Portishead ~ Live at the Greek Theatre ~ 10/21/11

I'm beginning to feel like all my concert reviews sound alike.... because I love the music SO MUCH! But whatever. I go to concerts because it IS like a religious experience for me (I guess! lol ~ not being much of a traditionally religious sort of person, generally...)

Friday night was Portishead. After hanging out at the Yahoo!Answers website for several years and making lots of friends with lots of different tastes in rock music, Portishead had made it's way onto my radar a few years ago. I liked what I heard, but hadn't bothered to pursue it or get any of their albums or anything... but then a few months ago I saw that they were coming to the Greek Theatre. One of my favorite venues ever~ easy to get to & just an all around beautiful place to go to enjoy some music. So I bought two tickets.

I'm going to have to check my "Mo Music" database to see how many times I've been there, because it's a LOT. Before I was married with children, I was living in south Berkeley and then north Oakland (one and two miles from the campus, respectively) and volunteer ushering several shows per year, seeing tons of concerts, many of groups I'd only heard of and knew none of their music. So with that as my background, now, years later, I'm willing to occasionally take a chance on buying a couple of tickets to see a band that I don't know much about. And Friday night turned into one of those wonderful discoveries ~ a night filled with the kind of music that touches my soul. And it always does my heart good to see that I am not the only one! It was obviously a sold-out show ~ filled with like-minded people.

I went with my friend Gina. She drove (yay and thank you for that, Gina!). The two of us have been to several concerts together and we've sorta got it down. I don't like to spend good money on food that I don't like, so we've learned to get there early and tailgate. We make 'picnic' type food, snacks, munchies, beer and often something stronger, and when we get to where we're going, I'll jump into the back seat with my own center 'table' and drink holder and Gina will stay in the drivers' seat with her own center 'station', and we'll have a little car party. We parked a block away from the Greek, and actually had a 'view' from where we were parked. So kicking it in the car until pretty much the last minute was very nice and relaxing. Plus we got a nice little buzz on ;-)

When we walked into the venue it was only about 5 or 10 minutes until showtime. So we got another beer and found a great place to sit in the 7th row! A bit off to the side, but great seats nonetheless. Nice, friendly people around us ~ and the girls we sat beside said they'd been saving those seats (altho there was no jacket or blanket or anything on them ~ just two empty seats that we'd espied from above) but they said that their friends were late so they snoozed and loozed. No hard feelings.

The warm up band was named Thought Forms. Happy the guy sitting beside me knew who they were because there was no introduction for either band we saw that night... the musicians for both Thought Forms and Portishead would simply walk on stage, pick up their instruments, and begin playing.

About two minutes into Thought Forms' first song I had this overwhelming feeling that "these are my people". Very spacey, ambient but heavy music ~ with moaning rather than words (at least as far as I could tell) ~ but beautiful, beautiful, deep and sonic sounds. Two guitarists / vocalists and a drummer~ and I'll admit that I got a little mind-wandering when focusing on the guitarists/vocalists... but then, I started watching the drummer, and it was so reminiscent of Pink Floyd "Live at Pompeii", with the drummer ~ usually the guy just keeping the beat ~ as a full-fledged partner / an equal to the guitarists/vocalists. He was wonderful and gave the other two a framework to work within. *They* were wonderful. They made me think of a Pink Floyd / Tool / Cowboy Junkies sound. All favorites in my book. The drummer would eventually stop playing, and then the other two would sort of wind it down, and then the songs would be over. It was fun, different, and very enjoyable.

Then it was time for Portishead. Did I mention that I knew *none* of their songs? lol And here is where my music reviews all start sounding alike, because they were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. There, I'll type in caps so that I REALLY make my point. It felt as close as anyone has come to seeing Pink Floyd in the however many years it's been since they broke up. Except with a single female voice on vocals ~ and a heavier, occasionally industrial sound coming from the "percussionist" who played drums, scratched on turntables, and more. So hearing Portishead put me into a 'Pink Floyd meets Tool and NIN' mindset, but with a Christine McVie-esq vocalist. She reminded me of a thirtysomething Christine physically, with her classic British looks and hair, but also reminded me of her because of the amount of heart and soul that she put into her singing. Every song had the emotional timbre of "Songbird"* ... but different. Original. Unique. Fabulous.

Six people on stage. Drummer, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, percussionist, and vocalist.

I came away from the show *in love* with them, and am now, finally, in the market for some Portishead CDs and/or DVDs.


*Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" was likewise recorded at one of UC Berkeley's concert venues, Zellerbach Hall, as shown in the video.

Susan's Picnic Blanket

My dear friend Susan is an avid hiker and camper ~ and she has the coolest picnic blanket (which I've already duplicated for myself using a 30-year old poncho and a fleece blanket bought at the Goodwill store).

