email at 47west63rd@gmail.com

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

AC DC more Wilkes Barre October 28 pictures




AC DC Wilkes Barre photographs October 28 2008



AC DC Wilkes Barre October 28 concert pictures




AC DC Wilkes Barre 10 28 2008 Tour Opener Set List

Rock & Roll Train
Hell Ain't a Bad Place
Back In Black
Big Jack
Dirty deeds
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack
Hells Bells
War Machine
Anything Goes
You Shook Me
TNT
Rosie
Let There Be Rock

encore

Highway To Hell
For Those About To Rock

AC DC October 28 2008 tour opener concert Wilkes Barre Highway to Hell live video


Sunday, October 26, 2008

Black Crowes- Notes from last nights concert October 25 2008 930 Club

yawn..boring show last night.. they were great when they stuck to the rock and roll but way too much of the evening was like watching a bad phish/dead cover band..

are they trying to turn into a jam band? maybe they are already there? that shit was boring...preferred their show at wolftrap a few months ago..

interesting they were allowing people outside to smoke..usually there is no reentry.. the cop presence was bordering on the obscene...i mean come on it was 1000 kids having a little fun on a saturday night..

all in all i got lucky that i got to hear three songs from southern harmony including remedy/sting me... also it was nice to hear the slightly cheezoid she talks to angels..of the three shows i definitely got to see the one with the best set list for me..

but overall this concert was a wankfest...too many boring long solos that went nowhere...really it was like watching a band with a split personality.. sometimes wanting to the grateful dead while at other times staying true to their original stones/faces vibe...we even had a really boring drums interlude...

at the show at wolftrap they had done far more channeling of the stones...also i got to say chris robinson looks like shit... get it together bro! stay off the hard stuff and eat more..

the Black Crowes October 25 930 Club Washington DC Set List

For those coming here for the set list from last night's concert:
GOODBYE DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
STING ME
GO TELL THE CONGREGATION
BALLAD IN URGENCY
WISER TIME
SHE TALKS TO ANGELS
POOR ELIJAH/ROBERT JOHNSON
COLD BOY SMILE
WHOA MULE
LAY IT ALL ON ME
WEE WHO SEE THE DEEP
THORN IN MY PRIDE
FEATHERS
REMEDY
WOUNDED BIRD
- encore -
DON’T DO IT

the Black Crowes "Remedy" 930 Club Washington DC October 25 live video


the Black Crowes at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC October 25 pictures








Monday, October 20, 2008

Crystal Ball Edition

Yes the $64,000 question..what is going to happen!!!?!?! Well I am no expert but I have some thoughts...

I think the United States- and whatever else people disagree on I think there is a concensus on this- is going through a crisis in its political leadership product not just of Bush's incompetence but also a paralysis/gridlock in government product of an almost perfect democratic/republican split since 2000. Once Barack Obama is elected president I have to believe that we will see a boost in confidence on the part of americans. At this point however people are depressed and unhappy about the direction of the country- particularly the economy- and they are not spending and as you know when people here in consumerland stop spending everything grinds to a halt. There is also less spending because there is a contraction in credit with people, for example, finding it harder to get bank loans to buy cars...This is all compounded by a sizable drop in home values which is making everyone feel poorer...

However, we have not yet even began to see the full impact of this reduction in spending/contraction in credit work its way through the economy as it has really only been happening in full for the past couple of weeks.. Anecdotically - on the street- you hear a lot of "I am cutting down on my spending" and "I was going to but now because of the economic crisis.." when in reality there is still little direct impact on many Americans but this very cutback on the part of most americans is what is going to make sure that we do go into a deep recession with pain... This is going to come though particularly around the end of the holiday season and particularly the first quarter of 2009 (nice inauguration present for obama). I have to believe we will have retail numbers being announced for Christmas that will be abysmal and this will feed the pessimism- of course by this point Obama will have been elected with a clear mandate and this should counteract the pessimism somewhat- I would not be surprised to see some sort of active early transition or at least involvement of Obama's economic team....

Of course the government is trying to combat this drop in consumer confidence and spending by injecting as much liquid as it can but that too will take time to work its way through...

