screams, whispers and songs from planet earth

Month: December 2018

The Year In Review: 6 Things I Learned About Myself

SelfPortrait_inMirror

1 — Surprisingly, I am capable of being a “morning person,” so long as I get to sleep before midnight. And in fact, I will frequently awaken with strange and wonderful delights in my head that I can put to paper.

2 — I can successfully and single-handedly navigate through probate, go through the contents of a 7-room, 50-year-old family home, prepare said home for sale and close on it, and coordinate eight different contractors and their crews to do various projects around my own hovel — and not lose my mind or get (too badly) ripped off.

3 — I actually don’t enjoy being at a venue I don’t like, seeing a band I don’t care for, late at night — and I shouldn’t feel like I “should” be there because it’s what other people do and seem to enjoy. Sometimes it’s OK to stay home and read a book (although this might just be a function of getting old).

4 — White is my least favorite color, and everything in my home, inside and out, is white. I literally just realized this fact this year. It’s thanks to the previous owners and their unfortunate design sense and peculiarities. Even white people annoy the hell out of me at times, which is odd, seeing as how I am one.

5 — It’s not always helpful to be cynical and sarcastic, even if it does get you more followers on Twitter. Sometimes it’s cool to find positive things in life that you can share and make other people feel good about. Or, as an astrologer friend of mine is fond of saying, “Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

6 — Feeling burdened by regrets and “I should have’s” is a sad and terrible way to mourn the loss of loved ones. A far more positive way, and one that pays dividends while easing the pain, is to channel all that love outward into a creative process, such as organizing photos, slides and films into an online memorial, or transcribing informal interviews into background material for a novel. I am doing both.

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My Year In Concerts (such as it was)

Violent Femmes - The Royale, Boston - October 30, 2018

Violent Femmes – The Royale, Boston – October 30, 2018

In a typical year, I would be writing my “10 Best Concerts” article around this time. But this year has been anything but typical. It wasn’t completely awful, as I learned a lot of important things about myself and made some key decisions. But as far as live music was concerned — not much. In fact, I only saw a total of six shows this entire year, although one was a festival where I managed to catch a half-dozen different acts. I got to see a few favorites whom I’d never had the pleasure of seeing before (and they were amazing), plus a year with a live Violent Femmes performance is infinitely better than a year without one.

Photos, when I have them, are by me. Video is by others, courtesy of YouTube (see individual credits).

Emmylou Harris / Ry Cooder at Tanglewood, Lenox, MA – July 1, 2018

  EmmylouHarris_Tanglewood_2018-01EmmylouHarris_Tanglewood2018-03EmmylouHarris_Tanglewood2018-04  RyCooder_Tanglewood2018-01RyCooder_Tanglewood2018-03RyCooder_Tanglewood2018-04

::: See my write-up :::


by Manuel


by MysticFollower

Lowell Folk Festival, Lowell, MA – July 29, 2018

In the following order: Big Country Bluegrass, Kyle Huval & the Dixie Club Ramblers (briefly), Salar Nader & Mustafa Saeed (Afghan tabla and rubâb), Burnurwurbskek Singers & Dancers (Penobscot drummers and singers), Sidi Touré (Songhaï guitar music from Mali), a bit of Mariachi band and dancing in the street, plus Bernard Allison Group (blues, and a mean guitar).

Big Country BluegrassKyle Huval & the Dixie Club RamblersSalar Nader & Mustafa SaeedBurnurwurbskek Singers & DancersSidi TouréLowellFolkFestival06LowellFolkFestival07LowellFolkFestival08LowellFolkFestival09LowellFolkFestival10Mariachi band and dancing in the streetBernard Allison Group


by Randy Kohlenberger


Mustafa Saeed


by NDNsoldier2008


The Kennedy Center


by MoJoeVision

Rodney Crowell, Concord, NH – September 20, 2018


Rodney Crowell

Violent Femmes at the Royale, Boston, MA – October 30, 2018

ViolentFemmes01ViolentFemmes02ViolentFemmes03ViolentFemmes04ViolentFemmes05ViolentFemmes06ViolentFemmes08ViolentFemmes09


by Melvin O

Richard Thompson with Sisters of Slide at the Paradise, Boston, MA – November 14, 2018


by Amy Karibian

Willie Nile, City Winery, Boston, MA – December 29, 2018

WillieNile01WillieNile02

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Quentin Sauvé: Two Extremes of Human Existence

Photo Credit : Flo Forks

Photo Credit : Flo Forks

Update: The new single “Love is Home” will be out on January 18th with a video.

Put down whatever it is you’re doing to watch this achingly beautiful video from French artist Quentin Sauvé. It’s a story about love, companionship and the passage of time, set to the music of “Dead End,” a melancholy yet stunning song from his debut indie folk album, Whatever It Takes, due out February 1.

