John to Appear with John Hodgman 8/20/2010

[pahouk]

John will be appearing with John Hodgman and David Rees at the Montague Bookmill in Massachusetts on 8/20/2010 : http://www.areasofmyexpertise.com/2010/ ... cant-find/ and http://www.montaguebookmill.com/events.html. This looks like a really cool bookstore. (Also, while I might have suspected John is a cowboy and an astronaut I had no idea he is also a prima ballerina.)

[Liesbeth]

John told me he was doing this so I could put it on the website, but 'somewhere in Massachusetts' didn't seem like a very clear location to me. Thanks for finding this so I didn't have to - whoever has heard of Montague MA anyway? Except the people there and Hodgman.

[grant]

I heard it's been embroiled in a feud with the neighboring hamlet of Capulet.

[Squid]

Oh Grant, get out of my brain, darling!

You know, I rather enjoy the thought of forcing people to find Capn' Jack in a remote location.

I nominate an undisclosed motel in Chico next! We can reclaim warchalking for Indie Rock! Wootyhoo!

[pahouk]

A couple of videos from the show I found on YouTube:

Carparts : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyvy8Ciq3YE
Fire Island : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CdjcFLEY3g

According to the article John linked to in his Twitter feed he also did a version of Solitary Man. I wish there was some video of that performance as well.

[Moni]

Carparts : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyvy8Ciq3YE
Fire Island : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CdjcFLEY3g

Nice! Could it be that this is the first acoustic version of "Fire Island" (since the one from KEXP a few decades ago) that's been posted on the internet?

[sour29]

I think I read that it was the first time it was played at all acoustically, excepting the KEXP alternate key version from almost six years ago! :O

[pahouk]

Some additional videos from this show turned up on You Tube:

Ultimatum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzIJT8r-sYQ
Commander : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwD3BtH1MLc
Also artisanal pencil sharpening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrVjqceMMpo (sadly only post-sharpening footage)

[Unremarkable]

I think I read that it was the first time it was played at all acoustically, excepting the KEXP alternate key version from almost six years ago! :O

It was played live acoustically by John solo many times before the recording of PTDTB. I may even have bootleg recordings of it somewhere...

[John]

That may be true, but I can't think of a time when I played it with the guitar riff like that. What do you think of this version? Too stripped down?

[orochics]

The "Guitar Solo" was epic. My fav part :D

[sour29]

That may be true, but I can't think of a time when I played it with the guitar riff like that. What do you think of this version? Too stripped down?

I don't know if I'd say TOO stripped down, but it's weird that the guitar actually gets QUIETER for the chorus than it was for the verse. Subverting the norm? I'd be interested to see how it sounds with barre chords played during the chorus rather than just the root note. Otherwise, I wouldn't say too stripped down, no.

[Liesbeth]

I was wondering what it was that bugged me, but it is what Jason said.
I rather like the verses played like this, but I miss the whole band bursting in on the chorus.

This discussion reminds me of first hearing the album version, after hearing the old 'KEXP' version a lot. It blew me away!

[Moni]

I was wondering what it was that bugged me, but it is what Jason said.

Hmm, have to say I liked that. It's kinda sneaky.
But i do miss the old pre-PTDTB acoustic version. It was beautiful.

[orochics]

I was wondering what it was that bugged me, but it is what Jason said.

Hmm, have to say I liked that. It's kinda sneaky.
But i do miss the old pre-PTDTB acoustic version. It was beautiful.

Is that pre version the same as the one found here http://www.haterhigh.com/?p=653 at the bottom under "[2004.12.03] KEXP; Seattle, WA"? That one seems quite different!

[sour29]

That's the one. I was always partial to that one too -- I used to listen to Ultimatum and Fire Island from that set on repeat. It actually took me some getting used to the PTDTB version ("it sounds...HAPPY?!?!"), but I love it now.

[John]

Bear in mind that the original version of Fire Island was recorded as a full band version too, and is the one on the vinyl release of Ultimatum.

[sour29]

I'd love a proper digital rip of that one day. iTunes EP, maybe?

Edit: post 1983! The year I was born. Creeeeepy!

[grant]

The year I discovered the B-52s, I believe. Which, for personal reasons, always remind me of church rummage sales wherein I also found salacious Michael Moorcock fantasy novels. Which, in turn, remind me of Blue Oyster Cult, because Michael Moorcock wrote several songs with them. (So did Patti Smith.) Michael Moorcock was also a part-time member of Hawkwind, a band named for one of his novels, in which Lemmy was also a member, until he left (got kicked out?) to form Motorhead.

So that's how the B52s relate to Motorhead for me.

Obviously, the surviving members of both bands should record a cover of "Fire Island" (original version) as a single, B-side: "Revenge of Vera Gemini".

[John]

Now THAT was a brief but perfect disquisition!