Midtown Scholar Bookstore
Harrisburg, PA
Sunday, 5th August 2007
8:00 PM
I am pretty excited about this show; I remember reading descriptions of this venue on the board, or maybe it was the old board. What a great way to indulge in two of my favorite things: books and music.
Here's the link:
MIDTOWN SCHOLAR BOOKSTORE
Midtown Scholar Bookstore - Harrisburg, PA - 5th August 2007
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Sue Ellen
- Posts: 572
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- Location: maryland
Midtown Scholar Bookstore - Harrisburg, PA - 5th August 2007
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
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Richard + Jela
- Posts: 1534
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:56 pm
- Location: West Sussex, England
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Yetta
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:31 pm
- Location: Maryland
I wanted to share a few of the many highlights of this great show. First, the venue is unique and wonderful. The folks associated with the place were so warm and welcoming it felt almost like a house concert in someone's big, beautiful library. Ellis, as usual, was in very fine form. I think Karen got the set list down, but to name just a few:
Cotton's Burning (which will soon be revised after Ellis studied some of the Civil War books awaiting him in the Green Room)
A new song yet to be named I'll call Hurt for the sake of identification which moved me to the edge of the planet.
Calendar Man written by Ellis and Don in the middle of the night at the Woody Fest. I'm at a loss for words on this one, but my sides are still aching from laughing so hard. Before your next Ellis show, refresh your mind with every holiday you've very heard of.
My favorite kids song Million Chameleon March and Ellis also shared a song he sings to his daughters when they're playing.
The best Eighteen I've every heard.
So many more I'll leave to others to share. It was great seeing Sue Ellen, Karen, Chicago Bill and meeting Barb! All I can say is look up Fine Wine in the dictionary and Ellis' picture should be there.
Yetta
Cotton's Burning (which will soon be revised after Ellis studied some of the Civil War books awaiting him in the Green Room)
A new song yet to be named I'll call Hurt for the sake of identification which moved me to the edge of the planet.
Calendar Man written by Ellis and Don in the middle of the night at the Woody Fest. I'm at a loss for words on this one, but my sides are still aching from laughing so hard. Before your next Ellis show, refresh your mind with every holiday you've very heard of.
My favorite kids song Million Chameleon March and Ellis also shared a song he sings to his daughters when they're playing.
The best Eighteen I've every heard.
So many more I'll leave to others to share. It was great seeing Sue Ellen, Karen, Chicago Bill and meeting Barb! All I can say is look up Fine Wine in the dictionary and Ellis' picture should be there.
Yetta
Thank the Lord for the friends he cast
in the play he wrote for you - Ellis Paul
in the play he wrote for you - Ellis Paul
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Sue Ellen
- Posts: 572
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:09 pm
- Location: maryland
Yetta, welcome home. You definitely beat me to the punch. There are just a few things I can add from my view.
"Hurt" refers to a song Ellis said he began while teaching in North Carolina last week. He said that there was a clap-off to name the song, and that "Hurt" was his own entry. However, when he read that title, there was complete silence and he was forced to toss it out. Clearly, it is a title that stuck with both Yetta and myself, and although there is just one verse and the chorus, it sounds like it is going to be a poignantly agonizing story.
During "Dragon Fly Races" Ellis invited the audience to open up their cell phones to and move them to simulate the dragon flies. Everyone seemed to have a blast during this, and while waiting for an encore, the host turned down the house lights and the cell phones went up again to welcome Ellis back to the stage.
"Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" has become a favorite of mine, and the Million Chameleon March is sounding more and more relevant and forceful each time I hear it. Last night I think I more fully appreciated the phrase "turned from red to white to blue," which for me has a double entendre.
All in all it was a great night, and it was a pleasure to catch up with old friends. And I'll definitely need to make a trip back up to Harrisburg to browse the Midtown Scholar Bookstore, or at least go to there on-line services. I'm sure there are many other treasures to be found there.
"Hurt" refers to a song Ellis said he began while teaching in North Carolina last week. He said that there was a clap-off to name the song, and that "Hurt" was his own entry. However, when he read that title, there was complete silence and he was forced to toss it out. Clearly, it is a title that stuck with both Yetta and myself, and although there is just one verse and the chorus, it sounds like it is going to be a poignantly agonizing story.
