MarcO

Haven't heard anyone else mention this, so just to let y'all know, Cockburn headlines the Festival Of friends in Gage Park in Hamilton on Saturday night. He plays on the Main Stage from 10pm - 11pm.

Here's the festival site:

Festival Of Friends

Actually, at last count, two of us made that judgment.

Couldn't tell ya Steve, sorry. Our plans fell through at the last minute as I had to stay home to prop up the spirits of someone who was rather upset on Friday night.

My back-up plan became to pop down there for about 12 or 12.30. Didn't happen though, which was ultimately good, because I heard the next day Nero opened the show, and at that point I would have missed them.

I heard it wasn't all that busy. Sorry Nero, catch ya next time (I hope!).

Best:

Down From The Mountain - Molson Amp.

Trey Band - Fox Theatre, Detroit

Alison Krauss and Union Station - Massey Hall

Worst:

Phil & Friends - Molson Amp.

OK then..... more room for MarcO!!

Well, if anyone does want to come round to my apartment for a place to do what it is you do beforehand, feel free to call me: 905-521-1544.

We plan on heading down there for about 11.

An entire set of mind-blowing brand new material.

Who's there??

What about Doug, Steve?

So, who's in "The Other Ones" for the fall? Same line-up as Alpine Valley?

I'm glad he's gone.

For the most part dude, I agree. Although Nero struck me as being rather refreshing the one time I had a chance to see them. Didn't get bogged down in playing what they thought the audience might want to hear ("anybody wanna hear St. Stephen???") but played what they wanted to, and very well.

As for The New Deal supporting their "roots", they do: almost every Canadian gig they do features a local or nationally known DJ spinning before and between sets. They brought DJ Harry (of Colorado) and Mocean Worker (of NYC) up for support on their high-profile T.O. gigs. And they were both kick-ass (esp. DJ Harry!). This is a live band that naturally fused the jam-aesthetic with the urban dance sound that places like The Comfort Zone and the Wetlands had always presented as well as the jammers.

Personally, if I never hear a Dead or Phish cover again, I wouldn't be too disappointed. And those are probably my two favorite bands.

Roman Aberdeen.

What's your favorite Simpson's episode?

For me, I can never get enough of the one where Homer goes into space with Buzz Aldrin. From the NASA training camp where Barney gets loaded on non-alcoholic wine ("it beGINS!!"), to an angry James Taylor insisting he's gonna play and "you're gonna float there and like it!", to Homer snapping up the potato chips with ballet precision ("careful! they're ruffled!") and finally, the inanaimate rod getting all the credit for saving the day ("In Rod We Trust") instead of Homer, I love that one!

Another classic has gotta be when Apu loses the Quick-E Mart. He's awesome. I say, the more Apu, the better!!

Coke. Never tried it, never want to.

I know its a stereotype, and I personally know musicians who betray this stereotype and I'd love to shake it, but I have gotten to the point where basically whenever I see a musician of any sort of success, be it regional, national, or international, I find myself speculating that they're probably quite familiar with the stuff. Not necessarily ON IT at the time, or maybe, but really rather familiar with it. And the crew. And the managers. And the promoters. And the DJs. And the people working the phones at the record label. From the local guitar player to the top international superstars, it's just everywhere. It always has been, and it seems it always will be.

It must be such a temptation because from everything I've heard about it, it's a functional drug, enhancing front-lobe activity of the brain and makes the user feel rather creative, alert and engaged, even if they're not.

I always remember an interview with David Crosby in Dupree's Diamond News (c. 1994) where he bemoaned his introduction to the white powder, speculating that THAT was what conditioned him to take it further and harder as he went on. He wished he had just stuck with the green and psychedelics.

Poor John Entwistle. I don't believe for a second that these aging rock stars have cleaned up their acts, for the most part. I just think they've learned the media game about not bragging about it anymore. Of course, this is just my speculation based on 15 years of rock-star-watching.

Dee Dee Ramone

Danny Whitton (CrazyHorse)

Gram Parsons

Steve Clark (Def Leppard)

Brent Mydland

Bon Scott (AC/DC)

Brian Jones

Jimi Hendrix

care to add to this most awful of lists?

(while talking in bed):

"Homer, sometimes I think you just hear the things you want to hear."

"Thanks Marge, I'd love a snack right now!"

YES!! Oh yeah, I forgot about that one! "We regret to announce the following lay-offs, which we will now announce in aplphabetical order: Simpson, Homer. That is all."

