Big Leather Couch: George Clinton

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Ruby Tuesday...Funky

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Tuesday, July 22, 2008 24 Of Your Sparks

A couple of weeks ago, we reviewed WHERE THE LIGHT IS: JOHN MAYER LIVE IN LOS ANGELES the newest music from Mr. Mayer. We also posted his version of the Tom Petty song "Free Falling"...If you go HERE, you can see the video from the DVD of this concert...I do love his version...

Welcome to another addition of RUBY TUESDAY - click on the logo above to head over to The Teach's blog to see all the entries this week.

This week, we are once again back at the zoo...but this time from November 10th, 2007...darlin' Nancy and I had just been at the zoo on our first date for a short period of time and I snapped this picture...she turned to me and with a smile on her face said "We have not known each other long enough for you to take candids..."

We laughed...I so love her laugh...

This roll of film had sat undeveloped for way too long, but when I processed it, I realized what a great shot it is of her...and she was wearing the correct color for Mary's RUBY TUESDAY....

Coming up this week on DR. BLOGSTEIN’S RADIO HAPPY HOUR:
(Live on Tuesday July 22nd at 9PM ET and forever archived at BlogTalkRadio.)

The stunning Francia Raisa will make her return to the Radio Happy Hour.

Francia, who we met back in the spring, is now starring in Dr. Blogstein’s latest obsession, The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

We’ll find out how her life has changed since the premiere of this record breaking ABC Family Channel series, get the inside scoop about her cast mates, including former Blogstein guest Daren Kagasoff and find out what fans can expect from the rest of the first season for Francia’s character Adrienne.

Then Dr. B and Dangerous Lee will welcome another very busy female actress to the show.

The delightful Lorna Scott stars opposite James McAvoy in the box-office hit, “Wanted“. Her appealing combination of Southern charm and quick wit will be seen in two upcoming television series, “Sordid Lives” opposite Rue McClanahan and Olivia Newton John which premieres on LOGO July 23rd and in the David Schwimmer-directed “Little Britain U.S.A.” premiering on HBO this Fall.

All that, plus, fills in for Vinny Bond in the Radio Happy Hour Lounge to chat live with the listeners, Justin the Weatherman walks the fine line between funny and offensive and we’ll take your calls at 646-652-4804.

Join us live every Tuesday night at 9PM ET. The Radio Happy Hour Lounge-a live chat room during show time-is a whole new reason to make sure you listen live! It’s the show within the show!

Feeling the funk as I write this Monday evening... a little New Year's Eve Concert in Chicago, IL 1995/1996...Mr. George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars..."Tear The Roof Off The Sucker"

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Fandom Friday...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, April 18, 2008 41 Of Your Sparks

In the comments area from yesterday LeeLee and I went back and forth with a conversation regarding concerts we have seen. She is lucky enough to be going to see Mr. Springsteen this evening. I have seen Bruce twice, both times at his "shrine", The Meadowlands in NJ. Not even sure what they call the arena that is there now. But it is one of those hockey arenas that has very little acoustical soul and can put you 6 1/2 miles from the stage.

THE COUCH NOTE: Dad Vince sent an email this morning informing us that LeeLee will not be seeing Bruce tonight as Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died Thursday. He was 58.

Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. News of his death was posted late Thursday on Springsteen's official Web site.

Sad news... R.I.P. Danny.

In some aspects, I have thought I would get more satisfaction from sitting at home with my eyes closed and an album blasting from the speakers. Of course that is not a totally serious comment...but there is a thread of truth to it.

Arena rock began in the late 60's, early 70's when bands realized they could do one show for 25,000 people, instead of 5 nights in a small theater for 5,000 each night. Does it make sense? Well hell yeah, from a financial and time standpoint. Does it impact your fan-base? Nah...if someone wants to see you live, it does not matter if they are in the first row of the Beacon Theater in NYC, or a half a mile away at Woodstock or Ozfest.

