Jul
28
2009
,
Singing
,
C. David Dent
,
We went to see Aimee Mann in concert at the Ram's Head Live on July 25th. I've enjoyed listening to her music and she is a regular staple on my iPod. Heather was less familiar with her music (and, in fact could not recall any of her songs even after the concert). Ram's Head was apparently the final stop on her tour promoting her latest album: @#%&*! Smilers.
Her opening act, Nicole Atkins, wasn't someone with whom either of us was familiar, but she had a good selection of rock-folky songs which she performed with her guitar and a second guitarist who also sang some vocals. A strong acoustic performance for the reasonably intimate setting.
Aimee Mann's band consisted of her plus two other musicians. She announced that she had initially planned to do an all-request show but then explained that her band wasn't up to learning all 90+ songs in her catalog in the time they had available. So she had printed lyrics (it was a THICK notebook) and was going to do her best.
She played a lot of songs, many of them not the usual faire. B-sides, obscure or difficult songs and a few favorites as well. In all she played 23 songs which is a lot for any musician. I've listed them below and I will put some notes with the ones where something unusual happened.
During the show there was a clipboard that was floating around for requests and questions. I didn't record them because she mumbled a little when she read them and didn't always give coherent answers. I can only hope that the people who asked them understood the answers.
- Moth
- Nightmare Girl
- Momentum
- Build that wall
- I Don't Even Know You
- You could make a killing
- Save Me
===============
She started requests here
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- Clean up for Christmas
- Lullaby
- Wise Up
- Longshot:
This song featured one of the more spectacular displays of musicianship I've ever seen. Aimee played her guitar and a high-hat cymbal and the keyboardist used a rhythmic shaker in one hand and played the piano with the other and the third musician played rhythm guitar and a few notes on another keyboard. Brilliant!
- Little Bombs
- Nothing is good enough:
Aimee played this one on the piano. Normally I wouldn't note this except she was having trouble remembering the chords and kept cursing through the lyrics when she messed it up. It was both funny and entertaining. At one point she actually stopped plaing and said "I am going to play this song even if it sucks and you hate it.". That's professionalism :)
- Mr Harris
- 31 Today
- "Freebird":
Yes, the Lynard Skynard classic. Sort of. This was a shout-out from the crowd and she said "Fuck it I'm playing Freebird." and the band started a respectable lick. Aimee on the other hand had no idea what the lyrics were but managed to make up her own that more -or-less captured the tone of the original. It was humorous and a good time and everyone appreciated the self-deprecating humor of doing it at all. YAY! Somebody captured it!
- That's just What you are
- Jimmy Hoffa Jokes
- 4th of July
- Invisible Ink
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Aimee and her band left the stage, but the crowd was still standing when she came back for a short encore
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- Red Vines
- Driving Sideways:
Aimee played electric bass for this one
- That's how I knew this story would break my heart.
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Jul
17
2009
,
Feline-ing
,
C. David Dent
,
I've been feeling down a bit this week. My pussycat, Miss Kitty Puss-Puss, who has been my companion for 18-1/2 years sucumbed to Intestinal Lymphocarsoma. She was euthanized on Friday, July 10th.
I originally got Miss Kitty by default. I had been living with a woman in Calvert County in 1991 and it was not working out. We had gotten her in the fall of the previous year when she was about 9 months or so old. The following spring she was pregnant and gave birth to a litter of six kittens. I moved to Annapolis in July 1992 and the woman moved to North Carolina. I wound up with the cat. Two of the kittens found homes and the rest went to the shelter when I moved in with my mother.
Miss Kitty never grew much larger than she was when we got her at 9 months. She was tiny. Her weight hovered around 6-7 lbs. Soon after moving she developed an allergy to fish. According to the doctor that isn't uncommon in cats who have early litters. Miss Kitty would suffer from allergies to fish for the rest of her life.
At one point my mother acquired a cat named Bailey. He was a monster of a cat weighing nearly 25 lbs. Miss Kitty laid down the law, he wasn't in charge and Bailey obeyed. Bailey went ona diet and lost a few pounds with Mom but he was always nearly 3-4 times the sice of Miss Kitty. Bailey died of renal failure from feline diabetes in 2004.
I moved out to my own place in 1999 and Miss Kitty came with me. She had the run of the house, slept on my bed and napped on my belly while I watched TV. At one point I thought t o get another cat as a companion for Miss Kitty and found a mild-mannered long haired cat (whose name I have sadly forgotten). Miss Kitty didn't like it one bit. She bullied the other cat and hissed and growled at her constantly. So the other cat moved in with some friends where she lives today and is much loved. Miss Kitty had laid down the law...she was the ONLY cat.
In 2003 I met and maried Heather. Miss Kitty and Heather got along well. Except that Heather now laid down the law for Miss Kitty. No longer was the bedroom a place for cats. No longer was the cat allowed on the table. And no longer was the cat in charge. Miss Kitty ceded grudgingly. It was pretty clear that Heather wasn't going away like the other cat had.
When we bought the house in Edgewater in 2004 Miss Kitty discovered that there were lots of places to hide and that the back porch was a fantastic place to lounge in the sunlight. For a short while she was allowed to roam outdoors freely. But two neighbors' cats had claimed the back yard as their territory. Miss Kitty fought but she was too small to win and was soon driven into a tree. She was rescued but caught fleas and had plenty of bad experiences those first few months that she was not allowed out ever again except by accident or with supervision.
Occasionally the other cats would slip into the porch or even the house on one instance (thanks to a cat-flap we weren't carefully guarding). Miss Kitty dutifully imprisoned the intruders in bathrooms and raised the alarm so we could eject the interlopers. She was less effective against the squirrels that managed to chew holes in the porch to reach the birdseed, but she wasn't much of a hunter.
Miss Kitty was playful and energetic all the way through last year when she finally started to run down. Where she could be counted on to chase a laser pointer for a few minutes before, she could only manage a few meager swipes at it now. I knew after this winter that she was getting close to the end.
I am not in the market for a new pet nor am I going to go forever without any more animals, but Miss Kitty was loved, and will always have a very special place in my heart. Good night puss.
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