- Published on
Tonight I’ve got comebacks on my mind. For my money, the greatest comeback in the history of show business is the one Aerosmith pulled off in the 80’s. Drug use and the internal squabbling it produced succeeded in bringing down the once stadium filling band’s career to the point where, just before they turned it around, they had to cancel a show at New York’s Ritz for lack of ticket sales! The Ritz held about a thousand to fifteen hundred people! Pretty pathetic for a band that could, at their height, sell out venues like Madison Square Garden with no problem!
The story’s been told many times. Bad drugs create bad times, and every time history repeats itself, the lesson gets more expensive! A story comes to mind that I heard a long time ago about Eric Clapton. Clapton was strung out and recording the Derek and The Dominoes album in Miami, and it was not going well! Ahmet Ertegun, a legend in the business, and the last great music man in the music business, flew to Miami to talk to Eric about his drug use, which was out of control, only to hear Eric defend his addiction, saying he had it under control and it was actually helping his music! Ahmet thought about all the other music legends that he had heard the same rap from, going all the way back to Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker, and it always ended badly! Clapton remained unconvinced, but, well, they did manage to get through that album, and it turned out pretty well, but I saw Derek and The Dominoes live, and it was awful! One of the worst concerts I’ve ever seen. At the time, I couldn’t understand how they could be so bad live, after recording what I considered, and still consider, one of the greatest albums of all time! But now I understand. It was the drugs, specifically, heroin and cocaine! Eric’s career took off pretty well after he got clean and sober, but ironically, his music suffered. By any measure, he lost his edge and his passion for the music, and he’ll freely admit this!
In the Aerosmith case, however, they came roaring back with some of the most exciting music they had ever made! After a few albums, they too began phoning it in, but for a five year period, they were back stronger than ever, thanks to being clean and sober!
I’m not preaching here, and there are exceptions to every rule (The Rolling Stones come to mind), but generally speaking, hard drug use brings about a hard fall in the music business. The irony is that some amazing music often gets produced before the fall. Some people consider this a worthwhile tradeoff! The jury is still out on that one.
There is a ton of great live music this week, so let’s get to it.
Thursday, December 8 – SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS at The Tarrytown Music Hall. This is the band who are spearheading the neo-soul revival. The Dap-Kings were the backing band on Amy Winehouse’s amazing “Back to Black” album, and they are great!
Friday, December 9 – The sheer number of talented artists who are playing on this one night is enough to make your head spin! At The Tarrytown Music Hall, SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY AND THE ASBURY JUKES make a rare appearance, and these guys carried the torch for soul and R & B for many years before The Dap-Kings came along. They’ve got a catalog of great songs, and I’d bet they can still pull them off with style!
At the Turning Point in Piermont, DAVID JOHANSEN, lead singer of the very influential New York Dolls, Buster Poindexter (in another incarnation), and blues singer extraordinaire, will rock the house.
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, Steve Earle’s son, will bring his Americana tinged music to Club Helsinki in Hudson.
Levon’s guitarist, and former member of The Band, JIM WEIDER, will be stopping by The Falcon in Marlboro with his PROJECT PERCOLATOR.
Former permanent Midnight Ramble opening act, ALEXIS P. SUTER is at The Bearsville Theater for a Holiday concert, and HOT TUNA begins the first night of a two day stand at The Beacon Theater.
Saturday, December 10 – HOT TUNA continues their two day run at The Beacon, PROFESSOR LOUIE AND THE CHROMATICS pull into The Falcon, MURALI CORYELL is at The Catamount in Mount Tremper, and JUDY COLLINS and ARLO GUTHRIE are at Tarrytown Music Hall, for all you folkies out there.
Sunday, December 11 – The immortal DARLENE LOVE returns to B.B. King’s in Manhattan to belt out her catalog of classics.
Tuesday, December 13 – BEN ROUNDS hosts his regular Tuesday night open mic at The Catamount, and SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS open a two day engagement at The Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 14 – SHARON JONES finishes up at The Bowery Ballroom and ROSS RICE AND THE VERY SEXY TRIO return to The Catamount.
Have a great week.
The story’s been told many times. Bad drugs create bad times, and every time history repeats itself, the lesson gets more expensive! A story comes to mind that I heard a long time ago about Eric Clapton. Clapton was strung out and recording the Derek and The Dominoes album in Miami, and it was not going well! Ahmet Ertegun, a legend in the business, and the last great music man in the music business, flew to Miami to talk to Eric about his drug use, which was out of control, only to hear Eric defend his addiction, saying he had it under control and it was actually helping his music! Ahmet thought about all the other music legends that he had heard the same rap from, going all the way back to Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker, and it always ended badly! Clapton remained unconvinced, but, well, they did manage to get through that album, and it turned out pretty well, but I saw Derek and The Dominoes live, and it was awful! One of the worst concerts I’ve ever seen. At the time, I couldn’t understand how they could be so bad live, after recording what I considered, and still consider, one of the greatest albums of all time! But now I understand. It was the drugs, specifically, heroin and cocaine! Eric’s career took off pretty well after he got clean and sober, but ironically, his music suffered. By any measure, he lost his edge and his passion for the music, and he’ll freely admit this!
