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Album Review: The Replacement’s Songs for Slim

Posted by Kurt on March 11, 2013

It is no secret that my favorite band of all time is The Replacements. The Replacements are more than a band to me; their music was there for me whenever I needed them in the way a good friend is. Now, in a very small way, I can return the favor.

 

Last February, the replacement Replacement guitarist, Slim Dunlap, suffered a serious right brain stroke that landed him in the hospital for nine months. According to the Songs for Slim website, he will probably need around the clock care for the rest of his life.

 

Quite a few artists have gotten together to create the aforementioned Songs for Slim. Some of these artists include Lucinda Williams, Jakob Dylan, the Jayhawks, Frank Black, Steve Earle and Craig Finn. That is enough to open my pocketbook.

 

Oh, and the Replacements made an EP.

 

This is not a full-blown reunion. Chris Mars, the drummer, is a full-blown visual artist now and did not feel comfortable performing with the other two. The other two, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson, understood. However, Chris Mars did contribute a song to the cd a cover of a slim song called Radio Hook Word Hit.

The other songs are Paul and Tommy with a band covering Slim and some other artists. The EP was first pressed into a very limited 10” vinyl and auctioned off. Unfortunately, I did not know about it at the time and did not get to participate. Fortunately for Slim, I would not have won any of the auctions. In fact, they raised 105,743.42 from the auction.

 

Busted Up, a Paul and Tommy cover of a Slim song, is just a rock song. Paul, sounding amazing, has fun with the vocals and some of the pronunciations of the words. Chris plays all of the instruments on Radio Hook Word Hit and brings out the pop side of the song. I truly believe after listening to this song and Chris’s solo album that he could have been the Replacements Dave Grohl, for whatever that’s worth, if he would have stuck with music.

 

The final three songs, by Paul and Tommy and the band, are covers from all over the musical arc. They cover a seventies singer-songwriter song, a classic country song, and a show tune. They come off at first as silly. Then you realize, after a few listens, they are perfect and actually serious. You realize that this is the band that put Gary’s Got a Boner right before Sixteen Blue on the same album. The first song is about, well, you know, but the second song is what every single sixteen year old feels: confusion, angst, desire, scared. The first cover, Gordon Lightfoot’s I’m Not Sayin’, seems light and just Paul and Tommy having fun. Yet, if you have read interviews with Slim in the past years, which Paul had, Slim did not seem to have fun with the Replacements toward the end. In the song, the protagonist is not saying he is sorry to his lover but he is saying he will try. Maybe I am reading too much into this, but this is the closest that Paul can come to an apology. Lost Highway is a country song that the Replacements just rock out. It sounds nothing like country. For me, it is the hidden gem of the album, because it is great to just hear Tommy and Paul go for broke. The final song is Everything’s Coming Up Roses from Gypsy. The song is what is great about the Replacements. It should not work. It should fall apart at any second. Paul should not try to sing it. Yet, it turns out to just be glorious and fun and a great song to include on the record.

 

Even, if, everything might not turn up roses.

The EP is available in iTunes and a 12″ vinyl should be ready for record store day.

 

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Oscar 2013: Ranking the Best Picture Nominees

Posted by Kurt on February 24, 2013

I love going to the movies. I love that I have a wife that loves to go to the movies with me. Movies have a way of transporting you to a very real world in a flat in Paris or to the magical realism of a small island near Houma, Louisiana. This year, we finally achieved our goal of seeing all the films nominated for Best Picture for the Oscar. That does not mean theses are the best films released last year. If we were doing that we would include Skyfall and The Dark Night Rises, which I feel canceled each other out for the tenth spot.

Well here is how I rank the films at this moment, since I keep changing my mind everyday except for number 9 and 1.

9. Les Miserables: Even though it is my least favorite film, it’s not a bad film. It’s just a nice attempt. The actors are all great, even thin-voiced Russell Crowe. They work really heard to make you feel something about them. They often choose the emotional note over what the note technically is and that is the right decision. Hugh Jackman does a magnificent job as Jean ValJean, a man who can’t escape one mistake from his past. His memories haunt him and conflict him. Anne Hathaway, who is barely on screen, gives such a powerhouse performance in such a little time that she probably earned the film a Best Picture nomination herself. The cinematography is gorgeous. It’s the direction that is the problem. The director is too fond of close-ups and specifically rule of third close-ups. While that works magically during “I Dreamed a Dream,” it fails almost everywhere else. This is especially true of Mr. Crowe’s scenes. Close-ups help focus on the weakness of his singing voice (this is in comparison to the other actors…he is not a horrible singer). Les Miserables is an epic of a story meant for the big screen, yet Mr. Hooper directs it as if it’s a miniseries for HBO.

