Sunday, April 30, 2006

CACS Benefit!

We had a wonderful time!
Bid on lotsa stuff, only won one item but at least it was an item I really wanted!
Again, the new camera failed me- the settings are all cryptic. Argh! That's 2 shows this week where I had great access to incredible views but the camera wouldnt comply. Next time, I'm using my old broken Kodak.








Saturday, April 29, 2006

Benefit for Creative Arts Charter School

Tonight!
South of Market, in the land of ruin...something brighter than a Picasso Moon!
Jay Lane, Kenny Brooks & Friends
SOMARTS GALLERY
Tickets are available at the door for $15.
...

My daughter went to a small intensely academic private school. She had a really tough time there.
It was an artist friend with a daughter the same age that clued us in to our district's magnet Middle School for creative arts & technology. We all attended the open house and were mightily impressed with the curriculum having an arts basis!

The girls were eager to attend! Sash really found herself there. She was able use her ample creative skills and her self esteem & grades improved incredibly!

Scotto and I are hoping there will be something left to bid on at the auction tonight! Looks like the online auction (closed a few days ago) was a big success!

Hurrah for Jay & Kenny for supporting their local public Arts Elementary school!

See you there!
............
Streaming the Merlefest-Last night's Weirbacks set is said to be availabe HERE!

And also Weirback Pictures! Click Here
...........
Nice Ratdog cruise pictures at Mamarazi's website. I see the back of Scotto's head in one picture.

Merlefest Weirbacks Setlist

To hear Waybacks (without Bobby) " Cumberland" click on the link at The Waybacks My Space page


From DotOrger Deadheadnana:


Excellent show at Merlefest last night. Grate music and vibes

Waybacks song without Bobby
Jack Straw
Big Iron
19th Nervous Breakdown>
Big River
Tomorrow Never Knows
Casey Jones
St. Steven>
William Tell>
The Last Time
Cumberland Blues>
Friend of the Devil jam
Cumberland Blues
Encore - Like a Rolling Stone

It was really funny to see the little groups of Deadheads dancing during the performance while the rest of the festival goers sat and watched the Heads more than the show
___________

Friday, April 28, 2006

Waybacks morph into Weirbacks
By Matt Kramer, MP3.com
April 27, 2006 at 04:21:00 PM | more stories by this author
San Francisco-based eclectic folk band is joined by Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir in Great American Music Hall performance.

SAN FRANCISCO--While the Waybacks' CD release party last night in San Francisco was a festive occasion unto itself, the cause for most of the commotion arrived four songs into the evening. After the band had unwrapped a few of their new tunes and officially welcomed new fiddler Warren Hood, the next addition to the stage needed no introduction.



The Waybacks

The capacity crowd roared as soon as it caught sight of Bob Weir. Clad in ghostly white, the former Grateful Dead guitarist strode to center stage clutching an acoustic guitar by its neck. He acknowledged the adulation with a nod, strapped on his guitar, and quickly led the Waybacks into the Dead classic "Jack Straw." Immediately, the oak floor of the Great American Music Hall began to buckle from dancing that would continue throughout both sets.

From there, the Weirbacks, as some have called this collaboration, steamed straight into "Big Iron," a Weir staple since even before his 1976 Kingfish recording. By the end of this tale of the Old West, Weir, sporting an outlaw-caliber mustache, seemed like a gunslinger, hunched over and hammering out power chords through his electronically enhanced acoustic cutaway.

Waybacks lead guitarist James Nash explained the special occasion during a break between songs: "Tonight we're playing stuff we wanted to play, instead of what we already knew." This served as a potent dose of foreshadowing for what was yet to come.

Crowd-pleasing Grateful Dead numbers such as "Casey Jones" and "Brown-Eyed Women" mingled with Johnny Cash's "Big River" and The Band's ever-popular "The Weight." Weir took over lead vocals much of the night, occasionally growling and screaming, especially when tackling the Rolling Stones songs "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "The Last Time."

But even those raucous renditions didn't prepare the crowd for the powerhouse punch of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir."

