Esion Knalb

The Best CDs of 2010

2010-12-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté
Two world music giants collaborating on a stellar set of tunes.

Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No Grave
Need I say more.

Robert Plant - Band of Joy
Former Zepp frontman avoiding a tour with his old bandmates and doing a great job of it.

Blue Giant - Blue Giant
Portland Country-Pop-Rockers gracing us with a solid effort.

Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964
Early recordings from the man who changed popular music

The Black Crowes - Croweology
The Brothers Robinson with a two disc live, acoustic performance

School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire
Reminiscent of Early B-52s with a bit of thechno influence

Angus & Julia Stone - Down the Way
Aussie Folk-Rockers

The Budos Band - The Budos Band III
Brooklyn World-Jazz combo reinventing the Fela Kuti sound.

Turtle Island Quartet - Have You Ever Been...?
Hendrix channeled through a chamber music ensemble.

Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
Think CSN&Y, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers combined in a CD. I love this band.

Francis & the Lights - It'll Be Better
Soulful R&B. One of my faves from 2010.

Bedouin Soundclash - Light the Horizon
Canadian trio with their 4th CD of tasty Reggae.

Peter Wolf - Midnight Souvenirs
Amazing disc from one of the most underrated performers of our time. BUY THIS CD NOW!

The New Pornographers – Together
Neko Case back with her old band making great tunes.

John Legend & the Roots - Wake Up!
Classic R&B tracks with a more contemporary sound.

Women + Country - Jakob Dylan
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Galactic - Ya-Ka-May
Soul/R&B/Hip-Hop/Funk/Rap and whatever else they can fit into the songs.

The Moondoggies – Tidelands
Seattle’s answer to The Band with their second release.

Chuck Berry - Have Mercy: His Complete Chess Recordings (1969-1974)
Truly shows Chuck’s range. It extends beyond Johnny B. Goode.

Patty Griffin - Downtown Church
Soulful singer/songwriter has hit her stride with this set of Country-Rock and Gospel.

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Rock and Roll for the new millennium.

more to follow...

Bumbershoot 2010 Preview

2010-08-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. I started this blog with a review of Bumbershoot a few years ago. So it's fitting that I resume with the same event. If you're looking for some great entertainment over Labor Day Weekend, Bumbershoot is the place to be. Lots of local music, national acts, great food and amazing art.

Saturday, Sept 4th

Mainstage
The Decemberists Pac NW originals.
*Neko Case I love Neko’s brand of Country!
*Bob Dylan My first concert was Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Review so many years ago.

Center Square Stage
Idiot Pilot Electronica from Bellingham
HEALTH LA band sharing Rock with beau coup FX.
Civil Twilight U2 meets Coldplay by three talented South African lads.
This Providence Polished, toe-tapping Pop Rock.

EMP Sky Church
Great Waves Sammamish Rockers are sure to delight Bumbershoot crowds.
Born Anchors Local band with great Rock N Roll.
Parlour Steps Enjoyable Rock tunes from a BC quintet
Feral Children Another Seattle band rocking out.
See Me River Local Rock with a hint of Country.
*The Cute Lepers Up-tempo Rock reminiscent of Elvis Costello & the Attractions.
Visqueen I heard an interview with Rachel Flotard on NPR. It made me revisit the work of Visqueen, I’m glad I did. Rock with a soul.

Broad Street Stage
The Submarines Folk influenced Rock featuring great vocals.
Plants and Animals Down from Montreal and rocking with purpose.
Atlas Sound "A largely ambient meditation on romantic obsession full of densely layered electronics and guitars that sound as if they were beamed in from some haunted parallel universe." The Fader. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Jamie Lidell Soulful, World-music-influenced Electronica.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Hard to categorize. I’ll take a stab and say Rock influenced by Cabaret.
The Raveonettes Danish Rockers gracing the Pac NW with their presence.

Starbucks Stage
*Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies Blues from WA State’s capitol.
*Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs Sweet, soulful Country Ellensburg style.
*The Maldives Local Country-Folk-Rockers with great tunes!
*Justin Townes Earle What do you do when you’re the son of one Alt-Country legend and named for another? You begin your own journey to Alt-Country legend status.
Bob Schneider Smooth, Country-Rock sounds from Texas.
Solomon Burke A legendary Bluesman, need I say more?

Fisher Green Stage
Grynch Seattle Hip-Hop, very nice grooves.
The Constellation Ghettotech? WTF? Sounds like R&B infused Rock to me.
Wheedle’s Groove Northwest Funk & Soul.
*The Budos Band Funky, Worldbeat instrumentals.
Balkan Beat Box Hip-Hop with an Eastern European soundtrack.
*Ozomatli Reminds of the band War.

Sunday, Sept 5th

Mainstage
Rise Against Head bangers from the Windy City.
Hole Courtney’s 15 minutes continues.
Weezer Still rockin’ in a hard place.

Center Square Stage
Sweet Water Local Rock quartet not to be confused with the band that played Woodstock.
Crash Kings Rock leaning toward the Punk side.
The Bouncing Souls Big Apple band, reminds me of the Ramones.
Motion City Soundtrack Nice vocals from Pop Rock quintet.

EMP Sky Church
School of Rock All Stars
*The Lonely H Classic Rock sound from Port Angeles.
The Redwood Plan Local, high energy, angry-young-man Rock band with a female vocalist.
Slender Means Strong vocals and snappy tunes from Seattle Pop-Rock quintet.
*Fences Slow, somber, melodic, acoustic songs.
The Physics South Seattle Hip-Hop crew.
Fatal Lucciauno Rap. Laying it down Seattle style.

Broad Street Stage
Unnatural Helpers Seattle punkers.
*Hey Marseilles Saw ‘em open for Toad the Wet Sprocket in July. Toe-tapping combo with great Folk-World-Rock tunes.
David Bazan Seattle Rocker rolling into town for Labor day.
*Ra Ra Riot Bright Pop-Rock from Syracuse.
Delorean Techno sounds abound.
*The Dandy Warhols They’ve been around forever, but I’ve never seen them. Of course they usually don’t take the stage until after my bedtime.

Starbucks Stage
*The Tripwires The Sangster brothers and company bring some great NW Rock to the stage.
*Horse Feathers One of the greatest contemporary NW Folk groups around. Don’t miss these guys.
*Sista Monica’s Singin In the Spirit A lioness of Blues, R&B and Gospel.
Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express Got Jazz if you want it.
*James Cotton Blues Band Saw James at the Rusty Anchor in the 70s. He was a great.
*Billy Bragg loved the Mermaid Avenue project with Wilco from a while back.

Fisher Green Stage
*Eldridge Gravy & the Court Supreme Funk & Soul from the land of moss and slugs.
Fresh Espresso Hip-Hop samples with lots of bass & drums.
Georgia Anne Muldrow & Declaime Dropping Hip-Hop beats straight outta Babylon.
Jay Electronica NOLA Hip-Hopper.
Aterciopelados Self-described as Melodramatic Popular Song from Bogota
LMFAO LMFAO is an electro-hop group from Los Angeles.

Monday, Sept 6th

Mainstage
J. Cole Who dat? Who dat? Rap on.
Drake Hip-Hoppin’ like a Mo-Fo.
Mary J. Blige Less Rap and more singing. MJB does a version of Stairway to heaven on her MySpace site.

Center Square Stage
JEFF the Brotherhood In your face Rock.
The Whigs More in your face Rock. Not that it’s a bad thing.
Baroness Bang your head.
Anvil Bang your head some more, Canadian style.

EMP Sky Church
people eating people Piano-centric, Jazzy Pop
BOAT Fresh from a tour of Montana, Seattle Rockers should entertain the Sky Church masses.
Helladope More Seattle Hip-Hop
THEESatisfaction Two chicks Rapping with feeling.
Lisa Dank Slick Pop tunes, very danceable.
Wild Orchid Children Seattle Psych Rock.
The Splits Ohio Rock, like very early Pretenders.

Broad Street Stage
Bobby Bare Jr. Son of Outlaw Country legend, making his own way in the Rock’N’Roll world.
The Clientele UK Psych Rockers with the Prog Rock sound.
Meat Puppets Old Punkers never die, they just reunite and play some tunes.
Japandroids Canadian duo Rocking in the free world.
Surfer Blood Interesting Surf-influenced sound with several YouTube cat videos on their MySpace page. I’m puzzled.
The Thermals Portland Rockers.

Starbucks Stage
Brent Amaker & the Rodeo C&W baritone leading the charge.
*Trampled By Turtles Bluegrass mostly, from the edge of the prairie.
Greg Laswell Heartfelt Folk songs.
*The Moondoggies When The Band broke up Rock’N’Roots music was left with a huge hole. These are the guys who filled that hole!!!
Jenny & Johnny Mostly Country.
*Booker T. The legend, live at Bumbershoot. Should be interesting.

Fisher Green Stage
Victor Shade One half of Common Market striking out on his own. I suspect some great Hip-Hop.
Garotas Suecas Brazilian Pop-Rock.
*Kings Go Forth Soul and Funk reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield or the Four Tops.
Bomba Estereo More self-described melodramatic Popular Song from Columbia, but it sounds like Columbian Rap.
*Angelique Kidjo The lady from Benin with the wonderful voice.
*The English Beat Dave Wakling is still going strong. Saw them a while back and they are great. What a great way to close out B-shoot 2010.

*John’s picks

more to follow...

Best of 2009

2009-12-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

Friends,
I love holiday songs and could listen to them all year long, but I have a rule; no Christmas music until I have digested my turkey and trimmings. Right now I’m listening to Natty and Nice: A Reggae Christmas and Six Degrees Collection: Christmas Remixed. But that’s not why I’m writing. This post has to do with my favorite discs from 2009. Here goes.

The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You (Sony, 29 Sept 09)
I describe these guys as Black & Bluegrass and this is their best release to date. They hold to many Bluegrass traditions, but their live shows have more energy than an atomic bomb and nearly as explosive.

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone (Anti, 3 Mar 09)
Wow! That’s all I can say, wow! Got to see her at Bumbershoot ’08.

Ravi Coltrane – Blending Times (Savoy Jazz, 13 Jan 09)
It has to be tough to live is the shadow of a legend. Ravi shows no signs that it’s a burden. He’s put together a solid combo, isn’t afraid to let them shine and shine they do on this great Jazz disc.

The Black Crowes - Before the Frost/After the Freeze (Red Distribution, 1 Sept 09)
I’ve seen the Brothers Robinson 3 times, including a great show in November of this year. These tracks were recorded live at Levon Helm’s Woodstock studio and performance hall (OK, OK it’s a barn) and truly demonstrates how the boys have matured as songwriters and musicians.

eels - Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire (Vagrant Records, 2 Jun 09)
Take a blues influenced, retro, rock sound, strip it down, add some distortion, fold in a lot of attitude and you have Hombre Lobo...

Fink - Sort of Revolution (Ninja Tune, 22 May 09)
If Nick Drake lived long enough to incorporate an ever-so-slight Techno pulse into the bottom end of his music, this is what it would sound like.

Grand Archives - Keep in Mind Frankenstein (Sub Pop, 15 Sept 09)
The Emerald City’s own created another disc of perfectly blended harmonies in their version of the Folk tradition.

Mayer Hawthorne- A Strange Arrangement (Stones Throw, 8 Sept 09)Sweet Soulful sounds from Ann Arbor by a geeky looking white guy in a cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses. Buy this record now! One of my great finds from Bumbershoot ’09.

Hoots & Hellmouth - Holy Open Secret (Mad Dragon Records, 2 Jun 09)
A solid sophomore effort from the Philly quartet who provided the best live show I saw in 2009 (the energy from their show could power a city for a week). Mostly, it’s Folk Rock delivered with the fervor of a Pentecostal preacher in a tent revival meeting.

Joe Henry - Blood From Stars (Anti, 18 Aug 09)
I love Joe Henry’s sweet melodies, his jazzy arrangements, his poetic lyrics and his spot-on delivery. What I’m trying to say is I love Joe Henry’s music. He reminds of Tom Waits and Ricki Lee Jones.

Levon Helm-Electric Dirt (Vanguard Records, 30 Jun 09)
A few years back Levon was dealing with cancer and a very rocky financial situation. Hard to believe! This is his second great album since coming back. Who needs The Band to reunite as long as Levon can make a disc like this?

The Lonely Forest-We Sing the Body Electric (Burning Building Recordings, 21 Apr 09)A debut from a young band of straight on Rock from Anacortes, WA .Very, very nice.

Manchester Orchestra-Mean Everything to Nothing (Sony, 21 Apr 09)Atlanta Rockers tearing it up with attitude!

Mindy Smith- Stupid Love (Vanguard Records, 11 Aug 09)Third album and best yet, from this very talented Nashville transplant by way of Long Island. Two things I like about her; she gives me hope for the future of C&W and she’s not Taylor Swift. I saw her at Bumbershoot ’04.

Telekinesis-Telekinesis (Merge Records, 7 Apr 09)Bright, Pop sounds reminding me of the snappy tunes from the New Wave era. A crowd pleaser at Bumbershoot ’09.

Vieux Farka Toure – Fondo (Six Degrees, 12 May 09)
Blues Mali style. His dad did an album with Ry Cooder a few years ago.

Westerly- This Lonesome Town (Westerly, Mar 09)Northwest quartet playing C&W (mostly originals) with catchy hooks, great melodies and honey-sweet harmonies. Saw them at the Kingston Arts & Crafts Festival in June.

Vetiver-Tight Knit (Sub Pop, 17 Feb 09)They pay homage to the Folk tradition with playful, sometimes Jazzy songs. I love this band.

Volcano Choir – Unmap (Jagjaguwar, 22 Sept 09)
A collection of very talented people from Wisconsin including Bon Iver. Slow, somber, Folky tunes.

More to follow...

So Many Records and Shows...

2009-09-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

Friends,
Since my last post I saw some great acts at Bumbershoot '09. The weather sucked and it's the first time in many years that I've not gone every day.
I saw James Taylor at the Puyallup Fair last Saturday. He was fantastic!!!! While walking the fairgrounds before the show I saw a food vendor called "Fried Everything" including fried butter (the snack for those with extremely low cholesterol).
I have included quite a few artists in this post, but these are the discs I have been listening to for the past few months.
More to follow...

Country
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Rattlin’ Bones (Sugarhill, 21 Apr 08)
Who says great Country music has to come from Nashville. Aussies Chambers & Nicholson must have been weaned on Bluegrass and C&W.

Charlie Haden & Friends – Rambling Boy (Decca, 23 Sept 08)
Jazz bassist Haden is spot on with a disc of excellent, traditional Country sounds.

Levon Helm-Electric Dirt (Vanguard Records, 30 Jun 09)
Levon’s second album since recovering from throat cancer, a bit more rocking than the first. Reminiscent of the work of his former group, The Band. Excellent!

Mindy Smith- Stupid Love (Vanguard Records, 11 Aug 09)
Third album (and best yet) from this Nashville transplant by way of Long Island. (Bumbershoot ’04).

Various Artists - Country & Western Hit Parade 1945-1950 Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Hillbilly Music (Bear Family, 9 Dec 08) Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Merle Travis and other Country legends take you back to the post-war era.

Westerly- This Lonesome Town (Westerly, Mar 09)
Saw them at the Kingston Arts & Crafts Festival in June. Way too small a crowd for this Northwest quartet playing originals with catchy hooks, great melodies and honey-sweet harmonies. They kick ass.

Folk
Vetiver-Tight Knit (Sub Pop, 17 Feb 09)
While their MySpace site indicates that they play Thrash / Black Metal / Christian Rap that couldn’t be further from the truth. They’re paying homage to the Folk tradition (like their talented contemporaries Bon Iver, Grand Archives, Hoots & Hellmouth) with solid song-writing, musicianship and production. I love this band.

R&B/Soul
Mayer Hawthorne- A Strange Arrangement (Stones Throw, 8 Sept 09)
Sweet Soulful sounds from Ann Arbor by a geeky looking white guy in a cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses. Buy this record now! One of my great finds from Bumbershoot ’09.

Raphael Saadiq-The Way I See It (Sony, 16 Sept 09)
OK, so I’m late to the party on this one. When I first heard this disc from former Tony! Toni! Toné! member I would have bet the farm that this was an unreleased jewel from Berry Gordy’s Mowtown archives. Not so. For those of you pining for songs from one of the most artistic eras in American music, Saadiq has put together something reminiscent of The Impressions, The Miracles, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. Another great act from Bumbershoot ’09.

World
Dehli 2 Dublin Remixed (Nov 08)
Tasty world beats from a rather eclectic troop of musicians, Celtic fiddle, sitar, lots of Central Asian performers, a DJ and a few rappers all sewn together with a toe-tapping bass & drum bottom that had the entire crowd at Bumbershoot ’09 pulsing to the rhythms.

Rock
Dept. of Energy-Held By Waits (Roam Records, 8 May 07)
I don’t know how I never heard of this Seattle band, but they lit up the EMP’s Sky Church at Bumbershoot ’09 with sound and vision.

The Lonely Forest-We Sing the Body Electric (Burning Building Recordings, 21 Apr 09)
Hailing from tiny Anacortes, WA, they write and play like they’ve been touring the world for decades. Another band shining brightly at EMP’s Sky Church during Bumbershoot ’09. Nicely done!

Manchester Orchestra-Mean Everything to Nothing (Sony, 21 Apr 09)
Atlanta Rockers tearing it up with attitude!

Roman Candle-Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
Chapel Hill Folk-Rockers make great music.

Telekinesis-Telekinesis (Merge Records, 7 Apr 09)
Bright, Pop sounds reminding me of the snappy tunes from the New Wave era. A crowd pleaser at Bumbershoot ’09.

Classic Rock Releases
Van Morrison-Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl (Listen To the Lion Records, 24 Feb 09)
Arguably the most influential album Van ever released and it's performed live with some of the original studio musicians. When can we expect a tour around Tupelo Honey, Moondance or St. Dominic’s Preview?

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood-Live at Madison Square Garden (Reprise, 19 May 09)
Do I really need to say anything at all?

2009 Bumbershoot Preview

2009-08-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the short notice. I have been Hella-busy. The asterisks are acts I recommend. See you this weekend.
More to follow....

Saturday, 5 Sept 09

Samsung Mobile Mainstage
Katy Perry http://www.myspace.com/katyperry
She kissed a girl and liked it!

All-American Rejects http://www.myspace.com/allamericanrejects
Rock, production is fine, but can’t really distinguish them from a lot of other bands.

*Old 97s http://www.myspace.com/theold97s
Old school Rock sound leaning toward Rock-a-Billy and Alt-Country.

Sheryl Crow http://www.myspace.com/sherylcrow
Sheryl has left Las Vegas to soak up the sun in Seattle.

Rockstar Stage
Sick Puppies http://www.myspace.com/sickpuppies
Loud, aggressive, angry young man Rock-n-Roll.

*Iglu & Hartly http://www.myspace.com/igluandhartly
Is it Dance, Techno or Hip-Hop? Yes and it’s upbeat and fun!

Gang Gang Dance http://www.myspace.com/ganggangdance
Dance music with a worldly pulse, get on your feet.

OTEP http://www.myspace.com/otep
Loud, aggressive, angry young man Rock-n-Roll.

Fisher Green Stage
*Adrian Xavier http://www.myspace.com/adrianxavier
Reggae

*Mayer Hawthorne http://www.myspace.com/mayerhawthorne
Sweet soulful sounds from a geeky looking white guy.

Wale http://www.myspace.com/wale
Thick and juicy Hip-Hop from DC.

Os Mutantes http://www.myspace.com/osmutantes66
Brazilian Pop.

De La Soul http://www.myspace.com/delasoul
Two decades in the trenches and still churning out smooth Hip-Hop grooves.

Starbucks Stage
Kristen Ward http://www.myspace.com/kristenwardmusic
Local talent sharing singer/songwriter Folk-Rock.

Kim Field & The Mighty Titans of Tone http://www.myspace.com/kimfieldandthemightytitansoftone
Slow and smokey, rough and rowdy Blues from Seattle.

*Massy Ferguson http://www.myspace.com/massyferguson
The self-proclaimed People’s Band rockin’ from Seattle.

Carrie Rodriguez http://www.myspace.com/carrielrodriguez
Folk Rock from a consummate entertainer with great pipes.

Eric Hutchinson http://www.myspace.com/erichutchinson
Catchy Pop tunes, reminds me of Billy Joel.

World Party http://www.myspace.com/worldparty
Rock that pops from the foggy isles.