Unfortunately, Susan's blanket is TRASHED. I mean stains that are never going to come out. Ever. It's old and has been used on probably a weekly basis for *years*. Even after repeated washings, the ground in dirt and spilled sardine juice (she and her husband's usual picnic lunch), are just a part of it. She has despaired of ever being able to find a new one to buy again... and I know she's looked.

The first time she pulled it out, I was thrilled and amazed at the simplicity and design of it, with rip-stop nylon on the outside and cotton flannel on the inside. Very lightweight. The nylon keeps the damp off you and nothing much sticks to it... and the flannel is so soft.

When I told her recently about the one I made for myself she flipped! That's when she told me how hard she'd been trying to find a new one. So... for her birthday ~ which is right around the corner ~ I made her a new one.

Enjoy the photos :-)

With my little buddies :-)

Folds & rolls up nicely

Unrolling it

On a queen sized bed

Turned the nylon up around the edges

Reinforced corners

Rolled up again

Attached ties

Next to a check register to show the size

Looks pretty comfy :-)

I never paid much attention to Eddie Vedder...

It's true. For while I absolutely love Pearl Jam "Ten" and have recently been turned onto "Vs." and love it also, that is pretty much the extent of my 'Eddie contact'.... until the night before last that is.

Monday evening found me and my friend Gina in our best black pants / white dress tops / sensible black shoes / and ~you guessed it~ black jacket, standing with the rest of the similarly dressed ushers in the entryway of Oakland's magnificent Paramount Theatre. To be an usher there, one must take the tour, offered one Saturday per month for a fee of $2. Gladly done. Several years ago, we wanted to work David Gilmore (I mean seriously, wouldn't you?) on a Sunday night and timing was perfect for a quick tour & usher orientation the day before. Since then, I've worked several shows there. The last one, tho, seems to have been THREE years ago! (Melissa Etheridge) Oh, I've been there since, but as a paying customer. So it was fun to put the penguin suit back on and check out a freebie for a change.

It was a sold out show, so we were expecting a busy time. And we like the balcony as far as assignments go ~ so we were at the very top of the house during the warm up act, Glen Hansard. You want to talk about some exciting music? Glen Hansard KICKED ASS on his guitar, singing, every eye in the place on him and paying attention. I'd never heard of him *except* he's the star of the movie, "Once" ~ a musically themed movie with him as a very talented busker ~ which I've seen once (no pun intended ;-) So that was great. And since most of the people were happily in their seats by about halfway through Glen's set, my aisle captain says, Why don't you just grab a seat? :-) Okay! And that was it ~ I was off work.

Gina got off work shortly thereafter so during the time between acts we boogied to the bathroom and changed into /normal/ clothes, got a beer, and sat down to relax in one of the sumptuously appointed hallways for a cocktail. I had some amaretto in a little flask in my bag ~ TOTALLY one of the perks of being an usher ~ no one searches your stuff ~ and I had a couple clear plastic cups.... just like they use there. Happy hour! I love a sweet liqueur chased by a cold beer. The bell sounds... it sounds again, and people are running into the auditorium.

We couldn't look for empty seats until everyone was in theirs, so we just hung back a few minutes and then moseyed in. I'd spied a couple empty seats up near where I'd been working... and Gina knew of a few, too ~ but they were up so high! And the rules there are very specific regarding cutting in front of a customer to get to an empty seat~ NOT allowed. Looking around, here and there, we saw two empty seats on an aisle and grabbed them, and ~ joy of joys ~ no one ever came by to tell us we were in their seats. So yay!

And then... Eddie proceeded to blow my mind. The music that came out of that ONE man was simply amazing. His playing was beautiful and powerful, combining these higher pitched guitars and ukuleles with his deep gravely and soulful voice... A beautiful thing. Two full hours of it. I was familiar with only a couple of the songs, but was enthralled and engaged the *entire* time. And for several of the encore songs, Glen came out and joined him and it was ~ perfection ~ their voices like angels, their playing sublime.

Just a couple songs from the very end, with Glen out on stage where he'd been playing bass or accompanying Eddie on rhythm guitar or just singing... they did something that I have never seen done before at *any* concert. The two of them walked out beyond the monitors and the microphones, past the electronics, pedals and lights ~ Eddie unplugging his mandolin along the way ~ to the very edge of the stage. Standing there they sang a song, with the mandolin the sole instrumental accompaniment, *completely* unplugged. Every person in the theatre was silent, listening. Explosive applause followed.

Yes, I had a good time. I think everyone else did as well.

U2 ~ Live in Oakland ~ 6/7/11

It was a beautiful evening filled with over-the-top everything: stage / light show / music / band. Those four, beautiful Irishmen were *bringing it* ~ just as hard and heavy as they could ~ and being in the stands last night was one of the most intensely satisfying concert experiences of my life. And you know, I've been to *lots* of concerts!

