big microscope

a wizard a true star

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:35:49 +0000

todd rundgren
the palace of fine arts theater
san francisco, ca usa
2009-12-01

when it was first announced that todd rundgren would be performing his classic “a wizard a true star” album in its entirety for the first time ever, rundgren fans everywhere began to quiver in anticipation. where would the shows be? (the first rumor was london only.) who will be in the band? (could this be the long-awaited utopia reunion?) what else would be played that night, given the LP is only 50 minutes in length? (a solo set of hits? utopia’s greatest misses? another run through of “arena“?)

as the rumors turned into reality, most of the questions were answered: the shows would happen in the midwest where they’d been orginally conceived by fans (rundgrenradio.com). the band would be rundgren’s usual suspects (some ex-utopia folks, other veterans from todd solo tours, greg hawkes from the cars/new cars, etc.). and that first set? a spin through some utopia chestnuts. all in all, it promised to be a grand thing. and as the reports came in from the september shows in akron, chicago, minneapolis and a few other towns, fans were raving.

then came the announcement that todd would bring AWATS to the west coast. and in SF, it would be the palace of fine arts, the site of rundgren’s live recording of the “2nd wind” album back in the early 90s. could it get any better, we thought? no, it couldn’t. and so we bought tickets dead center orchestra in the first several rows and waited for todd to come to town.

when the evening finally arrived and the lights went down, we were greeted with only four people on stage, dressed in black with minimal instrumentation visible: todd and jesse gress on guitars, kasim sulton on bass, and prairie prince on drums. could this be ‘newtopia’? unfortunately, no. this was the debut of “todd rundgren’s johnson,” a ‘blues’ band covering robert johnson songs exclusively. apparently this was borne out of a contractual obligation with rundgren’s current label to try and eke out publishing money for their roster artists by having people cover each other’s material. not sure who will be covering todd’s stuff, but i can’t imagine this arrangement generates much income. what it did generate this evening was a lot of grumbling from fans who had hoped to hear a set of utopia music as a precursor to the AWATS set.

now, as we all know, nobody tells todd rundgren what to do. and that’s served us fans well for the most part over the course of his illustrious career. this robert johnson set, however, was an unfortunate choice in my opinion, as todd’s vocal and guitar styles are not suited to the blues. add in the fact that the band was ill-prepared and under-rehearsed and you ended up with forty minutes that would have been better spent out in the lobby drinking.

all that said, there were some enjoyable moments; it’s always great to hear todd play electric guitar, of course. but it sure would have been nicer to hear that guitar on a selection of tunes from his vast catalog of amazing songs. if this is any indication, the best part of the set for me was when roger powell responded to a comment from todd (“it’s the blues, you don’t wanna get too tight!”) by yelling out “just like utopia!”

i used to be a ‘todd is godd’ guy. seriously, he was my favorite artist for a while. a lyric from ‘healing, pt. III’ was my senior quote. but todd lost me after “2nd wind” with (in my opinion) misguided and not very interesting career choices at times. for years, his output just didn’t grab me like so much of his past work had. until last year when i saw the “arena” tour at slim’s. and i remembered why i used to commit to rundgren’s music so deeply.

which brings us to the main event of the evening—the second set. it was, quite frankly, amazing. i’ve always loved the AWATS album precisely for what many people think makes it one of his least accessible works—the wild musical schizophrenia of the whole thing. it has some bonafide rundgren classics (“sometimes i don’t know what to feel” and “just one victory”) combined with scratch-your-head aural snippets (“dogfight giggle”) and musical sketches (“just another onionhead”) strung together in one continuous 50-minute (on LP, anyway) cosmic rock and roll suite. great stuff.

live, the music was nothing short of revelatory. todd always manages to put together a crack band (they must do it for love, because i can’t imagine he can pay them much) and tonight was no different. prairie prince, kasim sulton, ralph schuckett, greg hawkes…all brought something unique and personal to an already unique and personal set of music.

