congrats
to the girls of larc year 1 for surviving that very thing…year 1!!!
Archive for April, 2007
flix fix: trailer park boys season 3
very recommended. i liked the “crimes under $1000″ theme and the cruise reward that play throughout this season. those boys are geniuses.
flix fix: employee of the month
i would say it was like watching legally blonde, but starring dane as reese. so, recommended if you really like dane cook or costco/sam’s club a lot.
it was good to see danny woodburn again. I had just watched an old Seinfeld episode and was wondering what he was up to.
MGOC: Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby
song performed: “The Dreaded Spoon” from their self-titled album
conan’s reaction: “how are you? *claps two times* yeeeehaw! *shakes ricky’s hand* thank you very much *shakes bruce’s hand* ricky skaggs bruce hornsby that was fantastic *claps four times* we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back, stick around *claps once* ”
the band: wow, it’s bluegrass and bluepiano together on stage. last time I saw either of these two gentlemen was back when bruce hornsby had a range and sung about “the way it is”. last time I heard either of these artists was when tupac was also telling my about “the way it is”. time has changed things, because now bruce is telling me about a fictional greasy breakfast joint that sounds fun. i like it.
ricky has been strumming his cute little mandolin since the 50’s!!! even playing with violin master django reinhardt. bruce of course had a huge hit on huey lewis’ label back in 86? I think? these two gents were both slapped with that nasty hand of “contemporary”, ricky hitting a dry period during the “contemporary country” movement of the 90’s, bruce doing the same right after his hit. two talented men desserted by their fans for billy ray cyrus and celine dion. it’s not right. so it’s a great thing that the two have come back with a rootsdown album which has gotten great reviews.
the performance: well fiddle me dee! it’s great! After two semi-annoying interviews (read: adam brody), it was nice to hear some upbeat music. If i recall, i think that conan is a big fan of both guys, ricky was on Conan’s 10th anniversary show.
bruce looks the same! same hairstyle, maybe a few shades grayer. I can’t totally understand the lyrics, but they are making me want to go to dairy queen. the “fiddler” is a young man who smoking away on stage. at one point bruce yells “play ball”, and I think that is the feel of the whole performance. a bunch of talented peeps on stage just enjoying themselves, which is kind of at the root of bluesgrass.
lighting was much more subdued, with busy camera action that kind of kept things feeling grand old opry-esque. the song was quick and toward the end I realized there were like 50 banjos and guitars all on the right of the stage - starting with a tiny guy in the back and ending with this huuuuuge man up front holding a gigantic guitar. he kind of turned the performance into a bill plympton toon where guitar players keep birthing guitar players that are bigger and bigger and crawl out of each others mouth like reverse nesting dolls.
other notes: my supernice girlfriend made me breakfast - time to go!
MGOC: brandi carlile
song performed: title track from the album The Story
conan’s reaction: “great. thanks for coming back *shakes brandi’s hand* that was grea, thank you very much. brandi carlile everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back *conan starts talking to brandi and does a funny guitar-holding-elvis-hip move*”
the band: maybe this is an exercise in what works (at least for me). last night’s band, blue october, write very emotional songs and sing with passion, blah blah blah. i wrote about the fact that i didn’t get it. well tonight’s performer brandi carlile, while i also don’t know her from adam, didn’t annoy me so much. her story seems familiar - small town girl, gets into music, tries everything possible to get gigs, writes songs, gets signed, forms and band, etc.
while i’d loved to make up a story that brandi is mandy moore crossed with a belinda carlisle, she’s not. i think she’s kind of a sound of her influences, a little bit of country, a little bit patsy cline, a little bit janis joplin, a little bit melissa ethridge, a little bit joan jett? which in this world of musicians coming from smaller places wanting to go big is a good thing. they say don’t discard your influences.
I guess brandi had such a drive to make a success of herself that she played through the Seattle bar scene, eventually coming across the band that her twin guitar/bassist played in. when they broke up she convinced them to play with her. ahhh, sweet.
the performance: everything else lined up similar to last night’s performance. the stage started in blurry blue lights (was there fog pumped in?), the song started slow with vocals, the guitar and bassist had similar haircuts, there was even a string ensemble instrument (cello vs. violin). however when brandi was done, I was ready for more show.
my first reaction btw fwiw was this “yes! twins!”. brandi’s guitar was purty. I think conan had a crush on her by the end. at times, she sang loud…and it was just that…loud (don’t lose your voice brandi). when they came back from commercial break, conan had brandi by herself in a seat next to him.
i did find that if i jumped about twenty seconds, the stage would be blue-lit, then jump forward again and the stage was orange. back and forth - it was quite fun.
other notes: in one photo on her myspace page, she’s also wearing a marching band jacket. now i think she’s cool too.
