Out There

When I was a kid I saw the movie I Wanna Hold Your Hand.  It was on one of our then called Super Channels which was a 24 hour movie channel.  I've never watched the movie since but I remember how it showed the hysteria of the culture surrounding the Beatles and their fans.

When I was in junior high school I went through a whole 50's and 60's phase.  I made mixed tapes [remember those?] of music from that time period.  I borrowed records from the library and recorded them onto cassette tape.  I borrowed all the Beatles greatest hits albums and transferred them to cassette tape.  This was also around the time Duran Duran hit it big and I quickly transferred my obsession to them and the new British Invasion.

In a million years I would have never thought I'd ever have a chance to see someone of the calibre of Paul McCartney in concert anywhere near my home.  People like that only toured in the US and maybe had one or two concert dates in Canada.

As a piano "mackdaddy", I've taught many students to play Let it Be, Hey Jude, and Yesterday.  I've felt it is my duty as a music teacher to educate the up and coming about relative music.  I teach the songs and I try to teach the story behind it.

In 2012, I went to New York and saw the building John Lennon was killed in front of.  I walked through Central Park which contains Strawberry Fields and a memorial to John Lennon.

This year.  I got to go to Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan for an evening of magic with 40,000 other people.  I saw Sir Paul McCartney in concert for the final night of the North American Out There tour.

It was EPIC.

We drove into Regina about 4pm and checked into the Days Inn which has the highest beds of all time.  Seriously, when I stood beside the bed, it was hip high.  We couldn't find a restaurant so we had to get a quick and untastey burger at McDonald's before we lined up for the shuttle buses to the stadium.  We were there at what we thought was early.  Within a very short period of time the line traveled around the entire parking lot.  The buses could only take 45 people at a time.  There weren't enough buses.  Some people were opting to drive instead but the city strongly urged people to take the SGI sponsored shuttles instead.  So we stuck with the shuttles.

That wasn't the worst of it.

When we got to the block before the stadium there were streets blocked off with police everywhere.  The line up for the gate to our seating was a city block long.  The signage inside the stadium was poor.  It was hot and we had been standing forever.  Bottled water was $4.  So finally we found our seats and settled in.  I use the word 'seat' generously because it was a bench basically.  The guy on the isle got the worst of it by only  half perching on the seat.

Because it was taking such an enormous amount of time for fans to get there the concert did not start on time.  It started an hour after it's supposed initial start time of 8pm.  But something was happening and does tend to happen when 40,000 people are in a stadium together and the sun is setting making the moon [and I'm not talking about Jon Cornish here] over Mosaic a magical place. 

 

A spontaneous wave broke out.  Have you ever seen that amount of people participating in the wave?  I bet we set a record.

Finally, Paul appeared on stage and from there on out.....it was purely 3 hours of legendary music spanning 50 years.  We heard tributes to Lennon and Harrison.  We heard songs dedicated to two of his wives.  We heard stories of recordings and playing with Jimmy Hendrix and it was all incredible.  At one point he took a certain section of the stage to himself.  It was himself and his guitar, which he played about 5 different types.  McCartney talked about telling people how much you love them while you have the chance and how he didn't with John Lennon.  Then he sang a song about him and the stage began to rise up while water falls emerge on the screens below.  Paul wiped away a tear when he was done.

At another point in the concert, he took to his piano to sing Let it Be.  I've heard it billions of times.  This was the most emotional time I've ever experienced it as the entire stadium lit up with lighters and cell phones.  Again, Paul was clearly moved by the outpouring of emotion from the crowd.

The most mind blowing part of the concert was the rendition of Live and Let Die.  I can't even hardly explain the jaw dropping excitement as flames were shot off the stage and fireworks streaked into the night sky.  Wow.  Just plain WOW.

During the 1st encore Hubby pulled my arm and said we should go and catch our bus.  We were clearly leaving early as by the time we hit the bottom of the stairs Paul had broken into Yesterday.  So we stood outside on the street with tons of other people listening in the night.  When it was over we headed to our bus while more fireworks went off and could be seen for blocks around.
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Today we were lucky and beat the rush to the continental breakfast which was delish!  We needed it because we were sight seeing before heading home for the 3 hour drive.  The first place we went was the Legislature Building.  This is the massive building which our Premiere Brad Wall conducts all provincial business.  It is on the bank of Wascana Lake and features immaculate gardens, sculptures and walking trails.  There was a tour which takes a half hour but we had other places to get to.

