auctioning off some cool stuff we got Happy to autograph, to further benefit the charities. We'll be posting photos to ectofest.org this week -- our official photographer was on it all day, and he got some really amazing shots. Next up I'm going to post Don Keller's review of the day. He is sadly computerless these days, but stayed up here last night so he could borrow my laptop today and get his impressions down while they're still fresh. It's an excellent rundown of the day's events. Looking forward to reading everyone else's reports... +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | ectofest '99: sat. sept. 4, 1999 kenosia park, danbury, ct | | http://www.ectofest.org | +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Sep 1999 15:44:50 -0400 From: meredith Subject: ectofest: don keller's review Ectofest 1999 Kenosia Lake Park [Danbury, CT] September 4, 1999 Reviewed by Donald G. Keller Ectofest is an idea whose time was going to come, eventually; the ectolist community has too many talented people and too many good contacts with the artists they admire for them to be satisfied with, oh, say, Lilith Fair. And now that good idea has been made reality with the first annual festival. Which was, in short, from this vantage point, an entire success. Disclaimer #1. The festival was organized by Chuck Stipak and Meredith Tarr; and as I've met Chuck a number of times at various shows and Meredith is a good friend, there's the faint possibility of conflict of interest here. Disclaimer #2. On the other hand, the lineup for the all-day festival was not my own ideal list of performers; though to be fair I had seen several of them on previous occasions and admired them. In the offing, it seemed to be an event not to be missed. I took a morning train from New York to Brewster, where the Ectofest-shirted driver ferried festival-goers the ten minutes or so to the site, a small fenced park on the edge of a lake, with a concrete-floored pavilion serving as the stage. They were still setting up when I got there, and I wandered past the tables offering food & drink, T-shirts and other festival merchandise, information on the two charities benefitting from the festival (The Women's Center of Greater Danbury and Interfaith Ministry of Greater Danbury), and of course performer's CDs. Everything necessary for the experience. Not to mention sunny weather. So I plopped myself down very near the stage (where it was shady even at the noonish hour) off to stage left and prepared myself to absorb a day's worth of music. The opening act was a pair of guys who call themselves Drama Chic (pronounced "chick"). One played acoustic guitar, the other sang (the guitarist adding good baritone harmonies). It was good but very ordinary folk music with forceful vocals, better when it explored the Am-G-F-E sequence or segments (under my tyrannical rule C and G chords would be outlawed). A perfectly acceptable beginning. Following was another local artist, Rob Brereton, a virtuoso on the Appalachian dulcimer (the figure-8-shaped, unevenly-spaced-fretted, play-in-your lap kind, not the hammered dulcimer). He did a couple traditional tunes-an Irish jig, plus an air variously called "Waly Waly" and "The Water Is Wide" which I =know= I've heard in another version (maybe on an old Judy Collins record?). He did an amusing yodeling song on guitar, and was joined by one member of his three-member group Boys' Night Out for an equally amusing song which may have been called "The Vision of Martha Stewart" (mockingly portentous in the vein of "I Shall Be Released"). He played a very nice version of Neil Young's "After the Goldrush" and a really striking instrumental version of Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" back on the dulcimer. A set of quite a bit of variety and interest. The first of the featured female singer-songwriters was Rachel Sage. My first reaction to her, several sets ago, was that she was good but a little conventional for my taste; there's a little bit of Broadway in her chord sequences, and her songs, even when sad or angry, have a strongly upbeat energy to them that took me some getting used to. Her lyrics are always very articulate (both as written and as delivered), and she has an individual style (some whispery talking vocals, for example). She delivered a very good set with her band (percussion, bass, and violin) augmenting her electric keyboard. True to my taste, I much preferred the minor-key ones, which seem to draw somewhat from Jewish folk music; best of all was "Among All God's Creatures" which builds from a single repeated note (like Tori Amos' "Beauty Queen") to a powerful groove (full of open 5ths), over which the violinist added