Spring Things

Finally coming out of my hibernation unit to  live whatever life I've got left. (That's another benefit of age. You can get as bleak as you want as time passes and nobody bats an eye.) But it's springtime, y'all! Love is in the air and so is an assload of pollen. But don't let me rain on your parade...oops. I'm in Oregon. It rains on our frickin' parades all the time. It's like living in the rain forest. Except with parades.

I had the honor once again to see my friend Grant-Lee Phillips when his tour with Kristin Hersh blew through Portland. I sat in awe with my buddy Bob Gossett as we witnessed this amazingly talented singer/songwriter mesmerize his audience with that distinctively soulful voice of his echoing through the halls of the Old Church concert venue. (The Old Church is literally that: an old church. And they serve alcohol. because it's Portland.) Grant's latest album, WIDDERSHINS, has just been released, and is almost a call-back to his previous incarnation with his band Grant Lee Buffalo. I haven't heard him rock out like this in quite awhile. From what I've read, he recorded this four freaking days in what must have been a real purge. Grant's songs were inspired by-or should I say a rebuttal to-current events. The song that resonates with me the most is "The Wilderness", though I can say the same for "Master of Catastrophes" and the sensational anthem "Liberation". After wrapping up his US tour, Grant's off to Europe and Australia.There's something super human about this guy.

GRANT LEE PHILLIPS WEBSITE

Taking a couple of much needed days off to regroup and recharge before I regurgitate, nothing gets me back to where I want to be more than a good film experience and this time was no exception. My movie of choice was Wes Anderson's stop motion masterwork ISLE OF DOGS, a delight from beginning until end, Nobody makes films like Anderson and I am so glad to live in the same world that he does. If I didn't know better, I would say that he makes films just for me and me alone. Shot n the same manner as his adaptation of Roald Dahl's THE FANTASTIC MR.FOX, this fable is a riff on dystopia, pets. Japan and loyalty with that ever meticulous Wes Anderson flair.

This cherry on top of this banana split called 2018 is that the Rio Linda Elverta Community Theater in California is producing MURDER: THE FINAL FRONTIER the first weekend in June. Even though this is the only booking I have this year (so far), I consider it a gift that keeps on giving and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. More about this later, but for now...HUZZAH!


We now return you to our regularly scheduled reality already in progress.