8. Amour: I love this film but I wouldn’t recommend it. This film is so real it can be torture to watch. It’s simply about a woman who suffers a set of disabling strokes and her husband who becomes her care taker. Eventually, he has to make a decision about the future…one that breaks his and your heart. It almost exclusively takes place in their apartment which becomes her prison. Emmanuelle Riva has been getting all the accolades and awards for her performance, yet the film isn’t about her. It’s about the husband played with amazing quiet desperation by Jean-Louis Trintigant. While her performance is more noticeable with the transformation of her body, he has to internalize all of his emotions. You can feel his desperation, his hopelessness, his frustration, but he only shows us his love. The best moment of the film has Trintigant sitting in the parlor watching his wife, a former music teacher, playing the piano. He then turns and turns off the CD player. Heartbreaking.

7. Beasts of the Southern Wild: I loved this film. Of all the films, this is the one I am randomly reminded about the most. This may be due to the fact it takes place very close to the area where I grew up. I know people like the characters in the film. They see the world as this idyllic place of beauty not to be spoiled with industry and destruction. They are dirt poor, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t happy. The world they live in provides. The world they live in also destroys with hurricanes being its chief weapon. After one hurricane is the focus of this story and specifically on the 5 year old Hushpuppy and her dying father Wink. The story can many things since it’s an allegory, but for me it’s a coming of age tale told way too early. Hushpuppy has to find her place in the world and to be more exact which particular world. The industrialized world over the levee or the idyllic world of the Bathtub, the island they live on. Quvenzhane Wallis is mesmerizing as Hushpuppy, but again the wrong person was nominated. Wallis best work in the movie is when she is reacting to Dwight Henry’s Wink. Lost it all the love for the young actress, is that this is the first role for the New Orleans baker as well. Yet, it is he who brings the movie its weight. It’s his character that I want to introduce to people who don’t live here who ask us why we don’t leave after every major hurricane.

6. Zero Dark Thirty: Three of the films nominated for best picture have the hard job of making us feel suspense for an event that we already know the ending to. Until this year, to me the standard bearer for this was Apollo 13. Zero Dark Thirty achieves that level. Now, this isn’t straight history. We won’t know what exactly happened until many years from now. But we do know that we got UBL after many years of failure. This film all hangs on Jessica Chastain’s performance. Any wrong notes and the film fall apart. She pretty much is the film. She pulls it off. It’s a hard role because we don’t know anything about her character’s life at all except what she does for a living. Yet, Ms. Chastain finds a way to create a full character. The film, unlike Apollo 13, leaves an unsettling feeling at the end. We are supposed to cheer. Our Navy Seals did the right thing in that they only killed the bad men. We got the bad guy. We did the right thing. Yet, there were children in the house. Children who saw what happened. Children who are innocent, but will remember what happened.

5. Django Unchained: This film, more than any other, bounces up and down my list. It’s the one that I’ll probably watch more often than any other. The film is funny and violent. What the film is not, is historically accurate. I’m not talking about its liberal use of the N-word because that was mostly accurate. The film is deliberately inaccurate. It shows you this right after the opening credits when it says the film takes place in 1858 – 2 years before the Civil War. Yet, the Civil War begins three years later. This isn’t a small mistake. This is a deliberate mistake. I feel this is Tarantino saying right from the start that this is his world and he can do anything he wants with it. And what he does, is create an origin story of a hero. A black hero who was a former slave. A Tristan who would do anything to get his Isolde. In other words, it’s a superhero story. The superhero just happens to be a former slave who becomes a bounty hunter who finds white men and uses his super power, remarkable aim, to kill them. He uses his superpower to get revenge on those that oppressed him. The film has no bad performances with Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kerry Washington doing some of their finest work. Leonardo DiCaprio is even better going for broke through out the movie.

