Author: stevenology

Elvis Costello At The Mondavi Center 2012

Press photoThis was a lucky week. Between Petra and me, we won tickets to four movies. But the big prize was that we won tickets (thanks to the web site Sacramento365.com) to see one of the master artists of our time, Elvis Costello. If you know me, you know I have been a big fan of his for about 35 years, since his first album My Aim Is True came out. Holy crap, 35 years?!

Well, I’ve seen him in concert maybe 10-12 times over the years and am convinced that he is a great showman and this show was more proof of that. Over the years, I’ve seen him solo, and also with various bands (Attractions, Imposters, Confederates, etc) and it has always been a top-notch quality show. This time it was solo, with a sparse stage with a couple chairs, a keyboard, and maybe a half dozen guitars.


Terrific Tunes For Tuesday – Take 54

It’s back.

A while back I posted a “Terrific Tunes for Tuesday” video every Tuesday for a year. Well, 53 weeks to be exact. You can find those other videos here. Recently I was thinking about these videos and how much fun it was to post them. So, I decided to post more. Not every week, just when I feel like it. And I feel like it today.

So, todays video is… Kina Granis “In Your Arms. What’s special about this? Well, I like the song, but the video itself is just great. It was made using:

288,000 jelly beans, 22 months, 1,357 hours, 30 people, 2 ladders, 1 still camera

Yes, it is made using jelly beans. Lots of ’em. Check it out:

 

 

Want to see how it was made? Here is “the making of…”

 

 

Have an opinion? Why not leave me a comment?

Other “Terrific Tunes for Tuesday” videos

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Seattle And Bumbershoot 2012 Photos Are Here

Hello again, family, friends, and everyone else too. The pictures from our Seattle 2012 trip are now online! We had a great time as usual. There are Seattle pix, Bumbershoot Festival pix, and just some other weird pix we took on the trip.

Any questions, just ask. Besides Petra and me, you will see some pictures of our friends Karl, Betty, Mama O (Linda), and Sam. Even Karl’s brother Ron and his son Antonio are in a few. Take a look! Leave a comment if you want, I’ll be waiting….

Seattle/Bumbershoot 2012 photos

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Seattle And Bumbershoot 2012 – Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

The third and final installment in our exciting vacation saga. And soon I will post the pictures too! Oh be still my beating heart!

Monday September 3

Of course Happy Birthday to the daughter. Meanwhile , back to our vacation. We headed out to the last day of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. As per our routine, we first went and got a free Starbucks drink then went straight to the VIP hospitality area for some food and to finish planning the day. Petra’s first destination was a dance-related performance called Maximum Velocity, while I went to watch Seattle-based Seapony. I liked the band, they were pretty young but have potential. Then I watch a stripped-down mini-set (was it four or five songs?) on the Toyota Free Yr Radio Stage by England’s The Wombats. They were really likable and really good, ending with a highly-modified (with banjo) version of their song Let’s Dance To Joy Division. Petra meanwhile caught the end of rocker Reignwolf’s set, and we met up after at the “secret stage” for a performance by Low. They are aptly named, the music was very downbeat and while it was ok it was not really that interesting for either of us. That changed soon, though, since the next show in that stage was Passion Pit. They are getting radio play and a lot of press for their new album Gossamer so we were curious. This show was three of the members in a stripped down session, three keyboards/synths. The main guy opened the set with just an acoustic guitar for one song and the rest were the three of them. This was a great show, with enough electric to be cool but still fairly intimate. We both liked it a lot.


Seattle And Bumbershoot 2012 – Part 2

Looking for part 1 – click here

Saturday September 1

Today was the first day of the happiest place on Earth. No, not Disneyland, sheesh! This is way better. Three long days of music, comedy, dance, and most of the other arts. We discovered the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival in 2001 and attended that year and every year since, making this our twelfth year. Some people travel with us, sometimes different people every year and then again some come year after year. We certainly do and hopefully this will continue. Heck, we already have a room reserved for the 2013 Festival and so does our friend Linda!