Keep em coming! These are great. How about when Homer planted plutonium on his family's farm? Or when he joined the Witness Protection Program?

Love it!! best show ever!

Hey Scottie - please get a hold of me when you get a chance. Feel free to call if you like: 905-521-1544. Don't tell Brian I'm trying to get a hold of ya!

Thanks. Sorry if you clicked on this thinking it would be interesting to you. For you, I give you this:

See ya!

Phish (l to r: McConnell, Gordon, Fishman, Anastasio), photo taken during a band meeting early in July 2002.

"Why didn't you tell me you were gonna wear that fuckin' shirt?" demanded Trey of Page.

"I ate my baby" muttered Fishman, obviously still in shock.

Hey everyone, well I thought I'd have a chance to sit and really develop this review, but I'm, not sure I'll have a chance while it's still fresh on my mind, so I'm just going to ramble a bit (!).

First of all, for those of you who have never been to the Majestic: it's SMALL! I was really surprised. Imagine The Opera House (Toronto) without the balcony and without the back section on the floor, but wider. A pretty good venue, it was only about 3/4 full, and it was about a million degrees in there by the midway point. Wierd eh? Anyway, I figured "this is the hardcore Phish community", and the crowd did indeed seem very happy just to see Page again!

And so... Vida Blue? Well, the show was good, rarely mind-blowing, and there were some problems, in my opinion, but overall it wasn't bad. Problem #1? The covers, actually. When they were happening, they were great: Cars (Gary Numan), Sheep (Pink Floyd), some tune Otiel covered by The Funky Meters. However, a few made me feel like I was watching a wedding band conduct an open rehearsal: Stir It Up (Marley, duh!), Jealous Guy (John Lennon), Fly Like an Eagle (Steve Miller). Further, none of these songs seemed to flow in any sense to the overall structure of the show. It was hard to turn those corners with the band, when they've been laying down raw electro-funk for 15 minutes and then all of a sudden Page is singing a rather sickly-sweet Lennon tune! Sorry but some of it seemed like filler, to me.

The original material fared well for the most part. Let me just say that Page was awesome! Crawling all over his keyboards all night long, just coaxing those spaced-out clavinet lines and making liberal use of his new synthesizer approach (I can't wait to hear him adapt this into the reunited Phish!). He didn't even touch his (electric) piano until the encore, Cars Trucks Buses, so it came as a bit of a shock to the ears by the end of the night!

And Page just looks cool these days He's growing what's left of his hair out and he looks more like the Mad Professor than ever!

The main problem with Vida Blue, as I see it, unfortunately is the rhythm section. See, here's my thing about that: Oteil is an amazing bassist but he tends to play in his middle-to-high register a lot and moves through a lot of notes quickly and fluidly. Russell Batiste, while undeniably funky, also tends to punctuate his grooves with a lot of fills, and his performance on Saturday night contained not just a little bit of showboating and just plain showing-off. Unfortunately, because Page's contributions are so nebulous and delicate, he really needs a simple, solid, low-end to build upon and doesn't get it, and THAT's why Vida Blue often sound thin to my ears, and why a lot of people think they need another instrument I think. They don't, Otiel and Russell just need to pay more attention to the bottom end groove.

The Slip to open were great, and I will try to catch these guys anytime they're in the area. I thought they managed to fit a very natural development of mood and texture in their 45min set without rushing anything or seeming to worry about time constraints. The guitarist was particularly good, unafraid to play "pretty" and at other times just cutting it up. He didn't remind me at all of Garcia or Trey, which is a good thing! A real pleasant surprise, don't miss these guys when they head out to Nova Scotia later this Summer!

Just a few thoughts. For whatever it's worth I did very much enjoy the Vida Blue set but I wouldn't catch multiple shows or go particularly out of my way to catch them I don't think. Happily, I found this show much more enjoyable than the last show I went to, the Phil and Friends show in T.O., which left a real bad impression on me, musically.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading!

Guyute.

Wake me when it's over!

Thanks for the info!

I believe tix are $25(US). Not sure if it's sold out or not, probably best to check on-line.

I'll let y'all know what I think of the show!

Just wondering. I'm also looking forward to checking out The Slip, whom I've never heard.

Anybody been to the Majestic Theatre before? What's it like? Are drinks expensive? Hopefully, they won't be $9 like at The Fox.

Detroit Rock City.

Performing acoustic @ The Winchester Arms.

Hey gm - how are ya? Let me know if you need help w/ promo for your Hamilton gig. I'd be happy to help out in any way I can.