Michael Martin Murphey at The Wildey

 

So, last Friday evening (May 27, 2022), we went to see Michael Martin Murphey at the Wildey.  I  knew Michael Martin Murphey (MMM) primarily from his 1975 album "Blue Sky – Night Thunder", but I knew he had done a lot of other stuff, so it seemed like a good show.  And it was; very good!

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The show was announced with semi-short notice (~5 weeks) sold out pretty quickly.  By the time I went to buy tickets there were maybe a dozen left.  I decided to try out the balcony, the first show (at the Wildey) I've seen from above.  but there are no bad seat at the Wildey, and the balcony is no exception.  In fact, my wife said she prefers the higher angle.  The view from our seats, before the show:

Al Canal did the introductions (as usual) and pointed out that this evening was the 50th anniversary of the release of Michael Martin Murphey's first album, and he added this show to his tour to play on the anniversary.  Thus the short notice.  [Aside:  Wikipedia says it was released 5/25 rather than 5/27, but I'll take the artist's word for it!].

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MMM played without a full band, but with his son Ryan as accompaniment.  He spent ample time telling the stories behind the and the songs, and stories about his life.  It was perfect amount of time, without being excessive.  It made for a very intimate show, perfect for the intimate setting.  

Here's a shot during the show, I try and limit myself to a couple of quick shots between songs:

The show was scheduled to start at 8, but it was probably 8:10 when Al Canal did his intro.  The first set was about 90 minutes, then we had an intermission. They second set started about 10, and ran close to another hour.  They closed with a 2 song encore.  A very full show, we certainly got our money's worth.   

MMM siad some nice things about the Wildey, and it's acoustics, and suggested he might come back to record a live album.  That would be a fun thing to be part of, we'll have to see how good intention match reality.

I didn't log the setlist, but here's a list of most of what he played.  Far from complete, not in order:

Geronimo's Cadillac

Texas Trilogy: Daybreak / Trainride / Bosque County Romance

Backslider's Wine

Cosmic Cowboy

Carolina in the Pines

What's Forever For?

Cowboy Logic

What Am I Doin' Hangin' 'round?

Medicine Man

Wildfire

Road Beyond The View

Riversong

Average Things In Average Ways

"Average photographs are the result of thinking about average things in average ways." - Alex Kilbee, The Photographic Eye 

I really enjoy Alex's YouTube channel, highly recommended.

"...next time you're out photographing, try as much as you possibly can to be present in the moment. To put all of the other stuff aside.  I mean, photography should be a release from the pressures of day to day.  And the more that you are kinda like almost, almost like a Zen sort of thing going on with it, you know, then the more you are open to seeing the possibilities, to starting to see the world photographically. Because you are paying attention to the everyday things that often people just ignore"

That resonates with me....  

The photo below is mine:

May 1972 on the Music Charts

 Late posting this month, sorry...

  Continuing the series of hits -of-the-month, moving to April 1972.  Fifty years ago (Yikes!)

There were 4 weeks in May of 1972, and there were 54 songs that spent time in the Top 40.  That's pretty much on pace with the rest of the year.  And over those 5 weeks, only 2 songs topped the charts: Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" continued at #1 for the first 3 weeks of May (for 6 weeks total atop the charts).  Tge Chi-lites took over the last week with "Oh Girl".  

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month. 

1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack - 1.5
2. I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers - 4
3. I Gotcha - Joe Tex - 4
4. Oh Girl - The Chi-lites - 4.25
5. Look What You Done To Me - Al Green - 6.25
6. Betcha By Golly, Wow - The Stylistics - 7.5
7. Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin - 9.75
8. Rockin' Robin - Michael Jackson - 10.25
9. A Horse With No Name - America - 12
10. Tumbling Dice - Rollinng Stones - 12.25

 Not really that great a Top 10 (IMHO).  But not every week can be awesome.