4. Life of Pi: This is the most beautiful film out of the nominees. It’s also the one I want to talk the least about except for what you might have seen in the trailers. The young man who plays Pi, also a first timer, does a magnificent job going through every emotion in the book on his journey through the see with a Bengal tiger. The film is simply beautiful. The tiger, named Richard Parker, is a marvel of CGI. I had to search the trivia section of the IMDB of this movie to find out when a real tiger was used compared to the computer one. Also, this is the first movie where 3D felt completely natural and added to the feel of the movie instead of coming off as a cheap gimmick. This is one movie I want to own to find out how good my televisions are.

3. Lincoln: I took an American Character in Film class in college in which we watched Birth of a Nation. In doing my research on that film, I found that Woodrow Wilson has said upon seeing it that it was history written with lightening. With all due respect to President Wilson, he was flat out wrong. This movie deserves that quote more. That doesn’t mean it gets every fact straight as recently pointed out by Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. As a history major, I don’t look for every fact to be correct. No one wants to watch what really happens. History is often one great exciting moment surrounding by thousands of boring ones. This movie is about the making of law, one of the two things no one should ever want to see made. (The other is sausage). Yet, Spielberg pulls it off. He makes a film as exciting as any action pick…well to people who like history anyway. The master class of acting that Daniel Day Lewis puts on aids him. Mr. Lewis disappears and you are left with watching Mr. Lincoln.

2. Argo: Before I start, I want to say how much I love Mr. Affleck’s other two movies: The Town and Gone, Baby, Gone. I felt The Town was snubbed the year it came out. And then this year, I feel that Mr. Affleck was snubbed. Another movie in which you may know the ending, Argo manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. He makes you understand that the Canadians took an amazing risk in taking the Americans in and that we should be grateful for their brave work. He makes you feel the claustrophobia that the six feel living in the ambassador’s house. Yet, he doesn’t just make a tense thriller which would have been the easier route. Everyone could have played it straight and it would be a great movie. Mr. Affleck sees the humor in the situation and allows it to come to the top in almost every scene. In this way the film transcends it’s genre and that is what makes it a great film.

1. Silver Linings Playbook: Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy that also transcends the genre. Dramas usually win Best Picture because it is easier for them to transcend the genre into being something great. I mean almost all Lifetime movies are dramas but because they stick to the conventions of drama they aren’t great movies. Great movies become something more that what they are at heart. Silver Linings Playbook does that and more. It’s a tale of mental illness, it’s a tale of gambling, and it’s a tale of love. It’s expertly acted and directed. While it’s funny, the humor comes from dark places that most people don’t talk about at parties. In fact, the meet cute is one of the oddest and romantic meet cutes I’ve ever scene. This film spoke to me in ways great art is supposed to. That may say more about me than the movie, but this is a movie that I plan on watching often.

Now for my actual predictions even though I didn’t see plenty of these:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: Argo

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert De Niro

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway

Best Achievement in Directing: Steven Spielberg

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Amour

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: Silver Linings Playbook

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Brave

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Amour

Best Achievement in Cinematography: Life of Pi

Best Achievement in Editing: Life of Pi

Best Achievement in Production Design: Les Miserables

Best Achievement in Costume Design: Lincoln

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Miserables

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: Life of Pi

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: Skyfall

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Skyfall

Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Django Unchained

Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Life of Pi

Best Documentary, Feature: Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary, Short Subject: Monday’s at Racine

Best Short Film, Animated: The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare

Best Short Film, Live Action: Henry

 

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And the Oscar goes to…

Posted by Cristina on February 23, 2013

For the past few years, Kurt and I have tried to see all of the best picture nominees for the Oscars; unfortunately, we’ve always missed one of the bunch. This year, we finally managed to see all of them. Here’s my breakdown from my least favorite to my most favorite.

9. Amour – This is a French film about an elderly couple and what happens when one of them gets sick. It’s sweet, emotional, and sad. There is no soundtrack, so what you see happening feels more like real life. I put it as my least favorite not because it is a bad film, but because although it was heart-wrenching and real, it also dragged in some places. It almost felt too real, and I personally don’t want to be depressed when I’m trying to watch a fantasy tale. Also, I don’t like the idea that it’s a French film and was nominated in Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film. It feels like double dipping, though it probably deserves the win for Best Foreign Language (I didn’t see any other ones).

