Small Talk with Lyle Lovett

I had a 3-hour layover at Houston International Airport on the way back from Nosara.

While walking to my connection, I noticed a distinctive person standing next to a guitar case, scrolling through emails on a blackberry.

I said, “Love your work, especially Joshua Judges Ruth”

Lyle looked up and said, “Thanks Man, really appreciate it.”

Damn.  That voice is just as smooth as on the CDs.

Gavin Harrison Drum Clinic

Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree held a Drum Clinic at Jim’s Music.  Anyone who has held a pair of sticks and tried to get serious about it has probably seen his YouTube videos.  Hey, I’m gonna fire up some GH videos now as I write this.

I arrived in time to snag a front-row direct-in-front seat.  Great seat for the full effect of the drumming but not so good for a picture.

Gavin requested that only pics during the first two songs and no video at all.

The first song was Porcupine Tree’s Sound of Muzak.  Wow.  Later he played my favorite, 19 Days.  Love the work on the bells at 2:15.

Bad pic of the Bells

His talks were heavy in technical rhythm discussions, far beyond my understanding.  At one point Gavin said, “It’s really simple”.  Yeah, right.

Karla Bonoff at the Coach House

My sister told me about Karla in the late ’70s.  This was when Linda Ronstadt was on heavy FM rotation, and that Karla wrote a number of Linda’s songs.  I have always had a special place in my listening heart for singer/songwriters and for the princely sum of $20 how can you go wrong?

The usual Coach House – poor selection of beers and liquors, all served in plastic cups.

Great concert.  The pleasant surprise of seeing a singer/songwriter for the first time is to hear all the other songs they have written or performed. She finished with Someone to Lay Down Beside Me.

Luau & Longboard 2013

I didn’t make the Cymer team cut but was lucky enough to score a luau ticket.  Thanks Matt!

The previous Thursday evening, Bob invited everyone to La Jolla Shores for an evening surf session followed by nosh/beers at his parent’s place on the water.

Bob, me, Oscar, Jeff, Dan and Graham at La Jolla Shores

Waves were scarce but the water was warm.  Bob got a hard time from most due to showing up with a sponge board but then Bob proceeded to surf better than the rest of us.  After a rinse and put away the gear, we had pizzas (thanks Bob!), beers, chips, and salsa while watching another beautiful SoCal sunset.

Post surf session nosh/beers at Bob's parents place in La Jolla Shores

I arrived late Sunday morning for the luau due to a work crisis and missed the morning paddle out.  And was elsewhere when Cymer team pictures were taken.  Oh well.  Wave conditions were not the best but the team did well enough to make the finals for the third year in a row.

The lunch and auction were entertaining.  Cymer’s donated board, with wood inlay, went for $4,500.  The Daisy boards, built by Walden and Merritt, were introduced with an explanation that had many people in tears.  Those boards went for $11k.

Funny moments with Fernando Aguerre of Reef Sandals fame took the mic from the professional auctioneer and spurred on the bidding.  Several times.  Fernando is quite the character.

Fernando and 'Da Bull' working the crowd.

Syracuse Trip July 2013

A long flight through Dulles gets me to Syracuse on Wednesday, July 10.  Red-eyes flights are getting painful.  Thanks Tina for the airport pickup!

Apparently, New York had cold rainy weather until I showed up.  Well, maybe I should dial it back somewhat as temperatures were in the high 90’s for several days.  Note to self:  bring better weather next time.  Tracy and Scott arrived and Bill fired up the grill.  Another note to self:  no need for a magnum and a regular bottle of wine for 4 people.  Great dinner and conversation: worth the trip already.

Off the arrowhead for 9 holes golf the next morning.  Scott can really crush the ball.  AND it goes straight most of the time.  The rest of us mere mortals tried to keep up.

The evening was spent in the Syracuse armory area.  Still warm, we walked around then got a table at the Dinosaur.  We ordered WAY TOO much food but managed to work our way through it.  Regrets later.  We ended up at Awful Al’s for an after-dinner drink.  Glad that’s no longer a cigar bar.  We played Penganga a few times then a bachelorette party came in.  They got Scott to give the bride a piggyback ride thru the bar.

