King Crimson

(Another draft blog, from a few years back...)

Hello all! Yes, I've been neglectful of this blog, so let me start back up with what I left off with, King Crimson...

Back on August 14th, I went into NYC to see King Crimson at the Nokia Theatre. It was INTENSE!!! Great stuff, I was front row, right in front of Tony Levin. I could see Belew, Fripp, and Gavin Harrison great, although generally, Belew blocked my view of Pat Mastelotto...

The setlist was (to the best of my memory, so the order may be screwy):Drum duetThe ConstruKction of LightNeuroticaRedDinosaurTalking DrumLarks Tongues IIWalking On AirThree of a Perfect PairLevel FiveB'BoomFrame By FrameIndisciplineFirst Encore:2nd Drum DuetElephant Talk2nd Encore:Vrooom/CodaThela Hun GingeetI may be missing a song or two in there, I'll have to check online, but it was GREAT! There was an empty seat right next to me, so I thought of you being there... A lot of times, I thought, "I bet Eli would be loving this!" :)I did see Sid Smith after the show, so we'll see if I'll show up on the videos he's been posting onto the DGMLive.com site... I also made some new friend, this guy Vincent, who's a bit of a nut, but wanted to send me some music, so I gave him my e-mail. He's very into Van Der Graaf Generator, and he's already sending me some stuff. A nice guy, about 50 and a hairdresser, but he must have money, as he seems to be one of those "edgy" guys.

Cups!

(Just found this old blog in the "Draft" file, so perhaps it never got posted???  From about 2007, I believe...)

While waiting for the movie to start, and drinking my large Cherry-Coke, I was reminded of an idea that Brian had awhile back. It's a brilliant one, and it came to my mind today while reading the vapid, banal blatherings up on the screen from half unknown celebrites in the "E!" series of quotes. Something from Carmen Electra along the lines of "Life's not worth living if there's not a camera around," or some such thing.

Brian's idea was to have McDonalds and other fast food places, instead of just having "YAY MCDONALDS" or whatever they put on their cups or other packaging, have historical facts, interesting educational stuff on their materials. It would be good PR for the companies, and good for the populace who might actually learn something, instead of either being unengaged with the items in their hands, or looking at the latest M logo on the cups. When the companies would do their promotions, sure, they could still make Darth Vader cups, or whatever they wanted, but at other times, they'd be educating the public. It would be cheap, and fun! They're already paying someone to design the logos on their packages, just have a historian or someone on staff also, to bring up interesting facts from the past.

I thought today that another interesting place to do this, with a captive audience, was in movie theaters. I don't truly care what Carmen Electra, Matt Damon, or others have to say about their fleeting fame, why not put some quotes from Jefferson, Washington, Martin Luther King, and others up there? Or, do "History of the Movies," with Charlie Chaplin, or even go back further, get quotes from Edwin Booth up there... Granted, no films were made in the 1800's, but he *was* an actor.

Rant mode off now...

But, one other quick thing. One of the ads before the movie was for a car repair place in Jersey City, and their tag line was "We take the Dents out of Accidents." Clever, and it got me thinking if "dents" is actually derived from "accidents." I'll have to look that up. An answer to this in a future blog.

As for the movie itself, I really enjoyed it. Will Ferrell was understated, which is when I think he's actually at his most funny. The story was fun, although parts did feel a bit underdeveloped, such as Ferrell's relationship with the female lead (Maggie Glynnenhall, or however it's spelled). It would have been nice to see Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) get more screen time too, but I was just happy to see him with two hands. Overall, a good solid recommendation from Sue and myself for the movie.

The idea of a fictional character realizing they're in a fiction isn't original to this movie. I think I first ran across it in novels by Robert Heinlein, specifically in "The Number of the Beast" and "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls." Any other examples out there that you, gentle readers, can think of?

