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Midwest
Regional Report
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Edited by Todd Justus &
Tim Ward
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I guess the cold weather is keeping everyone inside and in front of their computers, because we've been hearing from alot of you lately. And this is a good thing, as you've not only been helping us keep a finger on the pulse of what's happening out there, but some of you even decided to take a pen and paper to a few shows and have sent in reviews. This, too, is a good thing, and it's the kind of behavior we like to encourage here at jambands.com. Your reward? More reviews by more kind souls. It's kinda like that "Pay It Forward" movie that I didn't see - you send in a review for somebody to read, and maybe they'll do the same. Besides, it makes for a smaller intro for Tim or myself to write. We're very fortunate to have reviews in from four shows over the past two months. Midwest regular Reverend Kevin Robbins caught the Big Wu at Otto's in Dekalb for a review that I'm sure you all will enjoy. Scott Preston has given us a review from October's Halias Hallow's Eve Festival. These guys are top-notch, so check 'em out. We have a solid review by newcomer Jeff Trinco, who caught Mos Isley earlier this month. Thanks Jeff, and keep them coming. Finally, we have some True Gravity action from Highwood, IL. There are many new bands out there now that are making it across our radar - Indiana's Dark Blonde Water (darkblondewater.com); Ann Arbor's Serious Johnson (seriousjohnson.com), who have a new disc on the way; The WestFall(thewestfall.com)from Milwaukee; U.R.B, Dirty Nellie's new Wednesday night house band; and Paulding Light from Marquette, Michigan, among them. Check these guys out when you have a chance, and maybe throw a review our way. Cause just remember, you write one review, and then a friend writes one review, and so on, and so on... We'll see you at the show. Todd & Tim (midwest@jambands.com) News Ray's Music Exchange, who recently won the Cincinnati Entertainment award for best jazz group, is hosting a celebration of the new millennium at the historic Southgate House in Newport, KY on Sunday, Dec. 31st. The venue is an old mansion that had a ballroom added onto it at some time, and then later was converted into a club. The building has some rich history and creates ambiance no ordinary bar can touch. The idea behind the show is to share the big New Year's crowd with some of their favorite bands from the Cincinnati area, in a showcase of sorts. There will be three floors of music, a giant screen with animations, champagne and hors d'oeuvres, and a ton of guests throughout the night. The lineup is a follows:
Ray's Music Exchange For more info on the show go to http://www.raysmusicexchange.com In Case You Missed It
The Big Wu, 11/16/00 By The Rev. Kevin Robbins (Christian Church, disciples of Christ)(kevrobb@trianglenet.net)
The Big Wu On the trip up to DeKalb, listening to some "classic rock" station, I got a blast from my past. I was a teenager when Foreigner hit the scene with it's first album and the single, "Feels Like the First Time." That seemed very appropriate for the trip that I was taking. I had never been to DeKalb, barely knew that a place called Otto's existed, and had never seen the Big Wu before this night. Better still, my exposure to the music of the Big Wu was VERY limited. I heard bits and pieces of "Tracking Buffalo Through the Bathtub" a few years back in St. Louis' The Firehouse. Likewise, I had received a show from this year on disc. I think I listened to set one while I was working on some things down in my office, but not a serious REAL listen. The trip up was unique in that for the first hour, I had cold, but clear weather. For the last half an hour, the snow began to fall and it got darker than I expected. Upon arriving at the venue, I found a nice convivial atmosphere for a show. The bar was probably big enough to support a few hundred people, but the stage was set oddly into a corner of the building. This led to a serious amount of intimacy for everyone. People in the balcony, which sits atop one of the two bars, were at most 50 feet from the band. While the stage