Posts by Shane Handler

The poppy-punk trio of Male Bonding may not have the best band name in rock and roll but they craft some catchy tunes that will have you shimmying along for the brief (32 minute) full length release, Endless Now.  Nothing here is going to weigh down your mind or soul, but sunny tracks like “Tame The Sun” will put a smile on anyone’s face and the quick changing “Seems To Notice Now” is just one of the single worthy jingles. 

Julian Velard's second full length – Mr. Saturday Night – makes for a modern greatest his package of the 70's catchiest beats and harmonies.  Velard's 2009 debut was released after he was plucked from relative obscurity off MySpace and found himself the center of a record company bidding war

The co-headling Dawes/Blitzen Trapper  bill made for a quintessential first week gig at Phoenix’s new Crescent Ballroom. The Ballroom offers excellent sight lines along with small bleacher section,  good beer, no douche-bag staff – allowing  the venue to appear it was built from a indie record store war-room strategy –    “how to build a kick-ass music room.” And here were two bands that have experience playing both big and small stages and who play with an experimental folk side that are influenced by Jackson Browne to the Flaming Lips.

So take a listen to the bluesy Stomp of “Bring Out Your Dead” from Greensky Bluegrass’ fourth studio effort Handguns and you get something that sounds like The Black Keys gone Telluride.   Yes, Greensky Bluegrass are hardly strictly bluegrass, as the Kalamazoo, MI band has won over crowds from Bonnaroo to the Northwest String Summit.  The 14 tracks on Handguns stretch from the 11 minute jam vehicle “All Four” to the old timey flavors of “Hot Dogs (On Parade)” to the anthemic qualities of “Don’t Lie.”  On the heels of the release of Handguns, Glide had a chance to get some very personal and revealing answers from band members : Paul Hofffman (mandolin), Anders Beck (dobro), Dave Bruzza (guitar), Mike Devol (upright bass) and Mike Bont (banjo).

Matthew Ryan’s 13th album, I Recall Standing As Though Nothing Could Fall (2011) continues to genre define, while evolving with the spare music accompaniment that accompanies Ryan’s raw lyrics.  Ryan said it best about his lyrical motivations in this interview with Glide – “I’m just documenting the life and observations of a fairly intelligent human that has a stubborn belief that we’re capable of so much more.”

“There are the things that haunt my mind: The blurred relationship of good vs. evil, ghosts, and the lessons and stories of history….. I’d like to think that this isn’t an exhaustive list,” says Montreal based artist Chris Velan on the vast inspiration of lyrical themes found in his songs.  His latest recording Fables For Fighters (NewSong Recordings/Fontana North) is influenced by a range of influences spanning David Byrne, Randy Newman, Neil Young, West African music and reggae that can be summed up best as “smart pop/folk song-smithing.”

Austin via Baton Rouge Americana indie rockers Wheeler Brothers released their debut album Portraits on June 21 on Bismeaux RecordsEstablishing a loyal, local fanbase, Wheeler Brothers began 2011 with a sold out performance at Austin's esteemed venue The Parish.  Glide recently chatted with the band via email for a get to know the Wheeler Brothers session,

And for a finale Folds played his role of Glee conductor and divided the audience into three part harmonies to sing “Not the Same,” his retrospective to an acquaintance’s acid trip turned born again.  28 songs in two hours is nothing to complain about, especially for a guy on less than six hours sleep, with plenty of dust storm related improv.  It might be too early in the game too coin Folds as an "American Original," but there's no argument that his hows certainly fall into the unique category.