In the Aerosmith case, however, they came roaring back with some of the most exciting music they had ever made! After a few albums, they too began phoning it in, but for a five year period, they were back stronger than ever, thanks to being clean and sober!
I’m not preaching here, and there are exceptions to every rule (The Rolling Stones come to mind), but generally speaking, hard drug use brings about a hard fall in the music business. The irony is that some amazing music often gets produced before the fall. Some people consider this a worthwhile tradeoff! The jury is still out on that one.
There is a ton of great live music this week, so let’s get to it.
Thursday, December 8 – SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS at The Tarrytown Music Hall. This is the band who are spearheading the neo-soul revival. The Dap-Kings were the backing band on Amy Winehouse’s amazing “Back to Black” album, and they are great!
Friday, December 9 – The sheer number of talented artists who are playing on this one night is enough to make your head spin! At The Tarrytown Music Hall, SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY AND THE ASBURY JUKES make a rare appearance, and these guys carried the torch for soul and R & B for many years before The Dap-Kings came along. They’ve got a catalog of great songs, and I’d bet they can still pull them off with style!
At the Turning Point in Piermont, DAVID JOHANSEN, lead singer of the very influential New York Dolls, Buster Poindexter (in another incarnation), and blues singer extraordinaire, will rock the house.
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, Steve Earle’s son, will bring his Americana tinged music to Club Helsinki in Hudson.
Levon’s guitarist, and former member of The Band, JIM WEIDER, will be stopping by The Falcon in Marlboro with his PROJECT PERCOLATOR.
Former permanent Midnight Ramble opening act, ALEXIS P. SUTER is at The Bearsville Theater for a Holiday concert, and HOT TUNA begins the first night of a two day stand at The Beacon Theater.
Saturday, December 10 – HOT TUNA continues their two day run at The Beacon, PROFESSOR LOUIE AND THE CHROMATICS pull into The Falcon, MURALI CORYELL is at The Catamount in Mount Tremper, and JUDY COLLINS and ARLO GUTHRIE are at Tarrytown Music Hall, for all you folkies out there.
Sunday, December 11 – The immortal DARLENE LOVE returns to B.B. King’s in Manhattan to belt out her catalog of classics.
Tuesday, December 13 – BEN ROUNDS hosts his regular Tuesday night open mic at The Catamount, and SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS open a two day engagement at The Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 14 – SHARON JONES finishes up at The Bowery Ballroom and ROSS RICE AND THE VERY SEXY TRIO return to The Catamount.
Have a great week.
- Published on
Greetings y’all! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. The Townsman didn’t publish last week, due to the holiday, but I wrote my column just the same, and posted it online at www.reservoirmusiccenter.com. If you’d like to read it, go there and click on “blog”.
As some of you may know, I’ve got a new favorite radio station. It’s 98.9 on your FM dial, and 1220 on the AM dial. The format is called Fox Oldies, and what it is, is basically what used to be called “Top 40” when I was growing up, only they weren’t oldies then! When Top 40 dominated the airwaves, we couldn’t wait for it to go away! When FM Rock appeared on the scene, everybody loved it, because no longer would we have to listen to Engelbert Humperdinck with our Beatles, Stones, Dylan, and Airplane. (No offense to Engelbert. “Release Me” is a great country song, but you get the idea.) Top 40 mixed rock and roll hits with country, R & B , easy listening, pop, and, well, whatever was a hit. You could hear Johnny Cash, followed by The Dave Clark Five, followed by The Four Tops, followed by Mr. Acker Bilk, followed by The Beatles, followed by Marty Robbins, Sam and Dave, Tom Jones, The Stones, and on and on. Listeners were exposed to great music of all types.
But, as I said, FM Rock entered the scene, and all the easy listening pop stuff went away, which we all cheered, but little did we know what it would lead to. In the current radio universe, everything is formatted, and all music played must fit into that format. We’ve had several generations now who’ve never been exposed to anything outside of their personal comfort zones, and this is where radio has let us all down! When I was growing up, and even beyond my formative years, you could listen to the radio to be exposed to new and innovative music. I’m talking about Jimi, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, unreleased tracks by The Beatles, Stones, and Dylan, and more. Now that’s a format – Classic Rock. Like nothing has happened since then. Most of my White friends think they hate Hip Hop, but I guarantee you, I could put together a 2 hour Hip Hop show that would blow their minds, if they could lose their preconceived notions for a while! The same goes for Hip Hop fans who think they hate Rock n Roll! And Hard Rock fans who think they hate Country! How would they know? They’ve never heard real Country music! It’s not played on the radio anymore! What they call Country music now is a mix of Pop and 70’s Rock. Barbra Streisand meets Bob Seger, if you will. A Country song is not about how happy you are and how much you love your girlfriend!
But, I digress! The point is, radio has failed the music listening public by being too restricted and too narrowly focused. This, in turn, has caused the record companies to react in kind, and finally, this restrictive atmosphere has trickled down to artists and music fans, which has created the current state of affairs in the music business, which is to say, there ain’t no music biz no more! And when multi platinum record producers tell me that, and they do, it’s true! And I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of radio and radio programmers. Did you know that 98% of all terrestrial radio stations are programmed by professional programmers from LA, New York, or somewhere where the station isn’t, which has killed the regional breakout hit and the regional DJ’s who used to bring variety and local flavor to their broadcasts. I believe the only local exception to this is WKZE, which from what I’ve heard, does give their DJ’s a bit more freedom, but only a bit. WDST DJ’s have no freedom to spin what they want, and neither do any other radio stations in our area!
