Fillmore Jive | Duluth Music, Politics and Ramblings

Another really crappy day (dark, rainy, cold) and another pile of work to accomplish. So it goes. I have got to stop getting so drunk Wednesday nights. Not only do I end up feeling really crappy by the end of the night, but it makes Thursdays almost unbearable. I did have a good time though at what is undoubtedly one of my most unfavorite bars in Duluth. I am, however, managing to tough out the hangover with the aid of a huge pot of coffee and the new Shins CD. On a brighter note, the T-Wolves managed to win their first game last night, but due to my place of employment no longer having cable I wan't able to watch it. Big win though, thanks in large part to one Mr. KG. Some asshole from the NY Times said that KG thinks he's better than Tim Duncan, but that he isn't. Well, I will have to admit that the two rings that Mr. Duncan has on his hand may provide some pretty strong evidence, but, but....argh. I really hope the T-wolves can do something in the playoffs this year. Anyway, my lack of an ID and huge pile of work may cause me to miss the Halloween festivities of the weekend, but there is no force on this earth which will cause me to miss

Duluth's Sexiest Band

from opening for Ratt at the Third Rock on Sunday. In fact, I am going to put on Ratt's Invaision of Your Privacy followed by Bone Appetit's Love, Lust and Rock 'n' Roll just to prepare. Have a good day.

Playlist:
The Shins-Chutes Too Narrow
The Strokes-Room on Fire
soon:
Ratt-Invasion of Your Privacy
Bone Appetit-Love, Lust and Rock 'n' Roll

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James | 10/30/2003 12:27:00 PM

Monday, October 27, 2003

First Snow

Well, I've just awoken from a quite refreshing nap to see the first visible snow of the season. This event always fills me with a certain amount of excitement (like 2 liters of excitement if you need something to picture in your head). I love the snow for about two weeks, then spend the rest on the winter cursing it and its bone chilling companions back to hell. Actually, I don't think that I'd mind it so much if we got a lot of snow. The last couple of years have been pretty bad in terms of snowfall, but pretty normal in terms of cold weather. I can take the cold when there's some snow to look at, but I wanna smash shit up when it's 5 degreed farenheit and all I can see is my breath and frozen brown grass underneath my feet. I just got the new Drive By Truckers album as well as a Cheer Up Poems release that I gave to a friend about six months ago. That makes me happy right now. I am going to go breath the wonderously cold air and put the back onto my Jeep. Be safe.

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James | 10/27/2003 05:18:00 PM

Damn It's Cold Today!

It has been a while and, truth be told, I didn't go there all that much. However, the NorShor was a special place so I'll post what follows below. The author is anonymous. Strange. Enjoy.

My Playlist:
Paul Westerberg-Come Feel Me Tremble
Pavement-Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
The Rolling Stones-Exile on Main Street

C'est la Vie NorShor

To paraphrase an oft-hackneyed cliché: an end is a beginning to what will, inextricably, become another end. And so it goes with the latest chapter in the storied history of downtown Duluth’s NorShor Theatre, which ended abruptly last week.

It would do no good to retell the literally thousands of stories that the NorShor birthed in the six or so years since its reopening. Those are best saved for a chance encounter that you may have with one of its many patrons over the years. They will, no doubt, do those stories more justice than I could ever possilbly hope to. I will however share one of my own.

The last time I set foot in the NorShor was the Friday before its closing. I was entertaining a friend from Minneapolis and, due to a lost driver’s liscense, needed to go somewhere where I knew someone who wouldn’t hassle me. We decided upon the NorShor.

There were a fair amount of people milling about the NorShor’s mezzanine that night due to the Semblesque performance combined with those who had attended the Clayton, Jackson, McGie dedication ceremony earlier that afternoon. A band, who I was not familiar with, was playing instrumentals to a dozen people dancing and drinking in front of them as we both ordered cocktails.

My friend commented to me, clearly disgusted with the dancers, how much he despised the people at the NorShor. I kind of laughed it off and asked him what his problem was with them. He responded that the people at the NorShor were concerned not with who they were as people, but instead with what they were. And, he continued, if you weren’t weird or artsy enough, the people at the NorShor treated you as though you were a cretin.

I again found his assertion particularly amusing (and not altogether off base), and commented that he was just pissed off because the people at the NorShor didn’t find his drunken antics as amusing as the people at Grandma’s may have (another story that I’d tell if I had the space).

