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Northeast
Regional Report
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Edited by Tony
Oliveira
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Hello All,
Once again, another great month of music in our region. I know, I'm
starting to
sound like a broken record, but it's true. Check out our calendar section
(which I will update very soon!) and the Bell Atlantic Jazz Fest (line-up
below) for a quick looksy. I also plan on bringing back the Festivus
Section
for the next issue, if not sooner. Once again thanks for all the
contributors
for their reviews. I sometimes don't have the time to get back to all of
you
individually, so this is my easy way of thanking you all at once :)
Enjoy the fine Spring music and weather!
THE RETURN OF THE CALENDAR SECTION!
Did I mention the Calendar section is back? :-) No really. now residing
at:
http://necalendar.freeserve
rs.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,
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 Eric
Ward.
Congrats! and get in touch with me for details of the offer.
Looking forward to more great reviews in the coming months.
Mutts Pictures Presents: Donald's Last Dance (with performances from some of Boston's finest local musicians)
LOCAL INDEPENDENT FEATURE FILM DEBUT AT THE COOLIDGE The film chronicles five guys in their attempt to relive their glorious high school days by reuniting their rock-n-roll band, “The Donald Avocado”. The film is a quirky character-based comedy with great original music written and performed by the actors. Donald’s Last Dance screened as a work-in-progress at New York’s Independent Feature Film Market in September 1999. Adam Mutterperl is a musician-turned-filmmaker with seventeen short films and videos to his credit. He is the former bass player for the popular Boston-based band, “The Slip”. (Visit them on the web at http://www.theslip.com" ). He graduated from the College of Communications at Boston University, with a degree in film and television in 1997. Tickets are $8.00 and can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling the Coolidge Box Office at (617)734-2501. If you would like more information about the film, contact Adam Mutterperl at (617)290-5613 or muttspictures@hotmail.com
Bell Atlantic Jazz Fest - Various Artists at Various Locals around Boston
- Wednesday, May 17
Jordan Hall
Scullers Jazz Club
Jordan Hall
Museum of Fine Arts
Ryles Jazz Club
Sanders Theatre
Scullers Jazz Club Friday, May 19
Jordan Hall
Museum of Fine Arts
Ryles Jazz Club
Scullers Jazz Club Saturday, May 20
Museum of Fine Arts
Ryles Jazz Club
Scullers Jazz Club Sunday, May 21
City Hall Plaza The Planetary Group announces the launch of Planetary Booking Boston based music company The Planetary Group (http://www.planetarygroup.com) has launched a new department for booking both regional and national bands. Phil Simon, formerly of Simon Says Musical Productions (booking for the Jive Talkin Robots,) is the lead agent. The Planetary Group currently contains departments in Publicity, Radio Promotion in various formats, Merchandising, Music Supervision for Film and Soundtracks, Graphic Design, and is the PR firm for Great Northeast Productions, and have helped to promote albums as diverse as the latest Patti Smith, the Foo Fighters, and MDFMK. The current roster of Planetary Booking includes the David Nelson Band, Snake Oil Medicine Show, ulu, Phat Phunktion, Star Ghost Dog, the Banjo Spiders and more. For more information on the company or to book bands please call Phil Simon at 800-254-2543 x 244 anytime.
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:
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
GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
I pretty much accept anything as far as reviews go, as long as they
pertain to
jambands. Really, this is a very broad category, and I give a lot of
leeway on
this too. Of course, I reserve the right to not use anything or to edit
them as
I see fit. You will get full credit for reviews and I generally take a
hands-off approach to editing, meaning I don't want to change the feel of
your
review. After all, YOU were there, not me. Some important things to keep
in
mind. Deadline! Our deadline is the 5th of the month. This may change in
the
future, but for now, that is it. You can still send me your review if you
miss
the deadline; I "may" be able to get it in, if not; it will be used in the
next
issue. Please run "Spell-Check" before submitting your reviews. Also, if
you
are referring to song titles, please put them in "quotations". When
e-mailing
them in, it's best to just put them in the body of the e-mail or mail them
as
.txt. If you send something else there may be a chance that I won't be
able to
open it because of software incompatibilities. The best way to get a feel
for
what the reviews are like is by reading past ones. Remember you don't have
to
be a journalist or professional writer, you just had to be at the show. If
you
have any specific questions just send me an e-mail:
ne@jambands.com. I promise to be
gentle. I guess
that's
it for now. Looking forward to getting some new reviews and reviewers in
the
coming months.
-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.
By Andrew Ferguson Aferguson@hbsp.harvard.edu
I had tickets for Monday and Tuesday night. I had tickets for Red Sox
opening
day on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I started to feel really ill. It was like
the
start of some delirium inducing flu. Ended up leaving work early on Monday
and
giving the Monday night tickets to a friend. Slept the whole day and
night.
Woke up Tuesday and beat it into the city. The Sox game started at one. We
started drinking at noon. The Sox won. We made it to the Orpheum and
settled
in. Normally, I do not like the Orpheum. Small seats, expensive
concessions
(one time at a Widespread show they were charging $4 for bottled water),
rude
staff. The views are great, though, and the sound is good. This was
probably
the best show that I have been to there.
