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2:00PM Water Cooler 7/3/2019

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By Lambert Strether of Corrente

Patient readers, as I warned Friday, timing for Water Cooler will be a little bit sketchy until after July 4. Today, I got nuthin. Talk amongst yourselves! –lambert

This is a suitable musical interlude for the run-up to Independence Day, I suppose:

Granted, I’m so old I can remember seeing Stop Making Sense in an actual movie theatre with red velvet seats (the grand old Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA). Readers are invited to post more recent tunes with a similar theme. Enjoy the holiday!

* * *

Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Today’s plant (eg):

One of the more pleasant things about walking down the main street just now is the scent of lilacs, and many other flowers. Not what one thinks of as typical of Maine!

* * *

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So do feel free to make a contribution today or any day. Here is why: Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of small donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals. So if you see something you especially appreciate, do feel free to click this donate button:




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About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

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113 comments

  2. Pavel

    I saw “Stop Making Sense” in a glorious cinema in Islington, London shortly after it was released. One of the best concert films of all time, of course. Had a wild fling with a NY friend (and fellow TH fan) the following day who was staying in a fancy hotel right on Hyde Park (The Dorchester IIRC), making our way through the mini-bar. The next day she rang, a bit ruefully, to say the minibar bill was £150 or so. (That was back when £150 was real money, mind you.) Those were the days…!

    (Thanks for letting me reminisce!) And of course, Life During Wartime is one of their best songs.

    Happy Independence Day to those who celebrate it.

    1. FreeMarketApologist

      “…best concert films of all time…”

      +1000, as the kids say. Perfectly captures the dynamics and energy of a superb stage concert (lit by the theatre lighting designer Beverly Emmons). A real piece of art.

      1. ChiGal in Carolina

        One of my favorite places, well worth making the trek to the burbs for. Seen a lotta good shows there over the last 20+ years, perhaps most memorably Ralph Stanley but Jimmie Dale Gilmore is one of my all-time faves so that was a real highlight.

        Saw Jimmie Dale last year here in NC at Cat’s Cradle and in the theme of this thread, he did a cover of Woody Guthrie’s Deportee

        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qu-duTWccyI

          1. ChiGal in Carolina

            “until then, I guess I’ll just stand around…”

            existential cowboy music, I calls it. damn, I love the conversation here!

  4. taunger

    Byrne’s current American Utopia show is an amazing artistic feat, but his messages certainly aren’t as clear as they once were. The show is on Broadway and in Boston this summer, and I recommend viewing if you have the chance.

    FWIW, the Somerville Theater has changed little in the past 20 years I’ve been going there, can’t speak for the 20 before that.

      1. Musicismath

        Probably not to everyone’s (anyone’s?) taste, but Beastwars, Raise the Sword. Released last week by a band I never thought would record together again—epic stuff if you’re into the sludgy side of things.

        1. Greg

          Nice. Many good times at metal gigs down under the new bodega where that looks like its shot.

  6. shinola

    A couple of strange concert combos from the early ’70’s. I saw:

    -The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Mr. Bojangles) open for the Jackson 5. Outdoor concert at the Mo. state fair. Went for the Dirt Band & stayed for Jackson 5 who, unexpectedly, impressed me. Was still in the mid-80 degree range on & rather humid when they came on, but the brothers did the whole choreographed dance & sing bit. Very tight. Michael was still a young black boy.

    -Brewer & Shipley (One Toke Over The Line) open for Elton John (stadium concert). Hippy country rock band & Mr. glam himself. Good performances by both but still an odd combination.

    1. katiebird

      I saw Steve Martin open for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at KU. I’d never heard of him but he was hilarious. A couple months later her was on Johnny Carson and I was so thrilled! More mid-70s though….

      1. pjay

        I was at that concert. My wife and I were just talking about it last night, and about the fact that Steve Martin was the opening act. The Dirt Band was great, too. Those were the good old days.

