Aging gracefully and dispensing wisdom from Kansas City.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Do You Like Guitars? You Ought to See this Guy Tonight.
Will Matthews is Kansas City's best jazz guitarist. As far as I know, he's the world's best jazz guitarist, but I can't be as dead certain of that claim. Either way, you can sit a few yards away from him this evening at the Blue Room for $15, and be blown away.
A few years ago, I was flipping through a cut-out bin and found an album entitled "Will Matthews Solo" and it was only a couple dollars. I saw he was a Kansas City native so I gave it a try, with no expectations or preconceptions. That album wound up at the top of my top 50 albums 2000-2009 because I've listened to it more than any other album in my collection.
It won't only be Will Matthews tonight, though. Your $15 dollars gets his whole quartet. He's just released a CD with Mel Rhyne on the Hammond B3 organ, Bobby Watson on the alto saxophone and Kenny Phelps on the drums. I'll happily pay full price for this one . . .
A friend on Facebook challenged a bunch of us to come up with lists of the top 50 albums for the past decade. Here's my list.
1. Will Matthews: Solo 2. Radiohead: Kid A 3. Slaid Cleaves: Unsung 4. The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday 5. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago 6. Jay-Z: American Gangster 7. Arcade Fire: Neon Bible 8. Prince: Musicology 9. Al Green: I Can't Stop 10. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife 11. The White Stripes: Icky Thump 12. O+S: O+S 13. Trampled Underfoot: May I Be Excused 14. Cake: Comfort Eagle 15. American Steel: Jagged Thoughts 16. Neil Young: Silver And Gold 17. Bob Dylan: Love And Theft 18. Bruce Springsteen: Devils and Dust 19. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 20. White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan 21. Nellie McKay: Get Away From Me 22. Randy Newman: Harps and Angels 23. The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely 24. The Arcade Fire: Funeral 25. Kanye West: Graduation 26. My Morning Jacket: Z 27. Damian Marley: Welcome to Jamrock 28. B.B. King: One Kind Favor 29. The Swell Season: The Swell Season 30. Avett Brothers: I and Love and You 31. 50 Cent: Get Rich Or Die Tryin' 32. U2: All That You Can't Leave Behind 33. Bruce Springsteen: The Rising 34. Son Volt: American Central Dust 35. Thad Cockrell: Warmth and Beauty 36. Land of Talk: Some Are Lakes 37. The Neptunes: The Neptunes Present... Clones 38. Jason Isbell: Sirens of the Ditch 39. Roman Candle: Oh Tall Tree in the Ear 40. Dumpstaphunk: Listen Hear 41. The Strokes: Room On Fire 42. Elvis Costello: When I Was Cruel 43. Tenacious D: Tenacious D 44. Jay-Z: The Black Album 45. Nelly: Nellyville 46. Warren Zevon: The Wind 47. Linda Thompson: Fashionably Late 48. Weezer: Maladroit 49. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP 50. Mark Knopfler: Sailing To Philadelphia
I appreciate the challenge, because it got me to go over a lot of music I enjoyed, and it caused me to alter my listening habits so that I know make a real effort to listen to albums rather than individual songs.
I got on the elevator yesterday, and was joined by an African-American man roughly my own age. He looked my middle-aged, middle-class white self over, gave an understanding smile, and said, "Too bad about the Springsteen show getting canceled, huh?".
Ancillary Adams raises a fine question: "What is it about this town's athletics franchises that makes them want to portray themselves as the Official Teams of Hee Haws everywhere?" At Royals games, the family atmosphere is shattered every game by a public singing of a country song celebrating threatening behavior and problem drinking. Now, the Chiefs have decided that Trace Adkins - with no apparent Kansas City ties - should be the pitchman for the Chiefs. Trace Adkins?
If it hadn't been for Ancillary Adams, I confess that I would not have any idea who the guy in black leather on the screen was. After a little research, I've discovered that he is an anti-union conservative who appeals to a heavily caucasian audience. The only obvious tie to the Chiefs I could find is that he sings a song called "You're Going to Miss This", which I haven't heard, but it might be directed toward the receiving corps.
Like Ancillary Adams, I'm sick and tired of having our sports teams portray us to the world as a bunch of drunk rubes. If I recall correctly, it was Kansas City that made a $2 million donation to the stadiums, not some rural cowpatch. Maybe we ought to be promoted by Kansas Citians instead of boot-wearing bumpkins from Louisiana and Oklahoma.
