Craig Maas
Notes 2006
Crocs
Except for July and August it seems like my feet get cold if I'm wandering around in stocking feet. I started wearing clean running shoes inside during the 10 month winter that is North Dakota, but this wasn't terrible confortable either. My feet would get hot, or even stay cold. I tried two pairs of socks but then my feet would sweat and then get cold. I also have an adversion to sandles- somehow it got stuck in my head that real men don't wear sandles, shorts or Jean Jackets. And I've rarely broken this rule.
I was reading the September Issue of Fortune about an ugly but comfortable plasic shoe called a Croc. The ugliness appealed to me as did it's construction. I thought about getting a pair but I didn't see Crocs advertised locally.
Monday 10/16 I was reading DealNews.com when I saw Crocs advertised for shipped. If I was serious about trying a pair this would be the day to buy them. The directions said they run slightly large. I wear a 10.5 man's size. So I bought a 10. I was a little worried as I purchased some 11 Reebok's and they're loose but fine. When I got the shoes Friday my foot swam in them. On the other hand they're not falling off my feet and a size 9 might be tight width wise- it would be fine lengthwise. I guess these are sort of like sandles- just not open toed. So far they're all little cool because they are so loose but I think I like them- certainly more than the other solutions I've tried so far.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Led Zeppelin DVD - disc 1
Communication Breakdown, 1969
The band is starting to let their hair grow out. Jimmy Page is playing his telecaster with the dragon painted on it. Although it's hard to tell on this early black and white lip sync video. (Bad Lip Sync, Guitar Sync, etc.) Jimmy is wearing white pants and a black leather jacket. Jimmy is interesting because he is one of the nerdiest looking rock stars of all time, so it's interesting to see what he does with what he has. John Paul Jones and Robert Plant are nice looking blokes but they let their hair grow too long. I mean it's not just long but its completely out of control. Plant's head looks like a bush, and Jonesy looks like long haired Prince Valiant.
Danmarks Radio, Iceland, March 1969
Shot by students on Black and White television. They did a good job. It does look weird with them all sitting around the band on the floor. Jimmy is wearing a white smock and velvet pants. John Bonham looks young in a light cotton sweater jersey. John Paul Jones looks good; he's using an ammo belt as a guitar strap. Robert Plant wears black velvet jacket. Robert has a baby face.
Communication Breakdown Jimmy is playing his Dragon Telecaster, the wah wah section is incomplete
Dazed And Confused Robert Plant sings "Send you to Hell" instead of "Send you the bill."
Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
How Many More Times This is their "Showstopper" which winds up the the crowd.
Dazed And Confused, March 1969
"Supershow" was shot in color but the sound is distorted. Jimmy plays his Dragon Telecaster. It's cool to finally see the Fender Telecaster in color. Jimmy wears his black leather jacket and velvet pants. Robert Plants wears a yellow shirt, sandals and black slacks. Bonham wears a black print shirt. He pounds the drums as the dry ice machine fills the stage with smoke. The organ is on stage but John Paul Jones isn't playing it. John is wearing a white shirt and black slacks. Jimmy has some odd amps- not his own? The camera zooms and does snap edits as the song winds up. In seems like a night club.
Tous En Scene, France, June 1969
The house orchestra looks on amazed. Even the audience doesn't know what to make of this band. The group is filmed in the round, which gives us a good look at the band. Jimmy sports a new(?) sunburst Gibson Les Paul.
- Jimmy Page is wearing red slacks, a red jacket, a white macrame sleeveless shirt. He looks a little like Robert Smith of The Cure.
- Robert Plant: has red slacks and tied dyed shirt
- John Paul Jones: purple sweater, white slacks
- John Bonham: tied dyed green/white T-shirt.
Communication Breakdown
Dazed And Confused
Albert Hall, January 9, 1970
In the menu system we see John Paul Jones playing "Thank You" on the organ. The organ was present throughout the concert but it wasn't featured on song. We also see Jeff Beck backstage with the band
- Jimmy Page: blue and red crossing stripped sweater vest, which should look nerdy but actually looks good on him. He's sporting long sideburns and big shiny belt buckle. Jimmy's playing his sunburst Les Paul (PAF on the neck and open pole humbuckler on the bridge pick up.
