Oh, the weekend, it comes once a week. My past weekend was full. It included catching 3 great shows, the viewing of a real live stalker, scoring a sweet parking spot on H St., NE and then again on U Street, need I say more? Luck happens when you get out and catch live music, so now it’s your turn!
Friday, 10/26 |Hume and Cigarette play FREE at Hole in the Sky (2110 5th St., NE, enter behind the building through the alley way.)According to a Facebook invite, costumes are required and there will be DJs (just as DC likes it). Did I mention, it’s FREE/GRATIS and it starts at 9pm?
This is one of the last shows on Hume’s Fall tour, a hardworking Baltimore (originally from DC) band. Britton Powell tells TVD, “I thought it would be really special to make our DC date free because I feel like we owe a lot to the city and it’s kind of our way of opening the doors and giving back to the city.” Sweet, right?! I want to give them a big ole hug already.
With two full days and nights of music in New Orleans’ City Park, the Voodoo Music Experience hits its stride this weekend. Here’s a look at my picks for Saturday and Sunday.
A Russian mafia band playing in New Orleans sounds like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon starring Boris and Natasha. But start your weekend by checking out Debauche on the Le Carnival stage at 11:45 PM. They are a super high-energy ensemble led by a real Russian—OK he’s actually Ukrainian, but his first name is Igor. They throw down with songs about drinking, street crime and prostitution. You won’t understand any of the words, but the music is guaranteed to get you dancing.
Over on the main stage, New Orleans’ own the Revivalists hit at 4 PM. These guys have been tearing it up all over the country and recently played a showcase at CMJ in New York that was hosted by TVD’s own Ariane Trahan. I have seen them a few times and was very impressed by their energy and songwriting.
The show has been postponed due to weather conditions. A winner will be contacted when more details are announced. —Ed.
Xavier Rudd, a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from the land down under known especially for his didgeridoo-playing and spiritual sound, is performing at Sixth & I next Tuesday, October 30th—and we’ve got an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to see Rudd’s energetic, warm, and soulful live performance.
Supporting the release of his most recent record Spirit Bird, Rudd continues to explore his connection to the world. Not only does his use of multiple instruments including the slide guitar, regular guitar, percussion, drums, and didgeridoo (an indigenous Australian wind instrument), with the ability to play as many as possible at once, but also his vocals both display the deep emotions he connects and pushes through his music.
Consequence of Sound gives the record a thumbs up: “Spirit Bird is exactly what any musician would want out of a seventh record. It’s representative of Rudd’s career, [with] the sparse and warm ‘Follow The Sun’… [the] quiet ‘Mystery Angel’ [that] represents his sentimental side… and the nearly instrumental, ten-minute ‘Full Circle’ dedicates itself almost solely to the guitar, which Rudd has an enormous talent for… as the musician continues to enjoy and process the beauty and wonder of life.”
Touring in support of their brilliant new album Diluvia, New York’s Freelance Whales chalked up a stellar performance in front of a sold out crowd at The Mezzanine.
The band achieved critical acclaim with their debut album Weathervanes in 2009, in tandem with their banjo infused, hipster approved, accessible indie pop songcraft. Twitter users may recall hearing Freelance Whales when they were selected as the soundtrack music to the video introduction for “New Twitter” in September of 2010.
Diluvia was released on October 9th, and while it’s a slight departure from the pop sensibilities of the band’s debut, it’s a progressive step in the right direction. Given the instrumentation and lush vocals happening on record, one would question if the band can reproduce their songs live. In this case, they absolutely can. Live, you can start to see the band really pushing the limits of what they are capable of pulling off in the studio.
Ever heard of a radio program spreading Memphis music around the world? Something like that couldn’t even last a dozen years!
But what about 16? Beale Street Caravan has been proliferating Memphis music, new and old, for 16 years, reaching over 2.4 million listeners through 400 different radio stations. On Oct. 25th, The Hi-Tone Cafe will play host to Beale Street Caravan’s Sweet Sixteenth with plenty of great memories and good music from dedicated Memphis musicians.
“We’re going to bust out some soulful tunes that run deep down in the roots of Mississippi country blues rock music. Put on a pot of turnip greens, pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, kick back and let the music take you to the banks of a muddy river flowing through the heart of Mississippi,” said Andy Ratliff of Reemus Bodeemus.
Another CMJ Music Marathon has come and gone, but if you missed out on the panels this year, or if you’re curious of how this conference gets on, let me piece together my adventures, showing just how easy it is to be fully immersed during such a stay in NYC.
Day 1, Tuesday | My plane lands at JFK at 9:58am, leaving enough time to trek through Brooklyn to drop my things at my host’s place near Prospect Park. Badge pick-up and the daytime panels are held at NYU at Washington Square, so I arrive there in time to get my press credentials before getting settled at my first panel, Galleries Are Venues, too! I’m out of luck at this one because the room is at capacity. Bummer.
