I've never been a big fan of the retro-rock extravaganza, but when I heard that Whitey & the 78s were opening for Skynyrd @ Pine Knob, it was just too cool to ignore. I didn't think I was actually gonna be able to go though, but then @ zero hour, Stacey came through w/ a sweet, sweet pair of free lawn tix. I met Liz & Dan @ my parents' place for some ribs & beans, then Dan & I were off to Clarkston. We picked up Bud Tall Boys from 7-11 & then started counting Stars-n-Bars... 38 by my count, including a Sharpee drawn fake tattoo on some douchebag's arm & a ridiculous full on flag pole on the tail gate of an old yellow pick-up.
We downed the Buds in the lot then headed in right as Whitey & the boys were starting "Bad News." They played for about 45 minutes... & in my humble opinion, they rocked it. I hope they're able to parley this into some other big stuff. When Skynyrd came out, I was a bit shocked by 2 things: 1) how many of their songs I actually knew & 2) how bad they are. I've never been a fan, but wow! We took off after about 45 minutes. We heard "What's Your Name," "Working for MCA," "Simple Man," & that one about "can't you smell that smell?" Apparently, the set-list had them closing w/ Sweet Home Alabama" & encoring w/ "Freebird," but there was no way we could make it that long.
As for the crowd? Good Lord! It was like the Secretary of State office on Meth. And so many of them were taking it sooo seriously. The "skanky-ass-ho" factor made the Springsteen show I went to last year look like Sunday School. They really came out of the woodwork to hear some Skynyrd. Ironically, Whitey played the Hell out of Pine Knob while the Skynyrd fans didn't really pay enough attention. I think they were able to appreciate them though. I definitely hope they were. Maybe they sold some CDs & swag too.
I watched the Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe Robin Hood the other night. I'd been wanting to see is since it came out, but for one reason or another, I'd put it off a while. Before I go further, it must be known that I'm a fanatic for Robin Hood films. I've posted before about Zorro, Pirates, Sci/Fi, well, here's the obligatory Robin Hood post... because the people asked for it... don't ask which people; those who asked, know who they are.
As far as Robin Hood movies go, the new one is pretty good. I still stand behind the Kevin Costner one though. He does a ridiculous job, but the writing is good, & that cast is fantastic. The worst part of the Costner one is that shit song by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & Sting. Of course, the Errol Flynn one is the best, the Daffy Duck one is good, but let's not forget the Disney one w/ the fox. The BBC did a new series a few years ago which was fun, but no one would ever mistake it for something w/ any semblance of period accuracy. The emo hair was silly & the black leather trench coats made the Columbine shooters more than a tad envious.
*Keira Knightly made a tv Disney one called Princess of Thieves... news flash: it sucks. *I watched a few scenes from Boobs in the Woods on youtube. It's not bad. It's a fun pantomime stage show w/ some pretty silly bits. *Men in Tights is funny, but I have to admit, I'm not a huge Mel Brooks fan. *The same year as the Mel Brooks and the Kevin Costner, there was a version w/ Patrick Bergen & Uma Thurman. Sip it. *Robin of Sherwood was a period-accurate BBC series in the mid-1980s. My biggest problems w/ it is its picture quality. It needs a nice restoration to brighten up the colors a bit. Maybe it's just the reality of filming in England that makes things look constantly rainy. *Robin & Marion is a fun little movie w/ Sean Connery & Katherine Hepburn. If you haven't seen it, check it out. *Robin & the Seven Hoods: You get the Chairman of the Board as a 1930s style gangster version of Robin Hood in Chicago... complete w/ musical numbers. don't check it out. *A 1950s TV version from the BBC is alright. The sets/budget/acting/writing suck, but that's the fun. *Ivanhoe w/ Robert Taylor & Elizabeth Taylor is fun. I saw it as a kid & still watch it whenever it's on. *The Douglass Fairbanks silent one is good, but it's not often that one watches a silent movie.
So there you go. Those are the ones I've seen. There are plenty of other, some that I am putting in my queue tonight. I doubt I'll get to them any time soon, but I'm sure I'll get to them some time.
