January 15, 2016
January 14, 2016
Bowie tribute show promises to be magical
Here's how special I think Woody Woodmansey's Holy Holy Bowie tribute show this Saturday night at The Odeon is going to be. I sold my pair of general admission floor tickets to see Bruce Springsteen on the opening night of his tour in Pittsburgh the same night.
Mick "Woody" Woodmansey is the drummer and last surviving member of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era group, or as I like to call them The Spiders From Mars. Holy Holy, named for an obscure Bowie song, also includes his long time producer and early bassist Tony Visconti. Bowie had given his blessing to this rock ensemble before they kicked off the tour in Europe late last year. It's now on an east coast run of the United States.
I had reservations about changing my plans as I thought that maybe those two integral people in Bowie's life might be called away to attend to personal matters in the wake of his death. Woody informed fans that Bowie was a believer in "the show must go on" and he confirmed that to me in a Tweet yesterday.
Woodmansey and Visconti were the rhythm section on the album The Man Who Sold The World which they'll be playing in its entirety along with other Ziggy era classics Saturday night. Lead vocals are being handled by Glenn Gregory, lead singer for Heaven 17. The rest of the large band consists of top-notch players and vocalists. And reviews of the show have been great. They played Toronto Tuesday night, David Bowie cover band Holy Holy plays sold-out tribute show in Toronto.
It's going to be a surreal night in so many ways. Including the fact that it's at The Odeon, a long closed club that was just reopened last year. Quite a coup booking for the new owners.
January 13, 2016
January 11, 2016
There's a starman waiting in the sky
How did I miss the reports of David Bowie battling cancer for the past 18 months. Knowing that would have certainly helped soften the gut punch I took upon awakening to the fact that one my musical idols was gone. That was two hours ago. I'm still stunned and deeply saddened.
David Bowie is the artist who truly opened up the world to me. The discovery of Bowie's music and, in particular the Ziggy Stardust record which is my second favorite album of all time, coincided with my move from top 40 to progressive rock on the radio dial. He influenced my musical taste at the time, turning me on to the likes of Roxy Music, Mott The Hoople, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and others.
I can recall as a naive kid stopping in Disc Records at Westgate weekly to see if the Aladdin Sane album had been released yet. Obviously I bought it the week it finally did arrive. The same pattern of waiting anxiously for new Bowie continued for years and every album seemed like a new beginning with a new character. The original rock and roll chameleon.
I was curious to see what radio stations might abandon their format this morning to concentrate on the music of David Bowie. Surely WNCX, Cleveland's classic rock station would. Nope. I knew the BBC's 6 Music would be though and have found great solace in listening to the songs and shared remembrance texts and emails being read and shared by the DJs.
I want to go to a bar after work and singalong to Bowie's music with friends. I hope you can join me.
January 08, 2016
January 07, 2016
Revisiting the 101 best Springsteen songs 5 years later, a throwback Thursday
Today's Thursday or on Facebook some know it as "throwback Thursday". That got me to wondering what I was blogging about, say, five years ago. Well, I took a look and discovered that one of the rare contributors to Radio Hannibal was in the midst of a very lengthy project, The 101 songs of Bruce Springsteen.
The countdown, which included lengthy and personal essays on each song, was written by an Aussie I'd met through a music message board. It took months to write and publish the entire list.
With Springsteen kicking off his tour a week from Saturday in Pittsburgh I thought it would be fun to look back on it.
January 06, 2016
January 05, 2016
A couple of things on food
I don't talk about food too much on my blog. To be honest, I don't eat as much of it as I used to. Last year I made some big changes to the way I consume it which lead me to dropping 40 pounds and having to change nearly my entire wardrobe.
I have three basic rules when it comes to my diet. Only eat when my body tells me I need to do so which means no set meal times. Eat less and stay hungry. Being hungry is better than being stuffed. Don't treat food as a hobby, In other words, don't keep eating because it tastes so good.
That's about all it took. I do avoid nearly all meat, dairy products and wheat as well. Mostly I eat a lot of vegetables.
That doesn't mean I can't enjoy food or cheating a bit. Just not to extreme.
Take, for example, this list from the great food writer at Scene, Doug Trattner, 25 Things to Eat in Cleveland Before You Die. It's one of the best lists I've seen of this nature. I can attest to some of his claims and look forward to trying all of the rest.
January 04, 2016
20 years ago Cleveland Browns football was over
While yesterday saw the all too familiar end of another disastrous Cleveland Browns season it was 20 years ago that Cleveland fans were left without a team at all. As bad as it is to see another head coach and general manager fired, the pain is insignificant to what Clevelanders felt when the Browns left town.
Over this past season I've been sporadically posting photos to a blog called Browns End Days. Here you'll get a visual feel for what it was like to be there for those last few Cleveland Browns home games in 1995.
December 30, 2015
Top 10 music videos of 2015
10. Jenny Lewis - She's Not Me
9. David Bowie - Blackstar
8. Will Butler - Anna
7. Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best
6. CHVRCHES - Empty Threat
5. Grimes - Flesh Without Blood
4. Belle & Sebastian - Nobody's Empire
3. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
2. Carly Rae Jepsen - I Really Like You
1. Lana Del Rey - High By The Beach
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