The Kinks, one of the most underrated and under-appreciated rock and roll bands of all time, is the subject of Biography’s BIO airing Thursday at 3PM. Tune in for a
Nearly nine years after their last public gig, God Street Wine “was brought back” last night at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City and delivered a tight, dynamic performance that showed exactly why the quintet has been missed by fans who started a Facebook group and blog columns pleading for their return.
On a recent stop in Cincinnati, Jeff Beck and his band blazed through a mostly instrumental performance that alternated mind-numbing rockers with glistening ballads. This career retrospective crash course at times seemed like it was maybe a little too heavy on the sweet ballads. But honestly the rockers were so intense that these softer tunes may have been placed strategically throughout the set just to allow the stunned audience to catch their breath.
Sacred Steel guitar maestro, Robert Randolph has come a long way since the days of leading church worship to becoming one of the most recognized guitar players in the country. Randolph’s highly anticipated third album – We Walk This Road – is a work of art that began over two years ago with roots pioneer and producer extraordinaire, T Bone Burnett
When it comes to Jace Everett there are two types of people: those familiar with his previous two albums and those who have discovered him through the highly popular and critically acclaimed HBO series, True Blood. For those few folks who know of the previous two albums, Everett’s third and latest album, Red Revelations is a major departure in tone and style.
God Street Wine @ Gramercy Theatre, July 10
After the second night of God Street Wine’s reunion at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City, I’m convinced that the band’s fans have been punked. Outside of a few lyric flubs, the quintet powered their way through every song performed this weekend with little difficulty. We’re not talking about a pop band either, these were complex tunes with proggy transitions. There’s no way a few weeks of rehearsal went into these concerts, GSW was simply too tight for that to be the case. The assembled Winos had their expectations met and exceeded all weekend long.
[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]
One of the elements of GSW’s music that originally drew me in was the diversity of styles filling the group’s original songs. That variety was on display last night as in the first three songs alone they easily slid from the white-bred reggae in the lilting When She Goes to the jazz-fueled tones of Molly to the powerful, take-no-prisoners Goodnight Gretchen. It’s hard to peg down this group’s sound because it changes so much from tune to tune.
Molly gave guitarist Lo Faber a chance to shine while Goodnight Gretchen turned into a showcase for guitarist Aaron Maxwell’s talents. The same diversity found in the group’s originals can be found in the six-stringers’ solo styles. For his Molly solo, Faber channeled Buddy Guy producing one stinging blues riff after another. Maxwell’s Goodnight Gretchen solo was a beaut based on two chords in the same vein as Frank Zappa’s Inca Roads or Phish’s Reba. Aaron slowly built up the jam with beautiful, cohesive phrases before finally exploding with quick bursts of notes at the peak of the jam. Even Jerry’s tone got some love as Lo utilized an autowah – think Estimated Prophet and Fire On The Mountain – for a Driving West solo that if you closed your eyes you might have thought Garcia was playing. It’s almost as if GSW has six different guitar players thanks to all the different tones and styles Maxwell and Faber are capable are providing.
READ ON for more from God Street Wine @ the Gramercy…
God Street Wine @ Gramercy Theatre, July 9
Nearly nine years after their last public gig, God Street Wine “was brought back” last night at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City and delivered a tight, dynamic performance that showed exactly why the quintet has been missed by fans who started a Facebook group and blog columns pleading for their return.
[All photos by Adam Kaufman]
This was more than a reunion of band, this was a reunion of a highly loyal fanbase. Winos from around the country assembled in the intimate venue exchanging hugs and high-fives well before the NYC-based group took the stage around 9PM to the strains of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
While most of the seven billion people in the world could care less that God Street Wine was getting back together, the seven hundred people in the Gramercy wouldn’t have wanted to be any other place on this night. For many, the show was almost like returning to high school or college for an evening, getting to re-live a part of our childhood and adolescence without the acne and Zima.