He countered that this wasn’t true and that the fact of the matter was that the inhabitants at the NorShor were more superficial and more judgemental than the regular crowd at Grandma’s.

Needless to say, this went on for longer than I am sure you have patience for. As we parted ways for the evening, I slipped out the back door and into the alley to retrieve my vehicle thinking long and hard about what we were debating.

Sure, the regulars (some want to call them a clique, ok fine) at the NorShor could be just as judgemental as any anyone else, but who isn’t every once in a while? Sure, your band probably didn’t get paid what you were supposed to one night, but its probably not the only place that’s ever happened. Where exactly is there complete and utter social equality across the board in the world anyway? It sure as hell isn’t at Grandma’s and it wasn’t at the NorShor either.

The fact of the matter is that sometimes it is a good thing to have a clubhouse. Somewhere that you can hide safely from the neighboorhood bully, look at Playboy’s or gossip about how cute the new kid’s butt is. For many people, that place was the NorShor. It was a place to get away from whatever was going on in your life to the tune of whatever band may have been playing there that night and/or an Old Style or five. Sure the place had its flaws, but show me something somewhere that doesn’t. Just because utopia doesn’t exist doesn’t make dreaming about it any less exciting.

To speak of The NorShor in the past tense seems a bit odd given that the building will continue, in one form or another, to grace downtown Duluth. It is the character of its environs however-the kind of character that is slowly being leeched out of the urban centers of our country by city governments bent on gentrified Disneylands built upon false hopes and taxpayer dollars-that for the moment is no more. To those whose lives, for better or for worse, centered around and depended upon it for entertainment, conversation, artistic expression, or just simply somewhere to stop for a beer on a long walk home from downtown Duluth to a dingy attic apartment somewhere on the Hillside, the NorShor Theatre will be sorely missed.

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James | 10/27/2003 01:45:00 PM

Sunday, October 26, 2003

Getting There

Things are looking up in bloggerland. I am now proud to announce that I have a comments link thanks to some investigative work on my part. I am, however, sad to announce that the Vikings have lost to the NY Giants. That is a real bummer, but I suppose that it had to happen eventually. Last evening after a long night of drinking on the job I met some friends down at Fitger's Brewhouse for some drinks. That double hopped IPA of theirs is something else and I was really impressed by the pumpkin beer as well. I forget the name of it, but it was quite tasty. I also had the opportunity to listen to Haley Bonar, which is always a good thing in spite of the nasty rumor that she is quite the haughty artiste. Given the art fucks lurking about, it really isn't all that surprising. As long as the music is there, I couldn't give a shit though. The night was capped off at a party at the girlfriend's house on account of her moving out in a week. Fun stuff, didn't drink too much, talked to some good people, and all's well in the universe. I was forced to eat at Perkins today which put a damper on things. The little lady had a hankering for one of those breadbowl salads. What can you do? Until next time...

Playlist:
Roxy Music-Stranded
Cheap Trick-In Color
Paul Westerberg-Come Feel Me Tremble

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James | 10/26/2003 02:05:00 PM

This is another test

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James | 10/26/2003 01:38:00 PM

Just a test

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James | 10/26/2003 01:31:00 PM

Saturday, October 25, 2003

Tough Day

Today has been a real struggle due to the insane amounts of booze that were consumed by myself last evening. A local janitor/record label owner/writer had a CD release party for a local consortium of deviants who go by the pen name of Slim Goodbuzz. I actually didn't get to hear the CD at all, but did get to hear a bunch of good music due to my host's wonderful record collection. The highlight of the evening for myself was throwing on Pavement's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and watching more than five people completely freak out. Damn! That's what it's all about. I am still of the opinion that "Silence Kit" and "Elevate Me Later" are the best one-two punch ever laid to record. A bold statement yes, but one that I will defend nonetheless. A horrible hangover is giving in to the realization that I have to be at work in less than one hour. Ugh! Hopefully seeing the wonderful Haley Bonar at the Brewhouse tonight will make up for what has thus far been a thoroughly crappy day.

Playlist:
Radio K

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James | 10/25/2003 02:03:00 PM

Friday, October 24, 2003
It is rainy and cold here today. I've got a hell of a lot of work to do and really very little motivation to do it. Damn. I have got some good coffee however. A small bright spot in what has been a really dull day as yet.

