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Back from Texas…just in time for a Christian Beach gig!

Hello, all! This is just a quick post to say that I have just returned from a brief vacation in Texas. My girlfriend and I spent an extended weekend in the San Antonio and Austin areas. We were able to take in some of Fiesta, which began last weekend in San Antonio and runs through April 27. Also, we were able to spend a day in Austin, where we went on a tour of the Texas State Capitol, watched hundreds of thousands of bats fly out — a nightly ritual — from their summer home under the Congress Street Bridge, and saw Mike Doughty’s Band at Antone’s on 5th Street.

I’ll have some photos and videos from the trip on the ol’ blog for you at some point in the near future.

However, now that I am back in New Jersey, I would also like to share some news about my good friend, singer-songwriter Christian Beach. Christian is playing the Writers in Raritan Showcase tonight at DeCicco’s (10 Anderson St., Raritan, NJ 08869, Map). He will be taking the stage around 9:25 p.m.

But that’s not all! Christian has a bevy of shows coming up over the next few weeks. Here is a listing:

May 3, 2008
Twisted Tree Cafe
609 Cookman Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
9:15 p.m.

May 16, 2008
Klee’s Bar & Grill (Seaside Music Festival)
101 Boulevard
Seaside Heights, NJ 08751
9:00 p.m.

June 18, 2008
Triumph Brewing Co.
“Unplugged Acoustic”
117 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
9:15 p.m.

Please visit www.myspace.com/christianbeach for more information.

Finally, here is video of Christian and his ad-hoc backing band performing David Bowie’s “Five Years” at the Main Man Records Showcase/Record Release Party for “Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie” held at The Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ, on March 28, 2008 (because of potential setup problems with the 1970s Yamaha organ Christian usually brings to the gigs, I instead played a cheesy organ sound on my Alesis QS 6.1 synthesizer for this show). Enjoy!

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Upcoming show with Christian Beach on March 28

Main Man Records

Just a quick announcement…I will be playing organ and tambourine as part of Christian Beach’s backing band when he plays a four-song set at The Brighton Bar (121 Brighton Ave.) in Long Branch, N.J., this Friday night, March 28. The performance is part of Main Man Records’ CD release party for “Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie.” Christian recorded a cover of Bowie’s “Five Years” for the 2-CD set.

Actually, if you check out Main Man’s MySpace site, Christian’s “Five Years” (listed as “5 Years”) can be found on their music player so give it a listen.

Again, here is the info:

Main Man Records “Hero” CD Release Party
The Brighton Bar
121 Brighton Ave.
Long Branch, NJ
Friday, March 28, 2008
Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Hope to see you there.

Brian celebrity, links, movies

‘Jumper’: Who told Hayden Christensen he could act?

The title of this post is the actual headline of the San Jose Mercury News’ review of the new film “Jumper,” starring Hayden Christensen as a guy with the power of teleportation. The question posed in this headline is the same one I have been asking since Christensen single-handedly ruined “Star Wars” for me.

Here is an excerpt from Bruce Newman’s review…

In fact, the only force on Earth so dense that it apparently can’t be moved even by the movie’s special effects is Christensen’s wooden acting. After bringing the second “Star Wars” trilogy to its knees as the inert Anakin Skywalker, his performance here threatens the very fabric of time and space.

Mr. Newman, I agree wholeheartedly.

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Peter Gabriel: “Lay Your Hands on Me” (Live 1988)

Peter Gabriel: “Lay Your Hands on Me” (Live 1988)

I have been listening to Peter Gabriel a lot lately because the first single, “Whole Thing,” from his long-awaited Big Blue Ball project (it’s a multi-artist effort…NOT a new PG album) was recently released as a single on iTunes. Anyway, I was wandering around YouTube and spent a good hour or so watching some Peter Gabriel videos…and this performance of “Lay Your Hands on Me” from the late 80s tour supporting “So” is one of my favorite all-time concert experiences (I wasn’t at this particular show, but it went down basically the same way when my sister and I saw him from row 16 of the floor at The Spectrum in Philly).

For the uninitiated, this song may be tough to get through, but trust me…right around the 4:40 mark of this clip, it gets freakin’ amazing…and I don’t care what kind of music you’re into.

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There’s something in the air (at Macworld)…and we’ll soon know what it is!

Well, in about one-half hour, Steve Jobs will be taking the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif., for his highly-anticipated Macworld 2008 keynote.

The Apple Web site was updated yesterday to include the phrase, “There’s something in the air.” What this means will undoubtedly be explained by Jobs during his presentation. Rumors of an ultra-thin, ultra-portable MacBook-like wireless Internet device called MacBook Air have been circulating around the ‘net in full force the past few days, and this slogan seems to lend credence to those reports.

But we shall soon find out what it all means…directly from Steve Jobs himself.

To follow the keynote, check out these and other sites that will be live-blogging the event:

Macworld | Expo Keynote – Live Update

Macworld.Ars | Macworld 2008 Keynote Live on Ars

CNET News.com | Live blog from Macworld 2008

Enjoy!