Aug 21 : Frustrating Govt. Outrage

FRUSTRATING GOVT. OUTRAGE

Last week I went up to SHARE to get the monthly pickup / delivery of food for our Food Cupboard. SHARE acts as the conduit for government support to community organizations such as ours. We, West Girard Community Council, run the Food Cupboard in partnership with North Star Bar and East Park Revitalization Alliance.

I honestly did not have high hopes, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the outrage that I would soon find.

Last month the state hit a new low by not giving us anything. That's right: ZERO. Not a reasonable amount that might have been scaled back, but ZERO. I didn't think their lack of support could be equalled, but I was wrong. This month they matched last month's hard-heartedness by again giving us ZERO.

And the federal government is now not too far behind. While the federal government has been giving us an amount of food that has been decreasing little by little each month, this month they appeared to be in a race to the bottom with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We got only ONE item to give out: pasta.

To put this in perspective, a couple years ago we often had seven to ten items to put in each family's bag. While this program is certainly not to be considered "weekly shopping", it was always intended to be a supplement to help tide people over. ... But now it's turning out to barely even do that.

I personally believe in the phrase coined by our founders that our government should be "of the people, by the people, and for the people". I see the government as all of us coming together to make the USA the best that it can be. That includes everything from helping businesses prosper and compete in the global economy, but also includes helping those of us who might be down to their last dollar.

Budgets are always under discussion and agitation. How much to spend on various items. Add some money here, take away some there. Budget wrangling has gone on for centuries at least. Last month Harrisburg officials were proud of the budget that they passed. Budgets should be balanced. But whatever else happens in the realm of budgets, cuts should not be made on the backs of the poor, or those who are most vulnerable.

Government's answer to our current hunger crisis through the Food Cupboard program needs to be more than one, two, or three items per household, more than a bag of pasta. The poor should not have to be the ones to foot the bill.

Aug 15 : "Architecture" - Instamatic

Philly Music!

BLASTING AWAY THE LIGHTS

My main reason for going to Underground Arts that night was to see Instamatic. A few bands after Hot Guts played, Instamatic was the headliner.

I had seen Instamatic live only once before, and that was last Winter when I went with David and Pat to see them play at Milkboy. David had already been a fan for years, and I quickly saw why he liked them. They immediately became one of my favorites as well.

The band blasts away song after song with their four huge electronic consoles. The thing that I like about the band is its power and thrust without any sacrifice in the area of melodic lines. Indeed the melodic lines offer much more intrigue, intelligence, and interest than some other bands whose vehicle is less intense.

The band was in its true form on Thursday night. They had played only a few songs when they blew out a circuit breaker or fuse or whatever they have at Underground Arts, and lights and music went out!

The electric situation was fixed and they played some more, only for the same thing to happen a second time. Ha! That's intensity!

My only complaint about the show was that it was too short!

An example of one of their songs is "Architecture", the lead track on their 2011 album, "Turning Into Straight Lines". Here it is, played by Philly band, "Instamatic" :::

To visit Instamtic, here is the click ::: Instamatic (CLICK HERE)

Aug 12 : "Heater Beauty" - Hot Guts

Philly Music!

I WAS AN INTRUDER

I felt like an intruder. Philly band "Hot Guts" was one of the bands in the lineup at Underground Arts a week ago Thursday night. This was my first time seeing them.

Hot Guts consists of Wes Russell who did vocals and guitar on the right-hand side of the stage and Shari Vari who played a complex set of electronics and keys laid out in a backwards "L" formation on the left-hand side of the stage.

Just looking at Wes, I felt like an intruder. Wes performed the vocals as if he were singing personally for the microphone. He was standing sideways, his left side facing the audience, and he was leaning slightly forward, his face just a few inches from the mike, and he was singing to that mike is if there was no one else in the room. He gave a good performance, even though he didn't know know we were there. :)

But the band was not detached. Shari maintained a good eye contact with the audience on behalf of both members. And, what's more, the intensity of her performance was so strong that, at times, the floor shook, as did my chair.

This band was similar to Brontide which I talked about in my previous blog in that the band's performance was a lot more intense live than in recorded form. ... A sample of the recorded music is "Heater Beauty", which is from 2011 and is playing right here on my blog page.

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7/5/20 UPDATE! ::: OOPS! Looks like the band removed this song from their webpage!

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To visit Hot Guts, here is the click ::: Hot Guts (CLICK HERE)

Aug 08 : "Bob Mundon" - Brontide

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Posted

Playing right before The Mystery Lights at Mercury Lounge was UK band "Brontide". Unlike The Mystery Lights, which seemed to have zeroed in on and were experts in garage rock, Brontide was more eclectic. Not just from song to song, but the styles and genres seemed to be all over the place ... in each song.

I was very impressed by the band's range and mastery of different styles. However, I felt that, while each song seemed to showcase a wide array of styles, there wasn't too much cohesiveness. How was it all being pulled together?

The music the band has on their various web pages does not display as sharply the contrasts of temperaments that I heard at the live show. Maybe it was just the fact that the show was live. But, of the various samples they have posted, the track "Bob Mundon" comes most closely to illustrating my point about the wide ranges.

Current song playing right here on my blog page is "Bob Mundon" by UK band Brontide.

To visit Brontide, here is the click ::: Brontide (CLICK HERE)

Aug 01 : "Guitar Pickin' On You" - The Mystery Lights

Monday night I was looking for some good music after I finished working in NY. I listened to samples of the various bands at the various venues and came up with what looked like an interesting night at Mercury Lounge.

It had been a while since I had heard some really high-powered garage rock, so I was intrigued and all set to go hear for the first time the headliner on the bill, "The Mystery Lights". They certainly didn't disappoint. Non-stop and intense.

While I liked listening to the "advance" web songs that helped me make the decision to go hear them, they really don't seem to have a huge web presence. Their Facebook page says that they're from Salinas, CA, although they're using New York as a home base right now. Here, playing right here on my web page is the high-powered "Guitar Pickin' On You" by The Mystery Lights.

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6/27/20 UPDATE! ::: OOPS! Looks like the band removed this song from their webpage!

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To visit The Mystery Lights, here is the click ::: The Mystery Lights (CLICK HERE)