The announcement of Phish 3D was somewhat surprising to me, but somewhere in the middle of the April 20th preview screening, it dawned on me that I should have expected nothing less. After all, the band has been doing nothing but taking advantage of technology and innovation for over two decades of productivity. Why WOULDN'T Phish do a 3D movie, I eventually thought.
Superficially, Dear Companion appears to be a protest record, one with songs aimed squarely and angrily at the target – in this case, the horrifyingly irresponsible act of mountaintop removal coal mining. You can read all about the proceeds going to Appalachian Voices (an organization dedicated to stopping the practice) and about how three musicians from Kentucky – Daniel Martin Moore, Ben Sollee, and Jim James – came together to write about their love for their home state. But Dear Companion isn't full of the fire and brimstone you'd expect from musicians trying to make a point about a controversial issue. Instead, the record uses honey in place of vinegar, and the result is an experience with a broader worldview.
Twenty years into their career, Ohio's Over the Rhine – the husband and wife duo, not the neighborhood – is now a genuine underground music force. They rule their home state's venues, stealthily sell out shows across the country, and sell thousands of albums on their own while somehow remaining virtually unknown. Despite a dedicated fan base that ravenously devours anything they put out, travels to shows in the Midwest and beyond, and generally treats principals Karin Berquist and Linford Detweiler like royalty, you'll seldom hear their name mentioned anywhere.
With Planet Anthem, The Disco Biscuits have finally created an album worthy of their broad range of abilities. The band has always embraced paradox, grinning through wide-eyed rock numbers and delving into the maddening murk of electronic music with equal enthusiasm, charting their own brave new musical world while ingesting an incomprehensible amount of influence, and creating an atmosphere at live shows that appeases both beatmongering dance junkies and improvisational scavengers.
Midlake's sound has always been retro, but The Courage of Others takes the term to a whole new extreme. During their early career, Midlake's retro slant could be traced to striking Radiohead similarities or undeniably fuzzy 70's-rock sounds. In this album's case, "retro" means "centuries ago." Gravely spoken tales of kings, brave men, ancient woods and outward emotion are joined with wandering flutes, solemn acoustic guitars and hushed rhythms to create elegant, aged melodies. This alchemy allows Midlake to evoke the exact atmosphere they hoped to obtain, but it isn't always as engaging as one would hope.
There was positivism in the chilly air for Umphrey’s McGee’s latest show in Charlotte. With the end of their tour in sight, the band stopped at the familiar Neighborhood Theatre, a venue that was facing closure until two weeks ago. Rather than risk losing one of the city’s most adventurous musical hotspots, the community responded and the unusual 900-capacity venue has been saved for now. The sold-out show carried an aura of celebration, and it just happened to be a special night for the band as well, with present and future family members in attendance. The result was a show that dwarfed their last Charlotte appearance in every possible manner.
[All photos by Esther Rodgers]
There is no better opener for an Umphrey’s show than Get in the Van – not even the Star Wars Imperial March that played as the band took the stage. Get in the Van’s menacing twists and turns set the tone for a show heavy on Brendan Bayliss’ guitar and vocals, and not just because Jake Cinninger had some technical issues during an important twin-guitar section of the song.
In the first set, one song after another featured Bayliss’ endearing croon – the emotional August in spot two, the legendary live burner Plunger after that, and the set-closing combo of Morning Song and 1348. Cinninger, normally a more frenetic guitar personality, helped add a unique, mellow feel to the set, especially during the dramatic Morning Song, in which he wrung heaving, swollen notes from his rig with articulate passion.
READ ON for more of Bryan’s take on UM in Charlotte…
Hot Chip's One Life Stand is one of the most genuine, unpretentious albums of the young year. Without trying to re-invent the wheel, the band has steadily produced albums of increasing quality throughout their career. One Life Stand is the next logical progression in their timeline, a deliciously and deceptively simple affair that showcases the band's best qualities. The subtle differences in their sound aren't forced or fabricated, making the album a unique listen while comforting the listener with a consistent, dance-driven pop style.