For our Book Club meeting this week, we read "Love is a Mix Tape", and a bunch of us created mix CDs to share. It occurred to me that it had been years since I had created my own mix, though the technology for sharing music has improved vastly from the days of putting an album on the turntable and snapping the cassette recorder on and off as the desired songs played. Back in cassette days, a mix tape was a real time investment, but now it's a matter of dragging and dropping.
It was a fun project. The challenge is to come up with something that the recipient might not have heard, which forced me to break out of my "same old" mold. My natural inclination was to pull out a few of my favorite songs by favorite artists, but what's the point of sharing Springsteen, Petty, Dylan, and Prince when the people I know are mostly well-versed in their music already? A mix tape should introduce your friends to the gems you've found that might not have shown up on their radar.
I would up going with a mostly alt.country mix, with a few other gems. Alt.country is a sound I've been enjoying a lot over the past several years, and it's under-appreciated by most people who think of rock as Springsteen and country as Toby Keith.
Anyhow, here's what I came up with.
1. Let's Take Some Drugs And Drive Around… 5:12 2. I Will Survive / Cake 5:11 3. Shrapnel / American Steel 4:28 4. Permanent Scar / O+S 3:34 5. Hurting Each Other / Johnette Napolitano… 4:12 6. Skinny Love / Bon Iver 3:59 7. Some Are Lakes / Land Of Talk 3:41 8. Flowered Dresses / Slaid Cleaves 3:49 9. Another Kind Of Blue / Slaid Cleaves 2:28 10. Hallelujah / Jeff Buckley 6:53 11. Oh My Sweet Carolina / Ryan Adams 4:57 12. Girl From Maryville / Thad Cockrell 4:29 13. I and Love and You / The Avett Brothers 5:01 14. Drown / Son Volt 3:22 15. A Better Place / The Setters 3:59 16. Euro-Trash Girl / Cracker 8:04
There was also a bonus track in there, which shall remain nameless.
Since I've reintroduced myself to the ease of sharing music with friends, I think I'll try to do a better job of evangelizing music I like.
My alarm clock uses my iPod to wake me up. Because I tend to keep my iPod on shuffle, and my music selection is eclectic (fancy word for strange), my days start off with a wide range of inspirations.
This morning, I woke up to Muddy Waters' "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man", but the snooze button proved too tempting. Next up was the Talking Heads' perky "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)", which got me bouncing into my day.
I've discovered a few principles for morning music. Jazz can set the mood for a great day - give me Brubeck's "Take Five" in the morning, and I'll greet the day with a smile. Alt.Country, like Ryan Adams or Slaid Cleaves, can keep me in s pensive state for the whole morning. Classical music is beautiful, but makes me late to work. A dose of the Clash makes me invincible.
One morning I woke up to the BoDeans shouting "Sylvia" at the top of their lungs, and it almost gave both of us a heart attack.
Of course, I could carefully select what music I want to have wake me in the morning, but where's the fun in that?
A bunch of my more musically informed friends are compiling lists of their top 50 albums of 2000 - 2009. I'd love to join them . . .
I cannot remember, though, the last time I sat down and listened to an album straight through. These days, when I purchase new music, it goes into my computer, onto my iPod, and gets delivered in song-sized bites, pureed by the shuffle function.
That's gotta stop. Great albums are more than collections of great songs - the sequence of songs and the relationships between them can really deepen the experience of the music. To this day, my mind flips to the "next song" that should be coming up next whenever I hear songs from the classic albums of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, or Neil Young. "Wish You Were Here" seems kind of lonely if it's not leaning up against "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)". "Even the Losers" sounds more poignant after the triumphant lust of "Here Comes My Girl".
This go-round has been lost to the iPod, but I'll be wiser next time.
He or she is usually off to the side of the stage, head down, laying down the bass line that everything else simply embellishes. Bass players rarely sing, they don't bounce around like over-caffeinated teenagers, but they have always struck me as the coolest people on the stage.
It was probably the bass line in the Grass Roots' Midnight Confessions that first grabbed me. I don't even remember what the A-side of the 45 was, but I played it constantly before I was 10. I didn't know anything about music, but that little "BUMP bah da da da da da" dominated the whole song for me, and made it a favorite.
