The Grog Shop kicked off their 29th anniversary weekend with a little New Orleans flair. The queen of bounce, the queen diva herself, Big Freedia, brought the dance party to Coventry Road last Thursday night.
“It’s time to see some azz every-fucking-where,” Freedia declared before bringing a handful of booty-shaking audience members onstage to show off their twerking skills. “You’re here to let that shit go and wiggle!”
On stage or not, there was not a still body in the house. Even the bartenders couldn’t resist Freedia’s beats. From her older hits (“N.O. Bounce”) to her latest (“Goin’ Looney”), Big Freedia kept everybody moving. Her BDE (Big Diva Energy) Tour continues through October and if you’re looking to sweat up a dance floor, then I suggest you grab yourself a ticket.
Famed songwriter Jimmy Webb has written hundreds of hits for dozens upon dozens of famous musicians, Glen Campbell being a prime recipient of Webb’s largesse. But the songs Webb wrote for Campbell were, well, songs, and not “MacArthur Park,” that fantastical overflow of deep thoughts expressed in the form of surrealistic imagery and incoherent similes. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Webb was on acid when he wrote it. Hell, maybe he was.
NEW RELEASE PICK: V/A, Voodoo Rhythm Label Compilation Vol. 5 (Voodoo Rhythm) This Swiss label is run by Beat Zeller, aka The Beat-Man, aka The Reverend Beat-Man, aka a beautifully twisted cat if ever one was (though we’ve never met). Burrowing into a stylistic zone that’s not far from the great Billy Childish, except it’s swampier and more bluesy (and with flashes of strangeness that are almost Beefheartian), The Beat-Man has been cranking out steaming hot hunks of rant and distortion since the 1980s, with the Voodoo Rhythm label commencing operations in 1992 to document his own prolificacy plus records by those of a similar temperament. The discography now runs well into the hundreds. As I’ve only been soaking up Voodoo Rhythm’s wares for the last 5-6 years, I haven’t heard it all, but it’s still been long enough to have gotten acquainted with a sizable percentage of what’s on this comp. Chances are you haven’t, so let’s give it a rundown.
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: Little Willie John, The Complete R&B Hit Singles (Real Gone) Back in 2012, Real Gone released Complete Hit Singles A’s & B’s as a 2CD set, a 32-track collection that remains the heavyweight champ in spotlighting this undeservedly neglected R&B (and Soul, and R&R) pioneer. Prior to Real Gone’s endeavor, there had been a few solid single disc comps of his stuff, but the beauty of A’s & B’s is that the flips were far from forgettable as they instead reinforced the man’s versatility and energy. And it wasn’t even all of John’s essential stuff. Well. A’s & B’s looks to be out of print (though a copy can probably be located without parting with too much scratch). This set, which appears to be the first vinyl release in John’s discography since the ’80s, offers just the charting songs, 17 in total, and if it isn’t as deep an experience as the 2CD, it’s still a pleasurable ride as it delivers an abbreviated survey of the guy’s growth. And I’d say it’s a cinch that many vinyl-loving R&B aficionados that already own A’s & B’s will be picking up the wax as well, so my advice is to grab a copy sooner rather than later. A
Baligh Hamdi, Modal Instrumental Pop of 1970s Egypt (Sublime Frequencies) This ever-dependable label does it again, with a superb collection (and first-time reissue) of this crucial Egyptian composer and bandleader’s work. The 2LP (with gatefold and insert) isn’t scheduled to arrive until 11/19, but the CD (in digipak with 12-pg booklet) is out tomorrow, and anybody with an interest in 20th century global sounds will want a copy. There are sitars aplenty, but also Omar Khorshid on guitar as part of Hamdi’s Diamond Orchestra. Organ, accordion, saxophone and even a Theremin are part of an Indio-Arabic equation that’s rhythmically driving and ceaselessly inventive. Hamdi was a Modernizer and also a hybridizer, tapping into jazz, rock (those guitar solos), and even Exotica but without any kitsch ambiance. There are also plenty of stretches that can be described as psychedelic, but they’re strengthened by a seeming lack of deliberateness in this regard on Hamdi’s part. Similar to other Sublime Frequencies collections, track 19 is as engaging as track one. In fact, closer “Love Story” is one of the best cuts. A
Houston, TX | The Memo Record Shop has one of the most eclectic Latin music collections in the country. Houston-Guillermo “Memo” Villarreal grew up with a love of music and has shared his wonderful collection with the city of Houston for over 50 years. Memo opened his record shop in 1968 and sold music not found anywhere else in the city. He has seen the music industry move from vinyl to 8-track, cassette tapes and CDs. The types of music are also increasing. In the aisles of the store, you can find mariachis, conjuntos, the Caribbean, salsa, meringues, tejano and more. Memo Record Shop # 1 also has a huge collection of Latin movies. “If we don’t have it, 
Bath, UK | We look inside a new record and plant hybrid store in Bath: The store has found a niche in the market. Records and plants aren’t usually something you’d expect to find sold side by side – but a new store in Bath is offering just that. Situated on Broad Street, Chapter 22 Roots and Records offers a unique shopping experience as it combines vinyl records with a wide variety of rare and exotic plants. In addition, customers can also enjoy a delicious coffee while they browse. Behind the shop are Bath residents Dean Brown and partner Nicola Taylor – who took their big passions in life and merged them into 
By now, the amount of combined ink and bytes employed to describe, discuss, and evaluate Jerry Lee Lewis is immense. A truly bedrock rock ‘n’ roll figure, when Lewis exploded out of Sun Studios in 1957 with “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On” and “Great Balls of Fire,” Elvis suddenly seemed considerably less threatening. Attaining status as a rockabilly crossover with a ten ton personality substantially wilder than Presley’s is enough to ensconce one in the tomes of history, but inspection of Jerry Lee’s ‘50s sides, and there are many, reveals deeper substance. For starters, the piano; along with his partner in pounded-ivories Little Richard, Lewis embodied a legitimate lead-instrument alternative in the years when R&R’s fate was uncertain.
VN | Reintroducing The Vinyl Culture To Vietnam’s New Generation: In recent years, the global music scene has seen the comeback of vinyl, a late-1880s invention known for its rich, high-quality sound. And Vietnam is not the one to ignore the trend. Music producers and artists in the country are exerting efforts to bring back vinyl records, and reintroduce this musical sophistication to the new generation of music enthusiasts. For Minh, having worked in a vinyl record shop owned by his father, the appreciation towards this musical culture is somewhat innate. But he also noticed how, with the music industry’s digital transformation, vinyl remains unfamiliar, almost disregarded. This was when he and his three close friends Huy, Dũng and Vũ, decided to open their own vinyl records brand called Vọc Records. Vọc Records was born from the desire to expand and spread a seemingly forgotten culture as systematically as possible to 
dublab Shares Historic decades (in space) Vinyl Record Featuring Suzanne Ciani, Dntel, Randy Randall and More: While some might say through radio stations are a thing from the past, pioneer radio station dublab shows the world that radio station are here to stay and they are always forward thinking. This is proven once more with dublab’s new release decades (in space), an album of 10 songs by 20 different artists, 
