Sunday, November 21, 2010

Best Thanksgiving Prayer Ever

Below is a reprint of The Thanksgiving Prayer by William Burroughs. Burroughs was hugely influential member of the Beats. Without him, no counterculture and everything that followed in its wake. I can’t do him justice so check out Wikipedia via Kempepedia
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs

I want wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully see you Black Friday Night at Kclinger’s for Devolver, starting at 10. Then Sat. night, Boxcar Social is throwing it down at The Coliseum, also starting at 10. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

William S. Burroughs
"The Thanksgiving Prayer"

Thanks for the wild turkey and the passenger pigeons, destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts.

Thanks for a continent to despoil and poison.

Thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger.

Thanks for vast herds of bison to kill and skin leaving the carcasses to rot.

Thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes.

Thanks for the American dream,
To vulgarize and to falsify until the bare lies shine through.

Thanks for the KKK.

For nigger-killin' lawmen, feelin' their notches.

For decent church-goin' women, with their mean, pinched, bitter, evil faces.

Thanks for "Kill a Queer for Christ" stickers.

Thanks for laboratory AIDS.

Thanks for Prohibition and the war against drugs.

Thanks for a country where nobody's allowed to mind their own business.

Thanks for a nation of finks.

Yes, thanks for all the memories-- all right let's see your arms!

You always were a headache and you always were a bore.

Thanks for the last and greatest betrayal of the last and greatest of human dreams.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Thanksgiving Shows

Here is a reprint of an email post I sent out in November 2007 for a Devolver show, with a few edits. Enjoy!!

     Well, of course it's family and friends getting together. But don't worry. I haven't taken an acid trip with Dr. Phil (fat bald dude not Lesh). No the most important part of the Thanksgiving weekend is the music. Let me travel back to the golden years of the 90's, specifically 1991 and 1992. Phish was still playing theatres around the country and had not become the arena rock monster so strong it will make you grind up Oxys and snort them off the ass of a hooker. (No that's not a leftover from my Vegas trip). Their main fanbase was college age kids and someone had a great idea of scheduling a run of shows over the Thanksgiving weekend at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester NY. It was a small vaudeville era theatre that the Dead made their home away from the Fillmore East. And what monster shows they put on there. The SkullFuck album was recorded there and the famed ESP experiment/show was conducted there as well. So the place definitely had some magic about it.
     The Phish shows from '91 and '92 were among the first Phish shows I ever got on tape. All old school shit, Harpua, secret languages, vacuum solos, etc. The shows remain legendary but have yet to be released officially. But then, the tours didn't quite work out for the boys to be playing around Thanksgiving. In ‘94, they almost got it right but played the boring Upper Midwest. In '95, they got it right. Wed. before Thanksgiving they played at the Cap Centre in DC. Saw the Dead there 6 times so it was really cool seeing Phish there. Then off to Pittsburgh for Black Friday. First time seeing the boys in the Steel City. Of course, the Late Fall Tour of 95 went down in history and these shows were a big part of it.
In '96 they spent Thanksgiving on the West Coast but in '97 showed alot of love to people on the East Coast who supported them through their early years. Weekend before Thanksgiving, two nights in Hampton, VA. Now this venue and scene need no introduction and what a way to start off the holiday week. Then, the weekend after Thanksgiving, and more importantly, on my birthday, Phish does a three night stand in Worsester MA. It's an old dying industrial town a half-hour outside of Boston. Tiny little hockey arena (holds 8000) with a laid back vibe. Fall tour, New England, almost a hometown show...DOES it get any better than this?
     The shows were sick. Wide variety of songs including the legendary 50 minute Runaway Jim. Fast forward to '98. Same thing, Hampton weekend before, Worsester weekend after. Now this is the good life. The live album Hampton Comes Alive came from the '98 run. Good times, good venues, good friends. In '99, they didn't tour in November (we would get the legendary last shows before Big Cyprus in Dec. in Hampton) but my other favorite band Widespread Panic played the Sat after Thanksgiving at Hampton. Dirty Dozen Brass Band opened up and then joined them for a few tunes. I went down with two couples that were in the middle of breaking up and it was crazy to say the least. Oh the lengths I will go to for total musical bliss.
     Which leads us to the present. Since 2000, Thanksgiving weekend has always been about Devolver. Classic shows in 2000 and especially 2001(van break downs, Kyle's illness, and my mind blowing, Earth shattering, life affirming birthday show. Dan channeling The Big Chief, Acid Test madness, all in Hanover. Had to have been there to witness it to be believed.) Since then it has been an old reliable schedule. Labor Day weekend, Thanksgiving weekend, and Christmas weekend with a few extras. So come out this Black Friday, November 26 to Kclinger’s. Show starts at 10. Thank you for indulging the sober Hunter S. Thompson in me
The D