wailing Middle Eastern motifs. I enjoyed her set a lot. Festival organizer Chuck Stipak stepped up to the plate as a performer with the world premiere of his duo the Ectoplasms; his acoustic guitar was accompanied by the first electric guitar of the day. Their music is still folky, however, droning atmospherically on D or braving the conventional terrors of C-G; but Chuck also offered a song he wrote at age 13 (full of cloudy 60s major 7ths), and the finale, over a Bo Diddley beat, was a joke song about how he wished he were several of the day's performers (who had all arrived by this point), but would settle for being just him. An interlude of fun. Of the main acts, the only one I wasn't familiar with was Sloan Wainwright; she is part of the Wainwright clan (Loudon's sister, I gather). Accompanied by acoustic guitar and bass, she delivered a set of very sturdy folk, embellished by her deep, dark, powerful voice and slightly theatrical presentation. Her between-songs patter was amusing as well, particularly when she deconstructed "I Eye The Lady" (a comparison song become a recovery song, she pointed out) before she sang it. I was very favorably impressed. But the high point of the set (perhaps the festival) was the last number, when she called up the following performer Susan McKeown to duet on Richard Thompson's old Fairport number "Meet on the Ledge." It was fine enough when they were trading verses; but when they joined in the chorus, McKeown's wailing Celtic roulades over Wainwright's rich foundation, it was absolutely exquisite. Susan McKeown is another artist it's taken me some time to warm to; I think maybe I expected her to be more of a trad artist (her being from Dublin and all), and her more contemporary major-key songwriting just didn't click with me. For whatever reason I enjoyed this set a lot better. She played acoustic guitar (and fine bodhran on one song) accompanied by another acoustic guitar, and the quasi-folky drony quality in most of the songs sat OK with me. Her setting of Emily Dickinson's "kindly Death" poem is very fine (though straying major-keywards a bit), her train song (Wainwright had one too) pretty good, and her cover (back to the Fairport songbook) of Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" (which I'd heard once before) was splendid. She also persuaded the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to Meredith before she took her leave. Next was Mila Drumless, I mean Drumke, with only her bassist and violinist to accompany her acoustic guitar. I knew this meant she wasn't going to do the magisterial "Constance," my favorite of hers (and co-written by her drummer). But she did do her fascinating "two-bass" song (albeit with her on guitar this time) with its almost Crimsoid arpeggio chorus, and her wonderful cover of Kate Bush's "Under the Ivy," and a handful of her other excellent songs. If I seem to be underselling her a bit, it's paradoxically because I've gotten to like her work best of the festival participants, and so this was an average set for me. But a very good one, with her warm, rich voice in fine form. There was a bit of a break at this point while the headliner's major equipment was set up and the last of the three raffles for the day was conducted. It was only just getting dark at this point. It was only fitting that Happy Rhodes, whose album =Ecto= gives both the mailing list and the festival its name, should headline the initial venture. She seemed very pleased to be there, and put on a long and excellent set accompanied by a drummer (the only kit drums of the day), bassist, and keyboardist (who did yeomanlike work keeping up with her on backing vocals), while she alternated between acoustic guitar and keyboards. On a day when nearly all the music could be loosely defined as "folk" and accompaniment was spare, hers were the most lush (her word), and further augmented by recorded backing tracks at a few points. I've only seen her perform once before (at the Tin Angel about three years ago), and am not as familiar with her work as I ought to be (mostly the recent =Many Worlds Are Born Tonight=), and I had forgotten the startling range of her voice, from ethereal upper range Kate Bush/Tori Amos/Kristeen Young style to an amazingly resonant deep contralto (I don't think even Sloan Wainwright can get that low). And on a couple of occasions the song called for her to "duet" the two registers in alternation, which she did with complete aplomb. Her sheer vocal ability was one of the things that most impressed me during her set. She was relaxed and funny between songs, and as a treat offered her rendition of "The Ballad of Brave Sir Robin" from =Monty Python and the Holy