From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #403 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Friday, October 29 1999 Volume 08 : Number 403 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Groan-o-rama ["JH3" ] Re: speaking of musicians whom *some* people want to see naked [John Barr] Re: The Walken Dead [Christopher Gross ] Re: speaking of musicians whom *some* people want to see naked [Terrence ] Re: The Walken Dead [dmw ] Re: Lear [James Dignan ] Re: elvis [corin lang ] Re: Re: Pie Are Squared [corin lang ] [rb] Rockin' Robyn at Fletcher's, Baltimore, 27 Oct 1999 [Bayard ] Re: (Fwd) Re: A NEW lyrics question [Glen Uber ] Re: Pie Are Squared [Christopher Gross ] Re: The Walken Dead [Christopher Gross ] johnny feelgood ["Andrew D. Simchik" ] Re: [rb] Rockin' Robyn at Fletcher's, Baltimore, 27 Oct 1999 [Briannupp@a] tapin' robyn [Bayard ] Re: The Walken Dead [Joel Mullins ] Re: johnny feelgood [dmw ] [rb] Austin shows, 10/23/99, 10/24/99 (overdue) [Aaron Lowe ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 17:18:56 -0500 From: "JH3" Subject: Groan-o-rama I'd just like to go on the record here and say that I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to see *any* celebrity, musician, or member of this list in a state of complete undress. But perhaps more importantly: >Speaking of jokes, anybody know how the joke goes >that ends with "Plunger? I hardly KNOW her!" Two asparagus stalks walk into a high-priced French restaurant and both order petit l'escargot as an entree, along with a bottle of expensive vintage wine. When they finish their meals, they pay the waiter with a Visa card. Afterward, the maitre'd says to the waiter, "Wow, I've never seen THAT before! Stalks of asparagus, ordering a meal, and paying with a credit card! Hard to believe!" And the waiter replies, "Yeah, and they left me a rotten tip." John H. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 15:29:33 -0700 (PDT) From: John Barrington Jones Subject: Re: speaking of musicians whom *some* people want to see naked This supposedly is her daily mantra (which she penned herself). =jbj=, who loved Tidal, and is not ashamed to admit it. On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Eb wrote: > Did you guys know that Fiona Apple's upcoming album is supposedly titled > "When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows > Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing > 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your > Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth > Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know > Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, 'Cuz You'll Know That You're > Right"? > > At least, according to ICE magazine.... > > Eb, very grumpy today > > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 18:47:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: The Walken Dead On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, dmw wrote: > -- d. who distinctly remembers joel saying he thought the ranking thread > was interesting, or words to similar affect, even though d. deleted the > evidence thereof. I think Joel said that WRT the nudity part, not the ranking part. - --Chris ps. Check out the Oct. 15 TLS: not only does the cover photo of Pier Paolo Pasolini look like Chris from the Departure Lounge, but there's also a review of _The Search for the Giant Squid_ by Richard Ellis! ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 18:48:54 -0400 (EDT) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: speaking of musicians whom *some* people want to see naked On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, John Barrington Jones wrote: > This supposedly is her daily mantra (which she penned herself). I suddenly realize that there's a lot to be said for "Om". Terrence Marks Unlike Minerva (a comic strip) http://www.unlikeminerva.com normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 18:57:29 -0400 (EDT) From: dmw Subject: Re: The Walken Dead On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Christopher Gross wrote: > I think Joel said that WRT the nudity part, not the ranking part. > > --Chris still positive in the (vanilla) pervert column, n'est-ce pas? i wasn't trying to suggest that joel has a fetish for statistics! (now, that would be kinky) > ps. Check out the Oct. 15 TLS: not only does the cover photo of Pier Paolo wots tls, then? - -- d. n.p. lesbian boy _like white on trash_ - - oh no, you've just read mail from doug = dmw@radix.net - get yr pathos - - www.pathetic-caverns.com -- books, flicks, tunes, etc. = reviews - - www.fecklessbeast.com -- angst, guilt, fear, betrayal! = guitar pop ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 12:09:24 +1300 From: James Dignan Subject: Re: Lear >In the Beatles' "Paperback Writer", to whom are they referring in the >line: "It's based on a novel by a man named Lear" ? Edward Lear, 19th century cartoonist and writer of light verse. Also referred to in XTC's song "Then She Appeared". >jeez, i allus assumed "half twenty-two" was the street number. y'know, >the place was squeezed into one of those narrower than narrow buildings, >probably on the first floor, above a costume shop that no one frequented >much, which might've, or mightn't've, been a front for an >opium-smuggling operation. you do have *those* in britain, surely? yes, but in Britain that would be 22A, not half 22. James PS - A chicken walks into a library and says 'book book book' PPS - my all time favourite joke is possibly: "how do you tittilate an ocelot?" - "you oscillate its tit a lot!" PPPS - TasmaWalton rates 4.5 Toris, about on par with Toni Halliday, Winona Ryder, and Uma Thurman. Oh, and Bob Todd. James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . . Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 23:30:17 +0930 From: corin lang Subject: Re: elvis ye quail thing meeped hopefully re recent E Costello shows >I second a call for bootlegs -- if anyone knows of anyone who recorded these shows, please let us know! I don't have boots of the particular show that you attended, but we had a 100 minute am radio broadcast from Sydney , Feb. 99 that I recorded .Its extremely good quality , the lineup is just elvis and steve. I believe it covers much of the material you raved over. If anyone wants a copy contact me off list - and no, before the rabid Dat purists who consider any recording to be utterly tainted if its not digital ask , I can't burn a fucking cd of it and the master is not on recorded Dat either , although it was a three head nak used to do the dirty deed.As a result of course , it sounds totally scummy, utterly contaminated by layers of white noise and crud.You would'nt want to touch it with a putrid dingos kidney, let alone sully your pristine sound systems with its analogue excreta. So don't bother me with your elitist digital bleatings , ya gets it analogue or you don't gets it at all . dave ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 23:50:28 +0930 From: corin lang Subject: Re: Re: Pie Are Squared >The Great Quail >Subject: Re: Pie Are Squared >You know, I was just thinking that Jason Thornton can really be a >goofball! Why, I'm willing to bet that he'll even confuse the Tori >and Bowie scale. >That's what you get from too much David Sylvian and Stereolab. >Oh, yes, and he exaggerates, too. Always making things out to be >three time worse than they are, three times longer, shorter, whatever >suits his depraved goofball needs. . Just to offend EVERYONE - as I am in a fucking mean and offensive mood, (mainly due to the fact that Robyn did not visit Adelaide on his recent tour ) but this and its preceeding Quail scale thread has, IMHO, been just about the most amusing and interesting thread for the past three months - which just goes to show how little taste I have or how little interest I have had in discussions about how much coffee the list denizens have consumed recently . Sorry about this , but I yearn for the glory days of the list , which seem to have disappeared in a cloud of Quail Dust . Too much normality has been restored recently , a worrying sign. I mean c'mon guys, this is the bleeding FEGLIST,not some common or garden chat show. Wheres the weirdity ? BTW : Does anyone know what happened to Jon Fetter ?, I hope he did not meet with a bad end in the Taiwanese earthquake- did he not reside in that area ? . fuhg xxxx ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 19:30:31 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: [rb] Rockin' Robyn at Fletcher's, Baltimore, 27 Oct 1999 Mexican God The Devil's Coachman Wax Doll 1974 I Saw Nick Drake Viva! Sea-Tac * Sinister but She Was Happy * Jewels for Sophia * The Cheese Alarm * Madonna of the Wasps * Queen of Eyes * Antwoman * Sleeping with your Devil Mask * Oceanside * Encores: The Speed of Things (electric) Insanely Jealous * City of Shame * No, I Don't Remember Guildford * Beautiful Queen * Elizabeth Jade * * with accompaniment Highlights: Kimberley's stunning guitar work on "sinister" and others; very nice tour manager Ryan Carey arranging soundboard access for me; seeing Eddie again; the best $2.25 Chik sandwich i ever had; Robyn looking like he was having a blast playing with a