If this situation was in place for the last forty years of music history, The Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Blondie, Ramones, et al. would never have made it in the music business! And there’s more, lots more. Open the airwaves, open the record companies, open your minds! We’re all missing a lot of great music today!
But if you go to some of this week’s live music picks, you can hear some great music this week! Here ‘tis!
Thursday, December 1 – The aforementioned BOB SEGER returns to Madison Square Garden for one night. A lot of great songs! So many that you’ve gotta like at least some of them!
Friday, December 2 – My Pick of the Week is PATTI SMITH AT The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. She’s a rocker and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, although I don’t know if this is a solo gig, or it’s The Patti Smith Group. My guess is the latter, but she could just be reading her poetry or her book, which would be good too, but would not warrant the Pick of the Week status. Call ahead to find out.
Also tonight, is a special Ramble at LEVON HELM’S with the immortal DR. RALPH STANLEY, the last living link to the beginnings of bluegrass music.
And also, tonight is the first night of a two day engagement with STRING CHEESE INCIDENT at Reverend Ike’s former church, The United Palace, on Broadway and 175th Street in Manhattan. This place is so far uptown that you barely have to enter Manhattan to get there, and you can be back in Kingston in just over an hour.
Saturday, December 3 – String Cheese finish up at Rev. Ike’s and DAVID BROMBERG stops by The Bearsville Theater.
Sunday, December 4 – The fabulously entertaining MIKE AND RUTHY are at the lovely Empire State Railroad Museum in Phoenicia. Actually, the museum is also fabulously entertaining! A great place to enjoy music.
Tuesday, December 6 – RYAN ADAMS brings his Americana based brand of Rock n Roll into what is definitely one of New York’s, or anywhere’s, most divine musical venues, Carnegie Hall. This should be well worth the price of admission.
Alright, that’s it! I’m out! Have a great week!
As some of you may know, I’ve got a new favorite radio station. It’s 98.9 on your FM dial, and 1220 on the AM dial. The format is called Fox Oldies, and what it is, is basically what used to be called “Top 40” when I was growing up, only they weren’t oldies then! When Top 40 dominated the airwaves, we couldn’t wait for it to go away! When FM Rock appeared on the scene, everybody loved it, because no longer would we have to listen to Engelbert Humperdinck with our Beatles, Stones, Dylan, and Airplane. (No offense to Engelbert. “Release Me” is a great country song, but you get the idea.) Top 40 mixed rock and roll hits with country, R & B , easy listening, pop, and, well, whatever was a hit. You could hear Johnny Cash, followed by The Dave Clark Five, followed by The Four Tops, followed by Mr. Acker Bilk, followed by The Beatles, followed by Marty Robbins, Sam and Dave, Tom Jones, The Stones, and on and on. Listeners were exposed to great music of all types.
But, as I said, FM Rock entered the scene, and all the easy listening pop stuff went away, which we all cheered, but little did we know what it would lead to. In the current radio universe, everything is formatted, and all music played must fit into that format. We’ve had several generations now who’ve never been exposed to anything outside of their personal comfort zones, and this is where radio has let us all down! When I was growing up, and even beyond my formative years, you could listen to the radio to be exposed to new and innovative music. I’m talking about Jimi, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, unreleased tracks by The Beatles, Stones, and Dylan, and more. Now that’s a format – Classic Rock. Like nothing has happened since then. Most of my White friends think they hate Hip Hop, but I guarantee you, I could put together a 2 hour Hip Hop show that would blow their minds, if they could lose their preconceived notions for a while! The same goes for Hip Hop fans who think they hate Rock n Roll! And Hard Rock fans who think they hate Country! How would they know? They’ve never heard real Country music! It’s not played on the radio anymore! What they call Country music now is a mix of Pop and 70’s Rock. Barbra Streisand meets Bob Seger, if you will. A Country song is not about how happy you are and how much you love your girlfriend!
But, I digress! The point is, radio has failed the music listening public by being too restricted and too narrowly focused. This, in turn, has caused the record companies to react in kind, and finally, this restrictive atmosphere has trickled down to artists and music fans, which has created the current state of affairs in the music business, which is to say, there ain’t no music biz no more! And when multi platinum record producers tell me that, and they do, it’s true! And I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of radio and radio programmers. Did you know that 98% of all terrestrial radio stations are programmed by professional programmers from LA, New York, or somewhere where the station isn’t, which has killed the regional breakout hit and the regional DJ’s who used to bring variety and local flavor to their broadcasts. I believe the only local exception to this is WKZE, which from what I’ve heard, does give their DJ’s a bit more freedom, but only a bit. WDST DJ’s have no freedom to spin what they want, and neither do any other radio stations in our area!
If this situation was in place for the last forty years of music history, The Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Blondie, Ramones, et al. would never have made it in the music business! And there’s more, lots more. Open the airwaves, open the record companies, open your minds! We’re all missing a lot of great music today!