Grail=, delivered in her best schoolgirl high soprano with perfect diction (rolled rs and all) and complete straight face. It was hysterical. She also traded Python quotes with the audience while she tuned at one point. I'll leave to the real Rhodes scholars the full set list; suffice for me to say I recognized such =MWABT= numbers as "Ra Is a Busy God," "Roy," and "100 Years" (which closed the set). Her music is rich and fascinating, and I came away with the determination to catch up on her music a bit. After two encores (the only ones of the festival), Rhodes took her leave, full darkness had descended, and in remarkably short order all the equipment was broken down and packed away. In fits and straggles the remaining celebrants repaired to a bar near the Brewster train station (named, with brilliant inspiration, Brewster Station) for very good chicken curry and festival "birthday" cake before stumbling off into the night. Final verdict: a smashing success artistically, without a hitch logistically, and by all means let's do it again next year. +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | ectofest '99: sat. sept. 4, 1999 kenosia park, danbury, ct | | http://www.ectofest.org | +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Sep 1999 16:07:28 -0400 From: JoAnn.Whetsell@oberlin.edu Subject: fun weekend for all Hey guys. While you were, many of you were, enjoying Ectofest (and I was damn sorry I couldn't come; but just couldn't make it from Ohio) my fabulous roommate ended up giving people rides to the Tori/Alanis show in Columbus... and one of them just happened to have an extra free ticket for me! The show was great. Only my second time seeing Tori live, also in Columbus last year on the Plugged tour. Which she said was one of her favorite shows on the tour, so that was really cool, because I was there! (and it was a really awesome show) The set list: Tori opened with God, then played a song I didn't know, then Sugar, then Cornflake Girl. Then I lost track, but Merman, Mother (both solo), Professional Widow, Bliss, another song I didn't know, Tear in Your Hand, and Blood Roses were all in there somewhere. She finished up with The Waitress, and did Precious Things as an encore. I didn't at all mind it being a greatest hits kind of show, because I had never seen her do any of these songs live, except for Waitress and Precious Things. Mother and Tear in Your Hand actually brought tears to my eyes. Alanis was quite good too, though I only knew the songs that had lots of radio play, like Hand in My Pocket (her opener), Uninvited (her closer), Thank U, and Ironic (her encores). She had a lot of energy and seemed to be having the time of her life, at one point just spinning around the stage. She played harmonica, flute, and guitar at different points. The background was also really cool with tapestries, videos, and lots of light changes. Kind of hard to describe. Anyway, we had a really good time. I also didn't notice any Tori/Alanis fan mischief besides some people talking during both sets, which is probably bound to happen anywhere. So, I hope to be at the next Ectofest (I hope there IS a next Ectofest) JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Sep 1999 16:09:53 -0400 From: JoAnn.Whetsell@oberlin.edu Subject: Re: Paula Retort Ricardo wrote: You also left out christian, hindu, atheist, left handed, right handed, albino (or is the PC term "person of noncolor"?), vitilago "enhanced", and so on. Oh yes, they should definitely all come too. People of all faiths and non-faiths. We'll just build a big tent somewhere in the wilderness. The more the merrier! :) JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Sep 1999 16:25:37 -0400 From: puppycakes Subject: ectofest (crumb of Kate content) a mini-thread popped up on love-hounds about ectofest. thought some of you might be interested... woj >From: "David Todd & Cynthia Conrad" >To: >Subject: ectofest (crumb of Kate content) >Date: Sat, 4 Sep 1999 22:43:01 -0400 > >Hey, just got back from ectofest in Danbury, CT. It was really neat! This is the first time I've seen a Happy Rhodes show and I must say that her performance exceeded my expectations (despite sound problems and me not knowing much of her stuff). Mila Drumke and Susan McKeown were also great but their sets were way too short :( . The only disappointment was that Dave and I got there a little too late to see Rachael Sage. > >Highlights: >--Several Kate songs on the PA between sets. >--Sloan Wainwright sang an amusing song about body piercing as an expression of "free-dumb." >--Susan McKeown sang a beautiful song from the poetry of Emily Dickinson (# 712 "Because I could not stop for Death --"). >--Mila played a nice