- Published on
Hi y’all! Well, another week has passed and the HudsonValley is another week closer to recovering from that bitch, Irene! Hopefully you’re starting to get back to normal. I presume you all watched the Trombone Shorty live webcast Monday night. I’m writing this on Sunday, so it hasn’t aired yet, but I’ll probably have something to say about it next week.
Last week, I made a terrible omission in my column. I was so excited about Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, and wrote so extensively about them, that I completely forgot that we lost a giant last week. David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards passed away at his Chicago home in the early morning hours of August 29 at the age of 96. Edwards was the last direct link to the pre-war generation of delta bluesmen, and was actually at the roadhouse the night Robert Johnson was poisoned in 1938! His last public performances were last April, and he had just retired in July, after an 80 year career! A two time Grammy winner, Edwards was the real deal. I was fortunate to have seen him perform a few years ago at a Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm’s. He was 93 at the time! His people led him up to the stage that night, seated him in a chair, and placed a vintage Fender in his hands. Seconds later, all hell broke loose! This old man, who could barely walk and probably couldn’t speak or hear too well, let loose a cacophony of notes that cut right through my brain, heart, and body! What tone the man had! What mastery of the instrument he displayed! What a privilege it was to be present at that exact moment! All I could think was, “This guy was there the night Robert Johnson died”! I knew it would probably be the first and only time I would see him perform, and I hung on every note like it was his last! It was the best performance I have ever seen by anyone at a Ramble, and Levon’s band seemed to agree, because their performance that night was also the best I have ever seen from them! It was as if Levon and his band were so inspired by what they had seen and heard from Honeyboy that they reached deep into their souls to pull up the deepest level of playing they were capable of! I was privileged to be there and I will never forget that night! David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards, Master of the Genre, Bluesman Emeritus, R.I.P.!
Big doin’s this week. Here’s my picks.
Friday, Sept. 16 – Thursday night. Whaddya gonna do? I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do! You’re gonna go straight to The Bearsville Theater to see JIMMY WEIDER AND PERCOLATOR! Jim was in the late model versions of The Band, and is still playing guitar with The Levon Helm Band. Many people have laid claim to the title, Master of the Telecaster, but Jimmy definitely has a legitimate claim to the title. You won’t be bored at this one! And guitarists, you might learn a thing or two tonight! Jim’s website is www.jimweider.com, and he’s also on Facebook, My Space, and You Tube, if you wanna check him out.
Saturday, Sept. 17 – The Party of the Year takes place today, and it’s called LIVESTOCK. It’s an all day/all night soire over in Bovina, and if you go, be ready to have your mind blown! Livestock started in 2003 as a smaller-ish party at the home of John Finn, known to all as Chico, with only four bands. It’s grown to a giant blowout in Finn’s barn, which is a smaller version of The Barn at Levon’s. The four bands have grown to ten or twelve, and in recent years, have included national acts of the caliber of Jim Lauderdale, Dan Baird from The Georgia Satellites, Eric Ambel from The Del-Lords and Steve Earle’s band, Graham Parker, and Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3, who put on a performance worthy of Jimi at Monterey at my first Livestock in 2008 (props going out to guitarist Jason Victor especially)! I did not see any national acts listed on this year’s line up, but I’d bet the talent will still be first rate! You’re not gonna believe how rockin’ Bovina is! It will be loud, it will be late, and it will be great! LIVESTOCK 2011. Don’t miss it! www.livestockmusic.com for schedule and directions.
Of course if your car needs work and you wanna stay closer to home, there’s a Ramble at LEVON’S and The MAHAVISHNU PROJECT is at The Bearsville Theater, performing the classic groundbreaking John McLaughlin album, “Birds of Fire”. Opening this show will be Todd Rundgren’s guitarist, JESSE GRESS, who will be performing a program of the music of Jeff Beck! If you saw Jeff at UPAC last year, but especially if you didn’t, the opening act alone should be worth the price of admission. Let’s hope Jesse includes material from The Yardbirds and “Truth”! If you’re a jazz fusion fan, this show is mandatory!
And if you’re downstate, the popular jam band, WIDESPREAD PANIC, is doing a show at The Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. You’re going to have to do your own research on this one, because I don’t know if it’s day or night, indoor or outdoor, free or ticketed. The Williamsburg Waterfront Concert series is a series of both free and paid shows that have taken place the last few years. Probably outdoors, so if the weather’s nice, I think it sounds like fun.
Sunday, Sept. 18 – A good place to go tonight is The Bearsville Theater for the ARTIST’S RELIEF CONCERT FOR HURRICANE IRENE VICTIMS! It’s a great cause, your neighbors need your help, and the price of admission is very reasonable. The lineup is fabulous, so go if you can. In the interests of space, I’m not listing the musicians, but it’s all on the Bearsville Theater’s website, www.bearsvilletheater.com.
If you find yourself downstate on Sunday, my pal CHUCK MEAD is starting a rerun of his famous Sunday Night’s at The Rodeo Bar in Manhattan. Chuck is a founding and current member of the extremely influential Americana band, BR 549, but he’s in New York from his home in Nashville in his capacity as Musical Director for the Broadway play, “The Million Dollar Quartet”, which tells the story of the night that Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis got together at Sun Studios in Memphis. To help pass the time, Chuck is doing Sunday nights at The Rodeo Bar for the next three weeks. Chuck is the real thing, an artist of tremendous talent who is in direct line of succession from the immortal country artists of the past, who were actually first rate rockers too, as is Chuck! If you dig old school Country, you will be so happy if you go to this!
Monday, Sept. 19 – A great bluegrass group from the Midwest, THE HENHOUSE PROWLERS, are pullin’ into Manhattan for a few shows this week. The first one’s at the Rodeo Bar tonight, with an encore at Hill Country Barbeque on Wednesday. They’re also playing at The Dancing Cat Distillery in Bethel next Friday. These guys are first rate pickers in the semi-traditional Chicago bluegrass genre, which means the play songs like The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” mixed with more traditional old school bluegrass. Henhouse Prowlers ROCK!
Have a lovely week!
Last week, I made a terrible omission in my column. I was so excited about Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, and wrote so extensively about them, that I completely forgot that we lost a giant last week. David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards passed away at his Chicago home in the early morning hours of August 29 at the age of 96. Edwards was the last direct link to the pre-war generation of delta bluesmen, and was actually at the roadhouse the night Robert Johnson was poisoned in 1938! His last public performances were last April, and he had just retired in July, after an 80 year career! A two time Grammy winner, Edwards was the real deal. I was fortunate to have seen him perform a few years ago at a Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm’s. He was 93 at the time! His people led him up to the stage that night, seated him in a chair, and placed a vintage Fender in his hands. Seconds later, all hell broke loose! This old man, who could barely walk and probably couldn’t speak or hear too well, let loose a cacophony of notes that cut right through my brain, heart, and body! What tone the man had! What mastery of the instrument he displayed! What a privilege it was to be present at that exact moment! All I could think was, “This guy was there the night Robert Johnson died”! I knew it would probably be the first and only time I would see him perform, and I hung on every note like it was his last! It was the best performance I have ever seen by anyone at a Ramble, and Levon’s band seemed to agree, because their performance that night was also the best I have ever seen from them! It was as if Levon and his band were so inspired by what they had seen and heard from Honeyboy that they reached deep into their souls to pull up the deepest level of playing they were capable of! I was privileged to be there and I will never forget that night! David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards, Master of the Genre, Bluesman Emeritus, R.I.P.!
Big doin’s this week. Here’s my picks.
Friday, Sept. 16 – Thursday night. Whaddya gonna do? I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do! You’re gonna go straight to The Bearsville Theater to see JIMMY WEIDER AND PERCOLATOR! Jim was in the late model versions of The Band, and is still playing guitar with The Levon Helm Band. Many people have laid claim to the title, Master of the Telecaster, but Jimmy definitely has a legitimate claim to the title. You won’t be bored at this one! And guitarists, you might learn a thing or two tonight! Jim’s website is www.jimweider.com, and he’s also on Facebook, My Space, and You Tube, if you wanna check him out.
Saturday, Sept. 17 – The Party of the Year takes place today, and it’s called LIVESTOCK. It’s an all day/all night soire over in Bovina, and if you go, be ready to have your mind blown! Livestock started in 2003 as a smaller-ish party at the home of John Finn, known to all as Chico, with only four bands. It’s grown to a giant blowout in Finn’s barn, which is a smaller version of The Barn at Levon’s. The four bands have grown to ten or twelve, and in recent years, have included national acts of the caliber of Jim Lauderdale, Dan Baird from The Georgia Satellites, Eric Ambel from The Del-Lords and Steve Earle’s band, Graham Parker, and Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3, who put on a performance worthy of Jimi at Monterey at my first Livestock in 2008 (props going out to guitarist Jason Victor especially)! I did not see any national acts listed on this year’s line up, but I’d bet the talent will still be first rate! You’re not gonna believe how rockin’ Bovina is! It will be loud, it will be late, and it will be great! LIVESTOCK 2011. Don’t miss it! www.livestockmusic.com for schedule and directions.
Of course if your car needs work and you wanna stay closer to home, there’s a Ramble at LEVON’S and The MAHAVISHNU PROJECT is at The Bearsville Theater, performing the classic groundbreaking John McLaughlin album, “Birds of Fire”. Opening this show will be Todd Rundgren’s guitarist, JESSE GRESS, who will be performing a program of the music of Jeff Beck! If you saw Jeff at UPAC last year, but especially if you didn’t, the opening act alone should be worth the price of admission. Let’s hope Jesse includes material from The Yardbirds and “Truth”! If you’re a jazz fusion fan, this show is mandatory!
And if you’re downstate, the popular jam band, WIDESPREAD PANIC, is doing a show at The Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. You’re going to have to do your own research on this one, because I don’t know if it’s day or night, indoor or outdoor, free or ticketed. The Williamsburg Waterfront Concert series is a series of both free and paid shows that have taken place the last few years. Probably outdoors, so if the weather’s nice, I think it sounds like fun.