I saw Phil on his last tour in Augusta, Maine (one of the worst shows I've
been
to. It seemed like it was oversold by the thousands). First of all, let me
say
that Phil's singing has improved greatly. Maybe he's giving himself more
time
to rest on this tour and maybe he's doing a better job of protecting his
voice.
Anyways, the sound was sa-weet.
Set 1 Jam> Cryptical> Other One> China Doll> Other One> Cryptical> Jam>
Sugaree
Really, what do I have to say to explain this set. It was great. When
Cryptical
rolled itself in, you knew that this was going to be a good show. I even
dug
China Doll (which is not one of my favorite tunes). It was a gentle calm
in a
otherwise storming sea of music. Of course Sugaree was fantastic but I
think
Foolish Heart was my favorite song of the set. I just didn't expect it at
all,
but I enjoyed it so much. Like I said before I was drunk, but this song
lifted
me and made me dance harder than I had been.
Set II Jam (W/ Dark Star tease)> Like A Rolling Stone> Jam> Bertha (Rob)>
Pride
of Cucomonga (W/ huge blues jam) Come Together> Eyes> GDTRFB> Bid You
Goodnight
This wonderful show just kept on rolling. Let me take a second to explain
that
the Friends on this tour were fantastic. The only musician that I was
aware of
before this show was John Molo the drummer, but they all impressed me.
Their
solos were beautiful but humble. Nobody was trying to overplay their hand
or to
steal the spotlight. Phil sang most of the songs, but their back-up vocals
were
great and when they did sing, they sang the songs well. The guitarist,
Jimmy
Herring from Jazz is Dead was very impressive.
The jams in the second set were wonderful, exploratory and intense. Damn,
what
a wonderful legacy the Dead left behind. Highlights from this set, for me,
were
Bertha, Come Together and Eyes of the World. And We Bid You Goodnight was
possibly the best song of the show. Their vocal harmonizing was simply
powerful. I think they felt it too, because they kept coming back into it
over
and over. Finally, they left the stage. I was tired ecstatic and grinning
ear
to ear. Maybe it was a combination of the long day of drinking and being
sick,
but I think it had more to do with the great music, but I was in a weird
semi-aware state. Floating and happy. Then they came back out to encore
with a
wonderful (if slight) Ripple. What a wonderful show. Slept till three the
next
day.
This past April brought an overabundance of quality shows to the Boston
area.
And with such an onslaught comes the inevitable choice of which to do, and
due
to monetary depletion and time constraints, which to skip. With members of
the
Dead in town, various club and theatre gigs, and the whole New England
scene
coming alive, there were certainly no easy choices. Though back in early
February, when I first caught word that Bela Fleck and David Grisman would
share the stage of the Orpheum Theatre...I headed for ticketmaster early.
The scene at the Orpheum was subdued, and there was a general mix of
younger
heads, older veterans, passive concert goers, rabid setlisters, and your
parents. We settled into our 3rd row center balcony seats, and awaited the
lights to dim. Just after 8, the David Grisman Quintet took the stage.
The acoustic 5 piece consisted of Matt Eakle on flute, Jim Kerwin on bass,
Enrique Coria on guitar, Joe Craven on percussion, mandolin, and fiddle,
and of
course Grisman on Mandolin. The set lasted just over an hour, and featured
mostly new songs to the DGQ repertoire. Stemming from the beautiful Latin
sounds of Coria, the new "Cha Cha Chihuahua" was a salsa tune that
sauntered in
and out of solos and bongo beats by the talented Craven. "Waltz for G.G.",
a
dedication to his daughter of the same initials, was a classic display of
Grisman masterpiece. Throughout the set, Grisman shared a bit of himself
and
his subtle humor. Dressed in a black t-shirt and pants, graying hair and
full
beard, he looked like a Jerry stunt double. And when he joked that he did
not
know where to find a good banjo player, the Orpheum erupted. Bela joined
the
group for two songs, soloing back and forth with Grisman, and then quickly
departing to let them finish the set. We were treated to yet another new
tune
"Y2Canine", that featured the jazz side of Grisman, complimented by the
talents
of Eakle and Kerwin. The set concluded just after 9.
Just about 9:30, the lights dimmed again, and Victor Wooten came out from
the
side of the stage already playing, followed by the rest of the Flecktones,
and
finally Bela. "Imagine This" was the opener followed by the quirky "Hall
of
Mirrors". The crowd pleaser "Hoedown" featured the signature Victor funk,
layered over the bluegrass-fusion that Bela has become famous for. "Guitar
Stuff" was pure Flecktones, trading jazz solos and building tension with
baited
release. Bela joked that the tune was so good he wanted them to leave the
stage. So they did, and Grisman came out to the roar of the crowd. Now we
are
talking music history here. Bela Fleck and David Grisman, sharing an
intimate
stage in a full out mandolin/banjo duel. They began with some
improvisational
noodling, that slowly progressed into a duet of solos and rhythm lines.