On Friday night, I watched the new Battlestar Galactica. I enjoyed the episode, but thought that the resolution was a bit anti-climatic. However, in the big picture, I am wondering the following about the show:

• It seems like the Galactica, along with the Cylons, are really on the trail of Earth. I think at some point, they will find the lost 13th colony, but when in the show will it happen? Not this season, I predict. Probably not even in the 4th season, should one happen. Also, what era will they find Earth? There's no guarantee that they'll find it during our "present" history. It'd be fun if they stumble upon Earth, and we're still in medieval times, or something like that.
• Will the Cylons kill Baltar? So far, the show hasn't killed off any major characters (Billy doesn't count), so may the B-man be the first to go? I personally don't think so, he's too fun to be around...
• Will Sharon/Athena and Hilo conceive again? I don't see why not. Sooner or later, she'll have to find out that her baby is alive. What are the Cylons doing with the baby anyway?

I think that's all for now... Coming up soon, what is Mike reading?
NP: Genesis - Back In N.Y.C. (15 Apr 1975)

Where in the World Have I Been????

Ah, blog, I've taken too long to update you.  There's so much to go over, but let's try to get up to date where I'm at right now...

I'm engaging in a job search, to see where the next stage of my work life will take me.  Generally, I am looking within the world of education, where I have spent the majority of my career.  However, I am open to interesting possibilities in other areas.

On a weekly basis, I get about 5 applications out to the positions that I find interesting.  I've been on this for a bit over a month, so I am in that window where I should start hearing from some of the institutions to set up interviews.  Sure enough, right on schedule, I received an e-mail yesterday to set up an interview for next week.  So, we shall see where this ends up...

More to come soon.  I am going to provide more frequent posts here, in a regular manner, to give myself some discipline and structure while I engage in this new start.

The Age of Connection

I've been meaning to post about this for awhile.  This summer, I had an experience that really showed me the power of social media, and the interconnectedness we can all share if we choose to do so.

I had a Friday off from work, so I went into NYC to visit Eli at work, and to go to lunch together.  Because we're both nerds, we use Foursquare, and I checked in at the location where we were eating.  I didn't really think much about it, but then again, it was just a fun thing to do.  Gain a few points, see where I stack up against friends with the check-ins for the week, you know the score.

About ten minutes after I had checked in, who should show up at our booth but a friend of ours.  Let's call him Tom.  Eli and I were both pleasantly surprised, and we asked if he was at the restaurant on his own lunch hour.

He said, "I saw you check in on Foursquare on Facebook, and I work just a few blocks from here, so I thought I'd swing by."

Now, I know this isn't rocket science, but for me, it was a very quick realization how social media brought this connection together.  Granted, we're not curing cancer here, but still, we got to hang out with a friend who we otherwise wouldn't have seen that day.

For this child of the 70s/80s, it was a real thrill.

iPhone blogging

My first blog with the iPhone app. Just a test, nothing to see here...

Visiting Boston College

A few weekends ago, I was up in Boston, visiting friends with Eli, which of course was a blast. It's always good to reconnect with old compatriots, even though we communicate a lot over e-mail, phone, and other venues. However, nothing beats being able to wander through old haunts, refreshing memories of those days gone by.

Wandering through the campus of Boston College, it's easy to focus on what is new and different, and part of my conversation with Eli was about that. New building here, changed pathway there, those are the surface changes that are easy to point out. What is deeper and more meaningful, is feeling the reflection and the ghosts of those old memories coming back to life.

Wandering around the grass of Shaw House, it was easy to remember the first time I stayed there, as a senior in High School, and then returning in September 1989 to live there for the first two years of my college experience. It's not the place to just randomly recount memories here, as this is more about those feelings of refreshing the well of memory. Place plays a strong role in memory, so being able to wander the grounds around the building, talking with Eli about what was where, who lived in different rooms, it was easy to connect back to those old times.

I did wish that some of those people I shared the time with were there also, as I think the discussion of what we remembered would cause a great synergy. Tony G. and I have often talked of revisiting Boston at the same time, and this visit just makes it even more imperative to do so at some point in the future.

Revisiting other areas of campus, walking the walks, it gave me flashes of memories that I hadn't recalled in years... Visiting Boston in general allows for that, and also creates the new memories...

