December 4, 2011
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Sky

Darkness was everywhere still when we ventured out with the dogs this morning, except for a band of red along the horizon over the lake. We walked through dawn, bathed in a most unusual light. Toward the end of our outing, a few raindrops fell, perhaps a hint of what the rest of the day would hold. I thought the beauty of the morning was all over by the time we entered the house, but when I looked out the window, I saw this rainbow.

December 3, 2011
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Boogie

I may have featured this video back on the old blog a few years ago. At least I know I’ve seen this performance before. It’s the Downchild Blues Band featuring the late Jane Vasey playing some fantastic boogie-woogie piano along with vibraphone great Peter Appleyard. They are performing at a place called Albert’s Hall, which was upstairs at the Brunswick House on Bloor St in Toronto, back in the day. This performance must have been from the late 70s. Ms. Vasey passed on in 1982 of leukemia.

I could play this video over and over and over.

I recall a tune Jane Vasey played and sang on one of the Downchild albums – maybe it was “We Deliver”. The tune was She’s Tryin’ to keep her 88s Straight. I was going to school at York University at the time. I had an old car and I had that Downchild album on cassette tape (remember those?). I still have a strong memory of blasting that tune in my car.  Curiously I recall what happened eventually to that cassette. I had a box with a bunch of cassettes on the front seat of the car, and it was really hot in the summer and the car was parked with the windows closed, and those cassettes turned into something out of a Dali painting.

 

 

December 2, 2011
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Little Miss….

Little Miss Sunshine was on TV tonight, so we watched it, even though we’ve seen it before. Seeing it again, I was reminded of three things:

  • Just how very very funny that movie really is
  • Just how much accordion is in the soundtrack (I bet a lot more than  you remember)
  • And just how much I’m unreasonably attracted to old VW vans

If I win a mid-sized lottery (or go middle-age crazy), I think I might seriously consider seeking out someone who rebuilds them and get one of my very own. I think I’d want one with a Westy pop-top, and a better engine than those original old clunkers came with. I’d want to retrofit it so I could camp with the dogs in it. It would have a place for a fly rod and mushroom baskets, and maybe a little fridge, and a safe place for a button accordion.

November 30, 2011
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Shamrock Shake

The Hamburglers would not normally qualify for inclusion on this blog. After all, they don’t have accordions, banjos or even ukes in the band and they don’t sing about trains. However, they do have groovy outfits, and they are from Chicago, a city I really like, and um, um, and, well, this is a charming video….. so here they are one more time, friends, The Hamburglers.

We’ll be back to normal folky-dolky programming soon.

November 30, 2011
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Ark

The rain finally stopped, with the ark still only partially completed out in the back yard. Maybe we don’t have to gather the all the animals two by two after all. Soon winter will be upon us and the shell of the great ship will become stuck in the ice for a few months.

November 28, 2011
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Concertina Time

Georgi & Vitak Music Co. "Pearl Queen&quo...

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Enjoy some videos about a very special instrument. You don’t see these in your average pop band. More likely you will see a Chemnitzer Concertina player lead a Chicago style polka band, along with bellows-shaking accordion, bass, drums, and a pair of trumpets.

Here’s a nice little video featuring Art Ohotto.

Now here’s Gaylen Haas playing a beautiful version of Misty.

Oh yes, that was lovely. There are many very nice pieces uploaded by fleetingdays on YouTube, played on a number of stunning instruments. Here’s a jazz piece you might know, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Finally, here’s a band from Buffalo NY, Scrubby and the Dynatones. This version of the Helen Polka is from the 80s. I love the way these guys attacked a polka.

November 27, 2011
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Hugo

Georges Méliès (1861-1938), French filmmaker a...

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We watched Hugo this afternoon, the new film by Martin Scorsese, created in 3D.

It is at the same time a flawed film and a great film. It’s tremendously ambitious, and rooted in history, in that at its heart is the early French film-maker, Georges Méliès. It is a story suitable as a film for kids, and yet it has so much to offer adults.

