From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V10 #296 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Sunday, August 5 2001 Volume 10 : Number 296 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Stools a go-go ["Sweet & Tender Hooligan" ] RE: Over the Rhine ["da9ve stovall" ] Wheeee! (A personal Wheee!) [The Great Quail ] Groovin on an inner plain ["Rude Becky of Goldstrum" ] RE: Over the Rhine [Sebastian Hagedorn ] the oliver twist manifesto ["Andrew D. Simchik" ] RE: Over the Rhine [Viv Lyon ] Re: Over the Rhine ["Sweet & Tender Hooligan" ] Re: Wheeee! (A personal Wheee!) [Tom Clark ] Re: Stools a go-go [Eb ] [Eb ] New Sam Phillips [steve ] band question [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Back to my bad old ways (but not out-of-the-blue) [steve ] Re: Is that The Quail on the right? [The Great Quail Subject: Re: Stools a go-go > > OTR is one of the best bands currently making music, hands > > down, no arguments (that means *you* ). > > This sorta argument never does very well with Eb, though. Does /any/ argument do very well with Eb? ;) > For what it's worth, I saw 'em live (opening for the > Vigilantes of Love, in fact, bit of an odd bill...) Gawd, I'd kill a lot of people in order to see a bill like that. In fact, the two bands did an entire tour together a few years back (the "Double Cure Tour", I believe). VoL's new record, "Summershine", is due August 14th, and they're going to be in Lincoln, NE (less than an hour from me) in September. I can't wait. NO ONE ever comes to my neck of the woods, you understand. No one good, I mean. We're always getting abominable acts like Metallica and Matchbox 20 around here. > (I've played their new record three or four times; I > remember only that I enjoyed listening to it but didn't > feel like I had anything useful to say about it.) The new one ("Films for Radio") is an interesting animal. There are moments when I feel that it's their best work (the opening song, in particular, is a motherfucker). But sometimes when I listen to it, I find myself wishing they hadn't abandoned the stripped down sound of "Good Dog, Bad Dog" and "The Darkest Night of the Year". It's a keeper, for sure, but it's definitely their most "produced" album. paul christian glenn | pcg@runbox.com "To die for an idea - it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true." - H.L. Mencken ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 08:49:09 -0700 From: "da9ve stovall" Subject: RE: Over the Rhine >> There were six people >> onstage, plus an intermittent female backup singer who's apparently also >> the vocalist of Over the Rhine (I guess this band has a strong following >> *somewhere*, if you look hard enough). > >You've just won the "Understatement of the Year" award. :) >OTR is one of the best bands currently making music, hands down, no >arguments (that means *you* ). They've released 3 records on IRS, 3 >independently, and their latest is on Virgin/Back Porch. I'll second a vote for Over the Rhine as a band to see. The first time I saw 'em was in Cincinnati - their home-grounds - in March of '92 at Sudys Malone's. They've been around for a while. This was around the time of their first self-released album _'Til We Have Faces_ - which I still rank as their best. _Patience_ and _Eve_ followed that, plus _Good Dog, Bad Dog_ and _Besides_, _The Darkest Night of the Year_ and _Amateur Shortwave Radio_, plus a solo piano album by Linford Detweiler, the title of which has escaped me. A couple of those were fan-club only (GDBD and Besides), and at least a couple were later re-issued on IRS in slightly different form than the originals. I just saw them for a second time (and taped the show) earlier this year in Indianapolis, on the heels of the release of _Films for Radio_, which I'd rank as one of their best - at least it's more consistent than some of the earlier ones (funny, I never used to give consistency a second thought, but sometimes it does make things easier to absorb at first; maybe I'm just going soft). This new one starts to show a bit more outside influence than anything previous, is my first observation. Definite bits of Radiohead _Kid A_ feel, and a couple more unambiguously sexy songs than they've put forth before (the incongruity of which is notable to long-time fans, as OtR have sometimes been nudged toward the pigeonhole of 'almost-Christian-pop' music - Jars of Clay territory - for their occasional undercurrents of spirituality. I think Linford is of Quaker extraction, which is something I just can't recall seeing in the music biz very often). They're a class act all around, able to sustain a mood and render audiences utterly rapt and silent. da9ve ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 11:50:10 -0700 From: The Great Quail Subject: Wheeee! (A personal Wheee!) Good news in