Album Review 9 Wilco: Sky Blue Sky

Wilco: “Sky Blue Sky”



So...what do you do about Jeff Tweedy. An uninspiring, Belleville High, hanger onner to the dark and brilliant Jay Farrar in the seminal alt-country band Uncle Tupelo? Tweedy and farrar, the Lennon and Mc Cartney of Alt-Country with Tweedy being a dead ringer for Sir Paul in the story. Uncle Tupelo breaks up and Farar with his new group Son Volt delivers the beautiful and laconic “Trace”. Tweedy just kind of shows up and apparently mails it in with the easy to like, sometime infectious but ultimately quickly forgotten by the critics A.M. Tweedy moves to Chicago (even worse to be with his girl friend) and Farar goes to New Orleans (pre flood). The critics are proved right, Tweedy is a bass playing lightweaight hanger on and Farrar is going to deliver the Alt-Country grail...maybe even crossing over...

“Oh The Humanity”. What happens over the next ten years? Tweedy grows up. Becomes a drug addict, marries and has children in a very public way. Delivers halting beauty in his next two releases with the help of fat know it all Jay Bennett. Then...in the process of losing Bennett and finding his own voice he hooks up with some geniuses who have passion, keeps the heart of his own band (bassist Will Stiratt) and releases the album the record company did not want, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and becomes critics icon and morphs from alt-country hanger on to indie rock prince and “genius”. Farrar in the meantime...keeps releasing “Trace” with each CD darker, more brooding and textured and self indulgent...until becoming totally unlistenable. After Yankeee Tweedy then gives us the equally (if not more) brilliant “Ghost.” So...expectations high on the new CD? Yes they were and as near as I can tell...the critics hate it.

This...despite all that it is a great album...a grown up album. I do think that might be why a lot of people hate it. Tweedy has grown up. I don’t even like saying the words “grown up” but in the Peter Pan, brown haired bangs in their eyes, world of male indie rockers there cannot be growing up. Because real angst over relationships, the world, light and darkness, whales eating mariners... all these things kind of fade away for grown ups into the wonder of every day life...and the fear of what in the hell is going tohappen with the world and these...children. So Tweedy is grown up and thre results are not that bad.

The Riverfront Times reviewer was all about complaining that it did not start out with the samer brilliant chunky guitars of the last two CD’s. Ghost starts with “At Least Thats What You Said.” Yankee starts with “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.” All Sky Blue Sky gives us is “Either Way” and to be fair...it is just a pretty song. But from there it picks up and picks up quickly with “You Are My Face” and then into “Impossible Germany”. The CD builds and that is an art in itself hearkening back to the old days when bands crafted albums on a side by side basis with the songs fitting together and this one is the same. The title cut “Sky Blue Sky” where he gets down to business:

"With a sky blue sky
This Rotten time
Wouldn’t seem so bad to me now
Oh, if I didn’t die, I should be satisfied
I survived
That’s good enough for now"

Amen. “Side With The Seeds” is a little weaker but “Shake It Off” should be a nice concert sing along this next year. “Be Patient With Me” is a peann to every one who runs into a middle aged man as we flounder around. In “Hate It Here” he starts whining a little bit about household chorse while mooning about whether “she” is going to return and alas...the answer would seem to be no. According to Wikipedia Tweedy has stayed married to his wife Sue Miller but you would not know it from these songs because he follows with “Leave Me (like you found me). He also has akid Spencer who is an early teen who has his own band “The Blisters” which I saw play a fun cover set last year at Lollapalooza. “Walken” seems like another fill until “What Light” which once again will give another great concert moment. Nels Cline shows versatilty on guitar again and again playing lead and then picking up on lap steel. Glenn Kotsche continues to prove that as a percussionist he can play...anything and Stiratt never misses a beat.

You get a feel for the reality...and a little of the beauty of the marriage during the song “On And On And On” where he figres...that is what they will do.

It is an excellent CD. It is a switch from the last two but it is a far cry from going back to their cherished twangy past (which I would embrace). Tweedy is grown up...life aint so bad. He lost a little white boy angst...get over it.

