Thanks for the reply Ady...was hoping for more. Come on all you Brits...surely more of you had to have been at Glasto 95? Page & Plant were on the bill...Knebby, you had to have been there, right? Ady, rhat is great you were there, too! Did you stay the whole 3 days or just one or two? What was the primary reason for going...which bands were the big lure for you? Were you disappointed by the Stone Roses pulling out? We flew in Thursday night from America and left first thing Monday morning, so I didn't have a lot of time to check out the local radio, so unless it was playing on the taxi ride, I didn't hear Common People before hearing it live at Glasto. Plus, thanks to the lameness of radio in the states, by then I had weened myself off the habit of listening to radio. I brought my own tunes to listen to during the trip.

It is not an enigma at all to me. There are several factors that go into planning a tour. Logistics, the simple act of getting ffom point A to point B, available accomodations, all play a part in how a tour is routed. Steve has already explained the obvious reason for why Offenburg, as it was a natural way to transition the tour from Germany to France. But, as one who was in Germany for almost 3 years, and traveled throughout Europe extensively, I can tell you the main consideration in planning any tour, but especially a European tour, is the ready availability of suitable venues. In the early 70s, Europe was sadly lacking in suitable concert venues, especially if a band got more popular and outgrew the bars and clubs. Unlike America, where just about every city had venues of every size from clubs to youth recreation centers to university halls to theatres to basketball/hockey arenas to outdoor amphitheatres and football stadiums, most of which could provide decent sound with the proper gear and a good soundman. All Europe had was lots of stoney churches. Plus, they had serious power issues. Many is the time a band's gig would be marred because the power would go off and on, because the band's amps were overloading the power supply. Even in the early 80s, which is when I was there, while probably better than the 70s, some cities were sadly lacking. I was based in Nürnberg, which is a fairly large, major city. But most of the bands that toured Germany would often bypass Nürnberg and play tiny nearby Erlangen instead, all because they had a suitable midsize hall and Nürnberg did not. In all the time I was there I think I only saw two or three shows in Nürnberg, one being the 1984 Monsters of Rock, which turned out to be the last show of the David Lee Roth-era Van Halen. Meanwhile, during that same time span I saw about a dozen or more shows in Erlangen, which was puny compared to Nürnberg. It's no wonder many bands preferred to tour the States rather than deal with the hassles of touring Europe. For instance, you're touring the US, you can go from state to state with no trouble...nobody asks for your passport. The only time you have to show it is when you arrive and when you leave. In Europe, every time you cross a border you get checked. As for the mix of audiences, again I don't see the enigma...Offenburg is close to the border, it makes sense you're going to have some French, and probably some Belgian and Swiss too. One group you could almost guarantee would be at almost any rock show in Europe, especially Germany, was American GI's, such as myself, stationed at bases around the country.

Hey man, don't pigeonhole me! :lol: I don't just watch foreign or old classics...I like to take in a good action or mindless comedy flick every now and then, too. Ummm, have to say Battle LA didn't quite do it for me, as much as I wanted to like it...I'm a big fan of Aaron Eckhart's work. Anyway, what brings me here now is another crazy-looking program scheduled for Sunday night at the Cinefamily@Silent Movie Theatre. I already mentioned the amazing Pulp documentary I saw there the other night in my PULP thread in the Other Bands/Music section. Sunday night is something else entirely: LIVING LIGHT: An Evening With Linda Perhacs & Friends Sunday, August 14th | 7:30pm Co-presented by L.A. Record, Dublab, Los Angeles Filmforum & The iotaCenter The twinship between color and sound has captivated artists for centuries. Across film, dance, fine art and music, creators have long sought to convey the harmony between light, movement, and tone that reverberates through nature; it is this synesthetic vision that inspired turned psych-folk songstress Linda Perhacs to record her now mythic 1970 album “Parallelograms”. Crafting transcendental tonal illustrations within the seemingly simple trappings of late-’60s song structures, Linda plumbed the same well of inspiration that drove pioneering filmmakers to eschew representational cinema for a purer way of illustrating the symbiosis of the senses. Join us as we celebrate these visual and sonic explorers, with a rare live set from Ms. Perhacs and her band (featuring selections from “Parallelograms” and new material exclusively debuted at Cinefamily), as well as a selection of boundary-pushing cinema from the masters of the synesthetic form, new video works commissioned for the show, and live dance accompaniment from world-renowned dancer/choreographer Ryan Heffington! Watch our trailer for "Living Light: An Evening With Linda Perhacs And Friends"! Tickets - $12/free for members

