Another Concert

We went up to Nashville Monday night to see a concert at the Grand Ole Opry House.  The concert was a celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the founding of Rounder Records.  We were drawn to the concert by the headliners — Bela Fleck, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas.  Turns out, though, that we got both more and less than we bargained for.

It turns out that the concert was being filmed for a special that will air on National Public Television in March.   Well, we thought that might be kind of cool.  We’ve seen lots of concerts that were taped or made into DVDs and it seemed like the folks at those shows had fun.  And in fact, our introduction to the whole taping-for-TV thing included requests that we, the audience, give them a few rounds of applause that they could use to edit and fill in space as they put the show together.  Polite applause, applause with whoops and whistles, frenzied applause.  They taped them all before the show even began.  It was a little goofy, but it was fun.  The kids thought it was very cool.

Our host for the evening was Minnie Driver, the British actress, who, it seems, is also Minnie Diver, the Rounder recording artist.  I know.  I was surprised, too.  But she was the opening act.  She played four songs, all of them her own compositions.  They were fine; not outstanding, but not terrible, either.  They had a kind of standard pop/country sound.  Her band was good, although she didn’t introduce them and something about the way she spoke to them and told us about them gave us the impression that she didn’t know their names.  Weird.

After Minnie finished her set, she went backstage, changed clothes, and came back out to play emcee.  At the same time, the stage crew moved equipment around.  The first band (after her own) that she introduced was a cajun/creole group called Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, and they rocked.  I don’t own much Zydeco music, and probably wouldn’t listen to it much if I did, but live it was terrific.  Nathan Williams and his band had the entire audience on their feet and dancing for his entire set, which also consisted of four songs.

Then we had another break, while the stage was rearranged, and Bela Fleck came out.  I was so excited — Fleck is one of my favorite musicians.  He is the most influential and accomplished banjo player this side of Earl Scruggs, and I adore his music.  At one point Jerry Douglas came out to accompany him on dobro — another thrill.  The two of them a great friends; they’ve recorded together for years.  But they only did one piece together, and after Bela had played his fourth number, he got up and left the stage.  Minnie came back out to say that they were going to take a small break and then continue with the next act, soul singer Irma Thomas.  At this point it was already approaching 10:00.  The concert had been scheduled to begin at 7:30, but hadn’t started until 8:15.  We’d heard exactly 12 songs, and Bela Fleck, who had been one of the main reasons we’d bought tickets in the first place, had been onstage and off so quickly that I almost thought he was joking when he first got up to leave.

Irma Thomas was fine.  I’m not a big fan of soul, but she was feisty and fun, and she was also given just four songs.  Another break to redo the stage, and then Mary Chapin Carpenter came out.  Her set was terrific.  Five songs this time, including her mid-90s hit “He thinks he’ll Keep Her.”  Then yet another rearranging of the stage.  And finally, at about 11:30, Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, and the rest of Union Station came out for their set.  They got a huge reception, of course, and they played several of my favorite songs.  But they played five and went off stage, came back on for a single encore, and were done.  Another change of the stage, a few minutes of Minnie Driver doing introductions for video segments that we wouldn’t see, but for which we were expected to applaud, and then all the major performers came out and did one last number.

We got up from our seats to leave the auditorium at 12:20, almost five hours to the minute after we had sat down.  We’d heard maybe, maybe, two and a half hours of actual music.  The rest had been delays, forced applause, stage changes, and the brief intermission.  Don’t get me wrong:  most of the music was terrific.  Bela Fleck’s four songs were wonderful; the zydeco band ad Mary Chapin Carpenter were great; AKUS was fabulous as always. But we had the kids with us, and we drove an hour and a half in each direction to see this show.  We didn’t get home until 2:00 am.  I won’t even tell you what we paid for the tickets.  And to be quite honest it wasn’t worth it.