Quail-Land! Yesterday I accepted a position at Columbia University's Teacher's College. I will be a Director in their professional development program. Basically, Columbia has created a new spin-off company called TC Innovations. The purpose of the company is to work with K-12 school districts, designing Web-based programs and courses that meet the needs of their teachers and administrators. The programs will deal with professional development, classroom management, and so on. As the company expands, we will begin making subject-oriented programs teachers may use in class, programs that directly involve students and the Internet. The company is fully funded for five years, and I will be let in the ground floor. It's a pretty cool job, and I am quite happy -- not just because I may finally end my 6-month job search, but because I really am excited about this job, and all the people I met were very cool. The one VP decorates her office with Magritte and Dali, and the other is a gay man who likes opera. And the President looks like David Cronenberg! So I begin on August 21st, after I return from the Lovecraft convention. I will still maintain the Modern Word, but it must be as it was when I started it -- an obsessive hobby. Though It will still retain its corporate structure and advisory board, so it's basically semi-professional, and I don't have to pay the hosting bills myself. Now, if only U2 will play Brooklyn for me, I would be the happiest quail in the world! - --Q - -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Great Quail, Keeper of the Libyrinth: http://www.TheModernWord.com "O Nature, and O soul of man! How far beyond all utterance are your linked analogies! Not the smallest atom stirs or lives in matter, but has its cunning duplicate in mind." --Herman Melville, "Moby Dick" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 16:05:13 +0000 From: "Rude Becky of Goldstrum" Subject: Groovin on an inner plain Stewart: Thanks for the recumbent bike Hitch quote. Nice to know that Robyn fans arent -that- few and far between. Bet Michael Wolfe is in heaven. (Writting after Ive read farther on in the digest) Hot damn indeed:-). James: >salt. sprinkle salt all arnd the plants. Dries the slugs up. Even >better, >try to encourage hedgehogs - they loove slugs! Salt? Dosnt that hurt the soil? Would love a hedgehog(memories of Beatrice Potter illustrations) but dont think they're common to Philly. We have rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs, deer and the occasional racoon. Considering the popularity of the slug pubs(this morn slugs were piled so high in the bowl there was some bug on top, high, dry and feeding--till I poured more beer over it)I dont think we have anything around that eats live slugs. I live just across the river from Max Lang, very far indeed from Beatrice Potter land. Kay _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 11:12:31 -0700 From: "Sweet & Tender Hooligan" Subject: Re: Over the Rhine > I'll second a vote for Over the Rhine as a band to see. The > first time I saw 'em was in Cincinnati - their home-grounds - > in March of '92 at Sudys Malone's. They've been around for a > while. This was around the time of their first self-released > album _'Til We Have Faces_ - which I still rank as their best. Wow. Better than "Eve", even? Yikes! > plus a solo piano album by Linford Detweiler, the title > of which has escaped me. "I Don't Think There's No Need To Bring Nothin'" is the title. Also, Linford's second piano album is due this month, along with his first book of essays, poems and whatnot. Now if only Robyn would take a cue from that... > A couple of those were fan-club only > (GDBD and Besides), Originally, yeah, but both albums are now available to the public via the website. > I just saw them for a second time (and taped the show) earlier > this year in Indianapolis, I missed them 3 TIMES on this tour. They came to Kansas City, Iowa City, and Sioux City - all of which are within driving distance - and every damn time I had /something/ going on and couldn't make it. God. Just thinking about it puts me in a pissy mood. > This new one starts to show a bit more outside influence than > anything previous, is my first observation. Definite bits of > Radiohead _Kid A_ feel, and a couple more unambiguously sexy > songs than they've put forth before (the incongruity of which > is notable to long-time fans, as OtR have sometimes been nudged > toward the pigeonhole of 'almost-Christian-pop' music An image they've repeatedly bucked, it may be added. It's funny, because as much as some people /want/ them to be a Christian band, they simply aren't. They wouldn't make it in that industry anyway. Their music is far too edgy (replete with -gasp!