From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V14 #57 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, March 1 2009 Volume 14 : Number 057 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Re: Vienna Teng/Alex Wong at Caffe Vivaldi (was Re: Did anyone else catch Neko Case's new CD preview?) [] Neko Case live concert vid + review [birdie ] jonatha at the Bush Hall, London [Adam Kimmel ] jonatha at the Bush Hall, London [Adam Kimmel ] Re: jonatha at the Bush Hall, London [Ellen Rawson ] Lissie - new CD in works [birdie ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:00:03 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ******************** Pamela Pociluk (no Email address) ******************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Pamela Pociluk Fri February 28 1964 Pisces Marius Voina Mon March 03 1980 Pisces Peter Clark Thu March 04 1948 Pedestrian Tim Steele Fri March 08 1963 Pisces Matt Bittner Thu March 12 1964 Pisces kIrI Hargie Fri March 13 1970 Pisces Bob Dreano Thu March 13 1958 Pisces Randall K. Smith Sat March 15 1969 Pisces Jessica Skolnik March 16 Pisces Patrick M. Kingsley Sat March 17 1962 Yin/Yang Alan Sodoma Thu March 18 1965 LuckyLurker Richard Konrad Sat March 18 1944 Pisces Daniel Wed March 18 1959 Wednesday's Child Kim Justice March 18 Pisces Barry Wong Thu March 19 1970 Merlin Graham Dombkins Fri March 19 1965 Pisces Ian Young Wed March 19 1969 Squiggol Jeff Wasilko Wed March 19 1969 Pisces Geoff Carre Sat March 20 1954 Pisces John Stewart Sat March 21 1970 Aries Bob Brown Thu March 22 1951 Ham Valerie Nozick Thu March 25 1971 Aries Tom Proven Sat March 27 1971 Eat at Joe's - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:04:53 -0800 From: birdie Subject: Re: Vienna Teng/Alex Wong at Caffe Vivaldi (was Re: Did anyone else catch Neko Case's new CD preview?) On Feb 27, 2009, at 1:28 PM, meredith wrote: > Hi, > >>> Did anyone make it out to see Vienna and Alex last night? > > Vienna and Alex each said that this was by far the best of the three > Caffe Vivaldi benefits, so I guess we picked the right one to get > to. :) I love how shows sometimes change like the weather...the same exact show can provoke such a different reaction from the audience, depending on day and time of the week - wednesday matinee or outdoor daytime fests verses friday night crowd pumped and ready to go at 8:30pm crowds....also, as word-of-mouth grows so can the the anticipation and excitement - which rubs off very well onstage.... > There were no sound issues (though I would've boosted Vienna's > vocals and brightened them up a wee bit), and everybody played > great. She, Alex, and Ward Phillips (formerly of the band Jump > Little Children) played _Inland Territory_ in its entirety, in track > order. Wow.....how fabulous... > Vienna alternated between her Nord keyboard and the cafe's gorgeous > baby grand, Oh that reminds me - they put the upright against the left wall at Hotel Cafe, put in new lighting (took the cans down that were upstage for backlighting, so there's side lighting from around where the upright was and new lights out in the house...) and....they made the stage bigger and dressed the ceiling with some black pleated material...and they changed the curtains and the stage is now entered from the house right side - behind the curtain. It is an improvement - but the red curtain around the back wall remains. > Alex hit all sorts of things and looped some stuff and provided the > occasional background vocal, He has such good taste and feel for adventure.... > and Ward played cello and electric guitar. Nice > Vienna told cute little stories about many of the songs and the > recording process as she went along. All in all, it was pretty > transcendent. Did you see her EPK? I really enjoyed it as it focused on the actual making of the album and the music and how it was inspired and so on... One of the things I have recently become more aware of and, I guess....because I am completely burnt out on it is musicians that play this social network ego vanity driven by the numbers way of running their spaces....it's all about marketing and self promotion....I am sure the recent awards in LA (Grammy/Oscars) where its all about everybody wanking themselves and everyone else off has only tipped me over the edge on this.... But....I bring this up only because it is SO REFRESHING to hear about and from artists who care about music and their lives and others lives (real people, real lives, real issues,real world).....and their art and all the other artforms and artists that can/do interact with them.... So, thanks... > > > For the encore Amber Rubarth appeared from the corner she'd been > hiding in Did you read her new blog on myspace? She hits the nail on the head... about being focused on the music....the blog is called I want to be great....and, I think she is....just great...for it. > , and we got a bonus Paper Raincoat performance of "In The Creases", > then she sang backup on "2BR/2BA". Finally, the trio closed out the > evening