I’m feeling pretty bad today. I just found out that a friend of mine, a guitar player who I wrote a coupla dozen songs with, who I’ve been playing with my whole life and who is definitely one of my musical brothers, is in the hospital, and needs a liver transplant. To complicate matters further, his other organs have started to shut down due to the liver not working, and now he’s also on dialysis. Hopefully, nothing else will go wrong and he’ll get his liver, and get well. His name doesn’t matter, because you probably won’t know it, but it’s Gene Geary. While still in high school, Gene was playing guitar with Wayne County and The Backstreet Boys. After staying out all night and playing at Max's Kansas City and CBGB,  Gene and his brother Michael, who also played bass with Wayne (now Jayne), would return to Brooklyn (sometimes) to attend classes at Madison High School.  Gene’s band, For Shakes Sake, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing at the highest altitude ever recorded, which was atop the World Trade Center, in the early 1970’s. They were signed to David Bowie’s Mainman Management before that organization imploded. Gene was also in the first incarnation of my band, The Brooklyn Cowboys, before we moved to Nashville. He’s a hard rock guitarist, but I switched him to acoustic rhythm guitar in the Cowboys, and naturally, he brought his Keith Richard style and mentality to that task, playing his parts like no ordinary rhythm guitarist. He’s one of the best guitar players I know. Even though you probably don’t know him, please keep him in your prayers. He’s in Kingston Hospital.

     In this shell shocked state of mind, this week’s column is not gonna come easy, but I’ll soldier on. Any musicians out there with gigs coming up,  feel free to email me your calendars if you’d like me to mention them in this column. No promises, but if it sounds good, I’ll recommend your gigs to my readers. You can email me at [email protected]. Don’t forget to include links to your website and Facebook, My Space, or Reverb Nation pages.

     Live music picks for this week:

Thursday, Sept. 29 – RADIOHEAD finishes up a 2 day stint at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. If you’re lucky enough to be able to score a ticket, this should be as historic as Roseland itself.

Friday, Sept. 30 – The excellent BEARSVILLE SESSIONS series continues at The Bearsville Theater. Tonight celebrates Motown. Who doesn’t like Motown? Nobody, that’s who!

Saturday, Oct. 1 – There’s a RAMBLE at Levon’s and CRAWDADDY, featuring my favorite local guitar player, Jimmy Eppard rocks The Bearsville Theater.

Sunday, Oct. 2 – THE B-52’S party at UPAC in Kingston and my pal, CHUCK MEAD, of BR 549, concludes his Sunday night series at The Rodeo Bar in Manhattan, at least until the next time he’s in NY.

Monday, Oct. 3 – JACKSON BROWNE pulls into The Palace Theater in Albany for a solo acoustic show. Short on rockin’, but long on great songs. If you’re a fan, you’ll be happy.

     Sorry about the brevity this week. Just not connected to my muse. Thinkin’ about my friend. Y’all have a good week.

    

    

     As I write this, I am recovering from another fantastic Livestock! As I recommended last week, LIVESTOCK 2011 (or any other year) is always an event not to be missed, but if I didn’t see you there yesterday, you probably did not heed my words, so, you missed it! As he does every year, John ‘Chico’ Finn put together a stellar line up of musicians to play in his barn, and as usual, I was once again very impressed with the rockin’ they do in Bovina! Standouts were The Welldiggers, Snivly’s Orange Groove, and College Farm. I left at 1AM, and the music was still going strong! Thanks Chico and Wendy for brightening everybody’s lives who were there…again! Livestock has been happening since 2003, and a few years ago, Chico started doing a Springstock show too. More information at www.livestockmusic.com. Start now to get ready for next year!

     I have a pretty busy day ahead of me, and I’m gonna try to go to the Artists Benefit for Flood Relief Concert tonight, so I’m gonna get right to my live music picks for this week.

     Thursday, Sept. 22 – Tonight starts a two day run for WILCO in Central Park in Manhattan, which, of course, concludes Friday. This is a great place to see these very influential alt-country rockers.

