Norah Jones @ USANA Sept. 25, 2004

Unfortunately, it looks like Norah is not going to make it here on this tour. The new CD is good. I like it. Here is the set list from her show back in 2004. The roadie that gave it to me didn't want me to have it because it was torn. I said, "yes but it was done by Norah's foot!"

It was so great to see Robbie McIntosh at this show.

Amos Lee opened up for her and he was great as well. He makes great music in the studio but he is so fun and funny live. It is nice to see him getting some recognition.

Bead-azzled

Another version of me from Flickr.

More Fun With Photos

I found a cool thing to do here at Flicker.

This image was done, of course, with the Warholizer.

There are other great things to do there. Try it for yourself.

Slowhand at the Fallout Shelter

EC was here...

Eric Clapton was rather subdued. He let the other guys in the band really shine.

Derek Trucks!!! was really amazing. I am looking forward to seeing him at Red Butte this summer when he returns for a show with his wife, the beautiful and talented Susan Tedeschi.


Doyle Bramhall II was amazing as well. Little Wing was simply beautiful. What a great tune and a wonderful version.

Wonderful Tonight was sublime as expected.

May Eric Clapton come back again soon!

An Evening with My Chemical Romance

And what a night it was. Rise Against opened the show and they sounded fine. I wasn't really as into them as I am MCR so I didn't expect much. I am going to revisit the new album after hearing them live. We got the set list so look for the linked picture at the bottom of the post.

MCR took the stage with Gerard singing from a stretcher...he sat up and was in a white surgical gown. He climbed off the gurney while still singing, the band was playing behind a curtain. Gerard then pulled off the gown to reveal the marching band uniform as a curtain was pulled back to reveal the rest of the band playing in matching marching band uniforms. Gerard's was unzipped to show his black shirt and tie.

Gerard was the only member of the band wearing make-up: mostly just white, making him appear slightly dead, with a smattering of dark around his eyes. I was expecting the Frank Iero Xs over his eyes. And I thought Gerard might be sporting the mask look he was sporting a few months ago. At one point in the show, he pointed out that they are not some kind of "Death Cult" that the only thing the band has asked is that their fans think for themselves and to not accept anyone's B.S. (of course he usede plenty of expletives, most the F word or the MF combination.

This was a very entertaining show. The band continues to improve. They played very well and tight. Gerard's singing voice seemed stronger and more in control than I have heard previously.

The first half of their set was the Black Parade album played in order and in its entirety. They left the stage for five minutes or so and did another set made up of stuff from three cheers. They had changed clothes, the stage was stripped down and the last half was a pretty much straight ahead punk-themed rock show.

If you missed the show, watch for a live DVD. It should be worth watching.

It will be interesting to see if the band can top this Black Parade album next time out. I think it is truly this Year's American Idiot.

Just an interesting aside, my son thinks that Mikey should change his name to Milky or High. I am thinking of changing my name to Still or Muddy.

I discovered a new snack...

...it is probably really, terribly bad for you. But it is very tasty!

I was making dinner for my family the other day. My plan was to make an Asian-themed dish with rice wraps and veggies. Instead, it turned into a stir-fry with noodles dish. As I was gathering ingredients from the grocery store, I saw the package of Super Baby Star Crispy Noodle Snack and thought that the family had to get a laugh out of it if I brought it home. The packaging is delightful (as you can see for yourself to the left).







I love the name, Super Baby Star. I think it might make a great band name.

I enjoy the spokesman:



But I think that my favorite part of the snack are the instructions for eating that are included on the back:

My son's friend from across the street always says, "Man, you guys sure know how to eat!" when he visits and stays for dinner. Now we could show him the Way to eat." Of course, we would maybe have to substitute and give him root beer. I did find that this snack indeed : "Suits the time when drink beer." I ran out of crispy noodle before I could try it with tea.

I am sure that my doctor would outlaw Super Baby Star from my low cholesterol diet. I probably won't dare buy it again. But it was certainly worth trying. The package comes super puffed, like a little joy filled rattling pillow. Buy some today!

Where Have I Been? Plus: The Power of Music...

It has been a couple of very stressful months. I have really missed blogging.

I was honored by having been asked to present at the 2007 UELMA Conference by my good friend Nan. The last time I saw her was at The Who concert in November.

The conference was really great. I was able to connect with a few old friends. It was really great to see Susan, but she had to race back to the city to work a shift. I would have loved to have been able to take her to lunch.

I saw and spoke with the ever-amazing Randy Silverman. So great to see him bringing his passion for preservation to the school librarians. He had a huge crowd hanging on his every word and paying particular attention to the "cooking show" version of a spine repair.

Connected with an old friend, Diana Bowman, with whom I went from Elementary School all the way through High School (where she played my wife in the critically acclaimed production of The Diary of Anne Frank. The last time I saw her, she was in my branch of the library looking for work. It was great to see her, to hear that she had found meaningful work at the school for the deaf and blind.

Instead of eating lunch, I sat and caught up with a friend, Juan, from the State Library and Reforma. It was great fun to sit and talk about a variety of subjects ranging from the two Wendovers, to Danger and Jukebox caves in Tooele County, to the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island, to the Spiral Jetty and the Sun Tunnels, to shop talk about Libraries and Library Services, and a variety of other topics. Thanks, Juan.

Music, singing and playing the guitar, allowed me to be able to participate at this conference. I had caught up with Nan at the UEA convention a few months ago, where we were co-presenters, and she asked me to come to UELMA. I told her about the presentation I had done at ULA and asked if she would like me to do a variation on that theme. Although I missed my good friend Cydnee, who helped me in St. George and has now moved on to great and fulfilling challenges in Idaho, I had a wonderful time with a great group of Librarians who seemed to enjoy what I had to share.

I was a little intimidated by the presence of Ted Dilworth, a true musician and school librarian at Hillcrest Elementary where my kids used to go to school--Ted has recently completed work on a musical based on the Greek folktale The Twelve Months, which will make its public debut with the Hillcrest kids April 17th at Highland Middle School in Ogden. He was very supportive and once I got going, I got going and had a great time.

It was silly, very fun, and I hope that the conference attendees got as much out of it as I did. I expected maybe 25 people or so, but was pleasantly surprised with over 50 who filled all the seats and even the aisle. Music Together had sent me some promotional CDs and those quickly went and I was left with people wanting more.

I hope I will get asked to come again next year. Thanks Nan, for the warm and wonderful invitation that turned into one of the best days I've had so far this year.