By the way, best improvement ever, this year: giant video screens at almost all the outdoor venues, so everyone can see!


Seattle And Bumbershoot 2012 – Part 1

We just got back from our annual trek to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and more). I’ll post some pictures soon, but in the meantime here is a short overview of what we did. This year our friends Karl and Betty went too, first time for them. And of course our friend and festival veteran Linda Orozco went again with her friend Sam (first time for Sam too).

Maybe we’ll see you there next year…!!

Wednesday August 29

As usual we arranged for the Blue Van to pick us up. Karl and Betty came to our house to leave with us. We always allow for plenty of time to get to the airport in case something doesn’t go as planned. And this year, sure enough, the van was supposed to arrive between 7:25 and 7:40. Well, finally at about 8:10 the van finally showed up. This still let us catch our flight but it was more rushed than it should have been and pretty stressful. Shame on you Super Shuttle, I will be writing a separate letter to you. But anyway, it worked out and we had a smooth and quick Southwest Airlines flight to the Emerald City of Seattle. Did I mention that I love Seattle?


Happy Birthday Petra B

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday Petra B,
Happy birthday to you…

This is just a short post to give the warmest birthday greetings ever to my wife and partner Petra B.

Her love, her friendship, her intelligence, her sense of humor, her beauty inside and out, and so many more things make my life better every day. Not only that, but in the time I have known her she has made me a much better person.

What else can I say, I just wanted to share it with my millions of readers.

So happy birthday Petra B and here’s to many, many more…

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To Rome With Love

I saw the new Woody Allen movie today. Friends know that I am a huge fan of his, and as such I may not be completely objective. So what. He’s one of the best filmmakers ever and a huge talent to boot. Sure, he’s made a few lesser films but overall nearly all of his films are good, very good, great, and/or amazing.

Really, you need to see each of his films a few times to truly appreciate the witty and incisive writing, the expert direction, the always-high talent level of the actors. And this one has all that. Set in Rome, it tells multiple stories but weaves them all into a enjoyable, funny, and clever film. Is it a drama with comedy or a comedy with drama? Dunno. Who cares. The characters are interesting and draw you in, and he gives them good lines and the leeway to create.

Here’s the trailer:

 


Our Latest 46 Music Items

Here is the latest update. Some we bought, some were gifts, a few we burned. Do you love any of these? Hate any of them? Or are you just confused?

Read all the way to the end and then leave me a comment!

ARTIST – TITLE – FORMAT – SIZE – COUNTRY – COMMENTS

Michaelson, Ingrid – Human Again CD 5 US Deluxe edition with four bonus tracks

Michaelson, Ingrid – Live From Laurel Canyon CD 5 US Autographed

Bowie, David – Ziggy Stardust CD 5 US 40th Anniversary Edition. Title is The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

Awolnation – Megalithic Symphony CD 5 US

Metric – Synthetica CD 5 US

Hutchinson, Eric – Moving Up CD 5 US

Spektor, Regina – What We Saw From The Cheap Seats CD 5 US

Death Cab For Cutie – Keys And Codes Remix EP CD 5 US

Lennon, John – Watching The Wheels CD 5 US Bootleg

Beatles, The – Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 2 (1964-1965) CD 5 US Bootleg


Music We Own: The “Z” Stuff (as of today)

Hello again friends, family, and music lovers…

This is the twenty-sixth in a series of posts about the music we own. We sort-of collect items by certain artists, as you may notice. And yes, we are both still obsessed with music!

Artists are listed as last name, comma, first name. If it is a band then it is just the band name. Anyway, check it out and see what you think. Leave me a comment below the list!

Name – Title – Format – Size – Country – Comments

Z,Bobby – Bobby Z. CD 5 US

Z, Bobby – Lie By Lie vinl 12 US

Zappa, Frank – Stairway To Heaven vinl 12 UK

Zappa, Frank – Apostrophe/Overnite Sensation CD 5 US Two albums on one CD.