Meanwhile, Nineteen (19) made their Top 40 debut. And this time there's some great stuff headed up the charts that will be making an impact in June:

• Tumbling Dice - Rollinng Stones - 23
• Troglodyte (Cave Man) - The Jimmy Castor Bunch - 29
• I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren - 31
• Mister Can't You See - Buffy Sainte-Marie - 31
• It's Going To Take Some Time - Carpenters - 34
• Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond - 35
• Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love - Love Unlimited - 36
• Ask Me What You Want - Millir Jackson - 36
• Lean On me - Bill Withers - 36
• Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show - 37
• Love Theme From The Godfather - Andy Williams - 38
• I Need You - America - 38
• Isn't Life Strange - The Moody Blues - 39
• Old Man - Neil Young - 39
• I've Been lonely For So Long - Frederick Knight - 39
• Diary - Bread - 40
• Outa-Space - Billy Preston - 40
• Someday Never Comes - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 40
• Rocket Man - Elton John - 50

Backyard Birds

Goldfinch

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Brown Headed Cowbird

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Ruby Throated Hummingbird (either a female or immature male)

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Chickadee in Flight

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Top 40 Music Debuts in 1972 - May 6, 1972

 The Billboard Charts were released on Saturday 5/6/1972...  Which fed directly into the American Top 40 radio show.  I enjoy looking back at the charts from 50 years ago to revisit the soundtrack of my youth.  I've been doing a monthly rundown for about a year and a half, usually posted sometime mid/late in the corresponding month.  As I was updating my 1971 spreadsheet this morning, I decided to do a quick look at this week, the first week of 1972.  We'll see if this becomes a regular thing.  ughts / comments welcome.

Let's get to it:

At #1 this week was The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, bt Roberta Flack.  In its 4 week at the top, equaling the 4 week runs fir American Pie and Without You from earlier in the year. 

The following songs made their Top 40 debut on 5/9/1972:

• Tumbling Dice - Rolling Stones - #23
• I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren - #23
• Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love - Love Unlimited - #36
• Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show - #37
• Diary - Bread - #40

That's a pretty strong group of songs, and they're all in my collection. 

Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Week 16

    So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022 - 16 weeks and still rocking!

Week 16 (16 April - 22 April) Tell a story This week your challenge is to capture a compelling image that tells a story

April 1972 on the Music Charts

  Continuing the series of hits -of-the-month, moving to April 1972.  Fifty years ago (Yikes!)

There were 5 weeks in April of 1972, and there were 59 songs that spent time in the Top 40.  That's pretty much on pace with January's 60 (5 weeks), February's 54 (4 weeks) and March's 56 (4 weeks).  And over those 5 weeks, only 2 songs topped the charts:  America's "A Horse With No Name" continued at #1 for the first 2 weeks (3 total), followed by Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" over the last 3 weeks of April.

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:  

1. A Horse With No Name - America - 2.6
2. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack - 3.2
3. I Gotcha - Joe Tex - 3.8
4. Rockin' Robin - Michael Jackson - 4.4
5. Heart Of Gold - Neil Young - 6.8
6. In The Rain - The Dramatics - 7.6
7. Puppy Love - Donnie Osmond - 8.4
8. Betcha By Golly, Wow - The Stylistics - 8.6
9. Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin - 10.6
10. A Cowboys Work Is Never Done - Sonny and Cher - 11.2

Sort of a mixed bag in the Top 10 this month, not that many classics (in my humble opinion).

Meanwhile, Twenty-two (22) made their Top 40 debut. Againm a but of a mixed bag  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens - 27
• Back Off Boogaloo - Ringo Starr - 31
• Suavecito - Malo - 32
• Jump Into The Fire - Harry Nilsson - 32
• Little Bitty Pretty One - Jackson 5 - 32
• Look What You Done To Me - Al Green - 33
• Vincent (Starry Starry Night) - Don McLean - 35
• Oh Girl - The Chi-lites - 35
• The Family Of Man - Three Dog Night - 36
• You Colud Have Been A Lady - April Wine - 36
• Me And Julio Down By The School Yard - Paul Simon - 36
• I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers - 37
• Nice To Be With You - Gallery - 37
• Help Me Make It Through The Night - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 38
• The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr. - 38
• Taxi - Harry Chapin - 38
• Slippin' Into Darkness - War - 39
• Hot Rod Lincoln - Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - 39
• Run Run Run - Jo Jo Gunne - 40
• (Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All - The 5th Dimension - 40
• King Heroin - James Brown - 40
• Mister Can't You See - Buffy Sainte-Marie - 40

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Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Week 15

   So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022 - 15 weeks and still rocking!