This is a quiet and fragile side of Mr. Sauvé, full of vulnerability, self-examination, and at times, despair. These are the sort of thoughts one has when one is alone. It’s all too human.

I’m a recluse, don’t wanna go out
I’m on the edge and it freaks me out
Surrounded by water, I’ll surrender
I wallow in loneliness, I swallow my distress

How can I ever go the distance?
With no peace, no sleep, no silence?

It’s a dead end, I can’t go out
It’s a dead end and if freaks me out

The upcoming album features gorgeous shimmering guitars, ethereal synthesizers and soft yet powerful vocals that reach out over a wide tonal range. This is a very personal collection of songs — extremely intimate and quite haunting. It is as though the artist has allowed us into his head to bear witness to his memories, regrets, longings and innermost thoughts. It feels like a sacred place. This is the perfect musical collection to envelop oneself in on a rainy Saturday or a lazy Sunday morning with a cup of herbal tea.

But Quentin Sauvé has another side that’s a bit different from this one.

As bassist and vocalist in experimental post-hardcore punk/metal trio Birds in Row, Sauvé has sought to channel inner demons in an angrier and noisier way. In bands since before he was a teenager (As We Draw, The Brutal Deceiver, Birds in Row), Sauvé is not yet 30 and has already toured the world and pursued activist passions.

All songs on Whatever It Takes were written, composed and performed by Quentin Sauvé. Quentin’s brother Amaury Sauvé recorded and mixed the album at The Apiary Studio in Laval, France last winter. It was mastered by Thibault Chaumont at Deviant Lab in Poitiers, France. Artwork is by Romain Barbot.

The new solo album will be available on vinyl, cd, DL and K7 (I guess this is another kind of format?), co-produced by the following labels: Ideal Crash (France), I Corrupt (Germany), Skeletal Lightning (US) and Ugly & Proud (Bulgaria).

If you’d like to see and hear Quentin up close and personal, he’ll be touring the U.K. and Europe in 2019. Hopefully U.S. dates are not far behind.

Meanwhile, Birds in Row’s latest album is available on Bandcamp, digitally or in limited edition vinyl, or from various other places. It’s called We Already Lost The World. Though I try my best to remain optimistic, I fear they may be right.

Quentin Sauvé: facebook | instagram | bandcamp | soundcloud | youtube

Birds in Row: web | facebook | twitter | instagram | bandcamp | soundcloud

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The Menorah

Menorah

I don’t usually celebrate Hanukkah, but this year it somehow felt like the right thing to do.

As I lit the first night’s candle from the shamash center candle, I said, devoutly, “for you, Mom and Dad.” It seemed a little ridiculous, for Dad’s sake, as he was a devout agnostic. But he died last year, just a few days into the Jewish Festival of Lights, so this holiday will be forever linked with his passing.

I was with him, in the hospital, in his final days. He had grown confused, though he had some lucid moments when he seemed his old snarky self, such as when a gentleman came in to speak with us, to see if we were satisfied with the care he was receiving. At the end of his visit, he moved very close to Dad, leaning in so he could hear him, and told him that he had to be strong and pull through, as it would be unappreciative of god not to do so.

Fortunately, Dad didn’t hear him, and when the man left, he asked,” what did he want?” I replied, “he was asking what you thought of the care you’re receiving — with a little missionary work on the side.” Dad laughed, and I was grateful for the opportunity to provide a rare moment of levity in the most dire of circumstances.

The menorah is old. I remember it from my childhood, when Mom was younger and healthier, and she would light it, in a noble attempt to honor our Jewish roots. Around the same time, I was sent to Sunday school. Although well meaning, this practice was soon abandoned, when it became apparent that neither of them had any intention or desire to attend synagogue, not even on the High Holy Days. Being rebellious, I was quick to point out the hypocrisy.

The menorah is also unstable, and it occurs to me that this probably isn’t a good idea, with multiple burning candles haphazardly stuck into small wobbly candle holders. But it represents our family dynamic perfectly — elegant and kindhearted, yet fragile and flawed.

The candles are old, too, judging from the 1970s-style graphics on the box. They’re special “Chanuka candles,” direct from Israel, 44 of them. It’s an odd number, but that’s exactly what is needed to celebrate properly for the full eight days. Although, when I counted them, I discovered there were only 43. What happened to candle #44? It seemed quite odd that someone would open the box and use one candle. This made me chuckle, especially when I heard softly in my head, “a day late and a candle short.” That was Dad’s humor, cynical and self-deprecating, and my heart soared at the thought that he was there in the room with me. Maybe Mom was also watching as I resurrected an old family tradition.

I took in the scene of the slowly dwindling candles, with my Tibetan Buddhist statues standing guard in the background. That seemed fitting as well.

On each night, as I babysat the burning Hanukkah candles to ensure that I didn’t start a fire, vague memories of holiday celebrations trickled in, like wisps of smoke as each thin candle slowly extinguished.