But if you go to some of this week’s live music picks, you can hear some great music this week! Here ‘tis!
Thursday, December 1 – The aforementioned BOB SEGER returns to Madison Square Garden for one night. A lot of great songs! So many that you’ve gotta like at least some of them!
Friday, December 2 – My Pick of the Week is PATTI SMITH AT The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. She’s a rocker and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, although I don’t know if this is a solo gig, or it’s The Patti Smith Group. My guess is the latter, but she could just be reading her poetry or her book, which would be good too, but would not warrant the Pick of the Week status. Call ahead to find out.
Also tonight, is a special Ramble at LEVON HELM’S with the immortal DR. RALPH STANLEY, the last living link to the beginnings of bluegrass music.
And also, tonight is the first night of a two day engagement with STRING CHEESE INCIDENT at Reverend Ike’s former church, The United Palace, on Broadway and 175th Street in Manhattan. This place is so far uptown that you barely have to enter Manhattan to get there, and you can be back in Kingston in just over an hour.
Saturday, December 3 – String Cheese finish up at Rev. Ike’s and DAVID BROMBERG stops by The Bearsville Theater.
Sunday, December 4 – The fabulously entertaining MIKE AND RUTHY are at the lovely Empire State Railroad Museum in Phoenicia. Actually, the museum is also fabulously entertaining! A great place to enjoy music.
Tuesday, December 6 – RYAN ADAMS brings his Americana based brand of Rock n Roll into what is definitely one of New York’s, or anywhere’s, most divine musical venues, Carnegie Hall. This should be well worth the price of admission.
Alright, that’s it! I’m out! Have a great week!
- Published on
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!
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!
- Published on
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.
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.
- Published on
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!
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!
- Published on
Greetings! Last night I watched the new Pearl Jam movie celebrating their 20 year anniversary as a band, and I have to say, it was quite inspiring. The movie was directed by Cameron Crowe, of “Almost Famous” fame, who first achieved notoriety at the age of 15 as a Rolling Stone writer, when he was plucked from obscurity and chosen to go on tour with Led Zeppelin. Crowe then parlayed this experience into the movie, “Almost Famous”.
Pearl Jam, IMHO before I saw this documentary, is a really good band, sometimes even great, but not one of my favorites, and not one that I own any CD’s by or have on any of my playlists. But you know what they say. 90% of show business is showing up. Pearl Jam’s showed up for 20 years now, and there’s just something about longevity that speaks volumes. Look at U2. Starting out with one great song, “Walk Away (I will Follow)”, then a bunch of crappy, overproduced records, somewhere along the way, they slowly turned into the juggernaut that you’ll see today at their concerts. Picking up a great song here, a great album there, next thing you know, they’ve got a wealth of material that is all great! And it cancels out the stuff you weren’t that impressed with at the beginning. Tom Petty, The Police, same thing. Both bands showed flashes of brilliance immediately, but took a few albums to produce a masterpiece that had no clunkers. For Petty, it was “Damn the Torpedoes”. For The Police, probably “Ghost in the Machine”. The point is, Pearl Jam is definitely in that club. They are a great band! And this movie makes any musician want to play, which is, I guess, the point. Moreover, it made me want to see them, which I suddenly remembered, I never have. So, Eddie, Stone, and the rest of PJ, WATCH OUT! I’m comin’ fer ya!
Another really cool movie that I’ve watched about 5 times in the past few weeks is “Living in the Material World”, Martin Scorsese’s biopic of George Harrison. Now, everybody knows that Marty is probably the king of music documentaries. Of course, there are other pretenders to the crown, but I think Marty’s surpassed them all, and this George Harrison picture shows why…again! George is such a great subject and this movie is long overdue, as is George getting the proper respect for his songwriting, singing, and guitar playing. Overshadowed as a guitar player by his friend, Eric Clapton and other guitarslingers, George was nevertheless, like Ringo, perfect for The Beatles. His taste was impeccable! Again, as a songwriter, he was one of the best ever, but had the ironic position of being in a band with THE best ever, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. There’s a great clip of George watching films of The Beatles playing live that is one of my favorite parts of the film, and then he says that he wrote his first song simply as an exercise, just to see if he could do it. The song was “Don’t Bother Me” and George says of it, “It really wasn’t a very good song”. I shouted back at the TV, “Are you crazy? It’s a GREAT song!”. But that’s George for you. Everybody reading this should make it a point to see this movie, so I’m not going to tell you that much more about it, but I can’t resist retelling my absolute favorite scene. A few years before he died, George was attacked and stabbed by a mentally unstable man who broke into his house at night. He and Olivia had to struggle with the man to disarm him, but in the process, George was stabbed, and it was a pretty serious cut. Paramedics were called, and he was taken to hospital on a stretcher. As he was being carried out, George turned to two staff workers who had just started on the job the day before and were watching in horror, and asked them, deadpan, “So, what do you think of the job so far?”. Pure George!
I also want to mention that I have a new favorite radio station, 89.9 FM, AKA Fox Oldies. I found them by accident about two weeks ago, and did not hear one bad song for the first 5 days I listened. Since then, sure, there’s been a few clunkers, but for the most part, you can keep this on in your car or at work, and you almost never have to run for the dial to change it. Here’s a small sampling of stuff I heard this weekend.
