Stevie Wonder - 11.17.15 @ John Paul Jones Arena

Music is memory. In the summer of 1977, I was not quite four years of age, but music was already an important part of my life. There was a neighbor who lived two houses down from me. Her name was Tara Simmons, and in 1977, she was probably a teenager or in her early twenties. In my eyes, she was a cool grown up. One of my clearest memories is listening to the album ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’ with her in my living room. Stevie Wonder was so prolific at this point of his career that even a double album wasn’t enough to house all of the songs he deemed worthy of inclusion, so the set included a four song EP that looked like a 45RPM but ran at 33 1/3. The songs included on this EP were “Saturn”/Ebony Eyes” on Side A, and “All Day Sucker/Easy Goin’ (My Mama’s Call)” on Side B.

I am not sure why she did it, but at some point that summer, Tara gave me that EP. It remains a treasured part of my record collection.

When I heard that Stevie Wonder was mounting a tour called ‘Songs in the Key of Life Performance’ I figured a) The tour will come nowhere close to where I live and b) He probably won’t play all of the songs from the set, but just a large amount, and I seriously doubt ‘Ebony Eyes’ or anything from the EP will be included.

Even if option B ended up being true, as soon as the show at John Paul Jones Arena was announced, I knew I was going.

The show I saw and shared with my friend Meg was as if I had sent Stevie my dream set list and, instead of laughing it off, he said ‘Okay, we can do that!’

‘Songs in the Key of Life' set is a deep, emotional listening experience for me. The first two songs (Love's In Need of Love today and Have a Talk with God) are not high energy by any means, so the crowd was calm. With the one-two punch of "Sir Duke" and "I Wish," the crowd was standing, dancing and basking in the glory of witnessing a genius at work, backed by one of the tightest, funkiest bands in existence.

All 21 songs from "Songs..." were played over the four hour show. Some songs that are lengthy in their recorded versions were stretched out further in concert, to allow for audience participation and, at times, just so the band could ride a groove a bit longer ("Isn't She Lovely").

Every song was fantastic, but for me, the moment they broke into "Saturn" and followed that up with "Ebony Eyes," that's when I knew this was a dream show for fans (like me) who've loved this collection for decades.

Hearing those two songs in concert was worth the price of my ticket alone. I can't really explain the feelings that welled up, and now, days later, I still don't have the words so I won't even try.

If you attended this show and didn’t know ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ apart from the songs that still get radio airplay (‘Sir Duke’/’I Wish’ and occasionally ‘As’) then you might not have had the best time. After the band ended side four of the album with an extended version of ‘Another Star,’ Stevie remained on stage and ran through a medley of his hits. As the clock struck midnight, he played truncated versions of ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’/‘Higher Ground’/’Livin’ For The City’/All I Do/’Master Blaster (Jammin’)’ and closed with two verses and a chorus of ‘Superstition.’

This album has seen me through some tough times throughout my life, so being able to see it performed in its entirety in front of an appreciative audience, I can’t express how much that experience meant. It is something I will never forget.

Like the Brian Wilson show I saw in October, Stevie Wonder in concert is something to behold, and this was a dream show for me.

Special thanks to Meg for sharing this incredible event with me.

Set list (From setlist.fm)

Love's in Need of Love Today

Have a Talk With God

Village Ghetto Land

Contusion

Sir Duke

I Wish

Knocks Me Off My Feet

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

(Background singer solo)

Summertime

(Background singer solo)

Besame Mucho

(Background singer solo)

At Last

(Background singer solo)

I Love The Lord

(Background singer solo)

Ooh Baby Baby

(Background singer solo)

Ribbon in the Sky (Snippet) / Overjoyed (verse)

Pastime Paradise

Summer Soft

Ordinary Pain

Saturn

Ebony Eyes

2nd Set

Isn't She Lovely

Joy Inside My Tears

Black Man

All Day Sucker

Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)

Killer Joe /The Star Spangled Banner

(Harmonica solo)

People Get Ready

Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing

If It's Magic

As

Another Star

Encore:

Do I Do /All I Do/ Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours / Livin’ for the City / Higher Ground / Master Blaster (Jammin')

Superstition

--Barry

Review: Brian Wilson at The National, 10.22.15

Brian Wilson is a man making up for lost time. After decades of shunning the public eye and having no desire to tour, over the past decade or so, he has begun to shatter the myth that he’s a recluse still ‘lying in bed.’

