I made my annual pilgrimage to Manchester, TN last weekend for the Bonnaroo Festival. I was really looking forward to Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Beastie Boys, Neko Case and Lucinda Williams. They were all fantastic, as expected. I also saw Grizzly Bear (good songs from a couple of great singers), Merle Haggard (too cool), Santigold (not my thing, but she had some enthusiastic fans), Nine Inch Nails (who were apparantly playing their last ever US show, and it was really very good), Phish (because all of my friends had to see them), the Yeasayers (a band I had never heard of, but they were frickin awsome), moe (meh), Wilco (I'm more of a Jay Farrar guy. I was not terribly impressed), Rodrigo y Gabriella (fantastic) and Public Enemy (because you have to see Public Enemy, though you really only need to see them once). A few of my better photos are below. Understand that I was roughly 4 miles from the stage for some of these shots (Bruce and the Beasties, especially).
I made my annual pilgrimage to Manchester, TN last weekend for the Bonnaroo Festival. I was really looking forward to Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Beastie Boys, Neko Case and Lucinda Williams. They were all fantastic, as expected. I also saw Grizzly Bear (good songs from a couple of great singers), Merle Haggard (too cool), Santigold (not my thing, but she had some enthusiastic fans), Nine Inch Nails (who were apparantly playing their last ever US show, and it was really very good), Phish (because all of my friends had to see them), the Yeasayers (a band I had never heard of, but they were frickin awsome), moe (meh), Wilco (I'm more of a Jay Farrar guy. I was not terribly impressed), Rodrigo y Gabriella (fantastic) and Public Enemy (because you have to see Public Enemy, though you really only need to see them once). A few of my better photos are below. Understand that I was roughly 4 miles from the stage for some of these shots (Bruce and the Beasties, especially).
Bass Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center, the University of Texas at Austin, last night, Sunday, May 3rd.
Amazing show, and a privilege to witness. It was a surprisingly engaging performance, bluesy and direct, with melody and swing to spare. Sonny, at nearly 80, still has the big tone on the tenor saxophone he had when he was 20. This was demonstrated during the opening number ("Sonny, Please") when it was clear that the mic on Sonny's sax wasn't working. The rest of the band dialed it back a bit, and his unamplified sax filled the concert hall just fine for his first solo. That's lung power.
The mic was replaced, and we heard several more numbers, including a fine reading of the ballad standard "My One and Only Love" and a final closing calypso tune (no, not "St. Thomas" but something equally fine). He did one brief encore, a blues that I forget the name of, and he delighted everyone by stepping to his announcement mic and singing a verse! The crowd gave him several ovations, and stomped and clapped along. It was fun.
The entire group was great, particularly trombonist Clifton Anderson and drummer Kobie Watkins (man, I thought he was Max Roach come back to life!). I payed particularly close attention to Sonny's solos, though. We can't expect him to show the phrasing and versatility he used to have. Sonny repeated the stunt of holding a note over several bars, much as an r&b player like Junior Walker might have done. It's a trick he leaned on a few too many times, as if he couldn't think of where to go next. It's a way the younger Sonny Rollins never would have solo'd. But I quibble. If he's over the hill, it's a very, very tall hill. Sonny's the last one standing; he may have trouble walking, but he has no trouble dancing.
No cameras allowed, so here's someone else's recent performance picture:
the show started an hour late, so we didn't get the 3+ hour marathon I was hoping for. it was only 2:50. His band get larger every time I see them. I think they're up to 11 members now. Max Weinberg's 18 year old son (also a drummer and every bit as good as Dad) played for part of the show. Bruce can still work a stadium. Audience singalongs to entire songs. The playlist was a good mix of old and new. He brought out some Philly favorites. Thundercrack and Kitty's Back. Even a cover of The Clash's London Calling, and a great twangy version of Johnny 99. His mom and sisters were in the audience. Mom sang along with Hungry Heart, along with the rest of the audience. There was lots of Bruce walks into the audience and even a dance on top of the piano and of course the knee slide across the stage during Kitty's Back.
SET LIST 1. Badlands 2. The Ties That Bind 3. Outlaw Pete 4. Spirit in the Night 5. Working on a Dream 6. Seeds 7. Johnny 99
8. Youngstown 9. Raise Your Hand (Bruce jumped on the piano at the end of the song). 10. London Calling (tour premiere, sign request) 11. Red Headed Woman (tour premiere) 12. Thundercrack (tour premiere, sign request) 13. Hungry Heart 14. The Promised Land 15, Streets of Philadelphia (tour premiere) 16, Kingdom of Days (w/ Jay Weinberg on drum til the end of the show). 17. Radio Nowhere 18. Lonesome Day 19. The Rising 20. Born to Run
Encores: 21. Hard Times 22. Thunder Road (dedicated to the late Phillies announcer Harry Kalas) 23. Tenth Avenue Freeze-out 24. Land of Hope and Dreams 25. American Land 26. Kitty's Back (tour premiere)
It was his 32nd show at the Philly Spectrum. It was the place of his first stadium performance and one of his favorite places to play. Right before the encore, he said this about the stadium, "It has a certain degree of soul. We travel around to a lot of different arenas and this one is perfect for a rock show. "We've had so many great nights here. We've also had a special connection to Philadelphia.