The ornate, frescoed theater shook while Weir wailed a la Robert Plant over earthquake-quality rhythms anchored by Joe Kyle, Jr. bowing his stand-up bass. Who'd have thought that one fiddle and one mandolin could do such justice to the strings section of that classic rock anthem?

The night's highlights also veered outside of rock and roll. Some of Weir's most expressive and impressive guitar work came to light in a New Orleans-style number in the Waybacks' repertoire. Perfectly complementing Warren Hood's sweet, smooth vocals, Weir brandished a slide and coaxed a soulful solo that elicited appreciative shouts from the floor and balconies.

San Francisco isn't the only city lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this potent conglomeration. This weekend, the Waybacks will serve as Weir's backing band for two performances at North Carolina's popular MerleFest.

Back to Today's News >>
FRIDAY!!!!!!!
I need sleep!
Thinking of those at Merlefest and hope that Bobby & The Waybacks play that Kashmir for them!
Looky here- Ian Carlson has GD Blog!
Definately check that out!

Looking forward to seeing some of Ratdog tomorrow night at SOM Arts on Brannan St.
I believe the whole benefit shindig begins at 6PM.
Tickets at the door will be $15
Can't wait!

Thursday, April 27, 2006

I'm tired but supremely happy!
Perma smile is hurting my cheeks.
Let's start!
Scotto had to play 2 softball games last night. When he bought the tix, it was storming here and Scotto forgot to check his league's schedule. So we had 2 dinner tix waiting at the will call. To obtain tix purchased in another's name, I had to have Scott write me a note and bring a copy of his driver's license.
Though Kemmie already had a ticket, I wanted her to take my extra dinner ticket as the dinner ticket holders get their own line and first admittance into the venue.
Even though we didnt get to the city til after 7PM (doors open 7:30) Kemmie & I found ourselves to be the first people in the dinner line..and within minutes of getting into line, we were let into the empty venue. I went upstairs to the corner spot on the second balcony (stage right). Great views often used as a VIP section at some shows. Kemmie wasnt interested in dining and so made for the rail. I enjoyed a nice dinner and watched the spaces fill up.
I was surprised to hear that the show had SOLD OUT! Eventually other diners joined me on the balcony- Folk music fans.
Through the evening I got to see so many friends & Weir Freaks there! It was like a teeny SF Beacon experience!!
The lights went down and The Waybacks came on and heh, it was awesome. Sooner than you mightve figured, Bobby strolled on stage and the energy-already big-heightened significantly!

Setlist off Deadnet Thanks Graceful & Trinks

4/26/06 Waybacks with Bob Weir

From the Pasture to the Future
I've Been Around
*
In the Night
Jack Straw
Big Iron
Casey Jones
Major Sally>Tomorrow Never Knows
Petrified Man
The Weight
19th Nervous Breakdown>
Big River

The Blacksmith
Hot Kranski
*
Brown Eyed Women
Kashmir>
Saint Stephen> High Green Chilly Winds>
Last Time
The New Orleans
Cumberland Blues

Like A Rolling Stone
Brokedown Palace

My photos suck but until the real photogs start posting, you can take a peek on my new homepages at:
My sad lil Weirbacks pix

An amazing night of music! The setlist tells half the story. I watched the floor and everyone was moving. Cheers from the audience were continuous. I loved every song but the Kashmir blew my mind. Bobby sang it! We all need to band together and find this show!
At setbreak I went down to see some friends - I was invited to join them for encore and when that time I literally flew down the stairs....with the help of some Stoly on the rox, my pulled muscle was pain free -the pulled muscle was the main reason I stayed up in the balcony- near chairs. But wasnt feeling any pain (a Weiracle!) through Like a Rolling Stone and Brokedown (a beautiful Brokedown ,it was too!). I was lucky and happy that no one in the area (by the rail on the side) had a problem with me being there. The energy was even more intense .
What a great night!


Just got home from GAMH!
A great time!
I really mean it-!
Sold out show but not uncomfortable.
Good energy everywhere.
Wonderful to see all the Bay Area Bobby fans again!