Thursday night, his latest tour made a stop at The National in Richmond and, it was more than just your average concert experience, full of emotional moments, goosebumps and the overwhelming sensation that what I was witnessing was only a dream.

For me, Mike Love and his ego had ruined The Beach Boys, and until recently, I couldn’t listen to their back catalog without thinking about the fact that their lead singer was an asshole. He sealed his fate in 2013 when, after a very successful reunion tour with Brian Wilson, he unceremoniously fired Wilson and Al Jardine from the band and chose to continue to tour under the moniker The Beach Boys.

Thursday night, none of that mattered. Opening with the a cappella ‘Our Prayer’ and ‘Heroes and Villains’ from the ‘Smile’ album, I knew the night would be very, very special.

Wilson’s touring band includes Al Jardine, who looked spectacular in his trademark white suit, and former Beach Boys member Blondie Chaplin, who looked like Keith Richards’ younger brother. Also thankfully, Al’s son Matt Jardine was on hand to handle all of the falsetto vocals, and he was stellar. The classics ‘Surfer Girl’ and ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ were just two of the many classics that were performed with a renewed energy and vigor.

As I sat there, not twenty feet away from the stage, watching Brian perform, laugh and smile, I realized how extremely lucky those of us in attendance were to be at this show, and also that Brian was having fun. Even as little as five years ago, if you had told me that I would have the opportunity to see Brian Wilson, the genius, the recluse, perform live, I would’ve thought it very unlikely. And, would he ever bother coming to Richmond, VA? Not in a million years, I would’ve said.

On another level, this show had me thinking about my father a lot. In 1987, when The Beach Boys (minus Brian) had a #1 hit with the God-awful ‘Kokomo,’ they made a stop at King’s Dominion and, my dad decided on a whim to buy tickets for himself, me and my brother. I don’t remember much about the show, except Al’s trademark white suit, the fact that I thought they looked a little long in the tooth to be singing ‘Be True To Your School,’ and that the concert was the most fun I had ever, or would ever see my dad have away from a baseball diamond. He clapped, danced and sang along like he was a teenager and, even though I was only 13, I knew enough to let him have his fun and not make any smart-mouth comments. Last night, hearing ‘Fun Fun Fun’ and ‘California Girls,’ my mind flashed to pictures of my father having one of his best times ever.

While Matt Jardine was fantastic when handling the falsetto vocals (especially on ‘Don’t Worry Baby’), the moment that I will take away from the evening, above all others, is Brian singing ‘God Only Knows,’ which he introduced as his ‘best song.’ His sincere, quirky vocal drove home the lyric. I am so happy that Brian sang this himself instead of relying on someone else to sing it and hit the notes. Brian doesn’t hit the notes anymore, but the emotional delivery far exceeds any need to be ‘perfect’ vocally.

Here’s the setlist. In closing, I’ll simply say, if your setlist includes a one-two punch of ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Good Vibrations’ I don’t care who’s touring as The Beach Boys, they will not top anything Brian Wilson is doing. Ever.

Setlist:

Our Prayer

Heroes and Villains

California Girls

Dance, Dance, Dance

Shut Down

Little Deuce Coupe

I Get Around

You're So Good to Me

Then I Kissed Her (Male version of Then He Kissed Me)

California Saga: California

In My Room

Surfer Girl

Don't Worry Baby

One Kind of Love

Sail Away

Wild Honey

Sail On, Sailor

Darlin'

She Knows Me Too Well

Surf's Up

The Right Time

Wouldn't It Be Nice

Sloop John B

God Only Knows

Good Vibrations

Encore:

All Summer Long

Help Me, Rhonda

Barbara Ann

Surfin' U.S.A.

