This is another situation where you can’t really find a good reason as to why the group has yet to receive this award; they were popular commercially and critically for not just a brief time but for a long while, and you would think that at some point, one year, in one random category, people could have thought that The Who of all bands did the best job. But that apparently wasn’t the case. Because, as we all should realize by now, these people are morons.
Nevertheless, I do plan to record and watch this year’s Grammy’s. At least they had enough sense to nominate and invite Arcade Fire… And with three nominations, they even have a serious shot at winning one.
A concert is not a live rendition of our album. It’s a theatrical event.
—Freddie Mercury
The most recent “Electric Thursdays” concert did not feature the usual Jeans’n’Classics band. Instead, it was the Classic Albums live crew, trademark “Note for note, cut for cut”. We were warned that there would not even be any talking to the audience ( I guess, because there wasn’t any on the album).
The subject of the “full album” treatment was The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper. And although the Centre in the Square website had the peculiar note that this concert did not feature the KWS (Kitchener Waterloo Symphony), that was not the case. They were there, although sitting farther back than usual. And also just sitting around more than usual, because of this idea of faithfully rendering the original album. Not all of which featured orchestra.
Now, though it is not my favorite Beatle album, I do like Sgt. Pepper. The musicians performing it were very good. The Symphony, when they did have occasion to play (“She’s Leaving Home”, “Mr. Kite”, and of course, “A Day in the Life”) sounded wonderful. The songs they played on were the highlight to me. The sound mixing seemed particularly good.
But the whole concept is kind of peculiar. The no interaction with the audience. The covering everything on the album, including the little sounds effects and spoken asides. Seemed more of an exercise than a performance, and left me a little cold, and Jean somewhat bored.
Fortunately, the second act, of “Beatles greatest hits” was somewhat more free-wheeling. They still stuck with the “as originally performed by the Beatles” idea, but by selecting a whole series of songs that were originally orchestrated, at least the Symphony had more to do. And this one did feature some of my favorites: I Am the Walrus, All You Need Is Love, Eleanor Rigby, Hey Jude.
The “encore”, which the only the band (not the symphony) came back for, turned into a rather extended set of various other Beatles classics like Ob-la-di Ob-la-da, While My Guitar Gently Weeps (with truly awesome re-creation of the original Clapton guitar solo), Twist’n’Shout, Norwegian Wood (with sitar, which was cool) and Helter Skelter! (And Jean amused me to no end with his shock that this cacophony of feedback was actually a Beatles song.) The band really seemed to be having fun at this part, and interacted a lot more with crowd, speaking occasionally, and getting us to clap and sing along at times.
Still, I have to say that overall, I prefer the Jeans’n’Classics approach. Even though they also sometimes do entire albums, sometimes even with the original artist, it’s never presented exactly as it was originally recorded. It’s always a re-creation, designed to take advantage of the concert hall and the variety of talented musicians available in the orchestra.
And isn’t that the point of live? To hear something different than what you can hear in your living room?
My catsitter thought we were crazy to visit Algonquin Park in February, but I don’t know. Appears the weather there was better than in Southwestern Ontario. Less snow, anyway.
This trip was organized by the Waterloo Wellington Canoe Club. Neither Jean nor I knew quite what to expect, but it turned out well. The whole group was in a housekeeping cottage, with shared kitchen and living room area, but we had our own room. With our own bathroom.
And, contrary to the mild but snowy weather predictions, we got mild and… beautiful sun, at least on Saturday. Made it a fabulous day to go into the park and do some snowshoeing. (I should have some Jean pictures to add to this post soon.) We did two different trails, one of which led to some really nice views.
Sunday was almost as good, still really mild, though there was a bit of snow this day. We stayed on the Bondi Village grounds and got in just as much, if not more, snowshoeing there. Very nice grounds also, even though we didn’t get to see the fabled deer.
For food, we had to bring our own, but there was a potluck supper Saturday night, with the leftovers served up again for Sunday lunch. Happily, the group seemed to include many with culinary talent, and it was quite a good meal. Or meals.
For entertainment, there was no Internet and no TV, so conversation and card games ruled. Also reading. I got through a whole novel and about five magazines. Whoosh.
