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Aug. 4th, 2006 03:52 pmIn an effort to prevent the dog from terrorizing ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ez_mo's children with his enthusiastic greeting, I called him into my office. I'm standing, pointing to the floor at my feet. He obeys well enough, but continues beyond the spot on the floor and jumps on my swiveling office chair. 60 lbs of poodle balanced on a fairly small seat, spinning in front of my computer. Somehow, he managed to stay on the chair.
Which is totally unrelated to my fatigue today. The trip to Asheville and back was great fun. I like cities. I like mountains. I couldn't go wrong visiting a city on a mountain. Nor did it hurt that Tom Waits performed there.
The experience was utterly surreal. Not even Dead Can Dance had me wondering to myself before the show, "Is this really happening?" It did. He played a great set which included songs throughout his entire career, including all of my favorites from his latest album and "What's He Building In There?". He was spry and energetic, much more so than I would expect from a man whose voice sounds like a lawn mower. In fact, the guy looked downright healthy. My voice teacher will be disappointed (as an opera teacher, she can't stand his damaged voice). So, I did a little research and discovered that, despite the lingering impression that he is a hard drinking, hard smoking, down and out guy, he gave up that lifestyle in the early 80s after it almost destroyed him. He had become his characters too much, which is an interesting problem among artists, and had to climb out of that in order to do his job. I know it happened to Alice Cooper, too. I think it happened to Johnny Cash, to some extent. I bet there are many others. I wonder if it happens to the people in the big cartoon character suits down in disney land? I doubt it. Hopefully none of them consider that an art into which they might lose themselves.
Waits got married in the early 80s, quit smoking, started sobering up, and started a family. His music reflects the change, too, leaving behind the lonely drunk and introducing the bizarre experimental beast who explores more imaginative slices of life through his crooning and roaring over cabaret, hymns, and polka as much as the tried and true blues. That man continues to this day, but the lonely drunk persona still lingers on for many people, despite his discarding it like a jacket that no longer fits.
Anyway, I'm pleased to have had the chance to see him looking and sounding so good. Given the infrequency of his tours, this might be the first and last time I see him. I was slightly worried I might have been robbed of not seeing him in his prime, after having discovered his music so late in his career, but I had nothing to fear. This is definitely one to remember.
ez_mo's children with his enthusiastic greeting, I called him into my office. I'm standing, pointing to the floor at my feet. He obeys well enough, but continues beyond the spot on the floor and jumps on my swiveling office chair. 60 lbs of poodle balanced on a fairly small seat, spinning in front of my computer. Somehow, he managed to stay on the chair. Which is totally unrelated to my fatigue today. The trip to Asheville and back was great fun. I like cities. I like mountains. I couldn't go wrong visiting a city on a mountain. Nor did it hurt that Tom Waits performed there.
The experience was utterly surreal. Not even Dead Can Dance had me wondering to myself before the show, "Is this really happening?" It did. He played a great set which included songs throughout his entire career, including all of my favorites from his latest album and "What's He Building In There?". He was spry and energetic, much more so than I would expect from a man whose voice sounds like a lawn mower. In fact, the guy looked downright healthy. My voice teacher will be disappointed (as an opera teacher, she can't stand his damaged voice). So, I did a little research and discovered that, despite the lingering impression that he is a hard drinking, hard smoking, down and out guy, he gave up that lifestyle in the early 80s after it almost destroyed him. He had become his characters too much, which is an interesting problem among artists, and had to climb out of that in order to do his job. I know it happened to Alice Cooper, too. I think it happened to Johnny Cash, to some extent. I bet there are many others. I wonder if it happens to the people in the big cartoon character suits down in disney land? I doubt it. Hopefully none of them consider that an art into which they might lose themselves.
Waits got married in the early 80s, quit smoking, started sobering up, and started a family. His music reflects the change, too, leaving behind the lonely drunk and introducing the bizarre experimental beast who explores more imaginative slices of life through his crooning and roaring over cabaret, hymns, and polka as much as the tried and true blues. That man continues to this day, but the lonely drunk persona still lingers on for many people, despite his discarding it like a jacket that no longer fits.
Anyway, I'm pleased to have had the chance to see him looking and sounding so good. Given the infrequency of his tours, this might be the first and last time I see him. I was slightly worried I might have been robbed of not seeing him in his prime, after having discovered his music so late in his career, but I had nothing to fear. This is definitely one to remember.