was small, it seemed cozy. The entire atmosphere was one of tremendous closeness. While food is my primary quest in a town for a show, another pertinent detail for many shows is the quality of the bar. One beer pre-show is a nice way to relax after setting up the taping gear. Like all too many nights, I arrived with a little more than the necessary time, so I moseyed over to the bar to pick up a beer. A great selection of tap beers were to be had, so I ordered a draft Guinness/Bass black and tan. To my chagrin, the bartender handed over a 32 oz glass of the amazing frothy concoction. Being in a college town, I expected sticker shock for this prize to be outrageous. When the bartender said "That'll be $3.50" I about swooned. This is my kind of venue! Pulling back to my gear, I awaited the start of the first set. One by one, people approached me and asked me "Are you the Rev. Kevin Robbins?" I was stunned to say the least, but the explanation soon followed. Pastor Tim, Wu's archivist, had published my name on the Wu mailing list and had asked the local Illinois Wu family to welcome me to their midst. Within a half an hour, I had about a dozen new friends. Time passed quickly and the band took the stage. I had no idea what to expect, so when the Ballad of Dan Toe opened the set, I took a step back. Having seen a number of bands over the past 6 years of being involved in the jamband scene, there are very few that I have witnessed drawing so successfully from the influence of country music. Certainly, Bob Weir's cowboy tunes and the wonderful renditions of Marty Robbins' classic "El Paso" stood to inform a legion of bands. I simply had not heard anyone take those influences and so successfully infuse them into their own music. Time and again, at this show, I heard a band work through that influence. "Dan Toe", "Land of the Navaho", and, in a lesser fashion, "Flatiron Suite" all rolled through that part of my musical filter. Other songs celebrated a variety of other musical influences and through their catchy phrasings and intriguing lyrics that were both fun and, at times, thought-provoking. Perhaps the most telling portion of any jamband show is what artists and songs they cover. Early on in the first set, the Wu broke out one of the best jamband cover tunes that I know of. Werewolves of London is a great tune to rave up. While it was a pretty straight-forward cover, they accomplished this tune with a nice touch. At the risk of committing some serious blasphemy in the realms of this music, I was never a huge Jerry Garcia Band fan. Jerry did some great things in that format, but I never found myself being drawn back to it. One of the tunes that is inextricable from my mind that comes from the JGB is "Reuben and Cherise." Chris Castino's vocals provided a warmth and subtlety to the song that it needs and deserves. Additionally, as usual from my perusal of Petrified Wu (http://www.thebigwu.com/Petrifiedwu.cfm), they played a couple of classic Dead tunes, which is always kind of nice. If all of this isn't enough, during the setbreak, a drum circle broke out in the middle of the venue! This was a first for me. To make it better, there was a diggerdoo player as well. After a rousing Texas Fireball to open set two, the drummers and the diggerdoo were invited to join the band for a great Shantytown. I don't have all of the guests names, but there were probably 3 or 4 drummers on stage in addition to that diggerdoo. As I said earlier, this was a night set to be intimate, but the whole event with fans, friends, and a band that was so close made a great night and a great first time! 11-16-00 Otto's, DeKalb, IL Set One: The Ballad of Dan Toe, Straight through the Ear, Funky Bug, Flatiron Suite, Werewolves of London, Midnight Rudy, Kensington Manor, Boxing Day, Big Love Set Two: Texas Fireball, Shantytown->Drums->Reuben and Cherise, House of Wu, Puerto Rico->Another Saturday Night->Puerto Rico, Land of the Navajo, China Cat Sunflower->Bloodhound->Linus and Lucy->Bloodhound Encore: Man in a Suitcase>Country Pie