Moving on, The Whitey Morgan & the 78's show in Ypsi on Saturday has become the Whitey Morgan & the 78's show in Maumee, OH on Saturday. That means we won't be able to make it. They'll be in Detroit in a couple weeks though, so check them out there if you too can't make it south of the border.
what's this all have to do w/ Christmas? I'm glad you asked. We're going out to Matthes Evergreen Farm tomorrow to get a tree. In order to get ready, I brought the decorations up & Stephanie started decorating today. This also mean that we got the holiday CDs out, including Dylan's Christmas in the Heart. This also means that I started writing this year's new tune. keep coming back to see the new song soon. Spoiler alert: it deals w/ guns... lots & lots of guns!
The other night @ The Elbow Room, I treated myself to a couple scotches & a few PBRs. I think the only other PBR I'd ever had was @ a Whitey Morgan show a few years ago when Jean talked me into a "race." It didn't get any better over the last few years, but it was cheap. I got there just in time to see Mr. Shiz finish their cover of Allen Toussaint's "Get Out of My Life." It's an alright song, but there's something about Toussaint that I just don't get. I know there are people out there (Phish, The band & Jerry Gacia included) who really dig (or dug as the case may be) his stuff... maybe I just need to hear more of it. I don't know.
I do know that a fun Dylan cover is always a good time, & as Deep Space took the stage, it was w/ 1 of those that they started. From there they went into "Jump for Joy," an unfortunately lesser known tune by Kingfish. It rocks. After a few more 1st set standards, Sean played 1 of his originals, "Somewhere." It's a cool song, & it shows they should be writing more originals. "Sugar Mags" morphedd into a cool, spacey jam as the sax player from Mr. Shiz joined for a little impromptu jamming that flowed into a fantastic "Other One." Unfortunately, I've never gotten a proper "Other One" though... @ some point it always seems to end. A proper 1 should go all night & maybe into the next day... just like a proper "Dark Star." I'm afraid the bands always feel they need to play other songs too to make people happy, when we all know 1 long, weird 1 is really all we need. A boy can dream. I couldn't remember if they ever actually played the end of "Sugar Mags" until they came around to it out of a fun "Cumberland Blues." They finaly finishedd around 2:30 which is the latest I've ever seen a band go @ a local bar. That was fun, but it seemed that by that point they should have just kept going... a 20 minute "Slipknot" or a happy little "Eleven" would have been fine. Here's the entire set-list:
Set 1: Masterpiece, Jump For Joy, Watching The Wheels > Big R.R. Blues, Ramble On Rose, Tennessee Jed, Just A Little Light, Somewhere >Sugar Magnolia > The Other One > Goin' Down The Road. Set 2: Not Fade Away > Touch Of Grey, Standing On The Moon > Bertha > Cumberland Blues, Sunshine Daydream >The Last Time
This coming weekend (Friday @ that roadhouse in Chelsea & Saturday @ The Savoy) whitey Morgan & the 78's will be marking their return to the area w/ a couple smoking gigs. I don't think we'll make it out on Friday (babysitting issues), but Saturday in Ypsi for sure. Join us for some good old country tunes, some whiskey & maybe a few more PBRs.
Blogger updated the log-in page so I can no longer access Vision of Ypsi. You, faithful reader, can still read the old posts, but there will be no more updates there. I'd been using that blog for about 4 years, & when I created it, I was working @ Jackson Community College. I used my JCC email as the log-in, but it was never associated w/ a Google account. As of today, Blogger needs a google account so I went to update it, but since I don't work there anymore, I can't access it to verify the account. That means a whole new blog is in order.
My very 1st blog, you may remember, was called "Leshlush," a nice little Phil Lesh reference. When I created a new 1, we went w/ a Dylan reference (which is in turn a Kerouac reference). In keeping w/ the musical references, I decided on a nice Bob Wills tune. Who was Bob Wills? Come now! He's still the king of Western Swing! check out this footage of him doing "Deep Water" w/ His Texas Playboys:
As we move forward w/ this new blog, we'll be getting many of the same things you've come to expect from the old blog, but we'll add a few new bells & whistles to keep everyone on his or her toes. If you have a site that should be linked, let me know... if you have suggestions to help this one... let me know. Keep the comments coming & be sure to watch Arsenal & see Whitey Morgan & the 78's when you get the chance.
