Clarence Clemons died on June 18 at the age of 69. He was a huge part of the E Street Band and will truely be irreplaceable. His saxophone playing inspired many and brought much passion to the music of Springsteen and many others. He will be deeply missed.
Couldn't embed the 2nd part...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRYeH6sEdXU
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Tunes
Here's a little feature where I post a few tunes that I personally enjoy and describe why I like 'em. Nothing really formal or deep, just five interesting cuts:
The Lettermen- "Allentown Jail"
Not exactly typical Lettermen material (not a ballad), this folk song was written by Irving Gordon and covered by the group in 1963. It's got great harmonies and a good jangle to it.
JJ Cale- "Cocaine"
I've never liked Clapton's cover that much, although the rest of the album
Slowhand is great. Cale's original has such a better vibe to it and feels, I dunno, more "authentic."
The Laughing Dogs- "Reason For Love"
Playing pop-rock at CBGB's in a time when punk dominated, The Laughing Dogs are an interesting band. This is a great little catchy tune, nothing deep, but fun. I own their S/T debut.
Mark-Almond Band- "One Way Sunday"
Evoking a great feel, this tune had popularity in the New England area. Evolving from members of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, this jazz-rock band features excellent musicianship. Jon Mark of the band produced a Grammy-winning album of Tibetan Monk chants in 2004.
The Kingsmen- "If I Needed Someone"
Evoking a garage-Byrds-Beatles(of course) vibe, this Kingsmen cover is curious, but good in its own way.
The Lettermen- "Allentown Jail"
Not exactly typical Lettermen material (not a ballad), this folk song was written by Irving Gordon and covered by the group in 1963. It's got great harmonies and a good jangle to it.
JJ Cale- "Cocaine"
I've never liked Clapton's cover that much, although the rest of the album
Slowhand is great. Cale's original has such a better vibe to it and feels, I dunno, more "authentic."
The Laughing Dogs- "Reason For Love"
Playing pop-rock at CBGB's in a time when punk dominated, The Laughing Dogs are an interesting band. This is a great little catchy tune, nothing deep, but fun. I own their S/T debut.
Mark-Almond Band- "One Way Sunday"
Evoking a great feel, this tune had popularity in the New England area. Evolving from members of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, this jazz-rock band features excellent musicianship. Jon Mark of the band produced a Grammy-winning album of Tibetan Monk chants in 2004.
The Kingsmen- "If I Needed Someone"
Evoking a garage-Byrds-Beatles(of course) vibe, this Kingsmen cover is curious, but good in its own way.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Review: Aztec Two-Step at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton MA
Date of concert: February 5, 2011
Some acts just never have a big popular hit. It's not because they're not a good enough act or because of a lack of talent, it's just that they sadly never break through with a song that gets out to the masses. In the case of Aztec Two-Step, they've been a talented no-hit wonder for forty years now. As part of their anniversary tour, they gave a show that has become an annual event at the Iron Horse Music Hall.
Rex Fowler and Neal Schuman compose the acoustic guitar duo, performing along with bass player Fred Holman. There was no opening act at this show. Aztec Two-Step offers a spin on the acoustic and folk-rock that heavily populated the early seventies. Fowler's and Schuman's voices are as perfect as ever and sound just like they did doing the same wonderful harmonies forty years ago. The acoustic guitar playing is stellar, and Schuman's lead guitar lines are beautiful. Covers of the Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel were performed as well as Aztec Two-Step classics like "Baking", "The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarty", and "Rabbit in The Moon".
The only problem with the show was that the pacing was a little off-kilter, which left little room at the end for the classic "Highway Song" which they were unable to play despite promising it earlier in the show. Other than that it was a pleasant and mellow evening, and Aztec Two-Step is easily one of the best surviving acoustic folk duos today, and simply one of the best ever.
Aztec Two-Step performing "The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarty":
Some acts just never have a big popular hit. It's not because they're not a good enough act or because of a lack of talent, it's just that they sadly never break through with a song that gets out to the masses. In the case of Aztec Two-Step, they've been a talented no-hit wonder for forty years now. As part of their anniversary tour, they gave a show that has become an annual event at the Iron Horse Music Hall.
