Author: fifteenkey (Page 78 of 95)

Recently an earnings report of a restaurant chain in the South got me thinking about just how glamorous the Tar Hut years were. I mean, we were record executives, dammit. Where were the groupies, the hookers, the blow? Other than the time Dave and Jeff badly mistreated the bathroom* (and anyone in it) at the Four Seasons in Austin, we really didn’t live the high life. Our road trips to Austin were low-budget affairs including dining here and lodging for 3 here. Now I’m not going to get into the “who did what to whom” thing, but the fact is, neither Jeff nor I were willing to sleep with Dave, so Jeff and I slept back to back for four long nights one year. Yeah, that double-bed was a “no-spoon” zone that didn’t include Dave… No wonder we always had Maker’s Mark with us… that, with two sides and a roll.

* There were several “bathroom incidents” involving Jeff and Dave, including one alleged episode when they simultaneously suffered gastro-intestinal distress right after seeing Sandra Bullock while eating at Hut’s Hamburgers. Listen, I couldn’t possibly make this stuff up, and since this is a family blog, I’ll stop right there.

It’s back! “M” reports that “Love Monkey” has found a new home on VH1! They will air three previously seen (on CBS) shows back-to-back on April 11 starting at 7:00, followed by five weekly installments Tuesdays at 9:00 beginning April 18. However – no new episodes have been ordered…

Still, I’m pretty excited and so was Jeff when I told him…

That’s almost 4 ½ months to train for the Falmouth Road Race. The last time I um, ran it was 1983, and my race preparation consisted of a chocolate covered donut handed to me in a moving vehicle as I awoke after a night of partying. Yeah, I slept in the luxurious back seat. “Here, you’re gonna need this,” chirped Tom Murphy as he commanded his vintage late 70’s Chevy Impala, nicknamed “the Millenium Falcon.” “Huh?” That was about all I could manage as I attempted to quell the queasiness forming slowly like a tropical storm in my gut. “We’re running the Falmouth Road Race!” We weren’t official entrants of course, so we waited by the side of the road near the starting line as the gun blasted and thousands of runners, joggers, plodders, and us, the dregs, followed the elite sprinters out of Woods Hole. I won’t go through the grueling mile by mile call of the race, but suffice to say, I ran some and walked some. The legs were there, but from a cardio standpoint, I wasn’t. After about 4 miles of relatively flat track, the last half mile includes a very steep hill up Falmouth Heights Road to a sharp left turn where the bright, glistening ocean appeared. The combination of heat exhaustion, alcohol and a chocolate covered donut converged and I joined several other misfortunates draped over the guardrail all calling out to the infamous “Ralph.” After giving my all to nature’s porcelain bowl, I turned to see it was only about 200 yards to the finish line and that the time read sixty-something. My goal is to finish the 2006 race in less than 60 minutes. I have my work cut out for me and the goal is “out there,” but the effort to reach it will have long term benefits.

I was going to call this the “Daley Double,” as in two posts. Get it? Instead I’m going to use a nickname some schmo gave me when I worked as a waiter some 25 years ago. So, Spring is in the air, and an young man’s thoughts turn to love, right? Yeah, whatever. There’s no love in sight for me, so I’m thinking about art. Tomorrow Kyle and “Twice” Daley are meeting some folks at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum for some art n’ stuff.

I recently read a nice little article by Samar Farah, a Boston Globe correspondent, on how to get more out of the art museum experience, and for you fortunate readers, here’s a summary.

Wow. In an incredibly ironic twist, Mr. Farah interviewed Alan Chong, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s curator of collection! Maybe we’ll see Al tomorrow! Anyway, Mr. Chong’s big theme is to simply enjoy the time. “Don’t turn a trip to a museum into serious education.” He believes the experience should be more about what you feel and think while viewing the art, rather than the historical facts about it. So take your time, relax and just gaze. Think about the pieces you like and the ones you don’t. Mr. Farah’s article suggests you ask yourself these questions:

• Why do I like this?
• Why is my eye drawn to certain shapes or forms?
• Why has the museum placed this painting next to these mosaics (or other work)?