In as far as the longer term questions of how the US gets its financial house in order I have to believe we are heading -eventually- for a reduction of defense spending..There is also concensus about the need to move up the retirement age (to improve the social security segment of the budget) but we will have to see if that can be done).. But we are essentially heading towards the end of the American "Empire".. Pat Buchanan- who for every strange idea has many more with common sense- just wrote a column about how the US can no longer afford its empire... Too much of the government spending cannot or will not be cut leaving defense as the necessary source of cuts.. I think America's creditors and the international financial community are going to want to see some seriousness on the part of Obama because they are becoming worried about the mess that has developed and this fantasyland debate about lowering everyone's taxes along with increasing government expenditure on bailouts etc has to be scaring them a bit..

Having said all that, I am optimistic that once Obama wins he will be able to provide people with some confidence that they have a government.. the problem currently is that there is no real government.. Bush is pretty much absent and there is no confidence in him or his administration - or their policies- so we are waiting on standby for the new president while we debate whether Obama is a socialist, terrorist, or what....I think the fact that the democrats will have control in both houses of congress means he should be able to take the necessary steps and more importantly perhaps give people the impression that somebody is in charge at the helm and is steering the ship... I also expect Obama to appoint a team of very competent, trusted, and experimented people to run the economy and signal Wall Street to get on board.. I am thinking of people who already proved their bonafides under Clinton (Rubin, etc..).

There is a lot of doom and gloom around here but I continue to think that the US economy is very dynamic and that the necessary adjustments will be made... There will be a period of time until the recession fully takes hold and then there will be an additional period of time until the measures taken by government work themselves through the economy but in the end I just don't see this being anything on the order of what is being talked about (i.e., a new "great depression", etc.).

Obviously there are real problems with the mortgages, the deficits, etc.. but ultimately I think this is more about a lack of trust on the part of Americans and US creditors..It is that lack of confidence that is the biggest problem and as Alsogaray would have said we need a "shock"!

These are my scattered thoughts but I remain optimistic for the medium term and although the challenges are sizable I wouldn't bet against the United States just yet.....No doubt my optimism is to a large extent influenced by my belief that Obama is going to win the presidency..

Lyle Lovett at the Warner Theatre Washington DC October 19 2008 "Her First Mistake" live video


Sunday, October 19, 2008

number of argentines leaving argentina doubled in 2007

thats what happens when people see a country is going nowhere fast.. when there is no belief in the leadership (I'm talking to you Cristina and Nestor Kirchner).. PEOPLE JUST LEAVE.

here's the story on it

The Wailers (with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer) Catch A Fire LP

Man is this like the greatest album ever or what? I could listen to this all day! I am doing so in fact.. Just got through the original US zippo lighter cover and I'm now listening to the Jamaican LP.... Aston Familyman Barrett is just awesome on this... he's mixed in really nice with that extremely fat bass...This record first came out as a "Wailers" record but I guess was subsequently released as "Bob Marley and the Wailers".. the question of course is this: was the zippo case the only issue under "The Wailers" and it sold its as rumoured 20,000 run, then Burnin' came out under "Wailers" and only then was Catch a fire released with the Bob Marley smokin' a joint cover and credited to "Bob Marley and the Wailers" or is there an issue with the Bob Marley smoking a joint but credited to "The Wailers"? Why the change from "The Wailers" to "Bob Marley and the Wailers" and when did this change happen? Also the original zippo cover LP of Catch A Fire features a different mix/slightly longer mix of "Baby we've got a date" apparently... Either way whatever the history this is just a wonderful album. the issue is if it peaked at around Billboard 150 how many copies sold say in the first year? Where all the copies sold the first year the lighter copy?

