Jolly Good Night

Let me first and foremost apologize to everyone sitting in my vicinity or even passerbys who were made to suffer from the distinct smell of my uncontrollable belching. Note: Guacamole and a Coke is an unacceptable excuse for dinner… especially after having Pesto Chicken for lunch.

With that out of the way, we continue to the beautiful Ohio Theatre. Built in the 1920’s, it features the beautiful architecture and detailed workmanship that just isn’t found these days (except for by my man “Seth Bra”). The ceiling concavely melts into walls of gold and red that can keep you mesmerized despite the fact you’ve seen them before (note: we had just seen Jim Gaffigan perform here weeks earlier). The only thing missing from this monumental structure are Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets heckling from the balcony.

As the start of the show grew near and the lights dimmed, there was an effervescent hum from the theatre’s sound system. Phosphorescent (way to hard of a band name to remember) walked slowly and calmly onto the stage to slip into their instrumental gear. A quiet count-off started a warming disbursement of alt-rock/country sound. The lead singer/guitarist, with his crazy inconsistently curly hair and odd on stage movements (a lot of pointing in random directions) led a true band of misfits in show. The keyboardist looked like he drove a van with no windows and probably was not allowed within 500 yards of a school. The other guitarist, who reminded me of a stoned high-school dropout who spends most of his time in his parents’ garage was flanked by the bass player the appeared to have escaped from a mental institute where he refused to eat causing him to become so weak and fragile that he couldn’t hold his head up straight (I seriously don’t know how he bared the weight of the bass). The drummer actually seemed fairly normal… something not difficult to do given his immediate company on stage.

As the singer leaked out his first few notes I turned and whispered “Willie Nelson”. Sure enough, at first address of the crowd between the second and third songs he pronounced “We’re gonna do a Willie Nelson tune for you guys”. However obscure looking they were, the band matched it with beautifully blended sounds from both their instruments and voices. I loved how the deep and dirty big-boxed tone of the lead singer’s guitar worked with the opposing crisp and clean sounding Fender the other gent was playing. And their voices worked together in some of the most gorgeous four-part harmonies you will ever hear. The best way I could describe their sound is that if Old Willie made an album with members of Fleet Foxes and Augustana. It was a performance that warranted an immediate need to have Phosphorescent on my Ipod. I picked up their most recent “Pride” which led to disappointment. The album tries to put together way to many sounds and ends with the title track that features a lot of animal sounds. The only reflection of what we heard that evening came from “Cocaine Lights”. Nevertheless, I will be seeking out more live performances from them in the near future.

After what seemed a very lengthy break David Gray exploded (predictably) into his newest single “Fugitive” behind a white curtain. Mid-song the cloth fell to expose the band of “men in suits” including a wirery and energetic bass player, a bald “Moby-esqe” keyboardist and the lead guitarist of an age that it was suggested the start time was much beyond his bedtime holding a wide-body with the most striking blue paint job I’d ever seen on a six-string (the drummer was hidden from our vantage point). They unleashed what was the most technically precise conglomeration of musical notes I’d heard live since seeing Ray LaMontagne’s outfit.

Gray in his signature grey suit (he beat you to it Eric Hutchinson) came out like a house of fire and didn’t stop moving the entire night. The man simply doesn’t have the ability to hold either his head or his legs still. Through different tempos of heel tapping and marching, Gray kept you visually in rhythm all night. Sometimes in moderately hysterical unison with the bass player. I’m curious as to what the count would be on him through a show if he were to wear a pedometer. DG brought the energy with his voice as well. His flawless vocals fed his fan base that was much more rabid than even I had previously realized. I guess you have to enjoy it thoroughly though with a mega-Brit like Gray who doesn’t make it “state ward” very often.

He proceeded to make any wait worthwhile by giving nearly two full hours of musical bliss to his fans. Working from behind both the guitar and the piano (where his legs still continued to move), Gray delivered on nearly every hit as well as some old favorites and plenty of the new stuff from “Draw the Line”. Standouts included his solo performance of “Shine” as well as him sliding back behind the piano during the encore for a powerful version of “The Other Side”. The quality didn’t at all waver as he ripped through hits like “Repo Man”, “Sail Away” and the stinging “Stella the Artist”. He even did a stirring acoustic rendition of the very early “Debauchary”.

The night ended with an abrupt thank you (sans band introduction) and a bow as they paced off stage for good. Hopefully a sight I’ve not seen the last of.

Here Come The...

If you have kids and I know you, then I’ve probably passed on some of TMBG’s (and BNL’s) kid’s music to you. They are packed with educational sing-a-longs that kids love and parents can actually bear. So when the chance came to get Nolan to his first real concert, it seemed like the perfect CHRISTmas (hee hee) present. While his initial reaction wasn’t to the level of excitement that I expected, anticipation did grow as the concert came closer into February. So we (yet again) made that hellish trip (129-75-675-70) on a Sunday afternoon (is 3 PM even an acceptable time for a kid’s concert?) to the Capitol Theatre at the Riffe Center in CBus.

