May 21, 1999 - 7 Barrel Brewery, West Lebanon, NH
By Jesse "the Bourbon Cowboy"
I: Stain Resistant Man, Downhome Thinkin', Corporation a la Groove
Rock, Body Image Song, Tension & Release, Dreams of an Island, JC's
Weather, Pin the Needle
II: Day That Never Happened, Dee Phlat, Raising the Fall, Barrel of
Pickles Song, Purple Crayon, Ark, On Being, Brother Barbed Wire
Enc: Wingless Brother Fly
"This is about the millionth time we've played here," lead singer Sean
Daley announced to the crowd assembled at the 7 Barrel Brewery, "And
it gets better each time!" I must agree. This was the best show I have
yet seen by this talented young quintet of Burlingtonians, out of the
seven or so times I have caught them. They opened with one of their
new songs, "Stain Resistant Man." Daley's vocals on this number are
slightly reminiscent of Eric Burdon's work with the band War in the
Seventies. The song featured the soaring guitars of Dave Simpson and
the freshly-shorn Josh Keller, and a bit of funky wah-wah pedal
workout from Keller embellished by Daley's harmonica and
tambourine.This song could be the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" of Jam Rock
tunes, with Daley exhorting the listeners not to let the stains (of
unhappiness) stick when the shit (of life) hits the fan. I liked it
immediately.
Another of Nameless' well-crafted new tunes followed soon after in the
set. "Body Image Song" is already becoming a crowd favorite, with its
upbeat message to disregard concern over one's physical appearance
because "you've got a beautiful soul."
Solid versions of Nameless show staples "Tension & Release" and
"Dreams of an Island" offered a precursor of what was to follow in the
second set. "JC's Weather" had some sweet dual guitar jamming by
Simpson and Keller, and also featured a nice solo by stellar drummer
Daemmon Hughes, while bassist John Treybal experienced momentary
technical difficulties with his amplifier
The second set opened with a fine version of the mellow "Day That
Never
Happened", which proved to be the calm before the storm! Beginning
with "Dee Phlat" Currently Nameless began to really stretch out into
musical spaces which they had only hinted at during previous shows I
had witnessed. Keller was feeling it, and the band turned on The Hose,
giving the audience a dose of what we keep on going to see live music
for! "Barrel of Pickles Song" started out rocking, got funky, and then
ended with the trademark vocal harmonies at the bottom of the barrel.
"Purple Crayon" lent a country hoe-down feel to the festivities. Then,
fueled by Treybal's driving bass, Keller's guitar pushed the envelope
of improvisational space once again during a breathtaking "Ark." The
spatial exploration continued into "On Being," with drummer Hughes
laying down a gentle rhythm, around which the guitars seemed to
whisper to the appreciative and attentive crowd before building
momentum toward the song's rocking end.
The intensity carried over into the funk-rock of "Brother Barbed Wire"
which
featured more fantastic guitar interplay, providing a rollicking
ending to an extraordinary set.
Ignoring vociferous requests from the audience for "Starbelly Groove",
the band
chose to close out the night with the funky mellowness of "Wingless
Brother Fly," thereby providing a laid-back counterpoint to the
evening's musical excursion, leaving one feeling very relaxed and
uplifted. Fantastic show! These guys are playing great. Get out and
see them. Head to Burlington if you have to. Just do it!
REVIEW: CURRENTLY NAMELESS
June 4, 1999 - Vermont Pub & Brewery, Burlington, VT
By Jesse "the Bourbon Cowboy"
Back on their home turf of Burlington, Currently Nameless put on a fun
outdoor
show on the deck of The Vermont Pub & Brewery.While not as expressly
improvisational or exploratory as the 5/21 7 Barrel outing, this show
still featured some fine musical moments. The band's manager, Leeeza
Robbins, joined them on stage for a great "Purple Crayon", playing a
violin that had not been played in 48 years! A uniquely unusual cover
of The Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" provided another interesting moment.