Broad Street Stage
Everest http://www.myspace.com/everest
Slower, mostly Rock-based songs. Reminds me of Neil Young

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head http://www.myspace.com/natalieportmansshavedhead
Seattle’s very own Electro-Dance group.

*Low Vs Diamond http://www.myspace.com/lowvsdiamond
Excellently arranged and delivered Rock’n’Roll.

Matt & Kim http://www.myspace.com/mattandkim
Electro-Pop from NY.

UH HUH HER http://www.myspace.com/uhhuhhermusic
Electro-Pop California style.

*The Long Winters http://www.myspace.com/thelongwinters
I love this band!!!! Excellent Rock from one of Seattle’s own.

Northwest Court
The Not-Its http://www.myspace.com/thenotits
Pop for the younger set.

We Are Golden http://www.myspace.com/wearegoldenmusic
Elaborately arranged Rock with great musicianship and vocals.

Cordero http://www.myspace.com/corderonyc
Latin Pop Rock from NY.

Eleni Mandell http://www.myspace.com/elenimandell
Folk Rock. Nice voice.

*Elvis Perkins http://www.myspace.com/elvisperkins
LA Folk Rock phenom.

EMP Skychurch
*Dyno Jamz http://www.myspace.com/dynojamz
To quote EMP, “West Coast cool jazz to East Coast 80s hip-hop”

Hotels http://www.myspace.com/hotels
New Wave, Electro-Rockers from Seattle.

Past Lives http://www.myspace.com/pastlivesmusic
Seattle rockers.

Akimbo http://www.myspace.com/akimbo
In your face Rock from Seattle. Suck it bitches!

The Whore Moans http://www.myspace.com/thewhoremoanssuck
More in your face Rock from Seattle.

*Telekinesis http://www.myspace.com/telekinesismusic
Great Rock sound. I love this band!

Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground http://www.myspace.com/kaykayunderground
Reminds me of Queen’s cabaret approach to Rock.

Sunday, 6 September 09

Samsung Mobile Mainstage
Cold War Kids http://www.myspace.com/coldwarkids
Rockin’ in from LA.

*Yeah Yeah Yeahs http://www.myspace.com/yeahyeahyeahs
If Chrissie Hynde was starting in music today she’d be in this band.

*Michael Franti http://www.myspace.com/michaelfranti
World Beat from the Bay Area. I dare you to sit still.

Jason Mraz http://www.myspace.com/jasonmraz
Smooth, Pop sounds from Southern California.

Rockstar Stage
Rockstar Winner

Maximo Park http://www.myspace.com/maximopark
UK Rock, rather tasty.

Swollen Members http://www.myspace.com/swollenmembers
Hip-Hop from Vancouver, BC

No Age http://www.myspace.com/nonoage
It’s knocking-over-trash-cans-with-a-chainsaw Rock.

MSTRKRFT http://www.myspace.com/mstrkrft
Self-described as Electro-Punk, I’m inclined to agree.

Fisher Green Stage
Kore Ionz http://www.myspace.com/koreionz
“Water for roots. Love of reggae. Fire for rock.” Ya mon…

Dyme Def http://www.myspace.com/dymedefchea
Portland Hip-Hop.

Extra Golden http://www.myspace.com/extragolden
Music from Kenya by way of a Chicago record label.

*Common Market http://www.myspace.com/commonmarket
Do yourself a favor and see these guys, Seattle Hip-Hop.

*Roy Ayers http://www.myspace.com/royayersubiquity
Jazz, Funk & Soul, what more could you ask for?

*Raphael Saadiq http://www.myspace.com/raphaelsaadiq
Soul and R&B with an old school sound.

Starbucks Stage
Handful of Luvin’ http://www.myspace.com/handfulofluvin
Interesting Folk Rock.

The Dusty 45s http://www.myspace.com/billyjoeandthedusty45s
3 chord guitar and a whole lotta shaking goin’on

The Honey Brothers http://www.myspace.com/thehoneybrothers
Canadian quintet playing World Beat Pop tunes.

Sera Cahoone http://www.myspace.com/seracahoone
Somber, Soulful Country from a former Indie-Rock drummer.

Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women http://www.myspace.com/davealvin
A walking, talking lexicon of American Roots music.

Brett Dennen http://www.myspace.com/brettdennen
If Jack Johnson and Tracy Chapman had a child…Funkified Folky Pop.

Broad Street Stage
Hey Marseilles http://www.myspace.com/heymarseilles
Folk music.

Mt St Helens Vietnam Band http://www.myspace.com/mtsthelensvietnamband
Rock’N’Roll

U.S.E. http://www.myspace.com/use
United States of Electronica, need I say more?

Vivian Girls http://www.myspace.com/viviangirlsnyc
NYC punkers

*Holy F**k http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck
Original instrumental electronic Rock.

*The Helio Sequence http://www.myspace.com/theheliosequence
Pop Rockers from Portland.

Northwest Court
Central Services presents the Board of Education http://www.myspace.com/cskids
Kiddie Pop.

Steve Griggs Quintet http://www.stevegriggsmusic.com/
Jazz, but I can’t hear it because he has no Myspace page.

Mark Taylor Quartet http://www.myspace.com/marktaylormusic
Jazz!

Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder http://www.myspace.com/michaelshrievesspellbinder
Latin Jazz!

Paul Oscher http://www.myspace.com/pauloscher
Blues, Blues, Blues.

Todd Snider http://www.myspace.com/toddsnider
Blues, Folk, Country and Rock.

EMP Skychurch
The Kindness Kind http://www.myspace.com/thekindnesskind
Local Rockers.

*Black Whales http://www.myspace.com/blackwhales
These guys are good, basic Rock’N’Roll.

Parenthetical Girls http://www.myspace.com/parentheticalgirlsband
Chamber Rock from Everett by way of Portland.

Romance http://www.myspace.com/romance
New Wave Rockers from Seattle.

Sleepy Eyes of Death http://www.myspace.com/sleepyeyesofdeath
Electro-Rock from the Emerald City.

D.Black/Spaceman http://www.myspace.com/sportnliferecords
Local Hip-Hop

DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid http://www.myspace.com/djspooky
No tunes on the MySpace player.

Monday, 7 September 09

Samsung Mobile Mainstage
The Knux http://www.myspace.com/theknux
Hip-Hop from Hollywood , by way of New orleans, California

*The Black Eyed Peas http://www.myspace.com/blackeyedpeas
Saw Fergie a few years ago, this should be fun.

Franz Ferdinand http://www.myspace.com/franzferdinand
Rocking along

Modest Mouse http://www.myspace.com/modestmouse
Issaquah Rock band.

Rockstar Stage
Rockstar Winner

Forgive Durden performing Razia’s Show http://blogs.myspace.com/forgivedurden
Not entirely sure what this is

Dead Confederate http://www.myspace.com/deadconfederate
Hard Rocking boys from Georgia.

Audrye Sessions http://www.myspace.com/audryesessions
“…polished, propulsive rock songs and gentle, stripped-down tunes…”

3 Inches of Blood http://www.myspace.com/3iob
Just exactly what you’d expect from a band called 3 Inches of Blood.

Fisher Green Stage
Macklemore http://www.myspace.com/macklemore
Seattle Hip-Hop

Dehli 2 Dublin http://www.myspace.com/delhi2dublin
Celtic melodies and Indian beats with a little Hip-Hop for good measure.

*The New Mastersounds http://www.myspace.com/newmastersounds
Funky, Soulful, Bluesy.

Janelle Monae http://www.myspace.com/janellemonae
Soul/R&B, Pop, Great vocals!

Vieux Farka Toure http://www.myspace.com/vieuxfarkatoure
Mali sensation keeps the family tradition alive and well.

Sly & Robbie http://www.myspace.com/slyandrobbie
Reggae from Bob Marley’s rhythm section.

Starbucks Stage
Tyler Bryant http://www.myspace.com/tylerbryantmusic
Tyler’s talented, but way too young to play authentic blues.

The Minus 5 http://www.myspace.com/theminus5
Pop-Rockers going strong.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears http://www.myspace.com/blackjoelewis
No tunes on the MySpace player.

*The Devil Makes Three http://www.myspace.com/thedevilmakesthree
Fun, bright Country sounds.

*The Cave Singers http://www.myspace.com/thecavesingers
Saw ‘em on the NW stage a few years back. Great music!

Keller Williams http://www.myspace.com/kellerwilliams
Acoustic Funk, Folk, Country and whatever else he feels like doing.

Broad Street Stage
Visqueen http://www.myspace.com/visqueen
No doubt about it Rock’N’Roll.

Say Hi http://www.myspace.com/sayhitoyourmom
Rock and it’s not too bad at all.

Mirah http://www.myspace.com/coldcoldwater
Pop Rock from sultry singing siren.

Akron/Family http://www.myspace.com/akronfamily
Jazzy grooves switch to in-your-face Rock guitar.

Soulsavers http://www.myspace.com/soulsavers
UK Rock somberly

Metric http://www.myspace.com/metric
Yeah, they Rock.

Northwest Court
Anomie Belle http://www.myspace.com/anomiebelle
Electronic, somber approaches to Rock.

Recess Monkey http://www.myspace.com/recessmonkey
Kid focused Pop.

Grand Hallway http://www.myspace.com/grandhallway
Folk Rock with a Japanese influence. That’s what their MySpace page says.

Oren Lavie http://www.myspace.com/orenlavie
Jazzie, electronic background with soulful vocals. Sounds a bit like Nick Drake.

Portland Cello Project http://www.myspace.com/celloproject
This is not your father’s cello band.

Lenka http://www.myspace.com/lenkamusic
Nicely done Pop from Down Under

EMP Skychurch
*Department of Energy http://www.myspace.com/deptofenergy
Great original Rock.

Point Juncture, WA http://www.myspace.com/ptjuncturewa
More Rock from Portland.

The Lonely Forest http://www.myspace.com/thelonelyforest
Anacortes own Rock, WOW! Go see this band.

Champagne Champagne http://www.myspace.com/champagnechampagne
Local Hip-Hop

Wallpaper http://www.myspace.com/wallpaper
Pop & Hip-Hop.

Truckasaurus http://www.myspace.com/teapartiesgunsnvalor
Hippity-Hoppity Techno

Head Like a Kite http://www.myspace.com/headlikeakite
Shoegaze, WTF? Who comes up with these?

The Best of 2008

2009-01-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season. My musical faves for 2008...

New discoveries: Bedouin Soundclash (Canadian Reggae), Bon Iver (Somber & Soulful Folk), Cheb I. Sabbah (Traditional Central Asian w/bass & drums), Colour Revolt (Straight on Rock n Roll), Fleet Foxes (Sweet Harmonic Folk), Giant Bear (Country Rock), Grand Archives (Sweet Harmonic Folk), Hoots and Hellmouth (Country Rock), Horse Feathers (Sweet Harmonic Folk, my favorite CD of the year), The Moondoggies (We don't need The Band to reunite as long as these guys are playing), Vampire Weekend (Hard to nail the genre, but it's fun and I like it), West Indian Girl (Psychedelic Pop).

Older bands with great 2008 releases: AC/DC (The best CD they have ever done), The Black Crowes (Solid effort from America's answer to The Rolling Stones), Blue Mountain (Country Rock), Merle Haggard (Merle unplugged), Sun Kil Moon (Mark Kozelek makes great wooden music) , The Waifs (The sisters from Down Under release their best disc yet).

I should mention the two shows I saw in the latter part of 2008 that were not featured in my blog:

Greg Brown-Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall, Seattle. 17 Oct 08. I met my wife at a Greg Brown show at the Back Stage many years ago and I've been partial to him ever since. He is he consummate entertainer, musician, songwriter and storyteller. He played a wonderful mix of older and newer material. His rich baritone and acoustic guitar delighted a nearly filled hall. If you like folk from a soulful, bluesy perspective go see Greg the next time he's in town. If you're looking for a Greg Brown CD I would recommend Covenant (Red House Records, 8 Aug 2000)

The English Beat-The Showbox, Seattle. 4 Dec 08.
30 years and counting with their last release in 1982 (I have it on vinyl) they've had a lot of time to perfect their craft. It's no secret that Dave Wakeling and his band enjoy playing music. You can see it in the performance. And they are very good at what they enjoy.
I was fortunate to witness the show from a great vantage point, seated by the small bar (thanks John) and I had several good friends with me. It was a fantastic show from the opening chords of Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret to my favorite Beat song, Save It For Later We had to catch a boat so we missed the encore, but was told that they played a new song. Could a new English Beat CD be in the works for 2009? One can only hope.

Happy New Year!

More to follow...

A House Stranger than 50 Years of Brubeck

2008-12-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

My apologies to those of you in need of music recommendations from a trusted source. Unfortunately my absence was necessitated by a desire to improve my lot in life through education. With the work-load something had to give and it was the blog.
To make up for it I have three gems that you will no doubt want to purchase as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or Solstice gifts.

Horse Feathers - House With No Home (Kill Rock Stars, 9 Dec 08)
Out of a stack of new music that I received over the past few days this is the disc that has been played over and over. Sometimes somber, sometimes upbeat, always Folk and always easy to listen to, I like it. Justin Ringle’s compositions are good and this Portland duo presents them well featuring richly layered harmonies, reminiscent of CSN, anchored mostly by a finger-picked guitar, complimented by the occasional mandolin, banjo or whatever else former Norfolk & Western member Peter Broderick wants to add (apparently the man can play anything.) The melodies are very pleasant and the spare arrangements actually contribute to the sound in a Zen-like way. Think of Sam Bush’s Iron & Wine or a slightly less suicidal Bon Iver. My favorite track; Working Poor.

The Moondoggies - Don’t Be a Stranger (Hardly Art, 19 Aug 08)
When attempting to describe the Moondoggies I’ve read references to The Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, The Byrds and some of the other great Rock/Country/Folk groups of the 60s & 70s. No doubt the Moondoggies are worthy of the comparisons, but the only group I think of when listening to Seattle’s Moondoggies is The Band. Like The Band, they have that unrehearsed, casual sound that is very difficult to produce and yet they do it so well. The quartet has been playing together since high school and they have a tight crisp sound. Good songwriting, great harmonies, accomplished musicianship all captured in their fine arrangements. My Favorite track; Ain’t No Lord.

50 Years of Dave Brubeck: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-2007 (Monterey Jazz Fest, 5 Aug 08)
So some of the earlier recordings may be limited by the available technology, it’s still a great disc. The only negative comment I can make is out of 50 years of Brubeck performances at the Monterey Jazz Festival they could find only 10 tracks to share? This should have been a box set.

Other artists worth mentioning:
Cheb I. Sabbah – Traditional Central Asian music lots of bass, percussion & Techno effects.
Orgone – If Aretha Franklin, Sly Stone & James Brown went in thirds on a passel of kids this is what their band would sound like.
Hayes Carll – Country with just enough irreverence to make you overlook the clichés.

The Fate of SteelDrivers; A Long Lovely List of Repairs

2008-10-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

The SteelDrivers – The SteelDrivers (Rounder Records, 15 Jan 08)
I tripped over this band on a sampler included with a music magazine. Their song was track one and I liked it so much it took several tries before I could hear the rest of the disc. If you like your bluegrass really blue and leaning a little bit more to the Country side of the equation then I have a band for you. The Nashville quintet has a resume that reads like a Who's Who in Country music volume. They follow the traditional string and vocal lineup (guitar, banjo, base, fiddle, mandolin & harmonies) and do not stray far from the standard format. Front man Chris Stapleton would be just as comfortable, not to mention effective, using his smokey tenor to lead a Blues band. In fact his soulful delivery and song writing talent play a big part in keeping The SteelDrivers from being just another Bluegrass band.Tammy Rogers, the band's primary harmony vocal, adds breadth and depth by making her fiddle weep, moan and wail. And Richard Bailey's banjo contributes a hearty level of melody and just the right amount of lead. The two Mikes hold down the bottom end. Henderson on Mandolin and Fleming on Bass. My favorite track is If It Hadn't Been For Love.

Dr. Dog – Fate (Park the Van Records, 22 Jul 08)
In the traditional of Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes and Grand Archives, Dr. Dog takes a little bit of all that's come before, mixes it thoroughly and makes it their own. Is it Folk? Is it Rock? Is it Country? Who cares, it's great music and it transcends genres. Fate is the band's fifth full length release. Dr. Dog was formed in Philadelphia in 2001, but it wasn't until touring with My Mourning Jacket in 2004 that they began to receive recognition. Band members and friends get nicknames like Taxi & Thanks. As near as I can tell there are five talented, multi-instrumentalist in the group and everyone appears to sing. I don't have any standout tracks on the release because I like them all, although Army of Ancients reminds me of The Beatles later work.

Amelia – A Long Lovely List of Repairs (Adrenaline Records 22 Apr 08)
Portland's own Amelia has been touring the West for several years impressing audiences with their blend of Folk, Country, Rock. The band has included members of the Flatirons, The Decemberists and Tin Hat. Right now they are a trio and Teisha Helgerson's sweet vocals will melt the hard of the hardest rogue. It's pleasant music for a rainy day.

Two bands that I have to mention simply because I love their music:
Blue Mountain This trio from Mississippi has been playing Alt-Country since the late 80s and they do it well. I discovered them as a result of an article in No Depression (damn I miss that magazine.) I bought every one of their recordings over the following week. My favorite so far is Dog Days. I love the track Blue Canoe. Give it a spin, you won't be disappointed.
The Coming Grass A quintet from Maine (One step closer to the rest of the world) "playing 70s rock today," Even though they haven't released anything new for quite a while Beauty of a Heart gets regular rotation at my house. Don't Be Wasting My Time & Work It Out are gems requiring no further polish.