- Robert Plant: long side burns, a Western style shirt and tan (mud colored) slacks
- John Paul Jones: print shirt, shoulder length hair, velvet pants. His Fender Jazz bass is amped by a Marshall amp.
- John 'Bonzo' Bonham: red tank top and blue jeans. He's playing on a wood finish drum set: 1 Bass 1-Tom 2-Floor Toms, Snare and Bongos
We're Gonna Groove The band comes across as just a simple yet loud Blues band
I Can't Quit You Baby The band is quite close to each other onstage. On these long songs the film crew runs out of film so the audio is supplemented by still photos.
Dazed And Confused Robert quotes "Cocaine Blues". John Paul Jones flies over the fretboard but the riffs are repetitive. Jimmy attacks his Les Paul with a bow and a 1/2 second delay. (More lost footage)
White Summer Jimmy plays a Danolectric with the stock lipstick pickups. Bonzo plays rhythm on part of the track whacking his drums with mallets. During his rests, Bonzo looks on with a look that says, "I'm drunk." (I don't think he was.) Jimmy continues too long, at some point these solos devolve into noodling around.
What Is And What Should Never Be
How Many More Times The intro reminds me of Black Sabbath. The guitar sound is too distorted- Jimmy should dial his amp back. The interplay between Robert and Jimmy is interesting: Jimmy has set the volume on one pickup set to zero and uses the pickup selector switch to flip his notes on and off. Robert vamps with "Boogie Children" and "The Lemon Song".
Moby Dick Bonzo plays the drums with his hands after starting with the bongos. At one point I think he either broke his snare or he switched it off.
Whole Lotta Love Bonzo plays the bongo with drum sticks. Jimmy works the feedback
Communication Breakdown Fast riffs, but it devolves into noodling. Robert just ends the song.
C'mon Everybody Jimmy brings out a black Les Paul with three pickups and a Bigsby whammy bar.
Something Else
Bring It On Home Robert plays a mean Harmonica
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Led Zeppelin DVD - disc 2
The Main menu opens with a short clip of "Dazed And Confused". Jimmy is bowing his Les Paul. The band is in full hair. Robert Plant's head is a huge bushy mass. Jimmy Page has a beard and even John Paul Jones has a mustache to go with his flowing hair. This black and white clip looks to be from early 1970 at the height (length) of hair. From here on out their hair will actually get shorter.
New York Press Conference - September 1970
Color footage, both Jimmy and Robert sport long curly hair this includes beards, mustaches, and side burns. Both are wearing black print polyester shirts.
Immigrant Song - February 1972
Robert Plant has a peasant blouse and blue jeans. At this phase in the band's career blue jeans seem to be a uniform. Jimmy Page in in black print shirt playing his sunburst Gibson Les Paul. John Paul Jones is in a gray t-shirt and has shaved his face- as has Mr. Page. John looks like a cool rock bass player, not silly as he does in other concerts. Jonesy is still playing a Fender Jazz Bass. John "Bonzo" Bonham is in a black t-shirt playing a set of green drums.
Jimmy takes a nice long solo on the song. The equipment on stage is festooned with the logos from their untitled fourth album.
There is also a performance of "Rock And Roll" on the Extras part of this disc. This is followed by scenes at a press party.
Madison Square Garden - July 27-29 1973
These concerts were filmed for "The Song Remains The Same" movie. These are outtakes that aren't in the movie, but they are still pretty good. I think it was a good idea to cut in some fan filmed bootleg footage it gives the concert an added dimension. The menu footage features the band backstage at MSG with Peter Grant, their manager.
- Jimmy Page looks as cool as he ever will. The band obviously knew they were filming a movie, so the choices they made are interesting. Jimmy has a moons and stars black stage suit. His hair is curl and barely touches his shoulders. He manages to keep a normal look on his face. He plays his sunburst Gibson Les Paul.
- Robert Plant has trimmed back his hedge but his hair is still long and curly. He's wearing tight blue jeans but is also sporting a ridiculous baby doll peasant blouse.
- John Paul Jones "Jonesy" has huge bell bottom jeans and a polychromatic metallic stage jacket with silly little balls on it. His hair is ridiculous: that shaggy Prince Valiant cut.
