With Steve Kimock continuing to fill in for Mark Karan on guitar, RatDog kicked off a northeast tour first at the Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, Conn, followed the next night by this special Jack Kerouac-themed stop in Lowell to recognize the 50th anniversary of On The Road’s release.
Photo journalist Robert Fischer recently made it up to Empire, MI for the 15th annual Dunegrass Music Festival. Arists on the bill included Dark Star Orchestra, Particle, Yonder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams, David Grisman Quintet, Railroad Earth, Peter Rowan Crucial Reggae, Todd Snider, Martin Sexton, Great American Taxi, Greensky Bluegrass, Cornmeal, Daisy May & Seth Bernard, and more… Here are some of the highlights:
While Dax’s voice can successfully range all over the map, his song writing focuses in one realm – darkness. His soon to be released album is titled We Sing of Only Blood and Love and that sums up the content nicely, with the love being more on brooding tip as opposed to puppies and flowers.
Much has changed for the Black Crowes since I last reviewed them for Glide during the first and last shows of their reunion run at Hammerstein Ballroom two years ago. After reassembling their classic mid-90s lineup (by adding drummer Steve Gorman) during their subsequent homecoming stand in Atlanta, drugs and egos seemingly reared their ugly heads again.
Now two-years old in the states, the UK-based Virgin Festival (V Fest) was expanded to a two-day event featuring The Police, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys and Velvet Revolver.
Indie Rock has been crashing into the “world’s most famous arena” as of late and the blogosphere darlings of last winter – Cold War Kids – decided to weather some predictable internet-backlash in style by opening for the Muse at MSG; an off-beat warm up before crossing the pond for summer festivals and a fall which primarily consists of opening for the White Stripes.
Summers and Copeland claim publicly that they've struck that delicate balance between the acceptance of Sting as the undisputed creative force and providing him the freedom to utilize it, warts and all. That fragile equilibrium was in full display on the very same stage where they officially said goodbye. The results were electrifying enough to remind everyone in attendance why they were so big in the first place.
On the surface, St. Louis country-rock artist Rena Summers has a lot of things going her way. She has just released her debut album, It’s All About You, a collection of songs that were mostly written herself. She has a band that knows how to bring her songs to life, capturing simple and pure energy to complement her vocals. And on this special night, she got to show off her tunes and her band off at one of St. Louis’ best venues for intimate, live music: The Sheldon.
For a musician of his talent and stature, it’s hard to believe that Bela Fleck had not played with his band the Flecktones at Carnegie Hall before their show on June 30th, a part of the New York City version of the JVC Jazz Festival. Long overdue, this performance delivered all the genre-bending mastery for which the Flecktones are known.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been mentally preparing myself to write a bad review of The Police at Madison Square Garden. Every critic and blogger was all over these guys for changing the sound of a few tunes and playing the same songs every night. The first shows of the tour sounded mediocre at best and had me doubting their reunion. But I’m glad to report that last night The Police showed the sold-out crowd why they were once the greatest band in the world.