     Saturday, Sept. 24 – Hardscrabble Day in Red Hook will feature a free live concert by the master of sacred steel, ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND. This is an amazing band to have at this event, and for free? You can’t not go. But if you can not go, but you still want to go out? SOULSVILLE SOCIAL CLUB is doing their last gig for awhile at Keegan Ale in Kingston. This one’s also free and these guys are the finest Motown/ Stax tribute band I’ve seen lately. They keep getting better!

     Sunday, Sept. 25 – CHUCK MEAD continues the second of three Sunday nights at The Rodeo Bar in Manhattan. Another free show. See last week’s column for more on Chuck (posted online at www.thetownsman.com and www.reservoirmusiccenter.com). Tonight also starts a two day run for THE RACONTEURS at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. These guys will probably rock as good, or better, than Jack White’s last band, The White Stripes.

     Monday, Sept. 26 – Second day of The Raconteurs. Also first day of THE ZOMBIES two day engagement at The City Winery in Manhattan. This is the band’s 50th Anniversary Tour and they have The Strawbs opening up for them on most of the dates. A whole bunch of other choices tonight, if you happen to be in Manhattan, RAY LAMONTAGNE is in Central Park at Rumsey Playfield, FOO FIGHTERS are at the IZOD Center in New Jersey (the old Continental Airlines Arena at The Meadowlands), possibly with Social Distortion opening, and in our neck of the woods, the great BRUCE KATZ brings his fine band into The Bearsville Theater for Gary McKeever’s Monday Night Live series, also a free show.

     Tuesday, Sept. 27 – The inimitable PRIMUS bring their Frank Zappa influenced crazy-rock to The Palace Theater in Albany. These guys are masters of their instruments, great songwriters, and very funny, as evidenced by their most famous composition, the South Park Theme!

     Well, it seems like this might be the best week for free live music yet. We’ve got not one, not two, not three, but four, not good, but great shows this week. Hope to see you out there!

     Hi y’all! Well, another week has passed and the HudsonValley is another week closer to recovering from that bitch, Irene! Hopefully you’re starting to get back to normal. I presume you all watched the Trombone Shorty live webcast Monday night. I’m writing this on Sunday, so it hasn’t aired yet, but I’ll probably have something to say about it next week.

     Last week, I made a terrible omission in my column. I was so excited about Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, and wrote so extensively about them, that I completely forgot that we lost a giant last week. David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards passed away at his Chicago home in the early morning hours of August 29 at the age of 96. Edwards was the last direct link to the pre-war generation of delta bluesmen, and was actually at the roadhouse the night Robert Johnson was poisoned in 1938! His last public performances were last April, and he had just retired in July, after an 80 year career! A two time Grammy winner, Edwards was the real deal. I was fortunate to have seen him perform a few years ago at a Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm’s. He was 93 at the time! His people led him up to the stage that night, seated him in a chair, and placed a vintage Fender in his hands. Seconds later, all hell broke loose! This old man, who could barely walk and probably couldn’t speak or hear too well, let loose a cacophony of notes that cut right through my brain, heart, and body! What tone the man had! What mastery of the instrument he displayed! What a privilege it was to be present at that exact moment! All I could think was, “This guy was there the night Robert Johnson died”!  I knew it would probably be the first and only time I would see him perform, and I hung on every note like it was his last! It was the best performance I have ever seen by anyone at a Ramble, and Levon’s band seemed to agree, because their performance that night was also the best I have ever seen from them! It was as if Levon and his band were so inspired by what they had seen and heard from Honeyboy that they reached deep into their souls to pull up the deepest level of playing they were capable of! I was privileged to be there and I will never forget that night! David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards, Master of the Genre, Bluesman Emeritus, R.I.P.!

     Big doin’s this week. Here’s my picks.

   Friday, Sept. 16 – Thursday night. Whaddya gonna do? I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do! You’re gonna go straight to The Bearsville Theater to see JIMMY WEIDER AND PERCOLATOR! Jim was in the late model versions of The Band, and is still playing guitar with The Levon Helm Band. Many people have laid claim to the title, Master of the Telecaster, but Jimmy definitely has a legitimate claim to the title. You won’t be bored at this one! And guitarists, you might learn a thing or two tonight! Jim’s website is www.jimweider.com, and he’s also on Facebook, My Space, and You Tube, if you wanna check him out.