- John "Bonzo" Bonham is wearing white slacks, black headband, and a black t-shirt with a silver sequin ornate decoration. He's banging on amber transparent drums.
Black Dog The arrangement needs to be fleshed out. Robert's phrasing is odd in spots the crowd helps in the chorus.
Misty Mountain Hop Jonesy plays keyboard, which helps flesh out the sound although we miss the heavier bass sound.
Since I've Been Loving You The editing crew place Jimmy's opening guitar solo in a repeating pattern on screen- sort of cool. This is a nice blues track. Jonesy is playing organ.
The Ocean Bonzo introduces the song with a diddy. It's a funky song but it works live. The girls are throwing roses to Robert.
Heartbreaker The music appears in the DVD Credits with some very interesting outtakes from the concerts, hotels, back stage, and during the editing process. Bonzo lighting his Gong on fire. Jimmy playing the Thermion.
Earls Court - May 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 1975
The menu footage is "Gallows Pole" and footage on the streets of London. The band starts with an acoustic set. They're sitting: Jonesy is playing Mandolin, Jimmy on guitar and Robert singing. Bonzo is waiting. This video footage is pretty clear so you can really see Page play.
- Jimmy Page has another black stage suit this one with colored dragons going up the sleeves and down the pant legs. It's cut like a tux but without a shirt. He wears a silver medallion. His hair is curly and shoulder length. The pick up is situated behind the bridge on his acoustic guitar- just a little thing.
- Robert Plant's hair is down to his shoulder blades. Wearing a dark blue floral print shirt that's open. Silver turquoise bracelets, necklaces, etc.
- John Paul Jones "Jonesy" is wearing that polychromatic metallic circus jacket and white slacks and shirt. But he has cut his hair so he looks normal again. Fender Jazz Bass and assorted keyboards. He had a set of organ bass pedals in during the acoustic set but I didn't hear him play them.
- John "Bonzo" Bonham is wearing the same MSG black t-shirt with silver embroidery. Same Amber drum kit, but he has appeared to added two large timpani to his kit. Mustache and sideburns- he hasn't changed his look much
Going To California These acoustic songs really show Led Zeppelin in a good light.
That's The Way This sounds like an old folk song, so when they fly in some fan bootleg footage it works well. The vocal harmonies are really good. Robert plays tambourine on this song.
Bron Yr Aur Stomp Bonzo gets a chance to join in with his bass drum , clacker, and singing chorus with Robert about a dog "Strider". Jonesy is playing a mini stand up bass. Jimmy breaks out a glass slide for the solo. Jimmy's noodling on acoustic guitar is more interesting than his electric guitar solo adventures.
In My Time Of Dying Jimmy plays his black and white Danolectric guitar with a glass slide. Page also does that thing where he stops playing and sweeps his pointing hand across the audience.
Trampled Underfoot John Paul Jones plays Electric Piano, which fills out the sound and makes for a great counterpoint to Jimmy's riffs; it sounds great. Jimmy plays the closing solo over his head.
Stairway To Heaven Jimmy plays a twin neck Gibson Les Paul SG. The intro and solo is played on the six string neck. The remainder is played on the twelve string neck. Jonesy is playing a Mellotron switching to organ as the song builds. Robert joins in with a tambourine during the solo. The solo doesn't seem to build- it sort of just sits there. (Un)fortunately the song just ends. And we see the band arrive in their custom Boeing 707.
Knebworth - August 4, 11 1979
The menu footage is a soccer chant over fan bootleg footage. The intro is "Over The Hills And Far Away" with footage of the crowd at the outdoor festival: tent city, food fights and topless chicks.
- Jimmy Page is playing his sunburst Gibson Les Paul (this must be his favorite guitar). Yellow guitar strap. Jimmy's hair is soaked and relatively short. The sweat is soaking his blue dress shirt. (Matching blue shoes) Jimmy is wearing white dress slacks.The band is dressing up. You almost expect ties. (They appear in ties on the Knebworth Concert Poster).
- Robert Plant has a black (small white polka-dots) print shirt which is tied at the waist. Black slacks with a black belt. His hair is cut in sort of a mullet but fuller. No brackets but one beaded necklace.
