Rating: NNNNN
Tweedy-dee, Tweedy-dumb
what exactly does tim perlich want from a concert? According to his review of Jeff Tweedy’s solo acoustic show at the Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre last week (NOW, March 8-14), a concert just isn’t worth the money unless it’s replete with flashing lights, stand-up comedy and singing-and-dancing roadies. Tweedy played what I believe was a perfect two-hour acoustic show (not one hour, as Perlich claims). No, there was little hip-swivelling, no choreographed dance numbers and no air-punching “Hello, Toronto”s, but we have to keep in mind we’re at a folk show, not front row centre at an *NSYNC concert.
The music sounded beautiful, the lyrics were jaw-dropping, and the guitar playing was phenomenal. This engaged the crowd, so Tweedy didn’t have to rely on the “humorous anecdotes” Perlich seems to require.
The 700 people who gave him a standing ovation Thursday night will continue to go to his concerts even if he looks like “he’d been sleeping in a dumpster.” Perlich can even bring earplugs.
Sweet as pecan pie
i have just read the march 8-14 issue of NOW and must say that I am more than a little disappointed with Tim Perlich’s Jeff Tweedy concert review. The reviewer criticized the artist for not engaging the audience enough. I found that surprising, because I recall Jeff making a few humorous comments about the new album, Bob Dylan, Napster, as well as misconceptions concerning the song Pecan Pie. Don’t get me wrong. Jeff Tweedy is no Mick Jagger or Bono when it comes to working a crowd, but I do feel that he gave a charming performance.
Predictable juvenile glee
does tim perlich even attend the shows he reviews, or does he simply fabricate his mean-spirited pieces out of thin air? At the show I attended, Jeff Tweedy was engaging and funny. It seems Perlich would have been happier had Tweedy’s new songs been accompanied by a Storytellers-type shtick.
And check the liner notes, Tim: those Guthrie numbers are in fact Tweedy’s own songs. But you knew that already, didn’t you? The juvenile glee with which Perlich attacks artists he revered only a few years ago would be amusing if it weren’t so utterly predictable.
Furtado no Harmer
i have to agree wholeheartedly with Michael Hollett’s view on the “Nelly Furtado” award show (NOW, March 8-14). I guess lyrical substance means nothing to the Juno committee. I believe this to be “tru-wu-wu-wu-wu-wue”! I hope for all of your readers’ sake that someone saw the genuine pristine talent that is Sarah Harmer. There’s a talent that was hidden for years and most certainly deserves kudos for her years in the trenches of Canadian music (i.e., Weeping Tile). Although her loss, if you could call it that, at the “Furtados” was a drag, I was extremely pleased to see that Jenny Whiteley won the award in the roots category. That was a surprising step that gave me hope for the fate of the Junos. As for the Guess Who’s appearance (“…tired and bloated,” I love it), I can’t wait for next year’s appearance of Lighthouse and Triumph.Left’s missing global linki feel indebted to glenn wheeler for his article (NOW, March 8-14) daring to raise important questions about what the left is doing about globalization. For months I have felt troubled by the great void the left has allowed on the question of globalization. Alternative proposals seem to have been absent. Just how will entrenched globalization ensure that environmental standards, fair wages and conditions for workers, and cultural integrity be respected?
World Bank representatives themselves predict that benefits to labour and the environment won’t be evident for at least 30 years. So, what to do till then? Let’s talk.
Saucey Savage says it all
perusing last week’s now (march 1-7), I came across your Dan Savage column, which, to be honest, I had never read before and won’t be reading again. In his immature and verbose yet useless response to GLG, he managed to say much more about himself.
I wonder where he got his training in giving advice? His sarcasm at the expense of someone else indicates great immaturity.
So here is my response to GLG:
Maybe you’re ready for a close, intimate relationship. I’m sure there are some young women who are also ready. It may take some time for you to meet. In the meantime, perhaps, you could go out and just have some fun without the heavy weight of getting close and serious with someone. Maybe you might want to date a much older woman. But there again, you may not be taken seriously due to your young age.
Ah, the perils of being young, beautiful, intelligent, sensitive and in touch. Good luck.
Ethical fund dilemma
i became a mutual fund holder with TD Asset Management Inc. recently through the merger between TD and Canada Trust. I’m immeasurably grateful to NOW Magazine (NOW, March 1-7) for identifying TD Asset Management as an accomplice in the clear-cut logging practices occurring in British Columbia. I have since reinvested my moneys with Ethical Funds Inc. I appeal to TD to take leadership among the pack of financial institutions by investing its talent and energy in improving its track record on the environment.
Napster’s taking notes
gee, matt. you just found out that e-mail stays around forever (NOW March 8-14, 2001)? Imagine that. How about log records of what you downloaded from Napster when that was such a cool thing?
Having second thoughts yet?
