JB

On Christmas Eve we baked a turkey. We meant to eat at 5, but it wasn't ready until about 7. We turned down the lights, lit some candles, and put on James Brown's Funky Christmas. I woke up the next morning and checked my email to find out he had died early Christmas morning. Some YouTube finds:

A hyper version of Sex Machine, with Maceo Parker "makin' it funky"

J.B. crooning like I've never heard. It gets started about 45 seconds in.

Prisoner of Love.

Popcorn. And the smoothest footwork ever.

Surfin' bird

I've been thinking a lot about the audiences for classical music lately, and what performers and organisers need to do to reach out more. This afternoon I came across this post discussing an article by Randall Thompson on the classical music audience in 1950. Thought-provoking, for sure.

Update: I wrote Randall Thompson, but I meant Virgil Thomson, the friend of Aaron Copland (and part of the so-called gay-fiosi of American music).

Viola-in' around

I feel good.

My semester's done. On Tuesday I played a mock orchestra audition that went pretty well. Everything was acceptable- a couple of excerpts were pretty good, actually, and a few were a bit uninspired...

Earlier this evening I played a short recital. The first half was Bach's sixth 'cello suite. When I began the concert the audience was only 4 people - Capella, my teacher, my pianist, and a former student of my teacher who had just had a lesson. I had some trouble settling in & making music... By the fourth movement (the Sarabande- a slow elegant dance) a few more people had come in and that helped a lot. Capella said later that she didn't want the movement to end... which is cool for a few reasons- I was feeling pretty good while I was playing- thinking about how to play each phrase as it happened... so that Capella enjoying it the most means that I wasn't entirely fooling myself.

It made me very happy that some new Toronto friends came and enjoyed the concert. Jim, Anna, and Finn, who we lived with when we first moved up (for a few months, actually- from July to October), their neighbors (who listened to me practice all summer), a friend of Sage's that we met last week finally (hi Sage), and two pop musicians (by which I mean non-classical. not really pop at all, really... ) who are friends of Jim's - all these people came. It was awesome. Jim and Finn came in in the middle, and Finn listened quiet as a mouse until the fourth movement, when he started talking about wanting to go play hockey. Capella and I met Jim and Finn at the park two weeks ago when Finn went skating for the first time.

The second half was a sonata by Julius Roentgen, a Dutch/German composer who lived shortly after Brahms, and is some distant relative of the discoverer of the X-ray, Wilhelm Roentgen. And that's how I use my physics degree.

In other news, Nathan and I brewed a batch of beer about two months ago. Last week we finally bottled it, and tried a bottle then (the bottle was a funny shape and the capper wouldn't fit). It was warm, uncarbonated, and tasted like watery Molson with a really nasty kick at the end. Yesterday I put one bottle in the fridge for an hour, and it was good. Not watery, cold, carbonated, and the nasty kick has been largely subdued. I think we'll have a Coor's Lite blind taste test (which should give you a rough idea how it tastes). But it's recognizably beer, which is very, very exciting. And none of the bottles exploded.

Song of the week: (Only Wanna) Brush My Teeth by Mike Evin. One of the sweetest songs I've ever heard. And I'm not just saying that because Mike & Sarah came to my concert tonight.

The calm before the storm

I am sitting in an internet cafe in uber-trendy Plateau de Montreal. It is more difficult than one might think to write without apostrophes. If only this were a vanity thing, like that novel in English written without the letter a (or was it e? Anybody know?). Le Plateau is a francophone neighborhood; alors, the keyboard is in french mode, and I cannot remember how to type apostrophes. Ça est la vie (it must be possible, given the grammatical incorrectness of that statement. Damn!)

The thing that struck me over and over as I wandered around after I got off the train seems really stupid: people jaywalk. In Toronto nobody jaywalks for a very good reason: you are very likely to be hit by a car. Every city has its own style of driving. Boston has crazy and reckless, but tempered by crazy & reckless bike messengers; in Montreal everyone starts going when the light turns green (like, the whole column of cars at once, so that the inexperienced are liable to be rear-ended); in Toronto people just never took Drivers Ed, I think.

