the pod bay door

.: I never thought I’d admit something like this, but I’ve been listening to a copy of A Bigger Bang, the new Rolling Stones album, and … I like it. It’s quite good. Can’t believe I’m admitting this publicly. The album rocks out rather nicely, especially for a bunch of sixty-somethings at the wheel. It’s hard not like lyrics like these, from Sweet Neo Con:

You call yourself a Christian
I think that you’re a hypocrite
You say you are a patriot
I think that you’re a crock of shit

And listen now, the gasoline
I drink it every day
But it’s getting very pricey
And who is going to pay

How come you’re so wrong
My sweet neo con…. Yeah

Hmm, who might Jagger be referencing there? I have owned one Rolling Stones album in my life, and despite having liked much of their music, was never a big fan. (Favorite songs include Sympathy for the Devil and Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.) I borrowed this album from the library, after reading a number of favourable reviews. The verdict: it’s good, very listenable, great production, a wide variety of song styles, and great melodies all around.

Next up: the new McCartney, also receiving favourable reviews, and then the new Neil Young.

.: One month until Christmas…

.: My thirteenth visit to NYC is over tomorrow. Yesterday, the rain stopped in the early evening, after continuing non-stop since Wednesday morning. I heard that during this past week, more rain fell in NYC in a seven-day period than in the past ninety years, but I haven’t been able to verify this information. States of emergency and flood alerts were declared in parts of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and at least eleven people have died in the area since the rain began last Saturday.

Today, however, the sun came out, in time for Jessica‘s wedding. I didn’t get much sleep last night, following my second U2 show in three days. Typical cold symptoms, sore throat, stuffed sinuses, ears hurting, etc. I’ve been gulping down COLD-fX in hopes of fighting it off. Nonetheless, I boarded an NJ Transit train at Penn Station in the morning, and road it to Summit NJ, where Jessica’s wedding ceremony was taking place. Wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with a black linen sports jacket was not a wise move, as the sun was quite warm. It took me a good 45 minutes to cool down inside the church before the wedding. The ceremony was heartfelt and memorable, with Jessica’s fiancé, John Vasilenko, aka Johnny V, overcome with emotion at times as he spoke his vows – these are two people very much in love, and it was a joy to be a part of it. There were a small number of people there with whom I was acquainted, including Jessica’s family, and some of her local friends. The reception was immediately afterwards, and last all afternoon into the early evening. The food was delicious.

.: Last night, I went back to Madison Square Gardens, and watched U2 perform for the second time in three days, their last of six shows in NYC (the first having been one hour on Late Night With Conan O’Brien.) This time around, the band played 24 songs; I’d say we got our money’s worth. This set list was posted on the U2 site, as the official set list for the fifth show; compare the two, and you can see they made some last minute changes, dropping Walk On, a favorite of mine, which I would have loved to hear.

I stayed for both encores, and heard All Because of You, my favorite song on their last album, and the band played Vertigo for a second time that night as a finale. I was sitting at the far end of the Gardens, facing the band directly, a good seat to be sure. I’m glad I went a second time, it was much fun to see this band after listening to them for a quarter century. Here’s a good shot of the curtains of lights used during some of the songs.

.: Some reviews and photos from the 11 Oct 2005 concert at MSG, which Mary and I attended, are up on the U2tours.com website. This review includes photos taken from approximately the same section of the Gardens in which Mary and I were sitting (or standing, actually.) You can see the oval stage, including one shot with the oval lit in red light. Here is one more good picture of the oval. From the 10 Oct 2005 show, here is a shot of the curtains of lights that appeared during some of the songs.

Other pictures are available within fan reviews from the MSG shows on October 8th and October 7th. I’m thinking I might try to get a ticket for the Friday show…

.: The rain in NYC has been falling since Wednesday morning, with no immediate let up in sight. Oh, and call it a weakness, but I was able to find a ticket to the U2 show on Friday night at MSG, so…I’m going again. Life is short, let’s have some fun.

.: First, I can report that my friend Noella is ok, but had a series of unfortunate events, including horrendous traffic problems and an illness, which prevented her from making it to the show. I heard from her today, so all is well, although she needs some serious downtime.