Monday, October 06, 2008

Nick Cave 9:30 Club October 5 2008 Washington DC concert review

A little background helps understand the author… I first came across the music of Nick Cave- much like a lot of great music- about 1994 when I purchased “Let Love In” no doubt spurred by the usual fawning reviews that accompany his releases… If positive reviews translated into sales Nick Cave would be the best selling musician of the modern age… In any case what great luck to begin with Let Love In which I still think may be his peak in a career full of them…It has all the great Cave trademarks be it that creepiness/gothic vibe (Red Right Hand), the rave up post-punk tunes (Jangling Jack) and the lyrical ultra romanticism (Nobody’s Baby).. Its accessible yet uncompromising… I played this one into the ground –literally… Also, one listen and you new that the musicians – the Bad Seeds- were top notch… After this I very quickly purchased an almost contemporaneous and somewhat limited “Live Seeds” which I was to learn was a live recording from the previous tour (1992 Henry’s Dream)… This introduced me to his “classics” and some of these were beyond astounding powerful performances were the sound just built into a crescendo and you thought the whole thing was just going to pretty much come undone/explode… Played that CD to death… Later that summer or next summer we drove off to West Virginia and unfortunately Nick Cave pretty much opened the Llollapalooza.. I cannot think of any less fitting stage to see Nick Cave than in the hot summer sun about 1 pm at Llollapalooza….Even worse we got there late so we caught about 1 or 2 songs as we wandered in..at least that’s how I remember it…. To this day I don’t consider that I saw or heard Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds that day…. I think Mr. Cave was so put off by the whole bit of Llollapallooza that he pretty much ignored the United States for many years.. then when he did make it back I had to be out of town.. then a few more years passed…Anyways, I continued listening to his music and loved things like Murder Ballads, Boatman’s Call , the Lyre/Abbatoir (I do think there was a slight dip..but it was slight between Boatman’s and Lyre/Abbatori) and the new one Dig Lazarus Dig which I have been enjoying as I anticipated finally seeing him on this tour at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC.. it helps when there are songs on the new album such as Lotus Eaters or Midnight Man which hold up against the best of the man’s vast body of work… I had little doubt that Nick Cave would deliver the goods.. I was saddened of course that Blixa Bargfeld left the Bad Seeds a few years ago but I new that Warren Ellis, Mick Harvey et al would bring their A game… Still I don’t think I was quite prepared for what a great show we got last night… I’m not much for reviewing concerts but I suppose the set list had to help…Night of the Lotus Eaters is a great creepy vibe Cave track… Dig Lazarus Dig is just classic Cave speak song (an update on one of my favorites “Jangling Jack”).. The band was very tight and Cave’s voice was just about as good as it is on any of their records… he moved around the stage making eye contact and even physical contact with the crowd (particularly those close up)..he’s got an interesting and distinctive look going which almost makes him look like a character out of Zorro with that mustache and increasingly thinning/balding up on top but with plenty of hair on the sides… all very dark..the show was all dark.. not much light… people kept yelling “Release the bats!”…Then Cave tackled some classics like Weeping Song/Tupelo… Blixa was of course missed on Weeping Song but I was still glad he played it.. Following these he played what in my opinion is the more immediate and to my ears best track from the new album: Midnight Man and this positively rocked the house.. A rather pedestrian Love Letter followed.. never have quite gotten the hold of this one and there are far better Cave romantic tracks.. The Mercy Seat was a big highlight of the evening…the power of the song and the words magnified by Cave putting life and limb into the delivery… He definetly does a good job of almost acting out the delivery.. musical expressionism…or musical theater call it what you will..watching him at work it was clear that this was a man at the peak of his powers and I was gladdened to be able to say that while I missed him over the years when I finally got my chance to see him it was top notch…The DC crowd at the 9:30 was about as good a crowd as you’ll se in DC.. into it, singing the choruses and fist pumping (particularly up front)..giving Cave some energy that is often missing from DC shows…Other highlights were Deanna, We Call Upon the Author (another great track from the new album) which was well served by some organ/keyboard lines.. by the way it looked to me like there were three keyboard/organ’s on stage… Cave played on two of them including Into My Arms… The last song of the main set Papa Won’t Leave You Henry was probably the highlight of the evening… really raved up stomping loud much like the version on Live Seeds… Cave came out again and played the aforementioned Into My Arms then joked about going into Ship Song.. I know some people detest this song but everyone seemed to want to hear it but Cave I realized was not going to follow one slow ballad with another and sure enough he faked us- at least me- out and went into Get Ready For Love.. The Lyre of Orpheus followed that and I thought maybe Cave was surprised the crowd didn’t know it better but who knows..some schmuck who asked for it mispronounced Lyre as Lir and Cave had some fun with that.. Who calls it Lir? Cave then closed the concert with a wonderful Stagger Lee.. I had not expected to hear this one and thoroughly enjoyed it…What a malleable song..when you compare Cave’s version to that of the Grateful Dead they just have pretty much nothing in common..Cave’s is harrowing/violent/sexual while the Dead’s is more of fun good time party song….and with that Mr. Cave bade us farewell…

