There's been a palpable flow to a couple of the Grateful Dead Road Trips releases, but nothing so tangible as that which distinguishes the latest issue from the summer tour with the legendary “Wall of Sound.” It's no illusion each CD of the triple set segues to the next on the way to a rousing finish.
Jack White’s newest offering stomped into NYC on a humid July night and crunched to a sold-out-fired-up house in Terminal 5. This time the “supergroup” comes equipped with Allison Mosshart from The Kills, Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age and Jack Lawrence best known as playing bass in White’s other “supergroup” The Raconteurs. Before we get to them though, a word or twenty about the opener Screaming Females.
While his band, Minibar, is on hiatus, Simon Petty has resurfaced, recording under the alias Solomon’s Seal. His solo offering, The Sea, The Sea, is a collection of mostly delicate acoustic tunes that tug at the soul and bring a sense of wonder.
f this were the late 80’s/early 90’s, MTV still mattered an played videos while having a Buzz Bin, then “Skeletons”, the title track off of Tiny Masters of Today new album, would have been a huge hit.
Given the otherworldly atmosphere of The Church’s recordings, it’s an intriguing prospect to anticipate the Australian quartet in concert and find out how they replicate the density of their music in the spirit of the moment.
With the third installment in their archival release series, Widespread Panic has given their fans Christmas in June with what many consider one of, if not the best, performance of their career. This multi-track recording has been professionally mastered and contains a three disc set recorded at Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama on April 2, 2006. Huntsville 96 captures the band coming off their infamous “Sit-n-Ski Tour” through the Rockies which gave the boys time to relax, ski and play some tunes in an acoustic setting.
Fronted by David Nelson on guitar and vocals with Buddy Cage on pedal steel, the chemistry of the current NRPS goes further than just the band personnel. Robert Hunter collaborates with Nelson on a half dozen cuts and the long-time Grateful Dead lyricist demonstrates an elegant command of language on the title song, while the band's playing on a close to eight minute track is articulate in its own way
So the title is throwing you off huh? This is not a greatest hits package, it is a scrapbook of the first 16 years (all ready?!!?) that the Donnas have been together. It gathers unreleased B-sides, live cuts of their better tunes, remix’s, 2009 versions of older jams, and even new material; it is a hodgepodge effort all around.
JJ Grey has often described his music with Mofro as front porch soul. With no juke joints in Charleston, the Windjammer seemed as good a venue as any for the boozy, sweaty, soulful music of Grey and his band. For about two hours, Mofro churned through a representative selection of their catalogue, hitting on highlights from each of their four albums, in addition to a couple choice covers.
8-year old Ryan Bingham sounds like a smoky roadhouse, complete with white whiskers and gnarly Marlboros enabling him to sound years beyond the tender late 20's.