      2. shinola

        First time I saw/heard of Steve Martin was when he opened for the Dirt Band at the Cowtown Ballroom in KC. The arrow-thru-the- head bit and a pocket full of vitamin C pills that he threw out into the audience. I thought he was hilarious.

    2. McDee

      Mid-sixties at San Fernando Valley State College (Cal-State Northridge now) I saw Joe and Eddie open for The Dillards. Black Gospel tinged Folk and Bluegrass. Interesting pairing and I remember liking them both.

  10. Jeff N

    for a couple years of my high school time, I was completely obsessed with Talking Heads. Never got to see them live, though.

  13. stefan

    I saw the Talking Heads play Roberts Hall at Haverford College in 1977. Saw them again in Shibuya, Tokyo in 1982. I believe that was the “Remain in Light” tour. A favorite band.

    1. richard

      i haven’t gone to too many concerts, but did see the stop making sense show when it was in seattle
      (back when it was the coliseum and not key arena, so before everything had been completely stolen)
      a terrific show; the movie fully does it justice

      1. Chromex

        I saw the Talking Heads in Toronto in 1977 after they had recorded their second lp ( More songs about buildings and food) but before it was released. So they were virtual unknowns, two dollar cover, less than 100 people in a small dive bar . Of course, no one had heard the music yet. They did stretched out jams on numbers like “Found a Job” and sang and played with the conviction of a band on fire. I was about 10 feet from the stage and remember it vividly to this day. NO Belew or Worrell but Harrison and Byrne’s incredible Velvet Underground guitar jams/duets
        more than made up for it. Still remember it like it was yesterday.

        1. OpenThePodBayDoorsHAL

          My very first concert was Janis Joplin’s last, she finished an entire bottle of Southern Comfort on stage. Amazing show and strong stuff for a wee lad of 13

    2. richard

      The best of songs, thank you thank you!
      I hadn’t heard that one in a while, and had never seen the video with that salutory message!
      Mock the warmongers with a toe-tappin’ tune (GREAT brass) and bury them with wadded up paper!
      F*&^ yes!

      1. Jeff N

        I listen to another podcast that recently suggested some War members’ earlier band “Senor Soul”

  16. whythen

    The Clash – The Call Up, Spanish Bombs
    X – Fourth of July
    Joe Strummer was sad when the Military adopted Rock the Casbah as an anthem, they really didn’t mean it that way….

    1. lambert strether

      The whole “From Here to Eternity” live album is brilliant, but I think mostly un-listened to because their day was done when it was released. My favorite on the war theme:

      https://youtu.be/dmqtjY5kxQo

      I’m a huge X fan too, but I felt the ironies and sadness and fucked-up-relatiinship-ness of Fourth of July weren’t really on point….

  18. Krystyn Walentka

    Slip Kid – The Who

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFDH2vZ3aXU

    Pete Townshend wrote “Slip Kid” as a warning about the music industry; he explained, “‘Slip Kid’ came across as a warning to young kids getting into music that it would hurt them — it was almost parental in its assumed wisdom.”[2][3] In 2015, Townshend reflected on the song’s continued relevance, saying, “You could put it into the voice of some young Islamic student who decides to go fight in Syria and ends up in ISIS being forced to chop people’s heads off, and it would fit”.

    1. lambert strether

      And hate leads to fear, especially when we’ll-engineered.

      It’s the Circle of Life!

  23. Randy

    Musical Memories

    Grateful Dead at Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI. 9/23/72.

    A friend stood in line for 12 hours to obtain tickets for both nights. He planned on using the tickets as a lure for a date but he honestly was too ugly and a little weird so no takers.

    He offered to take me along but I declined. I didn’t like the Dead, they couldn’t sing and I also wasn’t that into their music but I said OK, it’s only $12.

    When we arrived and sat in our plush velour reclining seats the atmosphere felt like everybody was friends and later felt a little electric. That might have been due to the pure synthetic mescaline he had from NY (he had it tested at a lab before he bought it).