More to follow…

The Black Crowes – Columbia Bank Concert Center, Western Washington Fair, Puyallup Fair, WA

2008-09-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

On Monday, 8 Sept 08, I loaded up my mini-urban assault vehicle with lattes & Odwalla bars and with my favorite person in the whole, wide world as co-pilot, we cranked the MP3s and set a southerly course for the Puyallup Fair. We had tickets to see The Black Crowes, America's answer to The Rolling Stones. If you’re a regular reader of the blog/column (blolumn?) you’ll know this was the second time I’d seen the Crowes in the past twelve months. Plus I reviewed their new album, Warpaint as well as one of my favorite releases of 2007, Brothers of a Feather in earlier posts this year. What can I say, I love the Crowes!
The traffic was light thanks to a second bridge over the Tacoma Narrows. We were in Puyallup in less than 90 minutes. Berit and I had an hour before the show so we walked around the fairgrounds, taking in the sights, sounds and smells. We watched people stand in line and pay to be launched skyward in a chair attached to bungee cords, saw 35 million hot tub sales exhibits and nearly as many fried dough booths. We settled on some absolutely yummy scones with butter & jam and just before the show I got a giant Pepsi (basically a 5 gallon bucket with a handle) and some fried veggies. I should tell you that Washington State Code dictates all fair food must spend at least 3-5 minutes in hot grease prior to sale. The sole exception is scones.
As we entered the venue we discovered that the show was now free (I paid $62 for a free concert?) and we could sit anywhere. As Carney took the stage we found seats at the front of the Grandstand and settled in. The boys had a nice enough sound. A hard to pin down style of music, sometimes it was harder edged with a heavy blues influence, at other times it more closely resembleld Glam Rock, like New York Dolls or Queen. In fact the skinny lead singer sounded like Freddie Mercury. On the song Testify he channeled Robert Plant, man could he wail. The guitarist had great chops and the drummer didn’t play so much as attack his kit. Due to a slightly muddled sound mix it was hard to hear the bass player, but he looked like he was quite busy and having a good time. Carney played half dozen tunes and then the roadies began the transition.
The Black Crowes took the stage shortly after bundles of incense were placed at the front corners of the stage. They opened the show with two tracks from Warpaint; Wounded Bird & Evergreeen and we were on our way. The sound mix for the first couple of songs wasn’t good. The bass was way too high, you couldn’t hear Luther’s guitar or Chris’s vocals. By the time they got to the third song, Sting Me, they had sorted it out. Next came one of the evening highlights, Downtown Money Waster into an extended jam finished with Thorn In My Pride.
Chris, who’s been known to be chatty, excessively so at times, said nothing except “Thank you” between songs. The boys rolled from one track to another without delay. The energy was high and the crowd in front of the stage never stopped moving. To top it off it was a gorgeous summer evening with lots of stars overhead. Speaking of stars the boys offered stellar covers of Dylan’s Girl From the North Country and Clapton’s Poor Elijah Tribute to Johnson.
Some drunk cowboy beside me kept shouting for them to play Black Betty as he alternately spit his chaw into an empty beer cup and sipped from a full one. I was waiting for him to mix ‘em up. I knew Leadbelly wrote the tune way back when, that Ram Jam had recorded it in the 70s, but the best version was by Tom Jones. Do you suppose the wrangler thought he was at a TJ concert? If so, I’m glad he didn’t try to throw his undies on the stage. Sorry I digress…
The Crowes added Remedy & Soul Singing toward the latter part and had Jerry Miller from Moby Grape join them onstage for Hey Grandma. There was no encore.
The 90 minute set included 5 songs from Warpaint, a decent mix from their back catalog and three covers. It was a good evening. We followed the green line (the Fair paints colored lines on the pavement to get you back to the correct gate), put the MP3s on and set the compass north back to the island.
More to follow…

Bumbershoot 2008

2008-09-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Day One
Saturday 30 Aug 08
Bumbershoot ’08 began for me way back in the late spring when I ordered my tix (40% savings on a three day pass folks if you get ‘em early) As soon as the schedule was released mid-summer I was thinking, “If I’m not an aging Gen-Xer or into Hip-Hop I just wasted $60,” I started listening to MySpace sites and reading about acts and quickly determined that there were some great artists coming. Needless to say, by Saturday 30 Aug 08 I had a handful of acts I wasn’t going to miss, a good idea about which artists I wanted to see and back-up plans for those that didn’t live up to the expectations.
I took the earlier ferry to allow for my carbon-neutral approach of walking up to Seattle Center. When I arrived I was surprised to see lines from the Broad Street entrance wrapping back around to the front of the Science Center. Evidently the handheld scanners used to read the ticket barcodes weren’t able to read at least 1/3 of the tickets.
It didn’t take long to figure out a way to bypass the mess and get to the music. Before I knew it I was sipping Rockstar from a paper cup watching Throw Me the Statue (mentioned in 18 May 08 article) I love their record, but their live show didn’t seem to exude the same energy. Add to that to a mediocre sound mix and it was hard to focus on the music. I listened to a few songs and headed for the Main Stage.
I arrived in Memorial Stadium and was able to sit beside my longest known Seattle friend John and his lovely wife Carol. We caught up on the comings/goings for each other and shared our plans for the next three days while enjoying the music of Neko Case.
Neko has an amazing voice, strong & confident. She reminds a lot of Grace Slick except Neko leans toward the Country side of things and appeals to my inner redneck. Her band was tight, nice harmonies, spare arrangements and she shared a wonderful sampling of her body of work.
From there I went to the Starbucks Stage for Joe Bonamassa’s show. This was a must see for me. Part Stevie Ray, part Allman Brothers, part AC\DC, part Zeppelin, a little Skynyrd and the rest comes from studying the masters who returned the blues to the US via the British Invasion. He was amazing. What stage presence! What licks & runs! Fantastic music and a great show!
I had some time so I made my way to Horn of Africa for some lukuul, red lentils and injera. Man oh man was it yummy. I sat by the fountain and watched the skateboarders while I ate.
On John’s suggestion I decided to go see Mono in VCF at EMP. I made my way around to the back of the venue, sat on the floor and began to catch up with my journal. The band came out. Five guys who look like the IT staff at your office came out with a very beautiful young woman. She had a lovely voice. The songs were slow and somber. The musicianship was quite good, vocal range wasn’t bad, the delivery was slightly stiff and many of the tunes had a similar sound. When they were done I moved up to the barrier and waited for my final must see of he day, West Indian Girl I watched them tear down Mono in VCF, set up WIG’s equipment and do the sound check, all in less than 30 minutes.
West Indian Girl is everything you’d want in a rock band; excellent music with passion & attitude, skinny guitarists and hot chicks with great pipes. They made it worth wading through the crowds, standing in long lines, and dealing with the occasional less-than-courteous fellow concert-goer. Anyway, I was completely ignorant of this band a month ago and now they are one of my favorites. I play To Die in LA and Trip all he time. The lead guitarist, a little on the scruffy side, was right in front of me and played a couple of threadbare Les Pauls. The drummer was equally scruffy but thoroughly adept at keeping time and backing vocals. The bass player could have been a double for Prince and held down the bottom end nicely. The keyboardist on the far end added her layer and backup vocals. The keyboardist closest to me was very focused. The other singer, a petite, gorgeous young woman with loads of talent and an amazing vocal range delivered her songs with passion and emotion. The set was spectacular. I came home and bought all three of their CDs.

Day Two
Sunday 31 Aug 08
The morning rain and another commitment caused me to get a later start. I was really hoping to see Ashleigh Flynn, a Portland Folk Rocker and Star Anna, Central Washington’s latest contribution to the wonderful sounds of Country & Western (John said she was great.) Alas, the best made plans…
I did arrive in time to see the Tripwires at EMP, due to a suggestion from John. I’d never heard of them, but they have a reputation as a bit of a Seattle supergroup (members have played with The Minus 5, Neko Case and The Young Fresh fellows among others) and the reputation was much deserved. The quartet, a couple of guitars, bass & drums, delivered a nice brand of Rockabilly and Pop flavored Rock with tasty licks and catchy hooks. They reminded me of The Knack who remind me of The Beatles. Not much to look at, but interesting harmonies and some great guitar work. I left before the end of their set to catch another of my must see bands.
As described in the Bumbershoot preview, Howlin’ Rain is a group of five bearded guys from the Bay area. They play authentic 60s psychedelic Rock, the real McCoy! The lanky lead guitarist/lead singer had a raspy, blues influenced, tenor and growled, howled, screamed, twitched, stomped and threw various forms of fits from the first chord to the last bit of feedback. The keyboardist was less possessed and taken by the music, only slightly. The rest of the band filled in the sound and mostly stayed out of the way as these two convulsed. It was brilliant.
Dale Watson was next at the Starbucks stage. Silver pompadour, mid-length, black mourning coat and a well-loved Telecaster, Dale presented a set of Country classics and original material with a rich baritone (think Randy Travis, Merle Haggard & Johnny Cash thrown into a Blendtec, the result: a smooth, velvety concoction that hits the spot.) The crowd loved his aw-shucks between song banter. He was the consummate professional.
After Dale I needed sustenance. I took my shortcuts to Horn of Africa for some injera, red lentils & lukuul and quickly made my way back to the Fisher stage to bask in the cool funk of the tail end of Orgone’s set. Great horns & percussion, shake-the-dust-off-your-bones beats. There was a hint of Fela Kuti to some of their stuff. It was hard to sit still long enough to finish my meal.
The Weakerthans, a Canadian Rock/Pop/Alt Country/Folk band, were next on the agenda. These guys were weaned on Punk, but came together more than a decade ago because they wanted a more melodic approach to music. Well, I’m here to tell you that they found one. They reminded me a bit of Toad the Wet Sprocket, one of my favorite 90s bands. Simply put, The Weakerthans are a tight combo of accomplished musicians playing and singing great tunes.
I have to say that the Exhibition Hall where they played is fairly claustrophobic, like being in a giant, underground cistern, cold, dark and not a soft edge in the entire venue. I understand why they put all the louder, more expressive acts in there. They can’t break anything.
My last commitment for the day, as well as the final must see, was The Black Keys on the Mainstage. I saw these guys at Bumbershoot a few years ago and they blew me away. Basically, The Black Keys are two guys from Akron who prefer old school approaches to creating huge sound. They made their first CD, Thickfreakness, in their basement over a 12 hour period. The Keys play traditional pentatonic blues and they play it well. Their music easily filled Memorial Stadium. They were the highlight of the day!
On the downside, just before the boys took the stage I bought some strawberry shortcake to ease my pangs of hunger. I busted a tine off the plastic fork while trying to cut the biscuit and damned near chipped a tooth. I’ve had hardtack that was easier to penetrate. They must have used drywall mud in the recipe.

Day Three
Monday 31 Sept 08
We arrived just in time to have lunch. I say we because Berit, my favorite person in the whole wide world, was with me (sorry girls Esion’s taken!) We got our Death Cab for Cutie passes, just in case and headed for Horn of Africa for some injera, lukuul & red lentils. Unfortunately the sea of humanity sweeping on from the Mercer gate prevented us from making it past the Chutney’s where Berit opted for some fine Indian cuisine and I enjoyed a mango lemonade. We moved back to the Fisher stage and a Lebanese booth caught my eye. I grabbed a lamb gyro and we settled in for the tail end of Choklate’s performance. I’ll be honest, she wasn’t on the list because her MySpace featured some of the slower, heartfelt appeals for love that crowd the FM dial, but her live show was great. She can sing and her band is tight! Neil Young was right when he said, “Live music is better. Bumperstickers should be issued”
We finished our food and set course for the Wells Fargo stage to hear Joshua Morrison, but we saw someone else instead. I still don’t know who it was and no one was able to tell me. There was a mix-up in the schedule, either way she was good. A folky, her voice was pleasant and strong and her accompaniment on guitar was quite adept although a bit ambitious with his leads. Great harmonies.
Somehow I overlooked Blitzen Trapper at the Rockstar stage. Bummer. I’ll not make that mistake again.
My first must-see of the day was Bedouin Soundclash, three lads from Canada, eh, playing and singing absolutely fantastic, mostly original, Reggae tunes. I love this band!!!! I was blown away by their show. The lead singer’s has a bit of a raspy tenor, nothing fancy about his guitar work, minimal effects, but it’s perfect for their repertoire. The bass player and drummer hold down the bottom end with such synchronicity that they must be communicating on a sub-atomic level. Berit & I were on the barriers for the beginning of the show, but it was a tad loud. We moved to higher ground for a bit, but could not stay away. We ended up right back on the barriers. I bought both of their CDs immediately following the show and they have been playing constantly at home, work and in the Scion. Check this band out now!
We hustled to EMP to catch the Maldives but the doors were closed (it’s a small venue) so we strolled back through the Center grounds, listening as we went.
Not much tickled our fancy until we got back to the Fisher stage. Cheb I. Sabbah & 1002 Nights was starting up. Simply put, Cheb is a DJ mixing techno bass & drums under traditional Central Asian music. He had two percussionists, a dancer dressed in traditional garb and the occasional singer and musician who would come on stage for a song or two, the result, infectious beats that had a multi-generational crowd (my 17 year-old son was there with his friends) dancing non-stop for an hour. Unbelievable!
We moved quickly through the crowd to the Starbucks stage for the last few songs of The Old 97s to once again get in touch with our inner redneck. They did not disappoint. It was a fine delivery of some of the best in Alt Country. These guys have been at it for a while and it shows.
One of the many wonderful things about Bumbershoot is that it’s not limited to food and music. Berit and I used to look forward to the Independent Publishers & the One Reel Films. This year we spent more time watching performance art (the group from Oz doing a bit on flexible poles in costume was something else), checking out the artisan booths and Flatstock, the poster exhibit. No shortage of talent and imagination at Flatstock. We wandered the aisles being alternately awed, shocked, amused and entertained while listening to the strains of Hip-Hop phenom Del the Funky Homosapien. Del was playing on the Fisher stage next door to Flatstock. Nice grooves and lyrics with some substance, not just base & drums talking about bitches & hos and popping caps in asses. More than once Del appealed to the crowd to vote and make a difference.
Our last must-see of the festival, Xavier Rudd, hails from Australia and plays some interesting stuff. Once again we were next to the barriers and had an excellent view of what I would refer to as Xavier’s command module, a seat surrounded by various percussive instruments, some of which I’ve never seen before, as well as several didgeridoos. He took the stage and was accompanied by a gentleman on a conventional drum kit. Xavier plays an acoustic lap style slide guitar inside his module while hitting a stomp box and blowing a harmonica or didgeridoo. Occasionally he plays the harmonica through the didgeridoo. Regardless the music was great and had the whole crowd moving.
Overall I’d have to say it was a great festival! Well done!

Bumbershoot 2008 Preview

2008-08-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's coming and there are some great artists!

Saturday

Mainstage
*Neko Case: Soon-to-be Alt-Country diva, channels Grace Slick. Cut her teeth with the Greater Puget Sound Punk scene and the New Pornographers.

*Lucinda Williams: Alt-Country diva, need I say more.

*Band of Horses: Rock, nice harmonies, melodic, very pleasant. They rose from the ashes of Seattle band Carissa’s Weird, whose break-up gave us Grand Archives & Sera Cahoone.

Beck: Try as I may to like him, even after Danger Mouse produced his latest release, there’s no getting around it, Beck’s music sucks a fat baby’s ass!

Exhibition Hall
Sweet Water: Seattle band reunited. Rock with a harder edge & heavier sound.

The Fall of Troy: Mukilteo’s own. Influences of 70’s progressive Rock mixed in with teen Pop & Hardcore. Some pretty wild guitar work.

Unearth: Boston, MA. Heavy, dark & angry. Manic drumming, distorted guitars, wrecking ball bass lines with primal screams and guttural vocals, all lovingly assembled for your listening pleasure. Caution; lyrics liberally sprinkled with f-bombs.

Anti-Flag: Good, old-fashioned, snarling, sneering, irreverent Punk from Pittsburg.

Fisher Green
The Staxx Brothers: Seattle Hip-Hop with some excellent, old school styled R&B grooves.

Grynch: Seattle Hip-Hop with a conscience, along the lines of Common Market & Blue Scholars.

Darondo: Bay Area 70’s R&B star who dropped off the face of the earth until recently. Reminds me a little of Al Green and Curtis Mayfield.

Estelle: Pop singer Estelle hails from London, has a great voice and is fortunate enough to have managers pair her with contemporary music icons.

Saul Williams: Rap & Hip-Hop devoid of tasty grooves.

Starbucks (Mural)
Nick Vigarino: Nimble fingers with quirky lyrics, music is funky, bluesy & soulful. Like the Subdudes without the harmonies. From Camino Island, WA

Vicci Martinez: Another fairly talented, Folk/Rock singer songwriter from Seattle.

Ian Moore: Another fairly talented, Folk/Rock singer songwriter from Seattle.

*Joe Bonamassa: Meet Steve van Zandt’s successor!

Asylum Street Spankers: Bawdy, loose, Country-leaning burlesque & cabaret Texas style.

*Nada Surf: Tightly arranged, harmonious, finely executed, melodic Rock.

Rockstar (Broad St.)
*Throw Me the Statue: Toe tapping, hum along, contemporary Rock from Seattle.

Barcelona: Arlington, VA. Sounds very much like the stuff that was blaring from college dorm rooms across America in the first half of the 80s. Makes me think of skinny ties and suits with big shoulders.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: DC via San Francisco quartet soft-rocking under an interesting singer. I could get used to it.

The Walkmen: Big Apple rockers playing, “melodramatic popular music,” slower tempo and a bit on the somber side with lots of keyboards.

Man Man: Is this Tom Waits kids’ band? They’re from Philly, but definitely not Hall & Oates, an eclectic mix of instruments and musical styles, raspy lead vocals layered over a chorus of humming, shouts & gasps balanced precariously on polyrhythmic textures (think international orange/lime green polka dotted corduroy made of expedition-weight polar fleece.)

M. Ward: Another fairly talented, Folk/Rock singer songwriter from Portland, OR

Wells Fargo (NW Court)
Beehive: Seattle duo playing electronic pop, soulful vocals with a bluesy edge, very danceable.

Das Vibenbass: Seattle quartet approaching Jazz with undertones of nearly everything else.

Asylum Street Spankers: Bawdy, loose, country-leaning burlesque & cabaret Texas style.

The Round: A collaborative arts event featuring Damien Jurado, Jen Wood, Buddy Wakefield, Rstar, Scott Erickson, and more.

Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby: Sounds like Alt-Country to me.

Tim Finn: Kiwi New Waver, former Split Enz member, will grace audiences with his talent and wit.

Sky Church (EMP)
New Faces: Rock trio from Port Townsend. I like it.

The Girls: Nearly New Wave, next generation Punk. You know, the poppy kind sans angst and attitude.

The Valley: Harder edged Rock music from Seattle.

PWRFL Power: Great guitar playing, quirky lyrics and some interesting vocals.

Mono in VCF: Tacoma pop group with a retro sound.

***West Indian Girl: Very nice Pop-Rock from 4th & Wall.

Kinski: Local boys (& girl) rock the house with a new album.

Sunday

Mainstage
Keyshia Cole: Soulful top 40 pop, great vocals.

T.I.: Georgia Hip-Hop from an artist at the top of game.

*The Black Keys: A few years ago two guys from Ohio went down and their basement and made one of the best blues CDs I’ve ever heard! I saw them at Bumbershoot on the Mural Stage three years back, glad to see they’ve made it to the Mainstage.

Stone Temple Pilots: Can Scott Weiland keep his shit together long enough to complete a tour with one band? Time will tell.

Exhibition Hall
*The Blakes: Saw them last year at Bumbershoot and they rocked!

These Arms Are Snakes: A bit of Seattle metal with a nod to the Prog Rock of the 70s.

***The Weakerthans: The witty lyrics, tight harmonies and all-around melodic approach to Rock music does not betray their Canadian Punk roots. Very nice!

Brother Ali: Hip-Hop from the land of 10,000 lakes, nice grooves.

Fisher Green

Lushy: Jazzy, Funky, Latin and just plain fun.

Manooghi Hi: Indian music with lots of percussion and distorted guitars.

Forro In the Dark: Brazilian music from New York.

*Orgone: Funk, Blues, R&B and Soul Hollywood style.

Kid Sister: Rap & Hip-Hop with danceable beats.

Lee “Scratch” Perry: Reggae from a master!

Starbucks (Mural)
*Star Anna: Alt Country from Ellensberg.

*Tyrone Wells: Very talented, rock singer-songwriter from Spokane.

*Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses: Alt-Country from Austin.

*Dale Watson: Ain’t no Alt about this one. It’s Country from Austin through and through, sounds like Johnny Cash.

*Jakob Dylan: Former Wildflowers front man and you-know-who’s son.

*Ingrid Michaelson: Jazzy Folk. Joni Mitchell might sound like this if she was just starting out.

Rockstar (Broad St.)
Sage: Seattle band reunited from the 90s.

The Shackeltons: Rather sober & melancholy Rock from the Keystone state.

***Howlin’ Rain: Totally retro Psychedelic Rock by 5 bearded guys from Oakland.

*The Whigs: These guys from Athens Rock, nicely done!

Sons and Daughters: Scottish Rock.

Tapes’n Tapes: Rock music from the land of 10,000 lakes.

Wells Fargo (NW Court)
*Ashleigh Flynn: At first I thought, “Another singer-song writer from the Northwest,” going on about cats and their vegan lifestyle, but she writes great tunes and sounds wonderful! I have her CD right here.

Jazz Northwest: WSU Faculty Ensemble

Matt Jorgensen + 451: Matt, surrounded by some great musicians, bangs the skins in a Jazz fashion.

Hadley Caliman Quintet: Jazz from Down Under.

Tiptons Sax Quartet: Very nice Seattle Jazz.

Pacifika: Latin, Jazzy, Folky, sultry music from Vancouver, eh!

Final Fantasy: According to their Myspace page, Owen sings Pop music and plays his violin while Stephanie plays the overhead projector. Works for me.

Sky Church (EMP)
*The Lonely H: Port Angeles rockers approach music with the attitude and ability of bands twice their age.

*Shim: I’m a sucker for classic sounding, guitar based rock.

The Tripwires: Some of their stuff reminds me of the Beatles.

Ravens & Chimes: New York Indie Rock.

Speaker Speaker: Lovely, local Punk-based Rock.

The Hands: Good ole Rock’n’Roll with just a hint of Punk.

Thee Emergency: Rock! In your face!

Monday

Mainstage
Paramore: Hardcore Pop

The Offspring: Hardcore Pop

Superchunk: Rock from Chapel Hill, NC

Death Cab For Cutie: Seattle darlings doing what they do best.

Exhibition Hall
Monotonix: Tel Aviv gives us very Bluesy, Hard Rock

Dan Deacon: Mostly Techno with an edge.

Flobots: Thought provoking Hip-Hop.

Scary Kids Scaring Kids: If hair bands, back in the day, did Hardcore this is what they’d sound like.

Aiden: The lights dim, the music begins. Fog rolls over the stage, a single beam of light illuminates the lead singer as he begins to sing. The rest of the stage is slowly back-lit in blue as the band moves toward the chorus…wait is that Kiefer Sunderland biting someone’s neck? I’m sure the live show is great.

