PopWars – Page 164 – Coke vs. Pepsi ~ that sort of thing.

June 28, 2010August 22, 2019

Lovely Ball

We get our tv off the air so we’re limited to the few World Cup games that ABC decides to share. And then on Saturday when we could have watched he US game at home we were out at my father’s history talk in Brighton. When that finished we ran down the street to the Otter Lounge. They had ten big Toshibas lining the walls, all tuned to the USA/Ghana game and a pretty big crowd. The US was out hustled in the first half. They came back strong in the second and tied the game but then lost deservedly in overtime.

I read online that Sunday’s England/Germany game was on ABC but we found a political talk show on when tuned in. I called my parents and asked if we could me over and watch the game there. My dad was just climbing out of bed when we arrived. We went in routing for England. My family has roots there and of course, Paul Dodd is England’s number one soccer hooligan. I don’t care if they lost a goal to a bad call. They were completely out classed by Germany and we switched allegiances. Germany moved the ball with such incredible control I think they’re going all the way.

Mexico played Arentina in the afternoon game and we decided to watch this one out at Peggi’s mom’s place. I called her and asked if we could come out and watch the game and she said, “OK, but the World Cup is over.” I said, “It may be over for the US but it won’t be over until the final on July 11th.

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June 26, 2010August 22, 2019

Wish You Were Beer

Further at Highland Bowl in Rochester, New York

Our friend, John Gilmore, won a pair of tickets to the Further show at Highland Bowl. He was the ninth caller to Scott Regan’s WRUR morning show. He already had tickets so he gave them to us and encouraged us to go. He was there early enough to hear the sound check and stake out the perfect spot for his chair. We got there just before the show and wandering around looking for him for whole first set. The Bowl was packed, wall to wall tie dye, and if that was Frederick Douglas instead of a statue of him looking out over the crowd he would be stunned at what post emancipation looks like. We watched a guy pass out as he walked. He fell over a group of people who were sitting on a blanket spilling a woman’s beer. She jumped up and said, “That beer cost me seven dollars.”

The band opened with Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” We had just seen a “Not Fade Away” t-shirt and another one that said, “Wish You Were Beer.” The smell of pot filled the air, not the old fashioned scent but pungent, skunky stuff. The band was playing Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright” when a group of kids in front of us asked if we had seen a bone bowl. I could barely hear with my earplugs in and said, “What?” “A small bone bowl pipe. I just had it a second ago.” The band sounds like the Dead on steroids doing athletic versions of their classics and crazy covers like “Strawberry Fields” and Pink Floyd’s “Time”. The sound was fantastic. The intermission music was all James Brown.

Phil Lesh and Bob Weir’s band includes a guitar player from a Dead cover band who sounds like Garcia when he sings and sort of sounds like him when he plays and a piano/organist who is the musical foundation. They do an admirable job of carrying on the Dead legacy. I’m glad we were beer.

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June 24, 2010August 22, 2019

This Is Not A Coal Tower

Pittsford kind of gives me the creeps but it looked pretty cool today as this big rain storm moved in. A suburb of Rochester, it’s an Erie Canal town gone prepsville with the Pendleton Shop, Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s at the four corners. I’m calling this building the coal tower but I think the coal tower is shorter and off to the right. I should get my facts right before opening my mouth but I don’t. I’m sure Pittsford has a rich, colorful history but has been pretty much obliterated.

My father is presenting a talk on the history of the Buckland farmland in Brighton this Saturday at noon. Based on The Edmunds diaries, 40 handwritten books by a father and son, it’s an account of West Brighton farm life in the late 1800’s. Reservations are required.

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June 23, 2010August 22, 2019

Big Deal

Joe Deal's "Watering, Phillips Ranch, California" 1983 — Joe Deal’s “Watering, Phillips Ranch, California” 1983

Joe Deal is dead at 62. That’s one of his photos above. He emerged as a leading figure in the new wave of American photographers when 18 of his black and white photographs were included in the enormously influential exhibition “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape.” The exhibition, which William Jenkins organized at the George Eastman House in Rochester in 1975, is now regarded by historians as a turning point in American photography. I took two photography classes at the UoR in 1977 that were taught by Bill Jenkins and I loved them. I don’t print from b&w negs anymore but that doesn’t have anything to do with what Bill taught me.

