Little hands Clapping

Went to see the Orange Peels last night at the Stork Club, the second of two nights that I saw Seattle's Central Services. I also saw them on an early Friday show with the Bye Bye Blackbirds at the Makeout Room.

Anyhow, I didn't even know the Orange Peels were still actively playing. Last night's show was supposed to be an Allen Clapp solo show, but he recruited 4/5ths of the OPs So Far lineup (drummer John Moremen and guitarist Bob Vickers along with Allen's wife/bassist Jill Pries) for their first show in awhile. Still, they sounded as tight as if they'd been playing together all this time, playing mostly tunes from their first two albums.

I also finally picked up Allen's Something Strange Happens CD, which has all of his lo-fi solo singles and compilation tracks all in one place. He started recording 4-track masterpieces in the late-80s, long before it was fashionable, and kept it up until a few years ago when cheap digital recording and Pro Tools made 4-track cassette recording extinct. Many of the songs (including the title track of the compilation) were later given the full-band treatment by the Orange Peels, but the initial four-track versions sound more definitive. In the recording notes, he says he didn't like to use drum machines , so he would sample drums from various classic bands (the snare from a Stones album, kick-drum from a Doors album) and "play" the percussion like another instrument. This gives these songs a homemade charm , and makes the beats sound more "real" than something generated by a drum machine. I don't know why it took me so long to pick this release up. It's put me in a good mood all day!

And speaking of good moods, hats off to the Warriors. Even if you hate basketball, you've got to love this! Watching the Mavs ower Mark Cuban pout and whine on TV as his overrated team throws the game away is its own reward.