During "Dragon Fly Races" Ellis invited the audience to open up their cell phones to and move them to simulate the dragon flies. Everyone seemed to have a blast during this, and while waiting for an encore, the host turned down the house lights and the cell phones went up again to welcome Ellis back to the stage.
"Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" has become a favorite of mine, and the Million Chameleon March is sounding more and more relevant and forceful each time I hear it. Last night I think I more fully appreciated the phrase "turned from red to white to blue," which for me has a double entendre.
All in all it was a great night, and it was a pleasure to catch up with old friends. And I'll definitely need to make a trip back up to Harrisburg to browse the Midtown Scholar Bookstore, or at least go to there on-line services. I'm sure there are many other treasures to be found there.
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
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barb62
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:24 am
- Location: Woolwich Twp, NJ
- Contact:
Hello Everyone,
Yes it was a fantastic show last night and I enjoyed meeting Yetta and seeing Sue Ellen and Karen.
And another yes - Yetta, that was the best version of Eighteen I had ever heard!!!!!!!!!! And my favorite was Ellis's new song (Title yet to be changed) Cotton Burning.
I mentioned to Ellis that it would be great to have an acoustic CD from him - just him and the guitar - after hearing the song Eighteen, I think this would be one of his best sellers in an acoustic version.
As far as Calendar Man - I'm still laughing and I can't believe Ellis can remember all those words instantly - he is truly amazing!
Till next time,
Barb62
Yes it was a fantastic show last night and I enjoyed meeting Yetta and seeing Sue Ellen and Karen.
And another yes - Yetta, that was the best version of Eighteen I had ever heard!!!!!!!!!! And my favorite was Ellis's new song (Title yet to be changed) Cotton Burning.
I mentioned to Ellis that it would be great to have an acoustic CD from him - just him and the guitar - after hearing the song Eighteen, I think this would be one of his best sellers in an acoustic version.
As far as Calendar Man - I'm still laughing and I can't believe Ellis can remember all those words instantly - he is truly amazing!
Till next time,
Barb62
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Yetta
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:31 pm
- Location: Maryland
OMG Sue Ellen - weren't the cell phones great! It looked even better from Ellis' point of view on the stage. It was slightly reminiscent of lighting up RFK Stadium and the Capital Center with our cigarette lighters during much different times. That is, if you could see your cigarette lighters with all the tear gas in your eyes!
Thank the Lord for the friends he cast
in the play he wrote for you - Ellis Paul
in the play he wrote for you - Ellis Paul
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KarenZ
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4446
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Hey everybody!
Good to hear from you all! Just got in from Harrisburg a while ago but will be heading to the airport in a few minutes so that IllinoisBill can catch his flight back to Chicago. More later.....including the few pictures I took....
KarenZ
Good to hear from you all! Just got in from Harrisburg a while ago but will be heading to the airport in a few minutes so that IllinoisBill can catch his flight back to Chicago. More later.....including the few pictures I took....
KarenZ
Last edited by KarenZ on Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.
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bonuela
- Posts: 1065
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- Location: Massachusetts
- Contact:
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IllinoisBill
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:26 am
- Location: Ravenswood Chicago, Illinois
After every time Ellis Paul leaves a stage, no matter how informal, nor intimate, I am always amazed by the level of emotional investment "our guy" imparts into every performance I have seen. Somehow the veracity of his dedication to his life's work is yielded each and every time. That must be why it still feels fresh after 10 years of participating in the Ellis Paul Experience (EPE?)
While not a frequent (understatement of the decade) contributor to the board, the value of the community that is a very living thing here is not lost on me. I've not had the opportunity to truly feel like I am a part of an artists' following before, and earlier this summer, being in the audience at the XM studios gig, I am now focusing in on the state of temporary limerance that occurs when we join together:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerence
As a social scientist by training (and just recently, a Ph.D. pursuant), I enjoy, truly, the interplay between artist and audience, and felt so rewarded with a top-drawer rendering of "Eighteen." (Yetta, it seems like your opinion is unanimously supported.) When asked, it's the song title I've been calling out since I first heard it at FitzGerald's (surbuban Chicago) in the Spring of 2002. I am happy to say the request has seldom, if ever, been unheard, unheeded. And for those you fervent readers, it was the song I offered my one (and only?) treatise about lyrics here.
