While the verdict may still be out on Jimmy Fallon’s late night hosting abilities, the one thing that everyone can agree on is that as the house band The Roots
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from HT’s Portland, OR-based contributor A.J. Crandall for his unique, first-person accounts of seeing shows from an eclectic mix of artists in his hometown. A.J. caught a recent Bob Dylan show and has filed this report for his Through The Fog series of reviews…
As some of you may know, my wife does not exactly share my enthusiasm for live music. Where I am more than happy to slog through four and five day festivals as happily as I get in early and get up front for a rock show at any of a dozen wonderful and unique venues nearby, the wife; not so much. When we first met, I made no secret that live music was a passion of mine. Among our first dates were several shows. America and The Doobie Brothers were at a park in Beaverton. We saw several shows at the Roseland, including Joe Cocker, Little Feat and a KINK.FM Christmas show featuring Melissa Etheridge, Sarah McLaughlin and Barenaked Ladies. She ranks seeing Ian Anderson in the intimate Newmark Theater as one of the best concerts she’s ever attended.
But, God love her, she just doesn’t like it much any more. Maybe I overloaded her. I looked back at my ticket stub collection. I took her to 11 different shows in the first 14 months, including Farm Aid outside Seattle. Maybe that was a little much. A couple of years ago, she flatly stated that she was attending what could be her last rock show (Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band). Her decision was a timely one, as the recession was about to hit and I had to cut my concert budget in half. One ticket instead of two? Problem solved.
I did insist that she have right of first refusal for any show I planned on attending. Weekdays were generally a given negative. She works hard and there are times that she is fast asleep by the time I leave for a show. Same thing for new or trendy bands. She knows what she likes and it’s classic rock with a slight west coast slant. If she’s going to budget out a block of time for a concert, it should be someone she already likes. Fair enough.
READ ON for A.J.’s thoughts on seeing Bob Dylan with his wife…
On Friday night, I had the privilege of catching Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman and Jay Lane play an intimate show under the moniker Scaring The Children at what is fast
Two of the better documentaries released this decade will be broadcast on Thursday afternoon. IFC shows 2003’s Tom Dowd and the Language of Music – the story of innovative producer/recording
It was no surprise that The Black Crowes decided that as the basis for their new album, to record themselves live in the winter of 2009, offering all new material to an intimate audience at Levon Helm's barn in Woodstock New York. Is it any wonder either that Steve Gorman can't hardly stop talking about the group? Talking with Glide's Doug Collette, he sounds tremendously excited about how well the band is doing right now, as well as their future prospects. From his vantage point at the drums at the back of the stage, and as a charter member of the group, things have never looked or sounded better for The Black Crowes.
"Cross Collaboration,” “Super Group,” call it whatever, Monsters of Folk simply sound good…real good. Conor Oberst, Jim James (Yim Yames), Mike Mogis and M. Ward have all established themselves as artists to reckon with in this new millennium and they gathered back in 2004 to start tossing ideas around. Their self-titled album was released this month; it is an enchanting mix of guitar strums, wonderin’ blues and flat out gorgeous vocals.
The third night of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s farewell stand at Giants Stadium had a markedly different tone than the first two. This was mainly due to the fact that its centerpiece was the first-ever performance of the 1984 album Born In The USA, start to finish. Even before the “album suite,” the show had a stadium-sized sing-a-long feel.
The second leg of the fan-friendly Allman Brothers Band / Widespread Panic co-bill tour continued this weekend at the BJCC Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. As with most of the other shows on the tour, the Birmingham shows contained plenty of collaborations between the two bands along with this weekend’s co-conspirators DJ Logic and Colonel Bruce Hampton.
On Friday night, Derek Trucks joined Panic for a cover of P-Funk’s Maggot Brain that segued into a take on Time Is Free that also featured Hampton on vocals and Oteil Burbridge on bass. WSP’s JoJo Hermann returned the favor by adding an extra pair of hands for The Weight and Key to the Highway during the Allmans’ set. Later, Panic bassist Dave Schools replaced Burbridge on Dreams, before WSP guitarist John Bell and Schools guested on a cover of Highway 61 Revisited. Finally, Jimmy Herring added another ripping guitar to the mix for the One Way Out encore.
Saturday featured more of the same as the Allmans welcomed John Bell to sing And It Stoned Me and Colonel Bruce to sing Smokestack Lightning. Panic’s set featured DJ Logic on turntables for Dyin’ Man, Warren Haynes on guitar and Marc Quinones on perc for a cover of War’s Slipping Into Darkness, Gregg Allman on vocals and organ for a cover of Bob Dylan’s Just Like A Woman and Haynes on guitar for Bust It Big.
Here are the Birmingham setlists via burnthday from the ABB forums…
10/10/09 BJCC Arena, Birmingham, AL
The Allman Brothers Band with Widespread PanicO: Midnight Rider >Trouble No More, Can’t Lose What You Never Had, You Don’t Love Me, Soulshine, Stand Back, And It Stoned Me*, Revival, Statesboro Blues, Little Martha > Mountain Jam > Smokestack Lightning**> Mountain Jam
E:Black Hearted Woman
O:The Take Out > Diner > Rock > Porch Song, Dying Man***, Slipping Into Darkness****, Just Like A Woman*****, Bust It Big****** > Drums* > Airplane > Pilgrims > Good People > Dark Bar > Good People > Junior
E:Expiration Day > Going Out West
* with John Bell on guitar/vocals
** with Colonel Bruce Hampton
*** with DJ Logic
**** with Warren Haynes on guitar, Marc Quinones on percussion
***** with Gregg Allman on organ/vocals
****** with Warren Haynes on guitar
READ ON for the setlists from Friday night’s show…
This was a busy week as usual for the Hidden Track Crew as we published 34 posts by 11 different contributors including the latest member of our team – Tammy
Words By: Jonathan “Kos” Kosakow
Nils Edenloff, Amy Cole and Paul Banwatt, who together comprise The Rural Alberta Advantage, occupied many nights of their 2005 lives at an open mic night in Cabbagetown, outside of Toronto. Three years later, the trio released their first album, Hometowns
It was apparent that they were still getting used to this success on Wednesday night, when a near capacity crowd at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom played host to one of their last scheduled shows of the year. Between songs, Cole and Banwatt shuffled back and forth between instruments (they both switched between percussion and synthesizer, though Banwatt favored the full drum-kit). Edenloff nervously stopped to remark on their thankfulness for playing in front of such dedicated fans. Though when the music started, it was clear that they were in their element. READ ON for more of Jonathan’s experience seeing RAA…
