A Live One

I think this man may think he knows things.
(Photo courtesy of Libby McLinn at Phish.com)

Everyone's favorite shit-stirrer is at it again. Tom Marshall's new blog entry reads in part:

Hey -- I was happy to have leaked some news about Trey and myself writing again together with my last blog entry. I was shocked that I got about 25 phone calls and 75 emails about it within 2 hours of the posting...and that it made Jambands.com news, and was a major discussion on Phantasy Tour.

I think it was a positive message to Trey though...that people are out there, hopeful and happy...sort of a better message than getting a drink thrown in his face! but seriously...many MANY people continue to ask me...so...here's what I think: PHISH INCORPORATED had to end. I say it that way because it was bigger than just the band...it was everything...a money-steamroller with several people and entire families riding it, sitting in the control seat, pushing it faster...not realizing that the band, which once was happily walking slowly in front of it, now had to run to keep away from the large crushing wheel...and now were occasionally getting their clothing caught, but were just pulling free in several close calls...Fishman's dress...Page's new shirt...they had to unladen themselves to run faster...instruments, common sense, band practice, and hundreds of unwritten songs were sacrificed and were crushed...and those at the helm could only push harder, and speed the machine...thankfully and suddenly, the engine ceased...at Coventry.

Will they come back?

CAN they come back? is the question.

Things are blissfully different now. Even so, they will have to be very smart the next time around.

But rejoice in the knowledge that they are.

All.

Very.

And so begins yet ANOTHER round of speculation about the future of Phish 2.0...if there is a future at all. As I'm sure you can imagine, this has sparked a flurry of PT discussions...and shockingly enough, they're all more positive than your basic rumour thread. (Translation: Only one person quoting Trey's "We're done" letter, two people calling each other douchebags, three people making hotel reservations in Hampton, and the rest cautiously taste-testing this teaser....)

Tom is often hailed as the true insider and as such the voice of truth for behind-the-scenes Phish. (Frankly, I think the true insider is really Brad Sands, and found his interview a few months ago with Jambands to be veeeeerry interesting. However, Brad�s much more likely to fuck with everyone than Tom, so it's probably six of one as to who has more accurate info.) It's clear that he's in contact with Trey and that they're writing again (though he doesn't say who or what they're writing for...), and at face value that's just excellent news. Trey and Tom together form a partnership of opposites and equals: both being equally insane and wise, challenging and stupid, pointed and pointless, careful and irreverent. Their collaborations are ultimately magical in a way that few singer/songwriters combos ever consistently are (Garcia/Hunter certainly...Lennon/McCartney definitely...I'm hard-pressed to think of many more).

I may be speculating too much, but what I think Tom's trying to do is to seed the fanbase with a way to make sense of what Phish has been doing for the past 4 or 5 years. Think about it: it's near impossible for them to come back (especially if the October rumours are true -- the breakup would be a shorter break than the hiatus!) without directly addressing the catastrophe that was Coventry and all the definitive statements and actions from Trey (and the rest of the band) signaling the very bitter end. Most of us have learned over the years to not accept anything out of Trey's mouth at face value, but Coventry was something else altogether: giving away the tramps, the tears during Velvet Sea, the "You can still have fun!" lyric in Wilson, the relentless exposition of song histories, thanking of the crew, booty bumping with the moms (and Tom's final "Marco Esquandolas," come to think of it).

Anyone who says they'd show up with open minds at Phish 2.0 without the real story behind the demise of Phish 1.0 is lying. Everyone wants to be soothed a bit and apologized to for how it all went down and everyone wants to understand how they're approaching the next go-round so we can get on board (or not). This is a band that forged a truly incomprehensible relationship with their fans...and as such we all feel a little entitled to some modicum of truth. Don't get me wrong: I desperately want them to play again, and if we never know what the real motivation behind the hiatus/comeback/breakup was -- but we get our band back -- then so be it. However, if Trey thinks he's going to get up there and play Curtain or Wilson or Hood or Glide without justification or explanation, he's not entering back into this strange dance with the same spirit he left it. Frankly, he'd do best to get up there and never play them again (and that choice, honestly, might be explanation enough in itself).

Nevertheless, I think that's what Tom (and to a certain extent Brad, and some of these other well-sourced rumours) is already doing...slowly telling us what we need to know to clear the decks for the second deal. And as long as there really is a new train on the horizon (and I know from whence it came) I'm certainly more than ready to get back on it.

Posted by jmakunas at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So wrong. So very, very wrong.

One of the things I am enjoying about my new role in London is that from time to time there are some nice perks. There are the usual dinners and such, and because I'm lucky enough to work for someone who believes in celebrating a job well done there have been some excellent nights out and team getaways, etc.