Hopefully, this will garner a bigger response than my Thelonious Monster thread, of which only one other member(snapper) here appears to be a fan. But, as Pulp is a British band and also achieved much more worldwide renown than Thelonious Monster, maybe the odds are in my favour this time. There are certain moments in my life that bring me to tears of joy every time I recall them...no matter where I am or what I am doing, if something happens to trigger a memory of that moment, a warm glow spreads through my body, a goofy smile creases my face and the tears flow. Time stops. One such moment was seeing Pulp at the 1995 Glastonbury Festival. I had been intrigued by the Glastonbury Festival ever since hearing the Glastonbury Fayre triple-album set in 1972...Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Pink Fairies, and David Allen & Gong were just some of the freakish delights on that album. Add in the interesting history and significance of the locale of the Festival, and I vowed that if I ever made it to England, one of my goals was to visit Glastonbury. The Festival wasn't really much in the early days...it wasn't until the 80s that it sort of took off, and became a yearly event. There's a huge gap between 1971 and 1978. When I was stationed in Germany in the early 80s, I had my chance to go, and was able to attend both the 1983 and 1984 Glastonbury Festivals. Until then, most of my experiences with big music festivals were with the California Jams and the US Festival, all of which occured in hot, dusty Ontario, California in cement and dirt environs. A far cry from the lush green expanses of Glastonbury. So, when 1995 rolled around and it was the 25th Anniversary of the Glastonbury Festival, me and my Anglophile girlfriend at the time decided it would be fun to go to the Fest that year. That whim became mandatory when the lineup was announced and I saw Page & Plant, Jeff Buckley, Portishead, Supergrass, the Cure and Stone Roses were on the bill! Especially to see all those British bands on British soil had us drooling with anticipation: PJ Harvey, Oasis, Massive Attack, the Verve, Orbital, Elastica, and plenty others were also on the bill. So it was we found ourselves in Glastonbury that weekend in June, 1995. The Britpop wars were heating up, specifically between Blur and Oasis, but I didn't really care about that. MY FAVOURITE Britpop bands were Suede and the new band Supergrass, whose first amazing single "Caught By the Fuzz" was only just released late-1994. I thought both Blur and Oasis were just okay, and if made to choose, probably liked Blur a little more than Oasis at that point. Of course, along with Page & Plant, who I had just been blown away by at the LA Forum in May, the big event of the 1995 Glastonbury was supposed to be the return of the Stone Roses...the "Second Coming" is how the British media dubbed it, if I recall. But John Squire had a mountain-bike mishap, and they had to cancel the gig...and Pulp was brought in as a replacement! PULP?!? Who the fuck was this band?!? I don't think I had even heard of them...maybe I had heard the song "Babies", but I definitely didn't have any of their records. This was the band chosen not only to replace Stone Roses but HEADLINE a Saturday night slot at Glastonbury!!! My girlfriend, being the Anglophile knew about them, of course, but not to the extent she knew about Oasis or Blur or Suede. I think she only had a couple singles, and the His n Hers album. Now, make no mistake: Page & Plant, Portishead, the Cure, Supergrass, Jeff Buckley, Oasis, PJ Harvey, Black Crowes, and some others all had their moments at Glastonbury; the Page & Plant, Portishead, and Jeff Buckley sets were AMAZING! But above all the others, the main memory of the 1995 Glastonbury Festival to me is being simply blown away, steamrolled and FUCKING GOBSMACKED! by PULP and the crowd reaction they generated!!! It was incredible and even now, just typing this, I am getting shivers just thinking about it. At first, Pulp's set started a little rough, as the people expecting the Stone Roses hurled shit at them...but as the set went on and the band gained confidence, the momentum of the set grew and grew until the entire crowd became this huge seething mass of joy. Here was a band I had no clue about, and the crowd was reacting as if they were the hugest band in the world...singing along to songs and bouncing and dancing like mad. And I am not just talking about the usual diehards upfront, but the whole bloody field was like a giant pogo-stick. "Babies" was great, but "Common People" literally had us so euphoric it was like having an out-of-body experience. Hell, the song had only just been released and people were singing it by heart already. The "Different Class" album from whence the song came wouldn't be released until that October. It is literally one of the greatest concert moments of my life...and you know what was even greater about it? It was so unexpected. I mean, I expected Page & Plant to be great, same with Jeff Buckley and the others, whose albums I had and had listened to over and over again, and even might have already seen in concert. But to be razzle-dazzled by a band you had no inkling about...watching Jarvis Cocker on that stage was like watching a STAR being born right before your eyes. After that, it was like Liam WHO? As for the Stone Roses, by that point, nobody missed them. Oh, and another cool thing about that night? Everyone was watching the action on stage...nobody was texting or holding up cellphones or blackberries. By the wonders of Youtube, you can see for yourself...here's "Common People" from their Glastonbury 1995 set: All of which is prologue to the fact that there is a new documentary on the band Pulp, and I saw it last night at Allison Anders' Don't Knock the Rock Festival, and it is extraordinary. It is called "The Beat is the Law-Fanfare for the Common People". Here's the trailer: What is really cool about it, is that besides being a history of the band(they started all the way back in 1978!!!), it gives you a social-economical background to the whole Sheffield scene, with all the problems with Thatcher-ism and the coal and steel industries; fascinating stuff. One band I discovered through the documentary that I don't recall hearing in the 80s, was this Sheffield band called Clock DVA, with roots to bands that I do remember like Cabaret Voltaire and Human League. I've got to find their records now. Here's a clip of them doing "4 Hours": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UTiAanuqXs