Unfortunately, I remained a musical illiterate. My older sisters were talented guitar players, but I don't recall any of my brothers playing an instrument. In one of my most regretted moments, Sr. Margaret offered to teach me the stand-up bass when I was in 6th grade, and I turned the opportunity down. I have no idea why - perhaps street hockey and hanging out with my friends in the alley seemed more important, but that childhood decision remains a source of self-inflicted disappointment.
Later this month, I'm turning 49. Half way to 98. Two thirds of the way to 73 and a half. Almost entirely to 50. I still don't know how to play an instrument. I don't really know what chords are, or what A sounds like compared to C, or any of that stuff. I love listening to music, and I love watching musicians perform, but it's just magic to me.
I'm going to get a bass guitar for my birthday. I don't know what make or model or even whether to go acoustic or electric. I don't know about amps or frets or pickups, but I'll do some internet reading and take advice from friends. I won't get anything expensive - just a beginner setup to see if I can catch on, and whether I have the determination to put up with the frustration and sore fingers I know are waiting for me.
Perhaps it's too late for someone like me to become "musically inclined". I'm not anticipating invitations to join bands, and it's not like coffee houses seek solo bass guitarists with crappy voices to draw in customers. It will be a solitary pursuit, and that's fine.
What I'm really hoping for is to gain a better appreciation of music. When I cook, I gain an appreciation of what a great chef does. When I paint, I become more aware of colors and shapes around me. When I make beer, I learn more about the style of beer I am brewing.
Perhaps because of the opportunity to learn, I am a hobby slut. I have books full of pre-1945 used postal stationery that I hope to spend time on someday when time is more plentiful. I am teaching myself flyfishing. This blog is a hobby - a hobby that reinforces my hobbies of reading, writing, poetry and observing local politics. I brew beer, I bake, and I have dabbled in woodworking. I try to golf, and I have a novel that still kicks me in the back of my mind.
I'm really not very good at any of it. That's not false modesty - that's an honest appraisal. But excelling has never been my target in my hobbies. Sure, I would love to be the best homebrewer brewing. I am proud of my recognition in the Pitch as the Best Political Blogger, but I know there are better bloggers. I don't have the means or the time to excel at flyfishing or golf, but that's okay. Improvement is enough, even if toward mere adequacy.
"But I Know A Change Gonna Come" - Day 67 of the Jackson County Ethics Blackout
The title is, of course, a reference to Sam Cooke's posthumously-released masterpiece. Unfortunately, from what the insiders have told me, a more appropriate selection would have been the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again". I recently heard from someone who knows a lot about these things that, after a new Ethics Commission is chosen, the legislature will try to make a few non-substantive changes to the code, but will seek to retain their own exemption from local oversight.
No change that continues the exemption from local oversight will be good enough.
Anything else is a sideshow, intended to distract attention from the empty center stage of Jackson County Legislative ethics. Until the Jackson County legislators accept the Charter-mandated oversight of the Jackson County Ethics Commission, the fight will continue.
It's a foolish maneuver, destined to blow up in their faces. We're not stupid, and we're watching. When they try to make the cosmetic changes to the Code, all they will accomplish is to draw attention to their failure to make the real change that people expect. "Bring Ethics Home" is too easy a slogan to counter the legislative preference for hiding their ethical misdeeds behind closed doors in Jefferson City.
Here are five reasons that the Jackson County Legislature's bogus attempt to ship its dirty laundry out of town just isn't good enough:
1. The Jackson County Ethics Commission conducts its work in public, while the Missouri Ethics Commission closes its doors. Sunshine is the best governmental disinfectant, while cockroaches prefer the dark.
2. The Jackson County Ethics Commission gets appointed non-politically, while the Missouri Ethics Commission is all gubernatorial appointments divied up by parties and congressional districts.
3. Citizens and local press have the opportunity to watch our local commission, but not everyone can afford to take a field trip to Jefferson City every time one of our legislators pushes his or her luck too far.
4. The MEC has 6 people covering every elected official in the state, from the Governor's election contributors down to the tiniest municipality's copier contract. The Jackson County Ethics Commission has 5 people trying to keep up with just our local folks. I put my money on the hometeam.
