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...
Showing posts with label The Blakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Blakes. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2008
Monday, September 10, 2007
Bumbershoot 2007 Day Three + Wrap Up
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.
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.
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