Words for my grandmother

I mentioned in my most recent blog post that my grandmother recently died, on Halloween of this year. My dad asked if I could speak at the funeral, and I agreed. What follows is what I said at the funeral.

----------------

My grandmother, Thelma Partridge, was born in September 1917 to Robert Partridge and Bessie Nixon. She was the second of three daughters, and the longest lived of all three. If you are here today, it is because Gram touched your life somehow also, and she loved you in return…

When I think of my grandmother, I think of someone who was always willing to tell a story, to recount something from the day, something she saw, or something from the past to illustrate something in the present. Being the family researcher I am, this was a great help, although I didn’t get off to an auspicious start with this in my childhood. I believe we were driving somewhere, and my grandmother was telling some story, where in the middle of it, she said that she may have told this one before. My response was something along the lines of “Only a few hundred times before!”

But through her stories, as I got older, I got to know the family in ways I would not have otherwise had had the chance to. My grandfather died when I was 13, but through her, I got to know him in different ways. The same holds true for the stories she would tell of both her father and mother, lives I never quite touched, but lives that I was able to learn about from her.

I want to tell two brief stories of my grandmother, and perhaps these stories will sound familiar in some ways to you, just with you playing a role in the story instead of me.

When I was a child, adults are looked to for life lessons, and I remember one time, driving with Gram somewhere, I believe it was to see her mother, my great-grandmother, in the nursing home in Neptune where she lived. I was telling a story about a friend in school who was in some sort of battle with another classmate, and I said, “My friend really hates this other person.” Gram said in return to me, “Well, you should never really hate someone else.” In my mind, I listened, and said, “Okay, don’t hate other people. Check.” It’s something I’ve tried to live by through my life, and while it’s hard, I think that if you don’t hate those you don’t like, you at least can try to understand, rather than be blinded by your hate…

In recent years, with doing my research on the history of the family, I’ve had many conversations with Gram about what I’ve discovered. Through examining old photos, looking up documents that haven’t seen the light of day in years, I’ve learned a lot of the “facts” about the family, but not necessarily the “life” of the people. However, in looking at a lot of old photos, I’ve seen similarities between generations that maybe haven’t been noticed in the past… I mentioned to Gram during one of these conversations, that the Nixon’s, the family of her mother, had rather large ears…. I pointed to some old photos of her uncle Robert, and some others, and even some of the grandchildren of her sister Dot. Nothing that matter with large ears, it was just one of those things you observe in photos…

We left it at that, until I got a call later that week, from Gram! In mock horror, she described looking at her own ears in the mirror that morning, and discovering that she herself had the NIXON EARS! I laughed about it with her, and said that when you live with them that long, they’re just *your* ears, not Nixon ears. But that perhaps she had had hair cover her ears for a reason…

So, those are some of my own special moments that I have featuring Gram. I’d like us all to pause for a moment, to think of those things from our life with Thelma, that make us smile, that we can hold close to ourselves for the future.

Thank you for your time, and I give my love to my grandmother, and to all of you, for being able to be here today.

Robert Fripp in NYC

Tonight, I attended the second of four performances of Robert Fripp's soundscapes at the World Financial Center in NYC.

Being a King Crimson and Fripp enthusiast, I've seen Fripp with Crimson a number of times, but had not had the experience of attending a soundscapes performance. I have many of the CD releases of Fripp's ambient work, but no live experiences. So, I was looking forward to this event in NYC. The added benefit of it being free was also a plus, but I would have paid, had the show needed advance tickets.

I arrived at the venue around 5:45pm, for a 7pm start time, and was able to get a seat at the front right side of the stage. The venue, while a public space, was very nice, with high ceilings, and a large backdrop behind the stage, which gave me the impression of being a sail.

Fripp came out at about 6:30pm to do a bit of soundchecking. Someone shouted "21st Century Schizoid Man," but fortunately that was the only bit of doofiness for the evening. Fripp was on stage for a few minutes, and then exited, to await the performance start time.

