Month: April 2008

LOU REED

lou-reed-rp04.jpg

Lou Reed was in Asheville NC last night,and I was there to see him.   A jaunty little 220 mile ride up I-85 and I was there.   (The bitch was the drive back at midnight,UGH).   What an astounding little town,not unlike a little Berkeley: protesters, hippies everywhere, weird little shops selling organic tools and macrobiotic nail clippers.   A perfect place for the king of cool to land.

And there’s that:   He played at The Orange Peel: a venue named by Rolling Stone this month (in their Best of Rock 2007) as the “best rock venue in the US”.   An open, standing room only theatre that allows you to get right up at the edge of the stage, just a few feet away from the performers.   I came early and was stage-right/center, no more than 10 feet from Lou’s mike stand.     The sound levels were perfect (they must have theorized that there would be a slightly older crowd,and they were right).   It was a brilliant night of art-house cool music with a slightly sinister allure.    

Reed was cool before we knew what it was, with his Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, Nico days in 60’s lower Manhattan.     VU broke up around 1970, though he never stopped playing and evolving thru more than two dozen albums, not all of them gems.

His musical and romantic collaboration with Laurie Anderson (another avant-garde performance artist) has positively affected his music over the last 15 years they have been together (they married just this year), mellowing it and giving it a softer edge, yet still very Lou.

He showed that side last nite in his playlist: a mix of some of his classics (Ecstasy, I Believe in Love, Dirty Blvd) mixed with some newer pieces like Call on Me, A Thousand Departed Friends (his screed against AIDS), Guardian Angel, I Wanna Know, and Tell it To Your Heart.   His accompanying band included legendary guitarists Mike Rathke and an old guy named Dan ‘something”.   I know that Dan is legendary not only because Lou introduced him that way, but by the way the guy played.   Incredible: A blend of Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn, with a little John Butler mastery in evidence.  

For an old guy (65 and addled a bit by his decade of heroin addiction in the 60’s) he still has a clear voice and can still make the guitar sing their unique LOU sounds.  

Perfect Day, an interesting ballad from his 1972 Transformer album was their encore.   A fitting way to end what I felt was MY PERFECT DAY with Lou Reed.  

lou_reed_lino.jpg

The Olympic Torch

2008-beijing-olympic-torch.jpg
The Olympic Torch passed through San Francisco today.

There was a grand plan, published in the Chronicle and on web sites everywhere, to start with a ceremony at McCovey Cove, run with the torch along the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf and return to Justin Herman Plaza for a ceremony. The event was to begin at one o”clock.

Given the disruptive events in London and Paris, Mayor Gavin Newsom repeatedly stated that things could change, depending on the situation.

I was thinking of going to the parade route, but the more I thought about it, the more I reasoned that there would be crowds and I couldn”t see anything. I considered a high vantage point, maybe Telegraph Hill, or maybe the parking garage where we go to the top floor to watch the Kaboom fireworks. Then I envisioned the sniper in the book bindery. I”m thinking security would probably have their eye on that kind of place, after all, we”re talkin” Police, Sheriff, FBI, CHP, the Olympic Committee and Lord knows who else. Best to stay home and watch it on TV with the rest of the world.

Indeed, large groups assembled; Chinese, Taiwanese, pro Olympic, Free Tibet, Get out of Darfur, and on and on. In the morning, they were orderly, but in place, with signs, banners, chants and bodies. Continue reading “The Olympic Torch” →

Opening Day

od_banner.jpg

Baseball Opening Day is the best. Spring has sprung and visions of leisurely days in the ballpark dance in my head. Spring Training happens somewhere else, and there hasn”t been a glut of preseason games televised to take the edge off the opener. Even though I rarely go to Opening Day, it’s an event.

The Giants were scheduled to open on the road, in Dogerland, so the buzz of the home opener was a week away. AT&T Park will be sold out for opening day, even though this year all evidence points to the Giants sucking big time as we enter the Post Bonds era. Hey, they sucked big time last year, with Barry.

But then this ad in the Chronicle Sporting Green caught my eye.

chron_ad1.jpg

Hey! I could bloody go to the game. Continue reading “Opening Day” →