Show Reviews

“Some nights it’s just a crush, and some night’s it’s bloodlust,” wrote Craig Finn in his band’s Separation Sunday classic “Stevie Nix.” Some nights it is also a full on party with a band who was on home soil playing to an insane crowd, visibly ecstatic to have a re-energized Hold Steady back celebrating their […]

Tedeschi Trucks Band closed their sold-out three night run at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, December 3rd with two sets of tried and true American Rock ‘n’ Roll that established them as the official torchbearer of the genre. While plenty of acts ranging from Arcade Fire and Wilco to The Black Keys and My Morning […]

Until their song “Far From Any Road” was featured as the theme for the first season of HBO’s True Detective, the Handsome Family were something of a secret. Dabbling in the realm of what some have called gothic Americana, the husband and wife duo of Brett and Rennie Sparks have always been criminally underrated. After […]

At first it seemed an odd booking choice – an eccentric Australian crooner opening for one of the loudest, most intense psych rock bands around. Somehow though, the combination of Alex Cameron and Thee Oh Sees playing on a Sunday night in Portland, Oregon was strangely appropriate. Though Alex Cameron isn’t a big name at […]

The last time this reviewer was Dark Star Orchestra was for their amazing recreation of the last Europe ’72 show. That performance, which kicked off “Jerry Week” in style, was their first appearance at the Ford Amphitheater on Coney Island’s boardwalk. The Paramount, on the other hand, has become Dark Star’s second home during their […]

David Gray played with barely a pause over two hours Sunday night, racing from piano to acoustic guitar between songs at the Apollo Theater in New York, as he cycled through “a comprehensive retrospective” of his 25-year catalog. Big voices are best suited for small spaces, and the Apollo’s 1,500-seat venue afforded a warm, absorbing […]

“If people see me as the godfather of indie rock, than I’m ok with that: clearly I’m not,” said a self deprecating Bruce Hornsby midway through his solo performance on Friday November 18th at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Hornsby was referring to a recent article in Rolling Stone which credits him as […]

When you have a chance to experience music in it’s most purest form, when all is quiet and the resonance of the harmonies and the words and a few strings are crystal clear, it can be pure bliss. A lot of music has gotten away from that but thankfully Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen still […]

In an excellent article in LA Weekly, Andy Hermann recently wrote that Texas songwriter James McMurtry’s “specialty is funny, heartbreaking, richly detailed character studies of midwestern rural white Americans — the demographic that, more than any other, made Trump the winner on Nov. 8.” McMurtry’s rich stories – though mostly fiction – have always provided us […]

It’s been awhile since Caitlin Rose has graced a New York City stage, but she did just that, albeit a bit nervously last Thursday at Mercury Lounge with Daniel Romano. Though Romano and did double duty as Rose’s backing band, the two artists’ performances could not have been more contrasted. Romano opened the show with […]

“Jon, Trevor and myself have always wanted to play together, to play Yes music, and just sort of finally got round to doing it. And I think that’s been helped in this very bizarre way by the sad tragic death of Chris Squire, because something that hit us all was our own mortality, I suppose, […]

This year marked the inaugural year of Sound on Sound Fest (SOS), formerly Fun Fun Fun Fest, and proved that it has what it takes to place within the Austin festival circuit. Though it still had some hiccups throughout the weekend, many times they led to memorable experiences and fun. Sound issues led to impromptu […]

The Record Company played a two night sold out run in NYC last week at Rough Trade and the Bowery Ballroom.  Both nights started off strong with a great performance from the warm up band, Muddy Magnolias – a Nashville soul/rock outfit fronted by two strong-voiced female vocalists Jessy Wilson & Kallie North.  They dominated […]

As NPR’s Bob Boilen pointed out, you really can’t talk about The Orwells without using the word “young”. Having generated a buzz surrounding their debut release, Remember When (2012), the baby faced teens made the collective decision to finish high school early and leave their homes in the suburbs of Chicago, hitting the road in […]

A residency is a wonderful thing for a live music lover. A residency is that rare, regular occurrence that gives a musician and his audience something to look forward to, knowing that once a week for, in this case, a whole month, you each get to go back to the same local bar and sip […]

Halloween is arguably the most anticipated show Phish plays. The band always keeps fans guessing, and over the years their epic theatrics on this holy musical holiday have become nothing short of legendary. Last night Phish added to their legacy as the hint from their Jimmy Fallon soundcheck from earlier this summer came to full […]

Over the years, the Palace Theatre in Albany, New York has been a regular Fall Tour stop for Gov’t Mule. What made their most recent performance on October 29th so unique compared to past shows was that this year, the New York Capitol venue hosted Gov’t Mule’s annual Halloween celebration. The performance honored the band’s […]

Phish returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena last night for the third consecutive show of their 2016 Halloween run. The band offered another evening of salient music although the energy wasn’t quite as there when compared to the previous two nights. Nonetheless, Sunday’s show had plenty of highlights to add to the run with […]

After the crests and troughs of an interesting fall tour there’s not a Phish fan in Sin City regretting their decision to attend the climactic Halloween run of 2016. Stepping back to the MGM Grand Garden Arena stage after a most memorable four show run in 2014, the band has been on fire playing two […]

The 6th annual Hangtown Music Festival filled the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California with sweet, sweet music from October 20th to October 23rd. The weekend was one big highlight after another, from the weather, lineup and performances, to the fans and costumes. Below are just a few of the things that stood out […]