band again; getting to see Lindsay doing the hand claps on "J4S"; being transported by "Insanely Jealous"; Devil Mask, Oceanside; Beautiful Queen with a new rocking outtro before the ahhhs, the list goes on! Lowlights: Being in ground zero of the Robyn/Kimberley Fender arms race (my ears ring still); the soundman making a few boo-boos with my tape (don't worry, it came out ok); barely missing Melissa who i was supposed to give a ride (hope everything worked out ok); forgetting to get a shirt for hollie (I'll get you one in Philly); not much else! It was great! Eddie's four-word review of two previous shows pretty much sums it up. This is the way to see Robyn, up close and personal, and an energetic band makes it all the better. Even Sea-Tac and Cheese Alarm, which I am indifferent to on the CD (though that cheese alarm intro sounds great in surround sound), were amazing live. The thumpin' bass line turned sea-tac into a wild hoedown. Robyn is encouraging taping this tour, so bring your recorder, and keep the reviews and setlists coming. If you would, put [rb] at the start of your subject line (as I did above) if you would like your post to be incorporated into Robynbase. I reserve the right to do so anyway if you don't use the [rb] tag, though, unless you specifically tell me not to. David and I both noted that Robyn played three songs from queen elvis, the album he recently referred to as the one "you can't get anymore... maybe that's a good thing." I guess, like _...decay_, he likes some songs from it a lot, others not at all. Eddie is doing his duty, giving Robyn the list of songs people want to hear, etc, so three cheers for Ed as he makes his way around the U.S.. I think cassettes should go the way of the dodo, so write me if you want mp3's. =b ps. Robyn passed right by me at the bar and I didn't even notice. *Damn* that was a good sandwich.... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 19:44:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: oh yes! Ryan video'ed at least part of last night's show, and told me robyntours.com (?) will be online soon with video clips and such. Hmm, when I saw Robyn last year he told me about robynhitchcock.com ,now it's robyntour.com, seems like Robyn is becoming quite a webhead. Oh, and Ryan said they've been visiting the Glass Hotel! He sez he'll post when the new site is ready... =b ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 16:55:28 -0700 From: Glen Uber Subject: Re: (Fwd) Re: A NEW lyrics question Ross said: > I think it may have been Michael Jackson -- *The* Michael Jackson, not the > circus freak. Actually, I looked it up at realbeer.com and it is attributed to Dave Barry. The actual quote is: "All other nations are drinking Ray Charles beer and we are drinking Barry Manilow." Cheers! - -g- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 20:05:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: Pie Are Squared On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, corin lang (who is apparently Dave Lang) wrote: > BTW : Does anyone know what happened to Jon Fetter ?, I hope he did not > meet with a bad end in the Taiwanese earthquake- did he not reside in > that area ? . Don't worry, Jon made his escape to the nice safe United States shortly before the earthquake. I don't know if he's back on the list with his new email address (are you, Jon?), but he's alive. In fact I've seen him in person since then. He was a bit *changed*, though -- didn't seem to eat, drink or sleep, had a sort of fixed stare, spoke in a monotone, and agreed instantly with anything the Quail said. That probably doesn't mean anything, though.... He's going to be at Robyn's Philadelphia show tomorrow, so if you hurry up and hop on a plane, Dave, you can see Jon and Robyn too! I'm sure it'd be worth it. - --Chris, only about 3.3 Quails on the surrealism scale today ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 20:10:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: The Walken Dead On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, dmw wrote: > > ps. Check out the Oct. 15 TLS: not only does the cover photo of Pier Paolo > > wots tls, then? The Times Literary Supplement (despite its name, essentially a separate publication from the London Times). Y'see, the main advantage of working here in the periodicals department is that I get free access to things like the TLS and the New York Review of Books that publish lengthy, detailed book reviews. This is a tremendous advantage in pretending to be better-read than I really am. - --Chris ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 20:41:39 -0400 From: "Andrew D. Simchik" Subject: johnny feelgood >From: dmw >and why is mr. the hitchcock always so much better north of dc than in it, >after november of 1990? odd. Not always. He was wonderful there in late '96 and not so great in Rochester in, what -- '97? Mind you, a feg's page carries a rave review of that Rochester show, so apparently mileage varies. But I thought the DC show was utterly perfect in every way, while the Rochester show suffered from lousy sound and wooden performance. >From: Vivien Lyon >Sad to say, most of the people he tells about >MilliHelens don't get it. I think that's why he tells >the blonde jokes, actually. Covers a bit broader >demographic range. Funny. Vonnegut complains about Helen's obscurity in _Deadeye Dick_, which I'm now reading. It's not quite that direct, but both that book and _Bluebeard_ seem very interested in the lack of cultcha in today's yewts. >From: Eb > >Did you guys know that Fiona Apple's upcoming album is supposedly titled >"When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows >Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing >'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your >Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth >Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know >Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, 'Cuz You'll Know That You're >Right"? > >At least, according to ICE magazine.... And 120 Minutes. Yes. She and O{-+-> really need to go halvsies on some decent quality control. >From: dmw >(_Stargate_ sucked! It was a half-assed mish-mash of cross-genre cliches >frankenstitched together, badly acted, and unsalvaged by lackluster, >not-very-special effects...and you can kill me if you want, but it won't >miraculously, retroactively make a good film of _Stargate_! So either >shoot me, or get the f--- out of my apartment, you mushroom-faced fanboy!) Who in the world would argue with this assessment? The best part of the film was Jaye Davidson. And he was RIDICULOUS. Drew - -- Andrew D. Simchik, wyrd@rochester.rr.com http://home.rochester.rr.com/wyrd/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 21:17:57 EDT From: Briannupp@aol.com Subject: Re: [rb] Rockin' Robyn at Fletcher's, Baltimore, 27 Oct 1999 Excellent news on the "Robyn's encouraging tapeing on this tour ." I`ll look for this Ryan Carey in Ferndale, MI on Nov 6. I'd much rather run my minidisc recorder direct than use my stereo mic. Any adapters I should be aware of to bring? If I would have know that they were distibuting fm radio broadcasters at the MABD show in Cleveland, I would have gotten a better recording. Although the recording did turn out quite fine. I ended up putting either side of the microphone against each headphone. Any info would be appreciated Thanx Brian ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 21:25:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: tapin' robyn > I'd much rather run my > minidisc recorder direct than use my stereo mic. Any adapters I should be > aware of to bring? most soundboards have quarter-inch plugs, it seems. Be advised that if there is only one set of outputs, Ryan will most likely use them himself to tape to minidisc. He gave me special consideration because I was using DAT. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 21:47:19 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Re: The Walken Dead dmw wrote: > -- d. who distinctly remembers joel saying he thought the ranking thread > was interesting, or words to similar affect, even though d. deleted the > evidence thereof. Oh yeah! I was very amused by all that 4.5 Bowies and 3.8/4.5/4 KC-U2-VUs. That was funny. I just wasn't that interested in seeing any fegs naked, which is a totally different thread, isn't it? Or at least a slightly different thread? Actually, I've never seen pictures of Nat, Viv, she.rex, etc etc, so I don't really know if I want to see any fegs naked or not. Anyway, my point is that it was the *ranking systems* that I supported, not the *nudity*. Actually, I supported the nudity too, I just never said so. Joel, np: TLC ...hell no, it isn't those bitches. It's the Learning Channel. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 00:18:14 -0400 (EDT) From: dmw Subject: Re: johnny feelgood On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Andrew D. Simchik wrote: > >(_Stargate_ sucked! It was a half-assed mish-mash of cross-genre cliches > >frankenstitched together, badly acted, and unsalvaged by lackluster, > > Who in the world would argue with this assessment? you'd be surprised. just put it on a website, and watch the death-threats roll in. ok, i'm exagerating slightly for comic effect -- there haven't been any actual "death threats" in the stand-up-in-court sense. quite. > The best part of the film was Jaye Davidson. And he was RIDICULOUS. i concur. agree, even. - -- d. your honor, i don't deny that my client announced his intention to rip the plaintiff's heart out of his chest with his bare hands and eat it raw, but i object to the prosecution's insinuation that this implies my client sought to kill the plaintiff. - - oh no, you've just read mail from doug = dmw@radix.net - get yr pathos - - www.pathetic-caverns.com -- books, flicks, tunes, etc. = reviews - - www.fecklessbeast.com -- angst, guilt, fear, betrayal! = guitar pop ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 01:35:52 -0500 From: Aaron Lowe Subject: [rb] Austin shows, 10/23/99, 10/24/99 (overdue) - ------------------------------------------------------- 10/23/99 Cactus Cafe, Austin, Texas 8:00PM - ------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTURE LOUNGE Grow Your Own Disconnected Slow News Day Music For Pleasure New You Save Me From Happiness Johnny A ROBYN [solo, acoustic] Mexican God Ghost Ship [add Tim Keegan] You've Got A Sweet Mouth On You, Baby Queen Elvis [add Jake Kyle] I Saw Nick Drake [add Kimberley Rew, Lindsay Jamieson] Jewels for Sophia Cheese Alarm [Robyn switches to electric] Queen Of Eyes Birds In Perspex Sleeping With Your Devil Mask Madonna Of The Wasps Beautiful Queen [Encore, solo, electric] Airscape (add Kimberly Rew) Kingdom Of Love (add Tim, Jake, Lindsay) Sally Was A Legend - ------------------------------------------------------- 10/23/99 Cactus Cafe, Austin, Texas 8:00PM - ------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTURE LOUNGE Stay On The Line Disconnected Grow Your Own Win Them Back Mercury In Retrograde (We've Got) Everything We Need Music For Pleasure The New You Save Me From Happiness ROBYN [solo, acoustic] Gene Hackman Wax Doll Clean Steve [add Tim] I Feel Beautiful DeChirico Street [add Lindsay, Jake, Kimberley] Jewels For Sophia Cheese Alarm [Robyn switches to electric] Madonna Of The Wasps Queen Of Eyes Sleeping With Your Devil Mask Sally Was A Legend Beautiful Queen [encore, solo, electric] She Doesn't Exist [add Kimberley] I Often Dream Of Trains Insanely Jealous [add Lindsay, Jake, Tim] Viva! Sea-Tac - ------------------------------------------------------- 10/24/99 Cactus Cafe, Austin, Texas 8:00PM - ------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTURE LOUNGE Straight Line Grow Your Own Disconnected Slow News Day Mercury In Retrograde New You Silver Line Everything We Need Save Me From Happiness Johnny A ROBYN [solo, acoustic] Devil's Coachman Dr. Lucy I'll Get You In The End I Wish I Liked You Serpent At The Gates Of Wisdom [add Tim] Queen Elvis [add Jake] Alright, Yeah [add Kimberley, Lindsay] Jewels For Sophia Cheese Alarm [Robyn switches to electric] Madonna Of The Wasps Queen Of Eyes Antwoman Birds In Perspex Oceanside [encore, solo, electric] Too Much Of Nothing [add Kimberley] Sounds Great When You're Dead Kingdom Of Love [add Tim, Jake, Lindsay] Sleeping With Your Devil Mask Beautiful Queen ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 02:48:40 EDT From: DDerosa5@aol.com Subject: calling from philly Jeme guesstimated: >I'd say Viv's more like a 12. Nah, I've seen her, she definitely looks 18. Maybe you saw too many of Traci Lords's early films, who (I bet if I saw one) would be 12.0 lovelaces hmm, this IS getting twisted. by the way, for all Phegs here in filly, I just found out I have to attend my brother's boring wedding rehearsal dinner, so I likely can't meet up first. (They are gonna quiz me to make sure I've properly memorized the Edward Abbey paragraph they want me to read). I don't even know yet which car I'm driving down, or if my brother and his fiancee will come, though I ain't holding my breath. But I will be there, and I'll be wearing a very odd purple silk shirt covered with octopi sharks and swordish that I originally thrifted to wear to the reopening of Yellow Submarine. Let me know how you'll be visible, or maybe we could all bring scorecards to rank the band's KC/U2/VU meter per song. Except I haven't been able to take U2 seriously for years now, since they fucked Negativland in the ass, and would substitute NMH if the scale is sincerity, BBragg if it tends more to self-righteousness (since U2 could once have been both), and anyway I'll probably just meet y'all at that bar, I'm likely to be the one spilling bourbon on his ugly shirt. Who else is going beside Carrie, LJ and Quail? Eddie? (I've