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Northeast
Regional Report
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Edited by Tony Oliveira
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Hello All, Looks like another great month of music on the horizon. I know some of my favorite bands are making their long awaited return to New England (the Disco Biscuits, the Slip, etc.), hopefully some of yours are as well. With the return of the warm weather (in theory) we also have the return of the Calendar Section! It might not be as highly anticipated as the warmth, but I'm just happy to have it up and running in what (hopefully) is an improved format. The URL is below. Feel free to send me feedback on it if you like. There are still some problems to be ironed out and I hope that at some point it can be hosted directly in this section, but for now, you all will have to make due. I think I've received more reviews this month than any previous issue, so I'd like to especially thank all the people who contributed. I sometimes don't have the time to get back to everyone individually, but I just want you all to know that your efforts are appreciated, thank you. If some of you enjoy them, then feel free to e-mail the authors as well. See some of you at the shows. -Tony THE RETURN OF THE CALENDAR SECTION! Did I mention the Calendar section is back? :-) No really. now residing at: http://necalendar.freeservers.com/Calendar.htm. I should have some comprehensive instructions for submitting dates in the near future so check back periodically. One advantage of hosting it off site is that I can update the dates in a more timely manner. This does not mean send me dates later, it just means that I have some flexibility. It is still beneficial to send in dates as soon as possible. I should mention that it doesn't load properly with Internet Explorer (fault of the server not the browser or code). Also coming soon: a venue links section and some other cool links as well. I guess that's enough about it for now. NEW ENGLAND BAND LINKS? Well, I've been mulling over the idea of adding a REGIONAL (NEW ENGLAND ONLY) band links section to which I think would go nicely with our calendar section (http://necalendar.freeservers.com/Calendar.htm ), which is finally up and running again! Anyhow, if you are in a band, publicist, mgr or even friend of a band that is both - from New England (ie, currently calls New England home) and has a website - then please feel free to send me the URL for their site. Please verify the URL if you could, no use listing broken links. Also, please include the state they are from. That would be helpful. I would really like the focus of this to be on the many smaller bands that never even get out of New England and are mainly known to their local fans. These are the bands that would benefit most from this. I've received a few of them and you will see them in the appropriate section. Feel free to send in ones you don't see yet. I'd also like to ask that the band be true to the particular genre that this site caters to. Really, it's a pretty wide label - Jambands - and basically, if a band does some improvisation and the focus is on the live experience, then they would qualify for this. I look fwd to getting your submissions and hope this proves to be helpful to the bands and fans alike. FREE REVIEW PRIZE: (Analog or CD-R) Well, since it seems this Y2K crap came and went without the impending doom many feared, I figured why not make my offer Y2K compliant, spread some good music, or at the very least make it FREE. I will think of it as a sacrificial offer to the millennium gods or quite possibly as a way to get more reviews. Either way, I'm happy...new, updated info below: Just a reminder, I will pick one review each month with the winner receiving a FREE show from my dat (analog tapes) or from my CD-R list. A show will likely be limited to 3 cds or tapes, and since I enjoy spinning analogs from my dats about as much as I enjoy hangovers, this will for all intent in purposes be a CD offer, though I may be willing to spin analogs from my cds. I won't necessarily pick the most well written review; in fact, the winner will be somewhat random! Reviewers, please check this section to see if you have won. This month's winner is Dave Siegel. Congrats! and get in touch with me for details of the offer. Looking
forward to more great reviews in the coming months. * NEWS FROM NOWHERE * NEWS FROM NOWHERE * "Donald's Last Dance" : Adam Mutterperl, Independent film maker and former bass player for the band "The Slip", has recently produced a feature film called "Donald's Last Dance". The actors in the movie include Brad and Andrew Barr (Slip guitarist and drummer), who play members of a struggling high school rock band called "The Donald Avocado". There's a lot of great music in the movie, some of which is Slip music, and some of which was written for the film. The movie might be screening at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA in early June. Please stay tuned for further details and possibly a feature on the film. FREE SHOW? Does the idea of possibly writing a review or flyering for free admission interest you? Help the scene, the bands and help yourself in the process. Read on. Info courtesy of Aaron (of Grizzly Magic Entertainment): Wednesday is Jam Band Insanity at the Living Room in Providence RI. The nation's best jam, jazz, groove, funk bands you're gonna find anywhere. if you haven't been yet you missed fat mama and ulu get on stage together and give new meaning to the word jazz. you missed smokin grass come down off the stage for a post set unplugged jam. you also missed amazing sets from the big wu, the recipe, dexter grove, native, jive talkin robots, rane, alula, uncle sammy, another planet, miracle orchestra, arthur dent foundation, jack straw....and the music never stops... Upcoming shows: 4.19 psychedelic breakfast w. freaks for the festival special 420 party guest kris hansen with an acoustic set between bands 5.3 acoustic junction w. bruce leroy experience 5.10 ron levy's wild kingdom 5.24 groovedog w. everything bagels Grizzly Magic Entertainment is looking for people to flier around Rhode Island and also to write reviews of the shows for jambands.com, both for free admission. email grizzajj@aol.com for more details or go to http://grizzlymagic.virtualave.net .
SHOW REVIEWS: REVIEWS! REVIEWS! REVIEWS! GENERAL
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: -Tony p.s. I've added reviewer's e-mail addresses, so feel free to contact them if you like their reviews or even if you don't...feedback is always welcome.