But since we also work with BT and are one of their major broadband sales channels (as well as a large portion of their product), they often host us at "hospitality" events. For example, we've been to see Master's Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall and to dinner at BT Tower, and there are always invites for plays and dinners and such coming through. Today Faye and I went out to Champneys in Tring for a spa day with BT and some of their other partners. Unfortunately, the resort messed up our treatments, so we spent a lot of time shuffling around in our robes, going in and out of the saunas and relaxation room, and drinking tea. However, the massage and facial were lovely, and there was endless humour at the sight of a formal dining room filled with people of all shapes and sizes in terry cloth...call it "Sanitarium Chic."

Between that and the secret gig we went to last night courtesy of Yahoo! Music, it's been quite the week of perks.

I'm still holding out for Wimbledon, though....

Posted by jmakunas at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you know who this is?

I used the word “faddish” to describe the British culture to M the other day. Regardless of whether of not it actually IS a word, it’s a perfect description for this country. It seems like everyone simultaneously and constantly obsesses over something or other: Fairtrade, fashion, ethical living, Celebrity Big Brother, the gender gap, Jamie Oliver…the list is ever evolving (and that’s kind of the point).

I find it fascinating, to be honest. San Francisco is kind of a bubble…and while that’s part of what I love about living there, it often can feel isolated from the rest of the country, out of tune with the ebb and flow of general American interests. Since we’ve moved here, we’ve tried to stay on top of what’s really current in Britain. We read (and adore) the Guardian and the Observer, we watch what’s popular on TV (regardless of whether or not we understand it), and we just try to soak it all in. Sometimes it works: The Observer is a brilliant paper, as intelligent as the New York Times without being so pedantic, and their monthly music magazine is the best music writing I’ve read in a while. Sometimes it doesn’t: Celebrity Big Brother…um, what?

However, we’re both enamored of the BBC2 Sunday evening staple Top of the Pops. Each week, a rotating group of smart-ass presenters play host to an amazing mix of artists and pop stars, count down the Top 10 Albums, show some old footage and some videos, and build up to the announcement of the week’s #1 single (a single! See above re: faddish) which is then performed live.

I’m constantly amazed at how relevant TOTP seems to be. Big stars (BIG stars) from all countries come to perform live (the archive reveals this has always been the case) and the music is incredibly diverse (we like a lot of it, too). What’s equally amazing is how much the charts shift from week to week and how many small, regional, and relatively unknown acts can make it big in Britain. This week, there were (I think) four groups/artists on either the show or the charts from the show “The X Factor” (like Pop/American Idol but for groups as well as individual singers)…and the actual winner of the show wasn’t among them. This both amazes and amuses me to no end.

So...happy Sunday night! I now present this week’s TOTP lineup:

10. The Strokes “Heart in a Cage” – performed live. This rocked.

9. Cyndi Lauper “Time after Time” – performed live. This ALSO rocked (she’s 53!!).

8. Nature’s Law “Embrace” – the #2 single of the week, shown as a video. If you close your eyes, the guy sounds EXACTLY like Chris Martin. Then, when you open your eyes, the little pop-up-video-esque info on the screen tells you he’s Chris’s best mate. Hmmm.

7. Kim Wilde “Kids in America” – flashback performance. According to TOTP, Kim was quite a “foxtress” in her day.

...then we get to review of the Top 10 Albums, which leads to a live performance off the #1 album of the week...

6. Journey South “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Two dudes from The X Factor who look like Nelson with short hair and are probably destined to have an equally short career.

5. Pink “Stupid Girls” – live performance. See what I mean about big stars? Pink’s single dropped this week in the UK…ergo she’s on TOTP immediately thereafter.

4. Mattfix “To & Fro” – live performance. Who?

3. Prince “Black Sweat” – video. Apparently the last time Prince was live at TOTP he spent the day backstage with a chainmail mask on. No wonder they didn’t invite him back. Besides, he’s too busy making himself at home in LA. They did refer to his new album 3121 as “a cracker” which I found hysterical.

2. The Streets “When You Wasn’t Famous” – live performance. Apparently The Streets were last year’s Arctic Monkeys who thought their success would allow them to get famous girls. This song features the following profound and universal truth: “When you try to pull a girl who is oh-so-famous too/It feels just like when you wasn’t famous.” Amen.

…finally, the highlight of every week, the countdown of the singles chart and the great reveal and live performance of the single Britan’s been buying the most…

1. Ne*Yo “So Sick.” Which made me just that.

Thank you, and goodnight!