Mr. Chong, who’s favorite piece in the Gardner is “Death and Assumption of the Virgin,” adds, “It’s important to trust yourself. At the end of the day, it’s about your own eye, your own taste, your own set of questions.”

5. Stick your ABC gum on a painting.

4. “Hey, where’s the beaker of piss with the crucifix in it?”

3. Stumble around drunk near priceless vases.

2. “Oh, is that the dude that cut off his ear?”

1. “I could do that.” No, you couldn’t. If you could, you would have… ass-clown.

There’s plenty of pain to go around for everyone and everyone has their own to deal with. In my extended family, the Anodyne… the painkiller… has taken many forms including food, gambling, alcohol, drugs, and my personal favorite, cold indifference. So, what to do? How to deal? It seems pretty simple, either we face down our fucking demons or we die having lived less of a life than we should have, clutching a bottle of our own personal Anodyne.

OK, so I wasn’t quite as colorful in my Wilco post, but that’s one of the descriptions used by Marc Hogan in his review of “Kicking Television: Live in Chicago.” Speaking of live Wilco, I found a cool video filmed at a German festival in the summer of 2004. It includes “Muzzle of Bees” and “At Least That’s What You Said.” Finally, the band has a few shows coming up, some pretty close to me!

04-17 Bloomington, IN – IU Auditorium
04-19 Portland, ME – Merrill Auditorium
04-20 Providence, RI – Meehan Auditorium
04-21 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
04-22 Williamsburg, VA – William and Mary Hall

For a few months now, there have been no comments here. Not even those chicken-shit anonymous types like one ripping me for ripping New Orleans looters. Now I know why. Pal Dave told me he left two comments and received a message that I had to “approve” them. Somehow, a “moderate comments” option was turned on and I found ten or so comments waiting for my approval. I approved all but one which contained someone’s name. Hey, I need to protect the guilty and the innocent… So, comments are back… Blast away!

Since 1995 I’ve been a Wilco fan, but have not been true. I’m pretty sure Jeff and I saw their first New England shows on the heels of “AM,” and we caught another a year later when they toured to support their sophomore effort, “Being There.” After that I went astray. I admit I didn’t put any effort into their “Mermaid Avenue” releases with Billy Bragg, but those records are still there to be discovered and enjoyed…or not. In any event, it’ll be brand new.

In ’99, Jeff gave me an advance copy of “Summerteeth,” but it didn’t grab me. More pages were ripped from calendars and Jeff Tweedy kept on writing and playing brilliant songs. In 2002, a newly constituted Wilco released “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and a documentary of its recording, “I am Trying to Break Your Heart.” The film also chronicles the last days of multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett with the band and the dumping of the band by Reprise Records after Tweedy refused to compromise over musical changes requested by the label. Over what seemed to be minor artistic differences, Bennett and Wilco were both told to hit the bricks. A couple weeks ago, I watched the film in high-definition, followed by an HD performance by the band on “Austin City Limits.” (ACL performance of I’m a Wheel”)

After immersing myself in the combined 150 minutes of Wilco-age, I just shook my head (really, I actually gave it a shake) and thought, “what a brilliant band.” Since then I’ve been on a post-1999 Wilco bender… “Summerteeth,” “Foxtrot,” their latest, “A Ghost is Born,” and “Kicking Television: Live In Chicago” recorded over four nights in 2005 on their home court in Chicago at the Vic Theatre.

I still have the film and ACL show on my DVR, so feel free to come watch, but don’t do a “pop in,” call first. Until then, here’s a short sample of “Outta Mind, Outta Sight” from “Being There,” and a great site for Wilco lyrics called A Sea Black with Ink.

What a brilliant band…