Change is always scary, but a painful process of upheaval can often lead to vastly improved circumstances. Such is the case with Dweezil Zappa’s absurdly talented septet, Zappa Plays Zappa. When perpetual Zappa purveyor Ray White unceremoniously left the band last spring, he left a huge vocal gap – he did, after all, lend his unmistakable vocals to dozens of Zappa classics for decades. Having severed ties with both White and another pillar of Zappadom, vocalist/saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock, ZPZ faced the unenviable task of finding someone to absorb the often complex and dynamically demanding vocal aspect of their shows.
Enter Ben Thomas, a guy who, even when performing, looks a little more like a bartender than lead singer for one of the world’s best bands. Able to emulate a wide range of vocal styles and even infuse his own ideas into the proceedings, Thomas has enabled the band to draw from a wider swath of Zappa material than ever. This has led to drastically different set lists and a rapidly growing community of fans that rabidly discuss every move the band makes. Dweezil himself has embraced the role in the spotlight, giving back the obvious love that the fans have for the music.
Music fans new and old hunger to hear Zappa’s music presented in a live setting, and it’s no wonder. On stage is where the material is taken to the highest peaks and is able to inspire the most magnificent feats of musicality. The audience at Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre stood enraptured for the majority of the 2-plus hour show – you couldn’t tear them away from the stage for anything, and there was little shuffling amongst the crowd, which was pleasant. The show was comprised of one jaw-dropping moment after another, and most of the overwhelmingly attentive audience left baffled by the level of skill displayed throughout.
READ ON for more from Bryan on Zappa Plays Zappa…
Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall practically quaked with spiritual energy during the recent Down By The Riverside tour stop. Featuring two of America’s musical treasures, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and The Blind Boys of Alabama, the tour was a showcase of New Orleans music and also a broader tribute to America’s disappearing roots music legacy. The tour concluded on a busy, chilly night in one of the state’s most appropriate venues, and the reverent audience became part of the show on more than one occasion.
Preservation Hall performed in missing man formation due to the unfortunate health issues of longtime bassist Walter Payton. Always the consummate professionals, the septet delivered an engaging, virtuosic performance with the expected perfection and vibrancy. There’s been a changing of the guard and an injection of new talent into the rugged old jazz machine, though the incestuous NOLA music scene tends to keep a lot of last names in place. Director Ben Jaffe, who took over the position from his father, leads a diverse and seasoned group whose ages range from mid-30’s to somewhere in the realm of 70.
Bonded by a tensile musical education that can only be achieved by coming up in New Orleans, the band surged through over an hour of music, touching on many of the city’s most beloved sounds. The classic, Dixieland-ish New Orleans sound dominated the set, but a few of their selections surprised me. I don’t remember their sets including as many be-bop, blues and boogie excursions when I saw them last, but that was ten years ago. Even institutions as staunch as PHJB evolve over time, and they seem to have found fertile, elusive middle ground between the hundred-year-old jazz traditions and more modern ideas – provided your idea of “modern” includes the 1960’s. READ ON for more from Bryan on this fantastic show…
Phish could be America’s most tolerant band, and if they’re not, I’d love to see the act that can top their patience. After all they’ve been through over the course of 26 years, that they can still laugh at the occasionally obnoxious antics of those who pay to see them is a testament to their fortitude.
[Photos by Esther Rodgers]
The quartet’s tour-closing show at the glistening new John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville featured, along with plenty of high-octane music, guitarist Trey Anastasio getting pelted with a glowstick and a naked person disrupting the show – things that would likely provoke a petulant frenzy from many artists of similar stature. Ever vigilant of the crowd’s mental temperature, even in a cavernous arena, the band turned the latter incident into another of their career’s many idiosyncratic touchstones, taking someone else’s very brief (and subsequently painful) moment in the limelight and shaping it into crowd-pleasing revelry.
Vermont’s most famous band ever displays the hardiness inherent in those who inhabit the frozen expanse of their home state, and they’ve applied a strong work ethic while knocking off the clumps of rust and ruin that followed their 2004 “breakup.” In 2009, Phish have steadily gotten their groove back. It’s been a slow process, like a springtime thaw, but the latter part of the Fall 2009 tour was awash in the sound and spectacle of a band finally starting to resemble their former, fantastic selves. After a three-night stand at Madison Square Garden, the band opted to close the two-and-a-half week tour in the relatively tiny town of Charlottesville, VA, near the town of Crozet, where their management company and merchandising outfit are headquartered.
READ ON for more from Bryan on the Charlottesville show…
