From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #438 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Monday, November 23 1998 Volume 07 : Number 438 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Kung-fu fighting [Matt ] Wouldn't it be great...? [Capuchin ] Re: mom [desmond in a tutu ] Re: Wouldn't it be great...? [Capuchin ] Re: The Monsters of fegMANIAX! Tour! [Ken Ostrander ] Re: mom [Mark_Gloster@3com.com] the sammy hagar incident ["Capitalism Blows" ] Re: Wouldn't it be great...? [fred is ted ] RE: mom ["Kieran Turner" ] Re: Lemmy and Robyn [Russ Reynolds ] glossary flesh [desmond in a tutu ] RE: mom [Mark_Gloster@3com.com] Re: mom [Aaron Mandel ] Re: sandy denny tribute et al., and how [VIV LYON ] Let's do the numbers! ["JH3" ] Credit where credit is due. [Capuchin ] m*u*m (he's English, remember? ;) [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (Jam] Dan Bern in Berkeley ["chris franz" ] Re: m*u*m (he's English, remember? ;) [Jon Fetter ] Re: Let's do the numbers! [Ben ] allstar Daily News - 11/23 [Eb ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 10:54:46 -0500 From: Matt Subject: Kung-fu fighting Somebody answered this for me before but what is the name of the V/A record that the egytians version of Kung Fu Fighting is on. Thank you. Matt ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 08:44:09 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Wouldn't it be great...? On Mon, 23 Nov 1998, fred is ted wrote: > Sure would be great if some heaps of free-time having, database adept > Feg put together a Robyn concordance. Just enter "Joyce, and out pops > "...Devil Mask" (any other songs with Joyce?). Yep. Sure would be > great, alright. Actually, the tools are at hand. Woj's lyrics page > would serve as the database--just needs to be made searchable. I > wonder what nouns, verbs, etc. would show up most often. "Trout?" OK OK OK. http://www.teleport.com/~capuchin/fegmaniax/ If you want to cut straight to the stuff you mentioned, try http://www.teleport.com/~capuchin/fegmaniax/search.cgi? There are a few dozen songs not yet placed... and there are a few comments within the lyrics that are matching wordsearches. Deal with it for now. Any complaints, questions, comments, or suggestions should be aimed at the mail link at the bottom of the page. Yay! Check it out. Enjoy it. Play with it. Je. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 11:40:02 -0500 From: desmond in a tutu Subject: Re: mom also sprach fred is ted: >Sure would be great if some heaps of free-time having, database adept >Feg put together a Robyn concordance. Just enter "Joyce, and out pops >"...Devil Mask" (any other songs with Joyce?). Yep. Sure would be >great, alright. Actually, the tools are at hand. Woj's lyrics page >would serve as the database--just needs to be made searchable. that would be capuchin's lyrics page and it's already searchable! in fact, here are the search results for "joyce": >Give Me A Spanner, Ralph > > With a modern day manner > Mamas like Joyce 5 > With her turned up voice > [...] > >Sleeping With Your Devil Mask > > It's all compulsion, there's no choice 25 > My mother's second name is Joyce > And once when she was very young > [...] > >This page found 2 songs with "joyce" on the albums you selected in >3.09908699989319 seconds. i'd like to see something more like a glossary (or a gazeteer considering the number of place names which appear in his songs) than a concordance. the lyrics themselves should be hypertexted (that's not a verb, but tough)such that the interesting bits link to an explanation. >Of course, if we head down this path, we can simply reduce Robyn to a >software model. didn't tracy's hedgehog already do that? speaking of which, a webified version of that is coming soon to a fegsite near you! woj n.p. tortoise (the eponymous one) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 08:52:39 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Wouldn't it be great...? > On Mon, 23 Nov 1998, fred is ted wrote: > > Sure would be great if some heaps of free-time having, database adept > > Feg put together a Robyn concordance. Just enter "Joyce, and out pops > > "...Devil Mask" (any other songs with Joyce?). Yep. Sure would be > > great, alright. Actually, the tools are at hand. Woj's lyrics page > > would serve as the database--just needs to be made searchable. I > > wonder what nouns, verbs, etc. would show up most often. "Trout?" > > If you want to cut straight to the stuff you mentioned, try > http://www.teleport.com/~capuchin/fegmaniax/search.cgi? And by the way, here's the output for a search for 'Joyce'. Give Me A Spanner, Ralph With a modern day manner Mamas like Joyce 5 With her turned up voice [...] Sleeping With Your Devil Mask It's all compulsion, there's no choice 25 My mother's second name is Joyce And once when she was very young [...] So there you go. Je. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 12:11:06 -0500 From: Ken Ostrander Subject: Re: The Monsters of fegMANIAX! Tour! >> Robyn Hitchcock. >> Dan Bern >> Neutral Milk Hotel >> >> and various local/independent supporting acts! add to that richard thompson and brian wilson and you could blow away lillith fair! ken "covered in grease and lime and scales" the kenster ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 10:39:41 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: mom Desmond tooted: >i'd like to see something more like a glossary (or a gazeteer considering >the number of place names which appear in his songs) than a concordance. >the lyrics themselves should be hypertexted (that's not a verb, but >tough)such that the interesting bits link to an explanation. There is a They Might Be Giants page somewhere wherein they explain lyrics. It is pretty neat as I recall, including some amount of quotes from the authors about the content. The problem with Robyn's stuff is that it would seem almost impossible to nail down a meaning- especially from Robyn's quotes about it. Any analysis would tend to be several times the length of each song- as would a compilation of what Robyn said about them. Having said that, I would really like someone to do this too. By the way, perhaps my favorite quote from Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes comic philosophers fame is: "Verbing weirds the language." - -Calvin Weirding the world, one word at a time, - -the Jane Goodall of tigermonkeys and rubber sharks (after years of study I can report that the behavior of rubber sharks is much more subtle than that of tigermonkeys, who have been known to remove entire city blocks with a single look. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 10:51:20 PST From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: the sammy hagar incident this came up last year, and somebody said that her name is elizabeth joyce. a few people were even saying that maybe Elizabeth Jade is about her, which scandalised bayard no end. what susie said. marcy, how could you launch this unprovoked attack on jonathan demme?!?! speaking of "how could they?"s. how in the fuck could lisa simpson choose a friggin' video game over Wind In The Willows? what a horrible moment! lord how i did scream. by the way, terry jones' Wind In The Willows is opening here day after tomorrow, and i am fucking JACKED. fucking weenie. for what it's worth, the egyptians used to cover Brown Paper Bag from time to time. ALVIN LIVES. pretty good album, actually. after Kung Fu fighting, i think the best song is Summer Nights. Obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy publications or writings, or mail containing information on where, how, or from whom such matter may be obtained, and matter that is otherwise mailable but that has on its wrapper or envelope any indecent, lewd, lascivious, or obscene writing or prinitng, and any mail containing any filthy, vile, or indecent thing is nonmailable (18 USC 1461, 1463). ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 11:35:26 -0800 (PST) From: fred is ted Subject: Re: Wouldn't it be great...? - ---Capuchin wrote: > > > > On Mon, 23 Nov 1998, fred is ted wrote: > > > Sure would be great if some heaps of free-time having, database adept> > > Feg put together a Robyn concordance. > > > > If you want to cut straight to the stuff you mentioned, try> > http://www.teleport.com/~capuchin/fegmaniax/search.cgi?> > And by the way, here's the output for a search for 'Joyce'. > > > Give Me A Spanner, Ralph > > With a modern day manner > Mamas like Joyce 5 > With her turned up voice > [...] > > > Sleeping With Your Devil Mask > > It's all compulsion, there's no choice 25 > My mother's second name is Joyce > And once when she was very young > [...] > > So there you go. > Je. Cool! Thanks for the tip. Man, I'm always missing it. I know where my free net minute(s) is going to be spent today... Words to search... hmmm... meat, murder, bee, quail, Vera... Ted "Yeah, we get high on music" Kim Deal _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:05:25 -0000 From: "Kieran Turner" Subject: RE: mom > Desmond tooted: > > >i'd like to see something more like a glossary (or a > > There is a They Might Be Giants page somewhere wherein they explain > lyrics. It is pretty neat as I recall, including some amount of quotes > from the authors about the content. The problem with Robyn's stuff is > that it would seem almost impossible to nail down a meaning- > especially from Robyn's quotes about it. I wonder if this kind of thing wouldn't actually _annoy_ Robyn? In Storefront (and I'm sure it's not the first time I've heard him say this) he justifies _not_ explaining what a song is about by saying that when he does, he's generally lying. And I remember a gig where after a very very long song-introduction about Anubis the Egyptian god leaving her head on an airliner, he proceeded to sing a completely unrelated song. OK, it was funny at the time, but I got the impression he was making a point too. So, who dares tread on the great one's tootsies? ;) K ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 98 12:17:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: Re: Lemmy and Robyn ======== Original