At 1:30 a.m., Boxing Day/ 27th, I was aimlessly surfing television channels , when I happened upon a ‘men’s channel with an in-the-moment “infomercial” - clearly targeted to men - pushing a product. I was immediately drawn to the infomercial by its constant declaration that, “Size DOES Matter!” I was probably drawn in for reasons different than the average male viewer, but boy did it ever get my attention.
As each of these young women giggled their way through their intimate testimonial of disappointment, it became painfully obvious (and in some cases, blatantly vocalized) that a man’s penis size will be the deal breaker for these women in a relationship. “What crap is this?” I questioned.
First of all, I am not in the 22 – 34 age range, although I consider myself quite lovely, and given the infomercial’s preference for blondes – I fit right in. That’s where the similarities end. I will be the first to admit that my girlfriends and I have discussed intimate details such as the infomercial’s topic but not once has ‘size’ ever been a relationship’s deal breaker. Humor, compassion, attractiveness, career, intellect, even the shallow ‘has to be taller than me’ has been bandied about, but never penis size.
Men you are perfect the way you are. If you need to lose weight, fine, but do it for yourself. Hair thinning? Great because bald is in. Not feeling as energetic as you once did? Good, neither are we.
I am going on 20 years married to a man who tells me I am beautiful through the highs and lows. And he makes me laugh and think. Combine laughter, with compliments and love, and you will have a love life that will rival others. I love every inch of that man’s physique and I do not anticipate a change anytime soon.
Put your wallet away; concentrate on your good attributes: physical and personality-wise. If you are in a relationship, look at her good attributes as well. If you aren’t in a relationship, go out and make what you do possess, shine, because there are women, much like myself, who will think you are wonderful, just the way you are. (And save a little sympathy for those gals on that infomercial, as we all know they are in for some eye-opening truths about love and sex.)
The word "trio" is usually reserved for jazz ensembles, and there were some similarities here: the upright-bass player, who also played a standard electric bass guitar, at times played his acoustic bass with a bow; they played extended instrumental pieces; and the musical range was all over the map. There, though, the similarities ended.They are excellent musicians, far more instrumentalists than singers/"rock stars" who revel in mixing and matching genres and making it work. They are very versatile, imaginative, and well-rehearsed. John Butler is a superb string player (who also plays a banjo), and can coax an amazing range of sounds from an amplified 12-string acoustic guitar. The drummer was also very good, and even had a Jamaican steel drum that he played with pom-pons. And the bass player stood there and held it all together, as good bass players should.
The audience was thoroughly familiar with the material, even if I wasn't, and they loved it. This band is definitely original, and I was left wishing I'd known more about them going in (there's always time to learn), and was puzzled by the crowds' reaction at times.I've been to any number of jazz shows over the years, and seen some famous players (Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Frank Zappa, and even Captain Beefheart). I've also been to classic punk shows and seen The Clash, Iggy Pop, DOA, and so forth. At jazz shows, the audience applauds solos, but there's no mosh pit and no one EVER pogos. At the punk shows, no one cared about solos ("Wankers!"), or even cared much about music - there it was all rebellious attitude.Here, the crowd's reaction was a strange merger of the two. They both applauded the solo instrumental and pogo'd. I've never seen anything quite like it. And, outside of jazz shows, I'd never seen any band sit down and play an instrumental piece (Ocean) that went on for 15 minutes, yet still keep the crowd's rapt attention.Image from smh.com.au
I was very impressed by this band, and admire their virtuosity and originality. If you're as clueless as I am about under-the-radar musicians, the John Butler Trio might just be the best band you've never heard of.Members of the band are: John Butler, Michael Barker, Shannon BirchallThanks to Aaron for supplying the following set list:
