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.
