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7/29/2002
EAR PLUGS
A review of Hukilau 2002 is online, complete with color photos and color
commentary:
http://www.degeneratepress.com/vault/hukilau_2002
And degenerate SW compiled this report:
We went to see Wilco last Thursday night at the Tabernacle.
The band was great - - it's amazing how they manage to capture the various
sounds from their CD in a live performance, but they achieved it. The only bad
thing was the unbearable, stifling heat. More than a few times Frederick and I
both thought we were going to faint. The place was packed, there were bodies
everywhere and seemingly not a fan or A/C unit in sight. I haven't been that
sweaty in a long time. After suffering for about 45 minutes into Wilco's set,
we finally turned to get some air just before their encore. The Tabernacle is
an amazing venue - it used to be a baptist church but was renovated as the House
of Blues during the 1996 Olympics. It has many layers and stairwells and
internal levels & balconies. So we walked from the main floor into an air
conditioned alcove to catch our breath and cool our overheated bodies. There
was a closed circuit TV available that allowed us to see when the band returned
to the stage for their first encore. Re-energized, we made our way to the oven
that was the first balcony and crammed in with the dozens of folks standing near
the walls. We stayed for a couple of tunes before giving up and leaving. I'm
sorry that I wimped out and missed the full show, but I am too old to stand
around sweating like that. My heart was racing, sweat was streaming down my
neck and into my bra, I felt it dripping down my back.... too much! Throughout
the entire performance Jeff Tweedy wore a denim jacket buttoned all the way to
the top with only a hole at the right elbow for ventilation. I don't know how
he stood it. John Stirratt was literally soaking in a lightweight cotton shirt.
I would gladly return to the Tabernacle, but I think I'll avoid summertime
events. And without a doubt I'll go see Wilco again.
In a side note, the opening act was the Preston School of Industry who's
founding member and lead singer was formerly a member of Pavement. I haven't
heard PSI's CD, but I liked what I heard last night. The Tabernacle has a large
and imposing main room and the acoustics are daunting, so I'd prefer to listen
to the CD before making judgements on the band and music.
And degenerate SG sent us this:
Project Object was f'in great last weekend. Better than when I saw them 2
years ago, although they were very good then.
The consistent touring is paying off.
All of the players are good musicians in their own right, but Robbie
"Seahag" Mangano is a standout on lead guitar.
The show lasted from 9pm - till 1am with a 30min or so break in between
sets. I was expecting to make the The Star Room Boys show over at the Star
Bar but that would have to wait.
Atlanta local Denny Wally, who was in Zappa's band from '76 - '78 or so
(best guess), had a much bigger role this time around. He played for most
of the second set and was in excellent form.
Last time I saw him play with P.O., he played a song or two and then was MIA
when they wanted him to come back out.
Being clean and sober has its rewards I guess.
I wasn't taking notes for this show but here are some semi-recent setlists.
http://www.projectobject.com/setlists.html
Zappa fans should try to catch them when they're back in town which seems to
be once a year or so.
BLASPHEMY
I'd like to thank all the well-wishers out there who called and emailed
condolences. This weekend we headed to Dawn Marie’s funeral. We opted for a
backwoods route, winding through the hills and valleys of NW Georgia before
heading through the swamps and lakes of NE Alabama and on to Huntsville. It was
a very pretty drive, as long as you kept the windows sealed and the A/C on.
After a ceremony at a catholic church, I was moved to weeping when I saw my old
con friends. I’d been teary-eyed often during the week, but seeing those folks
really pushed me over the edge. These friends I only saw on festive occasions
where drunken joy was the rule of the weekend, so seeing them at such a sad
affair really brought it all to heart. Dawn’s mother looked completely lost,
justifiably so after having lost her only child, and I couldn’t look her father
in the eye without tearing up again.
What a fucking drag.
Afterward, we headed to the parents’ house for heaps of food and storytelling.
We decided we were too weary and not in the mood for the drive home, so we
checked into the hotel where everyone was staying and relaxed for a while before
meeting a group of friends for dinner, followed by a party of sorts at one of
Huntsville’s dance clubs, Vinyl. The bad 80’s music flowed, in celebration of
Dawn’s life, mixed in with thumping bass technoise. Eventually the dance floor
crowded with girls, each surrounded by several guys in pursuit, while we watched
from the second floor balcony. There were smiles here and there, occasional
short bursts of laughter, but no matter how light the mood became I’d catch
sight of someone staring off into space with a sad look and remember why I was
in town in the first place.
We had lunch with some of the gang the next day before cruising back through the
hills and on to home to pick up our lives again after a
thankfully-only-temporary interruption.
Speaking of life...
TAKIN’ WHAT THEY’RE GIVING ‘CAUSE I’M WORKIN’ FOR THE WEEKEND
After 10 months of mostly unemployment, your editor may return to work. I’ve got
an offer from a company who staffs the Centers for Disease Control. I wouldn’t
be a CDC employee per se, but that’s where I’d be working full time if my piss
and my background come up clean. (Normally I’d object to such invasions of my
privacy, but where government jobs involving infectious diseases are involved, I
don’t mind a bit of snooping.) Stay tuned for details.
HELP TAKE A BITE OUT OF ANIMAL ABUSE
Oddly Enough - Reuters
Boy's Penis Stitched Back After Donkey Bite
Thu Jul 25,11:01 AM ET
RABAT (Reuters) - Surgeons have managed to stitch back a Moroccan boy's penis
after it was bitten off by a donkey, the official MAP news agency reported
Thursday.
Professor Mouaad Mounir, chief urologist at Ibnou Toufail hospital in the
southern city of Marrakesh, was quoted as saying the operation on the
seven-year-old boy was carried out last week.
He said the operation had taken 45 minutes and was successful.
MAP did not say how the donkey managed to bite off the boy's penis.
A source at the hospital confirmed the agency's report, but declined to give
further details.
Donkeys in Morocco are used for laborious work on farms and garbage collection
and are often subject to harsh treatment.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=573&e=1&cid=573&u=/nm/20020725/od_nm/morocco_dc_1
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