I missed my deadline last week, but thanks to some quick thinking from my wonderful and hard working editor, Linda Comando, a column ran along with a couple of pictures from the North Mississippi Allstars show at The Bearsville Theater a few weeks ago. Nice work Linda! And sorry to all you loyal and faithful readers who didn’t get notified about all the great music we had last week. That’s bad, m’kay! Just a quick run through of what we missed last week – John Fogerty, Chris Cornell, Asleep at the Wheel, Joe Bonamassa, Ray Davies, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Guns n Roses, The Big Takeover, The English Beat, Supersuckers, Todd Wolfe, Kid Rock, and Hank III. Some week, huh? Fortunately, we have a pretty good week coming up including some of last week’s artists who are playing a different venue nearby! Alright then, we’ll get to this week’s live music in a minute.

     In other news, The Rolling Stones released their new “Some Girls” boxed set this week. It includes the original album, most likely remixed and remastered, with a slew of tunes from those sessions that didn’t make it onto the original album. Now, my regular readers may know that IMHO, “Exile on Main Street” is the best album ever made by anyone, but “Some Girls” is pretty far up in The Stones pantheon. I sometimes think of it as Exile, part 2. All the songs were great and it is the album that brought the band back to life! I have a feeling that this will be better than the Exile re-release from last year, so check it out!

     I got to see and hear some great music this week, starting with The Supersuckers and Nashville Pussy at The Chance in Poughkeepsie. Nashville Pussy were better than I remembered them, which was pretty good to begin with, but they got better. Might’ve had something to do with the fact that Eddie Spaghetti, head honcho from The Supersuckers, was on bass. And then came The Supersuckers, who were, as always, inspirational! They did a shorter set than usual, but still managed to fit some of their best songs in, so, a splendid time was had by all! My thanks to promoter Jeff Menig for hookin’ me up for this one.

     Then, three days later, I got to catch up with my old friend, Todd Wolfe, who rocked the Roundout Music Lounge Friday night! RML is a great new venue that deserves support. They’re new, and still getting their sea legs, but it’s a great room, so if you can, find something you like that’s coming up there, and support the place so they can survive and continue to enliven the live music in the Hudson Valley!

     Okay! I gotta get ready to truck up to Albany to see Hank 3 tonight, so let’s get to this week’s live picks.

     Thursday, November 24 – THANKSGIVING! Family day, turkey day, you’ll be too stuffed too jump anyway, but if you eat early and feel like getting out, there is one show tonight, and it’s ALEXIS P. SUTER BAND at the Falcon in Marlboro. Falcon’s a great venue, Alexis has a great band, she’s an awesome singer, and she’s opened something like a hundred Midnight Rambles.

     Friday, November 25 – Third night of a four night stand for ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND at The Brooklyn Bowl. This converted bowling alley has been presenting a ton of great music lately, and tonight is no exception. Randolph is the master of the sacred steel, his band kicks ass, and they will be back here Saturday night for the final night of their run.

Tonight is also the first night of A THANKSGIVING AFFAIR at The ROCK AND ROLL RESORT in Kerhonkson. Featured bands are the RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND, IVAN NEVILLE’S DUMPSTAPHUNK, NEW MOON REVUE featuring ex-Grateful Dead keyboardist, TOM CONSTANTEN, DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT, and many others. The event runs all weekend. It’s in a nice hotel, rooms are available for a reasonable rate, it’s a well run affair, and should be a lot of fun. More info at www.rocknrollresort.com/v1-5.

     Saturday, November 26 – The great JACK GRACE BAND is at Club Helsinki in Hudson tonight. Rockin’ old school country, which means drinkin’, dyin’, unfaithfulness, humour, and trucks. Should be great.

     Sunday, November 27 – Well, for you Deadheads out there, DARK STAR ORCHESTRA is at The Bearsville Theater tonight. This band never impressed me that much, but a lot of people (read Deadheads) love ‘em, so if that’s what you like, go!

     Wednesday, November 30 -  And we wrap up the week with CHRIS CORNELL of Soundgarden at The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie. This place has the greatest sound system I’ve heard anywhere in the Hudson Valley. It’s a great place to hear live music, as I found out when I saw John Hiatt there last week. This will be a good ‘un!

     I know you might need some time to make plans when it involves a trip to the city, or a big holiday like New Year’s Eve, so here’s a little advance warning for a few shows coming up next week and New Year’s Eve.