Nick Cave 9:30 Club October 5 Washington DC Pictures




Nick Cave October 5 Washington DC 9:30 Club set list

1. Night of the Lotus Eaters
2. Dig, Lazarus, Dig
3. Tupelo
4. Weeping Song
5. Red Right Hand
6. Mignight Man
7. Love Letter
8. Hold On To Your Love
9. Moonland
10. The Mercy Seat
11. Deanna
12. Hard On For Love
13. We Call Upon the Author
14. Papa Won't Leave You Henry

15. Into My Arms
16. Get Ready for Love
17. The Lyre of Orpheus
18. Stagger Lee

Nick Cave "The Mercy Seat" live video 930 Club Washington DC October 5 2008


Sunday, September 28, 2008

Letter to David Broder who is in the tank for John McCain

Mr. David Broder,

Your column on the debate made me sad and somewhat mad.. to write that someone is an alpha male because he acts like a bastard and is rude to the nth degree begs the question: when is a jerk called a jerk?.. McCain wasn't an alpha male broder...thats an asshole..he was dripping with contempt... he was angry and he was rude.... there's nothing alpha male about not being able to look your fellow debater in the eye! thats just as arguably fear and insecurity as it is "alpha male"...he couldn't even look barack obama in the eye while he spewed distortions and lies.. and you consider that strength?

Moreover, does it not strike you as ridiculous to write a column based on who is the "alpha male" candidate? even if what you posit were in fact true so what? are we electing a president or looking for the towel snapper in high school thats now working at 7-11? are you saying that americans prefer an "alpha male" to a president who is tough but fair, honest, principled and competent? i see no evidence for this conclusion and its sad that you seek to perpetuate this horribly counterproductive myth and in effect seek to make it a self fulfilling prophecy..in fact, your column is deeply insulting to the american voter.. to look at a presidential debate through the prism of "alpha male-ness" is pretty paltry political analysis..

really.. pull it together and try to retain some shred of relevance....very dissapointed in your column.


Saturday, September 27, 2008

A great man has passed on.

It is obviously true that Paul Newman was one of the great actors in the history of film. He gave me great pleasure on the screen. For some reason (maybe my parents?) I grew up watching his movies from Butch Cassidy to The Sting. As I got older I saw some other movies which confirmed to me his greatness: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Long Hot Summer, etc... Just wondrous performances...

But what I think of today upon learning of his passing is that Paul Newman over and beyond everything else was a great human being. He is truly missed. His work on behalf of the downtrodden and the poor- and not his remarkable films- is his great legacy and it will continue because he made sure it would. My condolences to his loved ones on this sad day.

I am truly moved by the passing of "Blue Eyes". The world- at least to me- feels a little empty today and I am deeply saddened. He was a great American in every sense of the word.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Pinetop Perkins picture September 15 2008 Kennedy Center Washington DC


Fascinating performance on many levels.. first of all when was the last time you've seen a 95 year old man rocking a dance party?! ANd not just any man but the man who played the piano for Muddy Waters and gigged with people like the original Sonny Boy Williamson! One of the last living -and performing- links to the early days of the blues. He played for about 30 minutes backed by local rock and roll band the Nighthawks and went through some standards (How Long Blues), a song or two of his own and Muddy's Got My Mojo Workin' which he must have played hundreds of times as part of Muddy's band in the 1960s...Oh yeah and he was sporting a pretty snazzy red outfit from the hat down to the shoes! I hear Pinetop makes his home in the DC area and it was truly an honor..This particular event formed part of a Dance series at the kennedy center (millenium stage event) so some people were dancing directly in front of Pinetop and the Nighthhawks... oh yah kudos to the nighthawks -who opened with apparently previously Chuck Berry pianoman Darryl Evans- for playing Chuck Berry's Thirty Days..