Getting there was pretty much a breeze. Stopping on the way to get some DQ was a bonus! As we walked into the lobby for the theater I noticed a common thread throughout the crowd… It looked like an all male, mid-thirties IT nerd convention that required you to wear black-rimmed glasses as part of the dress code. I’ve never seen such a conglomeration of nerds… and I work in IT!!!

On our way to our seats Nolan picked up his complimentary TMBG giant foam finger (a nice touch). We still had a little time to kill sitting there in our seats, which were thankfully quite comfy. The Capitol is a fairly new constructed theatre with spacious seats and aisle ways. While not as engaging as older theatres, it’s modern lines and soft colors are welcoming… and as with most theatres, the acoustics are terrific (guess that’s the point of a theatre).

The show started off a little slowly as the band made a very uneventful entrance. Having never seen TMBG before, I was a bit thrown off my the in between song ill-planned banter that would continue throughout the show. Not that I’m not used to performers talking between songs, but it was just very awkward chatter. They were somewhat playing to the kids, but as I soon found out… they were mostly playing to the parents. I’m pretty sure the parents enjoyed the show more than the kids. Hell, there were even adults there without kids (including a couple in their late teens/early twenties directly in front of us).

They played through some of the songs off their newest “Science” CD and progressed to some number songs we weren’t familiar with. I had to look them up on my phone and damn if they didn’t release a “Here Come the 123’s” album that we didn’t know about. This pattern of unfamiliarity continued through the set as they played a lot of the “123’s” stuff and even 4 or 5 of the “regular” songs like “Dr. Worm” and “Istanbul”. We were sorely disappointed that they didn’t get to any of the tracks from the “ABC’s” album until the encore. The most entertaining parts of the show had to be the segments of “sock puppetry” which were mildly hilarious and of course the CONFETTI!

Overall I found the show to be kind of flat… but then again I’m not a big TMBG fan. Only being familiar with what my son listens to was simply not enough to hold my (or his) attention for most of the show. I’m not saying we wouldn’t see them again, but we probably wouldn’t inconvenience ourselves so much to do so. And by the time they come through again he’ll probably have outgrown them anyway. So for now I’ll enjoy his little fandom, including his request for me to put “Dr. Worm” on his PSP for him to sing aloud to. “I’m not a real doctor / But I am a real worm”… so damn cute!

The Best Damn Breakfast In The Land

Damn Starliner is the best. Never fails. The Breakfast Burrito.. The Creol Macaroni (So hot, so good!)… and on and on… And this morning I finally got to try the special that has been eluding me for some time… The Breakfast Enchiladas! This concoction of scrambled eggs, refried beans, chorizo, monterey jack cheese, onions, red peppers, tomatoes and who knows what other heavenly goodness in it. It totally brought the heat too (not that it stopped me from adding a hearty drizzle of “El Yucateco” Chile Habanero sauce to the mix), so much so that they are required by law to provide you with a hearty sized cup of sour cream.

Now I had eaten this glorious combination of tastes once before at Louie’s Fusion Grill and pronounced that nothing could ever surpass it as the best breakfast ever. I will concede that the main dish indeed only mirrors that of the one at Louie’s… However, Starliner pushes over the top thanks to their magnificent Cuban toast. Bread does not get any better than that. So much so that we had to finally get a loaf to go (See photo of 50 lbs. loaf of bread below). I enjoyed some of it with some dipping sauce for dinner and am now going to sink into a “carb coma”. I’ll catch you all when I wake up. Until then, get your ass to Starliner Diner.

Howie Howie Howie Day Ya'll

It’s apparently concert season, so as much as I can make time you will be seeing a lot from me here in the near future. I may not have mentioned before that these are much less actual “reviews” and much more of “recounting of experiences” for each event. I was thinking today “why do I write these?” because I completely loathe the process of writing. I suppose it’s more of a selfish attempt to document these shows for my own historical reference.

Today’s entry is for the recent Howie Day show that I recently took in at the proverbial “Poop Hole” called The Basement. The event was being held concurrent to the annual “The Arnold” meathead event in Columbus. Great for entertaining people watching… not so great for parking prices. Overpaying $15 for parking in the Nationwide lot prior to finding out that parking would have been free behind the venue that early put me in a great mood to start out. That was followed by the realization that we had a cold 2 hour wait outside before doors open. Because of the afore mentioned additional event going on the entrance for this show was into the back of the venue (a first to my knowledge). During the wait Howie came out the back door and was as surprised to find a line of folks waiting there. He scurried by and hopped on his tour bus that promptly relocated.