But now I am here for the weekend, with my ipod all loaded up with all the Beethoven symphonies (a so-called Drop the Needle listening exam monday), and not much to do except fill out some wedding paperwork. I am looking forward to the next couple of days.

A Short Story Ending in Delicious Irony

Last night we went out for the first time since we moved, I think. We've had concerts or been sick every weekend.

An old friend of Capella's was in town from Montreal for a show with his bluegrass band, Notre Dame de Grass. (If you've never been to Montreal, there's a neighborhood called Notre Dame de Grace) His show was awesome. It was in a residential neighborhood, so it finished by about 11. Andrew, Capella's friend, had a friend from Montreal who was also playing a show in Toronto last night. Since it was on our way home, we decided to stop by and check it out. When we got to the club, there was a line up outside that didn't look like it was moving anytime soon. Andrew called his friend, who had just finished her show, and we agreed to meet at a bar down the street that we knew, called the Beaver. We been there a few times before for breakfast.

So Capella, Andrew, another friend, and I walked down the street to the bar. We got there and were surprised to see a gay dance party going on- men in unitards and briefs packed to the rafters.

As the extreme irony of a gay dance party happening at a bar called the Beaver dawned on us, we failed to suppress extreme giggles, and retreated back down the street.

Give 'er!

For the best definition of "give 'er" I've ever heard, download this week's CBC Radio 3 podcast. It's about 10 or 15 minutes in.

I've got a quiet Sunday evening to myself, so it's time to write. I had a cold over the weekend and didn't go outside much, except to the grocery store and a rehearsal at school. Instead I did lots of puttering, and now our apartment finally feels like home. There's pictures & mirrors on the walls and a place to put our toothbrushes in the bathroom. And best of all, the cat's sleeping on my lap...

The conservatory orchestra had its first concert a few weeks back. The dean got up and spoke before the concert, and began his remarks by saying something about how he was sure everyone on stage was wishing he would shut up so we could start playing. It was intended to draw chuckles, I'm sure, but an elderly man sitting a few rows in front of Capella started clapping. I wish I could get away with stuff like that.

Now the cat's gotten up and my legs are cold. Bah.

The day after I wrote my last post and said something about not having time for doing fun stuff there was an all night "contemporary art thing" in town. It went from 7 pm to 7 am, and there were all sorts of crazy art installations and happenings all over. The pool by Jim and Anna's house (we also moved since the last post... The apartment was painted dirty-mop-water brown, and they painted every wall, light switch, and electric outlet. Now it's blue, orange, and lime green [kitchen] and looks so much better.) So, the pool by their house was turned into a modern Roman bath, with DJ's playing music, and gold reflective plastic across the ceiling, and lots of inflatable pool toys floating around. My two favorite things, though, were both dance-related. "Ballroom dancing" was a big room, with music DJ'd by 10-year-olds (for the attention span and lack of musical prejudice, I think), and lots of playground balls. I don't think the artist intended a giant crazy game of dodgeball, but that's what he got. The other cool thing was a group of dancers that dressed up as cops and EMT's and responded to 'emergencies' (at least, I'm hoping the quotes are deserved) by holding each other and dancing. Very sweet, somehow.

We went to IKEA and bought things without causing the other person to cry.

I've had this list kicking around my head for a little while now, and it's time to share it. Here are Things I Like About Toronto:

1. Streetcars.

2. The direlect streetcar turnaround near out apartment. It used to service the Canadian National Exhibition, I think.

3. The streetcar drivers ding their bells at each other when the pass by.

4. Street addresses ending in "1/2" are fairly common. My favorite so far: 2 1/2 Palmerston Avenue. So British and quaint.