Pinetop Perkins and the Nighthawks at the Kennedy Center Washington DC September 15 2008 live video snippet Got my mojo workin'!


Thursday, September 11, 2008

the Silver Jews (David Berman) live concert video Black Cat Washington DC September 9-10 2008


the Silver Jews September 10 2008 the Black Cat Washington DC pictures





Thanks so much to my friend Jonathan Cohen for taking me to this show... The Silver Jews or David Berman really reminded me of Leonard Cohen for some reason...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Are we seriously discussing "lipstick on a pig"?

Of course this is exactly what the John McCain campaign wants... this is their strategy: rather than discuss increasing unemployment, a deepening recession, or additional sizable government bailouts lets lob unsubstantiated attacks at Obama and have him defend himself.. An opponent constantly on the defensive is not going to be able to articulate much at all.....

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Julieta Venegas concert video "De que me sirve" Tango Kennedy Center Washington DC September 9 2008


Julieta Venegas concert Kennedy Center Washington DC September 9 2008 pictures



Very entertaining (and free) concert... she played about 18 songs with a great big band including string and wind sections.. one of her last songs was one of my alltime favorites: Andres Calamaro's (with Los Rodriguez) "Sin Documentos"...I'd like to the thank Mexico's government for sponsoring this concert through its tourism office although i got to believe there are better things for them to do than pay for a free concert for largely well off mexican ex pats living in DC!

Monday, September 08, 2008

Election bulletin: panic setting in among democrats....

the new poll numbers are out and predictably panic is setting in amongst democrats...the latest gallup- shockingly- has obama down 10 points among likely voters!...if you don't believe me on panic read this thread were people are actually discussing what country to move to and how to obtain citizenship in the different places... i can't believe someone is actually considering moving to argentina (less chance of nuclear fallout they argue...):
 
 
personally i began to panic strongly on thursday and by friday was in full blown panic mode (randy and a cab driver originally from sierra leone, unfortunately for him, can attest to this...)
 
i actually think a good panic is whats needed.... we can't do what we did in 2000 and 2004 which was basically ignore reality and question the poll methodology....we've seen this before.. why not panic now while we can? as long as it doesn't take us off our game whats the problem? wait a minute we don't have a game! so its not a problem!
 
it is absolutely insane that in the current economic context democrats aren't up by ten points.....it boggles the mind some of the stuff that republicans are getting away with such as arguing governor palin has more experience (not to mention seemingly turning the election into obama vs. palin) or that they are mavericks and reformers.... the latest obama error is not to have a better answer on the surge...tiffiny who is not by nature a political analyst had far better answers to the questions george stephanopolous was posing to obama this morning than obama did...
 
obama seems as confident as ever...however..
 
my personal feeling is that we ought to practice a little rovian politics ourselves... why not go after mccain on his perceived strengths instead of letting him get away with them??? i really had expected joe biden would go after mccain on reckless national security stances etc but this is not happening... in fact we're hearing biden doing a bit too much talking about what a great guy/friend mccain is??? what is up with that?? a perfect missed opportunity which is costing us heavily has been the failure to tie the surge policy to georgia: "our military is stretched so thin due to the surge that we can't offer any sort of deterrent to russia's military expansion!".. this would have had the double impact of going after mccain on his #1 current strength (surge) while demonstrating that mccain's tought talk on georgia was mere bravado...  alas no one did tie the surge to russia's expansion... russia's expansion could also have been tied in to our ridiculous policy of attacking iraq....(ie., "we did it so now they can do it and we have no authority to say jack"....
 
