From: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org (trajectory-digest) To: trajectory-digest@smoe.org Subject: trajectory-digest V1 #3 Reply-To: trajectory@smoe.org Sender: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk trajectory-digest Monday, August 25 1997 Volume 01 : Number 003 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Hello [neile@sff.net (Neile Graham)] bumbershoot et al. [meredith ] Re: trajectory-digest V1 #2 ["Michael R. Abram" ] Re: bumbershoot et al. [neile@sff.net (Neile Graham)] Re: bumbershoot et al. [meredith ] Re: bumbershoot et al. [Dan Dickinson ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 02:00:34 -0700 From: neile@sff.net (Neile Graham) Subject: Re: Hello Hi, everyone. Just got back from hearing Veda play in Olympia--she and the band were great, of course. It's been a rough few days--a dear friend of mine, my poetry mentor--died night before last, and I cancelled out of a few social commitments because I've been such a wreck. I thought about not going to Olympia. The 1-1/2 hour drive seemed huge given the mood I was in, but then I decided since I'd told Veda we'd be there (I had to email her to figure out where she'd be playing because the webpage only listed the promotion company) that I'd go. I really glad we did--Veda live is always such a great experience. The venue was a small but full, and the audience was really attentive and appreciative (much better than the times I've seen her in bars, where everyone talks through the whole show!) There was a funny moment when Jim shouted out a request for "One Hot Summer" (the room was very warm) and Veda commented that it was the song next the setlist, and that since he was psychic maybe he could request the rest of the set, too. She played for about an hour, a mostly pretty rocking set, starting with "Instructions". She also included the partly spoken word piece "Well I Guess Not" that's on the Nettwerk _Lit From Within_ rape crisis centre support compilation. Anyway, it was a wonderful time, and I'm glad I went. Even though time was limited (there was still another band to come on), they did two encores. >>Neile, I wish you the best of luck with your reading. Are you and the Poet >>Laureate the only poets on the schedule? How did you get selected? That's >>wonderful. There's a full schedule of readings. There are two venues, The Literary Stage at the Alki room, which has readings running through the whole weekend and mostly features mostly local writers (a few better-known writers like John Haines, Marvin Bell and Canadian Gary Geddes), and then there are evening readings at the Bagley Wright Theatre with local people "opening" for the people with national reputations. Friday night is Tom Robbins, Saturday is Dorothy Allison, and Monday is Robert Pinsky. Joseph Green (a local poet) is at 8:00, I'm at 8:15, and Pinsky is at 8:30. He gets an hour's reading It's a competitve process--you apply to read. This is the first year I've gotten it together enough to submit my application--they're due in February, which isn't exactly when I'm thinking about what I'll be doing Labour Day weekend. Anyway, I was gratified to be selected, especially the first time I applied, and they gave me an incredible writeup. So anyway, 8:15, Monday, Bagley Wright stage. - --Neile - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Neile Graham........http://www.sff.net/people/neile........neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music........http://www.ecto.org/ectoguide - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 16:27:17 -0400 From: meredith Subject: bumbershoot et al. Hi! Neile, sorry to hear about the loss of your friend and mentor. It sounds like it was good therapy to get out of town for a little while to see Veda play. I'm a great believer in the healing power of music, myself. >She played for about an hour, a mostly pretty rocking set, starting with >"Instructions". Cool. :) I assume she had the band with her? > She also included the partly spoken word piece "Well I >Guess Not" that's on the Nettwerk _Lit From Within_ rape crisis centre >support compilation. Is that compilation still generally available? I'm waiting to see if my first online order from A&B Sounds actually arrives with my credit rating intact, but assuming everything's okay there I might try to pick it up there, if I can. kat posted: >oh oh oh oh! Meredith! you definitely should! you can always stay with us >(in our hotel room, that is). We have a place at the Seattle Inn which is >within walking distance of the site. Argh, I wish I could, but the funds just aren't there right now. Sigh. Maybe next year (assuming there's still a dynamite lineup). I'm actually kind of looking forward to a weekend at home for a change. :} >I would say that they definitely didn't like it. AND i like that damn >pretentius NYT's writing style. call me a snob.... Don't get me wrong, I love the New York Times -- just sometimes they get on my nerves, is all. Same with The