Janie and Kaylee gave up the warm, inviting Nevada weather to spend time with friends and family over Spring Break. We had a great visit, chilling out (literally and figuratively) in our backyard Sunday for a BBQ to celebrate their mini-homecoming as well as Kaylee's 11th birthday. As always, it was great to see them and as always, the time seemed too brief. Still, we had a good visit with good friends - what more can you ask for? Besides maybe pictures:
I was so glad to see Kaylee's Oregon pride! (Even though it should be a UO sweatshirt!)
Heidi, trying to keep her man warm. Despite the sunny skies, it was brisk!
April and Herman huddle as well.
Jo looks comfy but Vanessa might be shivering a little bit.
"The Tussle on Russell" - Heidi gets taken down by Kaylee.
Pooped out from all that WWE action.
Janie looks bemused by the brawl. I love this expression.
One word, dude: pants.
I don't think it was really windy enough for kites. Maura's was on the ground more than in the air.
Jo gets one of the kites up in the air and STILL manages to keep those girls from popping out the top!
Back to playing nice.
Kaylee scored some cash, shoes, clothes and cosmetics for her birthday.
Janie's niece Kyra, her hubby Jimmy and baby Sofie came to play!
I just like this picture. Matt looks so satisfied as he takes a break from grilling duties.
The next day, most of us girls made a shopping pilgrimage to Woodburn to peruse the Premium Outlet Stores before bidding the Rios girls farewell:
Vanessa rocks the big glasses.
Me and my cousin. We're dorks like that.
GOOD BYE FOR NOW! WE'LL MISS YOU, JANIE AND KAYLEE!
One of my top 20, all time favorite albums is "Shawn Colvin: Live '88." I'm not joking - I love it. I got it as a promo back in the Camelot days right about the time when she won a grammy for "A Few Small Repairs." While that album is fine and all, and I do own a couple of albums that she released since, they don't even come close to "Live in '88." I know every song, backwards and forwards. I often leave it on 'repeat' because by the time I get to the end, I am ready to go back and hear the first song again. Now, having said that, you might think I'm a huge Shawn Colvin fan but the truth is, I only listen to her other albums once in a while and I've never even seen her live despite having a lot of opportunities to do so. I guess I figured I missed her at her prime and just sort of give everything since a casual listen.
So I was so pleased that I nearly had to change my panties today when, while indulging in a youtubetimesuckfest (urban dictionary def forthcoming), I stumbled upon this bit of awesome:
I've seen Alison and Shawn sing together before and the result is always goosepimple inducing but...THIS? This is one of my fave songs by Ms. Colvin so to find not only a great live version (courtesy of the greatest gift Public Broadcasting ever gave: Austin City Limits) but to also find the lovely and multi-talented Ms. Krauss along to accompany? Two classier broads never have shared the same stage, I dare suggest. This whole thing is made of win. Enjoy.
It's amazing what two people can do together. No, I'm not talking about that. I mean musically. The synergy between two people coupled with the simplicity of fewer instruments can often compensate for the lack of a whole band.
I mention this because I noticed today how frequently I've been listening to bands consisting of primarily just two people. Strangely, there aren't a lot of two-man bands in the annals of rock (I'm not counting you, Hall and Oates!) but recently, they seem to be all the rage. I could make a whole playlist with nothing but Viva Voce, Matt and Kim, Quasi, the Fiery Furnaces, She and Him... the list goes on and on, it seems. Here's what I'm talkin' about:
The White Stripes = Jack White + Meg White
This whole blog entry is probably due to the fact that I'm sad that The White Stripes are breaking up and have been listening to their last threealbums relentlessly. This is undoubtedly my favorite all-time Stripes song and, like most of theirs, it is driven along by a blues inspired riff during the verse then builds up to a shredding chorus. I couldn't find a proper video but this song doesn't need one - the improv lyrics are a total hoot: "It's like a mansion!" and "Now Meg, don't be rude..."
The Spinanes = Rebecca Gates + Scott Plouf
This is probably the first two piece band I ever heard (you know, besides like Simon and Garfunkel). They were a brief but beautiful flash on the Portland 90's DIY scene. They had three albums of jangly indie-pop together and then Scott went on to play with Built to Spill and Becky moved to Chicago and did a lame solo album. Here's a gem from back in the day:
The Black Keys = Dan Auerbach + Patrick Carney
The first time I saw this band live, I couldn't believe the sound was coming from just two dudes. I am so glad that they are getting some respect and popularity - they've totally earned it. Their latest album, Brothers is all the way tight, all the way through. Plus, you gotta love this video:
