by john | May 3, 2011 | Music, Real Life
I’m back from the Fest that was Merle, and while I appreciate the fact that I say this every year – holy crap what a show! Seriously, Robert Plant, Sam Bush, Lyle Lovett, Joan Osborne, Doc Watson, The Waybacks, Peter Rowan, Tony Rice, Tim O’Brien, and more, more, more! And we didn’t even go to the festival on Day 1!
I will admit to having a religious experience on at least four different occasions throughout the weekend. I’ll give you those highlights, but for the full experience you’ll have to go with me next year!
#1 – Hartford Tribute Band – if you’re not a John Hartford fan, its just because you don’t know you’re a John Hartford fan yet. In a tribute to the late great Hartford, Sam Bush, Allison Brown, Laura Boosinger & Tim O’Brien got together for an awesome rendition of “Steam Powered Aero-Plane,” one of my favorite Hartford songs.
#2 – The Hillside Album Hour – over the past four years, The Waybacks have created a tradition of covering a classic rock album with a host of special guests every Saturday at Merlefest. Past albums include Led Zeppelin II, Sticky Fingers and Abbey Road. Being raised on The Allman Brothers, when they tore into Eat a Peach it was a particularly special moment for me. That I shared with probably 15,000 of my closest friends. This year’s special guest vocalist was Joan Osborne, and man, that chick can wail!
#3 – same set – at the end of the set, they decided that Little Martha was too mellow to end with, so they ripped out a monstrous rendition of “Whipping Post” that must have caused tremors miles away from all the concentrated dancing and clapping. I wept a little. Just a little.
#4 – Sunday – Robert Plant and The Band of Joy – the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame made an appearance at the bluegrass festival, and it was amazing! From the opening number (Black Dog), Plant and his new Band of Joy – Buddy Miller, Patti Griffin, Darrell Scott, Byron House and a drummer who I forgot because I suck – killed it. The closer for the set was a beautiful version of “Ramble On.” I wept a little again, and danced like a happy fat man, which I was.
At some point I’ll get around to telling the traumatic story of trying to get home, but for today we’ll accentuate the positive. It was a great weekend of music with great friends – hope to see you there next year!
by john | Apr 14, 2010 | Music, Real Life
So after attending the 20th anniversary tour of the brand new record for 1990, They Might Be Giants’ brand new album, Flood, I shoulda known that it was getting to be that time in my life. The time that I am once again reminded that I’m getting old.
There were a few seminal albums for the beginning of my college life, and depending on who was around, that determined what was in the CD player (or tape deck, or whatever). Here are a few, with some associations –
Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes: There were so many resonances on this album it’s just silly. My whole passel of friends owned this record and I think most of us played the grooves off the CD at least once.
They Might Be Giants – Flood – Knew. Every. Word. Churchill and Indy were even worse, and so was Steve. When we all piled into the Impala and went to see them at the 1313 club I think we had 8 people in that stupid car.
Concrete Blonde – Bloodletting – I was never really that goth, but I played one on TV. Nah, I didn’t even play too goth, but this album was in the rotation. Saw them in 1993 with my friend Liz. Saw the tour announcement today – they’re doing the 20th anniversary tour, and playing Bloodletting track by track. Closest stop is Atlanta. Good for me I work in Atlanta some weeks. June 16th is one of those weeks :). See you there?
Indigo Girls – self-titled – I blame this on Shana, who turned me onto the Indigo Girls.
Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine – smoked weed and ate leftover spaghetti right out of the fridge in Jason Mann’s house in Alabama on a ridiculous road trip over Fall Break my freshman year. Not sure how we didn’t end up in jail.
The KLF – The White Room – although later theatrical experience with a certain self-styled “Goddess” (really long story involving a lot of baby oil and a rolling suitcase that’s more innocent and still more annoying than it sounds) ruined this album for me, we played it over and over again during marathon D&D/booze sessions in Jason and Fuller’s room.
What were your seminal college albums?
by john | Feb 26, 2010 | Music, Real Life, Travel
Not really, although it kinda feels like I’m back from the dead. I realize that I’ve neglected this little piece of the interwebs for a while, but that’s what happens when real life gets in the way. And speaking of real life getting in the way, that’s what today’s whine is all about. You see, a whole bunch of my friends are getting together next weekend in Greenville to play cards, drink like college kids and generally behave very poorly in a celebration of Neanderthalism known as Mastodon Weekend. I was there for the events last year, and can honestly say that it was one of the best weekends of the year. Note that I said “my friends” will be there next weekend. I, unfortunately, will not.