8. Les Misérables – This film was beautiful visually with wonderful vocals, but I feel like it is severely overrated. At least 20 minutes could have been shaved off the film for a tighter script and less dragging. Anne Hathaway was the best thing in the film, and Russell Crowe tried his hardest to match the singing of Anne and Hugh Jackman. Some of the camera angles should have been opposite; for example, don’t pan in on Crowe’s face, but rather zoom out to display the depth of the scene. Personally, I wouldn’t have included it in the Best Picture nominees at all.

7. Beasts of the Southern Wild – This one definitely hit home, given that it was set in coastal Louisiana after a hurricane. Quvenzhané Wallis was very good as Hushpuppy, but I personally think her father, Dwight Howard, aka Wink, was more powerful. She played off him beautifully. In fact, I would have given him the Best Actor nomination over Hugh Jackman. This movie definitely shows the struggles of extremely rural people who don’t know nor care to know about life outside of their immediate area. I shudder to think of the bigots who will watch this and think poorly of the people and culture that’s different from their own, because this is a very true-to-life movie about a subset of people living in a bigger culture. Great movie, and yet, there are still better ones.

6. Zero Dark Thirty – This movie could have definitely benefited from some additional editing. It ran excessively long and Joel Edgerton did not even enter the movie until the last 45 minutes. Some of the movie was just flat and lifeless, though the exciting and intense parts certainly were. Jessica Chastain was as superb as could be, though I did get tired of her off-in-space stares that got a little overdone sometimes.

5. Life of Pi – I hate that this one is at number five, because it was beautiful, touching, and really made me think. Visually, it was amazing. Suraj Sharma, who’s only role thus far is this, was amazing. I felt his pain and heartache and tears of sadness and was moved to tears myself. This truly was a spectacular film and everyone should see it.

4. Argo – This was another great film. It is a shame that Ben Affleck was not nominated as Best Director, because I could truly see him winning that award. I wouldn’t be surprised if Argo won Best Picture as some sort of retribution for his lack on nomination. It was very interesting to see such a trying point in history, and it really made me think. I could see how this might be called propaganda, because it does make you question things about America and whether what we do is right or wrong.

3. Silver Linings Playbook – This movie was like watching my life. It affected Kurt and I profoundly. When Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, told Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence, “Thank you. I love you. I knew it from the moment I saw you. I’m sorry it took me so long to catch up,” it felt like I was having Déjà vu. Cooper did some of the best acting of his career, and Robert De Nero was equally impressive. Jennifer Lawrence is still young so I think she has some more great acting ahead of her.

2. Django Unchained – I adore this movie. I adore Quentin Tarantino. I ADORE Leonardo DiCaprio. And Christoph Waltz isn’t too shabby either. Neither is Jamie Foxx. Or Samuel L. Jackson. Dang, I just love this movie. It was funny. It was well acted. It showed the triumph of good over evil. I could watch this over and over again. Kurt even won me a Leonardo DiCaprio poster as Calvin Candie turning the trivia between movies. In all, fantastic film. If you don’t mind blood and the liberal use of curse words. Which I don’t.

1. Lincoln – This deserves the number one spot for many reasons. Daniel Day-Lewis was Lincoln. This is pretty much the only time we will see Lincoln as alive as possible. I’m not sure it’s possible to bring history more to life than this. To see how the 13th Amendment was passed (dramatized or not) was like taking a time machine back and watching real history. I really was in awe. I understand how some people might say it is too long, and they could have shaved some of it down, but I thought it was nearly flawless.

Here’s some other predictions, just for fun:

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables

Best Achievement in Directing: Ang Lee for Life of Pi

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: Argo: Chris Terrio

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Wreck-It Ralph: Rich Moore

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Amour

Best Achievement in Cinematography: Life of Pi: Claudio Miranda

Best Achievement in Editing: Life of Pi: Tim Squyres

Best Achievement in Production Design: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, Simon Bright

Best Achievement in Costume Design: Anna Karenina : Jacqueline Durran

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Peter King, Rick Findlater, Tami Lane

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: Skyfall: Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: Skyfall : Adele, Paul Epworth (“Skyfall”)

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Les Misérables: Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Simon Hayes

Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Life of Pi (2012): Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton

Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Life of Pi (2012): Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik De Boer, Donald Elliott

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Top 5 Food Apps

Posted by Kurt on January 23, 2013

Recently, Cristina and I jumped back on the fitness band wagon. We did well until the half-marathon and slowly succumbed back to our old ways. It’s not the food we write about on here that got us out of shape; it’s the food we don’t write about that hurt us. This weekend we did a pantry cleanse and said goodbye to (most) processed foods. Some we just have to exercise moderation.