Rider practice!!!!!  We got a little lost trying to find Leibel Field but finally found it.  It was 32*C so we didn't stay as long as originally planned.  It was fun to watch the team practice.  It was cool to hear the 'wolf pack' howl in unison a number of times.  I snapped a few shots before we left for lunch.

Lunch was at the Star Italian Deli.  The main objective was cannoli.  And yes, they did have cannoli!  It was really good too.  We also got assorted Italian meat sandwiches and an orange Boylan soda, another treat from our NYC trip.

Because of the heat, we decided to drive and eat.  We found the highway and zoomed off with enough vivid memories to last a life time.  I am still drinking it all in.  It is amazing to be Out There.

An Evening With SUPERTRAMP

I did not have the easiest of work days yesterday.  I was thankful I was only working half the day.  I had a student come who was obviously sick and had in fact stayed home from school and yet her parents thought her well enough to come to lessons.  Thank goodness for hand sanitizer.  I had the pleasure of teaching [although with this student the term "teaching" is used loosely] a girl who I've had issues with for a long long time.  I hate to generalize but I know there is something very not right about this girl.  Then I had a student who I thought was out for the count due to a broken collar bone.....and yet she showed up yesterday.  Finally I was free.....a little cranky.....but free.

At 7pm Hubby and I set out for the concert.  I was really amazed at the lack of traffic and the ease of parking.  Other concerts we've taken a bus shuttle but they were not offered this time.  Now I know that's because it was not a complete sell out.  It saddens me.  Talent of this caliber deserves a sell out crowd. 

The audience was a diverse one.  All ages.  We had tickets for Row 5, seats 18 and 19 which turned out to be terrific seats and almost mid-stage.  I had the luck, as I always do, of sitting behind someone whose head I couldn't see around [as you'll see in my video].  The woman beside me kept jiggling her leg.....not in time to the music, but in a nervous-I'm-putting-in-my-time kind of way.  Oh.....and when she wasn't jiggling she was texting.  Her friend got up and left half way through.  I may add our tickets were $150.  Why you'd pay that money to sit and not pay attention is beyond me.  *shrugs*

There wasn't an opening band.  They simply took the stage and performed.  There weren't any flashy pyrotechnics.  They simply did what they were meant to do.  And what that was.....was entertain.

On our way home, which wasn't the long way, I commented "what a great way to spend $150."  Hubby agreed.  "Now THAT is music."

Attack of the Pod Person

It began innocently enough on a December afternoon as I sat perusing a reward point website which was in conjunction with the diet my sister in law coached me for and which I had used in my ongoing weigh loss battle. I had accumulated many points. I was very excited to use some of them to claim a bracelet from Eclipse. It was a replica of the one given to Bella in the movie with a brown wolf dangling from one end and a “diamond” heart pendant from the other. I really wanted to use up all my points because I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to get the products from across the border. I happened to click onto the electronics tab next. Appearing before me was a selection of iPod Shuffle's in various colours of the rainbow. I chose green. When faced with a decision of colour, green was always the answer. 

 

♫ Green is the colour.....Football is the game.... ♪

When it arrived I was forced into installing all the necessary Apple programing. All I intended was to use it for music and maybe hook it up in the car for long trips. But on further investigations into iTunes.....I found out I could also use it for Podcasts and Audio Books. With all this investigating I became fluent in the “i” language. iRock.

I recalled as a kid listening to old style mystery radio shows late at night and often they'd put me to sleep. So I did a search in iTunes for these types of radio programs and to my delight I found out many of them were free to subscribe. Since it was just before Christmas I looked for Christmas programming and happened upon a selection of Abbot & Costello doing some Christmas shopping as well as Red Skeleton and the Martin & Lewis Show. It was only 3 shows but I downloaded them to my green pod and whisked them off with me to my parents for the Christmas holidays where on the Eve of the Chubby Dude arriving we hooked up the Pod to a “ghetto blaster” and listened and laughed to these relic radio shows. It was memorable.

