I'm going to see La Nieta this weekend. I'm spending a quick overnight visit in Canberra so I can see the little dickens, and then it's back home. I will provide photographic evidence.
I should point out that my Mother, upon finding out that her newest Great Grandaughter was a girl (and yes, I realise that is slightly redundant) immediately went out to buy clothing in shades of pink. In fact, a few weeks before the wee one was born, my mother said "Tell her I WANT TO BUY DRESSES!!"
My poor, long suffering Mother had one girl (me - and you know how I turned out), three boys, one Grandaughter and then FIVE GRANDSONS IN A ROW. Not that she's bitter, but she loves nothing more than buying stuff with frills on it. And I am not exactly frilly.
As you know.
Anyway, should be fun. I shall update in due course.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The World Series Is Over
I'm a little bit bummed about that. I've actually almost followed baseball this year and I admit that I have really enjoyed it. On ESPN International we get pretty much a game per day, and although it is HEAVILY based on East Coast teams (undoubtedly because of the time zone) I ended up enjoying it more than I have in years (Spring Training notwithstanding as that is always fun).
I actually bet on the Yankees a couple of times over the last few days as I thought they would clinch in Game 5 (and the odds were super great in that way because the game was half over with a big Philly lead when I placed my bet) but they didn't, so I put a bit of money on the Yanquis in Game Seex. I won a whole $6 dollars. I've been studiously avoiding reading any news reports so I didn't know who won, but when Matsui drove in six runs you knew it was inevitable.
Since the Kiwi has been away, I have been watching many American type sports. I am fully into football season now (College and NFL). In fact, I am planning to take Super Bowl Sunday (Monday here) off so I can watch the entire spectacle complete with beer and bad food. I don't care if I watch it alone, although a couple of years ago I watched it with my American boss and we had a great day (the Kiwi made us lots of nice food and we sat there and drank and ate and yelled at the TV).
Have I mentioned how much I love cable TV with recording capabilities? I rarely ever watch live TV now - I record everything and watch at my leisure. They are just now introducing TIVO here but I predict they are a few years late and more than a dollar short on that one - after all, there are only about 6 free to air tv stations in the whole country, and why would you buy a TIVO set, and a FREEVIEW set (to see more than four) just to record a few crappy stations? I digress.
However, we do have new seasons (for us) of Top Chef (love that Padma) and Hell's Kitchen. Still waiting to see all of season five of Entourage (guilty pleasure). And with the 70th Anniversary of WWII, I am ALL OVER the History Channel and all those great docos.
Wow - you know way more about my viewing habits than should be spoken about in polite company.
I actually bet on the Yankees a couple of times over the last few days as I thought they would clinch in Game 5 (and the odds were super great in that way because the game was half over with a big Philly lead when I placed my bet) but they didn't, so I put a bit of money on the Yanquis in Game Seex. I won a whole $6 dollars. I've been studiously avoiding reading any news reports so I didn't know who won, but when Matsui drove in six runs you knew it was inevitable.
Since the Kiwi has been away, I have been watching many American type sports. I am fully into football season now (College and NFL). In fact, I am planning to take Super Bowl Sunday (Monday here) off so I can watch the entire spectacle complete with beer and bad food. I don't care if I watch it alone, although a couple of years ago I watched it with my American boss and we had a great day (the Kiwi made us lots of nice food and we sat there and drank and ate and yelled at the TV).
Have I mentioned how much I love cable TV with recording capabilities? I rarely ever watch live TV now - I record everything and watch at my leisure. They are just now introducing TIVO here but I predict they are a few years late and more than a dollar short on that one - after all, there are only about 6 free to air tv stations in the whole country, and why would you buy a TIVO set, and a FREEVIEW set (to see more than four) just to record a few crappy stations? I digress.
However, we do have new seasons (for us) of Top Chef (love that Padma) and Hell's Kitchen. Still waiting to see all of season five of Entourage (guilty pleasure). And with the 70th Anniversary of WWII, I am ALL OVER the History Channel and all those great docos.
