Shane Handler

Caravan Of Thieves – Acoustic Swing Purveyors

Judging from some of the vivacious story-telling on Cavaran of Thieves’ debut Bouquet and their dramatic live performances, you’d think this project was a pure off-broadway achievement.  Instead the quartet led by husband and wife duo Fuzz and Carrie Sangiovanni (vocals and acoustic guitars) have carved a niche with their unique blend of gypsy folk/rock and captivating live performances, bringing new version of "live entertainment" to clubs throughout the Northeast.

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The Dejas – Speeding Softly

The Dejas may be fall into the dream pop/ indie-pop/rock duo category, but these two kindred spirits are far from pretentious.   Following their sold out Speeding Softly CD release show in late February at the House of Blues Foundation Room in Boston, Callie Lipton and Aaron Katz, who make up The Dejas, proved to be more than grateful to the packed room

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Dr. Dog: Higher Ground, South Burlington, VT 1/28/10

It's a pleasure to watch a band develop as songwriters, recording artists and performers, especially if their audience grows along with them. January 28th is the first time Dr. Dog's commanded the stage in Higher Ground's Ballroom rather than it's smaller Showcase Lounge and the audience filled the larger room comfortably. And happily too.

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Spoon: Transference

Transference remains a grower with its brooding underbelly, but once you get it, you’re thankful for the not-so obvious pop nods. The one catchy exception is “Written In Reverse,” where the ker-plunky piano and crashing drums make for another silent classic. With Transference Spoon is further cementing their status as cult survivor rather than a pop/blog flash in the pan, thanks to their intense consistency and only selling out to their fan-base, not  the mainstream.

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Vandaveer : DC-by-way-of-Kentucky tunesmith Mark Charles Heidinger

Vandaveer is the alt-folk song-singing/record making/globetrotting project penned and put forth by DC-by-way-of-Kentucky tunesmith Mark Charles Heidinger. Vandaveer’s debut album, Grace & Speed, a mostly live, stripped down affair, swiftly entered this great big dusty world in the spring of 2007. Touring continually on both sides of the Atlantic ever since, Vandaveer has played 250+ shows, sharing stages with a host of artists including Bon Iver, Vetiver, Alela Diane, Alejandro Escovedo, Vashti Bunyan, Bill Callahan and Fleet Foxes.  Vandaveer’s sophomore effort, Divide & Conquer, touches upon similar themes found in its elder sibling, winding timeworn themes of love & death, malice & goodwill, sin & perseverance into (mostly) four-minute vignettes.

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Jeff Tweedy: Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix, AZ 12/27/09

es, it was Christmas with the Tweedys as the now beloved Wilco front-man travelled to the Grand Canyon with his wife Susie, sons Sam and Spencer to spend the holidays with Tweedy’s sister.  So for us lucky Arizona residents Tweedy decided to book a single gig at Phoenix’s Orpheum Theatre, for a reason he explained as “a way to pay for his family's visit to his sister's house for the holidays.”  Whether or not that is true, it doesn’t matter – it is sure as hell beats The Nutcracker. 

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Steez

As we all know, it’s damn near impossible to blow up on the jamband scene, so don’t let Steez fool you. After releasing their first feature length debut this past August, Creepfunk Crusade, the funky Madison kids did crack their first issue of Relix; get named New Groove of the Month on Jambands, receive a nod as one of the ten most influential Madison bands of the decade; and are currently in the running studio album of the year on the Homegrown Music Network, but that all comes after six years of pounding the pavement

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It Might Get Loud: by David Guggenheim

It Might Get Loud is as revealing as a guitar documentary gets, even with the warts and all finale of the three playing a rough version of The Band’s “The Weight.”  But that’s what makes the film worthy, it shows three rock stars at their most vulnerable and human – proving once again, the guitar rules over everything else.

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Crash Kings

LA based trio, Crash Kings, are putting their own unique spin on the three-man-band concept.  Fusing keyboard-born compositions with agressive layers of rock, their crafty tunes are accomplished without the hint of a guitar.  Incorporating a clavinet (a keyboard with guitar strings) outfitted through a distortion pedal, the result is an arsenal of innovative and rich sound.

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Phish: Festival 8 – Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, CA 10/30-11/1/09

As Phish’s powerful rendition of The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street defined their Halloween desert escapade, Festival 8, it was a line from the immortal songwriting team of Jagger/Richards  that best summed up the drama of Phish festivals 1-7:  “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

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