Sunday, Sept. 18 – A good place to go tonight is The Bearsville Theater for the ARTIST’S RELIEF CONCERT FOR HURRICANE IRENE VICTIMS! It’s a great cause, your neighbors need your help, and the price of admission is very reasonable. The lineup is fabulous, so go if you can. In the interests of space, I’m not listing the musicians, but it’s all on the Bearsville Theater’s website, www.bearsvilletheater.com.
If you find yourself downstate on Sunday, my pal CHUCK MEAD is starting a rerun of his famous Sunday Night’s at The Rodeo Bar in Manhattan. Chuck is a founding and current member of the extremely influential Americana band, BR 549, but he’s in New York from his home in Nashville in his capacity as Musical Director for the Broadway play, “The Million Dollar Quartet”, which tells the story of the night that Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis got together at Sun Studios in Memphis. To help pass the time, Chuck is doing Sunday nights at The Rodeo Bar for the next three weeks. Chuck is the real thing, an artist of tremendous talent who is in direct line of succession from the immortal country artists of the past, who were actually first rate rockers too, as is Chuck! If you dig old school Country, you will be so happy if you go to this!
Monday, Sept. 19 – A great bluegrass group from the Midwest, THE HENHOUSE PROWLERS, are pullin’ into Manhattan for a few shows this week. The first one’s at the Rodeo Bar tonight, with an encore at Hill Country Barbeque on Wednesday. They’re also playing at The Dancing Cat Distillery in Bethel next Friday. These guys are first rate pickers in the semi-traditional Chicago bluegrass genre, which means the play songs like The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” mixed with more traditional old school bluegrass. Henhouse Prowlers ROCK!
Have a lovely week!
- Published on
Wow! What a week! My first disaster area! I was very lucky. There was no damage to Reservoir Music or my home, and my neighbors were wonderful, but so many of our neighbors were not so lucky. We all know the utter devastation that Irene caused by now. There’s no need to revisit that, but I do want to mention what affected me the most, which was the look in people’s eyes the next day! I will never forget that look, and everybody had it, including me! It was the look of total helplessness and loss! I never want to see that look again! If you have anything that could be used by those who’ve lost everything, please consider donating those items. If you’ve got an extra few dollars, cash works too. As soon as I get my power back on, I’m gonna pull clothes and blankets out of my closet and any non-perishable food I still have left from the pantry, and bring it down to one of the many collection spots that have sprung up. If you’re not sure where to bring stuff, your local fire house is a good place to start. Please, do what you can!
The storm caused me to miss my deadline last week, as there was no way to send the column in, but what a week in music we had! While Irene was howling through The Catskills, Bob Weir, Bela Fleck, Steve Earle, Elton John, Garland Jeffreys, comedian Chris Tucker, Raul Malo of The Mavericks, The Yardbirds, and our own Levon Helm also wailed through the Hudson Valley and nearby points! Incredible, huh? I repeat, what a week!
WDST was kind enough to have me up to the Bluestock Festival at Hunter Mountain for two nights before Irene hit, and last week’s column was mainly about the festival. I am going to run it this week instead, because Bluestock was an important event, and so many of the artists who appeared rocked my world. The promoters made an impressive start and I hope they will make this an annual event like Mountain Jam. My thanks to Brett and Drew from WDST for hooking me up. What follows should have been last week’s column, but it’s still very relevant, so keep reading!
Bluestock 2011 was just like Woodstock ‘69: It rained, it was a free concert by the second day, and the New York State Thruway was closed, man! WDST and the promoters put together an impressive line up that included Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Elvin Bishop, Tab Benoit, Shemekia Copeland, and many more, but there was one act that completely stole the show for me. In order to tell you who that act was, I would like to paraphrase former rock critic and current Bruce Springsteen manager and producer, Jon Landau, who, upon seeing The Boss perform for the first time, famously wrote, “I saw rock and roll’s future and it’s name is Bruce Springsteen”. Well, I have seen music’s past, present, and future, and it’s name is Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue! This band is simply one of the most capable, musical, virtuosic, rockin’ bands ever! Once you’ve experienced Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, it’s difficult to listen to ordinary music!
I was prepped for these guys by a friend, just minutes before they went on, but the jazz-funk-blues-R n B- Rock-Hip Hop powerhouse that confronted me from the first note completely blew me away! I was instantly hooked, and they did not let up for a second, effortlessly blending swirling complex rhythms with a rockin’ beat that kept the audience enthralled from start to finish! This was not just raw technical virtuosity, (although there was plenty of that), but technical virtuosity delivered in a New Orleans gumbo of soul stew!
Standing center stage, holding his trombone like a bazooka spraying notes over the crowd, Trombone Shorty, whose given name is Troy Andrews, is the focal point and star of the show, but his band, Orleans Avenue, is visually and musically captivating as well. The first thing you notice, after recovering from the musical assault, is the ages of Shorty and the band. They all look like they could still be in high school! In fact, the first thing I asked Troy after the show was, “What grade are you guys in?”. From a distance, they look to be 15 – 19 years old. In reality, they’re all between 23 and 26, which is still amazing for the level of musicianship they demonstrated! Every musician in Orleans Avenue is world class, with special mention going to the rhythm section of bassist Mike ‘Bass’ Ballard and drummer Joey ‘In and Out’ Peebles, who form one of the tightest, yet complex, rhythm sections anywhere! The rest of the guys, guitarist Pete ‘Crazy Pete’ Murano, percussionist Dwayne ‘Big D’ Williams, tenor sax man Tim McFatter, and baritone sax player Dan ‘Uncle Potato Chip’ Oestreicher, could step in with any band anywhere! Their young age mixed with their top flight chops and dedication to the music, combine to give these musicians the persona of miniature bluesmen! They look like kids but if you block out the faces they could be 70 year old veteran musicians, and they play like it, but with the energy of the young!
It’s so refreshing to see young people drawing their influences from so many old school styles and combining them in a seamless blend with hip hop and more modern genres to create what Trombone Shorty calls “Supafunkrock”! I think young people would also find it inspiring that Trombone Shorty doesn’t play guitar or some other instrument usually associated with rock music, but ably demonstrates that a trombone player can be the leader of a smokin’ hot musical unit that rocks! By the way, he also plays trumpet and several other instruments equally well!
In their short time on the scene, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue have made fans of, and collaborated with, the likes of Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Warren Haynes, Kid Rock, Bono, The Edge, The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, and Lamont Dozier, many of whom guest on the new album! Nuff said! Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue’s debut album, “Backatown” was Grammy nominated in 2010, and their new album, “For True” will be released next week. Jeff Beck said these guys were the best thing he’s heard all year. I’ll go one better. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are the best new band I’ve heard in a decade! More info at www.tromboneshorty.com, including how to view their upcoming live webcast from Tipitina’s in Nawlins on September 12. Do not miss it!
As mind blowing as Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue were, they were not the only new band that I was turned on to at Bluestock. A young trio from Kansas who call themselves Moreland and Arbuckle, also blew me away. The band consists of a smokin’ harp player who sings, a drummer, and a guitar player. That’s right, no bass, but as I sat listening to these guys, who are a blend of ZZ Top and Hound Dog Taylor, I heard bass notes, and I kept asking myself where the bass notes were coming from. When I moved up front to investigate, I discovered that the guitar player was playing a cigar box guitar with one bass string and three guitar strings, and was able to cover both parts with this unique instrument. These guys are great, they rocked, and you should definitely check them out.
Now for this week’s live music recommendations:
Thursday, Sept. 8 – LARA HOPE AND THE CHAMPTONES at Bull and Buddha in Poughkeepsie. This band is keeping the Rockabilly candle burning in the Hudson Valley, with “burning” being the operative word.
Friday, Sept. 9 – The JOHNNY MONSTER BAND returns to The Bearsville Theater with a great set of rockin’ blues, fresh from their opening slot for Johnny Winter at the same venue last winter. I’ve heard good things about the JMB, so check them out.
Saturday, Sept. 10 – The Ulster County debut of a new band, or more accurately, an old band with a new twist, at the High Falls Cafe. The always busy Bruce Katz has put together CKS with drummer Randy Ciarlante and Gregg Allman Band cohort, guitarist Scott Sharrard. There’s no cover charge, so you’ve got no excuse. Trust me, this will be worth the cost of the gas! And more! A splendid time is guaranteed for all!
Sunday, Sept. 11 – STONE TEMPLE PILOTS rock the Palace Theater in Albany. Not a huge fan, though I know they’ve got them, but I dug Velvet Revolver, and was very impressed with singer Scott Weiland in that band, enough to consider rechecking into STP.
Monday, Sept. 12 – The latest installation of Monday Night Live at The Bearsville Theater with THE MOSES PATROU BAND. I haven’t heard these guys, but their guitar player is the aforementioned Scott Sharrard from the Greg Allman Band, so they’ve got to be good, and this series deserves your support. It was put together by Gary McKeever of WVKR’s Hudson Valley Rag Shop and this is the 9th one they’ve done, featuring talented local bands. The shows are recorded and broadcast on 91.3 FM the next night. BUT…
This is also the night of TROMBONE SHORTY’S LIVE WEBCAST. Tough call. Maybe you watch Shorty then go to Bearsville, or bring your laptop and pick up Shorty on wi-fi. Or maybe you just stay home with Shorty, listen to the VKR broadcast on Tuesday, and support Gary next Monday, but the bottom line? You do support Gary. This is an ongoing series. Support it!
If you’re downstate, the vastly underrated band, Blondie, is pulling into The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan for a 2 night stand, Monday and Tuesday. Blondie is a great rock band, and anyone who thinks they’re some kind of pop group is ill informed. Highly recommended!