lost his very complicated touring schedule.) I gotta go see where else Robyn is going. I'll see him in Chill, but just found out that I'm gonna be in New Orleans from the 5th to the 9th, perhaps I get to see him on three coasts...not likely, but that's my dream, as long as he's clothed. dave ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 02:57:25 -0500 From: Aaron Lowe Subject: Austin, 23-24 October 1999 Fellow Fegs, This is long overdue, but this week has been an absolutely hectic one for me, and I'm just now getting around to gathering my thoughts and committing them to email. Last weekend was absolutely unbelievable, better than I could possibly have expected or wished for. I already expressed the sentiment, before leaving for Austin last weekend, that the very best thing about moving back to Houston, Texas, this past August has been multiple occasions upon which to see Robyn live. I can't re-emphasize that statement enough. I knew I was planning on seeing all three shows, which meant going to Austin on Saturday seeing the two shows that night, staying overnight in Austin, then going to Sunday night's show and driving back to Houston. Somehow, I convinced my good friend Brent to accompany me on my journey. Brent and I were roommates in college right about the time _Respect_ came out, so he had at least a cursory familiarity with quite a bit of Robyn's reportoire, with a heavy emphasis on "Driving Aloud" and "Railway Shoes." We left before noon on Saturday, not knowing our way around Austin, and wanting to be sure to find our hotel, check in, and get to the Cactus Cafe in plenty of time for the 8:00 show. We listened to _Moss Elixir_ and _Jewels For Sophia_ on the way to Austin, and Brent really liked much of the latter disc. We ended up finding the Cactus fairly readily -- it was just sort of a small room at one end of the University of Texas student union building. When we got there around 5PM, we heard a very distinct and familiar voice wafting through the closed door of the "cafe." Robyn was sound-checking, solo, just behind the door! We stood by the door and listened for awhile, then left to get some food and then camp out next to the door, listen, and wait for a line to form behind us. It wasn't long before some other Fegs started arriving. I had the pleasure of meeting Greg Shell, Gene Hopstetter and his wife, and the road-trippin' Eddie Tews. Greg and Gene left to acquire some sustenance, but since we'd already eaten, we maintained our post by the door, chatted with Eddie, and listened to the neverending soundcheck, as they added the full band. The soundcheck lasted a solid 2-1/2 hours, and sounded unbelievable, even through the closed door. The Cactus Cafe was a dream venue to see RH. The room was quite small, the acoustics terrific, and the setting intimate and personal. Eddie, Brent, and I sat together at a table right next to the stage for all three performances. We weren't more than 5-6 feet from Robyn when he was on stage at any time. Unbelievable. The weekend culminated for me after Sunday night's show. I had spent much of the day Sunday seeking RH vinyl at Austin record stores, so that I might have a chance to get Robyn to autograph an album cover. I had meant to bring my copy of _Mossy Liquor_ or the _Storefront_ double-LP for him to sign, but in my rush to get on the road, I had forgotten them. When I was about to give up, I found a brand-new, still shrink-wrapped _Eye_ LP for just $5.99. Anyhow, I had the record jacket with me, and I was determined to get him to sign it before I left Austin. Problem is, I'm just not a very assertive person. I never quite worked up the nerve to hand him the album cover to sign during the show, and after the final encore, I found myself sitting at the table, still without my autograph. Eddie, who taped all 3 shows, graciously offered to let us borrow his masters and mail them back to him. Brent walked to Eddie's car with him to get the tapes. I decided I was going to just hang around for awhile, hoping that Robyn might re-surface eventually, and then I would force myself to approach him and ask for his signature. After about 15 minutes with no luck, I was about to give up. I peeked my head back into the room where the show had been, and saw Kimberley by himself, packing up equipment. I decided I wasn't going to leave completely empty-handed, so I walked up to the stage and asked Kimberley to sign the notepad I'd used to write down setlists. I told him that if I'd known he was going to be there, I would have brought a Soft Boys disc for him to sign. He was very gracious, said a few friendly words, and