Let me try to recount what it was that made this show so special.... For starters, our seats were awesome. We had seats slightly off center, on the third level of the stadium where the Oakland A's and the Oakland Raiders play ~ iow, a BIG place. But I knew there would be a huge, inclusive stage show, so wasn't worried about it. I just wanted to be there. We got there a little early and had a couple drinks and some snacks out in the parking lot ahead of time and got inside the stands just as the first warm up band was starting. A local group, headed by Pete Sears, formerly of the Jefferson Starship, named Moonalice. They were great. But when we got to our nosebleed section seats, there was a column of speakers directly between us and the center of the stage. So I'm like (ushering experience kicking in here... I knew our seats were not "restricted view") I insisted we go complain. My sweet concert-mates were saying, oh it's okay... lets stay here and see about trading them later if we want to... but I insisted we go see what they could do for us.

So we are directed to the "RELO" table ~ short for relocation ~ where they trade our tickets for some that are on the *second* level and directly center stage! So yay!! And... as a bonus, several rows immediately in front of us are roped off, with a couple people with podiums, facing the audience, and just a handful of people scattered about throughout that section. The two people facing us were taking turns signing the lyrics and spoken words, and the few people with seats there, were obviously hearing impaired. It was so cool. I've studied American sign language a little and just really love the idea of speaking with our hands, so I enjoyed getting to watch them immensely. I think the whole section we were in was reserved for problems or VIPs or something because the tickets we got for trade in did not have a price on them ~ just the word "COMP".

So we're in our groovy new seats, happy as can be... got the glassed-in fancy box seats just next to us, beer and bathrooms just across the aisle behind us. Sweet. Moonalice finishes their set with an extended version of an old Canned Heat song, "On the Road Again". It was like hearing it for the first time and was fantastic. Lenny Kravitz was the second warm up act. He was pretty good, but spent way too much time trying to get the audience to sing a song together ~ a new song ~ not one of his hits, and it pretty much dragged down his set imo. And he kept having guitar issues. The sound would stop and he'd be handing the guitar off to a roadie and improvising... but there were a couple memorable moments when first his trumpet player, and then tenor saxophonist brought down the house. So that was cool.

Then it was U2's turn. They have named this concert tour "360", and they've been traveling around the world for a couple years now with this monster stage, performing this show. The stage itself and the video system ~ from the cameras that could follow them around the 'cat walk', to the screens above the stage (that morphed into something entirely different nearing the end of the concert) to the innovative side-lighting and special camera effects, were definitely more than the sum of their parts when trying to *somehow* turn a huge, stadium concert into a personalized event. And judging by the people in the stands around me, I was not alone in being enthralled by it. We were all dancing madly, flailing our arms, and SO into it. We were completely engaged ~ from beginning to end. The music alone would have been *perfect*... but adding in all the rest of it.... quite Heavenly.

The sound, in a word, was perfect. The *perfect* volume *when* I had my foam ear plugs in! haha. Which is just right in my book! But... I haven't even gotten to the best part yet! I've been a U2 fan for a long time. Since I first heard of them in the mid-'80s and brought home "Under a Blood Red Sky" ~ and what struck me then is what strikes me now: They rock as hard as anyone AND have something to say. And that makes all the difference to me. They are not pop-fluff. They are not brootal. Their songs are about human relationships. And I love that. They've *got* something to say~ and they say it with enough style and presence to make people take notice. And that, for me, is what puts them on top. Straight up, their songs are about *something*. Something real, and something most of us have felt in our lives. Something we can relate to.

And just one more thing before I end this little U2 love-fest.... When you go to see U2, that's who you see. There is no one else up on stage with them. There are no back-up singers, no horns; no extra guitar player so Edge can dance around, no keyboardist. They are who make up the band, and they need no one else. It must be incredibly liberating to know that you and your three closest friends can do anything you can conceive of *AND* can call all the shots of how you run your business and your lives. Four gifted souls, sharing with us what they can do. Practically a religious experience for me.

The setlist:

Even Better Than The Real Thing, I Will Follow, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Mysterious Ways, Elevation, Until the End of the World - Anthem - Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Perfect Day - Happy Birthday, All I Want Is You, Stay, Beautiful Day - Space Oddity, Pride, Miss Sarajevo, Zooropa, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy (remix) - Discotheque - Life During Wartime - Psycho Killer, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Scarlet, Walk On (I'm delighted to see that the person who compiled this list included the little outtakes and asides... such as Larry Mullen singing Lou Reed's "Perfect Day", all of us singing happy birthday to *someone*, and the Bowie / Talking Heads bits. The music just before U2 came on stage was Bowie's "Space Oddity", and after they left the stage, Elton John's "Rocket Man").

