I can't add much to my ramblings about the Sydney show. Bowral was a bit different in being a semi-festival event and outdoors, it's a bit without the environmental intensity of even a barn like the SEC. There's more to distract you, a bit of rain, sundry insects, the darkening skies, the people around you sitting crossed-armed the whole time without even clapping who you suspect are there because they are southern highland worthies and this is An Event To Be At (there was some dancing from this quarter towards the end but that may have just been the chards kicking in. OR THE POWER OF LEONARD. YOU DECIDE.) But we were in the second row centre this time so any hothouse atmosphere which fizzled off into the eucalypts was more than made up for with the golden halo of PROXIMITY to the authentic object which is the dragon I keep desperately chasing. (that is a really terrible sentence, but conveys ultimate truthiness and do I look like a poet?)

All those things I loved about the Sydney gig, I loved doubly seeing up close. It was magic to get "Sisters of Mercy" for the first time. And I enjoyed "Closing Time", I think it and "Anthem" (from the same record, The Future) have really benefitted from being liberated in the live form. Pavlov's Cat spoke beautifully about "The Partisan" in her notes, and I should single it out too. He is playing the guitar for it, so that's the functional reason he is standing straight up at the mike rather than galloping around like a 10 year old Romanian gymnast like he does on most of the other songs. But form follows function (or the other way round ...?), and his suddenly grave and dedicated bearing, looking steadily straight ahead, or upwards a little but either way into the past/future transports you to the world of the song. Seconds before the suit and hat was that of a rakish ladies man, whose pick up line is "oh won't you let me see your naked body?" And then instantly he's the partisan, in a black and white reel. The lighting was great in the shows, evocative but not obtrusive and I think it did a particularly superb job on the emotion here.

I did joke in the car back though that The Partisan himself may not have worn a bolo tie, unless he was liberating Albuquerque. I love that tie. He didn't do "Memories" of course -- the song the naked body line is from -- but how cool would it have been if he had? IMHO, très.

(UPDATE: Just found awesome and awesomely weird live "Memories" on YouTube. That's Sharon Robinson on backup who is still doing an amazing job today. Or maybe you prefer a drunk version with lots of hawt young Len pics in slideshow? Got you covered too.)

I did get teary when at the end he said "thank you for keeping my songs alive all these years." I don't believe he said it in Sydney, although the patter is substantially the same, and I know he says it to everyone but still ... *sniff.* That bit and the rest of the beautiful 'Wither Thou Goest" ending to the show is recorded here. Thanks Irene for taking the footage. Shivers.

True nerds might like to know he did the "Thousand Kisses Deep" recitation after "Democracy". I've only ever seen it in the setlists after "I'm Your Man", we did give him a standing O after that one though so maybe he decided to go straight into a song rather than wait for the tumult to die down enough to bless us with his verse.

I did a quick vid of "Dance Me to the End of Love", only 2 mins because I wanted a personal keepsake but didn't want to be fussing with the camera long. Excuse the wobbliyness, it is merely my raging hormones causing my hands to shake uncontrollably. And excuse my, um, "singing." I put it on YouTube but the image quality is better viewed at my MobileMe gallery.

They were all rapturously received again. We were in the "gold class' sealed off area at the front but I was pleased to see enterprising General Admission folks get up about as close as us, just on the other side of the fence as it tapered towards the stage. Lots of them had Len shirts and knew the words. And the security dudes handed Len a couple of love notes from them ... I don't think security are supposed to do that? But still, I like to see chutzpah like that pay off. I'm a cheap seats type at heart, just masquerading for a night with the pukka ladies in the pashminas, and their excitable presence added to the atmosphere up front so bravo! sneaky general admission people.

It is over (for me), which is sad. But who can be sad after being a part of this. "Forget your perfect offering" is truly profound advice, but this was a perfect offering and I won't forget it.

Some random artlessly taken and artlessly edited pics, starting with the view of the crowd from my spot.

It was the RIAA what done for it. Eejits.

So my beloved Muxtape is off line, whether by RIAA fiat or money troubles or both or whatever, I know not. That news kinda sucked although it was not unexpected, being and how the illegality of it was more or less blindingly obvious.

But a great idea and great for the music industry whether it knows it or not. But hark! In the dust of Muxtape, a new service launched called 8tracks which claims to do the same thing but -- gasp! -- legally. I've seen it called "Stracks" too, but I think the squiggly thing is offically an 8. I've signed up but haven't made a mux-er, a ... mix yet. There seem to be more restrictions that with muxtape -- you can't see the whole list before listening for instance -- which are presumably to keep it within the legal requirements. It does look like you can officially create multiple mixes and have them all up at the same time. Which is good, although I was kinda digging the zen-like process of destroying your mux before you could create a new one.

