Hee Haw that's a good song!

Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley is quickly joining the ranks among my favorite artists.

I will not take this show for granted

Generally there is a big difference between meeting a celebrity and meeting your next door neighbor. Somehow the experience we had last night was a little of both.

Kristi and I used our aforementioned tickets and went to see Glen Phillips in concert. I say concert, but that implies a big production with stage hands, fireworks, drum solos, guitar anthems and the like. This was more of a one man show.

For starters, let me give you my impression of what I was expecting last night. Even the most low key shows I have seen over the years are held in places full of smoke, where rude people crowded around a stage, spilling beer on you and shoving to get in front. My being tall never works out quite like I would hope in situations like this because there is always someone behind me that can't see over my head and insists on giving me shit for it. Even when the music is great, it's often an unpleasant experience. I still think that the reason that I enjoyed the Stone Temple Pilots show in Memphis several years ago (a show I quickly came to regard as my favorite concert performance ever) was that I was back far enough to just enjoy the music, and even thrash around in the mud a bit without worrying about pissing anybody off. But that's another story. Suffice it to say that most live shows I have seen have actually been something of an ordeal, and that without the love of a couple of beers to mellow me out, I wouldn't have enjoyed them at all. I get so frustrated with the situation, that I don't enjoy the tunes at all. Even big arena shows are frustrating because I inevitably wind up feeling guilty the whole show that I spent so much on tickets to stand 600 yards away from the performance.

Occasionally, things will work out for the best. The crowd will be a good one and won't give you too much grief; The beer buzz will hit at just the right moment and you will be in the groove so to speak. Or, the spot you are standing will actually wind up being a good one.

I don't typically expect these things to fall into place with a live show though. I will grudgingly buy my tickets with a sense of dread.

Last night's doom and gloom vanished the moment we walked into the joint.

Crosstown station is just south of downtown KC, across the highway from the Sprint Center and across the street from the KC Star building. Inside, the stage is high, the dance floor is low, the tables and chairs are above them, and there is a clear view to see the artist from almost everywhere in the room. The room was also virtually free from cigarette smoke, as the ceiling was high enough that it just seemed to vanish out of existence. Kristi and I walked in and found a table right in front of the stage.

With all the worries about the venue gone, we were left to take in the show. Jonathan Kingham, who opened the show, was a pleasure. He and his guitar and nothing else provided us with a great opening act of jazzy riffs and mellow lyrics. I immediately added another cover to my list when he apologetically announced that he was about to perform a Bobby Brown song. "Every Little Step" never sounded so smooth or fun as Jonathan's take on it.

Glen and Jonathan are clearly old friends, as Glen backed Jonathan up on his last tune. No formalities, just two guys and two guitars. We could have been in someone's living room listening to them perform some songs for guests.

Glen already being on stage made for a pretty smooth transition to Glen's portion of the show. With the intimate setting working for him, he was able to completely screw up the first song he performed, and it just felt endearing. The crowd immediately forgave him as he launched into a fantastic set of new and old tunes. Every artist has to sell his new shit, but the mix was definitely evenly spread between his fresh work and his archival wonderment. A live CD I have of Glen led me to believe that we would be lucky to hear more than two or three of the Toad the Wet Sprocket classics that I have grown to love so much over the years. For whatever reason though, last night, Glen was anything but stingy. He play a nice selection of seven or eight songs from the Toad catalog. I was particularly excited to hear "Crowing", a favorite off of "Dulcinea" and "Walk on the Ocean", the first Toad song I ever heard. Jonathan payed Glen back several times throughout the show by playing back up for him. They made a great team. It was a fantastic show, and far more than would have ever hoped for.

Since the venue was so uncrowded and laid back, we decided to hang out for an hour or so after the show to see if we could meet both of the artists. Sure enough, both Glen and Jonathan stepped out from behind the curtain, and joined the people milling around and we got an opportunity to meet both. Kristi actually handed Glen a copy of this blog's address, so, for all I know, he is reading this stuff right now.

If that is the case, Glen, we are entirely glad to have had the opportunity to see you. It had honestly been a long time coming, and well worth the wait. Your showmanship did not go unnoticed, and we will keep an eye out for future tours coming through the area.

For the rest of you, Glen and Jonathan both put on a dandy program, and it was easily one of the most pleasurable live performances I have seen. I highly recommend patronizing either of these fantastic artists when the come to your neck of the woods.

Thanks!

The Great Album Hall of Fame Returns - "Return of the Grievous Angel - A Tribute to Gram Parsons"

It's been quite a while since I added an album to my all time favorites list. In fact, I looked back, and really I only have about 6 or seven altogether, and most of them are Led Zeppelin.

Well, this one is quite a change of pace boys and girls. This one goes down on the country side of life. Twang and all.

If you are anything like I was before I picked up this gem, you probably have no earthly idea who Gram Parsons was or what influence he had on the music industry. If you are lucky, you may recognize a title or two on this album, but that's about it.