Yet, we need help. Technology to the rescue. So these are my top five food apps.

  1. My Fitness Pal: My Fitness Pal is at its heart a food diary. You keep track of your food, and it breaks it down by calories, sodium, protein, fat, etc. This is the rare app that actually does the job better than its corresponding website, at least with the food diary. However, My Fitness Pal should be named My Fitness Pals. What separates it from the other food diaries out there is that it has a social networking component. You can provide encouragement to your friends. This is what truly makes it a great app.
  2. Fooducate: Let’s face it, sometimes we don’t know if a food is healthy. Words like natural and multigrain are not regulated so any food company can label their foods with those words. Fooducate does the work for you. Scan the code and you are given a grade on your food. That healthy Kashi we bought a couple of weeks back was given a grade of C+. Not horrible but too much sugar. The fact that app also gives you suggestions for healthier alternatives pushes the app to a must have if you are interested in what is in the food you are eating.
  3. How to Cook Everything: See this blog for more details. For my meat shunning friends, he does have a How to Cook Everything Vegetarian as well.
  4. Seafood Watch: Food safety is important. So is sustainability. I know too many good local fishermen who don’t need to suffer because we want to import in cheap and possibly dangerous seafood. This app lets you know if the fish you are choosing is safe to eat according to its place of origin.
  5. Open Table: This app has nothing to do with dieting. This makes going out to eat easy. Calling on your smartphone to make a reservation? Ain’t nobody got time for that! Actually, you probably do, but why when this app makes it easy. Just like on the phone, you can give all your information the restaurant needs about your party. Unlike on the phone, this app shows you what times are available. Best part of this app: you can change your reservations on the fly.

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Cookbook Review: Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything

Posted by Kurt on January 14, 2013

I taught graphic design to high school students for years.  In that class, I teach that you judge a book by its cover.  Ok, if you are in high school you judge a book by its size first then its cover.  When I first started to get into cooking, a cookbook cover caught my eye.  It was just a big bright red book with large white serif lettering.  The last word was in italics for emphasis.  Its title was a mighty bold statement.

How to Cook Everything.

I picked it up and stared to read.  Well, I looked for specific recipes.  No way will he have a recipe for scrambled eggs or toast bread.  I was wrong.

Now, I don’t write my cooking blogs to show my cooking prowess.  I write my cooking blogs for the exact opposite reason.  I want to learn how to cook.  Most of my cooking in the twenties consisted of putting some seasoning on meat and throwing it between a Forman grill.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  Yet, when I tried a few online recipes to cook something a little more complicate, and that would also allow me to eat a few days off of it, I found out I actually enjoy doing this.  When I received How to Cook Everything as a gift, I started to do more.  I started to experiment more.  I started to cook things without a recipe.

I have a ton of cookbooks now, but How to Cook Everything is my cooking bible.  It is written in a plain language for people who aren’t experts in the kitchen.  Mark Bittman, the author, rates the recipes for difficulty.  There are drawings to show you how do the simplest of things such as mincing garlic.  He, correctly, assumes that plenty of people who buy his book come with very limited kitchen backgrounds.  The first time I cooked a meal for a large group, I used this book.  Everybody had seconds.

Considering the size of the book, I’ve made very few of the recipes in the book.  And no, I will not be doing a Kurt and Mark blog.  However, I have made quite a few and a few I memorized.  To me, that’s the sign a great cookbook. Also, there are iPhone and iPad apps for the cookbook as well.

