the pod bay door

:: The weekend included three movies and a surprise birthday event, organized by L’il Kim, for Heavy G at The Sidetrack on Saturday night, which mean we who attended were able to watch The Northern Pikes, one of my favorite Canadian bands, perform late in the evening. The Pikes’ tune, Wait For Me, is one of my favorite songs ever, and features very tasty guitar work by Bryan Potvin. I was at the ‘track early enough to catch the band during its sound check, and spoke to Bryan afterwards. I told him how much I enjoy his work and style, and he took the time to show me the intro to Wait For Me, for which I am grateful – thanks, Bryan. (I’ve been working on it at home on the Martin J-40MC). The Northern Pikes are true road warriors, and have been at it for almost 20 years. Their new album, It’s A Good Life, is due out next week, check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

The evening was much fun with good friends, and my pal D Fy and I spent some time during the Pikes’ set to dance our asses off. Thanks, Deb! Geoff’s birthday is on July 8th, and he hits the big Three-Oh, so drop in on him and wish him well. He’s getting old.

:: The movies I saw were 28 Days Later, Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines, and Ash Wednesday. (ASIDE: Despite having loaded Macromedia Flash 6, I cannot enter the T3 site. Anyone else having this problem?).

:: I leave for Winnipeg in a week. One of the reasons is to attend a 32-year high school reunion.

:: Last night I saw The Fab Faux at a free concert at the World Financial Center near Battery Park City. I was with friends who invited me to attend. As a lifelong Beatles fan, I was looking forward to seeing them perform, given the preconcert info I’d received from said friends: the Faux reproduce the Beatles’ tunes as you hear them on their records, as close to a note-for-note reproduction as possible, and delivered by some of the best musicians around, including Will Lee (The Late Show with David Letterman) and Jimmy Vivino (Late Night With Conan O’Brien).
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:: The last three days have been better for walking about – the temperature has dropped, and the humidity is way down. Last night, I took the subway to a place called Smoke, to watch Carolyn Leonhart perform. I arrived around 6:20 to find a tiny jazz club and cocktail lounge that serves no food, very intimate and relaxing. With maybe 3 or 4 people at the bar, I took a seat at a table near the “stage”, and when Carolyn and her band began, I was the only one sitting at a table. It felt like I was listening to and watching a private concert! Carolyn sang a few jazz standards, some of which appeared on her album, Steal The Moon. Her voice is sultry and smooth, and I felt drawn in to her music and delivery. She was backed by an amazing trio of musicians on piano, standup bass and percussion, to whom I cannot do honour as I cannot recall their names.

While in NYC, and thanks to Carolyn, I was able to obtain a copy of the album Glass Lounge, by the Swiss percussion group Lyn Leon, of which she is a member. I’ve not heard the album yet, but at their website you can hear sound clips and video of the group in action, and order a copy here.

After the first set, I approached her to say hello, and to ask if she would sign the CD insert for Glass Lounge (which, btw, comes in a package with a round piece of embossed glass!). For the next 20 minutes, we spoke about her career and its direction, how she came to sing with Steely Dan (since 1996), her albums and forthcoming recording project, and other things. She was gracious with her time and company, and I thank her for that. She gave me the ok to take a few pictures during the second set, and I hope they turn out well. I will post the best ones when I return home.

I have Steal the Moon, and if you are looking for a relaxing and engaging album of jazz standards and originals (by Rob Bargad), this album is worth your effort. Order it here.

Thanks, Carolyn, for a memorable evening of music and conversation.

:: This afternoon I saw the film, Blue Car, featuring David Strathairn, one of my favorite actors, and a brilliant young newcomer, Agnes Bruckner. More on that later. What happened when I bought my ticket was a rite of passage: I approached the ticket window (which is outside the theatre showing the movie, on 2nd Avenue near 12th Street), wearing a bball cap, sunglasses and a t-shirt. I gave the attendant $10 and said, “Blue Car”; he looked at me and asked, “Senior?”, as in, “you look old enough to qualify for senior admission prices”, to which I responded, “I’m not EVEN FIFTY YET, thank you.” And I always thought I looked younger than my age. Ha ha!

