January 13, 2011

Well, we flip the calendar year over to 2011 and it of course takes me a little while to make the adjustment. Every week [errr, almost every week] when I go to write this piece, the first thing I do is do an Advanced Search on the Live Music Archive for the range of dates from last week. At first I put in 2010 and got a little confused. Right, 2011. OK, back on track. A lot of the selections this week all come from either Jam Cruise or moe’s destination concerts down in the Dominican Republic. A Caribbean edition if you will.

You can download all of this week’s audio in one easy to listen to MP3 that we call the Last Week’s Sauce Podcast, click here to download.

[Thanks to tonedeaf for this week’s photo]

Little Feat – Fat Man In The Bathtub > Abba Zaba > Fat Man In The Bathtub
Date & Venue: 2011-01-03 – Infinity Hall – Norfolk, CT
Taper & Show Download: Dave Malloy (CTDave)

Well, since I got in alphabetical order – we’re actually leading off with the only selection not from a warm climate. But this is a very hot section of music from Little Feat’s encore which features their classic Fat Man In The Bathtub, a tribute to Captain Beefheart with Abba Zaba, and I heard a little bit of Scarlet Begonias in there too. Little Feat [tour dates] plays tonight at The Neighborhood Theater in Charlotte, NC.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/featsauce.mp3]

All That You Dream from a few nights later:

READ ON for tracks from Lotus, moe. and Stockholm Syndrome…

A new batch of dates for Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble, held at the legendary drummer’s home/studio in Woodstock, NY, has been announced and we’re happy to see moe. score an

Back in October, HT’s Ryan Dembinsky chatted with Bill Nershi and the SCI frontman let it slip that the band was looking into the possibility of throwing its own festival

Priorities change, families have needs and jobs burn energy, so when you can still call your live music diet healthy – that definition’s up to you, friend-o – you’re privileged. As you get older, live music performance becomes no less indispensible. It’s just that you just gotta pick your spots better, right? Or try to, at least?

Here are 15 shows that, for me, stood out from the past twelve months.

1. Another One For Woody, Roseland (NYC), Nov. 22

Benefit shows with pre-determined guests and anticipated, formulated “wow” moments have a way of disappointing. But the best ones – and Another One for Woody was among the two or three best I’ve ever seen – meet expectations and then transcend them through a winning combination of warmth, surprise, thoroughness and dazzling performance.

AOFW had all of that, and then some. You had predictable emotional pushbuttons (Savannah Woody singing on Soulshine) and expected collaborations (I Shall Be Released? Yep. Simple Man? Of course.) But you also had heartfelt stories, had-to-be-there grace notes, blistering jams and a crowd that was totally into it and kept the energy up for nearly six hours. The North Mississippi Allstars duo and Mule were fun, but whoever lit a fire under the Allmans is to be commended; the band was at its strongest since the fabled 2009 Beacon run, blazing through its set and keeping it that way straight through a Whipping Post for the ages. Somewhere, Woody was smilin’.

• Review: Another One For Woody

READ ON for more of Chad’s Fine 15 – Best Shows of 2010…

Jeff Tweedy @ Boulder Theater, January 8

For Jeff Tweedy, the success of a solo performance depends on his audience. He wants to create a moment: during quiet songs he wants silence and during upbeat songs, he’s happy if you sing along. Meanwhile, on stage alongside him are six acoustic guitars and five speakers pointing directly at him. You may think one of two things: 1.) Jeff Tweedy is an asshole, or 2.) Jeff Tweedy loves music, knows music, and cares so much about how he sounds that he wants every note, ever moment, to be perfect. These would be the logical guesses, and it’s nearly impossible to tell which of them, if either, is the right answer.

In honor of the Boulder Theater’s 75th Anniversary, Tweedy played to two sold-out crowds, mostly seated, of college students and young professionals, many in flannel shirts and jeans but a few in dreadlocks and flowing skirts. On the second of these nights some of the most memorable moments came between songs as he joked sarcastically, criticizing the audience from the previous night – “they were horrible people.” For much of the night, at his request, each song was followed by a chorus of boo’s from his adoring fans, who loved him perhaps more, even after he publicly denied them autographs, “Are you the one who wanted me to sign the book for you last night? I won’t sign it for you tonight, either.”

READ ON for more on Jeff Tweedy’s recent Boulder show…

One of the acts that most impressed me on Jam Cruise 9 was Chicago-based rockgrass unit Cornmeal. This group mixes the best elements of bluegrass with a hearty dose of