Live From Paris

Yesterday Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer from Oasis played an acoustic show at a small Paris venue, and msn broadcast it live. It aired at 3:00 pm my time, so I was able to watch most of it (had to dash out in the middle to pick up the boys from school). It was really good! The performance was top notch, natch, and the production value was very good, too. I was impressed with the camera work, the quality of the picture and sound, and the almost total lack of delay. It even looked decent in full-screen mode.

Here's a clip from the show, a song called "Talk Tonight". Casual listeners will likely not know the song because it was originally released as a b-side. They were famous for using some of their best material as b-sides, and this is a prime example. Excellent song. I especially like the little guitar lick at the end of each line in the chorus.

[The clip is on MSN, so you'll have to sit through a 30 second ad before the video begins. This clip hasn't made it to YouTube yet. Sorry.]

During the show, Gem also played keyboards on a couple of songs, and they were accompanied by Terry Kirkbride on percussion. He works very hard because he's drenched in sweat by the end of the set.

They boys watched some of it with me, and here was a funny little exchange between them:
Dylan: These songs don't sound the same.
Connor: (In his best "Well, duh" voice) They're different versions.

Happy Birthday Chase

Today is Chase's third birthday!

Click here to visit the blog that Susan keeps for him.

Happy Thanksgiving

Brad's dad, Al, made the Tribune today in a photo of the crew at United Tribes getting ready for their annual Thanksgiving meal. That's him in the center with the cute hat. He supposedly retired years ago but they apparently can't do without him, so he works a few hours most days. The best part is he only does what he wants to do.

Things I'm thankful for:
My wonderful husband, my family, my friends, my health, music, dancing & hugs from my boys.

Performance Season Begins

Saturday was the start of my Just For Kix performance season. I had three groups performing at the Centahna Showcase at Century High School, my alma mater. My preschool dancers, the Tiny Kix, even made it into the Tribune's photo spread (above). Some were nervous, as was I, but it's nice to have that first one under our belts. All my dancers were well behaved and danced beautifully. Best of all, they had fun!

Stop The Clocks

Oasis released a new album today, a best-of collection called Stop The Clocks. I doubt I'll buy it because it doesn't contain anything I don't already have. Interestingly, there were also two other big releases today: a best-of by U2 (U218) and the soundtrack to Love, the Beatles-inspired Cirque du Soleil. There has been quite some debate about which will top the charts in Britain, but it's probably not even a blip on the American radar.

What I'm really waiting for is the DVD release of Lord Don't Slow Me Down, slated for early next year. It's a documentary of their 10 month world tour, which ended in March. Here's the trailer, set to a great new Oasis song.

There's a really good Oasis blog that collects and posts All Things Oasis, of which there has been loads lately because the band has been doing a lot of promotional appearances. I check it every night to get my daily Oasis fix.

Saturday At The Silver

Saturday was Girls' Night Out for my neighbors, Megan & Denise, and me. Denise's cousin, Nicole, was also along. Being 10 years our junior, she provided lots of entertainment. We went out to see Rift at the Silver Dollar in Mandan and had a great time. If you follow this link, you may even find photographic evidence.

It was a much needed break from a steady stream of hectic-ness and busy-ness in my life lately, which explains the lack of recent entries here. Hopefully the upcoming long weekend will provide a brief respite.

Pink - My New Favorite Color

We caught Pink's performance of her song "Who Knew?" this summer on Letterman. I've really come to appreciate her talent. This is an incredibly sad and beautiful song, and she just belts it. Gives me goosebumps. Also, she's looking so classy in this performance. Love the dress, shoes and hair.

Here's the clip from Letterman:


The drummer is Mark Schulman. Brad met him about five years ago when Eckroth brought in Mark as a clinician. Since then, they've stayed in touch. When he came through town with Cher in 2003, Brad arranged for a private lesson with Mark. It was supposed to be an hour long, but Mark ended up spending most of the afternoon with Brad in our basement. He couldn't get tickets to the Cher show for us, but he lined up something even better: a pass for Brad to sit in on the sound check.

Mark's got Brad's dream job - touring with big names as a freelance musician. Fun!

Budding Writer

Connor is finally taking an interest in academics. We get a lot of use out of our MagnaDoodles, as shown here. Brad wrote the top line, then Connor traced it and wrote his own line below that. Then he signed his name.

Cute!