pedal steel guitar and (more!) heartstrings
A few weeks ago, S and I went to see Neko Case play at the Beacon Theatre. Occasionally, one of my coworkers buys tickets and then cannot go to the show, so I become the beneficiary of such bounties. This was one of those times. Neko was great, of course. She wore a flaming red cocktail dress and made cougar jokes throughout the evening. "I feel like I should be telling my daughter about tampons," she quipped. Her harmony/backup singer was even funnier, cracking wise about "soft rockin' the night away."
Also fantastic was the opening band, Calexico. I've read some of their recent reviews in Rolling Stone, but had yet to sample any of their music. My loss, I discovered. Man, I love going to shows and uncovering a new great band in the opening act--that's how I found Elvis Perkins, actually (he opened for Cold War Kids last summer). The song that blew my hair back (in a "soft rockin'" sort of way) was their cover of "Cortez the Killer," by Neil Young. I am not much of a fan of ol' Neil, so I didn't know why the audience murmured and clapped in approval in the first minute or so of the song. S was kind enough to inform me. We sat in awe as Calexico gave a gorgeous rendition of Young's classic. The pedal steel guitar made it particularly haunting. I was excited enough about it that I looked up the lyrics the next day. Wow.
Time passes, as it so often does. Earlier this week S emailed me a You Tube link to Calexico covering Neil Young's song. Then, this morning I am surprised by an iTunes gift from S: Neil Young's original "Cortez the Killer." In the note, S wrote that now I can compare the two. Awwww. I've said it before but I'll say it again: this guy is so thoughtful.
I better study for my test tomorrow. My eye is on the prize... Sure, passing will be great, but S and I have a date to make vegan blueberry pancakes tomorrow evening. *smiles*
Also fantastic was the opening band, Calexico. I've read some of their recent reviews in Rolling Stone, but had yet to sample any of their music. My loss, I discovered. Man, I love going to shows and uncovering a new great band in the opening act--that's how I found Elvis Perkins, actually (he opened for Cold War Kids last summer). The song that blew my hair back (in a "soft rockin'" sort of way) was their cover of "Cortez the Killer," by Neil Young. I am not much of a fan of ol' Neil, so I didn't know why the audience murmured and clapped in approval in the first minute or so of the song. S was kind enough to inform me. We sat in awe as Calexico gave a gorgeous rendition of Young's classic. The pedal steel guitar made it particularly haunting. I was excited enough about it that I looked up the lyrics the next day. Wow.
Time passes, as it so often does. Earlier this week S emailed me a You Tube link to Calexico covering Neil Young's song. Then, this morning I am surprised by an iTunes gift from S: Neil Young's original "Cortez the Killer." In the note, S wrote that now I can compare the two. Awwww. I've said it before but I'll say it again: this guy is so thoughtful.
I better study for my test tomorrow. My eye is on the prize... Sure, passing will be great, but S and I have a date to make vegan blueberry pancakes tomorrow evening. *smiles*