Tuesday, Sept. 13 – Again, for our downstate readers, STEELY DAN begins a 6 night run at The Beacon Theater, 4 nights this week, and 2 at the end of the month.
Wow! Whatta week!
The storm caused me to miss my deadline last week, as there was no way to send the column in, but what a week in music we had! While Irene was howling through The Catskills, Bob Weir, Bela Fleck, Steve Earle, Elton John, Garland Jeffreys, comedian Chris Tucker, Raul Malo of The Mavericks, The Yardbirds, and our own Levon Helm also wailed through the Hudson Valley and nearby points! Incredible, huh? I repeat, what a week!
WDST was kind enough to have me up to the Bluestock Festival at Hunter Mountain for two nights before Irene hit, and last week’s column was mainly about the festival. I am going to run it this week instead, because Bluestock was an important event, and so many of the artists who appeared rocked my world. The promoters made an impressive start and I hope they will make this an annual event like Mountain Jam. My thanks to Brett and Drew from WDST for hooking me up. What follows should have been last week’s column, but it’s still very relevant, so keep reading!
Bluestock 2011 was just like Woodstock ‘69: It rained, it was a free concert by the second day, and the New York State Thruway was closed, man! WDST and the promoters put together an impressive line up that included Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Elvin Bishop, Tab Benoit, Shemekia Copeland, and many more, but there was one act that completely stole the show for me. In order to tell you who that act was, I would like to paraphrase former rock critic and current Bruce Springsteen manager and producer, Jon Landau, who, upon seeing The Boss perform for the first time, famously wrote, “I saw rock and roll’s future and it’s name is Bruce Springsteen”. Well, I have seen music’s past, present, and future, and it’s name is Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue! This band is simply one of the most capable, musical, virtuosic, rockin’ bands ever! Once you’ve experienced Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, it’s difficult to listen to ordinary music!
I was prepped for these guys by a friend, just minutes before they went on, but the jazz-funk-blues-R n B- Rock-Hip Hop powerhouse that confronted me from the first note completely blew me away! I was instantly hooked, and they did not let up for a second, effortlessly blending swirling complex rhythms with a rockin’ beat that kept the audience enthralled from start to finish! This was not just raw technical virtuosity, (although there was plenty of that), but technical virtuosity delivered in a New Orleans gumbo of soul stew!
Standing center stage, holding his trombone like a bazooka spraying notes over the crowd, Trombone Shorty, whose given name is Troy Andrews, is the focal point and star of the show, but his band, Orleans Avenue, is visually and musically captivating as well. The first thing you notice, after recovering from the musical assault, is the ages of Shorty and the band. They all look like they could still be in high school! In fact, the first thing I asked Troy after the show was, “What grade are you guys in?”. From a distance, they look to be 15 – 19 years old. In reality, they’re all between 23 and 26, which is still amazing for the level of musicianship they demonstrated! Every musician in Orleans Avenue is world class, with special mention going to the rhythm section of bassist Mike ‘Bass’ Ballard and drummer Joey ‘In and Out’ Peebles, who form one of the tightest, yet complex, rhythm sections anywhere! The rest of the guys, guitarist Pete ‘Crazy Pete’ Murano, percussionist Dwayne ‘Big D’ Williams, tenor sax man Tim McFatter, and baritone sax player Dan ‘Uncle Potato Chip’ Oestreicher, could step in with any band anywhere! Their young age mixed with their top flight chops and dedication to the music, combine to give these musicians the persona of miniature bluesmen! They look like kids but if you block out the faces they could be 70 year old veteran musicians, and they play like it, but with the energy of the young!
It’s so refreshing to see young people drawing their influences from so many old school styles and combining them in a seamless blend with hip hop and more modern genres to create what Trombone Shorty calls “Supafunkrock”! I think young people would also find it inspiring that Trombone Shorty doesn’t play guitar or some other instrument usually associated with rock music, but ably demonstrates that a trombone player can be the leader of a smokin’ hot musical unit that rocks! By the way, he also plays trumpet and several other instruments equally well!
In their short time on the scene, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue have made fans of, and collaborated with, the likes of Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Warren Haynes, Kid Rock, Bono, The Edge, The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, and Lamont Dozier, many of whom guest on the new album! Nuff said! Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue’s debut album, “Backatown” was Grammy nominated in 2010, and their new album, “For True” will be released next week. Jeff Beck said these guys were the best thing he’s heard all year. I’ll go one better. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are the best new band I’ve heard in a decade! More info at www.tromboneshorty.com, including how to view their upcoming live webcast from Tipitina’s in Nawlins on September 12. Do not miss it!
As mind blowing as Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue were, they were not the only new band that I was turned on to at Bluestock. A young trio from Kansas who call themselves Moreland and Arbuckle, also blew me away. The band consists of a smokin’ harp player who sings, a drummer, and a guitar player. That’s right, no bass, but as I sat listening to these guys, who are a blend of ZZ Top and Hound Dog Taylor, I heard bass notes, and I kept asking myself where the bass notes were coming from. When I moved up front to investigate, I discovered that the guitar player was playing a cigar box guitar with one bass string and three guitar strings, and was able to cover both parts with this unique instrument. These guys are great, they rocked, and you should definitely check them out.
Now for this week’s live music recommendations:
Thursday, Sept. 8 – LARA HOPE AND THE CHAMPTONES at Bull and Buddha in Poughkeepsie. This band is keeping the Rockabilly candle burning in the Hudson Valley, with “burning” being the operative word.
Friday, Sept. 9 – The JOHNNY MONSTER BAND returns to The Bearsville Theater with a great set of rockin’ blues, fresh from their opening slot for Johnny Winter at the same venue last winter. I’ve heard good things about the JMB, so check them out.
Saturday, Sept. 10 – The Ulster County debut of a new band, or more accurately, an old band with a new twist, at the High Falls Cafe. The always busy Bruce Katz has put together CKS with drummer Randy Ciarlante and Gregg Allman Band cohort, guitarist Scott Sharrard. There’s no cover charge, so you’ve got no excuse. Trust me, this will be worth the cost of the gas! And more! A splendid time is guaranteed for all!
Sunday, Sept. 11 – STONE TEMPLE PILOTS rock the Palace Theater in Albany. Not a huge fan, though I know they’ve got them, but I dug Velvet Revolver, and was very impressed with singer Scott Weiland in that band, enough to consider rechecking into STP.
Monday, Sept. 12 – The latest installation of Monday Night Live at The Bearsville Theater with THE MOSES PATROU BAND. I haven’t heard these guys, but their guitar player is the aforementioned Scott Sharrard from the Greg Allman Band, so they’ve got to be good, and this series deserves your support. It was put together by Gary McKeever of WVKR’s Hudson Valley Rag Shop and this is the 9th one they’ve done, featuring talented local bands. The shows are recorded and broadcast on 91.3 FM the next night. BUT…
This is also the night of TROMBONE SHORTY’S LIVE WEBCAST. Tough call. Maybe you watch Shorty then go to Bearsville, or bring your laptop and pick up Shorty on wi-fi. Or maybe you just stay home with Shorty, listen to the VKR broadcast on Tuesday, and support Gary next Monday, but the bottom line? You do support Gary. This is an ongoing series. Support it!
If you’re downstate, the vastly underrated band, Blondie, is pulling into The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan for a 2 night stand, Monday and Tuesday. Blondie is a great rock band, and anyone who thinks they’re some kind of pop group is ill informed. Highly recommended!
Tuesday, Sept. 13 – Again, for our downstate readers, STEELY DAN begins a 6 night run at The Beacon Theater, 4 nights this week, and 2 at the end of the month.
Wow! Whatta week!
- Published on
Greetings! Did you ever think about the roots of creativity and where it comes from? Specifically, did you ever think about the roots of Bob Dylan’s creativity, and where THAT comes from? I find myself thinking about this quite often, in fact, whenever I listen to Dylan’s music, this thought seems to pop into my head, and the thought is, “Where does he get this stuff?”. I mean, who comes up with lines like, “The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course/ The city fathers they're trying to endorse/ The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse/ But the town has no need to be nervous.
The ghost of Belle Star she hands down her wits/ To Jezebel the nun she violently knits/ A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits/ At the head of the chamber of commerce.” *
Now, it’s not just the imagery, which no one else alive could have come up with, but look at the rhyming pattern. It’s AAAC/ BBBC, which is really pretty unusual. Here’s some more.
“The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone/ Causes Galileo's math book to get thrown/ At Delilah who's sitting worthlessly alone/ But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter.”
“Where Ma Raney and Beethoven once unwrapped a bed roll/ Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole/ And the National Bank at a profit sells road maps for the soul/ To the old folks home and the college.” *
These are some of my favorite Dylan lyrics, but there are countless examples of this kind of thing in his work. In this one song that I’ve quoted, “Tombstone Blues”, Bob rhymes “sick in” with “chicken” and “boys in” with “poison”. Not exactly June/ moon/ spoon stuff.
Now, I’ve written quite a few songs myself, and they’ve been very well received by the people who’ve heard them, but I could never come up with anything remotely resembling the kind of writing Bob Dylan did in his early–mid years, and I don’t think anyone else could either, although a few have tried, most notably Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. Neither they, nor anyone else, have come anywhere close to The Master. There’s just no frame of reference for this stuff, or, at least there wasn’t before Bob Dylan. And let’s also not forget that Bob writes alone, unlike other great songwriters of our age, like Lennon-McCartney or Jagger-Richard, and NO ONE, does this kind of word association like Bob. He invented it!
I think Bob, himself, summed it up best (as usual), when one of the Stones asked Bob who was the better songwriter. Bob’s reply was, “Well, I could have written “Satisfaction”, but you never could have written “Mister Tambourine Man”. Nuff said. Bob Dylan, Poet Laureate of the 20th Century (and probably beyond). Next time you’re someplace and one of Bob’s songs from this period comes on, stop and listen, really listen, to the lyrics and what they mean, and ask yourself, “Where does this come from, and what does it mean?” It’s mind boggling!
