Speeding Motorcycle to Austin pt. 2/ Lisa D'amour and Super Furry Animals

Mr. Toad's wild ride continues...

The week ended on a very high note. We did a stumble through on Saturday afternoon and I think it really gave everyone in the show a nudge in the right direction. The run though on Sunday proved it. The band and the choreography have really come together.
Got to hang out with the band on Thursday and go over Life In Vain numerous times. At that rehearsal I got to witness the creation of a segue from Kathy's Hey Joe in to Speeding Motorcycle. The magic was evident in the bands first try. A keeper for sure.
The band got word of a party going on in the lobby of the arena theatre which led to a quick raid of the deli trays. Hannah (who is in the show) was part of the party and came to hang out with us. In a way she validated our raid and we hung out for 10 min. or so. Terri heisted the brie.
We've been working inside the theater all week and it's fucking huge. It took some getting used to. I don't really have any perspective on how it will look from the audience and it's take some time to set up the stage to make it work in the space. We'll probably run in to some stumbling blocks once it's time to add body mic's and such. Just a prediction. Hoping we get to use hand mic's as much as poossible. That may be a pipe dream though.
As a whole though, the rehearsals have gone terrific. All the changes are really adding to the depth of the show(additional band members, new songs added to the 'rock show' portion of the show, the rumor of children as cast members). All unexpected surprises. It's really hard to believe but it seems as if lightning may have struck twice.
Finally starting to feel a bit comfortable with Peek-a-boo on piano. It'll be fun to work with a real stand up piano again. The action on them is always unique.
Saw Jason this evening on my way to the store and he was glowing with excitement following an afternoon rehearsal with some children who are to be added to the show. Some in the chorus and another who will sing Don't Be Scared. I have a feeling it's going to be awesome. He also told me of a conversation he had with the lighting designer who watched both weekend rehearsals. He told Jason the show was already packing a personal punch even at this stage in the game. Phenominal news to say the least.
Troy stopped by the Saturday rehearsal and gave his nod of approval. Respect his opinion. Told him it must be like in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure when they are at the drive-in watching the "Hollywood" version of Pee-Wee's story(starring James Brolin & Morgan Fairchild). We both got a good laugh outta that.




Went to a local bar and hung out for a bit with playwright Lisa D'amour. She wrote an original piece for IBP in 2006 called Hide Town. There was a cover band playing that were the spitting image of The Band. They played several covers from The Band's catalog. They weren't half band. I don't know if the world is clammoring for such a band though.

Watched a interesting documentary of Herbie Hancock making one of those "duet" type albums. Schools Trey. Comes off as kind of a self righteous buddah brother at times. Some of it's cool, tho. Stuff with Damian Rice & Lisa Hannigan is way rad. Raul Midon pretty much schools Herbie w/ his schooling of Stevie Wonder. Felt guilty for not paying tuition after that. Ends with him(and Santana...oh, brother) apologizing for Hiroshima & Nagasaki. yeah...you got me.

"The master does not tell you what to do. The master wants you to reveal yourself." -HH


Saw the Super Furry Animals at Emo's on Saturday night. They blew me away. Their sound was a dense syrup filled satin matress that wrapped its arms around you makimg your brain feel as if it were floating in a medicated goo. Not a bad song in the bunch. They played several songs from their new album(Neo Consumer, The Girt That Keeps Giving) and a wide range from their past recordings(Slow Life, Juxtaposed With You, Hello Sunshine, (Drawing) Rings Aroung The World and Keeping The Cosmic Trigger Happy). I had gone in with huge expectations and they exceded them in ways I couldn't have imagine. Their live sound is so think and unobtrusive. The guitars were never overpowering and were placed delicately inside the mix like pedals on a flower. I want to quit everything and move to Northern England to dedicate every living moment I have to their music. Seriously. A whole crew of Houston folks came up to see the show(Ravi, Ed & Gretchen, Kevin & Hilary). Joe & Kyle and Matt & Mo all had a ridonkulous time. It was all a bit too much for Lindsey to take in. I bought two poster but neglected to but a .45 vinyl single they had on display. Trying to get Eddie to buy it for me when they see them in San Francisco next weekend. We walked back to the hotel from 6th St. taking about 30-40 min. Beautiful night.

(In a) Speeding Motorcycle to Austin

Wow....

