'Round About Midnight

"Any minute now I'm expecting to wake up from a dream"

2008-10-15T21:34:00.004-04:00

So I've been away for over a month and a half. Sorry to be preoccupied and I'll post more often this fall. I was kind of driving around figuring things out, you know? Looking up the road for Tell Tale Signs, I suppose.

Is there anybody as cool as Harry Dean Stanton?

It's all about the craft (and the catering)

2008-08-24T23:05:00.001-04:00

I highly recommend Tropic Thunder. Very well done satire (not a spoof - there's a difference) with teeth. Essentially, this is a heavily armed Christopher Guest movie. Robert Downey Jr. is having the summer of his professional life - Iron Man and now this controversial but ultimately very funny and deft role. (I wish I could see it with Russell Crowe and see what he thinks. I imagine he'd either be very flattered or very pissed off. Probably the latter; you don't hurl telephones around if you're inclined to thank people.)

And it's much, much better than Zoolander. Seriously, Zoolander? Am I the only person in the world who likes Ben Stiller but was considerably underwhelmed by that movie?

Welcome back to the game, Ben.

VP?

2008-08-23T10:15:00.006-04:00

Mere hours after the official text message went out around 3am this morning, the Republicans have already distributed this ad:

I sure hope Obama's Brain Trust has a great counter for this very simple, very fair, and, unfortunately, likely very effective ad. Let's see what happens in Denver next week!

Put up or shut up

2008-08-19T00:19:00.002-04:00

From the New York Times:

"Mr. Obama has run for the last 18 months as the candidate of hope. Yet party leaders — while enthusiastic about Mr. Obama and his state-by-state campaign operations — say he must do more to convince the many undecided Democrats and independents that he would address their financial anxieties rather than run, by and large, as an agent of change — given that change, they note, is not an issue."

" 'I particularly hope he strengthens his economic message — even Senator Obama can speak more clearly and specifically about the kitchen-table, bread-and-butter issues like high energy costs,' said Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio. 'It’s fine to tell people about hope and change, but you have to have plenty of concrete, pragmatic ideas that bring hope and change to life.'

"Or, in the blunter words of Gov. Phil Bredesen, Democrat of Tennessee: 'Instead of giving big speeches at big stadiums, he needs to give straight-up 10-word answers to people at Wal-Mart about how he would improve their lives.' "

"And Still Those Voices Are Calling From Far Away..."

2008-08-04T00:04:00.013-04:00

So I dropped my usual amount of peyote the other night before settling down to watch the AL East. Around the third inning or so, suddenly I was seized with a transcendent vision. Transported away to a mystical land, I saw four mighty spirits towering before me:

Okay, two mighty spirits, one kind of nutty spirit, and a decent, very lucky session spirit. They spoke to me about the truth of life and challenged me with a great riddle. When I successfully answered, they solemnly nodded, then compelled me to chose one of their own as a sacrifice. I made my selection...

And popular music legend Don Henley was taken out to the desert to die. I'm sorry everyone.

Anyway, most of that was probably just the peyote. On a much happier note, I saw the Eagles live in concert a couple of Saturdays back. I and twenty thousand or so other folks enjoyed the show, though the Washington Post reviewer did not. It's his loss. After thirty-five years, they still know how to deliver a great show. My parents saw their Long Run tour in 1979 back in my hometown of Roanoke, Va. Might not be a big deal otherwise, but Mom and Dad hardly ever went out much less went to a full on rock concert. (I'm pretty sure I played the Parker Brothers board game Sorry! with the lady who lived next to us while my parents waved lighters back and forth at the Civic Center. We may have also watched an episode of Rhoda, too. Or maybe this lady, who babysat me sometimes, just looked like Rhoda. Possibly both. Hey, it was 29 years ago, c'mon.)

"Hotel California"

I was excited to see Don Henley's wistful, evocative solo single "The Boys of Summer" performed live before a black and white backdrop similar to this famous 80s video. This is one of the best in a considerably overrated medium. It's a legitimate piece of art. Plus it's pretty funny they stuck Henley on the back of a flatbed truck and drove around at 4 in the morning filming him...