I was on my way. I walked out of the Cactus and back down the hallway to the main lobby of the Texas Union building. I was just about to head outside and look for Brent, when Robyn appeared out of nowhere, walking down a spiral staircase that heretofore, I hadn't even noticed was there. I saw him come down the stairs, and stood there, silent, motionless, dumbfounded, with my record cover and Sharpie in hand, as he walked past me, back down the hallway I'd from which I'd just come, and into the Cactus. I bolstered myself up, told myself that I'd bought the damned record, waited around for him this long, and that I wasn't leaving without my treasured autograph. My heart was in my throat and my stomach somewhere down around my knees when I got up to the stage, where Robyn and Kimberley were gathering up equipment. I stood silently, not wanting to interrupt them as they were standing with their backs to me, discussing the best way to pack the remaining items. Without even turning around to face me, Robyn said, "I guess there's some signing to do, eh?" My heart was racing. I said, "I hate to be a really obnoxious fan, but I've been trying to get your autograph for years now." He told me to wait just a couple of minutes while they finished up packing. I sat down at a table, and within 5 minutes, Robyn sat down opposite me at the table, and we talked for about 10-12 minutes. The whole experience was completely surreal -- I still can't believe it actually happened. We talked about the 3 shows, and he told me what parts he thought went off very well, and I told him what I especially enjoyed. Despite the fact that he was obviously tired, he was friendly and very genuine. When he did sign the _Eye_ cover, he wrote "Robyn H.", "Texas", "'99", and "To Aaron" in each of the four corners. If *only* I had remembered to ask him about "pre-war lemonade." ;-) Some other random thoughts about the weekend: Kimberley was fantastic. Some of his facial expressions seemed to imply that he was being electrocuted by his guitar, but he is a truly amazing musician. Seeing (and hearing) he and Robyn do that spiraling, back-and-forth lead guitar thing was hypnotic. I will always be grateful for being able to see that, but it makes me sad to think that that is likely to be the closest thing to a Soft Boys reunion that I'll ever see. Damn the fact that I was a toddler back in the late '70s. Tim Keegan's band is really good -- I hope they have a future. My friend Brent *loved* Departure Lounge. He ended up buying every TK&DL CD they were selling at the merchandise stand, and got one autographed by all the band members. Both Tim and Lindsay stopped at our table and chatted for awhile, and they're really down-to-earth, easy to approach guys. Brent's been scouring the web this week, looking for other Tim Keegan CD's to buy. I thought that they were really, really good live, but I'm not crazy about the production on the full-length CD they were selling at the concert. Everything seems sort of muffled. "Save Me From Happiness" was my favorite from their live sets, but I can't bear to listen to the whole track on the album. Another good live song, "Everything We Need," is reduced to cacophonous electric guitar and screaming on the CD. I hope Robyn continues to tour with a band. This was the first time I'd seen him with one, and I think this particular group really gels together well. It was great to meet some other Texas Fegs, but I wish we'd had more time to hang out and mingle. Maybe we'll all be able to come up with an excuse to get together again before terribly long. Hats off to Eddie and his dedication. When I first met him on Saturday, he'd been driving non-stop since Thursday (with only 4-5 hours of sleep). He left immediately from Sunday night's show to commence a 19-hour drive to Atlanta! Wow. Robyn was particularly verbose (and enchantingly so) last weekend. There are several of the between-songs extemporaneous "stories" that he told that really stand out in my mind. I am considering making MP3's (from Eddie's tapes) of some of those, and making them available via my website. Would anyone be interested in this? Popular interest may dictate whether I take the time to do this. I'm sure there are other things that I need to mention, but now, I need sleep. Thank God tomorrow is Friday. Blearily, Aaron * Aaron Lowe [ aaron@aaronlowe.com ] http://aaronlowe.com "Don't start me on the liquor I got nothing more to say I had a little money But it's all flown away" ~Violent Femmes _Don't Start Me On The Liquor_ ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #403 *******************************