“So come on in, we’re starting over. Put down your money, and be like us”
Filled with lyrics about renewal and fitting in with a community, there really was no other choice for the opener but Borderline, as HT’s Jeff Greenblatt presciently pointed out to me via text message a few days ago. Ticket time was 8PM, so the crowd had an hour to build up energy and the place exploded by the first chorus of Borderline. Guitarists Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell were both in fine voice, which hardly mattered since the crowd was singing along so loudly.
READ ON for more of Scotty’s thoughts and Adam’s photos…
Now that the first leg of Phish’s Summer Tour has reached its conclusion – and the post-tour haze has worn off – it’s time to look at the recently completed run “by the numbers.” Here’s what we came up with for the latest installment of our ever-popular The Number Line series…
30,000 – Capacity of Largest Venue (HersheyPark Stadium)
8,466 – Number of Days between Fuck Your Face Performances
6,500 – Capacity of Smallest Venue (nTelos Pavilion)
1,413 – Number of shows since last Fuck Your Face
587 – Shows Since The Last Letter To Jimmy Page
180 – Different Songs Played
95 – Onetimers
92 – Number of Songs Played in 2009 not played yet in 2010 (A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing, Access Me, Albuquerque, All Down The Line, All of These Dreams, Anything But Me, Auld Lang Syne, Avenu Malkenu, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Bike, Bittersweet Motel, Blue Moon, Bobby Jean, Cars Trucks Buses, Casino Boogie, Catapult, Cool it Down, Corrina, Crimes of the Mind, Demand, Dixie Cannonball, Dog Faced Boy, Driver, Frankie Says, Freebird, Glide, Glory Days, Golden Age, Gone, Grind, Guelah Papyrus, Ha Ha Ha, Hello My Baby, Highway to Hell, How High the Moon, HYHU, I Been Around, I Just Want To See His Face, I Kissed A Girl, Icculus, If I Could, Invisible, Lengthwise, Let It Loose, Let Me Lie, Lifeboy, Love You, Meat, Middle Of The Road, Mist, Mound, Mustang Sally, My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own, Nellie Kane, NO2, Oh! Sweet Nuthin’, Old Home Place, On Your Way Down, Paul and Silas, Peaches en Regalia, Pebbles and Marbles, Psycho Killer, Rip This Joint, Rocks Off, Rocky Top, Scent of a Mule, Scents and Subtle Sounds, Secret Smile, Shake Your Hips, She Thinks I Still Care, Sleep, Soul Shakedown Party, Soul Survivor, Stop Breaking Down, Sweet Black Angel, Sweet Virginia, Talk, The Curtain With, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, Tomorrow’s Song, Torn and Frayed, Trainsong, Tumbling Dice, Turd On The Run, Two Versions of Me, Ventilator Blues, Waves, Weigh, What’s the Use, When The Cactus Is In Bloom, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Windy City)
- Hidden Track Summer Tour Leg One Wrap Ups: Just The Facts, Survey Results, From A-Z
45 – The number of times somebody says Dr. Gabel in that song
27 – Days Until The Greek
24 – Songs Played in 2010 but not in 2009 (Alumni Blues, Dr. Gabel, Cold Water, Free Man in Paris, Fuck Your Face, Halfway to the Moon, Have Mercy, I Am The Walrus, Idea, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Instant Karma, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Killing in the Name, Letter to Jimmy Page, Light Up or Leave Me Alone, Lit O Bit, Look Out Cleveland, Mellow Mood, Saw it Again, Show Of Life, Summer of ’89, The Rover, Time Loves a Hero, Walfredo)
READ ON for more Phish Summer Tour stat geekery…
We’re less than a week away from what looks to be the biggest and best Camp Bisco yet, as Camp Bisco 9 runs from July 15 – 17 at Indian
Admittedly, it feels like an awfully quiet year thus far for finding new music that really strikes a chord. I know that generally means you’re just not looking hard enough,
