text:
At last…Snow!
Not only does it hide a multitude of sins in this bleak late winter, but it's fun! and beautiful and right now it is plentiful. The earth loves the blanket of snow protecting all that lies beneath it during the … Continue reading
Not only does it hide a multitude of sins in this bleak late winter, but it's fun! and beautiful and right now it is plentiful. The earth loves the blanket of snow protecting all that lies beneath it during the … Continue reading
You and the people you care about. Young and old, men and women, friends and relatives. Those who wish, in our "Paper Cup" world, to enjoy tea from a china cup at a table adorned with, silver, and linens, and tea … Continue reading
One thing leads to another. I never imagined we would be making our own soap on top of everything else. But we use a lot of soap in the Bed and Breakfast and so Soapmaking has been added to … Continue reading
Click "Continue Reading" to see Thanksgiving in 25 seconds…
Once Again…Winter is closing in, The animals are ready for winter. Their coats are thick and fluffy and the chickens are changing their egg laying habits to conserve the energy needed in the coming months. The cows are very … Continue reading
Every day we are feeling the deepening of Fall here at Thyme in the Country. Calling the cows in for milking, the early morning light is a little dimmer and the air a bit chillier each day. Our gardens too … Continue reading
In Summer…., at the heart of our property lies our vegetable garden. No Photograph can quite describe its beauty at 6:00 on an August morning. With a mist hovering over it and a flock of yellow Grosbeaks flying away from … Continue reading
Although we haven't posted anything on our blog since winter, we haven't been hibernating here at Thyme in the Country. We have literally been as busy as one armed paperhangers all winter fixing things that were broken, making improvements in … Continue reading
Thyme in the Country is thrilled to announce that our dairy is now fully licensed and producing pure raw milk from our Dutch-Belted cows! This heritage breed is famous for legendary quality milk and butter, prized by New York restaurants and connoisseurs. Continue reading
Winter is closing in. The tree branches are bare, and the vegetable garden has been gleaned by both cows and chickens. Meadow grass is turning brown, and the cow barn is full of hay. We make the beds with flannel sheets now, and as the nights get shorter and colder, we start to feel the first twinges of excitement for the coming of Advent and the Christmas holidays, a happy, busy time of bringing in greens and dried herbs to decorate the house for the holiday season. Continue reading


text:
IR: Mountainsmith - Carbonlite Trekking Pole - Kurt Papke
Expand Messages
- James: my IR can be found here:
or http://tinyurl.com/b97p3p3
and the unreadable text follows for your editing purposes. Hope you had a
good trip to NC!
Mountainsmith Carbonlite Pro Trekking Poles
Test Series by Kurt Papke Initial Report - January 20, 2013
Report - March 2013
Long Term Report - May 2013
Tester Information Name: Kurt Papke Age: 59 Gender: Male Height: 6' 4"
(193 cm) Weight: 230 lbs (104 kg) Email address: kwpapke at gmail
dot com City,
State, Country: Tucson, Arizona USA
My backpacking background locales are a combination of Minnesota where I
have lived most of my adult life, and Arizona where I moved to take a new
job about three years ago. I have always been a "comfort-weight"
backpacker, never counting grams, but still keeping my pack as light as
easily attained. I have been an ardent trekking pole user for about a
half-dozen years, and almost never hike without them. I appreciate the
strain they take off of my knees, and they have saved my from innumerable
Initial Report Product Information Manufacturer: **Mountainsmith
Carbonlite Pro
Year of manufacture: 2012 *MSRP:*
Manufacturer website: http://mountainsmith.com
Color tested:
Slate. The color was listed on the packaging label, and from the company
website appears to be the only one available. It is black with
silver-colored accents.
Aluminum (carbon-wrapped), cork handle
Listed: 26 in (66 cm) retracted, 54 in (137 cm) fully extended
Measured: 27 3/8 in (69.5 cm) retracted, 57 1/4 in (145.4 cm) extended
Listed: 1 lb 2 oz (0.5 kg)
Measured: 1 lb 3.4 oz exclusive of rubber tips and baskets
[image: Carbonlite poles]The features listed by the manufacturer include:
- Shock absorption system. This is essentially a spring mechanism
between the top and middle pole sections.
- Quick-twist lock for the three telescoping sections.
- Removable low-profile baskets as seen on the left (extended) pole in
the photo.
- Carbon (fiber)-wrapped 7075 aluminum construction. From Wikipedia,
7075 has "zinc as the primary alloying element. It is strong, with a
strength comparable to many steels, and has good fatigue strength and
average machinability, but has less resistance to corrosion than many other
Al alloys." I also did a little digging on carbon-wrapped aluminum, most
of which turned up its use on bicycle frames. It wasn't clear from my
reading what the benefit really was.
- Molded cork (TPU) handle. From a little web research, I learned that
TPU is a thermoplastic elastomer made from polyurethene. From what I can
tell, the manufacturer grinds up bits of cork and molds it with plastic
into the handle shape.
- Carbide tips.
- Adjustable wrist straps.
- Rubber boot tips as shown on the right (retracted) pole in the photo.
Initial Inspection [image: ring]The first thing I had to do was set the
proper pole length. The direction to turn the poles to disengage the locks
was clearly marked right on the poles. They twisted easily in my hands,
and I extended the lower section.
I've had 3-section adjustable poles before, and this is the first pair I've
used that don't have measurements on the lower section. I inferred that
meant I should use them fully extended, and the markings for that were
plainly labelled. I locked down the bottom section by twisting the bottom
two sections in opposite directions until they were snug. I am notorious
for breaking things by pulling/turning things too hard, so I made the lock
snug, but did not apply full force. The lock held well when tested.
Next I loosened the top lock and extended the top section to its full
length. These are long poles! I stood up, grasped the handles and pushed
down until my forearms were level with the ground, which is my preferred
pole length when hiking on flat terrain. I tightened down the top lock and
I was ready to go.
I slipped my hands up through the straps, positioning the strap slack in
the "V" between thumb and forefinger and grasped the handles. It seemed
like the adjustment strap and rectangular plastic ring attached to the end
of it were located in a very inconvenient spot as shown in the photo at
right. My other poles have a much longer strap with no plastic retainer,
so they don't get in my way. I'm concerned that this hunk of plastic is
going to be an irritant.
For now I am going to leave the baskets and rubber tips off of the poles.
I rarely hike in snow since I moved to Tucson, and I do not use poles when
walking on improved streets or sidewalks, which is where I'd be most likely
to use the rubber tips.
*Feel*: I liked the way the handles fit in my hand, they felt very
comfortable. The poles seemed very light, even though they are just
slightly lighter than my current pair. Perhaps they have a higher center
of gravity. This is something I'll have to play around with.
*Fit*: the straps fit nicely around my hand and the length was easy to
adjust. Pole lengths were also easy to change - just a quick twist of the
lock, pull in or push out as desired, another quick twist to lock, and I am
set to go. They seem easier to use than the flick-lock mechanisms I've
been using for a number of years.
*Finish*: I could find no material defects or imperfections.
Trying It Out
I did a little spin down to the end of the driveway and back. The poles
seemed very natural to me, I will need no adjusting to them in the field.
They swing nicely, and the carbide tips had a nice bite in the gravel I was
walking on. I pressed down pretty hard on the handles to see if the locks
would slip, but no worries, they held perfectly. When I whacked the poles
a bit on the ground I could feel the slight give from the shock absorbers.
They do not appear to have a lot of travel, but I've never been convinced
of the utility of pole shocks, so not an issue for me.
Summary I am excited to get the Carbonlite poles out into the backcountry
and put then through their paces. My only concern at the outset is the
plastic ring rubbing against my hands and causing chafing. I blister very
easy, so this is something I'll be on the lookout for.
Many thanks to Mountainsmith and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity
to test this product.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> James: my IR can be found here:http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/IR%20-%20MS%20poles%20-%20Kurt/
>Hi Kurt... Thanks for your Pole report. Sorry for the delay in getting
> or http://tinyurl.com/b97p3p3
back to you. I was out last week, and came back with a cold. And... my
backup at work, well, didn't.
Anyway... Your report looks great. I have a few small edits below, and
then you can feel free to upload to the official folder. Please delete
the test copy once you have uploaded.
Thanks again! I look forward to the next installment.
James E. Triplett
Mountainsmith - Carbonlite Trekking Pole Monitor
I appreciate the strain they take off of my knees, and they have saved my
from innumerable falls.
[EDT] "saved my" should be "saved me"
I've had 3-section adjustable poles before, and this is the first pair
I've used that don't have measurements on the lower section.
[Edit] Depending on whether "pair" is singular or plural? you may want to
change "don't" to "doesn't". (they don't, it doesn't.)
I inferred that meant I should use them fully extended, and the markings
for that were plainly labelled.
[EDIT] Spelling: labeled
The poles seemed very natural to me, I will need no adjusting to them in
the field.
[Edit] This seems awkward to me. Consider something like "The poles
seemed very natural to me and shouldn't need any adjusting to them in the
I am excited to get the Carbonlite poles out into the backcountry and put
then through their paces.