At 2pm I score second-row seats for Advanced PR Techniques For the Digital World. When discussing what is the most critical of all promo material, Jon Ostrow of Cyper PR suggested it’s the bio that still reigns king. Mark Satlof, Senior VP at Shore Fire Media, believes an artist should have a variety of fifty photos that really pop to get a consumer’s attention. We are told Kickstarter has now become a device for obtaining press, more than it is a tool for securing funds. We are warned that many journalists today are overworked and underpaid, so getting people to just spell band names correctly or getting the right promo shot for an article is becoming another hassle for publicists to deal with.
Voodoo is back and despite the major setback of loosing Green Day less than two weeks before the festival, they have bounced back by booking another American icon, Metallica. Here are my picks for the Friday, October 26, 2012.
The main stage doesn’t get started until 3 PM even though the gates open at 11 AM. This is nothing but a good thing for adventurous music fans, particularly those from out of town, because it gives you a chance to check out different stylings.
Right at the top of that list, especially considering the younger demographic that is attracted to Voodoo, is the TBC Brass Band. They play the Preservation Hall stage at 12:45 PM.
The group’s moniker stands for To Be Continued, and they represent the latest generation of New Orleans musicians who have embraced the century-old brass band tradition. They can play the old style, but I doubt that they will at Voodoo. They can really bring the hip-hop and funk, and that’s what I expect. Check the vid for some of their edgier sounds
In 1954 Nolan Strong & the Diablos recorded one of the great doo wop singles, “The Wind” b/w ”Baby Be Mine.”For years it’s skirted under the radar as a pleasure known by far too few. But this Detroit group impacted two generations of Motown glory, and there is no time like the present to spread the word on this neglected classic.
It’s true that one of the perks of the CD era was the steady proliferation of box-sets, a development that was spurred by both a healthy economy and a general increase in consumer interest in having hefty chunks of music history loaded into their stereo system’s multi-disc changers. Yes, vinyl box sets weren’t uncommon, but in reality labels tended to shy away from subjects that required more than three or four LPs. Often they just broke them down into individual volumes, where most buyers reliably purchased the first few entries and left the subsequent installments (which is reliably where some of the best stuff was found) for those branded as “obsessive.”
This box-set boom included everything from Columbia’s 4-disc Roots ‘N’ Blues Retrospective collection, MCA’s generous stream of single artist and compilation sets procured from the vaults of Chess Records, Polydor’s Star Time, a 4-disc study of James Brown, and maybe the granddaddy of them all, Atlantic’s 9-disc The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-1968. Naturally, Rhino Records got into the act with gusto, producing three 4-disc sets of garage-rock in the Nuggets series and a 4-disc collection of vocal group harmony titled The Doo Wop Box that was so successful it inspired two additional volumes.
This year’s CMJ Music Marathon has come and gone in its usual debaucherous rush. Last week’s five-day sprint of official and unofficial showcases and parties (day-, after-, etc.) was enough to exhaust even the most diehard of music fans, journalists, and photographers, but somehow we all made it out alive.
While we had our own sold-outshowcase with partners Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records and Easy Apple at Arlene’s Grocery on the opening Tuesday night (10/16) of CMJ, TVD was fortunate enough to include among its many, many collective stops last week:
NYCTaper at CMJ 2012 at Cake Shop (10/18), a day party where we caught alt-country North Carolinians and recent Merge label signees Mount Moriah.
Notes From the Underground: Modular Recordings at CMJ at Ace Hotel (10/18), an event so low-key that I doubt many of the attendees in the hotel’s busy lobby had any idea that it was a CMJ-related event.
Vitalic Noise CMJ Launch Party at The DL (10/18), which featured the Miami Horror DJs in a body-to-body meltdown, accompanied by lazers.
A myna bird is also known as a starling—a gregarious bird with the ability to reproduce sounds, or a song bird. And it’s true, a bird is the one animal I wish I could be sometimes. The ruckus I’d cause is much too exciting to think about—so instead, let’s talk about the Mynabirds, the band.
As you should well know, the The Mynabirds flew into existence in 2009, fronted by a captivating Laura Burhenn, following the end of her previous DC band, Georgie James. It should also be known that Laura served as a touring member with Bright Eyes in 2011, before the release of her latest album, Generals in 2012 via Saddle Creek. That’s one busy bird, but only the best never stop flying.
The Mynabirds will be migrating to the East Coast to appear at the Black Cat, this Friday, 10/26 supporting AC Newman, so get there early! (This Black Cat likes this Mynabird.) In honor of Laura’s return to DC, we’re giving away a limited edition, colored 7” single!
Memphis-based Star and Micey are one of those great bands who teeter on the cusp of indie stardom and are poised to shift gears and jump into the big leagues.