Fripp was introduced by one of the WNYC (New York's public radio station) hosts, I can't recall his name right now, but he does the "Sound Check" new music show on that station. He asked for no flash photography, and detailed how in this type of performance, which is mainly improvised, we the audience are as much a part of it as the performer. Our attention adds to the experience, and shapes it in ways that are both obvious, and subtle.

When Fripp then came on stage, he bowed to the audience at the front of the stage, then to stage right for a bow, and then to stage left before sitting at his stool to start the performance. Soundscapes are created by playing some different notes, patterns, or short melodies, that are then looped or processed in ways, allowing for additional loops or guitar solo melodies to be played along with the loops. It is a *quiet* music, but full of feeling.

Putting my own feelings on the table, I had had a full month. My grandmother died on this past Halloween, and some of the melodies, in their feelings of melancholy, loss, and reflection, I could not help but think about the life of my grandmother, and the loss that I have felt. But while it could be sad and maudlin to use music in that way, the soundscapes, for me, seem to have a feel of hope and redemption about them. Some do have a slightly darker feel, but even those have some feel of light about them. And, when reflecting on the life of someone close to you, it is good to have that feeling of being able to say goodbye, through music.

Fripp played for about 50 minutes, and I would say that there were 5-6 distinct pieces during that time. As some pieces flow into another, it's hard to say exactly how many pieces there might have been. For me, the second piece was particularly moving, and one of the transitions later in the set truly touched me.

There are two more performances in this series, both tomorrow (Saturday) at 12:30pm and 7pm. I would recommend these performances to anyone in the NYC area who would like to hear some music that is both very different from much of what is out there, but still can move you in ways that you will think about for a long time.

And still....

When I weighed myself this morning, I'm at 200.

Good to know that I can go basically 3 months, and end up right where I started...

More to come!

Stable!

No change in weight from yesterday.  Still at 200 lbs.

Will it change tomorrow?  The suspense is killing me!

Weight!

So, this past weekend, we had the Saint Peter's graduation ceremony, and I get to work it as a marshal.  So, I put on my suit, and headed out to the Garden State Arts Center (no PNC Bank crap for me, thank you very much) for the ceremony.

However, the vest for my suit was a wee bit snug.  Pants had been getting tighter recently, so I knew that weight was creeping up.  However, I didn't know it was getting *that* bad.

Strangely enough, I stumble across this article about weight loss.  So, I'm going for the public-humiliation diet, to drop some poundage.

Some days, I may just post a number in here.  Know that that number is my weight in pounds.

So, let's start the excitement, with a nice round number:  200 lbs.

NP:  Dick Dale - Jesse Pearl

I know, I know...

I really need to blog more... I'm going to start getting more into this world again soon, I promise... Perhaps even tomorrow. Because, why start today what I can put off until tomorrow.

Wait a second! This is a blog, and it's today! So, I *haven't* put it off till tomorrow.

Woot!

Snow for today...

As I'm a bit snowbound today, here's some visuals of the culprit...

CD Review: Steve Hackett - Out of the Tunnel's Mouth

One of the great things about being a fan of Genesis is that each member or former member of the band has a deep solo career to explore. For whatever mood you feel, there is new music to explore. Steve Hackett’s latest work, ‘Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth’ on his own Wolfworks label is the newest addition to this ever expanding discography.

This album runs through a full gamut of moods, with a lot of darkness and reflections, but yet to these ears the album feels hopeful at its conclusion. The turns that life takes can be unexpected, and can make the reality of life seem paper thin, as Steve sings in ‘Fire on the Moon,’ but by the end of the disc, you feel as if you are on a voyage somewhere different, exotic, and at its core, resolved to move forward, to take life on your own terms…

Are these songs autobiographical? They may be, but to the listener, it is almost irrelevant, as with the best autobiographical, personal songs, the music takes the listener on a trip to reflect on their own experiences and lives, as reflected to them in the music, the experience of another person. The personal experience of the artist, becomes general in the mind of the listener. This creating of these moods, based on Steve’s own experiences, then generalize to the hearts and minds of the audience.

