Blech! (with accompaniment courtesy of the Pogues)
This Thanksgiving, my family and I received an unwanted guest, in the form of a stomach virus. Evil shit, I tell you. If someone can tell me how it’s anatomically possible to puke motor oil, I’d like to know!
But worry not: inspired, witty, highly entertaining posts will return from my neck of the woods soon. But for now, Blech!
The Pogues – The Sick Bed of Cúchulaínn
Gimme Shelter DVD, Live Stones 1969
I’ve been a Stones fan for a long time, but it took me until yesterday to sit down and watch Gimme Shelter. What kind of Stones fan am I, then, you say? Good question, I don’t really have an answer. It’s only one of the most important rock documentaries in existence. Shame on me! And thanks Netflix.
Gimme Shelter documents the tail end of the Rolling Stones’ 1969 U.S. tour, which wrapped up with a free show at the Altamont Speedway, near San Francisco. The Stones originally were going to hold a last minute surprise show at Golden Gate Park, but when Mick Jagger let it slip during a press conference earlier in the week, the venue needed to be changed, due to overcrowding and logistical concerns.
So on Saturday, December 6th, more than 300,000 eager fans, drugged out crazies, and a boat load of Hell’s Angels descended on Altamont. What transpired is the stuff of legend.
The stage was only about four feet high, so it provided easy access to the throngs of fans. Leading up to the Stones, the lineup included Jefferson Airplane, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby Stills & Nash, and others. The Hell’s Angels – whether asked or not is debatable – ended up providing security around the stage area. The “security” included knocking Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin unconscious and bashing people with pool cues. The Grateful Dead, after arriving for their set, cancelled after hearing about the ugly scene.
During the Stones set, while “Under My Thumb” played, an 18 year old black man in the crowd, Meredith Hunter, pulled a gun. Before anything could happen, Hell’s Angel Alan Passaro pounced with a knife, stabbing Hunter multiple times, stomping him, and killing him. The film captures a lot of the violence and ugliness that day (it was impossible to avoid), and it really gives the viewer a firsthand feel of the tension around the stage area.
Altamont took place only four months after Woodstock, and is considered by many to be the end of the free love / flower power era, or whatever you choose to call it. The film is most notorious for capturing the event, but don’t forget about the music. We get some great live Stones footage from Alatamont as well as an earlier Madison Square Garden gig: “Street Fighting Man”, “Satisfaction”, “Love in Vain”, “Brown Sugar”, “Sympathy for the Devil”, among others. There’s also some studio footage from Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Stones fan or not, this is a must see for any music lover. This is an amazing and fascinating document of a legendary band in their prime, and a very unfortunate event in rock and roll history.
So as I tend to do after watching an intense film about one of my favorite bands, I spent today listening to the Stones: Beggars Banquet (1969) through Tattoo You (1981) on shuffle. I also tracked down a boot from the same 1969 U.S. tour. It’s called ‘Secret Garden’, and was recorded about a month before Altamont in Oakland. Enjoy!
The Rolling Stones
November 9th, 1969
Oakland, CAJumpin’ Jack Flash
Prodigal Son
You Gotta Move
Carol
Sympathy For The Devil
Stray Cat Blues
Love In Vain
I’m Free
Under My Thumb
Midnight Rambler
Live With Me
Little Queenie
Satisfaction
Street Fighting Man
Honky Tonk WomanThe Butler and the Boss – new issue of Spin
I think I’m going to have to – get this! – go to a record store and buy a music magazine. The new issue of Spin is out, with a Bruce Springsteen / Win Butler (of Arcade Fire) cover story. Spin interviewed the two of them together back in September before an E Street show at Continental Airlines Arena. Not long after, Win and his wife Règine hit the stage with Bruce in Ottawa for a couple of songs.
Check out an excerpt from the interview here.