Since that time (Karen, when was that?), I've had the pleasure to meet many more of you. Each time I come away thinking, "wow -- these folks are genuinely kind." [It's so refreshing, and practically pathology-free.] So thanks for giving of yourselves: on the board; at performance events, large and small; and for taking me into the fold when I am able to participate corporeally (I had to slip that word in somewhere to poke fun at a certain someone).
This is an incredibly safe place to be. Refuge, these days, seems to be in short supply. Continue to cherish what you have built and sustained herein.
Kind regards,
William
While not a frequent (understatement of the decade) contributor to the board, the value of the community that is a very living thing here is not lost on me. I've not had the opportunity to truly feel like I am a part of an artists' following before, and earlier this summer, being in the audience at the XM studios gig, I am now focusing in on the state of temporary limerance that occurs when we join together:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerence
As a social scientist by training (and just recently, a Ph.D. pursuant), I enjoy, truly, the interplay between artist and audience, and felt so rewarded with a top-drawer rendering of "Eighteen." (Yetta, it seems like your opinion is unanimously supported.) When asked, it's the song title I've been calling out since I first heard it at FitzGerald's (surbuban Chicago) in the Spring of 2002. I am happy to say the request has seldom, if ever, been unheard, unheeded. And for those you fervent readers, it was the song I offered my one (and only?) treatise about lyrics here.
Since that time (Karen, when was that?), I've had the pleasure to meet many more of you. Each time I come away thinking, "wow -- these folks are genuinely kind." [It's so refreshing, and practically pathology-free.] So thanks for giving of yourselves: on the board; at performance events, large and small; and for taking me into the fold when I am able to participate corporeally (I had to slip that word in somewhere to poke fun at a certain someone).
This is an incredibly safe place to be. Refuge, these days, seems to be in short supply. Continue to cherish what you have built and sustained herein.
Kind regards,
William
"When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision -- then it becomes less important whether I am afraid."
-- Audre Lorde 1934-1992
-- Audre Lorde 1934-1992
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paddyinthepub
- Posts: 3768
- Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
- Location: Philadelphia
Sorry to have missed this one. I was even on the turnpike outside of Harrisburg around 6pm yesterday, homeward bound after a trip to see family and friends in Cleveland. The signs for Harrisburg reminded me Ellis was playing the bookstore and when I told my wife she too grimaced realising we were missing another show so close to home. I saw the inaugural show at MTSB featuring Ellis Paul and really enjoyed the venue.
Glad you guys made the show and shared some of the highlights here.
Glad you guys made the show and shared some of the highlights here.
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy
paddy
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Patti
- Posts: 1019
- Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:50 pm
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KarenZ
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4446
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Bill,
You may not post here often, but when you do your words always pack a powerful punch. Thanks for the link to the Wikipedia article on Limerance! You are truly our wordsmith. I do think we have a special thing going here with this board and seeing it grow into the wonderful online community that it is has been extremely gratifying to me. It would be nice if we could all get together corporeally more often though. 
So glad you requested "eighteen" since everyone seems to have been blown away by it. EP....are you listening?
It was so nice to see so many folks from the board... and to see several EP lapel pins! Somehow the suitcase that I packed for the overnight trip did not make it into the car before I left home.
No show clothes, No PJs. No toothbrush. No clean unmentionables. Thank goodness for K-Mart and understanding traveling companions. Thankfully my EP lapel pin was in my wallet....and after a frantic trip to K-Mart to find some replacement clothes, my "new" outfit was complete. I REALLY need to write a book.....
Patti, PM me with your cell phone number and I'll add you to my HOT list.
KarenZ
You may not post here often, but when you do your words always pack a powerful punch.
Thanks for the link to the Wikipedia article on Limerance! You are truly our wordsmith. I do think we have a special thing going here with this board and seeing it grow into the wonderful online community that it is has been extremely gratifying to me. It would be nice if we could all get together corporeally more often though.
So glad you requested "eighteen" since everyone seems to have been blown away by it. EP....are you listening?
It was so nice to see so many folks from the board... and to see several EP lapel pins! Somehow the suitcase that I packed for the overnight trip did not make it into the car before I left home.
No show clothes, No PJs. No toothbrush. No clean unmentionables. Thank goodness for K-Mart and understanding traveling companions. Thankfully my EP lapel pin was in my wallet....and after a frantic trip to K-Mart to find some replacement clothes, my "new" outfit was complete. I REALLY need to write a book.....
Patti, PM me with your cell phone number and I'll add you to my HOT list.