Fisher Green
Choklate: The slow, heartfelt, soulful Top 40 sound that plays on the radio of every 14 year old girl in the country.

The Physics: South Seattle’s own Hip-Hop.

***Bedouin Soundclash: A bit of Reggae, very sweeeeet!

*Cheb I Sabbah & 1002 Nights: Cool Asian sounds, leaning toward the sub-continent. Nice beats.

Del the Funky Homosapien: Hip-Hop, kinda cool.

*Xavier Rudd: Caught one of his songs on Weeds: Season 3 during the closing credits. I thought it was Paul Simon. Great songs and he has several CDs. How have I missed this musical genius?

Starbucks (Mural)
Vince Mira: Anyone remember Dick “Tombstone Every Mile” Curless, a Classic Country baritone? Vince sounds just like him.

Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands: Sometimes he sounds like Chris Isaac doing Alt-Country and at other times he sounds like very early Beatles.

Langhorne Slim & The War Eagles: Nice soulful stuff, but how in the hell can one person be from New York and California? They’re 3000 miles apart!

X Levitation Cult: Another fairly talented, folk rock singer songwriter, with a band, from Seattle.

Old 97’s: Stretching the boundaries of the Alt-Country genre!

Mike Doughty: Another fairly talented, folk rock singer songwriter, with a band, from Brooklyn.

Rockstar (Broad St.)
Chester French: This is what Pop music should sound like.

Blitzen Trapper: Portland group on the Alt-Country trail.

Two Gallants: Catchy Rock tunes.

John Vanderslice: Another fairly talented, folk rock singer songwriter from San Francisco.

Battles: Quirky, infectious beats with Munchkin vocals.

Minus the Bear: Local Rockers adept with song.

Wells Fargo (NW Court)
Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden: Somber & subdued, but man can she sing!

Joshua Morrison: Cool acoustic guitar sounds with lyrics & vocals to match.

Mariee Sioux: Another fairly talented, folk rock singer songwriter from Nevada.

J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science: Hip-Hop with a nice feel.

Arthur & Yu: Another fairly talented, folk rock singer songwriter team from Seattle.

Sondre Lerche: Norway’s favorite son playing Jazzy Pop.

Sky Church (EMP)
School of Rock Northwest All-Stars: You saw the doc, now here’s the music.

Grieves: Local Hip-Hop

Shane Tutmarc & the Traveling Mercies: Local Rock with a nice groove.

*The Maldives: Very nice Alt-Country.

Feral Children: Rock with some Techno influences.

Velella Velella: Synthesized, Soulful Funk.

Black Eyes and Neckties: Rock with lots of attitude.

*My Picks
***Don't miss!

Only As the Day Is Long will we Plunder Beg & Curse the Cloud Tail

2008-06-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

Rabo de Nube – Charles Lloyd Quartet (ECM, 15 Mar 08)
Charles Lloyd has been around the musical block, so to speak. Born & raised in post-Depression era (not to mention musically rich) Memphis, Lloyd began blowing saxophone at the tender age of nine. By his mid-teens he was working sideman gigs with Blues royalty (e.g., B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Bobby Bland.) He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-50s to attend USC and that’s where he jumped into Jazz with both feet. He recorded regularly, releasing an average of one LP per year, until the early 70s. At that time he took a detour into teaching Transcendental Meditation. He recorded sporadically for next decade or so, moving away from Jazz to work regularly with The Beach Boys.
Rabo de Nubo (Cloud Tail) is a solid piece of work. It was recorded live in Switzerland in 2007. Prometheus and Le Colline de Monk, are the only free form leaning jaunts (revealing his early influences from Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy) on the disc. The rest of the album is more melodic and accessible to the occasional Jazz fan.
The standouts: In spite of a rambling 4 minute intro Migration of Spirit is a great cut. The beginning of Booker’s Garden, a tribute to Lloyd’s childhood friend Booker Little, has a Keith Jarrett feel to it with Lloyd on flute (Jarrett worked with Floyd for a time in the 60s.). And the title track Rabo de Nube is outstanding! It’s the only non-Lloyd composition on the disc (composed by Cuban musician Silvio Rodriguez.)

Plunder, Beg and Curse – Colour Revolt (Fat Possum Records, 1 Apr 08)
In spite of the bands name they are not from the UK. They hail from Mississippi. Maybe that’s how they spell color down there, who knows. What I do know is that these guys rock! They’ve been playing together since high school in one form or another and it shows. Plunder, Beg and Curse has a sound that is noticeably absent from today’s airwaves (unless you listen to KEXP or something of that ilk) the sound of voices full of angst & dissatisfaction with the status quo baying at the moon. Voices propelled by a driving drum and bass and lifted heavenward on the notes of searing guitars.
Colour Revolt has put together a great CD of tunes. Tasty licks over thick beats, thoughtful melodic lyrics expressed through gritty vocals and it’s all arranged & played tighter than dick’s hat band. Your mom and dad could have danced to this kind of music at their high school prom, if the band had prepared for the gig by swigging post-coital Michelobs between bong hits while discussing what a shitty job our leaders have done over the past few decades (the past eight years in particular) and how hard it’s going to be to get the rig back on the rails. Or maybe I’m dreaming. Either way listen to this band!

Only As the Day Is Long - Sera Cahoone (Sub Pop Records 18 Mar 08)
Sera Cahone started out as a drummer for the Seattle band Carissa’s Wierd. When they broke up some went on to form Band of Horses and Grand Archives and, thank the gods, Sera set out on her own. She’s put together a nice little snap-shot of American Roots music. I like to call it Alt Country*. The ten tracks are stripped down, mostly country sounding, minimal arrangements with sweet vocal harmonies. Sera has hit one out of the park on her first pitch. I love this sound! If Neil Young had been born a double x instead of an xy, he would have released something like this in his post-Buffalo Springfield days.
The highlights for me: You Might As Well, Runnin’ Your Way and Seven Hours Later.

*For those who care, Alt Country is not a term I coined. I first remember seeing it on a music magazine called No Depression . “Alt Country, whatever that is” is a tag line for them, and a damned good one I might add. Anyway, some would say Alt Country comes from Rockers like Gram Parsons & Neil Young embracing a Country sound and adopting it for their own compositions way back in the 60s. Others would argue that Alt Country was born later, in the post-Punk era when the harder leaning artists discovered Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Waylon & Willie. Most will agree that the first true Alt Country band was Uncle Tupelo. In a nut shell, they melded Punk with Country for a new sound. The founding members of Uncle Tupelo went on to form Wilco and Son Volt.

Sundirtwater, Sun Kil Moon and One of C&W’s Favorite Sons.

2008-06-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,
My last few weeks have been filled with soccer and baseball. Very busy! The soccer was exciting. The girls played well and finished better than expected. Sadly I watched the Sox drop two in a row to the worst team in MLB (and, as luck would have it, my local team.)
Some selections are beginning to roll in and I'm looking forward to a big batch of new releases. Hopefully they will be blogworthy. As some of you may have guessed I prefer not to publish reviews for CDs that I don't like. There's enough negativity in the ether without me adding to it.
Now that the concert season is upon us I have lots of shows to attend. Emmylou, a Long Winters reunion, the Foo Fighters and Yes to name a few. And I nearly forgot, the demolition derbies, complete with rollover shows, started a few weeks ago. They're celebrating the Solstice with mini-car football. It's tough being a Renaissance man.

Merle Haggard - The Bluegrass Sessions (McCoury Music, 2 Oct 07)
Merle Haggard has been one of my favorites since I first heard “Mama Tried” on WPOR while riding to the dump with my dad. We loved riding to the dump because he’d stop at Dick McDougal’s store and buy us kids a birch beer and himself a Black Label or PBR. Then he’d drink his wrapped in a small paper bag, like no one would suspect anything. I never got that part. Any way I digress…
On this latest effort Merle and his all-star backing band, led by Marty Stuart, recorded a dozen tracks of old and new in living room style (live set approach) at Ricky Skaggs’ studio. Sure it’s called The Bluegrass Sessions and there’s a mandolin lead break on almost every track, but in truth it’s classic country, unplugged, Grand Ole Opry style. If you’re tired of all the Skynyrd and Eagles wanna-bes that clog country radio today, pop open a 16 oz. PBR and check out Jimmy Rogers Blues Medley, Blues Stay Away From Me and Merle’s different arrangement of his old hit, Big City. You’ll be glad you did.

The Waifs – Sundirtwater (Compass Records, 4 Mar 08)
In my humble opinion the best harmonies come from siblings; Anne & Nancy Wilson (Heart), the Robinson brothers (Black Crowes) and the Beach Boys, to name a few. Vikki Thorn and Dona Simpson are no exception. The girls from down under, supported by the phenomenal guitar work of Josh Cunningham, have put together an excellent assortment of songs. It’s a little more “built-up” than their previous releases. The trio is fast becoming a band and thickening up their sound by layering electric over acoustic. The arrangements are solid and I like the addition of instruments.
The bluesy lick of the opening track Pony will start you tapping your feet and you’ll continue right into the Fever-like title track (think Peggy Lee.) The mid-tempo country rockers How Many Miles and Goodbye are reminiscent of the Eagles (in their prime.)
Sundirtwater is my favorite release of 2008. It’s so good it inspired me to have another listen to their back catalog. The Waifs songwriting and performance remind me a lot of the Indigo Girls. Buy this disc now!

Sun Kil Moon – April (Caldo Verde, 1 Apr 08)
Mark Kozelek writes and performs some great music, but the guy is definitely not a cheery man. Having said that, I really like this album. It’s melodic, although a bit reserved, somber and to some extent, repetitive. He reminds me of Neil Young before his Keep on Rockin’ In the Free World period. For April Kozelek returns to his roots. He’s back to his Red House Painters sound; a stripped down, solid, slower-tempo approach to rock and best of all the songs are original compositions. There’s no re-working of other people’s songs on this disc. Included in the package is a four song disc of different arrangements.
Don't look for any rockers or dance tracks. This CD is better suited for relaxing on the porch with friends. And I apologize for not singling out a track or two as my favorite, but this whole album is good.

More to follow...

Steve and Herbie Accelerate with Van, plus plus...

2008-05-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Folks,
I flipped through my latest copy of the magazine No Depression (#75 May - June 2008) with a heavy heart. This is the last print issue. From now on if you want to read their coverage of the alternative country music scene you’ll have to go to http://www.nodepression.net/
I must confess that I was late to sign up for a subscription. Sure I took the complimentary copies from the table at the Backyard Stage at Bumbershoot (where I heard some of the best music of the festival, year after year) but I didn’t commit until two years ago. Kyla, Peter & Grant, I’m sorry I delayed.
I’m told that advertising revenue wasn’t enough to keep the print copy afloat and yet I couldn’t help but notice that issue #75 is substantially thicker than previous releases due to, you guessed it, advertising. A day late and a dollar short…anyway.
If you like traditional Country music, alternative Country music, Bluegrass, Blues or Folk music or anything that falls under the banner of American Roots music then this is your resource.
As Dean Mayhew was fond of saying, “Onward through the fog,”

After many weeks of nary a thing to discuss musically I have been inundated with Esion-worthy CDs.
First, some new releases from some very heavy hitters:

REM – Accelerate (Warner Brothers, 1 Apr 08) Remember when only you and few of your friends were listening to REM? They finally got back to that place, musically speaking.

Steve Winwood – Nine Lives (Sony, 29 Apr08) OK, so it’s not About Time, but a solid effort nonetheless. Opens with a great bluesy number I’m Not Drowning.

Van Morrison – Keep It Simple (Lost Highway, 1 Apr08) Blues based 763rd album by Van. It’s good, but a long way from Tupelo Honey.

Herbie Hancock – River: The Joni Letters (Verve, 25 Sept 07) Joni Mitchell’s songs in the hands of a different master. Nora Jones is amazing! Witness a rare moment where the Grammys got it right. Buy this disc now!!!!

And now for some up-and-coming acts:

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (Xl Recordings, 29 Jan 08) The band that’s taking the nation by storm. World influenced, poppy, bright beats and infectious rhythms. It’s very dance-around-the-house-in-your-undies kind of stuff.

Grand Archives – Grand Archives (Sub Pop, 19 Feb 08) Melodic, Pop harmonies, nice.

Throw Me the Statue – Moonbeams (Secretly Canadian, 19 Feb 08) Up-beat, Pop Rock melodies

The Weepies –
Hideaway (Nettwerk Productions, 2008)
Say I Am You (Nettwerk Productions, 2006) Classic guy/girl Folk, clever lyrics and oh-so-nice harmonies

Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden – Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden (Red Valise Recordings, 2007) Folk Rock, a little on the somber side, but great stuff

Crooked Still –
Hop High (Signature Sounds, 2007)
Shaken By A Low Sound (Signature Sounds, 2006) Traditional Bluegrass tunes with a Newgrass treatment from a quartet of Yankees.

Check out these bands. You’ll be glad that you did!
Moondoggies – Country Rock, Punk-a-billy, nice harmonies
Physics – Hip-hop, tasty grooves
Sleepy Eyes of Death – Electronica from a group named for a martial arts movie, but don’t let that stop ya
Pocket Change – Jazzy, Funky, not to be confused with the hip-hop group of the same name.
Black Whales – Stripped-down-to-the-primer Rock with undertones of surf music Boss Martians – Rock’N’Roll baby
Sera Cahoone – “Alt Country, whatever that is…”
Femurs – Acoustic Punk, if you can believe that.
Fleet Foxes – Folk with multi-part, super-smooth harmonies
Trespassers William – Folk Rock, a bit on the somber side but excellent (check out lie in the sound)
Blue Mountain – Been around for a decade or so, but new to me, “Alt Country, whatever that is…”
Ashleigh Flynn – Oh Gawd, not another singer-songwriter sharing tunes about their garden and cat! Actually this one does some rhythmically pleasing, melodic Folk songs
Love As Laughter – Brooklyn-based rockers on a Seattle label, they sound a lot like The Kinks.
Colour Revolt – The next generation of Southern Rock. I love this band!
Hilary McRae – Remember when Pop music was good? You know, way back before Simon, Randy and Paula ruined it for everyone? This girl gives me hope.
Sinem Saniye – Poppy sounds with a World music influence. Who can resist singing along with, “Boom sheke nana?”

Danny Federici and The Wailin’ Jennys

2008-04-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Danny Federici, best known for his work as keyboardist in the E Street Band, died last night in New York after a long battle with cancer. Please take a moment to remember him and send some positive thoughts to his family and friends.

Wailin’ Jennys @ The Triple Door (Seattle, WA 15 Apr 08)
The combination of food & live music is right up there with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. The Triple Door in Seattle takes talented acts, wonderful acoustics, excellent seating, great service and food (from Wild Ginger’s kitchen upstairs) and turns it into the consummate dinner theater experience.
I’ve always wanted to see an evening show at the Triple Door, to take advantage of the full range of features. I caught a Nada Surf acoustic “matinee” at the Triple Door a few years ago, courtesy of my good friend John, but the kitchen wasn’t available for that event. When my good friend John called to say he had four tickets for the Wailin’ Jennys I said yes immediately (in truth I ran it by my wife first.)
This was my second Jennys’ show in the past two months, four overall, and even though the sets were shorter than I’d seen in past shows the music was top shelf! The girls looked and sounded as good as ever. The vocals were as crisp and clear as a fall day. The arrangements were perfect and the musicianship was as good as I’ve ever seen or heard in recent memory.
I’ve commented before on Heather Masse and Jeremy Penner (9 Feb 08), the newest Jennys. Heather’s songwriting skills and vocals are a welcome addition. Jeremy’s amazing fiddle and mandolin round out the Jennys sound.
Highlights for me: the Gillian Welch penned One More Dollar, an a capella version of Leadbelly's Sylvie (at the February Harrison show it was scrapped due to giggles), Glory Bound Ruth's non-denominational Gospel song, and the encore of One Voice, the Jennys' anthem, and the a capella, no amplification, Parting Glass.

Emmylou Harris will perform at Woodland Park Zoo this summer. And the Black Crowes will appear at the Puyallup Fair.

More to follow...

The Dalai Lama speaks. Dave listens.

2008-04-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds @ Key Arena, Seattle, WA, 11 Apr 08
Friday night’s concert was a fundraiser for Seeds of Compassion The evening began around 4:30 PM with a discussion between the Dalai Lama, Ann Curry (Dateline NBC) and Dave Matthews.
The chairs were set on the stage. The large projection screens were in place. The Dalai Lama received a thunderous, standing ovation as he took the stage. During introductions Dave Matthews received a similar response from the audience. His Holiness donned a crimson visor to shield his eyes from the stage lights and the conversation began.
As a precursor to his question for the Dalai Lama Matthews began with a little bit about his background and how music affects his life. He finally asked if there was a correlation between compassion and music. His Holiness replied that a compassionate approach to any activity or action is more beneficial than doing something without compassion.
Anne Curry’s question of, “How can we have compassion toward our enemies?” Got the dialog moving along and allowed the Dalai Lama to expand on his ideas and share his perspective. I saw him Saturday as well and was able to have a better grasp after hearing him a second time. Here’s what I took away from Friday and Saturday.

Have compassion for your enemies, forgive them. That doesn’t mean to forget what they’ve done or to stop protecting yourself from further harm. Create dialog to help solve problems. You may find you are more alike than different. His Holiness suggested having world leaders, who are at odds with each other, vacation together with their families; prepare and share meals with each other, the kids play together, the spouses talk and the leaders spend a few days getting to know each other before discussing issues.
We are just one in six billion but we have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. Wise selfishness is taking care of yourself, if you are healthy and approach life with compassion that affects those around you in a positive manner. Foolish selfishness is indulging with disregard for the effect on others and the consequences of those actions. It lacks compassion and gives off negative energy.
All of the world’s problems are manmade. If we created them then we should be able to solve them. And when the Dalai Lama says manmade he means “men” made them, not women. The Dalai Lama learned compassion from his mother’s affection. He feels that women, due to their inherent nature to care for little ones, have more capacity to be more compassionate than men.

They talked for close to an hour. Then we had a break while they set the stage for Death Cab for Cutie. We decided to go to the Center House and get some refreshment. Unfortunately we returned in time to hear the lion’s share of Death Cab’s last number. It was good, a mostly acoustic rendition of Brothers on a Hotel Bed.
The roadies arranged the stage for the final event. Two chairs with a coffee table separating them and one mic set up on an oriental carpet (Is it PC to say oriental when referring to a carpet?) After a bit Dave and Tim showed up. They began with a long, almost haunting intro to Bartender on the barely lit stage. The 16 song set was full of between song banter, Dave confessing his nervousness during the Q&A part of the show and sharing some about the compositions themselves. I can’t remember when I’ve heard a more full sound from two guitars. Who needs a band when you have Tim Reynolds standing next to you?
The highlights: Bartender, Cry Freedom, Betrayal (Tim Reynolds one-man demonstration of just how much you can do with an acoustic guitar and a few effects), Everyday, Dancing Nancies and the encore Lie In Our Graves.

More to follow…

The Boss Barely Slams the Back Door

2008-03-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

In the 50s British & other European radio stations broadcast regular programs featuring American Blues, R&B and Country & Western in addition to the new sound from the states, Rock’N’Roll. British teens were hearing the very roots of American Rock’N’Roll at a time when all but the most die-hard music fans in the United States remained ignorant of the genre’s origins. Weaned on a steady diet of American roots music, teens in the United Kingdom formed their own bands, mimicked what they were hearing on the radio and eventually moved forward to export their own version of Rock’N’Roll. The resulting effort was known as the British Invasion (circa early 1960s.)

Back Door Slam – Roll Away (Blix Street, 26 Jun 07)
Back Door Slam is an updated version of the British Invasion story. According to their own website this talented, power trio from Isle of Man was, “Brought up on a potentially overindulgent appetite of Everything Blues,” and thank the lord that they decided to share their sound with the rest of us. From the first drop of the needle it’s evident, these guys mean business. Come Home, builds from the bass line, adding drums and then guitar, by the time Davy Knowles starts singing it’s like the whistle on a southbound freight train telling everyone to get the hell out of the way. And when these guys get rolling you won’t want to stop them.
The group is young but they write and play with a misleading level of maturity. You’d swear Gotta Leave, a bluesy number about moving on, was written and performed by seasoned veterans. Nope, Davy Knowles wrote it and Back Door Slam serves it up like they’d spent two decades on the road with John Mayall. Their treatment of Outside Woman Blues borrows just enough from Eric Clapton to let you know it isn’t Cream. (Note: “Gonna buy me a bulldog, watch my old lady while I sleep” Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t think I’d want to be with someone distrustful enough to require a guard dog to assure fidelity.)
Just when you think the boys are limited to a blues treatment of Rock’N’Roll, they offer songs like Stay, Too Good For Me and the title track Roll Away. The acoustic arrangements betray their folk influence and demonstrate vast range & great depth.
Tasty licks, hooks that grab you first time ‘round, searing solos, soulful vocals, tightly executed, meticulously produced, excellent songwriting and musicianship, I can’t list any favorite tracks because every song is great. This is how records should be made.