New Yorker. *Now* which one of us is the snob? ;) >and sources tell me it actually came with an aol disc? rampant commercialism >strikes again! shudder. It comes with AOL software on the CD, yes. The big majors have been striking deals with the big online providers lately to package software on the CDs, so they can co-market their corporate web sites with the company providing the access. AOL's got a deal with Arista, Prodigy Internet has a deal with Atlantic (which probably means that PI will be packaged on Tori Amos' next album... ), and I've just noticed that Earthlink appears to have a deal with Virgin, since their software is on the new Chantal Kreviazuk disc I just put into the player (which my CD-ROM drive had a hard time figuring out how to track at first, presumably because of the software). I'm not sure what I think of the whole thing. I guess I'd rather have easily ignorable software on a music CD than 8554 disks sent to me in the mail every week. >i've heard that exact same criticism about the latest Dar album (which is >also unheard in out household.) Hmmm. I heartily recommend _End Of The Summer_, actually, though I can see exactly why it's pissing off the folkie purists so much. :) The single and lead-off track, "Are You Out There" just kicks, and it's an addictive tune - -- I have to hit replay at least twice every time I listen to it, before I can go on to the rest of the album. I'm not sure if history is going to put it ahead of _Mortal City_ on the net worth meter in my book, but for now I'm finding myself unable to go more than a few days without listening to it, and I'm anxiously looking forward to her band shows in September. >ahh if her Lilith show was any indication, than it prolly won't make a >difference. I'm willing to give Sarah the benefit of the doubt on that one. I hope she hires the same lighting designer this time around -- that added significantly to the wow factor of the Fumbling tour! >See! I was thinking Veda with Ani... good intensity and they have played >Dilate together before. I thought Veda has opened for Ani before -- at least in Toronto, if not elsewhere. Am I wrong? Do I sound wrong? :) +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | Boonton, NJ USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | "things are more beautiful when they're obscure" -- veda hille | |***TRAJECTORY, the Veda Hille mailing list: trajectory-request@smoe.org***| +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 17:41:25 -0400 From: "Michael R. Abram" Subject: Re: trajectory-digest V1 #2 Greetings Hilleans, from the wilds of Northern Ontario! > >I can't speak for Michael, but there's no offense taken from this quarter. I can speak for Michael, and he doesn't take a fence... >_Surfacing_ a couple days before it came out, and I must say I've been hard > >pressed to give it too many listens so far. In fact, it may just eclipse > > and sources tell me it actually came with an aol disc? rampant commercialism > strikes again! shudder. > > >Sarah was obviously under a ton of pressure to get something out onto the > >street in time for Lilith Fair, and the result was an overgrown EP of > >half-finished, under-produced songs that are by and large just plain > >boring. (I'm sure it'll be her biggest hit ever.) My sentiments approximately... I was _quite_ disappointed -- I wouldn't go as far as "boring", but I find "Surfacing" er, uh, kinda pleasant? None of the cuts has grabbed me the way "Possession", "Fear", "Mercy" etc. have, so I have to call it a miss rather than a hit. I like the over-produced stuff more anyway. I've listened to the CD maybe five times through since it came out -- I'm afraid I might get bored, I guess. Oh well, waiting eagerly for the Surf Tour to come through town. > i've heard that exact same criticism about the latest Dar album (which is > also unheard in out household.) Bought it the same morning I got my multiple copies of Surf at Borders - -- listened about three times so far. I have no comparison -- it's my first exposure to Dar -- I like some of the cuts, and have not heard the others due to zoning out. I am a poor choice for a critic. More when I get back to civ. Hille-hugs, Michael "We filled our tanks to see the Yanks" -- Nat & Jerry (a BTT production) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 16:31:38 -0700 From: neile@sff.net (Neile Graham) Subject: Re: bumbershoot et al. Hi Meth & all-- Thanks or your sympathies about the loss of my friend. I'm not sure I quite believe in the world without him in it. I keep thinking of things I want to tell him. Meth says: >I'm a great believer in the healing power of music, myself. Me, too, which is why I went. I'm definitely glad I did. >Cool. :) I assume she had the band with her? Yes! In fact, Ford did a solo set prior to Veda and "her smokin' combo" as the MCs kept saying. re: _Lit From Within_ >Is that compilation still generally available? I'm waiting to see if my >first online order from A&B Sounds actually arrives