[EDIT] "then" should be "them"
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Your message has been successfully submitted and would be delivered to recipients shortly.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Sasquatch Festival: Day Two
The Gorge; George, WA
As we approached the venue gates
for Sasquatch Day II: The Reckoning, we expected things to continue as
planned. We'd soak up a ton 'o' sun, check out boatloads of bands and, you
know, drink a ton of $8 cans of cheap beer, just like at home, save the
exorbitant price tag.
And that IS how things went, for about 45 minutes. After missing Rogue Wave we
tearfully trotted over to the second stage to catch ex-Pavement frontman
Stephen Malkmus' solo set. We sat on the side at first and were treated to a
magical herbal supplement that tasted vaguely like fake raspberries. YUM!
TASTE THE BERRIFIC GOODNESS! Malkmus was no slouch either, offering his best
impression of a guy that is just too laid back to give a fish-frying fuck
about being a big, shiny rock star god.
Of course, if you're a Malkmus guy you know this actually isn't an impression;
he really doesn't care. His solo CDs wouldn't even have his name plastered
across them if he had his choice. Alas, indie politics are a bitch, and
nowhere was this more apparent than at Malkmus' gig on the – mentioned again
for effect – SECOND stage. Malkmus playing runner-up to Iron & Wine, TV On The
Radio, Arctic Monkeys and – [choking/gurgling sound] Him? JESUS CORSETED
I watched years ago as Bad Religion opened for Blink 182, and though that
little rip in the fabric of punk-rock history will always be tantamount to
ultimate shittery in my mind, seeing Malkmus stuck on the second stage wasn't
too far removed. But remember what I said above? He doesn't give a fuck. He
and his beloved Jicks played a great little set, touching upon all our weak
spots: high, squealing guitars that make us cover our ears and take notice in
one fell swoop; verses that sound like a slightly tipsy slacker
Thirtysomething ordering a bath pillow over the phone; a sly wit those on the
outside will never fully understand; and lotsa rockin'.
Being a lukewarm supporter of Malkmus' until the sublime Face the Truth
(though I've been told I'm effectively an indie-rock invalid for not having
freaked on the self-titled debut) rocked and shocked my system, hearing "No
More Shoes" in all its squall-heavy glory was an inspirational thing, as was
watching with childlike glee as Malkmus yelled "Suck my kiss!" at the crowd,
remarking, "I've always wanted to say that … and mean it."
Now that he's a proud father – is there any other kind? – and reportedly
"settled down," it's nice to know the nearing-middle-age indie icon remains
capable of capturing his songs in a live setting, though his monotone delivery
is still good for a cringe or two after a full set.
Once Malkmus unplugged his Malkmus and exited Malkmus-left we had a choice:
stick around for Band Of Horses and a few others or head to the main stage for
Sam Beam, Neko Case, and The [gulp] Tragically [double-gulp] Hip [you get the
point; lots of gulping being had].
In retrospect our decision was a flawed one. Sitting in the nicely cropped
Gorge grass and watching as a flock of ominous clouds was herded our way, I
couldn't help but notice that Iron & Wine sounded AWFUL. Well, at least what I
could hear sounded awful; Beam and his traveling band were so quiet you could
barely hear a thing from 50 yards and beyond. And what I did hear I didn't
like. Country- and folk-crimped blues is a mighty fine persuasion if delivered
in the proper fashion, but Beam just couldn't hang, and how could I expect him
too? He's a naked, introspective songwriter trying to play to thousands, so
maybe he isn't to blame. And who's the wunderkind that slated this concert?
Does it take a genius to understand that the more intimate second stage would
have been Beam's playground? Ahhh … But, to tell it like I heard it, Iron &
Wine still sucked big, shiny, decorative balls, no matter which party was
responsible. Fleshing out his one-man songs with a band was a good move, but
his voice struggled to attain the volume necessary for a huge crowd and the
whole full band thing looks a lot better on proof paper than upon publication.
Sorry Sam; please, don't play it again.
Next it was time for some faux kuntry by crooner queen Neko Case, and she was
amazing for the entirety of her set, which turned out to be … oh, 10 minutes
tops. Too bad, Case, baby; didn't you bring your knight's armor? No? Awww,
poor, sheltered rock stars; will you ever learn …
Ok, I should clarify that this is a total in-joke, as a barrage of
bite-sized-Snickers hail rained down on the Gorge like the hand of god before
Case could even finish "My Favorite." Oh, and did I say the hand of
god? I meant a million-thousand hands of god that feel more like
quarter-sized chunks of sleet and ice than one, unmistakable hand of our
ever-elusive creator. DAMN YOU GOD, IS IT SO HARD TO SEE A SEMI-SNARKY MUSIC
REPORTER HAPPY? This was unlike any day-concert scene I've ever witnessed.
Tens of thousands of show-goers cowered under plastic tarps, $10 ponchos, and
blankets. For the first time in my life I envied those lucky souls confined to
a plastic bubble for life. Hell, they were sittin' pretty!
colleague and I attempted to outlast the outrageous storm, but it was a futile
endeavor with none of the above-mentioned forms of shelter at our disposal, so
we ran for the hills, or, more specifically, an overhead shelter. Under this
shelter were hundreds of shivering souls with little room to breathe. Things
even got kinda scary when several belligerent drunks packed into an already
dense crowd, leaving one to wonder what would happen where there was simply no
more room. Cannibalism? A tribal system in which the lesser are stomped like
dogs? Unintentional group sex?
Well, none of these seemingly inevitable eventualities transpired, and with a
knowing wink god blessed us with pelts of rain, which at this point were damn
preferable in comparison to the stinging clots of hail. Our light, sunny-day
concert had turned to a dark, third-world hellhole in a matter of an hour. The
grass, previously packed with people, was now dotted by staunch survivors of
the storm, discarded ponchos (one of which we used for a seat as not to wet
our shapely bums), water bottles, wristbands and mini food trays. It was sad.
It was dreary. It was kinda cool to finally get a good seat.
And so we decided in kind to persevere. Too tired to amble over to the second
stage, we weathered our second shitstorm of the day: The Tragically Hip.
Tragically, they actually weren't really that bad. I mean, they were bad, but
not tragically bad circa Him. They were more They Might Be Giants bad:
You're suspicious of friends that swear upon their goodness, but you'll let it
slide because the keyboards sound kinda cool sometimes and because it's not
like you have to listen to it outside of the occasional ride in their car.
I'll just leave it at that, because frankly dear, I don't give a damn about
The Tragically Hip, and neither should you.
Before I drop several semi-sweet morsels about The Shins' set, I need to get a
few things off my chest. First off, though James Mercer and co. have gotten a
HUNDRED TIMES better at reenacting their Oh, Inverted World cuts in a
live setting over the years; the chorus of "Girl on the Wing" and a few others
are just-plain-cavalier; what's more, I've heard them get it right in the
past. Why not this time? Secondly, there's this GREAT Shins song they used to
play back in the early post-millennium days (at the end Mercer scat sings,
"oh-oh-oh-oh, OH-OH," if that helps), and they've simply abandoned it. Man,
that sucks ass. Thirdly, they played the EXACT SAME songs they cranked through
at Sasquilla 2004. Fourthly, the critics that hailed Chutes Too Narrow
as superior to Oh, Inverted World should be summarily shot in the teeth
repeatedly. Sixthly, Shins keyboardist Marty Crandall looks JUST like Chris
Parnell from Saturday Night Live and no one else seems to notice. What gives?
Sixthly, the above concerns mean precisely shinola because The Shins remain an
incredible band, Mercer a once-a-decade vocalist with a rare combination of
upper-register range and songwriting smarts cum whimsy. A few lukewarm
Chutes tracks notwithstanding, the amazing pitter-patter-plunk-plop rhythm
of "One By One All Day," the slinking synth-accompanied chorus of "Saint Simus,"
and of course the rousing chant of "Hold your glass up" from "Caring is
Creepy" proffered enough sugar-sweet goodness to render the preceding
hailstorm maelstrom a dirty, drippy memory, much like that time you caught the
clap from your elementary school janitor.
At this point, the crowd was informed that Ben Harper would grace the stage
before The Flaming Lips due to undisclosed difficulties. This ended up being a
HUGE deal, as Harper's set literally took 17 years, 321 days, 5 hours, and 37
minutes to end. It folded on itself like an apple turnover; it contracted and
expanded like a temperamental blowfish; it was Eternal like KLF's 3 a.m. and
The Bangles' Flame; it was unbearable.
And I like Ben Harper. Sort of. Well, I mean, I don't dislike his music
in any severe way. But he's just one of those artists to me -- I'll admit he's
talented as long as I don't have to listen to too much of his music or too
much bantering from his "biggest" fan that once shared a nose hair trimmer
with him (!). I bought the double album Live From Mars and shelved it,
save to listen to "Alone" occasionally. A friend once told me Harper is like a
combination of Bob Marley and Bob Dylan (Bob Marlan!), but to me he's more
Wyclef spliced with Dave Matthews: technically talented, and I loved The
Carnival, but c'mon!
His performance at Sasquatch did little to deter my "meh" sensibilities. As
our drenched clothes bonded with our white, bloated bodies a cutting wind
pierced our very souls and whittled away at our resolve. It became an
endurance test, one I'm sad to say we failed: After the 72nd Harper encore, we
uttered a "fuck this" and packed it in for the night.