Bobby Bare – Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies and More (RCA 24 Jul 07)
Most of you know Shel Silverstein as the author of Where the Sidewalk Ends and other children’s books. Did you know he was a cartoonist for Playboy? Or that he wrote many songs including several number one country hits.
Back in the early 70s Bobby Bare asked Shel Silverstein to write a few songs for him. Silverstein returned with a dozen newly penned compositions along with two older songs. Bare recorded them as Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies in 1973, what some would call Bobby Bare’s best album. This is a remaster of the original recording. The newer version has a second CD with 16 tracks of Silverstein penned, Bare performed collaborations recorded after the Lullabys sessions. The set is a sampling of Bare’s bawdy, irreverent approach to music as one of Country & Western’s original outlaws. A word of caution; Bare’s loose treatment of Silverstein’s offbeat humor is most definitely not politically correct and it’s not for everyone. I doubt that you’ll find it patently offensive, but it may make you cringe a little. Anyway, if you listened to country music radio in the 70s like I did, (don’t act surprised folks I listened to everything and still do) then you will feel a certain familiarity, maybe even comfort, like running into an old high school chum that you haven’t seen for years.
My favorites, Numbers and Tequila Sheila.

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band @ Key Arena, Seattle, WA 29 Mar 08
Springsteen was the hottest ticket and one of the biggest concert draws for nearly two decades. Last night’s show at the Key was a testament to his popularity. Backed by his just as popular E Street Band he ran through two and a half hours of old and new compositions before a house, packed to the rafters, of bouncing baby boomers. Hey, we may dance like pudgy, middle-aged, rhythmically-challenged, white men, but at least we’re still dancing.
The band took the stage around 8:30, sans keyboard player Danny Federici, who is undergoing treatment for melanoma, and Mrs. Springsteen, Patty Sciafla, who is “protecting the fort” both for and from his three teens. Max dropped the beat on one of my faves Trapped (a Jimmy Cliff tune that was recorded for the USA for Africa: Live Aid album) and they barely took a breath for the next three songs: Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day & No Surrender. The roadies and guitar techs had their work cut out for them trying to keep up with the 58 year old Springsteen and his bandmates. While The Boss may have lost a little spring in his step he hasn’t lost much. Everyone looked good, a few more wrinkles and pounds, a little less hair, but for the most part, healthy. The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, was the exception. Not to be disrespectful, but Clarence spent as much time in an elegant, wingback chair to the side of the stage as he did standing up. In the old days there was a lot more interaction between The Boss and The Big Man. Rest assured, even though Clarence moved slowly he can still blow that horn!
You can keep your shredders, cheddars and bangers of headers because Nils Lofgren can tear up a fret board like nobody’s business. There were few time where he was able to stretch his legs and he went for a stroll with a capitol “S”! Wow can that guy play guitar.
The 24 song set featured eight tracks from the band’s latest release, Magic (Esion reviewed 26 Oct 07) and three each from The Rising, Darkness On the Edge of Town, & Born to Run. The highlights of the show for me: Reason to Believe, She’s the One, Tenth Ave Freeze Out, and Rosalita, which he’s played three times in the past 54 shows.

More to follow…

Satisfied with Two Shoes and Warpaint

2008-03-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Two Shoes - The Cat Empire (Velour Records 6 Oct 07)
Sure this is an older album, according to my resources it was originally released in Australia on 10 Oct 05, and while I first heard Sly several months ago I didn’t get a chance to hear the whole disc until recently. So the music is new to me and certainly worth the space on my humble blog.
Cat Empire is a sextet from down under who has taken the sound from the Ska resurgence of the late 70s and turned it on its ear. They prefer to lean toward a Latin approach instead of relying on the more tradition Reggae-based sound (the disc was recorded in the same studio as Buena Vista Social Club.) I other words, they’re more like The English Beat than The Specials. Although their vocal style, with lots of slang and heavy Aussie accents, most closely resembles Ian Dury & the Blockheads. Any way it’s brilliant!
My favorites: The Car Song has a full R&B sound, similar to the recordings Ray Charles shared with us. Sly is an up-tempo story infatuation with a walking bass line, starts & stops in just the right places and a perfect vocal delivery. If you’re sitting still after 8 bars of this tune you need to check your pulse because you’re probably dead! Saltwater is the most traditionally pure Ska tune on the disc.
If you’re looking for something to get you out of your chair and shake the dust from your bones then buy this CD and play it loud. Your neighbors will thank you.

Warpaint – The Black Crowes (Silver Arrow 3 Mar 08)
Call me old-fashioned, but I interpret the process of reviewing music to include listening to the songs. It looks like Answer.com agrees. Their definition of review: To examine with an eye to criticism or correction. Maxim’s choice to assign Warpaint 2½ stars without hearing a single note has sullied the reputation of music critics the world over. They should be lashed to the mainmast, striped to the waste and flogged repeatedly for their transgressions. Sorry, I digress.
The hiatus Chris and Rich Robinson took a few years back to pursue their own projects (Chris’s New Earth Mud & This Magnificent Distance and Rich’s nearly solo Paper) gave them the space they needed to explore their own musical direction as well as mature as songwriters and performers. While the work from that period gave us some very good songs, something was missing. Eventually the boys discovered what all of us suspected. To create a full sound Chris needed Rich’s musicianship as much as Rich needed Chris’s vocals. It’s all about balance people!
Warpaint is the first studio recording from the Brothers Robinson since 2001’s Lions. The sessions for the CD benefited from that time of exploration and was worth every minute of the wait. For those of you who pigeon-holed The Crowes as an American knock off of The Stones or The Faces, think again. This album demonstrates a range and creativity that Black Crowes fans have been aware of for years.
The boys have assembled a collection of tracks that will make their mamma & daddy proud. Drawing once again from their influences of Blues, R&B, C&W, Gospel, Rock, Folk & Bluegrass, Chris and Rich Robinson demonstrate a thorough knowledge and complex understanding of all who have come before. They take that knowledge, run it through the Crowe songwriting process and yield eleven great tunes. I love every cut on the disc from the opening rocker Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution to the folky Whoa Mule. My favorites: Oh Josephine, a soulful lament of things not turning out quite the way they planned, and God’s Got It a bluesed-up treatment of the Reverend Charles Jackson’s Gospel tune.
This is a must for any Crowe fan and highly recommended for lovers of great music.

Satisfied – John Sebastian and Dave Grisman (Acoustic Disc 6 Nov 07)
There’s a lot to be said for “one take” style recordings. First of all you get more of a performance based tune as opposed to an engineered sound, so it’s closer to what you’d hear in a live setting. Secondly, there are no overdubs, pitch correction or speeding/slowing of the track so the artist must rely solely on delivery & musicianship. Lastly, it’s a bit like eavesdropping and slightly voyeuristic. When listening to the stripped-down performance, warts and all, I can’t help but having the feeling that I’m privy to something I’m not supposed to hear. It definitely appeals to the naughtier angels of my nature.
Dave Grisman and John Sebastian are undisputed masters of their craft. They’ve been performing since the Dead Sea was sick. The two have played with everyone. And I do mean everyone. On Satisfied, a “one take” recording, you get a guitar, a mandolin, a banjo, an occasional harmonica and some vocals showcasing the nearly 100 years of musical experience represented by Dave & John. Combine that with one part Folk, one part Blues, one part Jazz, a sprinkling of Country & Bluegrass and apply liberally to a few public domain songs, some blues and country standards, several compositions by the masters themselves and you have a good disc of tunes to help you unwind after a long day of adding value to an unappreciative, soul-sucking corporation. The one drawback, and it’s just a slight detraction, Sebastian’s vocal isn’t quite as strong as it once was. Let’s not forget that he sang Summer In the City over 40 years ago.
I got a kick out of John admitting, via the liner notes, to being in uncharted territory when it comes to “Acoustico-Dawg” recordings (i.e., one take recording.) He asked the recording engineer to turn up his guitar and was told to play louder instead. I love it.
This is a CD any guitar player, or musician for that matter, would enjoy. Its approach can be appreciated for what it is, simple and pure. Not unlike me.

More to follow…

Brother Earl Kane

2008-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

It doesn't seem possible that it's March already. In like a lion, out like a lamb, not unlike the way I make love. I know, I know, too much information. Any way…
I spent a great week skiing in Canada and even though I’m a die-hard Trailer Park Boys fan, my application for political asylum was denied. I'm excited nonetheless because The Boss arrives at The Key with The E Street Band toward the end of the month and, praise be to the gods, baseball begins soon. In addition, I have tickets for Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds at The Key. Evidently His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has agreed to play bass for the set. Then Big Head Todd & The Monsters invade The Showbox. For those of you who haven’t heard their new release, All the Love You Need, what the hell is wrong with you?
I’m beginning to see a few new (to me any way) blog-worthy discs begin to trickle in so I hope to resume posting with regular frequency.

Brothers of a Feather – Chris and Rich Robinson (Eagle Records, 10 July 07)
The Brothers Robinson, aka The Black Crowes, never cease to amaze me. First, they demonstrate their knowledge and appreciation of music by including some covers of lesser known folks songs from the 70s on this disc (I had the same, “knock me over with a feather” feeling when I found out that Page & Plant listened to Joni Mitchell’s music backstage during their monster tours in the 70s.) Second, the boys have a knack for taking the basic elements of Rock’N’Roll and tweaking it just enough to make you think they invented it. Brothers of a Feather really emphasizes the latter. This is a great album!
The CD is a result of an abbreviated tour Chris & Rich did back in 2006 just before the reassembled The Black Crowes. The tracks for this disc were culled from a three night stint at the Roxy in LA (no, not Lewiston-Auburn.) Even though the songs are stripped down, mostly acoustic renditions, Chris’s vocals are as soulful as ever and Rich shines with his guitar work. Included in the set are four Black Crowe songs, several unreleased Robinson compositions, two from Rich’s solo album Paper and several covers.
The highlights: Cursed Diamond – a Crowe concert staple from Amoirica, Over the Hill – penned by Scottish folkie John Martyn, Roll ‘Um Easy – A favorite of mine from Little Feat’s Lowell George, Leave It Alone – An overlooked song from Rich’s solo album Paper (Chris’s harmony gives it just the kick it needs to make it a great song), and they finish the night with a great version of Thorn In My Pride from The Black Crowes' Southern Harmony release.
This is a must for any fan of The Black Crowes and I’d recommend it, without reservation to people who appreciate Rock’N’Roll.

Earl Greyhound – Soft Targets (Some Records, 6 Aug 06)
This is the first full length recording from a Brooklyn power trio with a huge retro sound reminiscent of the psychedelic rock from the 70s. While they don’t reveal their musical influences on their website or Myspace, I detect strains of Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Kinks and The Beatles, among others. It’s the heavier side of Rock’N’Roll with great vocals.
The ‘in your face’ energy of S.O.S and guitar lick focus of Monkey, could have these two tracks easily fitting on any Led Zeppelin releases. Two Weeks and It’s Over have a poppy sound that demonstrates the bands range. Good has a similar feel to the work from The Beatles Revolver release.
Soft Targets wouldn’t make good background music for an afternoon tea, but if you’re looking for a soundtrack to clean the house or just plain rock out, this is the disc!

Kane Welch Kaplin - Kane Welch Kaplin (Compass Records, 11 Sept 07)
Kieren Kane has been around the music biz for a couple of decades. Certainly long enough to get fed up with the type of albums the big labels were releasing. He and a few friends started their own company so they could make the kind of albums they wanted. This disc is a testament to the high quality of music you can get from an independent label. I should warn you; do not listen to this CD if you like great song writing, excellent musicianship and crisp harmonies.
Kieren Kane, Kevin Welch and Fats Kaplin, along with Kieren’s son Lucas handling percussion, have put together a collection of what some would call Roots music, Americana if you will. Using the influences of Country & Western, Folk, Bluegrass, Blues & Gospel they load us in an old pick-up truck with a quart bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon (concealed in a brown paper bag) slam the door and go for a long ride in the country on a dusty back road. It’s perfect!
My current faves are Highland Mary, Red Light Blinking, That’s What I Got and Zagnut.
I defy you not to like this CD.

More to follow…

The Wailin Jennys at Harrison Memorial Hall, 8 Feb 08

2008-02-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

My lovely Ms. Esion (a.k.a. the brains of the outfit) and I decided to take some time away from the hustle & bustle of daily life and venture north to our Canadian oasis, Harrison Hot Springs. We love to soak in the pools, graze at the buffets and lounge around with nothing to do and all day in which to do it. I must confess that the main reason we decided to make the trip was to see one of our favorite bands, The Wailin Jennys.
The Wailin Jennys are three amazingly talented, stunningly attractive women (+ Jeremy Penner, the phenomenal fiddler who looks a bit like Tim Robbins.) They have the voices of angels (words alone cannot describe the harmonies), possess a captivating stage presence, are thoroughly proficient with a wide array of musical instruments and they write and perform some of the best music I’ve heard in the last ten years.
This was our third Jennys’ show in two years. The performance last night at Harrison Memorial Hall was phenomenal!!!! Jeremy and Heather are the latest additions to the Wall of Sound. It’s not actually a Wall of Sound in a Phil Spector sense of the term. It’s more like a fence of sound. A functional, sturdy, aesthetically pleasing fence built from sustainable material protecting your organic tomatoes from deer and keeping your pound-rescued dog from wandering into the road. Sorry, I digress…
The girls (+ Jeremy) took the stage at the Harrison Memorial Hall a few minutes past 8 PM. The modest hall was set up café style with candle lit tables for 240+. The sell-out crowd (no surprise) was treated to a great first set including my favorite song of the night, Glory Bound, a Gospel tune from Firecracker featuring Ruth on the banjo. After 50 minutes of captivating music the Jennys took a short break and let us stretch our legs and grab some refreshments.
The girls (+ Jeremy) returned and gave us a choice between a Huddy Leadbetter, better known as Leadbelly, composition and one penned by County music god, Hank Williams, Sr. They started with an a capella version of Sylvie, but after two false starts (Heather got the giggles) they abandoned Leadbelly for the Hank. They handled the skip with graceful ease. While it was refreshing to see that the Jennys are indeed mortal, I was slightly nervous of a repeat for the next few songs. Maybe it was my concern for the newest Jenny and fellow Mainer-in-exile, Heather. In my humble opinion Heather’s voice compliments Ruth & Nicky better than any of the previous iterations of the group. Cara and Annabelle are both talented musicians (oh if I could play guitar like Annabelle) but The Wailin Jennys 3.0 is my favorite version. I don’t see a need for a service pack up-grade.
The second set featured another highlight for me, Beautiful Dawn from 40 Days. After another 50 minutes of wonderful songs the girls (+ Jeremy) returned for an encore with One Voice from 40 Days and finished as they have every time I’ve seen them, with an a capella, unamplified version of the old Irish tune, Parting Glass, also on 40 Days .
Another spectacular performance!!!
If you don’t have anything by The Wailin Jennys drop whatever you’re doing and order any/all of their CDs from the Jennys' website. You can thank me later.

The Jennys Myspace site, just in case you want to hear and see them.
http://www.myspace.com/thewailinjennys
More to follow…

While I have you, check out the following Seattle bands (Gosh I love Myspace):
Fleet Foxes – Folk-based, multi-part harmonies
Grand Archives – Folksy-Countriesque-Rock with a Pop feel, great harmonies
Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground – Rock with Folk, Pop, R&B and Jazz influences. I love this guy’s voice.

Big Head, Lupe and Sweet Baby James

2008-02-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

It’s been rather boisterous and blustery on the Island since the holidays. Not really boisterous but I was going for alliterative effect. I ended up with a busted wing as a result of an altercation with several very persistent moms and their desire to get the last Official NASCAR Dale Earnhardt vs. Richard Petty Speedway Showdown slot car race track at Toys’R’Us. While I suffered a fractured radius I was able to proceed to the register with my prize. To the victor go the spoils!
And the weather has been, to say the least, interesting. Colder than usual with lots of precipitation. It figures, tons of snow in the mountains and me unable to ski.
To add insult to injury, I’m dealing with a dearth of high quality CDs to review. Not to worry, if my sources are correct we should have a few noteworthy discs from new as well as established artists being released over the next few months.

James Taylor – One Man Band (13 Nov 07, Hear Music)
I’ve loved James Taylor’s music since I first heard Sweet Baby James and Mud-Slide Slim on my brother’s stereo way back when. And I’ve been fortunate to see him perform several times. He’s one of the best, a consummate entertainer.
James Taylor’s long and distinguished career as one of the original singer-songwriters has been marked with great peaks and deep valleys. He was institutionalized for depression and struggled with heroin addiction for decades. Those elements combined with his love for performing and recording have taken a toll on his personal life as well. He’s been married several times. On the upside Paul McCartney & George Harrison worked on his first album, he wrote some of the most memorable songs of the 70s, he’s sold more albums than Carter has little pills, has a bridge named for him in the Carolinas, appeared on an episode of The West Wing and sang the National Anthem at Game 2 of the '07 World Series. Through all of this Taylor has kept his sense of humor (One fan shouts, “Go Red Sox” as James takes the stage and in the liner notes under Special Thanks he’s written, “…with apologies to Joe Torre.”)
One Man Band is a collection of some of Taylor’s greatest tunes, spanning his entire career, stripped down and performed live at the historic Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA. His voice is in fine form and as usual he’s accompanied by some of the best in the business.
He opens with a stellar, solo acoustic version of Something In the Way She Moves from his 1968 self-titled Apple release continues with Never Die Young accompanied by Larry Goldings on piano. He never misses a beat, a quip here and there, a little bit about the next song, just enough to engage the audience, never rambling, he wants to play his music and it’s all here folks; Country Road, You’ve Got Friend, Shower the People, Sweet Baby James, Carolina In My Mind, Fire and Rain and my favorite, Copperline. He finishes, as he’s done every time I’ve seen him, with a short, simple, solo acoustic version of You Can Close Your Eyes from Mud Slide-Slim and the Blue Horizon.
Oh, I almost forgot, this disc contains a concert DVD as well.

Lupe Fiasco – The Cool (18 Dec 07, Atlantic)
I’ve been quite selective when it comes to Rap/Hip-Hop music. If the truth be known my favorite songs in that genre are Ian Drury’s Reason’s To Be Cheerful Part 3, The Magnificent Seven by The Clash and Deborah Harry rapping at the end of Blondie’s Rapture. Additionally, I really liked Rapper’s Delight and Run DMC’s version of Walk This Way. By the way, Run DMC's recording accomplished two very significant things;
1) It brought Rap/Hip-Hop to white kids in the suburbs
2) It resurrected Aerosmith’s career propelling them, once again, to the stratosphere of Rock stardom.
Call me old fashioned, but I can do without the artists talking about bitches & ‘hos and popping caps in asses. The misogyny, homophobia and general sociopathic behavior that is the focus of a Gangsta Rap is wasted on me.
You don’t get this with Lupe. You get good grooves and thoughtful lyrics with a social conscience. Born and raised on the tough, west side of Chicago Fiasco, whose birth name is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, focused on literature, comic books and skateboarding instead of hustling drugs and joining gangs. And even though he was influenced by the harder Gangsta style from California he abandoned it for songs with a less negative message. He focuses on musical production and lyrical content instead of creating an image of excess, bravado and shameless self-promotion. Native Chicagoan Kanye West gave him his big break and he’s been in good company ever since (Jay-Z helped produce his first album Liquor & Food.)
The Cool is part editorial part Hip-Hop Opera part R&B and all solid tracks. This what happens when intelligent people have access to the resources to create their art.
By the way, if Rap/Hip-Hop with a conscience sounds interesting to you please check out Seattle's own The Blue Scholars as well.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters – All the Love You Need (4 Nov 07, Big)
In the summer of ’95 I was stuck in the ice for two weeks on a tug boat north of Point Barrow. Not much to do except give an ice report every four hours, listen to music, watch the polar bears on the ice flows and play poker every night. I had a copy of Strategem and it received a daily spin or two. It was during that period that I developed my appreciation for the music of Big Head Todd.
The eleventh album by Boulder’s rockers All the Love You Need is free if you want to download it from their website. I‘m not sure how I ended up with a copy. I think it was sent as a bonus from one of the music magazines I subscribe too, Paste, maybe? Anyway, it rocks from the bluesy opener Her own Kinda Woman to anthem-like Beautiful Rain.
A quick comment on the fairly recent changes that have been made in the distribution of music: It’s about frigging time. For too long too many lesser-deserving people have made tons off the sweat & blood of the artists. With few exceptions the major record companies have operated in a predatory manner. They preyed on the talent and they preyed on the consumers. Genrally speaking we’ve been limited to two or three good tracks in amongst ten tracks of filler for an exorbitant price and, due to pressure to play certain artists on the radio, a strangle hold on access to anything unique or independent. Hopefully the new model of music distribution (i.e., artists distributing their own creations) will turn the music industry on its ear and major record company execs will be forced to abandon the limo for public transportation. Thank God for Radiohead & Madonna (just for the record I’m not a big fan of the music of either of the previously mentioned but the big acts have to lead the way for change to happen. Radiohead & Madonna have done just that.)
Back to All the Love You Need. I’ve always liked the Big Head sound, but I’d have to say the boys have hit a high mark with this disc. My favorite cuts are Cruel Fate, with a nod to the southern rock sound of the 70s and Fortune Teller, up-tempo rockers that'll get your foot tapping.
In case you’re interested, according to Wikipedia, Blue Sky is being used by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Funny, I figured the boys would be Obama supporters.