Posted by jmakunas at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some things I learned in Amsterdam over the past week:

The Duo kicks the musical asses of all those other bands (and I have a feeling that Joe Russo was trying to kick some not-so-metaphorical ass backstage too). They were the musical highlight of the week, always creative, super-groovy, funny as hell, and brilliant beyond belief. I bitch about hearing “Becky” for the 43rd time, and then still boogie like a madwoman when they play it. The spontaneous “super jam” with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Bobby Previte (!), and Charlie Hunter (!!) was gorgeous, fun, and completely unexpected. They’re gifted, gifted boys and are doing nothing but good stuff. I sincerely wish I could catch them with Mike this summer.

I will never, EVER be able to pronounce anything in Dutch. I know that straat is street, and that gracht is canal, and that kerk is church, and that plein is place, but I will never be able to say “Reguliersgracht” or “Nieuve Spiegelstraat” (at least not with a straight face). And “D'Vijff Vlieghen?” HELL no.

Umphrey’s does not melt my face. Their music is creative and challenging but it just does not resonate. Mike and I speculated all weekend as to why we just can’t get into them, but have no concrete answers: they’re too Midwestern, too laddish, too scripted, TOO tight, trying too hard…something. And their fans are nuts…walking into the bathroom between shows on the first night, I commented to a girl walking out that I don’t think I’d ever been in an empty womens’ room during a show before and she turned and yelled (yes, yelled!) at me “That’s ‘cause Umphrey’s are getting ready to melt everyone’s FACES off!” Um…OK. Thanks, sweetie.

And speaking of Umphrey’s, I miss Tea Leaf Green. Michael summed it up perfectly: on paper, Umphrey’s sounds perfect and TLG sounds lame. In person, Umphrey’s falls flat and TLG is dazzling. They play their first true headlining gig at the Fillmore in two weeks. Go boys go!!

Something about the making of Heineken beer, though honestly I can’t really remember much of the tour because I was too busy fucking around in the DJ room pretending I was Orbital. Why they had a DJ room at the Heineken brewery, I can’t tell you.

The Paradiso is easily the coolest (and prettiest!) indoor venue I’ve ever been to. (The Melkweg wasn’t half-bad either.) The acoustics sucked during the second set, though.

The Disco Biscuits are actually pretty groovy. I enjoyed their sets a lot more than I expected. They’re in great command of their audience – it doesn’t feel like a frat-boy free-for-all (see above, Umphrey’s), yet it’s still a total blast. I see an all night High Sierra dance party in my future. (Also, “Disco Biscuit” is fun to say.)

The Black Crowes are a REAL rock band. Damn, these guys can play.

Thanks to Kevin Quinn on JamBase for the photo of Joe and Brendan and Kark on TLG for the one of Josh

Posted by jmakunas at 07:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight will definitely go down as one of the weirder nights I've had in London yet.

Envision this:

Me, dressed to the nines, sick as a dog, after a day of interminable partner meetings, sitting at a fancy dinner on the top of BT Tower next to my boss, trying to make converstation with a Welsh rugby player of whom I've never heard and from whom I only understand every fifth word, while the room rotates to show us a lovely but somewhat nausea-inducing view of London.

The lamb was delicious, but I just wanted to crawl into bed with a couple of Tylenol PM.

Posted by jmakunas at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Half of Umphrey's McGee at the GAMH in San Francisco last summer...Now that I know what "Laddish" means, I think it applies here.

We've seen a few shows since we've been in London, but it's hardly the feast we used to get in San Francisco when seeing a great band was as easy as walking three blocks to The Yankee to catch everyone from Brad Barr to Perpetual Groove to Skerik. Everyone and everything comes through San Francisco; the city is equally a forgiving training ground for new side projects and experimental evenings as it is the place where bands come to throw down in their best attempt to do justice to the same venerated venues that launched Jerry, Janis, and Jefferson Airplane.

London’s obsessed with music, but it’s a bit different. The entire country knows about the latest chart topper (Pop Idol reject Chico) and Brit-pop darlings (Arctic Monkeys, not really my thing). They can name all of Girls Aloud, The Sugarbabes, and The Pussycat Dolls, but people sort of tilt their head and squint their eyes when I mention the Grateful Dead or Phish. In some ways it’s a welcome relief, but mostly it just makes me a bit homesick.

M saw Medeski Martin and Wood while I was in Tenerife last September. We’ve seen The New Mastersounds and Jeff Tweedy solo…two shows that we could have never seen in the US, and last week we saw Beth Orton at the end of her tour, back home in London at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. But on the whole – as expected – we’ve been hurting a bit for a musical fix that features a crowd full of dancers, a few dreadlocks here and there, and an artist that doesn’t need to play the single.