Concert Review Number 5: Blue Mountain at Euclid Records

Blue Mountain
Euclid Records In Store Concert
June 7, 2007

When you talk early alt-country seminal CD’s you throw out Old 97’s “Hitchhike To Rhome,” The Bottle Rockets “Brooklyn Side”, Uncle Tupelo’s “Anodyne”. There are more...Sun Volt’s “Trace” and Wilco’s “A.M.” and of Course the Jayhawks “Hollywood Town Hall.” But...but...but it would be a serious mistake to leave out Blue Mountain’s “Dog Days”.

Blue Mountain is...was...Cary Hudson, Laurie Stiratt and Frank....I cannot remember Franks last name but he was always...and when say I always I mean ALWAYS stoned. It was a three pice combo up from Mississippi. Lauries brother Will was playing some with the devolving Uncle Tupelo and then found a job with that little band called Wilco where he alone has hung on through all the genius, craziness and trauma that is Jeff Tweedy. So Blue Mountain had street cred and Cary Hudson could tear up his old scratched up electric with the best Neil Young Blues licks and rock the house. he and Laurie were married and they drove around with a big black dog ina beat up van.

They put on great shows and put out several albums but the shows always centered around “Dog Days” which had...just a lot of great songs on it. “Soul Sister” was the show stopper but there was “Myrna Lee”, “ZZQ” and of course “Blue Canoe.” Good stuff, very solid CD and it made for great live shows. Hudson kept playing better and bettier and rootsier and rootsier. I saw them at Ciceros a couple of times and started bringing dog treats for their dog and occasionally buying dinner for them. This was early nineties and the old Ciceros Basement Bar was still rocking in all of its Heidelberg cave club splendor. Great memories but like all rock and roll memories they had to die a stupid death. Laurie and Cary got a divorce, not a good looking man but a guitarist rocking around from town to town playing guitar does not need a lot of help to...stray. I do not know if that is what happened but Laurie always seemed so sweet. he was a nice guy too...anyway, they got divorced and made one more album that sucked and broke up.

Laurie put out a bad album with her brother Will. Cary Hudson put out several Blues based CD’s with deep songs about civil war and the south and...serious shit. I liked Dog Days which was all about drinking and cars and float trips and dogs and...Jimmy Carter and good stuff. His solo career sucked and not just a little bit.

So they have reunited for twangfest and played late last night (11:00) at the Duck Room for Twangfest. 5 hours before that they appeared at Euclid records in Webster before about 30 lucky people who showed up to see old friends. They played about 7 songs and most of them were off “Dog Days” and it was good. Cary looked good and played well. The old beat to shit guitar is gone. Laurie who was tending to be a little bigger then needed for a rock star looked good and pretty and sweet and Frank...the drummer, looked stoned and relaxed as he beat on a single trap drum with two sticks that were rods rather then normal drum sticks. There was a couple with a baby...she wore pink headphones to protect her from the loud music. The deadicated Soul Sister to her. They sounded great. As little as Laurie sings her voice is alway a perfect second track to his. it was a sweet little show and a sweet little moment.

Afterwords...standing on the corner outside Frank told me the dog was “long gone” and he even seemed a little wistful for those days with the dog and the married couple. He was a little hopeful that they would all record again and said the reunion has turned from a one shot deal, then to 5 shows and now to 9 shows so...”you never know dude.” Words to live by. There CD Dog Days is something that you should just go out and buy. Do it now.

Diner Review V: Korner Kafe

Diner Review
Korner Kafe
Cahokia, Illinois

3295 Mississippi Ave
Cahokia, IL 62206
(618) 332-8711
Hours 6:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M.



So in my ongoing quest to discover better, older, crappier, possibly diseased diners....I have discovered the State of Illinois. Land of Dan Fogelberg... and that Lincoln fella... and judical hell holes. Of course they know their greasy food. The other day on my way home from Gruchalas heading up route 3 I stumbled upon the Korner Kafe. Just south of the border of the great and powerful city of Sauget lies the Korner Kafe... and creamery. It is approximately two miles from the St. Louis side of the Mississippi it is very accessable to downtown. Head over, get off on Route 3 south and drive past the strip clubs and Big River Zinc and Monsanto and...you there.


It is...at best an unpretentious building with a big gravel parking lot. It looks dirty but it is an easy place to get The St. Louis Post Dispatch and The Belleville News Democrat at the same time in the dirty machines in front of the dirty restaraunt. It has a somewhat busted screen door on the front. There were cops eating there and the inevitable...smokers. Why does smoking go with Diner breakfasts? Is it because all the health conscious people do not eat greasy food and if they deign to have breakfast that they eat at places like “First Watch” (an abomination) where they “take meetings” with their business compatriots.


