puredanger.com Blog

My Fair Lady February 7, 2007

I play viola in the Clayton Symphony. Right now we are currently working with the Stray Dog Theatre to put on a performance of My Fair Lady (the musical). It should be a really good show, so I thought I would let you all know. We had rehearsal with the cast last night and the lead playing Eliza is really, really great. This is a fund-raiser for both our organizations so we are trying to do a lot of publicity.

The performances are next Friday 2/16 at 8 pm, Saturday 2/17 at 8 pm, and Sunday 2/18 at 2 pm, all at Clayton High School. Adults are $20, senior/student $18. Call 314-865-1995 for reservations.

Also, they have a special Valentine’s package where for $60 you get 2 tickets to our concert and the following discount certificates:

1. John P. Fields (restaurant) – 26 North Central – $10 off purchase of $25+, expires 03-03-07
2. C.J. Mugg’s (restaurant) – 200 South Central – $10 off purchase of $25+, expires 06-30-07
3. A Floral Gallery (flowers, gifts, art) – 7616 Wydown – $10 off purchase of $35+ (excludes delivery & original art), expires 04-30-07
4. Massage Envy (massage) – 7736 Forsyth – One-hour massage for $39 (regularly $65), expires 07-31-07
5. The Lifestyle Center (medical spa and laser center) – 7642 Forsyth -$25 off purchase of $100+ (includes services, excludes products),
   expires 04-30-07
6. Parker’s Table (wine, gourmet foods) – 8137 Maryland – $10 off purchase of $50+, expires 12-31-07
7. Candicci’s Italian Grille (restaurant) – 16 South Bemiston – $5 off lunch, $10 off dinner (not valid Saturdays/holidays), expires 03-31-07
8. Barucci Gallery (art, framing) – 8101 Maryland – 15% off framing (includes framing only), expires 03-31-07

Clayton Symphony
Stray Dog Theatre

Please pass this along if you know of anybody else who might be interested!

So long Mississippi Nights January 19, 2007

I was sad but not surprised to hear that Mississippi Night closed it’s doors tonight. They’ve been in gradual decline for quite a while, unable to compete against newer venues like the Pageant.

For the years in my life when I was seeing live shows on a weekly basis, MN was my favorite place to see a show. I dug the tiered floors that let you choose how you wanted to see the gig – down in the pit, sitting, standing near the bar, etc. I dug the bar. I don’t know why, but it was just a fun place to be. Tom was our favorite bartender – he’s been there for ever. I always thought it was just the perfect size venue to see the kind of shows that I love the best. You could get close but it’s big enough that the place can get really rocking and high energy.

The first show I ever saw there was Sass Jordan with the Arc Angels opening. The Arc Angels was basically the Stevie Ray Vaughn’s rhythm section after he died. And Sass Jordan was sort of a southern chick singer Nick and I were briefly enamored with. Nick and I went down to see that gig and we were young enough that we had to sit in the special minor “no drinky for you” area.

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite show I ever saw there. I remember seeing a ton of local acts there like Robynn Ragland, Vargas Swing, the Unconscious doing a reunion gig, Slapdash, Suede Chain, Savage St. Hubbins, Sarah Cloud, The Urge, 311. Also a bunch of more national acts like Barenaked Ladies, Medeski Martin and Wood, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cherry Popping Daddies, G Love, Paula Cole, Rollins spoken word, and many more.

The Barenaked Ladies gig was an awesome xmas show put on by one of the radio stations. They did a medley of Billy Joel covers at one point that was hilarious. Undoubtedly one of the best gigs I saw there was Medeski Martin and Wood, an acid jazz group. In fact, the show was so good that I went out and bought a kick-ass keyboard the next day and started studying jazz piano. And I think that same show was the impetus for Scott buying his first drum set.

Later, Mary and I saw at least one show there: John Spencer Blues Explosion. Mary actually saw her at the time estranged childhood best friend there (whom I had never met), which was weird. Turns out Mary has been going to Mississippi Nights even longer than I have and has seen all sorts of awesome stuff. She saw the Beastie Boys there at least twice. The first time they were completely drunk and couldn’t even play their instruments. The other was on a later tour and one of her favorite shows ever. Turns out her favorite bartender was Tom, too. Guess that guy was good.

The last show I saw there was (fittingly) with Nick seeing Primus last year with Drums and Tuba opening. D&T were really incredible (oddly I’ve seen them opening several times) and I would have gladly watched them do the whole night. Primus was lackluster – guess Les was sick and having an off night.

Nick, this one’s for you. I’ve seen more gigs than I can count with you and MN has always been a constant and special place. I’m glad you were with me on all those gigs, ready to share the music. I can remember so many detailed musical discussions, grooving, drinking, and just all around enjoyment we shared all those nights.

AppleTV and iPhone January 9, 2007

I’m watching the MacWorld keynote with Steve Jobs right now on a live transcript. He intro’ed the Apple TV (formerly iTV) which is a set top box that hooks up to your TV. Lets you watch movies, TV shows, listen to music, look at photo slide shows, etc all streamed from your PC or Mac via iTunes. $300. Pretty sweet.

They also announced a deal with Paramount for more movies. Passed their 2 billion songs downloaded mark. Selling 5 million songs a day. Moved up a spot over Amazon as 4th biggest music reseller.

But even better is the iPhone. It’s super thin and all touch screen. Multi-touch gestures to control it. 8 GB iPod built-in. 2 MP camera. Can show wide-screen. Proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer (can tell if you are showing portrait or landscape). Visual voicemail. Wifi and EDGE connectivity. Works with Cingular only I guess. I’m drooling – looks amazing. $500 for 4 GB and $600 for 8 GB. Available in June (still needs FCC approval).

I feel very happy with my decision to buy some AAPL stock last week (up 5% on the day right now). Wish I’d bought more…. :)

Pretty good coverage on the Engadget transcript although I’m sure all the Apple store stuff will be up later today as well.

Article on the neuroscience of music January 6, 2007

Here’s a cool article by Clive Thompson (a favorite journalist of mine) about the neuroscience of music. It’s a profile of Daniel Levitin, a scientist who studies how music affects us.

Infant seat crash tests January 5, 2007

For the parents out there, please check out the just released Consumer Reports study that tests the safety of rear-facing infant car seats. A key summary:

Cars and car seats can’t be sold unless they can withstand a 30-mph frontal crash. But most cars are also tested in a 35-mph frontal crash and in a 38-mph side crash. Car seats aren’t.

One of the seats they tested (the Evenflo Discovery, which I think is the one we used with all 3 kids) didn’t even meet the federal 30-mph standards and they are trying to get it recalled. 7 of 12 seats failed in the 35-mph crash and 8 of 12 failed in the 38-mph side crash. “Failed” in this case means they separated from their base, twisted, threw the dummy in the air, caused injuries, etc.

Interestingly, they had a lot of problem with LATCH restraints and found that using vehicle seat belts worked better than LATCH for many of the seats. Here’s a link to their ratings if you want more info. If you’ve got an infant car seat, please give this a look.