Week 15 (9 April - 15 April) Orange: I’s an uninspiring colour. Prove me wrong.

Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Week 14

    So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022 - 14 weeks and still hanging in there!!

Week 14 (2 April - 8 April) Close up/macro You don’t need a macro lens to get up close. Free choice of subject.  Photo was taken 8 April (in the time window), but just now posting...

Close up of an old penknofe that belonged to my Grandfather...

One Subject April

One of the photo sites I frequent does a challenge for April: "pick a subject and then think of a new and different way to take a picture of if every day..." I missed it last year, but in 2020 I shot 30 photos of an Oak tree. I'm already a day late this year, but going to try for around the house/yard. I was cleaning the gutters today, so here you go!

Note:  if you want to join in, I've also started a hashtag at instagram:  30

Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Week 13

      So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022

Week 13 (26 Mar – 1 April) Something you made We all make things whether it be a cup of coffee, a meal or an elaborate art/craftwork. Show us what you made. No photo’s of your kids. Yes you made them, but think of something else.

Boy, I struggled with this. I'm just not all kind of creative (outside photography), After much consternation, I came up with this. I had the opportunity in my job (a few years ago) to write technical papers for industry conferences, and I have a notebook of most of them. This one is from 2004 and titled "Harmonic Sharing for Effective Detection of Transformer Inrush Condition in Differential Protection Schemes"...

It's been over 10 years since I've had the opportunity to write / present a paper, life has led me in ther directions.

Second Place Winner

 BetterPhoto has announced the winners for their February contest, I managed a 2nd Place Winner in the category Elements Of Design.  

Here's the photo, you can see all of the February winners HERE

Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Week 12

     So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022

Week 12 (19 Mar - 25 Mar) Tools We all have them, we all use them. Photograph them!

Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Week 11

     So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022

I think I'm finally caught up...  for now, at least

Week 11 (12 Mar - 18 Mar) Chocolate We all love chocolate, resist the temptation to eat it and create a chocolate themed image this week

March 1972 on the Music Charts

 Continuing the series of hits -of-the-month, moving to March 1972.  Fifty years ago (Yikes!)

There were 4 weeks in March of 1972, and there were 56 songs that spent time in the Top 40.  That's pretty much on pace with January's 60 (5 weeks), and February's 54 (4 weeks).  And over those 4 weeks, 3 songs topped the charts:  Harry Nilsson's "Without You"  held the top spot for the first 2 weeks, finishing out a 4 week run at #1.  Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold" took over for 1 week, then gave way to America's "A Horse With No Name".  What a great trio of songs!

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:  

1. Without You - Nilsson - 3
2. Heart Of Gold - Neil Young - 3
3. The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Robert John - 3.75
4. Everything I Own - Bread - 6
5. Precious And Few - Climax - 7
6. Down By The Lazy River - The Osmonds - 7.25
7. A Horse With No Name - America - 7.5
8. The Way Of Love - Cher - 8.75
9. Mother And Child Reunion - Paul Simon - 9.25
10. Hurting Each Other - Carpenters - 11.5

Twenty (20) made their Top 40 debut. A few real stand outs this month...  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack - 17
• A Horse With No Name - America - 20
• Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin - 32
• Rockin' Robin - Michael Jackson - 33
• A Cowboys Work Is Never Done - Sonny and Cher - 33
• Betcha By Golly, Wow - The Stylistics - 34
• Glory Bound - The Grass Roots - 35
• No One To Depend On - Santana - 37
• Give Ireland Back To The Irish - Paul McCartney - 37
• Puppy Love - Donnie Osmond - 38
• Crazy Mama - J.J. Cale - 38
• The Day I Found Myself - The Honey Cone - 38
• Roundabout - Yes - 39
• Taurus - Dennis Coffey and The Detroit Guitar Band - 39
• Every Day Of My Life - Bobby Vinton - 39
• Could It Be Forever - David Cassidy - 39
• In The Rain - The Dramatics - 40
• Take A Look Around - The Temptations - 40
• Do Your Thing - Isaac Hayes - 40
• Until It's Time For You To Go - Elvis Presley - 40