Velvet

Those were exciting times.

I miss Bradm.

So, who's going?  When are you getting there?  What are you doing?
I'm going.
I get there Tuesday afternoon and leave Friday afternoon.
Going to the lot early, going to the show, maybe go to the Horseshoe after, or to the GDS thing.
Looking for suggestions for aftershow, and for Thursday.
Hope to see y'all there.  I'll be the guy in the shorts.  With the hat.

In for a GA floor.  Hope to see some of you there. 
https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/drive-by-truckers-bronson-centre-theatre-tickets/11724555?pl=spectrasonic&refid=DBT
 

Bob Wiseman in Ottawa April 14 at that new venue in Old Ottawa South, The Red Bird.  Hosted by Lynn Miles, featuring Rebecca Campbell and Bob Wiseman.  "Songs and piano improvisations" $30.
Should be pretty great. 

phorbsie called it "improv".  We entered a contest to win a $5,000 home reno.  We recorded a song and we need people to vote for it.  I hate to ask, but if you got a minute could you click here and vote for our video?  And yes, I really do get hit in the face with a board. https://krockrocks.com/contest/43766/gallery/?entryID=8024744&page=1&order=latest&search=&fbclid=IwAR3klwEdXuFfb3-UAy1f8ItPTt0HKoU6SqU-zb9VTCOMjN8r7QLOqccNtkM
 

Friends and compatriots!  I have finally at long last started a blog/website thingy where I'll be posting travel logs, videos, reviews, my daily ticket stories, and whatever else I can think of.  
My thanks to Mike and all of you on this website; this is where I started typing, where I started the nerologs and posted my first-ever travel log (from Peru), and generally where my writing bone got flexed.  So again, thanks.  
www.toddmanout.com
 

Friends and compatriots!  I have finally at long last started a blog/website thingy where I'll be posting travel logs, videos, reviews, my daily ticket stories, and whatever else I can think of.  
My thanks to Mike and all of you on this website; this is where I started typing, where I started the nerologs and posted my first-ever travel log (from Peru), and generally where my writing bone got flexed.  So again, thanks.  
www.toddmanout.com
 

Oh, Eddie.  
I've been doing a lot of listening since he died the other day and while I always worshipped the dude - and that never, ever waned - after barraging myself with examples of his playing both familiar (like his solos on Beat It and Jump and that heavy intro to Pretty Woman [Intruder] and..oh there is so much) and new (like that tune he did on SNL, the Hollywood Bowl solo, and several other gems that kept coming up in the feed of every social media platform in existence) and listening really, really hard has elevated my respect for his playing above and beyond even the upper reaches of respect that I had for him before.
The dude was such a guitar monster, with a bag full of skills, licks, tricks, and devastating lines that was the size of a planet...it's all really rather incomprehensible and I'm so, so glad I got to share argons with him on at least three occasions.  What a privilege.
And though we can safely assume that his best musical days were either behind him or would soon be so, Eddie deserved to enjoy many years of laurel-resting, and it's a damn shame that he was robbed of that.  But what a blessing that the world will forever have the echo of Eddie's astounding gift to the world of rock music and guitar on-the-whole ringing in it's ears.  His memory will always be revered and his influence will always be pervasive.
Thank-you so, so much Eddie van Halen, and goodbye.  

Wow...I do believe I've stumbled upon the ORIGINAL 40 Main thread.

It's like an archeological find!!!!

And our highly anticipated follow-up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDWC14uPFZ0
 

Pumpkin (My Cat's On Crack) by The Tummies, featuring drumming courtesy of Rockin' Jay McConnery.
Please watch and share.  This is my retirement plan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWU9kUwott8
 

Pumpkin (My Cat's On Crack) by The Tummies, featuring drumming courtesy of Rockin' Jay McConnery.
Please watch and share.  This is my retirement plan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWU9kUwott8
 

Just finished a little six night run and it was fabulous.  Special mention goes to the monster Fenway set and both Mohegan Sun shows.  Great times with good friends, which is a lot of what Phish is about.
Oh, and Toronto was the very definition of great times with good friends.

That's me running from Angry Booche.