We were all set to watch the US vs. Algeria game at ten this morning but it wasn’t on ABC like the last US games were. So we took a bowl of fruit down to our neighbors and asked if we could watch the game there. They have cable tv and the game was broadcast on ESPN. It was a real nail biter. US had to win to advance and they did so, 1-0, in the 91st minute.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, we came back to work and we were previewing a Flash movie that Peggi had constructed on on cancer and the immune system when the house shook. Peggi felt the floor shake and I thought it was the roof was shaking. I couldn’t imagine who would be on our roof. It was a Magnitude-5.0 earthquake that was centered over Ottawa. My mom called later to tell us she was having an EKG and the nurse had just left the room with the equipment cart. She let the door close and just as it closed the building shook. My mom was naked and couldn’t imagine what the nurse had run into with the cart.

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June 22, 2010August 22, 2019

Beautiful Decay

Kentucky Fried Chicken on East Main Street in Rochester, NY

There was an article about abandoned homes in Detroit (Peggi’s home town) in the Sunday paper and I cut out a picture of a house engulfed in vegetation. It wasn’t even boarded up to keep people out. No one wanted in. And today there was a story in the business section about the 33 per cent of Califoria home owners who have negative equity in their homes. This article featured a photo of a boarded up house in Oakland. It looked a lot like our friend Brad’s house so I cut that out too. I get the feeling that I am one of the only people left who reads a newspaper so I’m recapping these news items for you. Besides, I am attracted to decay for some reason.

When we stopped in Peggi’s mom’s place to take her out to dinner she was watching a show on the History channel about the Bermuda Triangle. Last week it was America’s Funniest Home Videos. They had a clip of a dog opening the refrigerator and helping himself to food.

We decided on “Black & Blue” in Pittsford Plaza. The place was just about packed on a Tuesday night. Peggi and I ordered the Red Snapper special and her mom ordered the Mahi Mahi. We started by sharing an appetizer of Calamari. We order this whenever we see it on a menu and we’ve been comparing the versions. So far Mario’s grilled Calamari holds the title with has the best version of this dish with the Italian Osteria a close second.

Black & Blue’s Calamari was unrecognizable as Calamari. We had to confirm what we were eating with the waitress. The fish was dry and way too salty. Why does anyone eat here? Maybe it’s the babes a the bar in high heels and shorts. Peggi said they looked like hookers and sure enough when she was in the bathroom she overheard two of them discussing which guys they were gonna do.

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June 20, 2010August 22, 2019

Emergency Phone

We thoroughly enjoyed all nine nights of the Jazz Fest but we’re ready for a break. It is such a kick to see and hear so many creative and incredible players in our town. It was a pleasure wearing ourselves down while taking it all in.

As we cut through the construction zone surrounding the Eastman Theater on way to the third group of the evening we paused at the emergency phone but we weren’t in that bad shape.

Lopsided reviews of the Jazz Fest acts we saw can be found over here.

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June 19, 2010August 22, 2019

Belfiore Sardegna

Blue flowers in the marsh, late spring, Rochester, NY

The blue Spring flowers in the marsh are starting to give way to Summer and I have big plans for the summer. I’m going to clean out the garage.

Jeff Beck packed two shows at Kodak Hall last night and the streets were still packed with Jazz Fest goers. Downtown Rochester felt like a typical European city on most any night. We didn’t really find anything we liked in the clubs so we strolled the streets, found Deb Jones’ little party spot in the Harro Health Club parking lot and joined them for a bit and then checked out Booker T on East Ave. They had a big fat drummer that played just behind the beat enough to get a good groove on.

It’s hard to drive by Palermo’s Market without stopping in. Saturdays are always good even if you don’t need anything. The owner puts all sorts of cheese and olive samples out and everything always looks so good I walk out with a few bags full of stuff. I tried to pace myself with the Belfiore Sardegna cheese that I came home with but it’s gone already.

