Em and I are sitting in the bus, waiting to head down Canal to the CBD, where we are staying. Em prefers to call it the BFD, not for ‘business and financial district’ but more out of deference to Joe Biden.
Now we take a quick rest before boarding the ferry to gig with Hirsh on the West Bank.
It was an amazing day with monstrous performances. And the rain held off. More reports will be coming shortly.
Transatlantic on Saturday night was amazing. The crappy cameraphone pictures are posted in my previous entry. Now Em has returned from Moab and we’re heading down to JazzFest. The music is everywhere. Even now, I’m tying up some loose ends so I can be out of the office for three days while I listen to the new Grateful Dead release of J.F.K. Stadium 7/7/89, a show I attended. It sounds almost as good as it did on that beautiful Summer day 21 years ago.
And then there are these two songs I have obsessing over. For no reason in particular.
Rollings Stones – Under My Thumb from the Expanded ‘Get Yer Ya-Yas Out’ [audio:http://mpomy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/2-03-Under-My-Thumb.mp3|titles=2-03 Under My Thumb]
Jerry Garcia – Gommorah from a solo acoustic bootleg [audio:http://mpomy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/04-Gommorah.mp3|titles=04 Gommorah]
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We’re all connected to the internet, but more of us are connected to Facebook than any other THING out there. 400 million people are ‘on Facebook. Compare to Twitter’s 100 million. The question is whether there is a way to access all of those users outside the walled garden that IS Facebook. It seems that we have an answer, or at least a proposed answer –
Make the rest of the web look like Facebook.
You are going to see that “f” EVRYWHERE, sans serif! Countless third-parties are going to jump at the opportunity to get plugged into your Facebook status, and friends, and photos, and the other companies you become a ‘fan’ of on Facebook. The goal of this initiative is nothing less than an attempt to take over the World Wide Web.
Think of the web as limitless connections between different users. What ff Facebook owned the the strands that make up the web?
Last night, it seems an old gmail account of mine “blogerantz[at]gmail[dot]com” got hacked and sent viagra ads to everyone in my contacts and a few others besides. I have changed the email password, so I am hoping that will be the end of it. If you are seeing this message before you click on any strange looking links, please don’t click on those links. I didn’t send them to you.
And for those of you with whom I am connecting for the first time in a while, Hello! Sorry to be getting in touch under such stupid circumstances.
As I prepare to enjoy JoeZ’s hospitality for a mid-week basement jam, I hope that “no songs” is the order of the day. There’s a good chance this will be the case, as I know very few songs to begin with, and even fewer that JZT knows in common. If we make a more regular thing out of this, then some composing will certainly be in order, even if just for drum-guitar or drum- bass duets.
I think there’s a lot of trepidation in jumping into an open-ended jam. Now, I have played with Joe a handful of times, so I have some idea, some preconception about what musical approaches will work better than others. Similarly, he already knows about how much space to give me. But, even with that (vague) foreknowledge, I still do no know what to expect. I think a “basement jam” should embrace the unknown. Players should seek to destabilize each other, at least a little, in order to avoid monotony. At the same time, there ought to be moments when the player can forget himself or herself and get lost in the emotion of VERY basic music. The balance of these two concrete approaches/directives should make for a very enjoyable evening, and perhaps music worth revisiting, outside the ecstasies and confusion of ‘the moment.’
Roine Stolt
Ready for a total PROG-stravaganza with cousin Steve, Dr. Dave and new friend Dara. We’re going to ge there early and get right up front. We’re getting a bit old for the standing-all-show deal, but, thankfully, there is no opening act and this is a special show in that it represents the mightiest prog-rock super-group in the land. Roine is a legend, the godfather of swedish prog. Neal Morse is the happy warrior, a missionary of prog and evangelical Christianity! Michael Portnoy is, as of this date, the greatest rock drummer out there. When he plays with his band (Dream Theater), the kit is the size of a small school bus. Who knows what he’s bringing to the TLA next week? And finally, Pete Trewavas, he is the glue that brings order to the ferocity of the others’ passion.
Transatlantic will, presumably., be performing their entire new album The Whirlwind as well as some of their back catalog and a couple covers.
It’s gonna be a great night. Here’s a sample of the new record:
p.s. I’m pleased to say, after the chaos of my recent relocation, I have finally found our tickets, so we are ready to go!
Don’t know where anything is; don’t know if I live in Haddon Township or Westmont (might be both!); don’t know how to work the microwave (the what?); no curtains on the windows – this level of disorientation actually reminds me of college!
But the Phillies are 5-1 to start the season and the FiOS is furiously fast. Plus, I learned last night that our house is just around the corner from Saddler’s Woods, a major stop on the the Underground Railway. Let freedom ring!
Tomorrow is moving day! I have no idea where anything is. I tend to pack boxes with a terrible mish-mash of items, especially when moving day is hours away. That means that the socks, the mustard, computer cords and hard drives, dish towels and winter hats and gloves will probably all end up in the same box.
This weekend will be pure chaos as I look for all the work clothes I need for Monday. Of course, the stereo will be set up first. We’ll also try to get the kitchen going fairly quickly. Fun fun fun!
We closed on March 18, so its been tough having this great new toy and not being able to play with it. But all that changes tomorrow. Hopefully, the dog and cats will adjust quickly.
Robert J. Sawyer wrote one of the best books of 2009 with www.wake, which envisions the way in which the internet (you know, THE internet) could become self-aware. It’s great story-telling and air-tight tech. The second book in the trilogy comes out tomorrow. Check out a trailer for the book here.