5. It's in the freaking Charter!! The Jackson County Charter puts the Jackson County Ethics Commission in charge of investigating ethics allegations involving our local crew of misfits. Why does the Jackson County legislature think it gets to write itself out of the Charter, which has been duly approved by the voters of Jackson County?
There are more reasons I could list, but these 5 ought to suffice for today.
Already, County Executive Mike Sanders and County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar have undercut the legislature by agreeing to local ethics enforcement. At least some of our elected officials agree that we ought to be able to do our laundry at home, instead of sending it to Jefferson City.
If you're talking to a Jackson County legislator, and he or she tries to assure you that they are going to make changes to the ethics ordinance in a few months, ask whether those changes will include local ethics enforcement over the Legislature. Really, the next time you see one of them in the grocery store or meeting or coffee shop, ask if they're willing to go back to local ethics enforcement.
After they finish their answer, you'll realize that I'm right. And you'll see that this fight is going to continue long after their cosmetic changes have been made. Folks, it looks like the Jackson County Ethics Blackout won't end until the majority loses their elections in 2010.
I know that the Jackson County Ethics Blackout is a tiny thing compared to the societal change that Sam Cooke was singing about, but I can't help but be inspired by his final verse -
Ohhhhhhhhh.....
There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long But now I think I'm able to carry on It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
Sunday Poetry: On Raglan Road, by Patrick Kavanagh
On Raglan Road
On Raglan Road on an autumn day I met her first and knew That her dark hair would weave a snare that I might one day rue; I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way, And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day.
On Grafton Street in November we tripped lightly along the ledge Of the deep ravine where can be seen the worth of passion's pledge, The Queen of Hearts still making tarts and I not making hay - O I loved too much and by such and such is happiness thrown away.
I gave her gifts of the mind I gave her the secret sign that's known To the artists who have known the true gods of sound and stone And word and tint. I did not stint for I gave her poems to say. With her own name there and her own dark hair like clouds over fields of May
On a quiet street where old ghosts meet I see her walking now Away from me so hurriedly my reason must allow That I had wooed not as I should a creature made of clay - When the angel woos the clay he'd lose his wings at the dawn of day.
- by Patrick Kavanagh ______________________________________________
This is not my favorite poem by Patrick Kavanagh. For that distinction, I would lean toward his lengthy consideration of choked lust, "The Great Hunger" or his (ironically) much shorter "Epic". And yet, it is probably Kavanagh's best-known poem, because it was set to music after Kavanagh met Luke Kelly, a member of The Dubliners, at a pub named The Bailey. Since then, the song has been covered by Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor and dozens of others, and it appears in the soundtrack of Oscar-nominated "In Bruges". Here's the story and the song:
The relationship between poetry and music is a tricky one. I sometimes wonder whether the rise of recorded music has destroyed the need for spoken word poetry - clearly, the Youtube version above resonates within me more than the words above it, and Sinead O'Connor's voice brings a bittersweet nuance that my internal voice lacks entirely.
Poetry originated as a mnemonic device for recalling and retelling stories around the campfire. In Ireland, men made their living walking from town to town and reciting the poetry of their ancestors, and the legends of Cuchulain and others. Poetry helped culture and tradition survive in a semi-literate world.
Those days are over. My iPod exceeds the memory of any wandering reciter of poetry, and repeats flawlessly the guitars, drums and bass that enhance the performance of words. If Bob Dylan was the poet of his generation, what were Lawrence Ferlinghetti or Allen Ginsburg doing? Where is the poet who can sell out the Sprint Center the way that Bruce Springsteen did? Are we talking about two entirely separate things when we discuss poetry and music, or are we talking about the same art delivered in different packages. Is it a venn diagram or a circle within a circle? And if it's a circle in a circle, are lyrics set to music a smaller (though immensely profitable and popular) circle within the greater circle of poetry, or is poetry, with its attempts at music through rhymes and rhythm, a narrower form of words set to music?
Neil Young is an acquired taste. His unique voice, his chimerical persona and odd occasional success make him someone that most people acknowledge as a seminal figure in rock and roll, but not necessarily someone they enjoy. Like a more interesting and challenging Eric Clapton, people know he's a major figure, but they don't necessarily know why.
That Voice
First off, let's talk about Neil's voice. It's strangely wavering, kind of screechy, and expressive. It's not pretty in the slightest - he's no meadowlark. It resembles nothing so much as the high notes on a harmonica that make you kind of wince just a little.