Many many highlights!
Let's just start with Bobby covering Led Zep's Kashmir
Oh oh oh!.
BIG IRON!
I have to teach in the morning - must sleep.
I tried to take pictures with the new camera but didnt know what I was doing.
Will try uploading tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

YessireeBobby, I'm leaving in a few hours -heading to the Great American Music Hall for an evening with the Waybacks and their special guest, our Bobby!
I promise to tap a few words about it afterwards...even though my Beacon saga is still waiting to be finished...
What can I say? Life in the fast lane round here!



Did you know there's a website/blog for Cover songs?






Just heard the company who owns the rights to BGP is changing it's name to Live Nation.
That just makes me sad.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Thank You to Paulyy for this photo of Bobby and The Wimma Wompas! (AKA The Rads)!

Woof!
I'm alive!
My modem broke and then I found out that I shouldve been connecting to the internet via an ethernet cord and not thru a USB wire. Apparently, there is no such thing as a modem that connects to an iMac via the USB. Even though that old modem did just that, it was time to move on to installing an Air Port Card and adding something called an Air Port Extreme to my ever growing collection of computer stuff. The happy part is that by doing things the correct way, I am now able to access my Macweb site. I spent a few minutes experimenting with it and look forward to no longer having to load everything up over at snapfish....The computer is no longer anchored to the modem. I can schlep this awkward thing all over the house and still get online yay!


The Talk of the Town! This link leads to an article on Bobstar and Donald Trump.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006


Swiped off Deadnet-

Tonight's Dead to the World opens with a brief but exciting excerpt from Ratdog 3/31/06 in New Hampshire, and then segues into 90 minutes of The Waybacks. From their performance at The Freight 3/11, I have a 20-minute "Cumberland Blues" that
will knock your socks off; that will be followed by a set recorded March 8 in the KPFA performance studio.

DTTW airs from 8-10pm Pacific Time on KPFA 94.1 in northern California, and on the web at www.kpfa.org and www.kfcf.org

...........................................

From The Contra Costa Times:

OUR NEIGHBORS: CHRIS TREADWAY

Wavy Gravy's groovy party

THE STANDARD-BEARER of the '60s is turning 70, and that means it's time for a party. The next step of what Berkeley's own Wavy Gravy calls his "descent into geezerhood" comes on May 20 when a lineup of nine acts -- including two led by former members of the Grateful Dead --takes the Berkeley Community Theater stage for a celebration concert.

Performers will include Bob Weir and Ratdog, Mickey Hart and Friends, Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, David Lindley, John Trudell, Linda Tillery, Nina Gerber and Hamza el Din. "And surprise guests which I'm not at liberty to talk about for various reasons," Gravy said.

The counterculture clown has also invited students from the after-school clown academy at Prescott Elemen-tary School in Oakland to perform.

As always, proceeds from the annual birthday concert benefit the Berkeley-based Seva Foundation, which works to eliminate curable and preventable blindness in India, Nepal, Tibet, Cambodia Bangladesh and Tanzania. "Seeing the poorest of the poor getting cataracts taken out and occular lenses put in was one of the most amazing moments of my life," Gravy said.

To date Seva has made close to 2.5 million eye surgeries possible and has also expanded its scope to address diabetes and lack of potable water on U.S. Indian reservations. It has also started community garden projects on American Indian lands and, believe it or not, is working to bring back bison.

"They're an excellent source of low-cholesterol protein," Gravy said, adding, "Actually they named one of the stud buffalo after me. The Wavy Gravy buffalo is in constant competition with another buffalo named Mike Bison."

As if in proof of Seva's effectiveness, foundation co-founder Dr. Larry Brilliant was appointed in February to head Google.org, the philan-thropic branch of the online search engine. and Gravy, who has made Seva a personal cause and is a founding board member, was at Google headquarters for the formal introduction, along with former vice president Al Gore.

To keep the official record straight, the day of the concert is not really Gravy's birthday. "We had to move the birthday, for mercantile reasons, from the 15th to the 20th," he said.

And May 20 doesn't necessarily begin and end with the show.

"For the high-rollers of the world there is dinner at Berkeley Downtown Restaurant and a post-show reception," Gravy said, plus orchestra pit seating and a numbered, limited-edition concert poster. Those tickets, dubbed Circle of Awe, cost $1,000. Circle of Hope tickets (dinner, poster and orchestra seating) are $250 and Circle of Compassion tickets (orchestra seating, event poster and post-show reception) are $200.