Not at the Korner Kafe. Other then the two cops and two elevator guys all of the tables were filled with people sitting by themselves...and smoking. The koffee (notice the alliteration) was good. They also brewed their own iced tea. They served it in what appeared to be old Macho Mugs (TM) which allowed plenty of volume. The waitresses were middle aged, over weight, blonds who were smoking themselves but were pleasant and reasonably attentive. It was not a perfect diner in that the food was cooked in back but the menu was very good, limited and typical. They did not have chile and as such did not have slingers.


They had both hash browns and the hated “american fries” but it was nice to have the choice for those sad individuals who want them. the sausage was a big old patty and had a nice spice. the sausage gravy was adequately good and had a slight spice to it. Over all the meal was very good and hot and I strongly reccomend it....other then the fact that it was populated by a group of people (including the cop) who appeared to be extra characters in the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” I might possibly have to rethink the whole “Illinois” Diner experience. Who are these people anyway? Once you get south of Chicago they are not really even people... are they? But, on the other hand, they know their grease and that is what needs to be treasured so...I will soldier on.

Diner Review IV: Gruchalas

Gruchalas
Columbia Illinois
Open 7 days a week 6 A.M. to Midnight

In the last week i have had the opportunity to travel to Edwardsville as well as Columbia Illinois and it occurred to me that I have engaged in an almost unforgivably snobbish ignoring of our friends on the east side. I will make an effort to not snub our friends and on a recent Saturday morning I had the opportunity to travel to Columbia for breakfast with my partner John Mc Collough and David Kowert. We were discussing the state of the union as well as the state of our law firm. We were doing it in a bar called Gruchalas which as you can see does not look diner like from the front...and although lacking some essential elements of diner-dom...is none the less worthy of note for any breakfast ambience person.

But first...a little about Columbia Illinois. What a gem of a town. I got there in 20 minutes from Webster. You just get on 270, head south, cross the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, take the first right on Route 3 and the second left on Main and drive 1/2 mile. That brings you to downtown Columbia but it was a pretty morning and I had time so I drove around. Lots of new houses built on tree stripped hills which are ugly but once you get past that it is charming and pastoral. It lacks the big old houses downtown that a lot of small towns have but you get the feeling that this is a nice town that us struggling NOT to become the next boom suburb. After i left I found that if you boogie up Route 3 and through Sauget you are 15 minutes from downtown on a slow Saturday morning. The views of the city and the river from the bluff are outstanding and I strongly reccomend the brief trip across the river.

To Gruchalas...what a great place. It is a bar restaurant that serves breakfast as well. Several interchangable waitresses, all with brunette pony tails and heavy eye make up give good and friendly service. The regulars are all...regulars. Lots of Carhart jackets, feed store caps and the like. An even mix of men and women and some families. Lots of people smoking but not over powering. If you are not a regular you park on the street but if you know you park in back and walk in the back door. If you walk in the front you come in to a large bar area with a lot of memorabilia (beer cans and the like) and they will serve you there or you can grab a table.

The food is out of the ordinary and definitely heartier and more “country” then the normal greasy fare I like to consume. Hash browns are shredded as God intended and can be served with onions (.25) or gravy (.25) and only slightly improved. They are good. The sausage must be locally made and as Kowert noted it tastes more like a bratwurst patty. It was good but primarily good because it was so different. The bacon was a thick cut maple cured sweet bacon which is not my style but is really good and perfectly cooked. The omlette looked servicable but a country fried steak came out as a chicken patty in the only disappointment of the trip. Ice tea was brewed and the coffee was hot. they had a “slinger” on the menu which included buns...it was not ordered but perhaps on another day.

On a side note...but important note...beer is available for breakfast. As we left there were three guys at the bar eating full breakfasts and with a draft beer in a classic 8 oz. pilsner glass. Though tears did not quite “well up” there was still an over whelming feeling that I had found my people.

http://www.biske.com/gruchalas/index.html

A Blast From The Past

My 2004 CD Purchases. Looking back...not great year for me buying music.