REVIEW:
Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom By John Wilbanks I first saw Ron Levy at a crab shack in Gloucester, MA over the summer. It was two days before Berkfest and there was a double bill of Deep Banana Blackout and Karl Denson, with someone I'd never heard of providing acid jazz support while I set up my deck for taping. Ron was that someone, and as I listened to him completely rip "Sookie Sookie"(a tune that I knew from Grant Green's Blue Breakbeats album and the only one I definitely recognized) to shreds on the organ I was deeply impressed. His style was very reminiscent of Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Smith, and his rhythm section knew how to swing behind him. I didn't hear about him again until Harpers Ferry - one of the better bar venues in the Boston area - started a "Monday Night Groove Series" with Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom (RLWK). RLWK was also scheduled on another Karl Denson bill, this time at the Paradise in February. It seemed time to check this band out a little more closely. The crowd was still filling in as RLWK took the stage at the Paradise. I'd seen them with a DJ (DJ Snow, for those of you taking notes) at Harper's previously, but he wasn't in attendance for this one. Levy was joined on guitar by Tim Wiechmann, Larry Terry on sax and flute, and Benny Benson on drums. With this lineup, the band sounds a lot better than I remembered them from the summer (though it may well have been the same, it certainly *feels* different now). Wiechmann's guitar is snaky and slinky and his leads take the band on most of its jazz excursions. The sax dimension is one I love in any band, and Terry's is no exception. There's also something about Terry (badabing) that reminds me of Oteil, maybe it's the kente cloth. Benson does what all good drummers ought to do - locks down the rhythm and lets the band take off. Acid jazz is the staple here, with a heavy funk secondline in most songs taboot. Strong Latin influences pop up in certain songs, and the whole shebang is grounded in the deep B3 blues (Levy is on the Board of Directors of the Blues Foundation in M.E.M.P.H.I.S. and it shows). Every once in a while the music takes off in a totally wild psychedelic direction, but don't go to these shows expecting. It's really all about the deep groove and the slick solos here. Standout tunes were Sookie Sookie - a standard at RLWK shows, I've seen it every time - and Giuchi Girl, a classic tune I've heard String Cheese reference in their Latin songs, and Sons of Abraham. All in all, a great warmup for what turned into the usual hot-as-hell funk of Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. The Paradise is perhaps my favorite venue for bands this size, and recent reports of its demise depress me... I saw RLWK at Harpers Ferry again last night - 3/13/00 - with what felt like a huge crowd for a Monday night. They did more originals, as far as I could tell, than my previous shows, and the crowd was interested if not exactly going nuts. Compared to some other Monday nights I've spent at Harpers, this was *rockin'*. In
short, if you like acid jazz in the Grant Green/Jimmy McGriff mode,
you'll get that with Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom. But you'll also get
a lot more, and the musicianship is professional in a way you rarely
find in the "newer" jambands. REVIEW:
Strangefolk By Donny Grieco Set 1: Sinner, New Glock II, Walnut, Love Junky, Valhalla, Nine Pound Hammer, Shift My Step, Stout Hearted, So Far Gone(w/ Church Lyrics) Set 2*: Speculator, Tavern Walker, Sometimes, Chasing Away, Pawn, Angel From Montgomery, Reuben's Place(w/ Lay The Dust Lyrics) E*: Keep On Growing# Having not seen Strangefolk in almost 6 months and eagerly awaiting their recently delayed new album, I decided to trek up to beautiful Portsmouth, NH for one of their two sold out shows. If you haven't been to Portsmouth or seen a show there, you are truly missing one of New England's treasures. It is a quaint and laid-back seaside community near the Maine border with loads of historical character. The main street area gives off an aroma of fresh homebrewed coffee and incense. My fiancée and I had a beer at the Portsmouth Brewery and then dinner at the Rusty Hammer. Ok, enough of my travel agent plug, the show. First, I must say that this is easily the best Strangefolk show that I've seen out of my 11 shows. First set started off with something new to me called "Sinner" (thanks to the happystrangers.com for the setlist). "New Glock II" followed and then we got a ripping "Walnut". Another new tune called "Love Junky" followed and then the only Weightless in water tune of the night, "Valhalla", pretty standard. "9 pound hammer" was new to me and I finally got my first "Shift my step". "Stouthearted" sounds like it might be on the new CD from the additional background vocals. The set ended with a ripping "So far gone", a great closer. Now the second set is what makes this show so great. Joe and Nate from Percy Hill came onstage to sit in for the entire set and encore. The started off with "speculator", which sounds like it was made for Nate's keyboards. "Tavern Walker" is a nice new tune, "Sometimes" I can do without but "pawn" was great. The highlight was the set closing "Reuben's Place". At one point Eric, Reid, and Joe left the stage while Trafton, Luke, and Nate continued as a trio. They broke down the song and began an almost jazzy like improv, totally led by Luke Smith's underrated drumming. This was one of the most impressive jam I've ever seen them do, something I hope to see more of. It was the closest I've seen them come to what some people call "type II" jamming. All six musicians were back onstage to finish out the song. The encore made me scream! I am a huge Derek & the Dominoes fan and "Keep on Growing" was more than I could have asked for. Unfortunately the crowd was clueless, some even left. Please people, do yourselves a favor and purchase as much Derek & the Dominoes material as you can. These guys are on e of the greatest jamband pioneers. I recommend their "Live at Fillmore" double CD and their Box set, which has "Layla and other assorted love songs" as well as a 70 minute disc of 5 studio jams, some with members of the Allmans. Enough of that plug, I hope Strangefolk will finally return to Boston. If anyone has this show on CD, please email me at Iski100@Aol.com.
REVIEW:
Al and The Transamericans /Mini-Jiggle by Matt Mannering I'd been looking forward to this day for a few weeks.. Not because I'm Irish and it was ST. Patty's day, which I am, but because Al and the Transamericans were playing the Middle East in Cambridge, Ma. For those who don't know, the Transamericans are a side project that is lead by Al Schnier.(Guitar/Vocals from moe.) I must admit that, though I am a big moe. fan, I am a bigger Strangefolk fan, and was kind of bummed out when the Transamericans took the stage without Reid from the 'Folk. He was originally supposed to play with them, but for some reason he wasn't able to be there. My disappointment didn't last long though, as I knew AL and the boys would give us a good show. The rest of the Transamericans, consisted of Vinny Amico (moe.) on the skins, Jim Loughlin (moe.) on bass, Rolf Witt (Merry Danksters) on Mandolin, and Kirk Juhas(Freebeerandchicken) on keys, harp and banjo... Opening for Al was "Mini Jiggle," which was Gary Backstrom (Guitar and vocals) and Paul Wolstencroft (keys, vocals) of Jiggle the Handle. It's been almost 2 years since I'd seen Jiggle, and from what I remembered, I wasn't expecting much. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the set they turned out, and by the time they were done I was converted. I dug the open tuning that Gary was playing, making it easy for him to switch between slide and regular guitar. The harmonies sounded good, and Paul was going off on the keys. The 2 songs that stood out for me was a great version of the Dickey Betts' "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," and a killer version of one of my favorite all time tunes, Traffic's "Low Spark of High Heel Boys" in which they were joined by Vinny on the drums - definitely a good warm-up to the main event. During the break, I bumped into Vinny in the bathroom and got to rap with him for a few minutes. Apparently he was a last second fill in on the drums for the Transamericans. Al had called him up when the drummer from the Ominous Seapods, Ted Marotta, was unable to make it. They opened up with "Blue Eyed Son," a bluegrass Al song, which he wrote about his son. Next was "Me and Pat and Bill and You." The night, for me picked up when on their 3rd tune they busted out a sweet version of Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried". It seemed like the energy of the crowd seemed to pick up when they broke into the chorus, "I turned 21 in prison doing life without parole." I knew I was singing along. The music itself was decent. Al was playing acoustically up to this point, and wasn't really going off as much as I would have liked. The non-MOE band members didn't seem as tight as the others, but that is to be expected seeing it's only their 2nd show together. They rest of the 1st set went like this : We'll Last, Real Good Year, Wind Fall, Time Again, Old Friend, and then a cover of the Mighty Quinn. A solid 1st set, but it was pretty apparent that this was a side project. Still though, this side project is still better than most bands that are out there. During set break, Al came out to the front of the stage to chat with fans and to sell some Transamerican T-shirts. I ducked into a bathroom stall with 2 friends and had a quick "smoke"break. Feeling revitalized, I was pumped for the 2nd set. It started with a MOE tune that I used to hate, but is growing on me every time I hear it, St Augustine. It was a good opener, and it got people groovin.. Next was "Can't Seem To Find," an Al tune I wasn't familiar with. "Lay Down Sally" was next and had everyone dancing. Then came "Letter Home," one of my favorite Al tunes. It was a good choice for a slower tune. What came next was the highlight of my evening. Mini Jiggle came out and sat in on a kick-ass version of the Dead's "Tennessee Jed." It seemed like the whole place was singing along and the energy was high. Everyone was trading leads back and forth, and it seemed that the band was putting it in high gear. The rest of the 2nd set went like this: "Lost and Found," "Rollin'," and "Punctuate." For an encore, they played Hank William's "Jumbalaya," which was basically a free-for all jam, and a good way to wrap up a "better than average" show. Although I may sound a bit critical, It was still the best show in Boston on ST Patricks day, and I'm psyched I got to see it. It was great to have those guys play at a small venue like the Middle East. After the show, Al came out and greeted all of us fans. I got to talk with him for a few minutes, and was actually able to grab the set list, and a guitar pick off him. All in all it was a good night, and a good time was had by all. I hope it won't be too long before I have to wait to catch moe. in full force again, in the Boston area.