One of the first things Bruce related to Win was his appreciation for a fan made video of Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage”. It’s set cleverly and powerfully to scenes from Once Upon a Time in the West, a 1968 spaghetti western directed by Sergio Leone. Check it out…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyp34v6Lmcc 336 278]
The Nighwatchman – Alone Without You (Video)
Here’s The Nightwatchman (AKA Tom Morello) singing “Alone Without You”.
sick of the strength that it takes to keep goin’
sick ’cause I’m losing this fight and it’s showin’Nice tune. Something familiar about it…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVyNM5mknnc 336 278]
Springsteen U.S. Tour Dates, 2008
I won’t quite crap myself yet – but no Phoenix date on the new tour itinerary??
I’m praying that the gap between April 8th in Anaheim and April 13th in Dallas is soon filled in with a Phoenix stop. Otherwise, Hello Disneyland!
Where’s my Tums…
Newly announced Springsteen tour dates:
Feb. 28: Hartford, Conn. (HCC Arena)
March 2: Montreal (Bell Centre)
March 3: Hamilton, Ont. (Copps Coliseum)
March 6: Rochester, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
March 7: Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
March 10: Hempstead, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
March 14: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)
March 16: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Center)
March 17: Milwaukee (Bradley Center)
March 20: Indianapolis (Conseco Center)
March 22: Cincinnati (U.S. Bank Arena)
March 24: Columbus, Ohio. (Schottenstein Center)
March 28: Portland, Ore. (Rose Garden)
March 29: Seattle (Key Arena)
March 31: Vancouver (GM Place)
April 4: Sacramento, Calif. (Arco Arena)
April 5: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion)
April 7-8: Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Center)
April 13: Dallas (TBA)
April 14: Houston (TBA)
April 18: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Bank Atlantic Center)
April 19: Orlando, Fla. (Amway Arena)
April 21: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
April 25: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
April 27: Charlotte, N.C. (Bobcat Arena)
April 28: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)
April 30: Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena)British Sea Power
As far as cool band names go, I think British Sea Power ranks right up there as one of my favorites. British $&@ Sea Power!! Maybe it’s the imagery it evokes: 18th century-era Royal Navy 100-gun ships, cannon blasts… in fact, I was just inspired to add Mutiny on the Bounty and Master and Commander to my Netflix queue. What other movies would you guys recommend for all out sea action? Oh, The Blue Lagoon! Consider it added.
This song came on randomly during a 10k I ran a week ago. It gave me a good kick in the arse to lift me up a pesky hill, and prompted an instant replay. I had picked this EP up on a whim while cruising around eMusic – one of my necessities for discovering new music. }. They’re from Brighton, England, and apparently put on quite the live show. I look forward to seeing them if they ever make their way from Brighton to Phoenix. Right now, there are only UK dates on their itinerary.
British Sea Power – Atom – from their recently released Krankenhaus? EP
Links: Official Site
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Artwork above: Battle of Trafalgar, by J.M.W. Turner (1824)
A Day in the Life of British Sea Power: The Battle of Trafalgar took place on October 21st, 1805. Admiral Horatio Nelson commanded the British fleet from the First-Rate ship of the line HMS Victory – the flagship (I just learned all of these cool terms). The Royal Navy fleet of 27 ships took on a combined French and Spanish fleet of 33 ships. Nelson was outmanned and outgunned: on the French/Spanish side, nearly 30,000 men (!) and 2,568 guns. On the British side, 17,000 men and 2,148 guns. I never imagined that so many people were involved in one naval battle. 47,000 men? Incredible….
At 11:45am, Nelson sent out the infamous flag signal to his fleet: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” The fight was on. In the 1:00 hour, the 104-gun Victory engaged the 74 gun Redoutable. During the fight, a musket bullet fired from the Redoutable hit Admiral Nelson in the left shoulder, lodging in his spine. He died later that afternoon.
By 4:30pm, the battle was over. The British took 22 of the 33 ships facing them (many of which burned, sank, or wrecked in a storm after the battle). Casualties, though, were heavy on both sides: British casualties were 450 killed and 1,240 wounded. On the French & Spanish side, there were 3,650 killed and wounded. Read more about the battle here. Amazing stuff…
British $&# Sea Power!!
Boss Video: Sandy in Albany
Bruce broke out some tasty ones Thursday night in Albany. The crowd was treated to a one-two punch of “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and “The E Street Shuffle”.