What follows are impressions I felt while listening to each song. I am not attempting to “review” the music, as taste as always is a personal choice, but here you can find one person’s reflection, and perhaps it will whet your appetite to hear this music yourself… I know for me, this is an album that already has rewarded me upon repeat listens. I’ll continue to listen, to explore more and more the emotional depths present here, that are absent in so much music. This music speaks truth, and you will find yourself inside the truth, wherever that may take you.

1. Fire on the Moon: Starts with a sound, almost like a scream cut off abruptly… Is it autobiographical, the feeling of a drop off, a shock to the system… The rolling bass in the wordless choruses feels relentless, something moving forward inexorably towards an unknown conclusion… The guitar breaks, while intense, seem to these ears to be containing hope also… A reflection on the past, without submitting to it…
2. Nomads: A cry from the heart… could be the title for the entire album… A Spanish influenced song, with joy in the middle guitar break, turning to electric before our eyes…Shades of darkness near the end… It’s a cry from the heart, truly…
3. Emerald and Ash: A foggy nighttime intro… Smiling dolls wield the sharpest blade…An airy middle section, dreamy in it’s mode…But after the dream, darkness shows…Light and airy middle sections, with the sound of a light and airy 12 string, then turning dark and electric…Jamming guitar concludes… A workout on electric…Almost sounds like a march moving forward, relentlessly
4. Tubehead: Hackett has spoken of Clocks, off of Spectral Mornings, being designed as “live bait” for getting concert crowds rocking… This track is the live bait for 2009, and it works great! More guitar than should be allowed on one track… I’m sure this will be wild live…Perhaps the middle “breakdown” section could have even been pushed up in the mix a bit more, but that’s a minor quibble
5. Sleepers: Acoustic intro, reflective… Almost Hairless Heart like in quality, not a remake, but explores that same mood to these ears… …More of that romantic sounding nylon guitar that fans love from Steve, and that he does so well… Transition to song… more mournful guitar…Fine arrangement, relaxing, dreamy, pulls you in, then punches you in the face (in a good way?) with heaviness in the middle… Almost a cartoonish music break in the middle-end solo… Great stuff, from one mood to another in the space of a few bars… Does music come from dreams, and if so, are they as haunted as this music…
6. Ghost in the Glass: Nature sounds, outdoors, hanging with Steve as he plays the intro…Into the electric main melody, a respite from some of the darkness of the other songs on the album, but still power is here…
7. Still Waters: Heavyness incarnate…Blues with a dark feeling…Male/female vocals trading off, verse/chorus, blues with progressive breaks… a heavy blues groove to die for…
8. Last Train to Intanbul: A middle eastern flavour to the intro, guitar, flute, Steve can still take us geographically around the world, with a short guitar phrase… Takes a mode of music, and puts his own stamp on it… Orchestral call and response throughout the verses… Wonderful stuff… It unquestionably Hackett, with the taste of the rest of the world…Lots of references to sleep in the lyrics throughout the album… We can take this as an observation on waking up, becoming aware, and taking control as we begin the rest of our lives…

And as we fade out the last track, we get the sense of moving forward, the music going on, and we go on with our lives… We awake from the dream, finding our way to the new tomorrow, catching that Last Train to Istanbul…

Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth is available on 5 October 2009, from Steve’s site: Hackettsongs.com

Belew!

On both Friday and Saturday night this weekend, I attended local shows by Adrian Belew, solo artist/guitarist/songwriter extraordinaire, the Friday night show at BB King's in NYC, and Saturday night's show at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Initially, I had only tickets to the Friday show, but I discovered a week or so ago that the Hoboken show was happening. As Hoboken is a 15 minute drive from here in Jersey City, I decided I *had* to go to the second show. Really, there was no choice! And I'm very glad I made that call...