:: I also spent an hour with one of my favorite people, Jessica Owen. We had coffee and swapped stories, and I walked her to a studio where she was going to record 8 demo tracks of new tunes she’s written. I shamelessly promote her latest album on my site – please buy it, you won’t be disappointed. Love you, Jess.

:: I’ve finished Day 1 of the EBL Conference. I’m exhausted. The day went well, met some very cool people from Australia, the UK, Norway, USA, other parts of Canada. I MC’d the door prizes at the banquet, and only made one major gaff. Now I’m home, packing for SLA on Saturday.

:: I borrow music from the public library, and listen to the CDs in my car while driving. I borrowed an album called The Last Broadcast by the band, Doves. I must’ve read a review of it somewhere, having never heard of the band. I popped it into the CD player with no expectations, and can report that it’s quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year. The biographical info on the site is a bit cryptic, and I can’t confirm if there are three or four members in the band. The record sounds like there are many more. This band must be something to see in concert, if they are able to replicate the wall of sound in some of the songs on The Last Broadcast. I might describe them as Coldplay meets Radiohead (circa OK Computer) meets the Manchester Sound. It’s a great record. More short reviews here.

The weirdest thing, like, really weird? I was listening to the album yesterday, and stopped at Zeller’s to pick up some socks. I walked in, and the music in the store was “Pounding“, my favorite song on The Last Broadcast. Hello? Who’s programming music for Zeller’s?

:: Finally, many people are relishing the indictment of Martha Stewart, but some are pointing to the hypocrisy of the non-indictment (to date) of Ken Lay, who headed Enron while it stole billions, wiped out savings of 12,000 workers, cost 5,000 workers their jobs, misled and lied to their stockholders, and nailed California by rigging electricity prices during its energy crisis. Lay and his wife, btw, have annuities which, when they reach maturity in 2007, will provide guaranteed monthly payments for life of $43,023 to Lay, and $32,643 to his wife.

:: It’s late on Tuesday, the continuing calm before the storm. Thanks to everyone who contributed comments on purchasing a digital camera. I’ll either wait until I return from NYC, or buy one there if the opportunity presents itself.

:: My review of Nowhere in Africa, for Blogcritics.

:: Sometimes it’s cool to just sit and listen. A friend called today, concerned about something. I invited her over, and she sat and talked for an hour, and felt better afterwards. I offered the occasional comment or observation, but beyond that, just a sounding board.

:: My suitcase is open in the spare bedroom, as I slowly prepare for NYC. Tomorrow I help move supplies and registration for the EBL conference, and I attend the conference on Thursday and Friday. Thursday night is the banquet. Not a lot of time in between to organize and pack.

:: The new Steely Dan album, Everything Must Go, can be heard in its entirety on the Reprise site. But please, if you can, watch the five-segment video, Steely Dan Confessions, on the same site, in which Don and Walt ride around Las Vegas in Rita’s cab. You MUST watch the second one, “Lizzie on lyrics“, in which Lizzie tells Walt and Don that her boyfriend grooved her on to “you guy’ses music” in college. The piece de resistance is when she asks them about the lyrics to “Reelin’ In The Sheaves”, and Donald sez, “Reelin’ In The Sheaves, that was one of our best numbers.” I’m still laughing.

:: I watched the final episode of the third season of Six Feet Under tonight. A brilliant show, I found the third season a bit tiresome and weary – the focus was on the relationships of each of the main players, and after a few episodes of each of their relationships deteriorating, people screaming at each other, an art teacher who defined pretention, the show began to feel like an unwelcome visitor. I hope it improves next year.

:: If you like Steely Dan like I know I do, you’ll be interested in this extensive review of the DVD-A version of their forthcoming album, Everything Must Go, hitting the shelves on 10 June 2003.

:: I’ve spent the last 6-7 days coughing my lungs out with a minor chest cold of some sort. Today’s the first day the coughing has begun to subside. But I’ve missed two Pilates classes, and haven’t really worked out in almost two weeks, so I’m feeling sluggish, and about as sharp as a sack of wet mice.

:: I saw X2: X-Men United on Saturday, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
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