So, for the sake of bringing my readers up to speed, Gram Parsons was a drug influenced good old boy with a penchant for the glam and a serious love for the honky tonk. Listening to his original records reveals a writer not afraid of his redneck roots, and not afraid to go over the top with melodramatic lyrics and a slide guitar. In fact, on a first brush with his most famous album "GP/Return of the Grievious Angel" you would probably pronounce it dead on impact with it's dated sound quality and purely seventies country twang. But just below the surface, is a rich drama of lyrics and melodies that ring true to devoted fans still today.

In the end, I think you just have to know Gram Parsons. Or at least his character. Gram's recordings stem from three primary band titles. The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, and the Byrds. Now, if that last one throws you off at all, the answer to your question is, yes, we are talking about the Byrds of "Turn Turn Turn," and "Tamborine Man". After that bands hippie roots faded a bit, Gram joined the band. He had serious ideas about where that band should go, which was down on the other side of the railroad tracks, to the saloon with the electric bronco. The result was "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" one of the pioneer albums of the country rock genre which is today called Alternative Country. Gram's vocals didn't even make it onto that recording due to some legal troubles, and he wasn't with the band much after that, but the damage was done. Country Rock had hit the scene.

The genre has produced a number of great artists over the years since then peeking about a decade ago when bands like Son Volt, Wilco, Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch. These greats and many other big names in the music industry lended their hearts and souls to this time tested tribute album. The Track listing below says it all when it comes to this star studded group.

Name dropping isn't where this record starts and ends though. Every track takes a Gram Parsons original recording and breathes fresh life into it with updated takes on the originals. My personal favorites are "Oooh Las Vegas" by the Cowboy Junkies, "$1,000 Wedding" mournfully sung by Evan Dando and Julianna Hatfield and "A Song for You" by Whiskeytown. There really isn't a dud track on the whole record.

If watching some of these artists dip into their backwoods yeehah roots can be equated with slumming it, I'd personally love it if they'd slum it more often. The melodies are rich enough to last for decades more.

1. She (Pretenders & Emmylou Harris)
2. Ooh Las Vegas (Cowboy Junkies)
3. Sin City (Beck & Emmylou Harris)
4. $1,000 Wedding (Evan Dando & Julianna Hatfield)
5. Hot Burrito #1 (The Mavericks)
6. High Fashion Queen (Chris Hillman & Steve Earle)
7. Juanita (Sheryl Crow & Emmylou Harris)
8. Sleepless Nights (Elvis Costello)
9. Return Of The Grievous Angel (Lucinda Williams & David Crosby)
10. One Hundred Years From Now (Wilco)
11. A Song For You (Whiskeytown)
12. Hickory Wind (Gillian Welch)
13. In My Hour Of Darkness (The Rolling Creekdippers)

Tickets? I love tickets! and... missing you guys!

Well, it's true.

Kristi and I are starting to add tickets to our list of things to do in KC. So far, we have been to a baseball game and a production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. We have two concerts planned at the moment, Glen Phillips (formerly of one of my favorite bands, Toad the Wet Sprocket,) and They Might Be Giants. I'm excited about both shows.

In addition to those shows, we will likely pick up REM tix when they go on sale as well as Tom Petty, who is scheduled to play here in August. It's a bit a shame that we went to see the Police last year, as they are playing here with Elvis Costello in a few months. I would like to see and Elvis show without the police frankly.

I think I mentioned our favorite radio station in town, KTBG the Bridge. I want to mention them again. Kristi and I were realizing that neither of us have ever had a radio station that so consistently played music we both loved. Even back in the 80's when I was first falling in love with music, the stations played 50% shit along with the good stuff. The Bridge streams their music online, so if you ever want to check it out if you would like.

I bring the station up to congratulate them. They reached a very tough goal that they needed to reach in order to keep their programing. They are a part time NPR station and therefore listener supported. Part of the reason their programing is so good and refreshing, is that the tunes aren't picked by bots or Clearchannel but by real people who genuinely like music. If you have listened to them in the last couple of weeks, you know they were up against a near impossible fundraising goal. I guess Kristi and I aren't their only fans because they met their goal on Friday.

It feels more and more like we live here. Kristi and I are starting to find our favorite local haunts. We are starting to get settled with a few friends. I'm figuring out my way around town.

In the meantime, there are several things I am starting to miss about Arkansas. In particular the people. I miss my heart to hearts with Darla at the office. I miss going to movies with Sarah. I miss listening to Paul's impressions of Bill. I miss the DND group, in particular watching Brant get excited when he smashes something big. I miss hugs from Kasey and chatting Tony up about tunes he has more than likely pirated. I miss running into Tom in the halls and hearing about the movie he and his wife saw or the album he is grooving on. I miss lunches with Mike. I miss randomly running into Wayne in the halls. I miss arguing with Sterling about how great Battlestar Galactica is. I miss Paul's long diatribes about how busy he is.

I miss taking the long way out of Fayetteville just to drive down Dickson Street. I miss the constant barrage of new construction projects that is happening in random spots in NW Arkansas. I miss the garage sales and estate sales that always seemed to happen on my way home in Bella Vista. I miss our fenced yard. I miss our large deck. I miss KUAF, and I miss Cardinals Baseball on the radio.