REVIEW:
Jim Weider & The Honky Tonk Gurus ` this one is for our brother Rick' and with that... "Life is a Carnival" came dancing out of the PA. Man, that sounds really, really good, I was thinking to myself. I mean it's perfect.- exactly like `The Band'. I realize, of course, that isn't by accident. The Honky Tonk Gurus have every right to sound that good - Jim Weider and Randy Ciarlante spent more than the last 12 years touring and recording with Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson as `The Band'. Playing some amazing gigs, no doubt, including the last two dead shows at Solder's Field when The Band opened the very last time for the Grateful Dead. At Woodstock '94, Jim and Randy backed Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman, and then did a couple of tunes with Bruce Hornsby. Politics, aside, The Band even played at the Clinton inauguration, with The Band and Bob Dylan playing a set together, also on that bill were Dr. John, Dicky Betts, Steve Stills and Clarence Clemons. The list of people these guys have backed with The Band on the road and in the studio is too long to mention. Before I get into the show itself, a little background info. Woodstock, N.Y. Guitarist, Jimmy Weider was The Band's first pick as the replacement for Robbie Robertson, when they reunited and starting touring again in 1985. Since then, he has been The Band's only lead guitarist. He is present on The Band albums from the '90s, Jericho, High on the Hog and Jubilation. When the Band was offered a record deal by CBS Records in 1990, Levon Helm recruited drummer/vocalist Randy Ciarlante. He has been a member of `The Band' ever since, singing Richard Manuel's parts in the older Band songs, and doubling with Levon on drums at their live performances. Randy is also on those Band albums from the '90s, Jericho, High on the Hog, and Jubilation. So when these guys crank out a Band tune it's clear they own it. But the best part was yet to come. What was that I was hearing? Were they Jamming Out on Life is a Carnival? It is definitely one my favorite Band tunes, especially because it is so danceable. But I have never heard a jam on it before... and that is really cool. Their philosophy is to take Band tunes we all love, like "Don't Do it", "The Weight", "Life is a Carnival" actually the whole Band songbook is on the table, then open them up jam band style, and let loose - what an excellent idea for a band. I had a feeling this was going to be a very special night. They opened up with `Big Foot', off the brand new CD by the same title, it is a rockin', danceable guitar romp which explains clearly why Jim is one of a select group of musicians to have an endorsement from Fender. What a beautiful tone he gets from that early 50's telecaster. Next was `Remedy' which Jim co-wrote for The Band's Jericho album. I know I've heard it on the radio but they were really stretching it out and what can I say about Randy's singing? He has a world class voice.no wonder Levon chose him. He is one of those very rare people, only two or three come to mind, that can sing their their asses off and drive the tune with his incredible drumming. Imagine if you mixed Levon's voice and Bill Kreutzman's drumming together, that's Randy. The whole night was just great, everybody dancing, incredible singing and guitar playing, and who were these new guys? On bass is Malcolm Gold, an electric bassist who toured and recorded with GE Smith from the `Saturday Night Live' Band and The Toasters. Jeremy Baum is on keyboards and vocals and he toured and recorded with Richie Havens, Duke Robillard, and Ronnie Earl. Well it's no wonder they're playing with Jim and Randy, those guys are monsters and it's a great fit, young hip New York City players with the experienced Band members, but it was everybody exploring and jamming together that really set this night on fire. 1st
set consisted of: For the Second set the `Gurus' came charging right out of the gate with an up tempo Cajun style original tune called New Orleans Boogie which immediately filled the dance floor, then a hard drivin' blues number called Rain, Wandering Soul (another new original), Texas Shuffle, Put Down (an original by Malcom), Twister (the newest tune co-written by Jim and Randy), The Weight (reworked very nicely in a reggae stylee), Stevie Ray Vaughn's Pride and Joy, Dance with Me, and they finished the night with a long jam on The Funky Meter's `Hey Pocky Way'.. This is a band that is definitely coming into it's own, and it's great to hear the tunes from `Big Foot' live and loose. Rumor has it that the `Big Foot' CD has been picked up by a major label, which will back it with promotion and a tour starting sometime in June or July. So if you like `The Band', and you like jamming...you gotta see these guys.. For
more on the Honkey Tonk Gurus..see:
REVIEW:
Earth Suits Off! By Dan Alford Set
I: Stadium, Slow dances, Nightengale, Soul Sister, And I, Lap of
Luxury Aaron Katz, singer/songwriter and drummer for New Hampshire's own pschefunkrock masters Percy Hill, recently unveiled his new solo project, Earth suits Off! The outfit is comprised of a basic four piece band with Katz in front singing and playing rhythm guitar. Also the keyboard player, Andy Galagher, tears it up on alto sax. ESO is essentially a new outlet for Katz's songwriting that allows him to focus a bit more on singing. Many of the new songs had an immediately comfortable feeling, as their structures were in the same vein as much of his work with Percy. On the whole the new songs were involved and nicely jammed, while a few were shorter, poppy numbers. The Percy tunes had a distinctly feverish bent, reworked only in the band's approach, not in the composition. "Stadium", the key phrase being "I can see the stadium lights" was a longer tune, a rocker with cool washes at the end. This one will catch on as a favorite right away. "Slow Dances" on the other hand, was a brief pop song. "Nightengale" stretched things out again, having a darker mood reminiscent of Bobby Fuckin' Weir's "This Time Forever" > "Shades of Grey"- racing through oddly lit back alleys in the dead of night. Nice sax work. "Soul Sister" was too fast and not funky enough for my taste. "2 AM", key phrase "In the lamp light", was a sultry number, lush and layered. Good song. "The Now" was harsh and heavy, with a cool intro of Aaron singing. The approach worked better on this one than on "Soul Sister". "Battle of the Sea" was great with monster sax work. "Arms of Your Affection" was a quieter reggae tune, nothing special. The "Make Believe", however, was long and beautiful with a nice extra meandering jamlet at the end. "Perosi" was light and goofy, but fun and "Sleeper" won the heaviest rocker of the night award. In general it was a good first show with impressive lead guitar and sax. It was at the same time different and very comfortable. Not as funky as Percy Hill- more rock and roll. Aaron plans to do a lot more with this group, so check them out in a town near you.
