Friday, June 26, 2009

Best Concerts I've Seen

I was thinking about this the other day. It's one of my strategies for going back to sleep when I wake at 3 AM and start thinking of work (my other one is trying to recall the video of Susan Boyle singing "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britain's Got Talent or whatever that show is. I always get the song mixed up with one from Barbra Streisand's "Broadway Album" and it takes me a while to get the tune into my head, usually by then I've fallen back to sleep. Usually.).

So. Anyway. Great concerts I've attended. Hard to pick a fave, but here goes.
1. REM at some refurbished theater in Phoenix, back in the early 80's. I think they were supporting the album containing "Radio Free Europe" (Murmur?). Small venue, I was up front directly in front of a speaker, I blame my hearing loss partially on that concert. I may get REM hearing aids. Can't recall the opening act. Does it matter?

2. U2 at Compton Terrace, again early 80's. They were supporting "The Unforgettable Fire". It was one of the first concerts held at the 'new' Compton Terrace (out by Firebird Lake). Partially notable for the amount of time it took to exit the parking lot (3 hours) and the six pack of warm Budweiser that we found on the bumper of the car and drank while waiting. It was around all the hullabaloo about the MLK day in Arizona as I recall so it had special significance.

3. Dan Fogelberg and the Fool's Gold Band, Hoffheinz Pavillion, Houston, Texas, around 1976. It was the very first concert I was allowed to go to without "an adult". I was about 14 and went with the girl who kept her horse in the stall next to mine. I don't remember her name but her horse's name was Chico, he was a dressage horse and his trick was to drink a can of root beer. She would put the can in his mouth and he would throw his head back and drink the whole thing. I think the Fool's Gold Band opened for Dan. I LOVED Dan anyway and thought I was really grown up. I was allowed to go to the concert because I had gone to the Royal Lippazaner Stallion show with this same girl a few months prior and didn't get arrested or came home on drugs.

-3. In the category of "Concerts I DIDN'T get to see, The Eagles farewell tour in Houston about one year later. Apparently my friends were less responsible than Chico's mistress. I'm still a little bitter about that.

4. Shawn Colvin supported by Bruce Cockburn at Wolf Trap, VA around 1987 ish. Steady On was the album, and it was the first time I was able to really hear her play the guitar. I've had a thing for her since way back.

5. The Concerts for the Verde Valley School in Sedona at Red Rock Amphitheatre, various years late 80's and/or early 90's. The Verde Valley School is a private high school with a lot of international students. It's probably really expensive. The headmaster at the time was a friend of Jackson Browne and he (JB) would do a fund raising concert for their Native American Scholarship Program each year. They were totally laid back yet kick ass concerts. They all sort of run into each other for me (I think I went three times over four years), but the overriding vibe was acoustic performances by a mix of artists out in the freaking gorgeous red rocks. I can't tell you who did what show, but I can tell you that I've seen Timbuk Three, John Trudell recite his poetry with his band (if you've ever seen "Thunderheart" with Val Kilmer and Graham Greene, John Trudell played Jimmy Looks Twice, a character loosely based on Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who is in prison for allegedly killing two FBI agents on the Oglala Reservation many years ago, but I digress), The Indigo Girls, Bruce Cockburn, Shawn Colvin (when she was a baby - well very new anyway), Keb Mo, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bonnie Raitt and of course Jackson Browne always closed the show. I can't tell you how freaking gorgeous (again with the freaking gorgeous) it was to be at these concerts - a natural amphitheatre, RED rocks, early October so it's cold at night and warm during the day, small crowd, mostly old like me and very, very mellow. You would get there early, stake your claim with your blanket and just lie around all day, eating burritos and applying the free sunscreen. How good is that?

6. The Smiths, Mesa Amphitheatre sometime (you guessed it) in the 80's. I think they were supporting "Meat is Murder" and the opening act was Simple Minds (in their "Don't You Forget About Me" era). It's also technically the only concert I've ever attended with my niece, now 23 and married. She was in her mother's womb at the time, but that is merely a technicality.