The two shows had generally identical set lists, although Friday's show *may* have had a bit more of Belew's new album, 'e' played at it. The Saturday show, to my ears was way ahead of the Friday show, in power, playing, and just general fun. Perhaps it had to do with the Friday venue being a seated club, and the Saturday show being at a standing club (where I was right up at the stage, to Belew's left), so I realize that can have a bit to do with my enjoyment of the show. I do think Friday's show had a few tech issues, while the only real issue I saw on Saturday, was Belew having a bit of trouble finding a tricky C# in a fast run during one of the 'e' sections... Caused by dim lighting!

Here's a photo of the set list, which I was able to get from Saturday's show, for those of you who are interested...

The set was heavy on the instrumental bits, and while I have the feeling that a lot of the new album's material was not known to the crowd, it got a great response, as Belew's writing, whether instrumental or song based, is always heavy on memorable melodies, great playing, and strong musicianship. The new material, and some of the older songs utilized looping technology, where Belew would play a riff, patter, or melody, which then through the magic of technology, would be played as a loop, over which Belew could then play other patterns, rhythms, melodies, animal sounds, basically whatever he wished to...

Belew was discovered by Frank Zappa, and played in his band before going on to play with other great musicians, and record his own solo albums. I found myself reflecting after the first show, that I think if Zappa was still alive, he would have embraced this looping technology to a great extent for his own compositions. However, that's just me hypothisizing/daydreaming, who knows what would have happened if Zappa had lived...

I did take a few photos of the show, I did not use flash as I find that annoying during shows, but because of that, most of the shots I took have a fluid nature to them... They're not "great" shots, but I find something compelling about them... Here's a selection of them for you.

This tour was billed as the "Power Trio" tour, and the rhythm section was made up of Julie Slick on bass, and Eric Slick on drums. Much has been written on how great these two players are, and how well they gel with Adrian on stage, so let me just add my voice to the chorus and say how *fantastic* they are, they really seem to form an excellent compliment to the lead guitar and vocals provided by Adrian. Having two young musicians of this calibre to back him up, Adrian must feel as if he can go out on stage and play just about anything, and the Slick's will be right there with him to back him up...

This last photo was taken during the brief autograph session at the end of the night on Friday. Adrian is always willing to meet and chat with fans, and sign albums he's played on. I'm a sucker for photos and autographs, I admit, so I was happy to get this shot of us together.

I recommend to anyone out there who is interested in any part of Belew's career, to give this new album a shot, and to see one of these power trio shows if they're coming to play anywhere near you. You won't be disappointed.

EDIT: I also have to say I was glad to see "Futurevision" from the album 'Here' get a live airing. I've always loved that song, and I think it tends to get ignored in the greater Belew canon...

Trivia

Yet again, our band of trivia goers (tonight, it was David, Mike D., Steve, and Julie, our new Community Director in the office) once again dove into the breach, and came up victorious. We ended the game in first place, so we take home the $50 gift certificate, which we use in the moment to pay for the food we got while out at trivia.

We tip well though, since we don't spend real money on the food. We know where our bread is buttered, and we want the staff there to like us...

Granted, we don't win all the time, but we tend to do well.

The way the game works is like this. There are five rounds, and four questions in each round. The first three questions, you answer, and you assign a point value to your answer. The value is either 5 points, 3 points, or 1 point, based on how confident you are of the answer. The team can only use each point value once. You can't put 5 points for each answer. So, the answer you are least sure of, you should put 1 point on that question, and 5 points on the one you are most sure of.

The 4th question is always worth 7 points, question number bonus. So, with 16 points in 5 rounds, the max number of points for the game is 80.

Tonight, we scored 70. Good, but not our best.

The categories are usually TV, Movies, Music, Sports, and then either a double of one of the used categories (another Movie, TV, etc), or sometimes a different one. Tonight's 5th category was "Games."

So, that's how we usually spend our Thursday evenings, after work... Now, I have to digest Houlihan's bar food... That'll take awhile!

Paul McCartney

You know, I might be arriving a bit late to this party, but for the first time I have seen Sir Paul McCartney live in concert.

And, I have to say, I think this chap may have a decent career in music coming up!

