Greetings all and welcome to another week of Reservoir Music Notes.

     Boy am I in a frenzy! I mentioned last week that Reservoir Music is moving to 711 Route 28, just east of the Hickory Barbecue, and the preparations have my head spinning! And we haven’t even started to actually move yet! Stop by our original spot at 3179 Route 28 in the next two weeks for great moving sale bargains! I’m lowballing anything I don’t have to move.

     As you might have guessed from my live music picks from two weeks ago, and the picture I ran with last week’s column online (at www.reservoirmusiccenter.com and www.hvmusic.com), I went down to the city to see my old friend’s in Bobby Keys and The Sufferin’ Bastards, and they did not disappoint! For those of you who somehow missed my column from two weeks ago, or just plain don’t know who Bobby Keys is, he’s the sax player from a little combo called The Rolling Stones. Never an official member of the group, Bobby has nevertheless played on every Stones’ album since 1969 (except for a brief leave of absence from 1975 to 1979) and has been on every Stones’ tour since 1970! But that’s far from all! Bobby also played the immortal sax part on John Lennon’s “Whatever gets you Through the Night”, George Harrison’s “What is Life”, and the blazing sax solo on Dion’s “The Wanderer”. In his spare time, he also guested on albums by The Who, Delaney and Bonnie, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Harry Nilsson, Leo Sayer, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon, Dr. John, Marvin Gaye, Lynrd Skynrd, Faces, and other albums with members of The Beatles! Plus he played the baritone sax part on Elvis’ “Return to Sender”! And really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The guy hit the road with Bobby Vee in 1956 at the age of 15, joined Buddy Holly within a year, and never looked back! Bobby Keys has been a touring musician at the highest levels of the music world since 1956! Is there anyone he hasn’t played with?

     Well, anyway, we went down there and the opening act seemed pretty good until Bobby and his troupe of top shelf musician’s started their set. The band included members of The Georgia Satellites, John Fogerty Band, Lynrd Sknrd, The Black Crowes, and The Brooklyn Cowboys, and they rocked their way through a selection of Bobby Keys’ greatest hits – “Brown Sugar”, “Whatever gets you Through the Night”, “The Wanderer”, “Can’t you Hear me Knockin’”, “What is Life” and many, many more. A splendid time was had by all!

     And speaking of The Rolling Stones, word has it that their 50th anniversary tour will be postponed until 2013. Apparently, Charlie didn’t join up until ’63, so that’s their official birthday! In other Stones’ news, Mick and Keith both stuck their toes in the water last month, Keith performing with Eric Clapton and others for the “Howling for Hubert” benefit at The Apollo Theater, and Mick by playing at The White House for President Obama’s tribute to The Blues. Really Mick, The White House? While Keith was at The Apollo? Well, therein lies the keys to their separate personalities!

     Anyway, we’d better get busy with this week’s live music picks, cause it’s a busy week for music! Dear readers, did you know that there are approximately 350 - 400 musical events each week in the New York City area alone? That’s not even counting the Hudson Valley and the Capital Region, all of which I must report on in order to keep my readers informed! That’s a lot of sortin’ just to come up with the dozen or so shows I recommend, but I do it because I care! So, here we go.

     Thursday, March 22 – Peaking band THE BLACK KEYS are at Madison Square Garden, and the MARLEY BROTHERS, Stephen, Damian, and Julian are at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square. Up in the Hudson Valley, way up, Pete Jacobs and his band of Berklee students, DIRTY BLIND, open for JEFFERSON STARSHIP at The Oneonta Theater.