Recommended shows for this week are:
Tonight, Thursday, August 25th, we kick off the weekend with THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR, featuring TONY LEVIN, ADRIAN BELEW, and PAT MASTELOTTO. This show is prog-rock paradise. Separately and together, these guys have played and recorded with the likes of John Lennon, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Mr Mister, XTC, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, NIN, David Sylvian, Laurie Anderson and of course, King Crimson.
Friday, August 26 is the start of the three day BLUESTOCK FESTIVAL at Hunter Mountain. Headliners are BUDDY GUY, ROBERT CRAY, and ELVIN BISHOP, plus about twenty more great acts, including our own Bruce Katz and Alexis P. Suter. Also of note, Shemika Copeland and “Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin, who played with Muddy Waters for years. Should be a good one, and I’m gonna try to get there for at least one day. More info at www.bluestock.com.
If you’re not heading up to Hunter, there’s an interesting show at the Falcon Friday night. It’s BERNARD ‘PRETTY’ PURDIE, who drummed on thousands of hit records over a 40 year period, including, it’s rumored, a few Beatles sessions. Purdie was one of the busiest drummers on the East Coast back in the day. Catch him while you can!
Saturday, August 27, we’ve got two great shows to pick from. BADFINGER rolls in to The Bearsville Theater, and ROBBIE FULKS returns to Marbletown Multi-Arts in Stone Ridge. Robbie is one of America's most multi-faceted and imaginative songwriters and singers. His unique combination of the smartest parts of country, rock and folk is even more apparent in a live setting. Fulks' music is intelligent, funny, dark, beautiful and honest. It lives at the intersection of George Jones, Elvis Costello and Shel Silverstein. And Badfinger, I’m sure, need no introduction, owing to their string of hit records like “No Matter What”. And let’s not forget that in their former incarnation as The Ivies, they were the first band signed to The Beatles’ Apple label.
If you’re not plumb tuckered out by Monday, head on over to The Bearsville Theater for a taste of the bayou with local favorites, VOODELIC. Last year, they were on the short list of local acts to appear at Mountain Jam, and even though I voted for them, they didn’t win, but this year, they were at Mountain Jam. This venue is a touch more intimate!
If you work in the city, or just happen to be there on Tuesday and/or Wednesday, CROSBY, STILLS, and NASH will be at The Beacon Theater for two shows, sans Young. Still very worth checking out, especially if you’re in the neighborhood anyway.
Have a great week!
* All quoted lyrics from “Tombstone Blues” by Bob Dylan. Used by permission.
The ghost of Belle Star she hands down her wits/ To Jezebel the nun she violently knits/ A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits/ At the head of the chamber of commerce.” *
Now, it’s not just the imagery, which no one else alive could have come up with, but look at the rhyming pattern. It’s AAAC/ BBBC, which is really pretty unusual. Here’s some more.
“The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone/ Causes Galileo's math book to get thrown/ At Delilah who's sitting worthlessly alone/ But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter.”
“Where Ma Raney and Beethoven once unwrapped a bed roll/ Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole/ And the National Bank at a profit sells road maps for the soul/ To the old folks home and the college.” *
These are some of my favorite Dylan lyrics, but there are countless examples of this kind of thing in his work. In this one song that I’ve quoted, “Tombstone Blues”, Bob rhymes “sick in” with “chicken” and “boys in” with “poison”. Not exactly June/ moon/ spoon stuff.
Now, I’ve written quite a few songs myself, and they’ve been very well received by the people who’ve heard them, but I could never come up with anything remotely resembling the kind of writing Bob Dylan did in his early–mid years, and I don’t think anyone else could either, although a few have tried, most notably Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. Neither they, nor anyone else, have come anywhere close to The Master. There’s just no frame of reference for this stuff, or, at least there wasn’t before Bob Dylan. And let’s also not forget that Bob writes alone, unlike other great songwriters of our age, like Lennon-McCartney or Jagger-Richard, and NO ONE, does this kind of word association like Bob. He invented it!
I think Bob, himself, summed it up best (as usual), when one of the Stones asked Bob who was the better songwriter. Bob’s reply was, “Well, I could have written “Satisfaction”, but you never could have written “Mister Tambourine Man”. Nuff said. Bob Dylan, Poet Laureate of the 20th Century (and probably beyond). Next time you’re someplace and one of Bob’s songs from this period comes on, stop and listen, really listen, to the lyrics and what they mean, and ask yourself, “Where does this come from, and what does it mean?” It’s mind boggling!
Recommended shows for this week are:
Tonight, Thursday, August 25th, we kick off the weekend with THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR, featuring TONY LEVIN, ADRIAN BELEW, and PAT MASTELOTTO. This show is prog-rock paradise. Separately and together, these guys have played and recorded with the likes of John Lennon, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Mr Mister, XTC, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, NIN, David Sylvian, Laurie Anderson and of course, King Crimson.
Friday, August 26 is the start of the three day BLUESTOCK FESTIVAL at Hunter Mountain. Headliners are BUDDY GUY, ROBERT CRAY, and ELVIN BISHOP, plus about twenty more great acts, including our own Bruce Katz and Alexis P. Suter. Also of note, Shemika Copeland and “Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin, who played with Muddy Waters for years. Should be a good one, and I’m gonna try to get there for at least one day. More info at www.bluestock.com.
If you’re not heading up to Hunter, there’s an interesting show at the Falcon Friday night. It’s BERNARD ‘PRETTY’ PURDIE, who drummed on thousands of hit records over a 40 year period, including, it’s rumored, a few Beatles sessions. Purdie was one of the busiest drummers on the East Coast back in the day. Catch him while you can!
Saturday, August 27, we’ve got two great shows to pick from. BADFINGER rolls in to The Bearsville Theater, and ROBBIE FULKS returns to Marbletown Multi-Arts in Stone Ridge. Robbie is one of America's most multi-faceted and imaginative songwriters and singers. His unique combination of the smartest parts of country, rock and folk is even more apparent in a live setting. Fulks' music is intelligent, funny, dark, beautiful and honest. It lives at the intersection of George Jones, Elvis Costello and Shel Silverstein. And Badfinger, I’m sure, need no introduction, owing to their string of hit records like “No Matter What”. And let’s not forget that in their former incarnation as The Ivies, they were the first band signed to The Beatles’ Apple label.
If you’re not plumb tuckered out by Monday, head on over to The Bearsville Theater for a taste of the bayou with local favorites, VOODELIC. Last year, they were on the short list of local acts to appear at Mountain Jam, and even though I voted for them, they didn’t win, but this year, they were at Mountain Jam. This venue is a touch more intimate!
If you work in the city, or just happen to be there on Tuesday and/or Wednesday, CROSBY, STILLS, and NASH will be at The Beacon Theater for two shows, sans Young. Still very worth checking out, especially if you’re in the neighborhood anyway.
Have a great week!
* All quoted lyrics from “Tombstone Blues” by Bob Dylan. Used by permission.
- Published on
Greetings! Last weekend, The Belleayre Music Festival was kind enough to comp us two tickets for the Jimmy Cobb So What Band. I couldn’t attend myself, so I asked my friend, Christian Benningnus, to cover the event for you, the Townsman readers. Christian was kind enough to write this review for us.
50th for Kind of Blue, an Evening of Brass and Silver
The day's rain and heat subsided, replaced by a cool country dark which would set the evening's tone. Coursing along rain-washed asphalt past black mountain silhouettes, I was accompanied by my beloved and by Bowie's David Live, en route to The Belleayre Music Festival. The night's billing featured drummer Jimmy Cobb's So What Band, a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis's quintessential Jazz album Kind of Blue, and to Cobb's role as sole-surviving member of that legendary line-up. Cobb has played and recorded with Jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and Wes Montgomery, and his sensitivity to ensemble playing remains at the fore in the So What Band.
Throughout the set, the band's dynamics drifted subtly in and out of tricky syncopation, delicate passages and the occasional hard groove, always faithful to understated line and grace. Along with Cobb, bassist Buster Williams and pianist Larry Willis represented the old guard, reminding the Jazz fan that properly observed tradition always breathes life. While these three essential Jazz musicians provided support for the horn section, their interplay was a session in the joyful science that is Jazz. Willis's chordal ideas were inventive but Williams' playing was especially strong, his laid-back approach belying authority and gut. The horn section included Vincent Herring (alto saxophone), Javon Jackson (tenor saxophone), and Christian Scott (trumpet). Scott's ability to capture Miles Davis's nuanced voice was well-suited to the aim of The So What Band, but Jackson's phrasing and attack were particularly notable. His soloing incorporated surprising hooks and burn.
Kudos must also be expressed for Belleayre Music Festival. The natural beauty and lush greenery of the surrounding Catskills provide an exceptional setting for good music. The facility and grounds are both intimate and well-maintained, allowing for enjoyment of the concert without distraction.
And Kudos to Christian for this excellent review. It almost makes me feel like I was there!
After a whirlwind of activity and shows last week, this week, we only have two events that I’m recommending, but they’re both doozies! Saturday night at The Bearsville Theater, there will be a reunion of the great LEFT BANKE of “Walk Away Renee” reknown. I went to high school with these guys, and I’m really looking forward to this one.
Then on Monday and Tuesday, the amazing ALBERT LEE stops in at The Iridium in Manhattan. Monday night it’s a tribute to Les Paul, with Mister Lee performing with Les’ trio. Tuesday night, I imagine it’s ‘just’ a regular Albert Lee show. To see what this guy can do, pick up “Sweet Little Lisa” by Dave Edmunds. Albert is the featured guitarist on this cut, and my Facebook friends already know that I regard this as one of the two greatest recorded guitar solos of all time, the other being, “The Way I Walk” by Robert Gordon, featuring the immortal Link Wray.