When I heard about this movie, that it was filmed in 3D, I thought, ok, here we go, Scorsese has jumped on the 3D bandwagon. However, even though I found some of the 3D work to be a little irritating, and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to wearing 3D glasses, it is integral to the film – so be sure to see the 3D version when you go see this one. And make no mistake this is a must-see film.

George Méliès was a great experimenter in film, responsible for early “magic” innovations, at a time when film-making was still in its infancy. Along the way, we learn he is a character in the film. Scorsese delves into 3D with this movie with mixed success, but he is jumping right into one of the major technical innovations in film today, his effort paralleling Méliès’ own willingness to innovate.

Hugo is the story of a young boy, orphaned, living in the clockworks of a train station, obsessed with repairing an old automaton, found and partially restored by his late father. He believes if it gets it to work, he will receive a message from his father. However, it is about much much more that that, and is very much tied to the history of cinema. It is also loaded with all kinds of references to art and film.

Hugo is a magical adventure, delightful, over-the-top and beautiful. I think this is a film which will be discussed for years to come.

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November 27, 2011
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Prince at the ACC

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I’ve mentioned before in this space that I don’t often go to big arena shows. Most of the music I like best is featured in smaller venues, from smaller halls like Massey Hall to even more intimate spaces like Hugh’s Room. As I often say, I like that folky-dolky music. Prince is one of the few stadium performers I would make an exception for at this point.

Now I don’t listen to Prince’s music all the time. I don’t have a lot of his music on CD or on my computer or even on old records. Of course I know his songs and when I hear one I realize quickly that I know most of the lyrics to it. Last night was the second Prince show I’ve been to. The other was at the same venue several years ago. Both times, he put on an elaborate over-the-top performance.

So what makes a Prince show so good?

First, as Prince boasts, it’s real music made by real musicians. I suppose when he proclaims this during the show, he’s taking a shot at all kinds of acts who use taped music and even lip-syncing for parts of their shows. Prince’s band, New Power Generation is a top-rate outfit. As well, he surrounds himself with singers who are an integral part of the show, not just a doo-wap-a-doo backdrop to the main action. Prince gives the band a number of opportunities to work out with several lengthy instrumental breaks throughout the show.

Part of the magic of a Prince performance is his ability to turn a huge arena into what seems an intimate space. To start with, his stage is what you might call “in the round” although it is in reality “in the symbol” in that it is in the shape of the Prince symbol. That helps make all the seats good. I think the fact that a couple times during the show he invites people from the audience up on the stage to dance also helps make the show more intimate. And then there are the screens. There are huge screens all around the stage and the show is projected live on them in such a way that the film seems to be integrated into the performance, complete with all kinds of beautiful effects. Last night’s show was visually gorgeous and very dramatic, full of a variety of lighting, glitter, fog and film effects. It began with thunder and giant Prince symbols high in the arena illuminated by lightning.

Most of the live music I see is about a performer or small group of performers playing music they love for small crowds. The music is primarily the thing. The Prince show, on the other hand, was a dramatic, theatrical, well-planned, carefully paced extravaganza. And, it was a very generous show. As Mr. Prince proclaimed at one point, “Call the baby-sitter, because I got too many hits.”

Prince seems to be pretty impressed with himself, and I suppose he should be. He’s a remarkably talented musician and singer, who has written loads of great songs along the way. He’s got a helluva lot of soul, and when he gets funky, he can be very, very funky. That reminds me, Prince played the Wild Cherry tune, Play that Funky Music last night. Nice touch and great performance. His music ranges from funk to pop to rock and last night Prince even covered Crimson and Clover, the Tommy James and the Shondells tune. But mostly, Prince played Prince songs and he surprised with with how many of them I knew.

Criticisms? Just minor ones. I would rather a performer take an intermission break and do two long sets than do one long show with several encores. I also like shows to start on time. If the show starts at 9:00, put that on the ticket. We all know Prince used to live in Toronto, but no need to constantly call out Toronto, Toronto Toronto. We know where we live.

Prince had the crowd dancing and singing along all night, and at the end, invited everyone to an after-party at a local club.  The Prince show was an expensive ticket, but it was a really great show and a super-fun dance party!

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