"We've had a lot of great audiences here, but none as good as the ones we've had the past two nights."
So very cool. Glad he put on a good show for y'all.
the show started an hour late, so we didn't get the 3+ hour marathon I was hoping for. it was only 2:50. His band get larger every time I see them. I think they're up to 11 members now. Max Weinberg's 18 year old son (also a drummer and every bit as good as Dad) played for part of the show. Bruce can still work a stadium. Audience singalongs to entire songs. The playlist was a good mix of old and new. He brought out some Philly favorites. Thundercrack and Kitty's Back. Even a cover of The Clash's London Calling, and a great twangy version of Johnny 99. His mom and sisters were in the audience. Mom sang along with Hungry Heart, along with the rest of the audience. There was lots of Bruce walks into the audience and even a dance on top of the piano and of course the knee slide across the stage during Kitty's Back.
SET LIST 1. Badlands 2. The Ties That Bind 3. Outlaw Pete 4. Spirit in the Night 5. Working on a Dream 6. Seeds 7. Johnny 99
8. Youngstown 9. Raise Your Hand (Bruce jumped on the piano at the end of the song). 10. London Calling (tour premiere, sign request) 11. Red Headed Woman (tour premiere) 12. Thundercrack (tour premiere, sign request) 13. Hungry Heart 14. The Promised Land 15, Streets of Philadelphia (tour premiere) 16, Kingdom of Days (w/ Jay Weinberg on drum til the end of the show). 17. Radio Nowhere 18. Lonesome Day 19. The Rising 20. Born to Run
Encores: 21. Hard Times 22. Thunder Road (dedicated to the late Phillies announcer Harry Kalas) 23. Tenth Avenue Freeze-out 24. Land of Hope and Dreams 25. American Land 26. Kitty's Back (tour premiere)
It was his 32nd show at the Philly Spectrum. It was the place of his first stadium performance and one of his favorite places to play. Right before the encore, he said this about the stadium, "It has a certain degree of soul. We travel around to a lot of different arenas and this one is perfect for a rock show. "We've had so many great nights here. We've also had a special connection to Philadelphia.
"We've had a lot of great audiences here, but none as good as the ones we've had the past two nights."
The four or five crazy guys reunited in a one-off show in Monterey on Friday night, because a friend let them have the place for the night. No agents, no overhead. According to Ossman, they wanted to see if they could do it. And, they pulled it off brilliantly.
The two sets were re-tooled bits from all their older stuff and newer. I recognized parts of Don't Crush That Dwarf and Bozos and How Can You Be (including a properly abbreviated Nick Danger), including Giant Rat of Sumatra and Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death and even Boom Dot Bust. They finished with the wonderful train of thought sequence from How Can You Be...
Whew. And all of those are so dense with wordplay, cultural references, and general silliness that it was like a giant wave of genius repeatedly washing against your brain. And I mean that in a good way.
In fact, at the end of both sets, when the ending began to recall the opening of the set, but reimagined, the coordinated chaotic layers of their writing and performing were so dense that I couldn't do more than tilt my head back, close my eyes with contented joy, let it all pour into my mind without thinking, and realize, yes, that it was as good as I remembered, yes, the sea.
The sea.
Crimson - sometimes like fire - and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes
and all the queer little streets and pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain
yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used
or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought as well as well him as another
and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes
and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower
and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes....
and then the lights went down and they were gone again.
My Bloody Valentine. Last Tuesday, Austin Music Hall.
Packed house for the reunited bubblegrunge legends. Annoyingly long wait for the band to appear, as we had to sit through a couple of pointless opening acts. Once MBV hit the stage, finally, however, we discovered the earplugs were a good idea. LOUD. We were originally on the upper deck overlooking the stage, but this had us right next to the loudspeaker stacks, and it was deafening even with plugs. We could feel the floor vibrating. We moved down to the main level, and discovered we could both see and hear better. I found MBV surprisingly tight after a decade and a half of inactivity, with the rhythm section kicking it a bit more than you'll hear on their dense, layered records. Still can't understand the words. But sure enough pretty singing and fierce, swirly guitar textures. Harder-edged and with more backbone than the label "shoegazer" would permit. Really, really loud for a bunch of old geezers, they are.
We ourselves, however, are old folks, and we had to leave before the show ended. School night. :shrug:
Not our picture, but someone else's of Belinda, from a recent gig.
Great new Indie band from L.A. Dynamic, talented, fun to see They come down into the audience and play among the crowd Go see them when they come to town. Listen to them on RP, check them out on YouTube Don't stand in front of the PA speaker tower for two hours at a time.
Alison and I got to see The (English) Beat tonight at The Dame in Lex Vegas. They were awesome. Wakeling is the only original member in this incarnation, but they still rock.