Posted in Books, Cooking, Media | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

Sadly Beautiful: Glen Campbell’s Farewell Tour

Posted by Kurt on December 19, 2012

MTV used to play music. Shocking as that may sound it is true. When they were not playing music videos, they were often showing documentaries about music. One day, around the time R.E.M.’s Out of Time album came out, they played a documentary on the band from Athens. During the video, Peter Buck talked about how one night Michael Stipe did karaoke in some bar and chose some old Jimmy Webb songs. Then they cut to them singing Wichita Lineman and Galveston. Instantly, I knew these were great songs. My mom comes to my room and asks if R.E.M. is covering Glen Campbell. I respond that they are covering Jimmy Webb. She informs me those are Glen Campbell songs.

Of course, Jimmy Webb wrote the songs, but Campbell did indeed make those songs his.  I became a fan of both.

Campbell is an underrated interpreter of songs. Many pop artists today might sing (or auto tune) other people’s songs, but few interpret them. They just go for the sound. Campbell did so much more with other people songs. If you have not heard Galveston in a while, go take a listen. He took what could have been a political anti-war song and made it a song that just about a soldier that misses his girl. No matter what side you took when the song came out (the Vietnam era), Campbell’s soulful interpretation made the song just about love.

Read the rest of this entry »

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A Night of Music at the Cathedral

Posted by Kurt on December 17, 2012

In another life, I was a New Orleans Public School teacher. I must have been crazy in this past life, because I loved it. It was a great job. I met some amazing students and teachers while I was there.

One of those people was Holley Bendsten. She was the reading strategist at my school. She still teaches in New Orleans. Yet, she still finds time to be one third of the Pfister Sisters.

Now, before I go on, I like my Christmas music as far away from Magic 101.9 as possible. I love Johnny, Nat, and Bing, but years of retail has all a humbug towards that type of music. Give me any of Sufjan Stevens’s music from his numerous Christmas EPs and I am in the spirit. In addition, I love listening to jazz renditions of holiday classics.

Getting back to the main narrative, I had told Cristina that St. Louis Cathedral used to hold Christmas Concerts. Cristina looked for information about the concerts. Sure enough, they were still having them and the only day we really had free was the night the Pfister Sisters were performing. Date night was set.

After a quick meal at New Orleans Seafood and Hamburger Company (one of the few chains we like), we headed to the cathedral. A large crowd had amassed for a Tuesday night. No one was going to walk away disappointed.

The Pfister Sisters, not blood related, are a jazz vocalist trio in the style of the Boswell sisters. There voice complement each other and bring out subtleties in the music. Since this is a church event, religious Christmas music was the main course for the night. The set, to these ears, was flawless. I got chills during Silent Night for three reasons: the voices were perfect, the setting was beautiful, and the fact that this was just a Tuesday night in most other places in the world, but not in New Orleans.

The Pfister Sisters at the Cathedral

The Pfister Sisters at the Cathedral

There still are a few more shows if you have the time to go. Moreover, that is all it will cost you (well that and maybe parking).

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Photoblog: Learning How To Use Our Cameras in the French Quarter

Posted by Kurt on April 10, 2012

Every time we travel someplace new or familiar, Cristina and I always try to find what is unique about the place.  This is especially true about New Orleans.  While we might live in the suburbs now, Cristina used to live in New Orleans and I taught in New Orleans Public Schools before Katrina.  This makes us, in our eyes, locals.  Yet, sometimes, it pays to look at New Orleans with the eyes of a traveler. There is so much history and beauty to this city that we don’t know.

This is why we often look for tours of New Orleans.  LivingSocial makes it very easy  to find the tours for a great price.

The most recent tour we took was with American Photo Safari.  Four hours of walking the French Quarter and taking pictures.  Sure, we could do it for free, but calling it a tour is the last way I would describe it. Sure, we saw the sights and learned some history of the Quarter. But this tour was so much more than that. It was a photography class.  In fact, on their website they call their tours workshops.

Chris, our tour guide/teacher, started off the tour with a handout. The handout was cheat sheet for using a camera covering white balance, shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, as well as some composition tips.

All you need for this tour is a camera with fully charged batteries. I had a Canon Rebel while Cristina had our trusty Sony HX5V (a point and shoot). Everyone else in the group…which was about six people…had a different camera. Chris was at ease showing us how to work our camera to get the shots we want. A lot of the information I knew in theory, but Chris taught how to actually get my camera to do what I want it to do. While I don’t begrudge anyone who sets their camera to full auto, Chris showed us how to take control of our cameras.