I figured we didn't miss much. At Sasquatch 2004 The Flaming Lips' visual
extravaganza was blighted by Coyne's failure to hit his high notes. The next
day over Tequila shots a group of rowdy Canadian roughriders told us what we'd
missed: A boy in a plastic bubble, a cover of Sabbath's "War Pigs," and lots
of fake blood. Bollocks.
Would the Third Day of Sasquilla-my-'nilla compensate for the failures of the
second? Would I find the frozen banana of life, the treat that would save me
from damnation? Would I be able to keep my best palcoholic at bay? Would the
bubbling refuse in the outhouses remain enclosed or would it explode from all
the lame vegetarians and their heavily propelled poo? Would the Oilers win and
Stay tuned for Sasquatch Day III: Return of the Drunken Gimp.
(Day One)
(Day Two)
(Day Three)
The Sasquatch Festival: Day One
The Gorge; George, WA
we were, roarin' down I-90 like a magnetic bowling ball catapulting toward
sheet-metal pins. Stoned. Ripped. Wasted. Er, St- ... St- .. on- ... erp,
[cough] ... -oned ... wasted.
Headin' to Sasquilla with our tires manically skirting the highway and our
heads in the drunk tank, it wasn't long before we found trouble burbling in
the underbelly of the small-town animal. Well, trouble is a relative word, but
at the very least the situation was uncomfortable. Specifically, the owner of
a small bodega [Beau - Day - Gah] wouldn't allow my colleague and I to use the
bathroom after a looooooong search turned up no gas stations. BALLS! We got
over that one quickly, as a Mexican restaurant manager nearby gladly
"SHOOOR, of COURSE you can use our bathroom! What do I look like, some sort of
heartless savage? Just purchase our most-expensive dish and you can use our
facilities all you want ... A-HA-HA-HA! I KID, I KID ... Do your worst, Alfred
R. Poodanger!" [quote edited for funniness]
We had more trouble checking in at our campsite. Approaching the Man in Charge
yielded an awkward conversation that would taint our enjoyment of the site's
Billy T. Burglebum, site manager: "HEY!!! YOU KIDS READY TO PARTY!!!"
Gumshoe: "YEAH!!!"
BTB: "WELLLL... not here. We pride ourselves on a clean, sanitary site with
little-to-no distractions, mmmk? Haha, didn't mean to get your hopes up! And
hey, you can holler all you want until 10 p.m., but then it's LIGHTS OUT,
He might as well have given us the ol' 'We don't take kindly …' line. What did
we expect? My dingleberry for a companion reserved us a spot at Stars 'n'
Stripes RV Park, otherwise known as a small-town republican stronghold
disguised as a campsite. No shit. We might as well have painted "Liberal
Jagoff" on our chests and walked around handing out PETA pamphlets for all the
sympathy we were going to get. An explosion could have been triggered at any
second. Little did we know that magenta-necked camp counselors and stringent
site policies would be the least of our hassles.
During our three-day excursion to the 2006 Sasquatch Festival, aka South by
Southwest for Hick Dummies Stuck in Washington and/or Canada, we
performed/witnessed the following acts:
— saw 17 bands
— scissor-kicked two helpless sunbathers
— ate 3-and-a-half pounds of M&M/peanut/raisin trail mix
— shit eight-and-a-half staplers
— were told that "only 20 people are allowed to photograph Arctic Monkeys"
— became discouraged by how good Arctic Monkeys were in lieu of the photo ban
— used the word 'Malkmus' out of context enough to Malkmus a friggin' Malkmus
— endured 67 pelts to the skull, care of bite-sized hail
— watched helpless and pantsless as a Canadian dude asked for a jumpstart
while we were taking off our rain/hail-soaked clothes once ... DAMN CANADIANS!
— waited in vain for "Bela Lugosi's Dead" to kick in 14 times
— made terrible "In da 'Haus" jokes, complete with inappropriate German
accents, for four full hours after Bauhaus' set
— ate, between us, 17 granola bars from the press tent … in one afternoon
— missed Rogue Wave and nearly removed my own spleen with a pair of garden
sheers in a jolting fit of despair once
— commented on how Death Cab are "a cutesy band even manly men can get into"
seven times while trying to look manly
— threatened to murder our camping neighbors while they sat and listened
intently thrice
— took an ice-cold coin-op shower due to no change twice
— considered guiltily masturbating in one of the Gorge's outhouses five times
— took cover with hundreds of others under a tiny overhanging roof once
— saw several out-of-control Canadians chanting "Go Oilers" in unison nine
— listened to the new Tool in the parking lot once [with my metal Super
Needless to say, this wasn't your typical concert experience. This wasn't a
casual roll in the hay; this was a soggy, bloated, three-day poundfest. At
times our "vacation" resembled a struggle for survival, and at no time did we
ever smoosh our bums into the grass and relax. How could we? Too many bands,
too many stages, too many changes in weather; too-too much.
When we arrived in the parking lot it was tempting to turn back while we still
had our dignity. With TV on the Radio belting some awfully sour vocals clear
into the parking lot, one could only imagine how bad it would get once we
stood face to face with the beast. A few rad-ish drum jams aside, TV on the
Radio blew big-time ass, proving once again that indie hype means less than
the fuckwits that create it.
After our first monstrosity, we figured things could only improve. Oh, what a
smelly sack of shit assumptions can become! Thinking HIM were either a) a
Canadian post-rock superband or b) a teeth-gnashing grind-metal group, it was
tough not to be curious. When their Johnny Depp-in-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean
frontman finished applying his Hot Topic eyeliner and made the stage his
strudel, it was apparent HIM are actually THE SHITTIEST BAND ON THE PLANET.
Talk about pocket-rocket-rawk; this glorified hair band sounded so unoriginal,
so alarmingly bereft of an identity I don't even know whom to compare them to.
Andrew WK? Naw, not commercial enough. Early Poison? Naw, not gay or shiftless
or unoriginal enough. That terrible Creed-esque band I saw a few years ago
that featured former Nirvana drummer Chad Channing? Bingo!
Let me lay it out for you: Freewheelin' rock/metal with catchy synth parts and
anthemic choruses. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, it sure did to the kid
next to us. He was raising his goblet of rawk to the sky and heil-ing his
devil horns. It made me feel guilty for taking notes so deprecating you could
almost smell the lemon-acerbic "wit" wafting from the ink. I even pretended to
care so's not to put the poor dude out. But pretty soon I couldn't help
myself: I jumped up, grabbed my crotch and screamed out a classic Grim Reaper
soprano scrotum scruncher for no reason other than to imitate a band I respect
much, much more than HIM. Man, they were SO BAD. I really can't emphasize this
enough. Fuck, I wish you were THERE, dude, so you coulda seen it for yourself!
Despite the tragedy of the above-mentioned ballgaggers, the first day did more
to justify our attendance than any that followed for one reason, and one
reason alone: FUCKING BAUHAUS!
Sounding like a gloomier version of Echo And The Bunnymen's "Show of Strength"
with a gloomier version of Neil Diamond straddling a mic stand for
accompaniment, frontman Peter Murphy and Bauhaus parlayed their knack for
gloriously repetitive rock into a dynamic performance. They may have
"invented" goth after forming in 1978, but in a live setting their post-punk
side protrudes more than any other entity. Murphy's jockeying for stage
position was a pleasure to behold, all naive, childlike spin cycles (with arms
flailing) and gratuitous grandstanding that could only come from across the
pond. The bass and drums were stuffed so far in the pocket it's amazing you
could hear the blokes, and their songs used rather redundant rhythms and riffs
to lure all onlookers into a flame-ridden frenzy. A lot was expected of the
reunited quartet, and Bauhaus filled the crowd's early Eighties prescription
with purple pills to spare. Bonus: They didn't really have much new material,
so the set consisted mainly of older joints, keeping the 'Rolling Stones after
Tattoo You came out' factor to a minimum.
Closing out Squatch's first night, Nine Inch Nails hauled a huge stage set-up
and did a workmanlike job of mauling the many plot points of their
ever-expanding cadre of electronic anthems. As desultory as much of their
material is, Trent Reznor and his hired goons — Twiggy Ramirez and drummer
Josh Freese among them — sacked the crowd repeatedly while occasionally
reverting to the elements we all wish Nine Inch Nails would trim. YOU know
what I'm talking about: Those in-between songs that sound like bad Ministry or
decent Killing Joke, with snappy choruses and digital gadgets the world caught
up with years ago.
However, with razor-edged tracks like "Burn" cutting through the clutter like
a hot knife through a cut of semi-nutty edam cheese, it was impossible to
remain embittered for very long. And the light show, my stars the light show!
Shifting from strawberry fields to leopard skin, the constantly fluctuating
patterns skittering around the stage were enough to grrrrant NIN the benefit
of the doubt. What's more, Reznor sounds exactly the same as he did
back in the day, his vehement vocals on "Closer" justifying the tired croaks
and gurgles of the backing tracks. Coming up short when weighed on the Bauhaus
barometer, Nine Inch Nails fared better than one would have guessed at a show
primarily focusing on indie-rock, though it was clear many attendees were
there largely to see Reznor do his thang and planned on packing it in after
one day.
