Working

The transcription is finished! The plan worked, and with only slight but annoying resistance. I put everything aside for it, though and now I am feeling weak and lazy. Tonight I am to get my kidney looked at more closely to rule out I dare not speculate what and also to check if I have any more stones. This weekend I am playing Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. This week I have at least 2 other rehearsals. There are 2 CD's in my immediate future with their itinerant rehearsals. Oh yes, and I need new strings.

Trail of Tears

One of Abbey's favorite things to do this summer has been to work on her State workbooks. I think they are a Highlights thing, every so often we get a workbook and a map of a state in the mail and then Abbey goes to town and learns a lot about that state and she's getting quite good at getting around the map. All of which is good. Oklahoma came the other day, so we started to work on it. Then we get to the word search page. It is a very long list full of eastern native tribes. Here is an excerpt from the text,

Alex is amazed to learn that one-third of the Native Americans who live in the United States live in Oklahoma!

So I explain to Abbey why it is that all of these people live in Oklahoma. About the forced relocation of so many people to this inhospitable area and about how it was better for them to move because otherwise they would be killed. Poor Abbey, she was horrified. All she could ask was "why? why would they do that? Why couldn't they just be neighbors?" And I really wish Andrew Jackson was here to answer her, here in this world in this life to answer for all of that mess. But he is not and it happened and the fact of the matter is I would rather for her to learn about how terrible people are and can be to each other sooner and from me rather than later and from some random. It was so sad, though and neither of us felt like doing the word search after that.

1984.12.1

Setlist

12/1/84 Nectar's, Burlington, VT

Scarlet Begonias > Fire > Fire on the Mountain, Makisupa Policeman, Slave to the Traffic Light, Spanish Flea*, Don't Want You No More, Cities, Skippy the Wondermouse**, Fluffhead**

E: Eyes of the World

First gig at Nectar's and earliest circulating tape (May be the first taped gig). With Marc Daubert (who was a member of the band at the time, though only briefly so). *Includes band introduction. **With the Dude of Life on vocals.

Fade into Scarlet Begonias, Trey's solo is reminiscent of Jerry, there has been transcription and study. Then there is a slightly awkward key change down into the key for Fire, but there is no train wreck, things are quickly righted and the Fire continues on unabated. There are some inconsistencies with the form of the tune, is it time for the guitar solo or the verse? This guitar solo is less interesting than the one from Begonias, more wanking and less melody. Perhaps it's harder to channel Jimi than Jerry? It seems like the parts where Trey shine through sound good and the parts where Trey is trying to hard to be Jimi are less fluid. The composed section from Fire to Fire on the Mountain is clumsy. The whole step descent into the new key didn't work earlier and still doesn't. This is a nice version of this tune, though, lots to like.

Hey Makisupa Policeman, there is some guitar noodling that sounds suspiciously like an attempt at communication. The backing vocals are not good, wrong and bad! And what is that weird vibrato thing that Trey is doing with his voice? It is different from the old man vibrato currently employed. They are silly laughing sillies.

Stage banter about the parking problem in Burlington, it is hard to hear because this recording is from the 80's.

Slave to the Traffic Light is out of tune, otherwise unchanged in how many years? If it ain't broke...

Herb Alpert is up next with his Spanish Flea for the band introductions, everyone has their regular name except for Fishman on woodblock (funky mcwallic urias gerard mclinton?) I dunno, hard to hear on that one... but then there is jon fishman on drums... The end to this tune is pretty sloppy and finally the old shave and a haircut, nobody can miss that!

Don't Want You No More Only time played so far, I did not know that this was from the Allman's via the Spencer Davis group, yay for learning. This is a nice cooking version of this song. Everyone in this group is already playing at quite a high level and they are already starting to demonstrate the group mind. And there is Cities, what a nice segue!

Cities is not much changed either, and now we are off into the drumz portion of our show. Not enough bands let the drummers have their moment often enough. I guess there are some folks who really don't like it, but I for one wouldn't mind if every show had a drumz. I particularly like the woodblock stuff about 3 minutes in.

And now we have Skippy the Wondermouse. What do you know? It's McGrupp! Oh yes, and the Dude of Life. I am not sad that he doesn't come around much anymore. Hearing this skippy just after the Spanish Flea I am hearing a little similarity in the groove at the beginning, I suppose they are both in 6. Wow, this song is really not quite so clever as some phish that I love, I can see why they changed it.

And now we are into Fluffhead. This version has some more spice here at the get go, and the Dude's twang makes it sound sort of bluegrassy. Woohoo hang on there fellas it's really fast!

This Eyes is also quite nice, not too fast. The end is particularly nice, I think I would have had a fun time at this show and these guys are already really good.

In Sickness and in Health

So this past week I have been out of sorts, un-motivated, tired. I was also having some intestinal weirdness that was sort of like the monthly cycle but at really the wrong part of the month and sort of like I ate something that was off except I didn't... Some emotional stuff was going on also, I get really tired of the Friday evening that my husband likes to partake in, unless I go partake in it with him I am left to my own devices and it was starting to hurt my feelings even though I know I should just enjoy my alone time when I can get it. Then Saturday dawns with me feeling under the gun. I've got a transcription that needs doing and until it is done I am going to be a ball of stress about it. I also had a lesson on the docket and a gig at Borders. I was just about to sit down and start to work on the transcription when the doorbell rang and there was John's charge for the day, he had offered to watch his buddy's daughter and there she was. All of a sudden I was rethinking the transcription. How in the heck would I be able to hear and concentrate with 3 little girls doing their little girl thing? Not.

So I went to the bathroom and was attacked by a kidney stone. It was as if the universe said to me, ha ha you just think you have something to do today! Not! And really, they can last for more than a day or two, which is terrifying to envision from that moment of first attack.

I am becoming an old pro at ejecting things from myself at this point. Assume cow position and moo.

Meanwhile, John had acquired one of those crazy Oxycontin pills which I proceeded to take out of fear for the future, I am not sure if it did me any good or not, I think the stone had passed already but I got a nice nap out of it all. And than I got to be wackered out all day but really, I had a bunch of stuff to do! I noticed when the pill started to wear off, too and I am not at all surprised to learn that they are incredibly addictive. Yes, yes they are.

I had another small stone today and I took something else. Ibuprofen or something.

ugh

She used to be a vampire child

She used to be a vampire child
Originally uploaded by gurley

Poor Ella got bit by something horrid while we were camping and her forehead swelled up just like the buffy vampires. freaky.

Camping

I think I have developed a small amount of hate for Wisconsin. There are too many bugs. Watching your child be swarmed by mosquitos is a horrifying experience. Besides the abortive hiking experience we had an adventure. Lots of playing at the park by the bathrooms. Abbey is getting the swing figured out and made it all the way across the monkey bars. She is growing into herself a little more, I like for her coordination to make a go at keeping up with her brain. When she is confident she can do anything, which is why I think she and school work so well together. Ella is generally content to let Abbey do it and then watch what happens. Can't say I blame her.

I do not like doritos, or potatoes cooked in pork juice. Or drunken husbands who yell and pick fights and then sleep all day while protesting that this is "relaxing". What it is, is it is selfish to have such demanding needs that require that someone else take on more that the usual amount of the load for an extended time during what is also supposed to be their time to relax.