CAKE at Toad's

I've been to most major concert theaters in the state, but last night was the first time I'd set foot into New Haven's Toad's Place, "Where the Legends Play", according to its slogan.

When you look up at the walls and see the white and black placards of the many acts who have played there, you get a sense that the claim is valid. U2, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Rolling Stones -- they've all played in the basement-like dungeon near Yale, where a string of green lights adorn the walls and bar. It is not a pretty place. There was no seats, really. Just a stage, three bars, and a giant floorspace.

CAKE played at Toad's last night; they rocked for a (barely) two-hour set. A kind of short, but solid show. The music was tight (and loud). My ears are still adjusting to the level of bass that pumped across the concert floor.

Besides Wilco, CAKE is one of the few bands I know that produce really good music, yet airplay has been generally minimal. Since the mid 1990s, CAKE has produced probably about 8 albums, yet the band was most popular when their hit, "The Distance" was atop the charts. Since then, CAKE has continued to churn out very good music and the band tours in places like Toad's Place or The Webster Theatre in Hartford, where faithful fans pack smaller venues. Tonight, they play Boston's Orpheum Theatre.

By 9:15 last night, Toad's Place was jammed with bodies, mostly people in their 20s and 30s. I was probably above the median age, which I would say was somewhere around 28, which felt weird, but strangely satisfying.

I was surprised with how crowded the place had become. At 8:15, when we arrived, the place was about 10 percent full. I thought there would be an embarrasingly small crowd. By the time the show began, there wasn't room to move. We stood for three hours in all, and once the show was going for a little while, you starting absorbing sweat from people (mostly dudes) around you. For a while, an air of claustrophobia settled among the crowd. Many may have been comforted by it. Elbows into elbows, feet touching feet, people stuck in their standing room only two foot by two foot space. When we moved at intermission to get something to drink, we gave up our "good spot." We were relegated to a back corner for the second set, which was not as good as the first.

It was good to go to Toad's, at least once, although I'd be careful about who to see there. The acoustics were good directly in the center of the stage, but the quality of sound dropped significantly at the edges of the room. But, for $42 a ticket, seeing CAKE play, and standing 25 feet from the stage, was a relative bargain.

"The Names"

It's been a LONG time since I've posted to this blog, although I thought a bunch of times about writing on it since January, my last post. Anyway, with the ninth anniversary of 9/11 passing yesterday, I wanted to copy a poem here by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins which was written some months after the terrorist attacks. It is the only poem I've ever read in the New York Times.

As people debate whether a mosque should be built two blocks from Ground Zero (talk about throwing gasoline on a still smoldering fire), I think it's important to remember "The Names."


"The Names" - Billy Collins

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

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An Evening with Garrison Keillor

It's an unfortunate thing when a celebrity performer whom you have come to enjoy fails to meet expectations. Sometimes, it's a bad day. Other times, it's a signal that retirement may be looming.

Garrison Keillor, whose "Prairie Home Companion" NPR radio show delights its listeners and live audiences with humor, music, acting, poetry, and insightful commentaries, came to Hartford's Bushnell Theater last week. I thought it would be a good idea to see him.

What I was expecting, I suppose, was a Prairie Home-type performance.

But it was just Garrison Keillor - no band, no actors, no one to accompany him.

It was sort of like Jerry Seinfeld with no supporting cast.

Keillor was on stage alone, just him and a microphone and a stool.

He sang frequently, and as anyone who has heard him knows, he pretty much can't sing. Audiences tolerate his singing because his shows usually consist of much more. He told stories, which he is very good at. But on this night, he was forgetful - a warning sign that, maybe, just maybe, his age (67) and health condition (he suffered a mild stroke in the fall) are catching up with him.

At one point, he referred to a poem by ee cummings but forgot its name. ("You know the one" he told the audience) Another time, he forgot a word (which I have since forgotten, too) during a story, and then remembered it minutes later.

So it was disappointing to see a subpar performance from a performer who is consistently smart and smooth. I got the sense that "An Evening with Garrison Keillor" is just too much. Being on a stage for 90 minutes with no intermission and no supporting cast is not Keillor's strength. His strengths are the skits he does such as "Guy Noir" Private Eye, The News from Lake Wobegon, and the many other features he has developed into his weekly show.

The audience at the Bushnell, also, was a bit different from his Prairie Home shows at Tanglewood, where we see him each year. Tanglewood is a diverse mix of people, young and old. Kids frolic on the lawn while their parents drink beer. Teenagers find themselves wandering on the Tanglewood grounds, experimenting with certain illegal behavior. Older folks there tend to be hip.

At the Bushnell, the audience was clearly AARP-eligible. The heads around me were mostly gray or bald, and although some gray hairs have emerged on my head, and there isn't as much on my top as there used to be, I felt like I was not a part of the advertised demographic. I felt like I was rushing things, being there at the Bushnell where the mean age of the audience members was probably 20 years older than me. I felt like maybe I needed to find a performance more my age.

A comforting thing did occur today, though, when, on the way home, I tuned into my car radio and listened this week's Prairie Home Companion, and it was good. Garrison Keillor's usual skits and familiar delivery were unsurprising but warm and comfortable, sort of like a meat loaf and mashed potatoes. Normally, I'm not a fan of such bland diner food, but after listening to Keillor's monologue today, I felt encouraged that he still had his A game for the Prairie Home program.

Thinking Snow Day

Unlike some other educators (who are lying), I will not deny that snow days are a fringe benefit to teaching that I enjoy a lot. Teachers don't get company stock options; we don't get company cars; we don't have expense accounts. But we do have the occasional thrill in the winter of getting a day off because of snowy or icy weather.

