Corky meets Mose Allison
I happened to be in Seattle on Tuesday night and while perusing the local entertainment guide, I saw that Mose Allison was opening a six night stand at Jazz Alley. I was beyond ecstatic, considering I had missed seeing him last year, Jazz Alley was within walking distance of my hotel, midweek openings were usually not sold out, and the show didn’t start for an hour and a half. The stars had indeed aligned.
I decided to have a quick bite and a cocktail at The Palace Kitchen, right next door to Jazz Alley. The Palace Kitchen is Chef Tom Douglas’s third restaurant. He also owns and operates Lola, Etta’s, Serious Pie, the Dahlia Lounge, and the Dahlia Bakery. Next time I will plan ahead and have dinner there. Everything looked and smelled delish, but I really only had time for a quick bite and a cocktail. Both were exceptional, as was the service. I ordered a Hendricks martini with a cucumber garnish and the server/bartender got it just right, with a large but not overwhelming chunk of cucumber, the gin chilled to perfection with the tiniest of ice crystals floating at the top. Bravo!
Jazz Alley Marquee
But back to Mose Allison and Jazz Alley. I’ve been to Jazz Alley before (I met Jessy J there last year) so I knew I wanted to sit at one of the six deuces near the bar. As luck would have it, being Tuesday night and all, there were a few available. The reason I like this spot is because the tables near the bar are raised so you get a great view and usually the band hangs out at the bar before and/or after the show. Sure enough, I strike up a conversation with one of the guys at the bar and it turns out to be Milo Petersen, whose is playing drums this evening for Mose. Milo is a very personable guy, and an extremely talented musician and composer, playing both drums and guitar. Check out his CD “Visiting Dignitaries”.
Mose played a great set, about an hour and a half nonstop. Hard to believe this guy is over 80 years old. He did some of his more well known compositions, including Your Mind is on Vacation and Your Molecular Structure, but the real crowd pleasers were some of his more sardonic and lesser known tunes like Meet Me at No Special Place, Tell Me Something, and Ever Since the World Ended. The room was filled with fans and at the end of the set he got the standing O he rightly deserves. He even graced us with an encore, a spirited rendition of Ever Since I Stole the Blues.
After the show, I hung around the bar chatting with Milo. When Mose came out to the bar from the dressing room, Milo introduced me, I gushed like the fanboy I am, and had my picture taken with one of the most iconic and influential blues and jazz musicians living today. A moment I will cherish forever. Thanks, Mose! Everybody’s crying mercy…
Tags: blues, Jazz Alley, Milo Petersen, Mose Allison, music
The 45th running of the Atomic Cup. Really hot, lots of noise, the smell of jet fuel in the air. Camped right across from the beer garden. Does it get any better than this? What more is there to say, really. Thanks for the memories.
Arlington National Cemetery
Dulce et Decorum Est
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, –
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
This was written by a war hero. Owen led units of the Second Manchesters on 1 October 1918 to storm a number of enemy strong points near the village of Joncourt. However, only one week before the end of the war, whilst attempting to traverse a canal, he was shot in the head by an enemy rifle and was killed. In a moment of ghastly irony, the telegram from the War Office announcing his death was delivered to his mother’s home as her town’s church bells were ringing in celebration of the Armistice. For his courage and leadership in the Joncourt action, he was posthumously awarded the Military Cross.
I just watched this talk and really enjoyed it. This guy has some great insight as well as a splendid sense of humor. Yay for Ted Talks!
I was out at the Spring Antique Show at the TRAC in Pasco, WA last week and happened to stumble upon a rather unique booth. Behind the counter, surrounded by movie posters, books and other mementos from her life on the big screen sat Karolyn Grimes, the actress who played Zu Zu in the iconic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. She is a genuinely charming and delightful lady, very approachable with a wry wit and obvious love for her role as the “Unofficial Ambassador” for the movie.
This is a movie that has touched many lives, and I witnessed an example of that after my interview with “Zu Zu”. After Zu Zu rang the bell and said her famous line, a woman standing near the booth burst into tears, sobbing about how it was her all-time favorite movie and she wept every time she heard the now famous line. Zu Zu immediately came out from behind the counter, consoling her with a big hug. A very gracious woman and an all around class act. Check out her website.
Also, make plans now to attend the Fall Antique Show in Walla Walla on September 25, 2009. Zu Zu will not be there, but you never know who you might meet.