We had fallen so far behind with our 4D work that cancelled plans of watching the US in a pub downtown. Instead I kept a browser window open so I could follow the play by play at FIFA’s site. The US was robbed but how the heck did they get down 2-0 to begun with? Gome hell or highwater we’re going somewhere with ESPN for the US Alegeria game.

I’m keeping track of the Jazz Fest over here.

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June 17, 2010August 22, 2019

Happenstance

Anne Havens' shelves — Anne Havens’ shelves

Anne Havens hired us to record her sound sculpture installation piece called “Grace” and I can’t think of a better job. The work will be part of the upcoming MAG Biennial. Anne filmed it when it was shown at the Hungerford building but the mic on the video camera picked up a hum from the the fan that moves air on the hundred or so spoons that hang from pieces of string. It also picked up noise from the railroad yard out behind the building. We brought our mics over to her apartment today and we plan to drop a new soundtrack on her video.

Anne is such an inspiration. She surounds herself with art and treats everything she does as an art project. She has just returned from Florida with thirty or so new paintings based on Milton. Why Milton? It has something to do with happenstance.

I’m behind on the World Cup and my work but I’m keeping track of the Jazz Fest here.

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June 15, 2010August 22, 2019

Jazz Superstar

Francois Bourassa Quartet performing at the 2010 Rochester International Jazz Festival

Every Jazz Fest we stumble on one one act that is so good we see both the first and second show. Dave Liebman Quartet and Blake Tartare were both in that category a few years ago. This year it was Francois Bourassa Quartet from Canada. Three quarters of the band have been playing together for twelve years it shows as they complete each others thoughts and delicately support one another as they solo. The wild card here is the young Philippe Melanson on drums. Like a Warhol Factory star you can’t take your eyes off him and he plays in a completely unique way so you can’t help but tune in.

I’ve been keeping track of some of the Jazz Fest here.

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June 14, 2010August 22, 2019

Siren Song

Charnette Moffett at the Rochester International Jazz Festival

Chuchito Valdes, the son and grandson of famous Cuban bandleaders, opened at Montage with a rousing Cuban number that came on like a tropical storm and brought the crowd to their feet. This guy is sensational! His piano playing is every bit as powerful as the powerful drummer who was sitting on the other side of the stage from him. And then it was as delicate as can be on a beautiful rendition of “Over The Rainbow.” It’s kinda creepy when someone makes everyone every other band at the festival sound like a toy band.

Charnette Moffett was named after his father, Charles, and Ornette Coleman, who Charles played with. Charles plays drums on the fabulous “Golden Cirle” albums from the mid sixties and Charnette plays bass on two of my favorite Onette cds, the two “Sound Museum” releases. We had to check him out and we were richly rewarded. Although billed as a trio he opened with a mindblowing solo performance on stand up bass. He switched to the electric bass after a half hour or so and was joined by a woman on tambura for a beautiful version of “Nature Boy”. A drummer joined next on tablas and drum kit and then a piano player and a trumpeter. They proceeded to take it out! During there last song an alarm went off and kept going off at regular intervals every twenty seconds. Charnette stopped the band started playing with the siren, wrapping melodies around the mournful siren.

I’ve been keeping track of some of the Jazz Fest here.

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June 13, 2010August 22, 2019

I Repeat Myself

RGE power plant building with American flag

I probably take a picture of the Rochester Gas & Electric (there’s a monopoly for you) power plant every year during the annual Jazz Fest. I put my three year old, pocket, point & shoot in “Scene, Night Portrait” mode, set the timer and placed it on the curb.

