tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post959837550479353786..comments2024-03-18T17:40:15.045-04:00Comments on Just outside: Brian Olewnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-38645078427021312472007-11-14T09:19:00.000-05:002007-11-14T09:19:00.000-05:00You know, now that you mention it, that does ring ...You know, now that you mention it, that does ring a bell. Thanks for the correction.Brian Olewnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-62630554317314749002007-11-14T09:15:00.000-05:002007-11-14T09:15:00.000-05:00Alcohol has been mentioned several times here in r...Alcohol has been mentioned several times here in relation to the tramp who sings on 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet', but Bryars has always said the man was teetotal. Not an important point, all things considered, but . . .<BR/><BR/>As for the version involving Tom Waits, that was an abomination.quakinglandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14419015956437673746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-34350371578770990262007-11-09T14:22:00.000-05:002007-11-09T14:22:00.000-05:00I try to see the Merce Cunningham Dance Co wheneve...I try to see the Merce Cunningham Dance Co whenever they come this way. I've been racking my brains to try and remember what I saw a few years ago that Merce was performing in. I think I may start a blog to list things seen, books read etc, anything written in diaries or notebooks tends to vanish and I no longer seem to have a functioning memory...lolabellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00673137047219723402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-76247208113656469872007-11-09T12:41:00.000-05:002007-11-09T12:41:00.000-05:00Ah well, it wasn't very good at all. I'll have a r...Ah well, it wasn't very good at all. I'll have a review up at Bags maybe tomorrow, but...the de Alvear piece was meandering and tiresome. Fine, no reason to expect anything wonderful.<BR/><BR/>But the Bryars....I'm tempted to ascribe much of the blame to the ensemble because the one piece I know well from the original recording, "1-2, 1,2,3,4", is leagues better than what I heard last night. But each of them went on at least twice as long as they should have (for "1-2..." make that about four times) and were bland and overly clean to boot. <BR/><BR/>In better news, Steve Smith sent me the program for upcoming events at the Merce Cunningham Dance Co. which includes an even with Gordon Mumma on the 19th and a Christian Wolff concert in February!<BR/><BR/>http://merce.org/thecompany_musicians.htmlBrian Olewnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-62624548890956604402007-11-08T14:28:00.000-05:002007-11-08T14:28:00.000-05:00To be honest I can't actually picture the performa...To be honest I can't actually picture the performance. It was around 1994 and I think there was a video screen or slides being shown. I will have to give this some more thought.lolabellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00673137047219723402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-55658308040339302412007-11-08T14:09:00.000-05:002007-11-08T14:09:00.000-05:00lolabelle, what was the context in which you saw "...lolabelle, what was the context in which you saw "...Titanic"? I don't recall offhand reading how that was staged--if it included video, actors etc. and was not just played. It would seem to lend itself to a dramatic staging of some kind, though.<BR/><BR/>I've recounted this story elsewhere before, but I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from the Bang On A Can marathon from 10 or so years back which was scheduled to perform "Jesus' Blood" with the original film, a first in the States. Their 12-hour program ran long though and instead of--heaven forbid!--cutting out some of their own works, the festival organizers (composers all) decided to lop off the Bryars, the piece that was intended to cap off the day and the one thing that the vast majority of the crowd had hung around to experience.<BR/><BR/>Feh and double feh.Brian Olewnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-12430677290748756852007-11-08T13:58:00.000-05:002007-11-08T13:58:00.000-05:00Thank you for your kind welcome, I shall continue ...Thank you for your kind welcome, I shall continue to lurk.lolabellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00673137047219723402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-41181248648118865902007-11-08T13:47:00.000-05:002007-11-08T13:47:00.000-05:00Anyone named lolabelle is welcome on this site at ...Anyone named lolabelle is welcome on this site at all times!Brian Olewnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-51712104360467269712007-11-08T13:17:00.000-05:002007-11-08T13:17:00.000-05:00Just wanted to say hi, I've been lurking for a whi...Just wanted to say hi, I've been lurking for a while reading your blog. <BR/><BR/>I had completely forgotten about titanic, I saw it performed a number of years ago. I am away to have a wee