acoustic cover of "Under the Ivy." >--Happy did a fun little rendition of Monty Python's "Ballad of Sir Robin." > >Hats off to our Meredith, who did a great job co-organizing the event! Maybe there should be an annual ectofest, what with the demise of the Lilith Fair and all . . . > > --Cynthia > >Date: Sun, 05 Sep 1999 00:10:13 -0400 >From: Ted Jacobs >To: Katians >Subject: Re: ectofest (crumb of Kate content) > >I just got back, I'm glad I ducked out of work early to get there in >time to see the last 3 performers, here's my take (for what it's worth): > >* I never heard of Sue McKewon before. The first thought in my head when >I walked in on her singing was "Ah, Natalie McMerchant". I had to >refrain from laughing because I couldn't get that thought out of my >head, because her voice and the style of music was close enough to >Natalie's style and voice (that is, if Natalie came from Dublin), but >the honest truth was I liked Sue's stuff better than Natalie. (Besides, >Natalie was mean to me once). > >* The Mila Drumke band was great, I'll definitely check them out at the >Arlene Grocery in November. Any LH's game to make a night out of it? > > >* Happy. Ah, Happy. A few random thoughts about her, if nobody minds: > I may be committing high treason here on LH's with this comment, but >that has never stopped me before: >If I were pressed on the question of who is the better performer, Happy >or Kate, I would have to say it was Kate, even though the two are apples >and oranges; Now if I were pressed on who I would rather have as a >girlfriend, my choice would have to be Happy, as a matter of fact, I was >a bit sad after the performance that I wasn't her boyfriend. Of course >Happy blew my whole fantasy with a monster belch into the mike! Well, >for a couple of seconds. The funny thing is it's not her singing that >makes her attractive to me, it's her sense of humor. And she's a Kate >Fan, and she has the entire screenplay to Monty Python and the Holy >Grail memorized, all these things make me believe that there is a near >perfect compatibility factor, she's a goof ball just like me. Ah, but >the sad side is that the opportunity would never present itself, woe is >me! Give me a moment...sob... ah, Okay I'm over it. Should I ever get >sad over Happy again I have to remember the trick I just used to get it >out of my head. I just picture Natalie Merchant locked in a room with a >pallet load of Bon Bons and a TV that only plays Springer continuously, >that somehow makes me feel better! >From: "d~" >To: love-hounds@gaffa.org >Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 10:35:26 -0500 >Subject: Re: ectofest (crumb of Kate content) > >I'm so fucking pissed that I missed this!!!! > >I just totally FLAKED! > >Poop. why didn't anyone send out reminders!! > >d~ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 17:27:16 -0400 From: "Foghorn J Fornorn" Subject: RE: Ways of discening a LH from a Free Mason.... Well, from now on, the Ectofest hats/T-shirts/bumper stickers should be a hint! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 17:27:14 -0400 From: "Foghorn J Fornorn" Subject: Brave Sir Robin Don't know how many of you have had the opportunity to see this in print, Happy mentioned she was faxed these lyrics before she attempted to do "one of her favorite songs", but since I have this copy of the 1975 screenplay of the film I'll dust it off and share: Bravely good Sir Robin, rode forth from Camelot, He was not afraid to die, oh brave Sir Robin, He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, Brave brave brave brave Sir Robin. He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp And have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken; To have his kneecaps split and his body burned away And his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Robin. His head smashed in, and his heart gouged out, And his liver removed, and his bowels unplugged, And his nostrils raped, and his bottom burnt off, And his penis [split and...] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 18:15:07 -0400 From: sae@zeus.cas.suffolk.edu (Acme Instant Dehydrated Boulder Kit) Subject: Alan's Ect-spectations were met and surpassed Greetings ectophiles! I'm writing you all to share with you my comments on the ecto-fest. This was for me, a very special occasion. I was listening to Happy a lot back in 91-94, ever since Woj sent me a tape of Warpaint... I was living in Zimbabwe at the time, and it was rather difficult for me to find new music there, so I resorted to tape trades with friends I met through the net. I joined ecto very shortly after receiving the tape, and for many years, Ecto was my primary source of new music information. Around 94 or so, I unsubscribed from every musical mailing list except my own, cloud-zero, which is the Legendary Pink Dots discussion list. It was around the time that I finished grad school, and my whole lifestyle changed completely; I no longer had as much time to listen to music, and I no longer had as much time to read e-mail or discuss music on-line. Alas, I was unable to see Happy up to this point, since i was just a poor student with a very unreliable car, and on the few occasions when I heard about her shows, it was just impossible for me to get past the logistics. So I drifted from Ecto, and drifted from the music. I kept buying her CDs as they came out, but figured that unless she played in my own town (in Montreal? doubt it. Toronto? Pah! Ottawa? When hell freezes over... And now I am back in Boston.... Well, maybe *someday*...) I probably would never see her live. When mwabt came out, I was blown away! There were many tracks on it that I felt showcased Happy's brilliance in ways I hadn't heard since Warpaint. And when I heard about ectofest, I decided that it was finally the time see her live. Anyway, I wanted to tell you all that seeing Happy live for the first time, was for me, a very moving experience. I see lots of live shows which are interesting but not really *moving*. While they're an enjoyable way to pass the time, very rarely do I see a live show that blows me off my seat. Loreena Mckennitt, Dead Can Dance, and Big Hat are notable examples of such experiences; they sounded better live than they did on CD. In the early 90s, I had friends who saw Happy live shared with me their comments: very few said it was an "excellent live experience". Some said the sound quality was mediocre, some said that she was stiff on stage, some said that there was just too much "missing" from the recorded version. So I thought that she, like most of the musicians I listened to, was just better on CD than she was live. Remember, these comments were from friends who sae her many years ago. Anyway, I was not expecting a spectacular performance; I knew it would be OK, but I had low expectations. Well, my expectations were far surpassed that day. When she played Many Worlds are Born Tonight, and Ra is an Angry God, I was tripping on her music. My body was swaying side to side to the rhythm, and sometimes my eyes even teared up a bit. While I already knew quite well how easily Happy could change vocal ranges, seeing her do it live was something else entirely! The energy on the stage was just right. The monty python song, "Brave Sir Robin" was delightful, and when she played "winter" it knocked my socks off! I didn't even recognize the song at first, and thought it was a new unreleased track or something. Thank you, Meth/Chuck/Woj and everyone else, for putting this together. It's rekindled my interest in Happy, and Ecto! It was very nice meeting and seeing again so many people there, too! Special greetings to Jeff W, Jeff B, Michael C, Laura C, Valerie N (sorry I couldn't find you to say goodbye), Marc P, MJMJM, Neil C, Joe Z, and Paul! I just re-joined ecto. My current job gives me a bit more time to enjoy and discuss music, so at last, all is falling into place! PS: has anyone gotten the latest My Scarlet Life CD yet? What do you think about it? - -- Alan Ezust Cambridge, MA USA http://www.brainwashed.com/ezust ezust@brainwashed.com - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cure the soul by means of the senses, and cure the senses by means of the soul. - Oscar Wilde ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 20:29:58 -0400 From: Paul Blair Subject: ectofest I had put this together before Don hit the list with his review, so a lot of this is going to duplicate what he said, but what the heck... Ectofest was stupendous. The weather had clouded over in NYC in the morning, but by the time I arrived at Brewster it was sunny and warm. (Thanks to Joe for picking me and Suzanne Cerquone up at the train station and taking us the 4-5 miles to the park!) Fortunately there were a fair number of shady places to sit, though right in front of the stage area was out in the sun until the late afternoon. A number of die-hard ectophiles didn't seem to care. (Then there was Don, who solved the problem by sitting in the shade right at the edge of the pavilion under the speakers. :-) ) When we arrived Drama Chic was finishing their set; I confess I wasn't grabbed. After that Rob Brereton got on stage and played a folky set on Appalachian dulcimer. A high point was a song about a powerful religious figure who could perform all sorts of miracles in daily life--the refrain went something like: She can help you In oh so many ways Make a winter