Every year since 1994, I have been in attendance at the Southeastern Theatre Conference annual convention. Since 1996, this has been part of my job, to go to the show and drum up business. This year I’m teaching three workshops, hosting a reception and will generally behave only moderately badly while on the company’s nickel. Typically this is the trade show I get the most joy out of attending, as it’s more a gathering of several hundred old friends than a work outing. And we get a bunch of business out of the show, which doesn’t hurt my feelings. So this year my love for SETC will be tempered a little by the party I’m missing in Greenville. Both events have some similar appeal – these are groups of disparate individuals brought together by a love of either poker or theatre, and I only get to see the attendees once or twice a year. It just sucks that this year the two events that are the brightest parts of my spring overlap. Oh well, drink one for me in G-Vegas, and I’ll drink one for y’all in Lexington.
Anybody wanna join me & Suzy in New Orleans for Memorial Day Weekend? A friend of hers from high school will be down there at that time, and I’ve got a shitload of Marriott points burning a hole in my account, so I’m gonna eat up about a week of vacation time and travel to NOLA. Lemme know if you will or can be anywhere close and we’ll hang.
And in other upcoming ridiculous news – the week of March 9 may be the sickest concert lineup I’ve ever done that didn’t involve a festival. If you’ve got the chops, you oughta just hitch a ride with me for the week. Tuesday night in Atlanta I’m going to see Reckless Kelly and Cross Canadian Ragweed on a double bill at the Variety Playhouse. Then Wednesday I’m driving back to Charlotte to see They Might Be Giants at the Visulite (it’s the 20th anniversary of Flood). Then Thursday night I’m going to see Robert Earl Keen at the Neighborhood Theatre. I’ll probably take Friday night off, but if I can drag my ass out, Acoustic Syndicate is playing Friday at the Visulite. Then Saturday night is Southern Culture on the Skids.
Then Sunday I try to recover. Merlefest is around the corner, with a killer lineup, so get your ticekts or be a big fat loser!
by john | Jan 27, 2010 | Music
There are a couple of new musical acts I’d like to talk about for a few minutes, one of which I discovered all on my own by looking for cheap boogie on Amazon, and one that I found wandering through my office. I buy a lot of music, and thus am looking for the best deals I can find, and I’ve found that there are a ton of bargains to be found at Amazon’s MP3 downloads store, where most songs are still only a buck, and they run specials on bunches of older stuff each month for $5 per album. Most months you can find at least one Avett Brothers album there, and I can usually find something I like. This month I came across one real winner – Roger Alan Wade‘s Stoned Traveler. I took a flyer on this one and honestly think it’s one of the best things I’ve bought since I got Bleu Edmondson’s Lost Boy album. Wade sings alone with his guitar on most of them, and the honesty in his songs is almost painful on some tracks. For anybody who likes Red Dirt music like Reckless Kelly or Bleu Edmondson, this album would be well worth it.
The second group I wanted to talk about are a bunch of local boys, fronted by Avett Brothers bassist Bob Crawford and David Childers, the lawyer from Belmont who also happens to be one of the best damned songwriters I’ve ever listened to. Period. He’s Darrell Scott level good, and I was bummed when I heard that he was hanging up his guitar to focus on his law practice because there wasn’t enough money in the music business for him. If there were any justice in the music world, David Childers and Gina Stewart would be millionaires and the Jonas Brothers would be playing for pennies, but there’s not. The Overmountain Men is the side project that Bob cooked up when he decided he wanted to play some gigs with David and his son Robert. Since I like Bob (and the Avetts) and I like David and his lyrics, I thought I’d wander down last night to the CD release party.
