Show Reviews

It is amazing that a band playing together since 1981 can still manage to play with such grace and fire, fresh songs alongside classics, with everything working out so seamlessly. Hopefully the Yeah Yeah Yeahs can reach that point someday. But if they needed any guidance, all they had to do was open their ears to one of the best bands of the last quarter century playing beside them.

Senegalese native Maria de Barros is the kind of musician to whom one can’t help but surrender oneself. Full of the joie de vivre endemic to so many performers of African heritage; the music, dance moves, and smile of de Barros clearly captivated the Town Hall crowd. They displayed seemingly boundless enthusiasm, dancing and singing along with de Barros’ music, despite the almost unbearably high temperatures in the non-air conditioned building.

Mad props need to be given to the good people at JellyNYC for providing free Sunday concerts in a quintessentially Brooklyn atmosphere, an old abandoned swimming pool.

The Roots not only demonstrated a dominance over the field of artistically innovative hip-hoppers, but stand as a living testament to why Hip-Hop is seen by many to be the “new rock n’ roll.”

They reminded us of the work in New Orleans that still needs to be done, but more importantly, of the joy that their cultural roots will forever produce, through the good and the bad. This was no simple task to achieve, and obviously, Galactic is more than just another simple band.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have been hanging out with My Morning Jacket…a lot. And it has helped turn this blues and folksy quartet from Waitsfield, VT into a full fledged rock band.

Over the years the band has undergone an extensive evolution from a purely atmospheric jazz fusion band to what Glide has referred to in the past as a, “power rock trio that has only begun to scratch the surface of potential.”

On the evening of a dust storm following a 110 degree scorcher, there was enough empty lawn space at the Cricket Pavillion to set up a par 3 golf hole. The show was clearly undersold as opener Michael McDonald delivered his gray haired/blue eyed soul. Through his work with the Doobie Brothers and his solo catalogue, McDonald has one of the most recognizable baritones in rock history, as you can’t walk into a supermarket without hearing him play through the PR.

One of Umphrey’s most impressive feats is their uncanny ability to take that cheesy 80’s “soaring eagle” guitar tone you loved back in high school, and actually make it cool again.

It is a rare musical act that can get Seattle’s normally staid crowd not only moving, but enthusiastically dancing – particularly in a relatively small club packed to the gills with an animated crowd. Yet the story of the Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone is nothing if not impressive, a story of triumph over challenges far more trying than mere listener boredom.

Less than two weeks after Kobayashi downed 53 and 3/4 hotdogs on the boardwalk of Coney Island, crowds once again crammed the shore ready to check out the sights and sounds of the 2006 Village Voice Siren Fest.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Portland Oregon was a gracious host to the Waterfront Blues Festival. In its 18th year of existence, this ever-expanding festival seems to annually grow in both numbers of attendees and the name power of its headliners. With a beautiful setting that is shadowed one side by Portland

Under the blazing sun, Phil Lesh and Friends (Larry Campbell guitar, Barry Sless pedal steel, Joan Osborne vocals, John Molo drums, Greg Osby sax, and Rob Barraco keys) began stretching it out from the first note, with a patient jam that eventually fell into “Truckin’.”

Fresh off the release of her third studio album, Springtime Can Kill You, Jolie Holland is on the road again, touring with a pair of back-ups, her fiddle, guitar, and piano. The former Be Good Tanyas singer recently put on a nearly flawless (musically) show at Seattle’s Triple Door, a vintage club which proved the perfect venue for her vintage-sounding voice.

Playing the casino circuit is about the equivalent of the county fair tour, but with cars lined up on the side of the "Beeline" highway, and about eight thousand fans in attendance for the twin billing of Skid Row/Tesla at the Fort McDowell Casino, you’d think it was 1991.

Accompanied by the entirety of the Boston Pops, the Kentucky-bred powerhouse tore through a set of tunes that stretched from all ends of their catalog and incorporated the classical orchestra into their pieces with a compositional competence that is rare in the mainstream musical community today.

Last Tuesday, moe. returned once again to the city that has played such an important role in their history, taking to the SummerStage with a gorgeous Central Park as their backdrop.

With Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie, Built to Spill arguably round out the current top three of hard-working, indie-pop, Northwest-based bands. Though hailing from Idaho, Built to Spill has long held the affections of the Seattle music scene firmly in its grasp. Unsurprisingly, the first night of their recent three night stand at The Showbox showed them to be in top form.

Touring in support of his recent album, The Animal Years, Josh Ritter easily packed two recent nights at Seattle’s Triple Door theatre – and he didn’t disappoint. Backed by a talented band, the Moscow, Idaho, native proved why he has such a large, faithful following, both in the US and abroad. His stage presence displayed a clear love for music and performing, his smile rarely leaving his face as he pleased fans with songs both new and old.

Under the lighted marquee of the Aladdin Theater, in Portland, Oregon, the musical magic of Hot Buttered Rum (formerly including the descriptive “String Band” in its name) filled the intimate 1920’s theater with their high altitude bluegrass groove.