REVIEW:
John Scofield Bump Band with Soulive OK, let me start by saying that I am not a big fan of the Somerville Theatre in Massachusetts. It's a movie theater (they still show movies there) that's been turned into a music hall. As you can imagine, the chairs are small and uncomfortable. Also, they do not serve beer. While I am not an alcoholic, I like to have a beer with my live music. I just seem to enjoy myself more. With that said, I was looking forward to this show a great deal. Soulive is one of my favorite New England jam bands, and John Scofield is the man, pure and simple. I went to this show with a friend of mine who is not big into the jam band scene. He's aware of a couple of the bands, but he's never really delved into the scene too much. He has known and listened to Scofield for about ten years, though. So he was excited by this show as well. The crowd itself was mixed. There were the hippies and the kids dancing in the aisles. Then there were the straighter jazz fans sitting there absorbing the music. It seems that a lot of the Scofield shows that I've been to feature this mixed crowd. We got to the show just in time to catch Soulive step to the stage. Soulive is a jazz trio in the Grant Green/Jimmy McGriff mold. FUNKY and Bopping. They're awesome. One ripping guitarist, one ripping organist (who also plays the rhythm~bass sounds), and one bad ass drummer. They only had a limited time to get into it tonight, though. Most of the tunes were from their new (and wonderful) cd "Turn It Out." I wish that I had a set list for you guys, but I am just terrible at remembering the names of jazz songs. Their set was great. I saw a lot of heads turn up and take notice when they started playing. I think the jazz audience in particular was very impressed that this music was out there. The band played a version of "It's your thing" and they did their original "Uncle Junior." I had caught Soulive about two weeks earlier at the Middle East. I've seen these guys a lot lately. So I sat in my seat for most of their set. My buddy was very impressed. "Yeah! These guys are fucking great", and all of that. This band is definitely on to something. Catch them at a show where you have room to dance and the ability to buy beer, to maximize the experience, though. After Soulive finished (by the end of their set, I was in the aisle dancing with the kids), the crew began to set up the stage for Scofield and his gang. I've seen Scofield about four times now. I've never seen him with as many people as he had on stage here, though. Chris Wood was handling the bass (switching back and forth between an electric and a deep funky as hell acoustic). There was a rhythm guitarist who switched back and forth between acoustic and electric. There was a muscular sounding drummer hard hitting it all night long (great great great ~ he might have been the guy from Sex Mob, but I don't know). There was a small but energetic percussionist throwing down rhythms. There was the keyboardist from Soul Coughing adding textures and sounds on top. And then there was the man we all came to see, blaring and blasting away. I loved the full sound of this band. There were so many great musicians up there jamming and working it. Again I wish that I had a set list for you, but I lent my copy of the new cd to my friend. Most of the tunes tonight were from the new disc but like most great music, it seemed to be more alive on stage. It was great, funky, rocking stuff with many magical highlights. Chris Wood was fantastic. It was awesome to see him in a new musical setting and he had a tight, tight connection with John. One thing that disappointed me is that a lot of heads would scream out his name when he started to jam or solo a little bit. He looked a little uncomfortable with people yelling his name all the time. It wasn't that bad, but there was some jackass about three rows behind me who most have yelled his name about seven different times during the night. In my brain, I'm going "Alright, we all know that you know his name. Please, now, just shut the fuck up." At one point he introduced a new tune "Kilgeffen" that I used to skip all the time on the cd. It starts out slow and ambient (which I like) on the cd though it's positioned right after a funky jam. So I always skipped it. From the show, though, I now realize that about two minutes into the song, it gets dirty. Another highlight was "Jeep on 35" from the "A Go Go" album. The second guitarist was playing acoustic and the sound was so complimentary and perfect. It really sounded very different from the version on that album. To end the night, Eric Krasno (the guitarist from Soulive) came back on stage to play with the boys. I think Eric is a great guitarist but I would have been happier to hear Neal Evans playing. Three guitarists seems a little bit too much. It was almost like there wasn't enough room for everyone. Anyway, it was a great show. Pricey ($25 per ticket plus the ticketmaster "convenience" charge) and not quite as adventurous as I would have hoped, I had a great time. My buddy did too. Hope you all catch some great music this Spring.
