A full weekend of music!

...had an enjoyable weekend of music...we hit the local Great South Bay Music Festival on Sat evening that featured both the Zen Tricksters w/ Donna Jean and the new Mickey Hart band as well...the ZT w/DJ set was a solid blended mix of GD tunes and ZT originals...of note, a smokin' "Till the Morning Comes" opener...DJ was showcasin' some of her classic (in tune) vocal work...my cringed facial expression when they went into "France" could only be matched by the look of total disbelief when the band started to really jam on it's theme with great aplomb and to the cheers, hoots and hollers of everybody watching & listening...Mickey's set was far more enjoyable than i was prepared for...while i loathe Durkin's vocal stylings, and the set did nothing to change my mind about her either, George Porter Jr. laid down heroic bass grooves over the good ol' silky, sinewy guitar lines that you'd hope to get from Kimock...it did take the Toaster a few songs to get into it but once warmed-up, he nailed the hell outta' the "Scarlet Begonias", probably his best tune of the evening...actually, all the GD tunes they covered, Kimock seemed to rise to the occasion for...and thankfully, Mickey's vocals were kept at a minimum for the sake of all involved...it was a groovy little head-scene in my own backyard which made for a really fun night out...

...i totally messed up by listening to classic '01 & '02 PLQ all last week in preparation of the Jones Beach P&F show on Sunday...but before i dissect the Phil show, it deserves to be stated what an enjoyable set put in by Levon Helm and his band as the show opener...the set consisted of some new songs from his recent CD, a few traditional rootsy folk classics and some familiar hits from the Band catalog to round things out...backed by a talented band of musicians, he seems to totally encapture that "down-homey" feel to the music that he plays, making you feel more akin to a southern backporch than a beachfront concert venue...his voice held up pretty well for the most part, failing a little during the last two songs...still, it was wonderful to hear him sing, watch him play the kit and dig on his overt enthusiasm for the music he loves...

...Phil started the set with a "Playin'>Jam>Bird Song" that was more debacle than anything, stumbling with song tempos and overall band cohesiveness...i wasn't partial to the Schecky original that followed either and i began to wonder if it's part of the agreement Schecky's record company has with Lesh to ensure that at least one of his tunes gets played every night in return for the favor of them loaning out their young future recording star to Phil's current band..."The Wheel" was decent...the jam that fell after it was the best thing they played all set, with Campbell and JGJr stepping toe-to-toe for some intense 6-string wailing...the "Mtns of the Moon" that followed was tragic, slow-tempoed to a fault and featured classic Phil ennuciation as he took the vocal reigns...this lead into an average "Uncle Johns" which made me realize how tired i've grown of the carribean boogie treatment this song has suffered from since the '98 Other Ones tour...an awkward "Sugar Mags" closed the set, with every band member trying their hardest to rock the entire crowd with their performance but making it perfectly clear to me how much Bobby owns this tune...

...the "Jam>China Cat>Fire on the Mtn" to start the set did nothing to install a more secure sense of confidence, and for the first time ever at a P&F show, i was really conscious of the number of Jerry tunes being tackled...and not so much just that they were being covered but that most of them were being sung by Phil...Phil - i love you bubba but vocal stability is lacking with this current band and yr' the biggest culprit, holmes...things did not get any better as they went right into "Sugaree"...to paraphrase the infinite wisdom of a certain TN DNCer - i needed another Sugaree like i needed a hole in my head...however, having said that, the Sugaree was the first and only time all night that Schecky impressed me...if nothing else, the kids tries soooo hard and has a certain sense of endless enthusiasm that can be contagious when used properly...it's just that i'm not even sure he fully understands what he's involved in by covering and playing the music in the GD cannon...i guess that kind of musical and historical ignorance is good in a way, in that he approaches the material in fresh, new ways...but there's just certain "classic/traditional" musical passages and guitar lines, annealed in the fires of 65 thru 95, that are paramount in making certain GD songs work when you play them and they need to be adhered to...having said that, the kid did great with the Sugaree...the "St. Stephen" was decent but became entirely overshadowed by the Molitz jam that followed...Molitz is easily my favorite "new friend" by a country mile...his own batch of enthusiasm and endless grab-bag of weirdness and strangeness is just the kind of wild card the music needs...and his vocals aren't bad either, as evident on the Eleven that followed his wicky-wicky jam...of course i was enjoying my namesake song, but i couldn't help but think back to the golden days of the Q and how they would rip my face off in 7/4 time...since i have heard more P&F "Unbroken Chains" than any other song they've ever played, i was not looking forward to yet another one...that was until Molitz came to the rescue once again with his vast array of squeals, blips, beeps and other techno gadgetry...and as Larry created a rather pedestrian at best UBC outtro jam, i was yet again reminded of how much Warren ruled that same jam w/ the PLQ...sigh...i respect Larry as a player - he's talented as all hell, technically proficient and a master of many stringed instruments...but i still don't think he "feels" this stuff like a guitarist in P&F should...the Dark Star seemed like a forced afterthought, but featured a sweet surprise at it's core as it surrounded a "from outta' left field" reading of "Born Cross-Eyed", w/ Molitz on vocals...the return to transitive nightfalls was a rough one and they couldn't find their way into "Rider" fast enough...this also suffered from some vocal shakiness and brought the set to an (un)eventual close...set 2 was certainly better than set 1 but still not a top-notch show by any means...

