One fast move or I'm gone...

Life has been moving at breakneck speed in my world as of late, but in the midst of all of it, the husband and I made it out last Wednesday to a show at Antone's. I've only been to Antone's one other time (travesty, right?) and both times I have been impressed at HOW GOOD it sounds in there!!! It really must have the best acoustics of any club downtown. Everything is balanced and clear and not too loud. I really think almost anything (or anyone) can sound good at Antone's. When in Austin, I would recommend catching a show there - I hear they have great blues nights.


So what made us go out on a work night a mere 4 days before my brother's wedding? Ben Gibbard. You would, too. Over the past couple of years Ben (of Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service) has been working on a project with Jay Farrar (of Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo). The project was centered around creating a soundtrack for a film version of Jack Kerouac's "Big Sur" called "One Fast Move or I'm Gone." The process started in 2007 and the album came out late last year. Gibbard and Farrar didn't know each other when it all began and Farrar stated in an interview with the Austin American-Statesman that their early sessions really documented their getting-to-know-you process. By the end of it all, about 90% of the material came straight out of the book and an album was born.


The album in and of itself is very interesting because it is less a melding of 2 styles and more an instance of 2 styles co-existing side-by-side. Gibbard's songs are fun, easy pop and Farrar's have a country/blues bent. From what I know about the book/Kerouac, it seems to be an appropriate juxtaposition. The album starts out with the effortless "California Zephyr" (helmed by Gibbard) and ends with the melancholy "San Francisco" (conversely led by Farrar). In a nutshell, this is how Kerouac's trip to Big Sur went and I think the music captures that. If this was a great review, I would have read the book as well, but what can you do.


Willie Johnson (of Centro-Matic) opened and did a respectable job. It was just himself, his guitar, and a looping pedal. I got a little bored, but he was really sincere and had a nice presence. I know I'm old when I have little tolerance for opening acts. Let's just get to the act I paid to see! And so we did...

True to the album, Ben and Jay opened with "California Zephyr" and then ran like a well-oiled machine. They must have used 10 different guitars between the two of them. The hardest-working guy on stage was their guitar tech - he used each song to tune the next guitar and always got the right guitar to the right guy for the right song. The next hardest-working guy was their steel guitar player - he was out-of-control and pretty much the best I've seen/heard. The whole show was fun to see and experience - and I really felt like I was experiencing a unique moment in music, I wouldn't say I feel like that during a lot of the live music I see. Ben Gibbard got to rock a little more than he usually does with Death Cab (fan girl moment: I was like literally 7 feet away from him whenever he sat down at the piano! EEE!!!!!!) and looked like he really enjoyed that opportunity. Watching/listening to Jay Farrar made me want to get into Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo (my friend, Andrew, is out there rolling his eyes - he's been telling me about Son Volt for years). He plays harmonica like a lead guitar soloist - AMAZING. They played the whole album and some other songs that may have been covers, but I didn't know them. Two encores later, it was time to go and it was totally worth staying out past my bedtime.
Buy the cd, see the show, you'll enjoy it.

Puppets and wild game

This Saturday found my husband and I observing our 3rd of 5 shows in our Broadway Across Austin package graciously provided by my in-laws. This month's musical was "Avenue Q." "Avenue Q" opened earlier this decade and I remember hearing about it on the Tony's and whatnot - it is unique in that it involves puppets interacting with humans (a la "Sesame Street") - but is firmly not for children. My in-laws saw it when they were in NYC this summer and LOVED it - so they have eagerly been awaiting seeing it again, and for us to get a chance to see it as well. The premise is a puppet named Princeton, a newly-minted college graduate, turns up on Avenue Q because he can't afford any avenues closer into town (his opening song is "What Do You Do with a BA in English?" - hit a little close to home for me...). He rents in an apartment building managed by Gary Coleman and occupied by an odd assortment of down-on-their-luck humans, monsters, and puppets. Part of the intent of the show is too shock you and catch you off guard, so I don't want to reveal too much more. Regardless, the show is a lot of fun and something interesting and different to catch if you have a chance.

The show was good, but the real star of the night was...Hudson's on the Bend!!! We went there for dinner after the show and while it is price-y (thank you again, in-laws!) it was SO SO SO SO SO SO delicious!!!! We started out with an amuse-bouche - a wild boar tartlet topped with crumbled cheese in a white chocolate tomatillo sauce - REALLY REALLY GOOD. Then my starter was their creamy chipotle lobster bisque - if you can imagine the best soup you have ever tasted, then you know how good my soup was. My husband got a mixed greens salad with tomatillos that they did something to that were phenomenal. For my entree I ordered Grilled Pheasant Breast stuffed with a cilantro pesto in a mole sauce, served with a pheasant tamale with the aforementioned white chocolate tomatillo sauce, Shiner Bock ancho mashed potatoes, and some seasonal veggies. I made a happy plate!!! My husband ordered chicken fried antelope that was fried in masa flour. It was light and tender and delicious. My mother-in-law ordered a steak and my father-in-law ordered their wild game sampler plate that included - quail, venison, venison sausage, buffalo, and rabbit. I tried a few - all good. We had not saved room for dessert, but never fear! We were sent home with samples of the pecan pie. I can't wait to go back and I can't say enough good things about our experience. It was high end without being stuffy, fine dining with a very accessible menu, and a very polite and knowledgable waitstaff, not to mention they have a sommelier on staff that served us our wine! I recommend it for any special occasion. I'm telling you, I did not put one bad bite of food in my mouth.