For each night of the holiday, there would be small gifts, as is the custom. One I recall was a little sack of milk chocolate coins in shiny gold tin foil covering. At times, we would visit my aunt, uncle and cousin, who lived nearby, though that was typically for the Passover Seder, a more structured affair. Following copious amounts of wine and an attempted read through of the ceremony, gifts would be hidden around the house, which the kids (my cousin and I) would try to find.

In my early childhood, I was envious of those who got to have beautifully decorated Christmas trees. One year, my parents went out and bought one. When it came time to dispose of the tree, they were too embarrassed to put it out for the trash, as people do, since we lived in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. So, my enterprising father cut it up and burned that sticky, sappy pine tree in the fireplace, filling the house with dense smoke. This incident became a favorite family holiday story.

Two Jews trying to make a large Christmas tree disappear.

Two Jews trying to make a large Christmas tree disappear.

It just so happened that at the time of Hanukkah this year, I was reading a book I had purchased as a gift some years ago for Dad, but never read myself — “The Lower East Side Jews,” about the Jewish immigrants who came to New York City from Russia in the late 19th century. They were escaping the Russian pogroms. The story follows Abraham Cahan, a key figure in the Jewish socialist and labor movements, and editor of The Forward. Simultaneously, I had just discovered a rather brilliant Amazon Prime TV series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” about an Upper West Side Jewish husband and wife and their family, which takes place in 1958. They have what seems like the perfect life, except that they don’t (dysfunctional Jewish family, a perennial theme), and it’s also the tale of a woman’s journey of self-discovery. Suffice it to say, it was a mystical convergence.

I think it was a combination of the two that was so perfect for me. There was the literary discussion of Jewish laborers and the first American unions, the Yiddish theater and Yiddish press of the Lower East Side, where my grandparents ran a luncheonette on Second Avenue, on the same site where Veselka serves up blintzes and borscht to this day. And then a spot-on portrayal of New York Jewish culture with the crazy shenanigans and banter of the Maisels, who reminded me of family get-togethers in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island in the 1960s.

They say that one becomes more religious as one gets older. It must be the realization of one’s mortality and I suppose the sudden need to “hedge one’s bets.” Though I don’t think Mom felt that way, and Dad, if anything, became even more of an agnostic in later years. As for me, it’s just that the sight of the menorah and the vintage box of Hanukkah candles makes me think of family, and an earlier, simpler time. It’s a fond nostalgia that tastes of bagels, lox and cream cheese.

Mazel Tov!

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Paris Combo

photo by Jorge Fidel Alvarez

photo by Jorge Fidel Alvarez

Performing January 19th at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston.

Are you in the mood for some slinky, silky jazz, Parisian style? Take an exotic trip without straying too far from home. The eclectic Paris Combo will be embarking on a tour that will feature their delightfully exotic music that combines “swinging gypsy jazz, cabaret, French pop, plus Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms.”

Starting on January 6, they’ll be in Washington, D.C.; Seattle; Berkeley and Folsom, California; Minneapolis, Chicago and Boston, before heading back to perform in France. Incredibly, this will be their 20th tour. Their most recent studio album is Tako Tsubo, and earlier this year they released an album of remixes from some of France’s top DJs, Paris Combo, Remixed. They’ve been working on material for a new album, and will premiere the songs on this tour.

The band features the seductive vocals of their charismatic chanteuse Belle du Berry (who also plays accordion), along with Django-influenced guitarist and banjo player Potzi, Australian-born trumpeter and pianist David Lewis, drummer-crooner François Jeannin and virtuoso bassist, Benoit Dunoyer de Ségonzac. For certain shows, they will also be joined by Rémy Kapriélan on percussion, vocals and sax.

Each member has a unique musical pedigree. Belle du Berry was in post-punk bands in the late 1980s, with influences as diverse as the B-52s, Arletti (a French singer-actress of the 1930s) and the Surrealists. Potzi’s guitar stylings are influenced by his own North African heritage and Belgian-born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt. Lewis previously played with various Parisian bands, such as Arthur H and Manu Dibango. François adds his ska or Latin grooves to the potent mix.

They released their debut in 1997, and their second album, Living Room (1999), went gold. In 2004-5, they played three shows at the Hollywood Bowl. After a five-year hiatus, they returned to performing in 2011 and once again performed at the Hollywood Bowl, with a symphony orchestra. A fifth album followed, with a national U.S. tour in 2013-2014, in addition to other shows around the world.

Last year, they put out their sixth album (Tako Tsubo) and touring the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Tako Tsubo embraces a wide variety of musical styles, from their tight-knit combo to lush orchestral music to ’60s retro with psychedelic touches. They describe the subject matter as being about “the human physique and the way our emotional and physical beings interact.”

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