Wow - you know way more about my viewing habits than should be spoken about in polite company.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Las Abuelas
We became Grandmothers tonight.
The Kiwi's daughter had a girl. I started to write baby girl but to have a full grown one would require our own National Geographic Special. Actually, when "I" had her she was already 12 so I kinda did, in my own, inimitable way.
Details? We ain't got none at the moment other than "Mother and daughter are well". The Kiwi (as we speak) is probably arriving at the hospital to find out all of the details. She flew to Canberra to see the new 'un. We're going over again in November - this trip was a last minute thing since the whole pregnancy went over by nine days. I only hope they don't complain she was over cooked at Judge's Table.
In some ways, I think text messages are the telegrams of the New Millenium.
Granddaughter born (stop) All well (stop) More to follow (stop).
The Kiwi's daughter had a girl. I started to write baby girl but to have a full grown one would require our own National Geographic Special. Actually, when "I" had her she was already 12 so I kinda did, in my own, inimitable way.
Details? We ain't got none at the moment other than "Mother and daughter are well". The Kiwi (as we speak) is probably arriving at the hospital to find out all of the details. She flew to Canberra to see the new 'un. We're going over again in November - this trip was a last minute thing since the whole pregnancy went over by nine days. I only hope they don't complain she was over cooked at Judge's Table.
In some ways, I think text messages are the telegrams of the New Millenium.
Granddaughter born (stop) All well (stop) More to follow (stop).
Monday, August 31, 2009
What About Bob?
My oldest, dearest friend's Dad died last week. He rocked. He said such funny stuff when we were in High School and Beyond. Here's a laundry list of things he used to say:
Whore's Ovaries - Hours' dourves (I still call them that)
When he liked a drink, he would say "Necatarine of the Gods" with a huge smile on his face.
He thought everyone on TV looked like Laverne from "Laverne and Shirley". He would say "Hey! Doesn't that look like Laverne?" About EVERYONE.
He used to make me drink Coors Light and give me food (mostly salami) every time I showed up at his house (which was often, come to think about it). "Hey Lea, have something to eat!" He was so Italian. In the best way. I think it was because I was the only one of his son's friends that actually drank.
He played golf. I would have loved to have played golf with him, but I took it up too late. He drove like the flaming demons of hell. In a totally good way, but he was a two-footed driver, back from his days in Michigan. You know, the snow and all.
He claims to have received a Purple Heart during WWII, for being hit by a peach can while loading a truck. As far as I can tell, he would have been about 14. But that was how he was, totally funny and always ready to make you laugh. Maybe he just aged gracefully, I can't tell.
When he went to bed, he would say "I'm going to bed to rest my eyes" which meant he was going to watch the Playboy Channel in bed. But I don't actually believe he subscribed, I think that was his way of leaving us kids to make stupid faux Olivia Newton John videos in his living room.
He showed me how to play bocce ball in his in-laws back yard.
Mostly, I never remember him being grumpy or angry, just a good time guy who loved his family. Vaya con Dios, Roberto.
Whore's Ovaries - Hours' dourves (I still call them that)
When he liked a drink, he would say "Necatarine of the Gods" with a huge smile on his face.
He thought everyone on TV looked like Laverne from "Laverne and Shirley". He would say "Hey! Doesn't that look like Laverne?" About EVERYONE.
He used to make me drink Coors Light and give me food (mostly salami) every time I showed up at his house (which was often, come to think about it). "Hey Lea, have something to eat!" He was so Italian. In the best way. I think it was because I was the only one of his son's friends that actually drank.
He played golf. I would have loved to have played golf with him, but I took it up too late. He drove like the flaming demons of hell. In a totally good way, but he was a two-footed driver, back from his days in Michigan. You know, the snow and all.
He claims to have received a Purple Heart during WWII, for being hit by a peach can while loading a truck. As far as I can tell, he would have been about 14. But that was how he was, totally funny and always ready to make you laugh. Maybe he just aged gracefully, I can't tell.