   Saturday, Sept. 17 – The Party of the Year takes place today, and it’s called LIVESTOCK. It’s an all day/all night soire over in Bovina, and if you go, be ready to have your mind blown! Livestock started in 2003 as a smaller-ish party at the home of John Finn, known to all as Chico, with only four bands. It’s grown to a giant blowout in Finn’s barn, which is a smaller version of The Barn at Levon’s. The four bands have grown to ten or twelve, and in recent years, have included national acts of the caliber of Jim Lauderdale, Dan Baird from The Georgia Satellites, Eric Ambel from The Del-Lords and Steve Earle’s band, Graham Parker, and Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3, who put on a performance worthy of Jimi at Monterey at my first Livestock in 2008 (props going out to guitarist Jason Victor especially)! I did not see any national acts listed on this year’s line up, but I’d bet the talent will still be first rate! You’re not gonna believe how rockin’ Bovina is! It will be loud, it will be late, and it will be great! LIVESTOCK 2011. Don’t miss it! www.livestockmusic.com for schedule and directions.

    Of course if your car needs work and you wanna stay closer to home, there’s a Ramble at LEVON’S and The MAHAVISHNU PROJECT is at The Bearsville Theater, performing the classic groundbreaking John McLaughlin album, “Birds of Fire”. Opening this show will be Todd Rundgren’s guitarist, JESSE GRESS, who will be performing a program of the music of Jeff Beck! If you saw Jeff at UPAC last year, but especially if you didn’t, the opening act alone should be worth the price of admission. Let’s hope Jesse includes material from The Yardbirds and “Truth”! If you’re a jazz fusion fan, this show is mandatory!

    And if you’re downstate, the popular jam band, WIDESPREAD PANIC, is doing a show at The Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. You’re going to have to do your own research on this one, because I don’t know if it’s day or night, indoor or outdoor, free or  ticketed. The Williamsburg Waterfront Concert series is a series of both free and paid shows that have taken place the last few years. Probably outdoors, so if the weather’s nice, I think it sounds like fun.

   Sunday, Sept. 18 – A good place to go tonight is The Bearsville Theater for the ARTIST’S RELIEF CONCERT FOR HURRICANE IRENE VICTIMS! It’s a great cause, your neighbors need your help, and the price of admission is very reasonable. The lineup is fabulous, so go if you can. In the interests of space, I’m not listing the musicians, but it’s all on the Bearsville Theater’s website, www.bearsvilletheater.com.

    If you find yourself downstate on Sunday, my pal CHUCK MEAD is starting a rerun of his famous Sunday Night’s at The Rodeo Bar in Manhattan. Chuck is a founding and current member of the extremely influential Americana band, BR 549, but he’s in New York from his home in Nashville in his capacity as Musical Director for the Broadway play, “The Million Dollar Quartet”, which tells the story of the night that Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis got together at Sun Studios in Memphis. To help pass the time, Chuck is doing Sunday nights at The Rodeo Bar for the next three weeks. Chuck is the real thing, an artist of tremendous talent who is in direct line of succession from the immortal country artists of the past, who were actually first rate rockers too, as is Chuck! If you dig old school Country, you will be so happy if you go to this!

   Monday, Sept. 19 – A great bluegrass group from the Midwest, THE HENHOUSE PROWLERS, are pullin’ into Manhattan for a few shows this week. The first one’s at the Rodeo Bar tonight, with an encore at Hill Country Barbeque on Wednesday. They’re also playing at The Dancing Cat Distillery in Bethel next Friday. These guys are first rate pickers in the semi-traditional Chicago bluegrass genre, which means the play songs like The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” mixed with more traditional old school bluegrass. Henhouse Prowlers ROCK!

     Have a lovely week!