7. REM again. Mesa Amphitheatre. I just remember the pouring rain and all the little goth kids with their mascara running. And they must have been supporting "Life's Rich Pageant" because they sang "Superman" and that was my favourite unlisted song on the album (it still is one of my most fave REM songs) and I recall being freezing cold, soaking wet and completely rapt that they did the song. Then we repaired to the hottest nightclub in Tempe at the time, Graffittis, and danced in the gay corner all night. Which is what one did back in the day.

8. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, with Crash Test Dummies as the opener. It's the only time I've seen Elvis and I loved the concert. I love Elvis. Hard to say which album he was supporting but then, does it really matter? Mesa Amphitheatre.

9. Kenny Loggins at the OLD Compton Terrace (next to Frontier Village - remember that?). There are three things I remember about this concert in the early 80s'. One, I was hanging out with about 20 people who were going to the concert, and in order to get everyone to my house on time to do the caravan to the show, I had to give each of them a different arrival time, as they all had varying amounts of lateness. Two, the power went out halfway through the concert, so Kenny came out and sat on the edge of the stage and sang an acoustic version of "House at Pooh Corner" in the dark and generally entertained everyone until the power came back on. Three, I think it was my 20th birthday.

10. The Pretenders supporting "Learning to Crawl" at some theatre in Tucson. Iggy Pop was the opening act. As my brother says, you have to love a woman who you know can kick your ass. Word.

11. Lyle Lovett. I've seen him three times I think - in Tucson, in Scottsdale at the Centre for the Arts Amphitheatre and at that big concert venue in West Phoenix near ASU West (or as I think of it, East Blythe). He is the funniest, most genuine performer I've ever seen. I think I've written in the past about his tribute to Jerry Garcia after JG's death (singing "Friend of the Devil"). I will walk through fire to see him, he is that good (well, I guess as long as I don't get any on me). I can't believe that he played at a work user group conference and I didn't get to go. Still bitter.

12. Elton John, Canberra, Australia, 2007. It rains about 10 times a year in Canberra. Well, hard rain, anyway. It was an outdoor venue (Stage 80 I think they call it, across the artificial lake from Parliment). It was just Elton, with a totally forgettable opening act. About 10 minutes before Elton went on stage, it started raining. It's late October, so it's pretty warm (spring) and sort of like Arizona - it goes from winter to the flaming bowels of hell in about sixty seconds. So, it starts raining a bit. I'm happy because I've got my 1 litre milk carton full of cheap wine (hey, it's Australia) and we put our cardboard picnic boxes over our heads to keep the rain off, thinking that it's a passing shower. By the time Elton comes out, it's raining pretty good and all the old folks around us (let's face it, the wild child of the 70's is just slightly younger than my parents - and I include me and the Kiwi in the old folk category) are starting to laugh because it's actually raining. So Elton opens the show with "Madman Across the Water" and by the time he sings the lyrics "You'd better get your coat, dear, it looks like rain" it is pissing down with rain. And the crowd reacts appropriately. It continued to rain so much the animals started to pair up, and Elton sang every single song that I think I (and he) could think of that referred to water or rain, because it kept raining harder and harder. Then the thunder and lightning started. It rained so hard it was comical. He played for 2.5 hours because everyone sat out in the pouring rain to listen to him, I heard that he normally only plays for about 90 minutes in those type of concerts. It was an awesome show, everyone sang along because after a while, you couldn't get much wetter, your feet were already covered with water and you were drunk, so there was nothing to do but sing really loud.

Honorable mentions and general fondness:

Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Greek Theatre, LA, about 1999 - again, my birthday. The Kiwi and I went from Tucson to LA to see the show, had one of our first fights because we got lost, the Kiwi couldn't read the map and I rudely grabbed it out of her hands.

Cher's 1589th farewell tour, Christchurch, NZ. I DO be-lieeve in life after love. I do. I love hur.

k.d. lang, Wellington, NZ, 2000 whatever. The woman is a goddess. And all the girls know it.

