Dumbek's Random Stuff

Ever run into your not-completely-out-at-work boss in a really crowded gay bar?

awk-waaaaaard.

I've paid a price
and I'll keep paying
I'm not ready to make nice
I'm not ready to back down
I'm still mad as hell and
I don't have time to go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
'Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should
...
...
I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets...


"Not Ready To Make Nice"
- Dixie Chicks

What a stroke of genius it was to get Rick Rubin to produce their new disc. I hope it's friggin' huge.
Go buy it.

Update: Their disc debuted at #1. HA!

One of the things I developed while following The Dead around was an appreciation of World Music. Music from other cultures (in my case, mostly percussion-based music from Africa) that I had never been exposed to before. I developed a real appreciation for not only the power, but the beauty of drums. That's where the title of this blog comes from. A dumbek is a small hand drum, usually from the Middle East or North Africa.

One of the artists that I grew quite fond of was Hamza El Din. He came from North Africa, playing the oud and the tar - a frame drum that looks kind of like a big tambourine without the jangly things. The beautiful and hypnotic sounds he would get from both instruments was nothing short of stunning.

I was lucky enough to see Hamza El Din sit-in with The Dead once. Amazing. You should have seen all of the hippies completely transfixed by him. Even Jerry couldn't hold their attention that closely.

Hamza El Din died earlier this week after complications with brain surgery. SoundRoots has a nice write-up about him.

Nice.

Ollin Arageed

I can't say enough good things about his album Eclipse. Everyone should own it. Go buy it and thank me later. The song will only be up for a few days.

Completely random semi-stream-of-consciousness thoughts...

We went to see The Nats play The O's on Saturday. The Nats actually won. Go figure. We also got to see a guy take a foul ball in the face. Ouch. I think I saw something similar at The Eagle on Saturday night. Neither was very pretty.

Don't fret if you didn't get tickets to see Sonic Youth next month at 9:30. They added a second show. Late show. Same night. Tickets already on sale. Highly recommended. I'm going to neither, because we're seeing Dickey Betts that night. The things we do for love...

Foo Fighters are doing a little acoustic tour. Pat Smear is playing with them again. It looks like Frank Black is opening. No DC date, but there's room in their schedule. Hopefully that'll happen. I can't imagine Grohl passing over his former homeland. Just to be safe, I bought tickets to their Philly show. I think there are only 10-15 seats further away from the stage than the ones I got. Top of the balcony. Off to the side. Way up in the corner. At least I'm in. I've only been to the Tower Theater once before - to see Laurie Anderson back in '86. All I can remember about the theater was that the rows were too close together and my knees were bruised from hitting the seat in front of me all night. If that was you, I apologize.

Tickets for the Silverdocs Film Festival went on sale this week. I'm not a movie guy, but there are a few things I wouldn't mind checking out. At the top of my list is Punk's Not Dead. There's a blurb about it here, but the official movie website makes it look more old-school than the blurb implies. At the Cannes preview the UK Subs showed up. Maybe we'll get some old DC hardcore band to turn up.

The pool's coming along, but it's still a bit of a mess. It should be ready-to-go by the weekend. Now if the weather would just warm up a little...

Long-time Grateful Dead roadie Lawrence "Ramrod" Shurtliff passed away this week from lung cancer.

Ramrod was pretty much there from the beginning. He was a Prankster who eventually ended up joining the Dead family in 1967. There were always 2 sides of The Grateful Dead. There was the one side that was just complete anarchy. The band, the fans, the music and the mayhem that surrounded it all. Then there was the other side. The side that made sure every show was run like a well-oiled machine. That side was Ramrod's department. I can't even imagine what it was like keeping that circus on-track for nearly 30 years, but he did.

Robert Hunter wrote a beautiful Elegy for Ramrod.

There are articles here and here.


Fare Thee Well

The Go-Go's simply rocked last night. If you were to ask me to put together a perfect Go-Go's setlist, I'd probably say "all of the first album, then a handful of hits and a cover or two." Well, sure enough, that's exactly what we got. They're touring to celebrate the 25th anniversary their first album and the first 45 or so minutes of the show was nothing but Beauty and the mother-f*&$ing Beat. Ho-ly cow. They didn't play it in the correct order, but they played every song from the record before moving on. It was awesome.