Enjoy your week, and don’t forget to visit the new Reservoir Music website at www.reservoirmusiccenter.com. See ya!
50th for Kind of Blue, an Evening of Brass and Silver
The day's rain and heat subsided, replaced by a cool country dark which would set the evening's tone. Coursing along rain-washed asphalt past black mountain silhouettes, I was accompanied by my beloved and by Bowie's David Live, en route to The Belleayre Music Festival. The night's billing featured drummer Jimmy Cobb's So What Band, a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis's quintessential Jazz album Kind of Blue, and to Cobb's role as sole-surviving member of that legendary line-up. Cobb has played and recorded with Jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and Wes Montgomery, and his sensitivity to ensemble playing remains at the fore in the So What Band.
Throughout the set, the band's dynamics drifted subtly in and out of tricky syncopation, delicate passages and the occasional hard groove, always faithful to understated line and grace. Along with Cobb, bassist Buster Williams and pianist Larry Willis represented the old guard, reminding the Jazz fan that properly observed tradition always breathes life. While these three essential Jazz musicians provided support for the horn section, their interplay was a session in the joyful science that is Jazz. Willis's chordal ideas were inventive but Williams' playing was especially strong, his laid-back approach belying authority and gut. The horn section included Vincent Herring (alto saxophone), Javon Jackson (tenor saxophone), and Christian Scott (trumpet). Scott's ability to capture Miles Davis's nuanced voice was well-suited to the aim of The So What Band, but Jackson's phrasing and attack were particularly notable. His soloing incorporated surprising hooks and burn.
Kudos must also be expressed for Belleayre Music Festival. The natural beauty and lush greenery of the surrounding Catskills provide an exceptional setting for good music. The facility and grounds are both intimate and well-maintained, allowing for enjoyment of the concert without distraction.
And Kudos to Christian for this excellent review. It almost makes me feel like I was there!
After a whirlwind of activity and shows last week, this week, we only have two events that I’m recommending, but they’re both doozies! Saturday night at The Bearsville Theater, there will be a reunion of the great LEFT BANKE of “Walk Away Renee” reknown. I went to high school with these guys, and I’m really looking forward to this one.
Then on Monday and Tuesday, the amazing ALBERT LEE stops in at The Iridium in Manhattan. Monday night it’s a tribute to Les Paul, with Mister Lee performing with Les’ trio. Tuesday night, I imagine it’s ‘just’ a regular Albert Lee show. To see what this guy can do, pick up “Sweet Little Lisa” by Dave Edmunds. Albert is the featured guitarist on this cut, and my Facebook friends already know that I regard this as one of the two greatest recorded guitar solos of all time, the other being, “The Way I Walk” by Robert Gordon, featuring the immortal Link Wray.
Enjoy your week, and don’t forget to visit the new Reservoir Music website at www.reservoirmusiccenter.com. See ya!
- Published on
Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s Reservoir Music Notes. I hate to say it, but Summer’s almost over and the days are already getting shorter; a sobering thought! But, it’s still hot, and I’m still wearing shorts and a T shirt, so I guess Winter’s not quite here yet! Which means it’s still pretty hospitable for hitting the streets and supporting live music. There’s some really cool shows this week, but we’ll get to that later.
You may have heard by now that Mick Jagger’s got a new band! They’re called Super Heavy, and it’s a super group of sorts. The other members are Joss Stone, Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, Damian Marley (Bob’s son), and A.R. Rahman, a well known film scorer. Now, to me, this sounds like a band that might create some interesting music, but I was surprised to find that online comments about the band were almost 100% negative! And that’s before anybody even heard any of their music!
I don’t understand that kind of pre-conceived negativity. If you hate their music, fine, but at least hear it first before forming an opinion. Only time will tell, I suppose, but I heard their first single a couple of times, and while it wasn’t that memorable, it also was pretty good and definitely bears further listening. The album is coming out in September, the single is online now, and a tour is possible.
Tonight, Thursday, August 11, newly local resident, STEVE EARLE, brings his Dukes and Duchesses show to the Tarrytown Music Hall. The Dukes and Duchesses features Steve’s wife, singer Allison Moorer, who’s a major talent in her own right, with a successful solo career. The Earles are the first family of Americana. Steve is an innovator of the first order who seems to be at home in almost any genre, from rock n roll to country to bluegrass to even hip hop. He’s also a first rate songwriter, picker and performer. His show at The Bearsville Theater a couple of years ago was one of the best I saw all that year, so this is obviously highly recommended.
Friday night, August 12, is a pretty major night for music. If you’re downstate, JOHN HYATT begins a two night engagement at the City Winery in Manhattan. Now Hyatt is one of our best songwriters and also a rocker of the highest caliber. I’m a latecomer to his talents and have never seen him play live, so this is a must see of the highest order. Also on Friday night, BOB DYLAN brings his band into Bethel Woods Center for the Arts with LEON RUSSELL opening. That’s a double bill that’s tough to beat!
Saturday night, August 13 sees the great guitarist ERIC JOHNSON pull into THE CHANCE in Poughkeepsie. Johnson is top shelf all the way! His fretwork is unclassifiable and crosses all genre lines. Eric Johnson is one of the greats, and you will not be disappointed if you dig masterful, innovative, inventive, and creative guitar playing. This is a show that you do not want to miss!
Wrapping up the week is a very special show. STEVE STEVENS will be playing Les Paul Night with Les’ band at The Iridium in Manhattan. Steve is best known as Billy Idol’s guitar player during Billy’s glory days. I was always impressed with Steve’s playing, and not just because he lived in my friend’s building in Manhattan where we would pass him in the halls at 3 AM, usually in the company of a couple of beautiful women! No, it was all about the guitar playing with Steve. He had the right tone and he played the right licks. He elevated Billy’s music. After he and Billy parted ways temporarily, Steve joined up with Hanoi Rocks vocalist, Michael Monroe to release some music under the name, Jerusalem Slim, and later on released a couple of albums with drummer extraordinaire, Terry Bozzio and Woodstock’s own Tony Levin. The man has quite an impressive track record!
The Steve Stevens show would be my Pick of the Week, but this week’s live music line up is of such a high level with no clunkers anywhere, that I really have to make every show a Pick of the Week this week. You just can’t go wrong with anything this week, so have a great one, and I’ll see you here next week.
You may have heard by now that Mick Jagger’s got a new band! They’re called Super Heavy, and it’s a super group of sorts. The other members are Joss Stone, Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, Damian Marley (Bob’s son), and A.R. Rahman, a well known film scorer. Now, to me, this sounds like a band that might create some interesting music, but I was surprised to find that online comments about the band were almost 100% negative! And that’s before anybody even heard any of their music!
I don’t understand that kind of pre-conceived negativity. If you hate their music, fine, but at least hear it first before forming an opinion. Only time will tell, I suppose, but I heard their first single a couple of times, and while it wasn’t that memorable, it also was pretty good and definitely bears further listening. The album is coming out in September, the single is online now, and a tour is possible.
Tonight, Thursday, August 11, newly local resident, STEVE EARLE, brings his Dukes and Duchesses show to the Tarrytown Music Hall. The Dukes and Duchesses features Steve’s wife, singer Allison Moorer, who’s a major talent in her own right, with a successful solo career. The Earles are the first family of Americana. Steve is an innovator of the first order who seems to be at home in almost any genre, from rock n roll to country to bluegrass to even hip hop. He’s also a first rate songwriter, picker and performer. His show at The Bearsville Theater a couple of years ago was one of the best I saw all that year, so this is obviously highly recommended.
Friday night, August 12, is a pretty major night for music. If you’re downstate, JOHN HYATT begins a two night engagement at the City Winery in Manhattan. Now Hyatt is one of our best songwriters and also a rocker of the highest caliber. I’m a latecomer to his talents and have never seen him play live, so this is a must see of the highest order. Also on Friday night, BOB DYLAN brings his band into Bethel Woods Center for the Arts with LEON RUSSELL opening. That’s a double bill that’s tough to beat!
Saturday night, August 13 sees the great guitarist ERIC JOHNSON pull into THE CHANCE in Poughkeepsie. Johnson is top shelf all the way! His fretwork is unclassifiable and crosses all genre lines. Eric Johnson is one of the greats, and you will not be disappointed if you dig masterful, innovative, inventive, and creative guitar playing. This is a show that you do not want to miss!
Wrapping up the week is a very special show. STEVE STEVENS will be playing Les Paul Night with Les’ band at The Iridium in Manhattan. Steve is best known as Billy Idol’s guitar player during Billy’s glory days. I was always impressed with Steve’s playing, and not just because he lived in my friend’s building in Manhattan where we would pass him in the halls at 3 AM, usually in the company of a couple of beautiful women! No, it was all about the guitar playing with Steve. He had the right tone and he played the right licks. He elevated Billy’s music. After he and Billy parted ways temporarily, Steve joined up with Hanoi Rocks vocalist, Michael Monroe to release some music under the name, Jerusalem Slim, and later on released a couple of albums with drummer extraordinaire, Terry Bozzio and Woodstock’s own Tony Levin. The man has quite an impressive track record!
The Steve Stevens show would be my Pick of the Week, but this week’s live music line up is of such a high level with no clunkers anywhere, that I really have to make every show a Pick of the Week this week. You just can’t go wrong with anything this week, so have a great one, and I’ll see you here next week.
- Published on
Hi again! I’ve been spending all my time this week on Spotify, Grooveshark, Pandora, and Last.fm, wading into the waters of internet music. All the sites I mentioned are streaming audio sites where you can create your own playlists for free, and if you want to access your music offline, or on your phone or mp3 player, you can upgrade to a premium account for a modest fee. It’s really cool and I’ve spent all week creating playlists of my favorite music. In fact, I’m listening to my Grooveshark playlist as I write. They have almost everything you’d want, and even perform one of the long lost functions of radio, that of turning the user on to new music or rare tracks by their favorite artists. My biggest complaint is that none of them seem to have The Beatles, but I suppose that’s to be expected, since Itunes only got them a short while ago. I highly recommend checking out some of these sites, especially if you haven’t bought a CD in years and your mom sold your record collection. You’ll feel like a kid again.