And with that, the first painful entry in my Sasquatch Festival 2006 Diary
scrapes to a hault. Little did we know it would fast become the day we had it
(Day One)
(Day Two)
(Day Three)
Frog Eyes / Sunset Rubdown
Schubas; Chicago, IL
Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary was my favorite album of last
year, a title that was cinched after seeing the band live at Chicago's best
small venue, Schubas. It was at this show that I realized who the heart of the
band was: Spencer Krug, the phenomenal voice of "I'll Believe in Anything,"
one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. For the entirety of that
show, I was unable to take my eyes off his passionate, intense singing and
keyboard playing. When I found out he had another project, Sunset Rubdown, I
couldn't wait to hear it, and the recently released Shut Up I Am Dreaming
has not disappointed in the least. I haven't been this excited about a
musician since I discovered the Dismemberment Plan in college. When I heard
Sunset Rubdown was touring with another band Spencer's been associated with,
the wonderfully bizarre Frog Eyes, I couldn't wait to see that intensity on
stage once again.
Even with those high expectations in tow, the show proved to be the best I've
seen all year. The venue was full, but surprisingly not sold out, for Sunset
Rubdown's set. After a prolonged sound check, the show kicked off when Spencer
got behind his keyboard and said, "This song is a Wolf Parade song, but before
that it was a Sunset Rubdown song" and proceeded to play a stripped-down
version of "I'll Believe in Anything," just him and the keyboards, while I
proceeded to drop my jaw in disbelief and amazement and possibly wet myself. I
still can't believe he started out the show with the original version of Wolf
Parade's best and biggest song, and I couldn't be happier that he did. The
song quickly bled into "Snakes Got a Leg" as the rest of the band joined in
(made up of Jordan Robson-Cramer and Michael Doerksen, who switched on and off
between guitar and drums, and Pony Up!'s Camilla Wynn Ingr, who added
additional sound effects, bells and backing vocals), and the next 45 minutes
of music were pretty unreal. Spencer put on much of the same humble,
passionate, super-intense performance behind his keyboards that I loved when I
saw Wolf Parade, eventually picking up this ratty looking mini-accordion held
together by duct tape for the stunning epic, "The Men Are Called Horsemen
There," which made for a great visual spectacle. They also played a brand new
song (something about "chaos") that was possibly, dare I say it, better
than anything I've heard of theirs yet. There's just something about Krug's
unique and powerful voice that makes it hard for me to concentrate on anything
else — it's like nothing I've ever heard before. He could put the phone book
to song and I'd pay to hear him sing it.
After Sunset Rubdown's set, the ongoing trend of recent buzz bands
overshadowing the headliners they tour with (see: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and
the National) continued as the crowd shrank substantially, which is really too
bad for those people who left, especially since the two bands' sounds
complement each other so well. With Spencer joining his former band on the
keyboards, Frog Eyes put on an at-times hilarious and equally intense
performance somewhat fueled by the self-deprecating angst that singer Casey
Mercer spilled forth between each song. The first thing you notice about
Mercer when he steps on stage is how little he looks like a frontman. He sort
of looks like Philip Seymour Hoffman — more specifically, the creepy, Lara
Flynn Boyle-stalking Hoffman of Todd Solondz's Happiness, because
Mercer is creepy, let me tell you. When he's yelping and howling during his
bizarre and exciting songs, his bright red face scrunches up and his whole
body seems to tremble and shudder as he's pounding away at his guitar and
waving his finger in the air like a madman. In between songs he'd either
regale us with some ridiculous tale that made no sense or endlessly mock
himself ("You're old and no one wants to see you play!"), Spencer ("Why don't
we do things like Wolf Parade!"), or an audience member ("I just drank tequila
for the first time!" after she yelled out "Wolf Parade!"), and he'd do it in
this really high-pitched, evil-sounding whisper. Meanwhile, his band seemed to
sort of look around nervously in the background as if they weren't used to
seeing this odd behavior on a daily basis. Beyond all the theatrics, however,
Frog Eyes sounded really great, and the lengthy, brand new song they ended
with was weird and ambitious and fantastic, giving me high expectations for
their next album. To my delight they eschewed the encore, instead opting to
join hands and take a dramatic bow before leaving the stage.
Sigur Rós / Amiina
The Lyric Opera House; Chicago, IL
After taking an elevator up to the
balcony accompanied by a tuxedoed usher while polite applause rippled across
the theater for openers Amiina, I knew this wouldn't be a typical rock show.
In a venue that regularly hosts performances of Die Fledermaus and Cosi fan
Tutte, Sigur Rós' epic compositions and enormous sound still seemed fit to
share the stage, even if the fans in attendance were not typical of the Lyric
Opera House's usual black tie audiences.
The four Icelandic women of Amiina wowed the crowd with their skills on the
strings, incorporating bells, electronics, and even the saw into their short
opening set. The strings were the focus of every song, with the quartet
sitting in a small square atop a tall platform, seemingly unaware an audience
existed. As each song progressed, various members left the platform to
smoothly wander the stage from instrument to instrument, building the sound
gradually in the typical post-rock style Sigur Rós made popular. Amiina's
sound was also very reminiscent of another Icelandic band, Müm, especially as
the precious tinkling of the bells were looped and layered through the Apple
computer that rested incongruously on stage. After thanking the audience with
some very adorable broken English, the band wrapped things up with an
uncharacteristically danceable song with a serious beat.
After taking in the beauty of the Lyric's interior and hitting up the nicest
bathroom I've ever used at a concert, the lights dimmed and the curtains drew
back to reveal Sigur Rós positioned behind a sheer white screen. Easing into "Glósóli"
from their latest album Takk..., the shadows of the band and their
instruments moved across the screen as they played from behind, while faint
gray video of leaves blowing and feet stomping projected onto the stage. The
sound grew gradually, eventually filling the entire room with the final
minute's heart-pounding drums and singer Jon Thor Birgisson's piercing voice,
every note of every instrument crystal clear. As the song finished and the
crowd cheered, the screen rose to reveal the band, the women of Amiina perched
on their platform in the familiar square position, Jon standing awkwardly in
front of the microphone at the center of the stage with his guitar and bow in
After that stellar beginning, the band's set focused primarily on songs from
their most recent albums, the rockin' Takk ("Hoppipola" and "Sæglópur"
were definite standouts) and the far more mellow and sedative () (Yu-si-yo!),
which often left me wanting to close my eyes and just take in the sounds in
peace. The lighting very much complemented the show as video continued to
stream on a screen behind the band; the greens, blues, and reds flashed across
the stage in perfect timing with the music, while the shadows of the various
band members could often be seen along the theater's side walls. Meanwhile,
the band stood rather rigidly on stage, with most of the movement coming from
the sways of the members of Amiina as their arms flowed with the bows of their
strings. Only once did Birgisson speak, and whether it was broken English or
unintelligible Icelandic (or maybe Hopelandish?), no one in the audience was
quite sure what he said.
After briefly leaving the stage to more of that polite applause, the screen
lowered in front of the band again as they returned to the stage to close out
the show with "Untitled #8" from (). Building their sound very
gradually while the lighting strategically revealed the silhouette of a
different band member each second, the band eventually made its way to a
booming ending as strobe lights flashed across the audience and forced me to
turn away my eyes and plug my ears while Birgisson's ear-splitting siren voice
soared above the massive wall of sound. Blind and deaf, but pleased, I watched
as Sigur Rós dropped their instruments and left abruptly, returning to the
stage seconds later for a final bow to their thrilled audience.
Rodrigo Sigal / Steve Yépez / Various Contemporary Composers
DePaul University; Chicago, IL
Encuentros, organized
by DePaul Music School professor Juan Campoverde, is now in its second year
and has expanded to two full nights featuring contemporary music by Latino
composers. The first night focused on multimedia works interspersed with
electro-acoustic pieces. Rodrigo Sigal was the only composer present at the
event and took on the responsibility of running the show, segueing between
pieces and controlling the levels of the eight speakers that surrounded the
audience. The live diffusion was not as impressive as it seemed at first,
though; there were only two channels of audio being output from the computer,
each going to four of the speakers, and Sigal could only control the
spatialization of those two channels, not introduce new sounds to the audience
live. The technological side of the evening felt further compromised by
Sigal's use of the free version of QuickTime. As the pieces were played off of
his computer, the top bar as well as the icon bar was visible.
The first piece of the night, which ran independently of the supplied program,
was "Snout" by Ricardo Giraldo. The multimedia piece used quick, almost
stop-motion edits of close-up shots of a dog as well as video of the ocean as
its primary visual sources while the primary sound source appeared to be
strictly canine. The fast edits of the video were matched by the audio
portion, which featured a pointillistic collage of dog growls, snuffs, and
other sounds. Of the two most traveled categories for this kind of work,
ominous and ambient, "Snout" fell into the more ominous camp, particularly in
the climatic portion of the piece, which was denoted by sharper sounds and
strobe-like images of the dog's teeth. The images were treated with a filter
that increased the contrast and made the white fangs stand out against the
darker background. The focus moved back to the treated shots of waves
crashing, and the piece ended.
At this point Sigal segued into a tape piece by Alejandro Viño called "The
World We Know." This piece seemed much more in the pop realm than most of the
audience seemed to expect. As I listened to the metallic clanks, drill sounds,
a baby crying, and, I am 90% certain of this, an "Unh!," I was reminded of the
cheesy, proto-techno type tracks a friend of mine used to do in high school.