Part of the concert experience is the crowd and the energy that runs through a building (or outdoor arena) no matter how large the place. Over the last few years, I have not done too many live shows due to fiscal restraints, but as most of you know, I did get to two days of the Beale Street Blues Festival last year and was not surprised that on Friday, I made sure I got there early enough and moved as close to the stage as possible.

No seating...I knew it was going to be about 5-6 hours of standing and that slowly the 'personal space' I currently had would disappear entirely. Did not matter. 20 feet from The Allman Brothers and Govt. Mule and Jerry Lee Lewis and Derek Trucks was worth every elbow in the kidney or toe stepped on.

If you have not been around long, we posted this on our story about the weekend HERE :

Click To Enlarge

Also last year we went to Birmingham, AL and met up with a whole group of ~~crazy muthaf**kers~~ wonderful people for Taylor Hicks' concert in his hometown. It was at the Alabama Theater, a wonderfully built, acoustically orgasmic building. My seat was in the 4th or 5th row of the loge. So it equated to being in the 15-20th row of the Orchestra, without all the heads in front of you.

COUCH NOTE: If ya have not guessed, we are not the tallest tree in the forest.

It was a fantastic show - the man is a showman and until you see him live, you can not really judge. Did it help that it was in a theater like that? Absolutely and, without a doubt this is the way I would prefer to see a show.

I do miss the Palladium in NYC. What a great venue that was. They would sometimes hold two shows a night there (as they did with the Fillmore East and West). Going to the second show, which would start at about 1:00 am, and walking out as the sun comes up after 5 hours of a Dead show is something that has to be experienced. Not sure they would even attempt that in today's world.

We have been to outdoor fests (Allman Brothers, The Band & The Dead), football arenas (Bruce, The Rolling Stones, The Dead to name a few), indoor arenas (Led Zeppelin, The Dead, Pink Floyd, Elton John - with a surprise visit from John Lennon, Allman Brothers, Jethro Tull, Springsteen, Jeff Beck, Genesis...you get the idea...) but nothing beats the intimate theater or club (Hot Tuna, Jeff Beck, Jerry Garcia, Stevie Wonder, Linda Ronstadt). Seeing B.B. King in a 500 person club on Long Island in the 80's is something I will never forget.

We keep adding names above and are leaving out many others.

And - OF COURSE - let's not forget the ticket prices...LOL...$200.00 tickets today. We put together some show here...sure look at the artists, but look at the prices!

As Always...Click To Enlarge

COUCH NOTE: In the center is game 6 World Series - Yankees/Dodgers
Reggie Jackson hits three home runs on the first pitch of three consecutive at bats.
Sorry Travis!

So...let's start a little discussion...

What was THE BEST concert you have ever seen, what was the venue and why was it the best?

What was THE WORST concert you have ever seen, what was the venue and why was it the worst?

I was asked the other day if I would consider putting together a CD of music that has been featured here on The Couch. This person even offered to pay for it! LOL...Not sure we will do that, but how about if we do a CD for the BEST and the WORST story? You will have the choice of a random sampling or you can ask for specific songs. If you are the winner and could not be bothered with the CD, well we can make that our little secret, just let me know. LOL

Let's play fair here and no making stuff up...you are on the honor system on this.

So, of course we go all live...a selection from my collection of bootleg concerts to share with all ya'll

Here we go again...it is midnight...blogger will not let me publish...lifelogger has slowed to a crawl...If the post happens to publish but there are no audio players, come back after 7:00 am Central Friday morning and they should be there...

Three uploaded...two to go 12:08 am

FINALLY....12:20 am...night...

Have a Great Weekend...ENJOY...