Saturday, 7/13, up and hit the road to Toronto.  Scott and Tracy could leave whenever.  In Toronto, we used old school printed directions to get to the Strathcona hotel.  We were lost; I got out of the car to look around then Bill noticed the hotel up the street.  Hot temp (still!) in Toronto.  We walked about to understand travel options to the Molson Amphitheatre.  Too far to walk.  We found a metro solution.  That being settled, we stopped in the Loose Moose for sliders and Pepsi’s.  Needed light food and a sugary drink.  Back to the hotel freshen up and head out to the venue early.  The venue was not opened when we got there.  We noticed a short line for American Express Priority members.  I asked one of the women working there what were the criteria:  just show an AE card.  Easy.  Score!  Much shorter line.  The person in front of us also said there is an AE members-only pavilion with upgraded food and drink.  Once inside, we were disappointed in the food/drink selections until Bill remembered the AE member’s only area.  Another Score!  The Bombay and Tonics were pricy but the sushi/Kobe beef frank were reasonable.  I knew the tickets were in the front section probably off to the side.  Imagine our surprise when we were shown to SECOND ROW DEAD CENTER.  Another score! 

The Waterboys took the stage on time.  

View from second-row dead center

Mike Scott and the band were excellent.  Mike had wild clothes and a hat (more later on this).

Yeah, we don't mind you blocking our view.  Security took care of her.

  We tried to get drinks at intermission at the AE member’s only area but not enough time.  The women next to Bill knew about Carbon Leaf and followed them.  The teenage girls next to me have seen GBS and were on a Newfoundland flight with the band.  GBS took the stage and delivered.  

View from the really great seats.

What a great show.  What can I say?  The pic of Bill, Tracy, and me was shown during Good People song.  I snagged the setlist.

We had difficulty finding the shuttle entry point after the concert.  And once found, walkers were passing us due to a DUI checkpoint far ahead.

7/14 another hot Toronto day.  We walked to the waterfront and found a a dog-friendly place for breakfast.  A considerable number of beautiful women walking around.  We checked out of the hotel and continued our walking tour of Toronto inland to the University and Yonge street.  I became dehydrated/needing an iced coffee then needed food.  The head cold was also taking its toll.  We were a bit disappointed with this part of the walking tour.  Eventually, we found a grocery store/food counter in an air-conditioned area.  Life got better then.  Mike Scott walked by while we were continuing on back to the parked car.  It was 1:15 in the afternoon and Mike was still wearing the same wild clothes he wore on stage.  Just getting back to your hotel Mike?  We decided to get to the car and travel home.  I made an executive decision to skip The Big Drip (AKA Niagara Falls) due to fatigue.  The border crossed seemed longer than the 25 minutes.

7/15 still not feeling well, I postponed the Donle Dinner to later. 

7/16 we met Gordon and Wendy at Brewster Inn for dinner.  Their place did not have A/C and it was still hot.  Great dinner and conversation.  Tentative plans are for the Stephens to come to my place in September.  We went to their place to see the $2M new porch/veranda attached to a 200K home.

7/17 travel to Clayton after Bill got home from work.  I had prepared sandwiches for the road.  We checked in then I walked to the venue to see if I can get tickets early.  Nope.  I did get in and talked with the venue manager.  Back to the hotel to beers and the food spread.  Did not get to the sandwiches – wasted.  I quickly went to get the tickets when I noticed the upcoming rain.  I distributed the tickets and Bill and I got to the venue just before the rain.  Seats were again SECOND ROW DEAD CENTER.  Score!  

Bill had a typical NY woman next to him spilling over into his seat.  Another great GBS show with 2 sets.

We went to the closest Clayton bar for drinks after the show.  Later, Bill and I walked to bar #2 and left after hearing a terrible band playing there.  We walked back to the hotel past bar #3, where we found out later that GBS, Chantal, Steve, Cathy, and Vance were there.  Thanks for the texts people! 

7/18 back to Syracuse.  Regroup and off to Rochester.  Still hot.  We found trendy Park Avenue which was the spot when I lived in Rochester 1987-1989.  Still trendy but I remembered it being more commercial.  We drove to the venue's recommended packing garage and walked over to what looked like a library.  Nope, a business.  Next, we found the Rochester Dinosaur place for a pint and A/C.  Ahhh.

I was expecting a bigger outdoor venue rather than the parking lot.  Still very hot.  The “VIP” seating area was at the other end of the asphalt area away from the stage.  Huh???  Bill and I split a sandwich just as Carbon Leaf took the stage.

Carbon Leaf in 90+F heat.

The band was immediately soaked in sweat.  I remember Terry Scott as the lead guitarist but he was more the backup.  What’s up w/ that?  GBS took the stage and played 1 set and again were awesome. 