The end of the first week of rehearsals. Where do I start? The facilities at the Zach Scott are nothing short of amazing. There are more electronic gadgets than we know what to do with. Wireless mikes, an excellent p.a. system, lighting instruments out the wazoo, THREE theatres(2 proscenium thrust stages AND an arena), rehearsal spaces, an endless maze of hallways through three buildingds,and parking. Aside from the contract nonsense, everything is top notch.
It's silly, but I got really choked up during the first run through of "Loving Feelings". It felt like being greeted by a long lost friend. I remember how excited I was to first hear the song and my enjoyment of it hasn't diminished one bit. The love I have for this show knows no end.
It's funny how I initially found it difficult to imagine "new" actors portraying characters I had seen originated by fellow members in the Catastrophic Crew. Those illisions were blown away the first time the cast performed "Don't Let The Sun Go Down" as an ensemble. It was awesome. Tony's spectacular arrangement is in a league with anything Brian Wilsons' got up his sleeve.
Meeting and getting to perform a duet on "Loving Feelings" with Kathy McCarty was surreal. She's so sweet and talented. She's had nothing but kind things to say to me during rehearsal. A real classy chick. Her solo performance of "Hey Joe" just prior to intermission is gonna fucking floor you.
The choreographer for the show is a total throw back to the 70's. We shared Grateful Dead stories(as did Adam and I). She did the choreography for "Waiting For Guffman". It all made sense after I heard that.
I can hardly express how much fun the first week has been. I'm slowly falling in love with Austin. The HORROR! I know. Been riding my bike every day. I can actually ride from one end of the city to the next. Lots of hippy-dippy people. Probably just as many drunken asshole frat types, but I haven't had to deal with them yet. Although our trip to Emo's to see the Super Furry Animals this weekend may require some mingling. We'll see.
I miss Lindsey more than I thought possible. I'm currently going through some pretty heavy withdrawals. It powerful sucks. I'm counting the hours until she arrives.
I've been taking pictures like a man possessed. I think the cast was a little freaked out by my shutter bugness at first. They all seem to be fine with it now. Here are some to gives you a taste of what's to come.



Oh, the vapors!


I've never even heard of the Smithereens.

Don't make a sad song sadder than it already is...

Don't encourage her.

I think Adam farted.

The drummer's on drugs!

ITAOT?

Hunka-hunka!

His happy place.

$14 for beans & rice?!?

Insert fart joke here.

What's cookin'?

I'm feeling a "Hair Metal" type arrangement on this one. You?




-Bill played with Neko Case in 2000. WOW!
-Adam(the bass player) followed the Grateful Dead from 1989-1995. Exactly the same years I followed them. eeeerrriieeeee
-rehearsed "Dairy Queen" with band to play during 'rock show' portion of the show.


Song I love today: Worried Shoes by Daniel Johnston

Many more to come...