1. Walk Away Renee - Left Banke
2. Singin the Blues - Marty Robbins
3. North to Alaska - Johnny Horton
4. 25 Miles - Edwin Starr
5. Too Many Fish in the Sea - The Marvelettes
6. Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan
7. Look Thru Any Window - The Hollies
8. I'm Ready - Fats Domino
9. Honky Tonk Women - Stones
10. World Without Love - Peter and Gordon
11.If You Wanna be Happy - Jimmy Soul
12. Marie's the Name of his Latest Flame - Elvis
This makes me happy, after so many years of radio abdicating its responsibilities and in the process, pretty much destroying the music business. It’s just a shame that this has to be an oldies station. The Return of Top 40. Who could ever imagine we’d miss it?
Live music picks for this week:
It’s a pretty quiet week we have coming up, with most of the action taking place on the weekend. The one exception is Wednesday, November 2, when LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM rolls into The Egg in Albany. He’s always been my favorite part of the current incarnation of Fleetwood Mac. Great guitar player, great songwriter.
As for Halloween weekend, we’ve got my Pick of the Week at The Horton Smith House in Hensonville on Friday night, which is SCOTT SHARRARD, CONNOR KENNEDY, KYLE ESPOSITO, and SONNY ROCK. I don’t know what they’re calling this band, but everyone in it is top shelf. Scott is the guitarist with Gregg Allman. Connor leads his own band, and I think he’s all of 17. Kyle plays with everyone in town and there’s a reason for that. And Sonny has more chops in his little finger than most drummers have in their whole bodies, so this is gonna ROCK! I’m going, and you should too. Hensonville’s a hike, but there’s no cover, so $10 or $15 in gas will get you and whoever fits in your car through the door. Oh yeah, it’s a Halloween party, so come in costume if so inclined.
Also on Friday night, former J.Geils lead singer, PETER WOLF, is at The Egg in Albany, and one of my favorite local dives, The Fernwood in Palenville, is having their Halloween party with VOODELIC.
Saturday night, the only show in town is Woodstock’s best songwriter, TOM PACHECO at Upstate Films in Woodstock.
Closing out the weekend, we have the Halloween party at Harmony in Woodstock. This is the only event actually ON Halloween, so if you’re in Woodstock for the annual Halloween celebration, consider sticking around for dinner and then hitting Harmony for ZUMBI ZUMBI.
Happy Halloween everybody!
Pearl Jam, IMHO before I saw this documentary, is a really good band, sometimes even great, but not one of my favorites, and not one that I own any CD’s by or have on any of my playlists. But you know what they say. 90% of show business is showing up. Pearl Jam’s showed up for 20 years now, and there’s just something about longevity that speaks volumes. Look at U2. Starting out with one great song, “Walk Away (I will Follow)”, then a bunch of crappy, overproduced records, somewhere along the way, they slowly turned into the juggernaut that you’ll see today at their concerts. Picking up a great song here, a great album there, next thing you know, they’ve got a wealth of material that is all great! And it cancels out the stuff you weren’t that impressed with at the beginning. Tom Petty, The Police, same thing. Both bands showed flashes of brilliance immediately, but took a few albums to produce a masterpiece that had no clunkers. For Petty, it was “Damn the Torpedoes”. For The Police, probably “Ghost in the Machine”. The point is, Pearl Jam is definitely in that club. They are a great band! And this movie makes any musician want to play, which is, I guess, the point. Moreover, it made me want to see them, which I suddenly remembered, I never have. So, Eddie, Stone, and the rest of PJ, WATCH OUT! I’m comin’ fer ya!
Another really cool movie that I’ve watched about 5 times in the past few weeks is “Living in the Material World”, Martin Scorsese’s biopic of George Harrison. Now, everybody knows that Marty is probably the king of music documentaries. Of course, there are other pretenders to the crown, but I think Marty’s surpassed them all, and this George Harrison picture shows why…again! George is such a great subject and this movie is long overdue, as is George getting the proper respect for his songwriting, singing, and guitar playing. Overshadowed as a guitar player by his friend, Eric Clapton and other guitarslingers, George was nevertheless, like Ringo, perfect for The Beatles. His taste was impeccable! Again, as a songwriter, he was one of the best ever, but had the ironic position of being in a band with THE best ever, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. There’s a great clip of George watching films of The Beatles playing live that is one of my favorite parts of the film, and then he says that he wrote his first song simply as an exercise, just to see if he could do it. The song was “Don’t Bother Me” and George says of it, “It really wasn’t a very good song”. I shouted back at the TV, “Are you crazy? It’s a GREAT song!”. But that’s George for you. Everybody reading this should make it a point to see this movie, so I’m not going to tell you that much more about it, but I can’t resist retelling my absolute favorite scene. A few years before he died, George was attacked and stabbed by a mentally unstable man who broke into his house at night. He and Olivia had to struggle with the man to disarm him, but in the process, George was stabbed, and it was a pretty serious cut. Paramedics were called, and he was taken to hospital on a stretcher. As he was being carried out, George turned to two staff workers who had just started on the job the day before and were watching in horror, and asked them, deadpan, “So, what do you think of the job so far?”. Pure George!
