We arrived late Friday afternoon at our motel in Dennis and promptly went out for dinner since the doors were going to open at the concert hall before sundown. We shared a nice pre-concert dinner at a comfy restaurant called Oliver’s in Yarmouth. The motif of the place is along the lines of an old seafarer’s colonial inn. The steak and chicken parm were very good, and we washed it all down with a tasty dark ale called “Old Chub Beer” from a Colorado brewery called Oskar's Blues.
Our friends Gerry McGuire and Lynne Flannery invited us to attend a concert by musician Glen Hansard. If the reader is not familiar with Glen, as we were not, he is the front man for a Dublin-based alternative rock band called The Frames. His sold-out show featured songs from The Frames’ catalogue, and the beauty of his performance revolved around his powerful multi-octave voice, clever lyrics, and excellent musicianship on a beat up six string acoustic guitar. The songs were of personal experiences and observations, but the show was not purely a “folk” set. The guy rocks. If the guitar he held looked like it had been worked over with a ball peen hammer, we know it’s because his playing style is as emotional as what he writes and sings about. The reaction from this writer three songs into his set was to wonder how we could have missed The Frames when they were gaining some notoriety back in the early 90’s. Glen is also known for having co-authored the sound track and starred alongside follow musician Marketa Irglova in the indie film “Once”. We never saw the film but understand it won a Grammy for its soundtrack in addition to an Academy Award for Best Original Song (“Falling”), and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign film.
Glen’s solo concert was held at the Cape Cinema in Dennis. Opened in 1930, it is described in the cinema’s website as "a theater.. deluxe.. designed by Alfred Easton Poor, (Wright Brother's Monument) to [the original owner’s] specifications that it be intelligent and artistic, with its facade modeled on the Congregational Church in Centerville, Mass., and its sides given the appearance of a cow barn.”
The Cinema has a capacity for about three hundred if the upper balcony in back is included, and there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The visitor is given a visual treat overhead with a vast multi-colored mural depicting nudes and other images.
If you like Van Morrison, U2, Hothouse Flowers, and Simple Minds, The Frames might just be your cup of tea. They don’t have exactly the bluesy-jazz influenced sound of Van Morrison, power chords of Bono and company, or the layered production of the more heavily electric Simple Minds, but one can easily recognize the musical quality that is consistent with many artists and groups to come out of Ireland. For the most part The Frames songs are love ballads that hint of melancholy. We have a collection of their songs on a homemade CD Gerry and Lynne were gracious enough to give us that include personal favorites “Perfect Opening Line”, and the gorgeous “Your Face” which has the pace and composition one might identify with an Elvis Costello song.
We enjoy other bands and solo artists with similar and diverse musical styles, and this list of “driving tunes” is what we had on the car speakers while driving around the Cape:
• Give A Little Bit (Supertramp cover) – The Goo Goo Dolls
• Windows Are Rolled Down – Amos Lee
• Welcome To The Boomtown – David & David
• Weather With You – Crowded House
• Sometimes Always - The Jesus And Mary Chain
• Orange Sky – Alexi Murdoch
• After Midnight – J.J. Cale
• The Road – Whip Culture
• Tunnel Of Love – Bruce Springsteen
• Into The Fire – Brian Adams
• Short Skirt/Long Jacket – Cake
• Thing Of Beauty – Hothouse Flowers
• Rock ‘N Roll Star – Oasis
• Giving It Back – Matthew Sweet
• Girlfriend – Matthew Sweet
• Evangeline – Matthew Sweet
By the way, for anyone who appreciates acoustic Jazz we give our top recommendation for The Crimson Jazz Trio’s recent release: King Crimson Songbook, Volume One; covers of eight selected songs from the vast catalogue of King Crimson, who are widely recognized to be one of the most accomplished proponents of avante garde music. One might wonder what to expect from a piano/bass/drums jazz combo’s interpretation of “way out there” electrified rock. The feeling here is that this music will please most audiophiles of traditional and modern acoustic jazz, and serve to augment the atmosphere of an evening soiree or relaxed Sunday brunch. Here’s what is included on CJT’s King Crimson Songbook, Volume One, in our preferred order of play:
• Talk To The Wind
• 21st Century Schizoid Man
• Matte Kudesai
• Red
• Three Of A Perfect Pair
• Starless
• Ladies Of The Road
• Catfood
Even though rain threatened Friday evening as we were standing in the que for the concert it held off until we were inside. After that evening’s shower the weather cooperated for the next two days to give us one of the finer weekends we could have wished for this summer, and a very nice Father’s Day gift. We woke to a partly cloudy and fairly humid Saturday morning, ate a very light breakfast and drove to a parking area in Brewster, one of the many parking areas along the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
We off-loaded the bikes, pumped up the tires, and headed out…in a southerly direction…. four or five miles into Harwich… before we realized we should be going northeast if we wanted to be heading toward Province Town. Duhhh. At least we got to see Long Pond and Pleasant Lake, and a chance to shoot some video of Eve in fine riding form. Too bad the video came out in black and white. Mr. Techie In Charge fat fingered an adjustment on the camera, so we got film noir on a bike.