As soon as they finished the last track from BatB ("We Got The Beat") they jumped right in with the other hits. "Head Over Heels", "Cool Jerk", "Get Up And Go", "Beatnik Beach". Of course they played "Vacation", complete with beachballs bouncing around the room. Kudos to Kathy for bouncing a beachball off of her head without missing a note. They let some guy dance on stage with them during "Cool Jerk". Insult or Compliment? Who knows. I wish it had been me.

Jane looked like she'd rather be at the dentist, but she said she kept getting shocked when she tried to sing. I guess that would explain it, but I hear there's still a big grudge there. Whatever. She sounded good to me. Even on "Cool Places", which I could have done without. Everyone else looked like they were having a great time.

They closed with a cover of The Shangri-La's "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" which was amazing. Highlights were a completely stormin' "Head Over Heels" (did I just say that?), "Skidmarks On My Heart" and "How Much More". Tons-O-Fun.

Props to the guy who showed up in the party dress. He didn't look like he was really doing drag or trying to "pass". No make-up or wig or anything. He just looked like a typical business man who put on a pink party dress rather than a suit that day. The white purse, pearls and pink Chuck Taylor lowtops were perfect.

Let's see...

According to this morning's Pancake Mountain newsletter, the Fort Reno concert series starts in "only 24 days." The schedule isn't up yet, but that would put the first show on June 8. Excellent.

I finally signed up on MySpace this weekend. You can find me here. I don't really have much to say on MySpace. I really wanted to just claim the "dumbek" name while I could. I guess that makes me a bit of a MySpace squatter. I always feel dirty after I go to MySpace. Even if it's just to checkout a band or two. I inevitably end up seeing way too many 15 year olds listed as people's "friends". It creeps me out a little. I almost expect Dateline to come knocking on my door.

Friday was spent visiting Mr. B. at his place of work. Kind of a quiet night, since I had to work on Saturday, but it was fun. Too much Avenue Q though.

Blowoff on Saturday. As always - a great time. The usual suspects. Him. Him. Him. Them (who I really didn't get to see enough of.) The return of him (looking hot as ever.) Him. Him. He had his trusty camera, but I didn't really notice it that much. That usually means trouble. He made a grand entrance late in the evening, which bumped the party up a notch. I'm sure C-Lad was relieved that we would finally all stop with the "Where the hell is Sean?" inquiries. And, of course, my other half was there looking sexy as hell. And that's just the blogger list. There were plenty more cool folks milling about. It's always a blast being surrounded by so many good people and good music. Thanks to Bob and Rich for another fine evening.

Sunday - Mother's Day. We had our Moms over for dinner. We love them. They love us. Yay.

I got both of my tax refund checks in the last few days. I think I'm going to buy a laptop and go wireless. After I earmark a portion to the Amoeba fund, of course.

I bought a Mission Of Burma ticket this afternoon. Antelope is opening. Should be a killer show. Of course, a couple hours after I bought the ticket I discover that Bob is playing a one-off gig in Philly that same evening. Doh! I guess I'll make that final decision later. It's really a win-win situation, I guess.


"Flashback Spring" continues tomorrow night with The Go-Go's at 9:30. Oh, Gina, how I've missed you. I saw Thomas Dolby with Fitz and Will last week. This week it's the Go-Go's. Next month it's Joe Jackson and Pat Benatar. It's just like being in high school again, except there's less Journey.

OK - So it needs a little work. Give it a few days and it'll be crystal clear.

WOOHOO!

Good: I get to go on a business trip. That's kind of exciting for me, since I rarely travel and I only get to go on business trips once every 2-3 years.

Better: It's to San Francisco.
Better: I managed to get a few extra days there, so I get a full weekend to run around and play.
Better: I'm staying at a 4-star hotel.
Better: My old college roommate is out there.
Better: I'll be there for SF Gay Pride.
Better: The BF is going to come out for at least a few days.

Best: 10 days of access to Amoeba.

Apparently, it was worse than they thought. It sounds like they had to remove a blood clot from his brain.

Keith Richards undergoes surgery after fall

It sounds like it went well though. Hang in there, Keef.