True Gravity, 11/25/00 This past Thanksgiving weekend was the ideal weekend for any band to get out and play. Just about every single bar in the city and suburbs were packed with visitors and locals ready to drink and have fun. The Wooden Nickel, in Highwood, IL, is arguably the greatest saloon in the North suburbs to catch the best jam bands in the area and it was no exception to the Thanksgiving crowds. On Saturday, November 25th The Wooden Nickel featured the ultimate in tribute bands when homegrown rockers True Gravity strutted their renditions of classics made famous by the Allman Brothers Band. True Gravity features Nate Wolverton on guitar and vocals, Mike Tangorra on slide guitar and vocals, Dan McMurray on drums and vocals, Jason Deutsch on bass and vocals, Bradley Wasserman on percussion, and "Pistol" Pete Legend on the Hammond organ. Drummers Dan McMurray and Bradley Wasserman, along with guitarist Nate Wolverton, are natives to the North Shore and have become a household name in the Chicago area jam band circuit. Dan and Nate have been playing together in many different groups with names like Dan Moulder (Uncle Johns Band, Arthur Lee), Cryin' Souls and tenor sax virtuoso Frank Catalano. Bradley recently made an appearance at John Spiegel's (Brother Brother) birthday show at Martyrs'. Getting off to a somewhat late start, True Gravity grabbed their die-hard fans with the Dickey Betts epic Jessica that featured Nate & Mike trading off solos with a quick Mountain Jam tease to get some excitement from the crowd. The next two songs, Trouble No More and Stand Back, were played for the first time by the band and it seemed like they have been performing them forever. Up next the sextet gave the crowd of 200 plus a taste of the Filmore concerts with Done Somebody Wrong and Don't Keep Me Wonderin' which featured dual slide guitar parts. By this time the bar was loosened up and ready to dance. They decided it was time to funk it up a bit with the classic Joe Zawinul instrumental; Mercy Mercy Mercy. The band was far from being finished when they dropped everybody's jaw with You Don't Love Me. The best part was that they even pulled off a flawless rendition of Soul Serenade to cap off the first set. The dueling guitars were a force to be reckoned with! The second set brought out another first timer with the Black Crowes tune, Wiser Time. Mike and Jason shined on their vocal parts and melted the crowd into a state of euphoria. To give the show a more "Allman-esque" appeal, they ripped into what sounded like the Grateful Dead's Franklin's Tower and quickly modulated into Blue Sky; a fan favorite. Nate made a dedication to Allen Woody and wished a happy birthday to Duane Allman just before they played Dimples; a song written by John Lee Hooker and sung by Duane in the early 70's. If you were to catch the greatest highlight of the show it had to be what was next. Yes, True Gravity switched to DEF-COM 4 and laid out Mountain Jam! The guitar solos were literally identical to the ones Dickey and Duane played on Eat A Peach just 30 years ago but also included a very unique style unlike anything ever attempted. Dan and Brad had never sounded so in synch with each other when they dueled out a five-minute drum jam. Both drummers worked off one another like they shared the same brain. After one last song and a double encore of Midnight Rider and Revival, True Gravity still wasn't satisfied. They took a quick break and graced the stage for what had to be done. This was their third performance at the Nickel and they had yet to play the ultimate Allmans classic.. until then. Aside from Frank Zappa's live version and Gregg Allman's remake, True Gravity made epic proportions with their outlook on Whipping Post. It wasn't as long as the 22 minute version from the Filmore '71 shows but it included guitar solos with a Jazz and Bluesy orientation. To finally cap off an outstanding performance, the band played the Derek and the Dominoes classic Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad. This tune also highlighted the vocal harmonies of Tangorra and Deutsch. In the short time that True Gravity has been playing together, there has been no sign of defect in their talent nor has anyone slandered the group for being only a tribute band. These six guys put their heart and souls into what they do and it shows in the final results. We can only wait to see what's next for the "Chicago Brothers" but it's guaranteed to only get better.