Fun, Fun, Fun

Love and Mercy


Thank you for reading. Extra special thanks to my friend Jonathan for sharing this experience with me. You needed to be there my friend, and I am glad you were.


--Barry
10.23.15

Barbary Lane Revisited

What follows are my thoughts on reading the entire nine-book ‘Tales of the City’ series, and I promise, there are NO SPOILERS. So, if you’re currently reading any of the nine stories, or plan to start (or finally finish) the series, you can read this without fearing a plot point will be revealed.

I’ll start at the beginning. One day during the summer of 1995, my friend Kim emailed me and said ‘You really should read the book ‘Tales of the City’ by Armistead Maupin. You’d love it.’ I filed that away, but that’s all I did. I didn’t immediately go find the book and start reading.

Soon after Kim recommended the book to me, Bravo TV broadcast the 1993 miniseries based on that first book. I happened to catch it totally by accident, but five minutes into the first episode, two things were readily apparent: 1) I fell hard for Laura Linney (still love her) and 2) I would be buying the book very soon.

After watching the ‘Tales of the City’ miniseries, I discovered there were FIVE subsequent books in the series, and those six books had been packaged in a huge hardcover two volume set. Armed with all six books (albeit in two not so compact volumes); I set out to visit Barbary Lane.

It’s hard for me to put into words how I felt after reading the first two ‘Tales’ stories. It was something akin to nostalgia for a place I had never been to and characters that were fictional. That the setting was San Francisco in 1977 made no difference. I completely identified with the characters and relished reading about their adventures, their triumphs and their fears. That first book is the reason why, to this day, I have a soft spot in my heart for any woman named Mona.

Those first six books (Tales of the City; More Tales of the City; Further Tales of the City; Babycakes; Significant Others and Sure of You) carried the story from 1977 to 1988 and I often wondered how Mary Ann, Michael Mouse, Mona, Brian and Anna handled the nineties. Since the author Armistead Maupin had moved on to write other books, I considered the series closed and chose to believe that everyone survived the 1989 earthquake, and that Anna Madrigal was often seen sweeping her sidewalk.

Imagine my surprise and almost sheer giddiness when, in a bookstore in 2007 I saw a large display that said ‘MICHAEL TOLLIVER LIVES: In stores June 2007!” I couldn’t wait to find out what my ‘friends’ had been up to since The Eighties ended. I remember buying that book on a Friday and being finished by Sunday, and again, I thought the ending was suitable and was happy to catch up with everyone.

Fast forward to July of this year: At my current job (a call center), whenever I have down time, I like to read. I have become a big fan of reading eBooks on my iPhone, downloaded from the library. I was trying to think of something fun to read when I decided to search for eBooks available by Maupin. I was thrilled to see almost the entire ‘Tales” series was available (all but Book Six, ‘Sure of You’), but also there had been two new books released since the last one I read in 2007! This had me feeling like a long lost friend had decided to drop by unannounced to say ‘Hi’ after being incommunicado for seven years. I was elated that the series was now nine books long!

Sitting at my desk, I saw the new titles that concluded the series (‘Mary Ann in Autumn,’ released in 2010 and ‘The Days of Anna Madrigal,’ released in October 2014) and I had to decide, ‘Do I jump in at Book Eight, or start back at the beginning? Even though I had read the first two books at least four times each, and other books in the series had been read multiple times, I decided to start back at the beginning, because I figured the latter books would reference seemingly minor moments from the earlier books, and I wanted to be able to remember all of it.

On Wednesday July 8, I started reading ‘Tales of the City’ again (for the fifth time in the last twenty years) and read the other stories that followed. I was surprised at how much I remembered and how wonderful and breezy reading those books is. Of course, since I discovered this wonderful series in the nineties, the first six books were like time capsules of the late 70s/80s and for me had a built in nostalgia. Reading the last three books, set in the present time (more or less), it made the story not only come full circle for me, but it made these characters, though aged, seem more relevant and alive than ever. 