When he went to bed, he would say "I'm going to bed to rest my eyes" which meant he was going to watch the Playboy Channel in bed. But I don't actually believe he subscribed, I think that was his way of leaving us kids to make stupid faux Olivia Newton John videos in his living room.
He showed me how to play bocce ball in his in-laws back yard.
Mostly, I never remember him being grumpy or angry, just a good time guy who loved his family. Vaya con Dios, Roberto.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Administrivia
Various things I wanted to pass comment on.
I've seen a few movies over the last few weeks/months that I thought deserved a mention:
"Things We Lost in the Fire". A really interesting and moving film.
"The Boat That Rocked". About a pirate radio station in the North Sea in the early 60's. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy are in it, as well as a lot of other people you've seen in lots of Brit films. The story is great and the music awesome. A fun movie.
I finally saw "Shaun of the Dead". How funny is that?
I recently sent PGL a NZ music cd featuring some good NZ songwriters. My top ten from the disc:
1. Welcome Home - Dave Dobbyn. The song was written by him in response to some backlash about immigrants to NZ a few years ago. I get verklemt every time I hear it.
2. Sinner - Neil Finn. I listen to this one over and over. I love Neil.
3. Arithmetic - Brooke Fraser. Such a pretty song.
4. No Ordinary Thing - Opshop.
5. Venus - The Feelers. This song was on the radio the first summer I spent in NZ. I will always remember getting to know my new family with this song in the background.
6. Better Be Home Soon - Crowded House. I don't actually know how they were able to pick just one Crowded House song.
7. Drive - Bic Runga. Love this song.
8. Not Many - Scribe. Hometown homeboy from Christchurch.
9. Swing - Savage. My nephews liked it so much they put it on their iPods immediately.
10. Give it a Whirl - Split Enz.
Honorable Mentions:
It's too Late - Evermore
Damn the River - The Phoenix Foundation. Love it for the blatant rip off of Dire Straits.
Sophie - Goodshirt
Wandering Eye - Fat Freddy's Drop.
Whaling - DD Smash
Why Does Love Do this To Me? - The Exponents
The funny thing about this CD is that some artists are represented multiple times. For example, DD Smash, Dave Dobbyn, The Exponents, Dave Dobbyn and Herbs are all featuring Dave Dobbyn. Same with Split Enz and Neil Finn, and Crowded House. Not to mention Tim and Liam Finn (Tim is the brother of Neil and founder of Split Enz, while Liam is either Tim or Neil's son. Liam also has a band called Betchadupa which isn't represented here). Bic Runga has a sister (Boh) who is the lead singer for Stellar*. So, the gist is that NZ is musically quite incestuous.
The other thing that's funny about it is that so many of the songs have been used as commercials. I listened to the CD the first time and said to myself "that's the ferry commercial", "that's the KMart commercial", "oh, THAT'S a KMart commercial too", "hey! the margerine commercial!" etc.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Listen for a while. It grows on you.
I've seen a few movies over the last few weeks/months that I thought deserved a mention:
"Things We Lost in the Fire". A really interesting and moving film.
"The Boat That Rocked". About a pirate radio station in the North Sea in the early 60's. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy are in it, as well as a lot of other people you've seen in lots of Brit films. The story is great and the music awesome. A fun movie.
I finally saw "Shaun of the Dead". How funny is that?
I recently sent PGL a NZ music cd featuring some good NZ songwriters. My top ten from the disc:
1. Welcome Home - Dave Dobbyn. The song was written by him in response to some backlash about immigrants to NZ a few years ago. I get verklemt every time I hear it.
2. Sinner - Neil Finn. I listen to this one over and over. I love Neil.
3. Arithmetic - Brooke Fraser. Such a pretty song.
4. No Ordinary Thing - Opshop.
5. Venus - The Feelers. This song was on the radio the first summer I spent in NZ. I will always remember getting to know my new family with this song in the background.