And speaking of deadhead stickers, here's The Dude himself. Though he and I have somewhat different musical tastes, unfortunately, I've had a number of days all too similar to this.

Ears

2008-07-20T00:10:00.011-04:00

Somewhere near the beach in Delaware...

"Zzzzzz..."

"Hey."

"Zzzzz..."

"HEY."

"Zzzz...What?"

"Did you hear something?"

"No."

"No? You didn't hear that? Are you sure it's safe here?"

"Of course it is. You worry too much. This is the life."

"Maybe I...Wait, did you hear that? Smell that? I think something is beneath us!"

"Quit overreacting. It's a beautiful day."

"But I just sense..."

"Quiet!"

"Zzzzz...."

"Hmm. I wonder what that dark shape is down..."

"AHHHHHHH!!"

"We're gonna need a bigger sink...!"

"What is that, a bazooka?"

2008-07-12T00:31:00.003-04:00

Above: 1940
Below: 2008

"In a row?"

2008-07-09T00:06:00.004-04:00

Yes, that many years in a row as of today. (I just read Jack White and I have the same birthday. Awesome!) When I first saw this next clip, at age 14 or so, I remember thinking, "Dude, thirty-seven is waaaay old". It seemed ancient at the time. And, well, here I am...

...still not that far removed from 14, obviously. (Aside from one of my favorite Onion articles, the number 37 always makes me think of one movie in particular.)

[Warning: Extremely hilarious and/or offensive]

"Some men just want to watch the world burn"

2008-07-06T23:08:00.005-04:00

Early reviews of The Dark Knight have been raves, and tickets are already selling out on Fandango and Moviefone. Piles of money will be made (and torched?!?) opening weekend and strong word of mouth should continue healthy box office throughout the summer...I'll be at an IMAX theater near midnight very soon!

But as we get closer to opening night, I only have one question: where is a key U.S. Senate member and lifelong Batman fan in this next Clockwork Orange-esque clip?

Lady Liberty

2008-07-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel."

-Patrick Henry

Glitter and Doom

2008-06-30T00:05:00.003-04:00

Inside a broken clock, splashing the wine with all the rain dogs

Taxi, we'd rather walk, huddle a doorway

with the rain dogs

For i am a rain dog, too

Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night

For it was all ripe for dreaming

Oh, how we danced away all of the lights

We've always been out of our minds

The rum pours strong and thin, beat out the dustman

with the rain dogs

Aboard a shipwreck train, give my umbrella

to the rain dogs

For i am a rain dog, too

Oh, how we danced with the rose of tralee

Her long hair black as a raven

Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me

You'll never be going back home

Oh, how we danced with the rose of tralee

Her long hair black as a raven

Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me

You'll never be going back home

"We sail tonight for Singapore..."

2008-06-27T23:49:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow morning, I'll launch myself seven hours north by northwest to see Tom Waits live in concert. I had thought about flying to St. Louis to see the show last night (Tom's first in St. Louis in 30 years). However, as I was testing the online ticket waters an hour before that city's Central time zone general on sale, I clicked and scored such a stunning orchestra seat for the Columbus concert, I decided to just Sal and Dean myself to Ohio as an early birthday present to me. $4 gas? So what? This is a once in a lifetime event, man! This is living! The open road! This is rock and roll! (Plus, you know, uh, my wife said it was, you know, okay that I went and all...)

Anyway, if I get there early enough tomorrow, I'll mess around Comfest. Should be a weekend for the ages. One I'll tell my kids about someday.

"Dad, you sure were pretty weird."
"Were?"
"Well, now you're kind of a kooky, even cool Dad."
"Ah."
"Yeah. Hey, do you happen to have ten bucks?"

High School Tony Awards

2008-06-25T13:19:00.007-04:00

Today is my father-in-law's birthday. A retired attorney, he has successfully returned to the DC stage. He's been in several distinguished area productions and even gets paid for some of them. As a former acting student, I'm inspired by his example.