Once Christmas was over I still wanted to enjoy these programs and decided I really enjoyed the Martin & Lewis programs the best. I found someone on iTunes who had made podcasts on a regular basis and quickly subscribed. I went back to the very beginning.....waaaay back to 1949.....a time warp. The comedy was clean and truly funny and I found myself often chuckling in the darkness waiting to fall asleep. Often Dean Martin's voice would swoon me to sleep.

♫ I'm at heaven's door.....Innamorata ♪

Honestly the only memories I had were of Dean Martin. I really knew nothing of his partnership with Jerry Lewis. I remember seeing some of the Dean Martin roasts on TV and had vague memories of The Dean Martin Show from my childhood and always thought he was a boozer. I am not one to leave a stone unturned and after Googling found out a great deal about them. I began watching clips on Youtube from the Colgate Comedy Hour and even ordered some episodes from Amazon. One DVD included a movie At War with the Army. This movie opened up a whole new era to appreciate and enjoy.

I've really found that I was craving this type of entertainment in my life. I find there is very little on TV to watch and music these days are somewhat of a disappointment to me. Plus, I am always looking for a new way to express music in my teaching. I may not teach this specific style of music but it really does impact us today. That's what I love most.....is finding something from another time and space and applying the concept to what we do today. Did you know that Elvis heard a Dean Martin song and wanted to record it? Then that song became his 2^nd big hit? It's true. Here's another thing I discovered. I am not the only person yearning for this type of programing.

Why have I told you this big long story?  I watched all of the movies featuring the duo of Dean and Jerry . I also wanted to tell everyone how one little decision changed my life over the last three months. Had I never clicked on that link on the reward page and ordered that little green Pod you would have never had to endure all my crazy ramblings over these weeks and months. At the same time, my eyes have been opened along with my heart to a time and place that only half exists on audio and film even though the impact is woven intricately into the tapestry of Hollywood and television. It leaves me wondering if what we see and hear today could also stand the test of the passing of 60 years.

Saskatoon Rock City

We have learned from past traffic jams - we are seasoned concert goers - that it is best to take a bus to the concert venue mostly to alleviate a certain driver's parking lot rage.  We catch the bus just a few blocks from home at the Confederation Park Mall Bus Terminal.  The KISS concert was no exception.  The other times we've done this, its been standing room only, but this time we lucked out.  Or maybe it was because no one wanted to ride with the Paul-Stanley-Wannabe. 

This ride was more eventful than the other bus rides though.  There had been a truck/semi accident that cut off the highway out of the city - the main route to Credit Union Centre.  Traffic was creeping along and down to two lanes.  The CUC is right beside Costco.....imagine if you were just going out there for some Costco buffet treats?  Anyhow, we arrived in plenty of time to wait for the opening act.

During this free time I was able to bond with the Lady Sitting Next to Me.  A spiky haired dude walked towards us.  Lady's Husband says, "OHMYGAWD, it's the statue of Liberty!"  If only I knew her name - I know we would be great friends.  I wonder if she likes donuts?

The opening act was BuckCherry.  Lady and I agreed we most definitely would not be running out to buy that cd.  They played entirely too long although the Two Girls who sat in front of us seemed to enjoy them.  But then they were the type who were in and out of their seats the entire time. [Washroom breaks?  Beer runs?  Smoke breaks?  I dunno]  This gives me a terrific topic for a future blog.....so be on the lookout for that one!

Moments before KISS took the stage there was a large amount of cheering as a group down below us entered the floor seating.  It was Shannon Tweed!  I'm pretty sure her sister and lot's of family were with her.....I didn't see if Sophie or Nick was there though.  The reason for this is that Shannon is from Saskatoon!  She turned and waved at the audience, paused for pictures and shook a few hands.  Then it was time for the real show.....