REVIEW: The Machine - 3/23/00 - Umass-Amherst By Dave Siegel On Wednesday Night, The Machine, a fantastic Pink Floyd Tribute band, made a stop at the Skybox for their last ever New England performance. After 11 years of strenuous touring, the band has decided to end their run to allow for all members to explore other musical opportunities. Unfortunately, this show was the only one I have attended and I am saddened at the prospects of it also being my last. The Machine recreates the Floyd experience giving out a solid performance and phenomenal light show while paying tribute to one of the greatest and most influential bands of the last century. The Machine quietly made their way onto the stage a few minutes past nine to the ovation of a surprisingly large weeknight crowd. The 250+ crowd was very relaxed, sitting quietly throughout the show. The opening song was "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", which gave a warning to what kind of great performance was to transpire. Next up came the song that gave the band its moniker, "Welcome to the Machine". This song was the first real glimpse of the sophisticated light show throughout the show. Next up off of Floyd's The Wall was "Mother" with its soft acoustic guitar opening meandering into a skillful layered jam led by extraordinary guitarist Joe Pascarell. Pascarell is the standout performer, whose voice and guitar was almost like a carbon copy of those of Floyd front man Syd Barrett. At times, I shut my eyes and it almost felt as if I were actually seeing Pink Floyd. The highlight of the show came next, when the gentle guitar signified the beginning of "Breathe" which eventually segued into "Time" and finally into "Hey You". The first set ended with a perfect rendition of "Have a Cigar", leading the crowd into intermission with its haunting, eerie keyboards. The second set began with the complete version of "Dogs" off of Floyd's Animals album, which lasted a remarkable 20 minutes. Next was "Echo" with its long drum solo by Todd Cohen. The Echo jam slowly meandered into a solid performance of "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" which showcased the trippy keyboard playing of Neil Alexander. The highlight of the second set came when the band broke out into another Floyd favorite "Wish You Were Here". The second set came to an end with "Lucifer Sam" jamming into "Dark Side of the Moon" with Pascarell's chilling laughs. The band came back on stage after a short break where the now standing crowd was cheering madly. Expecting to hear either "Money" or "Another Brick in the Wall", I was happily surprised with a smooth version of "Run Like Hell". I was content to end the night with this song, but the same was not to be said about The Machine. After jamming out Run, they broke out into a steaming rendition of the Grateful Dead's "Not Fade Away", which segued back into the tale end of "Run Like Hell". I was very surprised with the show that was given by this band. The Skybox made for a great venue, allowing for a large sounding band to play in such an intimate setting. Please check out the band's website to learn about where these great musicians will be playing next.
REVIEW:
Pork Tornado By Dave Siegel On Saturday Night, Pork Tornado rolled into a packed house at the Pearl Street Night Club, putting on a marathon show that covered a wide array of music types and genres. Much of the crowd was obviously there to see famed drummer Jon Fishman from the band Phish, but as the show progressed the other members of the band won the crowd over. The rest of the band is made up of four other solid musicians with Joe Moore on sax, vox and some steamy funk vocals, Dan Archer on guitar, Phil Abair on the keys and Aaron Hersey thumping away on the bass and vocals. Pork Tornado blends together a smooth jazz and blues feel to their original songs as well as to their eccentric selection of cover tunes. The band came to the stage to a roaring ovation, overwhelmingly for the quirky Fishman. They opened up with a hip song, giving each member of the band an opportunity to showcase their skills and introduce themselves to the crowd. Fishman received the most attention as he laid down a sweet groove that eventually the whole band joined in to jam on. Next up was the first cover of the night, a funky grooved out edition of Frank Zappa's "Trouble Every Day". Throughout the first set, the highlight for me was Aaron Hersey's phat bass grooves and his sweet vocals. He is the backbone of the band, linking the rhythm section to the rest of the band. A few songs later came a great cover of Maceo Parker's "Shake Everything You Got" with a quick tease to Hendrix's "Voodoo Child". Next up was a crazy version of Tom Jones' "Hooked On a Feeling". They
left the stage and after a lengthy break came back to another strong
ovation. They began the set with the band's catchy theme song "Pork
Tornado". Next up was a Phil Abair's original "I Heard you Twice"
with a skillful keyboard solo and his smooth soulful vocals. Next
was an awesome bluesy song with beautiful finger work by Dan Archer
on guitar. For the next song, keyboardist Phil Abair was temporarily
replaced by local Agawam High School English teacher, Mark Scortino
sitting in with one of his favorite bands. He sat in for James Brown's
classic hit, "Sex Machine". The second set ended with the song everyone
came to hear, Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" where the band
welcomed a gang of girls to dance onstage.
REVIEW:
HEIR with opening act Krythem By Jamie MacPhee First, I want to try to relate the atmosphere of Club Royale. It has a goodsized main room with a stage raised about 2 feet so everyone in the audience is able to get a good view. Plus the stage is wide and deep enough for a band to be able to set up comfortably with no one being stuck behind someone else. The room is open but intimate. Plus, for all you billiard players there is another room with about 15 tables where you can still hear the music fine. HEIR has been playing around Worcester for about 2 1/2 years and Krythem for around 4 or 5 months. There were a lot of good people there and a real friendly atmosphere at HEIR shows. People are very sociable and always like to see more new people all the time. New people seem to turn into returning people (and slowly the crowd grows). SOUNDCHECK Things were running late. This is a fairly new club and the soundman (Glenn 'Moosh' Sullivan) had to get some extra cables from another soundman in the city to run all the mics. Tony (Guitarist-HEIR) and I were going to go for a quick ride but Glenn showed back up so we delayed for their soundcheck. Mark (singer-HEIR) just showed up as well - still in his suit from work. It was sorta comical to see him up there during the check in shirt and tie. Their check was damn cool too. Tony started with a little blues jam that went into a 'Possum' sounding jam which Mark picked up on and sang. Bill (drummer) was already hot (if you like drummers Bill is one of the best I've seen) and was having some fun rolling on the rototoms and Jon was keeping a fat base groove. A total of about 8 minutes of ripping jam. I was damn anxious to see what the rest of the night held to offer. KRYTHEM I missed Krythems check and first couple songs due to the ride we were delayed in taking but I'll tell you that 'Take me to the River'(Talking Heads), 'Motor Pirate Funk'(orig), 'Lefty'(orig), and 'What I Got'(Sublime) were highpoints for me during their set. Mike Favreau (perc & vocals), Pat Flynn (Bass & vocals), Pat Agurkis (Guitar & vocals) and Tim Hackett (drums) put on a damn energetic and jammin opening set. Krythem