Lips As Big As Texas

I love it when a plan comes together.
San Antonio was pie. Joe, Lindsey, and I arrived in the late afternoon to the outdoor venue. I looked like a very big outdoor patio with the stage at one end of a sunken concrete floor. We waited in the paid ticket line for about and hour and watched as the "free ticket" line grew to twice our lines size. It was amusing to see Michael walking down the sidewalk dressed in the official red jumpsuit and carrying his skeleton costume on a hanger. Only one guy jumped out of line to greet him.Once inside, we quickly made our way to the rail. We were standing on Steven's side and directly in front of the stage right p.a. stack. This made for a VERY loud evening. We hadn't been there long when Kliph stepped up to the rail and we scurried over to say "hi" and give him the Hello Kitty purse Lindsey had promised him. He accepted her gift and seemed quite pleased to receive it. I snapped a few pictures with he and Lindsey and a funny one that had him with a slack jawed look on his face as he gazed into a glowing candy ring she had given him. Sveral other people stepped up to talk to him, so we reclaimed our space on the rail and settled in for the evening.Not long after that, Lindsey tracked down the "animal wrangler" and managed to get one of the very last passes to dance on stage with the band. She was beaming as she approached us. I was so excited for he. This has been her dream and it was coming true that night. She scurried off to go backstage while all four members came and went to the side of the stage to watch the Birds Of Avalon. I didn't think they were anything special, but I thinks that's gonna be true for most bands who have the unfortunate postion of being the opening band.As the opening music came through the speakers, the Santa's & Aliens began to file on stage. The Santa's had obviously been instructed to follow the wrangler and they did just that. They emptied on to the stage and proceeded to follow him all the way across the lip of the stage. The wrangler was quite startled as he turned around to see the 8 Santa's that they had followed him instead of stopping in the box taped out for them. Pretty funny. He corraled them back across the stage and into their proper holding pen. I was delighted to see that Lindsey and the rest of the aliens were positioned stage right, directly in front of me. From ther I was able to take plenty on pictures of her and she jumped about and did her best "sultry alien dance". I was so excited for her. Although I think the group around me thought I was a bit of a pervert for snapping so many pix of the girating ladies. And because this was the closest I'd ever been to the band, I took a TON of pictures. Unfortunately, the rather dark lighting only produced about 30 keepers.The ceiling had a number of low hanging steel girters and this kept Wayne from coming out in the "space bubble". Instead, he entered wearing the gigantic foam hands and then walked around the stage cocooning each band member along the way. Throughout the evening he complimented the crowd and expressed the fun he was having. To be honest, the crowd was kind of mellow but that didn't stop them from being attentive. I don't recall them being very chatty, but then again I was right in front of the speaker cabinets and that may have flavored my auditory perceptions.Speaking of audio perception, as the band tore into the opening Race For The Prize, I noticed a siren in the mix that I hadn't noticed before. Turns out that the massive amount of smoke that Wayne was produciong from the fog machine had activated the fire alarm in the venue and it would go off at least two more times during the course of the evening. Always sharp as a tack, Wayne attributed the alarm to all those in the back of the house who were smoking the free Camel cigaretts that were being given away by the promoters. Quite amusing.The set list for the evening was very well played despite being the standard collection that has followed them across the country. Mountainside had a nice introduction from Wayne in which he pointed out the age of one of the dancing aliens(She was 3 years old) and incorrectly stated that he was only 17 when he wrote it back in 1989(he would have been 27). In the encore slot, we got She Don't Use Jelly. Not unheard of, but pretty unique.As Joe and I waited for Lindsey to come out from the backstage area, we were shuffled around by many security guards telling us where to stand. Finally, a guy named Jeff(who we later learned was the production manager) asked us to wait outside the gate and that she would be out shorty after he meeting with Wayne. We did so and it wasn't too long before she appeared with a shit-eating grin from ear to ear. She explained that she was fortunate enough to have a nice long chat with Wayne in which she discussed my fight with melanoma and the loss of her father from cancer. I don't know if it was discussed, but it's pretty common knowledge that both of Wayne's parents succomed to the disease. To my delight, she produced and hand signed poster for the evening on which Wayne had written an inspiring personal message. I was giddy. She then informed us that Wayne had agreed to meet with us in just a few minutes. Not long after we arrived at the back entrance, Jeff motioned for us to come back inside the venue and that Wayne would be out shortly. As promised, he came out greeting us with a smile, shook my hand, and gave me a hug. He looked weary from the heat, but took the time to speak to us individualy and allowed us to snap a few pictures. He was so sweet and gracious. I told him that during my struggle I had gained a great deal of hope from the band's music, to which he replied, "That's waht's it's all about." We followed him to the back exit where we said our goodbyes as he stuck around to say hello to a small group that remained. Wayne didn't have to take time out of his evening to make our concert experience even more enjoyable than it already was. But he did. I can't think of another band with their popularity that would do such a thing. As we walked back to the car I couldn't believe our dunb luck. When the three of us travel together, there seems to be an "X Factor" in play. Little did we know what was in store for us in Austin.

Austin(aka Hollywood, TX)
We arrived about 4 hours early to La Zona Rosa which put us back about sixty people back in line. I was happy about our position but concerned that only one line had formed with both "real" and Camel ticket holders mixed together. Everyone turned out to be pretty cool, except when they broke up the lines to distinguish which ticket you hand in your possession. Moving over to the "real" ticket line, we stood for about 45 minutes and it actually put us closer to the front. And to our surprise, Gretchen & Eddie were just picking up their tickets at Will Call as we arrived, insuring we would be together for the show. Just as the line began to move, some Austin jerk-off shoved his way in front of us with the excuse, "I let you guys get in front of me earlier." WTF? Eddie and I weren't about to swallow his shit, so we pushed he and his buddy back and made it in to the venue without a problem. We had no problem getting dead center, one person off the rail(about 10 ft. back). We took turns making ourselves "large" in order to save space for those in our group who needed to take a piss, buy merchandise, or get drinks. It wasn't long before the crowd filled in behind us when some drunk 20 year old girl pushed her way up to us and informed us she was gonna tell us how it would be. WTF? The second thing out of her mouth was, "How many concerts have you been to?", like she trumped us in some way. WTF? As Eddie & I brushed her aside, Joe took the time to calm the situation down and ended up flirting with her. Turns out she was only there to see the Birds Of Avalon and took off as soon as they left the stage. About 15 minutes before the opening band, another asshole pushed his way up to us and tried to stand in the spot we had been saving for Gretchen while she went to buy t-shirts. To our amazement the first question out of his mouth was, "How many concerts have you been to?" Uuuggghhh. Again, we pushed him aside and made sure he was as uncomfortable as we could. What is it about Austin residents that makes them think they can show up at 7:45 for an 8:00 show and get a front row position? Assholes aside, the evening was about to blossom into one of the most intensly personal concert experiences I've ever had. Not lang before the list came on, Santa came out and distributed our laser pointers. Oh, shit! The excitement began to build. Did I mention that the stage was teeny-tiny? Well it was. I thought San Antonio was small! We were shocked that they could actually get Santa's/Aliens on stage. They did, but there couldn't have been more than five on each side. They had the small video screen set up and we could only see about two thirds of it. It was right against Kliphs back. As Wayne walked on stage, the crowd went fucking berzerk. Both the crowd and sound were extemely loud all night. The energy was not wasted on the band. They came out firing on all pistons and I've never seen them be as intense and commited to what they we doing than I did that evening. Steven and Wayne kept making eyes at each other and were clearly having a ball. Both Steven and Wayne acknoledged Lindsey & I during the course of the show, with Wayne singing to us on more than a handful of occasions. But the moment that swept us off our feet was a personalized command performance of Taps>Superman directly to us. It was heavy. VERY heavy. In more than 20 years of seeing concerts have I ever experienced such a heart wrenching moment. Knowing about my fight with cancer, Wayne sent every ounce of love and healing energy in our direction, moving me to tears. I know words can't do it justice, but I felt a love of forgivenance rain down on me filling my soul with more joy than I've ever experienced. I think I began to glow and it's possible my body was lifted off the ground. My god, it was beautiful. The Moonlight Mile that closed out the evening was phenominal. Wayne was so focused on the task at had, he sang the lines "Let the airwaves flow. LET THOSE FUCKING AIRWAVES FLOW!" through clenched teeth. It was a big fat slice of Heaven. That's all. I've seen some fantastic Lips performances before, but this one had our names on it and I'm not sure that could ever be topped. But I hope someday it will. Thank you, Wayne. Thank you.

