Morrissey at the Paramount

Photo by Fabio Lovino

Silvie and I were back at the Paramount just a few weeks after the Pixies show, this time to see that charming man Moz hold court before an adoring crowd. Ticket prices were a might steep and so we were in the third mezzanine, but dead center and in the first row of our section. We arrived early and blew off the opening act to people-watch. Lots of youngsters and oldsters, and of course the fake Morrissey dude who fooled me the last time Moz was in town (you really do have to look twice, but what's his angle, I wonder?).

Morrissey took the stage with his uniformed band (Think 50's street-gang-movie denim and black Ts, and cropped hair) and tore through 20 tunes, mixing in a few Smiths tunes with many recent songs and B-sides. I have not listened to enough of those recent releases to be very familiar with them, but was pleased to hear two of my favorite Smiths tunes ("Cemetary Gates" and "Ask"). Another Smiths tune, "How Soon is Now?", was sensory overload, as the heavy vibrato of the guitar was aped by strobe lights and punctuated by the drummer bashing on a gong and a ridiculously large drum atop his kit. The band was muscular, and played mostly in a pounding rock fashion. Even when the stand-up bass and accordian were trotted out, the sound was still heavy. I think Morrissey's (and definitely Marr's) tunes lose a bit of their appeal when rendered in such a less-than-subtle manner. Still, the show was worth staying up on a work night. Morrissey changed shirts twice, showed off his gym-honed physique, and was in pretty good voice throughout.

Inevitably, the more crazed of the faithful began mounting the stage, rushing at their hero in attempts to embrace or kiss him, or at the least to touch the hem of his garment. Seriously, why do people still do this? Aren't we all grown-ups now, and has the novelty not worn off? Tiresome, really.

The setlist was:

This Charming Man
Black Cloud
When Last I Spoke to Carol
Is It Really So Strange?
Ganglord
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Ask
Irish Blood, English Heart
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Death at One's Elbow
Because of My Poor Education
Cemetary Gates
The World is Full of Crashing Bores
Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself
Teenage Dad on His Estate
How Soon is Now?
The Loop
Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice
I'm OK by Myself

Encore: Something is Squeezing My Skull

Pours for Purrs

On Saturday Silvie and I drove to Malt & Vine in Redmond to attend Pours for Purrs, a beer tasting and silent auction benefitting the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project. Feral Cat is a not-for-profit group dedicated to providing free spay and neuter services for feral cats in the Puget Sound region. The folks at Malt & Vine lined up 8 tasty brews for attendees to sample. Silvie tried tiny sips of each beer, but I basically had two samples of each. Here are the 8 beers:

Snoqualmie Wildcat IPA – Snoqualmie Falls Brewing, Snoqualmie, WA

Trade Route Ginger Pale Ale – Trade Route Brewing, Pacific, WA

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout – Wells & Young’s Brewing, UK

Midnight Sun Panty Peeler Tripel – Midnight Sun Brewing, Anchorage, AK

Moorhouse Black Cat Porter – Moorhouse’s Brewery, UK

Avery White Rascal Belgian White – Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO

Flying Dog Horndog Barleywine – Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD

Boulevard Nutcracker Winter Ale – Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City, MO

Pixies at the Paramount

Silvie and I caught the Pixies Friday night at the Paramount. This was the second of a two-night stand for the group in Seattle. They are touring in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their landmark Doolittle LP, and played the record in its entirety, bookended by a few B-sides, as well as a three-song encore of older faves. I wasn't entirely sold on the gimmick of the tour; I like Doolitle, of course, and many of the group's iconic tunes are there, but a setlist that drew from all of the band's releases would have been preferable [side note: I think that my favorite Pixies album is actually the last one, Trompe Le Monde, and that Frank Black's creative powers peaked during his first two solo releases; a full run through of Teenager of the Year would be fantastic!]. But, I was game to roll with the theme of the evening, and, aside from the more forgettable B-sides, the show was fab. The band kept the tunes to their recorded short lengths while varied off-the-wall footage played on a screen behind them (the night opened with a screening of Un Chien Andolou, which primed the crowd for Debaser, although the band chose to open with a few B-sides). The band played LOUD, and Frank was in fine screaming form as they ran through the album. After a few more B-sides, they encored with some (even) older material including Where is My Mind, maybe their best tune. Highlights included No. 13 Baby, with its wonderful trance-like ride out, and one of my faves, There Goes My Gun with Frank's hysterical (and kinda funny) shriek of "Look at ME!"