There’s a new music venue in Kingston that y’all should make an effort to support. It’s called The Roundout Music Lounge, and it’s located, not surprisingly, down by the Roundout, at 21 Broadway. It’s a nice, cozy, comfortable, small venue, with a full bar and a good food menu. The neighborhood’s great, and everybody seems to be playing there already. So please check it out. We need all the live music spots to stay open.
Also, over at Harmony, in Woodstock, owner Sha Wu has expanded the music room to include the whole restaurant, and they’ve opened up the snack bar that’s attached. What’s ensued is almost an entirely new room, and one that serves food pretty late, for all of you who forgot to eat dinner. The best part though, is that with the larger room, Harmony could actually fulfill it’s potential as a great live music room that could bring some national acts to Woodstock. We can only hope.
It seems like most of the cool live music this week is concentrated on the weekend, so let’s get to it.
Friday night, August 5th, is the grand opening of the aforementioned Roundout Music Lounge. They had their ‘soft’ opening a few weeks ago, but I guess Friday’s gonna make it official, so head on down, if you’re so inclined. Should be a fun party.
Also on Friday night, is this week’s Pick of the Week. THE DUKE AND THE KING are playing at the Byrdcliffe Barn, which looks like a really cool place to see a band. The Duke and The King is composed, mainly, of Simone Felice (formerly of the band, The Felice Brothers, still currently an actual Felice brother) and Robert Bird Burke, with a rotating cast of other characters. Now, The Felice Brothers never moved me. I know they’re well loved, just not by me. But The Duke and The King, what I’ve heard, has been damn good. Their promo pics are intriguing, and they describe themselves as “a soul-folk-glam ensemble from the sticks of New York”. So, that’s something I wanna go to, and you should too.
For jazz fans, this week is pretty much as close to Valhalla as you can get. The Belleayre Music Festival hosts RAVI COLTRANE on Friday night and THE MUSIC OF MILES DAVIS featuring JIMMY COBB’S SO WHAT BAND ON Saturday night. A weekend of jazz royalty with Coltrane and Miles! Ravi Coltrane is John and Alice Coltrane’s son, and has established himself in the front ranks of jazz sax players. Drummer Jimmy Cobb is the last surviving member of Miles’ “Kind of Blue” combo. This year is the 50th anniversary of the release of Miles’ groundbreaking album, and Jimmy and his boys have been takin’ it to the people! So it’s jazz heaven this weekend at Belleayre.
My old friend MICHAEL POWERS is at Club Helsinki on Saturday, so I’m gonna head on up to say hello. I haven’t seen Michael in a few years, so it should be a nice reunion. Michael’s a first class blues guitarist who rocks. If you see me there, say hello.
Finally, Ole’ Levon’s in town this week, so THE RAMBLE is on! This week’s guests are Jimmy Vivino and John Sebastian, so it should be pretty special. Still a few tickets left as I write this, so pony up your dough and go!
See y’all next week!
There’s a new music venue in Kingston that y’all should make an effort to support. It’s called The Roundout Music Lounge, and it’s located, not surprisingly, down by the Roundout, at 21 Broadway. It’s a nice, cozy, comfortable, small venue, with a full bar and a good food menu. The neighborhood’s great, and everybody seems to be playing there already. So please check it out. We need all the live music spots to stay open.
Also, over at Harmony, in Woodstock, owner Sha Wu has expanded the music room to include the whole restaurant, and they’ve opened up the snack bar that’s attached. What’s ensued is almost an entirely new room, and one that serves food pretty late, for all of you who forgot to eat dinner. The best part though, is that with the larger room, Harmony could actually fulfill it’s potential as a great live music room that could bring some national acts to Woodstock. We can only hope.
It seems like most of the cool live music this week is concentrated on the weekend, so let’s get to it.
Friday night, August 5th, is the grand opening of the aforementioned Roundout Music Lounge. They had their ‘soft’ opening a few weeks ago, but I guess Friday’s gonna make it official, so head on down, if you’re so inclined. Should be a fun party.
Also on Friday night, is this week’s Pick of the Week. THE DUKE AND THE KING are playing at the Byrdcliffe Barn, which looks like a really cool place to see a band. The Duke and The King is composed, mainly, of Simone Felice (formerly of the band, The Felice Brothers, still currently an actual Felice brother) and Robert Bird Burke, with a rotating cast of other characters. Now, The Felice Brothers never moved me. I know they’re well loved, just not by me. But The Duke and The King, what I’ve heard, has been damn good. Their promo pics are intriguing, and they describe themselves as “a soul-folk-glam ensemble from the sticks of New York”. So, that’s something I wanna go to, and you should too.
For jazz fans, this week is pretty much as close to Valhalla as you can get. The Belleayre Music Festival hosts RAVI COLTRANE on Friday night and THE MUSIC OF MILES DAVIS featuring JIMMY COBB’S SO WHAT BAND ON Saturday night. A weekend of jazz royalty with Coltrane and Miles! Ravi Coltrane is John and Alice Coltrane’s son, and has established himself in the front ranks of jazz sax players. Drummer Jimmy Cobb is the last surviving member of Miles’ “Kind of Blue” combo. This year is the 50th anniversary of the release of Miles’ groundbreaking album, and Jimmy and his boys have been takin’ it to the people! So it’s jazz heaven this weekend at Belleayre.
My old friend MICHAEL POWERS is at Club Helsinki on Saturday, so I’m gonna head on up to say hello. I haven’t seen Michael in a few years, so it should be a nice reunion. Michael’s a first class blues guitarist who rocks. If you see me there, say hello.
Finally, Ole’ Levon’s in town this week, so THE RAMBLE is on! This week’s guests are Jimmy Vivino and John Sebastian, so it should be pretty special. Still a few tickets left as I write this, so pony up your dough and go!
See y’all next week!
- Published on
Wow! As I sit here writing this column, I’m watching Paul McCartney at Citi Field in Queens performing “I’m Down”, seamlessly interspersed with footage and vocals from The Beatles renowned performance of the same song at Shea Stadium in 1965, and I gotta say, it’s pretty great! He is an amazingly talented guy! He’s part of possibly the greatest songwriting partnership ever, one of the best and most unique and melodic bass players on the planet, fantastic singer, also plays every other instrument there is, and is one of the most exacting performers I’ve ever seen. Every note is perfect! He’s probably the richest man in the music business, and deservedly so. It’s funny, because I’m not that big a fan of his solo stuff, with, of course, many exceptions. He has recorded many albums worth of excellent, fabulous, great, rockin’ material since the breakup of The Beatles, but only a few songs really grabbed me in a big way. I even walked out of a Wings show at Madison Square Garden once, but you just can’t deny the man’s talent and presence! To sum it up, the second most popular rock n roll band of all time, The Rolling Stones, are rock n roll royalty, but, and people forget this, The Beatles were GODS! Sir Paul ended his show with Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (the song) into The End from Abbey Road. Truly inspiring!
Well, on a sad note, we lost Amy Winehouse this week. By now you’ve all heard about it, so I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know, but I could not let an artist of her stature move on from this world without some sort of tribute. Now, I know some of you think that she was nothing but a drug addict, and she was asking for it and she got what she deserved, and she deserves no sympathy, and it’s the same old boring story of drug addiction ruining a talented persons life, BUT, I have to say that Amy was a lot more than that! She had a unique voice, knew how to deliver a song, and was a major talent! She had it all! She was the complete package! Unfortunately, the package also included uncontrollable use of some pretty dangerous drugs! But that does not take away from her talents! Tony Bennett said that Amy was “an artist of immense proportions… an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist… an exceptional talent.” Well said, Mister Bennett. R.I.P. Amy Winehouse. She will be missed.
This is gonna be a pretty darn rockin’ week, lemme tell ya! Starting tonight, Thursday, July 28, at the Bearsville Theater, with DWEEZIL ZAPPA performing his dad, Frank Zappa’s, material. Dweezil ain’t resting on his neither. The acorn… as they say. Frank’s formidable talent as a guitarist was sometimes dwarfed by his even more formidable talents as a composer and bandleader, and Dweezil can wail too! This should be an awesome show, so why not make it one of my Picks of the Week.
Also tonight at The Falcon in Marlboro, PROFESSOR LOUIE AND THE CHROMATICS. Always good, I’ve heard these folks are peaking right now, so if ya can’t afford $50 for Dweezil, make your way over to the cozy confines of The Falcon, where there’s never a cover charge.
Friday night, July 29, your choices are between MIKE AND RUTHIE at The Kleinert Center in Woodstock and THE ALEXIS P. SUTER BAND at, once again, The Falcon. Mike and Ruthie are well known as members of The Mammals and Alexis is a veteran of more than a hundred opening slots at Levon’s Rambles. They’re both great, so I suppose it depends what you’re in the mood for. Alexis is rockin’ blues with a big voice, and Mike and Ruthy are more like virtuoso but accessible acoustic folk-rock, if that makes any sense.
There is also another show on Friday that could be great, but it’s kind of quirky and you’ll have to travel for it. The show is in Norfolk, Connecticut and the musician is LES DUDEK. Les who, you might say. Well, I guarantee you’ve heard this guy play guitar. If you’ve heard The Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man” or “Jessica”, then you’ve heard Les. If you’ve heard Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle” or the “Book of Dreams” album, you’ve heard Les. And if you remember Boz Scagg’s “Lowdown” or “Lido Shuffle”, well, then you’ve heard Les Dudek. So, you see what I mean? This could be worth the drive, and I know he tours, but I don’t remember seeing a Les Dudek show advertised for about 30 years, so this is definitely a rare opportunity, so rare that it’s another Pick of the week!