5. You buy beer at the Beer Store, but wine & liquor at the Liquer Control Board of Ontario.

6. Municipal composting.

I like more things that just these 6 things, but specific Toronto things are a short list. Our apartment, school, the great people we've met, are all non-Toronto specific, if you see what I mean.

I'll see you at the show

When a two year old tells you he loves you, your heart melts. When he sings you the first two lines from "Bird on a Wire," your heart breaks. I guess when your dad plays in a band, you learn Leonard Cohen tunes instead of Raffi...

A couple nights ago Andy Creeggan and Mike Evan played a show here. I've tried writing this paragraph a few times. Let's just say it was a great show, and it was fun to see Andy again. He's a great musician & performer (listen to one of Jim and Andy's songs). Jim got up and played about half the show with them. Much fun.

I've had two great lessons with my new teacher at the Con, Steve Dann. He's got an amazing sound, and great ideas about how to play music, and how to play the viola. Also, his name sounds like a superhero, or a PI. I feel like his philosphy is a good complement to the tools I already have.

Again, tried writing that paragraph a few times, but it's really hard not to be boring with details that aren't important. You can just be happy knowing that I'm happy and learning a lot and growing.

Capella and I went to the Red Sox/Blue Jays game on Saturday. The Sox lost, but it was a close game until the end. We had good seats by the left field pole that would've been twice as expensive at Fenway. Also, they still sell beer in the stands and don't shut down after the seventh inning stretch. Our section was about two thirds Sox fans- some Dominicans from Fall River brought signs with messages for Jerry Remy, hoping to get on NESN. A guy a few rows behind us yelled "Hey Fall Rivah" a few times but couldn't get their attention.

We walked home and passed an adult clothing & book store (if you know what I mean) that had two women dancing in the windows. It was especially shocking because they normally have maniquins. A bit like an episode of Doctor Who.

We're moving into our new apartment on Tuesday. I'm so excited to finally live in my own home again. We've been living out of boxes for two and a half months, and it feels like it. At the same time I've gotten used to living with Finn and Jim and Anna. They're such positive people, and have become good friends. Jim just left today to start a tour, so I think we'll be seeing Anna and Finn as much as we can.

I think now that I'm actually busy doing stuff I won't be writing as often as before. Less time for writing & less time for exploring. Time to be a grown-up (sort of).

A long overdue installment arrives! Apologies to anyone waiting on pins and needles for this- it must have been painful, I'm sure.

And now the first in a short series of homemaking and cooking tips, courtesy of Julia Child. I give you: the perfect hard boiled egg. Put your eggs in a pot so that they are all touching the bottom (so none are crowded up) and cover with an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and cover. Let sit for seventeen minutes. Go read a magazine. Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water, and let them cool. Bring the hot water back up to a boil and put the eggs in for about ten seconds, and then back into the ice water. Seems fussy, but the last step seperates the egg from the shell and makes it easy to peel. I made these for Capella last week, and the whole bass section of the opera was jealous.

My other tidbit for the week is the proper use of the phrase "give 'er." I'll start with an example. It's a little lengthy, but worth it.

A few weeks ago in the late afternoon Capella, Jim, Anna, Finn, and I were all in the kitchen puttering around. It was warm out and the windows were open. The neighbor's mother was at her (the neighbor's) house, taking care of her (the neighbor's) kids. (Interesting sidenote for the Canadians reading this: the neighbor used to be on Degrassi. I'm not sure which series. I'll ask Capella when she gets home.) The grandmother was playing guitar and singing to the kids, which was sweet and nice to listen to. She started playing "Free Fallin'," by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. When she got to the chorus we all got ready for it to kick in, but she kept singing along like before. We were feeling somewhat frustrated, and Jim said, "When you get there, you just gotta give 'er."

Perfect.

For those still a little unsure of using give 'er themselves, I suggest renting the movie FUBAR, available at finer video stores near you. The people behind have also written a book.