Rex Fowler and Neal Schuman compose the acoustic guitar duo, performing along with bass player Fred Holman. There was no opening act at this show. Aztec Two-Step offers a spin on the acoustic and folk-rock that heavily populated the early seventies. Fowler's and Schuman's voices are as perfect as ever and sound just like they did doing the same wonderful harmonies forty years ago. The acoustic guitar playing is stellar, and Schuman's lead guitar lines are beautiful. Covers of the Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel were performed as well as Aztec Two-Step classics like "Baking", "The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarty", and "Rabbit in The Moon".
The only problem with the show was that the pacing was a little off-kilter, which left little room at the end for the classic "Highway Song" which they were unable to play despite promising it earlier in the show. Other than that it was a pleasant and mellow evening, and Aztec Two-Step is easily one of the best surviving acoustic folk duos today, and simply one of the best ever.
Aztec Two-Step performing "The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarty":
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Review: Ernie and The Automatics at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton MA
Date of concert: January 30, 2011
Ernie and The Automatics is a blues-rock band composed of members of formerly successful bands, the most notable being Barry Goudreau on guitar and Sib Hashian on drums, both formerly original members of Boston. The story and soap opera of Boston is best described on other web sites, so it's best I get on with reviewing the actual show.
Local band Damon Reeves and the Love Thieves, or just The Damon Reeves Band, opened the show. They delivered a decent half-hour set and proved themselves to be one of the better local groups. Reeves is a pretty decent guitar player, and their set was enjoyable.
Ernie and the Automatics is Brian Maes on vocals, Tim Archibald on bass, Michael "Tunes" Antunes on saxophone, and Ernie Boch Jr. on guitar, as well as the aforementioned members. They're all great musicians, but many tracks from their first album were mildly dissapointing. Live, many of them have an extra air of life to them, but they still aren't really great songs, save "The Good Times (Never Last)" and "Tappin' On An Empty Head".
Luckily, this night they decided to debut some tracks from their upcoming album, and all of them are markedly better than what came before. I can't recall any specific song titles, as many were very new, including one they said they wrote while getting ready to perform.
They did a great version of the J. Geils' Band "First I Look At The Purse". Archibald and Maes both formerly toured with Peter Wolf in his solo band. The highlight of the show has to be the "Boston Medley" they play. Composed of "More Than A Feeling", "Rock and Roll Band", "Smokin'" and "Foreplay/Long Time", it's great to hear Goudreau play the solo in "Long Time" just as he played it on the record(Tom Scholz handled the majority of Boston's studio guitar work). They are not able to play any more Boston material for legal reasons, but what they do play sounds great.
A very good show, and all of the band members are friendly guys who are great to talk to. Tickets for these guys aren't usually very expensive(This show was $1.02!), so I recommend them!
"Tappin' On An Empty Head" perfromed live:
Ernie and The Automatics is a blues-rock band composed of members of formerly successful bands, the most notable being Barry Goudreau on guitar and Sib Hashian on drums, both formerly original members of Boston. The story and soap opera of Boston is best described on other web sites, so it's best I get on with reviewing the actual show.
Local band Damon Reeves and the Love Thieves, or just The Damon Reeves Band, opened the show. They delivered a decent half-hour set and proved themselves to be one of the better local groups. Reeves is a pretty decent guitar player, and their set was enjoyable.
Ernie and the Automatics is Brian Maes on vocals, Tim Archibald on bass, Michael "Tunes" Antunes on saxophone, and Ernie Boch Jr. on guitar, as well as the aforementioned members. They're all great musicians, but many tracks from their first album were mildly dissapointing. Live, many of them have an extra air of life to them, but they still aren't really great songs, save "The Good Times (Never Last)" and "Tappin' On An Empty Head".
Luckily, this night they decided to debut some tracks from their upcoming album, and all of them are markedly better than what came before. I can't recall any specific song titles, as many were very new, including one they said they wrote while getting ready to perform.
They did a great version of the J. Geils' Band "First I Look At The Purse". Archibald and Maes both formerly toured with Peter Wolf in his solo band. The highlight of the show has to be the "Boston Medley" they play. Composed of "More Than A Feeling", "Rock and Roll Band", "Smokin'" and "Foreplay/Long Time", it's great to hear Goudreau play the solo in "Long Time" just as he played it on the record(Tom Scholz handled the majority of Boston's studio guitar work). They are not able to play any more Boston material for legal reasons, but what they do play sounds great.
A very good show, and all of the band members are friendly guys who are great to talk to. Tickets for these guys aren't usually very expensive(This show was $1.02!), so I recommend them!