You can take the night off to recuperate on Saturday, July 30, or you can go to LEVON’S RAMBLE. The guest this week is RAY WYLIE HUBBARD, who is also playing Sunday night at The Bearsville Theater. Ray is a really great and funny guy who wrote “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers”, and is part of the Jerry Jeff Walker/Billie Joe Shaver/ Guy Clark/ Gary P. Nunn school of Texas songwriting. I’ve seen him live and he’s great. Nuff said!
And finally, we end the week on a high note with LITTLE FEAT at The Bearsville Theater. Hopefully, this band needs no introduction. If they do, you’re gonna have to look ‘em up, cause I gotta get some sleep. Suffice to say, this is my third Pick of the Week.
Have a great one!
Well, on a sad note, we lost Amy Winehouse this week. By now you’ve all heard about it, so I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know, but I could not let an artist of her stature move on from this world without some sort of tribute. Now, I know some of you think that she was nothing but a drug addict, and she was asking for it and she got what she deserved, and she deserves no sympathy, and it’s the same old boring story of drug addiction ruining a talented persons life, BUT, I have to say that Amy was a lot more than that! She had a unique voice, knew how to deliver a song, and was a major talent! She had it all! She was the complete package! Unfortunately, the package also included uncontrollable use of some pretty dangerous drugs! But that does not take away from her talents! Tony Bennett said that Amy was “an artist of immense proportions… an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist… an exceptional talent.” Well said, Mister Bennett. R.I.P. Amy Winehouse. She will be missed.
This is gonna be a pretty darn rockin’ week, lemme tell ya! Starting tonight, Thursday, July 28, at the Bearsville Theater, with DWEEZIL ZAPPA performing his dad, Frank Zappa’s, material. Dweezil ain’t resting on his neither. The acorn… as they say. Frank’s formidable talent as a guitarist was sometimes dwarfed by his even more formidable talents as a composer and bandleader, and Dweezil can wail too! This should be an awesome show, so why not make it one of my Picks of the Week.
Also tonight at The Falcon in Marlboro, PROFESSOR LOUIE AND THE CHROMATICS. Always good, I’ve heard these folks are peaking right now, so if ya can’t afford $50 for Dweezil, make your way over to the cozy confines of The Falcon, where there’s never a cover charge.
Friday night, July 29, your choices are between MIKE AND RUTHIE at The Kleinert Center in Woodstock and THE ALEXIS P. SUTER BAND at, once again, The Falcon. Mike and Ruthie are well known as members of The Mammals and Alexis is a veteran of more than a hundred opening slots at Levon’s Rambles. They’re both great, so I suppose it depends what you’re in the mood for. Alexis is rockin’ blues with a big voice, and Mike and Ruthy are more like virtuoso but accessible acoustic folk-rock, if that makes any sense.
There is also another show on Friday that could be great, but it’s kind of quirky and you’ll have to travel for it. The show is in Norfolk, Connecticut and the musician is LES DUDEK. Les who, you might say. Well, I guarantee you’ve heard this guy play guitar. If you’ve heard The Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man” or “Jessica”, then you’ve heard Les. If you’ve heard Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle” or the “Book of Dreams” album, you’ve heard Les. And if you remember Boz Scagg’s “Lowdown” or “Lido Shuffle”, well, then you’ve heard Les Dudek. So, you see what I mean? This could be worth the drive, and I know he tours, but I don’t remember seeing a Les Dudek show advertised for about 30 years, so this is definitely a rare opportunity, so rare that it’s another Pick of the week!
You can take the night off to recuperate on Saturday, July 30, or you can go to LEVON’S RAMBLE. The guest this week is RAY WYLIE HUBBARD, who is also playing Sunday night at The Bearsville Theater. Ray is a really great and funny guy who wrote “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers”, and is part of the Jerry Jeff Walker/Billie Joe Shaver/ Guy Clark/ Gary P. Nunn school of Texas songwriting. I’ve seen him live and he’s great. Nuff said!
And finally, we end the week on a high note with LITTLE FEAT at The Bearsville Theater. Hopefully, this band needs no introduction. If they do, you’re gonna have to look ‘em up, cause I gotta get some sleep. Suffice to say, this is my third Pick of the Week.
Have a great one!
- Published on
Howdy folks, and welcome to this week’s Reservoir Music Notes. Last week, I was so busy planning my party at the Bearsville Theater to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Reservoir Music, that I plum forgot to write my column! Well, everything went great, and I got a lot of positive feedback on the music and the event itself. My friend, Joe Ruffini, said it was the best time he ever had at the Bearsville Theater! My thanks to all who attended, the theater staff, owner Peter Cantine, and most especially, to all the musicians who played. General consensus was, The Cheating Hearts rocked, Mystic Ritual impressed, and Pitchfork Militia were awesome as usual. Let’s do it again in 2016!
Since I’m still recovering from party planning, we’re gonna keep this week’s column short and sweet, and I’ll just get right down to this week’s picks for live music. Next week, I hope to be back to normal and I’ll attempt to expound on some arcane musical history or something, but for now, here are my Live Music Picks for the week of July 21 through July 27.
Tonight, Thursday, July 21, is the opening night of THE GATHERING OF THE VIBES in Bridgeport, CT. I’ve never been to one of these, but I’ve heard nothing but great reports. The talent line up this year is awesome, as always, and includes Woodstock’s own Levon Helm. The event goes through Sunday, so pack up the kiddies and go enjoy the sights and sounds for a few days. More info at www.gatheringofthevibes.com.
If you’re downstate tonight, LUCINDA WILLIAMS pulls into the Beacon Theater for a night of rockin’ Americana music. Lucinda’s one of the best who’s doing this type of music, a great songwriter, and always puts on a good show, so go!
CRACKER is at The Bearsville Theater on Friday, July 22. I don’t know what it is about this band that attracts me, but they seem to have a bunch of really good songs, they seem to rock, and they seem like they’d be pretty good live, so hopefully they will be. Info at www.bearsvilletheater.com.
If jazz fusion is your thing, THE MAHAVISHNU PROJECT is at The Falcon Friday night. These guys are world class musicians who play note perfect classic Mahavishnu Orchestra material. You’ll probably never get a chance to see the real Mahavishnu Orchestra again, so this may be the best chance to recapture those heady days of jazz fusion choppery.
This weekend brings about another annual ROSENDALE STREET FESTIVAL, with dozens of great bands, vendors, and food. This will be going on all day and night in the town of Rosendale on Saturday and Sunday, July 34 and 24. It’s a lot of fun for the whole family, it’s real easy to park, and the music is always great. Plus there are parades, drum circles and more. Info at www.rosendalestreetfestival.ning.com.
Saturday night, July 23, LEVON HELM is back in Woodstock with another MIDNIGHT RAMBLE featuring special guests, TAJ MAHAL and JIM LAUDERDALE, so that’s not just a special Ramble. It’s a very special Ramble. Info at www.levonhelm.com.
And we end the week with THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND returning to The Beacon Theater for one night only, Wednesday, July 27. If you missed them in March, here’s a second chance for a second chance.
Have a great week.
Since I’m still recovering from party planning, we’re gonna keep this week’s column short and sweet, and I’ll just get right down to this week’s picks for live music. Next week, I hope to be back to normal and I’ll attempt to expound on some arcane musical history or something, but for now, here are my Live Music Picks for the week of July 21 through July 27.
Tonight, Thursday, July 21, is the opening night of THE GATHERING OF THE VIBES in Bridgeport, CT. I’ve never been to one of these, but I’ve heard nothing but great reports. The talent line up this year is awesome, as always, and includes Woodstock’s own Levon Helm. The event goes through Sunday, so pack up the kiddies and go enjoy the sights and sounds for a few days. More info at www.gatheringofthevibes.com.
If you’re downstate tonight, LUCINDA WILLIAMS pulls into the Beacon Theater for a night of rockin’ Americana music. Lucinda’s one of the best who’s doing this type of music, a great songwriter, and always puts on a good show, so go!
CRACKER is at The Bearsville Theater on Friday, July 22. I don’t know what it is about this band that attracts me, but they seem to have a bunch of really good songs, they seem to rock, and they seem like they’d be pretty good live, so hopefully they will be. Info at www.bearsvilletheater.com.
If jazz fusion is your thing, THE MAHAVISHNU PROJECT is at The Falcon Friday night. These guys are world class musicians who play note perfect classic Mahavishnu Orchestra material. You’ll probably never get a chance to see the real Mahavishnu Orchestra again, so this may be the best chance to recapture those heady days of jazz fusion choppery.
This weekend brings about another annual ROSENDALE STREET FESTIVAL, with dozens of great bands, vendors, and food. This will be going on all day and night in the town of Rosendale on Saturday and Sunday, July 34 and 24. It’s a lot of fun for the whole family, it’s real easy to park, and the music is always great. Plus there are parades, drum circles and more. Info at www.rosendalestreetfestival.ning.com.
Saturday night, July 23, LEVON HELM is back in Woodstock with another MIDNIGHT RAMBLE featuring special guests, TAJ MAHAL and JIM LAUDERDALE, so that’s not just a special Ramble. It’s a very special Ramble. Info at www.levonhelm.com.
And we end the week with THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND returning to The Beacon Theater for one night only, Wednesday, July 27. If you missed them in March, here’s a second chance for a second chance.
Have a great week.
- Published on
Welcome to another week of Reservoir Music Notes in The Townsman! I hope you all had a great Fourth, but to quote Homer Simpson, “Now we have to face stupid reality again!”. After the Fourth of July festivities, this week is kind of slow, but that’s actually good because that will give everyone time to rest up for the RESERVOIR MUSIC 5TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY at The Bearsville Theater next week, on July 15th. Mark your calendars now! Steve and Dona Crawford even said they might reschedule the Friday Night Jam at their home in Olivebridge (which happens every Friday night in the summer) to come to my party! Every other Friday, besides July 15, all musicians are welcome to go to Steve and Dona’s jam at 49 Weber Lane to rock out, or whatever you do. More info about both events on Facebook.