with a lovely rendition of "Nothing Without You", a request > from a friend in the audience, which Ward had never heard before and > did a remarkable job with on cello. It was a really long evening > (the music ended just after 11, and we'd been seated for dinner at > 7), but it was all worth it. Wow, a full meal! plus desserts and then drinks....haha > > > Afterwards I burbled at Alex for a while like a silly fangrrl about > how this album exceeded my already lofty expectations, but really, > he is an absolutely genius producer. I've prodded them a few times to listen to some Prefab Sprout.....and specifically steered Alex towards their Thomas Dolby produced "Jordan: The Comeback" best listened to with headphones....I am fairly certain that he will appreciate and find the production work on that, tasty......If Alex ever wanted someone else to produce or to co- produce with - I would recommend, Thomas. They would be utterly remarkable together. > I was immensely heartened to hear Vienna say that she made this > album with ecto in mind, it definitely shows. Everyone else with a > 2009 release date is going to have to work *really* hard to displace > this one from the top of my "best-of" list (Tori, I'm looking at > you ;). It's already shaping up to be a great year - and Imogen is getting further along now on hers and there are a few others still cooking.... You know, everything can go to hell in a hand basket - but as long as we have good music....we'll get through! > > > Alas my own tour schedule dictates that I'm going to miss the album > release tour, but y'all should NOT miss it if they're coming to your > town over the next couple months. AmbeR is coming to town one more time and then, looks like is headed off for another European tour...and Alex has this other band...and.....you know....they really are funny how they come and go and get mixed up in other projects and come back together.... I have to say they restore my faith in music...they really live for it and are completely dedicated and so creative and talented and always growing...and its not about posturing, photoshop, and any and all of the commerical and marketing and ego end of things.....most great musicians are not great looking and many of the real treasures are like....BB King. It's about the art/craft/soul/spirit/music - not winning a contest, record deal, or some ego trip or any other superficial thing. It's just about the music. I really believe that the alex, vienna, and ambeR's of the world - are some of the very best role models of working musicians in the universe today......and....have you tuned into Imogen lately??? LOL.....she is getting down to final mixes..... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:07:45 -0800 From: birdie Subject: Neko Case live concert vid + review http://www.idiomag.com/peek/67358/neko_case ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:57:07 -0800 From: Adam Kimmel Subject: jonatha at the Bush Hall, London Lovely, just lovely. Jonatha solo, standing on the stage against a red velvet backdrop and just singing and playing guitar and occasionally switching to a bit of keyboards, but the pure and unadulterated delight of one of the best singer/songwriters plying her craft in an intimate setting to an audience of appreciable fans. It had more of a club/cabaret feeling, with people seated at the few tables lining the walls or sprawling on the carpeted floor beneath the chandeliered ceiling rapt and drinking it all in. She played huge chunks from her new Woody Guthrie tribute, The Works, which certainly benefitted from the simple, elegant setting, but dipped generously into her back catalogue. The thing about Jonatha -- and I know I'm repeating myself, here, from previous reviews of her in concert -- is the sheer joy she exudes in performance, as if rediscovering each song and eager to share that discovery with the audience: exploring each passage, verse, chord afresh and glowing from the pleasure of it all. She comes across as someone supremely confident and genuinely appreciative of her audience and the chance to play in front of them. She even offered an acoustic version of "Crumbs" to please a Scottish fan who continually calls for it, which I'd only heard her do once before, with a full band. One of those evenings that left me with a warm glow of beauty and a rekindled love of music. The image of her playing in front of that red curtain, beneath the chandeliers of the Bush Hall, will stay with me for a long, long time. Adam K. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:57:07 -0800 From: Adam Kimmel Subject: jonatha at the Bush Hall, London Lovely, just lovely. Jonatha solo, standing on the stage against a red velvet backdrop and just singing and playing guitar and occasionally switching to a bit of keyboards, but the pure and unadulterated delight of one of the best singer/songwriters plying her craft in an intimate setting to an audience of appreciable fans. It had more of a club/cabaret feeling, with people seated at the few tables lining the walls or sprawling on the carpeted floor beneath the chandeliered ceiling rapt and drinking it all in. She played huge chunks from her new Woody Guthrie tribute, The Works, which certainly benefitted from the simple, elegant setting, but dipped generously into her back catalogue. The thing about Jonatha -- and I know I'm repeating myself, here, from previous reviews of her in concert -- is the sheer joy she exudes in performance, as if rediscovering each song and eager to share that discovery with the audience: exploring each passage, verse, chord afresh and glowing from the pleasure of it all. She comes across as someone supremely confident and genuinely appreciative of her audience and the chance to play in front of them. She even offered an acoustic version of "Crumbs" to please a Scottish fan who continually calls for it, which I'd only heard her do once before, with a full band. One of those evenings that left me with a warm glow of beauty and a rekindled love of music. The image of her playing in front of that red curtain, beneath the chandeliers of the Bush Hall, will stay with me for a long, long time. Adam K. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:59:08 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: jonatha at the Bush Hall, London - --- On Sat, 2/28/09, Adam Kimmel wrote: > Lovely, just lovely. Jonatha solo, standing on the stage > against a red > velvet backdrop and just singing and playing guitar and > occasionally > switching to a bit of keyboards, but the pure and > unadulterated delight > of one of the best singer/songwriters plying her craft in > an intimate > setting to an audience of appreciable fans. I should have known you were there, Adam. :) It had more of > a > club/cabaret feeling, with people seated at the few tables > lining the > walls or sprawling on the carpeted floor beneath the > chandeliered ceiling > rapt and drinking it all in. Or, sitting on bar stools upstairs in the terrace, sitting directly across from centre stage. Yes, we'd arrived a little late (took the train in from the New Forest after work). The seats at tables were gone and the floor was getting crowded, but I noticed the balcony -- with open doors. I checked at the front and, yes, it would remain open the entire show. So, up we went, pulling over bar stools from the closed terrace bar. We weren't that far away from the stage and had an unobstructed view with great sound. A few others joined us later, some of whom were friends of or family with members of The Storys, the opening band. (Members of the Storys also watched Jonatha from there after their set. I must say that they were highly appreciatiave of her music. I did like how they clarified they were 'The Storys' and not 'The Story' at the start of their set, btw. :) Their first song didn't do much for me, but subsequent numbers were quite pleasing, and I'd be curious to hear them with their keyboard player who was missing due to his father's death. I did like how their voices blended together.) She played huge chunks from > her new Woody > Guthrie tribute, The Works, which certainly benefitted from > the simple, > elegant setting, but dipped generously into her back > catalogue. I was a little surprised when I heard requests for "Angel in the House" and wasn't surprised when she didn't play it. But it was good to know people in the audience are familiar with and like the song. :) She comes across > as someone > supremely confident and genuinely appreciative of her > audience and the > chance to play in front of them. And that's despite her telling us how nervous she's been and is. :) I liked her stories about the Woody Guthrie songs, and, yes, we left with a copy of that CD in hand as we headed back to the tube and then Waterloo Station for the last train (12.05am) home. Sorry I didn't realise you were there! I've been very busy at work dealing with additional coursework (the new A-level English specs have coursework when we'd never had it previously), so I didn't mention anything about the show here. I just bought tickets to see Diana Jones in Winchester next Friday, a bit closer to home. We caught her opening for Richard Thompson about three or so years ago and saw her on the BBC4-aired Barbican American folk show not long ago. Ellen ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:03:18 -0800 From: birdie Subject: Lissie - new CD in works You may know her from her work with Jesca Hoop. She sent me an add request, and I was delighted to hear her music and read her blog. She is outside of Nashville for the next 2 months - getting ready to record her next album, and they are setting up a big house, as the studio - which interests me greatly, as there is nothing I'd rather do than live out in the country and have a studio at home. Here's her myspace w/mailing list et al WWW.MYSPACE.COM/LISSIEMUSIC there are also pix of her w/jesca hoop in my hotel cafe folder www.myspace.com/birdiepix ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V14 #57 **************************