Backed by years of live gigging and touring, the folk-pop quartet made up of Josh Cosby, Nick Redmond, Geoff Smith, and Jeremy Stanfill is launching a huge tour with the release of their EP I Can’t Wait—an ambitious four-song stint that was overseen by famous producer Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse) and released on Ardent Music. This past Thursday the official kick-off at the Hi-Tone Café where they did so with a huge stage set, lots of cool swag to snag, and an abundance of energy dedicated to their new release.
I’ve seen my fair share of shows, attending roughly two a week for probably the last six or seven years. Even after all those concerts and all those bands, there are few that I’ve seen that match the energy and performance level of Los Angeles’ Say Anything.
This was my sixth time seeing the band live, and after their Long Island show at the Paramount Theater, there was no doubt in my mind that this was their best performance yet.
Although it took a bit of effort to get to the show (the Long Island Railroad stopped servicing the stop where the venue was located), I made it inside just in time to find a packed (and huge) venue screaming for the band. Led by frontman Max Bemis, the band came out and opened their set with “The Writhing South” from their debut album …Is A Real Boy. A couple more songs were played before Bemis (unnecessarily) announced who they were—but it was clear that every single person was there for them.
When your producer says your side project is “everything I’ve ever loved about Rock,” it’s safe to assume that Joe Bonamassa is involved. The guitar virtuoso has been making a name for himself since his early teens and continues to indulge his virtuosity in a variety of solo projects and collaborations, including a three-album stint with the rock “supergroup” known as Black Country Communion.
Following proper “supergroup” tradition, the collaboration has not been without its internal strife and clashing personalities. Comprising Deep Purple legend Glenn Hughes, Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater, and Jason Bonham (son of late Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham), Black Country Communion created a bombastic new album, Afterglow, which is preemptively considered one of the best hard rock releases of the year (it’s released on October 30).
Bonamassa’s reputation as one of the greatest living rock guitarists is as secure with this record as it is with every project he undertakes. He takes particular delight in being a multi-faceted player, exploring a wide variety of genres, and a self-proclaimed “guitar geek” with a mind-boggling collection of axes.
On Twitter last week, Bonamassa quipped, “[I]t is really interesting and wonderful to hear how organic and dynamic music played by humans keeps your attention.” This commitment to a high level of authenticity in his music and appreciation for the album is filling concert halls worldwide with a rapidly-growing fanbase. When I spoke with him, Joe had lots to say about where he thinks music is going, how he beats the system, and why he takes his own music in so many different directions.
I’ve been listening to the Afterglow all week and I’ve got to say — it’s pretty damn rockin’.
Well, I appreciate that!
You are already a champion of the blues. Now, Black Country Communion is billed as the “saviors of Classic Rock.” Is that something you came up with? Do you feel like a savior?
Oh, no – that’s something you read in the newspapers. [Laughs] I’m not the savior of anything. A good interpreter? Yeah, I’ll take that. I have a day job that I’m happy with; I’m a solo artist that tours. I just got back from Southeast Asia and Australia and everywhere else.
We got involved in this thing – all of us, Glenn [Hughes], Jason [Bonham] and Derek [Sherinian] and myself and Kevin [Shirley, producer] – we wanted to make an old school record because we saw an opportunity to do “new classic rock”. Basically, using the recipes of yesteryear, but with new songs, and record it like it was Deep Purple, 1971. And that was because people would flirt with [classic rock and] the lo-fi thing, but there wasn’t the dais of players that would substantiate it. That was the whole point of it. We did one record, then did another record, then did a tour. And then we did this third record [Afterglow], and I think the third record’s good. I think the first one’s the best, but I think the third one’s good. But everybody’s going to have a different opinion, and that’s the beauty of music. I just got off the phone with someone who thought the third one is the best. And that’s great! Everybody has their own opinion.
Wrapping up a two week East Coast tour, Chicago indie-rockers, Santah, are joining forces with saki Records to present a two night release celebration in Chicago’s Logan Square. Santah has been on the road supporting their recently released five-track EP, “You’re Still a Lover.”
“You’re Still a Lover” marks the group’s sophomore effort after the 2011 self-released LP, White Noise Bed. Following a re-release with No Sleep Records, Santah supported the LP with hundreds of shows across the country. After relocating from Urbana, IL, they began to record tracks for “You’re Still a Lover” at Pieholden Suite Sound in Chicago.
If you like what you hear from the EP’s lead track, “Springfield” above, and want to head out to one of this week’s two release shows, you can grab all of the information that you’ll need on the shows and the upcoming 12” release of “You’re Still a Lover,” below.
Oh, the weekend, it comes once a week. My past weekend was full. It included catching 3 great shows, the viewing of a real live stalker, scoring a sweet parking spot on H St., NE and then again on U Street, need I say more? Luck happens when you get out and catch live music, so now it’s your turn!