"The theater is a cruel mistress, Mike," he frequently muses aloud over a glass or two of red wine. Hey, I only stopped asking for his autograph just last week.

High School Tony Awards Honor Nation's Biggest Drama Club Nerds

George Carlin RIP

2008-06-23T17:39:00.008-04:00

George Carlin will posthumously receive the Mark Twain Prize this fall. I always thought he should've been the first to receive this acknowledgement. Not even Richard Pryor was as deft at wielding "obscenity" as legitimately insightful and, most importantly, funny art. Grade school kids and language doctorates both can laugh equally at what he did.

Carlin was the brave realization of the etymological, epistemological, yes even scatological promise Lenny Bruce never really delivered on, in my opinion. Carlin will be talked about in 2108 more so than probably any other stand-up comic from the late twentieth century.

"Dance in the dark of night...sing to the morning light"

2008-06-20T23:44:00.007-04:00

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant played a great set at Merriweather Post Pavilion last week. Joined by producer and player T- Bone Burnett, they featured many songs off their acclaimed, in some ways unprecedented Raising Sand album from last year, as well as additional Americana songs and creative reworkings of songs from their respective catalogs of work. It was a superlative end to my June week of four outstanding concerts in seven days. (I felt like I was on tour!)

More adventurous fans of Plant and Krauss probably turned up for this one. They had played my hometown in Roanoke a week earlier, their first stateside date after being in Europe. I was disappointed the Roanoke Civic Center, where I graduated high school in 1989, was only half full. It was still a great concert, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Raising Sand's first single was a cover of the Everly Brothers' "Gone, Gone, Gone"

They did at least a few Zeppelin songs each night on the tour. Here's "Black Dog" picked out on a banjo by none other than Marc Ribot.

"The Battle of Evermore" was a highlight, in no small part due to Alison Krauss' keening vocals. The lyrics to this song are ridiculous, but, as you know, this woman could sing all strata of silly songs and make them compelling...

Two songs I hoped to hear were "In the Mood", a reworking of Robert Plant's early 80s hit. Amidst a crushing tide of new wave synthesizers in those years, Plant sustained a memorable wash of melody. (This song features one of the most incongruous videos I've ever seen. The genre juxtapositions are so off the wall, they're like outtakes from David St. Hubbin's failed hip-hop crossover.)

They did do "In the Mood," entwining it with an early 20th century murder ballad. I missed, however, their Bo Diddley tribute "Who Do You Love?" Unfortunately, they didn't play it, but 47 miles of barbed wire and cobra snakes for neckties were definitely there in spirit.

Tim Russert 1950 -2008

2008-06-15T00:46:00.002-04:00

In late November 2004, I saw John Fogerty at the 930 Club. I arrived late and couldn't get up near the stage like I normally do. So I went downstairs to the bar. After a while, I noticed Tim Russert was down there at a table. He was very friendly and chatty with those around him, including me. A real everyman in every sense of the word.

A bit later, rock and roll thundering above us, we waited in line together for the bathroom. I was in front of him. I turned and said I enjoyed his book Big Russ and Me. I asked him what his favorite Creedence song was.

"'Fortunate Son,' " he told me without hestitation. "My dad was a truck driver."

I let him cut in front of me to the bathroom. (And I really had to go, too.)

He'll be missed for many reasons. I only wish he could put Cheney on the hotseat one more time...

"Another chance has been engaged"

2008-06-13T00:43:00.006-04:00

R.E.M. talked about the passion at Merriweather Post Pavilion Wednesday night. Their studio records for the past decade have dangerously drifted to detached irrelevancy. With 2004's listless, lifeless Around the Sun, they had lost nearly everything that endeared them to millions, including me. They remained strong as a live act from 1999 to then, but with the new material from last April's Accelerate album, they're back near the top of their game.

I enjoyed strong opening sets by The National and Modest Mouse, particularly the latter's during "Float On". Modest Mouse now features The Smiths alumnus Johnny Marr. Here he is jangle rocking alongside similarly iconic alternative guitarist Peter Buck during "Fall on Me"

Since they were just a handful of miles away in Columbia, of course, you knew Mike Mills would break out a cowboy hat and sing "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville"

Nobody rocks the Andy Capp in Blade Runner look like Michael Stipe. To be fair, nobody else probably wants to, either.