I went to see Paul play with a rocking teenage combo at the new Shea Stadium back in July, now called Citi Field, or some such non-descript name. I think that people will still call it Shea, just like the PNC Bank Arts Center is still the Garden State Arts Center for those in the know...

Paul played a great selection of music, and as I've told some people in person, he truly brought "The Rock" to this show. Some of Paul's music could be a bit soft at times, but at this show, it was all good high energy rock, one after another. Even the acoustic bit of the show, had a power to it that worked for songs like Yesterday and others.

Overall, for this Beatle fan, a great show! I do need to get some of McCartney's solo albums now, any recommendations?

And, here's a video of "Jet," the second song of the night. Enjoy!

Frost/Nixon and UKZ

Yesterday, I spent most of the day in New York City, seeing two very different shows. In the early afternoon, I went to see the film "Frost/Nixon," and in the evening, I went to see the "new" prog band UKZ, featuring Eddie Jobson from the late 1970's prog band UK.

But, to start with, I went into the city around noonish, to catch the 1:50pm showing of "Frost/Nixon." I enjoy reading history, and learning more about the story behind the story of what has happened in the past, so I believed this movie would be a good way of seeing what happened behind the scenes with the Frost/Nixon interviews, which I do vaguely remember from my childhood.

Of course, I know that any recreation of history is simply that, a recreation, but going into it with that light, these types of films can be a great way to get a sense of the atmosphere of the time.

With that all being said, my verdict is that I enjoyed the movie. I didn't realize the struggle that Frost had to get these interviews funded and off the ground. I knew that Frost was a television personality, but I didn't know that at the time, he was considered to be a lightweight, and that an interview with Nixon wouldn't really have fit in with his past career. The movie painted Frost as someone who at first, was really only interested in the interview as a way to get Nixon on television, to be the "first" to really interview him after his resignation in 1974. However, the movie showed Frost truly getting interested in getting the 'truth' from Nixon after a late night phone call from Nixon himself during the course of the interviews.

I'm curious if that call happened, or if it was a creation for the film. More to learn...

Frank Langella played Nixon, and while he doesn't particularly have a resemblance to the old President, he did inhabit the character like an old glove. Langella had played Nixon in the stage play that the movie is based upon, so he did have a familiarity with the character that another actor might not have attained in the time it took to make the film.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. There was enough of the 'process' behind the interviews, to have it be a compelling story, but I would have actually liked *more* about that process. And Nixon himself could have had more development as a character. Perhaps this is just my own hankering for history, that I always want more from these films. I know that the original interviews have been released on DVD recently, it may be worth picking up to see what the interviews were truly like, and if there are any behind the scenes stories in extras on the discs.

Not exactly what you'd think of as a compelling rental or purchase, but for me, it's something that I would really be interested in seeing.

Would I recommend this movie? Yes, most certainly. I think it does a great job of showing the time, and the personalities behind the characters. My main critique, is that I did just want *more* from the film.

Then, after checking out a local arcade on 42nd Street after the movie, where I played trivia games for about an hour, I headed to the Town Hall for the premiere of UKZ, a five piece band featuring Eddie Jobson on keyboards and electric violin, Trey Gunn on Warr Guitar, Marco Minnerman on drums, Aaron Lippert on vocals, and Alex Machacek on guitar. This band is a 'recreation' of the band UK, which Jobson was a part of in the late 1970's, which at the time included (at different times), John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Allan Holdsworth, and Terry Bozzio.

So, with Jobson really the only carryover from the old band, what to expect? My mentality was to go into the show with minimal expectations. I was going for fun, to enjoy myself, and to see a lineup of great musicians going for it. And fortunately, that is what I got.

