Message from the Sharon:

So, my first month serving as editor is under my belt and I've got to say that it has been fun. I have received many "hello" emails, but unfortunately, not too many reviews. Now, I know that all of you are not sitting at home, eating oreos, and watching the second hand go round. I know that you are going out and seeing shows, so PLEASE, write some reviews and send them to me. A review is your opportunity to sing the praises of that cool band you just heard or a review is your opportunity to let others know that "insert band name here" had an off night. Go ahead and tell everyone how you feel. Remember, Everyone is entitled to Your opinion :). I came across a helpful website called The Soundboard and the address is: http://www.thesoundboard.com. It is a great resource for current music events and local music happenings. Just type in a state and/or band and you'll be good to go.

Reviews:

Strangefolk, 03/23/01
The Palladium, Worcestor, Mass

By: Sharon Shiner

It is always interesting to me when a band parts ways with a critical member and chooses to continue on using the old identity of the band. One classic example of this is Pink Floyd. David Gilmour chose to tour in the absence of Roger Waters and called the band Pink Floyd. While the show itself was interesting, clearly, there was something missing, and it was not Pink Floyd that was heard. Along the same lines, but not quite the same magnitude, is the departure of folk flared guitarist Reid Genauer from Strangefolk. One of the founding members of Strangefolk, Reid parted ways with the band in 2000. Reid was a critical member of Strangefolk, providing the band with song writing as well as a voice. Reid's departure left the Strangefolk diehards wondering if they would hear the band "Strangefolk" again. The morphed Strangefolk, updated with a keyboardist (Scott Shdeed) and new guitarist, (Luke "Patchen" Montgomery) played on Friday March 23rd at the Palladium, in Worcestor, Massachusetts. I had heard from some people that the new lineup provided an avenue for more jamming, and that peaked my interest, for I never thought that the old Strangefolk really "jammed". They were more of the frat boy, hat-to-the-back band then a jamband. They were successful at playing feelgood, sing-along ditties. They had a handful of songs that had the potential to be extended out, but their real strength was found in the song and not the jam.

The first set opened with Chasing Away, portraying some nice vocal harmonies and a phishy guitar solo by Jon Trafton. Patchen played his acoustic guitar and while his voice does not resonate quite like Reid's does, he still sang with passion. This song, unfortunately, provided the song format for the evening: A song with a standard beat, and no real interesting time changes; singing a few verses and leading into a guitar solo by Trafton; then, finishing up the song with everybody singing the last verse. Throughout the night only a few songs deviated from that particular pattern.

In the first set, they tried a funked out cover of Eddie Grant's Electric Avenue. The addition of Shdeed on keys became evident during this song, with him laying down some heavy synth. Trafton and Patchen actually traded some riffs but overall, the attempt at the funk was a bit stiff. Following Electric Avenue was the song Paperback Book, which turned out to be one of their stronger songs of the evening. Trafton started off the "jam", with his Garcia inspired licks, and eventually Patchen showed his stuff, taking a strong acoustic solo. Together, Trafton and Patchen explored the song, building it up. Unfortunately, the song ended in the similar style, with the big vocal finale. To close the first set, they played the crowd pleasing, Lines and Circles, an old Reid song, which I think for some, fell a bit short in the vocal department.

The second set started with Patchen playing his acoustic for the first three songs: Leave a Message, Sinner, and Escalator. Escalator was their most exploratory song of the night, as far as "jamming" is concerned, with each player getting a chance to show what they are made of. The overall feel to the song was quite dissident and dark, a nice change from the usual happy-go-lucky song. Other songs in the second set included Bait, Open Road, Me and My Arrow, First Time, Paint, and the set closer, Go to a Show. To finish up the night they chose an oldie for an encore called All the Same.