     Friday, March 23 – Tonight it would be nice to be able to split oneself into two or three people to catch all the great music happening this evening. BERNIE WORRELL, major player in the ParliaFunkadelicment thang and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, brings his BERNIE WORRELL ORCHESTRA with special guest Jimmy Destri from Blondie, into The Brooklyn Bowl. Besides his historic work with Parliament-Funkadelic, Bernie’s played and recorded with Talking Heads, Public Image, Ltd., Keith Richards, and a whole host of A-list others. If you’re nearby, go! FIONA APPLE is at The Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight. I love Fiona Apple! Her song “Criminal” is a desert island disc for me! Frontman  RHETT MILLER of Americana group The Old 97’s stops in at the City Winery and CITIZEN COPE, one of the better newer, younger artists of the last decade, makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall. Moving upstate, we have Woodstock’s own LEVON HELM at the Tarrytown Music Hall for the first of two nights. Continuing up the Hudson, ALEXIS P. SUTER returns to The Falcon in Marlborough, and at The Bearsville Theater the OFFICIAL BLUES BROTHERS REVUE, endorsed by John Belushi’s widow, brings their mix of comedy and RnB to Woodstock. Finally, up in Hudson, AVONDALE AIRFORCE pulls into Club Helsinki. Now, I’ve never heard this band, but Peter Aaron knows his music, so this should be at the very least, pretty good.

     Saturday, March 24 – LEVON finishes his weekend at Tarrytown Music Hall, SIMONE FELICE BAND is at The Falcon, and THE FAB FAUX are at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. Also, at The Bearsville Theater, the REGGAE SPRING JAM DANCE PARTY, featuring a mix of live bands and DJ’s, will dub the house.

     Sunday, March 25 – Legendary reggae group, TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS are at The Brooklyn Bowl for the first of two shows.

     Monday, March 26 – The lovely and talented FIONA APPLE brings her show to The Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. I already told you that I love her!

     Tuesday, March 27 – TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS are back at The Brooklyn Bowl for a second night, and BB King’s will be hosting a CELEBRATION OF SUN RECORDS 60th ANNIVERSARY featuring ROBERT GORDON and the band from the Broadway show, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET.

     And of course, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND is still at The Beacon Theater in Manhattan, finishing up their annual three week run this week.

     The weather is beautiful and the nights are rockin, so get out and support live music.

     Have a great week!

     Greetings readers! Welcome to this week’s Reservoir Music Notes. I’ve been holding this back, but now it can be told – Reservoir Music is moving! By April 1st, I hope to be open for business at our new location at 711 Route 28, Town of Kingston. Our phone numbers will remain the same. Stop by before the move for great deals on current inventory, and check back after the move for details of our grand opening, which will probably be in May or June. We’ve been at our current location for 7 years and it’s time for a change! For those of you in Kingston, Red Hook, New Paltz, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Saugerties, we’ll be about ten minutes closer. And for those of you in Delaware County, Phoenicia, Big Indian, Boiceville, and Shokan, your ride just got ten minutes longer. Whatever the case, I sincerely hope all of our loyal and dedicated customers and friends will come along for the ride to our new location. The new building has a real comfy front porch that I’m eager to break in for live music. Stay tuned for some very cool events and visit our website, www.reservoirmusiccenter.com to stay up to date on what we’re doing here at Reservoir Music Center.

     There’s a new TV show coming to your local PBS station next month that promises to be very cool and pretty hot both! It’s called “Front Row Center” and the goal of the producers is to recreate the concert experience at home! Filmed in front of a live audience and utilizing the highest quality state of the art equipment, only time will tell if they succeed in their goal. Artists signed for the first season include The Beach Boys (reunited WITH Brian Wilson for their 50th anniversary), Elvis Costello, Jakob Dylan, Train, Cheap Trick, Moby, Ben Harper, T-Bone Burnett, and O.A.R. Long overdue, this promises to be a great show, if they do it right! Friday night at 10 on Channel 13 beginning April 13, Saturday night at the same time beginning April 21 on Channel 21. Interesting. It starts on the 13th on 13 and the 21st on 21. Coincidence? I think not! Hopefully, Front Row Center will last as long as SNL and bring us years of high quality concerts in our living rooms. For my money, Cheap Trick and The Beach Boys look like the best of season one, but as they say, it’s all good!.

     Speaking of live concerts, here are my picks for this week’s best live music.

