With Neko Case and Dan Bejar playing live with The New Pornographers, artists that had two of 2006’s best albums (Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and Destroyer’s Rubies), the evening’s performance in Tucson could have been billed as: The New Pornographers feat: Neko Case and Dan Bejar.
Jacob Fred are on top of their game, a group that just keeps developing into new, refreshing directions while always paying tribute to the jazz masters. Fittingly Hass reminded the audience near the end of the set to remember to, “listen to a little jazz everyday.”
Rilo Kiley came through Boston’s Avalon Ballroom, hoping to give fans a taste of their A game, but wound up delivering a performance that was less than stellar. A lot has changed since Rilo Kiley performed in Beantown last, and the changes within the groups dynamic were evident from the start.
John Cowan has some pretty big shoes to fill: his own. After all, here is a guy who has been doing everything from country to bluegrass, blues to soul and gospel to rock in roll for over thirty years and doing it well. He has a voice like no other, he has been a driving force in helping to open country and bluegrass and fusing together all kids of music into one sound and bringing them to an ever-widening audience. Cowan’s performance September 1st at the Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte, NC, did not disappoint.
The energy on Friday night was unbeatable, and the show was example of how Interpol is a band that is confident, and ready to call the shots – anytime, anyplace.
After reading my review of the Allman Brothers Band show we attended just a few weeks ago, my buddy DJ had just one complaint. "They're not going to stretch things out like they do at the Beacon. You just can't expect that." While the ABB may have showed such restraint in New Jersey last month, I am proud to report that Gov't Mule did no such thing as they kicked off their "Mighty High" tour at the Central Park Summerstage on September 6.
As the bartender at The Bowery Ballroom told me on Thursday night, you really can’t go wrong with a guy from Minnesota. And as it just so happened, Minneapolis’ Mark Olson and his cross-cultural band took to the stage at The Bowery Ballroom with a fresh and energetic half-step that was exciting and enjoyable. Olson has spent the last two years enduring the highs and lows of life: the sadness of a divorce, the healing power of music – all captured on the former Jayhawk’s first official solo release, The Salvation Blues.
Austin, Texas may very well be the greatest city in the world. I can’t speak to the city’s infrastructure, its public transportation, its race relations, its garbage pick-up or its political competency, but when there’s unrelated piles of vomit splashed all over famed 6th Street at closing time, you get my vote. That’s a city that knows how to deliver that glorious metaphorical reacharound.
The Osheaga Music Festival returned to beautiful Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal, QC for its second year in a row. The festival initially boasted an all-star line-up with recent buzz-worthy acts such as Amy Winehouse and Peter, Bjorn, and John, but due to unforeseen circumstances the two artists had to drop out of the festival. However, with The Smashing Pumpkins, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Interpol, and Feist on board, the festival was far from a shortage of heavy hitters.
The members of Umphrey’s McGee and the Disco Biscuits share many common traits: freewheeling attitude, outstanding musicianship, a penchant for complex, proggy song structures, the ability to seamlessly segue between songs. In an appropriate pairing, they shared the stage on 8/15/07 at McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn, New York, the Williamsburg venue created from the crumbling remains of a former community pool.
