Alison and I got to see The (English) Beat tonight at The Dame in Lex Vegas. They were awesome. Wakeling is the only original member in this incarnation, but they still rock.
Excellent! I saw them last year (this incarnation) — very impressive backing band with Wakeling.
Alison and I got to see The (English) Beat tonight at The Dame in Lex Vegas. They were awesome. Wakeling is the only original member in this incarnation, but they still rock.
It's been over 25 years since I last saw the original Beat, and then General Public here. But this show was just as cool, and fun, as those, all those years ago. Photos to follow.
Alison and I got to see The (English) Beat tonight at The Dame in Lex Vegas. They were awesome. Wakeling is the only original member in this incarnation, but they still rock.
It's been over 25 years since I last saw the original Beat, and then General Public here. But this show was just as cool, and fun, as those, all those years ago.
Habib Koite and Bamada in Rockland, Maine last night.
Holy wow. Utterly frikkin' amazing. If you get the chance to see them, don't pass it up. 6 supremely talented musicians, bringing traditional West African music with some modern twists, and a whole boatload of high energy fun. Danced our butts off. A couple blurry, low light pictures will follow ( I need a better camera)
We just saw Neko in Raleigh tonight... It was great. I've wanted to see her since 1999... better late than never I guess. She has a really good band too. Makes her sound even better. The way a good band should.
ScopArch wrote:
Wednesday evening I had the special honor and pleasure of seeing Neko Case and her band playing in a very intimate room here in Berlin.
The show was the first show of a 5 gig, six day tour of Europe before returning to the states for a longer tour. Backed by her Band, (guitarist Paul Rigby, bassist Tom V. Ray, vocalist Kelly Hogan, multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse and drummer Barry Mirochnick), she took the stage on time and played a good 90 minute set with about a dozen songs, including Maybe Sparrow; Deep Red Bells; Hold On, Hold On; Star Witness; The Needle Has Landed; Furnace Room Lullaby; as well as songs from the new album Middle Cyclone. The songs were performed in traditional Neko style, with mind her blowing vocals and her band’s simple but well concerted musicianship. Lots of examples on You Tube and don’t forget to watch her live performance on Fab Channel Sunday evening the 22 of Feb. It will probably be archived should you miss it, so check back.
From my vantage point at the front left of the stage in front of the slide player, I was close enough to reach out and touch the band. Of course that would have been weird, and I probably would have been kicked out….but there I was.
Most endearing was her rapport with the audience between songs. Between hoping that she doesn’t “f**k up the chords on the next song” from the new album, (which had not yet before been performed live), to commenting on all the “bare boobies around the hotel swimming pool” …”Lots and lots of BOOBIES! (squeal!) ” She also mentioned what a boring rock band they were. The bus drivers are always disappointed by the lack of groupies and the incessant Bob Newhart Reruns on the video.
There were a few technical problems during the show; the upright bass mic didn’t work, and one amplifier gave up the ghost towards the end. Between songs I mentioned to the slide player, who was right in front of me, “You know they have a different currency over here!” (meaning of course voltage). ”Yeah”, he responded, "you guys have the Euro now!!” That distracted Neko and he was chided for fraternizing with the audience (good naturedly, of course.)
They had set up their own equipment and at the end they had to pack it up on their own, which was awkward, since they couldn’t leave the stage after the last song, (there was no way out except through the crowd anyway), so after the second encore she said, “Since we can't leave the stage we’ll just turn our backs to you. Good night.” And that was it.
So check her tour schedule, and if she comes to your town go see her!
Here's Hold on Hold on from A&E with the same band members as Wednesday:
I'm having difficulty embedding my slide show, which you can see here. Sorry about the underexposed shots, the lighting was crappy. I'm adding the better shots as I PP them.....Enjoy!
I had the immense pleasure of seeing the amazingly talented and beautiful Kathleen Edwards a few weekends ago. I have been a big fan of hers for awhile now and this was my first time seeing her live... she blew me away. If she comes to a town near you, go. My girl crush has blossomed into a full fledged love affair. Kathleen was warm, engaging, sexy, funny and interactive with the crowd. She told stories, gave the history to her lyrics, took requests and did a few kick ass covers (Bryan Adams' Summer of '69, The Outfield's Your Love and Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart). Oh yeah, and she drinks whiskey... a girl after my own heart. The opening artist (Clare Burson, who was great, check her out, specifically a song called Boat of Leaves) came back and did a couple of duets with Kathleen, lovely together. My partner in crime for the evening, Hortense (who was unfamiliar with Kathleen but who trusts my taste in music, duh) decided to hang in the hopes Kathleen would come out to meet a few fans. And she did not disappoint. I had purchased a cool concert poster and decided to ask her to sign that instead of the three CDs I had jammed in my bag. She was just as warm and personable one-on-one. We were the last stop on her tour and she poured her heart into the performance. Walking to my car at the end of the night, one thing was clear... I just had one of the most powerful musical experiences of my life. Thank you, Kathleen.
