Tomoko Omura Quartet at Ryles

It's always a special feeling that I have when a performance begins with Coltrane. It's as if the musicians are acknowledging their teacher, their inspiration. As if they want to start their set with a prayer of thanks and homage. And it tells me, and the rest of the audience,

"This is music. This is real. This what we will play for you. This is how we will play for you."

And then I know the rest of the set will be fine.

And it was wonderful!

Tomoko Omura - violin
Victor Gould - piano
Dan Carpel - bass
Jeffery Fajardo - drums

tribute to Al, Irene and their magical place: Windblown

I was supposed to ski at Windblown with my older son last weekend, but he got the flu so I went by myself. I got there early on Saturday morning, and was lucky to be able to ski "first tracks" for about an hour. The snow was silky smooth and perfectly groomed, and the woods were so beautiful and peaceful. But even with the beauty and perfect snow, I couldn't stop my sadness because it might be one of the last times that I will ever be able to ski at Windblown.

I spoke with Al and Irene, and they sounded very convinced that this will be the last season for them. Irene was hopeful that someone would buy the place and continue on, but Al seemed less optimistic. I hadn't realized it but Al has been working that land for over 40 years (he bought it with his grandfather's help when he was still very young).

I've been going to Windblown for about 10 years. I learned to ski and love winter at Windblown. My children learned to ski at Windblown. I got to watch Al and Irene's two sons grow from children to young men. Al taught me a lot about snow and skis and wax and klister. His son Andy used to make maple syrup right in front of the ski lodge and taught me about the whole process. I learned how to ski from watching their kids and trying to imitate them.

Every time I stopped to rest and listen to the trees talk and the ice crack and hear the streams gurgle under the snow pack, I was really overcome by how much I will miss this magical place if it does close - I hope it never does.

noise night at the middle east

How do you do a sound check for a noise concert? Turns all the knobs ALLTHEWAYUP !!!!

1st: Perispirit: started like soundtrack for the sci-fi movie Solaris - the original Russian version - slow... waiting for ... Monsters? Insanity? Visions? Then deeper & louder, deeper & louder - more bass than I had ever heard before. Until the floor started vibrating, then my mouth opened for more sound. Then my clothes started vibrating - like they would fly off my body. And then it got really loud and deep. Deeper than possible. More rumble than being inside a Saturn rocket engine at liftoff. More rumble than an 11.5 on the San Andreas. And then - explosion - and it was over.

2nd: Ashley Paul: alto sax higher and higher. Squeak on top of squeak. More squeak than the Fringe on a night when I can't follow them. "I'm getting earplugs. Do you want a pair?" oh yeah. People starting streaming out of the room... But others were coming in and moving closer to the stage. Clearly something was happening here and I don't know what it was, do I, Mr Jones? But what does it mean when I see that the guy at the sound board has earplugs in??? Then it ended and people screamed and shouted for more!!??

3rd: Sickness: just static. Frankenstein's monster playing with all the electrodes in the lab while the good doctor had stepped out of the room to take a leak.

4th: Thurston Moore and Mats Gustaffson: wow! amazing! metal files scraping the guitar pickups. broken drum sticks used to pry and lift the strings off the fretboard and then smack them with his fist! baritone saxophone moaning then squealing then swinging back and forth in front of the mike then banging against his knee instead of a mute. outrageous and fantastic !!!

Thank you DT !!!