Feast or famine, I guess, because tomorrow night the onslaught starts: 6 nights of music in the next 9 days. I feel a bit like I do right before New Year’s Eve when the anticipation of music to come keeps me up at night. The funny thing is, we’re going to see 5 different bands, none of whom would make my Top 5 back in the States, but all of whom feel familiar and comforting and make me happy.

Tomorrow night we see Umphrey’s McGee from Chicago (my real hometown!), a band best described as “Improg” for their experimental combination of Prog Rock (think Yes, Rush, early Genesis, and King Crimson) and Improvisational Jams (jamband style…). I like Umphrey’s…I listen to their music a fair bit and I think they’re pretty damn talented, though not always my style. Right now my excitement at seeing them in London is completely disproportionate to my feelings about their music. I think I underestimated my need to put on my stinky tour shoes and just go dance.

Here’s hoping they play KaBump.

Posted by jmakunas at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

About seven months ago, M and I left our beloved San Francisco and moved to London for my job. The move happened both very quickly (from initial idea to landing at Heathrow was about 4 months) and very slowly (it took us another 4 months to actually get settled).

Despite email, IM, VoIP, and all the fancy schmancy ways we have of talking to friends and family immediately and inexpensively, it's been nearly impossible to keep up with everyone all the time. That, coupled with the fact that - as I noted below - I though it would be interesting for posterity's sake to chronicle our adventures, led me to revive this blog (now with Flickr!).

I'll do my best to use this as the most current and updated place to see and hear what we're up to and to learn what we really think about London and living abroad. I will also use this to do what I've always done: pimp music (look on the sidebar for the latest), post detailed pictures of the meals we cook, and rhapsodize on my various obsessions.

In short, pick up where I left off, but from half a world away.

Cheers!

Posted by jmakunas at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

(Photo courtesy of Libby McLinn at Phish.com)

There's a very good reason why it's been over two (!) years since I've updated this blog. I find it highly amusing (and not very surprising) that my last entry was right after I started working again.

Reading back on it, though, I'm intensely glad that I chronicled that time in my life…2003 was one of the best years I’ve ever had: I was happily not working, traveling all over the country and the world to see the people and do the things I loved the most, not to mention practicing yoga every day, cooking up a storm, and just figuring out my next step.

I can’t say the past two years have been quite as pleasant…and before I start a new chronicle, it’s important that I get this out of the way (given the preponderance of content in my archives….). In May 2004, the same day we were told that our landlord was selling our apartment and we’d have to move (I. Hate. Moving.), Phish broke up. We’d already planned a summer full of shows, but my anticipation of a happy tour turned to dread. I wasn’t just counting the days until I could argue over setlist predictions and get down to Boogie while watching the sun set over Alpine Valley, I was ticking off each show as the “last” of something: last time to see Phish in Deer Creek, last festival, last time they’d play Reba, last song ever. It was excruciating, heartbreaking, and very very hard.

And the worst thing about it was that I couldn’t turn to music to comfort me. Previously, whenever I felt REALLY bad, the one thing that would cheer me up a bit would be a few songs from a really good show I’d seen, a quick hit of Antelope or Halley’s or Twist, or just something to remind me that eventually – next week, next month, next tour – I’d get to do the one thing I loved over anything else. When they announced the breakup, I couldn’t even listen to their music; it made me so unspeakably sad.

A year and a half later, there are still songs I can’t listen to and I can’t watch any of the DVDs. M and I have been actively seeing more music than ever, supporting young bands, diving into back catalogs of old favorites…everything we’re supposed to be doing to keep the “scene” vibrant and evolving. We found that High Sierra Music Festival is one of the best weekends of music out there. I found a young band with a lot of kinks to work out can still move you emotionally. And next week, we’re going to go celebrate being American hippies in Europe.

I said when they broke up that it would only be a matter of time before Trey was itching to play Divided Sky at Madison Square Garden (and now that they’re officially going to tear down MSG, I believe that even more). I think I truly believe that they’ll be back together eventually, and lately there have been lots of rumbling that they’ll be back sooner rather than later. It’s very en vogue on Phantasy Tour to be dismissive of these rumours, to show your “They were going downhill anyway, I don’t need Phish anymore” bravado. I think that’s a load of shit. I still miss them today as acutely as I did when they played the last note of The Curtain (With) at Coventry. If they really are on their way back, I say bring it on. That little bit of hope has felt like a big ray of light…just being allowed to think that it might not actually be over is a fantastic feeling.

(Photo courtesy of Libby McLinn at Phish.com)

I miss you guys.

Posted by jmakunas at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)