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Midwest Regional Report
Edited by Natalie Guinsler - dagny_esque@yahoo.com

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Digging Rusted Root in Chicago

by Matt Brelje

As a big, big Root fan, I was excited about the St. Patrick's Day show in Chicago. I was particularly looking forward to The Aragon Ballroom, my favorite Chicago venue. The nearly two and a half hours that Rusted Root played seemed to fly by. The show was well produced and ran smoothly from beginning to end. In their classic style, the musicians rotated in and out of the set, providing lots of variety and enough rhythm and groove for even the most discerning listener. There was little chatter from the band, which meant that we didn't get to know them much better, but that the groove kept flowing.

As many good things as I have to say, the show was good but not great. I can't fault anything, but then I can't cite a laser show, human pyramid, or free hamburgers either. Rusted Root got up and played and played well, but that's about it. Overall, I would give an enthusiastic thumb's up. Well worth whatever Ticketmaster raped me for. The Root can't really give a bad show, and you can't beat the Aragon Brawlroom.

See you at Lunch.

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A Great Day by the River

by Rich Rob Vining

The opener was Some People, a song I've been lucky enough to catch four times now and have grown to adore. It has partially filled a void left when Head in the Clouds vanished (boo, hiss, boo, bring it back!) and is definitely now one of my favorites. I love that sweet danceable groove and terrific lyrics taboot. "Dance myself into the next millennium..." I hadn't seen Bus since December, and it actually was the last thing on my mind when I was thinking about what might be played. And this, my friends, was a *great* version of Bus which jammed hard into the next tune. I don't remember anything about TV other than wandering back to my backpack to look for something or other. Sorry I don't have more to say about it. When Take Me to the River started to come in, I knew I recognized the song but I just could not place it. I had never heard DBR do that song on tape or live and it was totally fresh to me. Ted sings this one really well, and has a great groove to it. I think it was about this point that the perma-grin set in, and everybody was shakin' their money maker like there was no tomorrow. To top it off, a jam into Puddin' which was mondo fun (where the heck did Pat go? take a leak?), and Puddin' rocked as usual. This run of tunes was pure meat, no filler, and I think these are again going to be tapes that need to get around. If Friday's Memphis show and Sunday's Carbondale show are indications how this band is playing every night, I think I'm gonna have to quit my job and be a volunteer roadie. Maybe I can be the resident disco ball tech guy... ;-)

See You > Drive Thru was another good combo, Drive Thru rocked out. At the beginning of See You the guy next to me turned and said "I know this song... what is it?" and I told him it was an original. He was quite surprised. Strangely, I felt the same way the first time I heard See You. Is part of that song's refrain lifted from some classic rock song? Anybody have any idea? After that set of songs ended, the band stopped and acknowledged Missy Baron for attending her 75th show. They dedicated the next two songs to Missy, and ripped into Apostrophe. Again, it was my first time hearing the song. Yikes, looks like I need to get my butt to more shows! Apostrophe was terrific, very clean and very good... and it segued into Cosmik Debris. Zappa double-whammy! Cosmik started out well, but Ted flubbed the lyrics and it just got funny from then on. Walt's line - "But it's my 75th show!" - was another nod of the hat to Ms. Baron. The transition into Taking Over was smooth and the song jammed and jammed and jammed. Sweeeeet. 411 was good but I didn't enjoy it as much as the St. Louis version. "555-1212, 555-1212..." We held up a KORN sign during 411 but got a "no" head shake from somebody (Jason? I don't remember) because as it turned out the mandolin was out of commission that night, something wrong with it. Maybe next time. After 411, the band went off and there was a ton of hooting and hollering, and there was a Bachewy Chomp Chant that brought Ted and Walt back on stage. Walt did some freestyle beats KRS-One style while Ted hung in the middle and tapped a bell a bit. Way cool. The rest of the band came out and jammed, and the last two tunes were killer. Naked had some (ahem) audience participation and was pretty crazy. Very, very fun night. After the show we all hung around and chatted for a while among other goings on. Hell of a show, hell of a night. Gotta love Day by the River...

