Show Reviews

Boston Calling provided some serious eventfulness as Day Two of the festival moved along. After speaking to some of the festival attendees, it became clear that Saturday’s line up was pretty great in most ways. Seeing Boston’s own Cousin Stizz fill his audience with pride to be from the city, or when The XX played […]

In all honesty, watching Sigur Ros for the first time live… in the rain… at night was more than worth it. As was attending the first day of Boston Calling 2017. This year BC worked with Harvard University, opening a space for over 40,000 people; bringing Boston Calling to Allston, instead of its usual City […]

The Mother Hips have been together for over twenty-five years. That’s something. That’s impressive as hell. When the Grateful Dead hit twenty-five years they were celebrating in stadiums filled to the brim with adoring fans. The Hips have “The Hipnic.” It was conceived by the band and founder of (((folkYEAH!))) productions, Britt Govea, nine years […]

For someone who has been playing music for his entire life – who literally shared the stage with the likes of Johnny Cash and Lester Flatt while still a boy – you might expect Marty Stuart to have burned out or retire comfortably by now. In fact, the opposite is true, as the Silver Fox […]

Since forming in 2004, The Black Angels have been instrumental in growing and influencing both the Austin music scene and the modern psychedelic rock revival around the world. With their creative collective, The Reverberation Society, founding members Alex Maas and Christian Bland started the Austin Psych Fest (recently renamed Levitation) which, unsurprisingly, is primarily booked […]

Sometimes the name says it all. And, with their moniker, Metallica has, more or less, set the bar to be the most metal band on the scene, going as far back as their genesis in 1981. Today’s current line-up features James Hetfield (lead vocals, guitar), Kirk Hammett (lead guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums) and Robert Trujillo […]

The Pixies kicked off their sold-out, three-night run through Boston with a vintage set at the House of Blues on May 19th that proved beyond a doubt that with respect to founding bassist Kim Deal, Paz Lenchantin fits into this quartet better than POTUS in a Russian bath house. Throughout the course of their nearly […]

“Tonight was just like the old days. It was great,” Exene Cervenka told me after X’s show in New Orleans on May 18th at One-Eyed Jacks, as she wiped sweat from her face, still glowing with the energy from playing to a packed house. “It WAS a great show,” John Doe reiterated. “Couldn’t have fucked […]

Music nerds and vinyl junkies from the greater NYC area convened in Brooklyn this past Tuesday for another installment of DJ Jonathan Toubin’s NY Night Train events and a rare East Coast appearance from OG Southern soul-man Don Bryant and his fabulous backing band the Bo-Keys. Working as staff songwriter for Hi Records out of […]

[rating=8.00] Its title to the contrary, Canadian singer/songwriter Daniel Romano’s new album seems remarkably free of the pressure that might burden most artists hoping to get on the radar these days. With his seventh album to date, he’s emerged even more confident than before, owing at least in part to the fact that his last […]

Set against the backdrop of the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater as a surreal burning red moon ascended through the twilight, the still calm evening shattered to Lettuce’s Adam Deitch’s bass drum pounding through your chest. Erick Coomes, thumbed out the bass masterfully as the remaining band members build upon the harmony allowing for each musician […]

There’s a lot going on in the Deadhead universe right now. Last month, The Grateful Dead Movie celebrated its 40th anniversary with a one-night return to cinemas. Last week, the Get Shown The Light boxed set was released just in time for 40th anniversary of those shows (New Haven, Boston, Cornell, Buffalo). Later this month, […]

The tsunami of sound that is Mastodon, swept through Landsdown Street and the House of Blues on May 8th and left a wake of musical destruction behind as they tore through an unrelenting and monstrous twenty-song set list. Troy Sanders (bass, vox), Bill Kelliher (guitar), Brent Hinds (guitar, vox) and Brann Dailor (drums, vox) took […]

Just last week Luther Dickinson was bouncing around New Orleans, playing a variety of sets to coincide with that city’s Jazzfest, but now, with a new album on the horizon, he has teamed back up with his brother Cody and gotten their main band, the North Mississippi Allstars back on the road. On May 11th […]

Walking into the Crystal Ballroom on Monday, May 8th – a venue situated right in the middle of the liberal bastion that is Portland – felt like stepping into Trump country. In Portland the crowd came as a bit of a shocker, but camo hats and cold Coors Lights be damned, this crowd was ready […]

On Sunday, Jazz Fest closed the book on it’s 48th year of music, food and fun. And what a good book it was. No other festival can boast music with so many flavors happening all at the same time. You can walk from a blues stage, where Jonathan Boogie Long and Tab Benoit put on […]

Entering their third decade as a band, Son Volt feel more vital than ever. This can be evidenced by their current tour, nearly all of which has been sold out. It is not simply the fact that the alt-country stalwarts have released a new album, Notes of Blue, but the fact that Jay Farrar’s lyrics […]

When your Artist Of The Day sets the tone for what the day will be like then you know it’s going to be hot and funky. Big Sam Williams brought his Funky Nation back to the main Acura Stage to heat up an already hot afternoon. Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Big Freedia and to end it […]

What happened on the 1st Sunday last week of Jazz Fest – wind and rain – happened again on Wednesday, the day before the 2nd weekend was to open. Just when everything was drying out, here came the pouring rain and it kept raining into the early opening hours of Jazz Fest on Thursday. But […]

There is a prevailing vibe that blows around the Manzanita, Oaks and Coastal Redwoods on the top of a mountain at a place called Camp Krem in a town called Boulder Creek on the central coast of California. At a festival called DIO (Do It Ourselves) Fest, that vibe is rad. It’s not just that […]