This was the best stage show I have ever seen.  It didn't leave me a ranting and raving lunatic like the Eagles concert did, but WOW!  There was amazing lights, pyro's and sonic booms.  There was a drum solo in which drummer Tommy Thayer complete with drum set lifted off the platform and the platform turned around.....all while he was drumming!  There was the moment that Gene Simmons spit fire and drooled blood then flew up into the rafters.  But the best part for me was this.....  Paul Stanley talked about being in Tim Horton's and said they have the best donuts!  He said that someone asked him what its like to be up on stage and he replied saying that sometimes he wishes he could be in the audience too.  That's when he said, "I'm coming out there with you!" and he jumped on a trolley and glided to the center of the arena to a rotating stage reminiscent of a 45 record.

After seeing an amazing encore we were able to find our bus to head home - a bunch of happy KISS concert goers with our ears a buzzin' from rock and rollin' all night long.

The Concert to End all Concerts ~ The Eagles ~

I am never going to another concert. 

 

The reason?

There will never EVER be another concert that could possibly live up to what I saw and heard last night at the Eagles concert. 

I am ruined. 

I was extremely excited for this concert since it was first announced. I remember my gasp at the radio when it was broadcast. Hubby thought something horrible had happened. Then I proclaimed that we were getting tickets even if it killed us. When tickets went on sale on Ticketmaster I went online....6 minutes in line scored me nose bleed section tickets but I didn't care. The two concert dates sold out in 11 minutes. Later on a 3^rd date was added. Never in the history has the Eagles played 3 consecutive dates in the same city. Never mind, little Saskatoon Saskatchewan, population 225,927+.

The Eagles are special to us. My friend and piano teacher Karen Berard's husband had bought Hell Freezes Over. He didn't like it so she gave it to me. Hubby and I played it on all of our road trips. It wasn't a road trip without the Eagles. When I got my Oldsmobile and the cassette player died the road trips were not the same. Last spring, when we were planning our Oregon-buy-a-new-car trip we bought Long Road Out of Eden at Walmart and saved it for the Honda drive home. It did not disappoint. Traveling with the Eagles is what we do.

I had heard that driving to Credit Union Centre was not recommended. It's got terrible parking. I've done it before. At the Elton John concert it took us over an hour just to get out of the parking lot. I am not good driving in crowded places. For a toonie [$2 coin for you south of me] we could hop on the bus 4 blocks from home and be delivered to the concert via bus. We opted for that. It turned out to be the best and fastest and most convenient way to travel. I'd sure do that again.

Our seats were in section 19 row 18 numbers 1 and 2. So we were 1 row from the ceiling! We luckily had isle seats because it was hot up there! The stage was to our left. The Eagles were about 2 inches tall when they appeared on stage. It doesn't matter.....I was THERE.

The concert was to start at 8pm but like most, didn't start on time. The opening song was How Long from the Out of Eden CD and one of my favorites from that album. Glen Fry called themselves the "assisted living tour" and commented that they are the band that wouldn't die. He is such a funny guy! There was a short intermission after an hour and a half. They wore black suits and ties for the whole concert only taking off the jackets towards the end. Joe Walsh came out in a Roughrider cap with a camera on it and took shots of the crowd. 

I can't even comment on who performed the best. How can you choose a favorite? How many people can play drums and sing at the same time? How many people have the falsetto of Timothy B. Schmit? How many people can play guitar like Joe Walsh? Every song was incredible. I've never heard such tight harmony at a live performance. I've never heard any live act with such amazing clear and crisp sound. I've never heard anything like this.

I've seen lot's of live acts. Last November we saw Elton John. Sir Elton couldn't hold a candle to the Eagles. This concert was 100 times better. Hubby saw George Strait 2 years ago. The Eagles were better he said. They didn't dangle over the crowd like I saw Jon Bon Jovi do in 1990. The acoustics weren't loud like Bryan Adams in 1991. They didn't jump off a piano like Elton did in 2008.

It was just freakin' amazing.

I'm still trying to get my mind around the whole experience. Its hard to even fathom that I was there. Was it worth the $150 a ticket....hell yeah! Knowing what I know now....I would have gladly paid $300+ a ticket. The experience was priceless. 

Today it is back to reality. Back into my teaching world. Forever changed. I was welcomed into the Hotel California.....and, well, you know, you can never leave!

I've Got Your Number

Note:  The numbers quoted in this blog are no longer in use.  Please don’t try to contact anyone with these numbers.....unless you know the folks who actually have them!