Bela,
cautious of his amplification, allowed the unplugged Grisman to take
charge as
the two built up to a wondrously raucous close.
The Dawg remained on stage to join the band for "Over the Waterfall" and
"Sex
in a Pan" which featured Bela and Grisman in a humorous call and response
segment. As Grisman left the stage, he and Bela hugged and grinned, while
Victor approached the front and segued into his solo portion of the show.
As always, the "Victor solo", as noted on setlists of a Flecktones show,
is a
crowd favorite. He continues to amaze me with his talents and showmanship.
Slapping bass, lowering the boom, and teasing Amazing Grace...he hammed it
up,
swinging his guitar acrobatically and dropping bombs to the delight of the
crowd. His joyful face and constant smile makes watching him as
entertaining as
listening.
Although the band is known for exploratory-jazz compositions, The old
Flatt
and
Scruggs tune "Polka on the Banjo" showed off the humble vocal talents of
the
Flecktones. Classic bluegrass with an acapella chorus, with typical Bela
humor
(rubbing the bald head and pulling the goatee of Jeff Coffin as he picked
the
banjo). Apparently inspired by the head rub, The Jeff Coffin tune "Two
Horny
Blues" demonstrated the amazing talents of this saxophone player. The tune
begins with Coffin belting out a sultry wail on both a tenor and alto sax
at
the same time. I imagine he is no two-pack-a-day guy. What most impressed
me
though was the development this tune has undergone since I first saw it
almost
two years ago. Once a platform for a sax solo, is now a full out horn
lashing
you would think came from an entire horn section, not one guy. The crowd
showed
it's appreciation as it came to a close, and Coffin got a much needed
drink.
As he caught his breathe, the band let Future man take his solo. The
"synth-axe
drumitar" and the electronics involved can be somewhat overbearing at
times,
but this show Futch was passive, relying on the drum beats and wooden
boxes
more than the voice overs and synthesizer mayhem. The solo was shorter
than
usual, and it came off less "over-the-top". It fit the acoustic vibe for
the
night. "Stomping Grounds" closed the show, and they bowed and left the
stage.
Quickly, perhaps because it was already after 11, they returned for the 3
min.
Encore of the new tune "Scratch & Sniff".
In a month saturated with great talents and epic Boston shows, this
pairing
was
a hidden gem.
Joules Greaves reminds me of the wonderful, freaky West Coast chicks that
I
used to meet on Dead Tour. Beautiful and talented, she alternated between
guitar and djembe, singing liberal anthems in her peculiar, but pleasant
siren-like voice. When she wasn't singing, she was talking to the audience
like
friends she'd finally caught up with after years. Joules' unbridled,
childlike
energy filled me with the desire and inspiration to do everything I've
ever
dreamed of doing. Even more impressive, she got a New England audience to
sing
along. She'll be at the Berkfest again this year, so check her out onstage
or
in the drum pit. Her web page is
http://www.joulesgraves.com.
Watching Charlie Hunter play his Novax 8-string is like watching videos of
astronauts walking on the moon. It seems impossible, but there it is,
happening
before your very eyes. Just when you think you're following along with
what
he's playing for a bass line on the top three strings, you realize there's
a
whole melody he's playing to complement it. Keeping track of his fingers
moving
up and down the patented Novax fan-fretboard is mesmerizing but rewarding,
allowing you to realize what a talent this man has become with this unique
instrument.
Charlie alone would suffice, but as usual, he brought along some friends.
Percussionists Stephen Chopek and Robert Perkins, both students of Leon
Parker
(percussionist on Hunter's "Duo" album), added layers of precise, inspired
rhythms and beats to the sound. . There upon the Middle East stage, Hunter
and
Co. meshed into a percussive/melodic entity that brought cheers and
applause
from the gathered music enthusiasts. Chopek played a minimalist drum set,
feeding the deeper end while Perkins attacked a pair of congas and a rack
of
other percussive paraphernalia. Charlie jumped in on a simple yet expertly
wielded tambourine at a couple of points, and did some fine skattin'. But
for
the most part, he guided the trio through a slew of traditional and
personal
jazz pieces on his mighty 8 string, yelling out loud to himself at points
with
the sheer joy of creation, a joy that was, as always, infectious to the
crowd.
If you missed Charlie on tour, a new album is forthcoming this June. Leon
Parker will once again play percussion on this release along with
saxophonist
Peter Apfelbaum, best known as the leader of the Hieroglyphics Ensemble,
trombonist Josh Roseman, most notably known for his work with Groove
Collective, along with Chopek and Perkins on additional percussion.
Charlie
Hunter's website is www.charliehunter.com.
Editor's Note: The Calendar, as mentioned earlier, is up and
running again.
I'm
still trying to find a better/easier format so that I can update it in a
more
timely manner, and I hope to make a page for IE users since it doesn't
work so
well for that browser.
If you would like to add a show that you don't see on the calendar listing
please e-mail Armand at
armand.turcotte@bigfoot.com
You can also e-mail him if you'd like to recieve it as a once a month
e-mail.
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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