More to follow...

Great Releases From 2007 That you May Not Know About

2008-01-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

2007 was a good year for music. We’ve been fortunate in the quality of discs released. Here are a few great selections from the previous year.

The Cave Singers – Invitation Songs (25 Sept 07 Matador Records)
You may remember me raving about this band. Well I still love them and this is one of my favorite releases of 2007. Some compare Peter Quirk's voice to Arlo Guthrie. I can hear a little of Arlo in there. And the sparse arrangements with the repeating melodies reminds a little of Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.) But it's the simplicity of the songs that caught my attention; two or three chords on acoustic guitars, minimal percussion, an occasional harmony. It's the formula that some our greatest folk musicians have successfully used to tell their stories. These guys have assembled one amazing folk album. Buy this CD now!

The Blakes – The Blakes (16 Oct 07 Light In The Attic Records)
I mentioned this band from Bumbershoot '07 before. The Blakes owned the stage. They rocked it. The trio, formed in Seattle, sounds like the bands from the '60s British Invasion. It's funny because according to Snow Kiem's bio on the Light in the Attic website the boys weren't allowed to listen to Rock music growing up. Somewhere along the way they had a crash course. While a few of the tracks have a bit of an edge, this disc has several up-tempo cuts that'll get you out on the dance floor (or bouncing around your living room.) Another great release from 2007.

Levon Helm – Dirt Farmer (30 Oct 07 Vanguard Records)
Levon has been one of my musical heroes since he sat behind the kit and sang for The Band way back when. And on this disc he hasn’t disappointed me. He’s taken five traditional songs and some tunes penned by a few of Country Music’s greatest songwriters and delivers them with his signature drawl, loose and lively arrangement and a real down-hominess for which he and The Band were most appreciated. Dirt Farmer comes from his Arkansas roots and is a slice of Americana. You may recognize the harmony vocal on many of the tracks, Amy Helm, Levon’s daughter and a member of the band Olabelle.
In recent years Helm has survived throat cancer, watched his studio get destroyed by fire, dealt with the death of former band-mate Rick Danko and presented biweekly concerts at his barn in Woodstock to pay the bills. Fans of The Band’s acoustic stuff will want this CD.

Giant Bear – Giant Bear (14 Aug 07 Red Wax Music)
They refer to themselves as, “…the world’s only five-piece Orchestral Funkabilly band…” The group was formed in Memphis a couple of years ago and has toured incessantly since. It shows. Their CD sports a dozen arrangements with very high production values, thoughtful lyrics, good hooks and exceptional musicianship. Giant Bear has the most complete sound I’ve heard from a Folk Rock combo in many years. Check out Annie & Nashville. “…a band that plays what I want to say…” I love the vocals. Great songs!

Maktub – Start It Over (6 Nov 07 Kufala Recordings)
A couple of years ago Reggie Watts, lead vocalist for Maktub, left the band to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. I was bummed. After all Khronos, their second album, was one of the musical highlights of 2003. Alas, time moves on. Then I ran into Thaddeus Turner, guitarist extraordinaire for the band, on the Kingston ferry last fall and he told me that they were mixing a new disc. There is a God! (Kurt Vonnegut said, “My epitaph, should I ever need one, God forbid: ''The only proof he ever needed of the existence of God was music.'') Maktub is my favorite contemporary R&B/Soul/Funk/Rock band. I’ve seen them twice and the live show is something to behold.
To get an idea of their sound combine Jimi Hendrix with Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Billy Preston & George Clinton. Start it Over is every bit as good as Khronos. According to Daniel Spils, Maktub’s keyboard & sometimes guitar player, the disc was written and recorded in 6 days in May 2007 of Seattle and funded by 200 fans. Reggie’s vocals are top shelf and the rest of the boys hold nothing back. These guys have found their groove. I’m just glad they choose to share it with the rest of us.

More to follow...

Chrishankwaramsol

2008-01-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,
Apologies are in order. Please forgive my tardiness with the latest post as I have been distracted by seasonal commitments since mid-December and I suffered a debilitating injury recently*. I fully intend to resume my music reviews after a brief period of convalescence. Thank you for your continued support and kind thoughts.
All the best,
Esion

*Chrishankwaramsol is a seasonal celebration that was conceived several years back when I was looking for a way to incorporate practices from some of the more popular, traditional holidays into one big soiree. It takes place the weekend before the Solstice. Beginning Friday at sunrise, from sun up until sun down we fast (Ramadan) Beginning at sundown on Friday we share libations from a common chalice (Kwanzaa.) In reality our chalice is a 30 gallon trash can filled with fruit juice, all the white liquors and a ten pound block of ice.
We have two dreidals (Hanukkah) each the size of a soccer ball. One has a different color on each of its four side and the other has a right & left, hand & foot on each of its sides. These are used to play Twister. In addition each participant has to wear a Santa hat (Christmas.) If the hat falls off during play you’re out.
For each of the three days of Chrishankwaramsol we drink libations and play Twister from sundown until sun up, or until the punch runs out.
Unfortunately at this year’s celebration I fractured my left radius on the last day. It wasn't pretty.

More to follow…

Tuku, Camp & Montana

2007-12-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

Tsoka itsimba – Oliver Mtukudzi (28 Aug 07, Heads Up)
Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi hails from a group of people in Zimbabawe (formerly Rhodesia) who speak the Shona language. He has been singing professionally for three decades. On Tsimba Itsoka (means "No Foot, No Footprint" in Shona) Tuku uses the smokey timbre of his voice combined with the elegant blend of the traditional, polyrhythmic sounds of African music and Jazz to sing about challenges affecting the daily lives of people. It's smooth.
In an interview with World Music Central Mtukudzi describes his album, " Each person is moving on a different path through life. Some are traveling in a positive direction, while others are traveling in a negative direction. But everyone leaves their mark on the world, no matter how big or small …what kind of footprint are you leaving behind, based on the life you're living now? And what would that footprint look like to you if it were pointed in your direction, or in the direction of someone you loved? " If only some our leaders would look in the mirror and ask these same questions.

Camp Meeting – Bruce Hornsby (7 Aug 07, Sony)
Bruce Hornsby has had an interesting career. From his roots as the keyboardist in a frat house to Grammy winning performer Hornsby has had a little taste of everything music; sessions musician, part of Sheena Easton's touring band, pop icon in the latter half of the 80s, Grammy winner (more than once), Grateful Dead keyboardist, producer of Leon Russell's bluegrass albums, co-wrote "The End of Innocence" with Don Henley, "The Way It Is" has been sampled by numerous Rap artists, a bluegrass project with Ricky Skaggs and now this release of Jazz music. In other words he's been around.
Camp Meeting is a collection of songs penned by some of Jazz'z greatest legends (Monk, Davis, Coleman, Coltrane, etc.) and beautifully executed by Bruce on piano, Christain McBride on Bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Hornsby has always incorporated the Jazz sound into his solo projects and music writers track this latest effort back to his stint with the Dead. Evidently Bruce and Jerry Garcia pushed each other to expand musically. Don't expect to hear Rainbow's Cadillac, Jacob's Ladder or Sunflower Cat. This is a Jazz album. And it's a very good Jazz album by a trio of great musicians.

Montana: A Love Story – George Winston (12 Oct 04, RCA)
OK, so this album isn't exactly a new release. However, it's new to me so please cut me a little slack. I've been a big fan of George Winston's stuff since the mid 80s. Back then I made a two week trip on a tug. The AM/FM radio didn't work but the cassette player did. We had Dire Strait's Brother in Arms and George Winston's December. Even though it was April I listened to December at least 100 times that trip. I still love that album.
I don't know how I overlooked this disc because I have every Winston release (some on vinyl.) And Montana: A Love Story is very good. This is Winston's tribute to his childhood home and, as luck would have it, solo piano at its best. It's good to spin when you're sitting around with an empty head or when you want to hear an accomplished musician play a nice selection of tunes. And it makes a wonderful soundtrack for many activities ( i.e., great background music.)

More to follow...

Christmas Music

2007-12-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

You’ll probably notice that I used the “C” word, not exactly proper behavior in this politically correct time. God forbid I exclude a group by talking about the end of the year holiday that my family celebrates (oops, I said God, apologies to those of you who recognize a different supreme being/force/energy or none at all.) Any way…I did not grow up celebrating Kwanza, Hanukkah, Solstice or Festivus so it’s more of a challenge for me to recommend selections for those holidays. And since this is my blog I’m making a conscious choice to talk about Christmas music. It doesn’t mean that I have any less respect for those of you who choose to celebrate Kwanza, Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, etc.

At this time I should tell you that my intention for this week’s article was to compile a comprehensive list of the best Christmas music available, a daunting task. I can’t help it. My obsessive compulsive disorder compels me to approach all my projects this way. Fortunately for me my ADD kicks in shortly after I begin the task and as I get distracted I save myself a lot of work.

As many of you have determined there is an abundance of Christmas music for sale. Some choices are great and some not so much. (I have this vision, courtesy of the Ghost of Christmas Special Past, of Cher singing O Holy Night like it was Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves.)

Here’s a breakdown of Amazon’s ten, best selling Christmas CDs.

Noel – Josh Groban (9 Oct 07, WEA/Reprise)
13 tracks of standard Christmas tunes by the Grammy winning, mega-talented, classical cross-over artist. Unfortunately he sings the tracks like he’s performing selections from Tosca. His voice is great but it’s a little stiff. It lacks the warmth of Andy Williams or the jolliness of Burl Ives. Christmas songs should feel like they are being sung by people wearing sweaters standing in front of an appropriately decorated hearth. Not by a guy wearing a tux standing on a stage above a symphony pit. Sorry Josh but it’s a little too formal for my liking.

Let It Snow - Michael Buble (19 Oct 07, WEA/Reprise)
Buble’s EP of six Christmas songs is nicely produced and he’s approached it with his trademark, swinging sound. While he’s closer to the sweater and hearth scenario mentioned in the Groban review, I have this visual of Mr. Buble holding a brandy snifter and a cigarette ala Dean Martin.

A Christmas Celebration – Celtic Women (3 Oct 06, Manhattan Records)
This is nice and these gals can sing. I particularly like Ding Dong Merrily On High and Christmas Pipes. I have to warn you. Some numbers lean a bit toward a New Age style (think Windham Hill.)

One Chance – Paul Potts (19 Sept 07, Sony)
Not really a Christmas album. It’s mainly an opera greatest hits disc with a few Christmas tracks (O Holy Night and Silent Night.)

Christmas Song - Mannheim Steamroller (9 Oct 07 American Gramophone)
Has Mannheim Steamroller, aka Chip Davis, ever done anything beside Christmas albums? Just kidding, they did a Halloween disc a few years ago. These tracks, mostly instrumental, are a melding of orchestral and electronic instruments and it’s way too syncopated for me. It’s like a Miami Vice Christmas album.

James Taylor at Christmas – James Taylor (2 Oct07, Columbia)
I love James Taylor. I’ve seen him numerous times. He’s a great songwriter, wonderful musician and a consummate performer. With the exception of River, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and Who Comes This Night James misses the mark due to his arrangements. His blues-up approach to Jingle Bells is really bad. This is not what I look for in a Christmas album!

The Lost Christmas Eve - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (12 Oct 04, Lava)
I didn’t know Meatloaf did a Christmas Album!

Wintersong - Sarah McLachlan (17 Oct 06, Arista)
Sarah has done a nice job here. She has the right voice for Christmas songs. I like her take on some of the more traditional songs. She dresses them up a little but stays true to old forms, mostly. Song For A Winter’s Night is my favorite track.

The Christmas Collection - Il Divo (25 Oct 05, Sony)
Again, the classical crossover guys singing Christmas songs like the libretto from an opera, they show emotion in the presentation, but it’s too over-the-top for Christmas music. Stick to Puccini fellows.

I don’t wish to be critical (well actually I do), but I have a very specific idea of what good Christmas music should sound like and I’m sad to say that most of these miss the mark. I’m a little disappointed, but not surprised, that the record labels have taken advantage of their big attractions by having them do a Christmas album. Just because you sing great Opera or Jazz doesn’t mean you can sing Christmas songs.

My picks: for Christmas Music:

White Christmas – Bing Crosby (1 June 95, MCA)
Older recordings show their age but Bing is great!!!

The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole (27 Sept 07, Sony)
Who does a better version of The Christmas Song?

A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra - Frank Sinatra (18 Sept 07, Capitol)
The Chairman of the Board shows how it’s done.

A Very Special Christmas – Various Artists (25 Oct 90, A&M)
How can anyone trim the tree without Bon Jovi singing Back Door Santa?

Complete Christmas Collection – Vienna Boys Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal College Of Music Chamber Choir et al. (13 Aug 91, Sony, 4 CDs, out of print)
It picked this up at Costco years ago and it is one of my favorite Christmas sets. It has excerpts from The Nutcracker and Messiah as well as lots or traditional Christmas songs including my all-time fave O Come O Come Emanuel.

December – George Winston (25 Oct 90, Windham Hill)
Amazing solo piano versions of Christmas classics!!!

A Winters Solstice (multiple volumes) – Various Artists (1985-, Windham Hill)
New age recordings of traditional and very old school Christmas music.

Christmas Remix : Holiday Classics Re-Grooved – Various Artists (21 Oct 03, Six Degrees) If you liked the originals by Bing Crosby and Mel Torme but felt they needed a little more drum & bass then this is your Christmas record.

With the exception of the last two sugestions I’m pretty traditional. I do appreciate new versions of the older songs, but stick to the basic format & melody. The original arrangements are good and performers who choose to depart from that formula do so at their own peril. Like the man says, “If it ain’t broke…”

Please enjoy the holiday season, regardless of how you choose to celebrate and permit me to extend my best wishes for a great New Year!

More to follow…

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

Loyal Readers,
Esion is at the Ayurvedic Center for the Affirmation of Vital Principle in Head Tide participating in a Thanksgiving workshop honoring the life force of all creatures. Then he’s going hunting for white tail deer in Washington County.
The blog will resume next week.
Namaste
More to follow...

A Large Band and the Hammer of the Gods.

2007-11-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - It’s Not Big It’s Large (28 Aug 07)
On Easter Sunday 1988 I left a perfectly good job to head north and try my luck in the second Alaskan Gold Rush (i.e., commercial fishing.) It was on that trawler somewhere southeast of Kodiak Island that I first heard Lyle Lovett’s second album, Pontiac. I listened to it non-stop for 5 months. I loved it, but who ever heard of a country musician employing cellos for their compositions? And the very non-country sounding arrangements? Lyle was an enigma, defying conventions.
Ten albums later, not counting soundtracks and compilations, and Lyle hasn’t made it any easier for clerks shelving his discs. Does it go in Country? Jazz? Pop? Who needs a genre?
It’s Not Big It’s Large opens with tight rendition of an old Lester Young tune, Tickle Toe, then scoots right in to the very Bluesy I Will Rise Up, followed by Lyle’s very country thank you note All Downhill From Here and finally, before any stylistic repeats, offers a Folksy dirge, Don’t Cry A Tear. Make It Happy is a funky little ditty with a backing quartet featuring Arnold McCuller (worked a lot with Jackson Browne & Bonnie Raitt among others) and then he rolls right into the gospel laden Ain’t No More Cane. Of the twelve tracks I’d say one is big band Jazz, two are Blues, one is Gospel, one is funky, four are country and three are definitely Folk featuring a finger-picked guitar. I’ve listened to it three times since yesterday and I like it better each time.
I was fortunate enough to see Lyle with his Large Band on the Pier in Seattle a few years back and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be.
By the way, for those looking to apply a label to Lyle’s work, I suggest “big band arrangements of chamber music as approached from a country/bluegrass/folk perspective.” Close enough for ya?

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand (23 Oct 07)
By the sword of Oden, what madness has produced such an unholy union? The lead singer of the most successful heavy rock band of the 70s teamed up with the sweetest, if not the most talented, singer in bluegrass. Is the lamb to lay with the lion? Surely the world has tipped on its axis.
But you know what? It’s amazing! Talk about a perfect blend of two voices, this is it. There’s nothing on here that sounds like Stairway to Heaven from Plant’s earlier efforts or the Grammy winning, Baby, Now That I’ve Found You from Krauss’s back catalog, but both bring what they’ve learned to this session. Only one track was written by Plant & Page et al. (Please Read My Letter) the rest on this T Bone Burnett production are by Tom Waits, The Everly Brothers, Townes van Zandt & Mel Tillis among others. The overall tone is a bit somber and reserved, although Plant manages a few, albeit, softer Hey, Ho’s toward the end of one track. For those of you looking for upbeat pop music to get the party started, this ain’t it. For those of you looking for a CD chock full of excellent recordings by two of the music industry's giants, then look no further.

More to follow…

Civilians Up Front and Live at the Monterey Jazz Fest

2007-11-08T16:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks about the lack of up-date during the previous week. I'm sad to say that I had no new discs to say positive things about and mom always said, "If you can't say anything nice, sit next to me" Anyway...
This week was much better. The following three recordings have received constant rotation on my playlist.

Joe Henry Civilians (11 Sept 07)
OK. So Joe’s made us wait four long years since Tiny Voices (2003) We should forgive him because he’s been very busy producing albums and helping other artists find their sound, everyone from Solomon Burke to Ani DiFranco, including a project he did with his buddy Loudon Wainwright III that became the soundtrack for Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up. Well folks Civilians is here and was worth the wait. Joe Henry is a great songwriter. He writes hummable melodies with poetic lyrics about real situations and the people in them. He doesn’t have the greatest voice (with a few cartons of Old Golds and several quarts of Chivas Regal Joe could sound a lot like Tom Waits) but it fits well with his casual approach to the instrumental parts. On the title track he incorporates a slight discordance with the guitar that compliments the vocal nicely. He adopts a similar approach for Time Is a Lion. The rest of the album is filled with ballads, blues, lullabies and songs about folks who can’t catch a break. And as busy as he is, the man’s been married for over 20 years to the same woman (Melanie Ciccone, whose has a sister named Madonna)

Teddy Thompson Up Front and Down Low (24 Jul 07)
Take the son of music legends Richard and Linda Thompson, give him a tight group of accomplished musicians (including his dad), and turn him loose on a dozen Country standards and you have all the ingredients for a classic Country & Western album. It’s surprising considering he was born in a Muslim community outside of London, about as far from Nashville as you could get. However, Teddy does his level best to take the songs of Ernest Tubbs, George Jones, The King and Dolly Parton among others and make them his own. His twangy, heartfelt delivery could easily have him in regular rotation on any country radio station in the nation, but it won’t. The Clear Channel stranglehold on the airwaves will continue unabated and deprive listeners of new talent that subsists outside of the “structure”

Miles Davis – Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival (31 Jul 07)
This recording is from 22 Sept 1963 when Miles was in a period of transition, between his first great quintet with Coltrane and his second great quintet with Wayne Shorter. The group features a young (23) Herbie Hancock on piano, the rest of the players; Miles – trumpet, George Coleman - tenor saxophone, Ron Carter – bass, and Tony Williams - drums. Not bad for a transitional group!
As Sam Cell stated on Allaboutjazz.com, “One doesn't know whether to express gratitude to the producers for releasing a recorded event of such historic significance and rare beauty, or annoyance at those responsible for keeping it on ice for all these years.” And that’s exactly right. The recording is crisp and clear and the musicianship is exceptional. It’s a glimpse of Jazz history. A must hear for any Miles fans.
Note: The Concord Music Group has created Monterey Jazz Festival Records to share some classic performances. I’m glad, but must confess that my musical palate wasn’t developed enough to appreciate Jazz until just a few years ago, although my mother says I loved Nat King Cole at a tender age. “Profits realized by the Monterey Jazz Festival from this series will be re-invested into its ongoing jazz education programs.” -From Concord’s website.