The highlight of the evening was a stellar version of the funky rocker
"Starbelly Groove", with bassist John Treybal spurring the band to
greater heights and whipping the crowd to a frenzy! After "Starbelly"
the band took it back down a notch, out of necessity, as they were
told to turn the volume down, else they would be in violation of a
town noise ordinance. Alas, one of the hazards of playing outdoors in
the midst of the city. You can't turn it up to eleven without pissing
someone off! Again, go see these guys! You won't be sorry, I
guar-ron-tee!!
REVIEW: THE DISCO BISCUITS
June 19, 1999 - Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport, CT
By Dan Alford
Set List: The Very Moon > Bernstein and Chasnoff, Above the Waves,
Magellan
I feel compelled to write just a few words about DB's set at the
Gathering. I had seen the name on fliers for a few years but it was
only this year that I actually started listening to the band. As I am
a live music snob and rarely buy studio albums, I wanted to wait until
I came across some tapes or a show to check them out. As luck would
have it, I was able to get the Helicopters > Run Like Hell >
Helicopters > Magellan from 1-27-99 off the radio. Wow! It blew me
away; I knew this was something I could really get into. Since then
I've scored a few more shows but in general I've had trouble finding
someone with a bulk of HQ Bisco to trade. That being said, I can only
be so critical and precise in my comments on my first live DB
experience. They opened with "Very Moon", Leora's plight from "The
Hot Air Balloon". It was pretty good, but didn't really get me going
until a bit into the jam. (Expectations were high and I was probably
listening a little too intensely.) To me, a lot of their jams seem
like that spinning fog tunnel at the beginning of some episodes of
Doctor Who; a swirling green mass that just keeps pushing you on and
on. That tune was jammed into "Bernstein and Chasnoff", which I have
on tape as a jam only. I actually thought that the lyrics seemed a
bit goofy, but that's got to be hypocritical coming from a long time
Phish fanatic. The "Above the Waves" that followed was all too
appropriate, as you could see the ocean from the concert area. And
what a gorgeous song! Its story-based jam -that takes Corrinado into
the tumultuous sea and almost sucks him under before delivering him to
safety- is mesmerizing. At fifteen minutes, it was a bit shorter than
the two copies I have on tape, but it was still a welcome listen. The
fact that it was followed by a spectacular "Magellan" made it part of
a killer set closer. "Magellan" is another awesome song with a
powerhouse dramatic jam that leads into a beautiful, bittersweet
ending.
Overall the set was just what I wanted from the Disco Biscuits, some
wild, syncopated jams and some great dancing. I do wish that they
could've played longer, but considering that that evening's set in PA
was cancelled because of bus problems; I was thankful for what I got.
REVIEW: THE JOHN SCOFIELD BAND
June 19, 1999 - Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport, CT
By Dan Alford
Set List: Untitled Funk, Green Tea, Marlon #2, Untitled Space,
Untitled Jungle, Chank, Untitled Man-Eater, Boozer
Over the past six months The John Scofield Band has become one of my
favorite live acts; I would jump at any chance to see this powerhouse
quartet of groove masters. I was not necessarily in the clearest
state of mind during their mid-afternoon set, but much of it bares
mentioning. The Untitled Funk opener was the same tune they played in
Cambridge last month. Its intro and ending have incredible staying
power; I'm humming them right now. This tune should be given a name
and released on disc. This particular version was upbeat and
rhythmically focused and foreshadowed the rest of their set. Overall,
the band was especially tight and had the crowd dancing throughout the
set. I found that interesting because The Slip, who played Friday
night and have a similar very jazzy approach to their music, also
played a tight grooving set, which was the most danceable performance
I've seen them give.