Tomorrow is one such day - the first possible weather problem during a school day this year. As a teacher, when winter arrives, you start to watch the weather in advance. Suddenly, the 8-day forecast matters (even though predicting weather that far in advance is ludicrous). I listen to "traffic and weather together" on AM radio, which has generally reliable forecasts. I check it online. I look at the radar. Where's the green? Where's the white? I tune into the Weather Channel for a national perspective. Maybe the "Winter Weather Expert", the bald guy with the doctorate, will be on.

Valid question: What does the winter weather expert do during the other three seasons?

Snow days mean days are added to the end of the school year, but June days, especially at the end of the month, tend to be irrelevant. An unexpected day off in December, January or February is a welcome surprise, sort of like getting a card in the mail with cash in it for no reason. (Note: This rarely has ever happened to me.)

Tomorrow's weather is not looking that horrible; there's probably a better chance that school will be delayed 90 minutes. The weatherguys are calling for 1-3 inches of snow, with all precipitation changing to rain in mid-morning. Still, the roads could be difficult to travel on. The snow/sleet mix is falling at precisely the right time - 3 to 7 a.m. Either way, delay or cancellation, what other job exists that has snow days built in as a possible benefit? On snow days, I get to shovel the driveway before anyone else, play in the snow with the kids, go sledding, and hang around the house NOT WORKING. It's a beautiful thing.

As I prepare to watch the final weather forecast of the night, I hear the weatherman talking about a "messy weather day" tomorrow. When he finishes, I need to decide: Do I listen to another forecast, the 11 p.m. one, to see if anything different/better gets reported? This does sometimes happen. You listen/watch to who tells you what you want to hear.

This is also a good strategy for choosing friends, now that I think about it.

Right now, this guy's saying the morning commutte is not looking very good. That's when buses are on the road. Sounds good to me. Don't think I need to listen to another forecast tonight.

Out of touch with the American Music Awards

In yet another sign that my age is not the primary target demographic of advertisers, popular culture, and now music, I watched the American Music Awards tonight and failed to recognize three of the four award-winners featured in a half-hour time frame.

The ones that I did recognize were: Whitney Houston, who received the International Music Award, for her lifelong impact on the music industry. It was pointed out that she has had 7 number one hits and has sold 170 million records. Many of these were from the 1980s, when she sang such hits as "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "How Will I Know?" She is now old enough to receive a lifetime achievement-type award, and, although she may have have "work" done to not appear as if she's aging, she has gotta be in her early 40s. She is no spring chicken.

Jennifer Lopez was the other singer I recognized. She was introduced by the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" boxing announcer and then she pranced down an aisle to a makeshift stage wearing a boxing robe. She sang a song that had something to do with this boxing theme, but I can't remember its name. It was pretty bad, and I felt strange for knowing who she was, but not being able to name a song she sings. I'm making her connection mostly through Ben Affleck.

I could not recognize most other nominees and performers. One woman, who was dressed oddly in a panty hose-like outfit (even covering her eyes)took a microphone stand, simulated breaking glass and then played a piano that was partly on fire. She performed and then was nominated for the Best Artist award. I would be really concerned if she won.

Special effects seemed to be loom large on this night, as other performers, including J Lo, featured explosives on stage. The audience seemed to like it. I wonder if the TV audience did.

I don't remember, really, specifics about the American Music Awards when I was a kid, but I think Kenny Rogers and Neil Diamond may have won some awards. A few years ago, James Taylor won an award, I think, for being old. I recall John Mayer winning an award several years ago, too, for "Your Body is a Wonderland." (Almost typed "Wonderful," there.)

It's weird, though. I listen to top 40 radio pretty often and know bands' names, yet the bands featured tonight were... I don't know... not from top 40. Maybe they're from the rap/dance station genre. Not into that anymore. Stations I listen to which say they're oldies now play 80s music, which is old, but not that old. This is discouraging.

Kings of Leon - who I have heard of and like - was up for Artist of the Year, along with the psycho-looking woman performer. But, again, three of the four nominees were unknown to me. Not like I matter, anyway. I'm 36, nearly 37, and getting to the almost middle age part of life. Advertisements, like for iPhones and TMobile, the sponsor of tonight's event, aren't meant for me. People in my age bracket are just not that influential.

Now, when I watch the Nightly News, and the ads for cholesterol medications come on... now that's closer to my reality. Sadly.

Leaf-blowing blows

The leaves, except for just a few stubborn ones, have fallen, now. They have fallen across the back and front yards, blanketing most of my property. Since we own over an acre and live on a heavily wooded lot, last year we decided that it was time to stop raking and get a leaf blower. This was, mostly, a good idea.

But leaf blowing still sucks.

It has consumed large fragments of my time for the last three weeks. An hour after work, 45 minutes on a Saturday morning, an hour and a half on a Sunday. This weekend, I probably spent about three hours in all blowing leaves into the woods, and I'm still not done.

I will admit that blowing the leaves is definitely easier than raking them. We have just too many to rake. A few weeks ago, though, when I was trying to start the leaf blower, I pulled the starter string too vigorously, I guess, and the string wouldn't recoil. Thus, I ended up raking the front yard. Now, after a $45 repair, the leaf blower is back in action.

We probably have another half day to clean the leaves up. Then, I get to mow the lawn one last time, vacuuming the remnants of autumn, before winter drops its own coating upon the lawn and the driveway.

What do I think of snowblowing, you ask? I will not get into that right now, but you can read an older post here.