A Complete Explanation Of Everything

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Trying to keep the overhead low...

Sunday 22nd October: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals with Neal Casal, Olympia - Dublin

Meant to get to this earlier but a wrong headed review of this gig in today's Irish Times has provided the motivation to kickstart this short piece into gear.

First off, let's start by admitting that the presence of Neal Casal was a welcome and unanticipated bonus. No, I hadn't done my homework and I didn't know that The Cardinals had been reinforced by the addition of Neal nor that he would be performing warm-up duties. I'm familiar with Casal from the days long past when a little gem of a song, "Today, I'm gonna bleed", was included on an Uncut magazine promotional CD. One of my first dabblings in alt-country really, hell, it was so good I taped it and returned it to my friend but years later I was still humming it when I picked up the excellent CD, "Leaving Traces", a kind of anthology of Casal's work.

So. Bonus, like I said.

Even better, 3/4 songs into Neal's acoustic warm-up, only one song I was familiar with, Monsieur Adams saunters out and gets on the drums to give Neal a hand. Now, this is rockin', this is what music and shows should be all about. No egos, just kicking it back and playing for the heck of it. What main act comes on at 8:15 to play drums for his support? But oh no, The Irish Times review guy fails to mention this o'course, instead making the usual thinly veiled references to Adams bring "difficult" and whatever.

Casal made a point during the opening set that you know it's alright if an artist gives out to his/her audience and I entirely agree, audiences need to be challenged these days. It's a feature of gigs these days, like at a Gemma Hayes thing recently, that people tend to forget the reason they come out to shows, we want to hear these artists playing!!! So, when it's a quiet little tune a bit of respect, eh? A bit of hush? Is it too much to ask? Or have the Celtic Tiger cubs grown so vacuous that their own self importance now grandstands moments of musical sophistication? I think mostly they're pepped up on goofballs.

But back to our Irish Times friend, he talks about how Ryan is admittedly ill at ease with audiences, well, that might be true in a certain light but I think when Ryan was quoted in pitchfork magazine saying something along the lines of if I piss people off so what, the only ones who really get pissed off are the third of the audience I couldn't stand in the first place, he's not really outta line in my opinion.

Kurt Cobain had a hard time dealing, reportedly, with guys from the military writing him letters about how much they thought "Smells Like Teen Spirit" rocked and it's similar for any artist I believe, at least, artists that are honest.

And that's what Adams is, refreshingly honest. He's upfront that he ain't there to please the kids, he's there to give them a musical experience, like all gigs should be. The set list is not the same as the night before, and there will be new versions of old songs, it helps keep it interesting for the artist! And imagine an artist wanting to keep a connection with his music by trying different things out? Why it's absolutely outrageous and sinful and should be banned immediately.

The Irish Times guy took issue with Ryan's disdain for encores. I liked it. Bold as brass, Adams says listen, I think encores are stupid and you have this law here where I can't smoke on stage, so I've got my watch alarmed and I'm going to be back in three minutes so you guys run to the loo, grab a beer and be back here in three and we're going to play till curfew. A few disappointed "awwwws" from the audience, quick as a flash, he's back: "No, it'll be cool, two hours is great..."

And he's right! I can think of many performers down through the years who have been poor value for their audience, who've made them suffer pointlessly through double encores after cutting the main set ridiculously short. I can go for less of that stage managed bullshit.

Tonight was music as should it be.

And sure Ryan's sound is looser, loose as a goose. But that's how we like it.

Maybe that's a problem, he's a little too country for the mainstream.

"Farewell to the city and the love of my life,
Least we left before we had to go..."
posted by Christophe at 24.10.06 0 comments

Friday, October 20, 2006

No plot? No problem!

Somewhat contrary to the spirit of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month (it started out in the states but has gone global since but the name ain't changed), I've actually got some of the details worked out in advance.

I've got title, character, plot and even the dedication worked out following an epiphany there yesterday.

