A couple of disappointments: 1) it appears that the Stooges play to taped augmentation. This was revealed when the bass line for “Skull Ring” kept pumping while bassist Mike Watt was working amp problems with his sound tech. It’s OK to use the canned help, but never let the audience know.
On the same post, Stooges saxophonist Steve Mackay responded, "I guess I should be flattered to have been mistaken for a taped augmentation but I was right there on the stage playing the riff on my tenor sax, just like always!"
]]> After a response from the Stooges publicist saying the Stooges were never augmented, Corcoran admitted, "I saw what I saw — moments when both hands were off the bass — but who am I to dispute the greatest band to ever play SXSW? Let me set the record straight: Stooges don’t fudge!"But this Wednesday in a letter to the editor, Iggy himself chimed in with the definitive last word (we hope?):
Re: March 19 concert review "Stooges let loose, put raw power on display." This rebuttal of Michael Corcoran's review is by a member of the Stooges:
Mike, dude, I would never, ever, ever play music to a freakin' tape. For real. This just never happened and never will happen.
What you probably heard is Ron Asheton's ability to play that riff picking a mid-range motif while also picking and sliding a bass line. This derives from blues players like Fred McDowell, for example. You definitely won't hear it on a Fall Out Boy record.
Have you ever heard a real guitar player? Playing live? That's how they do. You also heard Steve Mackay on sax backing Ron up. At the moment the bass went out, I, too, was amazed at how good it sounded without him.
I will happily slit my throat if you can find anyone backstage at that gig who saw us (fooling) around with a piece of (freakin') tape. We're the Stooges, and in my world tape is not alright. It's fat, rich and uncool.
Sorry about the guitar levels. This show was a freebie, so we left our sound man at home.
IGGY POP
Miami
'Nuff said! And there you have it, writers—one sentence can truly spawn a monster.
]]>A less-than-two-inch rain storm was enough to wash untold amounts of construction pollution off AMD and the Galleria's construction sites. AMD's site is on Southwest Parkway and Rialto Blvd. and the Galleria is in the Village of Bee Cave. We are going to file complaints against these polluters with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. These mall developers were caught polluting Little Barton Creek during construction of their "Shops at the Galleria" strip mall in 2005 and fined by TCEQ (a nominal few thousand dollars).
In related news, the coalition will be meeting this Saturday, March 31, from 9-11 a.m. to pick up trash in the recharge zone (as part of Keep Austin Beautiful's Clean Sweep).
Update: Clean up has been postponed due to rain.
]]>I'm sure you might think these are obvious points. But this is a blog, OK? And I had too many things to Twitter it. No, wait. I'm totally Twittering that catty fatty thing.
]]>So yeah, it must be dirty week. Get dirty with your bad selves, y'all!! Channel Christina Aguilera or something and have some hawt NSFW action this weekend (trannies not required—unless they're really hot. Heh.).
]]>I skipped the morning panels on Sunday (yet another of those dreary Austin days we've been having lately) because I knew it would be my only chance to catch the world premiere of "Silver Jew," Michael Tully and Matthew Robison's documentary about David Berman's tour of Jerusalem.
I wasn't sure what to expect. Actually, I was not expecting it to be much more than a travelogue intermixed with musical interludes. While that's what this movie was on the surface, I was underestimating the understated humility and charm of Berman. Sure, I've heard his poetry and read his writings, but watching this movie was like hanging out with DCB. There was no rock star posturing or macho shit-talking. Quite the opposite. Berman exudes a fragility in this movie that I wasn't expecting.
Here's a guy who toiled away in relative obscurity for over a decade partly because of his conviction not to tour or face his audience. He has a innate talent for turning out unexpected, but immediately captivating, observations. But he also possessed an insecure streak and dwelled in a comfort zone cocoon for many years while his best friends experienced success.
How many of us have gone through the same trials and tests? How many of us have been running away from our natural gifts due to some irrationality or insecurity we possess inside? As Berman says (I'm paraphrasing obviously), "We all have something inside that we have to let out, and if we don't let it out, it will kill us." What we suppress will kill us. To pay attention to our internal wants or to ignore them. That is the $500 question.
Helping him along on his journey out of desparation and into the light is the beautiful Cassie (Marrett) Berman. You can tell in a shot where he clutches her hand while walking through the streets that she is the rock–the mooring.
By the end of the movie, you realize that Berman has achieved both a spiritual and professional epiphany. He realizes that he was loved all along and that he's lucky for his lot in life. He doesn't have to run away anymore. The music, which started as a tossed-off side-project recorded on a boombox, has become his medium. Though he originally longed for the artistic respectability and literary sheen of poetry, he's learned that he can affect far more people through his music than will ever read his books.
]]>(This is what suffices for a post nowadays.)
]]>I am sooo buying the (Martin Scorsese directed) DVD (tentatively titled "Shine a Light")! It's also interesting to hear "I'm Free" being used in a bank commercial.
In other news:
]]>I think about Kevyn. Here's a guy who should be unhappy. And yet, he's perpetually happy. Smiling. People tease and abuse him. He doesn't care. No problem. He just moves past the noise and listens to something inside that keeps him smiling.
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