notable momets:
-As the smoke cleared following the chaos that was Mountainside, Wayne said he had fallen down several times and even forgot where he was. In his best deadpan voice Steven replied, "Yes Wayne, I forgot where you was."
-Steven's father was in attendance.
-As we walking into the venue, Jeff(production manager) recognized us from San Antonio and said, "You're back again!" Shook his had then and after the performance and thanked him for being so cool to us. Very nice guy.
-All of us bought at least one piece of merchandise. I got a powder blue t-shirt with a Wayne drawn cartoon of the band.
-Beacause of it's size, there was no space bubble entrance. Wayne did the whole cocooning bit again.
-The lasers during Vein Of Stars were fucking intense(as the pictures will reveal). At one point, there were so many lasers on Wayne he looked as if he was constructed of red lasers. He also held up the mirror like he did at Bonnaroo.
-Got a set list after the show(Steven's)
-Much horseplay between the band during their stage set up. Steven talking through his microphone to Kliph who was on his cell phone. "We're taking through the cell phone"
-Steven putting his hands together and bowing in our direction while mouthing, "Thank you".
-When ABBA's Dancing Queen came on as the pre-show music, the whole crowd began to sing along with it. This was truly the ice-breaker of the evening and put the band in an even better mood than they already were. Wayne mentioned it following Race For The Pize.

That Lucky Old Sun

Brian Wilson's newest musical endeavor premiered last week in London and, once again, exceeded all expectations. That Lucky Old Sun is a slice of Americana daydream pie. Surprisingly upbeat, the seamless piece slows down only for a handful of sprinkled narrative voice overs and for two slower numbers toward the end. The music contained inside its ivy walls recalls several classic Beach Boy songs including Do It Again and Marcella. All I have is an audience bootleg recording, so while the lyrics aren't always clear they frequently speak of Southern California and are stacked together with layer upon layer of trademark Wilson harmonies. Masterfully performed by his backing band and the Stockholm Strings, this splendid collection will effortlessly stand side by side with 2002's SMiLE. A real tribute to Brian's genius and a moment of body tingling joy for his generations of fans everywhere. Let's hope the studio recording isn't too far behind.

http://www.brianwilson.com/

Ween @ Warehouse Live! 8-8-07

They're a little late...but tell the story quite well.















(in attendance): Lindsey, Kirk & Shelley, Jenni Rotten

noteworthy moments:
-1 person off the rail directly in front of Deaner
-Gener "I went to your mall today. It was big."
-a thong was thrown on stage. Gener wrapped it around his mike stand. After a few songs it was passed back and placed on a drum mike stand where it stayed for the remainder of the evening.
-bass drum was broken which caused "Big Jilm" to be played w/o it while being repaired.
-keyboard malfunction caused "The Mollusk" to be played w/o its signature line.
-bought two leather key chains w/ Ween logo for Lindsey & I
-two guys video taping. I hope to get a copy.
-15 min. "Poopshoot" final encore w/ Gener blasting the bullhorn