Thu - January 11, 2007

Death of a Venue

Sad news from a friend today--one of the best intimate venues for live music in Rochester, NY is closing....

It may not have been CBGB's, but Milestones was a staple in my concert-seeing college (and post-college) years. It was there that I saw:
Moxy Fruvous' last 3 shows;
Sarah Harmer;
Trashcan Sinatras;
Mike Doughty;
Andy Stochansky;
Ben Kweller;
November Project;
local legends Eleven Foot Seven;
and Buddhahood;
and countless other acts. Not to mention the delicious fried ravioli they served. Yum!

The good news, I suppose, is that the venue is simply changing hands; the new owners plan to change the name to High Fidelity (presumably tangentially related to the book/film by the same name) and will continue booking live acts. And if the new club owner's MySpace page is any indication, though, the shows will be quality.

Still, the change could mean the demise of East End Eddy (shown in the upper-left corner playing guitar). Eddy is a character my friend Chaz created back in the day--who has since taken on a life of his own ever since and shows up on flyers wearing different hats for various occasions and festivals. There's a chance the new owners could continue using him--but to be honest, I'm not sure if Charles will be sad to see him go, or relieved not to find bastardized versions floating around for eternity... So Milestones & Eddy, Requisat In Pacem.

UPDATE: Charles let me know that Eddy is most likely here to stay since he was created for the entire East End. Phew!

Posted at 09:50 PM     |

Thu - January 4, 2007

Frankenweasel, the Funkmeister

Justin's bringing sexy back, so who's bringing funky back?

Someone with the unlikely name of Donavon Frankenreiter, that's who. (Did he hire Englebert Humperdink's agent, or what?) He sports long hair and a full-blown 70s porn mustache (or so I'm told...) but his music is out of sight, man! He doesn't make an appearance in this video for The Way It Is, but it'll give you the flava. Right on!

Posted at 11:29 PM     |

Thu - September 14, 2006

Where Have I Been?

"Working for the better good
(which is good at its best)
and too, bearing witness
like a woman bears a child:
with all her might

Born of the greatest pain
into a grand canyon of light"

~Ani DiFranco, "Grand Canyon"

Under a rock, is apparently where you'll find me. Just read yesterday that Ani DiFranco announced she was 12 weeks pregnant at the end of July. I love that she announced the news while being honored for her "contributions to the feminist movement." Hardcore feminists were upset when she married her sound engineer in 1998. I sort of lost track of her personal life after that, but it's surprising I didn't hear them shout for joy when she divorced five years later...

She's never been one to do the expected thing, though. When Ms. Magazine ran a feature about her success, she wrote the editor an open letter about how they got it all wrong, reiterating that "it's not about the money" and that she doesn't want to be known as a CEO when she dies.

And she's still not playing by the book... I see from her website that even though she's due in February she'll be on tour through late November. How one plays guitar as raucously as she does over a pregnant belly, I'm not sure. But if anyone can find a way...

Posted at 06:55 AM     |

Sun - September 10, 2006

Just When All Hope Was Lost

"All his exes throw a party
On his birthday every year
They reminisce and drink champagne
I make sure I bring my own beer."
~Sylvie Lewis, "All His Exes"

Her album, Tangos & Tantrums, has been out since early 2005 but I was thrilled to personally discover Sylvie Lewis. To my ear, she's like a British Sarah Harmer on a cabaret bender--and how can you go wrong there? Her lyrics are smart but it's her classy website complete with a blog called "Memoirs of a Madam" that completely hooked me... despite the fact that she hasn't updated it for a year. I read every single entry starting at the beginning, and highly recommend it!

From what I can piece together, she moved from England to LA, but has since smartly moved to NYC and possibly Barcelona, Spain. The happiest news is that she's finishing her second album, which should be coming out in the Spring. Let's hope she continues to play live with folks like the Weepies and the Greencards...

Posted at 06:59 AM     |

Wed - June 21, 2006

Gotta Wear Shades

"If it's not Love
Then it's the Bomb
Then it's the Bomb
That will bring us together"
~Smiths, "Ask"

Oh happy day! Three of my all-time favorite Canadian musicians have started a band together!

Yes, Dave Matheson, Murray Foster (IMO the better half of Moxy Fruvous, who I followed for almost 2 years) and the always amazing Tory Cassis have formed the Great Atomic Power.

They offer some soundclips on their website, and don't disappoint in the slightest. I can't wait for a full release! Now if only I still lived in upstate NY and could see them live in my beloved Toronto...

ADDENDUM: Didn't want to create a whole new entry, but the boys have officially added two new members and posted some more photos to their page. Now if only they'd add a few more soundclips, or *gasp* release an album!