Few performers are on or can even figure out his frequency. A real original. (Special thanks to my sister-in-law for my concert ticket - a fantastic early birthday present!)

Hypocrisy and the City

2008-06-11T23:14:00.002-04:00

Something to think about when you ask your girlfriend or wife to iron your "Bros before Hoes" tee-shirt.

Southern Accents

2008-06-08T23:42:00.004-04:00

Two and a half hours of solid Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers songs Sunday night made enduring humid, muggy Nissan Pavilion tolerable. How hot was it? Hot enough that two heat-crazed teen girls got into a fight right behind where we were sitting, to the delight of the delirious crowd.

I know you're a proud Gainesville native, Tom, but, jeez, did you actually have to bring the entire State of Florida to open for you this 2008 tour? (Really, it was Steve Winwood and he was great.) I was dying out there waiting for the sun to go down. You were no doubt back there in a really nice air-conditioned tour bus, weren't you, Tom? That's right. So you really don't know how it feels to be me, do you?

No, he was a good sport about what his fans were going through. "Nice to be with you here on a very humid southern night," he said. The sun did eventually go down, of course, but it was still muggy. The show definitely made that worthwhile, yes, but it must be said: The Waiting was the hardest part:

I blogged about watching this 4 hour documentary earlier in the year. Here's the trailer for Runnin' Down a Dream:

And I was impressed The Heartbreakers included "Bo Diddley is a Gunslinger" in the encore. So with Sunday night's scorching show, I'm pretty much done forever with Nissan Pavilion. Biblical rain and the surface of the sun itself, respectively, the last two times out? Hmm. Think they're trying to tell me something?

Under the Blacklight

2008-06-07T23:41:00.005-04:00

I experienced more live music joy at yet another sold out 930 Club concert this past Friday night. Rilo Kiley came through the Mid-Atlantic again in support of their 2007 album Under the Blacklight. It's a sexy, even sleazy but spirited examination of a West Coast milieu, particularly love and loss in the City of Angels. Reminds me of some of the darker material mined not just by Fleetwood Mac, whom the band is often compared to, but also The Eagles on their much-maligned 1979 The Long Run album. (I imagine "The Disco Strangler" is dangerously lurking somewhere underneath that blacklight, and even The Moneymaker might end up serving time in a "Teenage Jail".)

I first discovered Rilo Kiley's music in 2004 with More Adventurous. Elvis Costello had recommended singer songwriter Jenny Lewis for her lyrics and melodies. (Elvis collaborated this spring with her on his fantastic new album Momofuku, which I also recommend.) Jenny also released her first solo album in 2006 - Rabbit Fur Coat. It was also well-received.

I particularly love "Silver Lining" from Under the Blacklight. When they peformed this song at the concert, they tossed large silver balloons into the air the crowd bounced around until the balloons popped and released gold confetti:

This video for "The Moneymaker" allegedly features real and aspiring porn actors. That's notable, especially in how young the fanbase skewed at the 930 Club Friday. I was easily 15 or 20 years older, and maybe a few more than that, than nearly everybody around me. (Seriously, I felt a little like Jason Bateman's character in Juno.)

"Portions for Foxes"

Lastly, I want to brag that Jenny sang a verse of "With Arms Outstretched" looking directly at me. Of course, maybe that's because I was all alone in my Soccer Dad glory up near the front row. Hey, nineteen - maybe we can dance together...

A Laurel and Hearty Handshake

2008-06-05T12:57:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to Barack Obama on being the Democratic Nominee for President in 2008.

Now go out there and live up to your campaign promises. Be the change you said we've all been waiting for. Today he's officially kicking off his campaign throughout my home state of Virginia:

"David 'Mudcat' Saunders, a Roanoke-based strategist who has advised politicians on how to reach out to rural voters, said southwest Virginia is 'a logical place' for Obama to start because he will need to appeal to those voters in other crucial battleground states as well.