Message ======== There is a two step version depending on which rules we're playing. Lemmy -> Capt. Sensible (MotorDamned) Capt. Sensible -> RH (Cowriting on "Women and Captains First") (H) ======== Fwd by: Russ Reynolds ======== RH did more than co-write with Sensible, didn't he? I thought he played guitar on at least one track ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 15:43:19 -0500 From: desmond in a tutu Subject: glossary flesh also sprach "Kieran Turner" : >I wonder if this kind of thing wouldn't actually _annoy_ Robyn? > >In Storefront (and I'm sure it's not the first time I've heard >him say this) he justifies _not_ explaining what a song is about >by saying that when he does, he's generally lying. this glossary is not as much a meaning-of-songs thing as a meaning-of-phrases thing. it would answer the questions "where is east grinstead?" and "who is anubis?", not "what does mentioning east grinstead mean in this song?" and "why did robyn pick anubis and not thoth?" that said, if i was thinking of a meaning-of-songs thing, i'd like to have one even if its existence annoyed robyn. a website collecting interpretations by listeners *or* robyn's statements about a song would certainly be an excellent resource to have. >So, who dares tread on the great one's tootsies? feh. woj n.p. church of betty -- comedy of animals n.d. boddington's pub ale ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 13:16:44 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: RE: mom >> Desmond tooted: > >> >i'd like to see something more like a glossary (or a > >> There is a They Might Be Giants page somewhere wherein they explain >> lyrics. It is pretty neat as I recall, including some amount of quotes >> from the authors about the content. The problem with Robyn's stuff is >> that it would seem almost impossible to nail down a meaning- >> especially from Robyn's quotes about it. >I wonder if this kind of thing wouldn't actually _annoy_ Robyn? I know that the mere existence of this list has annoyed Robyn, but he's met some of us and those have been really good ambassadors. I am pretty sure he has some number of informants who tell him what we're up to here, and he seems to take it well. He doesn't act like he knows about our arguments about what his worst songs, but that's the kind of thing that I feel uncomfortable about him finding out. >In Storefront (and I'm sure it's not the first time I've heard >him say this) he justifies _not_ explaining what a song is about >by saying that when he does, he's generally lying. I hope that he would be happy that his songs could stimulate thought and effort on our part to figure out what they mean. However, I'm sure he would think we were goobers for wasting our time on such minutae. Of course, he probably thinks the presence of this list is pretty goobery. >And I remember a gig where after a very very long song-introduction >about Anubis the Egyptian god leaving her head on an airliner, he >proceeded to sing a completely unrelated song. OK, it was funny at >the time, but I got the impression he was making a point too. This is true, but what's wrong with looking at poetry to find meaning, popular or individual? We do this sometimes on the list, and he might hear about it if he cares. >So, who dares tread on the great one's tootsies? I don't know if we can really live in fear of that. I doubt even our dearest Eb has made such negative references to Robyn's work as Aiden did in the RH fanzine. I'm sure that to have survived in an artistic craft for so long, Robyn must be able to put up with a great deal. That is not to say that we should treat him (and/or each other) without humanity and respect. If that goober who was going to post the fegFAQ gets it out this week, it will say that fegmaniax is more about the people who appreciate the music, words, art, and general existence of Robyn Hitchcock rather than Robyn Hitchcock, himself. In this way, I think he's much more comfortable with our discussions of his works. How they relate to us. Ogawd. I've been off work for two weeks and I'm still babbling. Next week I'll go back to driving nails into cement with my head. Happies, - -Markg ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 16:27:48 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: mom On Mon, 23 Nov 1998 Mark_Gloster@3com.com wrote: > There is a They Might Be Giants page somewhere wherein they explain > lyrics. It is pretty neat as I recall, including some amount of quotes > from the authors about the content. every TMBG lyrics-explanation page i've seen -- and though i've seen a few, there must be many many more -- was pretty awful. there are a surprising number of people out there who think it is worth explaining the most tedious details of someone else's cleverness, and there are even more people who are incapable of believing that the associations a lyric has for them are not universal. i guess what bugs me most is the way these people treat lyrics (usually) as something that requires decoding -- that is, the song is just a flowery description of