But, if you get over the initial cringe, it's the heart of why you will love Neil Young. It's kind of like a teenager's strange facial piercing - repulsive at first glance, but then, if you surrender your internal repulsion and get to know the person, it becomes a part of who they are and a badge of their uniqueness. And, just like a teenager's piercing, there's an element of "FU if you don't like it!" attitude conveyed in Neil Young's voice. Take him on his own terms, or don't - but you have to accept him as he is if you want to appreciate Neil Young.
Neil Young's voice democratizes his music. It's not like listening to some songbird put down a crystalline version of perfection to admire and never touch. Neil Young songs invite you in to sing a verse or two. They're not museum pieces, they're sing alongs with soul. I defy anyone to drink three good beers, crank "Down by the River" and not join in. Breathes there a man with soul so dead?
The Songs
It's impossible to make blanket statements about Neil Young's music without opening yourself up to contradiction. He's been performing for 40+ years, ranging from folk-inspired to inspiring punk. He's written about history, drugs, divorce, love, war, and environmentalism. There's no pigeonhole big enough.
But, for me, the thing about great Neil Young songs is that they create a mood. They don't teach you anything, they don't argue a point of view. They just bring you somewhere and you feel something powerful.
For me, the seminal Neil Young song is "Helpless" (though I could argue for "Cowgirl in the Sand", "Cortez the Killer", "Tonight's the Night", "Cinnamon Girl", "Harvest Moon", "Words (Between the Lines of Age)", "Comes a Time", "Southern Man" or any one of dozens of others. I'm not a big fan of his two biggest hits - "After the Goldrush" strikes me as awkward and pretentious, and "Heart of Gold" has no depth.
But back to "Helpless" - in it, he has evocative lyrics that expand the plaintive sound of his voice.
There is a town in north Ontario, With dream comfort memory to spare, And in my mind I still need a place to go, All my changes were there.
Blue, blue windows behind the stars, Yellow moon on the rise, Big birds flying across the sky, Throwing shadows on our eyes.
I suppose you either get that or you don't but he sings it slowly and powerfully and then you're feeling as scared and adrift as the artist. It's a mood, created by words, music and a voice, and he doesn't resolve it or tie it up in an understandable knot. Neil Young, at his best, doesn't lend himself to paraphrase. It just is what it is, and that's enough.
I know Neil Young is an acquired taste that many haven't gotten around to acquiring. His distinctive voice, challenging lyrics and all-around quirkiness are kind of like mother of pearl - the same material that makes the ugly shell somehow becomes the thing of beauty.
Johnny Rotten is doing a butter commercial in Great Britain:
As the wise people at Sadly, No! point out, this may be the most awesome punk moment of all time.
I'm listening to "Never Mind the Bullocks", delighted that I still have the capacity to be shocked. Thank you, Johnny Rotten. I am furious that you sold out. Thank you, Johnny Rotten. I have lost all respect for you. You are the greatest punk of all time.
You probably don't know the name Ron Martz, or understand his role in the formation of some of the Kansas City Metropolitan School District's best and brightest youths. No, he's not one of the bickering School Board members, nor one of the superintendents who have come and gone.
He's just a band teacher.
But, in his role as the band teacher at Lincoln Prep, Ron Martz has brought discipline and practice and talent to life in children who are at that crucial age when they start either abandoning dreams of greatness or fitting them into their deepest self-images. Through music, he reaches into kids' dreams and offers a score for their success. I don't know how many professional musicians he has taught (though I'm sure there have been a few), but I know for a fact that he has taught kids whose self-confidence, bolstered by their demonstrated ability to master a musical instrument, has walked with them on college campuses from Harvard to Penn Valley, and helped them achieve far more than the newspapers and civic talk would allow them to dream.
Yes, I'm a little emotional on this topic, because I've seen him take groups of kids and transform them from unruly, surly mini-gangs into polished orchestras and bands.
HELP SEND THESE KIDS TO CARNEGIE HALL!
