Escape from New York

Sorry again, kids -- duty called and I was dispatched post-haste to the city that never sleeps. Am back but exhausted from the trip and yesterday's Beatlemania staged by Classic Albums Live. Will file my report soon.

Notes from the field:

• Baroque folk sibs Rufus and Martha Wainwright played Carnegie Hall the night I got into New York, but I figured that since they were Canadian, they would pass through Toronto eventually. (And I've seen Rufus before.) Later I found out it had been a Wainwright family and friends Christmas show -- including Wainwright mom and aunt Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Lou Reed, and Jimmy Fallon (?!) -- and I kicked myself for not hunting down a ticket.
  
• Classic Albums Live does U2's War at the Phoenix in February. Is it cool to see a tribute when the band is still around performing?
  
• On Janurary 6, Emily Haines plays the Danforth Music Hall, which is a much more appropriate venue for her introspective solo work than when I saw her at the Kool Haus. No word if anti-depressants are included in the price of admission, or if you have to bring your own.
  
• "Cool swingin' machine" Peter Appleyard plays the Harbourfront Centre in January. Eeeee! I know it's perverse to get excited about a septuagenarian vibes master, but damn it, I don't care.

That's it for now. Later, kids.