Sunday, November 7, 2010

SCI Hullaween 2010

     As some of you may be well aware, I really like Halloween. After putting on the WHB/Devolver show last year, I wanted to go to a show this Halloween. So way back in April I bought tixs to see String Cheese Incident’s Hullaween weekend spectacular at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA. Since I bought those tixs, a lot of other super cool stuff (Phish in AC, BoxCar Social at Kclinger’s, the Rally to Restore Sanity at the Mall) have been announced. But when it finally rolled around, I was so glad and super pumped I got to see it Caveat: I only tried to get 10/31 tixs for Phish and got shut out. If some magical unicorn had delivered me tixs for all three nights, then I would have had a dilemma.
     Sorry in advance if this review is a little light on the songs of SCI. I’ve only seen them three times live (“96 or ’97 at Brandywine Farms, 2002 at Bonnaroo, and 2005 at All Good). I have a bunch of shows from throughout their history but I can’t be an expert on the Dead, Phish, Devolver, WSP, the Stones, the Beatles, Dylan, and Cheese……..something’s got to give.
     Hampton is the best East Coast indoor venue because once you arrive, you don’t have to drive anywhere. There are 10 hotels, multiple restaurants, beer and liquor stores, a Target (what’s up with all the aggressive red throughout the store. Felt like I wanted to kick someone’s ass after shopping there). There’s even a car dealership. Wonder how many spunions accidentally bought a new vehicle while on tour? So we roll into the Courtyard right at 3 and get all of our shopping done with plenty of time for preshow partying.
     When I checked in, they had me sign a paper that stated if I smoke cigs or anything else in the room, it would be a 250 fine tacked onto my bill. Holy shit, they're serious. All smoking had to be done outside, so everyone proceeded to do all their smoking of tobacco and anything else outside. Probably what it’s like to live in Cali right now. Luckily, the weather was perfect if not a little cool so it was a cool way to have forced socialization and meet our neighbors.
     Shakedown was more like an alley than a street as most people stayed in the hotels and walked to the show. Hooked Productions, the people that made my amazing hoodie with Old and In the Way on it were there and a few food vendors. That was about it. Total lack of nitrous, which was very refreshing. The tixs said the show started at 7 but the Disco Biscuits (opening act for the first night only) started at 7. When if ever has a band started early?????? Made it in to hear Shimmy in a Conga Line (one of the few songs that I knew by them). Amazing light show and more Untz Untz Untz than you can imagine.
      The Cheese sets the first night were really good. Again, not familiar with their whole catalog but got my dosage of bluegrass with Rolling In my Sweet Baby’s Arms. They can jam the fuck out of anything, whether it’s bluegrass, newgrass, or their own version of crazy glaxican dance music.
      Jonny Mon rolled into town around 2 AM and we all crashed to get rested for the next day. Before we passed out. Matt did warn us that he snores really loud. Understatement of the year. He was so loud and I was rudely awakened by it at 5 AM. I yelled, hit him with a pillow, nothing. Already had earplugs in but tried to sleep on the floor. Bingo. Evidently, the chainsaw buzzing stays on a horizontal plane level with the generator of said noise.
     We made a brief trip up the road to check out Colonial Williamsburg (first time I’ve ever done anything even remotely touristy while on tour and this is my 20th year of being on Tour.) Got back, took a nap and waited for Meg to roll into town. While there, Jonny Mon called his cousin, SCI lead singer Billy Nershi (how cool is THAT?!?!?!?!?) We roll into the venue and wait for the madness to start. My friend Bill Thompson (of Halloween 1994 fame) and someone I will dub Vdub were there. Bill joined us up top and the first set raged. Vdub joined us later. He was clad in a green body suit which left nothing to the imagination and was very drunk already. Later, the zipper in the front of his outfit got ripped and there was a giant pale patch of skin to highlight the day glo green lol.
     The costumes were really good. Matt and Sarah went as the Mad Hatter and Alice. Jonny Mon and myself went as superfly guys (‘cause we are). Saw a Troy Palomaulo and got much love for my Steelers hat. Didn’t see any other fans flying their team colors. Pussies.
     Highlight of the first set was Breathe by Pink Floyd. At one point, Billy was talking to the crowd and had a bunch of glowsticks thrown at him. Way to be classy Hampton. The second set consisted of covers having to do with space and travel. They opened with End of the World as We Know It (love me some late 80’s early 90’s REM) into Fly Like and Eagle. Kellar Williams and some chick named Liza (not Minelli) came out and Keller did his best impersonations of George Clinton on It’s Just Me and the Boys by p-Funk. Why P-Funk? Because we where in the Motheship and P-Funk is the Mothership Connection. The highlight of the second set was Deelite’s Groove is in the Heart. They had 20 disco balls hanging from the center of the Coliseum and turned all the spotlights on them and unleashed a ton of confetti, leading to a visual and stimulation overload.
     During this segment, they had two towers rise up on either side and they had two barely clothed women on them who proceeded to shake what their mama’s gave them. The one was doing full blown stripper moves. Never really expected to see that at a Cheese show. Kid Rock, AC/DC  yeah. My totally unscientific polling afterward reveled woman weren’t too keen on it. Another full set after that. Both nights the music went from 7 PM until 1 AM. Now that is getting your money’s worth.
     Got up the next morning without an extra 250 bucks on my bill and headed back to Hanover to listen to the stream of Phish’s Halloween show (Waiting for Columbus, a good album but I’m glad I didn’t pay 300 bucks to scalper scum for a tix). Finished my Halloween weekend by starting the neverending job of doing the leaves at my mom’s house. What better way to celebrate Fall?