Two years ago, two Lincoln students submitted their audition tapes to Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Wind Ensemble competition – and both were selected! The Carnegie Hall staff said they couldn’t recall a time when 2 high school students were selected from the same school in the same year. So last year, four more students submitted audition tapes (these are audio—it’s a “blind” audition) and were selected to be part of this National Youth Wind Ensemble this year. The artistic director of Carnegie Hall contacted Ron Martz, the director of Lincoln’s band program, and basically invited Martz to bring the entire Wind Ensemble to New York. High school bands and choirs from around the country travel to New York for this program each year, but they are overwhelmingly suburban schools. Most urban schools just can’t pull together the resources, even if they have the talent to be invited.
THEY NEED MONEY TO GET THERE!
The budget for the trip - bus, hotels, fees, meals, insurance, all that stuff - is about $75,000, and they already have $30,000.
Are you setting up a Holiday Party for your office? How about arranging a few of these students to entertain, and making a contribution to the trip? Do you have a hard-to-shop-for relative? How about making a donation on his or her behalf? If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to donate all or a substantial portion of the $45,000, you could get the kids back into the practice room instead of out with their parents working the concession stands at the Sprint Center and Arrowhead or selling $1 donuts and candy bars. Here is a link to the web page that tells you how to make a donation.
Even if you don't have a nickel to offer, though, come out to the Winter Concert on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. at Lincoln College Prep High School, 2111 Woodland Avenue. Offer your applause and appreciation for some great young musicians and their outstanding leader.
And their website claims "Tonights show in Kansas is postponed because multiple members of the band and crew have been taken ill with the flu. More details soon." It was going to be at the Uptown, most definitely in Missouri.
As I wrote yesterday, this year's debates are becoming something of a hot social event, with parties and gatherings taking place all over. Of these, though, the biggest one was the sole vice-presidential debate, where we were treated to a blustery senator versus a talented Tina Fey impersonator. Who could miss that? Every politico I know was glued to the screen. Or so I thought.
It turns out that none other than veep shortlister Kathleen Sebelius avoided the debate. Instead, she went to Knuckleheads to catch some musical blues, where my favorite librarian blogger noticed her and even got her to pose for a picture. Sounds like it was a good show and it's probably wiser for her to get out and listen to Tab Benoit than to sit at home in the Governor's Mansion watching the debate and thinking about how it "woulda, coulda, shoulda" been her in Biden's place.
This is a cool, cool project. American Laundromat Records has put together a compilation of women performing covers of Neil Young songs, and the proceeds are going to support Casting for Recovery, a charity which hosts retreats for breast cancer survivors where "the sport of fly-fishing is used to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual healing." The CD has already raised over $22,000.
The founder of the label lost his mother to breast cancer in 2005 after a 6 year battle with breast cancer. I lost my mother to breast cancer this past summer after a mercifully short battle. I'm blessed, though, with many great breast cancer survivors in my life, including one who is going through treatment as I write this. These great women need and deserve support in their healing.
Even if it weren't a fantastic cause, this CD sounds great on its own merits. Here's a track listing, including songs I love covered by artists some of whom I know and some of whom I've never heard:
Disk 1 1. Heart Of Gold - Tanya Donelly 2. I Am A Child - Britta Phillips (Luna) 3. Comes A Time - Kate York 4. The Needle And The Damage Done - Lori McKenna 5. Down By The River - Jill Sobule with John Doe 6. Burned - Veruca Salt 7. Cowgirl In The Sand - Josie Cotton 8. A Man Needs A Maid - Dala 9. Ohio - Darcie Miner 10. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Carmen Townsend
Disk 2 1. Cinnamon Girl - Euro Trash Girl 2. I Believe In You - Julie Peel 3. Tell Me Why - Luff 4. Ohio - Dala 5. Helpless - Elk City 6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Amilia K. Spicer 7. Sugar Mountain - Louise Post 8. Powderfinger - The Watson Twins 9. Like A Hurricane - Kristin Hersh 10. Old Man - Cindy Wheeler (Caulfield Sisters) 11. Walk On - Heidi Gluck (Some Girls)
If you like Neil Young, if you like women artists, if you like survivors of breast cancer, if you like fly-fishing for trout, if you like conservation, to buy the CD for $15 (free shipping), or download it from iTunes.
