Monthly Archives: June 2006

Ventriloquism how-to
Written by someone who knows.

Vent Haven Museum
The only ventriloquism museum in the world and it’s in Kentucky. Figures of the month are unreal. Jacko is my new hero.

Axtell Expressions
Some dude named Steve runs a company that makes all kinds of puppets. Some are good, some are bad, some are downright evil. Peep the Man-Eating Plant.

International Ventriloquists’ Association
Join the clan. Feel accepted for the very first time.

[note color="#FFFFE8"] Official rating: 66 – 3.3 no “33″ points = 62.7[/note]

We busted in on Pho Lemongrass last week in a rainstorm, so it was slightly impulsive. Vietnamese sounded good at the time, as well as not getting drenched. They were pretty packed, so we got the first table in the middle of everything, where everyone walks by and smacks you with their elbows. Avoid this table at all costs.

One automatic cure for such a problem is a bottle of “33″. But much to my horror, they were out of Vietnamese beer in this Vietnamese restaurant. So I had to settle for something with far less numerals and quotes. In the mean time, we ordered lemongrass stars, which are like batter shells shaped like stars, with a dime-sized piece of chickenstuff in them. If you’re hungry for batter and air, definitely get those. Otherwise, get the spring rolls.

The next logical step was to order the Seafood Madness to ultimately determine how mad it was. I envisioned swirling squids, flying octopi, and dancing shrimp on my plate, all to the tune of “It Must Be Love” by Madness. Alas, it is only standard-fare veggies with scallops, shrimp, and squid, none of which particularly impressed me. The vermicelli was decent, as you would expect.

If you’re starving for Vietnamese and you’re stuck in Coolidge Corner, this is your place. But if you want a real meal, head down Harvard Ave. to V Majestic in Allston. Uncle Bao will hook you up (and it’s BYOB).

Going to the Radiohead shows got me thinking: what memories do I have associated with each Radiohead album? Seems like they’re good. And they are:

Pablo Honey: Playing the original Need for Speed on 3DO
When you’re not paying much attention, this album flies by and sounds great. I was all about the Porsche 911 in that game.

The Bends: Ski bus trip through Colorado and New Mexico
Made the roadtrip perfect. Looking up through mountains at stars on the bus during “Street Spirit”, etc, etc, etc…

OK Computer: The entire summer of ’97
Spent most of the time traveling to tennis tournaments. Made the miles fly by. Still don’t like the 2nd half tho.

Kid A: My horribly-detailed theory about the album
Amazing what a yellow Volkswagen Beetle will do to you.

Amnesiac: Don’t remember
How appropriate.

Hail to the Thief: Field Day 2003
First time hearing that stuff live. Made up for the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops…

There’s nothing like cracking open a Radiohead album for the first time. Except possibly cracking open a 400-lb. lobster. Either way, I can’t wait for the new album.

[note color="#FFFFE8"] Official rating: 362 (out of 100)[/note]

Thanks to a recent domain transaction, G-flex and I rolled out to Grill 23 to blow it all on an all-out, celebratory dinner. And that’s exactly what happened. Our goal was to blow up to $500 on the meal, and we nearly did. It ruled.

From the raw bar, we rocked the oysters and shrimp cocktail while he got a Tanqueray 10 martini and I had a couple of “Elite” (read: $20) martinis from the list. Then the appetizers came out, which were steak tartare and calamari, both of which are the best I’ve ever had. We were truly on pace to have an unbelievable dinner.

For the entrees, homes got the steak au poivre and I hit up the 10 oz Kobe. It’s hard to tell if my steak could’ve been any better, but I’m going to go ahead and say no. I got the truffled tater tots, which is possibly the greatest side dish ever invented. Dude studiously wolfed his down as well, and we were onto the drinks.

One of our menus said there was Laphroaig 30 on hand, but alas, the people at Grill 23 are filthy liars, and they didn’t actually have any. So G$ settled for the Laphroaig 10, while I maintained a steady path towards Johnnie Walker Blue Label. After we gulped those, we agreed that it was a meal worthy of all praise and exaltation. The service was prime, the room was swank. Grill 23 came through.

June 4th, 2006 – This night was full of my favorites. “Paranoid…”, “Idioteque”, “How To…”, and “Street Spirit” made the show for me. The ol’ standby “There, There” & “2+2=5″ combo to start things off was nice but predictable. “Lucky” has seemed to wear itself out, especially Ed’s backing wailing. I hate to say it, but the new songs didn’t do much for me, as I don’t like to hear Radiohead songs for the first time live. I’m sure they’ll rock me once the album drops. Either way, two big, fat encores with some serious hard-hitters like “Airbag” and “Karma Police” wrapped it up very nicely. Highly satisfying.

June 5th, 2006 – I was hoping for less repeats and more of the old stuff. I got half my wish. Despite playing most of the new ones and a couple others again, we were treated to a bevy of The Bends and OK Computer-era songs, dultimately finishing with a one-song 2nd chorus of “The Tourist”. I wasn’t too thrilled with the way it started out, though, with “Climbing…”, “Bangers & Mash”, “15 Step”, and “Morning Bell”. They felt subdued and unfamiliar, and out of the first dozen songs, I only really got into “Fake Plastic Trees” and “Knives Out”. That, combined, with the lack of “Let Down” deflated me a little bit, and left yearning for more rare stuff and most importantly, less. new. songs.

Bradley’s Almanac’s mp3s of the second night

Update:
I captured a few videos with my digital camera…
Kid A (3.34MB)
more Kid A (35.7 MB)
Videotape (45 MB)
Walking off stage (1.27 MB)

Click pic for bigger version
Yes, I made this. (and all of these)

Thom must really be an amnesiac, because he must’ve forgotten that Radiohead already used these sounds for that album. Except instead of tugging from the corners of the fabric, he just yanks the middle and pulls it down on top of him. There’s something suffocating about the dizzy, fuzzy, swirling ambience of The Eraser, hinting that the rest of Radiohead’s members keep Thom from drowning in his own voice. He seems bored and uninspired; releasing frustration between ‘head albums.

The first and title track features bliptrip drums, fuzzball synth, and a piano that sounds like it’s top is closed. The second track reminds me of an updated “Teotihuacan” that Noel Gallagher wrote for the X-Files soundtrack. This is the theme of the album. 2006′s version of the late-90′s british trip-pop, but this time around, catches no one by surprise.

There are no particularly liberating or elevating moments in the solo experiment. If Massive Attack was black, Thom is off-black. Nigel Godrich does a good job of densifying the elements, but in doing so, prevents any moment from standing out. The weaker moments of Amnesiac are revamped, recycled, and stripped down. Static electricity doesn’t shock anyone.