equal opportunity music whore

status check - decent
background ambiance - s.o., s.o.

i have decided that i definitely need to catch a tides show. i recieved a copy of "keep it a secret" yesterday and have enjoyed it throughout my travels today - pleased to not only find some impressive new music, but also to appreciate music performed by an andrew band.

yesterday's arrival marked the unofficial start to a stretch of somewhat-new-to-me music. i should receive bushwalla's "sessions" within the next couple of days, hopefully before i embark on the musical revelry that this weekend will hold. a new venue, two sets of musicians i've never seen live, my first guster hometown set - i'm greatly looking forward to things.

but i'm temporarily out of new rufus wisdom to share - thus breaking my streak of wainwright wonder week. it works in my favor, however, as i was told today that i'm holding rw in higher regard than the other two acts on sunday's bill. have i been discriminating against guster and ben folds?

it was hardly my intention, as all three acts are high on my list of favorite musical types. so i'll attempt to remedy the situation.

to guster, i offer these bits from my archives. first, april of 2001:

at about 4 this afternoon, michelle called me up and asked if i wanted to go to see guster at the flynn. i had forgotten they were playing tonight, so i was psyched.
yet another reason why the best plans are those that just sort of appear...the show rocked. theatre techie that i am, i found myself amazed by the light show presented...they had seven or eight of the moving lights we used for midsummer. i can only imagine how much they cost...and the cues were right on. so damn good. highlights of the evening were "demons" (during the opening strains of which i squealed like a teenybopper--not one of my finer moments), "barrel of a gun", and "parachute". during one of the songs, they created a whole night atmosphere--stars, cresent moons (a fabulous manner of utlizing those moving lights), and all.
i need more guster in my life. i very much enjoyed myself. great show, great times.
and yes, i was dopey, bought a tshirt ("and it was all yellow..."), and a poster for my evergrowing "wall of theatre and music stuffs".

and from september 2003:

the wigs were everywhere - unfortunately my 'fro was at the groomer's. or maybe i just hadn't checked the website to discover that it was a wig-encouraged show. if i had known, yeah, i would have picked one up and gone along with the wig-friendly vibe. it would have amused me.

the show was amazing. it amazes me how warm and comfortable guster makes me feel - not to mention that brian absolutely amazed me. that man can pound on the bongo like it's nobody's business - good lord. he's my favorite guster man - i love how he commands attention without saying a damn thing during the shows. he just rocks out and kicks arse.

as was to be expected, i grinned like a fool and felt all warm & fuzzy-like when "parachute" was performed. i loved the expected songs and sang along at the top of my lungs, but the selection of "come downstairs and say hello" as the final encore song was probably the highlight. it's a song that i have really connected with since the album was released and i couldn't believe they chose to end with that - i took it as a sign and, coupled with the sightings of two monarch butterflies within 24 hours, i have to assume that something great is on the horizon.

as for ben folds - the man just rocks. and i cannot wait to (FINALLY) see him live.

ok, fine. the lack of rufus info? i lied. here's the daily dose (haha, you fools!):

Transcription of a conversation between Brian Rosenworcel and Rufus Wainwright backstage in Gilford NH on July 1st:

RW: Did you see that there's a chiropractor here?
BR: Yeah, I think I'll skip it. Did you set that up?
RW: I don't think so. I think she's from the venue. Did you know chiropractics are illegal in France?
BR: No .... what else is illegal in France?
RW: I don't know. Murder?**

** courtesy of guster's road journal.