Last week, we lost The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, to complications from a stroke. An artist of the stature of Clarence Clemons can not pass without a proper obituary in every music column, and mine is no exception.
Although best known for his roles in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and his own Red Bank Rockers, Clarence was oh so much more than that. Married 5 times, with 4 sons, Clemons left a rich legacy. He came to music following an auto accident that ruined a promising pro football career on the day before he was to try out for the Cleveland Browns. Over the years, Clarence worked with an astonishing variety of artists, from Ringo’s All-Star Band to Twisted Sister and everybody in between. His last gig was Lady Gaga’s latest record! In the interim, he got calls to play and record with Jackson Browne, Joe Cocker, Todd Rundgren, Roy Orbison, Luther Vandross, Ian Hunter, Ronnie Spector, Gary US Bonds, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After),The 4 Tops, Great White, Narada Michael Walden, Carlene Carter, Jim Carroll, and Aretha Franklin on “Freeway of Love”. And that’s only a partial list! Enough variety there for ya? Clarence was also fond of showing up unannounced at Grateful Dead shows and jamming with Jerry and the boys!
He was also in demand for movies and television shows, appearing in “New York, New York” with Robert DeNiro, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”, “Blues Brothers 2000”, and episodes of Different Strokes, Nash Bridges, The Wire, and The Simpsons.
Before “The Big Man joined the band”, he had heard about Springsteen and wanted to check him out, so one stormy night when Bruce was playing in Asbury Park, Clarence walked over to see him. As he arrived at the club and opened the door to walk in, a sudden gust of wind came along and blew the door off it’s hinges, and it flew down the street, making it look to the band, who were on stage at the time, that Clarence had ripped the door off it’s hinges and casually tossed it down the street, leaving him framed in the doorway in the dark! He then walked in and told The Boss, “I wanna play in your band”, to which Springsteen could only reply, “Uh, sure. You do anything you want”! At the funeral, Springsteen gave the eulogy, and said that “When you were in his presence, it was like being in a sovereign nation”! Little Steven marked the solemn occasion by devoting the entire Underground Garage show to The Big Man, deservedly so! RIP Clarence Clemons. May your big heart shine on.
It seems like the only things happening this week are all on Friday night, July 8th. We’ve got Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, DAVE MASON, at The Bearsville Theater, slide guitar master, SONNY LANDRETH, at Club Helsinki in Hudson, and drummer extraordinaire, TERRY BOZZIO, at The Iridium in NYC, all on the same night. Ya takes yer pick and ya names yer person (that’s poison, for those of you who can’t spell propily).
So, take it easy this week, and conserve your energy. You’ll need it on July 15th! Have a great week.
Last week, we lost The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, to complications from a stroke. An artist of the stature of Clarence Clemons can not pass without a proper obituary in every music column, and mine is no exception.
Although best known for his roles in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and his own Red Bank Rockers, Clarence was oh so much more than that. Married 5 times, with 4 sons, Clemons left a rich legacy. He came to music following an auto accident that ruined a promising pro football career on the day before he was to try out for the Cleveland Browns. Over the years, Clarence worked with an astonishing variety of artists, from Ringo’s All-Star Band to Twisted Sister and everybody in between. His last gig was Lady Gaga’s latest record! In the interim, he got calls to play and record with Jackson Browne, Joe Cocker, Todd Rundgren, Roy Orbison, Luther Vandross, Ian Hunter, Ronnie Spector, Gary US Bonds, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After),The 4 Tops, Great White, Narada Michael Walden, Carlene Carter, Jim Carroll, and Aretha Franklin on “Freeway of Love”. And that’s only a partial list! Enough variety there for ya? Clarence was also fond of showing up unannounced at Grateful Dead shows and jamming with Jerry and the boys!
He was also in demand for movies and television shows, appearing in “New York, New York” with Robert DeNiro, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”, “Blues Brothers 2000”, and episodes of Different Strokes, Nash Bridges, The Wire, and The Simpsons.
Before “The Big Man joined the band”, he had heard about Springsteen and wanted to check him out, so one stormy night when Bruce was playing in Asbury Park, Clarence walked over to see him. As he arrived at the club and opened the door to walk in, a sudden gust of wind came along and blew the door off it’s hinges, and it flew down the street, making it look to the band, who were on stage at the time, that Clarence had ripped the door off it’s hinges and casually tossed it down the street, leaving him framed in the doorway in the dark! He then walked in and told The Boss, “I wanna play in your band”, to which Springsteen could only reply, “Uh, sure. You do anything you want”! At the funeral, Springsteen gave the eulogy, and said that “When you were in his presence, it was like being in a sovereign nation”! Little Steven marked the solemn occasion by devoting the entire Underground Garage show to The Big Man, deservedly so! RIP Clarence Clemons. May your big heart shine on.
It seems like the only things happening this week are all on Friday night, July 8th. We’ve got Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, DAVE MASON, at The Bearsville Theater, slide guitar master, SONNY LANDRETH, at Club Helsinki in Hudson, and drummer extraordinaire, TERRY BOZZIO, at The Iridium in NYC, all on the same night. Ya takes yer pick and ya names yer person (that’s poison, for those of you who can’t spell propily).
So, take it easy this week, and conserve your energy. You’ll need it on July 15th! Have a great week.
- Published on
As I write this I am bristling with anticipation because I’m going to be on my way to see DAVE ALVIN and LOS STRAITJACKETS at Club Helsinki in Hudson in an hour. As my regular readers know, I’ve been touting the merits of this show for the last 3 weeks, and now it’s finally here. I’ll be looking forward to seeing my old friend, Dave, and the guys in Los Straitjackets, again, who are also friends, but there will be a touch of sadness in it for me because this is the first time I’ve hung with Dave since the passing of our dear friend, Chris Gaffney, a few years ago. Chris was Dave’s partner in crime for many years, and I am proud to have counted him as a friend. We had a lot of good times together all over the country, and Chris was also a major talent in his own right (check out his band, Chris Gaffney and The Cold Hard Facts). Chris and The CHF were one of the bands that kept my own band, The Brooklyn Cowboys, out of the #1 position on the Americana Music charts, a few years back, but after that we met and became fast friends. I owe my friendship with Dave to Chris, and I really miss him. RIP buddy.
We’ve got a couple of cool shows coming up this week at The Bearsville Theater, starting tonight, June 23, with TODD RUNDGREN. Todd will be bringing his crack band with him, which includes area resident Jesse Gress on guitar, longtime bass player, Kasim Sulton, and Prairie Prince, formerly of The Tubes and Jefferson Starship, on drums. Every one of these guys is world class on his instrument, and this will be rockin’!
Two days later, on June 25, TUBA SKINNY, returns to The Bearsville Theater. Tuba Skinny is a new band, at least to me, but I have heard amazing reviews of their past shows, so I’m very interested in checking these guys out. I don’t know what to expect, but from what I’ve heard, you won’t be disappointed.
And if you’re in the mood for a road trip, WILCO brings it’s SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL to North Adams, Mass., on the weekend of June 24-26. Wilco, The Levon Helm Band, Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, and 20 other bands, comedians, and other interesting acts will be appearing. For more info, visit www.massmoca.org.
For you musicians out there, there’s a pretty cool open jam that takes place every Friday night in the summer at the home of my friends’ Steve and Dona Crawford in Olivebridge. All are welcome. They have drums and a PA, so all you have to bring is your axe and amp. On the third Friday of every month, Charlie Blumstein brings his home made, portable pizza oven and serves up the best pizza this side of Brooklyn! In nice weather, the stage is outside, but last week, the third Friday of this month, it rained, so the Pizza Jam will be this Friday night, June 24. Steve and Dona’s address is 49 Weber Lane, Olivebridge, NY 12461 and the jam starts around 7:30. More information can be found on Facebook at the Pizza Jam page. Once on Facebook, just search for “Pizza Jam”, and it will come up.
That’s about it for this week. It’s time to turn off the computer and get ready to rock!
We’ve got a couple of cool shows coming up this week at The Bearsville Theater, starting tonight, June 23, with TODD RUNDGREN. Todd will be bringing his crack band with him, which includes area resident Jesse Gress on guitar, longtime bass player, Kasim Sulton, and Prairie Prince, formerly of The Tubes and Jefferson Starship, on drums. Every one of these guys is world class on his instrument, and this will be rockin’!
Two days later, on June 25, TUBA SKINNY, returns to The Bearsville Theater. Tuba Skinny is a new band, at least to me, but I have heard amazing reviews of their past shows, so I’m very interested in checking these guys out. I don’t know what to expect, but from what I’ve heard, you won’t be disappointed.
And if you’re in the mood for a road trip, WILCO brings it’s SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL to North Adams, Mass., on the weekend of June 24-26. Wilco, The Levon Helm Band, Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, and 20 other bands, comedians, and other interesting acts will be appearing. For more info, visit www.massmoca.org.
For you musicians out there, there’s a pretty cool open jam that takes place every Friday night in the summer at the home of my friends’ Steve and Dona Crawford in Olivebridge. All are welcome. They have drums and a PA, so all you have to bring is your axe and amp. On the third Friday of every month, Charlie Blumstein brings his home made, portable pizza oven and serves up the best pizza this side of Brooklyn! In nice weather, the stage is outside, but last week, the third Friday of this month, it rained, so the Pizza Jam will be this Friday night, June 24. Steve and Dona’s address is 49 Weber Lane, Olivebridge, NY 12461 and the jam starts around 7:30. More information can be found on Facebook at the Pizza Jam page. Once on Facebook, just search for “Pizza Jam”, and it will come up.
That’s about it for this week. It’s time to turn off the computer and get ready to rock!