 

    

 

 

 

 

     Wow! What a week! My first disaster area! I was very lucky. There was no damage to Reservoir Music or my home, and my neighbors were wonderful, but so many of our neighbors were not so lucky. We all know the utter devastation that Irene caused by now. There’s no need to revisit that, but I do want to mention what affected me the most, which was the look in people’s eyes the next day! I will never forget that look, and everybody had it, including me! It was the look of total helplessness and loss! I never want to see that look again! If you have anything that could be used by those who’ve lost everything, please consider donating those items. If you’ve got an extra few dollars, cash works too. As soon as I get my power back on, I’m gonna pull clothes and blankets out of my closet and any non-perishable food I still have left from the pantry, and bring it down to one of the many collection spots that have sprung up. If you’re not sure where to bring stuff, your local fire house is a good place to start. Please, do what you can!

     The storm caused me to miss my deadline last week, as there was no way to send the column in, but what a week in music we had! While Irene was howling through The Catskills, Bob Weir, Bela Fleck, Steve Earle, Elton John, Garland Jeffreys, comedian Chris Tucker, Raul Malo of The Mavericks, The Yardbirds, and our own Levon Helm also wailed through the Hudson Valley and nearby points! Incredible, huh? I repeat, what a week!

     WDST was kind enough to have me up to the Bluestock Festival at Hunter Mountain for two nights before Irene hit, and last week’s column was mainly about the festival. I am going to run it this week instead, because Bluestock was an important event, and so many of the artists who appeared rocked my world. The promoters made an impressive start and I hope they will make this an annual event like Mountain Jam. My thanks to Brett and Drew from WDST for hooking me up. What follows should have been last week’s column, but it’s still very relevant, so keep reading!

   

      Bluestock 2011 was just like Woodstock ‘69: It rained, it was a free concert by the second day, and the New York State Thruway was closed, man! WDST and the promoters put together an impressive line up that included Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Elvin Bishop, Tab Benoit, Shemekia Copeland, and many more, but there was one act that completely stole the show for me. In order to tell you who that act was, I would like to paraphrase former rock critic and current Bruce Springsteen manager and producer, Jon Landau, who, upon seeing The Boss perform for the first time, famously wrote, “I saw rock and roll’s future and it’s name is Bruce Springsteen”. Well, I have seen music’s past, present, and future, and it’s name is Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue! This band is simply one of the most capable, musical, virtuosic, rockin’ bands ever! Once you’ve experienced Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, it’s difficult to listen to ordinary music!

     I was prepped for these guys by a friend, just minutes before they went on, but the jazz-funk-blues-R n B- Rock-Hip Hop powerhouse that confronted me from the first note completely blew me away! I was instantly hooked, and they did not let up for a second, effortlessly blending swirling complex rhythms with a rockin’ beat that kept the audience enthralled from start to finish! This was not just raw technical virtuosity, (although there was plenty of that), but technical virtuosity delivered in a New Orleans gumbo of soul stew!

      Standing center stage, holding his trombone like a bazooka spraying notes over the crowd, Trombone Shorty, whose given name is Troy Andrews, is the focal point and star of the show, but his band, Orleans Avenue, is visually and musically captivating as well. The first thing you notice, after recovering from the musical assault, is the ages of Shorty and the band. They all look like they could still be in high school! In fact, the first thing I asked Troy after the show was, “What grade are you guys in?”. From a distance, they look to be 15 – 19 years old. In reality, they’re all between 23 and 26, which is still amazing for the level of musicianship they demonstrated! Every musician in Orleans Avenue is world class, with special mention going to the rhythm section of bassist Mike ‘Bass’ Ballard and drummer Joey ‘In and Out’ Peebles, who form one of the tightest, yet complex, rhythm sections anywhere! The rest of the guys, guitarist Pete ‘Crazy Pete’ Murano, percussionist Dwayne ‘Big D’ Williams, tenor sax man Tim McFatter, and baritone sax player Dan ‘Uncle Potato Chip’ Oestreicher, could step in with any band anywhere! Their young age mixed with their top flight chops and dedication to the music, combine to give these musicians the persona of miniature bluesmen! They look like kids but if you block out the faces they could be 70 year old veteran musicians, and they play like it, but with the energy of the young!