Setlist:

Dancing the Manta Ray

Weird at My School

Bailey’s Walk

Manta Ray

Debaser

Tame

Wave of Mutilation

I Bleed

Here Comes Your Man

Dead

Monkey Gone to Heaven

Mr. Grieves

Crackity Jones

La La Love You

No. 13 Baby

There Goes My Gun

Hey

Silver

Gouge Away

First encore:

Wave of Mutilation (U.K. Surf)

Into the White

Second encore:

Bone Machine

The Holiday Song

Where is My Mind?

Black Cat Ball

Silvie and I went to the Black Cat Ball dinner and auction at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, benefitting Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter in Arlington (from whence came Cookie, Toot Toot and Little G). We had a ton of fun bidding on the silent auction items (we actually walked away with a trunkload of goodies, having won 5 of the auctions!) and supping on the delicious vegan dinner and tasty wines. A great evening... can't wait for next year!

Pumpkin Push '09

I ran the Pumpkin Push at Seward Park for the second consecutive year. I had been expecting an improvement on last year's time, as I had been running three days a week around our neighborhood the past couple of months; and I did finish 2:20 better than last year! I was very pleased. My time was 29:06; not bad, considering the punishing hill in the middle of the course. Just as in the most recent St. Pat's Dash, I had plenty left in the tank for my finishing kick, sprinting like a nut to the finish line (the guy on the loudspeaker even remarked on my break-neck speed at the finish). I was very happy to be able to finish strong; but my speed at the end meant that I had done a terrible job pacing myself, and probably could have improved on my time with a stronger pace during the race. Oh, well. It's still a work in progress....

Whew!!! That was tough!

Lucifer Sam, Siam cat

Well, we added another kitty to the brood... a rescued kitty we named Sammy (properly Lucifer Sam after the Syd Barrett Pink Floyd song). He is quite a nut, full of energy and just a bit mischievous. He's very cute, though, and a great addition to the family.

Family Visit '09!

My mom and bro paid us a visit in August. We had a great time hanging out and doing some fun things around town. [insert pics w/captions here]

Mom and Brian shopping for yummy fresh fruit at Pike Place Market

Cookie was thrilled to find a new personal spa technician

Silvie ready to party at the Evergreen State Fair

The fair was a lot of fun, especially the Western Heritage Center

On the way to the fair we passed by the scene of a horrible accident - apparently these guys were Civil War reenactors or sometning. Tragic.

Silvie looking cute by Lake Washington, Seward Park




Adjust that camera angle... and that neck angle, too!

Sweet Little Buford

Our sweet little Buford (aka Toot Toot) passed away after sudden, severe pancreatitis. He was only about 4 years old. He was really the sweetest little boy ever. He was cuddly, fluffy and soft; a wonderful companion and snuggler. He had the sweetest disposition with humans and fellow kitties. He is missed every day!

Phish at the Gorge

Silvie and I caught Phish at the Gorge on Friday, 8/7. Phish is winding up its reunion tour, and I wasn't planning on catching them. I had spaced on the announcement of the Gorge dates, and tickets sold out (predictably) quickly. A few days before the show, I bought tickets from someone at work, at cost, and we headed off on the 2 1/2 hour trip to George. The weather was perfect and we were both stoked at seeing Phish. We arrived early to check out the parking lot scene, but, as this was a back-to-back situation, the main activity was in the far-off camping area. Still, Sil and I had fun enjoying the limited scene in our lot before heading into the show.

It has been stated many times before, but the Gorge is really an amazing setting for a show. It was my second time at the Gorge, and the weather was much milder than the time we saw Sasquatch (in '04 or '05, I think it was). It was great to be among the Phaithful, and Silvie had a fine time people-watching. Phish played for about 3 hours, and the show definitely rekindled my appreciation for these guys. The setlist was spare as each song was jammed out thoroughly. Standouts included "Possum," "Fluffhead," "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley," and the encore, "Slave to the Traffic Light." This was my 7th time seeing Phish, and Silvie's 1st, and we agreed that if they should come to the Gorge again, we'd definitely do the whole weekend.

Silvie looks ready for the show...