The other night as I was drifting off to sleep I started thinking about the telephone.  Telephone numbers to be exact.  I was trying to remember old telephone numbers of people I don’t call anymore or have moved away.  I was surprised that I indeed could remember some of these. 

What started me thinking about this was that my brother had purchased a phone booth at an auction sale.  I wondered why he felt the need for his own personal phone booth.  Then I said “A-ha!  It’s because you need a place to change into your Superman outfit!”  Nope, that wasn’t it.  To this day, I don’t know why he bought a phone booth.  Go figure!

In kindergarten I learned how to use a phone.  The phone company had brought in phones to teach us how to use them.  They were rotary phones.  Remember those?  We were shown how to dial and then we were told proper etiquette for answering the phone and making conversation.  I remember sitting in the story telling area of the kindergarten classroom carefully dialling my home phone number, making sure that the dial went ALL the way back before attempting another number.

It was probably around that time that I committed my grandparent’s phone number to memory. 763-7070. If I ever needed anything and couldn’t get in touch with my parents I was supposed to phone Grandma and Grandpa Dean.  That is a phone number I will never forget.  Even after Grandpa had passed and Grandma moved into an apartment building, she kept that number.  I think that number is still programmed into my bedroom phone even though Grandma has been gone for 7 years.  763-7070 means comfort.  It means they’ve got your back.  They are there for you.

The next number I learned, besides my parent’s home phone number was my Dad’s work number.  764-4276. He was Pressroom Foreman at the Daily Herald newspaper.  I rarely had to use that phone number, but when I did it was because he was supposed to pick me up from school and was late.  Dad is retired now, but he’s always there at home to rescue me if I need it.  Why, it was just last year he enrolled me in CAA so I would have some place to call if I had car trouble.  And you know that I do have my share of car trouble!  Dad’s rescue service….open 24 hours a day.

There are other numbers which are committed to memory like my brother’s phone number or ex-employer numbers.  But there is one important number that I will never forget.  764-5495. I called this number almost every day or maybe more than once a day when I was a teen.  It was my best friend’s phone number.  She lived only a few blocks from me and we would phone and say “meet ya at the corner!”  We had a good friendship.  Until we had a falling out about 10 years ago.  We live in the same city now but we don’t talk on the phone.  We email, but it’s hard to let bygone’s be bygone’s. 

There is a number which I REALLY should know, but can’t remember.  The last two numbers were 1’s…..I think.  It’s my Hubby’s phone number when we were dating.  He lived in a little bachelor suite.  Maybe I don’t remember the number very well because he was never really one for talking on the phone for a long time.  The phone for him was an instrument to say he was coming over to see me or to ask me out on dates.  We never really gabbed on the phone.

A funny thing about my old phone number from my home town.  764-3770. It was just one number different than Bill’s Taxi.  We used to get people phoning for cabs all the time.  Lot’s in the middle of the night too.  Well, this one time when it was about -30*C someone wanted a cab ride.  So Hubby, being frustrated with it all says to the phone “OK, we’ll be right there…..wait outside.”  Could you imagine?  It wasn’t long after that that the calls stopped.

Now days, phone numbers say so much about us.  Or do they?  I have most of mine programmed into my phone so I don’t really have to know them.  I just have to punch speed dial and off it goes. 

I don’t even have a cell phone.  I know! It’s shocking.  I don’t have the need for one.  I am never far from a phone…..I don’t need to carry one around with me.  People complain these days about not having any privacy and yet they are always a phone call away from everyone.  If I don’t answer my phone, I am not home…..and nopers, there is not another number you can get me at.

What would young people do these days without all this telecommunication stuff?  They don’t need to know how to use rotary phones these days…..everything is just a push button away.  Who needs a phone booth when you have your own personal phone, which not only is a phone, but a camera and a mini computer right in your pocket?!

It was fun thinking about all these numbers that night.  I didn’t get too far because I soon bored myself into dream land.  I think I even had a dream about a rotary phone, but I can’t be sure because in the background a song kept playing over and over and….. 

Jenny Jenny who can I turn to

(867-5309)

For the price of a dime I can always turn to you

(867-5309)