Excellent! I saw them last year (this incarnation) — very impressive backing band with Wakeling.
Alison and I got to see The (English) Beat tonight at The Dame in Lex Vegas. They were awesome. Wakeling is the only original member in this incarnation, but they still rock.
It's been over 25 years since I last saw the original Beat, and then General Public here. But this show was just as cool, and fun, as those, all those years ago. Photos to follow.
Alison and I got to see The (English) Beat tonight at The Dame in Lex Vegas. They were awesome. Wakeling is the only original member in this incarnation, but they still rock.
It's been over 25 years since I last saw the original Beat, and then General Public here. But this show was just as cool, and fun, as those, all those years ago.
Habib Koite and Bamada in Rockland, Maine last night.
Holy wow. Utterly frikkin' amazing. If you get the chance to see them, don't pass it up. 6 supremely talented musicians, bringing traditional West African music with some modern twists, and a whole boatload of high energy fun. Danced our butts off. A couple blurry, low light pictures will follow ( I need a better camera)
We just saw Neko in Raleigh tonight... It was great. I've wanted to see her since 1999... better late than never I guess. She has a really good band too. Makes her sound even better. The way a good band should.
ScopArch wrote:
Wednesday evening I had the special honor and pleasure of seeing Neko Case and her band playing in a very intimate room here in Berlin.
The show was the first show of a 5 gig, six day tour of Europe before returning to the states for a longer tour. Backed by her Band, (guitarist Paul Rigby, bassist Tom V. Ray, vocalist Kelly Hogan, multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse and drummer Barry Mirochnick), she took the stage on time and played a good 90 minute set with about a dozen songs, including Maybe Sparrow; Deep Red Bells; Hold On, Hold On; Star Witness; The Needle Has Landed; Furnace Room Lullaby; as well as songs from the new album Middle Cyclone. The songs were performed in traditional Neko style, with mind her blowing vocals and her band’s simple but well concerted musicianship. Lots of examples on You Tube and don’t forget to watch her live performance on Fab Channel Sunday evening the 22 of Feb. It will probably be archived should you miss it, so check back.
From my vantage point at the front left of the stage in front of the slide player, I was close enough to reach out and touch the band. Of course that would have been weird, and I probably would have been kicked out….but there I was.
Most endearing was her rapport with the audience between songs. Between hoping that she doesn’t “f**k up the chords on the next song” from the new album, (which had not yet before been performed live), to commenting on all the “bare boobies around the hotel swimming pool” …”Lots and lots of BOOBIES! (squeal!) ” She also mentioned what a boring rock band they were. The bus drivers are always disappointed by the lack of groupies and the incessant Bob Newhart Reruns on the video.
There were a few technical problems during the show; the upright bass mic didn’t work, and one amplifier gave up the ghost towards the end. Between songs I mentioned to the slide player, who was right in front of me, “You know they have a different currency over here!” (meaning of course voltage). ”Yeah”, he responded, "you guys have the Euro now!!” That distracted Neko and he was chided for fraternizing with the audience (good naturedly, of course.)
They had set up their own equipment and at the end they had to pack it up on their own, which was awkward, since they couldn’t leave the stage after the last song, (there was no way out except through the crowd anyway), so after the second encore she said, “Since we can't leave the stage we’ll just turn our backs to you. Good night.” And that was it.
So check her tour schedule, and if she comes to your town go see her!
Here's Hold on Hold on from A&E with the same band members as Wednesday:
I'm having difficulty embedding my slide show, which you can see here. Sorry about the underexposed shots, the lighting was crappy. I'm adding the better shots as I PP them.....Enjoy!
I had the immense pleasure of seeing the amazingly talented and beautiful Kathleen Edwards a few weekends ago. I have been a big fan of hers for awhile now and this was my first time seeing her live... she blew me away. If she comes to a town near you, go. My girl crush has blossomed into a full fledged love affair. Kathleen was warm, engaging, sexy, funny and interactive with the crowd. She told stories, gave the history to her lyrics, took requests and did a few kick ass covers (Bryan Adams' Summer of '69, The Outfield's Your Love and Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart). Oh yeah, and she drinks whiskey... a girl after my own heart. The opening artist (Clare Burson, who was great, check her out, specifically a song called Boat of Leaves) came back and did a couple of duets with Kathleen, lovely together. My partner in crime for the evening, Hortense (who was unfamiliar with Kathleen but who trusts my taste in music, duh) decided to hang in the hopes Kathleen would come out to meet a few fans. And she did not disappoint. I had purchased a cool concert poster and decided to ask her to sign that instead of the three CDs I had jammed in my bag. She was just as warm and personable one-on-one. We were the last stop on her tour and she poured her heart into the performance. Walking to my car at the end of the night, one thing was clear... I just had one of the most powerful musical experiences of my life. Thank you, Kathleen.
I've wanted to see her since 1999... better late than never I guess. She has a really good band too. Makes her sound even better. The way a good band should.
That distracted Neko and he was chided for fraternizing with the audience (good naturedly, of course.) 