Setlist:
3/7/99 Copper Dragon Brewing Co., Carbondale, IL

Some People
Bus >
TV >
Take Me To The River >
Jam* >
Puddin'
See You>
Drive Thru
Apostrophe** >
Cosmik Debris** >
Taking Over
411
Encore: Ba Chomp Rap > Jam > Bee Jam > Naked
*Pat left stage and Ted played a bell, very experimental and very cool
**Dedicated to Missy Baron

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Smiles and Good Times on way to Midwest

Submissions by Graham Spice and Brett McCall

Time to check out...

The Guy Smiley Blues Exchange, formed in 1993, has been compared to groove/jazz artists like Groove Collective, Phish, and Medeski Martin & Wood. The main focus of the band is the horn section: Patrick Dolan on alto sax and flute, Chris West on tenor sax and flute, and Bill Schultz on bari sax. Pete Meriwether plays drums, Frank Reynolds plays bass, and Graham Spice rounds out the rhythm section playing keyboard and guitar. Andrew Swift adds percussion and vibraphone to the mix. Their sound is a collection of many musical styles. In one live performance they play everything from straight-ahead jazz to rock to Latin to funk. They stretch the word music. The band's drummer, Pete Meriwether, has played with Michael Ray and Dave Grippo (members of Phish's Giant Country Horns) and sat in for John Fishman in his band The Music Of J. Willis Pratt. Sax players Bill Schultz, Chris West and Patrick Dolan have played with members of The Flecktones such as Bela Fleck, Jeff Coffin, Roy Wooten, and Victor Wooten. Speaking of the Wooten bothers, Graham Spice recorded with Victor, Reggie Wooten, and J. D. Blair on a project for Treason Records. Most recently, Andrew Swift appears on Leave Me Alone from Natalie Imbruglia's RCA release Left Of Middle. They have combined their experiences, their influences, and their energy to create The Guy Smiley Blues Exchange.

Psychafunkadoobalicious.

We are based in Nashville, TN and play in most surrounding states including NC, GA, VA, OH, WVa, KY, AL, and IN. The CD was nominated for Best R&B Album of 1998 at the Nashville Music Awards (Nammies) and was reviewed this week by Tim at PauseRecord.com (check it out at http://www.pauserecord.com/tim/GSBE.html). Here's a list of the gigs that we have in the next two months in your areas:

17- Hemp Fest - Bloomington, IN22- Blast!/SatCo Spring Feast - Nashville, TN
23- Belmont University - Nashville, TN
30- Chelsie's - Columbus

Also hitting an area near you...

I wanted to let you know about a band that is gaining a buzz in the Midwest. The band's name is Harmony Riley and their debut album, which they recorded with Steve Albini in January, is coming out in next week. They have young and talented drummer and percussionist and looking for support. They have played with the Radiators at the House of Blues and just had two sold out shows at the Vic Theater in Chicago with the Freddy Jones Band. They also have played with Train, Cheap Trick, Big Wreck, Dada and K's Choice. This summer they have shows scheduled with Sonia Dada, Maceo Parker and Morphine. They are gaining a strong, large fan base and are taking a lot of the college campuses by storm. They are being put in rotation at radio stations each week. They will be touring the Midwest, West and Southwest this summer. You can checkout their website at www.harmonyriley.com.

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Editor's Note:

Oh, Spring is in the air, along with slight waftings of patchouli, Summer tour must be encroaching. Aside from Midwesterners being blessed by Phish with their close-to-home summer sweep, Leftover Salmon, Galactic, Widespread Panic and Bela Fleck are all crossing our stompin' grounds all Spring long.

Also in the next few months, I will traveling to a new home in Cincinnati. So any of you readers willing to give me the low down on Cincy, feel free to drop me a line.