Wembley, Great Northern and Comas at the 506

Saturday saw a confluence of really good bands at the Local 506. First up was Wembley featuring Nathan Brown from Regina Hexaphone and the former Laramie UK. A terrific gig for such a new band. The arrangements were inventive and attractive to listen to. The vocals were clear and expressive. I wish I had a comparison for this band but they were very original. Definitely ensemble pop.

Next up was Great Northern from LA. They rocked hard from the very first note. A very tight performing ensemble they could stop and start on a dime. The material
was excellent as well. Lead Singer Rachel Stolte was impressive and guitarist Solon Bixler was amazing. Often coaxing overtones and harmonics out of the guitar this band is alot more rock oriented than their record would lead you to believe. Their new cd is called "Trading Twilight for Daylight"

Last was the Comas, alot of them, playing the solid material from their new album.
A particular favorite was Red Microphone. Members of the Comas had been off and on stage during the Great Northern set to help out with percussion and singing. It felt like these two bands who had been touring together were a singular support unit for each other. A rare thing in the current music industry climate.

What's on the Shuffle

The iPod shuffle is a forced exercise in distillation.
I love its portability and its need for me to be
precise with how it helps my workout. It is the karmic
opposite of my iPod Video. That said...

What's on the Shuffle:

The Comas - Spells
The Stars of Track and Field - Centuries Before Love and War
Voxtrot - Voxtrot
Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory
Guster - Ganging Up on the Sun
U2 - October
U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 - One Single
Driveblind - Promo EP
The Police - Ghost in the Machine

Last 3 CDs Bought:

Claudio Abbado - Beethoven Symphony no. 9
Evgeny Kissin - 1984 Chopin Concert
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

A Walk Around the Hill

So my son and I took a stroll around Chapel Hill yesterday
when we encountered this rather Seussian sculpture.
It looks like something right out of "How the Grinch Stole
Christmas" to me.

The Golden Compass

Just finished reading Phillip Pullman's page-turner "The Golden Compass." My daugther tells me she read it in sixth grade. Well, it wasn't written yet when I was in sixth grade. Regardless, it's a fabulously engrossing story written for any age with all the ingredients that books that have complete worlds within have. The richness of detail and likable and detestable characters along with the exotica that usually pops up in any good tale. I read this book in two sittings and it is compelling all on its own. Now I'll have to go back to finishing up "Last Temptation of Christ" which I thought I was reading first until I read the first chapter of this book. I don't know if I'll read about the rest of Lyras travels but this first bit was fun.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

I went to see director Ken Loach's new epic on the Irish revolution on Sunday. The age old story of brother pitted against brother is recast yet again. Damien and Teddy are the main protagonists in the story and as brothers wind up having differing views on how to achieve what is best for their beloved homeland. Damien winds up being converted to the IRA in the most impressionable way after a British brigade busts up a train station. Teddy was already in the IRA and welcomes Damien to its ranks. The film begins in the 1920's and follows the progression of Irish politics from there. Its very clear from the directors point of view that the English were nothing short of storm troopers harassing the locals and torturing where necessary. The interesting bit is beyond the two dimensional depiction of the Brits and all about the evolution of Irish politics on into the Republican days after the signing of a truce with England for peace in most of Ireland. There is a scene where the truce is discussed that is a history lesson all its own.

Dohnanyi and Mozart

Attended the Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshops opening concert on Sunday afternoon in the Graham Memorial. It was a perfect setting to hear two really different chamber pieces. First up was Serenade in C Major by Enro Dehnanyi. The intensity and beauty of this piece immediately put me in mind of Dvorak. The complex harmonies of the 3rd and 4th movements are a wonder to hear. It was played crisply and clearly by a trio of cello, viola and violin. I do not know this composers work but this piece has inspired me to learn more.

The second piece of the afternoon was Mozart's Horn Quintet which was much less challenging to the ear. A brisk 3 movements where the latter two felt almost like rondos of the first. Again beautifully performed but not quite as interesting to the ear as the first.

Temples and Tombs at the NC Museum of Art

Focus in this exhibit is always on the Egyptian royalty. Numerous statues and stelae attest to the greatness or power of many a forgotten monarch. Really interesting to see the shift in styles from the old kingdom through the middle kingdom
and onward to the new kingdom. Shifts toward realism are evident in the representations of kings and nobility as time passes toward the present.

Included in the exhibition are sculptures, reliefs, papyri, heiroglyphs of all kinds, jewelry, cosmetic objects, and funerary items in a variety of media – including stone, wood, terra cotta, gold, glass, and papyrus.

The first room is scattershot with objects used by artists and nobles. Among the included items are objects of decoration and protection, such as amulets, earrings, rings, a beautiful necklace, and cosmetic jars. Other items, such as a scribal palette, drawing board, practice drawings, and inked grid show the inner working of the artist's process and training.

There is a whole section of the private statuary. The earliest statues of private individuals were found in tombs, as a place where the spirit of the deceased could reside. The statuary here ranges from about 3000 B.C. to the first century A.D.

The last section of the exhibit focuses on Egyptian tombs and the afterlife. Seeking to gain life after death, items interred with the deceased were intended to protect their physical body and insure a successful afterlife for the soul.

There are bowls, palettes, headrests, ostraca (pieces of clay or stone with writing on them), and other everyday objects in the exhibition are embedded with protective symbols because they were intended for protection of the burial tomb.