Dwight Yoakum with Emmylou Harris as opening act, Tucson Convention Center 1987ish. The concert was great. I love me some D-wight. I have a friend who went to someplace like Bali back around that time. The local people they were hanging out with sang some lovely Balinese (or whereever they were) song to them, and my friend Chuckles and his friend could only think of one American song, by Dwight - "It won't hurt, when I fall down off this barstool". Now THAT'S American music.

Oh God it's incredibly late. I must stop my reminiscing. (Thank God I've never seen "The Little River Band"...).

The Week the 70s Died

What can I say? The demise of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett AND Michael Jackson make me thoughtful. It's like most of the 70s died this week. Can you feel it? The mortality of our youth? BK may not be quite as sensitive (after all, he probably only knows Michael Jackson from the Thriller years, not from the Tito and Jermaine years - anyone for the Osmond Show? Anyone?) but I know that PGL is feelin' it, aren't you dawg? I too appreciated Farrah's poster, I just didn't realise why until much later. And of course I went through the whole wings thing with my hair - who didn't? With all due respect to Jack Nicholson in "The Shining", no one says "Heeeeeere's JOHNNY!" like old Ed did.

RIP.

Social Networking ...

Someone I went to high school with found me on Facebook through another person with whom we attended high school. Fine, whatever, it's bound to happen. I'm one of the few females my age who still has the same name as thirty years ago (did I just type that?). But then she starts scanning and posting photos of me from HS, including my graduation photo. First of all, there is twice as much of me as there was then. Secondly, I had pretty much every dire hairstyle invented in the 70s in those photos.

Then two other people whose names I recognize but am fairly sure I could not pick out of a lineup immediately commented on the photos and about me in particular. Apparently I was popular with that small ecosystem of choir and drama nerds. Apparently.

So I'm talking about it at work (I have to admit, the photos threw me so hard into the wayback machine that I have bruises) and someone I work with (who is the approximate age of the Kiwi's daughter) found me and sent me a friend request. And now, my work colleagues will likely see these dire photos. Which I don't really care so much about, but I reflect on the insidiousness of it all.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

BK and PGL, thanks for the Bday wishes. I had a nice birthday, although I did get a nasty cold. Luckily, the Kiwi was home and took care of me. It was nice to not have to chop wood when you feel like crap. There are some nasty cold and flu viruses going around at work (flying pig flu - "Doctor, when I cough I smell bacon!"). Rimshot!

Anyway, I haven't posted for a while. I've been pretty busy at work. I have been annointed project manager of our system upgrade, and I have spent the last few weeks trying to convince people to come work with us, doing interviews, and the like. I've actually had two people quit their full time permanent jobs to come work with us. And the other consultant has turned down work to wait to work on our project. It must be my natural charisma.

The project officially starts in July, although it started for me in February. The moment the funding was approved for the project, people immediately started freaking out because we hadn't done anything yet. It was bizzare. So, I'm going to have to do a lot of edumacating about how projects work. Fun stuff.

I'm half excited, half freaked out about the whole thing. I mean, I've been doing projects for years, and I know how they work, and what to do, but it is a little disconcerting to actually have to be in charge of a group of burning monkeys running toward a cliff. Not unlike riding shotgun down the avalanche (thanks Shawn Colvin). When we first talked about me being the PM, I was initially reluctant to do it, until the Kiwi pointed out that I was being a big chicken. Which I was. So now when I start to get freaked out about something, I have to remember that I've done it all before, except for the Excel part. I now know exponentially more about office furniture and the space charges for the building we're going to use than I ever dreamt was possible.

We're going to have 12 people on the project including me. It runs for a year and I have the best consultant in Australasia to do the hardest part of the implementation. He and I became good friends on the last project and he was more than happy to work with me again. He's fabulous and I'm sure he will save my bacon on more than one occasion.

Egads, this is a boring post. Enough.