Wednesday, March 8th, 2006

Towering And Flowering

With his “Does anyone still care” mini-tour from last Fall proving to be quite the success, Rob Dickinson was in town last night just five months after his triumphant show at the Horseshoe last October. The positive response he got must have been encouraging, because this time around he jettisoned the second guitarist and keyboardist and did things truly solo, just him and an acoustic guitar.

It’s a testament to this city’s persistent adoration for Dickinson and Catherine Wheel that he was able to nearly fill Lee’s Palace on a Tuedsay night and so soon after coming through town the first time. Unlike last time, where he drew only from Fresh Wine For The Horses up until the end of the set, he opened last night with “Heal”, and split the set evenly between CW and solo material. The crowd, for their part, was willing to meet Rob halfway and was almost as appreciative of the new material as the classics. Also contributing to the atmosphere was Rob’s rather jovial mood – in chatting with the audience, the vibe was not unlike an episode of VH1 Storytellers. He prefaced “Little Muscle” with some comments about the Colin Farrell sex tapes and “Eat My Dust You Insensitive Fuck” was dedicated to American Idol. Overall the atmosphere was great and once again, Rob was terrific. And it’s worth noting the number of hints and asides he made about his old band – it would not shock me one bit to see a full-fledged Catherine Wheel reunion sooner rather than later. Almost certainly before a second Dickinson solo disc comes to be.

Photos here and as a footnote, The Cleveland Free Times has an interview with Rob.

Pitchfork had a chat with Belle & Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson just before the start of their current North American tour while Being There revisits the band’s early works.

Some release info – Sigur Ros will release a new EP for Saeglopur in April and The Futureheads’ News And Tributes will be out May 23. They give NME a sneak preview. Finally the new one from Australia’s Sleepy Jackson, still untitled, has a May 30 release date. Looking forward to this one – Lovers was a great record.

Some show info – Most of this year’s edition of The Over The Top Fest has been announced, and once again it’s going to be a super-solid long weekend of music in Toronto come early May. Initially the most exciting show to me is the Shameless-sponsored showcase with Asobi Seksu, PAS/CAL and Ohbijou at Sneaky Dee’s on May 6, but there’s lots more worth seeing on the sched, and there’s still a few more shows forthcoming. Also, Elephant 6-ers The Minders are in town August 5 at a venue to be determined, and My Morning Jacket will be opening up for Pearl Jam’s upcoming North American tour, including the first two dates of the whole shebang at the Air Canada Centre on May 9 and 10.

I don’t really know how this will affect me in real practical terms, but in principle, I wholeheartedly approve.

24: So how intense does an episode have to be to warrant a double-shot midway through the season? Mmm, fairly intense. Ep 1: So how exactly does skid-boy get in touch with the terrorists to sell the keycard? Did he put an ad on Craigslist? Best moment from the hospital: Chemical weapons guy – “It could detonate if you move it”. Curtis’ look – “I just told you that five minutes ago, you dillweed”. And that was the worst hospital evacuation job I’ve ever seen. I mean, seriously. “Put everyone in the parking lot! And park the CTU vehicles way at the back, behind all the people!” Ugh. Ep 2: Look! Kim! Arriving at CTU just in time to be taken hostage! AWESOME. And she brought a boyfriend! Quick, everyone lay odds on what limb he’s going to lose. Anyone notice the name that keycard boy put on it? Mark Marcus. Yeah, that’s inconspicuous. Best line of the night was Audrey on Kim: “I think she’s a little confused”. Hell, I’ve been saying that for five seasons now. Poor hot CTU chick – dead and all Edgar’s fault. But I guess it seems a little crass to blame him for that now… But yeah. That was pretty good. And when I read this story the other day (http://www.theeagle.com/stories/030706/nation_20060307017.php), I couldn’t help thinking about CTU’s crack (smoking) security staff.

np – Neko Case / Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

By : Frank Yang at 9:05 am
Category: Uncategorized
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  1. 3/8/06 10:10 am

     sam says:

    now, be honest, Frank – did you tear up, even just a little, during that last episode?
    come on… :P

  2. 3/8/06 10:15 am

     Frank says:

    yes, I shed a tear. Not for Edgar, but for Edgar and Chloe’s love which will now never come to its grotesque, eye-gouging fruition.

    And also one for hot CTU chick with a knife in her neck.

  3. 3/8/06 10:27 am

     ts says:

    Oh yes – what you termed ‘hot CTU chick’ …her demise was so Hallowe’en/Nightmare on Elm Street! I think this episode was very much an homage to the Wes Craven/ John Carpenter genre…right down to Edgar slithering down his desk to his death. What is truly fascinating is how the writers could turn the most truly irritating character on TV into someone who commands attention.

  4. 3/8/06 10:47 am

     Sean says:

    For the keycard thing, the missus figured (implausibly, she admitted) that the terrorists had this whole "hit CTU" backup plan in the works the whole time and the skid mugger was set up to take the keycard in advance. (cause you know the terrorists have watched the first four seasons of 24 and realize that CTU is pretty good at foiling all manner of plan, so even if the larger picture plan involved hitting Russia it doesn’t hurt to plan to hit CTU also – and foil their foiling efforts, or something)

  5. 3/8/06 10:52 am

     Frank says:

    yeah, I dunno. I can suspend disbelief as well as the next guy but accepting that the terrorists knew Samwise was going to be taking over CTU, that he had a junkie sister and that there would be a mugging is just… no, I’m sorry. I know the 24 baddies like having contingency upon contingency upon contingency, but I sort of wish that just once, we’d see them go – "Oh shit. THAT wasn’t supposed to happen. Okay, everyone go home. We’ll call you later."

  6. 3/8/06 12:41 pm

     Eric Grubbs says:

    The name of the interviewer in the B&S interview looks familiar. Is that the ex-cellist from Cursive?

  7. 3/8/06 12:42 pm

     Frank says:

    Eric – Survey says… yes it is.

    http://www.grettacohn.com/

  8. 3/8/06 2:58 pm

     Chris says:

    I am so glad Chad VanGaalen is coming back! His set at OtTF last year was amazing, and his record was one of the more underrated of last year IMO.

  9. 3/8/06 3:40 pm

     Alan says:

    maybe this will cause some sort of cataclysmic event, but… I think it’s time we shut off the freakin’ TV and did something else.

    Or, maybe everyone will just think I’m nuts.

  10. 3/9/06 10:26 am

     sam says:

    the way i see it, they stumbled upon the CTU key card and used one canister as a decoy. didn’t the top canister guy even mention some irritation at using one of his prized canisters in this way? this wasn’t planned and is not their priority target for the day. they just wanted to shake things up. thinking on the fly. that’s what the good terrorists do :)

  11. 3/9/06 10:47 am

     Five17 says:

    Best line in the show, when Kim was talking about Chase: "He couldn’t hold on to anything."

    The writers are sick.

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