    It was BY FAR the best concert experience I had especially after the usual 1 1/2 hour shows with the crowd clamoring for an encore afterwords because then they felt a concert of that short of a duration wasn’t worth the $10 they had spent. They played for 2 hours with a 15 minute break and then another 2 hours. I was getting tired just watching them. The acoustic were marvelous, like wearing a giant set of headphones.

    At the hotel after the show the Dead got an unwelcome visit from the Secret Service because they were lighting firecrackers on the floor below George McGovern’s floor.

    I was converted into a die hard Grateful Dead fan and I cherish the memories to this day.

    1. sleepy

      Yes, they gave some legendary shows back in the day.

      I saw them with the New Riders at the Fillmore East over 4th of July, 1970. They were shooting off roman candles and bottle rockets. Quite a show when properly medicated, lol.

      Seemed like when we walked out of there it was almost daybreak and New York City looked particularly ugly. Took a nap in Central Park and headed home. Just about 50 yrs ago, oh the dayz!

    2. shinola

      I first saw the Dead in Wichita, Ks. in the fall of ’72 (was a college student not far from there). Wanted to take a girl I had just started dating to a concert & they were the 1st that came up. Well, the girl is long gone but I saw the Dead at least 20 more time over the years – from Denver to St. Louis & points in between. (that’s nothin’ compared to real hardcore Deadheads)

      Keep on truckin’ y’all!

    3. sleepy

      Another Musical Memory around the 4th of July–

      B. B. King at the Club Paradise a nightclub in Memphis, July 3 or 4, 1971. The show started close to midnight and ended at 2 or 3, who remembers? We were exhausted and the thrill was gone, or rather, satiated. Great show–he was playing for his friends. The drug of choice at that show was Jack Daniels.

      I tell these stories to my grandkids and all they say is “hush, pappy”. Lol. Not much different than my parents telling me about the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1941

        1. Wukchumni

          p.s.

          The £ had fallen to below a $ on that trip I think, or on another sojourn to the UK & continent later that year, and a 1-way ticket on BA purchased from a bucket shop going from Gatwick to LAX was 99 quid, or slightly less than $100

        2. Grebo

          Hey! Me too. The old Wembley used to hold 100,000 for the football. I think they may have squeezed a few more in with the pitch being open too.

          You didn’t lose a pair of waterproof trousers by any chance? I used those for years.

    4. neo-realist

      Hot Tuna at the Beacon Theater–circa 1975–They played for over 4 hours, but about half way through the set, Jorma Kaukonen put a bottle of Jack Daniels at the front of the stage, which he would swig from every now and then, and he and Jack (Cassidy) jammed for the remainder of the set. Jorma is a fine improviser and doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Cassidy is one of the most powerful and inventive bass guitarists I ever heard–his power and virtuosity put many well known bassists to shame.

      You don’t get long shows like that anymore, even with bands that consider themselves jam bands.

      1. lambert strether

        I saw that one.

        The Clash at The Harvard Square Theatre in 1979 was the single best live show I’ve ever seen. My last (American, rock) one, too; in retrospect, what was the point? The Dead are wonderful, for many, many shows, but this was in mind the single best one.

        1. neo-realist

          Oh my!!!! At the same show!

          Saw the Clash 79,80 at the Palladium and 81 at one of the Bond’s shows.

          1979–remembered as a clean professional show–Like they wanted to impress us new yorkers in the worst way. 81, they barely had energy to get through the set, very exhausted after doing all those shows.

      2. anonymous

        Agree on jorma and jack! I saw the power duo many times — and with papa John keening away on violin.. .drank bourbon too (couldn’t afford jack)

        Note: their previous band mate Paul Kantner, had a true left political spirit. Under-appreciated back even back then. It seems lost in the psychedelic visuals. (The Volunteers of America still have an office up in Harlem, around the corner from where Malcom X was killed.)