Zappa, Frank And Moon – Valley Girl vinl 7 US

Zevon, Warren – Reconsider Me – The Love Songs CD 5 US

Zevon, Warren – I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (An Anthology) CD 5 US

Zevon, Warren – Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School CD 5 US


Music We Own: The “Y” Stuff (as of today)

Hello again friends, family, and music lovers…

This is the twenty-fifth in a series of posts about the music we own. We sort-of collect items by certain artists, as you may notice (Neil Young maybe?). And yes, we are both still obsessed with music!

Artists are listed as last name, comma, first name. If it is a band then it is just the band name. Anyway, check it out and see what you think. Leave me a comment below the list!

Name – Title – Format – Size – Country – Comments

Yaz – You And Me Both vinl 12 US

Yazbek – Damascus CD 5 US

Yazbek – Welcome To My World cass 5 US Promo sampler.

Yazbek – The Laughing Man CD 5 US

Yazbek – The Laughing Man cass na US

Yazbek – Tock CD 5 US

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show your Bones CD 5 US

Yello – You Gotta Say Yes… vinl 12 US Actual title is You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess.

Young, Neil – Weld cass na US

Young, Neil – This Note’s For You CD 5 US Promo. Three versions.

Young, Neil – Time Fades Away vinl 12 US


The 2012 Baseball Trip Pictures Are Now Online

2012 Baseball Trip Collage

As I blogged recently, I took a baseball trip with some friends, Larry, John, and Mike. You can read all about it here. But now it’s time to show and tell, so here are some pictures from the trip. As usual I didn’t take pictures of everything but I think you will get the idea. I’ve included my pictures, and also some taken by my friends Larry and John.

And to see the collage on the right at a bigger size, just click on it.

Click here to see the trip pictures. Take a look and then leave me a comment!

Thanks!


I Took A Baseball Trip – 2012

Baseball stadiumI took a baseball trip. And I’ll post some pictures soon. But yeah, I took a baseball trip.

What is that you say? Well, three of my friends (Larry, John Mc, and Mike D) have taken a few of these trips. They travel to a region of the country and see pro baseball games at a few different stadiums. They’ve asked me about going before and I didn’t go, but this time I decided, for various reasons, to go. For one thing, the trip was to Southern California so it wasn’t that far. In fact, we drove and made it a road trip.

Friday May 4

John got the rental car and picked up Mike and me, then we started south and picked up Larry in nearby Elk Grove. We had breakfast at an unremarkable place and then got on the road. Partway there we stopped at Anita’s Mexican Grill for lunch. As you may know,


Ingrid Michaelson At The Fillmore In San Francisco

Ingrid Michaelson

Last week we went to see singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The venue is famous, from the 60s until now, but it’s not really the best place to see a show. It’s basically a general admission open area except for a bar on the side and a very few balcony seats that fill up really fast. I’d rather have a seat, but they don’t do it that way. This show was pretty civilized, though, no mosh pit or anything. Everyone was pretty cool and having a great time.

My review of the show and some pictures too after the “continue reading…”


Record Store Day – The Aftermath

Today was one of my favorite holidays, Record Store Day. It’s a celebration of local, independent record stores and you know I am really big on music. So I visited about four or so local stores: The Beat, two Dimple locations, well three really since Dimple Vinyl is separate. I didn’t make it to Phono Select or Esoteric or the other Dimple locations or all the other local stores or those in nearby towns or, well, what do you think I am a music fanatic?!?

OK, so maybe I am. You know what they say, once Obsessed With Music, always OWM. This year, I didn’t spend a fortune but I did find a bunch of nice items, some of which were released special for Record Store Day. Some were bought for Petra too.

Check out this list of what I got, and then leave me a comment below telling me what you think…


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