That's definitely a tough blow to take...one, just finding out a friend has cancer is hard enough, but to deal with the fact that they felt suicide was the only recourse, is often tough on that person's surviving family and friends. You have my sympathies.

Last Thursday, it was the Thelonious Monster premiere...today it was another gathering of old punkers and rockers, this time for the Hollywood Walk of Fame induction for the Go-Go's. All the Go-Go's were there of course...and shock of shocks, it WASN'T Rodney Bingenheimer who inducted them but rather drummer extrordinaire, Clem Burke of Blondie. Charlotte Caffey is married to Jeff McDonald(Redd Kross), so naturally he was there along with daughter Astrid, who last I saw her was a little girl. She's quite grown up now. The irritating Jenny Lens was also there. Lots of tattoos and black everywhere. What made the event special, and the reason why I chose to attend this in person, was that it was happening at the location where the old punk club, The Masque, was located...in the basement below the Pussycat Theatre at Hollywood and Cherokee. Good times man. A joyful day indeed. Good to touch base with old faces. Now, I'm waiting to see this new Pulp documentary at the Don't Knock the Rock Festival, while watching the nearly full moon rise in the night sky.

It was snapper! One HELLUVA NIGHT!!! Better than going to a high school reunion(not that I've ever been to one...and I have no desire either)...such a blast seeing so many snaggle-toothed old-timers. Seriously, Martyn, Bob, just about all the old heroin users are missing teeth. Also, let me warn you, along with the good, the documentary shows the bad and the ugly, too. There is some horrific footage shot by Johnny Depp of John Frusciante deep in his heroin-hell. The parts where Bob talks about first shooting up with Top Jimmy is done in claymation-style, which makes it a little easier to watch. I saw myself in some Raji's footage and I think the Music Machine footage, as well. Anyway, let's celebrate the Monster with some clips from the LA premiere last Thursday night. First up, "Looking to the West"..."when I was a kid nothing mattered more/ than Kiss and Led Zeppelin singing rock and roll": Cover of Tracy Chapman's "For Your Lover", with Mike Martt stepping in on guitar and vocals in place of Zander Schloss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaxXyQdd1xA&feature=related Not from the premiere, but a show last year at the Henry Fonda Theatre, featuring one of my favourite TM tunes, "Walk on Water":

I'm at the GoGos Walk of Fame thing and they're playing "Dancing Days". Dancing Days just ended and just when I think it's going to be another band, "Misty Mountain Hop" starts! A Zeppelin mix-tape rocking the crowd at a Go Gos event? Who woulda guessed?

I find most of those "...and Philosophy" books to be the publishing equivalent of fast food. They're cheap and easy to produce, have a ready-made hook to market to a pop-culture obsessed public, and have just as much to do with real philosophy as Taco Bell does to real food. Of all the ones I've seen over the years, and I've seen some doozies, only a few really stood out from the pack, and are ones that I would recommend...those being The Godfather, the Simpsons, and Star Trek ones.