6. Better Be Home Soon - Crowded House. I don't actually know how they were able to pick just one Crowded House song.
7. Drive - Bic Runga. Love this song.
8. Not Many - Scribe. Hometown homeboy from Christchurch.
9. Swing - Savage. My nephews liked it so much they put it on their iPods immediately.
10. Give it a Whirl - Split Enz.
Honorable Mentions:
It's too Late - Evermore
Damn the River - The Phoenix Foundation. Love it for the blatant rip off of Dire Straits.
Sophie - Goodshirt
Wandering Eye - Fat Freddy's Drop.
Whaling - DD Smash
Why Does Love Do this To Me? - The Exponents
The funny thing about this CD is that some artists are represented multiple times. For example, DD Smash, Dave Dobbyn, The Exponents, Dave Dobbyn and Herbs are all featuring Dave Dobbyn. Same with Split Enz and Neil Finn, and Crowded House. Not to mention Tim and Liam Finn (Tim is the brother of Neil and founder of Split Enz, while Liam is either Tim or Neil's son. Liam also has a band called Betchadupa which isn't represented here). Bic Runga has a sister (Boh) who is the lead singer for Stellar*. So, the gist is that NZ is musically quite incestuous.
The other thing that's funny about it is that so many of the songs have been used as commercials. I listened to the CD the first time and said to myself "that's the ferry commercial", "that's the KMart commercial", "oh, THAT'S a KMart commercial too", "hey! the margerine commercial!" etc.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Listen for a while. It grows on you.
It's a Jolly Holiday
So, I had my whirlwind holiday with my family in Lake Tahoe. Overall, it was fun if overwhelming. My family is loud in a Big Fat Greek Wedding sort of way, without the lamb. I have five (count 'em) nephews between the ages of six and thirteen (well, nearly thirteen). They are actually hilarious and were very well behaved. We all got to see a bear getting into the dumpsters on the first night, which meant that the rest of the week the boys stood bear watch each night. We never saw the bear again but it was pretty exciting all the same.
I taught the nephews to play blackjack under the pretense of it being a "counting" game. The Kiwi feels that there are other more suitable counting games to teach young children, but then the Kiwi doesn't like to gamble. Anyway, the boys rocked at blackjack. The six year old is one of the faster ones to count up his cards. I also taught them to say "Winner, winner, chicken dinner" whenever they win a hand. We covered basic strategy and I felt enormous pride when I said "and why don't we take insurance?" and they all yelled "BECAUSE IT'S A SUCKER BET!!!".
So, I had a lot of bonding time with the nephews and a bit with my niece, who is also pregnant (she's nearly 24 and married). We saw some old family friends and I got to play golf with my brothers as well as go shopping and lunching with my sisters-in-law (two thirds of them anyway). All in all, a good trip. I was happy to get home though.
And now I'm heading to Auckland tomorrow to see the Kiwi, whom I haven't seen in nearly a month.
I'll post a link to a Flickr feed once I've got it set up - I have heaps of pics of my family and a lengthy photo expose on short sheeting a bed, which the boys apparently thought would be a good thing to capture with my camera.
There's the short and the long of it.
I taught the nephews to play blackjack under the pretense of it being a "counting" game. The Kiwi feels that there are other more suitable counting games to teach young children, but then the Kiwi doesn't like to gamble. Anyway, the boys rocked at blackjack. The six year old is one of the faster ones to count up his cards. I also taught them to say "Winner, winner, chicken dinner" whenever they win a hand. We covered basic strategy and I felt enormous pride when I said "and why don't we take insurance?" and they all yelled "BECAUSE IT'S A SUCKER BET!!!".
So, I had a lot of bonding time with the nephews and a bit with my niece, who is also pregnant (she's nearly 24 and married). We saw some old family friends and I got to play golf with my brothers as well as go shopping and lunching with my sisters-in-law (two thirds of them anyway). All in all, a good trip. I was happy to get home though.
And now I'm heading to Auckland tomorrow to see the Kiwi, whom I haven't seen in nearly a month.
I'll post a link to a Flickr feed once I've got it set up - I have heaps of pics of my family and a lengthy photo expose on short sheeting a bed, which the boys apparently thought would be a good thing to capture with my camera.
There's the short and the long of it.
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"...).
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"...).
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