So, what is the final consensus? Was the "new" Strangefolk the same as the old Strangefolk? And the answer is: NO. Is this a good thing? And the answer is: YES. As I stated before, the music of the old Strangefolk did not lend to exploration as the new line-up does. By incorporating a new guitarist who plays both the electric and the acoustic, as well as a keyboardist, Strangefolk has opened a doorway to a new path. However, I do have a couple of criticisms. The first is that Shdeed is underutilized. With the exception of a couple of songs in the second set, Shdeed's playing was almost non-existent. The second is that Strangefolk should limit the number of Reid songs that Patchen sings. He just cannot fill the shoes, and the song ends up sounding more awkward than anything else. The third is that Strangefolk needs to break out of the cookie cutter style of playing as I have previously described. Right now, Trafton provides the "jam" element, simply playing over the notes of the other players. He is a strong guitarist, and I heard many different players coming through in his playing, Garcia, Anastasio, as well as Knopfler and Paul McCartney/Wings, but I still feel he lacks creativity in the improv department. Overall, I need the band to take more chances, explore a bit more, and play more spontaneously. I do feel that they have the potential to be a powerful band, but until they go out on a limb, their songs can be summed up by their encore: All The Same.  

One final note, the lights were amazing. The Lighting Director truly gave the audience a visual dessert. His use of colors was right on. Sweeping rainbows, washes of monotones, and color pairs, all lent to the experience.

I am going to offer this show up on DAT. If you are interested, please email me.

Uncle Sammy
03/22/01 House of Blues, Cambridge, MA

By: Donny Grieco

I. Etude #1, Superman, Sacagawea*, Feeling Optimystical*, Zapatos

*with Ben Groppe of Addison Groove Project on tenor saxophone 

I haven't seen too many Uncle Sammy reviews so I am writing this up in hopes of turning on some new fans that might be thinking of checking them out. To give you a little background on the band, Uncle Sammy is a four-piece band out of Boston that consists of Tom Arey on Drums, Max Delaney on Guitar, Brian O'Connell on Bass, and Walter Sasser on Keyboard and Piano. Their style can be summed up at experimental, progressive, psychedelic, funky, with a definite influence of old school Phish and seventies jazz fusion. They write intelligent and complex instrumental arrangements but also can sing pretty well. To ask if they can jam is an absurd question because it goes without saying that they are playing beyond their limited experience and continue to improve.

I first heard them way back in 1997 while listening to Jeff Waful's Emerson College radio show WERS. Impressed by what I heard, I saw them in 98 at Harper's Ferry and then again the following year with Foxtrot Zulu. They played two local shows recently in a 3-day span, which are my 6th and 7th Uncle Sammy shows. The HOB show was a last minute addition to their schedule as another artist had cancelled. The show was opened up by the Mystery Mullet Circus, a side project that consisted of Jared Sims on Sax and Bill Carbone on Drums, both members of the Miracle Orchestra, as well as members of the Anti Jazz Raygun and Fat Mama. They basically went onstage without any setlist and played very experimental instrumental fusion. It was a nice warm-up by some talented guys.

Uncle Sammy finally hit the stage at 11:45. This set lasted about 90 minutes and was a nice showcase of some of the new stuff they have been working on, which all sounded great. The first one, "Etude #1", was my favorite. They absolutely jammed their asses off on this new instrumental. One of the few criticisms that I have heard about Uncle Sammy is that Max solos too much, which doesn't bother me, but some feel it is not true jamming. However on "Etude" they are all locked together in unison taking the song to new heights for a good 15 minutes. "Superman" is sung by Walter and is also a relatively new song. "Sacagawea" and "Feeling Optimystical" featured Ben Groppe of Addison Groove Project on tenor saxophone. The final song, "Zapatos Balandos" is one of their older songs, which I could not stay for as it was running late for this working boy.

Uncle Sammy, Part 2,
3-24-01 The Attic Newton, MA

BY: Donny Grieco

I. Feeling Optimystical*, Ricky Rabbit, Teen Town->Green Eyed Lady**->Teen Town, Purgatory, Etude #2, M.A.G, Bodhisattva 

* Brian on 12 string
**Vocals incomplete

The Attic is part of a restaurant called Union Street in Newton, MA. It is a relatively tiny little upstairs bar that is similar to the House Of Blues in Cambridge. Uncle Sammy is heading down south for a tour so they booked this show as a final calling for local fans. Being that the Attic is a mile from home.

