MACCA’S 65TH B-DAY AT THE LIVING ROOM - NYC - MONDAY, 6.18.07 - 9P:
Who knew when I booked into this June 2007 Monday night residency at the Living Room that fate would intervene and have me playing there on Paul McCartney’s 65th birthday?
Well, actually, I did.
Paul-haters beware - this ain’t gonna be your show.
But - for those of you who like a great melody and chord progression and perhaps even music with music in it (remember when popular music containing music was popular? How quaint.), these will probably turn out to be 45 - 50 very enjoyable minutes.
Singing along is allowed, though not required (there is no podcast available for teaching you the “ooh-la-la-las” on ‘You Won’t See Me’ - suffice it to say they go: “ooh-la-la-la”).
I’ll return to my self-penned dirges of loss, death (a type of loss), and reminiscence (a lamenting of things previously lost) on the 25th.
The Recap:
Monday, 6.18.07 - 9p
JIM BOGGIA
The Living Room
154 Ludlow - NYC
212.533.7235
NO COVER. 21+.

RADIO DIAL ALERT: WXPN TO BROADCAST 40TH ANNIVERSARY SGT. PEPPER TRIBUTE - 6.19.07 - 9P:
Yeah, I know - it’s another Bealtes thing. Sue me. At least it all happens in one week. Here’s a re-working of the emailer I was going to send to promote the show before I found out it was way overbooked and you didn’t have a chance of getting in. Turns out you can hear it on the radio or over the web. Check it out:
“The Beatles? Just a band.” Ah, kids can be cute, can’t they?
Well, DESPITE the fact that it appears the lads from Liverpool may have, in point of fact, been mere mortals, DESPITE the fact that ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ may have been the inspiration for a lot of really bad pretentious music (but hey, you don’t blame Stewart Copeland for the drummer in the Dave Matthews Band, do you?), DESPITE the fact that it’s not, well - let’s face it - ‘Revolver’, it does seem appropriate that we take pause to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of what really does still stand up as a great example of treating the creation of rock music like it was something that was worth a little bit more than slapping together a collection of crassly manufactured dross whose only purpose was to “get traction” on the radio and ultimately get onto an episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’
But I digress.
I took part in a celebratory shindig of the aforenmentioned (that’s Sgt. Pepper, not Grey’s Anatomy) that WXPN put on and, in the spirit of the album, aimed a little bit high with my aspirations.
I performed ‘She’s Leaving Home’ with the original instrumentation (that’s Harp and String Quintet*, for those of you who may not listened to the original record since you got the soundtrack to the movie version in 1977 and decided that John Lennon was no Barry Gibb.).
Anyway, the night was truly magical. A bunch of your other Philly favorites were there to perform songs from the album, too.
WXPN is airing the show on Tuesday, 6.19.07 at 9p (Eastern Daylight Time) on their ‘Xtra Local’ show with Helen Leicht. You can tune into WXPN at 88.5fm in the Philly area, or go to http://www.xpn.org/ and click the “Listen Live” link if you’re in other parts of the world.
I hope you can tune in (if not necessarily turn on or drop out). A spledid time is a distinct possibility.
The Recap:
Tuesday, 6.19.07 - 9p (EDT)
PHILLY LOCAL LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
The Jim Boggia Chamber Players Perform ‘She’s Leaving Home’
Philly: WXPN - 88.5fm
Elsewhere: http://www.xpn.org - Click on “Listen Live”
The Jim Boggia Chamber Players:
Jim Boggia - Lead Vocals
Ben Arnold - Background Vocals
Gillian Grassie - Harp and Background Vocals
Kaveh Saidi - Violin
Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz - Violin
Geoffrey Baker - Viola
Eve Miller - Cello
Ryan Snyder - Double-bass
* Yes. I am aware that, in actuality, it is a string NONET on the record. Dig: a) The four string quartet positions that were doubled (turning the Quintet into a Nonet) played the same parts, so it’s still the same arrangement. b) How much space do you think there was onstage? c) Where did you learn the word “Nonet” anyway?
Peace,
Jim