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Northeast Regional Report

Edited by Tony Oliveria and Pete Sahlin

This was perhaps the sleeper show of the year for Maine. Did youmiss it? You weren't alone. Jazz guitar giant John Scofield, backedby a stellar combination of John Medeski on organ, Chris Wood on bassand Clyde Stubblefield on drums, played a soulful, sometimes searing, sometimes dreamy, relentlessly grooving set Wednesday night to a sparse but enthusiastic audience at the State Theater in Portland.

Touring in support of "A-Go-Go," his latest album, Scofield easily demonstrated his mastery of jazz and blues idioms in a subtle, understated style. This was no gratuitous display of virtuosity; Scofield played it mellow, displaying his fiery talent in burstsof energy within the context of a constantly smoldering groove. This was jazz with attitude. Alas, not the brooding black-clad artiness so often associated with jazz but an attitude defiantly upbeat, danceable, happy - if this had a color, it might betie-dyed. Much of the crowd danced throughout the night to the lush groovesand left visibly uplifted - "engrooved," if you will.

John Medeski's trademark fat organ sound and fuzzed electric piano provided both the perfect underpinning to Scofield's aliennoodlings and the ideal counterpoint when Scofield let him take the lead. Bringing perhaps as many fans of their own to the event as Scofield, Medeski and Wood (of the jam/jazz group Medeski Martin and Wood) were enthusiastically received, yet seemed genuinely humbled to be performing with such a giant of the jazz world. They appeared content to play backup for Scofield, but he let them each stretch their musical legs and add their unique signatures to the evening. Their funky, rock-solid styles blended so well with John Scofield's otherworldly playing it is easy to see why the jazz guitarist sought them out specifically for his latest album and tour.

Opening act Charlie Hunter put on an impressive display of hisunique eight-string guitar style. Backed only by the drums and vibes,Hunter played bass riffs, rich chords and snaky lead linessimultaneously, and made it look easy. What his drummer lacked in fluidity wasmore than made up for by the vibes player, a virtuoso in his own right. Together this band played a set of smooth, seamless grooves - that word again! -- that set the stage nicely for Scofield's ensemble.

Truly, the only downer of the night was the number of empty seats. One could not help feeling a bit chagrined that such a potent, high-energy musical performance was not witnessed by more souls. The State Theater could not have been at more than one-fifth itscapacity, with most of the sparse crowd concentrated near the stage, in theopen floor areas where dancing was best. One must wonder where the promotion was for this event, if indeed there was any;word-of-mouth seemed to be the only medium by which concertgoers had heard ofthis show. (editor's note- by contrast the Boston show, hosted byGamelan and Iron Horse Productions did indeed sell out, shutting out thethe New England editors in the process...)

I went to the show and got there pretty early around 9:30. Theshow was downstairs and for those who have never been there it's a huge "road house" like place. Cool place to catch a band because thereis plenty of room.

Missed the first band but the second band was great. They were from the Dominican Republic. It was a 7 person band. They sang mostly in Spainish but they had the crowd dancing. The singer had a lot of energy and the back up singer was great. She also played a long clarinet like instrument, thepan, and moraccas. They had a bassist, lead guitar, drums, congas, and another drum. They rocked.

Next was the Disco Biscuits. This is the first time I have ever seen them. They started off "going to do a little storytelling" and started jamming. The lead singers vocal were terrible. I think it was 85% the sound guy. It came off tinny and real loud. When he wasn't singing the jammimg was excellent. You can really here the Phish influence. I really enjoyed them and so did the crowd. They need a new sound guy is all.

One Fell Swoop is a three preson band with only drums, bass, and guitar. The lead singer and drummer can both sing and the drummer is very good. An impressive solo and a cool Beastie's cover and I was jamming. Then they invited two drummers from the latin band up and they all jammed. Looked like they were all having fun.
All in all the bands were good. DB just need to get that vocal thing down. And anytime they can follow that latin band they should. They were the highlight I think.

Editor's note: Since I was also at this show I have a few comments to add. This was only my 2nd time seeing the Disco Biscuits and I enjoyed them quite a bit. As far as the sound goes, the Middle East is not exactly a great sounding room and may have been responsible for the part of the sound/vocal problems. I will say the soundman, John, was very helpful in providing me with a board patch. I was the only taper there and he went out of his way to find me the right cables and a SBD OUT. Very nice guy as was their bassist who I chatted with after the show.

Hey everyone, I just returned home from the Call...Haven't seen a full show since 12/27/97 and I was NOT disappointed. Here's the setlist and a brief review...
Set I: Intro->Waiting 4 the Bomb...->Downtown(Neil Young cover) Somedays->T.S. Overload Animal->1/4 Pound Anything's Possible Story about Max and Marv Albert-> Switchblade Intro-> Blackberry Brandy
Set II: Shall Arrive->Tortured Mind->Donnie Osmond->Tortured Mind->Oberon J.G.M. Sad Sad Corner->Passengers->Adirondack
E: Frog Song(a dried out frog in the sun???) Mr Blood... Nice into to bomb, great Tso, but no eggbeater. Sick Animal and1/4 was good to hear again.
Set II Awesome Arrive, but no Sally????...Tortured Mind had an incredible jam that led into Donnie Osmond and back to TM again!! Then absolutely the most incredible segue into Oberon and Titania...even Tim themerch guy agreed on me with this one. Short but to the point JGM...Standard Sad Sad Corner into a great Passengers then, Adirondack.
E: Well, the place was closing but we were chanting Mr BLood...TP grabbed Max's guitar and started it...Max on drums, TP on guitar and Danaon vocals and Brian on the keys...Then Max and Dana broke into a MrBlood version of Whip It!!!! Truly had to be there,,,well, I must begoing now...The beer's a calling...BTW, I was the only taper there aside from Marty, and the tapes sound great...not SBD though, but really good audience...I'll probably spin 1 or 2 copies and let the restof you take it from there...hurry back guys!!!

support your local music scene !  get out there and have a gratetime 
     - hope to see you at a show sometime soon !  -  arm          
     *****  make sure you call before you head to the show !  *****          
     New England tour dates:     =======================      
     th 10-15 Entrain          Harpers Ferry, Allston, MA   617-254-9743 
     th 10-15 Galactic/DBB     Middle East, Cambridge, MA   617-497-0576 
     th 10-15 StrngCheesIncdnt Pearl Street, Northampton, MA413-584-7771     
     fr 10-16 Entrain          Harpers Ferry, Allston, MA   617-254-9743 
     fr 10-16 JazzMandolinProj StateStreetChurch Portland ME 207-
     fr 10-16 Max Creek        Globe Theatre, Norwalk, CT   203-852-0088 
     fr 10-16 StrngCheesIncdnt Higher Ground, Burlington, VT802-859-0052     
     sa 10-17 Galactic         Higher Ground, Burlington, VT802-859-0052 
     sa 10-17 JazzMandolinProj Living Room, Providence, RI  401-521-5200 
     sa 10-17 JiggleTheHandle  Middle East, Cambridge, MA   617-497-0576 
     sa 10-17 StrngCheesIncdnt Stone Coast Brew, Portland ME207-773-2337     
     su 10-18 StrngCheesIncdnt Toads Place, New Haven, CT   203-624-TOAD     
     tu 10-20 VinceWelnick/MMF Call, Providence, RI         401-751-2255     
     we 10-21 VinceWelnick/MMF Stone Coast Brew, Portland ME207-773-2337     
     th 10-22 JiggleTheHandle  Higher Ground, Burlington VT 802-859-0052 
     th 10-22 VinceWelnick/MMF Harpers Ferry, Allston, MA   617-254-9743     
     fr 10-23 Entrain          Bleachers, Salem, MA         508-744-2100 
     fr 10-23 JiggleTheHandle  StoneCoastBrew, Portland, ME 207-773-2337 
     fr 10-23 Max Creek        Living Room, Providence, RI  401-521-5200 
     fr 10-23 Rusted Root      Alumni Hall, Fairfield, CT    860-
     fr 10-23 Slipknot FestLight Palladium, Worcester, MA (detailsbelow)     
     sa 10-24 Mickey Hart      Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA  617-679-0810 
     sa 10-24 Slipknot         Attic, Union St, Newton, MA  617-964-6684     
     su 10-25 Bela Fleck / SCI Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA  617-679-0810 
     su 10-25 Max Creek        WallaceStevensTh Hartford, CT860-951-4833     
     we 10-28 Strangefolk/PercyHill OakdaleTh, Wallingford CT203-949-4803     
     th 10-29 Entrain          Higher Ground, Burlington VT 802-859-0052 
     th 10-29 From Good Homes  Higher Ground, Burlington VT 802-859-0052 
     th 10-29 PercyHill/Oteil  StoneCoastBrew, Portland, ME 207-773-2337 
     th 10-29 Strangefolk/KellerW Music Hall, Portsmouth NH 603-436-2400     
     fr 10-30 BelaFleck/AlisonKraus MoheganCasino Uncasvile CT860-204-8000 
     fr 10-30 PercyHill/Oteil  Club Toast, Burlington, VT   802-660-9975 
     fr 10-30 Strangefolk/KellerW Music Hall, Portsmouth NH 603-436-2400     
     sa 10-31 JiggleTheHandle  WPI (Phi Sig), Worcester, MA 508-429-5994 
     sa 10-31 Max Creek        Pearl Street, Northampton, MA413-584-7771 
     sa 10-31 moe./MoonBootLover Stanley Theatre, Utica, NY 315-724-4000 
     sa 10-31 Motley Cr|e (yay!) Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA617-679-0810 
     sa 10-31 PercyHill/Oteil/AGP Somerville Theatre, MA    617-625-4088 
     sa 10-31 Duke Robillard   Gilreins, Worcester, MA       508-
     sa 10-31 Slipknot         Salem State College, MA      781-642-0760 
     sa 10-31 Strangefolk      Flynn Theatre, Burlington, VT 802-86FLYNN     
     tu 11-03 CherryPoppinDaddies UnivOfVermont, Burlington  802-
     tu 11-03 moe./MoonBootLover HigherGround, Burlington VT802-859-0052     
     we 11-04 moe./MoonBootLover Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH 603-436-2400     
     th 11-05 Max Creek        Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA617-562-8804 
     th 11-05 moe./MoonBootLover Somerville Theatre, MA     617-625-4088 
     th 11-05 Percy Hill   RockinghamBallroom, Newmarket, NH603-778-4242     
     fr 11-06 CherryPoppinDaddies Roxy, Boston, MA          617-338-7699     
     sa 11-07 CherryPoppinDaddies  StateTheatre, Portland ME207-879-1111 
     sa 11-07 moe./MoonBootLover Calvin Th, Northampton, MA 413-586-8686     
     su 11-08 CherryPoppinDaddies Lupo's HH, Providence, RI 401-272-5876     
     fr 11-13 Joe Satriani     Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA  617-679-0810     
     fr 11-27 Juggling Suns    Tammany Hall, Worcester, MA  508-791-6550 
     fr 11-27 Phish            Worcester Centrum, MA        508-755-6800     
     sa 11-28 Phish            Worcester Centrum, MA        508-755-6800     
     su 11-29 Moxy Fruvous     Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA617-562-8804 
     su 11-29 Phish            Worcester Centrum, MA        508-755-6800     
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     
     other tour dates, festivals, and fun stuff