...but Joe needs a few more beers first


View from the lawn

Another view of the stage and gorge beyond

Fine weather and a not-yet-full lawn

Phish took the stage the very instant that the sun disappeared

Phish, opening with "Down With Disease"

Lake Tahoe

Silvie and I were invited by friends Ken and Marie to spend a week with them at their timeshare in south Lake Tahoe. This is a very nice resort located at the Heavenly ski area, at some 7200+ feet above sea level. Ken and Marie have one week in the summer and one in the winter. Silvie and I were excited about the trip, and it turned out to be even better than expected. We drove down and back which meant that two days of the trip were essentially all travel. We drove through Reno on the way down and had to navigate the windy route up the mountain in the dark (with misleading suggestions from the GPS!). Ken and Marie are an easy-going couple, and they know the area quite well, so we spent several days being tour-guided around the beautiful lake. We drove completely around the lake, toured the Pope estate at the Tallac Historic site, visited Squaw Valley, ate at great restaurants, swam in the lake, won some moola at the casinos, walked the doggies, and hung out and enjoyed the pleasant weather and gorgeous surroundings. Ken and I hiked a couple of thousand feet to the top of one of Heavenly's peaks, and Silvie and I went star-gazing at night. We really had a wonderful time and are very grateful to our hosts (we'd gladly accept another invitation to visit!).

View from the resort

The boys - Bambi, T-Cup, Rusty and Piglet

Pope Beach, Lake Tahoe

Ken, Marie and the boys

Desolation Wilderness, above Fallen Leaf Lake

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Squaw Valley, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics

Dinner at Christy Hill, lakeside

View across Emerald Bay

Lake Tahoe basin, seen from top of Sky Express, Heavenly

Another view from Heavenly (Fallen Leaf Lake seen in middle of photo)

A break before hiking back down

"Marco!" Marie and Joe in Lake Tahoe

Marie, Silvie, Joe and pups

Mt. Shasta, seen from I-5, northern CA

St. Pat's Dash

On Sunday, March 15th I ran in the St. Pat's Dash. It was my third dash, and it was a toughie. The weather was nasty, with a snow/rain mix and cold temp. The course was modified this year, due to construction, taking runners and walkers north on Aurora to Canlis restaurant before looping back to Seattle Center. The route was a tad longer this year at 3.75 miles, or just over 6k. Naturally, my time was my worst, given the length and the fact that I went at what turned out to be a slower-than-necessary pace. Percentage wise it was also my worst, as I finished just over the 4000 mark out of 7900-and-some runners. I won't bore you with the specifics. I always like to have a finishing kick, but on Sunday, I positively sprinted the last 100 yards. this told me that I left way too much in the tank, and I really could have improved my time, if even by just a minute or so. Oh well, that's not really the point. I did have fun and can't wait for next year's run.

BTW, here was my ipod playlist, which ended just about exactly the time I crossed the finish:

Wasted Years - Iron Maiden

First Tube - Phish

Jenny Ondioline - Stereolab

Blind - Hercules & Love Affair
The Ides of March - Iron Maiden

Whiplash - Metallica

My god, I didn't realize until now that I was listening to Ides on March 15th. Cool.

Antony & The Johnsons in Seattle

Silvie and I caught Antony & the Johnsons at the Moore on Saturday, February 28th. The band is touring in support of its third full-length, The Crying Light. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been so captivated by a performer; Antony really pushes the right buttons with me. He and his combo did not disappoint on Saturday at the Moore, as they treated a rapt audience to a memorable evening. The new record was stressed, with all but two tracks being played. Antony sat at the piano throughout, with the rest of the combo comprising a cellist, two violinists (one who doubled on acoustic guitar), a drummer, an electric bassist, and Doug Wieselman on various horns and electric guitar. Most of the tunes were haunting, soulful ballads. These were punctuated by a few up-tempo rockers. Wieselman shone on two, bringing the house down with his sax playing on “Shake that Devil” and blistering guitar on the fantastic “Fistful of Love.” The group encored with two of their more dramatic pieces, “Cripple and the Starfish” and “Hope There’s Someone.”

Here is the setlist, for those keeping score at home:


where is my power

her eyes are underneath the ground

epilepsy is dancing

one dove

for today i am a boy

kiss my name

everglade

another world

shake the devil

crazy in love

you are my sister

fistful of love

i was young when i left home

twilight

aeon

cripple and the starfish

hope there’s someone