...the Attics encore many have been the best thing they did all night, with just a trio of Lesh and Mr. & Mrs. Campbell on stage, w/ Larry playing haunting and sparse guitar...the three vocalists hit some pretty sweet harmonies as Lesh safely handled the lower registers...when they did the "When i had no wings to fly..." verse, the harmony they achieved had all the hairs on my neck standing on end...really, really beautiful stuff...too bad they felt the need to continue on into a "Playin' reprise" that proved itself 100% unnecessary, especially after experiencing such masterful, exquisite music during the Attics...oh well...

...having said all this, Jones Beach is about as far as i'd travel for this band...thankfully, Phil still plays one of the fiercest basses in all the land and i'm still very thankful that he's still out there playing music...i didn't like his new bass guitar much, both esthetically and tone-wise...this was also the first show i couldn't ignore the un-nuanced playing of Molo...his powerful, thundering approach was perfect in the PLQ band but without the twin screams of Haynes and Herring to race with, it's simply too much going on...and it's strange it's taken me so long to feel this way...i still dig him as a drummer but he's past his GD-playin' prime, imho...

...lastly, i was lucky enough to bump into Steve Molitz between Levon's and Phil's set...a really nice guy...appreciative of folks knowing who he is and diggin'-on what he brings to the Phil Lesh musical stew...

...see you at the next show!

...when we last left our hero, well over two months ago...

"Life is what happens while yr' busy making other plans"
- J.Lennon

Bonjourno!

It's been a full week since coming back from a two-week long stay in Italy. I've nestled back into my american ways and habits...adjusted from the 'lag...and have since filled my stomach with all the breakfast foods i craved for my entire overseas stay - bacon, egg & cheese on an everything bagel, hash browns, coffee that won't make me feel my eyebrows growing...and all the water i can drink from my tap - for FREE!!

...when i sort through all the pictures...all 1100 + of them (!), i'll post a few 'round here...it was an amazing trip...i was most impressed with all of the visuals - duomos and bassilicas that were both a testiment to the spiritual as well as the archetechtural...countless amounts of beutiful artwork and sculpture, amazing for their striking nature as well as their long-lasting existence...the quality of the food was as fine as i expected it to be, promting me to engage in a 2-week long gnocci tour of Italy, ordered it with pesto whenever i spied it on a menu...prior to the trip, it was typical for me to indulge in a glass of red whenever the wife opned a bottle...however, i'd be retreating to the beers after the glass, leaving her to finish the bottle on her own...the exception to this rule involved a chilled bottle of reisling, preferrably sweet, which i can easily stick a crazy-straw into and finish within minutes...touring the wine country of Italy finally stirred an interest in red wines and i find myself as enthusiastic as the wife when choosing the dinner red...everything we tasted was amazing...lots of chianti...a few amerones...a few barolos...one headspinning bottle after another...and it was our common experience to discover that most wineries also make their own olive oil...again, each one more amazing than the last...having brought back (smuggled!) 10 bottles of wine and 4 bottles of oil in our luggage, a large number of bread & oil w/ red wine dinners are in our future!

...the only thing i didn't like was the cold vibe i got from most of the locals...other than the folks we encountered at places of lodging or eating, most folks dealt with us with an indifference that seemed outwardly noticeable to these amaerican sensibilities...in all fairness, i know and understand that the american is not looked upon favorably in the eyes of many foreign lands...and for many of the daily excursions, i travelled with a pack of family and friends that could, at times, through their volumous mannerisms, let on that we were not only from the states but specifically from the NYC area...after a few initial bouts with embarassment and frustration regarding the traveling fiasco show, i loosened up and embraced my big, loud NY family for being exactlly who they were...it's really the very reason why i love living here myself - you can feel free to be who you are without worry, fear or shame...va-rye-it-tee baby...so as much as i went with the best intentions of being my own one-man american ambassador during my trip, carefully watching what i did or said, i wound up with giant wads of anamosity towards the very people whose homeland i had invaded and shouted down the streets of for making me feel asamed of me and where i came from...