Hold on tight, stay up all night 'cause Rosie I'm comin' on strong
A while back, I pondered whether it would be worth it to blow a thousand bucks on last night's Springsteen concert. Back when it looked like I would need to resort to a ticket broker, I pondered
All my worries were for baseless. A friend helped me out, and I wound up with 4 fantastic seats at face value. Sam, my music-savvy son, came home from New York for the show, so Sam, Robin, Ancillary Adams and I took the convertible down to the Crossroads, grabbed a great dinner and better beer at Grinder's, and then strolled to the Sprint Center for 3 hours of hard-working rock and roll the likes of which I've never seen before.
Here's a setlist Sam found on a fan sight, with tour premiers in all-caps: 1. RICKY WANTS A MAN 2. Cynthia 3. Radio Nowhere 4. No Surrender 5. Out in the Street 6. Hungry Heart 7. Spirit in the Night (Boys, as sung by Max, by request) - we'll clarify this tomorrow [this was based on an audience request - "let max sing" - and it's a shirelles cover, the first song that ringo ever sang for the beatles) 8. Cadillac Ranch 9. Workin' on the Highway 10. IT'S ALL OVER NOW 11. Candy's Room 12. Gypsy Biker 13. Youngstown 14. The Promised Land 15. Livin' in the Future 16. Mary's Place 17. DEVILS AND DUST (solo acoustic) 18. The Rising 19. Last to Die 20. Long Walk Home 21. Badlands
22. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) 23. 10th Avenue Freeze-out 24. Born to Run 25. Rosalita 26. American Land
27. SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME 28. Dancing in the Dark 29. ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD 30.????????????????? [some irish drinking-y song]
If you're a Springsteen fan, that's a hell of a show. But now for the overwhelming question - would it have been worth a grand for my wife and I to see it?
Shockingly (to a skinflint like me), yes, it definitely would have been worth it. Springsteen plays every song like it's his once chance to get on stage and bust out the rock and roll star that we all wish we could be. His performances are great live versions of fantastic songs, but they're live in the best sense of the word - not slavish studio reproductions. Instead, they're improvised, enhanced, made more evocative by his guitar slashing and clowning with Steve Van Zandt. He brought a young girl on stage to dance with him to "Dancing in the Dark", and she carped the diem. The fans were adoring and knowledgeable (with the exception of a couple twits behind me wearing UMB lanyards who gabbed loudly during Bruce's only hushed moments). For just under 200 minutes, he gave Kansas City a rock and roll performance with intensity, integrity and power unlike anything I've ever seen before. When Bruce shouts "One, Two, Three", you'd better be ready to get your fist in the air.
The Sprint Center itself looked great. Plenty of room in the concourses, comfortable seating (not that I used mine much), and pretty good acoustics for a concrete bowl. Ushers and security were effective but not obtrusive.
A thoroughly excellent show. A hoped-for spectacular that lived up to crazy expectations. Yeah, it was all that.
A couple years ago, I lamented the fact that my music choices were becoming calcified - I saw myself receding "into a world where, I fear, I won't hear anything recorded less than a decade ago, unless it's put down by Neil Young, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, or Bob Dylan."
An anonymous commenter recommended Pandora.com, and the recommendation was seconded by Chris, the criminally under-appreciated creative force behind the816, and "thirded" by no less an authority than musical polymath Happy in Bag.
So, finally, more than two years later, I gave it a try. It's been spectacular. Go there, create a free account (just an email address and password), and it's off to the races. You enter the name of an artist you like, and it goes out and finds others you might enjoy. You won't believe the connections it makes . . .
(As an aside, though, do NOT, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, admit that you like Dwight Yoakam. Pandora will treat you like a half-witted hick until you convince it that you were just kidding . . .)
You can have multiple stations - I'm using Pandora to expand my knowledge of jazz, leaning more toward Dave Brubeck than smooth jazz crap or inaccessible fusion noise.
I've also heard great things about Last.fm, so I'll be giving that a try over the next few days.
It's official that Bruce Springsteen is coming to my hometown on August 24. Despite years of fandom, despite 1978-82 in New York state (a long but doable car-ride from New Jersey), despite seeing variants on his theme, such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - I've never seen Springsteen live.
Unfortunately, I'm going to be otherwise occupied when the tickets go on sale. That means if I want to see the show looking up instead of looking down, I'm probably going to have to come up with several hundred dollars. This site has tickets I'd really like already on sale for a little under $500 each . . . Parking, dinner, a beer or two at the show - let's round it off at a grand. Or, if that offends you, and you think nosebleed seats should suffice, let's round if off to $400.
