2003-09-25 - 1:40

Son of a whore!

Back for another round of the updating game. So, last weekend was the trip to meet Laurie's family. Yes, I did indeed survive, although I came back in rough shape. Heheh.

Actually, everyone was very nice, although the rough shape was true, since I was feeling sick off and on for the duration of the trip. That was a bit of a drag, since my first meeting with the parents involved me dazedly lounging on their couch for an afternoon.

However, I think that it may have worked out for the best, since it gave Laurie's mom a good opportunity to be, well, maternal, cooking me tomato soup and taking care of me and such. I figure I'm all set now. I may have to patent this technique.

I was still feeling pretty crappy on Monday and I ended up aborting my walk to the bus stop and turning back to my house for a day off. Once upon a time I had a good streak of not needing any sick days. Ah well.

I was mostly better by the evening, though, so I was able to pop over to Laurie's for her birthday. Fun stuff.

Also in that time frame, my Neubauten CD arrived. Very cool. I even got to look for the name "Chichester" in the thank you list, which comprises all of the supporters. (It's in the bottom third of the poster, second name in on one of the lines. Heh.)

Tonight was the big event: Buck 65 making yet another visit to Ottawa, this time moving up to Barrymore's. This was my eighth time seeing Buck perform and it was another killer set. I won't go so far as to say it was the best of the lot; but it certainly lived up to the high standards set by past affairs.

All of the new material came across very strongly. The band adds a lot to the sound. Live drumming is always sweet and the guitar work stood out tonight. Unfortunately, there was no lap steel for this date, which did put some knock into songs like "Stella" (although that still made for a fantastic closing number). Additionally, the Roland failed towards the end of the set, which further limited the sound, although the playing of the rest of the band compensated.

No matter what elements conspired against it, though, there was no way that "463" wasn't going to be the highlight of the concert. Buck surprised me on that one with a vocal delivery more fierce than anything else that I have heard from him, although with the metal guitar and commanding drumming rising up, that was the only way to play it.

Other highlights included a fantastic and funny rendition of "Craftsmanship," complete with an audience member tossing his shoes onto the stage as an offering; a cool blues version of "Big Trucks"; an a cappella "Centaur"; "Wicked and Weird"; and . . . oh hell, everything was great.

Buck was as charming and goofy as always, showing off his dance moves, pondering the etymology of "gung ho," explaining how to be accepted in France, and proclaiming that if he were ever to find himself obligated to perform a figure skating routine, his theme music would be "Popcorn." ("Music sales are down; ringtone sales are up.") Oh, and he also hinted at a new Sebutones project. Interesting.

The only difficulty with a Buck show now is that he has crossed the threshold to the point at which he has such a large body of strong material, and I am so familiar with most of it, that it's hard for any one concert to satiate me. I had been thinking that the show was clipping by quickly; but it really was a long night. Since I got home, I have been able to recall nineteen songs that he performed. Fortunately, every Buck show walks new ground, so each one adds to the total experience.

I didn't get to chat with Buck this time; but he did recognize me while shaking hands with those at the front of the audience, so I'll consider that affirmation of my superstar status.

Now I'm off to bed, to ponder the age-old question: which came first--the pianos or the motorcycles?

J.