Month: December 2011

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings at the Wilbur Theater – December 13, 2011

Posted on by in Boston/Cambridge, Current Events, Music

I’ve had a good week of music. I saw Ryan Adams last Thursday, the White Owls Monday, and then Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Tuesday. It was the last show of Gillian and David’s tour, and they put on a spectacular show. I’ve never seen someone play the guitar as deliberately as Rawlings does. He closes his eyes and just dominates the fret board. I recorded a few clips. Here’s ‘Look at Miss Ohio’: Look at Miss Ohio And here’s ‘I’ll Fly Away’ from the ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ soundtrack: I’ll Fly Away

Vanessa Kafka and The Unnamed – Live at Sally O’Briens

Posted on by in Current Events, Music

I played a show with Vanessa Kafka, Matt Beals, and Aaron Pearsall at Sally O’Brien’s last Saturday. Thanks to everyone who came to see us perform. We had a great time. Here’s one track John DeTore caught on his iPhone: I have some footage of the entire show, which I should have up soon. Also, we’d love any suggestions for a band name. Vanessa Kafka and the…

The Great Norwegian Butter Shortage of 2011

Posted on by in Current Events, Economics

This article threw me for a number of reasons. I’ll comment on it paragraph by paragraph: “An acute butter shortage in Norway, one of the world’s richest countries, has left people worrying how to bake their Christmas goodies with store shelves emptied and prices through the roof.” Why not ship some from Sweden? Or Denmark? Or the UK? Sounds like a good short term operation for someone with a truck. Or a boat. “The shortfall, expected to last into January, amounts to between 500 and 1,000 tonnes, said Tine, Norway’s main dairy company, while online sellers have offered 500-gramme packs for up to 350 euros ($465).” Whoa! Seriously? This is nearly $1,000/kilo, or $907,000 per ton. A truck can hold

Continue reading