I guess the group does this kind of trip twice annually, and we’ll definitely consider going again.
Where to Eat doesn’t publish personal reviews, per se; instead, it compiles and considers all reports received to produce an overall assessment of the establishment. Therefore, when writing about Bhima’s Warung, I didn’t worry too much about massaging the language or whatever. Just said how it was:
As requested, we went to Bhima’s Warung this week, and have a bit of mixed response.
But no issues with the starters, which were both oysters, but done different ways. I had the item on the regular menu, which is freshly shucked oyster in a warm lemongrass, ginger, chili, and garlic sauce. The sauce was really nice (spicy!), and really covered up the taste of oyster (such as it is). On the second I deliberately took less sauce to assess the oyster itself better, and they were really nice, seemed very fresh. My husband had a special that day, which was oysters baked with coconut (medium spicy). Haven’t had good baked oyster experiences in the past, but we enjoyed these. The texture does get a little bit can tuna-like, but the coconut flavoring was very nice, and it had nice crispyness to it. In both cases, the price was $4 per oyster, and you could choose how many you wanted.
The restaurant had a good number of wines available by the glass, which we appreciated. I had a NZ Sauvigon Blanc with that, which worked well, and my husband had an ON Gerwurtz.
For the main course, I chose another regular menu item, tandoori-baked Cornish hen stuffed with sticky rice, with a side of pickled vegetables, naan bread, a yogurt and vegetable sauce, and a chutney ($28). My favorite part was actually the vegetables–beets, bok choy, and carrots, pickled. Surprising and nice. The naan bread was also excellent. The Cornish hen was perfectly cooked, but quite moderately seasoned. Perhaps the idea was to dip it in the flavorful chutney or white sauce; certainly it took well to doing that. The sticky rice had exactly the texture you’d expect, but was also not too flavorful.
My husband had a special entree that day, which was duck confit and a side of seared foie gras. The duck confit was really quite delicious. The foie gras was also good, but was seared to the point of having a bit of charcoal taste. It did not ruin the texture, but the charcoal flavor was a bit odd. This dish was a bit lacking in accompaniments; it came with some grilled potatoes.
So while my main was more than I could eat, my husband cleaned off his plate and helped me a bit with mine.
With those, my husband had a glass of a nice CA cabernet sauvignon and I had a German off-dry Riesling.
And, we both tried dessert. I had the baked banana with vanilla ice cream. The ice cream was very nice, freshly made (by someone, if not Bhima’s themselves). The bananas tasted fine but weren’t as crispy as other desserts of this type I’ve had, and which I would have preferred. My husband had the chocolate bread pudding with ice cream, and declared himself satisfied with that. Both desserts came with a really excellent peanut brittle.
We tried a couple teas with that. Mine was Indian spiced, and it was actually hot spicy! Not quite what I was expecting, and couldn’t finish. My husband had ginger and honey tea that was more mellow.
The service was adequate. There was quite a wait for food to arrive, and there wasn’t any refilling of water glasses. My tea arrived after my dessert (and after my husband had received his). It was friendly and reasonably attentive, but not superlative.
So it’s a bit tough to assess overall. I appreciate the creativity of the menu, and most things do turn out well. But it is pretty pricey, and I’m not sure the value proposition is quite there. (Total for the meal was $170 with tax but before tip.)
**½ Whip It (October 2009) – Rental
Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore. Young girl finds the thrill of roller derby much more to her taste than her mother’s pageant aspirations.
She says: It’s certainly likable and moves along, but the story really follows a predictable pattern, and the roller derby sequences just don’t come across as well as they might. He says: Way less sexist than I was expecting a “movie about roller derby girls” to be.
I have a Twitter account now, but this is no request for followers, as I have yet to “tweet” a darn thing.
I have, however, been following a few people, like the recently launched @BobGeldofFans. It’s not Bob (who, I learned on Twitter, apparently doesn’t even email, let alone tweet), but it is sanctioned by him.
The email was a bit strange, with a plea for help interspersed with complaints about having to use an “infernal machine” (the computer??) and a request for my phone number.
But the email address looked totally legit, one that I had indeed previously sent unsolicited restaurant reviews to.