Tickets for the show alone are $35 and $50. And remember, it's for a good cause.



Have a community item or a tip? Call Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784, e-mail ctreadway@cctimes.com, or write to West County Times, 4301 Lakeside Drive, Richmond, CA 94806. Our fax is 510-262-2776.

IF YOU GO

Tickets for Wavy Gravy's 70th Birthday are now on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets and online at http://GDTSTOO.com. Special pre- and post-show reception tickets are on sale through Seva Foundation special events, 510-845-7382, Ext. 332, or visit www.seva.org-/specialevents.
............
it's a beautiful afternoon here. Something about the warmth with friendly breezes brings me way back in time to one day when I was in high school. 1975? Seems like we took off like that fairly often.. I think- I could check dates but I'm going by boyfriends-not-years here. I was sort of (the 70's!) with a guy named Mike. He was the year ahead of me. No idea of whatever happened to him? He was moody but cute.
It was just about this time of the day- after lunch, when someone came out to Washington Park (behind the school's "smoking lines") and said they heard of a free concert in GGP! Wouldnt take my group long to decide we could skip the rest of the school day and head up to the city for fun! ALWAYS! no matter how lovely the weather would be here on the Peninsula (Burlingame to be specific) it would always be freezing and foggy at the Park. Oh but what fun it always was!
..............
I cant remember and am too lazy to check whether I posted a link to this article/interview yet?

Monday, April 17, 2006

Those gosh darn Wimmawompas struck again!
Last night Sweetwater!
I'll find the setlist in a bit.
Yes, I figured my guy would be there...certainly plenty of Radiater Weir fans sent me reminders but Scotto was out seeing the dude from Pink Floyd at the Paramount..and I am still walking a few feet above the ground from The Beacon experience so it didnt hurt too badly to stay in. It was still raining and the kids were getting ready to return to school after vacation.
The mother was needed at home.
Anyhoo, I heard a great time was had by all who made it out to the show!


Via Mazzy @ Deadnet:
The Weema Wompa's Sweetwater, Mill Valley, CA - Easter Sunday April 16th, 2006

Holiday> The Lion Sleeps Tonight> Holiday Reprise, Bring Me the Head of
Isaac Newton, Lila, Long Hard Journey Home, Jesus On The Mainline, If I Had
Possesion Over Judgement Day (Martin joins in here through end of show),
Morning Dew, River Run, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Never Can Tell

The Mess Around, Zeke solo excerpt- I Did My Part> Find Somebody Gonna
Treat Me Right, Spoonful> The Lost Highway (Weir joins in here through end
of show) *Maggie's Farm>*Waiting for the Rain

*Not Fade Away> Mona> Not Fade Away

* w/ Bob Weir on guitar & vocals

Note to Paulyy- I'd like to see that picture someday!!!

Which member of the Grateful Dead are You?
Guess who I am?
Heh!
My Results:
Bob Weir
you have great vocals and are just fun to be around
.......................
Nice Danbury rview Here
.......................
Somewhere new to peruse
Ratdog.dreamhosters.com

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Happy Easter!

Featuring the next generation of stars performing alonside Bay Area greats!


Blue Star Music Benefit
Special Guest Honoree Bob Weir

For more info, click here
Thursday, May 4 7:00pm
$250.00 Per Person
Buy tickets at TicketWeb or by calling 415.383.9600

Blue Star Music Camp proudly presents their annual benefit celebrating five rockin' years of Kids and Music!

Blue Star Music Camps provides a safe, encouraging and fun environment for youth, ages 13 to 18, to learn contemporary music, voice and theatre skills from professional musicians, including Grammy-winning artists. As a non-profit organization, other top artists such as Bonnie Raitt, BB King, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, and Robert Cray, to name just a few, have contributed to the ongoing efforts of Blue Star Music Camps.