coat From an old T-shirt I sing a song of praise And give thanks ...for Martha Stewart After that Rachael Sage went on. As usual, she was dressed in something wild--this time it was jeans embroidered or patched or marked with all sorts of love-child patterns, a halter top, '70s platform sandals, and very wide, narrow, pointy green glasses. I myself am only lukewarm on Rachael's music, for some of the same reasons Don mentioned, but her set was pleasant. The Ectoplasms went on next--basically Chuck and one other guitar player. I didn't have any idea what to expect, but it turned out to be quite enjoyable. The closing number, as preannounced on this list, was titled "I Wish I Could be Rachael Sage." (Done to a tune that started out a lot like "I Want Candy.") The second verse started, "I wish I could be Susan McKeown..." I happened to be standing by the sound booth not too far from Happy, and tugged at her shirt sleeve: "I bet you're next on this list..." Sure enough, the next verse went something like: I wish I could be Happy Rhodes The folks on ecto would love me loads I'd wow them all with my genius mind And I'd have a cute behind... Happy seemed mildly embarrassed. I'd never heard Sloan Wainwright before, and judging from comparisons with October Project, I wasn't sure I was going to like her. Well, she got on stage and opened her mouth and two syllables later I was sold. It was like hearing a precursor to Happy's lower-register stuff, maybe with a little Mary Fahlishness to it too. The music was pretty straight folk, which I don't generally like, but this would be one of my exceptions. At the end of her set Susan McKeown came up and they did a duet that blew everyone away. For me it turned out to have been the high point of the whole show, apologies to Happy. Sloan Wainwright was my big discovery for the day. The between-set music was largely Ectopia at the beginning, then Kate, then moved on into people I didn't know at all: Kate Jacobs, and then a CD supplied by Ofer whose name I can't remember at all. After Sloan we got Susan McKeown accompanied only by John Spurney. It was a good Susan set, definitely enough to give everyone who hadn't heard her a good idea of what they'd been missing despite the lack of cello, bass and drums. (And I still wish she'd find someone to do the tin whistle on "Wheels of the World.") Then Mila went on with Lyris on violin and Elissa on bass--Mark Sacco (drums) couldn't make it. Mila had a new acoustic guitar which I didn't like as much as the guitar she normally uses, particularly when she used it instead of the bass on her new nameless song. (The other song where she plays the bass, "Indiana," she didn't perform.) Other than that, her set was representative and seemed to win over some new fans. I was disappointed that she had to leave right after her set for another gig at Arlene Grocery--I've been pestering her to go hear Happy for a long time. Happy had brought all sorts of "stuff," which had to be set up hurriedly owing to the day running a bit behind schedule; the result was that Happy & co. wound up generating a lot of feedback for a few songs and Jeff Wasilko wound up running laps back and forth from the sound booth to troubleshoot. Fortunately, the problems didn't persist too far into the set. Happy brought Bob Mueller on drums, Paul Huseman on keyboards and backing vocals (one of the two keyboard players that played in her initial MWABT "tour") and Carl on bass. No effects guitar! The set was by and large the same as the one from the recent Tin Angel show, mainly stuff from MWABT, with "Warpaint" and "Just Like Tivoli" and, as mentioned, "Brave Sir Robin." It was interesting to hear the same songs with an extra keyboard an no effects guitar, though I liked best Happy's shows with the two keyboard players *and* effects guitar. The event was pretty well attended, but I should let Chuck comment on the numbers; lots of people showed up only at the end of the day. Besides seeing lots of familiar faces, I met lots of ectophiles for the first time, among whom: Suzanne Cerquone Craig Gidney Michael Colford Mike Mendelson Alan Ezust Brad Henderson (Apologies to anyone I forgot!) I wish I'd known who was Valerie; I didn't realize she was there. After the show there was a party in a bar near the Brewster train station. Chuck had even prepared food--a lovely spicy chicken with peanut sauce, and salad. Then there was a lovely ectofest '99 cake to top it off. Regrettably, none of the bands were able to make it to the party, but it was a terrific time just the same. Today I am feeling alone. Post-ecto withdrawal. Cheers, Paul ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #299 **************************