KarenZ
Last edited by KarenZ on Tue Aug 07, 2007 6:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.
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mm
- Posts: 215
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- Contact:
Karen, let me know when you get ready to write your Book of Grand Adventures and I'll be the first to get in line to read it. I'm sure you were lovely in your new clothes at the show...hope you found something fun!
Last edited by mm on Tue Aug 07, 2007 6:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Richard + Jela
- Posts: 1534
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:56 pm
- Location: West Sussex, England
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KarenZ
- Site Admin
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- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Oh Yetta. What an experience THAT must have been!
KarenZ
KarenZ
Yetta wrote:OMG Sue Ellen - weren't the cell phones great! It looked even better from Ellis' point of view on the stage. It was slightly reminiscent of lighting up RFK Stadium and the Capital Center with our cigarette lighters during much different times. That is, if you could see your cigarette lighters with all the tear gas in your eyes!
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.
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KarenZ
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4446
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Folks,
Me again. I also wanted to say that Eric & Cathy and Seung at the bookstore are simply the most gracious and hospitable hosts to be found. I was fortunate to be there for their very first show - Ellis Paul - in February 2006. And I was fortunate to be there again Sunday night for the last show in the current space. Ellis' second visit this past Sunday is the last show for a few months while the bookstore undergoes an expansion that will make it a bookstore/coffeehouse! Can't wait for that.
Ellis commented that one of the reasons why the bookstore is a great place to play is because he's allowed to browse through the thousands of books and take whatever he likes. While he was there he found a few Civil War books that helped him research the facts for "Cotton's Burning". As a result a couple lines of lyric in the new song were revised. Instead of Pulled down the gaslights on the road the line is now poured the whiskey on the road. And it was actually tobacco that was set afire - but Ellis likes the visual of cotton burning - se we'll see what happens with that.
The NEW new song. Ellis said ideas for a title include "what it takes" or "the hurt". IllinoisBill suggested "the departure". I managed to jot down about every third line. Here's what I got:
In the first thirty seconds she told him she was leaving
and left him with no means to talk.
There was also something about whiskey sharing
The chorus was something like:
she is history
you can break apart like any other man
she will shake your faith
like only a woman can
the hurt, the ache
doesn't give a damn about what it takes from you.
I did the best I could. I love new songs!
KarenZ
Me again. I also wanted to say that Eric & Cathy and Seung at the bookstore are simply the most gracious and hospitable hosts to be found. I was fortunate to be there for their very first show - Ellis Paul - in February 2006. And I was fortunate to be there again Sunday night for the last show in the current space. Ellis' second visit this past Sunday is the last show for a few months while the bookstore undergoes an expansion that will make it a bookstore/coffeehouse! Can't wait for that.
Ellis commented that one of the reasons why the bookstore is a great place to play is because he's allowed to browse through the thousands of books and take whatever he likes. While he was there he found a few Civil War books that helped him research the facts for "Cotton's Burning". As a result a couple lines of lyric in the new song were revised. Instead of Pulled down the gaslights on the road the line is now poured the whiskey on the road. And it was actually tobacco that was set afire - but Ellis likes the visual of cotton burning - se we'll see what happens with that.
The NEW new song. Ellis said ideas for a title include "what it takes" or "the hurt". IllinoisBill suggested "the departure". I managed to jot down about every third line. Here's what I got:
In the first thirty seconds she told him she was leaving
and left him with no means to talk.
There was also something about whiskey sharing
The chorus was something like:
she is history
you can break apart like any other man
she will shake your faith
like only a woman can
the hurt, the ache
doesn't give a damn about what it takes from you.
I did the best I could. I love new songs!
KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.
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KarenZ
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4446
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Me again! I keep remembering details!
Ellis left the stage after doing his last song ("3000 miles"!) unplugged. Of course there had to be an encore!....and Eric - quick on his feet - dimmed the lights and said "get your cell phones out again!" so that when Ellis re-entered through the door to the stage he was greeted by a darkened room with cell phones lit in the air again. Priceless.
KarenZ
Ellis left the stage after doing his last song ("3000 miles"!) unplugged. Of course there had to be an encore!....and Eric - quick on his feet - dimmed the lights and said "get your cell phones out again!" so that when Ellis re-entered through the door to the stage he was greeted by a darkened room with cell phones lit in the air again. Priceless.
KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.
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