" 'If Virginia truly is in play, it's a practical move for him because he can get the western Pennsylvania bunch, the southeast Ohio bunch,' Saunders said. 'It's the same region. It's the same bunch of people; they just live in different states.'

"He added, 'These are the people around the country who decide the president of the United States, and they are neglected. The Republicans take them for granted, and the Democrats don't try to come get 'em. God bless Barack Obama for for trying to go get 'em.' "

Good luck turning my state purple, Senator. (I'll be your Waco Kid if you need help with the locals down there.)

So What?

2008-06-04T22:46:00.001-04:00

Hey, Bo Diddley!

2008-06-02T12:14:00.010-04:00

Don't let those glasses fool you. Among the early architects of Rock and Roll, none had a more bad-assed sound than Bo Diddley. A 1987 Hall of Fame inductee, he passed away today at age 79.

Let's have a moment of silence....

Okay, now turn up the volume, watch this whole clip, and tell me who do you love?

"Play that Dead Man's Song"

2008-05-27T23:02:00.004-04:00

No, it wasn't the second coming nor a ghostly cameo. Still, Warren Zevon's presence was at undeniable at the 930 Club on May 9th as the Drive-By Truckers roared through over two hours of gritty, thoughtful, and, at times, profane rock. Warren would've been proud.

The 2008 Homefront Tour is in support of DBT's latest album Brighter Than Creation's Dark. This was my third time seeing them live, having been baptized at an amazing '06 concert so vital that singer/songwriter Patterson Hood credits that show with restoring his faith in performing live music. I was there in the front row and had a similar revelation.

The Truckers' songs are often as sharply, bitterly observant yet laced with dark humor as Zevon's were. There's also hope, too. The grim realities of life require at least sarcasm and sometimes scorn, and usually those two qualities are better served when mixed with the right amount of sincerity. At his best, Zevon could and the Truckers still craft these kinds of songs and that's a compelling reason, one of many, fans keep returning to their respective bodies work.

That said, I'm still on the fence regarding how much of Zevon's savage "Play It All Night Long" from 1980's Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School is not a mean-spirited blast not to actual country folk but to a perceived image of rural America. Warren often walked a greasy tightrope regarding his lyrical intentions. How serious can a song be with lyrics like "The cattle all have brucellosis, we'll get through somehow"?

The Truckers take Zevon's ostensible joke to the next level, however, by infusing the lyrics with their considerable heft. Much like how Elvis Costello reinvigorated Nick Lowe's mild and trippy "(What's So Funny Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?" with wounded but defiant idealism, DBT's version of "Play It All Night Long" is not cheeky and sneaky but rather a howling, visceral open wound, one that large swaths of red and blue America both can relate to.

(My apologies if this next clip doesn't sell you on what I just wrote. Truth is, to quote another Zevon song Patterson quotes if you listen carefully, this aint' that pretty at all.)

The Drive-By Truckers are arguably the best rock band playing today. When they're on their game, and they usually are, they're better than even Springsteen at articulating working class hopes and fears. And, like Zevon, they frequently lace their songs with memorably dark wit. I can't recommend seeing them enough.

Pehdtsckjmba

2008-05-18T23:01:00.007-04:00

Perhaps the good karma police decided to make up for my miserably wet but transcendent experience at Radiohead last weekend by making sure I got an amazing orchestra seat for Tom Waits in Columbus!

I've never seen him live and he rarely tours anymore. I expect nothing less than a once in a lifetime thrill, frankly. The last time I drove to the wilds of Ohi o for live music was in October 2004. I saw one of the most emotional, incredible, and hopeful concerts I've ever experienced. I even went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after that. A hard act to follow, surely, yet I expect Tom Waits to surpass even that high standard. Why? He's a compelling, fascinating, wholly unique individual so striking it's impossible to take your eyes away, as evidenced by these photos of unique beauty:

Yeah, obviously very memorable and, uh, ...oh! Yeah. That reminds me. (Sorry, guess my mind kind of drifted there for a sec.) There's some other Tom Waits related news this week...