something, and we must figure out what that thing is. nobody takes this approach to written poetry very seriously, do they? "The narrator does not want to be called Reg. This is probably a reference to Elton John." aaron ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 15:47:34 -0800 (PST) From: VIV LYON Subject: Re: sandy denny tribute et al., and how - ---desmond in a tutu wrote: > i believe the only feg who went was viv. Yup. >she told us what song he played > when we got back to the flat of lj last night, but i've forgotten what song > it was (does anyone remember?) He sang Mattie Groves and he had to read the lyrics off the sheet. Then he tried to put them back on the music stand but he couldn't so he had to hold them. A charming moment. Deni's song was quite moving, as were many of them. Mike Mills' song was something about a pirate, and though his voice was not up to the task per se, his performance was heartfelt. I sat not very far away from Mr. Hitchcock and miniature entourage of undiscerned composition. He caught me gazing at him a couple times, I think. Or did I catch him? Hm. > and she neglected to save her program (some > feg, huh?). Feh! Yes, I forgot to save the program, but I shook the man's hand, and surely that's more important. Most importantly, he said he saw me at the Mercury show and that I had been wearing a polka-dot shirt. Instead of seeing this for the coup that it was - ie: he had seen and remembered seeing me- (well, he couldn't have helped seeing me as I was standing literally right in front of him at the show), all I could think about was how I had no idea what to say to him. Absolutely nothing that was not cliched or tepid came to mind. I muttered something basically incoherent about how I'd been standing in front of him and then he shook my hand and I couldn't look at him, I was in disbelief and so embarrassed at not having prepared a statement. Then someone said something to him, he said he'd be right there, and as he let go of my hand he said he hoped I'd enjoyed the show. "Yes," I murmurred lamely, walking off in a fog which unmercifully lifted and left me confronting the fact that I had conducted myself very poorly indeed. So there it is. Not utterly embarrassing, and yet I can't escape the feeling that I completely fucked up. Didn't even introduce myself, that's how out of it I was. Shite. But after all, what can one say? "I love your music." "What is that one lyric all about, anyway?" "Could you sign this?" I just wish I'd had a Harrison Ford poster. >viv's on a 20 hour train ride back to chicago so i doubt we'll > hear from her before monday night. Sure was. And here I am. As I said, I stood right in front of him at the Mercury Lounge. It was sublime and also extremely difficult. His eyes alit on me a few times and I felt keenly self-conscious. You see, I was in rapture, and I didn't want to embarrass him with my excess of emotion. I'm pretty sure, as I told the fegs present, that I had my sex face on for much of the show. Storefront Hitchcock, which I saw not with the NY crew but instead yesterday right before I boarded the train, was fantastic. It started out a little slow, but then my god did it build up. I don't mind telling you I was moved to lacrimation (that's a quaint old-fashioned way of saying 'tears') by several songs. Well, I do mind, actually, but I feel I owe y'all an honest account. Vivien ps- I did pick up his cigarette butt, but I flatly deny that this is in any way obsessive or reprehensible behavior. It was putting it in my mouth that constituted said behavior. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 18:11:37 -0600 From: "JH3" Subject: Let's do the numbers! Fegzzz... Recently I've been doing a little work on this Robynbase thing of Bayard's. A fascinating project, it is. The design modifications and Access internals are essentially complete, and I'm hoping to have a new WWW interface for it by the end of the year. But I say that about a lot of things. Anyway, here's a list of songs from Robynbase beginning with "J": Jailhouse Rock (Lieber & Stoller) Jerry-Scud, Hoof-Lips! Jewels for Sophia Jolly Hangman Judy Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (Bobby D.) Once Bayard is done entering setlists, he'll probably be posting a list of gigs still in need of them. Other than that, practically all of the data is in there now, so at some nebulous future time you'll be able to call up a web page specifically for your favorite Robyn Hitchcock song, with a listing of every discography item that song appears on, and every gig it's known to have been performed at! You'll even be able to choose a city and get a listing of every live appearance Robyn has ever made there! I have no idea why anyone would actually need such a resource, but still, what a wonderful time to be alive, huh? I like Woj's idea of a gazetteer or glossary. It's technically feasible, at least. I could even do it, if I had the time. I don't, of course. And yet I have the time to type in long posts like this one. Go figure. Finally, since this format was so successful with my