Viño's work was decidedly more professional, but the feeling of dressed-up pop
music shone through the composer's stated purpose of exploring the clichés and
traditions associated with rap and hip hop. That's not to say it was not
enjoyable or lacking in complexity, either. The drum and bass breakbeats would
at times begin to play over each other, creating polyrhythms and the thought
in my head that this is what John Cage's aleatoric "Imaginary Landscape No. 4"
would sound like if it were performed in Chicago on a Saturday night. The
eight speakers worked quite well for this piece, though more for the depth and
life they added as their outputs phased and added a slight delay effect to the
listeners' ears, not for the diffusion. The piece ended as it had begun; the
layers began to fall away, and the steady, beating pulse that had sustained
throughout disappeared, leaving what once again sounded like a sparse
collection of unrelated clanks and bangs.
The second video piece of the night was Dennis Miller's "Vis a Vis." A change
from "Snout," "Vis a Vis" was ambient with its primary video source
unintelligible, though I'd venture to guess it may have been either video test
patterns of simply abstract images run through video filters. Similarly, the
audio portion of the piece seemed either electronically created through FM
synthesis or possibly a combination of that and some vocal sounds. Possibly
the result of antiquated equipment (the program notes mentioned that Latin
American countries rarely have up-to-date technology for this kind of work) or
a lack of creativity on the composer's part, the piece seemed little more than
a reworking of John Chowning's revolutionary "Stria" set to abstract video
that was obviously processed using recognizable video filters. Compared to
Giraldo's "Snout" and even Viño's pop-sounding tape piece, "Vis a Vis" came
across as amateur-ish. The only sense of form was given by the introduction of
a gray area to the sea of floating, spinning, undulating colors that sustained
through the piece.
The next piece that left a mark on me was one of Sigal's tape pieces, "Mambo a
la Braque." This piece was entirely based on samples of others, centered on a
mambo by Damaso Perez Prado. Every two bars the mambo would pause for a break
and a quick burst from a symphony, and then it would return to the mambo. The
samples built in layers with piano sounds, baritone saxophone, and percussion
all playing over, around, and in between each other, their layers
differentiated by their individual fidelities, ambience, and equalization. I
spoke to Sigal the next night about this piece to gain a greater understanding
of his intent. Taking the idea of quotation within a piece to an extreme,
Sigal wanted to use clips of different musical styles as a way to expand the
meaning of his work. Quoting, or in this case, using samples of different
styles, drew certain ideas from the audience about what they knew of that
style. By layering these samples/styles/ideas in a surrealist juxtaposition,
Sigal hopes to challenge their conceptions of what would be considered
well-understood forms in other circumstances.
After almost an hour of multimedia and tape pieces, the audience was ready for
a step in the live direction and was awarded with a piece for flute and tape
by Sigal called "Sonic Farfalla," performed by DePaul student Steve Yépez. The
piece made use of several extended techniques, most notably flutter tongue as
well as key clicks and whisper tones. The piece once again included a drum and
bass portions that faded in, unrelated to the flute part and layered over each
other, creating a three-part polyrhythm. The tape also had a very present
flute part on it. Some of the parts were reversed and used percussively, but
other parts were of an unprocessed flute, and toward the end the sound of a
muted trumpet could be heard coming out of the speakers. I generally have a
prejudice against pieces for mixed media since my feeling is that tape is
static and therefore can't truly interact with a performer, but I do
understand that certain sounds can only be achieved in a studio setting and
cannot be created live. Following that logic, unprocessed instruments have no
place on tape in a mixed media piece. Listening to the piece, I also began to
question the compositional process that Sigal had spoken of earlier, beginning
with the acoustic portion first and then writing the electro-acoustic part as
accompaniment, as this piece's tape part was far more interesting and Sigal
amplified it over the live flute.
The final piece of the night was "Blink," another multimedia piece with the
video done by Ricardo Giraldo and music done by Rodrigo Sigal. Once again
falling into the ominous realm of multimedia works, this piece began with
reversed sounds and FM synthesizer tones playing, accompanied by black and
white video of the inside of an abandoned building. The immediate feel was
that of a low budget horror film along the lines of The Blair Witch Project
or Saw. The piece developed into more than that, though, as the video
switched to color and the exterior of the building was shown followed by
several other buildings in similar disrepair. Samples of a classical aria and
trumpet piece drifted through like the memory of better times as the less
obviously assembled sounds continued. The video eventually went to black as
the trumpet piece came to the forefront and cadenced with ambient sounds
floating around and eventually fading away. I later found out that this piece
is somewhat political, reflecting Giraldo's disillusion with the civil
conflict in his native Columbia, focusing on the long-term destruction it has
Overall, the night was an interesting experience of work that far outshined
the student multimedia performance held at DePaul a few weeks earlier. Still,
an amateurish feel lingered through the performance, mainly due to the
conspicuous presence of the computer's tool bar and the overbearing hip hop
and drum and bass influences in several of the pieces. Multimedia works are in
the process of fighting an uphill battle to claim legitimacy in the many parts
of the classical music world, and when a performance put on at a
university-level music school that is run by composers with PhD's still comes
across like this, legitimacy is not gained. Performances, practices and other
precedents need to be established for the presentation of works like this, as
the works themselves are relatively free of classical structures. The first
night of Encuentros was presented in a way that felt like a slipshod
classical performance, and it did not work. People did not know whether or not
to applaud between works, especially in the sometimes long pauses. In most
cases there were not performers and the composers were not present, so who
would the applause be directed towards? If works are going to break with
classical styles as much as these video and tapes pieces did, then their
presentations need to break with classical practices as well. Otherwise, isn't
it only half new? Still, there was a second night to resolve these questions,
and I eagerly looked forward to it.
The Fall / The Talk
Stubb's Barbecue; Austin, TX
Fall have so much material that the small chunk I own seems to be strewn all
over my apartment. As a result, when I returned home from The Fall show, my
roomie was shocked that I hadn't been fanatically talking up the fact that I
was going to see this band whose merchandise he has been forced to look at all
year. My only explanation was that I didn't know what to expect. Although I'd
consider myself a pretty big fan and I'd heard that they could be brilliant,
it would be more likely that they would be in shambles. Nonetheless, I had
been nervously looking forward to my first experience with a band that I
consider no less than legendary.
The show was in downtown Austin near where I currently work, so I was able to
spend a leisurely evening out before heading over to the venue. I convinced a
friend whom I'd turned onto the band via the albums Hex Enduction Hour
and Levitate to join me but made it clear that I couldn't vouch for a
stellar performance. The band played at Stubb's, the venue that has recently
housed LCD Soundsystem, Interpol, and The Arcade Fire. The catch? The Fall
were playing the inside bar, which houses a fraction of the amount of people
the main stage does. That didn't deter The Fall, though; they still charged as
much or more than those bands.
Well, we missed the first band, The Talk, but arrived in time to see a
videographer "open." He was actually pretty great, manipulating images and
sound of Elvis, Freddie Mercury, Barbara Streisand, and Michael Jackson with
thoroughly hilarious results. Then, finally, the band took the stage and
ripped into "Hey! Fascist," an earlier tune recorded as "Hey! Student" but
revived in fascistic sheen this evening. Fittingly, some unknown guy sang the
first few lines, giving Mark E. Smith ample time to saunter out and mumble out
a few chants of "Hey Fascist-ah."
You may have noticed that The Fall's last few albums have featured a number of
raging rockers with huge riffs that sound like songs that a drunk could really
pound his fist to, namely "Theme From Sparta F.C.," "Pacifying Joint," "What
About Us?," and "Assume." Well, that drunk was pretty much Mark E. Smith, and
of course, he treated us to all four of these songs. In an album context, they
work pretty well, but when they comprise the bulk of a short set, it truly
sounds like a bloke just wantin' to shake his fist while he rocks out.
Onstage, Smith spent the whole time skulking around with his eyes
three-fourths of the way closed, grabbing other band members' microphones for
the sole purpose of singing into two microphones at the same time. When he
wasn't singing, he was looking at the gear and obnoxiously chewing gum that
wasn't there. After about 30 minutes, he left the stage to let the band finish
a song that was only half done. They came back for about three more songs,
though he didn't perform on the last one, which was obviously not an
instrumental. The band itself performed pretty energetically, especially on
the fantastic "Aspen," though they all looked like they really, really hated
While this may sound horribly dissatisfying, Mark E. Smith played the
character of Mark E. Smith to a tee, and I couldn't have been more delighted.
When audience members started angrily yelling at him to play more songs, I
couldn't help but feel like they were naïve newbies who had bought 50,000
Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong and thought there was really a chance they were
going to hear "New Face in Hell." However, I reconsidered my glee when talking
to a guy from Melbourne who had seen the Fall many-a-times in the '80s and
ribbed my friend about being too easy to please and placing Smith on an
undeserved pedestal.
In the end, I would have to say I enjoyed the set, but not on the one-to-one
level of "this was a good performance, therefore I liked it." Rather, it
provided another enjoyable piece to the immense and baffling puzzle that is
The Fall. In fact, it got me excited enough that I put on the Peel Sessions
Box Set first thing when I got home.
