From: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org (trajectory-digest) To: trajectory-digest@smoe.org Subject: trajectory-digest V1 #36 Reply-To: trajectory@smoe.org Sender: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk trajectory-digest Sunday, November 16 1997 Volume 01 : Number 036 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Meryn Cadell ["Michael R. Abram" ] nightbirds show [meredith ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 14:43:02 -0500 From: "Michael R. Abram" Subject: Re: Meryn Cadell Jennifer Wagner wrote: > I am so jealous!! Where did you see Meryn Cadell?? You are only going to be more jealous :) I work at NYU, one block from the Bottom Line, where I saw the "Nightbirds" show Thursday night. Meryn was on first - I had only heard about her, but Veda said before the show that she is special - and I was very impressed. She worked with a guitarist and drummer - reminded me of pre-bass Ani, or the Beat poets. I couldn't begin to tell you what she performed, except for an hilarious rant about "Home Ec". For the next to last number, Veda came out and sang harmony. Second up was Terry Roche, of The Roches. She had an excellent jazz-flavored band, and several supporting vocalists, including her brother David. BTW, my pal Jon Gordon, formerly of Suzanne Vega, played lead for David when he tried to get his own band off the ground some years ago. Terry definitely has that Roche humor and quick-change songwriting. The final number was a huge production number about a cab driver called "New York City/Pakistan". Next was Victoria Shaw, a pleasant and competent country songwriter on piano with two backup singers, one of whom played guitar. I just can't take the hackneyed chord changes and sappy sentiments of mainstream country, though. Last was best -- this was the first time I had seen Veda Hille with her bassist and drummer, and they did cook! I can't get over her excellent musicianship, unique vocal and instrumental style and lyrical perspective. Nobody does what she does, and it's exciting! I could go on raving about Veda for some time -- I'll just say that she had turquoise streaks in her hair :) Good to see Meth and Woj at the show, too. Michael http://www.phonetheater.com "We filled our tanks to see the Yanks" -- Nat & Jerry (a BTT production) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 01:41:09 -0500 From: meredith Subject: nightbirds show Hi! As feared, I ended up rushing straight from the airport to the Bottom Line on Thursday night. However, the Universe was with me and I actually managed to get home in time to get some sleep! Imagine that. :) woj and I arrived at intermission of the early show, and we found out that Veda was going on last. Meryn Cadell had gone on first, and I still really wanted to see her -- the guy at the door said it wouldn't be a problem to hang on to our early show ticket and stick around for the first half of the late show, so that's what we did. We got a table in the back just as intermission ended, and we were subjected to a WAY too long set by Victoria Shaw. Not since Julie Gold was part of the Four Bitchin' Babes have I been so annoyed and thoroughly unimpressed by a musician. I'd already taken the fact that she writes #1 country music hits for the likes of Garth Brooks as a warning, but she was even more banal, boring, and totally unoriginal than I'd expected. She played for close to 45 minutes, and finally vacated the stage at the time the doors were supposed to be opening for the late show. I was worried that Veda would end up being shortchanged, but it looked like she and the Smokin' Combo got to play all the songs they'd intended. Here's the early set list: INSTRUCTIONS Slumber Queen Driven Sweet Noah's Ark (from _Here Is A Picture_) Another song from _Here Is A Picture_, I think it's called "To Ira" Bellyfish The highlight of the show for me was "Sweet", when her drummer (argh, I'm totally blanking on his name!) gave up his seat to Meryn Cadell's drummer Paul Brennan, and came to the front of the stage to play the saw (or, as Veda now likes to call it by its German name, "die singende Sege" :). Imagine if you will 150+ Bottom Line denizens all leaning way forward in their seats going, "what the hell is THAT? That's SO cool!". Veda related a story about the fun they'd had getting the saw through security at the Frankfurt airport -- he finally had to sit down and play it for the security guys to convince them he wasn't really planning to saw the pilot's head off with it or anything. :) "Sweet" is far from my favorite song on _Spine_, but it was way cool to see it performed like that. The rest of the set kicked butt, too, especially "Bellyfish". "Noah's Ark" had me *really* wishing she hadn't had to send the Emily Carr CD's back to the plant... sigh. Judging from what I saw that evening, she definitely got the best response of the night. After the show she was positively mobbed by people wanting to buy CDs, and she sold out before everyone from the early show could get what they wanted, and the late show folks ended up with nothing at all. I did have a few seconds to chat with Veda, and she explained that the manufacturer's defect on the Emily Carr CD's was a digital clicking sound occurring in between the tracks, which was especially bad because the songs are all supposed to run together as one piece, without any real breaks in between. Apparently she'd already gone through this once for the exact same problem, and now she's going to have a different manufacturing plant produce them and hope the third time is the charm. I think she said the official release date is still January 18, but she'll make them available via mail-order as soon as she gets them in hand, hopefully before Christmas. After this tour is over she's going home to rest and write and be home for a few months. She plans to get a 5-piece band together to tour starting in March, and she definitely plans to come back this way then. I hope she finally gets to headline in NYC next time, either at the Bottom Line or the Mercury Lounge or both. And I'm pretty sure the Iron Horse wants her back, too. Yay. :) As for the rest of the evening, woj and I did stick around for the first part of the late show. Meryn Cadell was just as wonderful as I hoped she'd be, and Veda even joined her to sing harmony on her two final songs, one of which, "Holy Projector!" has been going through my head ever since. Terre Roche followed, and we left after one song, both to get home at some semblance of a reasonable hour and because I *finally* figured out that the Roche sister who makes the entire trio sound like a passel of cats yowling on a fence is indeed Terre. (Sorry, but I've never been able to listen to The Roches without wanting to run screaming for the "off" button.) I know there was at least one listmember at the late show -- was Veda's set the same? How did it go? Details, people, we need details... :) And if *anyone* managed to get even a low-quality tape of her appearance on WFUV this week, PLEASE let me know!!! I'm also still looking for her first WFUV appearance from this summer. I've got lots of juicy goodies to trade. :) +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT 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***| +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ End of trajectory-digest V1 #36 *******************************