7/19 we had a pint at Coleman’s due to not having anything else to do.  Thinking that hot rods would be at Liverpool, we started driving there and noticed tents for the Irish festival.  3 old guys were playing Mary Mac when we walked up.  Not the same as hearing GBS.  Later we walked through the gambling tent.

Soooo confusing after a few beers.

A man was taking his teen daughter thru the tent to all the betting tables.  Is this really the father/daughter moment you want to be remembered?  A younger band took the ‘stage’ and played. 

Must have Drum and Bagpipes if in Syracuse.

Later, the Irish dancing girl’s school took the stage.  Cuteness overload.  Usually when the littlest dancer if featured it’s really so that everyone (especially parents) can say ‘what a cute kid’.  Only this time the littlest dancer brought talent. They were all talented. 

7/20 Bill and I traveled to Utica to the Andy Warhol exhibit at Munson-Williams Art Institute.

Jackson Pollock

7/21 Tina called asking if we wanted to stop over earlier than planned so we could visit with Laura before she went to work.  Of course!  The Donle kids are growing up.  Laura is excitedly looking forward to college and Adam built a gaming PC from scratch.  Tina now has an overactive dog.  Tina had to make a pizza appetizer at her home (why???), and then dinner plans shifted to going to Smokey Bones so we can watch Laura at work (Hostess Perfecto) and benefit from the employee discount.   I made the wise decision to order the empty plate and sponged off of Tina and Bill’s order.

7/22 wrapped up the trip with yet another walk in the park.  We noticed Park Maintenance personnel blocking the road and putting in poles in anticipation of a chain link fence.  Yes, in the middle of summer, the park bike path will be torn up and replaced effectively shutting down the park.  At least they waited until I was leaving.

The Syracuse to Newark flight was late taking off.  Not an issue since I had a 3-hour layover.  However, that last flight was 2 hours late from leaving the terminal and we sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes.  Nothing could be done about it; there were a LaGuardia incident and bad weather in our path.  Arrival was 11:20.  Thanks Jon for the pickup.  We need to work out a better system so late arrivals default is getting a shuttle and not burdening the pickup driver.

The Boxer Rebellion @ The Belly Up

The Boxer Rebellion held a drawing for tickets to their short set at the Belly Up, and I won!  The Sunset Sessions are the evening entertainment from a music industry 3 day event(?) held at La Costa resort.  It’s invite only at the La Costa (my invite must have been lost in the mail???), but the free tix worked out well.

A total of 7 bands were to take the stage Saturday night.  Boxer Rebellion were to be first so anything afterwards was a bonus.  I perused the other bands on YouTube and their websites to get familiar.

Typical Belly Up.  "No, the first act (preceding Boxer Rebellion) was industry only" (read: not me) but I could come back at 8:45 for Boxer Rebellion.  Hmmm.  My ticket said doors open at 7:45 for 8pm show.  So at 7:45 I walked to Belly up.  I met Mike, the lead singer/guitarist for Acidic (another band playing).  He was surprised I knew who he was (the research paid off).  At 7:52 I walked in to get within 4 feet of the stage and Boxer Rebellion started at 8pm.

The Boxer Rebellion

Any band with only 40 minutes of stage time brings high energy.  And Boxer Rebellion brought it.  Tight vocals, wall of sound, and soaring vocals.  Wow, what a show.

This write-up needs to pause while I fire up Pandora on the Boxer Rebellion station.  Yes, I recall that guitar work.

Boxer Rebellion set list

Follow-up band was at thrash hard-core band from Queens, NY.  No mistaking they were from Queens as the lead singer screamed it m-a-n-y times.  That doesn’t go over well in SoCal buddy.

Eve to Adam

Acidic came on.  Michael warmed up the crowd pre-band entrance by walking thru the crowd encouraging everyone to move forward.  He knows how to work the crowd.  Good show, reminded me of Green Day.  I got high-fived by Michael – check another off the bucket list (getting high-fived by a lead singer at a concert).  Actually he singled me out.  My claim to fame for the evening.

Michael from Acidic

The next act, Dig the Kid, is from the Bay Area.  Certain pockets of the crowd were over the top for them – they were related to the band members and had come to SoCal just for the show.  I joined in with the Fam to go overboard for Dig the Kid.

Dig the Kid - great guitar work

Medeski, Martin and Wood

MMW

MMW played at the Belly Up.  This was my first time seeing this group, having only heard them on Radio Paradise.