We doubled back past our starting point in Brewster and continued east. The trail is a really well maintained asphalt path that runs for roughly 30 miles from the northern shore of Dennis out to Maguire Landing on the Atlantic side of Wellfleet. The ride is shaded by overhanging trees on both sides for much of its length, which makes for a comfortable experience on a warm sunny day. There are more than enough places along the way to rest and have something to eat and drink to carry on with a full day trip. The rider is treated to a seemingly infinite variety of calls and trills from countless birds in the bushes and trees while viewing forest, bogs, or wetlands to either side. The path cuts through several residential areas and broad sections of commercial zoning but it manages to provide enough solitude for the rider to crank along while immersed in his/her own thoughts. There are also points of historical interest that are marked by detailed trail signs that tell some story regarding the habitat or native life in early colonial times.
We stopped briefly at Nickerson State Park at the northern edge of Brewster to rehydrate and rest since we had just completed about 15 miles. Nickerson has its own network of trails that total about 8 miles of riding through alternately winding packed dirt single track and paved paths, around the Cliff and Flax ponds. We didn’t bother to explore the park, sensing that we would need all of our energy to get down to the Lower Cape and return without body parts falling off, but we’ve made note to come back someday soon and give it a whirl.
Another several miles further up, and half way through the town of Eastham we stopped at a seafood restaurant right off the path called Arnold’s Lobster and Clam Bar. We made note to stop back for a dinner later in the weekend, but for the time being were content to reward ourselves with ice cream. We continued up through Eastham into Wellfleet and stopped to ask someone the distance to Province Town. When we were told we had another 20 miles to go we decided that we would end this leg of the ride at the Maguire Landing beach in Wellfleet. We stopped to take some pics and watch the surfers for a while. We were treated to a moment of comedic relief by the appearance of the Black Masked Marvel lugging his 8 foot board down the dirt ramp to the water. He didn’t look like the typical surfer dude. The neoprene mask and black ankle socks strapped into Teva's were a dead giveaway.
The one way distance from our start in Brewster to Maguire Landing was roughly 27 miles, including the extra mileage we took into Harwich. Our ride back was just as pleasant as the ride out, but maybe a little more trying as fatigue began to settle in. Our progress back was interrupted by the proverbial chicken crossing the road. Really. On any other day we might have snatched and cooked her she looked so good.
We stopped once again at Nickerson State Park so Eve could check in on our girls; our daughter Stephanie was down in West Virginia somewhere white water rafting. She was cautioned before leaving to NOT see the movie Deliverance. Anyway, we soldiered on through the remainder of our ride. After packing up the bikes and gear we headed back to the motel for a swim in the pool.
Saturday evening we went to a very nice restaurant called Scargo’s in Dennis. It is beautifully appointed but not overly formal, and apparently quite popular. If you’re not seated by 6:30, you go hungry. We sat at a tall bistro table in the cozy bar area and enjoyed nicely prepared meals of baked haddock in a creamy chowder sauce, and a swordfish steak complimented with asparagus and wild rice.
After dinner we drove out to the West Dennis beach to enjoy the sunset and cool evening sea breeze. The beach was practically deserted as we sat for a while on a small wood bench ensconced amongst sand dunes decorated with a riot of wild rose bushes. As the sun went down the ocean breeze picked up to a very cool and steady bluster. We retreated to the car and drove a little ways down the access road to another spot by the shore line where a family was watching their young son expertly fly one of those acrobatic kites on the beach. He was a Ninja with that kite. We watched from the warm confines of the car as he sent the kite soaring, spinning and looping, then stalling it to suddenly dive it at mach speed and bonk his sister on the head, then rocket the thing up and away before she could slap at it.
The fine weather continued into Sunday, so we took the chance to drive down to the Province Town area to ride around Race Point Beach state park. Race Point is a really interesting place; the visitor can enjoy a conifer forest embedded in the sandy and hilly topography of a coastal prominence. At the highest point of elevation there is a visitor center from which one can see practically the entire park from a well placed observation deck. The visitor can get to the deck from an outside stairway or from a staircase that spirals up from the center of the gift shop inside. The park must also host entertainment from time to time because there is a small amphitheater with bench seating near the start of the trail network. Out on the beach there is a structure that serves as the training center for ocean rescue teams. It was closed when we dropped by, but it is probably in service during the summer vacation months.
However, the feature presentation of Race Point is the network of hilly bike trails that will take the rider through winding ascents and descent in an out of tree stands, past ponds dotted with lilly pads, and between broad swatches of sands dunes. What fun! The rider just has to be careful to check speed on downward switchback turns because drifted sand can make for some serious road rash if the bike slides out from underneath. We took some pics and video, with the latter effort posing something of a challenge precisely because of the combination of speed, direction changes, and sand… while holding the camera in one hand and steering with the other.
We have to say the park ride was probably the highlight of our weekend. After exploring all that Race Point had to offer, we packed up and headed back west on Route 6 for our return trip home, but we had to stop at Arnold’s again to enjoy some fine fish and chips!