There was nothing wrong with Springsteen's Boss-like qualities tonight.
Some poor oldster sitting next to me looked like he'd been railroaded into having to go, and said that he'd never seen Bruce apart from the Super Bowl performance, which had impressed him. At some point in the middle of the show, he turned to me and asked if he wrote his own material. But, repeatedly, the geezer turned to me agape and said "He's not taking a break! He just keeps going!" And it's true.
Although he jogs instead of sprints, and climbs instead of leaps, he's still all over the stage interacting with the band, the audience, and looks to be having a really good time up there. He played for about three full hours. One encore. Almost constant music. Amazing.
I put off seeing Sinatra until it was a certainty that his talent was gone, and then I didn't bother, and then he was dead. Do not let that happen if you've never seen Springsteen. It's mandatory!
Now the bad news: awful song selection. Poor continuity, lots of more recent songs that leave you bored (he stopped writing songs with interesting portions in them, and now they're simple monotonous backgrounds for his lyrics to sit on top of).
When he did the anthems (Born to Run, Thunder Road, Badlands) they seemed mandatory, and I projected onto him a sense of resentment that he couldn't move forward because the fans wanted the hits. However, songs like "Radio Nowhere" and "Lucky Day" are really not very good songs. If they were written by anyone else, they would've been ignored. But since it's The Boss...they're great! (Not really)
And did he play "Johnny 99" with every single band member making as much noise as possible, just to point out how his original, sparse, version was the proper one? I like to think so.
There was one moment that I found remarkable. Someone in the crowd handed him a sign saying "Growin Up" and Bruce acknowledged it into the mic, said "This is for you, San Jose" and then showed the card to the band members, counted it off, and played the tune. I hadn't seen the song on his warm-up set list, and the new band members stepped off stage while he played it, and the light show was simple - so I think he really did just play it on a whim. Marvelous.
So, it was a very good show, and I don't want to be to negative about it, because Bruce is still unquestionably The Boss and NO ONE puts on a show like he has. But I would've appreciated more songs from Darkness, and The River, or even Nebraska, and less of the ones that he's done recently that seem to drag and drone.
After all, it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive.
The show was the first show of a 5 gig, six day tour of Europe before returning to the states for a longer tour. Backed by her Band, slide/guitar/banjo player, guitar, drums, bass and backup vocalist, she took the stage on time and played a good 90 minute set with about a dozen songs, including Maybe Sparrow; Deep Red Bells; Hold On, Hold On; Star Witness; Furnace Room Lullaby; as well as songs from the new album Middle Cyclone. The songs were performed in traditional Neko style, with mind her blowing vocals and her band’s simple but well concerted musicianship. Lots of examples on You Tube and don’t forget to watch her live performance on Fab Channel Sunday evening the 22 of Feb. It will probably be archived should you miss it, so check back.
From my vantage point at the front left of the stage in front of the slide player (I wish I had noted the musicians’ names. Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?), I was close enough to reach out and touch the band. Of course that would have been weird, and I probably would have been kicked out….but there I was.
Most endearing was her rapport with the audience between songs. Between hoping that she doesn’t “f**k up the chords on the next song” from the new album, (which had not yet before been performed live), to commenting on all the “bare boobies around the hotel swimming pool” …”Lots and lots of BOOBIES! (squeal!) ” She also mentioned what a boring rock band they were. The bus drivers are always disappointed by the lack of groupies and the incessant Bob Newhart Reruns on the video.
There were a few technical problems during the show; the upright bass mic didn’t work, and one amplifier gave up the ghost towards the end. Between songs I mentioned to the slide player, who was right in front of me, “You know they have a different currency over here!” (meaning of course voltage). ”Yeah”, he responded, "you guys have the Euro now!!” That distracted Neko and he was chided for mingling with the audience (good naturedly, of course.)
They had set up their own equipment and at the end they had to pack it up on their own, which was awkward, since they couldn’t leave the stage after the last song, (there was no way out except through the crowd anyway), so after the second encore she said, “Since we can't leave the stage we’ll just turn our backs to you. Good night.” And that was it.
So check her tour schedule, and if she comes to your town go see her!
Here's Hold on Hold on from A&E with the same band members as Wednesday:
I'm having difficulty embedding my slide show, which you can see here. Sorry about the underexposed shots, the lighting was crappy. I'm adding the better shots as I PP them.....Enjoy!