highlights for me were an extended “you don’t have to camp around,” a nice long version of the motown medley, a throat- and emotion-wrenching “i don’t want to tie you down,” and a stirring “just one victory” to close. but the entire set was inspired, touching, goofy, fun, rockin’, you name it. after 70 minutes, everyone in the theater had forgotten about the opening set and left buzzing about how todd had managed to pull it off again. still an iconoclast at age 61, rundgren demonstrated why so many of us have been such passionate proselytizers for him over the years. it was a beautiful thing to see. and hopefully this recording will attest to the fact that it was also a beautiful thing to hear.

here’s a sample from that night, “when the shit hits the fan/sunset blvd.” enjoy.

wish they were here

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:24:49 +0000

pink floyd, that is. the floyd were one of my favorite bands growing up…and i’d still put at least three of their albums in my top 100 list if i were ever forced to make one. but the ‘real pink floyd’ disappeared a long time ago in a huge explosion of acrimony between roger waters and the rest of the band. david gilmour tried to keep the pig afloat, so to speak, through a couple of mediocre albums and bloated tours. waters, on the other hand, kept the creative juices flowing with some occasionally inspired solo albums, but the phrase “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” has never been more apt than when describing pink floyd.

one of my greatest regrets in a life full of amazing live music memories is not seeing pink floyd in their heyday. back in 1977, as an already-music-obsessed 13-year-old, i was living in atlanta, georgia. in the span of one week, both led zeppelin and pink floyd rolled through town, both playing at the omni. the pink floyd show, however, was on a school night. and as cool as my mom was back then, there were a few rules. and late-night concerts on school nights were generally verboten. led zeppelin, on the other hand, were playing on a saturday night. so i got to see the mighty zep, but missed out on floyd’s “in the flesh” tour in support of the album “animals.” in hindsight, i’d have to say i made the right choice. word on the street was that pink floyd got booed for not playing loud enough, and waters’ bitterness toward rowdy audiences was what inspired “the wall.”

all of which makes for a rather lengthy intro to the video posted below. last tuesday, i went to the beautiful fox theater in oakland to see the australian pink floyd show (TAPFS). now, i’m not normally one for ‘tribute’ bands. but after discovering the truly amazing dark star orchestra a couple of years ago, i’m no longer a dismissive snob. well, about tribute bands anyway. so after reading and hearing about TAPFS for a couple of years, i thought “what the hell.” sometimes a ‘have a cigar’ is just a ‘have a cigar’.

i have to say that i came away mightily impressed. i don’t think i’d go see them again; for my money, it’s not that kind of a band or show (though i met a few people there who had seen them multiple times). but for a one-off, it was an incredible night of music. a live greatest hits, if you will. highlights for me were the selections from “animals” (“pigs (three different ones)” and “sheep”), a stunning “shine on you crazy diamond (parts I-V),” and stirring versions of earlier works “set the controls for the heart of the sun,” and “one of these days.”

these days i’m carrying around a flip HD video camera to record small snippets of shows. i managed to keep the arm steady for the entire performance of “time,” and thought i’d share it with my faithful big micro readers. (all five of you.) enjoy.

support the san francisco opera!

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:39:22 +0000

Sfo – 015 The Abduction 60R by San Francisco Opera
Download now or listen on posterous

SFO-015_The_Abduction_60R.mp3 (2424 KB)

why? because i said so. in this radio spot right here, actually.

Posted via email from litmus’s posterous

twangin’ with the old 97’s

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:21:31 +0000

Big Brown Eyes by Old 97’s
Download now or listen on posterous

old97s2001-05-11.FWIS-042.flac16.micro.t22.mp3 (11857 KB)

(note: i’m going to be testing out the posterous-to-wordpress integration over the next few posts in an effort to jumpstart my rather dormant blogging efforts.)

posterous (www.posterous.com) is a pretty interesting proposition: post just about anything anywhere via email. now, wordpress is incredibly easy to use as is, but sometimes adding media files gets a bit cumbersome. posterous allows you to link your various social media accounts (e.g. facebook, flickr, tumblr, etc.)—as well as your blog—via their APIs, and then upload posts and files just by sending an email. cool stuff. so here’s the inaugural test from big microscope. i’m dipping back into my audio archives to a show i recorded in 2001.