The evening started off with Tony Levin's "Stick Men" project, featuring Levin and Michael Bernier on Stick, and Pat Mastelotto on drums. They performed for about 40 minutes, a variety of material written and performed with gusto, with lots of interlocking parts and fun playing. Levin and Bernier would alternate holding down rhythm, and playing lead lines on their Sticks. I enjoyed the material, but I think that some of it did begin to sound the same over the performance. One piece stood out for me though, where both Levin and Bernier used bows on their Sticks to make sound, versus the normal tapping that players usually use on the Stick. It was more a more breathy and atmospheric piece, some of which reminded me of the middle section of Pink Floyd's "Echoes." I'd like to see more experimental pieces from the Stick Men in the future, I'd gladly go see them again. Levin is always fun to see perform, and the band can really develop over time.

UKZ performed for slightly under 2 hours. If this band can sound this tight after what I would imagine are fairly minimal rehearsals, then I can only imagine what they could produce after a real series of shows. The band and performance was great! The first song was the UK classic "In the Dead of Night," which sounded both like the older arrangement, but had a great new edge to it. "Radiation," a new UKZ song followed, which while Crimson-like in its sound, was unique enough to keep this listener interested. The UK song "Carrying No Cross" followed, which was a really wonderful version, with emotional singing from Lippert.

The middle section of the concert included a number of solo spots, from Trey (with Marco the drummer), Eddie's piano and violin solo spot, a solo spot from the guitarist, and a drum solo which was both entertaining to see and amazing to listen to. To my taste, I think there was a bit *too* much of the solo spots in the show, but as a new band, UKZ still doesn't have a lot of new material to play live. If the band continues, and I hope it does, I would hope the solo bits would be cut down. I prefer solo bits that are incorporated into full band pieces...

The band played a few more new pieces, and ended the full set with another UK song, which I'm drawing a blank on, what the song actually was. I'm sure the full setlist is published on one of the other prog sites. The encores were King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic II," with Levin and Mastelotto joining in on the fun. It was great to hear the violin lines in that song played by a violin again! The final song was UK's "Caesar's Palace Blues," with (I think), the song "The Sahara of Snow" from Bruford (co-written by Jobson) tagged onto the end of the piece.

All in all, a good day spent in the city. The movie was well worth it, and the band was wonderful to see.

A note from Mom...

Good morning everyone...

I got a message from my mom about a conversation we had this past weekend, I thought I'd share it with you all.

----------------------

hi michael,
i've been thinking about something that you said when you were visiting yesterday,,,it was something like "life hasn't turned out the way you expected",,,and i hope you don't get depressed by that,,,i will go back to my own experience of having cancer which was without a doubt the low point of my life,,,and yet,,,and yet,,,exactly one year later max was born,,,i believe that when things are bad you have to realize that something beautiful may be waiting for you just around the corner,,,,i know from life this is true,,,,
so keep your spirits up and know that there are lots of people who love you and are all keeping good thoughts for you,,,,and you don't know what's around the corner,,,,;-)

----------------------

Just a little life lesson from mom. :)

Crimson in NYC

Hello all! I haven't written in awhile, so let me start back up with what I last wrote about, the King Crimson show in NYC from back on August 14th.

The show started at about 8:30pm, and I had a front row ticket, to the right side, right in front of Tony Levin, the band's bass/stick player. It was a great show, very intense, a lot of heavy music, lots of instrumental bits. I enjoyed it immensely!

I could see everyone on stage very well, although Adrian Belew, the guitarist/singer, would periodically block Pat Mastelotto, one of the drummers.

The setlist was (to the best of my memory, so the order may be screwy):

Drum duet

The ConstruKction of Light

Neurotica

Red

Dinosaur

Talking Drum

Larks Tongues II

Walking On Air

Three of a Perfect Pair

Level Five

B'Boom

Frame By Frame

Indiscipline

First Encore:

2nd Drum Duet

Elephant Talk

2nd Encore:

Vrooom/Coda

Thela Hun Gingeet

I may be missing a song or two in there, I'll have to check around on the web to be sure... The show was a great time, being front row I was able to really pay attention to the music, and get into it in a very fun way. I tend to "conduct" the music when I listen to this stuff, making some sort of odd hand movements along with the material. I don't quite know why, but it helps me really get into it when I'm at a concert.

Here's a photo from Tony Levin, where you can spot Zorky...