"Untitled Space" (this band's creative process is constant, thus
leading to multiple untitled tunes) was long and tripped out; a truly
chaotic and ethereal masterpiece of the moment. Scofield commented
that the next tune had a jungle feel, which was true, but not in the
pulsating rhythm way. It had multiple fluctuations from beautiful
lyrical segments to screeching discord; flowers surrounding colossal
waterfalls of sound. The Untitled Man-Eater later in the set also
elicited jungle references from Scofield. It was short, not more than
five minutes, and absolutely raged through a hard vein with bassist
Matt Garrison charging at the head of the pack. As a general note
Will Boulware, who also played boards with Maceo, had a phenomenal
show, and although I didn't comment on the tunes from A Go-Go; they
were great and helped to create my favorite Scofield show so far.
REVIEW: MERL SAUNDERS TRIO WITH MAX CREEK
June 19, 1999 - The Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport, CT
By Dan Alford
Setlist: Tore Up, Harder They Come, That Pleases Me, Boogie On, Deal >
Expressway
While it wouldn't necessarily be impossible to write a detailed review
of every set at GOTV, it would be more words that I am willing to put
on a page. There were plenty of high points (2 sets from both
Strangefolk and DBB, the Disco Biscuits, Percy Hill, moe., and Mule)
but one of the many noteworthy sets that I particularly enjoyed was
owned by the benevolent Bay Area bodhisatva of boogie, Merl Saunders.
For years Merl has been my annual dose of super charged organ
funk and I've often preached to any ear that would hear that he and
the Rainforest Band are the best ten bucks you can spend on a concert.
Since the last time he was in Boston, I was in Albany at the Trey
show, I was particularly psyched for his set in Bridgeport. Preceding
his set was the right coast legend-Max Creek. I actually chose to
forgo their set in favor of lunch and the beach, after a morning of
Bisco and the Big Wu; such sacrifices sometimes have to be made. So
when I ran in to catch Merl one of the few cross band pollinations of
the entire weekend was about to take place as Creek was Merl's band.
Also sitting in were pair of teenaged boys; one on sax and the other
on guitar (hence the trio). The monstrous psychedelic force opened
their set with a solid "Tore Up", which was nonetheless plagued with
P.A. problems mainly from Merl's vocals and boards. After fixing
those glitches, the band ripped up an incredible 20 minute "Harder
They Come" featuring multiple solos and lots of full band jamming. It
also contained one absolutely flat solo, the major low point in the
entire set. I was not close enough to the stage to see who was
playing because of the strange speaker set up.
Both stages at the fest were right next to each other and a speaker
stack flanked each, forming a semicircle. Because there was no middle
stack and the two existing stacks were angled and so far apart, the
best sound was actually behind the sound board.
A bluesy "That Pleases Me" with a particularly strong sax
Solo came next. On the heels of that was the second, funked out
"Boogie On Reggae Woman" of the weekend. Merl was set to end his show
after that jam session, but found out he had more time. After a
little inter-band discussion, Merl set to his electric piano for a
quiet Georgia tease into a blazing a "Deal". What a rager! Creek was
the perfect back up band; they knew most of the material and could
easily fake the rest. Their improv skills are well known and the way
the whole thing gelled was just fantastic. After an audience led
"Dontcha let that deal go down" chant the entire entourage segued into
my all time favorite Merl standard- "Expressway". Here, Creek shined
as they launched into the breakdown without hesitation. At the end
the theme was repeated over and over and over for the single longest
"Expressway" I've heard in concert or otherwise. To beat a compliment
to death, Creek made this set. Compared to Merl and his Funky Creek,
the Merl Saunders Trio could have been really lame.
REVIEW: SOULIVE
June 26, 1999 - The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
By Dan Alford
Set List: First Tune, Uncle Junior, Soulive, Rudy's Way, The Chicken,
Boston Rhyme > Sign of the Times, Unknown
Many of the great jam bands on the scene today make their way to the
downstairs of the Middle East, when they visit Boston. You can pretty
much count on seeing a great act at least once every two to three
weeks, whether it's The Slip, Percy Hill, Uncle Sammy or any other of
the jamming multitudes on the scene today. The only problem is that
downstairs is one of the worst venues around. There is a low ceiling;
covering a long sloping rectangular room. As a result, sound doesn't
carry well at all and conversations seem extra loud, although if
you're trying to talk, you can't be heard. Essentially it's as if
there are pools of noise that collect in localized areas and drown out
the currents of music that try to flow through the place. After the
Jambands.com tour's stop at the venue I swore that I would not go back
downstairs unless it was absolutely necessary. That show was actually
great; not too crowded, most people focusing on the music, and the
best sound I've every heard there. That plus shining in the face of
all the just plain noisy nights reminded of how many times I've left
there feeling frustrated, thus leading to my self imposed abstinence.