Bell Orchestre / Snailhouse
Wexner Center for the Arts; Columbus, OH
Orchestre was pre-empted by singer/songwriter Mike Feurstack, who can
regularly be seen as guitarist/vocalist for Wooden Stars but who, on this
night, played a handful of songs under the guise of Snailhouse. The music
wasn't groundbreaking or revolutionary but was still pretty and distinguished:
all members of Bell Orchestre also joined Feurstack for several songs prior to
their set, and then Feurstack returned the favor by diddling with electronics
during the Bell Orchestre set. Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed
Parry, upon leaving the stage after the group had finished backing Feurstack,
stood about 5 feet to the right of where my girlfriend and I were sitting. He
really doesn't look a whole lot like Napoleon Dynamite when you're that close
to him; he also lacked his trademark black glasses, an absence that prevented
anyone from mistaking him for the lanky Mormon. Yet another few feet away,
some guy was wearing the ever-present Vote for Pedro t-shirt, as if to rub
salt in the deepest of wounds. Parry briefly chatted up a friend who had
arrived, and after meeting his sister (and bowing politely), he took his leave
and headed to a quasi-backstage area.
Those mistaking Parry for the heart and soul of Bell Orchestre are sorely
mistaken. He's obviously an integral part of the greater whole, but this
evening the subtle spotlight shined a little brighter on violinist Sarah
Neufeld, who also plays a big part in making The Arcade Fire so impressive
Pre-recorded oceanic sounds preceded the quintet as they carefully made their
way through the darkened performance space; small lights at each group
member's wrists led the way. Neufeld was placed firmly in the center of the
stage with Parry to her right and a French horn and a trumpet player to her
left, the drummer behind her, and Feurstack to the drummer's right, almost
hiding behind Parry. Parry played upright bass for a majority of the
performance, an instrument he not only played to perfection but also slapped
and pummeled during the "rock songs." A majority of the songs were from the
band's debut LP, Recording A Tape The Colour Of Light (Rough Trade),
and there were little surprises and variations in the performance of each
song. Neufeld is easily the center of attention for each song, as she plays
beautifully and thrusts her squat, sturdy arms into the air and saws at her
instrument as if she's been tied to train tracks, a ferocious locomotive
barreling down upon her. The group played cohesively together, and each song
sounded as fresh as its counterpart on the LP. The only newish song played was
one Parry had recently commented on in interviews; during this song, the group
gathered together in the middle of the stage. The song was played without mics,
with Neufeld and the two brass players to Parry's left. Parry played his
massive bass with the thin bow while the rest of the group kneeled on the
floor, clapping the floor once Parry had finished. Parry explained that the
song had been created at a "great old theater in Sweden when we were in
Europe." And it did have a slight European vibe that well matched the other
songs performed. At one point, the group spoke at length about their newfound
hatred of all things Cleveland, a hatred discovered at a show a couple of
nights earlier at nearby Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom. They claimed that the
audience "hated them first" and that it was much nicer playing to a "quiet,
attentive crowd" rather than in a smoky dungeon where half the people weren't
even paying attention.
A highlight of the show came near the end of the performance when the band
played what was announced as an Aphex Twin cover, a song that sounded
incredibly familiar and was played incredibly well. They ended the song with
what sounded like an electronic rubber band — stretched across the entire
stage — that snapped back and forth and continued to snap as the group members
quietly left the stage.
Ladytron / The Presets
The Metro; Chicago, IL
walked into the sold-out Metro just as the opening band was beginning their
set. I wasn't expecting much from a band I knew absolutely nothing about, but
I was pleasantly surprised by the Presets, an Australian, electro-goth duo
clearly influenced by Joy Division/New Order; it's the type of stuff the Faint
has been trying to do but has succeeded at only on occasion. The singer's
Flock of Seagulls haircut, excessively tight jeans and ill-fitted t-shirt made
for quite the spectacle as he thrived around the stage, occasionally pushing
buttons on the electronic equipment that littered the floor. Meanwhile, the
drummer kept the pace alongside a booming bass that ripped through my insides
for 45 minutes straight. Further research revealed that this band has a debut
album coming out this month, which would definitely be worth looking into.
After a short break, Ladytron's four, disgustingly beautiful band members came
on stage joined by an additional drummer and bassist and proceeded to play
almost robotically. This fit their robo-sound very well and was pretty much
exactly how I would have expected them to play, though it did get boring at
times. I wouldn't be surprised if frontwomen Mira and Helena were actually
fembots (fembots sporting very weird priest/nun-like clothing that only people
in bands can pull off), and watching them perform made me wonder if their home
country of Bulgaria is actually a land of gorgeous, fair-skinned, dark-haired
androids. Thankfully, the band broke the image in time for the encore, when
they began to show a bit of emotion and get the audience involved with some
dancing, handclapping, and an extended electronic jam of "Seventeen," by far
the most exciting moment of the night.
Ladytron's set leaned heavily on songs from their latest album, The
Witching Hour, including highlights "Destroy Everything You Touch,"
"Sugar" and "The International Dateline," while still managing to please the
crowd with older hits like "He Took Her to a Movie," "Playgirl" and the
aforementioned "Seventeen." For the first half of the show, it seemed the
audience wasn't sure whether or not it was possible to dance to Ladytron's
methodical electronica, as heads bobbed and feet shuffled nervously.
Eventually, as the beer flowed and the end of the set approached, all
pretenses fell to the wayside as people began pushing up to the front of the
stage to flail wildly in my personal space, completely out of sync with the
music. The Metro's recent (and otherwise welcome) switch to a smoke-free
environment revealed its sole flaw: no cigarette smell to cover up the sweaty
BO scent. Blech.
This is Your Captain Speaking / This Melodramatic Sauna
Pannonica; Nantes, France
This Melodramatic Sauna is a group
from Nantes fronted by 23-year-old Jonathan Seilman. They released their first
full record, et les fleurs eclosent à l'ombre, on Effervescence at the
beginning of February, and the few tracks I had heard prepared me for some
pleasant indie folk, and not much more. In fact, the performance blossomed
from its delicate folk roots into colorful bursts of polyglot pop – whenever a
song was in danger of becoming too pretty for its own good, the dainty
fingerpicking and plucked strings were inundated with strident keyboards and
eccentric percussion. Theremin, the rims of half-filled brandy snifters, and
even a length of twirling plastic pipe complemented the drums and packed the
songs' conventional folk structures with savvy appropriations of pop, funk,
and jazz. Seilman blew injured saxophone melodies that were looped into the
rising cacophony along with his guitar. His voice was breathy and fragile,
bordering on cloying at times, but otherwise serving as a cool balm that kept
the songs from overheating. After playing through most of the cuts from the
new album, Seilman and the string quartet returned for a bashful encore,
offering a reprise of "Stronger Strongest" before breaking down their
equipment and coming into the crowd to talk and have a few drinks.
This Melodramatic Sauna's genial folk calamities segued nicely into the
polished post rock of This is Your Captain Speaking. The Australian trio - a
drummer (David Evans) and two guitarists (Nick Lane, Steve Ward) - relied on
lanky riffs and loads of tidal delay to create thickly layered songs that
surged and spent themselves in 7-minute stretches. Evans pounded his kit with
energy and poise and frequently abandoned the skins to tap out melodies on the
xylophone to his right. "6 PM" started with the friendly mechanical ratchet
and ping of a typewriter before the guitars overlapped, crested, and slid back
toward silence. "Henry and Maximus" was my favorite number: a playful melody
and jazzy cymbals gave way to contrapuntal riffage and a series of hungry
crescendoes. One of the guitarists had an effect on his guitar that made it
sound like a cello, and with all the delay, the tinny clatter of his pick
against the strings anticipated each wash of vibrating bass by several
seconds. The Aussies also gave a brief but lovely encore.
After a long weekend at a festival dedicated to the obscene, provocative,
noisy, and just plain weird, an evening spent with artists focused on
songcraft and musicianship was a soothing pleasure. The lively, if somewhat
tight, performance confirmed my hunch: I'm going to be sure to look for more
from This Melodramatic Sauna and any other Seilman releases. Any fans of
Sufjan / Andrew Bird / Akron/Family should do the same.
This Melodramatic Sauna
Stronger Strongest
For Respect
Home and Away
Ô my sun
La Triste Comptine
Au Café
Fin de Partie
Encore : Stronger Strongest
This Is Your Captain Speaking
A Wave to Bridget Fondly
Henry and Maximus
Gathering Places
Encore : [unfinished new song]
The Rolling Stones
Grand Stage Theater; Shanghai, China
Sometimes, they walk backward in
China. They swing their arms the same way as everyone else, and they look
around at the scenery just the same, and they have conversations about
pigeons, and they have conversations about metaphysics, and they put stupid
shirts on their dogs and walk their dogs in those stupid shirts. They do
everything everyone else in the world does; they just do it a little
differently. They have humongous shopping malls, and they have pop music ear-fucking you, and they have food courts and places where you can buy music and
movies; but the shirts there are kinda funny, and there's a vegetarian
restaurant called Happiness Comes From Vegetable Dish, and the DVD shop
already has Season Third [sic] of Arrested Development. Everything we have and
do, just a little different. In the country whose population would go on
exponentially if you counted all the Chinese in a line (babies, stupid), one-by-one, what do they give the world's largest money-making tour? An 8,000-seat
venue. China doesn't give a shit about The Rolling Stones.