Mos Isley, 12/12/00 By Jeff Trinco (jtrinco@yahoo.com) Who is Mos Isley? That's exactly what I wondered when I was invited to attend their debut CD release party last night at the Double Door. I went into this show completely blind...I had never heard a note of Mos Isley before...but man, was I glad I attended this one. Mos Isley features a four piece band. A solid groove providing core of bass guitar and drums. A skilled wailing guitarist. And a keyboardist who plays Hammond and Rhodes (the only 2 keyboard instruments you really need if you ask me). Mos Isley's sound is very tough to describe. They are definitely a jamband and definitely influenced by Phish, in fact, I would say they're similar to the sound of ekoostik hookah. One thing is for sure, they have a lot of different styles incorporated into their music. There is traces of jazz and bluegrass, rock and heavy metal, and even Caribbean island type sounds. All this adds up to one hell of a great sound. Mos Isley played two full sets of all original material. These guys are definitely tops in the song writing department. Their songs featured lots of tension and release patterns, hot jams and lots of keyboards. The keyboardist did a great job of building up the jams with the Hammond and Leslie wailing, then quieting things down with the soothing sounds of the Rhodes. The jams were great. Mos Isley played very well together, but they didn't take it overboard and jam on one song for too long. Each jam really kept my attention. I'd say most of the tunes clocked in around 8 minutes. One thing that impressed me was that four guys could produce such a full sound. The guitarist was often seen playing around with effects pedals and feedback, and the keyboardist mastered "the one hand on the Hammond and one on the Rhodes" very well. All in all, I came away from this show very excited. If you like Phish, String Cheese, Ekoostik Hookah, and Umphrey's McGee you'll most certainty enjoy Mos Isley. From what I understand these guys are just starting out...they haven't played all that much live. They can be seen every Tuesday night (with no cover charge) at the Boulevard Cafe 3137 W. Logan in Chicago. There's a new jamband in Chicago...and I have a feeling Mos Isley is here to stay...check them out. {editor's note: this review slipped by last month so we offer to you now...}
Halias, 10/13/00 Oxford, OH By Scott Preston (cassidydh@aol.com) This is one of the better up and coming jam bands in the midwest. I had the pleasure of attending their first festival "Hallow's Eve" in Oxford, Ohio on Friday , October 13, 2000. They created a very cool setting, with a costume theme for the night. The band came out on stage in orange prisoner uniforms, which brought a smile to my face. You could tell right away that they were having a good time playing on stage, and when the band is having a good time the crowd will pick up on it. My first impression was their ability to play so smoothly together. They started off the night with a nice Spanish Moon --> Skin it Back segue (songs originally by Little Feat), which immediately had the whole crowd dancing. The band decided to funk it up a bit with a funky version of Frank Zappa's Stinkfoot. They have a great sax player which in my opinion adds a whole dimension to the mix. They followed this up with one of their original songs, "Eddy Roots". This song had a very melodic , jazzy, spacey, funky vibe. Deep Water into Geeve's (original tunes) had some very impressive instrumental jams. Get Far Down into Teo La Tris (original tunes) again impressed me with their ability to play off of each other so well. For the last 4 songs they had some special guests join them on stage. Eric Sweyhart on Trombone and Mike Mavridoglou of Ray's Music Exchange on trumpet. This addition made the flow of the music even more funky than it was before. I was definitely exhausted from dancing so much. Keeping in the spirit of it being Friday the 13th, they busted out with Michael Jackson's Thriller. I couldn't believe it at first but they pulled it off in grand fashion. It was even more fun to see Josh Knight's (percussion) dad come out on stage wearing a black cape contributing the Vincent Proce vocals. I would say a great time was had by all and I highly recommend checking them out. Halias is: Josh Knight- Percussion, George "Geo" Stearns - guitar, Dan Kern - guitar, Phil Huffman - drums, Nate Baker - Bass, Steve Buttree - flute, sax.
10/13/00 Hallow's Eve Halias E: Thriller* ^
* w/Eric Sweyhart on Trombone and Mike Mavridoglou of RME on trumpet Notable Dates OHIO:
12/18--Local Color, Ruby Tuesdays, Columbus ILLINOIS:
12/19--Mr. Blotto, Waterloo Tavern, Chicago
12/20--U.R.B., Durty Nellies, Palatine
12/22--Cryin' Souls, Kenny's Tavern, Countryside INDIANA:
12/21--Mr. Blotto, Finke's, Highland MICHIGAN:
12/21--Jiant, The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor WISCONSIN:
12/21--Medicinal Shivers, Linnemans, Madison
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