Palin: democrats are flailing on this one.. instead of digging into every little thing and finding some really insignificant stuff lets just find one good meme and hammer that one home.... you go to liberal blog sites like kos and mydd and there is a new "scandal" on palin every 15 minutes but they are not scandals... they are a waste of time and worse: a distraction.... so she didn't sell her plane on ebay maybe.. who cares! so maybe she attended the alaska indepedents convention 20 years ago.. its just not enough.... i'm not sure which is the one to after her: maybe - once again- the strategy should be to go after her strength... what is her strength? is it her "record as a reformer governor"? probably, no?
 
but more generally: i would advise that Biden be more agressive in going after McCain and Palin...Obama should not directly engage Palin at all....
 
meanwhile hillary clinton is not helping... republican freakoids at their sick twisted site red state know how to call a spade a spade.. how come we dont'?

"Helpful"

Posted by: Pejman Yousefzadeh

Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 11:13PM

6 Comments

Notice what is missing in this story:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton marched for labor and stumped with Democrats on Saturday, but sidestepped questions about the woman who has taken her place as the nation's most-talked-about female leader.

Clinton brushed aside questions about Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin during appearances at New York City's annual Labor Day parade and later during a stop on Staten Island.

"This election is about issues, and that's what's going to matter to people at the end of the day," she told reporters who asked her about the Alaska governor at a rally for a Democratic congressional candidate at Wagner College.

There was a brief "no way, no how, no McCain, no Palin" comment later on, but it is perfectly clear that Hillary Clinton is not taking Sarah Palin on. And since the Obama campaign desperately wants to take Sarah Palin on and would be benefited by having someone like Hillary Clinton do the taking on--for all of the obvious reasons--one can assume that Hillary Clinton is not exactly being helpful.

It isn't hard for her to be helpful. All she has to do is say something like "we all want women to crack the political glass ceiling and reach the highest political offices in the land, but we don't want just any woman to do that. Rather, we want a woman whose values are commensurate with ours." And then, a segue can be made into a discussion of issues that supposedly matter to women and how Sarah Palin supposedly is bad on those issues.

But of course, that is not happening. Instead, Hillary Clinton is barely mentioning Sarah Palin while the latter is hammering at Barack Obama so effectively that Hillary Clinton can be excused for feeling wistful.

Think maybe that she does not want Obama to win? So do I. I wonder if from time to time, David Axelrod or David Plouffe meet with their counterparts from the Clinton campaign to discuss how best to unify. And I wonder if they bring food and drink tasters with them when they do.

They ought to, at any rate.

 

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Washington Nationals PA Announcer admits "I think Teddy got cheated!" in Presidents Race September 2 2008

Unbelievable! How long must this travesty continue! No I speak not of the Palin VP pick..something of far greater consequence... how long til Teddy Roosevelt by all accounts the most athletic outdoorsman US President be misrepresented in this manner??? Now he's double teamed by Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln in a patently law breaking take down?? Teddy Roosevelt would of grabbed his big stick and carved their heads out to place next to this other hunting trophies! Meanwhile "Honest Abe" Lincoln is first class rapscallion in these races....


Get well Jesus Flores (Washington Nationals catcher)


So I was there last night to see my favorite Nat and their best player this season (yes I'm talking to you Mr. Underperformer Ryan Zimmermann) taken out at the plate by Chase Utley trying to steal home. Horrible.... he had to be carted away in the truck... All I can say Jesus is I much appreciate your great work for the Nats this year and hope the injury is not as bad as it looked and that you get well soon!

Album of the Month: GAL COSTA's "GAL COSTA" 1969 psychedelic freakout



Boy I've been listening nonstop to this...I've owned it before (on CD) but now having it on LP it feels like a totally different experience.. certainly I'd never had it in MONO or with the cool Caetano Veloso penned insert notes... Of all the tropicalia albums and that includes Os Mutantes, Caetano, Jorge Ben etc this one has to be the most freaked out psych fest of them all... The bass is fat throughout..the guitar is wah wah-y, there's incredible songs from Gil, Caetano, Capinam (mr. soy loco por ti america), Jorge Ben etc... there's vocal contributions and probably arrangements too from Caetano and Gil who are all over this album.. there are Rogerio Duprat's wonderful arrangements and above all there is Gal Costa cut loose and wailing away at times in a primal scream Yoko Ono-ish manner while at other times she's as sweet as a lamb.. The cover art is also just the most...