...in other news, a few concerts are on the horizon...it's a one-two musical punch of a weekend coming up starting on Sat. with a local music fest featuring Donna Jean Godchaux w/ the Zen Tricksters and Mickey Hart's new band featuring George Porter Jr. on bass and Steve Kimock on guitar...it's sponsered by local Blue Point Brewery and i've already got my taste buds prepared for all the sweet-potato fries and funnel cake i can shove down my gullet...the fun continues on Sunday with a Phil & Friends show at Jones Beach, made even sweeter by the opening act of Levon Helm, drummer and vocalist from the Band, worth the price of admission in his own right...

...here's what i'm listening to these days...

- the new "Road Trips" Grateful Dead release, featuring a historic 1st set Bird Song > Dark Star from the legendary 7/31/71 Yale Bowl show, having previously only been available in a barely listenable AUD version and still was held in almost mythical regard...here it is in all it's glorious SBD beauty...another legendary AUD-only performance sprung free in pristine SBD quality is the hallowed 8/6/71 Hard to Handle, long rumored to be so intense live that Garcia dropped to one knee during his heroic solo...believe it or not, this version is hot as hell...the biggest surprise is the China > Rider that begins disc 2, featuring some of Phil's most muscular bass playing i've ever heard him flex for this time-honored two-fer...crank yo' subwoofers!

- i'm only a few days into sinking deeply within the new Beck release...i like it know and have plenty of confidence i'll love it in a few more days, as all of his releases have seemed to grow on me with each repeated listen...Beck is one of only a handful of artists that i own all of his material and will blindly buy his newest effort without hearing any of it before hand...he's got the goods...always has and i faithfully believe he always will...

- i've grabbed a few tracks from the new Racountours release...i'm not as big on them as i am the White Stripes but it is amazing to ponder the endless talent Jack White seems to have and utilize as much as he creates, co-creates and/or produces...the track "You Don't Understand Me" is a daily stuck-in-my-head-song lately...

- Eva Cassidy "Oh Had I A Golden Thread"...i heard just the last minute of this song while scanning through the radio dial...it struck me so deep i wrote it down and made sure i searched it out as soon as i got home, to be forever enshrined within my most elite pantheon of favorite songs...i can't really explain why i dig it so much...it features a wonderfully deep gospel feel, made so with the help of Eva's hauntingly exquisite vocals and spot-on warm and tasty organ accompaniment on the Hammond B-3...

- even stranger than this has been my continued foray into the music of Daniel Johnston...i have an overall appreciation for his talent and artistic style but i felt bad about only digging about 15% of his music, having breezed through his entire cannon...however, having said that, it's remarkable how strong that remaining 15% has stuck in my musical psyche...


...i've finally took my head out of my ass and started reading vorasciously again, averaging a book a week since the Italy trip...here's some recent selections from the bookshelves...

-David Sedaris "Me Talk Pretty One Day"...i was skeptical given all his recent praise and his recent dominance of the NY Times best-seller list since the release of his newest book...i'm typically always skeptical of anything recieving critical acclaim, with Milli Vanilli being my lone exception to this rule...i grabbed this older book having read the summery on the back cover and surmising it had something to do with the adjustments of being an american abroad...seemed right in my wheelhouse for consumption during the Italy trip...risking to break old habits and stubborn inclinations, i really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of his books...the attention ond praise is just and warrented.

- Susan Jane Gilman "Hypocrite in a White Dress"...i've made a concious effort to include more female authors in my reading repitoire, with this book starting me off in the right direction...written in a similar memior-esque style as Sedaris, Gilman takes you through a virtual adolencent to mid-20's flashback of female existence that proves both hysterical and poingent...she'll be another author i'll seek more of during my next book store visit.

-TC Boyle "Drop City"...this is the 2nd Boyle book i've read and without question, i'll be quickly collecting his books in no time...i love his style, so deeply rooted in vivid description and in-depth charactorization...granted, the book's subject matter piqued a personal intrest as it dealt with the death of the hippie commune lifestyle/reality of the late 60's as the next decade quickly sank it's hungry teeth into the nievety of those very same ideals and concepts without mercy or remorse...another excellent read, raced through in a matter of only three days.

...the only new books i haven't read yet are older titles recommened by the man himself, Bukowski...i listened to a few Buk bootlegs lately - mostly an assorment of ragtag and rowdy poetry readings with a few home recordings thrown in for good measure, and noted two books that he though highly of - Celine's "Journey to the End of the Night" and Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio"...when i get through 'em, i'll be sure to post my impressions...

...that's all for now...gotta' get some chores done, dinner made, food shopping lists made, etc...

...life...ha!...