James McMurtry (Hangar)

James McMurtry playing acoustic twelve string
Mr. McMurtry played through most of Complicated Game and his “greatest hits” to a reasonably full house with a too chatty crowd. In case you were wondering, he still remembers all the words to Choctaw Bingo. Michael Eck and Sten Isachsen opened.

Punch Brothers (Troy Savings Bank)

Gabriel Kahane opened with humor, humorous music and serious music from his album Ambassador. Then five virtuosos with five glasses of whiskey making the complex look easy. Does it make me a groupie if I go to Bearsville on Monday…?

Tedeschi Trucks Band (The Egg)

TU Review here.  I would only add that a 12 piece band in the Hart theater did not need that level of amplification. The only room for their fff was a prison of white noise. But what do I know, I’m old. Get off my lawn.  Highlight was Susan Tedeschi playing with the quartet; musical guitar solo, amazing voice.  Deva Mahal opened with a giant voice of her own.

Hunter Mountain

200 years of taking a giant dump on the planet have finally paid off.  We can now wander at 4000 ft in the Catskills in mid-December comfortably wearing shorts and a T-shirt.  Becker Hollow Trail to the summit fire tower. As we haven’t figured out how to change the earth’s orbit for more daylight, opted out of doing the full loop to Spruceton Rd.  Headed toward West Kill and turned back on the Devil’s Path past the freshly cleaned Devil’s Acre lean-to.  Out at the Devil’s Tombstone campground, 2 miles on the road back.  Might be my new favorite hike.

 

Mary Halvorson + Colin Marston (EMPAC)

Disparate solo sets from Mary Halvorson and Colin Marston.  Mary Halvorson covered original arrangements of compositions ranging from Noel Akchote to McCoy Tyner from her latest solo record Meltframe.  A treat to see her technique and technology in person.   Colin Marston bathed the room in computerized synth pad heavy on major seconds and sevenths, then manipulated piano improvised anonymously (who was that woman?) using distortion and loop pedals.  A two handed tapped bass solo closed the set.

Upper and Lower Wolf Jaw

View from summit of Lower Wolf Jaw, Adirondack Park looking toward Upper Wolf Jaw and Mt. Marcy

Annual Thanksgiving hike.  Plan was to ditch my stuff at the Wolf Jaws lean-to and climb Upper Wolf Jaw to Armstrong and maybe Gothics then come down and spend the night.  That did not work out…  the Southside trail is no longer being maintained, which meant using the Johns Brook trail to the outpost.  I should have taken the short left on the Southside over to the Great Range trail, but instead went up the  Ore Bed Brook trail toward  Saddleback to get the Woodsfall trail.  The Wolf Jaw lean-to has been moved down from the Woodsfall/Great Range trail junction to  halfway to the Southside trail junction. This meant going down about .3 mile and then back, so I kept going.  At about 3500 ft, trail became icy enough for microspikes. About .3 miles from the summit of Upper Wolf Jaw the trail was iced over rock outcroppings I couldn’t get up with my full pack on.  Went up Lower Wolf Jaw and out. Doing it in October next time…