Wow! What a concert.  Medeski played the stationary keyboards with his back to the audience.  Not really a problem – obviously done so that he could look at other band mates for cues.  I thought the grand piano would catch fire during the second song.

They played two sets with a longer than usual break.  I moved forward at the break seeking a better view and got it.  Nathan from Philly was trying to coerce everyone into calling out for MMW’s ‘Hey Joe’ cover.  Supposedly very good, according to Nathan.

MMW returned to the stage and tore it up again.

Now the bad part.  We who have situated ourselves close to the stage invariably have self-entitled people try to push themselves into the front.  Two large women tried at first then left after realizing no one was moving to give them room.  There was not room to give!  Eventually they left.  Next, a man reached through the crowd to signal that his friends were at the front.  He pushed in, causing great discomfort to the people he now was standing in front of, and the woman next to me that he was rubbing up.  It was all good to him.

Belly up personnel – where were you?

Iron Chef at Leah's

Leah has an Iron Chef event in her new home.  She recently bought a home in an Oakland area she really wanted to live in:  walk to BART, shopping, and dining.  

Leah and Finley picked me up at OAK.  We dropped the car and Finley off at her new home and walked to a restaurant to meet Damien.  We had a great conversation and dinner.

The home is beautiful and sooo Leah.  The huge kitchen has an opening to the dining area which has an opening to the living room.  Of course, any older home will need some renovation.  First on the list was gutting and putting in a new bathroom.  

Saturday started with a hike at the Sequoia Bayview Trail.

Finley, Damien, and Leah

Beautiful view of the bay and San Francisco, and mighty redwoods.  Later, Leah had to travel for provisioning cupcakes so Damien and I walked around RockRidge.  

Saturday night’s event was the Iron Chef event.  Frankly, I did not know what an Iron Chef event was so I had googled it.  I was to go to Sophia’s place to join my team.  I whined enough claiming I did not know how to get around this area (quite true) so Damien dropped me off.

The Team: Jim, Hannah, Sophia, and Vandana

Sophia was running late and showed up with her dad, John. 

Our cooking mission was to create a main and side dish using asparagus.  While killing time waiting on Sophia we bantered and searched for recipes.  Sophia arrived and some of us took off to provision.  Hannah received a call while we were provisioning and the main dish was changed to a frittata.  We arrived back at Sophia’s and I made a comment that frittata was simple to make.  Presto, I was the alpha chef.

And it was simple to make.  With side and main dishes completed, we cleaned up the kitchen and were the first to arrive at Leah’s.  People and food arrived, and wine and beer were opened.

I started with coffee.

By popular vote, my team’s side and main dish won.  Tough competition from an asparagus soup to pork loin with pureed asparagus.  One team had a song for their dish introduction:  The Age of Asparagus (sung to The Age of Aquarius).

Ellen must have had a bit too much to drink, and asked about my ‘long-term partner’.  Huh?  Leah overheard the conversation and later said I played it well saying to Ellen, ‘I think you have me mixed up with someone else’.  I could have gone Castanza on Ellen.  Right here, right now!

The next morning, Leah, Damien, Finley, and I took off to Santa Cruz starting at Pacifica.  Onshore wind was howling at the beach but did not stop the surfing classes.  One of the surfers said the water temp was about 50F.  Finley made friends with several 4 legged friends, running everywhere on the beach.  We stopped at the Moss Beach Distillery for brunch.  Great view and w-a-y too much food.

View from Moss Beach Distillery parking lot

I needed a nap but that would have to wait for the flight.  

We found parking in Santa Cruz and walked the strip.  Damien finally found a fine wood store that contained impressive pieces.

It was smart to have packed my stuff since we were driving past OAK on the return trip.  It was a great trip to see Leah, her new home, and to meet Damien.

A Lifting Compliment

A friend called last week and said that I am one of the positive relationships in her life.

This compliment has lifted me for over a week now.

Great Big Sea in Anaheim

Great Big Sea started their 20 year anniversary tour at The Grove in Anaheim.  I snagged a ticket in the pre-sale 10 minutes after going on sale.  My chosen-for-me seat seems disappointing, as their seating chart had me on the very in of the 5th row.  Oh well.  I have been to this venue before and remember good seats everywhere.  But the end of the aisle – for pre-sale?