MGOC: blue october
song performed: “She’s My Ride Home” from the album Foiled
conan’s reaction: “*at the end of the performance, guitarist/violinist ryan runs of the stage to the left* nice job that was great. hey, very nice job *shakes lead singer justin’s hand* thank you very much, guys *shakes bassist matt’s hand* that was great *shakes other guitar man brant’s hand* blue october everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back *claps hands twice turns to shake drummer hand, ryan comes back onstage and conan shakes his hand too*”
I figured it out late last night that this week on Conan is a mishmosh of repeat shows and new ones. The jokes tipped me off - references were too recent. So imagine my surprise when blue october popped onstage. I thought I was missing something again.
the band: i don’t know blue october from adam, even though it seems they’ve been around since 1995-96. love to keep an open mind here, and I know their latest record went platinum, but my first impressions of them are that they are more of a regional hit. i’ve listened to a few of their songs, and they are beautiful with violin and peter gabriel-like harmonies. the problem i’m having is that every song sounds like the track for an Intel or Infiniti commercial…from 1996. kind of sappy and mysterious like you wouldn’t want your daughters hanging out with mysterious.
the performance: the stage started out with a blue/magenta lighting which, and maybe it’s my fake tivo, but the sharpness was thrown was out of whack (or the camera was out of focus). i notice this blue tinge adds this strange blurriness.
it’s a beautiful song they played, but again, things felt weird to me. i don’t know this sound or this image. it’s like having beets with my fries or white air force 1’s with orange shoelaces. i admit i don’t listen to “modern” radio at all anymore, and i know the Canadian papers have been writing a lot about these gentlemen as a “modern” rock group. song opened all pretty, lead singer justin started out fumbling for the mic, then went into this weird motion for sharpening a knife, followed by a weird head nod and a quick brushing motion of his hands and from then on I was more interested in catching highlights from tonight’s stanley cup games.
and just as I was starting to wonder when the violin was going to come out - there it was for the a bit. again, the performance was fine with interesting lyrics, theatrics, and haircuts. but in my head it is like a conversation about deep dark love secrets when all I wanted was to know how much postage is needed on my tax return. in other words, they seem like a group you have leap into to fully enjoy, and leap some people will.
other notes: I’m proud of myself for not mentioning hurricane katrina and how this band is from houston and are a band of hope. oops I just did. damn this mgoc blows.
chow notes: where is the love?
…or as they say in Spain - ¿dónde está el amor?
as read here
no canadian restaurants made the leap onto restaurant magazine’s top 50 in the world for the 2007 list. not even in the next groupings of 50-100!
I guess as someone looking for the love up here in Canada, as well as being an avid fan of foodtv Canada, I’m surprisingly bummed about this.
I guess with Rob Feenie off selling out with White Spot, past Canadian winners “Eigensinn Farm” seems to have disappeared (at least from the media), and Susur Lee, chef of 2002’s listmaker “Susur”, seems to have also gone the lucrative celebrity route leaving his restaurants to fray.
There are good good food sources up here, more than just maple syrup and cured bacon, surely there should be a restaurant in the top 100! I’m not saying I could ever afford to eat at any of these restaurants, but still…
In the US - 7 (though I counted eight) restaurants made the list. here’s the breakdown by area incase you were thinking about moving.
Bay Area/Napa 11 (best in north america here)
New York City 1111 (trump eats good)
Chicago 11 (highest new entry here)
I’m going to go listen to Morissey songs and sulk.
flix fix: krush groove
totally recommended! although it is really a movie of cameos…
sheila e, rick rubin, run dmc, the fat boys, new edition, kurtis blow, russell simmons, the beastie boys, dr. jeckyll & mr. hyde, ll cool j, nayobe
one particular scene i loved was when the fat boys eat at sbarro - all you can eat $3.99, and they eat the place out of business - including the wallpaper in the background that had pictures of food on it.
RIP Buffy the Human Beat Box
