Show Reviews

Within minutes of Rudy Royston’s second set Tuesday night at the Village Vanguard in New York, the drummer and leader of the band 303 was already apologizing. His impromptu solo brought “Blade,” a new song that thrived on its own suspense, to a sudden halt. “That was not how it was supposed to end,” Royston […]

On a hot, swampy Texas summer night, the last thing you want to do is stand in close proximity to hundreds of sweaty overdressed individuals chain drinking cold whiskey in an attempt to drown out the uncomfortable heat. That is, unless you’re one of the lucky ones who made it to the Kevin Morby show […]

Originally scheduled to play at St. Andrews Hall, a venue change saw Thrice play at Detroit’s Fillmore on June 22nd with excellent opening acts to boot. Gates, who opened and frankly sounded much like latter-day Thrice parallels were able to get a good contrast of sounds with the next act ready to go up. Local […]

Friday, June 24th was a warm summer night in Brooklyn, NY, a perfect evening to get out and see some live music, which is exactly what many hip young Brooklynites did as they crowded into the sold out Union Pool for an hour long set of Southern flared rock n’ roll  from Nashville’s own, Natural […]

With the soundboard from Saturday’s show Dead & Company show playing through the speakers, the magnificence of the first show at Citi Field is confirmed. Guitarist John Mayer has made no secret of the fact that he found the Dead’s music at a time where he hit rock bottom. He was a bona fide pop […]

During the summer of 2015, Sean Lennon’s neo-psychedelic band Ghost of a Saber Tooth filled the opening slot for a string of Primus shows, a trek that found Lennon partaking in spontaneous back stage jams and sitting in during the headliner’s set. Primus bassist Les Claypool was so impressed by Lennon’s musical talents and vision […]

Booking a concert on Father’s Day can be a bit of a gamble for some bands. However, this was not the case for An Evening with The Avett Brothers, which quickly sold out, and judging by the amount of families in the audience, it was a great gift for many fathers this year. Currently touring […]

Walking onto the festival grounds on Saturday, the atmosphere was noticeably subdued, and the crowds lighter for the various opening acts in the early afternoon. On the Lawn Stage, festival goers were starting to gather for soulful Parson James, whose hymnal style set was the perfect anecdote for anyone who was still recovering from the […]

For those who follow the psych rock scene, Heron Oblivion is something of a supergroup, for lack of a better term. The San Francisco group consists of Ethan Miller and Noel Von Harmonson of the group Comets On Fire. Miller may be better known these days as the leader of 70’s-style, testosterone-charged Howlin’ Rain – […]

You wouldn’t know it from their appearance, but Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement are all about the rock and roll lifestyle. At least they professed that during their Flight of the Conchords performance on June 16th at the historic Detroit Fox Theatre. They are also chronicling their behind the music in a book of their […]

Following a crisp and honest take on the obscure original gem, “My Hometown,” four songs in to his performance at the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts on June 16th, Joe Jackson had a word with the sold-out room. Following the performance of this number from 1968’s Big World, Jackson realized his hometown of Portsmouth, England […]

While not an ideal start weather-wise, the ominous dark skies surrounding the Woodlands at Dover Downs did not deter thousands of excited festival goers. Music fans flocked to the scene of another great summer festival kick off exuberant with the promise of a great weekend filled with a variety of great bands and festival activities. […]

“I promise that you’ll know one song tonight. Or, maybe five.” quipped the rarely serious and perpetually jovial drummer of the world’s most famous rock and roll band during his two hour set in Worcester, Massachusetts. Carrying on with his ever popular All Starr Band tour series, the legend himself, along with Steve Lukather (TOTO) […]

Yet again, Disc Jam offered up one of the most exciting festivals of the year. With the ability to witness over 60+ acts, playing over four days on four stages, it was a smashing success.Patrons who attended universally stated that it was the best Disc Jam s far. Conceived in June 2011 at Sturbridge, MA, Disc Jam has […]

Tom Petty’s original band, Mudcrutch, is midway through its brief tour of small-venue shows and played the second of a sold-out two-night stand at Webster Hall in New York City on Saturday night in support of their second album, Mudcrutch 2.  Despite the presence of Petty and two of the Heartbreakers, they were there to […]

The music at Northside Festival kicked off Thursday June 8th with a pair of Canadian indie-rockers – Land of Talk and Wolf Parade – at the outdoor stage in McCarren Park, and continued into the wee hours of Sunday night. (Northside Content and Northside Innovation preceded, each two days, hosting a series of talks, expos and […]

The new Statesman Skyline Theater grand opening in Austin boasted an impressive bill on Saturday with Boston touring on their 40th anniversary tour and preceded by Dennis DeYoung performing the music Styx. Fans couldn’t have asked for a nicer night for Austin’s newest music venue’s inaugural concert. Situated right on the Colorado River, fans of […]

“Not sure who is going to wind up in the White House. I was thinking about running. I got the hair and we need more boobs in the race,” joked –  on June 8th, 2016 to a sold out crowd at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center. Touring behind a new record called Pure and Simple, out this […]

With any Sunday at Bonnaroo comes the realization that the thing is almost over. Monday and the real world loom over the farm like a thunderhead as attendees scramble to get their last Amish doughnut or to catch that last great set that will send them happily onto the highway. As always on Sunday, the […]

Saturday at Bonnaroo 2016 wound up being a solid day despite the presence of two of the most vapid artists of the decade. At this point, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis seem like one of the longest-running jokes in music. Their oddly-placed set on the main stage – between Band of Horses and Pearl Jam – […]