I also want to mention that I have a new favorite radio station, 89.9 FM, AKA Fox Oldies. I found them by accident about two weeks ago, and did not hear one bad song for the first 5 days I listened. Since then, sure, there’s been a few clunkers, but for the most part, you can keep this on in your car or at work, and you almost never have to run for the dial to change it. Here’s a small sampling of stuff I heard this weekend.
1. Walk Away Renee - Left Banke
2. Singin the Blues - Marty Robbins
3. North to Alaska - Johnny Horton
4. 25 Miles - Edwin Starr
5. Too Many Fish in the Sea - The Marvelettes
6. Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan
7. Look Thru Any Window - The Hollies
8. I'm Ready - Fats Domino
9. Honky Tonk Women - Stones
10. World Without Love - Peter and Gordon
11.If You Wanna be Happy - Jimmy Soul
12. Marie's the Name of his Latest Flame - Elvis
This makes me happy, after so many years of radio abdicating its responsibilities and in the process, pretty much destroying the music business. It’s just a shame that this has to be an oldies station. The Return of Top 40. Who could ever imagine we’d miss it?
Live music picks for this week:
It’s a pretty quiet week we have coming up, with most of the action taking place on the weekend. The one exception is Wednesday, November 2, when LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM rolls into The Egg in Albany. He’s always been my favorite part of the current incarnation of Fleetwood Mac. Great guitar player, great songwriter.
As for Halloween weekend, we’ve got my Pick of the Week at The Horton Smith House in Hensonville on Friday night, which is SCOTT SHARRARD, CONNOR KENNEDY, KYLE ESPOSITO, and SONNY ROCK. I don’t know what they’re calling this band, but everyone in it is top shelf. Scott is the guitarist with Gregg Allman. Connor leads his own band, and I think he’s all of 17. Kyle plays with everyone in town and there’s a reason for that. And Sonny has more chops in his little finger than most drummers have in their whole bodies, so this is gonna ROCK! I’m going, and you should too. Hensonville’s a hike, but there’s no cover, so $10 or $15 in gas will get you and whoever fits in your car through the door. Oh yeah, it’s a Halloween party, so come in costume if so inclined.
Also on Friday night, former J.Geils lead singer, PETER WOLF, is at The Egg in Albany, and one of my favorite local dives, The Fernwood in Palenville, is having their Halloween party with VOODELIC.
Saturday night, the only show in town is Woodstock’s best songwriter, TOM PACHECO at Upstate Films in Woodstock.
Closing out the weekend, we have the Halloween party at Harmony in Woodstock. This is the only event actually ON Halloween, so if you’re in Woodstock for the annual Halloween celebration, consider sticking around for dinner and then hitting Harmony for ZUMBI ZUMBI.
Happy Halloween everybody!
- Published on
Greetings and welcome to this week’s Reservoir Music Notes. There’s nothing pressing to expound upon this week, so I’m just going to go straight to this week’s live music picks.
Friday, Oct. 21 – Americana queen, TIFT MERRITT, returns to Club Helsinki in Hudson, and funnyman LEWIS BLACK, brings his uproarious brand of comedy to the Palace Theater in Albany.
Saturday, Oct. 22 – Local swamp-rock favorites, VOODELIC, return to Dave’s Coffee Shop in Saugerties, and there is a MIDNIGHT RAMBLE @ LEVON HELM’S, with slide guitar ace, CAROLYN WONDERLAND opening. The big news, though, is the opening day of THE WOODSTOCK INVITATIONAL LUTHIER’S SHOWCASE. The two day event showcases contemporary, handmade acoustic guitars and stringed instruments, and runs through the weekend. The event features continuous live performances throughout as well. More info at www.woodstockinvitational.com.
Sunday, Oct. 23 – W.I.L.S. continues and TEDESCHI-TRUCKS BAND (who’ll probably be nosing around at WILS before their show) performs at UPAC in Kingston.
Monday, Oct. 24 – THE ART ADAMS BAND featuring BEKI BRINDLE is featured at Gary McKenna’s Monday Night Live series at The Bearsville Theater. More info at www.bearsville theater.com.
Tuesday, Oct.25 – THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALL STARS rock The Bearsville Theater. This should be one of the best of the week.
Wednesday, Oct. 26 – LOS STRAITJACKETS roll into the High Line Ballroom in Manhattan with their patented psycho-surf brand of rock and roll comedy, but don’t let the funny stuff fool you. These guys are first rate players who will blow your mind. PICK OF THE WEEK!
Have a great week. I’ll try to think of something to be profound about for next week!
Friday, Oct. 21 – Americana queen, TIFT MERRITT, returns to Club Helsinki in Hudson, and funnyman LEWIS BLACK, brings his uproarious brand of comedy to the Palace Theater in Albany.