old 97’s
2001-05-11
slim’s
san francisco, ca

i was right in the middle of a very dense, very drunk, very loud crowd. not ideal for recording, but hey, it was an old 97’s show. i should have been a human bobblehead, bouncing and careening to the overdriven twang lickfest. the old 97’s are always great, but this was a great period for a great band. "satellite rides" was going to be the big breakthrough after the crossover success of "Fight Songs," but somehow greater exposure/recognition never happened. rhett’s solo career also began around this time, so perhaps that contributed to the relative stall in the 97’s rise in popularity.

i’ve seen the old 97’s probably 10 times over the years and this stands out in my memory (and upon listening back) as one of the better performances. great set list too. here’s a sample track, "Big Brown Eyes." the full show can be downloaded over at DIME if you have an account: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=259565

ps. yes, it bothers me that the old 97’s insist on using the apostrophe in their name. no, i’m not that much of a grammar cop to copy edit the name of a band, no matter how much it galls me to type it that way. i guess i can justify it mentally by thinking to myself "well, the band is ‘possessive’ about their incorrect spelling, so i’m going to let this one pass."

Posted via email from litmus’s posterous

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-21

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:02:00 +0000

if cheney’s ticker would tick its last tock, we’d all be better off. #traitor #hypocrite #class-a-a-hole http://bit.ly/gVFub #

“If you’re worried that lions are eating too many zebras, you don’t say to the lions, ‘You’re eating too many zebras.’” http://bit.ly/ugDPN #

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-19

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:02:00 +0000

never flush a tampoon. RIP FZ. http://twitpic.com/3ksmx #

people are odd. that’s not intended to be profound insight, but rather confirmed observation. http://twitpic.com/3l099 #

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-18

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:02:00 +0000

GOP campaign strategist talks common sense. cognitive dissonance ensues. http://bit.ly/Ekcdc #

barack obama had a huge hand in resurrecting the dead. now if he could just bring jerry back… http://bit.ly/z4Upf #

at a dunkin’ donuts commercial audition. hope they’re looking for a 45-year-old hippie type. #

@bandofhorses looking forward to the show tonight. DM me with backstage access info and we’ll bring california’s finest party favors. #

band of horses onstage #

horses may appear farther than they are. http://twitpic.com/3i8fg #

thinking morrissey might have been the better call. opens up a slot at bonnaroo at least. #threeguitarswhy? #

uh oh. “we’ll be right back for an encore,” doesn’t say “i’m self-deprecating,” it says “i’m not quite ready to play theatres.” #

i think it’s shaping up to a C+ for the night. maybe a C if you subtract the half grade for apparent nice-guy-ness. #

i’ll tell you one thing, the fox theatre in oakland, ca is a wonder to behold. http://twitpic.com/3ibww #

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-17

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:02:00 +0000

TX state senators nail gov perry on his secession BS. austin’s cool, but 1100 san jacinto is apparently a clown hotel. http://bit.ly/jvnxc #

@thechoprocks exile on main street #

My DBI is 0.00 Find yours and manage your followers at http://tweetsum.com #DBI #

well now… tweetsum tells ME my DBI is 28.97. but it tells YOU it’s 0.00. let’s split the diff at 14.485 #

just rocked the blurb dead party with @maringuy and met @sheds. thanks for the suds and laughs. #

little shout out to jeff and alison at giordano bros. amazing sandwiches and great live music at 303 columbus. http://twitpic.com/3fm70 #

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-16

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:02:00 +0000

anyone else notice the teabag crowds look remarkably like the mccain/palin rally crowds? #teabagger #epicfail #

@aerocha just saw your reply…i only hit 2 out of 3 usually. going tonight. you? guessing original setlist tonight, but hoping for a ‘73! in reply to aerocha #

realizing i’ve been drinking at edinburgh castle for 27 years now. not constantly, of course. not sure if that’s comforting or disturbing #

gotta be original setlist. iko and silver threads and golden needles. never in the same set by the dead. #dso #

supplication. http://twitpic.com/3dzwk #

the other one. #dso http://twitpic.com/3e3va #

second half of the star. nice. #dso #

alligator. http://twitpic.com/3e4ji #

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-15

admin@bigmicroscope.com — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:02:00 +0000

is that christine mcvie on bg vox on bob welch’s ‘sentimental lady’? (he did do it first with fleetwood mac.) damn, i should know this. #

they sure do a lot of filming in my ‘hood. [?] #