with my credit rating >intact, but assuming everything's okay there I might try to pick it up >there, if I can. I would guess that A&B can get it if they don't have it in stock. It's a pretty good compilation. Poems from several very well known poets (Lorna Crozer [which they misspell once on the notes], Evelyn Lau, Lynn Crosbie) and includes music by Meryn Cadell, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Suzanne Little, Crash Vedas, Veda's "Well I Guess Not", the ubiquitous "Good Enough" from Sarah, Taste of You, Tara McLean ("Let Her Feel The Rain"), Mae Moore, and Kristy Thirsk. >Argh, I wish I could, but the funds just aren't there right now. Sigh. >Maybe next year (assuming there's still a dynamite lineup). It really varies. Year before last we were there nearly every day. Last year we didn't bother going at all. And think of the crowd stress you're saving yourself! >I thought Veda has opened for Ani before -- at least in Toronto, if not >elsewhere. Am I wrong? Do I sound wrong? :) Well, they played together at the Winnipeg Folk Festival once, and I heard rumours about them playing together recently at the Vancouver Folk Festival. I don't know if it is true or not. Personally, I don't think Veda should be opening for anyone, they should be opening for her. BUT of course, ideally she'll need some good exposure before that happens, so given that she needs to open for someone whose audience would be open to her music. For a lot of Ani's audience she wouldn't be overtly political enough and for a lot of Sarah's audience she wouldn't be mainstream pop enough. But I think she'd get new listeners from whoever she opened for. She and her music have a way of winning a crowd over. - --Neile - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Neile Graham........http://www.sff.net/people/neile........neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music........http://www.ecto.org/ectoguide - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 19:48:41 -0400 From: meredith Subject: Re: bumbershoot et al. Hi! Thanks for the pointer on the _Lit From Within_ compilation, Neile. I'll definitely check A&B Sounds to see if they still have it. Neile posted: >And think of the crowd stress you're saving yourself! :) I can deal with that okay. It really must be a zoo, though! >Well, they played together at the Winnipeg Folk Festival once, and I heard >rumours about them playing together recently at the Vancouver Folk >Festival. I don't know if it is true or not. Kat and/or Lori could probably set us straight on that one. :) I was doing a Web search on Veda's name last week, looking for articles and other sites that might mention her, and I came across an article that I really thought mentioned something about her opening for Ani in Toronto. I may have to try to find that site again. >Personally, I don't think Veda should be opening for anyone, they should be >opening for her. BUT of course, ideally she'll need some good exposure >before that happens, so given that she needs to open for someone whose >audience would be open to her music. My sentiments exactly. >For a lot of Ani's audience she >wouldn't be overtly political enough I don't know about that -- there is a surprising percentage of Veda fans over on the Ani list! Maybe I'm living in a cocoon, but I think even among Ani fans there are more people who care more about the music than the politics. >and for a lot of Sarah's audience she >wouldn't be mainstream pop enough. Hmmm... if this were two years ago I'd disagree, but now, I'd have to say you're probably right. >But I think she'd get new listeners from whoever she opened for. She and >her music have a way of winning a crowd over. No kidding! +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | Boonton, NJ USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | "things are more beautiful when they're obscure" -- veda hille | |***TRAJECTORY, the Veda Hille mailing list: trajectory-request@smoe.org***| +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 23:07:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Dan Dickinson Subject: Re: bumbershoot et al. meredith wrote: > >For a lot of Ani's audience she > >wouldn't be overtly political enough > > I don't know about that -- there is a surprising percentage of Veda fans > over on the Ani list! Maybe I'm living in a cocoon, but I think even among > Ani fans there are more people who care more about the music than the > politics. I agree, Meredith ... I've always felt it was not so much Ani's *politics* as it was her attitude, her keen observations, the skillful way she delivered her messages that was at the heart of Ani's appeal. (I'm using past tense here ... since NAPG, Ani hasn't impressed me or many others.) At her best, Ani is volatile, and I sense the same kind of energy in Veda. But Veda is more poetic and her music more complex than Ani's 4-chord songs. Dan ------------------------------ End of trajectory-digest V1 #3 ******************************