Neil Young, Breast Cancer, and Trout Fishing

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

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?

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.

Praise for Pandora.com

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.

To Bruce or Not to Bruce?

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"?

Why, Rascal Flats? Why, Valero?

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?

This is Handy for Me

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.

This year, things are even better. Not only is there 48 hours worth of music to download, but we are blessed with a critic's 6 word review of each one of the 763 songs.

Here are a few samples of the reviews:

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 . . .

Play the Music, Not the Audience

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?

Funk We Can All Agree On

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??

Free Concerts

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.

Get free tickets to both shows here.