Students come with various ability levels — from beginner to advanced — but all are committed to their musical growth. Regardless of their ability level, training is tailored and customized to each student’s skills and interests within a unique performance driven program where the kids write their own show. Students are encouraged to try all camp offerings such as performing, instrumentation, stagecraft, songwriting and composition, in an effort to increase the depth of their experience. The culmination of their week of workshops and lessons comes on Friday evenings — where a public concert is held at the camp’s theatre.

Blue Star Music Camps offers young people an environment to explore self-expression, develop a musical skill and gain confidence through setting and achieving goals. In addition to exposing youths to the world of cultural arts, we hope to help them recognize and pursue career options in the music industry, build upon their sense of personal worth and create an outlet for their creativity, their energy and their abilities.

Saturday, April 15, 2006


Has it really been a week since the Beacon show?!
I'm still writing my experience out back on the April 11 th Blog entry.
When I'm done with it, I'll link it up.
................
Happy Holidays to everyone!

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Hmmm, what's this? There's Bobby video locked away somewhere in Colorado?
according to this article, that is.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

The first whiffs of summer action just revealed themselves:

Saturday, July 1 at Red Rocks, Morrison, CO:
RatDog, String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams.

Sunday, July 2 at Red Rocks, Morrison, CO:
RatDog, String Cheese Incident, Taj Mahal Trio

Doors open at 3:00 PM. Show time is 5:00 PM.

Mail order tickets are available:
Reserved at $50.50: Rows 25-60
General admission at $46.50: Rows 1-24 and 61 and up.

First day to mail in for these shows is Thursday, April 13.

Sorry for the short notice but plenty of tickets are
available, so don't worry about not getting your order
out by Thursday.

The Crew of GDTSTOO
April 12, 2006
--

"Shadow boxing the apocalypse, wandering the land..."

John Perry Barlow


Web Site: http://www.gdtstoo.com
email: GDTSTOO@dead.net

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

The Beacon!!


To hear/see an Ace getting Trumped go to here!

04/06
I: Jam > The Golden Road to Unlimited > Bertha, Jam > Bird Song > Little Red Rooster, Odessa, Señor > Crazy Fingers > Jus' Like Mama Said > New Speedway Boogie
II: K.C. Moan, Peggy-O, The Weight, China Cat Sunflower* > I Know You Rider*, Stuff*, Wharf Rat > Sugar Magnolia
E: Attics of My Life, Foolish Heart
*-w/ DJ Logic

04/07
I: Jam > Truckin > Take Me to the River > Loser, Easy to Slip > Supplication Jam* > Dark Star*, Tuesday Blues* > Scarlet Begonias*+ > Iko Iko*+
II: When I Paint My Masterpiece@4>6, Candyman@, Masters of War@, Even So+ > October Queen+ > The Deep End+ > Lady with a Fan* > Terrapin* > Stuff*+ > Black Peter*, St. Stephen* > William Tell Bridge* > The Eleven*# > Touch of Grey*#
E: At a Siding* > Terrapin Flyer*
*-w/ Tom Pope (drums); +-w/ Josh Roseman (trombone); #-w/ Warren Haynes; Stuff - Jay/Tom > Jay/Jeff/Kenny/Robin/MK/Tom/Josh

04/08
I: Jam > Shakedown Street > Maggie's Farm > She Belongs to Me > Frankie and Johnny, Row Jimmy, Jack Straw > Lazy River Road > Big Railroad Blues
II: Deep Elem Blues@, Ripple@, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall@, Easy Answers > He's Gone > Eyes of the World > Stuff > Sugaree* > Dark Star* > Bird Song* > One More Saturday Night*
E: Brokedown, U.S. Blues
*-w/ John Ginty (keys); First "Frankie and Johnny"







