And a quick summary of what I've actually been up to in the last two weeks or so. Started school at the Con (OK, the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. You see why people call it the Con.) Went to the dress rehearsal for the first part of the Ring cycle. Fabulous. The opera house is brand spankin' new & sounds amazing. Capella got me a free ticket so I was in the fifth balcony (the very top) and I managed not to fall asleep! Just kidding, it was very exciting. I also went to Vancouver for a weekend for our friends Nathan and Naila's wedding. It was beautiful. I was honored they asked me to play at the ceremony as my present to them, and got more nervous than for any concert in the last few years. I stayed at Nathan's parents' house in an older suburb of Vancouver. Their house overlooks an inlet of the Pacific, and I woke up every morning and had a coffee and watched the mists travel down the valley. Didn't get to see Vancouver but I don't feel like I missed much.

Song of the week: Stripper in my Car, by Mike Evan. One of the rare songs that I can't possibley imagine the composition process. Buy this man's record. While you're at it, the Barenaked Ladies have a new album, and Capella plays on one of the tracks. If you buy it, she might get residuals. Not sure.

Time for bed. Tomorrow's a school day.

*Update* the neighbor was on Degrassi Street, Jr. High, High, & a couple more specials. I'm told she played Lucy Fernandez... Also, I saw Mary Walsh of 22 Minutes on Bloor by Yonge last week.

A modest proposal

This week we went to the fair. The Canadian National Exhibition has been going on at the fairgrounds down by the lake, not too far from where our new apartment will be. It's like I always imagined a state fair is like, but bigger. (On a side note, does anyone have any idea why Massachusetts doesn't have state fairs? Or does it, but out in Worcester, so we never notice?) In the agriculture building we saw cows, pigs, sheep, turkeys, and horses of various breeds and ages, and one ostrich. The pigs had a big sign above them that said, "From Farm to Fork." If you can eat bacon after watching 6 piglets suckling, well, hats off to you. We also saw butter sculptures. They were in a refrigerated trailer in the middle of the hall with Plexiglas windows. There was a young woman inside, wearing a parka and sipping a coffee, working on her butter sculpture. Farmers.

We wandered down the fairway past all the games for suckers- the strongman thing where you try to ding the bell, the various throwing games that are way harder than they look, the different "racing" games, a few gambling places, and a million junk food stands. We doubled back to catch a human cannonball show. David "the Bullet" Smith, Jr. is a second-generation human cannonball, and several of his siblings are apparently also human cannonballs. If you've never seen a human cannonball shooting in person, I highly recommend it. Dude shoots out of a canon and flies through the air.

We tried to hoof it to the opposite end of the fairgrounds to see a circus from Quebec City that wasn't Cirque du Soleil. I don't know what they were actually called, but the promos looked pretty similar. We didn't get in, so I'll assume it wasn't that awesome, anyway. I don't recommend them.

So we walked back to the rides. Your usual collection of spinning things, flying things, cars of various types, slides, and funny mirrors. We decided to give the bumper cars a whirl, and ended up getting a free ride because the gateman's scanner wasn't working properly. Instead of buying tokens to give to your kids to spend on rides, they sold debit card-type things, but with a supermarket-style scanner. Anyway, we had fun, but Capella backed herself into a corner and couldn't get out for most of it, so I went around in circles and bashed into her every lap. Soon after we decided it was time to go, and walked home.

On Thursday and Friday the Snowbirds, the aerial team of the Canadian Forces, were practising for an air show at the Exposition. The show was all weekend and today, making five days that the skies of Toronto have been filled with jets doing loop-de-loops. Over the weekend there have also been various propeller planes and older bombers. Having now experienced five days of jet fighters constantly overhead, I propose that all major cities of countries about to wage war experience the same thing before the decision to go to war is made. Of course, Isreal and Lebanon experience that already, but I'm thinking of, say, the U.S. and U.K. It's one thing to read about war, but when the fighter jets shake the ground you're standing on you begin to have some empathy for anyone caught up in it.

Just a thought. Comments?