There were some changes last night at Adam and Rob's Tribeca set. The biggest was a change to the cast of characters: in addition to Mike and Brian being back on bass and drums, Jason Heywood has joined the fold. Jason was previously with The Divorcees and is working on solo material at the moment. Jason has played with the guys before, but I missed the show because the weather was appalling that night and I didn't want to drive in it. The really cool part is, Jason is apparently now a permanent part of the organization.

( Which is just one more reason to come out on Tuesday. )

I dashed out at lunchtime to pick up the Divorcees' CD. It's supposed to storm this afternoon and I thought I'd get out early. Plus I may have a chance to load the CD to my iPod before I leave work.

Anyway, I approached the counter at HMV with the Divorcees' CD and Highway 61 Revisited and one of the cashiers waved me over. He looked at the Divorcees and commented on what a good band they are. I replied that I'd just seen them live. He remarked that he'd never seen them full-on but his band had played with them at something when the Divorcees were playing as a three-piece doing Johnny Cash covers. (Oh. My. GOD!) So once I got my CD I remembered to ask him the name of his band, and it turned out to be The Grass, who are also on my radar as a band I need to see.

So I told him I'd heard good things about them and would certainly check them out.

And I think we parted happy. Only I was happier, for I had two new CDs and another band on my list!

No, I don't have the CD in my hot little hands yet, but that will come.

Owing to time constraints at the public library, I had to sort of truncate my Divorcees post. And after I logged out it occurred to me that regular readers of this journal might have looked at that post title and though, "Okay, since when do you use "sissy-boy" as an insult?"

True, all true. But the thing is, so much New Country these days makes me want to kick someone to death that I don't mind what you say about it as long as it's negative.

Don't get me wrong: there's some good stuff there. And I have a big soft spot for people like Tim McGraw. But I still routinely change the radio station when I come into the barn because Mitzi doesn't react well when I'm all pissed off, and...

Okay, I've mentioned in book posts that I have gotten to sort of hate Man With A Code books, just because so often the Man With A Code is so insufferable about it. (I have finally quit on Spenser, because the character's self-righteousness has finally taken over completely.) In New Country, you get Values songs, where the singer brays about how he (it's nearly always he) has Values that are the most Valuable Values ever and this makes him superior to all those other shameful folk who have none, all expressed in Republican National Convention-speak that makes me furious. I mean, for some reason smug just does me in.

Kick kick kick!!!

And then there are those screwed-up relationship songs that... okay, the old outlaw country songs featured a lot of bad men doing bad things in relationships, but they tended to own it, you know? Like, "Good-Hearted Woman" is impressed that the woman finds it in her heart to overlook the guy's faults. By contrast, when Mitzi was at the trainer's I used to be in the arena longeing her and this song kept coming on the radio where the guy was whining about "why do I always say things that I know will hurt you and never tell you I love you and treat you badly" blah blah blah, the implication being "Oh I love you so much but I just can't say it."

Here's a thought, arsewipe: maybe the problem is that you're an abusive shithead and you really don't love her at all, okay?

Kick kick kick!!!

I tell you what, I used to have to practice deep calming breaths when that damn song came on so as not to get all filled with rage and scare Mitzi half to death.

Also, there's that fucking Toby Keith song "How Do You Like Me Now" which initially sounded like a perfectly fair "we broke up and aren't you sorry" song, but which on listening closely turns out to be "I harassed you in high school and you wisely ignored me, so now I am going to feel pleasure that you're going through hard times even though you never did a thing to me." I thought it was impossible to hate Toby Keith more than I do, but apparently I was wrong. I even resent his duet with Willie Nelson (especially since their lynch-mob song is so stupid in and of itself.)

Kick, kick, kick!!!

Plus, the tunes are so generic and indistinguishable from moronic pop half the time, what the hell is the point?

Ahem.

Why no, I will not be attending the Keith Urban show this summer, unless someone really stellar (by which I mean dirty) is added to the bill.

And thank you for letting me get that off my chest!

I don't know that I've ever said it in so many words, but regular readers of this journal may not be surprised to learn that I have a serious weak spot for good old shit-kicking country music. I've also mentioned that The Attic (a venue I have only just begun to learn to appreciate) is closing down in the next couple of weeks.

So it was with some delight that I learned one of my last chances to go to that establishment was going to be a show by the Divorcees, a Moncton-based outlaw country band (if you've ever been to Moncton, you'll understand that makes perfect sense) and one I think I've mentioned I have been meaning to check out. I was a little sorry that my old blue Alberta western boots seem to have gone astray in one of the moves I was making about ten years ago: since I wore them exclusively in the barn they were, in fact, actual shit-kickers (to the extent that the exposure to ammonia had turned the feet sort of... green.) They are the stacked-heel kind that's been out of fashion for years but I would certainly have worn them last night. As it was I decided the new Ariats I've been breaking in for the past week or so would have to do, these being sort of incipent SKs, as it were.

Anyway, having been to The Attic a couple of times before, I was aware of the drill and didn't bother coming out until after midnight. The ID-checking dudes downstairs were marginally friendlier than previously, the purse-check was more extensive than usual, but the female door and bar staff were as cheery as ever. (I could see people putting up with the security guys just because the bartenders are so nice. I hope they all have new jobs lined up.)

By the time I arrived the opening act was already playing, a local group called Ryan Cook and Sunny Acres. I understand Ryan is one of the people in charge of Honky Tonk Hiccups, the country show at Ginger's on Tuesday nights. Exposure to his band makes me sorry my Tuesdays are all tied up again, but rest assured that if Adam and Rob take a night off I'll be there.

Ryan was an acoustic-playing lead singer decked out in a silver felt cowboy hat suitable for winter wear, and he and his band played the kind of country that makes me wish I knew how to two-step, you know? Their CD is out on March 8th and I have marked the date of the CD release party on my calendar.

And since I am now pressed for time I'll say of the Divorcees that cheerful outlaw country just baout covers them: they have two excellent lead singers (a small hairy guy and a larger one with Our Lady of Guadelupe tattooed down his forearm) and I took to them at once, especially the tune that gives this post its title. Hee!

The only bad thing about the night was, as far as I could tell not a single person in the place knew how to two-step. But that didn't mean there weren't a few folks trying!

More on this later, I suspect--probably after I've gotten the CD. For now, I recommend their originals and also their covers, including one of Waylon's "Lonesome, Ornery and Mean." Yowza!

No, not stalking. When the Attic closure was announced on a local message board, the post included a list of the last few shows. One is by a New Brunswick band called The Divorcees, who have been on my radar for months as a band I need to get around to checking out. (My default option is generally to see bands live rather than listen to their MySpace tunes, or whatever, so I haven't actually listened to any of their stuff except what I've caught on awards shows. But I digress.)

Anyway, the Attic post didn't include the cover or anything, so I thought I'd check Facebook to see whether there was an event created for the show. (I also like that Add Event option because it reminds me I plan to go somewhere. Hey, I'm old and my mind is going.)

So I looked up events involving The Divorcees, and as usual there are a couple of events for this show (opening acts and headliners often create their own copies of events to send to their friends, which once led to me having three separate events for the same show listed because I knew someone from every band involved and they all invited everyone they knew. But I digress.)

I picked the first event, which gave the cover, and added it to my events. And then when I went to look at it more closely, guess how many people in total were attending or had been invited?

One. Me.

Why would you create an event and then not invite anybody? I started to fear I had accidentally connected with a band member's personal Daytimer or something!

I've invited a couple of people because the event says I can, but come on!

I guess that's not so much inappropriate as possibly ineffective, but we'll see how many people show up anyway!