- John Paul Jones (Jonesy) In a white suit: jacket, pants, shirt and shoes. His hair is longer again, which is a shame because he was looking good in 1975. I see he has a Yamaha keyboard.
- John "Bonzo" Bonham has grown a beard to keep his mustache and sideburns company. He's wearing a black print shirt and white pants. Bonzo is playing a Black Ludwig drum kit. It may be silver as the lighting is hard to distiquish. Only one Timpani?
Rock And Roll Sloppy but good. Jimmy's hair is soaked
Nobody's Fault But Mine Jimmy's hair is now dry. Jimmy sweeps the crowd with his arm. His guitar is flanged. Robert plays a mean blues harmonica. Jonesy is playing a 8 string bass, which really fills out the sound. The drumming is really strong.
Sick Again Jimmy has a cigarette dangling from his lips. The sweat is back
Achilles Last Stand Sparklers illuminate the camera sensor. Smoke bombs explode and this tour de force is off. The sweat is rolling off of Jimmy's head; half his shirt is stained. Jimmy gets this look on his face as he plays- like a demented squirrel. I don't know if it's nirvana or pain. The first extended solo doesn't work but the second one is good. Who's singing backing vocals? Plant and Page go after each other during the bridge. Jimmy turns on the echoplex for one segment. The song is sloppy in certain parts but still is the best piece on either DVD. Echoplex and monster steps to finish.
In The Evening Bonzo plays his flanged Timpani while the lasers play. Jimmy makes a lot of noise with a blue Fender Stratocaster. The echoplex on Roberts vocals and then it all comes together to start the song. Jonesy is on Sythn and Organ. It's played too fast. Why does John Paul Jones have a telephone on his keyboards? Who is he calling?
Kashmir This is a classic song much in the way that "Stairway To Heaven" is or The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" in that it sounds perfect on record and doesn't seem to translate live very well. This suffers from too much flanging. Jonesy is playing organ, Mellotron and bass pedals. Jimmy is playing his black and white Danolectric. Extreme close up on Robert Plant.
Whole Lotta Love Jimmy seems to have dried off a little- it must be the encore. How come Robert manages to stay cool. Jimmy is playing the Les Paul, cigarette dangling from his lips. Crowd sing along. Nice wah wah solo and then they cut the song short. Good because it's usually way too long. Robert says, "Thanks for eleven years."
John Bonham dies shortly after this and Led Zeppelin is no more. There are two videos in the Extras some of the footage is old but some must have been shot for the boxset and these videos.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Reviewing Led Zeppelin DVD
I'm not sure why I wrote this review or why I posted it. More about the Led Zeppelin DVD from Amazon.com
I was playing the DVD starting with disc 2 as live material from Led Zeppelin from "Physical Graffiti" on is rare or at least I haven't heard it. I was struck by the subtle changes in the band from 1969-1979. As a goof I started writing notes in my new Moleskine notebook.
I thought I might as well type them up. They have little to do with music. I'm gossiping about the clothes and hair- like a teenage girl. So it really doesn't fit my music project. I might well be advised not to post it at all. I decided what the hell, "No one reads my blog or looks at my photos." I was going to put it on my Notes Wiki, but then I decided I wanted to use Microsoft's Live Writer beta some more. This blog is a test, so it certain can't hurt to post it here.
Yesterday I typed up my notes from Disc 1. I listened to Disc 2 last week but didn't take any notes, so I wrote the entry for disc 2 tonight while playing the disc for the third time.
Led Zeppelin is obviously a great Rock band and this DVD set shows them in a good light. Ignore my deranged ramblings (please) but don't ignore Led Zeppelin or this DVD.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Libertarian
I was over at my sister's the other day. She has a large library of books, and I can usually find something interesting to read. Suzanne and Paul were helping me out. Paul recommended Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel-Why Everything You Know is Wrong by John Stossel. I can tell he's a libertarian because I agreed with everything he said. If I didn't agree it was only because I hadn't thought about it or I was learning something new, which is always exciting for me. Another interesting article was by Nick Gillespie about Republicans vs Democrates, Liberal vs Conservative; how they are all meaningless labels. It all boils down to Freedom vs Government. To my eyes it all seems so clear- I don't understand why every American isn't a Libertarian?
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
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