     ============================================    
     1998 Freedom Rally         www.masscann.org 
     sa 10-03 Boston Commons   Boston, MA                   781-944-2266
     Max Creek, Bentmen, Sam Black Church, Little Wolf & the Mojo,Shirley 
     Lewis, Dion Knibbs & the Agitators, Ghost of Tony Gold          FREE     
     MixFest - Boston, Mass     www.mix985.com/mixfest 
     sa 10-10 City Hall Plaza, Gov't Center, Boston, MA 11:00AM - 7:00PM
     Anggun, Blue Man Group, Elvis Costello, Bruce Hornsby, HeatherNova, 
     Chantal Kreviazuk, Stretch Princess
     su 10-11 City Hall Plaza, Gov't Center, Boston, MA 12:00PM - 8:00PM
     Barenaked Ladies, The Corrs, Four Piece Suit, Royal Crown Review, 
     Edwin McCain, Sister Hazel, special guests
     other artists appearing over the weekend:  Entrain, Angry Salad,Get 
     Back, Bruce Smith, Dub Station, Mindflow, Harvard Krokodiloes,more 
     also: Boston Ballet, Patriot Cheerleaders, New England Aquariumand 
     other entertainment for children, including Bill Schontz          
     Slipknot Festival of Light www.knotbuzz.com/gigs.htm      all ages
     fr 10-23 Palladium        Worcester, MA                 508-797-9696
     Slipknot with Arthur Dent Foundation & Heir & Psychadelic LightShow     
     al. & the transamericans world tour '99  www.moe.org 
     1-05/09 TBA               five northeast shows TBA      212-592-4889
     Al Schnier (moe.), Ted Merotta (seapods), Jim Loughlin (moe.,yolk), 
     Kirk (freebeer&chicken), Rolf Witt (danksters), 5 show tour in Jan99