4+3 4 43 at the Two-Thirds Mark

First, let me state the obvious: it’s been a weird eight months. A weird six months and four days in particular; if you’re reading this, you probably know why.

Second, 4+3 4 43’s been on the backburner for most of those six months and four days, mostly by necessity (i.e., I needed to focus on basic functioning first and foremost). Still, having said that, we’re making progress on at least a few of this year’s goals:

• I’ve raised over $4,000 for the Ride to Conquer Cancer, which means, in the timeless words of the great American poet Stanley Kirk Burrell, “Hammertime!”
• I’m 33 Fuel classes away from 500.
• I’ve yet to fully delete my Twitter account, but at this point it mostly exists so I can show Sam pictures of Larry, 10 Downing Street’s mouser-in-chief. I may hold onto it – but I barely use it anymore, which was probably the main goal behind item #7.

I’ve got a little bit less than four months to move, perform live music, and set aside designated writing time. I’ve technically run a 10k race in under an hour – but the NYCRUNS Spring Fling 10k (which I ran on Governors Island a couple weeks ago) apparently measured 10.2 km, and my chip time was slightly over the hour mark. I’ve got another 10k on the horizon in June.

The Hold Steady at Brooklyn Bowl

Right: where were we?

Sam and I went to the last night of the Hold Steady’s annual Massive Nights Brooklyn Bowl residency. I don’t know if I’ve ever “needed” a concert like I needed this one. Here’s what they played:

Set:

• Stuck Between Stations
• Sideways Skull
• Ask Her for Adderall
• The Death of a Punchline
• On With the Business
• Grand Junction (fun fact: Sam and I went to Grand Junction, CO this summer. We ate the best guacamole either of us has ever had in Grand Junction. Yes, we listened to the song while we were there; we also listened to “Cheyenne Sunrise” in Cheyenne, WY.)
• Entitlement Crew
• You Did Good Kid
• Sequestered in Memphis (“I went there on ‘business'”)
• T-Shirt Tux
• We Can Get Together (“Heaven is whenever we can get together” is one of my favourite Hold Steady lyrics)
• Hornets! Hornets!
• Chips Ahoy!
• Don’t Let Me Explode
• Constructive Summer (basically every line in “Constructive Summer” is among my favourite Hold Steady lyrics)
• Hot Soft Light
• Spices
• Hanover Camera (I somehow didn’t hear this at the Horseshoe last May)
• Massive Nights
• Your Little Hoodrat Friend
• How a Resurrection Really Feels

Encore:

• Certain Songs
• Banging Camp
• Stay Positive
• Killer Parties

Such a great night; a massive night, even. I love this band so much.

My Morning Jacket, Redux

Would it kill them to play The Waterfall? Or Circuital? I’m beginning to feel personally attacked.

Stuff I’ve Seen at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Stolen with the permission of Chris Barker

30 years ago today – Friday, October 1, 1993 – I set foot inside the Princess of Wales Theatre for the very first time. Since then the theatre’s been the backdrop for some of my life’s truly memorable moments, including Sam’s and my first date. Here’s a (complete?) list of what I’ve seen there!

1. Miss Saigon 10/1/93
2. Beauty and the Beast 10/7/95
3. Buddy: the Buddy Holly Story 11/22/97
4. Les Miserables 7/25/98
5. Oliver! 11/99
6. The Lion King 00
7. The Lion King
8. The Lion King
9. The Lion King 12/18/02
10. Hairspray 4/24/04
11. Hairspray 5/20/04
12. Hairspray 11/17/04
13. Hairspray 11/27/04
14. Evita 5/18/05
15. Les Misérables 9/23/05
16. Les Misérables 10/19/05
17. Lord of the Rings 06
18. The Phantom of the Opera 2/21/07 (first Toronto since performance since the end of its ten-year run at the Pantages Theatre on October 31, 1999)
19. The Phantom of the Opera 4/7/07
20. The Phantom of the Opera 5/07
21. The Phantom of the Opera 6/17/07 (final Toronto performance of Hal Prince’s original production of Phantom, which, in addition to its four months at the Princess of Wales, ran for over ten years at the former Pantages Theatre)
22. The Sound of Music 09
23. Young Frankenstein
24. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 10
25. War Horse 10/12
26. The Book of Mormon 5/19/13
27. Les Misérables 9/28/13
28. Les Misérables 12/14/13 (mine and Sam’s first date!)
29. The Lion King 6/12/14
30. The Phantom of the Opera 12/15
31. If/Then 4/16
32. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 11/17
33. An American in Paris 4/7/18
34. The Phantom of the Opera 6/20/18
35. Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations 11/2/18
36. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 12/14/18 (Sam’s and my Sam’s five-year dating anniversary)
37. The Last Ship, 3/9/19
38. The Lion King, 6/21/19
39. The Phantom of the Opera, 1/14/20
40. Room, 4/6/22
41. & Juliet, 7/26/22
42. Singin’ in the Rain, 10/22/22
43. Mean Girls, 11/19/22
44. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 12/17/22
45. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 1/14/23
46. Hamilton, 2/22/23 (show’s first Toronto performance since its 2020 run was cut short by Covid)
47. Hamilton, 3/18/23 (sat in the seat I saw it for Miss Saigon; obviously this was planned)
48. Hamilton, 4/29/23
49. Hamilton, 6/28/23
50. Hamilton, 8/1/23
51. Hamilton, 8/22/23 (final performance of the show’s 2023 run and last-ever performance of the And Peggy tour)

To be continued!

The Smashing Pumpkins…Again

I felt as though I was being responsible by not buying Smashing Pumpkins tickets earlier this year. I’d just seen them, after all, and while that’d never been a hindrance for me in the past, “the past” had never occurred against the backdrop of an historic cost-of-living crisis. But then, I realized that I was actually an idiot – which is how we ended up on the Bud Stage lawn on Saturday to see the Pumpkins and this year’s marquee headliner, Interpol (shades of Lollapalooza 2007!). I moved heaven and earth to see the Pumpkins on their farewell tour in 2000. I’ve seen them six times since then.

4+3 4 43

“Keep the wheel steady, hold the wheel straight” – The Hold Steady, “Oaks”

My Morning Jacket

What’s this? A new blog entry? Don’t adjust your television set, folks: we’re back.

2022

“I don’t know about you
But I’m feeling 22″
– Taylor Swift, “22”

Arcade Fire

It’d been five years since I’d seen Arcade Fire. It was almost five years and counting: I hemmed and hawed about going to last week’s show in light of, y’know, stuff, but in the end I decided to shelve my reservations for a few hours. (Sam couldn’t shelve hers, and stayed home.) In the event, the show was great and not at all weird, the WE material sounded great except for the stupid “unsubscribe” song, and they closed with “Wake Up.” That’s all I wanted.

The Smashing Pumpkins (and Our Lady Peace?!)

I knew I was seeing the Smashing Pumpkins yesterday. I did not know I was seeing Our Lady Peace yesterday until…well, yesterday. I was supposed to be seeing Jane’s Addiction open for the Pumpkins, but then came a tweet alluding to an “injury” within the Jane’s camp (later revealed to involve Perry Farrell) and Monday’s show turned into Summersault 2000 redux.