    

     It’s so refreshing to see young people drawing their influences from so many old school styles and combining them in a seamless blend with hip hop and more modern genres to create what Trombone Shorty calls “Supafunkrock”! I think young people would also find it inspiring that Trombone Shorty doesn’t play guitar or some other instrument usually associated with rock music, but ably demonstrates that a trombone player can be the leader of a smokin’ hot musical unit that rocks! By the way, he also plays trumpet and several other instruments equally well!

     In their short time on the scene, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue have made fans of, and collaborated with, the likes of Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Warren Haynes, Kid Rock, Bono, The Edge,  The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, and Lamont Dozier, many of whom guest on the new album! Nuff said! Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue’s debut album, “Backatown” was Grammy nominated in 2010, and their new album, “For True” will be released next week. Jeff Beck said these guys were the best thing he’s heard all year. I’ll go one better. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are the best new band I’ve heard in a decade! More info at www.tromboneshorty.com, including how to view their upcoming live webcast from Tipitina’s in Nawlins on September 12. Do not miss it!

     As mind blowing as Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue were, they were not the only new band that I was turned on to at Bluestock. A young trio from Kansas who call themselves Moreland and Arbuckle, also blew me away. The band consists of a smokin’ harp player who sings, a drummer, and a guitar player. That’s right, no bass, but as I sat listening to these guys, who are a blend of ZZ Top and Hound Dog Taylor, I heard bass notes, and I kept asking myself where the bass notes were coming from. When I moved up front to investigate, I discovered that the guitar player was playing a cigar box guitar with one bass string and three guitar strings, and was able to cover both parts with this unique instrument. These guys are great, they rocked, and you should definitely check them out.

Now for this week’s live music recommendations:

Thursday, Sept. 8 – LARA HOPE AND THE CHAMPTONES at Bull and Buddha in Poughkeepsie. This band is keeping the Rockabilly candle burning in the Hudson Valley, with “burning” being the operative word.

Friday, Sept. 9 – The JOHNNY MONSTER BAND returns to The Bearsville Theater with a great set of rockin’ blues, fresh from their opening slot for Johnny Winter at the same venue last winter. I’ve heard good things about the JMB, so check them out.

Saturday, Sept. 10 – The Ulster County debut of a new band, or more accurately, an old band with a new twist, at the High Falls Cafe. The always busy Bruce Katz has put together CKS with drummer Randy Ciarlante and Gregg Allman Band cohort, guitarist Scott Sharrard. There’s no cover charge, so you’ve got no excuse. Trust me, this will be worth the cost of the gas! And more! A splendid time is guaranteed for all!

Sunday, Sept. 11 – STONE TEMPLE PILOTS rock the Palace Theater in Albany. Not a huge fan, though I know they’ve got them, but I dug Velvet Revolver, and was very impressed with singer Scott Weiland in that band, enough to consider rechecking into STP.

Monday, Sept. 12 – The latest installation of Monday Night Live at The Bearsville Theater with THE MOSES PATROU BAND. I haven’t heard these guys, but their guitar player is the aforementioned Scott Sharrard from the Greg Allman Band, so they’ve got to be good, and this series deserves your support. It was put together by Gary McKeever of WVKR’s Hudson Valley Rag Shop and this is the 9th one they’ve done, featuring talented local bands. The shows are recorded and broadcast on 91.3 FM the next night. BUT…

This is also the night of TROMBONE SHORTY’S LIVE WEBCAST. Tough call. Maybe you watch Shorty then go to Bearsville, or bring your laptop and pick up Shorty on wi-fi. Or maybe you just stay home with Shorty, listen to the VKR broadcast on Tuesday, and support Gary next Monday, but the bottom line? You do support Gary. This is an ongoing series. Support it!

If you’re downstate, the vastly underrated band, Blondie, is pulling into The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan for a 2 night stand, Monday and Tuesday. Blondie is a great rock band, and anyone who thinks they’re some kind of pop group is ill informed. Highly recommended!

Tuesday, Sept. 13 – Again, for our downstate readers, STEELY DAN begins a 6 night run at The Beacon Theater, 4 nights this week, and 2 at the end of the month.

Wow! Whatta week!