The crowd was largely expatriates, with about 90% being white. The
Stones show was apparently a "be there or be rectangular" kind of event for
whitey, as many of the only Chinese present were either the new, upper-class
elite or on the arm of their vis-Ã -vis boyfriend. And I guess I really
shouldn't say "whitey," as there was an international zest to the attendees'
whiteness. Upon first arriving at the stadium, after having spent the day in a
city of over 19 million Chinese; packed subways, difficult-to-maneuver
sidewalks, taxis, bikes, mopeds, countless honked horns, pedestrian,
pedestrian, pedestrian, one starts to think a little bit more about this
anomalous event.
The concert itself was rather conflicting. Here are four of the men who have
made some of the greatest rock music in history — "Brown Sugar," "Get Off of My
Cloud," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Exile on Main Street
— men who typified
good pop music, and now we see their picture and we cringe at their wrinkles,
and we talk about how much fucking money they're making on this tour and
whether one of them will die at this show, and how The Rolling Stones are
exactly what many of us have come to hate about music. Big money, moribund
creativity, mass marketing, and corporate tie-ins. Everything that's wrong
with pop music today just walked onto that stage and is going to play a show
for people who have touted their music like an anthem since the '60s, and to
them it's just another show. The news has made a seemingly big deal about this
being their first performance in China, but it's not important. It's not
historic, and it's not monumental. The government wants the good press just
like the Stones want the good press, and what's good for the goose is good for
the geezer. We've all been duped into a massive, two-hour-long PR session that
has been orchestrated by governments, corporations, and men with secretaries.
Everything I have ever believed music was about is, to its bone, at its core,
opposed to these things. Yet here I am, and there they are, and really, all I
want to do is listen to the Stones. I want to close my eyes and be able to
imagine myself in the '60s with my eyes closed, standing at the back of some
hole in the wall listening to The Rolling Stones, but I am in a seat, and the
music doesn't sound live enough, and a big screen behind the band is always an
undeniable temptress. Don't think, just listen. Walk backward.
Mick was surprisingly nimble. He still managed some of his swagger and
presence from "Gimme Shelter," and he even made it come off as more "classy"
sexy than "creepy-dad-singing-to-his-daughter's-friends-at-the-pool-party"
sexy. What can I say? The man is a professional. When singing "Wild Horses"
with Cui Jian, China's resident rock icon, things were sappy, wind blown
(literally), and just what you'd expect.
Along with Jagger, much of the energy for the show came from that
aforementioned bitch of a big screen and her use of cameras and video. Fades
on the slow parts, cuts on the fast, zoom in, zoom out
— the swoop, can't
forget the swoop —
the staged moves, and, of course, audience shots. If you were
ever tired of the show, you could simply look up and see an amped-up, MTV
version of the performance. The sound was nice and clean; there were two or
three wardrobe changes, and the lighting was excellent. Everything you'd
expect from one of the biggest bands in the world.
They played mostly classics (duh) and were met with mild, grumbling discontent
when announcing they would be playing a new song. The supporting musicians and
vocalists did an excellent job of maintaining the sound of the Stones, even
though they received little regard. Keith played a couple of songs and managed
an audible "It's good to be here...it's good to be anywhere," from that
somnolent voice of his.
I can't say that I wasn't impressed with the show. It was the Stones, for
Jeebus's sake. The music sounded just as good as it does on the albums, Mick
thoroughly awed, and fans could take pictures with their friends in front of a
Rolling Stones tongue-covered wall. Big, bright, loud
— the show was everything
I've ever imagined a Rolling Stones concert could be. But the Stones have
turned into more of an event than a band, and everyone should really just save
their money. Wait until winter, light a heap of leaves on fire, and listen to
"Satisfaction" while smoke coddles your blushing cheeks.
1. Start Me Up
2. ---
3. Oh No, Not You Again
4. Bitch
5. Wild Horses (feat. Cui Jian)
6. Rain Fall Down
7. ---
8. Gimme Shelter
9. Tumbling Dice
10. Empty Without You
11. Happy
12. Sympathy for the Devil
13. Miss You
14. It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
15. Paint it Black
16. Jumpin' Jack Flash
17. You Can't Always Get What You Want
18. Satisfaction


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Flying one of these:
Actually its a microlite although it flies like a 'real' aeroplane. I'm trying to recover my old civilian flying licence as I was amazed to find that although I got it in 1974 - they are issued for life and all I need is a refresher to reactivate it. A certain chum (Bernfeld) mentioned these and so I trotted down to the airfield at Dunkeswell today and had a quick half hour in one. I haven't flown a fixed wing aircraft since 1979 although I have just a few helicopter hours since then. The instructor told me I could land it - and I 'm still alive. Spooky.
So for the cost of a second hand car and the maintenance of a second hand car - I can buy a second hand aeroplane. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Wednesday, 24 June 2015
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Nautilus is now availble - - ta dah!!
Last time it was dancing girls and a marching band and before that it was fireworks, so for this launch its this lot:
Thursday, 11 June 2015
Coming soon to a Kindle or Createspace store near you
Thursday, 21 May 2015
More progress
Nautilus is in its last lap which is a good thing as I am really ramping up my efforts on the book about the Lynx now. Hopefully I will finish it before I get swamped with work for the new one. In addition to agreed input from nearly all interested parties I now have an old naval colleague, Steve George, on board for the project - he is a very gifted cartoonist, it was Steve who did the cartoon of my Lynx helicopter. He has agreed to illustrate elements of the book which will add another dimension to the product.
|Guess wot I are doing?
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
A good day
Two successes today. Firstly, I finally got the draft contract from my publishers, only a week after I was promised it - just have to read all the small print now. But this means that I am definitely going ahead with the book about the Lynx helicopter. Second success is that I now have agreement from all the Lynx flights that participated in the Falklands War. I have at least one willing contact from each. I also have the current front line squadron (815) champing at the bit to provide input as well as one of the original test crew who flew the first ever prototype. Going to be a busy year. For those who haven't seen it - here is my aircraft from 1982:
Sunday, 10 May 2015
The most heavily armed ship in the world
Nautilus is now nearing completion - we are heading home from our narrow boat next week and my aim will be to have the book ready for publication in about six weeks from now. If anyone wants an advance copy then I'm more than happy to oblige (as long as you take the time to let me know all the typos). The climax to the book takes place around a certain battle in October 1805 off the coast of Spain (bit of a clue there then). One of the stars will be this ship below, not HMS Victory - she's small by comparison. This is the four deck, 140 gun Santisima Trinidad, the Spanish Flag Ship. Mind you her size and firepower didn't help the Spanish much. The battle was fought in light airs and she had serious trouble manoeuvring as she was so big which meant the good old Royal Navy gave her a pounding and she eventually surrendered. Sadly she sank in the subsequent storm, although they think they might now have found her remains on the bottom near Cadiz. There is also a full size replica of her in Alicante although it is built over the hull of a modern merchant ship.
Change of plan
For the last few weeks we've been in a bit of a quandary (and there was me thinking it was a canal). Looking at the year ahead it seems there is going to be very little chance of using Amelie May very much as I need to get on with serious writing and there is a good chance I need a new hip/knee or something. I've always subscribed to the principle that its wrong to pay good money not to use something, in this case marina fees to store a boat that's not only not going to be used but also will deteriorate in the process. So its with great reluctance that Fi and I have decided to put the boat up for sale in Venetian Marina - where we bought her from several years ago. We've had tremendous fun. I estimate we've covered about 1600 miles - all at 2.5 miles and hour, done over 1000 locks and emptied the loo well over a hundred times. We've had an excellent sampling of Sunday Lunches and beers from around all sorts of out of the way places, I caught two (tiny) fish and neither of us has fallen in the canal - although Tigger did twice. We've even managed to be nice to charter boats - most of the time. So give it a year or so and we'll be looking for the next adventure. - Anyone want to buy a narrow boat?????
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I wouldn't say I was a "veggie lover"… When I was younger, I was actually repulsed by all things green… Except for a Granny Smith Apple! Since then, I've come around to some things, and will even say this smoothie combination is now a favorite!
All Greens Smoothie
- Kale
- Green Grapes
- Granny Smith Apple
- Coconut Water
- Optional: pear, parsley, arugula, spinach
Blend all – and enjoy! Pretty simple. I know a lot of smoothie recipes might call for you to add ice.. My trick to not water down the flavor but still chill your drink – freeze the grapes! Or for that matter, freeze all your ingredients (except the coconut water) in batches which will make the smoothie routine even faster!