More to follow…

Miles, The Boss and Steve Earle

2007-10-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a quiet week on the island, musically speaking any way. I did get quite a few newer releases yesterday but haven't had a chance to listen to all of them. I'm sure I'll get through them by next Friday. OK, on to "What's Esion listening to this week"

Miles Davis - Evolution of the Groove
Is it Jazz? Is it Hip/Hop? I'll tell you what it is. It's a 5 track* release featuring Nas on one cut and Carlos Santana on another. Miles may have liked this disc for it's original spin, but I feel slightly duped. It was nice hearing Miles speak on Freddie the Freeloader (croak actually, Miles didn't really speak) and I do like the remixes with the drums and base cranked up. However, four tracks? And only one track clocking over three minutes. Please!
Since I'm a Miles fan and have a lot of his stuff I was able to listen to the original songs. It's About That Time, the track featuring Santana, is great but less than half the length of the original. Once you change time keeping from the rider cymbal to the snare and turn up the bass line, the song is really funky, much more so than the original. Add Carlos trading licks with Miles and you've got a nice tune. I should clarify that the first version didn't need work.
I really like the slow build intro on the original recording of the bluesy Honky Tonk. Again by trading the rider cymbal for snare & kick-drum the whole feel of the song is different. It has more umph. I like it.
This disc will appease some Miles fans and offend others. I have to say it is an interesting exercise in what can be accomplished with technology. It's a shame that someone took the time to secure the rights, gather the musicians & techs and then said, "We're only doing four songs*" It's like dinner without dessert.
*There are 5 tracks but Freddie the Freeloader is an incomplete outtake.

Steve Earle – Washington Square Serenade
I totally messed up by missing Steve Earle at Bumbershoot '07. I was tired of the crowds, I couldn't eat another bite of that wonderful African food from Horn of Africa and I had seen Steve with the Bluegrass Dukes at the Woodland Park Zoo a couple of years before so Iwent home. Admittedly they weren't good excuses, but they were the only ones I had.
After listening to Washington Square Serenade the first time through I understand my error. I should have sucked it up, gone to the special KEXP, invite-only performance and then stayed for the evening show. My buddy John said both shows were excellent. Oh well, I'll always have the KEXP archives.
Steve Earle is one talented SOB. He doesn't just write songs. He paints pictures with words and music, sometimes a portrait, sometimes a landscape, sometimes a portrait within a landscape, in the same tradition as Bob Dylan, Paul Simon or Tom Waits. I agree he can't sing for shit, but his gravely, twangy, sometimes whisper, sometimes growl, mainly average voice fits perfectly with the picture he's crafted.
Steve never strays far from his country roots, even when playing the bozouki on the bluesy Red is the Color. City of Immigrants, with its Calypso feel, is as far as he gets from Nashville, but it has a hint of down-homeyness. Maybe it's the southern drawl. Anyway, Washington Square Serenade won't top the many releases by Mr. Earle. That would be a monumental feat with a body of work featuring masterpieces like El Corazon, I Feel Alright and The Mountain. However, this disc is very good and one I'll add to my collection.

Bruce Springsteen – Magic
One of my girlfriends in high school was from New Jersey. She listened to The Boss before he'd made the covers of Time and Newsweek and shared his music with me. It seems like The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle received constant play for at least a decade.
I've listened to Magic several times now. It's comforting to see Bruce return to his roots, namely, making great music with a fantastic backing band. Bruce puts the familiar themes of lost love, lost youth and lost innocence to some wonderful melodies and comes up with tracks that sound like they came from the sessions for The River. It's very good, classic Bruce and the E Street Band is in fine form. I think it's the best disc he's done since The River. Radio Nowhere, the track he gave away as an MP3, is an up-tempo number that laments the sad state of music radio and makes the statement "I just want to hear some rhythm." Well folks, Magic definitely has rhythm and I recommend purchasing the CD.

More to follow...

The Foos, Arlo & Rani...

2007-10-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

I must apologize to the regular readers of my music blog (yes, both of you.) I’ve been trying to have a new post ready by Friday, but this week was so busy that Sunday afternoon was the first opportunity I had to get to it. I confess that I didn’t listen to as much music this week. I was finishing up two audio books: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (excellent account of what Vlad Drac’s been up to for the past 500 years) and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (a wonderful, often humorous tale of all the disciplines in science and mathematics and the super geeks who gave them to us.) I highly recommend both. OK, on to music…

Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (Sept 07)
I’m listening to the newest Foo Fighters release, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. I have to admit, I never really liked grunge and I didn’t care for many of the bands that style of Rock’N’Roll produced. It’s a shame when you think about it because I moved to Puget Sound, ground zero for grunge, a few years before flannel and poor personal hygiene became fashionable. The Foo’s have a distinct sound. It’s a sound Dave Grohl has been perfecting since the early days of grunge. It’s a bit more refined, mature and melodic approach to Rock than one of his earlier bands, Nirvana. I like this very much. Most of the tracks are up-tempo rockers. Summer’s End is my current favorite cut. Let me add that Grohl isn’t just another drummer-turned-songwriter. He’s a talented, adept tunesmith and apparently, from the articles I read, he’s one of the nicest guys in the music business. Evidently everyone loves the man.

Arlo Guthrie - In Times Like These (July 07)
On a completely different note (pun fully intended) I have a copy of Arlo Guthrie’s In Times Like These. It’s a live recording and Arlo is backed by the University of Kentucky’s Symphony Orchestra. I feel compelled to comment; Outside of recordings by the Moody Blues, I’ve rarely liked Rock/Folk/whatever combined with a Classical sound. Don’t get me wrong, I love Classical music. I just don’t think it mixes well with other genres. The result typically makes me feel like I’m in an elevator. This CD is an exception. The mix is nice, not overproduced. Arlo’s voice is strong, the song selection is great. I found myself tapping my foot and bobbing my head along through all twelve tracks including a very Bourbon Street sounding St. James Infirmary Blues and, of course, Steve Goodman’s City of New Orleans. Granted it’s not on par with Hobo’s Lullaby, Alice’s Restaurant or Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys, however, any fan of Arlo Guthrie’s music will want to hear this.

Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem - Big Old Life (June 07)
Now comes my favorite part of my post, telling people about a not-so-well-known artist. Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem and the CD is Big Old Life. American roots music featuring: vocals, fiddle, bass, banjo, guitar and drum enterprise (cardboard box, cat food cans, an old cookie tin and a suitcase). I discovered Rani Arbo back in 2001 with her first release called Cocktail Swing and have been a fan ever since. On the new disc one song has a Cajun, Blues, Jazzy, Funk Gospel sound (Joy Comes Back), another has a real old-timey C&W feel and would be right at home on an album by Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton (Big Old Life) then a traditional Bluegrass track (Red Haired Boy) followed by a Folk song (Roses) And that’s just the first four cuts. Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem can’t be labeled except to say that they play great music and they play it well. I like their sound a lot! You can hear three tracks from the new disc on NPR’s All things Considered website

Oct '07 Playlist (1st-13th)

2007-10-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

What am I listening to now? Why would anyone care? To that I reply, “Due to my access to many different artists across many different genres I may be able to offer a few suggestions to those who are bold enough to venture into unknown musical territory” Here are the discs receiving regular rotation on my playlist. Note: Some of the music I’m suggesting is older than 2007

Ray LaMontagne – Til the Sun Turns Black (Aug 2006)
Ray’s a fellow New Englander who moved to Maine after high school and this is his sophomore release. I know it’s over a year old, but I’ve been playing this disc a lot this week. Actually, it’s one that keeps popping up in my player and I prefer it over his first release Trouble (Sept ’04.) Although Ray’s stuff is folk based, he stretches his legs a bit on this one, incorporating horns and an R&B feel to Three More Days, as well as on my favorite track, You Can Bring Me Flowers. The tone is a bit somber, partly due to Ray’s breathy, almost whispered delivery and partly to his lyrics (I’m guessing you wouldn’t describe him as a chipper fellow) but the music is wonderful and definitely worth a listen.

Patty Griffin – Children Running Through (Feb 2007)
Another Mainer (Old Town) who’s achieved international recognition. There aren’t many in folk, rock or alt. country who hold a candle to Patty for her song writing skills or her passionate vocals. I first noticed Patty when I heard Useless Desires from the 2004 release Impossible Dream, but I have to say that Children Running Through, Patty’s 7th release, is my favorite. Berit (my reason for living) and I saw Patty at the Woodland Park Zoo this summer and she was fantastic!!! We sat near Dave Matthews and his family, but I digress… Children Running Through has it all; soulful deliveries, jazzy arrangements, up-tempo rockers, folksy stories and heartfelt ballads that will stop your conversation and have you hanging on every word. Buy this CD now!

Without Gravity – Tenderfoot (Jun 2005)
This Icelandic acoustic quartet won’t rock your world, blow your mind or, damn, I’ve run out of clichés. Any way I love their sound. When co-founder Kalli Henry was asked what it takes to start a band he replied, “Two guitars, a living room and some time” Simple enough? That’s exactly how Without Gravity approaches music; two guitars, light drumming, double base and occasional piano. They assemble spare arrangements, sweet melodies and simple harmonies into some great stuff. If you’re looking for music to put on after work while you kick back with a beverage, this is it.

The Long Winters – Putting the Days to Bed (Jun 2006)
The Long Winters formed in Seattle in 2001 and have roots to Harvey Danger, Deathcab For Cutie, The Posies and Sky Cries Mary, some of the Northwest’s bigger acts of the past two decades. Putting the Days to Bed, their third release, is my favorite. From the bands website John Roderick’s “…truly important life-lessons: keep your powder dry, know a good Audi mechanic, and never feed your dogs first.” And his wry wit is evident in his lyrics. The music reminds me a bit of Toad the Wet Sprocket for its easy rocking tempos, fine harmonies and all-around catchy tunes, my personal favorite, Pushover.

Joni Mitchell – Shine (Sept 2007)
Wow! Joni’s first new studio album since 1998’s Taming the Tiger. And it was worth the wait. The first spin through new disc I was thinking, Joni really has adopted a jazzy, almost new age approach to music, when did that happen? Duh, it’s been present since the beginning. That’s not to say there’s nothing new here, quite the contrary. She has her style, her sound, but it’s fresh as ever. Typically I have to listen to a disc a couple of times through before some tracks “grow” on me. Not the case with Shine. It’s wonderful. It’s been a while since I listened to a disc that was chock full of great songs. Drop whatever you’re doing and get this CD.

I included the Myspace links for the artists who have pages. Just click on their names.
I would like to add that whenever possible buy CDs directly from the artists (at shows, from their websites.) Sure it may cost a buck or two more, but they get the lion’s share of the cash and the major label record company executives who’ve done everything in their power to ruin the music industry will be forced to suffer the humiliation of downsizing to a domestically assembled, economy car.

More to follow…

The Black Crowes at the Paramount Theater

2007-10-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 2 Oct 07, 7:00 PM my friend Kirk and I went to see The Black Crowes at that “magnificent cathedral of entertainment” the Paramount Theater in Seattle, WA. It was fantastic!!!

Way back when, I was vaguely familiar with the Black Crowes. A friend had a copy of Shake Your Money Maker that he played constantly through most of 1990 and 1991. It was OK but it wasn’t where I was in my musical “journey” so I moved on to other things. Fast forward to 2000 and The Black Crowes collaboration with Jimmy Page at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA. Now that piqued my interest. I went back and listened to their catalog and discovered that the brothers Robinson have written some great songs. They’ve taken the chugging rhythm of Ronnie Wood, combined Keith Richards tasty licks & catchy hooks and finished with Rod Stewart’s (Faces era) boozy swagger. It's what Mick & Keith would have sounded like they were raised in the south eastern US. They rock. To describe the Black Crowes music in one sentence; The Rolling Stones meet The Allman Brothers. How could anyone not like that!!! Needless to say the boys have received regular rotation on my MP3 player ever since.
When I heard about the Paramount show I knew I was going to go. However, I had no idea what to expect. The 4000 seat Paramount has great acoustics and no bad seats. I was thoroughly familiar with the Crowes’ body of work and liked nearly everything. However, I approached the show with trepidation due to some bootleg files I’d heard from shows (how accurately can one duplicate the live music experience while surreptitiously recording the artist with a, more than likely, sub-par system?) I also had concern with their lack of sibling harmony, Rich and Chris have been known to bicker and The Crowes have had considerable and frequent changes in band personnel over the years. Oh well, in for a penny in for a pound.

A roadie moved an incense burner to each side of the stage and the jasmine smoke wafted up to fill the auditorium with its mellow scent in a matter of minutes. Shortly after that the lights went out. No dimming, someone just flipped the switch off. You could just make out the boys in the glow of cigarette embers and amp lights strolling to their spots on the stage. With the first chords of Virtue and Vice I knew it was going to be a stellar experience.
With the current line-up of: Vocals & Guitar: Chris Robinson, Guitar & Backing Vocals: Rich Robinson, Drums: Steve Gorman, Bass: Sven Pipien, Keyboards: Adam MacDougall, Guitars: Paul Stacey, Backing Vocals: Charity White and Mona Lisa Young (I think) they moved quickly from song to song and delivered a set of popular singles, a couple of extended jams and a few covers. Chris, known for between number ramblings (his comments cost them a opening gig spot for ZZ Top in 1991) was surprisingly brief. With the exception of an early amp problem for Rich the mix was nice, if not a little loud. Steve Gorman hit the drums like he was swinging a pair of 5 lbs. mauls. Rich stayed to the left of his brother throughout the evening moving from Gone to Sting Me to Cypress Tree to Good Friday while barely taking a breath. At the end of each song the tech would be waiting behind the keyboards with another guitar, Rich would plug it in (they used long guitar chords plugged into the amps, no radio controlled shit, very old school) and just as the applause died down he’d launch into another tune. Chris, true to form and right on the mark with his influences delivered soulful, heartfelt, rocking vocals. And as with Stewart & Jagger he can't dance to save his life. It didn't matter.
The highlight of the night for me was Soul Singing. Great guitar work with a nice melody and Chris’s call-response chorus with Mona Lisa & Charity, it was brilliant! They added a very nice version of the CSN&Y song, Everybody I love You from Déjà vu and followed with William Bell’s You Don’t Miss Your Water. That began the jam period which continued with Downtown Money Waster transitioning to Thorn in My Pride which ended the show.
The encore was the Holland Dozier penned Don’t Do It. They leaned toward the version The Band performed on Rock of Ages and Last Waltz. The show was just shy of the two hour mark. Kirk and I were able to make it home at a respectable hour.

The Black Crowes are working on a new album slated for release in early 2008. Rumor has it they have 16 tracks in the can and they’re mixing them down. So far no material from the new sessions has been played live. This will be the first Black Crowes studio release since Lions in 2001 I am looking forward to it.
You can hear some of their tracks at http://blackcrowes.com/

More to follow…

Desert Island Discs

2007-09-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

The “Best of…” list is a highly subjective exercise by some expert attempting to convince us that their list of favorite artists, songs or albums has merit beyond being a list of personal favorites. I say this because selection criteria is rarely included with the list. If I don't know what it takes to "make" the list then why should the list have more significance than being an amalgam of favorite songs/artists? If you said “Top 50 Albums Recorded in Non-Smoking Studios” or “The Best 25 Singles With Left Handed Drummers” at least I’d know what you were thinking about when you decided to put the list together.
Two lists that support my perspective of “Best of…” lists are from Rolling Stone magazine.
They asked a group of musicians, critics and writers to pick their favorite artists and guitarists respectively, but then they promote the list as the ultimate authority on great artists & guitarists. Dress it up however you'd like Rolling Stone, it's still a list of favorites! Any way, here are the lists

1. "The Immortals: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" Note: Prince and Nirvana above Eric Clapton and The Allman Brothers Band.
2. “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” Note: Jack White is way above Mark Knopfler, Dickie Betts and Steve Howe.

When it comes to “Best of… lists, most of us take exception with the list’s order of priority, what they omit and what they include. Maybe that’s what makes them entertaining, we all think we can do better. And since most of these lists are a group of someone’s favorites, why not make your own list?
There used to be a weekly music magazine, The Rocket, which was available at any Puget Sound record store. Every issue of The Rocket included reader submitted Desert Island Disc lists. The idea is you are stuck on a desert island and have to choose 10 discs to listen to. Please don't ask how you'd play the discs on a desert island. Maybe I'll be address that in a future column. Here’s my DID list alphabetical by artist.

The Allman Brothers – Fillmore Concerts. Eat A Peach used to hold this spot, but then they released the concerts as a set.

The Band – The Band. Most fans would pick Music From Big Pink, but then they'd be without the songs Rockin’ Chair and Unfaithful Servant.

The Beatles – Abbey Road. Trying to pick a favorite Beatles disc is like trying to pick a favorite appendage. How does one choose between such greats as The White Album, Revolver, Rubber Soul & Sgt. Pepper? For my money Abbey Road, the group’s final recording together, is their best work.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Four Way Street Four Way Street. A fantastic live recording by America’s first “super-group” (even though one was British and one was Canadian), has something for everyone. Acoustic love songs, electric jams and harmonies that will make you weep!

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue. I can listen to this disc non-stop for days, weeks at a time. Miles was a god.

Bob Dylan – Blood On the Tracks. While Dylan single-handedly changed popular music in less than five years, his greatest recording didn’t happen until his second decade as an artist, after he’d gone electric and returned to his roots.

The Grateful Dead – Europe '72. If I was limited to one band to listen to for the rest of my days it would be The Grateful Dead. Granted their live shows could be a gamble and they didn’t always have the greatest vocals (Brent Mydland?) but Europe ’72, even without Dark Star, is stellar.

Jimi Hendrix – Electriclady Land. My friend Merritt and I used to listen to this on his older sister’s quadraphonic 8-track.”I’m standing next to a mountain, chop it down with the edge of my hand,” need I say more?

Led Zeppelin – II & IV (tie). I feel a need to clarify the tie for Led Zeppelin II & IV. I couldn't choose between the two because "Stairway to Heaven" is Led Zeppelin's greatest composition as well as one of the greatest Rock songs of all time. I must admit, when I heard the opening arpeggios drifting up from my family room two years ago, as my son was learning the song on his Stratocaster, it brought a tear to my eye. However, Led Zeppelin II is full of great songs with thick rhythm guitar & juicy licks that most aspiring guitarists attempt to duplicate at one time or another. Didn't every 14 year-old boy from my generation want to be Jimmy Page?

Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon. DSotM, one of the biggest selling albums of all time and a great soundtrack for Wizard of Oz.By the way, this title has been on my DID list since 7th grade.

Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle. The best thing The Boss ever did!!!

Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street. Jagger wants to remix it, Keith finally likes it and Allen Klein wishes he had a piece of it. Captured during their most creative period, it’s the finest example of the Rolling Stones sound.

Doc Watson – Memories. If Bill Monroe is the king of bluegrass then Doc is his ambassador. He’s responsible for bringing that sound to the masses.