12/13/2000
Fox Theater, Boulder, CO
HOT TUNA
"Walkin' Blues"

10/28/85
Fox Theater, Atlanta, GA
GRATEFUL DEAD
"Promised Land"

12/31/96
Chicago, IL
GEORGE CLINTON & THE P-FUNK ALL-STARS
"Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On"

5/18/69
Santa Clara Fairgrounds, CA
JANIS JOPLIN & BIG BROTHER
"Summertime"

4/18/79
Quebec City, Canada
YES
"I've Seen All Good People"

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Shooting From The Hip

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Tuesday, January 09, 2007 36 Of Your Sparks

Tuesday seems like a great day to just shoot from the hip and boogie...So, here we go.........

Don't forget to submit your ballots for the 2007 BLOGGIES. The ballot is located HERE

Our friend Anndi has been sitting vigil with her ailing mom. She posted yesterday for the first time in a few days. Keep her mom in your prayers.

The American Dialect Society has selected the word "Plutoed" as the 2006 WORD OF THE YEAR. Poor little planet. First the General Assembly Of The International Astrononomical Union

decided Pluto could no longer hang out with all the other "real" planets.

You all remember we discussed this decision HERE and that THE

COUCH vowed not to recognize the decision of this pompous group.

Well, now to add insult to injury (what the hell does that mean?) we have a new word that means to demote or devalue someone or something..."Plutoed" .... as Rodney said "I Get No Respect."

THE COUCH gets all folded up when we hear of a college coach leaving in the middle of their contract to take another job. Now you can say, "if you get a better offer you would take it too." And you would be correct in my current occupation. But college coaches recruit kids to come to their school.

They sit at the dining room table and tell the parents how they will take care of their children and tell the athletes about "their program" and "their goals for the program." Then a year later someone comes along and offers a better package, or maybe the pros come-a-calling. The coach packs, says thanks and moves on. The athletes? Well they can't move. If they did, they lose a year of eligibilty. This is not attractive to the school the athlete wants to go to.

Did you know that Greg Schiano (L) is the highest paid state employee in New Jersey? Nick Saban (R) just became the highest paid state employee in Alabama.

Nope, they are not the Governors of those states. They are the head football coaches at the state universities (Rutgers and U of A).

Before we leave this - University of Florida beat the snot out of Ohio State didn't they?

"Videos! Get your videos here!" As you could have expected, there are now at least two Saddam post-hanging videos out there on the Internet. The latest one seems pretty graphic according to the news. So, have you seen the videos yet?

Donald and Rosie...OK, now you must take a stand. There is no more on the fence here people! You can not avoid taking sides in the feud...these two know how to mix it up in the ring...

So far D.T. has used the words "degenerate," and "slob," and has said over and over that Rosie

is "not very smart."

Rosie has reached into her comedic skills to tag Trump the "comb-over bunny."

OK if you support Donnie...stand to the left.. Cozy Rosie supporters on the right....

Tony Gwynn (R) and Cal Ripken (L) will not be unanimous selections into the Hall of Fame when the

results are announced later today. Paul Ladewsky of the Daily Southtown in

suburban Chicago has decided that he would send in an empty ballot. He claims he does not have enough information "to make a value judgement of this magnitude" for the years 1993-2004, the "steroid era."

It also gets his name known since there will be stories about him. Both Gwynn and RIpken are expected to vie for the highest percentage for induction. They both deserve it.

As a die-hard, "I bleed pinstripes" Yankee fan, let me send my goodbyes to The Big Unit...A perfect example of why George Steinbrenner should stay out of baseball decisions and not listen to that group of idjits he has around him in Tampa. As of today, Randy Johnson should no longer be a NY Yankee....finally...

Thanks for sitting...

TODAY'S CREDITS:
MUSIC: BEST AUDIO CODES
SONG INDEX: (source allmusic.com)
SHINING STAR: Composers: P.C. Bailey, L. Dunn & M. White; Performed by Earth Wind & Fire
IF ANYONE GETS FUNKED UP (It's Gonna Be You): Composers: G. Clinton, G. Cooper, Belita Woods; Performers George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars

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