As did everybody else in the free world. Seems a cover article in Creative Loafing (the free local arts weekly) will bring a few folks out in the cold. And it was a little chilly last night. So when I got there 20 minutes before the band was supposed to start, the gig was already sold out. But I’m not exactly the faintest of hearts, and I thought the odds were pretty good that once the band kicked in, some of the kiddies that were there hoping this would be some kind of Avetts-in-disguise gig would leave. And while I was waiting, Bob came out with a stack of CDs and gave them out to those of us who (potentially) wouldn’t be able to get in to see the show. So I got the CD, but since I’d come out of the house (and you know how hard it is to actually leave after you’ve been lodged in the recliner watching Ingloriuos Basterds) I figured I’d just hang for a little while and see if I could get in.
It only took about two songs for the crowd to thin out enough for me to get in, and the set was pretty killer. They did most of the album, along with some stuff off David’s older CDs, and a few covers to boot. The crowd was into it, and the beer was plentiful and cheap, so I had a great time. My ears didn’t ring too badly after the show, which is the mark of a good sound tech, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself. So if you’re looking for some good new music, there’s a pair that I highly recommend. And for a bonus, the new Lady Antebellum album is better than any big-time country album has any right to be.
by john | Jan 13, 2010 | Music
And not Jerry Douglas, either. Bluegrass fans will get the reference, and if you’re not, you should be. One piece of awful news this week – the Neighborhood Theatre in the NoDa area in Charlotte might be shutting down. I find this particularly distressing because it’s one of my favorite concert venues, and is perfectly sized for a lot of the shows that I want to go see. Some of the best concerts I’ve ever attended were at the Neighborhood Theatre, and it would be a shame if no one could step forward and buy the place. I wish I had the resources, but I don’t, but if there’s a consortium of folks that are looking for someone to help with tech and promotions, lemme know.
But back to great concerts I’ve seen there. The first time I ever saw Robert Earl Keen do a whole set was at the Neighborhood. I’d seen REK at the McGlohon Theatre at Spirit Square, but didn’t watch the whole set. This time I watched the whole thing, and rocked out with all the other hillbillies all the way up til the main breaker blew out in the middle of Road Goes on Forever, and the last piece of the show was done in the dark with only monitors for sound. It didn’t matter to the crowd, we were all drunk and knew all the words, anyway.
The first time I saw Great Big Sea was at the Neighborhood. I’m pretty sure I went alone, and sat in the middle of the room and just jammed while the boys from up north put on a helluva show. The John Hiatt show was another one i saw alone, because Suzy bailed at the last minute. John played alone and (mostly) acoustic, with his guitar, a stomp board for percussion and an electric piano. It was pretty amazing. That was his Tiki Bar tour, and I don’t know how they got him there for a solo show, but it was pretty awesome. So was the first time I saw Reckless Kelly, the first time I saw Hayseed Dixie, the last time I saw Sam Bush, when he played a bunch of cuts off his Circles Around Me album, which I think is his best solo album so far, and when Bonnie and I went to see Peter Rowan. We sat in the seats toward the side of the stage, and I’m pretty sure Bonnie scared Peter a bit when she yelled out for “Rain and Snoooooowwwww!” Peter jumped a little, but he played the song for her.
So it’s been a great venue for music in Charlotte for the last ten years or so, and has had a lot to do with the revitalization of the NoDa neighborhood, so I really hope somebody can come along and pick up the lease and keep the place rolling along. Otherwise it’ll be just another victim of the tightening economy.
by john | Dec 24, 2009 | Music
In lieu of a real post today, I give you the track listing for my end-of-year CD for 2009. There was no CD for 2008 because there wasn’t enough good music released.
Y2J ’09
1. Circles Around Me – Sam Bush
2. The Worst Day Since Yesterday – Flogging Molly
3. For Today – Jessica Lea Mayfield
4. Say it to Me Now – The Frames
5. The Perfect Space – The Avett Brothers
6. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Glee (shut up)
7. Can’t Find My Way Home – Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton live from MSG
8. Backyard – Kevin Costner & Modern West (yeah, Fishtar’s Kevin Costner)
9. I’m Yours – Jason Mraz (live)
10. Johnny and June – Heidi Newfield
11. Gold Heart Locket – Sam Bush
12. Whipping Post – Mountain Heart
13. Steal My Kisses – Ben Harper
14. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
15. Always the Love Songs – Eli Young Band
16. You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Glee (I said shut up)
17. Be Somebody – Kings of Leon
18 – Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z
If we’re going to be in the same place in the next few weeks, I’ll probably have a CD or two with me. If you want a copy, let me know and I’ll make it happen.
