From: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org (jangle-poets-digest) To: jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Subject: jangle-poets-digest V9 #228 Reply-To: jangle-poets@smoe.org Sender: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jangle-poets-digest Monday, November 3 2008 Volume 09 : Number 228 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [JP] Bitter End 10/30/08 - Pete & Maura's "October Surprise" [MercyHouse1] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 21:36:53 EST From: MercyHouse1@aol.com Subject: [JP] Bitter End 10/30/08 - Pete & Maura's "October Surprise" Pete & Maura's "October Surprise." There were many surprises. They surprised their fans, and they surprised each other too, not letting on even to each other until the show at the Bitter End what each of them were doing. It was no surprise that Pete played a long medley for his half of the show, but Maura surprised everyone with a long medley of her own, the first time she'd ever done that. Pete played 12 songs he'd never performed before -- a staggering accomplishment and a tremendous surprise! He handed out a program for his set before the show. This is what the program said -- Pete Kennedy presents Heart of Gotham A rock'n'roll cab ride to the soul of the city West Side Story Prologue (Leonard Bernstein) It's Been a Long Time (Steve Van Zandt) Friction (Tom Verlaine) 42nd Street (Harry Warren) Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat (Charles Mingus) Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith) Harlem Nocturne (Earl Hagen) Rock Ballad (Elliott Murphy) The Streets of New York (Willie Nile) Tonight (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) It's Been a Long Time (reprise) Pete also incorporated the early 60's clarinet hit "Stranger on the Shore" by Mr. Acker Bilk during the song "Rock Ballad," which Pete insisted was not part of the original Elliott Murphy song, but was his own personal touch. I told him later that he generates tremendous excitement every time he does one of his solo shows, since no one knows what Pete will be playing next! I've already written separately about Maura's costume as Catwoman. But I must add one more comment, as the subject seems inexhaustible to me anyway. Maura's doing an entire set on electric guitar dressed as Catwoman was every bit as much Vintage Maura as Pete doing 12 songs he'd never done before was Vintage Pete. The effect in both cases was just extraordinary, and both Pete and Maura, separately, brought the house down after their sets were done. They really turned it up a notch for the Bitter End! I guess they really did want the venue to have them back! Surprising was Maura's choice to do a medley of 6 songs after first doing one regular shorter song. Surprising, too, were 2 of the medley songs. One was a cover of Tegan & Sara's song "Underwater." Tegan & Sara is one of Maura's favorite bands and their album _If It Was You_ is one that she turned me onto at one of the September Living Room shows. So I was really pumped to hear her play that! It was like an inside joke where only Maura & I got the reference. :-) The other mega-surprise was the live debut of Maura's song "October," so hot off the presses it was still warm to the touch. And later Maura played it for me in its recorded version, now online. "Calling All Stations!" What an incredible song. The day before the show Maura leaked word on Facebook that she was working on a new end-of-the-month song called "October." After some discussion, in an interactive forum where this is possible (i.e. Facebook), Maura explained that "October" is a multi-tracked song with multiple vocal parts, and that she could do it at the Bitter End only if she adapted it for a solo performance. The recorded "October" just blew my mind. It doesn't sound like any of the other Maura Kennedy songs at all -- it is trippy, trancelike, and totally wonderful. And the solo performance version of "October" was right up there with "Just the Rain" (debuted on the workshop stage at Falcon Ridge) as "Most Exciting Maura Song Debut Ever." Patience Medley: ** Underwater (Tegan & Sara, for Bruce) Sun Burns Gold Just the Rain Time Will Steal Your Heart Chains ** October (debut, for Bruce) Shining Eyes (encore, for Bruce) I had reason to be glad I came to the show, when Maura mentioned me in 3 separate song intros! :-) But when the show ended, the "October Surprise" was not yet finished. In a mind-boggling stroke of synchronicity, it turned out that two folk duos in the audience for Pete & Maura's sets, Dan & Faith from MA (Dan & Faith Senie) and Friction Farm from NY (Aidan Quinn & Christine Stay) each went to the same college, Rensselaer Polytech Institute, without having known one another before, a fact which only came out in a random remark by me while I was talking to Christine after the show whilst the others were talking to Pete. I can't describe what happened after that, but it delayed my return to Boston by some 3 hours and was the best time I'd had after a Kennedys show since the Cone Head Years. :-) Gordon Nash was there too, and he is the culprit behind the amazing online pix of Maura Kennedy as Catwoman! "October Surprise." What a way to kiss another month of Kennedys goodbye! :-) Bruce Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ End of jangle-poets-digest V9 #228 **********************************