    1. ShamanicFallot

      I think I like Johnny Rotten’s assessment of Patti Smith when they came to London in 76’/77’. “Did you see the hippies down there shaking their tambourine’s? Horses? Horse Sh*t”

  27. richard

    Here is my contribution to 4th of july music: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with Ballad of the Sin Eaters. All about ‘merica and ‘mericans and their sick relationship with the world.
    Way funner than I’m making it sound.

    1. richard

      Okay one more from Ted Leo (maybe his best), asking the musical question:
      Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?

    1. dearieme

      They played at a student dance of ours. After their performance the keyboard player, Alan Price, came into our common room and asked if he might sing some blues at the piano. He sang, we fetched beer. He was very good and proved a pleasant bloke, too. When he was satisfied he wandered off into the night, our thanks ringing in his ears.

      We were twice grateful: after all, they had honoured the engagement even though they’d become famous in the interim.

      1. tomk

        Alan Price, also responsible for the marvelous O Lucky Man soundtrack. Fantastic songs, and a great movie, well worth seeking out.

  31. McDee

    I Saw the Byrds at the Hollywood Bowl circa 1965. They were awful. Worst concert I ever went to. Saw them again couple of years or so later at the Anson Ford Amphitheater, across the freeway from the Bowl. With some personnel changes: Crosby out. Parsons and White in. Best concert I ever went to.

    1. lambert strether

      Maybe I should do a “Worst Concert Ever” competition…. I’m having a hard time coming up with an example of a concert I got nothing out of….

      1. Mike Mc

        Late 1970s Allman Brothers Band in Phoenix – band was in the midst of breaking up. Quaaludes had become the drug of choice for some reason (ack). Couldn’t tell who was more drunked up/doped up, the bands (various dreadful opening acts then Allmans) or the crowd. “Rock festival” which meant all damn day in springtime Phoenix – hot but not yet life-threatening like summer – and when I saw some teenaged boy toting his passed out girlfriend, both didn’t look old enough to drive, I was done. Seeing her toes dragging in the dirt while he held her up still haunts me. Took a long break from concerts…

      3. Wukchumni

        Gordon Lightfoot is one of my favorites, love his work.

        4 years ago a friend & I go to the Hanford Fox theater near Lemoore naval air station to see him, and sadly his voice is completely shot, gone.

        It was the worst in that the fade was fully formed.

    1. Fred1

      My first concert was CSN&Y in Baltimore in 1970. First song was Ohio.

      Memorial Day weekend 1970. Don’t remember the venue. Hadn’t heard Ohio before, but most of the crowd had.

  34. scoff

    I first heard this song in ’73 on an FM station in my hometown. (Surprising in that the 45 version is over 7 minutes. The link below, the album version, is over 10.) It’s still one of my all-time favorites.

    The change in mood throughout the song and the plaintive last stanzas completely entrance me. I think the lyrics and music effectively capture the mood of the time.

    I’ve never felt so lonely
    And so helpless
    I’m wishing that I
    Didn’t know the truth

    They tell me that
    A friend, a friend is dying

    Oh, New York City
    Can you say it ain’t true
    Can you tell me now
    Before I’m leaving you

    I’d give anything I own
    Just to believe in you again

    Cashman and West – American City Suite

  35. BoulderMike

    So many concert memories from the late 60’s to the 70’s, and beyond. Funny thing is some groups I think I saw but I can’t remember for sure as often chemicals were “allegedly” involved. Saw big shows with big groups, and smaller shows with either less known groups or groups/performers on their way up or down. Definitely saw the Dead more times than I care to remember, and as noted by someone above, often walked out of the shows at the Fillmore at daybreak. I remember the bathroom at the Fillmore East was so dense with pot smoke you could barely see. Also, as I always tell my wife, for some reason I was usually in the front row and on the right. Not sure why on the right, but that is the way it was.
    Some memorable shows are: The New York Dolls at the Felt Forum, Mott the Hoople and Procul Harum at Farleigh Dickson University, Yes:The Byrds:Jethro Tull at Asbury Park, NJ, Rick Nelson at a hotel ballroom in Detroit, Watkins Glen Festival (Allman Brothers, The Band, The Dead), The Who at Wolman Arena in Central Park, NY, Harry Chapin in Government Square, Boston. My father didn’t let my brother take me to Woodstock as I was only 14 at the time (darn), but I did see many of the groups elsewhere. Oh, and funny, someone dragged me to a Sha Na Na concert at Rutgers University and it was surprisingly good.
    Many more recent concerts like Joe Ely, Peter Rowan, and other Americana acts, including several amazing Todd Snider concerts. BTW, check out his version of Fortunate Son, it is great. Happy 4th everyone. Be safe.