     Wednesday, March 14 – JACKIE GREENE, Americana darling and former guitarist with Phil Lesh and Friends, stops by City Winery in Manhattan.

     Thursday, March 15 – Former Mick Jagger girlfriend and rock goddess, MARIANNE FAITHFULL begins a two day run at City Winery.

     Friday, March 16 – JGB, which is what the former Jerry Garcia Band is called nowadays, will be rockin’ through Jerry’s favorites and new material at The Brooklyn Bowl, and MARIANNE FAITHFULL finishes up at City Winery.

     Saturday, March 17 – HANK 3 pulls into The Gramercy Theater in Manhattan for a free show. I think you have to RSVP online to get tickets. If you’re interested in attending, just Google “Hank 3, Gramercy Theater” and nose around until you find the right site to RSVP to, but be warned, I don’t think there will be a Country part of this show. Usually, Hank does a Country set followed by a hard rock or death metal set. Tonight, I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be all rockin’, so if you like Country, (and few do it better than Hank), stay home! Up in Woodstock, PETE AND PEGGY SEEGER will be doing a very special show at The Bearsville Theater. Pete’s in his 90’s, so if you’re nearby, grab this chance to see an iconic legend live!

     Monday, March 19 – If you’re upstate, the great JONNY MONSTER BAND is at the great Club Helsinki in Hudson. The young Mister Monster is one of the hottest young guitarists around, and the rest of the band ain’t no slouches either. Check my archived columns from a couple of months ago for a profile of these guys (www.reservoirmusiccenter.com). If you’re downstate, RICH ROBINSON of The Black Crowes is at The Bowery Ballroom.

     Thursday, March 22 – The ultra hot BLACK KEYS return to Madison Square Garden. If you dig these guys, NOW is the time to catch them. Every band is at the top of their game the first time they play The Garden.

     Also, all this week and into next, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND continues their annual three week trek through The Beacon Theater. Check the web for exact dates.

     Rock on faithful readers!

    

    

     

     Greetings and welcome to this week’s edition of Reservoir Music Notes.  I missed my deadline for The Townsman this week, so the only place you’re gonna be able to read this week’s column is right here, at www.reservoirmusiccenter.com, and of course, always at www.hvmusic.com.  Writing a weekly column like this really seems to make the time fly by! You write the thing in time for your deadline, and by the time it appears in the newspaper, it’s time to write another one! I guess that must mean we’re having fun!

     Last Saturday night, I went on an insane adventure to NYC. I probably bit off more than I could chew, but I closed the store early and raced to Manhattan to catch Chuck Mead at Joe’s Pub. Chuck doled out a set of the finest Country Music this side of Tennessee for his adoring fans, many of whom included VIP’s from satellite and terrestrial radio. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Chuck Mead is the real thing, the genuine article, and he’s one of the few who’s carrying the torch for real Country Music! His take on Johnny Cash and June Carter’s classic duet “Jackson” with Laura Cantrell was as good as anyone’s, and that’s some pretty impressive company!

     After catching up with Chuck and the boys, and some of his radio fans who I knew from my days with The Brooklyn Cowboys, I tore off into the night to catch Del Fuegos at The Bell House in Brooklyn. It was great to see these guys back together after 21 years and still rockin’! On their last tour, 21 years ago, I played James and Bobby Purify’s “I’m Your Puppet” with them at soundcheck at the Jones Beach Theater. At The Bell House, we didn’t really get a chance to talk, because there was too much craziness, so I said a quick hello and took off into the night again, ending up at an all night diner with a friend that I hadn’t seen in years, and then driving back home, arriving in the Hudson Valley at 5AM! To quote Frankie Valli, “Oh what a night”!