Dates have started to be announced for the second leg of the U.S. tour in March and April 2008. No Phoenix announcement yet, but I’m still confident they’ll hit my town. Check out Ticketmaster for the announced dates. Meanwhile, the final two shows of this leg take place Sunday and Monday in Boston. My brother Dave will be in the house, the lucky $^#.
“Sandy, the fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight…”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6ggRLH6m4 336 278]
Thanks to Springsteenesque (great Boss coverage, check it out).
Ickmusic Live: Dire Straits at Pinkpop 1979
It’s time to bow to Sir Knopfler, as we travel back in time to Holland in the year of our Lord 1979. Apparently, these are the only four surviving recordings from the Dire Straits performance at the Pinkpop Festival in Geleen, Holland. This was the original incarnation of Dire Straits: Mark Knopfler (lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, keyboards), John Illsley (bass), and Pick Withers (drums). This show is from June 1979, the same month they released their second album, Communiqué. Their self-titled debut a year earlier raced up the charts thanks to “Sultans of Swing”, which remains that ubiquitous classic rock radio staple to this day (and a song I will never turn off – I still can’t fathom how Knopfler’s fingers can fly so fast).
With these four songs, they take a couple from their first album, and a couple from Communiqué. Click on these nice ol’ album covers to check ’em out on Amazon. By the way, has anyone picked up Knopfler’s latest album? I’ll have to put that near the top of the list…
Dire Straits, Live at Pinkpop Festival
Geleen, Holland
June 4, 1979
FM Broadcast – April 27, 2007 on the KRO Radio 2 program “Legendarisch Live”Deejay Intro
Follow Me Home
Lady Writer
Wild West End
In the Gallery
Other than Dire Straits, the 1979 Pinkpop lineup included Massada, Average White Band, The Police, Elvis Costello, Rush, and Peter Tosh.
John Prine – You Got Gold
I’m in a John Prine state of mind.
I guess it was a year ago about this time when I professed my love for The Missing Years album. Another track popped up tonight while I was holding my youngest daughter, getting ready to give her a bath. I immediately stopped in my tracks, and we spent the next four and a half minutes dancing and spinning. What a look of joy on her face. Goose-bump moments.
Non-parents have already moved on to the next web site, but you parents know how it is – those spontaneous moments out of nowhere where your child can somehow convince you – just with an expression or a gleam in her eye – that all is right with this world. Escapism in its purest, most innocent (not to mention healthiest) form.
So it’s this song that I’ve absolutely loved since the record came out back in 1991. It’s the joyful, reeling melody, combined with Prine’s witty and beautiful lyrics. I mean look at this verse:
Life is a blessing, it’s a delicatessen
Of all the little favors you do.
All wrapped up together no matter the weather,
Baby you always come through.
It’s a measure of treasure that gives me the pleasure
Of loving you the way I do
And you know I would gladly say I need your love badly
And bring these little things to you.Who else but John Prine could craft that?
So listen up, and if you have a spare few moments with your kid, give him or her a whirl with this one…
John Prine – You Got Gold – from The Missing Years (Boss fans – Bruce and Prine duet on “Take a Look at My Heart”, reason enough to pick up the album – and so do Tom Petty and Bonnie Raitt)
John’s most recent album is a collection of old school country & western standards with bluegrass legend Mac Wiseman. It’s a great ride, and definitely puts me in a great place each time I hear it. Here’s a taste of what you’re in store for….
John Prine & Mac Wiseman – Don’t Be Ashamed of Your Age – from Standard Songs for Average People
Pistols do Leno, Lose Cred?
This is a couple of weeks old, but worth a look for those who haven’t seen it. This is the Sex Pistols on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno singing “Anarchy in the UK” (Ron Paul was the guest that night). It’s a good version, mind you, but isn’t this not supposed to happen?
Could appearing on the most homogenized, lowest common denominator late night show be considered any less punk? Yeah yeah, the Pistols are reunited, they need to sell some tickets – but still – at the very least, shun Leno for Letterman!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTF4cO7gUOg 336 278]