Set List * Cool it Down (?) For HEIR I spent both sets sitting next to Dan who was working the door. Club Royale is a second floor bar and the stairs come up to the right of the stage. So, sitting next to the door is one of the best uninterrupted vantage point to view the whole of the show, the other being the soundboard which is (looking at the stage) on the left side of the room a couple feet behind the dance floor. Glenn did a knock up job on the mix. HEIR lineup- Tony Penny, Guitar & backing vocals; Jonathan Golen, Bass & backing vocals; Mark Sullivan, vocals; Bill Connor, Drums. As I sat next to Dan listening to the guys tuning up and getting settled I started to get a bit excited. They always start shows different and there's a degree of anticipation in all the fans waiting to see what's awaiting them. Sure enough they came on strong and powerful opening with a tearass 'Willie The Pimp'(Zappa). I've seen them play it before but what a song to open with. For anyone whos heard it you know 'Willie the Pimp' is a real rockin jam tune to start with. With Tony's jamming and Bill keeping the kit spicy it laid down a good energy level for the rest of the night. From WTP they jammed into an original that is an instrumental hit with the fans thats called 'Governors Island'. This is such an elaborate orchestrated jamming tune and each time I've seen them the guys seem to be able to make it sound like a new song. Tony got real into it and I was awe struck when they each hit their respective solos in the song. Looking Glass Mirror followed Governors after a couple comical minutes of Mark's babble. He's the true physical entity of the band. Mark is in non stop motion on the stage. His constant dancing get people up and going which he had no problem accomplishing in 'Shapeless'. Shapeless has a sort of in your face feel that doesn't really leave you a choice as far as getting you to move. It just grabs you in the legs and starts em moving. It even gets Moosh moving and for anyone out there that knows him, you know he can dance but you should see him go on this tune. HEIR ended first set with a popular original called 'Waiting'. It's a long jam based song that usually goes into another song or two and then comes back into 'Waiting'; however, not tonight. They started it up with the normal gentle intro and verse working up an evil build - popping right into a hard, fast demonic jam that faded out after a couple minutes into some great percussion from Bill and solid bass line from Jon Jon is a damn fine bassist and interesting to watch. His whole upper body gets into his groove. I've heard him compared to many professionals but his style is all his own. Tony chirped it up on the Wah effects and got down deep in the lows then gave it back up with some sweet turnarounds. Killer solo work in the jam by Tony, who steadily drove it into a more intense blusey jam, with Jon using his effects for a great looping bass line and then they trailed into a little country feeling moment drawn back into a rapid building jam that swept back into the 'Waiting' solo and slammed back into the song. At this point the dance floor was pretty full, the bar was lined up and there was over a 100 people in the club. They ended first set with Waiting and Dan and I slipped outside for an attitude adjustment and bumped into a couple friends headed out for the same. Set break was only about 20 minutes and Moosh had some kickin Disco Biscuits from last Halloween's show playing to keep people charged. Second set started out with a good original blues tune the title of which I don't know. Never the less, the crowd got right up and back into the groove and in about 5 minutes the dance floor was full again. Tony started into what I can only call a mellow trailer park blues, hopped it into doubletime and jammed it up! The crowd was screaming at the top of their lungs. Then HEIR dropped back into the mellow trailer park theme and ended it real nice. I picked up on 3 distinct themes in the song. Mike from Krythem hopped up on percussion for 'Burning Down The House' (Talking Heads). Mark always has fun with this song. I haven't heard them rip it out in a while and with Mike added on percussion they had a super jam and romped back into the song. Tony and Jon were simply amazing while Mike and Bill sounded excellent together- trading a little back and forth on the rolls. They slid into a little disco type diversion and into a tune which holds one of Jon's favorite bass lines, "Cheap Sunglasses" (ZZ Top). Tony lost himself in the solo here with some deep reverb and wah effects and some of. I just don't know what the hell! Dan Flynn sitting next to me exclaimed, "FUCKIN NASTY, SICK!" [This was one of the parts I had commented to Tony about later. He gave a laugh and said he was having fun.] His 'fun' lasted about 10 minutes then Tony gave a devilish Floyd tease from 'Another Brick in the Wall' (not sure where in the album but sure enough that it came from it). A slow, tight build nd then BAM, back into the end of Cheap Sunglasses. They received a much appreciated applause and Mike stepped off the stage. Another new song called 'Takers Grief' was up next. It's a very sweet blues tune and it brought the tone down just a shade but came back and doubled the energy on their last song "Stages of my Dreams'" After not dancing all night because I was taking notes I could no longer help myself and took to the floor. Stages is one of my favorites - the music and the lyrics are so intense. It's an incredibly rough, dirty, grungy, jammin song! Tony got real spacey into the jam - goin to town with delay and some killer sliding fretboard tactics with the whammy. Jon gave a quick 'Wilson' tease and back into a slow Stages progression. Bill slammed the kit and like clockwork, the four of them struck in together for the last refrain and ended the song at almost 2 O'clock. There were many calls for one more tune but it just wasn't happening that night. HEIR
1st set 1 hour 10 minutes Overall the show was one of the best I've seen them play and out of all the shows they've played in two and a half years I've missed 2. What this this should say to you is they were in top form. HEIR commented that they really dug Club Royale and many people there agreed. They will be playing there again and more around Worcester. Also keep an eye out for Krythem. They seem to be playing around more and more. This review goes out to Corrine Sullivan who couldn't be at the show, a sister to us all (and Moosh and Mark), and her Aussie friends in the land Downunder where she is currently doing a semester abroad. We miss you Rinna, no one gets the dance floor going like you, except maybe Earle.
REVIEW:
Sector Nine / Soulive Got to the Middle East at 9:30 and it was still fairly vacant. There was the usual row of kids leaning against the stage, but aside from that the attendance was sparse. Within the next 30 minutes people began flooding in and I knew that something incredible was about to happen. I had been waiting about 3 months to see Sector 9 play - having obtained my first tape shortly after New Years. The boys came out to a considerable applause and began noodling around with their signature tones before diving directly into some serious jungle driven ambience. It is very hard to describe the music of Sector 9 seeing that their influences are pulled from a wide range of musical genres. The only word I can think of that does their sound any justice is "energy" - raw energy straight from the soul. These guys are able to channel such intense sound due to their self-less approach to music. They realize that the music already exists and they are just allowing it to flow through them via their instruments. If one allows himself to be completely detached from his conscious self the possibilities are boundless and the music is pure. This is what I experienced during their set as I closed my eyes and didn't dance, but instead became the dance itself. Allowing every riff and crash of a cymbal to move me how it felt put, I was put in a trance for a glorious hour that I'll never forget. After the Sector 9 set me and a couple of buddies decided to get some fresh air before Soulive's set and went around to the back of the building. We ran into Murphy, the bassist for Sector9. He was loading his gear into the truck but hung around long enough to receive our accolades . The rest of the band made their way out shortly and we thanked them all for coming around to Boston. Also, I told Murphy that they should come to Providence because there were a lot of people willing to do some hard-core grassroots promotion. He seemed receptive to the idea, so maybe in the future the Living Room could be hit up with their presence. There isn't much I can say about the Soulive sat except that it was probably the most funky-jazzy-move yo ass set I've seen from any band anywhere. If you want to dance like you've never danced before get yourself to a Soulive show ASAP. These three guys are tighter than a tourniquet and funkier than my drawers after Big Cypress. They came out the box with no delay and fired up a phat version of "Uncle Junior" one of the many soon to be classics off their debut album "Turn it Out". The Middle East was packed to the gills and not a single person was standing still. Soulive knew it was a special night as well as Alaan(the drummer) told us between songs. They debuted a song called "Cannonball", written by Eric(the guitarist), which was probably the highlight of the night for most. Two other standouts were" It's you Thing" and the funk laden"Step" also of their album. Overall, this show was hands down the best show of the year to date. Everyone leaving the Middle East that night would have been saying the same thing if they weren't all speechless.