Encores:

One, Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Where the Streets Have No Name, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, With or Without You, Moment of Surrender.

"Walk On" has been stuck in my head all day. :-)

Winning the Food Wars

It seems like food has always been an issue at our house.

Saying I am the mother to two willful sons is putting it mildly. And as there are two of them (twins), there's the being outnumbered thing, too.

Back when they were babies, they let it be known that they wanted nothing to do with being spoon-fed the usual baby food mush~ they wanted to feed themselves. So I developed a pancake/waffle recipe using whole grains, fresh eggs and milk, and a fruit puree of some sort~ usually applesauce or smooshed peaches. And that was great. I wasn't worried about them getting enough nutrients in their food, considering those pancakes *the* perfect food, and they could feed themselves the little pieces that I would cut it into. Dry. No syrup. In fact, I have yet to see my now-17-year-olds dip *anything* into *any* sort of sauce. Their french fries have never even gotten close to the ketchup. But I digress....

Did I mention my husband is a straight-up carnivore? Okay, he's really an omnivore, but seeing him sit down happily with a plate of nothing but BBQ ribs is not out of the ordinary. And I'm a pescatarian (that's a vegetarian who eats seafood). I quit eating meat 6 1/2 years ago and am happy with my food choices ~ but it has made for some challenging times as far as feeding my family goes. Also, just for the record, I'm the sort who is happy making a big dish of something ~ casserole, enchiladas, mac and cheese, spaghetti ~ and eating it all week for dinner. My husband and boys are not.

About a year ago, I noticed that at dinnertime we'd all be sort of at a loss. I was happy with leftovers, but my three guys were going for fast food about three times a week! I was concerned not only about the cost, but also the nutritional value of said fast food. My husband wasn't happy, feeling the burden of having to feed the three of them most nights, but I wasn't going to cook them something separate, either. I'll occasionally make them something with meat in it, altho it's not my usual modus operandi, and they don't *like* a lot of what I make for myself.

As my sons have grown older, I've been conscious of making sure they are /not/ growing into the kind of men who have never run a dishwasher or washing machine; who know nothing about planning a meal, shopping for it, and preparing it; even sewing and money management. I call them 'life lessons', and we actually have 'sewing class', etc. Also, with the economy the way it is, they have been unable to find jobs, and I'm thinking they may be living with us for several more years.

So when they turned 17 last March, I wanted them to take on more of an 'adult' role in our home. And the fast food thing was really getting on my nerves. I came up with (IMNSHO) a most brilliant plan. I thought it out, 'pitched' it to my family, and it's been an unqualified success. Here's how it works...

There are four of us. We each chose one night, Monday through Thursday ~ figuring weekends everyone is doing their own thing more, coming and going ~ plus my husband and I are happy to occasionally cook together, and weekends are when we tend to do that.

One night per week each of us is responsible for 1) planning the meal; 2) making sure the food to make this meal is in the house (we usually go to the grocery store once a week and we pass around the shopping list and everyone has to plan ahead, checking to see that what they need is on the list); 3) setting the table and preparing the meal; and 4) cleaning-up afterward. I thought about splitting the cleaning up part of it, having someone other than the one who cooks doing the clean up, but then thought that when they are cleaning up after themselves, they will be more likely to tidy as they go and make less of a mess generally.

And it's been great. I think the real 'selling point' was this: Three nights a week we are called in to dinner, where we sit down, eat, say thank you, get up and go back to what we were doing :-) Oh, and this has been instrumental in it's success, too ~ the dinner any of us makes has to satisfy *three* of us. That way I'm not feeding them "weird" (in their words) vegetarian stuff, and they are free to make dinners with meat, because I'm happy enough fending for myself.

That's it. Now we eat home-cooked food for dinner throughout the 'work week', and three nights out of four, all any of us have to do is 'show up'. Oh, and when we have a family dinner to attend ~ we tend to meet for pizza for our numerous extended family members' birthdays ~ well, the person whose night it is gets the night off. No 'carrying it to the next night'. If someone's birthday falls on Tuesday, then the person who has Tuesdays is off the hook! Figure it will all work out evenly in the end.

It's taken the smallest amount of effort on my part to keep it going. Making sure the kids think about what they're going to make, and have them check the freezer/ fridge/ pantry to make sure their ingredients are there or on the grocery list, and then an occasional asking of, "What's for dinner tonight?" long about 5:30/6:00.

The boys have taken pride in learning to prepare different dishes. One of them wanted to perfect hamburgers on the outside grill, so week after week he'd make hamburgers (and a veggie burger for me). The other makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches. Not exactly gourmet, but warm and satisfying, bolstering not only their confidence in the kitchen, but assuring me that I am raising self-sufficient young men. What more could a mother ask?