In honour of this, I have added the shiny icon in the sidebar indicating my participation this November.

50,000 words.

One month.

Half a pack of ciggarettes.

A full tank of gas.

It's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.

Well not really.

My sunglasses are broken.

NaNoWriMo Official Site
posted by Christophe at 20.10.06 0 comments

Thursday, October 19, 2006

The ashtray said...

... you were up all night.

So yeah, I've got one of those blogs that people rarely update but that has been because of work. Yes. You heard me correctly.

WORK.

Me, of all people.

It's been quite hectic round here as the company finalises a programme of capital expenditure for the airport and submits it to the Regulator, users, etc. My boss has been on maternity leave since July and thus a certain burden has been passed onto lowly me, and speaking of lowly me, that promotion has predictably stalled with the Chief Executive and will not be processed until some point (unspecified) in November.

The good news is that it will be backdated, should I get it and the other bit o'good news is that things have calmed down a bit. But it probably won't take much to turn this into our winter of discontent!!!

I should have much ado about nothing to review for you this weekend: a debate, a concert and an octogenarian's birthday.

I have also signed up for NaNoWriMo so expect progress reports.

Back to work and back to wondering now... What has become of little Dave in China? How is Jim getting on in 'Stralia? And countless others!

Maybe all this blog needs is a shot in the arm.
posted by Christophe at 19.10.06 0 comments

Saturday, October 7, 2006

A slowly diminishing grip on reality...

What a disaster of a week.

I meant to bring you a film review of a blatant piece of communist propaganda - Yo Soy Cuba (I Am Cuba), which was showing in the Irish Film Institute in town but owing to work complications that didn't work out.

Cabin fever in Ireland is kinda setting in... I haven't sorted out long term plans in any sense and am kinda waiting, in fact I am waiting to see how that promotion pans out before making a firm decision one way or the other.

Meanwhile.

The world keeps turning.

Turning.

And crashing and burning.

I could go on and on but this was never meant to be a moan blog.

So I'll stop it there.

What's au programme for the weekend?

- Haircut

- Cyprus vs Ireland

- Some radical socialism

- Granny on her deathbed

- Old man pints

Fuck this for a lark.
posted by Christophe at 7.10.06 0 comments

Sunday, October 1, 2006

A matter of opinion

You have to work on your opening lines.

You've got about five seconds to make your case otherwise this thing is going to drag on all day.

Yesterday, my local branch and some of the other nearby comrades, carried out an opinion poll for the Dublin North Constituency to gauge general support for the various parties / candidates with an election upcoming, probably within the next 10 or so months at least.

So, there ya go, easier than doing a straight paper sale, which for the uninitiated can be a bit like selling a Trotskyist version of The Watchtower or something. The revolutionary aspect of this work, particularly this sort of doorstepping, can sometimes be a little hard to pin down but there you are and you carry that little particle of the revolution in whatever way you can.

It was however, an interesting insight into the mind of the general electorate, from a purely academic point of view. Seeing as I was just listening (and only judging internally), the great difficulty the vast majority would seem to have is the ability to make connections.

Joined up thinking, not their apparent speciality.

"I want a change of government / I'm dissatisfied with this / that (public transport / infrastructure & planning)"

Fair enough, I think internally.

"Care to indicate your preferences Sir / Madam?"

Santa Maria! If he / she is not jotting down the incumbents, could it possibly be that a small lack of attention to detail might be at the root of the proper execution of democracy?

Obviously not, for example, the posters have already gone up... Clearly some election coffers were burning a hole in certain parties and that has an impact, the power of advertising.

The safe choice from my own statistically unrepresentative findings (30 estates, about 50 actual responses and only three wards) was the Green Party for Dublin North. For the liberal with the small "l", it sounds good, it's not too threatening and I don't have to think too much.

Anyway, I'll get the full results at the Branch meeting tomorrow and we'll see what we're facing into.
posted by Christophe at 1.10.06 0 comments