I'm home now!
Where to even begin?
Great nonstop flight out on Song airlines. Like Virgin Air, Song has individual screens on the back of the seats so one can choose from a variety of ways to be entertained. I watched 'Syriana" then CNN, then made a songlist for myself from an okay selection of albums. Didnt sleep- I rarely sleep on planes.
I had one day in NYC- Saturday. It was stormy and hailing. The adventures start from the first second I stepped out of the doors of JFK.
I don't have enough time at the moment to begin with the stories . It's gonna be busy here for a while as the kids are on vacation and the Jewish holidaze are just starting up.
The band was hot!
The Beacon was beautiful!
It was lovely to see everyone!
Thank yous to all, especially, Glowy, The UK girlies, Slave, Alan, Bud, Rachael, Kris, Michael & the usual suspects for helping to make my first visit to the big city unusually memorable and GREAT!
Don't get me started on the cabbies, though!
...................................................................
Actually, the big day began with taxis.
The last words to me from el Scotto at SFO were " Be careful! Be ALERT!"
I was one second out of the doors of JFK, when a guy in a suit ran up to me and yelled at me something about forgetting about taxis, that I could ride in a limo for the same price. It was a startling experience the way he ran up to me hollaring and all, I thought there was a fire or something! When I started understanding it was some sort of limo scam, I said no and walked on to the Taxi island. I was given a piece of paper and thrust inside a huge van thing that barely resembled a cab.
I told the driver the address of my hotel and off we roared.
When it appeared we were out of the airport, the cabbie asked if I would like to stop at this place he knew that sold coffee, doughnuts and had an ATM machine.
I said NO.
But he drove to a minimart anyway. He got out. He locked the doors and he left me there!
I was too tired to throw a tantrum and besides, I had no clue as to where I was. Wherever I was, it didnt look like a place I should be bolting out of a cab at 6:30 in the morning. I looked out my window into the windows of the mini mart and my cabbie was having a good old time, drinkin coffee, eating doughnuts and shopping away.
He managed to get lost on the way to my hotel too. His first choice of highways was backed up. He actually backed his van up a curb and made a U-Turn out of there.
At last, he arrived at my hotel which was at the edge of SoHo.
The hotel let me check in early but not without a bit of scowling and gruffness on their part.
I let myself in my room and promptly went to sleep.
I slept for several hours, woke up excited and ready to see NYC!
First though, there were calls to make...but oops! I left the paper with everyone's phone numbers on it at home!
Well, then, it was only 11 AM, I figured I'd knock about and get some walking in and then call home once everyone in Cali was awake (3 hour time difference) and someone there could read me the numbers.
I got myself together and bounced downstairs and out into the street. I ought to have asked the desk guy which direction to go but he had been so surly earlier that I figured I would ask around outside.
The weather was terribly foul! Raining buckets! I picked a direction and ambled on and on and on. So far not much to see that told me I was in NYC. I found myself in a China town , then Little Italy, then back to Chinatown where I bought an umbrella as the rain was starting to soak through . A few blocks from there was the Canal street subway station. I saw my first NYC Policeman! "Howyadoin?"
I ducked into a little shop in the station and bought a map.
I saw that one of my "Must See" places- Washington Square (DYLANSVILLE!) was only blocks (8 or9) away! I went back up the street and marched on up the 8 or 9 blocks. The rain was now joined by wind and 1-2-3 POOF! The wind had whipped my umbrella all apart! What a waste of $5! I kept on. Dumped the useless thing in a garbage can by NYU.
I thought of going into one of the coffee houses surrounding Washington Sq. but all appeared to be filled to capacity.
The wind and rain were miserable.
I hailed a cab.
more like-

I held my palm up and waited as at least a dozen cabs passed me. I lifted my hand more like a wave and at last, someone pulled over.
I decided then that I ought to go see the Beacon, maybe I would find a friend in line?
This cabbie was super friendly, chattered the whole time about Dylan.
I asked him if Carnegie Deli was anywhere near the Beacon ? He was emphatic that it was just a 2 minute walk up the street from the Beacon. He pointed the way...I tipped generously, mainly because neither of us had any change. Oh well, he was at least the friendliest person I had met so far on my journey.

To my surprise, there was NO one doing line duty in front of the Beacon!!
OOPS again! I remembered it was not a GA show so no need for a line!

