Voltron

Here's to you and a cocktail-happy birthday Jim! I hope you get to make good use of your awesome new bar to celebrate yourself today. I will be raising a glass (or 3) in your honor later on. Cheers!

Who is "we" and one of you had better buy me a bottle of BA Hunahpu's! Please?

That reminds me that I had a Negro Modelo with a late lunch a few minutes ago. How was MCLE, Dinny?

Albert the Jealous. Enjoy it Mike. Wish I was there.

Hans?

Oh yeah, I was going to note your improved physical health status too, Wayne, but your mental health is seriously in question if you are truly bleaching your hair and beard for Santa duty. Can't you do something less extreme and semi-permanent? Have fun whatever it is.

Coconut water? Is that what you boys are calling it these days?

Tonight's show is going to be a blast. Mimi Fox and her organ trio are doing a tribute to Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery recordings, which I love. I'm sure I will post some slaver here later.

Jim Black & AlasNoAxis -- Dogs of Great Indifference Drummer from the show I saw last night. Fantastic album title.

Are you stuck in the Matrix, Steve?

Ric and I went to see Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko's New York quartet with Craig Taborn on piano, Jim Black on drums, and Chris Lightcap on bass. They were awesome and alternated between melodic post bop and modern avante garde seemlessly. A few songs were like hearing an ECM record come to life. Stanko has kind of a raspy, breathy style that I really liked. Taborn was amazing and played both a grand piano and a Moog or other synthesizer that seemed to have a theramin-like feature he used in one song. Black on drums was a sleeper and went for subtle to slammin' over and over again. Both Ric and I thought the bass was a little lost in the mix but Lightcap was great and his few solos were very fluid and nice. Great band if you have a chance to see them.

Sad, but not wrong, Salty. Congrat Stretch, those look fabulous and should sound fantastically overkill for nearfield. Congrat to the Dreadhead as well. Nicely done and good luck with that!

You can crash in my room Peter. I arrive Thursday evening and leave Sunday.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah -- Hysterical

Nicely done, Andy. Thanks for taking it on!

All that talent and all for free! It's a great event, so scheme away Jeff! I am glad Bella is not appearing with the Flecktones because I have seen them before and would like to see a different side of him. I have seen Zakir Hussain in a couple of different settings but this one will be quite different. I don't think I have ever seen Edgar Meyer but if you like him he must be a cool bassist.

Absolutely horrifying, Knuckles. Three day ban!

Although Mike and JP seem to be asleep at the wheel, they have both told me that this meet ain't gonna happen. Tough timing around the holidays, etc. You made the right choice to go for RMAF, if I do say.

Feel better Shelly and good luck prepping for the talk.

Hollinger Manhattan Project (also called Dirty Harry on the JW Marriott San Francisco’s Level III bar menu) 2oz Rittenhouse Rye .5oz Cocchi Torino .25oz Luxardo Maraschino Opaline Absinthe rinse Housemade or Luxardo maraschino cherry In a mixing glass, add Rittenhouse, Cocchi and Maraschino liqueur. Top with ice and stir for 15 seconds. Spray the inside of a chilled cocktail glass with the absinthe to coat. Julep strain the cocktail and garnish with a house-made or Luxardo maraschino cherry. Glad you like the GC Shelly.

I agree with you, Steve, but it is still a bit sad to see a band that was key to your youth call it quits. As a buddy of mine said when I emailed him, getting old sucks.

Did you have a Barbershop Manhattan yet, Dinny?

OK, I took Steve's room off his hands and cancelled my reservation at the Hyatt TechnoBimbo. These places are all damn close. Jeff, the show is at a Marriott. Although there probably aren't any rooms for mere plebes, you might have enough pull to get in there and use your points.

It's almost that time again. The line-up has been posted on http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/ but the specific times and stages will not be posted until this Friday. I'm sure to be there for lots of it, and Friday is a full day of shows for the first time this year. Check out the schedule and let me know if any other 'Casers will be there. THURSDAY SEP 29 Children's Program with MC Hammer & P.M.W. FRIDAY SEP 30 (11am - 7pm) Southern Culture on the Skids, Thurston Moore, The Del McCoury Band & The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Charlie Musselwhite, South Memphis String Band, Blame Sally, Chris Isaak, Maxim Ludwig & the Santa Fe Seven, Jolie Holland, Robert Plant & the Band of Joy, Seldom Scene, Mekons, John Prine, David Bromberg Quartet, Bill Kirchen, Zigaboo Modeliste - King of the Funky Drums, Conor Brings Friends for Friday: Bright Eyes, M. Ward, The Felice Brothers, Kurt Vile & the Violators, Woods, Simon Joyner, Jonathan Wilson SATURDAY OCT 1 (11am - 7pm) Cass McCombs Band, The Wronglers with Jimmie Dale Gilmore, AllofaSudden, Hugh Laurie, Alison Brown Quartet, Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, Robert Earl Keen, Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally & Their All-Star Band, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Buckethead, The Band of Heathens, A.A. Bondy , Earl Scruggs, Kris Kristofferson & Merle Haggard, Reckless Kelly, Steve Earle & the Dukes (and Duchesses) featuring Allison Moorer, Broken Social Scene, Otis Clay with Chick Rodgers, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, River Whyless, Irma Thomas, Wendy Bird and her Band of Miscreants, Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses, Guy Clark & Verlon Thompson, Robyn Hitchcock, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Ruthie Foster, Patty Griffin, Seamus Kennedy, The Belle Brigade, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Greensky Bluegrass, The Flatlanders featuring Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock SUNDAY OCT 2 (11am - 7pm) Conspiracy of Beards, Abigail Washburn, Gomez, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands, Bob Mould, Dr. John & the Lower 911, Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin, Emmylou Harris , Dry Branch Fire Squad, Bill Orcutt, Moonalice, The Devil Makes Three, Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Low Anthem, Elbow, Justin Townes Earle, The Civil Wars, Those Darlins, Over the Rhine, Buddy Miller, The Swanson Family Band, Frank Fairfield, DeVotchKa, Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer , Joe Purdy, The Jayhawks, Fitz & the Tantrums , Dive Bar Dukes, Ollabelle, The Mother Hips, Dark Star Orchestra, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Hot Buttered Rum

The show is at the Marriott Tech Center and you, Dinny and I all seem to be staying at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center, which is within 2 blocks of the Marriott. Don't forget to register for RMAF so you have a badge and all. $25 for the 3-day pass.