- swearing and sexual overtones!) for the Christian music world. > I think Linford is of Quaker extraction, which is something > I just can't recall seeing in the music biz very often). I've heard him say he's of Amish descent. Is that the same thing as a Quaker? Don't the Amish make those quilts and whatnot? > They're a class act all around, able to sustain a mood and render > audiences utterly rapt and silent. Yep - that's a good way to put it. When I saw them in Chicago, after a particularly stunning performance of "Poughkeepsie", the audience sat there in silence. Karin opened her eyes, looked around and sheepishly said something like, "It's okay to clap". :) paul christian glenn | pcg@runbox.com "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 19:18:55 +0200 From: Sebastian Hagedorn Subject: RE: Over the Rhine - -- da9ve stovall is rumored to have mumbled on Freitag, 3. August 2001 8:49 Uhr -0700 regarding RE: Over the Rhine: > I'll second a vote for Over the Rhine as a band to see. Coming from *the* city on the Rhine, although people from D|sseldorf might dispute that, I wonder where they took their name from. Probably a WWII reference, I suppose... - -- Sebastian Hagedorn Ehrenfeldg|rtel 156, 50823 Kvln, Germany http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 10:30:24 -0700 From: "Andrew D. Simchik" Subject: the oliver twist manifesto New Luke Haines solo album. First listen: "not bad, but was this worth paying $23 for the import?" Second listen: "holy shit, yes." Third listen: "will I ever be able to take this out of the CD player?" It's short, succinct, sinister, and sweet. Along the lines of Baader Meinhof with some Black Box Recorder arrangements. Since saying "I hate Haines's voice" on this list a year or two back I've become a huge fan of Haines's voice and everything else, so this was easily worth import prices to me. It's easily worth regular prices to all of you. He also has a soundtrack out ("Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry"). Like any soundtrack, that one's got its ups and downs. I have it mostly for quasi-completism. Oh, and the new Bows record is just as splendid as the last one. np: Adam Ant, _Vive Le Rock_ Drew - -- Andrew D. Simchik, drew at stormgreen dot com http://www.stormgreen.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 11:03:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Viv Lyon Subject: RE: Over the Rhine On Fri, 3 Aug 2001, Sebastian Hagedorn wrote: > Coming from *the* city on the Rhine, although people from D|sseldorf might > dispute that, I wonder where they took their name from. Probably a WWII > reference, I suppose... There's a ghetto-type neighborhood in Cincinnati called "Over-the-Rhine." I'm guessing they got their name from that. Vivien ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 13:13:23 -0700 From: "Sweet & Tender Hooligan" Subject: Re: Over the Rhine > Coming from *the* city on the Rhine, although people from D|sseldorf might > dispute that, I wonder where they took their name from. Probably a WWII > reference, I suppose... From the FAQ: 1. Where'd you get the name? Over-the-Rhine is the name of a downtown neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the band got its start. The neighborhood was founded roughly 150 years ago by mostly German immigrants. Central Parkway, a street that separates Over-the-Rhine from the rest of downtown, was once upon a time the Erie Canal. Cincinnatians who crossed the Erie Canal to get into the German part of town began referring to the trip as going "Over-the-Rhine." Linford lived on Main Street (across from Kaldi's Coffeehouse and Bookstore) in the heart of Over-the-Rhine for almost ten years. Much of the band's early music was written and recorded in those third story rooms overlooking the activity of Main Street. Back in 1989 when the band first tried on the name for size, Over-the-Rhine was considered the bad part of town. Many of the buildings were abandoned and it was where a good bit of the city's drug dealing and prostitution went down. But it was a neighborhood full of striking imagery, and the price was right for young musicians with pockets empty of everything but a few unlikely dreams. The neighborhood has changed immensely in the last decade, and some credit the band for taking away some of the negative connotations of the place and opening peoples' eyes to the ragged beauty of those angular streets. Karin Bergquist describes the current neighborhood as a "colorful, confusing mix of poverty and prosperity, capitalism and crime, homelessness and gentrification, beauty and austerity." Linford Detweiler's family has German-Swiss roots, but the German connotations of the name are just coincidence. "The phrase evoked images of going Over the Rainbow, being drunk with joy, getting high on leaving home or whatever was keeping us up at night, bright-eyed. We were wrestling with dark hardbound notebooks in bedrooms with our ink-stained fingers and mind-boggling lives. We were free to do anything or be anybody. We needed to pick a new favorite dilemma. We needed a name. We were flying hand in hand through the black and holy sky. We were Over the Rhine." paul christian glenn | pcg@runbox.com "What's he building in there? We have a right to know..." ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 14:24:27 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: Wheeee! (A personal Wheee!) on 8/3/01 11:50 AM, The Great Quail at quail@libyrinth.com wrote: > Basically, Columbia has created a new spin-off company > called TC Innovations. HEY!!!! > The one VP decorates her office with Magritte and Dali, and the > other is a gay man who likes opera. And the President looks like > David Cronenberg! > How do you know he was gay? Did he ask you out? Speaking of Cronenberg, I just saw eXistenZ the other night. Can't say it was great, but it _was_ pretty damn creepy. Like most Cronenberg, I suppose. - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 15:45:51 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Stools a go-go >> There were six people >> onstage, plus an intermittent female backup singer who's apparently also >> the vocalist of Over the Rhine (I guess this band has a strong following >> *somewhere*, if you look hard enough). > >You've just won the "Understatement of the Year" award. :) Well, to me, they're just another typical cult band from the Ectoghetto. I heard one of their IRS albums awhile back...seemed harmlessly pleasant enough. Blah. ;) Incidentally, if the above was such an enormous understatement, does that mean you have to look really, really, REALLY hard to find the band's following? >OTR is one of the best bands currently making music, hands down, no >arguments (that means *you* ). Gosh! Considering how seamlessly our musical interests have dovetailed in the past, I'm sure you know how readily I'll swallow that proclamation. ;) Eb now ehhing: Usher ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 18:19:11 -0700 From: Eb Subject: I'm rather bleary. I had a very long night. I drove up to the Roxy last night to see Ruby, performing locally for the first time in about five years. Oh, what an emblematic lesson this was, regarding the collapse of the "alternative" boom. A bit of history.... I always liked Lesley Rankine's previous band, Silverfish. Never understood why their one major-label album, Organ Fan, was such a bomb (if you like Foetus/Big Black-type stuff, definitely check out this one). Perhaps it has something to do with the disc being on Chaos, a short-lived Columbia subsidiary which seemed to botch the promotion of *several* quality albums. Ultra Vivid Scene, tribute discs for Victoria Williams and Charles Mingus, etc. After Organ Fan cutouts flooded $1.99 bins everywhere, Rankine took a break and revamped her image. She re-emerged in 1995 as "Ruby," with a much more synthetic, groove-based sound based in studio craftsmanship. The album, Salt Peter, was for *another* short-lived Columbia subsidiary (The Work Group) and was perfectly timed to go along with the abortive trip-hop movement. Portishead, Tricky, Massive Attack, Hooverphonic, Sneaker Pimps, Lamb, Whale, etc. were all catching on, and Ruby caught the wave (though the album was merely OK). One single ("Paraffin," I think?) even grabbed some video airplay. I remember Ruby played at a small local club called the Dragonfly back then, and it was impossible to get a ticket for this hot 'n' trendy event. I was disappointed that I missed the show. Then Rankine vanished off the map again. I figured she was gone for good. Earlier this year, I recall asking a guy at Touch & Go (Silverfish's old label) what happened to her, and he said the label hadn't heard from her in awhile. In a *very* odd coincidence, scarcely a week later, I received a press release about a new, upcoming Ruby album (this time, on the indie Thirsty Ear label). Weird! So, that album (Short-Staffed at the Gene Pool) came out a couple of months ago. Not much better or worse than Salt Peter, but you can quickly hear the loss of major-label budgeting in the thinner production textures. Since trip-hop mostly petered out (where *is* that new Portishead album, anyway?), the moment for the new Ruby album has already passed. Too bad. This missed window of opportunity couldn't have been more obvious at the Roxy. What a difference five years makes. I arrived late on purpose, hoping to miss the opening band Dredg. Ruby's set was scheduled for 10:15 pm, and I walked in around 10:00 pm. I knew it would be a long night, what with hopping over to the Viper Room afterwards, so I figured I'd cut down my concert time. When I arrived, the place was quite full. Aha, Ruby still has fans after all. Onstage was some *horridly* cheeseball synth-vocals