     Thursday, December 1 – BOB SEGER pulls into Madison Square Garden for one night. Even if you think he’s over the hill, he’s got so many great songs that you’ve gotta like some of them.

     Friday, December 2 – Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and world class rocker, PATTI SMITH and band are doing a very special show at The Metropolitan Opera House in Manhattan.

     New Year’s Eve – The immortal CHUCK BERRY will be ringing in the new year at BB KING’s in Manhattan.

     Plan accordingly. Have a great week!

    

     

     The drummer for the North Mississippi Allstars, Cody Dickinson, has the music in him! In the groove from beat one, the band opened their recent Bearsville Theater show with a smokin’ version of “Sitting on Top of the World”. Following Cody’s lead, the band set up the groove, and when, and only when, the groove was established, did they start the actual song! That’s just how I like it done! I wanted to go out for a smoke, but I was transfixed! I literally was not able to leave the room until the song ended!

     The band plays at a level far beyond their years, and why shouldn’t they? Both Cody and his brother Luther have a second generation musical pedigree handed down from their father, Memphis legend Jim Dickinson. You could do a lot worse than absorbing music at the feet and on the knee of Jim Dickinson. That’s how you get the music in you!

     The Allstars are mostly a blues band, but at times I could swear I was listening to The Grateful Dead or The Allman Brothers Band, circa 1971! It’s these small variations on a theme that keep the Blues eternal!

     In a band such as the North Mississippi Allstars, with two very prominent and well known members in Luther and Cody, there is a tendency for the two brothers to suck the oxygen out of the room, but I feel special mention must be made of bassist Chris Chew, a mountain of a man who holds his bass strung high on his chest, plays lefty, and of course, with no pick.. Covered in tattoos and looking like he’d be more at home in a hip hop crew than a rock band, Chris has nevertheless managed a mind meld with the two skinny rock n rollers and, in the process, they’ve all driven the Blues into the 21st century!

     I’d be remiss if I completed this review of the band’s performance without mentioning that during one song, Cody sat at the drums, keeping the beat going with his feet, and at the same time picked up a guitar and soloed with Luther! He plays the guitar as good as he plays drums, and maybe, just maybe, is a better guitarist than his brother! It makes you wonder what else this multi-talented group is capable of. I, for one, will be watching and listening to find out!

     My thanks to WDST for bringing this fine band to town, and to Drew at the station for making this review possible.

     And now for this week’s live music picks.

     Thursday, November 10 – FURTHER, the latest incarnation of The Grateful Dead, returns to Madison Square Garden for one show. If you’re a Dead Head, you’ll be there. If you’re not, you won’t.

     Friday, November 11 – Not one, but two really, really great shows tonight. If you’re downstate, TROMBONE SHORTY pulls into Terminal 5 in Manhattan. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know how I feel about Trombone Shorty! If you didn’t read my review last September of their performance at Bluestock, go to www.reservoirmusiccenter.com or this newspaper’s website, www.thetownsman.com, and read my column of September 8. Nuff said!

Closer to home, the great JOHN HIATT is at The Bardavon for one night, and this should really not be missed. Hiatt is one of our best rockin’ singer/songwriters, and should have a much wider audience than he does.

     Saturday, November 12 – The only show in town tonight is the Ramble at LEVON’S. If you can, go. Opening act is Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck.

     Sunday, November 13 – For rock n rollers, one of this week’s Picks of the Week is at Madison Square Garden tonight. It’s the only flat out rock band to hit it big in the last twenty years, FOO FIGHTERS with one of my top two bands, SOCIAL DISTORTION, opening.

     If your ears are still ringing from the weekend’s musical faire, and you need a break, head into Kingston for BILL MAHER at UPAC.Bill won’t damage your hearing, but he will make you laugh, and think.

     Monday, November 14 – Tickets go on sale at 10 AM for Roger Waters at The Times Union Center in Albany on June 28, 2012.

     Tuesday, November 15 – For upstate Dead Heads, FURTHER is at The Times Union Center in Albany. For rockers, my favorite band, THE SUPERSUCKERS, is at The Chance in Poukeepsie, and of course, that will have to be my other Pick of the Week. Finally, if you’re downstate, HANK WILLIAMS III is at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, in Brooklyn.

     Every show this week actually deserves to be a Pick of the Week, so, don’t be shy. Get out there and support live music.

     Have a great week.

     Greetings, and welcome to this week’s Reservoir Music Notes.

