This is the second show I have seen at Appel Farm. I have seen several other programs of theirs at school. I am always impressed. Tonight’s show was the first I saw in the theatre. I love that the seats are old church pews. No kneelers, which is fine by me.
The guys came on at 8:00 along with a bassist. I was about the youngest attendee. One lady had her son. The girl next to me was younger. She had never heard of the group before, but was a fan of Simon and Garfunkel. Aztec Two-Step are touring now playing Simon & Garfunkel’s songbook.
These guys have talent, no doubt. I enjoyed the two-set, two-hour show.
At the end of the first set, they played two of their original songs. These were the highlight of the night. While there was absolutely nothing wrong with the S&G covers, the soul of the musicians shone while playing Baking and The Persecution & Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On The Road). These two songs had me longing for more originals.
There were about 120 in attendance tonight. After an hour, the guys took a 10-minute break. They were accessible in the lobby.
Back on they came to continue with Simon and Garfunkel. They played most of the hits and interjected some history. I was hoping to hear American Tune. It wasn’t played. That was the only song they didn’t play that I was “expecting”. The guys did cover the Everly brothers Let It Be Me. The Everly Brothers were a big influence on S&G.
I enjoyed the show. If they ever come back this way playing their original stuff, I would definitely go see them again.
Since I was a guest for the evening, I did not record any of this. Looking on YouTube, I see plenty have. I wonder how the guys would have felt about it. Sitting right snack in front, there was no way of being discreet.
I’m a “classic rock” kind of a guy, but The Who sounded really old the other night at the Super Bowl. I recall listening and recording their “final” show 28 years ago. “Hope I die before I get old” . . . Congratulations to the Saints! It was an entertaining game. The first quarter sure had signs of a blowout against a green team. That they came back as soundly as they did is truly a credit . . . Here’s the obligatory comment about the commercials: I didn’t watch them. I think I am immune to these things. I watched Gary Vaynerchuk’s comments about the commercials, but not the commercials themselves. So much for those advertising dollars . . . I posted road conditions the other day for Millville. How would they have been better seen? Perhaps I will run my Twitter stream through the blog again . . . Millville Public Library didn’t answer telephones Monday morning. Left a message that has yet to be returned. Called the Vineland branch and got service immediately . . . Made some red beans and rice. This place has smelled great all day . . . We followed it up with a tasty heart-shaped cheesecake. It’s Gert’s grandmother’s recipe. Wonderfully delicious! . . . Time for a change . . . Signed up for pip.io today. I don’t understand the buzz. Help me out if you do . . . If you need to believe in miracles, a man was found alive in the wreckage in Haiti, four weeks after the earthquake . . . According to Millville’s superintendent, one-third of all Millville High School students are suspended each year. Yikes! . . . And at VPS, 46% are suspended . . . Gov. Christie finally declared a state of emergency for southern NJ three days after the blizzard hit. The timing probably doesn’t matter, but I am not encouraged by all the photo-ops last weekend. As I noted on Sunday, Christie should not be using snow plows as props . . . Christie stated he worked with the BUP to restore power to those without it. The BUP only doles out money and ensures Nick Asselta has a cushy job. It’s Atlantic City Electric that can actually do something to restore power . . . My classroom recently participated with Art Goes to School. I love this program. It’s one of those programs I look forward to yearly. Excellent job. This year we analyzed Velazquez’s Las Meninas, Picasso’s Las Meninas, and Dali’s Portrait of Juan de Pareja Fixing a String of His Mandolin and how they are all related. Very kewl! . . .
This week I am teaching my students the word wistful. It’s a fabulous word.
In the fall 1991 I had just relocated back to New Jersey after four fun years in Boston. I had just broken up with my girlfriend, decided not to attend the Culinary Institute of America, and was trying to figure out what direction to head my life toward. I treated myself to a much needed Jerry Garcia show at the Spectrum. It was the first time I saw him play Shining Star. What a beautiful version of this Manhattans song. Life was good for a still 20-something young man.
Alas, there are no more Jerry shows to pick up my mood.
Ken and I were chatting recently about Traffic. We had heard a Dave Mason song on the radio that led us to that conversation. We ended up discussing the 1994 reunion. I had thought Mason was part of that, but I was mistaken. As I researched that, I stumbled across this video. While the Traffic reunion was lesser for not having Mason on guitar, this night at Giants Stadium shined . . . at least the encore.
Winwood’s strat sounds great in combination with Garcia’s Rosebud. This seems like a wonderful pairing but not terribly surprising. I had seen Winwood’s former partner, Spencer Davis, join the Grateful Dead in 1987.
I was among the few, it seems, that enjoyed the Dead’s Dear Mr. Fantasy>Hey Jude pairing. I used to think there was a sequence of songs that would always work well together; namely, Hendrix’s Angel>Mr. Fantasy>Hey Jude>Whippin’ Post>Angel. I envisioned that Mr. Fantasy, Hey Jude, and Whippin’ Post would be sung simultaneously by Jerry, Bob, and Brent. Yeah, a fantasy sequence.
Father Time (aka Bill Graham) welcomes in the New Year in Oakland 1986. Fr. Guido Sarducci and Ken Kesey provide the bizarre commentary. Then the Grateful Dead ring in the new year with a fun rendition of In the Midnight Hour.
Yesterday Rex Fowler of Aztec Two-Step presented a program to the students at my school. Tonight I went and saw Aztec Two-Step at Appel Farm. It was a last minute decision that worked out perfectly, although Gert was unable to come.