duo, presumably Dredg. The crowd seemed to like them, but only because their music was so pathetically amateurish that it was almost *endearing*. Root for the underdog, and all that. I only saw about two-and-a-half songs, and then the duo packed up and left. Thankfully. Perfect timing...now for Ruby. But oops, when the next band came onstage about 10:20, it turned out *they* were Dredg. The previous group was called something like "Bubblegum Blue Girl." Eek! So, now I had to endure Dredg, while simultaneously gritting my teeth because the delayed set times would severely hamper my plans to catch Strummer (he was loosely scheduled to begin around midnight). I was feeling grumpy now, and didn't watch Dredg too closely as a result. I mostly sat in the lobby area, avoided the claustrophobic crowd and read L.A. Weekly. It sounded like Dredg was sort of a mix between Radiohead and the Cure. Well-performed, but not my thing. Someone told me Dredg is now signed to Interscope, but that source didn't seem especially reliable. Next came the big surprise. When Dredg left the stage, *so did the audience*. Hmm, you know I *thought* there were too many teens in the crowd for a Ruby show.... All night, I had been puzzled to see an entire seating area (practically a third of the space) closed off with barricades and a curtain. I have *never* encountered this before at the Roxy. Given how cramped the house was for Dredg's set, it was doubly irritating to see this large space just *wasted*. Well, once Dredg exited, I understood. By the time Ruby started playing at 11 pm, the place was about *20% full*. Very depressing. 100-125 people? It's almost impossible to triumph over a desolate environment like that, and Ruby didn't succeed. I was a bit disappointed with the set. It wasn't so much that the music was poor, or weakly sung. Or even that Rankine's stage gestures and exaggerated facial expressions weren't fun to watch. *Something* about the presentation, though. Music like this ought to have a little aloof mystique - -- certainly, the Work-era Ruby achieved this in its videos. Instead, the onstage Rankine was just a stocky tomboy in pants, an unexplained "COMEDIAN" T-shirt, an outrageous Scottish accent and a pronounced diastema. Just the sort of bratty, life-of-the-party gal whom the guys dig because she's not embarrassed to fart in front of them. Oh well. This persona fits Silverfish a lot better than Ruby, I might note. There were only two other musicians onstage: a standup bassist (!) and a guy who doubled on guitar and keyboards. The rhythm tracks were all pre-programmed. I thought I heard that the bassist is Rankine's brother, but I'm not sure about this. Rankine gleefully griped that the airline had misplaced a significant portion of their equipment, and that a crucial vocal-effects box and other gadgets were missing. Hrm. Some of the onstage gear was borrowed at the last minute, I gathered. I enjoyed the songs all right, but between my impatience to get outta there and the pathetic crowd, I was feeling deflated. The second the music stopped, I zipped down the street to the Viper Room and squeezed into the performance area by around 12:25 am. Unfortunately, Strummer and band were already onstage, as expected. The place was *packed*. Packed enough that the doorman was holding off a short line of people still waiting to get in (even at that late time) and letting them in one by one, corresponding to the scant numbers who were leaving. I flattened myself against the wall, and caught the set's final three songs. Johnny Ramone brushed past me, sporting the same dour expression you see in every photo ever snapped of him. Later, I was told that Strummer performed for about 40 minutes. The first song I saw was a mellower tune ("Mumbo Jumbo" or something like that?) which he joked was a showcase of the band's "feminine side." Then came a reggae cover of Jimmy Cliff's maddeningly catchy "The Harder They Fall," and it was already encore time. Drat. The final tune was another reggae cover, but also an authentic Clash favorite: "Pressure Drop." The crowd went crazy, and joined in on all the "Ohhh-ohhhs." Later, I was told this was the only Clash-era tune performed, and that the backing band had only learned it during soundcheck. OK, good to know. Even based on these three songs, I could immediately tell this would've been a much better show than Ruby's. Them's the breaks. After the concert, I was spontaneously invited for pizza at some nearby, chic Italian spot with six others. I can't quite call any of them "friends," and three of them were total strangers. I felt a bit insecure about my role in this outing. It worked out OK, though. The place is open and serving entrees until 4 am -- unusual. Sometimes it seems like folks *intentionally* order mutant pizza varieties in these situations, as some sort of