Just received this email from Bradm's mother Lois today:
"We brought his ashes back when he died and until yesterday (Sunday) the urn was in my bedroom closet.  To back track, when his Dad died in 2002, Ken was on our condo's Board of Directors and in his honour, a white magnolia bush was planted on our condo property.  Steve and I decided to put Brad's ashes around the base of what has become a BIG tree.  Yesterday here was a bit cloudy and even though there is a walking a path close to the tree  no gardening staff were on duty.  We took a spade, loosened the earth and put the ashes around the tree.  As you may gather the McFarlane's are not outwardly religious. 
     Steve and Brad were both Monty Python fans and Steve said a few words as did I.  We came back up to the condo and Steven found a video of John Cleese giving a eulogy at Python's Graham Chapman's death ( I think it was his) singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life   If you haven't seen it, check out YouTube.      It was hilarious and we figured Brad would approve............Lois"

Just received this email from Bradm's mother Lois today:
"We brought his ashes back when he died and until yesterday (Sunday) the urn was in my bedroom closet.  To back track, when his Dad died in 2002, Ken was on our condo's Board of Directors and in his honour, a white magnolia bush was planted on our condo property.  Steve and I decided to put Brad's ashes around the base of what has become a BIG tree.  Yesterday here was a bit cloudy and even though there is a walking a path close to the tree  no gardening staff were on duty.  We took a spade, loosened the earth and put the ashes around the tree.  As you may gather the McFarlane's are not outwardly religious. 
     Steve and Brad were both Monty Python fans and Steve said a few words as did I.  We came back up to the condo and Steven found a video of John Cleese giving a eulogy at Python's Graham Chapman's death ( I think it was his) singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life   If you haven't seen it, check out YouTube.      It was hilarious and we figured Brad would approve............Lois"

Just received this email from Bradm's mother Lois today:
"We brought his ashes back when he died and until yesterday (Sunday) the urn was in my bedroom closet.  To back track, when his Dad died in 2002, Ken was on our condo's Board of Directors and in his honour, a white magnolia bush was planted on our condo property.  Steve and I decided to put Brad's ashes around the base of what has become a BIG tree.  Yesterday here was a bit cloudy and even though there is a walking a path close to the tree  no gardening staff were on duty.  We took a spade, loosened the earth and put the ashes around the tree.  As you may gather the McFarlane's are not outwardly religious. 
     Steve and Brad were both Monty Python fans and Steve said a few words as did I.  We came back up to the condo and Steven found a video of John Cleese giving a eulogy at Python's Graham Chapman's death ( I think it was his) singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life   If you haven't seen it, check out YouTube.      It was hilarious and we figured Brad would approve............Lois"

Just received this email from Bradm's mother Lois today:
"We brought his ashes back when he died and until yesterday (Sunday) the urn was in my bedroom closet.  To back track, when his Dad died in 2002, Ken was on our condo's Board of Directors and in his honour, a white magnolia bush was planted on our condo property.  Steve and I decided to put Brad's ashes around the base of what has become a BIG tree.  Yesterday here was a bit cloudy and even though there is a walking a path close to the tree  no gardening staff were on duty.  We took a spade, loosened the earth and put the ashes around the tree.  As you may gather the McFarlane's are not outwardly religious. 
     Steve and Brad were both Monty Python fans and Steve said a few words as did I.  We came back up to the condo and Steven found a video of John Cleese giving a eulogy at Python's Graham Chapman's death ( I think it was his) singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life   If you haven't seen it, check out YouTube.      It was hilarious and we figured Brad would approve............Lois"

Following a late-afternoon wakeup and dragging my Bourbon Street-sized hangover to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (barely) in time to catch Bruce Springsteen’s amazing set, I found myself some Cajun nourishment and in short order made my way to the Saenger Theatre for a highly anticipated tribute concert dedicated to one of The Big Easy’s biggest heroes (and obvious inspiration for The Electric Mayhem’s hip-happenin’ far out bandleader, Dr. Teeth), the great Dr. John.
 
The lineup was scheduled to include the likes of Mavis Staples, Jimmie Vaughan, Gregg Allman, Lucinda Williams, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Warren Haynes, and so many more, not to mention the man himself, Dr. John; the anticipation of such a conglomerate of talent was almost exciting enough to cut through the self-imposed physical and mental crunch that I was enduring, though the Springsteen set had been energetic enough to have already propped me up a little, and I’m sure the solid sustenance I was able to get down my throat between events helped to bring me back to life.
 
But the theatre itself really bolstered my energy.  Merely stepping into the newly renovated space was somewhat exhilarating, the immaculately decorated flooring, the majestic chandeliers glistering overhead, the posh ornamentation of…everything.  Wow (I thought), this is what a theatre is supposed to look like.
 