Playlist:
Paul Westerberg-Come Feel Me Tremble
Teenage Fanclub-A Shortcut to Teenage Fanclub
Grandpaboy-Deadman Shake

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James | 10/24/2003 09:20:00 AM

Thursday, October 23, 2003
What long day. I just arrived home from work to watch the last inning of tonight's World Series game. Thankfully the Marlins held off those damn Yankees for a second night in a row. Last night was a good time working whilst downing a few Miller High Life, then moseying on down to a local watering hole to spin some records. A couple of friends came down, many beverages were consumed, and a Livingston or three made appearances. It is always fun to foinst your musical tastes upon a usually unwitting audience. Last night was cool though because there were actually a couple more people around paying attention. We even got some props from an ex-girlfriend's sister's boyfriend-which was weird. Anyway, I woke up today with a bad hangover. That didn't stop myself and the girlfriend from taking in Kill Bill at 12:50. I was really impressed by the visuals, music, fight scenes and anime. I wasn't too impressed by the dialogue or the fact that character development was essentially nonexistent. Oh well, it was more entertaining than Jackie Brown and I am looking forward to part II. That's all from these parts. Time to read a little Harper's and hit the sack. Long day of work and research tommorrow. Au revoir.

Playlist:
I listened to NO music today. Strange.

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James | 10/23/2003 08:48:00 PM

Wednesday, October 22, 2003
On a sad note I found out that Elliot Smith died sometime in the past couple of days. I usually cringe when people get overly sentimental about the passing of people who they never knew, however Smith touched quite a few people that I know through his music. Someone once said that depression was the curse of creativity. I've thought about this quite often and I think it arises because those that choose to express creatively are so much more in tuned to the plight of the world and their surroundings that it can easily become overwhealming at times. Whatever the case, it is a horrible thing to read about. Here is a link:

Elliot Smith

Playlist:
The Jayhawks-Rainy Day Music
Fair-weather Friend-Eacdh in a Place Apart
Cloud Cult-They Live on the Sun

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James | 10/22/2003 10:20:00 AM

Well, I stil have not found out how to post non-internet published photos. Damn! Onto other news. I watched Michael Moore's Roger and Me last night. I have to say that I really admire Moore's resolve, but his techniques get to me. He really has a way of getting into people's faces and just surprising them and making them look like total idiots. Which, of course, doesn't mean that they're fucking idiots, it just means that they are being surprised by a mangy dude with a camera crew and pointed questions. Of course, they may be idiots as well, but that isn't the point. Anyway, bravo Michael. Good film. I've spent the better part of the morning trying to figure out if V2 is in fact a subsidiary of Virgin Records. Finally the truth! It is. Kind of anticlimactic since I figured that anyway, but at least I found out. My boss at word thought that it was an indie, and I suppose technically it is, but it is owned by Virgin who is owned by EMI. Not really indie if you ask me. But, lest we all forget, it is all about the music so fuck it. Time to drink some coffee. Email JamesJames | 10/22/2003 10:00:00 AM

Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Actually, scratch that until I figure out how to publish non-internet photos. Good night. Email JamesJames | 10/21/2003 04:32:00 PM

Actually, here is a funny thing that I did last night for a project that I am working on. Email JamesJames | 10/21/2003 02:49:00 PM

I am now back from picking the girlfriend up and all is well. We had some lunch at the Lake Ave. Cafe, a small place in Duluth's Canal Park, and then I drove her to work. It is really not all that fun being a taxi cab for someone, but I did get a free lunch out of the deal. Now I looking forward to getting some work done before I have to pick her back up at 9pm. Fun, fun fun.

New books I need to buy:
Al Franken
Bill O'Riley
Jonathan Letham
James Joyce(Ulysses)

maybe I'll just get the last one from the public library.

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James | 10/21/2003 02:37:00 PM

Well, well, well. It has turned into a sunny day and I am happy. Time to go pick up the girlfriend at the Clinic. Just a check up; nothing serious hopefully. Here's the playlist so far today:

Cloud Cult-They Live on the Sun
The Wrens- The Meadowlands

Hopefully I can get some real work done today once everything is squared away. Until later....

Out.

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James | 10/21/2003 12:20:00 PM

just a test

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James | 10/21/2003 12:13:00 PM

My first post again. Wrong email last time screwed my shit up. This time is for real. Get ready folks.

jamesmaryland305@hotmail.com
James | 10/21/2003 11:56:00 AM