REVIEW:
Soulive/Sector 9 By Dan Alford Set List: Uncle Junior, It's Your Thing*, Steppin', Cannonball, So Live, Evidence (?), Jesus Children > Jam, Right On, Turn It Out w/ Rudy's Way tease First things first- I hate the Middle East. I love tabouli, humus, olive oil, beautiful landscapes and countries where politics and religion matter, but the underground Cambridge venue is unquestionably my least favorite place to see a show. A long room with a low ceiling, it is bassy and eddies of sound swirl everywhere, capturing conversations, not music. That being said, most jambands stop there when in the area, so it's a forced dependence for Bostonians. And since I was in town, might as well take in a Soulive show. Never seen Sound Tribe Sector Nine before but the same friend who suggested the New Deal suggested them months ago. And they rock, grabbing the middle ground between the Philadelphia boys and the trio from up north (eh?). 'Course a friend thought they were totally unique. Regardless they put on a phenomenal show, tearing through an hour and a half set of involved instrumentals, each littered with many jamlets and quick changes of pace and tone. Two things about the Atlanta band really stand out in my mind. First, it isn't rare that I like or dislike a band on a first listen. I'm pretty open to new sounds and new approaches, or even skillful reworkings of old sounds, but what is almost unique is that I had full body chills about fifteen minutes into the set. The first release sent me flying. Second, also a unique experience, I bought a disc at the show. Had to take the vibe with me- that slippery, round bass and speedy, utterly technical drumming. The basement was packed by the end of the set- sold out actually. But not long into Soulive's set it thinned a bit. Still packed, but a bit more dancing room. "Uncle Junior" is kind of a standard opener- solid but nothing special. During "It's Your Thing" Neal had trouble with his Leslie but Al covered well with his drum solo. Once Neal returned, though, he was on fire, tossing in a "Rudy's Way" tease near the end. "Cannonball" is a new tune (this was the second performance) penned by Kraz. A tribute to Cannonball Adderly? It's an upbeat rocker, definitely a Krasno composition right in line with "Doing Something" and the second half of "Turn It Out". "So Live" was ok- cool funk down by Neal. Al's mic kept giving out so I can't be sure of his new tune's title, but it was quieter number with a smooth groove and subtle interplay between the trio. The following pairing was unquestionably the highlight of the night. "Jesus Children of America" is always good, but after Eric's voice box solo he and Neal set off on a nice tangent- Kraz easing out reverb over a fat bass line- totally unique. Al shifted gears and a smoking jam ensued. It wasn't too long, but definitely long enough to warrant a "Jam" in the set list. Built to a wild peak and the crashed down. Very nice. In general it was a hit and miss show- not really cohesive. One thing that was particularly nice was that Eric was playing off Al all night. If you haven't set up has Al's hit on the left and Neal's organ on the right. Kraz has a stool in the middle and spent the whole show watching Alan in a give and take set up.
REVIEW:
Soulive By Dan Alford Set
I: Big Brother, Cannonball, Shahid*, What's Going On, Rudy's Way,
Doing Something > Watermelon Man > Doing Something, Right On Great Barrington = home. Both for me and what was once voted by Sports Illustrated as the most corrupt horse track in the country. Interestingly enough, the track was destroyed in 95 when a freak tornado smashed into the mountain behind it. Jammers, of course, know the town as the home of Berk Fest. Butternut, the ski resort (if you can call it that) where the festival is held, was also wrecked by that same tornado. New Yorkers know the town as a summer home. It didn't used to be that way. The focus of town used to be Zayre and K-Mart, but throughout the 90s it became a hip little town in the Berkshires. What was missing, however, was a hip little nightclub. So the owners of the ambience laden Helsinki Café opened the equally ambience laden Club Helsinki next door. A funky place with strange colored lamps of varying shapes, including a faceted red orb and a blue inverted pyramid), copper tables, a nicely tiled floor and a selection of truly top notch vodkas. Just to beat this to death, the bathroom had an old typewriter, a tattered, raised map of Africa and candles everywhere. Stopped by in the afternoon to check the cover and caught a bit of the sound check. We stood outside, in the middle of Great Barrington listening to a fraction of "Cannonball" echo through the few streets. Far more surreal than any Dali painting. (The cover, by the way, was an astronomical $15. I just saw 3 sets for $7 only a month ago in NYC.) There were very few people there and only a handful of the three dozen or so had actually seen Soulive before. This meant for some great energy. Audiences are invariably blown away at first exposure. But what really made the night special was that the band felt free to experiment in the intimate, but largely unknowing environment. Beginning the first set was a four song jazz section featuring a rare "Big Brother" opener. It was the first of three Stevie Wonder tunes and is a great way to start off. Not a real rocker, but a show boat for the trio's technique. "Cannonball" showed up again and I definitely liked it more on a second listen- more texture, although whether the performance was better, or just the sound was, I can't be sure. Another new tune, "Shahid"- from Neal- was a highlight. Slick and funky, but a bit on the mellower side. And damn! does Neal rage! Even ripped another "Rudy's Way" tease. As much as Eric was the focus in Boston, Neal was the man in GB. All night he slid all over the Hammond, his body moving in rhythmic circles, his head just centimeters from the keys. Those first four made for an unprecedented opener in my Soulive experience (15 shows). The guys were stretching and testing- something really different and special. "Rudy's Way" gave the first exposure of Soulive as we've come to know them. And the gathering (it really became a crowd) was elated. Neal was on the ball with insanely focused and precise playing- Al picked it up for a huge ending. "Dong Something" > "Watermelon Man" > "Doing Something" has become a standard, but it's still fun. For the second set, Neal took the corner (there wasn't really a stage) and started tooling around before settling on a high-end rhythm. Al joined him after a minute and finally Kraz came out, settling in "Bridges to Bridge". A new tune from Eric, it was snakey and well played, a more sophisticated Soulive song that gelled well with the opium den atmosphere of the venue. The first performance of Stevie Wonder's "Golden Lady" came next. Al: "You'll enjoy this." We did. My near constant ('cept when Bisco's involved) concert companion recently mentioned jams or show segments that stand alone as examples of wholeness. J. was talking about the "Rush Hour Traffic" > "Casa de Vino" > "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" > "Rush Hour Traffic" from Percy Hill's 1/15/00 show, but 3/23/92's "Forbin's" > "Icculus" > "Mockingbird" or 6/24/74's "Dark Star" > "Dew" are other more widely known examples. Soulive
pulled out two such jams in the second set. First, "Uncle Junior"
> "The Chicken". Nothing but hot, with the transition coming flawlessly
out of the junior "Junior" jam after "Junior". Second a monster
"Jesus" > "World" (?) > "Turn It Out"- just too much to handle.