Things are good here, but it's hard not getting homesick every now and again. I guess that's why I have been blogging so much lately. It's my way of reaching back and staying in touch with everyone I care about. I haven't given anyone here in KC (aside from Michelle) my blog address yet. I kind of like the anonymity.

One thing's for sure, I'm ready for spring. It snowed here this weekend.

Instant Karma

Kristi and I bought tickets for our first home Royals game last week. We wanted to go to the home opener, but this year, the tickets were only available if you purchased a season ticket package. We really just didn't have the cash, and really appreciate the jab to the ribs from da' man. So, we settled for tickets to the game after the home opener, last night.

The home opener day came, and all day I was wishing ill weather for the Royals home opener. I was praying that rain would force them to postpone the game, and that my tickets for the following day would become the REAL home opener.

It rained like crazy all that morning, but let up in time for them to play free and clear from the down pour. So much for my prayers. But that wasn't the end of the story.

We went to our game last night. It was the second game on the Royals home-stand, (just as it was supposed to be.) At the top of the second, I was just finishing my hot dog and beer, and my wife and I were enjoying our well chosen seats when in the middle of a play, I hear Kristi say "It's raining." My friends, it was. At first it was a little, then it was a lot. And we sat there and took it. In fact, as fans go, I would declare us as dedicated as the best of them. We finally surrendered when we were soaked to the bone in the bottom of the seventh and the temperature dropped and the wind picked up.

Royals won 4-0. Tommorrow they try to finish sweeping the yankees.

Covering the Bases

I was driving to the local convenience store from the office this afternoon and listening to my favorite KC radio station, 90.9 The Bridge. They announced the next song was a cover song of one of the greats and I was immediately skeptical. Then I heard who it was by and surrendered my prejudices, and gave it a fair shot.

Mike Gordon (formerly of phish) and Leo Kottke (stellar guitarist) covered "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith. It was delightful. In fact, I think I immediately decided I liked it better than the original.

Hearing this remarkable remake of a classic, made me think of the rules that I have always had in my head for what constitutes a good cover song. I have very strict rules here because so many cover songs fall so short of the mark. Here they are in no particular order:

• A good cover should never make you wish you were hearing the original instead. If it does, it fails right out of the gate.
• Choose the song wisely. Only cover a song that you can really make your own to the point where the original doesn't outshine you. That basically means that if you want to cover ""Let it Be" by the Beatles, you had better have your shit together. Whereas, covering "Why Don't we do it in the Road" probably won't open you up to much criticism. People don't hold as much dear with that song, so they won't be immediately offended that you are on some other artists turf.
• Make the song your own. Do you have a signature sound? Songs you cover should reflect "your take" on the original.
• Don't copy cat. Aerosmith's "Come Together" barely passes muster because it is such a close following of the original. There is very little new there. The only reason it gets by is that it is actually fun to hear that song rocked out.

So, there are the rules. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite covers. What are yours? What cover make your least fav list?

Cranberries - Iron Man
Cat Power - New York, New York
Patricia Barber - Black Magic Woman
CSNY - Woodstock (originally Joni Mitchell, and very different)
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
Joe Cocker - With a Little Help From my Friends
Sheryl Crow - Mississippi
Joan Osbourne - To Make You Feel My Love
Jewel - Sunshine Superman
REM - Love is All Around

Worst: Heroes - Jacob Dylan.

Internal dialogue

few blogs I have posted have gotten the attention as the post I did last week.

Ok, I know that technically I only have proof that two people even looked at it. But it was still cool to get the self diagnostic existential discussion rolling. Part of the reason I wanted to start a blog in the first place was to find a better voice with writing. The kind of dialog that that post got going really gets me to thinking back to that original purpose.

As a few of you know, I started hosting my own DND game recently. Last night was the second night of pushing these nearly strangers through my crazy story line. I think what I'm finding interesting is how easy it is to really perpetuate a unique story line and keep it exciting. I simply envisioned a tone and a pace, and tried to find a few things to throw at their characters that seemed to fit well.

I've been trying to get something going that has the same tone and pace of an Indiana Jones movie. I think so far I've been very successful. The group seems incredibly engaged, and committed to getting to the bottom of my devious plots.

I keep wondering, if it is really that easy to set a tone and pace with a live group of people, how hard would it really be to write that way. I started a blog with that group, and have written a character into the storyline that could potentially be my guide for writing through the story line.

So, as things go along, check over there to get a hint of the story through the eyes of Recdar. It should be interesting.

My House brought to you by googlemaps

If you dig up my address (2217 W 73rd Terrace, Prairie Village) on google maps, you can drive up and down the street in the street view mode and see my yard and driveway.

Cool huh?

Crazy dreams

Two nights ago, I dreamed that I went drinking with someone from my Catholic grade school reunion. It was Renee Hodson (yes you, Renee!) Renee is a real person I went to grade school with. But in my dream, she was a midget and was racist.

I thought that dream was freaky until the dream I had this morning.

I was accused of murdering someone and sentenced to die by guillotine. I was struggling to get away and had to say my last goodbyes to my sister, parents, wife, dogs and everyone else. I woke up just as i was about to get my head shoved into the hole of death. It was very real, and very frightening.