Wednesday (August 5) I finished reading the ninth (and final?) book in the series. I tore through the first seven books because I love them and I had read them all at least once before. I even read the eighth book quickly because I knew I had another book to read after I was done.  With the last one, however, I found myself stalling. It’s not that I didn’t want to know how it ended; it’s just that I wasn’t ready for the series to end yet. It’s been a day since I turned that last page, and I’m still not ready for it to be over. 

If this ninth book is indeed where the story ends, then I can say Maupin delivers a satisfying ending to a beautiful vibrant series. 

As a fan, I hope Maupin finds more stories to tell. If that doesn't happen, then I'm content to start again at Page One of Book One and have it be 1977 once again. 

--Barry

08.07.15

Podcast Recommendation: "Check Out These Records I Got"

I wanted to take a moment to recommend a podcast for your listening pleasure. If you are a music nerd and/or a fan of vinyl, then you should listen to the aptly titled “Check Out These Records I Got,” a podcast hosted by Patrick Crowling. Patrick is one of those rare individuals who still have a great collection of records, and he’s always on the look-out for a rare gem or something so off the wall that he has to have it. I am happy to report that episode one (available here) centers around Richmond’s own Plan 9 Records, and the show is full of surprises. You’ll hear songs from Flo & Eddie, The Monocles and probably far too many ‘songs’ from a 1963 album labeled ‘For Adults Only.”


New episodes of COTRIG drop every Tuesday so be sure to subscribe via iTunes, or on the Facebook Page. You can also follow him on Twitter [@COTRIGPodcast]. It’s informative and fun with snaps, crackles and pops included.


--Barry
07.27.15

McCartney Out There Tour 06.23.15 @JPJ (I Hope You're Having Fun)

How does an artist cover over fifty years of music (!) in one night and make everyone happy? I don't think that's possible, but some of McCartney's remaining contemporaries could learn something from him on how to 'give the people what they want.' (I'm looking at you Bob Dylan!)

Photo by Dana Washington Kiser

I was lucky enough to first see Paul McCartney in concert in 2009, and it remains one my most favorite concert experiences. Tuesday’s show at UVA’s John Paul Jones Arena afforded me the unique opportunity to see McCartney in a much smaller setting. After seeing his appearance on the SNL 40th Anniversary Special in February, I had some minor reservations, wondering if he could still sing the songs I love as well as he did when I saw him six years earlier, but once the date for the show at JPJ Arena was announced, those reservations disappeared with the knowledge that every tour could be Paul’s last tour; so I quickly snapped up a single ticket on the floor of the arena.

I will go ahead and post the set list, courtesy of the wonderfully informative website setlist.fm:

1. Eight Days a Week  

2. Save Us 

3. Got to Get You into My Life 

4. One After 909 

5. Temporary Secretary 

6. Let Me Roll It (w/ "Foxy Lady" snippet) 

7. Paperback Writer 

8. My Valentine 

9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five 

10. The Long and Winding Road 

11. Maybe I'm Amazed 

12. I've Just Seen a Face 

13. We Can Work It Out 

14. Another Day 

15. Hope for the Future 

16. And I Love Her 

17. Blackbird 

18. Here Today 

19. New 

20. Queenie Eye 

21. Lady Madonna 

22. All Together Now 

23. Lovely Rita 

24. Eleanor Rigby 

25. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! 

26. Something 

27. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 

28. Band on the Run 

29. Back in the U.S.S.R. 

30. Let It Be 

31. Live and Let Die 

32. Hey Jude 

Encore:

33. Another Girl 

34. Hi, Hi, Hi 

35. Can't Buy Me Love 

36. Yesterday 

37. Helter Skelter 

38. Golden Slumbers 

39. Carry That Weight 

40. The End

Okay, first things first, the man just turned seventy-three on Thursday (June 18) and yet he’s still putting on shows that include forty songs and have a running time of about two hours and forty-five minutes!

There were a few moments where the voice sounded very thin and unsure, most notably on the verses of ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, but for the most part he sounded great, and while the song selections were very similar to the show I saw in 2009, there was enough variation to keep it very entertaining. 