Emerging upstairs into the balcony I was thankful for my comfortable seat and was instantly mesmerized by the glinting starry lights embedded into the impossibly wide, blue ceiling.  The upper crust of the theatre is inexplicably lined with Roman statues that lend it a pompousity that somehow remains firmly tasteful.  In short, the room was built to impress.
 
Just as I was getting settled in nice and comfy-like, the lights went down and the MC’s voice boomed through the PA, shocking the sold-out crowd out of their seats with a surprise opening announcement:
 
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to The Saenger Theatre tonight’s opening act, the king of New Orleans, Dr. John, and the Boss of New Jersey, Mr. Bruce Springsteen!”
 
The entire crowd leapt to their feet as the curtains went up revealing the evening’s stellar house band and the entire E Street Band backing up the good Doctor and The Boss on Right Place Wrong Time and we all went completely nuts together.  There was never a hint that Bruce Springsteen was going to be involved in the concert whatsoever and then he goes and opens the show!  That curtain drop truly stands out as one of the most exciting concert moments of my life.  My gosh, it was so exciting.
 
I think it even cured my hangover.
 
The night progressed with one astounding performance after another, as artists like Jason Isbell, Widespread Panic, Irma Thomas, Cyril Neville and so many more stood onstage and did their thing (or more accurately, Dr. John’s thing in their own style) to a wildly appreciative audience who collectively knew that they were witnessing something special.  Another great surprise addition to the evening was John Fogerty, while it was no big surprise that Gregg Allman sadly couldn’t make it after all, as his deteriorating health in his final years understandably caused cancellation after cancellation.
 
(I’m pretty sure that Lucinda Williams cancelled too, which is too bad.)
 
Oh, there was so much good music.  Ryan Bingham was there, and George Porter Jr., and Bill Kreutzmann and Chuck Leavell, Allen Toussaint and Anders Osborne and so many others.  It was a concert for the ages in the classiest room in America’s greatest city.  Not bad for $100.
 
Oh, and speaking of deals, shortly after getting through the door I noticed two things: 1) a monstrously long line to the merch table, where one of the few things for sale was a nice limited edition poster for the evening’s concert, and 2) a much shorter line where the VIP ticket-holders were picking up their free goody-bags.  A quick glance showed that each goody bag included a poster, so every VIP couple attending the show was getting two posters, AKA at least one more than they needed.
 
I bypassed the merch line altogether and approached the first couple I saw leaving the VIP table, offering the guy $20 for one of his posters.  You’d think I offered a vampire a pint of blood.  “Sure!” he yelped, handing me one of the posters.  “I was just going to throw the thing away.  Instead I think I’ll buy us a couple of drinks!” and taking his wife by the shoulder he led her off towards the bar.
 
I hadn’t actually noticed how much the posters were even going for so I doubled back to the merch table and checked.  $25.  Turns out my little brainstorm was pretty smart, fast, and economical.
 
The poster is framed and hangs in my kitchen.  It’s a daily reminder that no matter how hung over I am, a little bit of excitement and a lot of rock and roll can usually pull me through.

When they announced the lineup and had the ticket onsale date set for weeks in advance I was suspicious.  When does that happen?!?!
Well, seems like they are having problems down there.  The Black Keys have pulled out, the fest doesn't have the proper permits yet, and now they've postponed the ticket sales.
https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/04/woodstock-50-ticket-postponement/

This is Doug (from The John Henry's) and his psychedelic rock project that he has been rehearsing for literally years, and their first gig will be at Ottawa's awesomest bar, Irene's on Saturday, March 30th.   Tix are available online.
This has a high likelihood of being amazing, but no guarantees.  You've been warned, both ways.  Seriously though, 85% chance of it being amazing.
https://www.facebook.com/psychedelicottawa/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARA3X1asnKpb4fhyLqsljWhYQOMSnmph5CgzZDpEqYqHXhgCyuBpycMb7KsRCGZpaJCg3V_rXPrJ6t3E

Lineup is out.  I'm excited to see Chicago.  Other than that I might be spending most of the festival drinking beers in my backyard for the first time...ever?
https://ottawajazzfestival.com/shows/

Ahem...that's Kim Mitchell and David Wilcox...on the same bill!  I'm confident that people will be flying in from around the continent for this, if not the world.
It's not like Phish hasn't played at MSG before.

Yes, tonight (Saturday), at House of Targ.  $10.