competitive test of mettle. Accordingly, one of the two pizzas ordered was some barely tolerable mix of barbecued chicken and jalapeno peppers. Just the thing for a mellow, late-night snack. Equally incongruous, the restaurant speakers *blasted* techno dance music at a ridiculous volume. $87 and change, including automatically added tip. Zoinks. I didn't get home until 4:30 am. Ouch. I need a nap. How was your day? Eb ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 22:59:13 -0500 From: steve Subject: New Sam Phillips Haven't had time to listen to it yet (writing up a long, original post about our visit to the new Apple Store for another list) but Borders *is* selling an exclusive version of Sam Phillips' new album Fan Dance. The bonus song is Wasting My Time (Reprise). And it's on sale for $12.99. Or at least it is at the Borders in Plano, Texas. - - Steve __________ In May, after fighting ferociously to keep it secret, the Pentagon reluctantly released its own internal study reporting that despite an investment of more than $70 billion, Star Wars technology remains so elementary that "a rigorous assessment of potential system performance cannot be made." - Eric Alterman ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 16:32:51 +1200 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: band question can any of you knowledgeable fegtypes tell me anything about a band called Puppy Love Bomb? Sound seems to be happy, bouncy Britpop. James ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 23:36:31 -0500 From: steve Subject: Back to my bad old ways (but not out-of-the-blue) http://www.junction-city.com/billboard/cusack/index.asp - - Steve __________ You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test. - George W. Bush ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 23:40:23 -0500 From: steve Subject: Is that The Quail on the right? http://www.pocketpresident.com/front.html - - Steve __________ At the same time he was selling U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union, former FBI special agent Robert Philip Hanssen was a key supervisor in a 1980s domestic-spying program questioning the loyalty of American citizens and monitoring their activities, newly obtained FBI documents show. - Dann & Kennedy, L.A. Times ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 10:02:03 -0700 From: The Great Quail Subject: Re: Is that The Quail on the right? >http://www.pocketpresident.com/front.html It looks like a horrible hybrid between myself and Mark Gloster, actually. There's a thought to keep the Bay Area Fegs awake at night. - --Quail, of Tom Clark Innovations ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2001 13:45:24 +0100 From: martin.fleming@ukonline.co.uk Subject: Robyn in Edinburgh 4th August Folks, I had the privilege of attending Robyn's show in Edinburgh last night, so I thought I would de-lurk and pass on some hazy recollections. It was a shame the show was not sold out because Robyn appeared to be in fine form. He was off into a monologue before he even played his first song! Most of the show was acoustic since Robyn broke a string on his electric after a couple of songs. The songs I was familiar were as follows : Veins of the Queen (preceded with a rant about how the Royal Family were a "totem of misery" since the ones underneath are all waiting for the one at the top to die) Viva Seatac Queen Elvis (Robyn explained that it takes a million nobodies to create a somebody elevating that somebody to celebrity status "like a Courtney Cox - rest assured their shit doesn't smell any better than yours.") Raymond Chandler Evening I am Not Me Sally Was a Legend Gene Hackman Only the Stones Remain Robyn closed with an Incredible String Band song (don't recall the title) and encored with a beautiful take on the Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost in You." This was followed by a George Harrison song ("I think George is still this side of eternity") (sorry, but I can't give you the title since I'm no Beatles/solo expert). There was new (to me at least) material including a song entitled "A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations, Briggs" (after the line in "Magnum Force") and a song featuring a recurring line about a glass hotel which may or may not be called "Glass Hotel" which was absolutely stunning. Does anybody out there know this song? Robyn's playing was strong throughout, and his solo at the end of "I am not me" was impressive to say the least. So, a performance which was a joy to behold and this on a day when a depressingly large number of people (51,000 with another 51,000 tonight stats fans) were across in Glasgow going ape for the performing chimp that is Robbie Williams. Just isn't right. M ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V10 #296 ********************************