At the end of the day, we both knew we had got more than our money’s worth for the day. While I still think Cristina has a better eye for a good shot than I do*, I now know how to manipulate my camera to get the details I want in my shot.

This tour is perfect for people who are getting into photography. It’s also perfect for people who have a fancy camera but aren’t quite sure how to work it past the full auto.

And now, the pictures of the tour!

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*I’ll convince Cristina to do her own blog of the pictures she took. And yes, I was right; she has much better eye for a good photograph than I do!

Posted in Adventures in NOLA, Media, New Orleans, Photo SlideShows | Tagged: , , | 4 Comments »

Minus the Bear and Ben Folds

Posted by Cristina on April 9, 2012

(First a word from Kurt) Cristina sent me a text message one day demanding I buy tickets to Ben Folds at Tulane‘s McAllister Auditorium. Kind of odd since she never demands anything. I logged in and purchased the tickets. She was excited; I wasn’t.

I have no problem with Ben Folds. I just don’t really care. I was doing this for her. That was until I heard the opening act was going to be Minus the Bear.

I first heard about them around 2002 with the release of Highly Refined Pirates their first LP. Any band that names a song “Thanks for a Killer Game of Crisco Twister” will catch my attention. In fact, their song titles are catchier than most other bands’ songs. The music lived up to the title. Clever and playful melodies that take you somewhere. Learning they were going to be at the show now made me excited for the gig.

They didn’t disappoint. Even though they aren’t presently on tour they were tight and seemed to be having fun. The crowd on the other hand was truly there to see Ben Folds. I truly was the odd ball out in that I was there to only see them plus I was a frontrunner for the oldest guy in the place.

They finished their set with “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse” which is my favorite song of theirs. While were in Paris, I would annoy Cristina by singing the song. How couldn’t I with lyrics such as “we have to plan our day, the Rodin and D’Orsay.” Yet, the day we did have planned the D’Orsay was closed. Well, at least we got to sit on “park bench that’s older than my country.”

Ben Folds

Ben Folds singing

Cristina’s turn to now talk about the amazingness that is Ben Folds. (Yes, Cristina wrote this.)

Ben Folds is one of those people I’ve wanted to see since college. With or without Five, with The Bens, any way you slice him, I adored his music. Unfortunately, I’ve never come close to seeing him live. As I’m randomly checking facebook after school one day, I see he’s coming to Tulane University. For $15. Are you kidding me?!

When Kurt and I arrive, I immediately see some old college friends. Sweet! We catch up with them while waiting in line, and manage to all get about 5th row when we enter the auditorium. Though Kurt was super excited for Minus the Bear and stood up and danced the whole time, I enjoyed them while sitting. As soon as Ben Folds came on the stage, I became the geeky fangirl I’ve always been, taking my turn to stand up and dance.

Ben Folds was everything I knew he’d be. It was just him and his piano, beautifully and masterfully singing his best songs. He was so energetic, funny, and engaging with the audience. The crowd, most of them college students, were extremely into him, which I thought was awesome that he was still touching people musically.

Ben Folds Drum Solo

Ben Folds Drum Solo

Though singing crowd favorites like Army, Still Fighting It, Zak and Sara, Annie Waits, and Brick, he left out my absolute favorite song, The Luckiest (which I know he plays live still!). During B****es Ain’t S***, he pulled a girl audience member up on stage to sing it as he played the piano accompaniment. She did such a great job, and the audience was so supportive and singing along with her. Such a great moment for her! He also made up two different songs about New Orleans on the spot, solidifying my belief that he is a musical mastermind. At one point, they pulled out a drum set and he did an awesome drum solo, making the crowd go wild. He ended the show with Not The Same, having the audience take part with the “ahhh ahhhhhhh” harmonies.

In all, it was everything and more than what I hoped for. Checking this one off the bucket list for musical acts I must see.

Here’s clip of him I shot while singing Brick. Sorry for the weird in and out of focus thing that seems to be going on, I think the strobe lighting was affecting my camera’s focus. Enjoy!

Posted in Adventures in NOLA, Media, Music, New Orleans | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Photoblog: Everyday is An Adventure With These Three

Posted by Kurt on March 28, 2012

Now for your moment of cuteness

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Posted in About Us, Media, Photo SlideShows | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

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