Punch Brothers Concert: A Review

Bluegrass mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, formerly of Nickel Creek, came to our little university town last night with his new band, the Punch Brothers.  In addition to Thile, the band consists of  Chris Eldridge on guitar, Paul Kowert on upright bass, Noam Pikelny on banjo, and Gabe Witcher on fiddle.  All of them assisted on harmonies at one point or another, though Thile and Witcher handled the bulk of the vocals, and all of them provided some scintillating musicianship during the course of the evening.  Kowert in particular did some amazing work on the bass, not only showing off his skills, but also his creativity with the instrument.

Thile, though, is the focus of the band.  He is the front man, the lead vocalist, and the group’s most dynamic personality.  Watching him is nearly as mesmerizing as listening to his mandolin work.  He dances, bounces, shimmies, and struts his way through the band’s repertoire, looking like a wannabe rocker who somehow has had his Stratocaster replaced by a vintage Gibson mandolin at the last minute.  He’s charming, funny, and it’s clear that he and his fellow musicians are having a blast playing together.

For those of you who are not familiar with Thile or his music, he has been recording on the mandolin since he was twelve years old.  He is a true master, who not only plays brilliantly (while still in his teens, he had already recorded a couple of solo albums backed up by such bluegrass giants as Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Alison Brown, and Russ Barenberg) but also writes wonderful songs and instrumental pieces.  He formed Nickel Creek along with Sara and Sean Watkins, and for several years they were one of the hottest groups in bluegrass.  But Thile continued to do solo work and to collaborate with other acoustic instrumental stars.  (His 2001 release Not All Who Wander Are Lost is, in my opinion, one of the finest acoustic instrumental albums of the last 25 years, ranking up there with such classics as Bela Fleck’s Drive, The Telluride Sessions by Strength in Numbers, Bela Fleck’s The Bluegrass Sessions:  Live From the Acoustic Planet, volume 2, and Skip, Hop, and Wobble, by Douglas, Barenberg, and Edgar Meyer.)

Nickel Creek split up in 2007, and since then Thile has been playing with the musicians who would eventually come to be called the Punch Brothers, and ranging farther from bluegrass.  While the instrumentation of the Punch Brothers’ music remains fairly traditional, and while they still do some bluegrass instrumentals, as well as a number of bluegrass and country covers that sound like something Nickel Creek might have done, much of their original work sounds like an alloy of bluegrass and indie rock.  The songs modulate, sometimes wildly, and Thile’s vocals have a plaintive sound that works well with some of his angst-driven lyrics.  To be honest, I find this end of their repertoire less appealing than the more traditional pieces.  But there can be no denying that the predominantly college-age crowd reacted well to the entire concert, and went absolutely crazy when the group did an acoustic Radiohead cover for their first encore.

Overall, it was a terrific show.  Given the chance to see the Punch  Brothers in concert again, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy tickets.

Fun Evening in Nashville

Nancy and I had a real treat yesterday.  We went up to Nashville to see the live radio broadcast of Garrison Keillor’s  A Prairie Home Companionat the historic Ryman Auditorium.  It was a terrific show.  Garrison’s musical guests were country music’s biggest star, Brad Paisley, and bluegrass giant Sam Bush and his band.  They did all the normal classic skits — “Guy Noire, Private Eye”; “The News From Lake Wobegone”; “The Ketchup Advisory Board”; plus a few others we hadn’t heard before.  They played some great songs, and generally put on a great show.

Keillor himself makes it clear that he owes a debt to old radio show hosts like Fred Allen, and Bob and Ray, but the fact remains that he is a unique talent in American culture.  He has a wonderful sense of humor; he’s not a great singer, but he’s good; he’s a decent writer; and his “News From Lake Wobegone” is a brilliant monologue that he does without any notes or visual cues.  I know that he doesn’t make it up on the spot.  I mean, he couldn’t, right?  But it’s all in his head, and that’s pretty stunning given how well each week’s installment of the “News” holds together.  Anyway, it was all great fun and I have no doubt that we’ll go again the next time he and his crew are in town.

After the show, we went to a restaurant called Horn of Africa, where we had a marvelous Ethiopian meal.  Truly excellent.  If you haven’t had Ethiopian cuisine, you should.  It’s spicy and delicious, and you eat it with your hands, using a special spongy bread called injera to pick up the curries and stews and lentils.  Wonderful!