It's morning and I feel chipper...Bach, a bath and a good night's sleep will do that. I'm on my way to the Go Gos Hollywood Walk of Fame Induction ceremony, so I am listening to the new 30th Anniversary edition of "Beauty and the Beat", which includes a 2nd disc with a concert from the Metro Club in Boston, August 20, 1981. The Go Gos Star will be unveiled in front of the Betty Page Store, which is above where the Masque used to be...where the Go Gos played their first gig. Alas, the Pussycat Theatre that used to be next door, lending the corner a seedy air, is no longer around. The Go Gos, I believe, are the first band from that initial wave of LA punk and new wave bands of 1977-78 to get a star on the Boulevard. X, the Weirdos, the Germs, and the rest have yet to, and probably never will, get so acknowledged. It will be interesting to see how many of the old scene rouse themselves out of bed for this.

Planty will not be planking. Nor will he collaborate with Puff Daddy, Sean Puffy Combs, P. Diddy, Puff Ball...or whatever other name he calls himself these days.

WOOF WOOF! Someone throw me a bone!

I've had a very trying and exhausting week, so I've poured me a hot bubble bath and put on some of the greatest restorative music ever composed: J. S. Bach's 6 solo Cello Suites. Like most classical fans, I have many interpretations of these classics of the repertory...Pablo Casals; Pierre Fournier; Anner Bylsma; Yo Yo Ma; Janos Starker; and probably my all-around favourite, Rostropovich. Recently, someone tipped me to a Dutch cellist, Pieter Wispelwey, who recorded the Suites on a period-instrument, the baroque cello. It is his 1998 recording on the Channel Classics Records that I am listening to now, whilst soaking in the tub. Wonderful tone on his cello...some interesting tempos...his performance of the Suite #2 in D minor really shines. I just finished the first disc and am now on to disc 2...I highly recommend it, especially if you lack a period-instrument performance of the Suites and are looking for a well-played and good-sounding rendition. Score one for the Dutch! Here's a live clip of Pieter playing the Sarabande from Suite #2 in D minor:

Just coming back from the screening and all I can say is that I was GOBSMACKED at how good it was! Talk about flashback city...my wild crazy years of my youth came flooding back to me in a Proustian rush. Some sad moments, too, at reflecting on who was lost along the way. Seeing the shots of Rob Graves, Top Jimmy and Dobbs(legendary owner of Raji's during its heyday), brought tears to my eyes. But what really got the memories flooding back was when after the screening, the band played a blistering set of 5 or 6 songs, kicking off with "Psychofuckindelic" and ending with a rousing "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean", with Frenchie adding harmonica. Thelonious Monster was alive again. Since this was a band that changed lineups like others change socks, especially guitar and bass players, I'll give you the lineup for tonight's show: Dix Denney and Zander Schloss on guitars; Pete Weiss on drums; Dallas Don Burnet on bass; and of course, Bob Forrest on vocals. I'll wait until I'm on a real computer to post more about the film and the night; and hopefully post some photos and clips. Although whenever I try to post my photos, I always get that "image extension not allowed" notice. Tons of notables, and fans and girlfriends past at the screening. Michael and Pamela Des Barres were there; Michael emceed the evening and did the brief Q & A with Bob and the director Kierda. There was an amusing moment when Bob talked about buying the Detective album, and Michael joked that was the only copy sold. Original Thelonious bassist Jon Huck and 3rd bassist Martyn LeNoble were in attendance. And Dick Rude...oh man, Dick Rude! I hadn't seen him in nearly 20 years! Also a delight to see spunky Shelley Sprague, Resident Technician on Celebrity Rehab. Anyway, "Bob and the Monster" has already played SXSW, Chicago and now here...hopefully it will make it to your town. It's a great little rock n roll movie...and shows an important time in Los Angeles rock history.

Congratulations to your sister then! I'll have some Frosted Flakes french toast in her honour!

My friend Lydia is treating me to The Griddle...this FANTABULOUS place on Sunset with Gi-normous pancakes and awesome French Toast! Pretty good lunch items, too, but it always seems a waste to go there and NOT order pancakes or french toast.

You bet your sweet bippy! We can always use another Leo in this world!

Dude, THANK YOU is an all-encompassingly appropriate song for a wedding! Janet, that picture of you and the guys rocking out to Black Dog made my night! Thanks.