Today, NYC is experiencing its second torrential downpour since Friday. Yesterday was a glorious NYC day for me, however. Around 1130 hrs, my North Carolinian friend from Baltimore, Mary White, arrived on the bus to hang out with me for the day. With the rain having subsided, we took full advantage and walked all over. After shopping for a New York Yankees souvenir for her friend (in the dumps with strep throat and the Yankees’ 2005 demise), we went to Greenwich Village and had a coffee, where we caught up on our lives, and compared notes about everything from spirituality to teddy bears. I showed her the Strand, and afterwards we headed back to The Leo House, where we rested briefly before heading to Rockefeller Center, trying to find the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Eventually we found it, and Mary chose a bear, bought a Yankees uniform, and built her bear. This involves choosing a bear, giving it to an employee who works a machine that stuffs it with fluffy things (feathers, I assumed). She then had to choose a little cloth heart, which Mary had to kiss on both sides, and make a wish, and other stuff, and then heart was put into the bear, and it was sown up.

Next, the bear had to be given a name, birthdate, etc., so I suggested Derek, given that Mr Jeter is Captain of the Yankees. After completing the online form, Mary paid for the bear and outfit, was given the Official Birth Certificate, and then we went to the “dressing room”, a little shelf near the back of the store, to dress the bear. As we fussed with Derek to get his baseball uniform on, Mary remarked that it was if we were putting clothes on our baby, so we played the fussing parents, ensuring the little Derek was dressed properly before putting him in his carrying box! 🙂

Then it was off to see U2. We arrived around 7:15, and by 8:00, MSG was about 25% full. At 8:05, Keane took the stage, and rocked the Gardens for about 40 minutes. Keane is an interesting combination: keyboards, vocals, and percussion only. The lead singer, Tom Chaplin, has an amazing, powerful, and unique voice, and fits together with Tim Rice-Oxley’s somewhat minimalist keyboard style quite well.

Pumped up, and with the stadium approaching capacity as people flowed in during Keane’s set, U2 took the stage around 9:30. Immediately everyone rose, and stayed standing for the majority of the set. The band was on one end of a large oval, which allowed band members, mostly Bono of course, to wander about during the show. A waterfall of lights came down from behind the band, and the colours were amazing and brilliant. Mary and I were sitting behind the band, with a north-by-north-east view of the stage. But the lights did not detract from the visibility, allowing those sitting behind to still see the band through the curtain. The lights were retracted during the show a few times, re-appearing at programmed times, awash with different displays of colours, with one offering of flags of different countries, following a song in which Bono appealed for an end to poverty.

What can I say? The show was incredible. My God, does this band rock out and give it everything. It took me 25 years to finally see them, but it was worth the wait. When the lights would go up in the arena from time to time, we would see 20,000 fans standing, jumping, singing and rejoicing. One guy standing next to Mary and I didn’t stop jumping for the entire show, except during the slower tunes. Say what you will about Bono, but the man works the crowd into a frenzy, one filled with joy and expectation of better things to come. On most songs, the audience turned into the largest choir I’d even seen. Near the end, Bono asked us to open our cells phones, and the arena lights went down. He said we would turn the Gardens into a mini-galaxy, and that was exactly how it looked. “Talk about a 21st century moment,” Bono noted, before beginning another tune.

I could say more, but I’ll leave it at that. Unfortunately, Mary had to catch a 2330 hrs bus back to Baltimore, and I wanted to ensure she made it safely to the Port Authority station, so we left during the last song, and missed the encore. But no worries – it was an incredible, rewarding show, and I saw it with a dear friend, which was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Here’s the set list:

1. City of Blinding Lights
2. Vertigo
3. Elevation
4. Out Of Control (first single from 1980)
5. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
6. Beautiful Day
7. Miracle Drug
8. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
9. Love and Peace or Else
10. Sunday Bloody Sunday
11. Bullets The Blue Sky
12. Miss Sarajevo
13. Pride (In The Name of Love)
14. Where The Streets Have No Name
15. One

The encore followed, of course, but I don’t know which songs we missed. No matter, there will be another time to see them someday.

.: .: Last weekend, I participated in my 14th consequtive Edmonton Folk Music Festival as a volunteer. I was blessed with the opportunity to work with one of my musical heroes, Johnny Clegg. Clegg and Sipho Mchunu formed the seminal South African band Juluka in the late 1970s. Their song, “Scatterlings of Africa”, is an all-time favorite.

Clegg and his band rocked the festival during the Sunday (Aug 7) 2:00 pm mainstage show, and later in the evening, at the after-festival party. At the party, I planted myself in front of the stage, a few feet away from Johnny, and danced to his music for 75 delirious, joyful minutes. For both shows, Johnny and the current version of Savuka played a tight, melodic and joyful show, showcasing many of Juluka and Savuka well-known songs, and mixing in many different dance steps, which I assume were based on Zulu tradition in many cases.

I was thrilled when I learned Clegg was playing our festival. He is one of those artists I have always wanted to watch in performance, and to have experienced such an amazing show twice in less than twelve hours was a gift from God. I don’t know how else to describe it.

Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu defied apartheid authority in their early musical collaborative days in South Africa. Because Clegg was white and Mchunu black, they were subject to police harrassment, threats, and abuse. The continuing development of their unique sound, which led to the formation of their band, Juluka (Zulu for “sweat”), was in defiance of the cultural segregation laws at the time. With their music largely ignored in their home country, they played live performances on the street and at private functions. Word of mouth continued to spread, and Juluka’s reputation grew, eventually leading to a record contract, and international recognition. Further details are available on the biography page on this site.

What makes Clegg’s music so appealing to me is his ability to mix traditional Zulu musical structure (about which I know next to nothing, frankly) and Western melodies and rhythms. He also mixes Zulu and English lyrics. Regardless of how he does it, it is music that radiates and bleeds celebration and joy in the midst of world that can be terrifying and unforgiving.

Clegg and Savuka (“We have risen”) are in the midst of an extensive world tour. If you get the chance, see his show, you will not be disappointed, and if you are new to his music, you will experience a sound that you have not heard before, pure auditory pleasure. I’m still smiling.

Here is the set list from the party, which mirrored the 2:00 pm afternoon show as well:

1. Jongosi
2. Take My Heart Away
3. Africa
4. Giyani
5. I Call Your Name (Ngibiza Igama Lakho)
6. Tatazela
7. Malonjeni
8. Kilimanjaro
9. Great Heart
10. Scatterlings of Africa
11. Cruel Crazy Beautiful World
12. Asimbonanga (Mandela)
13. Dela (I Know Why The Dog Howls At The Moon)

At the party, we wouldn’t stop clapping until the band returned for an encore. I did not catch the name of that song. At the party performance, he added one extra song, between Great Heart and Scatterlings.

Mention must be made of his excellent band, the current Savuka lineup, featuring Brendan Ross on sax and keyboards, Mandisa Dlanga on vocals, Concord Nkabinde on bass, Andy Innes on guitar and mandolin, and Barry Van Zyl on drums.

In February, 2005, Johnny held a braai (barbeque) at his home for as many surviving people that played for him in his career as could make the event. This photo features members of Juluka and Savuka throughout the years. An extensive discography is available here, and includes albums, singles, DVDs, books/press, lyrics, songs index, discs index, and more.

Thank you, Johnny, thank you again. 🙂

Also posted to Blogcritics.

:: Yesterday I received acupuncture for a tendonitis problem in the area surrounding my right elbow. The practitioner is an acupuncturist and a physical therapist, and came highly recommended. Needles were placed in the area around my right elbow, the tops of my feet, outsides of my calf muscles, in and in my chest and forehead, for other reasons. None of the needles hurt, and in fact, I nearly fell asleep during the time the needles were in me. I will go for at least three more treatments.

:: I don’t know if it’s a function of age, but there are more and more moments while watching a tv show, I will not understand a line said by a character. It’s not that I didn’t hear it, it’s that the actor didn’t enunciate it well enough for me to interpret what she or he just said, or the sound editing is bad, or whatever. One solution is to turn on the closed caption function, which I’m doing more often these days. For certain shows like Deadwood, where the dialogue occasionally sounds Shakespearean, the CC function is a blessing.

:: A new, modern rock radio station is in the midst of its four-week testing period on the air at 102.9FM in Edmonton; the station officially begins broadcasting on May 5 or 6, 2005, with live djs, etc.. Sonic 102.9 Modern Rock is a welcome breath of fresh air, at least so far. The other rock stations in Edmonton collectively suck big time. My car radio is tuned permanently to this station at the moment, which is playing, and I hate to use the word, alternative rock. But in this case, my meaning is that the music being played is indeed an alternative to anything the aforementioned stations are offering at the moment. And it’s new, content from the 90s foreward. My hope is that it continues into their broadcast life, and that their djs show some respect for their audience. One of my favorite kinds of music is edgy, noisy rock, with good melody and song structure, and that’s what I’m hearing so far..

:: Filed under, “What Th-??”, a woman in Arizona ran 301 miles in just under 80 hours, without stopping to sleep or take any breaks, other than one brief stop for a leg massage.

:: Yesterday, while talking to my friend Pam in her office, I leaned against a bookshelf that was holding a glass jar of coins of all denominations. Of course, the shelf was adjustable, and therefore not one with the entire unit, and it flipped, sending the jar crashing to the floor, where it broke into a million shards. I’m always good for a few yucks, and once the laughter subsided, we spent time picking up the glass and coins, until I realized I cut my right hand in a few places – nothing major, mind you. I owe Pam a new glass jar.

Captain Klutz, at your service.