    1. shinola

      Thanks Jackson. I haven’t heard that in years. Every bit as relevant now as when it first came out.

  40. Baby Gerald

    Some thirty years after his iconic single Cars, it’s refreshing to see synth pop pioneer Gary Numan still producing superb and relevant music. Two videos from his 2017 album Savage: Songs From A Broken World:

    Gary Numan – My Name Is Ruin
    Gary Numan – When The World Falls Apart

    A friend remarked that this is the sort of music Trent Reznor should still be making. The entire album’s audio playlist is on Gary Numan’s official YouTube channel, along with many other fine relics of days past.

    Happy holiday, everyone!

      3. Deschain

        Oh man, where to start. Let’s pick some stuff that is relevant to the themes of this site:

        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pVB_DI4ajKA

        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0v2WY2y0ssI

        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PCxz-d7jQwU

        Reznor – aka Nine Inch Nails – is the foremost example of what is called ‘industrial rock’. It’s a bit of a mix of electronic dance music and heavy metal, with a lot of loud/soft juxtaposition. His music often sounds very mechanical, and typically contains many different musical themes layered over one another. A lot of Reznor’s music is about depression and alienation, something he has struggled with throughout his life, as well as addiction, and (dysfunctional) relationships. His music is often very profane, as well. (I’d love to put on ‘Big Man With a Gun’ at an NRA event.) Finally, many of his albums have a very definite flow to them – they are best experienced in a single sitting, rather than being just a collection of songs. ‘Downward Spiral’ and ‘The Fragile’ are my favorites.

        Happy to discuss more.

  41. petal

    1st show I ever went to: James Taylor at Finger Lakes(CCFL) in late 80s. My mother had had a coupon so she and I went secretly. I was just a kid and loved JT’s music, was maybe 10 at the time. After we got home, we got in big trouble from my controlling, abuser father. We had been in the cheap lawn seats with a coupon(I couldn’t even actually see JT) and still got in trouble with him because money had been spent on tickets. We were not allowed things like that. Funny, even at nearly 41 I still feel guilty for going to a gig.

    Best show: Mighty Mighty Bosstones at Bailey Hall at Cornell in 1996. First 3 rows of seats got ripped out. I was in the 3rd row(not ripping out seats) and everything around me descended into a wonderful chaos. Heh. Cops came in, interrupted the show, and threatened to shut it down. Epic.

    Yo Yo Ma was good, too. I miss going to shows-I live in the sticks now and nobody comes here. Gotta throw out Chris Trapper and Colin Hay, too. Excellent shows from those two.

  43. Wukchumni

    We used to go to Knotts Berry Farm for chicken lunch just about every other weekend in the 60’s, back when there was no admission charge to get into the Calico Ghost Town et al, and there was a stage called the Roundup Theater, with a bunch of wagons around the periphery up top, and seat benches below.

    Marty Robbins was a fixture, and I asked my mom how many times we saw him, and she told me ‘dozens’. My 1st concerts, certainly.

    I’ve always loved his voice…

    Man Walks Among Us

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsPKrw_TJ2U

  44. Wukchumni

    Guess i’ve been to +/- 150 concerts, my 1st rock concert was Queen on their News of the World tour in 1978, @ the Fabulous Forum, in the high nosebleed risers, about as far away from the stage as one could get, but in my mind I still see Freddie Mercury prancing in a harlequin outfit. It was very important to buy a concert t-shirt so you could wear it to high school on Monday, counting coup.