It wasn't long, however, before an absolutely necessary situation
arose when Soulive was booked to play downstairs. I cannot express
just how incredible this trio is. Their ability to jive along tightly
scripted grooves and open up into fields of blossoming melodies is
awe-inspiring. I can't stop smiling when I'm at a show or listening
to a tape of their performance on the local Space Jams radio show; I
only wish there were more tapes in circulation (hint, hint to all the
tapers out there).
The band didn't go on until a little before 12:30, and because of
Boston's puritanical curfew I knew that that would cut their set to
just over an hour. They opened with a song I hadn't heard before
called First Tune (?) featuring a choppy organ refrain that reminded
me of the wild west. As the place was fairly empty and set to boogie,
the sound quality was pretty good and the band seemed more energized
than at other performances; a perfect combination. They followed with
Uncle Junior, approaching the piece with a fairly loose attitude. The
light intro and bridge was followed by a blazing solo from Neal Evans
who laid down long sustained left hand notes, dancing over them with
his right. Eric's solo was nice and meandering; it was great to see
them stray from the orchestration of their tunes. Hot on the heels of
that number was Soulive. This title tune is my favorite piece, with
heavy funk Hammond B-3 permeating placid rivers of cool grooves. Alan
Evans then teased the audience that they were going have a guest
player once they figured out some technical glitches and then launched
into Rudy's Way, again with an open interpretation.
The time had come for O'Teil Burbridge and saxophonist Sam
I-didn't-get-his-last-name to join the trio. As they have no bass
player, they had no bass amp and after a bit of a wait O'Teil was
plugged in and ready to go. They played the jazz standard The
Chicken.
Eric had a nice long solo, as did Sam. O'Teil was meanwhile stomping
around the rear of the stage churning out waves of bass. When his
solo finally came the rest of the band quieted down and let him walk
up and down those low end streets, before dropping back into the theme
just long enough for him to grab a mic and set off on a trademark
vocal/bass jam.
By the time the jam ended it was almost 1:30 but Gamelan paid the
fines and let the band break curfew! The Professor the joined the
trio and started a Soulive live chant which seguewayed into a Boston
rhyme which touched on every local landmark from the Charles to the
Blue Man Group to J.P. Licks. After reprising the Soulive chant he
grooved on the cautionary Sign of the Times. To close the show the
trio worked out on one final number by themselves, a fun tune with a
somewhat goofy refrain and an ending that featured Eric playing
heavier than he had the rest of the evening. All I can say is that
you should check these guys out while they are
still relatively unknown; you won't be disappointed.
<\\><\\><\\><\\><\\><\\><\\><\\><\\>
NEW ENGLAND SHOW CALENDAR
Note: Remember, if anyone wants to add dates, but you were too late
to make our issue deadline, you can still enter them manually in the
Show Database on the homepage. http://www.jambands.com
Here's the latest New England Shows listing. If you don't want to
receive further listings send email to: armand.turcotte@bigfoot.com
and ask to be removed from the NEshows list. Also, let me ( Armand) know about any cool bands, shows, or other fun stuff!