We rode downtown with John Gilmore and were almost there when I realized I had left my Jazz Pass in our car so I wouldn’t forget it. Peggi had listened to the sound samples and had a club hopping route sketched out but this wrinkle rearranged the evening for us. We started with Katherine Russell and then ran into Rick and Monica in the newly carpeted tent. They highly recommended the Scottish sax quartet at Christ Church so we left and walked in the rain stood in back of the church while they played their opening number. The church was packed but I hatched a plan for a seat. I figured someone would hate them and walk out when the song finished. We planned to walk right down the center isle and grab the seats of whoever left. We kept walking toward the alter and no one left. We got to the front row (or pew) and a couple got up. Best seats in the house and the saxes sounded fantastic with the cathedral ambiance.

I’m keeping track of the Jazz Fest here.

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June 12, 2010August 22, 2019

Special Guests At Jazz Fest

Chris Grell, Donna Grell, and Patty Cowie at the Rochester International Jazz Festival

I got in to see my doctor on a day’s notice so that he could take a look at a tick bite that I have on my leg. I spotted the tick as I was getting ready for bed and suspect I picked it up when we walked in the woods that morning. I crushed it as I tried pulling it off and then dug the rest of it out with some tweezers. My doctor said there has not been a case of Lyme disease in Monroe County so he said keep an eye on it and if it acts up he will prescribe antibiotics. There is a lot of worrisome tick bite info online.

Went straight to the Jazz Fest from the doctor’s and started with Billy’s Band, a loungey, Russian Tom Waits-like combo. Worked our way over to the Xerox Auditorium to hear the Lynne Arriale Trio. She plays like Keith Jarrett, lyrical and relaxed and the band listens deeply while backing her.

Most fun of the night was out on Gibbs Street. There were too many people to hear the band so we hung out in the back by the merchandise booths. We got in line for a Downbeat photo session and a woman in front of me asked if she had just butted in line. I said I think so but that’s ok.” Turned out to be Dave Mahoney’s high school flame and a couple of other rockin’ women that I went to high school with. I grabbed a bootleg copy of their photo (above).

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June 11, 2010August 22, 2019

Vuvuzela Time

Great Blue Heron in Eastman Lake, Rochester, NY

Does the Great Blue Heron sound anything like a vuvuzela? Not really but I’m trying to make sense of this collision of coincidence. Rich sent us a photo of a Heron in Sausalito and we just spent some time watching one practice tai chi in Eastman Lake. The World Cup and the Rochester Jazz Fest both start today! I’m a little worried about how we’re going to keep up with our work in the next few weeks.

Maybe it is just the sort of distraction we need to wean us from obsessive Jazz Festival devotion. The organizers added a new venue, a tent in parking lot at Abilene. We were excited about hearing jazz over there but then found out all those acts are Americana, a categorization that bothers me. And the success of the last eight years seems to have only diluted the presence of American jazz. Still no Ornette, Pharoah, Joe McPhee, McCoy Tyner, Art Ensemble but Bernie Williams is here. We have the Club Pass and we’ll wander and we always find some cool stuff so I’m optimistic. Pay no attention to me.

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June 9, 2010August 22, 2019

Sam’s Bike

We were having homemade pizzas in Bill and Geri’s backyard when I spotted this bike in the bushes. I had never seen Bill or Geri on a bike so I asked who it belonged to. Geri said their son Sam bought it but never rode it. Cool bike.

I offered to to go out to the Apple Sore with my dad because he wanted to buy an iPad. He spends so much time in his computer room he deserves one so can get out more like maybe to the living room. He bought the bottom of the line model without 3G. These things are selling so fast Apple ships them in sleep mode and when you switch them on you still have 96 per cent battery life left. He purchased a few apps while we were still in the store. Keynote and Sketchbook Pro.

He was going to borrow my laptop for his upcoming presentation on Brighton’s farms in the 1800’s. He’s building his slide show in Keynote and he wanted to continue work on the iPad. An Apple employee demonstrated the basics of the iPad app and sold us a cable to plug the iPad into the projection unit so he won’t need the laptop. We both wanted one of the Pogo Sketch pens that let you draw on the iPad like a tablet but they only had the pens in hot pink. My father went for the pink saying it would be hard to lose. I decided to wait and order a silver one online. I found one on Amazon but with shipping it was more than the pink one.