Saturday, Oct. 22 – Local swamp-rock favorites, VOODELIC, return to Dave’s Coffee Shop in Saugerties, and there is a MIDNIGHT RAMBLE @ LEVON HELM’S, with slide guitar ace, CAROLYN WONDERLAND opening. The big news, though, is the opening day of THE WOODSTOCK INVITATIONAL LUTHIER’S SHOWCASE. The two day event showcases contemporary, handmade acoustic guitars and stringed instruments, and runs through the weekend. The event features continuous live performances throughout as well. More info at www.woodstockinvitational.com.
Sunday, Oct. 23 – W.I.L.S. continues and TEDESCHI-TRUCKS BAND (who’ll probably be nosing around at WILS before their show) performs at UPAC in Kingston.
Monday, Oct. 24 – THE ART ADAMS BAND featuring BEKI BRINDLE is featured at Gary McKenna’s Monday Night Live series at The Bearsville Theater. More info at www.bearsville theater.com.
Tuesday, Oct.25 – THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALL STARS rock The Bearsville Theater. This should be one of the best of the week.
Wednesday, Oct. 26 – LOS STRAITJACKETS roll into the High Line Ballroom in Manhattan with their patented psycho-surf brand of rock and roll comedy, but don’t let the funny stuff fool you. These guys are first rate players who will blow your mind. PICK OF THE WEEK!
Have a great week. I’ll try to think of something to be profound about for next week!
- Published on
Welcome back! I’m referring, of course, to my absence from this paper last week, and I’m speaking to myself, naturally. I hope you missed me. Sadly, my friend, songwriting partner, musical compadre, and the best guitarist I ever played with on a regular basis, Eugene Geary, who I wrote about in my last column, lost his battle with his failing liver last night. I got to say my goodbyes before he passed, and since then, I’ve been listening to a lot of the hard and fast rock n roll that Huge, as he was known to friends and family, (but to you who didn’t know him, Mister Huge, or as our friend, Sonny Rock, liked to call him, Gene-yus!) and I love. Specifically, lots of old Stones (more specifically, lots of Exile on Main Street, our favorite album of all time), Joey Ramone, Supersuckers, and 50’s rock n roll.
An old friend of mine, who’s an automobile mechanic, and lives his life far from the craziness and excesses of the music business, once asked me why so many musicians have problems with substance abuse. Initially, I had no answer, but in the intervening years, I’ve thought about it a lot. My first response came within minutes of being asked, but I’m not sure if it’s true or false. I told him that the percentage is no higher than the general population. It just gets more press coverage. I think that may be true, but I have no way of confirming it.
Ironically, as I write, I’m watching the new Ken Burns documentary, “Prohibition”. It’s quite good, and the comparisons to our current state of the nation are obvious, even including the economic situation. They even showed people carrying signs saying stuff like, “Create 2,500,000 jobs. Repeal the Volstead Act”, which is a major argument people make for the legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis.
They also linked beer to treason by saying that all the brewmasters were all German, just like they do now with terrorism and drugs. Now I’m not denying the link between heroin and cocaine trafficking and terrorism, but we all remember those commercials where one guy told another that he helped the terrorists by smoking a joint.
At the time, the liquor industry was the fifth largest in America, so millions of people lost their jobs, just like now with restaurants and clubs closing because of the DUI laws. Remember when there were dozens of music clubs up and down and off Route 28?
And then there were the unintended consequences – crime, corruption, the rise of a wealthy criminal class (Mexican cartels), and the ease of getting a drink. It was easier to get a drink during Prohibition than before or after. One guy said he drank a glass of water when it was repealed because he hadn’t had any in thirteen years. Unregulated, liquor was available 24/7/365 to anyone, including children, just like now when every kid in America can get every drug known to mankind in school every day.
Even with the all the forces in favor of it, Prohibition didn’t stand a chance of passage because the United States government was dependent on the revenue they received from the taxation of whiskey, but as soon as that revenue stream was replaced by the income tax, Prohibition picked up some powerful friends.
Ironically, prohibitionists were also largely against government spending, so they opposed any funding of enforcement by the feds. Instead they wanted state and local authorities to pass their own laws and enforce them, which, of course, they had no interest in doing. In one year, all 48 states combined authorized a grand total of $700 for enforcement of the Volstead Act. That’s one thing that’s different from now.
But, I digress. My friend, Huge, was a lifelong alcoholic, but he loved life, and no mater how much he drank, he always remained himself. He wasn’t a mean drunk or anything like that. He just liked to drink. So do I, but I do it occasionally, in moderation, and usually at home. Huge did it all day, every day, and always at home, because he didn’t want to risk driving. In the end, just when his life could have been getting really good, he lost it.
My last cherished memory of us together was doing “Satisfaction”, a song we’d never done before, and never did again, at The Boiceville Inn when I booked the music there. We nailed it! Would Prohibition have helped my friend stay on the wagon? Not on your life! RIP Mister Huge. You played better drunk than most people do sober. Rock and Roll has lost an important voice and will miss you!
Live music picks for this week:
Thursday, October 13 – Black Crowes guitarist, RICH ROBINSON, brings his new band into the fabulous Club Helsinki in Hudson. Rich is largely responsible for The Crowes Stonesian, open tuned, bluesy sound, and this should be a great night for Rock and Roll.