http://www.tufts.edu/~mchoh/neshows.html
***** make sure you call before you head to the show ! *****
New England tour dates: ( ? before date means ***unconfirmed*** )
=======================
th 7-15 Laughing Water - The Beachcomber - Wollaston Beach, Quincy MA
617-479-8989
fr 7-16 Arthur Dent Foundation - Tammany Club - Worcester, MA
sa 7-17 Ronnie Earl Muddy River Smokehouse, Portsmouth NH 603-
sa 7-17 Jonathan Edwards Salem Boat Cruise, Salem MA 978-741-2205
sa 7-17 Mancini Munzer Project - Tammany Club- Worcester MA
508-791-6550
7-17>18 Phish OswegoCountyAirport, Volney NY 315-472-0700
mo 7-19 Arthur Dent Foundation Tammany Club- Worcester MA
508-791-6550
we 7-21 Pork and Beans w/Goodfoot - Tammany Club- Worcester MA
508-791-6550
th 7-22 Refried Confusion and Invisible Jet - Tammany Club- Worcester
MA 508-791-6550
th 7-22 Ronnie Earl Harbor Cruise, Boston MA 617-
fr 7-23 Bruce Mandaro Band w/Smokestick opening - Tammany Club-
Worcester MA 508-791-6550
7-23>25 Lowell Folkfest scenic downtown Lowell, MA 978-
7-23>25 Woodstock '99 Griffiss AFB, Rome NY details below
sa 7-24 Joe Rockhead- Tammany Club- Worcester MA 508-791-6550
mo 7-26 Arthur Dent Foundation - Tammany Club- Worcester MA
508-791-6550
tu 7-27 Jewel/RustedRoot Tweeter Center, Mansfield MA 617-931-2000
we 7-28 Pork and Beans and Goodfoot - Tammany Club- Worcester MA
508-791-6550
we 7-28 Jewel/RustedRoot Meadows Music Ampitheater, Hartford CT
860-422-0000
th 7-29 Bruce Mandaro Band - Tammany Club- Worcester MA 508-791-6550
fr 7-30 Goofyfoot - Tammany Club- Worcester MA 508-791-6550
fr 7-31 Foxtrot Zulu - Tammany Club- Worcester MA 508-791-6550
sa 7-31 VT Reggae Fest Shepard Field, Hardwick, VT details below
su 8-1 The Slip - Beatjam Festival - Union ME
we 8-04 Roger Waters Tweeter Center, Mansfield MA 617-931-2000
8-06>08 Ben&Jerry's Newport Folk Festival, Newport RI details below
?fr 8-06 CSNY Tweeter Center, Mansfield MA 617-931-2000
fr 8-06 DMB Meadows Music Th, Hartford CT 860-422-0000
?sa 8-07 CSNY Tweeter Center, Mansfield MA 617-931-2000
sa 8-07 DMB Meadows Music Th, Hartford CT 860-422-0000
8-07>08 Gathering On The Mountain, Blakeslee, PA details below
su 8-08 Roger Waters Walingford Theatre, Oakdale CT 860-
8-13>15 Berkshire Mountain MusicFest, GreatBarrington details below
8-13 The Slip - Berkfest - Great Barrington, MA
su 8-15 Africa Fete Hatch Shell, Boston MA details below
fr 8-20 Allman Brothers Tweeter Center, Mansfield MA 617-931-2000
fr 8-20 Bruce Hornsby So Shore Music Circus, Cohasset 508-
su 8-22 Bruce Hornsby Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis MA 508-
we 8-25 Spirit Of Unity ReggaeFest, BankBoston Pavillion, Boston 617-
?su 8-29 Galactic/GovtMule/moe./SCI BankBostonPavillion 617-423-NEXT
9-04>05 Garden Of Eden Festival - Strangefolk & guests details below
?? 12-99 Bob Marley Tribute, Oracabessa, Jamaica www.rockontv.com
other tour dates, festivals, and fun stuff
============================================
PhishFest '99 www.phish.com
7-17/18 Oswego County Airport Volney NY 315-472-0700
Grassroots Festival www.grassrootsfest.org
7-22>25 Trumansburg Fairgrounds, Trumansburg NY 607-387-5098
Thomas Mapfumo, Solas, Donna The Buffalo, Second Hand Dance Company,
Keith Secola / Wild Band of Indians, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco
Band, Jones Benaly Native American Dancers, Colorblind James
Experience Preston Frank & his Zydeco Family Band, The Hix, Hank
Roberts, Swamp College Revival, Walter Mouton & the Scott Playboys,
John Specker, Sunny Weather, Organic Groove Farmers, Black Fire,
Kinfolk, Go Figure, Nedy Arevalo, Perfect Thyroid, Jennie Stearns,
Good Dog/Bad Dog,
Bubba George Stringband, The Red Hots, Zydeco Experiment, many more !
