To celebrate the software upgrade to Rock Town Hall, here are a few downloads that were uploaded to the site with ease…thanks to the upgrade! Workers in The Back Office know what I’m talking about. Mad props to the IT/design staff.
Lightnin’ Hopkins, “Coffee House Blues”
Baby Grandmothers, “Being Is More Than Life”
Sun Ra, “Music from the World Tomorrow”
ROCK TOWN HALL IS IMPLEMENTING ITS FIRST SOFTWARE UPGRADE.
YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE BLOG DURING THIS TIME.
WE HOPE TO BE FULLY OPERATIONAL BY MONDAY BUT NOT COSMETICALLY UNTIL LATER IN THE WEEK.
NO BITCHING OR COMPLAINING ALLOWED UNTIL AT LEAST WEDNESDAY.
COMPASSION IS A VIRTUE BUT I DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME.
Thank you for your attention.
Have you ever seen the looks on the faces of 75 middle-aged men on a sunny day, eating grilled hot sausages? Following Townsman Chickenfrank‘s description as last night’s show got underway, that’s how I’ll remember the looks on the faces of the mostly male, mostly middle-aged rock nerds gathered at the always-excellent Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ to see the first announced reunion show of Boston’s underappreciated ’80s underground rockers Big Dipper.
The night before, the Dipper played an unannounced show in Boston to “shake the rust off,” as guitarist-singer Gary Waleik told me. Unlike those not-really-unannounced tune-up gigs that the Rolling Stones would play at a place like Toronto’s El Mocambo, this show truly flew under the radar, with reportedly a half dozen or so friends in attendance. So last night’s show was the first of a handful of planned rilly big shews.
With the exception of ageless powerhouse drummer Jeff Oliphant, who with a Workingman’s trim and shave actually looked younger and more vibrant than I’d remembered him in his more brazenly hirsute youth, the band members’ heads were grayer and their scalps more exposed. The audience had loosened its collective belt as many notches as would be expected. For better and for worse, few 20-something hipsters were seen text messaging in the audience. Our ’80s rock scene had come and gone before our eyes. Faces I’d seen many times over through the years slowly came into focus. Names often failed me at first re-introduction, with “dude” having to suffice. It was not a problem, never really was.
Sadly, perhaps, this was not the type of reunion show that brought out the uninitiated. Sadly, because after all these years I still marveled at the band’s insistent, nervous energy; pop smarts; and joy. Main singer-guitarist Bill Goffrier looked like he was about to burst out of his skin. Back in the day, Bill never lacked energy and showmanship, but seeing him in ecstasy last night was one of those moments we need to see expressed by our fellow humans now and then. There were many moments you could tell the guys were on another plane. Empathy was in the air, brothers and sisters. We need to get on that plane now and then, and what better reason to go to a show but to find the band ready for flight, in the cockpit.
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Circumstances of purchase: Having decided it was too hot to cook dinner, we went out to a dairy bar in Watertown that has the best hamburgers in the greater Boston metro area and some damn fine vanilla soft-serve. Afterwards, we went to the nearby Newbury Comics at Fresh Pond, where I purchased the LP and Charity got the two-disc deluxe edition of Forever Changes. (Suck it, Mod.)
Mood at time of first listen: Still full of excellent burger and soft-serve, and pleased that that screechy Irish girl was finally voted off American Idol. Somewhat tired, but with a fair amount of work to do before I can go to sleep in good conscience.
Place of first listen: In the office, sitting at my desk. Charity’s at her desk behind me, filing an invoice and looking at her nightly blogs.
While taking off the shrinkwrap: Cool, a gatefold. Can’t even remember the last time I saw a gatefold LP cover — even back in the ’80s, they started just shoving both discs in a single sleeve.
On opening the package: Oh, it’s like PiL‘s Metal Box. Two discs, three songs per side. I would have preferred a single disc, but that’s just the purist in me.
Best line in liner notes: “This album has no connection with the restaurants of the same name, but Elvis Costello does recommend their cooking.” There was a profile of the chef who owns Momofuku, David Chang, in the New Yorker a few weeks ago. Honestly, even by chef standards, he came off like a major-league dick. I do hear the restaurants are good, though.
On taking out the first disc: There’s a cardboard stencil. I am so doing this. There’s stenciled graffiti all over my neighborhood, and I suspect this is just going to confuse people.
On placing the disc on the turntable: Good heavy vinyl. 180-gram at least.
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Al Wilson, the soul singer and songwriter who had a number of 1970s hits including “Show and Tell,” has died. He was 68. More.
What an outstanding song from my childhood! And we shared a birthday…
If you got something to say you can say it here. You’re amongst friends.
The global advertising industry has spent millions of dollars over the years trying to convince us that their cars, you know, *rock*. Whatever. It cannot be denied, however, that what you drive says a lot about who you are. With that in mind, I ask you to think of the most appropriate set of wheels for the following people:
Ted Nugent
Jonathan Richman
John Lennon
Brian Wilson
Prince
Arthur Lee
Iggy Pop
Andy Partridge
Ray Davies
Bob Seger
Dr. John
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