"Tappin' On An Empty Head" perfromed live:
Review: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at the Pearl Street Ballroom in Northampton MA
Date of show: Friday December 10, 2010
The last year catch-up comes to a close....
So after seeing Grace Potter and the Nocturnals open for My Morning Jacket in August, I was curious about what they would be like headlining. Good things were expected and the show was pretty solid. However, I have to be one of those people who says that after researching the band further, I liked them better before their 'pop-rock' makeover. However, that doesn't mean you won't find much to enjoy at a GP&TN show.
Blues and Lasers opened, which is basically Grace's band minus Grace. They mostly did blues jams reminiscent of the Allman Brothers. They rambled a little in their set, but overall the double-drummer group were a decent opener for Grace and the full band.
There was an hour wait between bands. I thought this was pretty ridiculous considering most of the band had been out there already, but anyway I digress. Bassist Cat Popper was out sick and replaced by John Rogone. The band opened with "Hot Summer Night". Fitting considering it was freezing and about to snow outside. Strong material like "Joey", "Ah Mary" and "Sweet Hands" were played from earlier albums.
The material from the latest self-titled release comes off better live, but it's still weaker compared to the first two albums, "Nothing But The Water" and "This Is Somewhere". It's not bad by any means, just not as meaningful or genuine feeling.
Mid-show, Grace did a solo acoustic set which included a cover of "Not in Nottingham" by Roger Miller from the 1973 Disney movie "Robin Hood" and also played "Ragged Company". She was soon joined by Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco on acoustic guitars.
Encoring with their hit "Paris", a cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", and "Nothing But The Water", the show finished strongly. Overall, it was a good show, and trust me, this band is going to become huge someday soon, so see them in a smaller venue while you can.
The band performing "Some Kind of Ride"
The last year catch-up comes to a close....
So after seeing Grace Potter and the Nocturnals open for My Morning Jacket in August, I was curious about what they would be like headlining. Good things were expected and the show was pretty solid. However, I have to be one of those people who says that after researching the band further, I liked them better before their 'pop-rock' makeover. However, that doesn't mean you won't find much to enjoy at a GP&TN show.
Blues and Lasers opened, which is basically Grace's band minus Grace. They mostly did blues jams reminiscent of the Allman Brothers. They rambled a little in their set, but overall the double-drummer group were a decent opener for Grace and the full band.
There was an hour wait between bands. I thought this was pretty ridiculous considering most of the band had been out there already, but anyway I digress. Bassist Cat Popper was out sick and replaced by John Rogone. The band opened with "Hot Summer Night". Fitting considering it was freezing and about to snow outside. Strong material like "Joey", "Ah Mary" and "Sweet Hands" were played from earlier albums.
The material from the latest self-titled release comes off better live, but it's still weaker compared to the first two albums, "Nothing But The Water" and "This Is Somewhere". It's not bad by any means, just not as meaningful or genuine feeling.
Mid-show, Grace did a solo acoustic set which included a cover of "Not in Nottingham" by Roger Miller from the 1973 Disney movie "Robin Hood" and also played "Ragged Company". She was soon joined by Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco on acoustic guitars.
Encoring with their hit "Paris", a cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", and "Nothing But The Water", the show finished strongly. Overall, it was a good show, and trust me, this band is going to become huge someday soon, so see them in a smaller venue while you can.
The band performing "Some Kind of Ride"
Review: Joe Bonamassa at Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield MA
Date of concert: Thursday November 11, 2010
Joe Bonamassa is one of those people who you know was just born to play the guitar, as if it was simply an extension of his body that he used to great effect. He's one of the greatest living blues-guitar players today, and even though his music might not be incredibly innovative in the genre, he's still one hell of a guitar player. He performed a great show at Springfield Symphony Hall, his first show after a while of performing outside of the United States.
Right after being introduced, Bonamassa promptly appeared onstage, playing "Cradle Rock." There was no opening act. He was backed by a bassist, Carmine Rojas a drummer, Bogie Bowles, and a keyboardist, Rick Melick. The set delivered some of the best blues-rock songs wriiten and performed in recent memory including "Sloe Gin" and "If Heartaches Were Nickels". During "The Ballad of John Henry", Bonamassa played parts of the song with a violin bow, which was quite the experience. The cover of "Young Man's Blues" sounded like vintage Led Zeppelin, and that is completely fine in my book.
