:: Dillondesk -- the blog of LCD ::
Weblog for a teacher of English, lover of Peeps, Tori, Ben, the Beatles, TV, movies, and Star Wars.
:: a child of the 80's looks at the world through Smurf-colored glasses -- a blog by calvin dillon :: bloghome
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:: Saturday, August 13, 2005 ::
:: Calvin 5:15 PM [+] ::
Happy Birthday to my lovely wife!
Dinner at Tijuana Flats! Rubbing up against sweaty strangers at Howl at the Moon while Gen-Y 20 somethings butcher classic tunes and play Baby Got Back complete with audience participation! Brighton and iPods and pie cutters, oh my!
Happy B-Day.
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:: Friday, August 12, 2005 ::
:: Calvin 8:50 AM [+] ::
TORI TORI TORI
Saw Miss Tori last night at Carol Morsani Hall in the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
After watching quite the parade of interesting fairy folk walk in (double entendre intended) we were treated to a really super keen show.
Our seats where incredible, thanks to my lovely wife. She got us 7th row center -- we were maybe 20 yards from Tori the whole night (we would have been closer but her set was back pretty far on the stage).
There were two opening acts - both from LA. The first (The Like) was a trio of young girls who had parents who obviously listened to 4AD bands like Throwing Muses and a bunch of Sonic Youth. The lead singer sounded like the little sister of Harriet Wheeler from the Sundays and Tanya Donelly, she of the Breeders, Throwing Muses and Belly. The singer played a vintage Telecaster thinline through Orange amps with heavy chorus and distortion, which made for a jangly Jesus and Mary Chain mixed with Thurston Moore vibe. The girls all looked about 19 and need a little more time together to get polished.
The second act needed no polish whatsoever -- the Ditty Bops. I am glad I knew nothing about them before the show -- it is nice sometimes to accidentally discover something really neato. The band was a four piece group playing vintage instruments (mandolin, upright bass, lap steel, and two beautiful archtop guitars). The two lead singers were Amanda (a lithe, pink-mopped flapperish kind of chick) and Abby (who was going for the nonchalant androgynous k.d. lang kind of vibe) and their harmonies were gorgeous. They played a very light jazzy Roaring Twenties folksy pop that sounds like it could have come out of a real Nickelodeon, not he one with the Rugrats and Doug. The audience loved them and were sad when they only played one final song instead of both options they offered us.
Tori came out in a flourescent green t-shirt under a flouncy billowy white dress. She was a little raspy, but I like that quality to her singing and she did not disappoint with the high notes. Here's the list:
ORIGINAL SINSUALITY
This is growing on me -- it makes sense to open this way , especially with the set piece of the bespectacled serpent in the apple tree with the bitten apple hanging around.
LEATHER
This was a nice surprise -- not my favorite song, but it showed she was in a good mood.
SUEDE
This was a REAL surprise. I ahd a feeling she would be playing some untraditional solo songs tonight, and she sure did with this one.
YES, ANASTASIA
Another nice surprise! By this time I had a feeling we were in a for a much better evening than St. Pete in April.
MOTHER REVOLUTION
Beautiful. I was wondering who the boy is who could have had her...she sounded very plaintive
SIREN
Had to ask my lovely wife for the title of this one (and, having done her homework, she knew of course) Not bad -- the hardcore fans loved it.
BELLS FOR HER
Wow. Wow. Wow.
覧覧覧
TORI's PIANO BAR
RING OF FIRE
This was neat -- she opened the show by making a reference tothanking us for joining her in this heat and sayingthat when people ask her why she lives in Florida she responds she is a "Lady Lizard." She said that this was home and that leaving Florida (tonight was the last FLorida show of the tour) was always a little sad. Then she went into Ring of Fire and it took people a LOOOOONG time to recognize the song. I thought of my wife's cousin's wedding -- before the reception we went to their favorite bar for drinks and everyone sang this song -- not the best nuptial omen, but an interesting time nonetheless. She did say that this would be the first and probably the last time she would sing the song, and that the people who requested the two piano bar songs should be there in the audience because they said they would be, and that if they weren't, then "they suck."
I'M ON FIRE
Before she played this (I was disappointed, I wanted an ORIGINAL set of two covers) she said that it was almost irresistable to play it. She messed up the lyrics -- "six inch valley through the middle of my self" instead of "my skull" and sang the same parts twice, but it was very sexy.
覧覧覧
PARASOL
I was soooooo happy she played this one -- it is really my fave off Beekeeper.
HERE. IN MY HEAD
Nice b-side. Love the website.
GOODBYE PISCES
I was hoping for this one or "China" tonight -- I was happy to hear it and happy to have called it!
CARBON
We JUST listened to this on the way in on my new iPod (thanks again to my lovely wife). It was more beautiful live. The "horizon" lines just soared.
THE BEEKEEPER
This was better than when she played in Clearwater (makes sense since she has played it 52 times that way since). Papa Bill is in the hospital and mom is not doing so hot either, so this was a little sad for me.
People were very respectful and waited for the last note to rush the stage (the tradition this tour). There were a couple of people my lovely wife recognized from posts on toriphorums.com, and one of them helped a little girl get up front for the encores.
覧覧覧
SILENT ALL THESE YEARS
Hmmmm. I get tired of this one. The passion just is missing from it. She HASN'T been silent since this record came out -- I would have rather have heard "Etienne" or "God" or "Take to the Sky"
MERMAN
We didn't know what this was until I heard her say "Merman" -- I don't hink we own a copy of the song.
覧覧覧
NOT THE RED BARON
My lovely wife knew this, as she did most of the songs, from the first note.
HEY JUPITER
Wow -- two songs from Pele in a row -- interesting. We called this one over dinner -- there had been a recent flap over Rhonda Storms, the Hillsborough comissioner, passing an ordinance forbidding the county from supporting or participating in any recognition of gay pride. A wonderful way to end the evening.
They didn't immediately raise the lights, and the crowd was hopeful that she would come back out, but, alas, after three minutes of darkness they came on and we all spilled into the humid night to reenter I-275 and our "normal" lives. This was a great show -- not as magical as the first time I saw her, and she wasn't very chatty and did not curse -- but a great show. It was nice for everyone at the show "to have a friend to run to" for awhile.
Now I am looking forward to Trent and company on October 22. We estimate that 25% of the same audience will be in attendance at the Ice Pal...I mean the St. Pete Times Forum. Have a great weekend.
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:: Thursday, August 11, 2005 ::
:: Calvin 8:49 AM [+] ::
Happy Birthday Sam!
I am officially the parent of two teenagers.
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:: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 ::
:: Calvin 6:06 AM [+] ::
I was very sorry to hear abut Peter Jenning's death yesterday. It seemed so sudden -- it was just about four months ago that he came on the air with his voice reduced to a raspy whisper to say that he had lung cancer and would be leaving the air.
I haven't watched much network news lately -- I do most of my current events reading online and in Newsweek -- but he was always my favorite anchor. He had an easy demeanor and always struck me as incredibly intelligent. I was shocked to hear last night during Charles Gibson's tribute to him at the top of the newscast that Peter dropped out of high school. That isn't something I would use as an object lesson for my students, but it is a testament to the fact that quality will rise no matter what the pedigree or papers say.
Today was the first Monday of the school year and it went rather smoothly -- almost in a scary way. I keep waiting for catastrophe to strike and my lesson plan muse to go dumb, but neither has happened, thankfully.
We got to the Tori concert in two days, and then I have Friday off because of a dentist's appointment (and because of the late night before).
Hope everyone has a great week and that your muses continue to sing to you as well.
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