I was waiting with great anticipation for this day.

A band called Mule Crossing opened up and played for about an hour of mostly soulful bluesy jams. Sammy went on at 11 and played an hour 45-minute set. They opened up with "Feeling Optimystical", which was one of the songs that I heard at the House of Blues. This sweet instrumental served as a warm-up for what was to become. "Ricky Rabbit" was the first Sammy tune that I really dug so I was glad they played it. Rabbit went into a nice spacey jam at the end. Teen Town>>Green Eyed Lady>>Teen Town was a real treat. I am not sure if this is a common combination or something they just whipped out, but it was one of the highlights of the show. Sasser sang the Sugarloaf cover "Green Eyed Lady" without the first couple lines of each verse, not sure why. The seque must have totaled over 20 minutes. "Purgatory" is one of my favorite song orientated tunes that they do and it sounded very soulful tonight. "Etude #2", brought the show to greater heights and got the place dancing like crazy. You know when you hear "M.A.G.", you are in for a journey an we enjoyed the ride. Bodhistavva was the finale of this too short show. I wish they could have gone longer. But I'll be sure to see them anytime they return to the attic. 

Pork Tornado
04/06/01 The Paradise, Boston, Mass

BY: Sharon Shiner

This review will be short and sweet. Basically, my take on the Pork Tornado thing is this: Fishman is out to have a good time and it shows. He definitely is not the leader of the band. He is merely a player along for the ride. It's great. He took the stage looking as if he had just rolled out of bed. He was mid chew on what appeared to be a sub sandwich. Other members of the band included a keyboard player, bass player, guitarist and a saxophone player. (I apologize for not knowing any of the band member's names). The first set was a mixed bag of goodies, from rock to blues to country to funk. The band was having a good time mixing it up. I liken the first set to a warm up set. The second set was more 70's funk oriented and that is what they should stick to, because they cover it well. They did some James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and they climaxed with Jungle Boogie, inviting up all the girly girls from the audience to dance on stage. It was classic. If they come to your area, check them out. Watching Fishman drum is worth the ticket price. He played with comfort and ease. It was quite enjoyable.

CD Review: Olu Dara - Neighborhoods

By: Sharon Shiner

Close your eyes and envision yourself walking down a wide, dusty road. The sun is getting low in the sky, the heat of the afternoon finally softening. To your left is a lazy river and to your right, a field of corn. You gently shoo away the small flies buzzing about your head. Now blink and envision yourself on the corner of Bourbon Street. You lean carelessly against a lamppost, hands in your pockets. The warm rain is falling lightly around you, the street is empty. Blues music flows from a dark doorway behind you. Now blink one last time, and envision yourself in a church, the gospel singing glory to the sky. You move your body to each change of the beat. You feel full of life and happy to be alive.

The music of Mississippi born Olu Dara has the power to evoke many emotions. He is an accomplished jazz musician, spending a large portion of time in the band of jazz drummer Art Blakey, The Messengers. From there he played with the likes of Taj Mahal as well as a 7 piece band, the Okra Orchestra and a 4 piece band, the Natchezsippi Dance Band. Dara has been playing music for over 35 years and only just recently released his solo work. His first release as bandleader came in 1998, and it was called In the World: From Natchez to New York. His second release came early this year and it is called Neighborhoods.

If you pick up Neighborhoods, you will hear a nice mix of southern blues, classic New Orleans, African drumming and Jazz fusion. I hear influences of Miles Davis, Hugh Masekela, and The Funky Meters. Dara's voice is versatile, at times sounding heavy with soul and at other times, sounding light with celebration. He plays a variety of instruments on this release including guitar, wooden horn and the cornet, (a trumpet, usually brass or possibly silver). Joining him on the release is the infamous Dr. John, playing both the Rhode's electric piano and the Hammond b3 organ. The music flows well and can be listened to from start to finish without interruption. If you like jazz and blues, don't miss it.