Woodstock '99 www.woodstock.com
7-23>25 Griffiss AFB, Rome NY 212-397-7474
Aerosmith, Jeff Beck, Bush, Chemical Brothers, George Clinton,
Collective Soul, Counting Crows, Creed, Sheryl Crow, DMX, Everclear,
Everlast, Fatboy Slim, Foo Fighters, Godsmack, Guster, Mickey Hart &
Planet Drum, Ice Cube, Jamiroquai, Jewel, Kid Rock, Korn, Limp Bizkit,
Lit, Live, Los Lobos, Dave Matthews Band, Metallica, moe., Alanis
Morissette, Willie Nelson, Mike Ness, Offspring, Our Lady Peace, Rage
Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rusted Root, Brian Setzer,
Sugar Ray, Tragically Hip, Wyclef Jean, more
Camp Creek '99 www.maxcreek.com
7-30>01 Indian Lookout Country Club, Mariaville, NY 860-653-7616
Vermont Reggae Festival www.vtreggaefest.org
sa 7-31 VT Reggae Fest Shepard Field, Hardwick, VT 802-862-3092
Beenie Man, Tanto Metro & Devonte, Itals, Nadine Sutherland, Mikey
Dread, Clinton Fearon, & Boogie Brown Band, Lazah Current Rocky Duwani
Ben&Jerry's Newport Folk Festival www.newportfolk.com
fr 8-06 Hotel Viking Grand Ballroom, Newport RI 401-847-3700 sa
8-07 Fort Adams State Park, Newport RI 401-847-3700
Joan Armatrading, Wilco, Melissa Ferrick, many more
su 8-08 Fort Adams State Park, Newport RI 401-847-3700
Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega, Susan Tedeschi, many more
Gathering On The Mountain www.big2resorts.com/gathering
8-07>08 Fern Ridge, Poconos, Blakeslee, PA 800-468-2442
WAR, Jorma Kaukonen, JGB, Jefferson Starship, Merl Saunders, Ekoostik
Hookah, Tom Constanten, God Street Wine, Gary Duncan's Quicksilver,
It's A Beautiful Day, Toni Brown Band, Recipe, Foxtrot Zulu, Big Wu,
Jiggle The Handle, many more
Berkshire Mountain MusicFest www.berkfest.com 888-245-7081
8-13>15 Butternut Basin Ski Area, Great Barrington MA 617-435-3003
Los Lobos, Soul Coughing, The Roots, Strangefolk, Tony Trischka,
Greyboy Allstar SideCar Project, Slip, Deep Banana Blackout, Jiggle
The Handle, Percy Hill, Disco Biscuits, Living Daylights, Addison
Groove Project, Miracle Orchestra, Acoustic Junction, Soulive, Vinyl,
Willy Porter, Rockett Band, Electric Blue, Day By The River, New Deal
Ray's Music Exchange, Reverend Tor Band, more !
Africa Fete www.pollstar.com
su 8-15 Hatch Shell, Boston MA 617-
Africa Fete, Baaba Mall, Daande Lenol, Kulanjan, Taj Mahal, Toumani
Diabate, Oliver Mtukudzi
Garden Of Eden Festival www.strangefolk.com
9-04>05 Addison County Field Days, New Haven VT 802-654-8740
two days of Strangefolk, Gordon Stone and special guests - fun stuff !