In the line we were sandwiched between some interesting individuals. In front of us a couple who made my heart melt with their modern music knowledge and even gave some new artist recommendations for us. The dude looked like a young Christopher Walken as you could see if there were better lighting. We shared some of our favorite shows and experiences to help pass the time. We were joined on the other side by a young girl (early 20-ish?) who was there with her 7-year-old nephew. She apparently drove from 4 hours away in Indiana with this kid who was hacking and sneezing all over both of us. After hearing of all the places she constantly travels to see shows, we determined she was doing so on Mommy and Daddy’s money. She raved about all the places she had seen Howie and how big of a fan she was. I do have to give her credit for waiting out in the cold. I however can take all of that credit away based on the fact that she was texting and checking Facebook on her phone throughout the whole performance… nor for her ignorance of dragging a sick (read “ill”) 7 year old along with her to wait out in the cold. OH – and I currently have that kid’s cold. Little germy bastard!

After the wait, we breezed into the front row right against the rail. Even had time to get a beer and still get to the front thanks to the slow entrance procedure at that hole of a venue.

The show started with a keyboard-playing New Yawker named Mikey Wax. Talented musician for sure. Potential to be a good collaborating song writer (some of his lyrics got really hokey at times). And one of the worst singers my ears have ever been exposed to. So basically a less talented Ben Folds – who I’m sure he is heavily influenced by. For what it was worth I did really like the second song in his set “Halfway Gone” (I think), where he played both keyboard and guitar for himself… a true one-man-band effort.

He was followed be a rockin’-ass hippie-ish Canadian chick named Serena Ryder. I knew I had heard her name before, but couldn’t place where. She has a different look aboot her to say the least. She’s kind of cute, but plays it way down with the way she dresses. I don’t even have a term to describe it. She grabbed my attention as soon as I heard her belt out that Dolly Parton-like vibrato, but with a deeper sound. It literally sounds like she has a humming bird flying in her vocal chords. Although Serena had a very youthful and undeveloped appearance, I would definitely describe her as “seasoned” on the stage. She had a commanding presence while working all the traditional show(wo)man angles – chatting it up with the crowd, telling stories and soliciting a sing-a-long to her most popular (and my favorite of hers) song “A Little Bit of Red”. Although I can’t say I’m a huge fan of her songs, she did make me a fan of her live show. I will crossing my fingers that she plays whichever Lilith Fair show we end up at this summer. The girl just flat out “rocks it”!

Finally, after much standing and not being able to go to the restroom (because you’d never get back to the front), on to the main act. We had heard earlier in the night that both Howie’s tour manager and his song writing partner (Jay Clifford) who was playing with him on the tour had recently quit due to disagreements with him. As disappointing as it is that Howie is again having professional relationship problems, it did mean we would get to see him S O L O! Which is the absolute best version of a Howie Day show. And man did he ever deliver. He came right out (somewhat predictably) with “Sorry So Sorry”, displaying his looping and sound modification skills mere feet from our eyes. If you’ve never seen Howie live, you really owe it to yourself (at least get your hands on a copy of the Madrigals DVD – also found on YouTube). They guy is a technician and a musical genius! He skillfully blends so many different sounds that he creates vocally and through his Tachamine 6-string that it sounds like an entire band is playing and harmonizing together in perfect sync. Howie continued to play a very versatile set that hit much of the newest album’s tracks (some of which he moved behind the keyboard for) while still giving his long-time fans all the classic songs they wanted (ie. Bunnies, Ghost, Madrigals, etc.). He even threw in one I hadn’t heard before called “Harley”. If you do happen to be familiar with Howie’s stage show, then you know that he is a perfectionist on stage… so much so that he can’t really enjoy himself up there. This night was different however. He was even taking some playful jabs at the horrid drunks in the crowd. Both mocking their incohearant yelling out of his name as well as making up a ridiculous (nothing like the original) version of “Africa” in reply to someone who would not stop yelling out the song’s name at every break. He also took time out to comment on how the shit hole of a concert venue reminded him of “your friend who’s parents got divorced and his dad had the dirty rec-room basement… minus the games”. Dead-on Howie. Dead-on.

The set concluded (after the much expected encore) with Howie bringing Mikey Wax out to give him some assistance on a phenomenal cover of “Bittersweet Symphony”. Amazingly, Mr. Wax didn’t ruin it with his vocal chords. He did however manage to make me very uncomfortable with some heavy eye contact. Not that I didn’t appreciate it, but it was just weird… his smile was way too big.

After letting the crowd file out we decided it was slightly too early to head home. So what should you do at 11:30 PM in the Arena District? One answer – Eat Boston’s Fried Ravioli and have a beer.

It didn’t hurt that “the Arnold” freak show was still going on which made for very entertaining people watching (except for the overweight Latino girl that was crying for over an hour). I don’t care what anyone else says… people on ‘roids are fun(ny) to look at.