The DVD portion of JJ Grey & MoFro’s Brighter Days is more than just a concert video. It is a combination travelogue and biography that illustrates the frontman’s roots so vividly, the impact of the story is as powerful as the joyfully explosive end result of those roots, namely the Mofro concert that comprises the bulk of the playing time.
Long celebrated for his ability to capture the mood of a specific American moment (New Jersey 1975, USA 1985, New York post 9/11,) Bruce Springsteen had his work cut out for him with his new album, Wrecking Ball. For such an earnest songwriter to strike a resonant tone in perhaps the greatest social, economic, and cultural upheaval in American history is no easy task
Amy Ray may have been in this business for thirty years, but there’s no sign of her slowing down. If anything, she’s continuing to turn the volume up.
Although Drive by Truckers have never been down and out like the protagonists of their songs, these musicians haven’t exactly driven an easy road either. Last December, Shonna Tucker, their bassist since 2003 and lead singer of a handful of stellar DBT numbers, abruptly left the band. If that wasn’t enough of a rock and roll cliché, the three guitar southern rooted rock band’s equipment truck broke down the night prior to Phoenix, forcing the band to spend the night in the snowy mountain town of Flagstaff waiting for a fix.
It has been printed that Umphrey's McGee best describe their music as “heavy, not hippie”. After their most recent trip to Southern California, where they played at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, their music might best be described as “acoustically heavy, not hippie”.
No group is more responsible for the creation and popularization of Celtic punk than the Dropkick Murphys (no, not even Flogging Molly). To say Saint Patrick’s Day is a big date on their tour calendar is an understatement. St. Patty’s Day is to the Dropkicks what Halloween and New Years Eve are combined for most jambands.
And what exactly did Megadeth give to the loud and excited crowd? One hell of a show. Getting all riled up over some fan’s stupidity only invigorated the band to play a balls-to-the-wall locomotive set, culminating in a masterful fire-breathing dragon of an instrumental orgy of “Holy Wars/Silent Scorn”. Proper credit has never been given to this band, much less for their guitar onslaughts, grown ever more vigorous with the addition of Broderick in 2010. There is definitely a new fire in their soul, which is apparent on old Megadeth standards “Peace Sells”, “Symphony Of Destruction” and “A Tout Le Monde”, which saw Lacuna Coil vocalist Cristina Scabbia joining the gravel-voiced one for a duet.
Part of the thing that makes the Swedish indie pop trio Miike Snow so intriguing is their unflinching love of variety. Not content to simply make great dance cuts like “Sylvia” and “Black and Blue” as they did on their first release, they dip into the surreal with equal aplomb and dabble in a host of sounds and genres. This is the sort of creativity that helps define bands’ greatness and the desire to try new things is what makes their music noteworthy.
Coming of Age is an amazingly crafted debut from a young band we’ll hopefully hear more from as time progresses. It will be interesting to see how their songwriting and thematic elements develop as they age and matriculate among the rock and roll lifestyle. They’ve captured a particular slice of life well this time around. Here’s to hoping they keep it up and reward us with a long career.
Beauty pervades even the saddest situations, and Happy Book gives the impression that the perpetually ornery Jerry Joseph is coming to grips with that and maybe loosening up a bit.