     Well, it looks like the Fall concert series is upon us, because November is chock full of music, so, without further adieu, here are this week’s live music picks.

     Thursday, November 3 – TWENTY THOUSAND ROADS, a Gram Parsons tribute band, will be performing at Club Helsinki in Hudson. Never heard these guys, but they’re certainly getting their inspiration from one of the right sources! You can’t see Gram anymore, so this may be one of the few bands playing his music live now. One of the best singers and songwriters carrying the torch for Gram’s “Cosmic American Music”, JIM LAUDERDALE, will be at Hill Country in Manhattan tonight as well, so it’s a Gram Parsons night, upstate and down.

     Friday, November 4 – One of the best newgrass groups around, THE GREENCARDS, bring their brand of bluegrass music into Club Helsinki in Hudson tonight. Originally hailing from Australia, lead members Kym Warner and Carol Young put the band together in Austin, and now call Nashville home. She had had several #1 hits in Australia and he was the Australian National Bluegrass Mandolin Champ four straight years. The twice Grammy nominated group counts Roseanne Cash, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Buddy Miller amongst their fans, so they’re in some pretty exalted company. If you’re a bluegrass fan, this one’s for you! More information at www.thegreencards.com and www.helsinkihudson.com.

     Saturday, November 5 – I guess I might as well get a room in Hudson this weekend, because the fantastic music at Club Helsinki just won’t quit! Tonight, we’ve got the most exciting new old-school R n B group to surface in ages, SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS, at Helsinki. This band is almost single handedly igniting the Soul Music revival, and is the closest thing going today to the classic Stax and Muscle Shoals sounds of the 60’s. Get there early, because it will be crowded. These guys are the band that backed Amy Winehouse on her multi-million selling, groundbreaking album, “Back to Black”, and have appeared at every major festival and every TV show there is. More info at www.sharonjonesandthedapkings.com and www.helsinkihudson.com.

     Closer to home, we have ABIGAIL WASHBURN at the Bearsville Theater with opening act, MIKE AND RUTHY. I don’t know that much about Abigail, but Mike and Ruthy are the best acoustic act in town! Abigail, a banjo player like her husband, Bela Fleck, is an eclectic, old timey musician. Interestingly, Bela is playing at The Egg in Albany on the next day, so to me, it’s pretty obvious that there is a better than good chance that Bela will be on hand for this show, and, if you don’t know who Bela Fleck is, I think it’s safe to say that he’s the Jimi Hendrix of banjo, and one of the greatest innovators on the instrument ever! The possibility that Bela may show up, combined with Mike and Ruthy as the opening act, make this show look pretty good. More information at www.mikeandruthy.com, www.bearsvilletheater.com, and Abigail’s videos are all over You Tube. Check ‘em out!

     Sunday, November 6 – The aforementioned MISTER BELA FLECK stops in at The Egg in Albany. This lovely venue is a great setting to catch the world’s best banjo player. He will do things on the instrument that you never thought possible! Trust me!

     Monday, November 7 – Back to Club Helsinki for SCOTT SHARRARD AND THE BRICKYARD BAND.  Scott is best known as the guitar player in The Gregg Allman Band. This is the first night of Gary McKeever’s Monday Night Live series at Club Helsinki, having recently moved from The Bearsville Theater for reasons unknown at this time. Support the series and support Scott. He’s a great guitarist! www.scottsharrard.com.

     Tuesday, November 8 – For all you hard rock fans, LA GUNS pull into The Chance in Poughkeepsie for a rare appearance. Frontman Tracii Guns was an early member of Guns n Roses, and LA Guns have deservedly sold millions of albums. At this concert, the band and Tracii are billed separately, so I don’t know if Tracii’s out of the band he started and is performing separately, or if he just got his own billing, but either way, if you’re a hard rock fan, don’t miss this! Info at www.thechancetheater.com.

     Wednesday, November 9 – RAY MANZARAK and ROBBIE KRIEGER of THE DOORS make a rare Northeast appearance at The Egg in Albany. I saw the reformed Doors when they toured with Ian Astbury as their lead singer, and they were really good! Whatever form this takes, it’s gotta be worth the price of admission.

     So that’s it! Some week, eh? There’s something really good going on every night, and it keeps right on going all month. Next week we’ve got John Hyatt, Foo Fighters, Social Distortion, The Supersuckers, Bill Maher, and Hank III, and the following week, John Fogerty, Guns n Roses, Kid Rock, Ray Davies, and the CKS Band.

     Wow!