After about a two hour show, Bonamassa's encore wrapped up with a cover of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" that threw in parts of Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused." Bonamassa's show is just what you're looking for if you love some vintage-sounding blues-rock played by a fantastic guitar player with a tight band.
"Just Got Paid" Live:
Joe Bonamassa is one of those people who you know was just born to play the guitar, as if it was simply an extension of his body that he used to great effect. He's one of the greatest living blues-guitar players today, and even though his music might not be incredibly innovative in the genre, he's still one hell of a guitar player. He performed a great show at Springfield Symphony Hall, his first show after a while of performing outside of the United States.
Right after being introduced, Bonamassa promptly appeared onstage, playing "Cradle Rock." There was no opening act. He was backed by a bassist, Carmine Rojas a drummer, Bogie Bowles, and a keyboardist, Rick Melick. The set delivered some of the best blues-rock songs wriiten and performed in recent memory including "Sloe Gin" and "If Heartaches Were Nickels". During "The Ballad of John Henry", Bonamassa played parts of the song with a violin bow, which was quite the experience. The cover of "Young Man's Blues" sounded like vintage Led Zeppelin, and that is completely fine in my book.
After about a two hour show, Bonamassa's encore wrapped up with a cover of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" that threw in parts of Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused." Bonamassa's show is just what you're looking for if you love some vintage-sounding blues-rock played by a fantastic guitar player with a tight band.
"Just Got Paid" Live:
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Review: America at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton MA
Date of concert: Friday October 15, 2010
America delivered a solid show. There was no opener. America's always been one of those 70s folk-rock bands that has been viewed as pretty inconsequential. I have to agree that none of their music was particulary revolutionary, but that doesn't mean that the show didn't have a lot of solid music and hits.
They opened with "Tin Man" and the sound was awfully quiet. The vocals were buried. They then played "You Can Do Magic" and the sound was still muffled. An audience member yelled "Turn up the vocals!" and the sound was adjusted to an almost perfect level, and it became easier to focus on the music.
The setlist was pretty much what you would expect, but that's not a bad thing. Some of America's weak songs are very weak, but their solid hits are classics for a reason. Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley voices have both held up very well over they years and are both still in great shape. The screen behind them played vintage clips and montages. This show being part of their 40th anniversary tour, the show was a little more focused than a few of their recent recorded performances I've seen. "Chasing The Rainbow" from their most recent album Here and Now was a great song, evoking a great 70s feel.
The encore started with a blues number that I can't seem to remember the title of and, of course, "A Horse With No Name" during which the band was joined by Chris Collingwood and Brian Young from Fountains of Wayne. Given that they helped produce America's last album and live in the area, I figured they might make an appearance.
Overall a very pleasant show. America gave a solid performance as I've heard they always do. Not a lot of surprises, but good musicianship. It's a band that if you like them, you should see at least once. And "Sister Golden Hair" is still one of the best feel-good songs of all time:
America delivered a solid show. There was no opener. America's always been one of those 70s folk-rock bands that has been viewed as pretty inconsequential. I have to agree that none of their music was particulary revolutionary, but that doesn't mean that the show didn't have a lot of solid music and hits.
They opened with "Tin Man" and the sound was awfully quiet. The vocals were buried. They then played "You Can Do Magic" and the sound was still muffled. An audience member yelled "Turn up the vocals!" and the sound was adjusted to an almost perfect level, and it became easier to focus on the music.
The setlist was pretty much what you would expect, but that's not a bad thing. Some of America's weak songs are very weak, but their solid hits are classics for a reason. Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley voices have both held up very well over they years and are both still in great shape. The screen behind them played vintage clips and montages. This show being part of their 40th anniversary tour, the show was a little more focused than a few of their recent recorded performances I've seen. "Chasing The Rainbow" from their most recent album Here and Now was a great song, evoking a great 70s feel.
The encore started with a blues number that I can't seem to remember the title of and, of course, "A Horse With No Name" during which the band was joined by Chris Collingwood and Brian Young from Fountains of Wayne. Given that they helped produce America's last album and live in the area, I figured they might make an appearance.
Overall a very pleasant show. America gave a solid performance as I've heard they always do. Not a lot of surprises, but good musicianship. It's a band that if you like them, you should see at least once. And "Sister Golden Hair" is still one of the best feel-good songs of all time:
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