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June 8, 2010August 22, 2019

To Chuck

Someone named Mike Weber took video at the annual Bob Dylan Birthday Bash. Chuck Cuminale started this tradition about thirty years ago and the last incarnation of his band, The Colorblind James Experience and now Hunu, carries the tradition on. It is always fun but a bit melancholy without Chuck. Chuck, real name James and really colorblind, was born a few days before or after Dylan and he was always one of Bob’s biggest fans but not all of Dylan. He was very particular. I know he liked this song because I remember Peggi singing it with him. That’s Ken Frank, CBJ bass player from the classic lineup, on bass in this video.

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June 6, 2010August 22, 2019

Tribal Ritual

Scott McCarney and Skuta at Visual Studies opening for 52/52+ in Rochester, NY

The lawns were going brown in May and now the golf course is flooded. Not that I’m golfer but we do cut across one of the holes when we walk and I am always on the lookout for balls. I have about ten gallons of them in the garage. I’m fairly certain of the quantity because I have stuffed them down the throat of those five gallon, bottled water jugs that are made of the toxic plastic. We had bottled water delivered when we were on trade but those days are gone and we are probably a lot healthier for it. We drink water straight from the tap now. Is that dangerous? I guess we could filter it but I wonder if you lose the minerals when you do that? Sometimes you get a chlorine hit but it usually tastes pretty good.

The path in the woods across the street was covered with tulip petals. Not the flower, they’re long gone. These are the blossoms of the tulip trees and we have a lot of them down here. I don’t remember ever seeing a tulip tree in the city. I think the rain filled the flowers and broke them off. We had a lot wind too so maybe that was a factor. The petals are green and orange and yellow. They look edible and are scattered on the path as if in preparation for some tribal ritual.

Artist’s books are a funny thing. They don’t always make for a good book. They are often something only an artist could love. Scott McCarney, though, is one of the best. He’s curated the current show at Visual Studies Workshop for his roommate from 26 years ago, when they were both students at VSW. Skuta who now lives in Iceland, created a book a week for a full year and 52 of them are on display here.

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June 4, 2010August 22, 2019

Fictional Summer Reading List

Steve Hoy posted a comment to this blog a few weeks back asking if anyone had recommendations for some good fiction. Pete replied:

STEVE: “i just finished reading john irving’s last night in twisted river, and while it was good i kinda got antsy to finish it, unlike thomas bergers ‘ (my main man) 2nd little big man book, which i was sorry to come to the end. can anybody recommend some good american fiction?”

I’m the wrong one to ask because my favorite books are all picture books. I did, however, know who to ask. Pete LaBonne sent back a list that should get you through the summer.

PETE: “Sorry for not responding sooner, but I picked up a few Donald Westlake books and didn’t get around to it. Let me make it clear though, I don’t advocate the buying of books. Except maybe for Alaska Bear Tales by Larry something.

If you have to read anything other than William T. Vollmann:
From the old school there’s The Wild Palms by Faulkner, East Of Eden by Stienbeck, & The American Claimant by Twain.

I don’t know if you can consider Conrad & Nabokov american, Hugo was sure french though. While, and you can quote me on this, Flannery O’Connor left the nastiest and most beautiful legacy in the Catholic language, you know, except for the Petticoat Junction theme song.

Tristan Egolf (Lord Of The Barnyard) killed himself, as did David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest). Saul Bellow died on his own. I haven’t seen anything new by D. Keith Mano (Take Five) in a long time or come to think about it or by Pete Hautman (The Mortal Nuts) but you never know unless you go to the trouble to find out. Thomas Pynchon is still alive and getting better. Mason & Dixon is great and so is Inherent Vice.

We do know all about Richard Bachman (of The Regulators fame).

Paul Theroux has written several great books, O Zone, Picture Palace, The Family Arsenal & probably something else I’m forgetting. While Theodore Rozak wrote only one masterpiece which would be titled Flicker.

Then there’s Robert Coover’s wonderful novel Gerald’s Party which I read three times. In fact I read most of these three times. While you’re in “C”, You might want to check out Cormac McCarthy if your library sometimes throws first names into it’s alphabetization scheme.