Since 2004, The McDowell Mountain Music Festival has served as a vital event for fans of roots/world/jam based bands that typically skip the Phoenix market on their tour routes. With a list of prior headliners ranging from The Flaming Lips, The Black Crowes, Ratdog, Gov’t Mule and The John Butler Trio; The McDowell Mountain Music Festival has staged a local festival that can be best summed up in one word – “chill.”  With 100% of the festival’s proceeds benefiting local charities Phoenix Day and Ear Candy, it goes without saying that his year’s event offers a lot to feel good about

The Arcade Fire re-write the rules of what a rock band looks like, appearing as the “high school band geeks” gone rock star cool. And as the band and fans sang in unison "ooh ooh ooh oooh” on the set finale “Wake Up,"  the Comerica Theater sounded like a World Cup soccer match – call it a win-win night for all in attendance.

Over the past 15 years, Green Mtn. Concert Services (GMCS), an established leader in Crowd Management and Security have been sought after for concerts and sporting events throughout the Northeast since 1995.  From the Grateful Dead in Highgate, Phish festivals, and  Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, the folks at GMCS have not only spearheaded the safety of the events but also the planning of it.  Glide recently caught up with GMCS President and CEO Kevin Cheney to get a bit more insight to what goes on in the world of security and event services.

Obviously Bright Eyes has entered a new world of discovery that is a few crystals short of entering Enya territory, making The People's Key a love it or hate it recording.  But like Bob Dylan during his Slow Training Coming/Saved era, this will serve as another chapter in his still burgeoning career.  

Low Country Blues, Allman’s first solo album since 1997 and produced by  – who else these days  T Bone Burnett- pays homage to his roots with a reworking of songs from Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Skip James and more. Burnett has assembled a band that includes guitarist Doyle Bramhall II and Dr. John to capture the spirit of swamps blues and themes of regret, tears and redemption.   Allman’s voice stars front and center, a breather from competing with the guitar acrobats of the fertile gunslingers in his “other” band.

The last time Phish celebrated New Years Eve at Madison Square Garden, it was an overly-hyped comeback show to what would eventually become a turbulent, short-lived second phase of their career.  This time, eight years later, it was a much more comfortable embrace, with the band back on solid ground, an open-ended view of the future, and a proper nod to ghosts of hot dogs past.

The opening to Regina Spektor’s Live In London DVD highlights an orchestral snippet of Guns N Roses’ “November Rain” before jumping into Spektor’s own “On the Radio,” where she sings – “And on the radio/You hear November Rain/That solo's awful long/But it's a good refrain.”   One wouldn’t expect a classical music prodigy to be a hard rock fan, but we also expect one to be such a good percussive piano player, where her ivory talents make for more a pop rock foundation than sleepy melodies.

From one bar story to another, Please Stand By rolls by quick, one Crazy Heart anthem after another, except these guys aren’t has-beens playing bowling alleys.  Amaker’s voice is more spoken word than country howl, which depreciates any old timey gracefulness for a rougher edge. Although Brent Amaker and the Rodeo don’t score any points for originality, these guys are no posers. Grab the bourbon and enjoy.

AC/DC: High-Voltage Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History by Phil Sutcliffe is all that you want out of a hardcover/coffee table book:  pictures galore.  And like AC/DC’s power chord repetitive formula, this illustrated history is quite simple to read: big letters, big pictures and big pages.

Yeah, the Gorillaz threw down and it made for of those shows that went by too fast, as the  visual and audio stimulation was non –stop. These studio caressed songs weren’t built for touring, but Gorillaz did a masterful job of reproducing these complex songs into live A+ winners.

Self-described as “sonic brutality,” The UK’s Jim Jones Revue is a powerhouse of vintage 50s punk and soul.  Whipping crowds into a frenzy with their stripped down, piano-heavy, Jerry Lee Lewis flare, JJR is gaining momentum with early praise from the British music press – and nods from notable rockers like Jack White and Chris Robinson.  Now they confirm those praises with their sophomore release, Burning Your House Down. 

The Budos Band has been playing their brand of “Afro Soul” since 2005, where they’ve recorded at their label's own studio, Daptone's House of Soul, in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Their brand of Afro Soul can best be described as “Ethiopian music with a soul undercurrent to it, sprinkled with a little bit of sweet 60's stuff on top.