vague opinions about the Smiths and Indian restaurants, here are the current counts from Robynbase: Total number of discography items, including V/A comps and commercial bootlegs (courtesy J. Partridge): 263 Number of songs Robyn has recorded or performed: 706 Number of above tunes known to be covers: 211 Just to save you the trouble: 706-211=495 Number of Smiths covers: 2 Number of Bob Dylan covers: 42 Total number of gigs Robyn has played, including radio/TV appearances (courtesy Eddie Tews): 798 Number of different live venues, including radio/TV: 435 Not including radio/TV: 389 Number of venues known to be Indian restaurants: 0 DISCLAIMER: Obviously these figures are only accurate given the info that's available; for example, if Robyn did a Smiths cover at a gig that wasn't recorded, it probably wouldn't show up in these numbers. John "MegaGoober" Hedges III PS: No "PS" this time, sorry ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 17:22:01 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Credit where credit is due. Several kind folks have written to me to thank me for the lyrics page and stuff. I just want to make sure credit gets placed where credit is most assuredly due. The kind folks of the lyrics list have spent much time transcribing lyrics and comparing notes and verifying inconsistencies over the past year. These fegs spent hours each week (when I was on the ball) for something like eight months to prepare what lyrics are available (and many that I haven't gotten off of my butt and posted). So these people deserve all the real congrats and thanks and whathaveyous. And of course, any problems with the site and errors in posting were mine, and not theirs. Byebye. J. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 14:58:51 +1300 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: m*u*m (he's English, remember? ;) >> >his mind, he lay with molly" jumped out at me. is molly mommy >dearest? >> >> >> Her name is Joyce but I think it's actually her second name. My> >father-in-law knows her and he knows her as Joyce. >> >> Marcy > >"Sleeping with Your Devil Mask" provides confirmation? > >"It's all compulsion, there's no choice, > My mother's second name is Joyce" in which case the Molly may be an interesting subtle reference to his mother anyway, via another Joyce - the one that TGQ writes about....? James (the NZ one, not the Dublin one) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 18:43:36 PST From: "chris franz" Subject: Dan Bern in Berkeley Well, it was great to get together with a gaggle of Fegs last Friday in Berkeley. Unfortunately, we had to witness that debacle billed as a Dan Bern concert. I'll post a review if anyone cares (just imagine almost the polar opposite of Eddie's review), but for now I'll just say that mercifully no Fegs recorded it, and I found myself looking down at the copy of Smartie Mine I bought before the show, annoyed that I'd taken that step to support him. Cheer up, Dan, and ease off on the weed. Still, any gathering of Fegs is a cause for celebration, and this was no exception. The bay area now boasts of a Reichstein, and Karen finally got a proper introduction to at least some of the crew down here. Here's hoping the next cause for a get- together is a bit more worthwhile. - - Chris, typing this up in a vi emulator called "Lemmy" n.p. the clattering of dozens of keyboards ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 11:42:12 +0800 From: Jon Fetter Subject: Re: m*u*m (he's English, remember? ;) Concerning the James' subject line: I don't know why, but I generally like English spellings over American (the country of which I am a member) like grey instead of gray, colour instead of color, fegmania instead of fegmayniah, etc. But I have never liked "mummy." My mother surely isn't a rag-wrapped, dessicated, myrrh-smeared corpse with her vital organs in canopic jars. Jon (spelled "Juventus" in parts of coastal Norway) - ------------------------------------------------------------------- "To have a light, you gotta have a dark to put it in!" - --Arlo Guthrie ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 22:40:36 -0500 From: Ben Subject: Re: Let's do the numbers! JH3 wrote: > Number of Smiths covers: 2 > What are the two Smiths covers? I know he did Morrissey's "Every Day Is Like Sunday"... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:06:41 -0800 From: Eb Subject: allstar Daily News - 11/23 >Darius Rucker, Robyn Hitchcock Shine At Sandy Denny >Tribute Concert > >The decision of a pop star to perform in a tribute >show is almost always aesthetically healthy -- both >for the performer, who gets to stretch and/or show >off a new side, and for the audience, who gets to see >them in a new context. The results, however, are >another matter altogether. > >Such was the case in Brooklyn, N.Y. Saturday (Nov. >21) night at the tribute concert to the late British >folk-rock singer Sandy Denny, which featured the >likes of R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, Hootie and the Blowfish >singer Darius Rucker, and eccentric singer/ >songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, among many others, all >interpreting little-known (to American audiences, >anyway) Denny songs. As earnest as their efforts >were, they weren't always effective, nor even >pleasant. > >Mills, for instance, inexplicably chose to sing "It >Suits Me Well" in a key much too high for even his >tenor voice, which caused him to squeal and strain >when he reached for the upper- register notes in the >song's chorus. Adding awkwardness to injury, he >seemed at a loss as to what to do with his hands (a >common problem on this evening) -- and so clapped >along with the beat embarrassingly during the guitar >solo. As if that weren't enough, the lyrics of his >chosen song extolled the virtues of humble poverty -- >frankly, it seemed a bit silly to hear someone who >has sold millions of records and has signed a >contract worth over $70 million sing, "Never had no >money and no hope to get none." > >But to be fair, the sheer formal dignity of the >affair -- after all, it was held in the austere St. >Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights, with a full house >of mostly older, knowledgeable arts patrons sitting >quietly in pews -- seemed almost to intimidate and >humble the pop performers. Through most of the show, >not one of them said a word. One after another, they >paraded on, did their song, and left, followed by the >next and the next, without even a hello. > >Hitchcock, appropriately -- affable clown that he is, >nor one to resist a performing challenge -- finally >broke the silence towards the end of the second set, >albeit merely to compliment the band. (And a fine >band they were -- are -- that is, the Continental >Drifters, the New Orleans- based collective of >accomplished, yet renegade veterans led by former >dB's singer/ songwriter Peter Holsapple, who also >moonlights as a touring musician for R.E.M. and >Hootie, among others.) > >Anyway, Hitchcock added some much- needed charisma to >the evening, singing "Matty Groves," a long, dark >tale of sex and death that seems to have involved an >unfortunate poor girl and a judge -- the lyrics are >so dense Hitchcock held them on a sheet of paper >close to his face (no, he didn't care how this >looked, unlike several other performers, who hid >theirs on a music stand). The song must have appealed >to Hitchcock's macabre sense of humor, and he made up >for his rather unsubtle reading of the story with a >deft turn on the harmonica during the extended >musical jam coda. > >Rucker, meanwhile, was quite a surprise. Few doubt >that he's a gifted singer, per se; it's just that no >one ever gets to hear him use that gift for anything >more substantial than the simplest of radio- friendly >pop tunes. But on this night, he boomed through the >rafters, sinking his thick vocal cords around a dark >old English tune called "Blackwaterside," loudly >projecting on the choruses, then letting the trailing >notes resonate around the room. It was stunning, >actually, coming out of the mouth of someone who >meekly stood onstage in black jeans and a black T- >shirt, then quietly walked off like the rest of >them. > >Other highlights: Dana Kletter, perhaps best known >for singing backup on Hole's Live Through This, >dueted with her twin sister Karen on the saddest -- >and loveliest -- song of the evening, "Autopsy"; and >Irish singer Katell Keineg faithfully delivered >Denny's most well-known song, "Who Knows Where the >Time Goes?" albeit adding little new to the original >intent. > >And the song sung by John Crooke, leader of North >Carolina band Jolene -- appropriately called "John >the Gun" -- packed the hardest rock and roll punch: >drummer Russ Broussard laid down a devastatingly slow >sledgehammer groove, over which Crooke emoted a tale >of evil that crescendoed in blistering guitar runs >while Crooke contorted his body to the rhythms. > >Actually, it was Susan Cowsill who earned the loudest >applause. The wife of bandleader Holsapple -- and >former child star (she was a member of the family >group the Cowsills in the late '60s, who scored a No. >1 hit with "Hair" and laid the blueprint for the >Partridge Family) -- delicately interpreted the sad >reflection "At the End of the Day" (at the end of the >first set) and the lighthearted yet melancholy pop >ballad "I'm a Dreamer." Cowsill's voice cracked in >all the right places, and her shy stage presence -- >reminiscent of Lisa Germano -- proved endearing. > >Other performers included famed producer (and former >solo artist) Don Dixon, Dixon's wife (and former solo >singer) Marti Jones, former Bangle Michael Steele, >and singers Sloan Wainwright, Susan McKeown, Amanda >Thorpe, and Deni Bonet. The evening climaxed, as >these events are wont to do, with a group sing-along >that featured everyone -- everyone, that is, except >Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes. Contrary to his >confirmed appearance on the show, he was a no-show. > >Kid Loco, and Baaba Maal. ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #438 *******************************