One of the biggest surprises was how well the song ‘Queenie Eye’ from his latest record ‘New’ translates to the stage. Granted, with such a well known back catalog of Beatles and Wings songs, playing any new song is going to irritate some fans, and when “Queenie Eye” began, a lot of fans did head toward the concourse for a bit, but I really enjoyed the energy and the call and response of the chorus. It was a very surprising highlight.

Perhaps the only misstep in the set was the inclusion of “Temporary Secretary”, a song from 1980 that is truly unlike anything else McCartney has ever done. I knew it would be in the set, but I wasn’t looking forward to it, and its placement in between The Beatles’ classic ‘One After 909’ and the Wings’ concert staple ‘Let Me Roll It’ made its appearance even more of a head-scratcher. 

The song I looked forward to the most when I saw a set list from the Australian leg of the tour was "Another Day." It remains my favorite post-Beatles lyric of his career. I can't really explain why, it just has always been my favorite and I never though I'd hear it in concert, so my night was made when he played that. 

As expected, Paul sang “Here Today’ in tribute to John and “Something” in tribute to George. Before “Maybe I’m Amazed” he said ‘I wrote this one for Linda,’ but I was affected by a more understated tribute to his late wife: During “Band On The   Run,” the screen behind the band showed archival film from the 1975 album cover photo shoot. Seeing a young Paul and Linda posing and smiling with their mates really made me very emotional. It hit me in such a way that I found myself almost ignoring what was happening on stage in order to concentrate on the video footage to watch Linda and Paul onscreen together. 

The overwhelming emotion for me during this show was how at ease McCartney is with his storied past and how eager he is to share some new songs. If he wasn't enjoying touring, Paul could've stopped touring in 1966 after Candlestick Park and never ventured back on stage again. But he still tours, because he truly enjoys it. As I heard classics like "Paperback Writer" and "Lovely Rita" ring throughout the arena, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it have been fantastic if the technology existed in 1964 that would've allowed John, Paul, George and Ringo to hear themselves onstage, and for the screaming fans to hear the songs?" 

Sadly, that simply wasn't possible back then, but seeing McCartney on stage is probably the next best thing.

Extra special thanks to my dear friend and McCartney fanatic Dana for attending this show with me. It was a pleasure as always.

--Barry

06.25.15

Guest Article at Professor Awesome's website

Hi there!

A few weeks ago my friend Vickie asked me if I wanted to write a story/article about Geek Rock.  Vickie has co-authored a book, called "Geek Rock: An Exploration Of Music And Subculture" with Alex DiBlasi. She also writes an occasional article for the Guitars & Geeks section of the Professor Awesome website. I was very happy to contribute something, and I hope to do so again in the future.

So, here's a link to the article, and you should spend some time looking around the whole site. It has lots of cool stuff!:

They Might Be Giants, They Might...ROCK?

Also check out the book "Geek Rock" here.

A new blog post will appear on this website...soon!

Until then...

Movie Review: Interstellar

I believe it was Stanley Kubrick who said n 1968, "If you understand '2001: A Space Odyssey' after seeing it the first time, then we have failed." "Interstellar" is a far more accessible film then it's 46-year-old counterpart, but in my opinion it is the first movie that equals the sheer magnitude of "2001" and I believe it is a film that should be seen more than once to fully appreciate.

I'll be brief because it is a film that needs to be seen rather than read about. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and the always wonderful Michael Caine star in this story where the objective is quite literally to "save the human race."

Combining elements of classic movies like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "The Abyss" and including several long stretches of scenes that harken back to Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Interstellar" is nothing less than part quantum physics problem brought to life and part classic Hollywood movie joy ride.

You'd have to be very cynical and jaded not to enjoy this movie, and, if you allow philosophical thought to combine with your entertainment, you'll leave the theater asking yourself questions about the universe and the human race that you probably didn't even consider when the movie began. It's an experience that will stay with me for weeks and one I will see several times while it's in the theater.

So in short, go see this movie on the big screen (or in IMAX on an even bigger screen). Let it envelop you in its reality and enjoy the ride. This is almost a perfect example of how great and thought provoking a Hollywood blockbuster can be.

[Note: I saw the film in standard format, but do plan to see it in IMAX soon.]

--Barry