Well, all was not lost. Supposedly the Carnegie Deli was up the street and so, I would venture up and be able to get warm and
be able to cross off "Visiting a NYC Deli" off my To Do list.
I pointed myself in the direction toward the Deli (as per Cabbie) and marched on...and on...and on...
At some point I was way past two blocks...and the rain turned to hail.
And I felt my cell phone vibrate! I fumbled around to answer it and it was Gemmi on the other end! And then it was Michael!
Bless them they talked to me til I finally found a diner!
My hands were frozen stiff and a cup of coffee was never needed more.
I was totally drenched!
And hungry too!
I was placed in a window seat. As advised by Scott, I ordered a NYC Pastrami sandwich and NYC cheesecake (mmm!)
I called home, it took a few tries before Sasha answered. She found my numbers and it still took a moment to get my frozen fingers working to write them down...but I got em!
I called here and there . Finished my fatty NYC meal and considered the rain, wind and what exactly I would be able to do next.
Of course! I'd try and see if tickets were available to the Edvard Munch exhibit!
I paid my bill, stepped back out on Broadway and boldly waved down a taxi.
I couldnt recall which museum was having the exhibit so I guessed the Metropolitan Museum.
This cabbie was quiet. It was a pleasant ride until someone honked and my cabbie started honking & shrieking "FCUK YOU!" at another driver who was honking & sreaming right back. I slunk down in my seat and hoped it wasnt going to be much further to the Met.
It wasnt. I recognized the building at the same moment remembered the Munch exhibit was at (obvious now to me) MOMA.
Ah well, seeing the Met was pretty exciting!
I was thrilled to be there.
I spent a few hours lost in art history then thought to ask someone for the time.

Eeesh! It was already 4:30pm! Time to get myself back to Soho and get it together for the show. I still needed to track down the girl who was holding my ticket.
I exited the Met and was delighted to see a stream of taxis waiting. As I told the cabbie that I needed to get to Soho, he screamed at me to get out of his cab! He yelled that it was almost time for him to check out and no way would he be taking me out to SoHo!
Geez!
The next cabby was also rather pissy about taking me back. "Friggin Soho?! Where in friggin Soho?"
Geez!
It did kinda take forever to move thru traffic and all.
I had about a half an hour to dry off, primp and try to get a hold of friends.
I thought I might just rest for a few minutes, I closed my eyes for about a minute when my phone started ringing. Ring! Ticket girl found me and we made arrangements! Ring! My UK Girls found me! Ring! My NY Girls found me! Everything was actually falling into place and I got myself together and ran back downstairs to the street, once again in search of a cab!
The rain had stopped. I was feeling good and so walked a few blocks toward the village. Waved my hand wide and high and voila! A cab stopped.
Of course, had to deal with a bit of attitude by the driver "The Beacon? Broadway? Where on Broadway? Goddammit! Shit! Where?!"
It was a long slow quiet strained ride after his little burst of impatience with me. I might have walked faster than the traffic was flowing.
Once we got to The Beacon, the driver kept on driving and didnt stop! I shouldve just gotten out but instead let him drive around the corner to end up back at the Beacon..that took like an additional 7 minutes too.
Yay!
Finally out of that cab!
A respectable sized crowd was starting to gather in front of The Beacon. I milled around and then found Ellen, her friend and the UK Girls! They walked on up to the bar while I did a once over of the crowd to see if I could find that elusive girl with my ticket. No luck but I found Chez & Me~ and they knew who to look for and where to send her. So I took off up the street and found the bar with the girls. The place was packed with Dogheads and the theme of the evening was established as "Gee, you look awfully familiar?" Everyone looked vaguely familar-either from shows or from photos posted at blogs, websites and message boards. I had a great time catching up with the girlies. Hadnt seen Ellen since the Bahamas or the girls since last Summer when we took the kids to the UK. I saw some folks take off so I figured I had better get back out and find my ticket!
I barely walked a few feet when I recognized Daisy -the girl with my ticket! Thank You Daisy and Slayve!!
After that I kept stumbling intoDeadnetters like Graceful & Rus with Loie! LL, Dire Wolf,Krispy, Tiny, FlJen, L Rob!
Somewhere I have a list but it's only halfway complete. Again loads of familiar faces!
I climbed up to my balcony seat. I could barely believe I was really there!
It was a thrill to see everyone from the rail to all the way behind me-up in the rafters get up to dance to Shakedown!
Though I do love the intensity of the rail, every once in a while it's good to be sort of hidden and alone because I can dance, sing and space out as dorky as I like. There was no one in the row behind me or in the row in front of me- I scooched down to the unoccuppied seats right on the balcony and enjoyed myself fully!
Turned out to be one of those shows where the setlist made sense to me. Doesnt everyone have a show like that once in a while? Where the words of each song seem like a personal message just for you? Scotto had that feeling at the December SF Ratdog show. Milton Keynes 2003 seemed like they were reading my thoughts.
Don't worry, I know its all coincidence/synchronicity. I suppose I could extract meaningfulness from almost any setlist..
but still, it was rather cool!
When the set was over, I ran down stairs to the main floor. The crowd was crazy thick with folks. I could see clusters of familiar people. Once I finally got into the crowd- I got to see Ben! Then a few moments later, at lonnnnnnnnnnnnng lonnnnnnnng last- I finally got to meet Michael Hotz & Doodle! Awesome! Before long it was time to head back on upstairs to my seat. The rest of the show went by too fast.
....................more later...............................
...................................
HUGE BELATED HIPPY BERTHAS TO GERALDINE! and to my JASON!!!!!!
We thought of both of you all day on the 8TH!