Then the shit starts getting nasty with Chuck Pahlaniuk which might have a misplaced “H”. Then it gets downright EVIL with Nykanen’s The Bone Parade.

But. There are two books which scared the HELL out of me; L.A. Rex by Will Beall and Alaska Bear Tales by Larry something.”

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June 3, 2010August 22, 2019

To Dennis Hopper

We started out sitting with friends in the back of the room at Lovin’ Cup but had to move up when Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric took the stage. We found a spot down front with Chris Schepp. That’s his cream soda bottle that gets placed in front of my camera in the movie above. I was drinking the Rocky Mountain IPA and it was way too strong for me. I propped my camera up on a jar with a candle in it, a lit candle, and I melted the bottom of my pocket Nikon. Ah, but we had a good time. These two are so charming, so relaxed on stage, so comfortable with themselves. They’re not afraid to stop songs, which they did twice, and their between song banter is worthy of Gracie and Allen. We came to these two through Wreckless Eric’s songs from the mid seventies. They were unlike anything else at the time and “Whole Wide World” sounds as good today as it did back then. In fact I prefer it today with just two guitars. Amy more than holds her own with beautiful songs.

They did both sides of their new single, two really odd songs, one Amy’s, one Wreckless’s. They have their own thing going on. but ironically, their new cd is all covers. We bought a copy on the way out. In true Wreckless form none of the tags were there when I ripped it in iTunes so I had to enter my own. I misspelled ‘favorites” at first as the name of the cd is “Two-Way Family Favourites,” English style. It includes sensational versions of “Fernando” and “In My Room” and the Byrds song in the video which they dedicated to Dennis Hopper.

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June 3, 2010August 22, 2019

Cubism & Bolt Cutters

I was in painting class last night, listening to Fred Lipp explain the principals of Cubism as first explored by Cezanne, when Warren came in from the office to say my father was on the phone. My father told me that Peggi had called him from her downtown fitness club to say her locker had been broken into while she was swimming and her clothes and car keys had been stolen. My father said he was going to swing by the gallery and pick me up so I could give Peggi my keys and check on the car. I walked out of painting class waited for my dad out on Goodman Street.

My father packed up some of my mother’s clothes and I passed them to Peggi who was wrapped in a towel. A few minutes later she came out of the women’s locker room with my mom’s clothes on and she confessed she wasn’t entirely certain which locker she had put her stuff in. There was only one locked locker in the area and it wouldn’t open with her combination. The lock did look like hers and she had become convinced that that maybe the lock was just acting up. The woman behind the desk suggested that they cut the lock off and see. She went in the back room and came out with big red bolt cutters and the two of them headed back into the women’s locker room.

They were unable to cut through the Master Lock so they cleared the women out of the room and I went in there. It took some doing but I popped the lock and there were Peggi’s clothes and her lock was in her gym bag! All she can think is that she picked up someone else’s lock last week, put it in her bag with hers and then put that lock on her locker when she went in to the pool.

Peggi dropped me back at class picked up the Cubist discussion where we had left off.

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June 2, 2010August 22, 2019

The Illest Setup In The City

Low Rider in parking lot at Charlotte beach

Our neighbors were headed home from the beach when an SUV pulled in front of them. A guy hopped out and offered to sell them his homemade cd for ten bucks. They made another offer and came home with the goods and then let us borrow the unlabeled cd. It was produced by Bricksonion and his studio is in his car! The same car that pulled in front of our neighbors. If you get the itch to lay down a few tracks, give a call. Check out his YouTube Channel and you’ll see local rappers performing in his car.

Bricksonion (“like Smithsonion”) wasn’t around when the Stones recorded “Exile On Main Street” but it too was recorded by a mobile unit. I’m reading the 33 1/3 book on “Exile” now and it’s coinciding nicely with all the press from the re-release of that double lp. This 33 1/3 series would make good ebooks. Wish this one wasn’t so tedious. It doesn’t even make me want to put the lp on. It wasn’t the Stone best either.

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