What's a person of moderate means to do?
For a fraction of the cost, I could buy an iPod and download every Springsteen song available on iTunes, and still have money available to catch dozens of up-and-coming shows at smaller venues. I could max out campaign contributions to some worthy local candidates. I could change lives with donations to some of my favorite charities. I could investigate that concept called "retirement savings" that I've heard some people mentioning.
Do you blow a grand on a single show? What if he has an off night? What if the people in front of me are tall? Can one show really be worth that kind of money? Would I walk out of the Sprint Center thinking "Great show, but . . ."?
I don't know. Maybe. Springsteen shows are legendary. Seeing a great artist live is a totally different experience than listening to the music itself. What is the proper price of a lasting memory? How much would you pay to see your "best concert ever"?
One of the greatest summer songs of all times is Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway" (buy it and the rest of this great album here), a jangly, upbeat rock song that begs for a convertible and a warm day to blast it out of car speakers.
Why did Rascal Flats feel the need to ruin this song with their awful, nasal twang that sounds like the back-up singers from Hee-Haw harmonizing with Larry the Cable Guy? Why did Valero feel the need to put the bastardized country version in their over-played commercials?
In the past, I've gushed over the free music available from the SXSW Festival in Austin. As I age, I find it harder and harder to find music by new (to me) artists, and the prospect of hundreds of free singles to try out legally is a great opportunity.
Amy Cook: You can love Neko Case too much. Beangrowers: Girls with herpes love this song. David Garza: His snotty girlfriend makes him anxious. Greta Gaines: Sometimes “singer-songwriter” tells you everything. Parts & Labor: The Island of Misfit Toys Orchestra.
Go have fun, and report back on any great music you find . . .
Went to see Wilco last night at the Crossroads. Fantastic show - great opening act, lively crowd, gorgeous evening, cool venue, and even a fireworks display. Awesome, and a hell of a lot cheaper than the old man who entertained the bigwigs at the Sprint Center.
But, while we're on the topic of fireworks, I resent it when bands do bogus encores. An encore is supposed to be an extra segment of performance inspired by the spirit of the evening - not a scheduled, routine opportunity to extort extended applause and reduce the audience to beggars.
Wilco walked off the stage for the first time after barely an hour of music. Just to make sure we didn't all just chalk it up to a lazy band, a roadie went out on the stage and gestured for more noise.
After a few more well-rehearsed, tightly performed songs, Wilco abandoned the stage again, and again the roadie/cheerleader came out to make us beg for the performance we had paid for. After a few minutes of the charade, out came the band again, for a few more well-rehearsed, tightly performed songs. Only this time, they set off fireworks at the end!
So, am I supposed to believe that they had set up an entire fireworks show, with grand finale, but they weren't going to set if off if the audience members hadn't inspired them with its enthusiasm? Around the time that we were treated to the rockets' red glare, I realized the show was about as spontaneous as a symphony.
The show was great - the band was on - the performances were snappy and professional. I'm glad I went, and it was probably the best concert I've seen in years. But don't play me for a fool with faux encores anymore, okay?
Thursday evening, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk will be performing their New Orleans style funk FOR FREE at the Crossroads. The doors open at 7, and the concert is open to all ages. Go here to get your FREE advance tickets, but even if you procrastinate that, you can get in for only $5 at the gate.
This is good-time music - go here for a sample. Thursday is supposed to be a gorgeous day with little chance of rain. What could you possibly have on your calendar that could beat free live music at a cool location on a beautiful July evening in Kansas City??
I know this is old, old news, but now that I have my tickets lined up, I'll go ahead and tell you about two free concerts at Crossroads KC - the place behind Grinders. On June 1, Bob Schneider will perform, rain or shine. Bob is as eclectic as Austin, the city he comes from. And he dated Sandra Bullock.
Even bigger, Cracker will be visiting on Friday, July 6. If you don't know Cracker, that means you're even more out of it than I am, and you need help.
A few years ago, I was flipping through a cut-out bin and found an album entitled "Will Matthews Solo" and it was only a couple dollars. I saw he was a Kansas City native so I gave it a try, with no expectations or preconceptions. That album wound up at the top of my top 50 albums 2000-2009 because I've listened to it more than any other album in my collection. 