text:
Originally written on Fox Sports | Last updated 2/27/13
An Illinois sheriff says Chicago Bears offensive lineman J'Marcus Webb is free on bond after being accused of possessing marijuana in his vehicle during a traffic stop. Sheriff Randy Kern tells KFVS-TV (http://bit.ly/WrxmUv) the 24-year-old Webb was arrested Sunday night in Pulaski County, in the far southern part of Illinois along the Ohio River. Kern says Webb faces charges of possession and drug paraphernalia, as well as speeding and not having a valid vehicle registration. He was freed on bond Monday. Kern and the county prosecutor didn't return telephone messages by The Associated Press on Wednesday. A Bears spokesman says the franchise is aware of the matter and is seeking specifics about it. An NFL spokesman said the same thing. Online court records don't show whether Webb has an attorney. --- Information from: KFVS-TV, http://www.kfvs12.com
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The Top 10 In Action Sports
01Brick By Brick: Camping Lego Style
02Booze and Bikes: 14 Tours That Let Combine Two of the Best Things in the World
03Who Needs Hollywood? These Incredible Videos Were All Filmed on the Simplest Cameras
04Sam Pilgrim vs. The World: The Champion Aiming To Reclaim His Crown In A New Era Of Biking
05Eccentric Adventures Episode 2: Britain's Most Brutal Illegal Event is All About Cheese
06A Journey Into Darkness: We Went Mountain Biking in the Abandoned Mines of Slovenia
07After the Apocalypse: Inside The World's Most Breathtaking Ghost Towns
08Debate: Let's Stop Hating On Parents Who Want To Raise Adventurous Kids
09Guns, Roses, And Eating Insects: Adventure Cycling in Vietnam
10From Intense Trails to Intensive Care: Dicing with Death In a Mountain Biking Paradise
Session 1, 2013: Summer Snowboard Camp
A Snowboarding video by Windells Camp - 3,509 views
It's true, summer shredding is back in style. The new features are set and the park is looking flossy. Thanks to the Gnarly Wear team and some incredibly hyped campers, Session 1 was a legendary start to another great summer on Mt. Hood. Featured Boarders: Justin Fronius, Cody Lee, Steph Sue Feld, Everest Arnold, Paul Gilbert, Dan Wells, Derrek Lever, Peter Linberg, Jeremy Estorga, Forest Bailey, Alex Stathis, Jared Jordan, Jordan Small, Jesse Paul, Dan Spooner, Austin Leonard, Tucker Speer, Dylan Thompson, Sage Kotsenberg, Riley Nickerson, and Campers! Filmed By: Tyler Malay, Alexandra Erickson, Ian Macy, Jake Strassman and Sam Trefaller Edited By: Ian Macy Additional Shot: Jordan Small


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Jillian Michaels doesn't believe in doing things halfway. That's true not just for exercise — she's best known as the toughest trainer on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" — but also for motherhood. Last year, her partner, Heidi Rhoades, gave birth to a son the same month the couple adopted a 2-year-old girl from Haiti. So, naturally, Michaels can't quit at only one speaking engagement. Instead, she's taken on a 35-city "Maximize Your Life" tour ($58-$170, Jillianmichaels.com).
It sounds like you're going to train the whole world on this tour.
I'm going to try. My goal with this is a selfish one. I enjoy that direct connection. With 35 stops, I can see 70,000 people. When you think about how many books you can sell and how many people see a TV show, it doesn't compare. But this way I cut out the middleman. No one is editing me. I'm the one putting them through exercises and taking them on a journey.
The name of the tour is "Maximize Your Life," not "Minimize Your Weight," so what's the focus here?
You're of course going to understand the science of weight loss. But it doesn't take me long to convey that. To me, health is about having a healthier life. This is an entry point for them to attack inhibitions, empower them to redefine how they see themselves, unleash their potential. People say, "You just need to think positive." That's not true. There are skills people need to use. It's learning recovery behaviors that are affirming and not destructive, how to build a road map to success. It's learning how to get feedback, correct what's broken, create selfawareness, selfawareness, enhance willpower. There's a lot to know. Action without information is a wrecking ball in your life.
What's your life going to be like with your family on a two-month bus tour? And how are you going to exercise?
Two small children on a tour bus for hours and hours at a time — I feel like Chevy Chase in a remake. It's going to be the ultimate road trip. And the way I train doesn't require any equipment. I can do it nearly anywhere with a 6-by-6 open space. I'll bring my road bike, so I can go for a ride.
Are there any exercises you always do in a workout?
It's more about techniques. It's free weights and body weight based, with a lot of combination lifts. I do high-intensity cardio intervals to condition my body as effectively as possible. Really, it's just maintenance for me. I'm lucky to be in maintenance mode. Could I lose weight under these conditions? Yes, but it'd be hard.
You've said motherhood has made it tougher to exercise, but is anything about it making it easier — like, you can lift them instead of weights?
Motherhood has made nothing easier. Lifting them has thrown my hips off and messed up my shoulder. Easier is not a word I'd ever use. But it's the best thing I've accomplished.
Getting yelled at through your TV screen just isn't as motivating as being screamed at by someone in the same room. So Jillian Michaels has found another way — beyond her 35-city tour — to make sure you receive some inperson attention: BodyShred.
• What It Is: The 30-minute workout, which is offered at some Crunch gyms, relies on Michaels' 3-2-1 interval program. At a demo class recently in Washington, instructor Nicola Haire explained the game plan. Each circuit consists of three minutes of resistance exercises, followed by two minutes of cardio and one minute of active recovery. The students switch moves every 30 seconds, but the action doesn't stop until they complete four different circuits.
"Don't get scared," Haire reassured the stunned students while walking them through the afternoon's agenda. Instructors provide a preview of the exercises at the start of every class, which frees them up to walk around and offer pointers, encouragement and some Michaels-style screaming.
• Moves: BodyShred takes familiar exercises and adds a twist. So you're not just doing jumping jacks, you're also squatting to touch the ground between reps. You're in Warrior III while doing lateral raises. You're doing burpees with the extra step of hopping your legs from side to side.
Victor Quintanilla, 27, who's struggling with a weight-loss plateau, appreciated the chance to try something new, such as "dancing crab" (in a crab-walk position, kick your legs up and down). It's a fun one, Haire agreed, noting that it works the legs, core and triceps.


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by Joe Romm Posted on November 21, 2013
Royal Dutch Shell includes a high carbon price when evaluating new projects. The $40 a metric ton price that Shell uses -- if widely adopted -- would reshape domestic and international energy consumption and investment trends.
by Joanna M. Foster Posted on November 1, 2013
Shell announced that it is considering a return to the Chukchi Sea for oil in 2014, despite two years of trouble.
by Ryan Koronowski Posted on October 7, 2013
Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said, "Our activists have been charged with a crime that did not happen, they are accused of an imaginary offense."
by Tiffany Germain - Guest Contributor Posted on August 1, 2013
Three of the five Big Oil companies released their second quarter profits today, raking in a combined $11.4 billion this quarter for a total of $31 billion this year.
by Annie-Rose Strasser Posted on July 11, 2013
by Ryan Koronowski Posted on May 28, 2013
by Ryan Koronowski Posted on May 2, 2013
by Kiley Kroh Posted on April 3, 2013
by Climate Guest Contributor Posted on February 27, 2013
by Climate Guest Contributor Posted on February 12, 2013


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Top 3 management tools used by GCC organisations
Does your company use these?July 6, 2015 12:00
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Philippines confirms second MERS case
Abu Dhabi's Dana Gas hits 9-wk high after wins Kurdistan case
Saudi Telecom Co to pay Q2 dividend of 1 riyals/share
UAE non-oil business growth slows to 22-month low in June
MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf likely to be subdued by oil price drop, Greece
Abu Dhabi's TAQA drops 5.4 pct after saying no merger talks
Qatar's Doha Bank raises 2 bln riyal Tier 1 capital-boosting bond
Dubai's Drake & Scull increases GCC ownership limit to 100 pct
Abu Dhabi's TAQA says not holding merger talks
Gold languishes below $1,170 ahead of U.S. jobs data
Ultraconservative investing methods were supposed to make Islamic finance immune to the financial crisis. So what happened, asks Trends magazine.
February 3, 2010 3:55 by Sarah Abdullah
Just how immune are we?
Islamic finance conjures up an image of safe methods of investing, saving, and purchasing without having to worry about interest or excessive leverage.
But it's becoming clear that Islamic finance's conservatism did not fully shield it from the ills of the economic crisis. "The word immune is inappropriate here," the president of Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, Ahmed Muhammed Ali, says.
"True, Islamic finance is safe from the kinds of risks that conventional finance is exposed to because it insists on tying financial transactions with the real economy all of the time." But the finger of blame is being pointed at excessive risk-taking by some Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East real estate market and internationally based mutual fund portfolios, which caused an evident effect when the region's property market took a fall. The property market bubble in the United Arab Emirates burst, and prices in Saudi Arabia and neighboring GCC countries became inflated.
Those rallying in support of Islamic finance argue that Islamic institutions were not at all impacted due to their lack of exposure to speculative products. However, the effects that everyone felt – whether investing in Shari'ah-compliant or conventional products – was unquestionably because of the liquidity crisis.
Even though Islamic finance retains a good reputation because of the apparent failures of conventional finance and its interest-bearing methods, not everyone says that Islamic finance is perfect.
Commercial banks as well as central banks were forced to pump billions into their economies to offset the impact of liquidity contraction and eroding asset values – throwing into relief a major shortcoming of Islamic finance: The absence of liquidity management.
According to a study by the Arab Monetary Fund, the region's governments are being called on to continue to pursue expansionary monetary policies to ensure liquidity in the markets.
A great telephonic leapfrog… backwards
February 3 2010
Emirati spends $6.45 million on three camels
February 3 2010


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This Tory Leather 5/8" Raised Belt has a simple and elegant design that lets it work well with just about everything. Made of quality English bridle leather with fine stitching and an attractive buckle.
Your personalized look is complete with this Custom Nylon Event Style Hat Cover! Made specifically to fit your helmet brand and size, it comes in your choice of colors and in solid or patterns. Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.
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