It was Jean who had the bright idea of calling the publishing house to see if the email was for real.
“Oh yeah,” we learned. “Anne hates using the computer. But she does need help with restaurant reviews in KW.”
And so I ended up in conversation with the long-time writer of Where to Eat in Canada. I was able to give recent verbal reports on Verses and 20 King (now Bistro 41), but the other two she needed information on, I hadn’t been to in quite a while.
“Would you be willing to go to one of them in the next two weeks? I’ll pay you.”
So just like that, my first paid restaurant review. Not I’ll be credited, mind you. And as for the payment… Well, I won’t be making enough to cover the meal (for two), let alone make a profit.
Still, I’m excited. And in the way of restaurant reviewers, I’m staying mum about my target establishment until the dining is done and reported on.
*** Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, (November 2010) – Theatre
Daniel Radcliffe, Ruper Grint, Emma Watson. Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off on a quest for the all the Horcruxes that Voldemort has hidden in a bid for immortality.
She says: Better than I expected it to be, given that it’s mostly about setting up the next movie, and has a plot that is basically summarized as “Harry, Ron, and Hermione wander around looking for stuff”. Fortunately, their wandering is broken up with some interesting battles and arguments and clues, many of which came as a surprise to me, even though I have read the book. (I have a wonderful ability to forget plot details.) Not a good movie to jump in on, but if you’ve been following the series along all this while, no point in stopping here. He says: Well, that wasn’t too bad at all.
I had some quiet days off after Christmas, during which I had the time to enjoy my newly acquired music. Though the “new” should perhaps be put in quotes…
Lowest of the Low – Shakespeare My Butt Deluxe Edition
First of all, I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since this was first released. I guess I can’t continue to refer to Lowest as one of the “new” bands that I like.
The core of this reissue is a remastering of the original CD. But though I played it through my best available sound system, I couldn’t actually tell if it the sound quality was noticeably improved. I suspect that’s because I couldn’t help singing along with every track at the top of my lungs. (Yes, I was home alone at the time. Cats didn’t seem to mind.)
What remains apparent, though, is that this is a damn good album. Nearly 65 minutes long, with no bad songs. It’s an irresistible mix of super-catchy tunes and really intelligent lyrics. So you like the album on first listen, and don’t hate yourself for it later on repeat listens.
Below is an audio-only video of “Rosy and Grey” from Shakespeare My Butt—it appears they never made proper videos for these tunes…
The reissue also includes a DVD, where the same visuals come with two soundtrack options: Interviews and Soundtrack. On Interviews, you get various band interviews that were all news to me, because for a band I like so much, I actually knew nothing about them. Like, the band members’ names, or anything. Now, I’m better informed, and they do come across as thoughtful and decent guys. On the Soundtrack portion, you get these alternate versions of the Shakespeare songs on variety of instruments, including a kazoo! It’s pretty cool, actually, and I’ll probably replay that version more.
And finally, you get liner notes, mainly by Dave Bookman of 102.1 The Edge (so it really strikes me that in the interview segment, the band says they can’t get their newer stuff played on The Edge anymore, because they’re not on the corporate playlist) and British novelist John Donoghue, for whom this album inspired a novel of the same name.
Ray Davies: See My Friends
While this CD does consist of all new recordings, it is of older songs, redone as duets between composer Ray Davies and various artists: Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, and so on. A lot of long-time Kinks fans hate this thing, some complaining so vociferously about it that I was almost afraid to play it.
But now I think they’re just being grumpy and close-minded. True, not everything is great here: Bon Jovi doesn’t exactly improve on the original “Celluloid Heroes”, and while I’m all for women tackling songs originally interpreted by men, Paloma’s version of “Lola” just comes across as weird.
But other things work really well. There’s just a rightness to Metallica, one of the best metal bands ever, interpreting the song widely credited as the original metal song, “You Really Got Me”. And Amy McDonald made a great choice in covering “Dead End Street”, a 1965 song that unfortunately sounds like it’s describing today’s conditions. The interaction between her and Ray is also quite charming.