     Boy, we’ve got a great week of music here now. I could go out every night this week and twice on Sunday, and every night would be a Pick of the Week! Starting with EILEN JEWELL at The Bell House in Brooklyn on Thursday, March 8. Jewell really is a diamond in the rough, who hopefully, will never get polished! She leads her band through the tragedy of heartbreak to a rockin’ backbeat and some very sweet guitar licks from guitarist Jerry Miller. She’s really, really good! Highly recommended! We also have terrific singer/ songwriter, TODD SNIDER, at Irving Plaza in Manhattan. And I don’t mean that in an acoustic 70’s singer/songwriter kinda way. More like a rockin’ 90’s kinda way. Todd writes some great songs. He’s one of our best.

     Now for The Big One! The Boss, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, at The Apollo Theater on Friday night, March 9! Are you effing kidding me? Springsteen, at The Apollo?!!! If you’ve never been there, The Apollo Theater is very, very small. I don’t think Springsteen’s played a venue this small (unannounced surprise appearances in New Jersey excepted) since The Bottom Line in 1975, which I was there for! Forget about Pick of the Week, this is the first ever Pick of the Month! And, it’s not a wimpy solo acoustic gig either. It’s the full on E Street Band, so put your rockin’ shoes on and get on up to Harlem for a night to remember!

     Hold onto your hats, cause we ain’t done yet, not by a longshot! One of the few men who could step into the late Clarence ‘The Big Man’ Clemons shoes, the great BOBBY KEYS, longtime sax player with The Rolling Stones, brings his band, The Sufferin’ Bastards, to The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan. Bobby’s been with The Stones since they added horns in the early 1970’s, and has played every immortal Stones’ sax solo ever done! “Live with Me” to “Brown Sugar”, it’s all Bobby! But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Bobby Keys has been a touring musician since 1956, when he went on the road with Buddy Holly at the age of 16! He played the baritone sax part on Elvis Presley’s “Return to Sender”! He also had a long history with The Beatles, playing on George Harrison’s masterpiece, “All Things Must Pass” and John Lennon’s “Whatever gets you Through the Night”. But here’s the kicker – Bobby played the sax solo on “The Wanderer”!!! I was just listening to that a few days ago and marveling at the power and intensity of the sax playing in the solo. The guy’s a legend! Friday night’s show is already sold out, but there are tickets left for Sunday. Hence, go!

     Whoa…there’s rock n roll royalty all over town tonight! The ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD performs at BB King’s tonight! This band sports names like Neville, Allman, and Wooten, so, you know what I mean? The ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND themselves start their annual 3 week run at The Beacon Theater tonight. I’m not gonna give you all the dates, but you can check the theater’s website for more information. And last but not least, in the Hudson Valley, JIM WEIDER’S PROJECT PERCOLATOR showcases Weider’s amazing guitar chops at The Falcon in Marlborough. Jim is the TeleMaster in Levon Helm’s band.

     Saturday, March 10 – ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD reprises Friday night’s show at Club Helsinki in Hudson and TODD SNIDER does the same at The Egg in Albany. And for you downstaters, DAVID JOHANSEN, lead singer of the New York Dolls, and in another incarnation, Buster Poindexter, is at The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan.

     Sunday, March 11 – BOBBY KEYS is back at The Highline Ballroom for his final show in New York, and, prepare yourselves, the great TONY BENNETT is at The Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie! The Bardavon has the best sound system in the Hudson Valley and one of the best anywhere. A great place to see The Ol’ Crooner.

     Monday, March 12 – Up and coming supergroup THE BLACK KEYS pull into Madison Square Garden for a night.

     Tuesday, March 13 – A great night of music is planned to CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF THE ROLLING STONES 1964-1971 at Carnegie Hall. A veritable who’s who of the music world gathers tonight to honor the self proclaimed “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band”. Scheduled to perform are Roseanne Cash, Steve Earle, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes, Jackie Greene, Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, Marianne Faithfull, Art Garfunkel, Rickie Lee Jones, Marc Cohen, Angelique Kidjo, Ronnie Spector, Gomez, and probably many more unannounced guests. This will be a hot show, and I’m making it my Pick of the Week!

     Wednesday, March 14 – The week winds up with JACKIE GREENE at City Winery in Manhattan.

     Have a great one!