REVIEW:
Moe By Donny Grieco I: Spine of a Dog, Spaz Medicine, Nebraska, Understand, The Faker>>Moth II: Water, Waiting for the Punchline, Cajun Moon, Head, Hi + Lo>>Meat E: Sweet Home Alabama This was a decent to average show, nothing mind-blowing. I drove down with My Fiancée and fellow moe-l'er Mike Wilt, and made it to the very crowded Murphy's Bar. Because of the College Hockey Final Four being played that day at the Civic Center, The bar was filled with U of North Dakota Sioux fans decked head to toe in what looked like Notre Dame gear. I thought it was Irish pride day or something. So who walks in next, Five guys named moe minus Jim Loughlin. I'm beginning to think some people at moe.org are purposely suggesting places to eat to the band by reading moe-l. We headed to the show 15 minutes after CARV left (Chuck, Al, Rob, and Vinnie). The show. I liked the spacey seque between Spine and Spaz, good way to start off. Nebraska was Nebraska. I really enjoyed hearing Understand for the first time (missed it at Portland). Alex Rosenfeld told me that I'd enjoy it because he thinks that it sounds like a Strangefolk tune. I don't necessarily agree. It is a bit more crunch, more similar to Brain Tuba '98, but not as fast I do see some jam/seque potential with this one. The faker>>Moth was real nice. Faker seems like it can really go places and morph into anything. They should continue exploring with this tune. Fatigue set in during the second set. Cajun Moon was nice to hear for the first time in any form (seems to be the case with J.J. Cale songs). The rest of the set really didn't do anything for me until the seque into Meat. This was not a crazy version but after being deprived of musical flesh so often from 96-98, I'll take all the Meat I can get. I must say that it was an Al night. Al was awesome on Meat taking it higher and higher, completely saving the set all together. Right before the encore I sort of overheard them apologizing for botching up the SHA encore last year (they did, real bad). So they decided to redeem themselves. I didn't care for it, would much rather here them cover "call me the breeze", the extended dance version. Al sang SHA last night, Rob sang it last year.
REVIEW:
moe. By Donny Grieco Set 1: Akimbo, Rise, Seat of my Pants>>Sensory Deprivation Bank, Big World>>Brent Black Set 2: *St Augustine, Yodelitle>>Buster, Salt Creek, So Long>>Rebubula E: Godzilla, Stranger Than Fiction * with Jon Trafton from Strangefolk on guitar, Al on acoustic I wasn't at Friday's show so this is just a review of the second show on Saturday. My fiancée and I got into Burlington around 3 PM and headed into town. Our plans for hiking along the Long Trial were bagged when it started raining, but by this time it was sunny and 69 degrees. I love Burlington. It reminds me of my old residence of Ithaca. The whole commons area is great and the view of Lake Champlain is breathtaking. We sampled some homemade chocolates, as well as some fine homebrewed beer at the Vermont BrewPub. Before this I led us to an obligatory stop at nectars and a walk down King Street to pass the former house of that big Burlington band. After somehow watching the movie American Beauty for free in our hotel room at the Fairfield Inn, we had dinner at Papa Franks in Winooski before heading into the show. The Higher Ground was a lot nicer than I expected. moe. Soundman Steve Young got locked outside a side door (I let him back in). Steve did like my T-shirt (moe from the Simpsons with a tie-dyed apron), as did many other people I passed by. Al and Vinnie we hanging out near the board. I wanted to tell Al how much I enjoyed his guitar work during the providence 'Meat' but I didn't want to interrupt him talking with few other people. First set began at 9:30 - lasting an hour and 10 minutes. This was one of the best first sets I've seen in a long time. "Akimbo" got things off right. "Rise" was a first for me and the "SDB" was sick! Chuck ripped it up. I hadn't heard this one since 4/17/98, another drought comes to an end (when will they play Flo?). "Big World" was a surprise. I thought they shelved this tune. My friend Sharon caught the "Brent" segue, which was amazing. Again more Chuck Garvey madness and mayhem as this great set ended. I did a real cool thing before the second set. I put my watch in my pocket. I find myself always trying to guess when the set will end by constantly looking at the time. Tonight, being a Saturday, I threw that idea all away. Set lasted about 90 minutes and it's no secret that I am a big Jon Trafton fan so I was psyched to see him jam on "St. Auggie" with Al playing acoustic. Jon added great guitar work on this tune and I'll say that it was one of the best stand alone Augustine's I've heard. Eric Glocker was also spotted at the club. I think "Salt Creek" was a first for me, love hearing these rare breakouts, which led to the ultimate, "So Long"! I moved right to the Chuck Zone as soon as I heard Al tuning his 12 string. Sharon thought it was "Head" but I was right, high fives for all. I've only heard one version of this song from fall '98 and It doesn't seem like it has changed all that much (which may be a good thing considering how much some people hate when they rework tunes). Al switched back to his 6 string while Chuck teased the "Rebubula" intro for several minutes. Solid version, nothing too crazy, a great set closer. Kudos to the guy dancing in his wheelchair in the Chuck Zone. This is the third (out of my past four) show that I've heard Godzilla. But the "STF" with Jon Trafton was the best post Tin Cans version I've ever heard. Woke up the next morning to about a half-foot of snow! I am real glad we didn't attempt to make it to the Brandeis show. The drive sucked with a 20 minute delay, 10 miles into our trip because a truck flipped over. A big hello to everyone I met and see you at the Irving Plaza.
NEW ENGLAND SHOW CALENDAR Editor's Note: As some of you may noticed this section has been down for a while, my apologies, I hope to get some time to fix the problem we are having. In fact, it might be up in time for this issue, but just in case it isn't: the calendar (possibly not as complete) is being mirrored at: http://www.tufts.edu/~mchoh/neshows.html If you would like to add a show that you don't see on the calendar listing above please e-mail Armand at armand.turcotte@bigfoot.com Please be aware that Armand puts this out on a monthly basis (the first of the month) so he needs sufficient time to update it. |
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