From: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org (trajectory-digest) To: trajectory-digest@smoe.org Subject: trajectory-digest V6 #13 Reply-To: trajectory@smoe.org Sender: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk trajectory-digest Sunday, June 2 2002 Volume 06 : Number 013 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Veda review in local paper ["Canadian Weirdo" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 01 Jun 2002 15:53:15 -0700 From: "Canadian Weirdo" Subject: Veda review in local paper The local alternative newspaper, The Georgia Straight, had this to say about Veda's show on Saturday; I thought you might enjoy reading it. Veda Hille At the Vancouver East Cultural Center on Saturday, May 25 By Alexander Varty Veda Hille had her audience all atwitter at the Vancouver East Cultural Center on Saturday night, but by the end of the evening that same audience was on its feet even before the music was over, offering the diminutive singer its heartfelt applause. There's a twist to this story, however. With Hille, there's always a twist. The crowd wasn't all atwitter because of Hille's demeanour, dress, or coif: instead, we'd been asked to contribute our best avian imitations to her otherwise a cappella rendition of "Birdsong", from last year's Field Study CD. And if we were all standing at the end, it was because we'd all been requested to rise--and join in, once again--for "Tuktoyaktuk Hymn", which discusses the wooden churches of the Far North and the ever-lurking possibility of accidental death. The occasion was both a concert and a recording session; Hille plans to issue a live album, tentatively titled Auditorium, from the two-night stand. If you hear a red-winged blackbird on the final product, or an indistinct baritone mumbling, that's me. Actually, I should come clean and admit that I play on two tracks on Hille's You Do Not Live In This World Alone, from 1999. "Killzone!" and "Veterans of Foreign Wars" sounded better without me on Saturday night, though: fuller, less brittle, and richer in emotion than they were in their original recorded versions. Hille's songs are comprised of subtle layers and sudden shifts; skilled though her accompanists might be, it undoubtedly takes them a while to fully master the odd contours of her design. So although her two Cultch concerts were largely retrospective in character, they also offered a chance to hear how her songs have grown over the years--and by and large they've weathered well. Even Hille's medley of tunes from her self-released, cassette-only debut, Songs About People and Buildings, didn't prove embarrassing. She may have quipped "How could you have let me be so young in public?" but the songs showed that the bones of her style were already in place at the very beginning. Hille issued Songs in 1992, and since then she has collaborated with a variety of other artists, from Toronto art-rockers the Rheostatics to the Yukon's banjo-toting Kim Barlow. Last weekend, her guests were trumpeters John Korsrud and Henry Christian and trombonist Dennis Eson, whose contributions added creamy depth to an an already detailed and nuanced mix. One of Hille's strengths as a songwriter is that, while she's unafraid to tackle the darkest of issues, she's also capable of writing music that surges upward with unstoppable optimism; the horns proved particularly valuable on pieces from this side of her catalogue, such as the beautiful, billowy "Noah's Ark", from Hille's Emily Carr tribute, Here Is a Picture. Korsrud, Christian, and Esson also added a nicely absurd touch to the surreal "INSTRUCTIONS", from Spine; as Hille intoned 20 brief commands, such as "Don't think of it as reasonable, think of it as terrifying," they shouted out a number for each. Did they lose their place? Maybe. Did it matter? No. Hille's longtime musical companions Ford Pier, Martin Walton, and Barry Mirochnick were, as ever, impeccable. Bassist Walton provided Hille's tunes with a backbone that was limber yet strong as silk; Mirochnick displayed his cautionary precision whether playing booming arena drums or toy xylophone; and Pier, on electric guitar, whipped off frighteningly complex syncopated parts with punk-rock bravado. If they're not the best band in Canada they're certainly in the running, while their leader is as gifted a songwriter as this country has produced--and that's counting expats like Neil, Joni, and Leonard. I can hardly wait for the record. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Jun 2002 08:42:45 +1000 From: Maree Robertson Subject: re australian subscribers? Dear Folks, Just in case my request got lost in the post-concert blissings - are there any other australian subscribers on this list - if so - as I am trying to work up some momentum for Veda to tour here - can you reply to me off-list? Ta, Maree in Brisbane QLD trajectory-digest wrote: > trajectory-digest Friday, May 31 2002 Volume 06 : Number 012 > > Today's Subjects: > ----------------- > Re: Precious Heart video? [invader woj ] > Re: Precious Heart video? [Neile Graham ] > Re: Precious Heart video? [invader woj ] > more on the shows [Neal Copperman ] > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 11:20:30 -0400 > From: invader woj > Subject: Re: Precious Heart video? > > when we last left our heroes, meredith exclaimed: > > >It does exist. And I'm probably going to regret revealing this, but > >somewhere in this house there is a VHS tape containing a bunch of stuff > >taped off MuchMusic, including the "Precious Heart" video in its entirety > >and a snippet of the "Bellyfish" video. > > > >(woj claims to have stumbled across this long-lost tape recently when > >looking for something else, but I think we promptly lost it again. ) > > oh ye of little faith. it's right where i put it so i wouldn't lose it -- > on top of the still-unwatched "miss folk america" video, of course! the > tape is labelled "veda hille on the new music (much music). i don't recall > who sent us this tape though. i had a feeling it might be neile, but > perhaps it came from dan stark or steve ito? brain...fuzzy... > > i'll go put it back where it belong now. but i'm not gonna label it. :P > > woj > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 09:56:11 -0700 (PDT) > From: Neile Graham > Subject: Re: Precious Heart video? > > Well, if it was me, then it would have all of "Bellyfish" and snippets of > "Precious Heart" instead of the other way around, because that's what we > have. > > - --Neile > > On Thu, 30 May 2002, invader woj wrote: > > > when we last left our heroes, meredith exclaimed: > > > > >It does exist. And I'm probably going to regret revealing this, but > > >somewhere in this house there is a VHS tape containing a bunch of stuff > > >taped off MuchMusic, including the "Precious Heart" video in its entirety > > >and a snippet of the "Bellyfish" video. > > > > > >(woj claims to have stumbled across this long-lost tape recently when > > >looking for something else, but I think we promptly lost it again. ) > > > > oh ye of little faith. it's right where i put it so i wouldn't lose it -- > > on top of the still-unwatched "miss folk america" video, of course! the > > tape is labelled "veda hille on the new music (much music). i don't recall > > who sent us this tape though. i had a feeling it might be neile, but > > perhaps it came from dan stark or steve ito? brain...fuzzy... > > > > i'll go put it back where it belong now. but i'm not gonna label it. :P > > > > woj > > > > - -- > - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > neile@drizzle.com / neile@sff.net......http://www.sff.net/people/neile > The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music ......... http://www.ectoguide.org > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 13:00:32 -0400 > From: invader woj > Subject: Re: Precious Heart video? > > when we last left our heroes, Neile Graham exclaimed: > > >Well, if it was me, then it would have all of "Bellyfish" and snippets of > >"Precious Heart" instead of the other way around, because that's what we > >have. > > but that would mean sitting down and *watching* it! we might have time to > do that friday night (between innings of the red sox/yankees game). ;) > > +w > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 01:25:38 -0600 > From: Neal Copperman > Subject: more on the shows > > One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that Veda did a number of > covers in the show. She did a Bertolt Brecht and Hans Eisner song, > something by Merryn Cadell (from her 3rd album, which I don't have) > and something by a local writer... Gary something? > > Just a few more tidbits... > > neal > > ------------------------------ > > End of trajectory-digest V6 #12 > ******************************* ------------------------------ End of trajectory-digest V6 #13 *******************************