You've probably noticed that I have more than 10 titles. In fact I have 14 titles. Hey it’s my list. You can choose 25 titles if you’d like. The point: When it comes to deciding your favorites, you are the expert. So go out and build your own DIDs and support your local music scene.
More to follow…

Music Resources: Print & Digital

2007-09-23T12:10:00.001-07:00

The Internet is overflowing with music resources. Heck, Seattle is home to a few hundred music blogs and everyone is an expert at what they like. So how do you wade through all that information and find something relevant and helpful? First of all, READ MY BLOG!!! Secondly, try a few of the publications listed below. These are the resources I use to help me select music for my library system and I would consider them to be authoritative on all things music. Nearly all have print versions to supplement their web content (or vice versa.)
For those of you keeping score at home I have institutional subscriptions to:
§ Billboard
§ Dirty Linen
§ Downbeat
§ InRadio
§ Spin
And I personally subscribe to:
§ Global Rhythm
§ No Depression
§ Paste
§ Rolling Stone
§ Seattle Sound

Of course I get The Stranger and The Seattle Weekly. You can't swing a cat around here without hitting one of their distribution boxes and they have great content for the local music scene.

Have fun, feel free to let me know what you like and please, give me a heads-up for any great resources that I’ve missed.

More to follow…

Magazines, Newspapers and Other Resources
Daily
Christian Science Monitor (all genres) http://www.csmonitor.com/arts/musicPerformingArts.html
News, Pop-ups, Reviews, RSS feed,

New York Times (all genres)
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/music/index.html
Blog, News, Pop-ups, Reviews, RSS feed, New York venue calendar

Weekly
Billboard (major labels, all genres)
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/index.jsp
Charts, News, Pop-ups, Reviews, RSS Feed

Entertainment Weekly (what’s hot, all genres) http://www.ew.com/ew/music/0,,,00.html
Charts, News, Reviews, RSS feed

The Stranger (major label and indie music, all genres) http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Home
Blog, News, Podcast, Reviews, RSS feed, Seattle venue calendar,

The Seattle Weekly (major label and indie music, all genres) http://www.seattleweekly.com/music/
Blog, News, Podcast, Reviews, RSS feed, Seattle venue calendar,

Bi-Weekly
Rolling Stone (major label and indie music, all genres, but leans heavily toward Rock) http://www.rollingstone.com/
Artist info, Blog, Listen to Music, News, Podcast, Reviews, RSS feed, Tour schedules

Monthly
BBC Music Magazine (Classical, Opera & Jazz)
http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com/
Artist Info, Concert Search, Reviews

Downbeat (Jazz)
http://www.downbeatjazz.com/
Artist Info, News, Reviews

Gramophone (Classical & Opera)
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/
Concert Search, News, Podcast, Reviews

Paste (major label and indie music, all genres, but leans toward Rock) http://www.pastemagazine.com/
Blog, Free music sampler CD with every print edition, Listen to Music, News, Podcast, Reviews, RSS Feed

Seattle Sound (major label and indie music, all genres) http://www.seattlesoundmag.com/
News, Reviews, Seattle venue calendar,

Spin (major label and indie music, leans heavily toward Alternative Rock) http://www.spin.com/
Artist info, Blog, Listen to Music, News, Podcast, Reviews, RSS feed,

Bi-Monthly
Country Music (major label C&W)
http://www.countryweekly.com/
Artist info, Charts, News, Reviews

Dirty Linen (major labels + indies, leans toward Roots: Bluegrass, Blues, Country, Folk & Rockabilly) http://www.dirtylinen.com/
News, Reviews, Tour Schedules

Global Rhythm (World)
http://www.globalrhythm.net/
Charts, Concert Search, Downloads, Free music CD with every print edition, News, Podcast, Reviews, RSS Feed

No Depression (Alternative C&W and Roots)
http://www.nodepression.net/
Blogs, Downloads, News, Reviews

Other
Metacritic (what’s hot, all genres)
http://www.metacritic.com/music/
Reviews,

Pollstar (concert searches by artist, venue & city)
http://www.pollstar.com/
Concert Search, News, RSS Feed

Music on the World Wide Web

2007-09-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

I listen to music nearly every waking moment. I have it on in the car when I’m driving, at work I listen all day to Jazz, Classical or World music through my headphones and at home I have a stereo turned on in my kitchen. I even installed speakers on the patio so I can listen to music while working in the backyard. What can I say? I love music.
Living in the age of technology offers many options for enjoying music via the Internet. With a click of the mouse we can be transported from our desktop to a smoky bar room or to an exotic land. The only downside about this is that there may be too many choices. Hopefully this passage will help.
For the sake of discussion I’ll group the Internet listening choices into a few categories: radio stations, performer websites, subscription services and general music sites.

Internet Radio
Many radio stations have live feed options, i.e., you can listen to the broadcast as it is taking place. Some stations have created an archive of past shows where you’re able to search for a particular topic or performance and listen to it.
My current favorites for streaming music are:
KEXP A listener supported, Seattle based radio station that put the independence back in music!!! You can: listen live to the broadcast, check out the playlists, read reviews for new releases, browse the archives to find an interview and in-studio performance with some great artists. Check out The Believers, Mark Kozelek or The Long Winters.
KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic with Nic Harcourt (author of Music Lust). From the site, “Morning Becomes Eclectic is committed to a music experience that celebrates innovation, creativity and diversity by combining progressive pop, world beat, jazz, African, reggae, classical and new music.” So you get a litle bit of everything. I like to go to the archive and scroll through old Morning Becomes Eclectic shows. I suggest listening to the following: Joe Henry, M.I.A. and Robbie Robertson.

Performer Websites
Websites maintained by the artist either on their own or through a social network site such as Myspace. This a great place to stay current with your favorite artist. You can hear new tracks, sample alternative takes, get free downloads not to mention staying on top of what’s happening: tour dates, current projects and general news. I used Myspace links in my last post. It was a great way to find out more about the bands I saw at Bumbershoot. And locating a band-maintained site is as easy as typing their name into Google and following the link.

Music By Subscription
There are many companies offering subscription services for music. I don’t subscribe to any so I choose not to speak to that option. However, there’s an excellent article from CNET which was written earlier this year.

General Internet
Mondomix is a great site to sample World Music, read reviews; find downloads and listens to three great music shows;
Archives of Charlie Gillett’s BBC world music radio show.
Ian Anderson’s recommendations from his monthly World Music magazine fRoots
Dori Stein’s Tangents
Note: Some of the links no longer work

Shoutcast allows you to listen to mainly, commercial free music by genre. It does require that you download Winamp media player which is pretty quick & painless with DSL or better. I find myself going to this option regularly during the work week. Where else can you hear Algerian Disco?

Pandora
The result of The Music Genome Project, these folks have created an Internet radio station that builds playlists based on your input. You can search by song or artist and determine what you want to hear next by indicating what you like or don’t like.

LastFM
Type in the name of an artist of band you like and LastFM will list and play similar artists. You can try it with tags (think genre) and listen to music that way.

More to follow…

PS. Thanks to Washington Representative Jay Inslee, for leading the charge to thwart the efforts of record company moguls to silence Internet Radio stations.

Bumbershoot 2007 Day One

2007-09-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

I recently spent three days at Bumbershoot, the Seattle based arts and music festival that occurs over Labor Day weekend. The event takes place on the 74 acres at Seattle Center and consists of seven music stages, three comedy stages, four performance stages, a film festival, an independent publishers’ exhibition as well as countless artisans peddling their wares, numerous street performers honing their craft and food vendors with a selection so ethnically diverse it’s like a trip around the globe. It is with bittersweet anticipation that I look forward to Bumbershoot each year. The conflict stems from the excitement of seeing many great performers in a small location over a short period of time for a reasonable price, but it is tempered by the fact that it signals an end to summer. In the immortal words of Robert Hunter, “Every silver lining has a touch of grey.”

Saturday: My wife and I arrive at the Mercer Street entrance courtesy of the Metro system and head straight to Horn of Africa for chicken, lentils and that wonderful, spongy, fermented bread. Over the previous few days I’ve scoured the Bumbershoot sections of the Seattle Weekly and The Stranger, two of Seattle’s weekly newspapers, and made notes on my schedule to determine which acts we should see. Once nourished we proceeded to the Wells Fargo Stage to see The Cave Singers (Seattle Weekly pick) an acoustic-based trio and veterans of Seattle bands (Pretty Girls Make Graves) who play some pretty nice stuff. Their sound leans toward folk but the stripped down arrangements have a somber, almost haunting tone. I imagine that this is what Woody Guthrie would sound like if he’d been exposed to punk, grunge, rock, seemingly endless precipitation and great coffee during his formative years. Invitation Songs, their release on Matador is scheduled to come out 25 Sept 07. I would recommend getting it. If you’d like to hear a few of their tracks you can check out their Myspace page.
After The Cave Singers we hustled through the crowd to the Mainstage to see The Shins (Seattle Weekly pick.) I know they are the most popular band to come out of the Pacific Northwest in recent years and they are quite talented, but my mood for the show was soured when Bumbershoot staff made me dump my water bottles out before entering Memorial Stadium because a full water bottle could be used as a projectile (I’m certain it had nothing to do with stadium vendors selling bottled water, evidently equipped with projectile-restricting technology, for $3 per half liter) and then shut down the line just as we were getting through the checkpoint. Inside the stadium was hot with nary a breath of air. We sought relief from the heat in the shaded seats on the side but the sound mix was muddled. We stayed for three songs and left.
We navigated toward the Starbucks Stage to see The Honey Dripper All Stars, a group of accomplished Rhythm & Blues musicians assembled for the new John Sayles film Honeydripper. These guys were tight! Great sound, great songs, great delivery, all in all an excellent show! I can’t wait for film. It’s due out this fall.
After that performance we worked our way into the Starbucks VIP area, in the cool, cool shade and sampled free lattes while we reassessed our game plan and poured over the pages of the Bumbershoot Official Program, The Seattle Weekly and The Stranger in an attempt to create a new itinerary. We decided to stay for The Avett Brothers, three young, good-looking musicians from North Carolina. The trio consists of upright bass, banjo & guitar with all three sharing vocals. At first I thought it was going to be a Bluegrass band but shortly in to the first song they started jumping and dancing and hootin' & hollerin'. It was more like Black & Bluegrass. I heard once festival-goer refer to the music as Punkgrass. Whatever it’s called I liked it, high energy deliveries of fun melodies. The Avett Brothers have several releases with Emotionalism being their latest CD. If you’d like to hear a few of their tracks you can check out their Myspace page.
We topped off our lattes and waited for The Gourds (Seattle Weekly pick), a group of shit-kickers from Austin with ten years of touring and 9 albums under their belt. Sadly, most folks only know them for a countrified cover of the Snoop Dogg song, Gin & Juice. However, The Gourds’ are a talented bunch of boys who have a lot of fun playing music. They have a wonderful stage presence, they’re relaxed with the audience and you can tell that they are really having as much fun playing as the audience is listening & watching. To top it off their songs are wonderful! If you’d like to hear a few of their tracks you can check out their Myspace page. Unfortunately we had to leave their set early to catch a boat and get back home to feed the dog.
More to follow...

Bumbershoot 2007 Day Two

2007-09-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday: I entered at the Broad Street entrance with the big man and four, 13 year old girls whose sole mission was to see Fergie on the Mainstage at 9:45 PM. The show was nine hours away. We set the ground rules, designated a meeting place in case someone got cut from the herd and came up with a cell phone “check-in” schedule. I found out later in the day that the wireless mics used at every Bumbershoot stage interfered with my cell phone signal so I couldn’t talk or text when someone’s performing. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Once the big man and I were happy with the details, we proceeded to Horn of Africa for chicken, lentils and that wonderful, spongy, fermented bread. We sat on the grass in front of the Bagley Wright Theatre and reviewed our options for entertainment and planned our day.
First up was The Watson Twins (Seattle Weekly pick) at the Sound Transit Stage. The LA based girls, who are actual twins, caught the attention of some while working on Jenny Lewis’ (of Rilo Kiley fame) solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat. The sound mix was a little shaky to start, not the girls fault. The techies couldn’t get the vocals sorted out until the fourth song. It was worth the wait. The blend of the voices was as good as it gets. Their Folk-Rock style betrays their Kentucky roots by leaning a bit toward country. The sisters traded lead singing roles and swapped an acoustic guitar back and forth. They spoke of a CD coming out at the end of the year, but for those who can’t wait The Watson Twins EP Southern Manners is available now. Check out their appearance on Morning Becomes Eclectic.
After The Watson Twins we set a course for the Mainstage and the other end of the musical continuum to see Kings of Leon. The Kings are three sons of a preacher and their cousin playing their version of Southern Rock. I say their version because it definitely ain’t Skynyrd. It’s Southern Rock as Jimi Hendrix or Joe Strummer would have played it and it’s very good. The boys have a tight delivery, tasty licks, nice hooks and I’m sure they would be very loud at an indoor venue. The big man was impressed as indicated by his nearly imperceptible swaying to the beat. The Kings of Leon have several releases including their latest Because of the Times. If you’d like to hear a few of their tracks you can check out their Myspace page.
We left the Mainstage and returned to the Sound Transit Stage to hear Portland’s Stars of Track and Field (Stranger pick) excellent vocals over attractive melodies. The lads have talent. Unfortunately their sound seemed derivative. It lacked uniqueness. I really like bands who take a genre of music and make it their own. The Stars didn’t do it for me. Additionally, there was a similarity that was present in many of their tracks. Don’t get me wrong, what they do they do well, it’s just that there are so many others who’ve come before them who’ve done the same thing just as well. Sorry…I should say that the Stars have an EP and an LP available for purchase. The LP Centuries Before Love and War was released last winter. I encourage you to form your own opinion. Contempt without prior investigation is just plain wrong. Here’s the link to their Myspace page.
After the Stars the big man was feeling a bit subdued and needed something with more energy. I had no back-up plan on the itinerary so we started through the crowd for something else and ended up at the Starbucks Stage watching Rose Hill Drive, a Colorado Trio whose bass & guitar player looked like Greg & Duane Allman circa Fillmore East, sounded like a hybrid of early ZZ Top, AC-DC and Led Zeppelin. These guys rocked!!! We stayed for the entire set. Note: I went to their Myspace page and listened to some tracks. Reptilian was the track that most accurately captured the show witnessed by the big man and me. They have a self-titled release from 2006 and in the their Apr ’07 issue Rolling Stone magazine tapped Rose Hill Drive as one of ten artists to watch, which is exciting for the boys but I hope that’s not a kiss of death. If you’d like to hear a few of their tracks you can check out their Myspace page.
After Rose Hill Drive we had to rendezvous with the girls. We met them alongside the Esurance Stage partially because that’s the stage they were nearest to and partially because I wanted to hear Barrington Levy, a Jamaican artist who was big in the 80’s. Believe it or not the girls hadn’t seen a single music act all day and two of them wanted to get in line for the Fergie concert that was still four hours away. Through negotiation, compromise and outright manipulation we convinced the girls to wait for another hour before entering the Mainstage. The big man had to leave and attend to other matters so I was flying solo for the rest of the night with four teens who were talking about getting close to the stage and crowd surfing, just what a dad wants to hear from his daughter and her three friends. I bought strawberry shortcake and had the girls accompany me to catch the end of Barrington Levy’s performance. I don’t think they enjoyed it as much as I did.
At 7:15 we began the gauntlet into Memorial Stadium to see Sean Paul on the Mainstage. Once inside I admonished the girls on crowd behavior, imposed a strict no-surf rule and we designated another cut-from-the-herd meeting spot. Lastly, I showed the girls my location for the duration of the show. I sat on the comfy field turf reading Sound Magazine waiting for the show to begin.
Around 8:15 the lights dimmed, the musicians took the stage and laid down a bass & drum track and we waited. The MC came out and at the end of a three minute intro engaging the crowd and getting folks hyped up for Sean Paul, another MC came out and did the same thing. This happened a few more times and after 14 minutes, I actually timed it, Sean Paul finally appeared with four very scantily clad women who proceeded to gyrate and grind suggestively for the duration of the show, pole dancing without the pole. Sean Paul rapped on ad nauseam about sexy women. I’m trying to be open-minded here. I do like some rap and some hip-hop, but all of his music sounded the same and it wasn’t that good.
The girls returned at the end of Sean Paul sans one of the quartet. They complained of being squished, pushed, bumped as well as subjected to cigarette and pot smoke. They decided that the front of a big concert was not the place to be. We busied ourselves with the task of finding the missing member before Fergie took the stage. We had about 15 minutes. The girls circled back up to where they were during Sean Paul and then went to the designated rendezvous point. I stayed where I was. They found their missing compatriot with two minutes to spare and then plunked down on the field turf beside me for the Fergie show.
I have to say Fergie has talent. She sings well. Her stage show is nicely choreographed, her band is tight and even though she’s not my cup of tea her performance was good. She left the stage around 10:30 with a simple thanks thrown over her shoulder as she sauntered to the wings. She didn’t return for an encore for a full ten minutes. By that time the girls had had enough and we were on our way to the bus. More to follow...

Bumbershoot 2007 Day Three + Wrap Up

2007-09-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Monday: I entered at the Broad Street entrance solo. As on the previous two days, I proceeded directly to Horn of Africa for chicken, lentils and that wonderful, spongy, fermented bread. I walked back across the Center and found a great spot next the red tube sculpture for The Blakes (Seattle Weekly pick) at the Sound Transit Stage. I finished my food while they completed the sound check. Wow!!!! The Blakes were great!!! I loved this band. High energy, Rock N’ Roll with catchy melodies, infectious beats all delivered with a presence and confidence to match the most polished veterans. Their EP, Streets is available now via their Myspace site.
After The Blakes I decided to go free style and dabble. I had no one that I really had to see so I and followed the recommendations of The Weekly and The Stranger. For the next hour I split my time and sampled performances at two different stages.
I ended up at the Esurance Stage enjoying Kultur Shock (Weekly and Stranger pick.) Gino Yevdjevich, the lead singer, describes Kulture Shock as, “Balkan punk rock gypsy metal wedding-meets-riot music from Bulgaria, the US, Japan, and Bosnia. Six members, and no two of us really speak the same language” And I can’t think of a more accurate description. This was a fun performance to watch and not a single person in the crowd was standing still. Go to their Myspace page and sample some of their tracks.
I spent 40 minutes with Kulture Shock and then returned to the Sound Transit Stage to see Viva Voce (Weekly and Stranger pick), a Portland, OR-based, husband and wife duo. Basically Rock N’ Roll with drums & guitar reminiscent of The White Stripes (the drumming was better, but the guitar wasn’t.) They were OK, it’s just that with a guitar/drum duo there’s only so much you can do before you begin to sound repetitious. 30 minutes was enough. If you’d like to hear a few of their tracks you can check out their Myspace page.
I had every intention of staying to see Steve Earle at either the special ticket KEXP performance (enter 3 Sept 07, 5:26 PM on the KEXP website to hear Steve) or the show at 8:30 PM on the Starbucks Stage. I caught a few tunes by his wife, Allison Moorer, at the Starbucks Stage while transiting from venue to venue. Unfortunately I ran out of gas before Steve was scheduled to play. What can I say? I'm no longer 25. I wish I had a better excuse, but I don’t. I walked out the Broad Street Gate down the hill to SAMs Sculpture Park before heading south on Alaska Way.

The wrap up: Bumbershoot was great as usual and once again the best acts were not at the Mainstage. However, it was clear from this year’s line-up that I am not a member of the Festival's target demographic. Fortunately, my diverse taste in music combined with a willingness to venture into unknown territory allowed me to not only see some artists that I was already interested in, but I was able to enjoy some great musical discoveries.
I couldn't sleep nights if I didn’t mention a couple of things to the folks at One Reel, Bumbershoot’s producers. While I appreciate the effort that goes into producing an event like Bumbershoot I’d like to share my perspective as a veteran of nearly two decades worth of Bumbershoot:
1. Thanks for making it easy to get tickets. Basically, any Starbucks has them prior to and during the festival. That’s a great move on your part. Please don’t increase ticket prices any more. $35 per day plus $10 for food not to mention transportation costs, makes the minimum per day investment approximately $50. Some would say that’s cheap for a day of great art & music, but fifty bucks is fifty bucks. It’s expensive enough for a working man, but nearly unreachable for a teen with a part-time job and the teen to twenty-something bracket seemed to be your target demographic.
2. Telling me I can’t bring a water bottle into Memorial Stadium because it can be used as a projectile and then trying to sell me bottled water inside for $3.00 is disingenous, greedy and wrong. Please change that practice before Bumbershoot 2008.
3. The temporary barricades installed to contain concert-goers enroute to the Mainstage literally bisects Seattle Center in an east/west line and nearly stops the flow of north/south foot traffic. Please figure out a better way to get people in and out of Memorial Stadium.
4. Please work with Metro to increase the number of buses leaving Seattle Center, particularly around the time that the Festival closes for the day.