I'm encouraged that it looks uncluttered and simple, but also adds some functions muxtapes lacked -- I like the simplicity of "following" a user and also the ability to add comments to mixes. Will try and maybe get one up tonight.

Update: Did my first 8tracks mix. Painless process and one improvement on Muxtape is you can queue up all your songs to upload rather than have to do them one by one.

A new muxtape of female artists.

Under the Rug -- Nani Bregvadze Georgian singer big from 60s onwards in Soviet type places, lovely crisp but dramatic voice perfect for soppy Russian "romances." Here is my favourite song of hers, perhaps he most beloved but I don't have it on MP3: "Snegopad" ("Snowfall"). Fur coats and Aeroflot - so evocative!

Enta Omri -- Mahmoud Fadl with Salwa Abou Greisha Sudanese interpretations/hommages to the great Umm Kalthum. Enta Omri is "You Are My Life" in Arabic.

Stretch Out -- Sister Rosetta Tharpe with Marie Knight About 20 years earlier than the YouTube I posted earlier today but just as powerful.

Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out -- Carrie Smith Carrie is a bit of a more obscure blues shouter but does not at all deserve to be. This is from 1977.

A Grand Night for Swinging -- Mary Lou Williams Great jazz composer/arranger/pianist.

Pace, Pace mio Dio - La forza del destino -- Maria Callas I only got this the other day. It makes me want to have a bath in the dark and have this drift in from the other room. Just me? OK.

High on a Mountain -- Ola Belle Reed Classic mountain music, she was part of the folk revival phase in the 60s.

Osain -- Merceditas Valdes A great name in Afro-Cuban music. I was a bit suss about the flute or whatever at the beginning but once she started singing I was hooked. On YouTube.

Nibari (My Grandchild) -- Umalali, The Garifuna Women's Project The Garifuna are a community of descendants of African slaves shipwrecked in Belize. The sadly late Andy Palacio brought the music to the world with Watina and this is the follow up.

Working on Beale Street and Crying -- Denise LaSalle Her speciality is NSFW blues which go from the risque to the downright obscene. Sadly, "Lick It Before You Stick It" is not on YouTube. This one is pretty safe except for some straight talk at the end.

I'm Through Trying to Prove My Love To You -- Millie Jackson She is new to me, this is from her best known album of cheating songs (side A from the POV of the wive, side B is the other woman). She can also cuss like a cussing thing and makes a lot of those worst album covers ever lists.

Cansada De Esperar - Angelica Maria Dunno anything about her but this is a cover of The Kinks' "Tired of Waiting."

Time for a new muxtape, and time for another straight out country one.

Also good listening at Iowafan's muxtape.

Muxtape, World Youth Day edn.

Further: How awesome is it that Mick/Proddy doctrinal stoushes are back in the papers? Party like its 1953!

I mentioned before I'm liking "El Esquimal" the cover of Quinn the Eskimo by Los Chijuas. I knew they were Mexican but didn't know when it was recorded til I just went looking. 1968, turns out. It's on my muxtape and also an MP3 is here.

I got the rerelease off eMusic where it has this random fugly cover which gives you no idea of the era, the contents or anything else of consequence.

So after googling I find the original 1968 cover which was deemed too ... appropriate I guess for teh cutting edge of now. (Is that Peter Sellars????)

Bah. Shut up, Musart-Balboa. You might be a cheapie rerelease factory without even a website but surely you could find some other royalty free clip art? I hereby banish you from my Cover Flow!

PS, on eMu it's also on this "Mexi-delico" compilation which is very cool.

I'm back on the right side of the digital divide. To celebrate, I did a new muxtape just of stuff I listened to in my first couple of hours of plugging the thing in. The opening song is a Mexican cover of Quinn the Eskimo.

There have been various widgety search apps for Muxtape, none I've tried have worked satisfactorily until Muxfind. Very useful results.

I did a sample search for Townes Van Zandt and got some impressive listening back, featuring TVZ himself and related artists.

In absence of a home computer, I can't mux. ;-( But here are some good ones:

Shaun and and Phineas and Phineas' mixtape collective all have Jesus-themed comps.

I quite like this one from We Are Color.

Radio Milwaukee has a Mixwit of "black rock" for Black Music Month.

Randomly I found this from a French blog: "psychpopyéyésoul'njazz." "Better Change Your Mind" by William Onyeabor is on a Luaka Bop compilation of 70s African psychadelia/funk but only got to listen to once before computer death. Noice.

"Some Jazz #3: 1954-1964" with notes here.

The muxtape of Congo music I posted about before (from Extra Extra) is still there and still awesome