Traveling from Solana Beach to Anaheim was painless and fast.  Seems most LA concert travels choke after Anaheim.  I got to the venue about 7:35 for a scheduled 8pm start.  Time to find my seat, walk the venue, buy an overpriced drink, and check out the merchandise.  Bonus:  the seat was 5th row and 2/3 to the end of the row – not the end.

The lights dimmed, I found my seat and spoke to the person sitting next to me.  Mark had never seen GBS but enjoyed hearing them on Pandora.  Score another one for internet radio – that’s how I heard of GBS.

GBS took the stage and delivered.  After about 3 songs in, Alan said GBS would be playing 2 sets w/ an intermission.  This was due to all the old songs and hits they wanted to play.  This could have been one of the best of the 11 (and counting) GBS concerts I have been to.  They sounded great and as always seen to really enjoy playing on stage.

At intermission, I got in line for a beer behind Scott Grimes.  He acted like he didn’t know me.  Scott, we were at the Alan Doyle show together just last month!

GBS began on time at 8pm and finished the encore at 10:35.  Subtract out the 30-minute intermission and the $40 got 2 hours of great entertainment.

GBS was loudly played on the iPod for the travel back home.

Marshall Crenshaw at the Troubadour

Marshall Crenshaw opened for Dave Alvin at the Troubadour.  Driving north took the usual 3.5 hours on a weekday.  Street parking seemed to have already filled up so I opted for a $10 parking lot across from the venue.  I walked in the Troubadour at 7:40, with a few minutes to spare before the 8pm start. 

I am constantly amazed that for a token ticket cost that I get to see such great acts in small venues.  And Marshall was the opening act!  I stood behind two shorter fans right at center stage.

MC mixed in a number of new songs with the classics.  Playtime was about an hour wrapping up with Some Day – a classic.

I didn’t stick around for Dave Alvin.  Typically the main act starts about 9:30-9:45 and don’t really care for the punk-rockabilly-blues.

Return drive time was the usual 2 hours.

Alan Doyle at The Hotel Café

If you check Alan’s solo tour schedule, you will come to the conclusion that The Hotel Café show is really for a select few LA friends.  His tour stops around the LA stop are in Vancouver and Penticton.  Not quite on the way.

Travel from Solana Beach took 3.25 hours.  Easy and fast travel until the final 30 miles.  Expected.  Thanks to Google map street view I knew what the nearest parking spot looked like.  I’d like to return to the area and explore: the Capitol Records building, Silver Lake, etc. are close.

Finding The Hotel Café was challenging.  The entrance was behind a building (‘walk down the empty alley’), and the venue configuration makes the best of a confusing layout.

I arrived in the middle of the opening act’s show.  Cathy-Anne McClintock said she had a beeper to notify her when Alan has finished a business meeting backstage and then to vacate the stage. 

A woman came in and spoke to a waitress.  The waitress said their seats were available in front and she would escort them to their seats.  The woman said they can wait for intermission.  I spoke to the woman, asking what does it take to get an up-front seat?  She said her husband is working with Alan and that her husband has a bad back and needs to sit.  The opening act stopped, her husband showed up, I exchanged pleasantries and they took their seats.

I talked with a petite woman who was from Pittsburgh.  She had seen GBS a number of times.  She said that while she and her dad don’t see eye-to-eye on many things they have found common ground in GBS music.  Then a tall person stepped in front of us (there was room) to talk to others already in front of us.  At 6 feet I rarely have a bad view but her view was gone.  The tall guy finished his conversation and stepped back behind us, saying he didn’t plan on staying and blocking our view but just had to say hello to the others.  I recognized him as Kevin Durand and we talked some, and I thanked Kevin for his thoughtfulness.  At 6’6”. he probably never has a bad view.  He had been talking with Scott Grimes.

 

I need a better camera

Alan and 2 musicians took the stage.  Their setlist contained mostly Alan’s solo material with some GBS sprinkled in.  Kevin, Scott, and their friends knew all the words and sang along.  At the start of a song, Scott shouted to his girlfriend, ‘we just did this!’  Alan followed that song saying that he and Scott wrote it this afternoon.  Then Scott joined them on stage for 2 songs.  There was the typical Alan banter throughout the show, with references to Alan’s porn mustache.  He was acting in a movie but not that kind of a movie.  Alan also said he had played golf and shot ‘like 130’ with the man with the bad back.  That person’s name is Mike Post and besides playing golf, Mike and Alan were working together.

The show finished, I exchanged pleasantries with Kevin and his wife (another actor) and took off.  About 2.25 hours to get home.