1. Johnny Cash: Unearthed
2. Amy Rigby: Live
3. J. Mascis: The BBC Sessions
4. Cumberland Gap
5. Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth
6. Steve Earle: Just An American Boy
7. Ryan Adams: Love Is Hell Part 2
8. Pixies: At The BBC
9. Johnny Cash: Unearthed
10. Bonnie Prince Billie: Greatest Palace Music
11. James Mc Murtry and The Heartless bastards: Live in Aught-Three
12. The new Pornographers: Electric version
13. Graham Parker: Your Country
14. Iron And Wine:: Our Endless Numbered Days
15. Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request
16. The Thrills: So Much For The City
17. The Toasters: Dub-56
18. Matthew Sweet: Japanese Fan CD
19. Mercury Rev: Opus 40
20. Wilco: A Ghost Is Born
21. Modest Mouse: Good News For People Who Love Bad News
22. Los lobos: the Ride
23. Toots And The Maytals: The Millenium Collection
24. Dinasaur Jr.: Whatever's Cool With Me
25. Supersuckers: Must Have Been Live
26. Ani difranco: Evolve
27. Said Cleaves: Wishbone
28. Marvin Gate: The Very Best Of
29. My Morning Jacket: Acoustic Citsuoca
30. Jimmy Ryan: Lost Diamond Ange

The High Points: Johnny Cash Unearthed, Pixies, Live at BBC, Wilco A Ghost id Born, Los Lobos The Ride, Toots and the Maytals Millenium Collection, The New Pornograpphers and The James Mc Murtry CD. Of course the Rolling Stones but everyone should own that one and I think it was a rebuy.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day: 2007It was a memorable day and weekend. I spent 3 days with Laura’s 8th grade class in Chicago. It was sweet with a nice bus ride with a few teachers and 43 kids. In no particular order over two days we hit Chinatown, Boat Ride, Ginos, ESPN Zone, Shedd Aquarium, Vienna Hot Dog Factory, Whirly Ball, Sears Tower (aborted), Navy Pier, Blue Man Group and the Museum of Science and Industry. It was... a trip. Nice kids. Bus broke down on day two and I took 1/2 the kids on a forced march from the Merchandise Mart to Shedd Aquarium...quite walk.

On our ways around Chicago on and off the bus, we passed a war memorial down near Grant Park which had..empty boots...thousands of empty boots sitting in the park with the name tags on them...
But I put that out of my mind and then drove with my daughter up to Arcadia where we saw some old friends, made some new friends and visited what has become Holy ground for our family, Camp Arcadia. Every year they have a work weekend on Memorial Day where they open up camp, clean the grounds and do some projects. The last few years there have been greater and greater numbers coming to camo for this and this year there were almost 150 people up there to help.
I have...over the years become a specialist in...debris. The camp over the winter gets covered in a thick layer of leaves...sand...dirt...sticks...and...debris. It is everywhere and needs to be shoveled, swept and eventually hauled by pick up to...a debris pile. It is highly skilled labor and my team did about 12 pick up trucks full of debris and it is...exhausting. The talented people did electrical work...built some huge decks...laid concrete...organized the camp store...cleaned the Inn and even more important...dealing with the dreaded Garlic Mustard.

The Garlic Mustard is an invasive species. Evidently it threatens the Trillium in a way that is not pleasing to God evidently. The Garlic Mustard people were lead by an older lady who wore a large brimmed white hat and spoke of Garlic Mustard with the same passion and violence that Cheney speaks of Al Quaida. The Garlic Mustard was linked with 9-11 and the disappearance of small children in the woods. It was insidious and threatened not only the Trillium but our very freedom....
Which all seemed funny until I realized it was Memorial Day and I kept thinking about those boots. On the way home I listened to several Memorial Day shows on the radio, some on local radio and some on NPR and they all shamed me for giving no more then a passing thought to our country, those soldiers defending our interests, their families and..those empty boots. 3,495 pairs of empty boots. Men and women...all gone and all leaving families and loved ones...friends...and me sitting in my car buzzing home from Michigan without a care in the world.

And that was really the issue on this Memorial Day. A few thousand American kids dead. Between 65,000 and 650,000 Iraqui casualties but we don’t really care enough to make an accurate count. That is a lot of blood. And we will still be there next Memorial Day. At this pace another 1000 pairs of boots. That is a lot of boots and...a lot of blood on our hands for a country that is MUCH more worried about $3.00 a gallon for gas.