Next up - my husband and I are having dinner at Roy's tonight for our anniversary, so I can't wait to tell you about that. And from there - just more of my thoughts on television and movies. Although, I am in the middle of a couple of books, so I may just flesh the ol' blog on out to include those reviews. So exciting.

Week in Review Wrap-Up

As my husband and I have been busy busy - I haven't been blogging! Shame! Never fear - I'll share with you all that we've been up to.

The most exciting thing of the last week or so was our outing last Saturday. My in-laws took us to see "Spamalot" at the Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus. It was a very fun and silly show. I was glad they brought in the most memorable lines and situations from the movie (killer rabbit, French insults, "the curtains?!," and the flesh wound) and twisted all that in with great musical numbers. I really loved the Lady of the Lake - what a great role to ham up! One other treat of the afternoon was that Richard Chamberlain (yes, the one who was naked in "The Thorn Birds") played King Arthur. His acting and timing were right on, but ol' Richie looks like his aging a little bit in the ol' body. I wouldn't really say he danced, but he moved around some, so that was kind of sad. Another fun thing were the references to other Monty Python works - John Cleese was the voice of God, one song made reference to "suspenders and a bra" and the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was used. In fact, during the bows at the end, the cast led the audience in a sing-along to that song. They also slipped in a location-wise song - during the Knights Who Say Ni bit, when the knights change their name, the end of the name was the entire "Eyes of Texas" (followed by a Patriot Act joke). I was pretty impressed that he sang the whole thing - and audiences love that crap. My one main criticism was that the second act seemed really unfocused and disjointed and then it just kind of ended with a bow on top. It was still a ton of fun, but I was kind of like, "what?" and then it was over. Next month we're seeing "Avenue Q."

After the show we drove out to Steiner Ranch Steakhouse for an early dinner. The unfortunate thing about the Steakhouse is that in Austin people only know of it because a disgruntled employee shot and killed a manager at the restaurant last year. Please, people, don't let this deter you. The food is excellent and reasonably priced (for a high-end steakhouse). We also had dinner at the Steakhouse after we saw "Legally Blonde:The Musical" last month, but I wasn't feeling well. This time, I felt better. The main drawback of this dining experience was our waiter. He was this squeaky guy in his 20's who was just kind of doing his job - no banter or anything like that. Our waiter the previous time was very distinguished, knowledgeable about the menu and wine list, and was very friendly and personable and let us take our time. Daniel - I miss you. Let me tell you about what we ate! Our appetizer was a special of asian lettuce wraps with ground sirloin. Pretty good. Last time we ordered 2 appetizers, one of them involving elk and the other was a spinach-artichoke-sort of hot dish served in a bread bowl. All good. I have ordered the same entree both times - the Pasta Light, grilled shrimp on fettucine in a garlic butter sauce. I really am more of an adventurous eater than that, but I ordered this last time because my stomach hurt, but it was so good I ordered it again. My husband and in-laws have all ordered steak something or others each time and really seemed to be pleased with those. I finished my husband's mashed potatoes and they were delicious. This time we saved room for dessert! I had an apple tart in a fried philo shell with a butter and pomegranate sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream - all very very good. The only drawback was that the tart was deconstructed so it was hard to build that perfect bite of all of the flavors. My mother-in-law ordered white chocolate mousse, smartly served in a martini glass. She let me have a bite and I really liked it. It had the consistency of a good mousse, but with the lightness of flavor that white chocolate provides. My father-in-law ordered the cheesecake and it had a blueberry-Grand Marnier sauce. The portion was huge, but it was gone quickly - I didn't get to try it. My mother-in-law pointed out that the sauce was balanced perfectly between the two flavors. No booze this time, but some good iced tea. I'm sure we'll go back.

Quick thought on "House" this week - this portion will be all about spoilers. House's patient, a nurse at a nursing home, fakes all these symptoms and ailments to be his patient because a cat sat on her desk. This cat is a pet of the nursing home (named Debbie) and if Debbie sleeps on your bed - you die. This had happened with 10 patients - and actually, this story is straight out of the news. The nurse turns out to actually have cancer, so good thing House treated her, right?! This episode addressed a little bit of my frustration from last week, as well as a divine aspect. At one point later in the episode (right around the time House should be making some realization and solving the case), Debbie the cat meanders into House's office and lies down on his laptop. He realizes that the cat is just looking for something warm. The patients all had heating pads - she's not a harbinger of death. The nurse had cancer (apparently cancer heats you). The nurse is glad for the diagnosis and House kind of comes in to gloat, I suppose. The nurse maintains that all of this has happened for a reason, and of course, House is incredulous and dismissive. She states something along the lines of, "don't you find it interesting that Debbie chose to lie on your computer at that exact moment?" That is how I feel each episode - isn't it fortunate that Wilson said something while they were in the city visiting Wilson's mentally ill brother? and so on and so forth. Is the show implying that God has a hand in House's work? Probably not. BUT it was interesting to me!

That's it for now. There may not be a new post until next week - it's going to be a great and busy weekend!