Friday, October 14 – The great STEVEN STILLS makes a rare solo appearance at The Bearsville Theater. I don’t even remember the last time Stills played a venue so intimate. Tickets sold out in about ten minutes, so, good luck getting one. Consolation prize? My friend, BOW THAYER, and his band, PERFECT TRAINWRECK, are at The Falcon in Marlboro tonight. Bow has played at Levon’s , so you know he’s gotta be pretty good.
Saturday, October 15 – NINA VIOLET, an extremely quirky, but really interesting and good artist, is playing at the tiny Market Market in Rosendale.
Sunday, October 16 – LEVON is doing his annual free show at Gill’s Farm in Hurley in the afternoon. I haven’t been to a Ramble for a while and I’m even thinking of closing the shop for the day to attend. More information at www.levonhelm.com.
Wednesday, October 19 – Mr. and Mrs. Derek Trucks, AKA THE TEDESCHI-TRUCKS BAND, performs at The Egg in Albany, and this should be a most blueswailing night.
Enjoy the week.
An old friend of mine, who’s an automobile mechanic, and lives his life far from the craziness and excesses of the music business, once asked me why so many musicians have problems with substance abuse. Initially, I had no answer, but in the intervening years, I’ve thought about it a lot. My first response came within minutes of being asked, but I’m not sure if it’s true or false. I told him that the percentage is no higher than the general population. It just gets more press coverage. I think that may be true, but I have no way of confirming it.
Ironically, as I write, I’m watching the new Ken Burns documentary, “Prohibition”. It’s quite good, and the comparisons to our current state of the nation are obvious, even including the economic situation. They even showed people carrying signs saying stuff like, “Create 2,500,000 jobs. Repeal the Volstead Act”, which is a major argument people make for the legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis.
They also linked beer to treason by saying that all the brewmasters were all German, just like they do now with terrorism and drugs. Now I’m not denying the link between heroin and cocaine trafficking and terrorism, but we all remember those commercials where one guy told another that he helped the terrorists by smoking a joint.
At the time, the liquor industry was the fifth largest in America, so millions of people lost their jobs, just like now with restaurants and clubs closing because of the DUI laws. Remember when there were dozens of music clubs up and down and off Route 28?
And then there were the unintended consequences – crime, corruption, the rise of a wealthy criminal class (Mexican cartels), and the ease of getting a drink. It was easier to get a drink during Prohibition than before or after. One guy said he drank a glass of water when it was repealed because he hadn’t had any in thirteen years. Unregulated, liquor was available 24/7/365 to anyone, including children, just like now when every kid in America can get every drug known to mankind in school every day.
Even with the all the forces in favor of it, Prohibition didn’t stand a chance of passage because the United States government was dependent on the revenue they received from the taxation of whiskey, but as soon as that revenue stream was replaced by the income tax, Prohibition picked up some powerful friends.
Ironically, prohibitionists were also largely against government spending, so they opposed any funding of enforcement by the feds. Instead they wanted state and local authorities to pass their own laws and enforce them, which, of course, they had no interest in doing. In one year, all 48 states combined authorized a grand total of $700 for enforcement of the Volstead Act. That’s one thing that’s different from now.
But, I digress. My friend, Huge, was a lifelong alcoholic, but he loved life, and no mater how much he drank, he always remained himself. He wasn’t a mean drunk or anything like that. He just liked to drink. So do I, but I do it occasionally, in moderation, and usually at home. Huge did it all day, every day, and always at home, because he didn’t want to risk driving. In the end, just when his life could have been getting really good, he lost it.
My last cherished memory of us together was doing “Satisfaction”, a song we’d never done before, and never did again, at The Boiceville Inn when I booked the music there. We nailed it! Would Prohibition have helped my friend stay on the wagon? Not on your life! RIP Mister Huge. You played better drunk than most people do sober. Rock and Roll has lost an important voice and will miss you!
Live music picks for this week:
Thursday, October 13 – Black Crowes guitarist, RICH ROBINSON, brings his new band into the fabulous Club Helsinki in Hudson. Rich is largely responsible for The Crowes Stonesian, open tuned, bluesy sound, and this should be a great night for Rock and Roll.
Friday, October 14 – The great STEVEN STILLS makes a rare solo appearance at The Bearsville Theater. I don’t even remember the last time Stills played a venue so intimate. Tickets sold out in about ten minutes, so, good luck getting one. Consolation prize? My friend, BOW THAYER, and his band, PERFECT TRAINWRECK, are at The Falcon in Marlboro tonight. Bow has played at Levon’s , so you know he’s gotta be pretty good.
Saturday, October 15 – NINA VIOLET, an extremely quirky, but really interesting and good artist, is playing at the tiny Market Market in Rosendale.
Sunday, October 16 – LEVON is doing his annual free show at Gill’s Farm in Hurley in the afternoon. I haven’t been to a Ramble for a while and I’m even thinking of closing the shop for the day to attend. More information at www.levonhelm.com.
Wednesday, October 19 – Mr. and Mrs. Derek Trucks, AKA THE TEDESCHI-TRUCKS BAND, performs at The Egg in Albany, and this should be a most blueswailing night.
Enjoy the week.
- Published on
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 reservoirmusic@gmail.com. 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.
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 reservoirmusic@gmail.com. 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.
- Published on
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!
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!