  45. Hepativore

    I have not been to that many concerts. I did see the Black Keys in the Minneapolis area and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, but that is it. This is because concert tickets are often expensive, and being a Millennial, I am often having trouble making ends meet as it is. There is also the fact that by the time I hear of a concert by a band that I like in my area, tickets are usually sold out.

    Still, I do like going to the Cirque du Solei every September and there is a troupe that performs a Gilbert and Sullivan play every spring in Minneapolis.

    As an aside, I cannot recommend Nonagon Infinity by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard enough. It is like 1970’s era psychedelic metal at its finest.

    1. lyman alpha blob

      +1 for the King Gizzard. And for all the Dead fans, they also have two drummers. A little heavier psychedelia than Jerry & Co, but they do let their freak flag fly – People Vultures

    1. o4amuse

      Concert memories…. In 1966 in my second senior year at Berkeley, I took a new and treasured freshman girlfriend to a Malvina Reynolds concert on campus. My friend had good politics, but just didn’t know the West coast folk scene I was into then. Malvina’s promoter was optimistic and had booked a 600 seat lecture hall. There were perhaps 25 who showed up for the audience that night. Malvina took it in stride and said, “You know, there’s a class room around the corner where I used to teach English 1A. Let’s see if its open.” So we followed her down the hall and squeezed into those old writing arm chairs. I’ll never forget. It was kind of like this:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdrlT8FIATM

      yep, thats Pete Seeger and Rambling Jack strumming along on the video.

    2. ChiGal in Carolina

      adding the lyrics but it’s worth a listen imho–Grace really rocks out and I think she and her bandmates had just graduated from Brown, where they met, when this was recorded–powerful voice in one so young

      She’s skilled at the art of deception
      and she knows it
      She’s got dirty money that she plays with
      all the time
      She waters the garden but maybe she just likes the hoses
      She puts herself just a notch above humankind

      Ah mary
      She’ll make you cookies
      Then she’ll burn your town
      Ah mary
      Ashes ashes but she won’t fall down
      She’s the beat of my heart
      She’s the shot of a gun
      She’ll be the end of me
      And maybe everyone

      Call her a bully she’ll blow up your
      whole damn playground
      Pour her a drink and watch it go
      straight to her head
      She’ll take you so high up and cover her eyes as you fall down
      Then in the morning don’t be surprised
      if you’re dead

      Ah mary
      She’ll bake you cookies
      Then she’ll burn your town
      Ah mary
      Ashes ashes but she won’t fall down
      She’s the beat of my heart
      She’s the shot of a gun
      She’ll be the end of me
      And maybe everyone

      Ah mary, mary mary

      Yeah
      She’s the beat of my heart
      She’s the shot of a gun
      She’ll be the end of me and maybe everyone
      Ahhh Mary mary mary ah merica
      Ahh Mary mary mary ah merica

      Oh America

  50. ambrit

    Late to this party, but, what the H—.
    Saw Genesis with Peter Gabriel at Gusman Hall in Miami. A completely trippy scene in a truly superior hall. The acoustics there were designed for serious music.
    Saw King Sunny Ade with his band in a run down theatre in South Beach in 1981. Juju music, one of the root forms.
    King Sunny Ade, a taste:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9gPJAenQkA
    Saw lots of obscure live jazz when I lived in New Orleans back in the seventies and eighties. Plus, the Meters and Wild Magnolias and the extended Marsalis clan. Good days were to be found among the stresses and strains of chasing “The American Dream.”
    Helped a university friend do the grunt work at a Country and Western show his dad put on near McComb Mississippi in the mid seventies. Some serious Blue Grass musicians played there. I gained a respect for American ‘Roots Music’ from that outdoor festival show and the New Orleans scene. Funny enough, I couldn’t afford to go to the Jazz Fest, but did manage to go to the Sunsplash at Tad Gormley Stadium. A contact buzz available on request, this being outdoors no less.
    We are the lucky ones. Let no one tell you otherwise.

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