Posted at 10:27 PM     |

Fri - June 16, 2006

Synchronicity #352

"A familiar face I saw
Wake up and take a feel"
~Ocean Blue, "Familiar Face"

So my lesson with Ruth was amazing... and I learned to my surprise that I had already seen her play. She sits in with the group Avatar on Celtic night at Oddfella's in Floyd and we were there on St. Patrick's Day(!) We even took this picture--as you can see, she plays with her eyes closed a lot. It's funny because I mentioned that night that I should talk to her and ask where she took lessons but we left before it was over and I figured she was from around Floyd, which would've been too far away. I guess it was fate. Too bad I didn't though because I could've squeezed in a few more lessons before she leaves for Washington University in the fall.

Tonight we saw another great fiddler in the Celtibillies. They played the Summer Arts Festival at Virginia Tech. We took a picnic to eat on the lawn and it was pretty relaxing and inspiring. I also wore my "I (shamrock) Ireland" t-shirt for the occasion. Cuz I'm a nerd!

Posted at 10:23 PM     |

Mon - June 12, 2006

Fiddle-dee-dee

"Fit as a fiddle and ready for love.
I can jump over the moon up above.
Fit as a fiddle and ready for love!"
~From "Singin' in the Rain," Gene Kelly & Donald O'Connor

I'm very pleased to announce that, at long last, I've found a celtic fiddle teacher! I contacted Ralph Berrier of the Black Twig Pickers who got me in touch with mandolin-maker Ward Elliott who referred me to Ruth Howe.

She's a Scottish-style fiddler whose been winning competitions up and down the east coast (search for her name here, again and again) and just recently graduated from high school--which probably means she'll go away to school in the fall but hey, I'll take what I can get! Anyway, we're meeting on Thursday for an hour and I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Posted at 10:38 PM     |

Mon - April 4, 2005

No-No-Notorious

"Don't say a prayer for me now,
Save it 'til the morning after"
~Duran Duran, "Save a Prayer"

So what could be better than getting $75 tickets for the original line-up of Duran Duran on eBay for a mere $25? Well probably seeing them live 20 years ago, but this was a very close second...

The March 30th show at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY was pretty surreal. When the band came on stage and Simon LeBon started striking rockstar poses, you could literally feel the nostalgic frenzy of teenage hormones wash over the women in the crowd. He had this whole George Michael meets Rod Stewart thing going on.

I can't say I was entirely immune to the fervor--I, too, squealed upon seeing Nick Rhodes. Nick was the first of several androgynous keyboard players to steal my heart, actually, followed shortly thereafter by Martin Gore of Depeche Mode. I remember recording "Notorious" off the radio in 1986 with my lavender tapedeck and gazing lovingly at this photo every night.

A highlight of the visuals at the show was an anime (manga?) short that featured band members battling it out with masked bad guys using their instruments (ie, splitting heads with cymbals, exploding heads with ultrasonic bass etc.)




The setlist could only have been better if they played "The Reflex"... which is to say it was near perfect:

[Reach Up for the] Sunrise
Hungry Like the Wolf
Planet Earth
Union of the Snake
Astronaut
Hold Back the Rain
Chains
What Happens Tomorrow
Tiger Tiger
The Chauffeur
Ordinary World
Save a Prayer
Notorious / We Are Family
Nice
Is There Something I Should Know?
Careless Memories
The Wild Boys
--
Girls on Film / Groove Is in the Heart
Rio

Yes, they even launched into "We Are Family" during "Notorious" and "Groove is in the Heart" during "Girls on Film." You gotta admit, the only way to tour with a band 20 years later is to have a sense of humor about it.

Posted at 11:47 PM     |

Thu - January 20, 2005

Why Didn't I Think Of That?!

"A tool is but the extension of a [wo]man's hand."
Henry Ward Beecher

In the Winter 2005 issues of Playlist magazine, I read about a gadget that had me smacking my forehead. It's aptly called the Audi-Oh, and here's a description:

"Simply put, Audi-Oh translates sound into vibration. Audi-Oh captures sound and turns it into stimulating vibrations in Ambient Mode, using sounds in the environment such as someone's voice or the music in your favorite dance club, or in Direct Mode using direct audio input from devices such as your iPod™, other portable CD or MP3 players, home stereo system, musical instruments and PCs."

For just $69.95, ladies, you too can take your music enjoyment to a whole new level. I haven't yet had the opportunity to experience one of these personally, but I've made up a product-test playlist for amusement's sake:

1. Never Gonna Come Back Down - BT (featuring M. Doughty)
2. Idioteque - Radiohead
3. Going Down - Ani DiFranco
4. Sunday After You - Kenna
5. Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Posted at 11:14 AM     |