A Post About Music and Writing

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Confessions of a Material Guy

I have a confession to make:  I like to spend money.  I like to buy myself cool new toys.  I’m not always good at spending — I agonize over purchases and need some time to convince myself to buy a big ticket item.  I’ll do a ton of research to make certain I’m getting the right brand or model or whatever, and I’ll look around for weeks looking for the best combination of good price and trustworthy vendor.  And even when all that groundwork is done, I sometimes have trouble pulling the trigger.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s more fun to want something than it is to get it.  You know what I mean by that?  Sometimes that research stage is fun, even as I obsess over the item in question.  Anticipating the purchase, exploring all the possibilities, searching for that perfect deal — there’s something really enjoyable about that part of the process.

But then there’s also the fun in finally plunking down that wad of cash and getting the new toy.  

Yeah, I like to buy stuff. 

Not all stuff.  Some guys are into cars or sporting equipment or expensive clothes.  Cars don’t really do much for me, and I don’t usually need to look much beyond the L. L. Bean catalog for my next shirt.  And though I have been known to spend a bit of money on a bicycle or a new golf club (back when I played golf regularly), that’s not the stuff that makes me salivate.

So what are we talking about then?  Well, I love to buy new music, and books, and I’ve been known to get excited about stereo equipment.  But none of those is my current focus.  As most of you know at this point, I’m a pretty avid photographer.  Over the last several months as I’ve sold some of my pictures, I’ve squirreled away a bit of cash.  Enough, at this point, that I’m looking at buying myself a new digital SLR.  Yup.  I’ve been looking online, and in magazines, and even in mall photography stores, though I’d never actually buy the thing at a mall store.  Too much money; not enough service.  At this point I know which camera I’m going to get and about how much I’ll be spending.  It’s just about time to pull that trigger.

What about you?  What do you like to buy?  What are your favorite types of toys?  Electronics?  Clothes?  Sports gear?  Jewelry?  C’mon and share!  I won’t tell a soul.

Meanwhile, I’ll be looking at a few more camera sites.  And then I think I need a new computer…..

Today’s music:  Larry Carlton

Music’s Best Kept Secret

Today is the birthday of one of my musical heroes.  Jerry Douglas turns 52 today, and though he has no idea who I am, I’d like to give him a big old birthday shout out.  

How to explain to the uninitiated who and what Jerry Douglas is.  Jerry is a bluegrass musician.  He plays dobro, an acoustic guitar equipped with a metallic resonator that gives the instrument a distinctive sound.  Dobro is generally played with the instrument lying flat on one’s lap.  Rather than pressing the strings to the instrument’s frets to make notes, as is done with a guitar, a dobro player uses a metal slide that glides along the strings.  Douglas has played with the likes of Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Del McCoury, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Tony Rice, and other bluegrass giants.  He has also played on the albums of countless rock and folk and blues musicians ranging from James Taylor to Phish to Ray Charles.  In all, he has appeared on over 1600 albums.  For the past several years he has been playing with Alison Krauss and Union Station.  He’s won a dozen Grammy awards, as well as awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, the Country Music Association, and the Americana Music Association.  He has also been awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.

So there you have it.  Except that saying Jerry Douglas plays dobro is about the same as saying that Tiger Woods plays golf.  It’s true, but it totally misses the point.  Jerry Douglas is not merely the best dobro player in the world (though he is).  He is not merely the greatest dobro player who has ever lived (though many believe that this is true as well).  He has completely redefined the instrument, allowing him to transcend the boundaries of musical genre and make his mark not only on bluegrass and country, but also on jazz, rock, folk, and blues.  In doing so, he has maintained a surprising level of anonymity.  He usually works with others, allowing his talents to enhance their music, taking the spotlight to play yet another mind-boggling riff, and then stepping back to give others their turn.  In looking over the albums I own that he has put out under his own name, or that have been made by one of the many ensembles of which he’s been part, I find it hard to choose just a few to recommend.  I have too many favorites.  But here goes:

My Five Favorite Jerry Douglas Albums

1.  “Skip, Hop and Wobble” — Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, and Russ Barenberg
2.  “The Telluride Sessions” — Strength in Numbers (Douglas, Meyer, Bela Fleck, Mark O’Connor, Sam Bush)
3.  “The Best Kept Secret”  — Jerry Douglas
4.  “Lonely Runs Both Ways” — Allison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
5.  “Restless on the Farm” — Jerry Douglas

Today’s music:  Jerry Douglas (Restless on the Farm)

OMG! (Like, Totally!)

As of today, I am officially the parent of a teenager.  A girl teenager.  A very pretty girl teenager.  I need a gun….

I am entering a phase of life during which I will become utterly clueless in the eyes of a child who once revered me.  I will be hopelessly unhip.  In fact, I already must be, since I can’t imagine that the word “unhip” has been in vogue since the release of “Hotel California.”  Oh, and my musical taste now sucks.  Once upon a time she thought it was cool to listen to not only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Little Feat, but also James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt and Sting.  Now, if the musician’s name is more than one word long, and if it doesn’t begin with a lower case letter and include a number and six consonants, it’s not worth listening to.

For the next several years, my very existence will be a source of shame and mortification for her.  I will be able to make her cringe simply by opening my mouth or saying hello to one of her friends; I will be able to embarrass her any time I want. (Okay, so maybe there’s an upside to this….)

The phone will no longer be ours.  Oh, Nancy and I will still pay the bills.  But none of the calls will be for us.  My daughter will point out that this is the perfect reason to buy her a cell phone, but I’m not sure we want to go there either.  She also wants a facebook page.  And one (or more) of those online IM accounts.  She’s already emailing her friends all the time.  She makes me swear that I won’t read her messages, but even if I did want to read them, I wouldn’t be able to make sense of what she and her friends write.  We are all destined to live in a world without punctuation, capitalization, or traditional spelling, a world in which phrases become an indecipherable series of obscure acronyms:  nvm, omg, idk, l8r, g2g. 

SMN (Shoot Me Now…)

And boys.  Good God, there are going to be boys.  Lots of them.  (Of course she had to get her mother’s looks — it would have been too much to ask that she be short and funny-looking and bearded like her Dad….)  Hence the gun.  It’ll have to be a shotgun.  Something I can be cleaning on the front porch as they roll up to the house for that first date.  I should probably get a hound, too.   And a rocking chair.  They all go together:  hounds, rocking chairs, shotguns.  Then again, I’m not at all sure that as a Jewish liberal New Yorker with an earring I’ll be able to pull off the “Dad with the Shotgun” thing.  I wonder what it costs to put landmines in the front yard and driveway.

At least the second one isn’t a teenager yet.  Then again, she’s 9 already.  And very precocious.  

God help me….

Musings From the Road

 Well, I’ve made it to the con hotel in Richmond — 590 miles or so.  Glad I left last night and split up the drive.  It would have been a bear to do in one day.  Of course I’ll be doing the return trip all on Sunday, so…..

Car time is great time for thinking, even if it’s thinking about nothing.  Did a lot of station surfing on the radio, listened to a lot of old music I hadn’t heard in years (Simon and Garfunkle!  Loggins and Messina!  Yikes!).

Heard the song “Mrs. Robinson” and got to thinking about great lines in rock ‘n roll lyrics.
  
“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you;
What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away.”

The evocation of nostalgia, the brilliance of using DiMaggio’s name, which, as it turns out, is so utterly musical.  This would be in my top ten.  So would this line from Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ In the Years”:

“You’ve been telling me you’re a genius since you were seventeen;
In all the time I’ve known you I still don’t know what you mean…”

What others?  Nominations?

A Post About Music for Writing

Today’s post, “A Writer’s Selection of Music for Writing,” can be found at http://magicalwords.net.  Check it out, and enjoy.

A Post About Creative Outlets

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net.  Enjoy!