I also enjoyed the creative mashing of certain songs: “Days” with “This Time Tomorrow” by Ray with Mumford & Sons, and “All Day and All of the Night” with “Destroyer” by Ray with Billy Corgan. The slightly less-known songs “Long Way from Home” and “This Is Where I Belong” are nicely interpreted by Lucinda Williams and Black Francis. And if Jackson Brown doesn’t really improve on the Kinks original “Waterloo Sunset”—who could?—at least he doesn’t wreck it.
The Who – Live at Leeds Deluxe 40th Anniversary Edition
This one was my Boxing Day gift from me to me, as Amazon.ca put it on sale from $79 to $49 Christmas Day. UPS delivered it to me on December 29. (I see it’s now back to $79, plus you have to wait 3-4 weeks for it.)
I’ve read a lot of reviews of this that basically boiled down to:
Damn! I’m tired of buying this same album over and over!
Wasn’t the original six-track album perfect in itself? Why keep adding stuff?
To point 1., I sympathize, but I’m not really in that boat. OK, I did buy Leeds once before, but only once, and that was as an iTunes download. I’d since been kind of regretting that, since iTunes downloads don’t have quite the full audio quality of a CD. Plus, I’d been feeling that this was one case where having the LP would be fun too, if I could find one with all the original inserts and such.
So, this package, a mondo thing that includes the original LP, a hardcover book with all the originals inserts (and other stuff), the deluxe CDs, plus another two CDs of the previously unreleased Hull concert, and even a 45 of Summertime Blues / Heaven and Hell, was perfect for me.
And point 2—why keep adding stuff?—I thought was just stupid. I mean, if The Who had sucked that night except for the original six songs, then you might have a point, but they didn’t. The whole concert was amazing. So why wouldn’t you want it all? If you’re that nostalgic for the six songs, create a playlist of just those ones.
Nevertheless, the LP is the first thing I played when I got the set. Apparently it preserves the original cracks and ticks that were excised from the digital version, but I can’t say I found them that noticeable. And it’s good, of course, but man, is it ever short. I will say that it is impressive that the original made such an impact, despite its brevity.
And the other add-ons? Well the book is a nice collection of Leeds-related information, some of which I’d read before, some I hadn’t. Along with reproduction of album inserts, it has some great photos, and a play-by-play of each song on deluxe CD.
I’ve listened to the Hull concert a couple times. Though they did an admirable job of restoring the sound to this (in particular, bass was missing from the first six tracks and had to be Frankenstein-ed in from Leeds), there’s no doubt that Leeds sounds better overall. Hull also has a lot less of the between-song patter you get on Leeds, and I miss that, since Townshend and Moon are hilarious. But it is a great one for admiring Moon’s druming, as that’s really forward in the mix. It’s also interesting how two concerts, with identical song line-ups, two nights apart, can nevertheless have quite a few differences in interpretation. This was not a band that just went through the motions. Therefore, to me, it’s worth having both (even though I also have Isle of Wight, and Tanglewood, and some of Woodstock, all of from this same period).
I do find it slightly annoying that we get both concerts not in the original order, for the purpose of keeping all of Tommy on one CD. But that’s easy enough to rectify manually.
So, the only thing missing from this package? Video. Herewith I gave you the only footage released from the concert so far, from a Japanese release of Leeds, apparently. (This was pulled down from YouTube a while ago, but seems to be back.)
Striking to me how tiny the stage was. This was one of the biggest bands in the world at that time, and they were playing at a university hall. That doesn’t happen anymore, and that’s partly why we no longer get live albums as good as Live at Leeds.
***½ Love and Other Drugs (November 2010) – Theatre
Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway. Aspiring Pfizer drug rep meets early-onset Parkinson’s patient. Romance and other complications ensue.
He says: OK, I really liked that movie. It was very good. And not just because Anne Hathaway looks great naked (although she really does). It had a lot of complexity. It sure didn’t paint the pharmaceutical industry in a good light. The medical industry didn’t come off that great, either. She says: Yeah, I liked it also. And not just because Jake Gyllenhaal looks great naked (although he really does). I don’t really agree with the criticism that the romantic story didn’t fit well with the medical industry story. I thought it all made sense together, and made the movie more layered.
As requested, we went to Bhima’s Warung this week, and have a bit of mixed response.
While 
Cultureguru's Weblog 