From: owner-jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org (jinglejangle-digest) To: jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org Subject: jinglejangle-digest V6 #20 Reply-To: jinglejangle@smoe.org Sender: owner-jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jinglejangle-digest Monday, February 24 2003 Volume 06 : Number 020 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [MLL] Lizard -- Me too. ["Roland Ouellette" ] [MLL] Re: Lizard -- Me too. [ptpower@juno.com] Re: [MLL] Re: Lizard -- Me too. [Steve Garrison ] [MLL] Steve and Michael [ptpower@juno.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:06:49 -0500 From: "Roland Ouellette" Subject: [MLL] Lizard -- Me too. I also saw the Lizard show. It was apparantly a record release party for Gingersol. They had some interesting songs. It was also very unusually pleasant that they we a full band in that small room & played at a volume that didn't require earplugz. I was really liking the arangements as I read a little and drank a little. The NYC duo The Silo were more attention grabbing in lyrics & performance; they got me to look up and pay attention frequently. The common thread of the night appeard to be the accoustic guitars and rock with occational twang. I too was surprised at the sparse crowd. It was more like a Tuesday than a Thursday. But at some point during Gingersol, Mary Lou arrived with a bunch of friends in tow. And through the evening, people wandered in. Eventually, I think about 40 people turned out. I got to say hello to Mary Lou & give her a set of photos from the last Raging Teens show. I had photos of Rachael Davis (at Passim) too & was happy to hear that she was in town & might stop by. MLL said she had been busking at Park St recently. Sure enough, Rachael appeared on one of the Lizard's church pew benches (while I was paying attention to The Silos). Then the main event. MLL. This began with the usual sandbagging. Loaner guitar. Can't write a new song. She's decided to knit hats as a fall back. [Very cute fuzzy ones with ears -- "for people with cat fetishes".] Etc. Then she got going with a charming and well performed set of the old favorites and some new (to me) covers. The loaner guitar wasn't a problem; it moved oddly once or twice and Rachael played a song with a dropped-E tuning ... which Mary Lou discovered in the first bar of the next song she played. Given my awful memory, let me tell you about the new (to me) covers. There was an AC/DC cover; I can no longer remember which one. There was another "this is why boys want to play in metal bands" song. After a couple more favorites & requests, she got Rachael to sing one of her choice & Mary Lou's favorite "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." After this and maybe a request or something that would be on the next record or three, she did The Clash's "Straight to Hell" really well. [Emm Gryner also plays this one & I saw her do it in this same room 6 months ago.] She followed that up with an a capella Viet Nam era war protest song. The song, which I had not heard in many years, is just gripping in its lyrics about a widowed woman who won't take the army pension money. Mary Lou's performance was no less brutally wrentching. This one song and here "lest you forget" at the end of it were worth coming out for alone. Not a technically perfect performance, but the song is better that way I think. The guts and feeling were awesome. I didn't know she could do that. Wow. Roland. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 01:15:04 GMT From: ptpower@juno.com Subject: [MLL] Re: Lizard -- Me too. Roland wrote: >>She followed that up with an a capella Viet Nam era war protest song. The song, which I had not heard in many years, is just gripping in its lyrics about a widowed woman who won't take the army pension money.<< Than would be "Penny Evans", written by the late, great Steve Goodman (who also wrote "City OF New Orleans" and "The Dutchman" amongst many, many others). Pat ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 00:13:44 -0500 From: Steve Garrison Subject: Re: [MLL] Re: Lizard -- Me too. on 2/23/03 8:15 PM, ptpower@juno.com at ptpower@juno.com wrote: > ... "Penny Evans", written by the late, great Steve Goodman (who > also wrote "City OF New Orleans" and "The Dutchman" amongst many, many > others). The late Steve Goodman did indeed write many wonderful songs, but "The Dutchman" was written by Michael Smith who thankfully is still with us and performing, often with Anne Hills. Michael also wrote "Spoon River" which Goodman brilliantly covered. He has a current, as yet unrecorded song called "Zippy" in which a Senior Citizen who is contemplating giving up smoking marijuana is cautioned that the twenty-first century operates at a rather more frantic pace than did the sixties, and "life gets pretty zippy when you stop smoking weed." He performed this at a house concert to which I had taken my daughters, then aged ten and thirteen... We laughed until tears rolled down our cheeks. When he had finished, I turned to them and said: "What are you laughing at?" "Well, what are you laughing at?" they replied. Standoff. Just back from seeing another great performer from the seventies, Garland Jeffreys, who is back on the scene with an incredible band, a voice which sounds untouched by the last twenty years, and a contagious enthusiasm for performing. Don't miss him if he's in your area. Steve ...looking forward to the next MLL appearance in the DC area, of course. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 05:55:29 GMT From: ptpower@juno.com Subject: [MLL] Steve and Michael >>The late Steve Goodman did indeed write many wonderful songs, but "The Dutchman" was written by Michael Smith who thankfully is still with us and performing, often with Anne Hills.<< Oops!! My bad . . . I *knew* that!! Steve's version of "The Dutchman", however, is my favorite. >>Michael also wrote "Spoon River" which Goodman brilliantly covered.<< Indeed . . . Steve and Michael were close friends and wrote many songs together as well, one of my favorites being "Vegematic": VEGEMATIC by Steve Goodman/Michael Peter Smith Fell asleep last night with the TV on. Oh, what a dream I had. I dreamed I answered every single one Of those late night mail order ads. And four to six weeks later Much to my surprise The mailman came to my front door And I couldn't believe my eyes When he brought the Vegematic And the Pocket Fisherman too Illuminated illustrated history of life And Boxcar Willie with a Ginzu knife A bamboo steamer and a Garden Weasel too And a tie-dyed, dayglow souvenir shirt from Six Flags Over Burbank. The doorbell rang all morning And into the afternoon I shook with fright as it rang all night To the light of the Master Card moon There was Parcel Post in the pantry And UPS in the hall COD's to the ceiling and I just couldn't pay for it all I got the egg scrambler With a Seal-a-Meal carrying case A set of presidential commemorative plates So I could eat my eggs off the President's face A Minute Mender and a needle that'll knit or crochet And an autographed photograph of Rin Tin Tin at Six Flags Over Burbank. I remembered I was dreaming So I gave a mighty cheer When I awoke, it was no joke 'Cause all that shit was here So if you fall asleep with the TV on Let me tell you what to do Tear the telephone out of the wall Unless you want it to happen to you You'll get the Vegematic And the Pocket Fisherman too Illuminated illustrated history of life And Boxcar Willie with a Ginzu knife A bamboo steamer and a smokeless ashtray too And an all expenses paid weekend for three at Six Flags Over Burbank. Pat ------------------------------ End of jinglejangle-digest V6 #20 *********************************