The Plimsouls were virtually alone as an authentic rock and roll band within the lemming-like procession of New Wavers that followed the punk explosion of 1979. In this Halloween 1981 recording from the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, this group's savvy fusion of influences is absolutely galvanizing.
The Shotgun is a monthly column of "shotgun" CD reviews by Eric Saeger.
Our pal The Joker from the Coventry Music blog has made his way to Arkansas to cover this weekend’s Wakarusa Festival in Ozark, AR for HT. Here’s The Joker’s report on the third day of the festival…
By the third day at Wakarusa I felt like I was hitting a groove. I had learned the layout; I knew the strategy of getting around. I knew how to meet up with friends easily. I had learned the secrets of how to bend the rules. Actually on day three there seemed to be very few rules – there were only suggestions. Because of my comfort with the festival vibe and the high caliber of music, Wakarusa Day Three was one of the most enjoyable days I have had at a festival in years.
I continued the strategy of staying out of the sun most of the day until the Black Keys came on the main stage at 5PM. I absolutely love Dan Auerbach’s dirty guitar tone. The Black Keys delivered huge riffs, soulful singing and on point performances of most of the new songs from their new record Brothers. It was well worth standing in 100 degree heat to see it.
Zappa Plays Zappa was up next, also on the main stage. Since seeing this incarnation of the Zappa Plays Zappa band live I have gained a new appreciation for Frank Zappa’s music. The musicianship in the band Dweezil has put together is astounding. I loved the Wakarusa set and was especially excited to hear two of my favorite Zappa instrumentals – Peaches in Regalia and Apostrophe.
READ ON for more of The Joker’s take on Wakarusa…
Our pal The Joker from the Coventry Music blog has made his way to Arkansas to cover this weekend’s Wakarusa for HT. He’ll be sending reports each day on both the scene and the music. Here’s The Joker’s report on the second day of the festival…
Friday at Wakarusa was another amazing night of music. During the day it was – I’m using the technical term here – hot as balls. Because of the heat the main goal during the day for the majority of festivalgoers was staying in the shade and trying to get some sleep. I would say that 40% of the festival goers didn’t even come out to play until the sun was going down.
Staying in the shade and out of the sun was also my priority. The schedules at night are stacked full, and I knew that if I wanted to make it out all night I needed to save my strength.
- Joker’s Wakarusa Recap: Day One
The first music I saw came at 6:30pm when ALO played in the Revival Tent. ALO always impresses me with their positive, melodic songs and funky jams. At the start of the ALO set the Revival Tent 3/4 was full with festivalgoers laying down in the shade, choosing a cool place to rest rather than intentionally seeing ALO. That changed for most about halfway through the set as ALO had the tent standing up and at minimum bobbing heads to the funky groove of Possibly Drown. By the end of the set the tent was at capacity with everyone dancing to the infectious grooves.
READ ON for more from The Joker on Wakarusa Day Two…
Our pal The Joker from the Coventry Music blog has made his way to Arkansas to cover this weekend’s Wakarusa for HT. He’ll be sending reports each day – on both the scene and the music – and hopefully we’ll get some photos from longtime HT contributor John Schulze who is also on the scene. Here’s The Joker’s report on the first day of the festival…
To start this trip a few friends and I flew from Denver to Tulsa and rented a car to make the trip from Tulsa to Mulberry Mountain for Wakarusa. As we were waiting to board our planes I got a couple of stories from friends who had run into some bad luck on the way there – the Basics Fund Bus got pulled over in Hayes, KS after a State Trooper stopped to question the driver and noticed a stray nugget at his feet. Oops. They were “detained” for several hours while the Troopers ripped apart the bus, but they were eventually allowed to continue on to Wakarusa.
My group got to the festival grounds and finished setting up camp about 8pm. We started a little late in the evening as compared to most of the festivalgoers. The first taste of music I caught was after sundown – Robert Randolph. Robert Randolph always puts on a danceable show, but his setlists lack variety. Randolph brought up Ivan Neville for a strong version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone, but other than that it was a high energy yet standard show.
Next up was Railroad Earth in the Revival Tent. Railroad started off by ripping through jammy, psychedelic versions of Cold Water and Birds of America. The crowd in the tent was so into it and Tim Carbone’s fiddle seemed to breathe new life into an audience who was happy the sun had gone away and could dance under the lights. I was into Railroad Earth’s set and wish I could seen all of it. Since they play again today, and I had a Disco Ball on my head once again, I left early to head to see what madness Bisco would bring.
READ ON for more about Neil’s experience on Day 1 of Wakarusa…
Summer Camp Music Festival @ Three Sisters Park, May 27-30
Words: Ryan Maher
Images: Tammy Wetzel
Most bands can’t put up with each other on the road for 10 years. Any married couple, no matter how madly in love, will attest to the trials and tribulations a decade delivers. And through tornadoes, threats of divorce from Three Sisters Park herself six years in and the passing of its neighbors (RIP 10kLF, get well soon Rothbury), Summer Camp has emerged as the Midwest’s undisputed greatest party of the year. From 1,000 fans kicking it off with 20 bands and 2 stages in 2001, this fest has grown into a monster.
Thursday, 5.27 Pre-Party
You could tell early on this would be a big year in Chillicothe. First clue? Well, if you weren’t in line at 10AM Thursday competing for your favorite campground spot, it may have been when thousands of fans showed up for Umphrey’s McGee. Or rather, UM’s unannounced soundcheck. A 30 minute warm-up including the not-oft played 13 Days, Roulette and a Push the Pig Jam brought the early birds to the Sunshine stage. With over 12,000 3-day tickets sold in advance, it’s become apparent that a growing majority consider the Thursday Pre-Party a mandatory part of Camp.
And why wouldn’t they? With local favorites like Brainchild (Peoria) and national vets like The Bridge laying down the soundtrack to your camp construction, you’re already putting that long haul and chapstick inspection at the gates behind you. Smile that you can actually move around your tent and lay your gear out as it goes up, not like the poor kid squeezing between you and your neighbors come Friday.
READ ON for more from Ryan and Tammy on Summer Camp 2010…
Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and the rest of Furthur are goin’ out West this September. The band has announced a eight-show run that includes stops at Cuthbert Amphitheatre in Eugene
While it’s looking like the sixth annual Mountain Jam Festival is off to quite the start, there was some unfortunate news that did surface earlier today, that for once didn’t
For this week’s Friday Mix Tape, we’ve selected six Rolling Stones covers of interest for your streaming delight. The artists involved run the gamut from alt-rock to jam-rock to zydeco
NPR has announced today that its NPR Music Website will broadcast select sets live from Bonnaroo next weekend on June 11 – 13. The website has teamed up with member