browse on amazon.lolabellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00673137047219723402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-39018997651203818572007-11-06T16:34:00.000-05:002007-11-06T16:34:00.000-05:00This was the concert: http://www.tiny.cc/UGo6B I'v...This was the concert: http://www.tiny.cc/UGo6B <BR/><BR/>I've never been able to track down anyone that was there on the night or find any reviews. An intriguing mix of music.Richard Pinnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00168522717135806763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-87374335772185843412007-11-06T16:25:00.000-05:002007-11-06T16:25:00.000-05:00Hmmm, that *is* interesting about Tilbury. I could...Hmmm, that *is* interesting about Tilbury. I could see him playing the Hommages, actually.Brian Olewnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-77771314921617398152007-11-06T16:15:00.000-05:002007-11-06T16:15:00.000-05:00Jesus' Blood was never a big favourite of mine eit...Jesus' Blood was never a big favourite of mine either.To be fair (or perhaps unfair) I think its the Tom Waits reworkings that repel me mainly, a terrible mistake from all angles.<BR/><BR/>I used to love Titanic though and played it a lot for quite a few years, kind of forgotten it of late though. Last year Tilbury was involved with an updated performance of it that unfortunately I couldn't attend, might have been interesting.Richard Pinnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00168522717135806763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-90030003796779555042007-11-06T15:27:00.000-05:002007-11-06T15:27:00.000-05:00Hmmm...I don't read the tramp's singing as "happy ...Hmmm...I don't read the tramp's singing as "happy hobo" or even "plucky orphan' (!). More like: old alcoholic dredging up a hymn he learned in childhood in the vain hope it'll offer some solace. <BR/><BR/>In fact, I'd guess that one's read of the voice would be crucial to enjoying the work or not; it's an antithesis of the polished orchestra but holds its own. <BR/><BR/>...which I guess is a little romantic...Brian Olewnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-81297579719176178562007-11-06T15:22:00.000-05:002007-11-06T15:22:00.000-05:00Yeah I understand where you are coming from. I sho...Yeah I understand where you are coming from. I should clarify that I don't think it's a bad piece, I just don't think it's as good as it gets credit for. It's definitely no 20th Century Beethoven! I also appreciate those details you find it in though I think that the careworn, old drunk belting this out isn't really grit per se it actually is even more romantic. That myth of the happy hobo, the plucky orphan hearkening back to the mythologizing of the films of Frank Capra.<BR/><BR/>But maybe I'll give it another try in honor of your upcoming performance.Robert K__https://www.blogger.com/profile/15732156105233918236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-78657647707538140312007-11-06T15:21:00.000-05:002007-11-06T15:21:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Robert K__https://www.blogger.com/profile/15732156105233918236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-71153572914649609582007-11-06T15:09:00.000-05:002007-11-06T15:09:00.000-05:00I can see that reaction and, who knows, if I heard...I can see that reaction and, who knows, if I heard it for the first time recently, perhaps my take would be different. It is unabashedly romantic in a way, though a few characteristics supply it with enough grit for me. The old man's voice, for one, being only slightly out of tune, tinged with alcohol and smoke but also clearly (at least to me) heartfelt. The way the loop doesn't quite resolve rhythmically, leaving a bit of a hiccup between iterations. The equivalency of the old man and, eventually, the full orchestra. Little extras like one of Derek Bailey's very few examples of notated playing. <BR/><BR/>Plus, of course, the inevitable nostlagia factor. Nothing one can do about that. <BR/><BR/>From what I understand, this version of "1-2, 1,2,3,4" uses Beatles tunes. The original, unless I'm misremebering, had a slow jazz number that was played by a quartet in audio isolation from one another. They began in sync but soon drifted apart, lending a proto-Badalamenti feel to the piece.Brian Olewnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08567239067604835372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28154988.post-77161072303357870672007-11-06T14:47:00.000-05:002007-11-06T14:47:00.000-05:00I have to say I never got all the adulation for Je...I have to say I never got all the adulation for <I>Jesus' Blood...</I> - it just seems melodramatic, syrupy and tritely melancholy to me. To each their own of course and I have no history with it having only heard it for the first time in the last year. Still curious to hear how this show goes, though I just don't think Bryars is my flask of whisky.Robert K__https://www.blogger.com/profile/15732156105233918236noreply@blogger.com