Thursday, April 06, 2006

At least I'm enjoying the ride!

So ,
I'm going to NYC!
Friends and more friends are all gonna be there.
I have next week off from work. No need to rush right home!
I can get there in time to see Ratdog play their last show of the tour on Saturday night!
Scott was happy to find a way to get me away from whatever sausage fest baseball/basketball deal he's probably planning on having while I'm gone.
A friend found me a ticket and I managed to find flights that don't hurt too badly.

I leave tomorrow on ye olde red eye and be in the city Saturday morning.
I will take notes- I promise!
Woof!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

4/3/2006 Lupo's at the Strand, Providence, RI
I: Jam > The Music Never Stopped > Easy Answers > Baby Blue, Youngblood, Brown-Eyed Women, Lucky Enough, Wrong Way Feelin', Might as Well
II: Me and Bobby McGee@4, Corrina@, Jam > Mississippi Half-Step > Estimated Prophet > Tomorrow Never Knows > Stuff > Standing on the Moon > Throwing Stones
E: Ripple
Stuff - Kenny/Jeff/Jay/Robin

For more info about Ratdog at the Harmony festival- click on this Linky dinky right here!

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Spring just gets better and better!!! If only the rain would stop!
This just in:
Jay Lane will be performing with Dave Shul from Spearhead and other RatDog members at a benefit auction on April 29 in San Francisco. The benefit is for a public school named Creative Arts Charter School. Here is a link to their online auction and more information about the event. Hope you can come and tell your friends.

Go shopping at the Creative Arts School auction link!! I just browsed and saw that some of my favorite SF shops have donated goodies & certificates!!!

................
April Fools get on the bus! Video of last night's special encore is HERE
.......

4/1/2006 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA
I: Jam > Jack Straw > Cassidy > Bird Song > Odessa > Lazy River Road > Deep Elem Blues, Greatest Story Ever Told, Help on the Way > Slipknot!
II: Black Throated Wind@, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall@, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Althea > Ashes and Glass > Stuff, Sugaree > Bird Song > Cassidy > One More Saturday Night
E: Get on the Bus*, Franklin's Tower
*-Bobby on trombone, MK on bass, Jay on keys and vox, Kenny on keys, Robin on lead guitar, Jeff on trumpet, and Vadim Camby on drums; Stuff - Jeff/Jay/Robin/Kenny
Thanks lizardking and BEW

Saturday, April 01, 2006


Nice pictures from last night's show can be found HERE

3/31/2006 Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, NH
I: Jam > Maggie's Farm > Shakedown Street > Big River, She Says > Liberty, Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance, Hell in a Bucket
II: El Paso@4, Me and My Uncle@, Even So > October Queen > The Deep End > Uncle John's Band > West L.A. Fadeaway > Stuff > Come Together > Sugar Magnolia
E: Attics of My Life
Stuff - Jay/Mark/Robin/Kenny/Jeff