Cool!!!
the sound mixer must have wondered what planet you came from with a comment like that.
The show was the first show of a 5 gig, six day tour of Europe before returning to the states for a longer tour. Backed by her Band, (guitarist Paul Rigby, bassist Tom V. Ray, vocalist Kelly Hogan, multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse and drummer Barry Mirochnick), she took the stage on time and played a good 90 minute set with about a dozen songs, including Maybe Sparrow; Deep Red Bells; Hold On, Hold On; Star Witness; The Needle Has Landed; Furnace Room Lullaby; as well as songs from the new album Middle Cyclone. The songs were performed in traditional Neko style, with mind her blowing vocals and her band’s simple but well concerted musicianship. Lots of examples on You Tube and don’t forget to watch her live performance on Fab Channel Sunday evening the 22 of Feb. It will probably be archived should you miss it, so check back.
From my vantage point at the front left of the stage in front of the slide player, I was close enough to reach out and touch the band. Of course that would have been weird, and I probably would have been kicked out….but there I was.
Most endearing was her rapport with the audience between songs. Between hoping that she doesn’t “f**k up the chords on the next song” from the new album, (which had not yet before been performed live), to commenting on all the “bare boobies around the hotel swimming pool” …”Lots and lots of BOOBIES! (squeal!) ” She also mentioned what a boring rock band they were. The bus drivers are always disappointed by the lack of groupies and the incessant Bob Newhart Reruns on the video.
There were a few technical problems during the show; the upright bass mic didn’t work, and one amplifier gave up the ghost towards the end. Between songs I mentioned to the slide player, who was right in front of me, “You know they have a different currency over here!” (meaning of course voltage). ”Yeah”, he responded, "you guys have the Euro now!!” That distracted Neko and he was chided for fraternizing with the audience (good naturedly, of course.)
They had set up their own equipment and at the end they had to pack it up on their own, which was awkward, since they couldn’t leave the stage after the last song, (there was no way out except through the crowd anyway), so after the second encore she said, “Since we can't leave the stage we’ll just turn our backs to you. Good night.” And that was it.
So check her tour schedule, and if she comes to your town go see her!
Here's Hold on Hold on from A&E with the same band members as Wednesday:
I'm having difficulty embedding my slide show, which you can see here. Sorry about the underexposed shots, the lighting was crappy. I'm adding the better shots as I PP them.....Enjoy!
They screened "The Dynamite Brothers" - first time they'd done it. Basically, it's "The Defiant Ones" meets kung-fu meets 70s blaxploitation. Shot in the Bay Area, so good for some nice local jokes.
There was a warm up (Gruber - the counselor from Freaks & Geeks) and then they ran the movie without breaks. Bit of a lull in the middle, but finished strong. Then, a surprise encore. Lots of lots of fun.
Best moment, one of the characters pulls up to a restaurant called "Fon's" and all five of them did the double thumbs-up "AYYY!" Took a few seconds, and then the whole audience started laughing and applauding.
Was fun to watch Joel, on our left, applauding some of his colleagues' better jokes as well. He carried himself with the air of "This is my schtick." Kinda like Springsteen running the E-Street band.
Check their website, and I highly recommend it if you can make it.
Had a great time and laughed more tonight than I have in the last 3 months.
Pure fun, especially when the trumpet comes in, so unexpected! Love her dancing too. I assume it was very daring at the time.
Yes, I think so. She was a pretty conventional country singer in the beginning. Then Elvis Presley urged her in the more daring direction of rockabilly. She still has the fire at 71 years of age.
Alison and I went to see the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson, at The Dame tonight.
All I can say is WOW!. She still has an amazing set of pipes for a 71 year old woman. She performed a set of about an hour and a half. And told many a tale between songs.
She is going to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April.
We didn't take our cameras, and are now regretting it.
There are a number of videos of her in performance on YouTube, from the beginning of her career, to today.
Here's one of her performing a song she performed this evening.
Pure fun, especially when the trumpet comes in, so unexpected! Love her dancing too. I assume it was very daring at the time.
You know, she came to Red Lodge about 15 years ago and I didn't go. Might have been out of town or something, I just remember seeing a poster after the fact. It was poorly advertised anyway. But dang. That close.
This is the second year in a row she has been here. Our first time to see her, though.
Alison and I went to see the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson, at The Dame tonight.
Now I'm jealous.
You know, she came to Red Lodge about 15 years ago and I didn't go. Might have been out of town or something, I just remember seeing a poster after the fact. It was poorly advertised anyway. But dang. That close.
I've wanted to see her since 1999... better late than never I guess. She has a really good band too. Makes her sound even better. The way a good band should.
That distracted Neko and he was chided for fraternizing with the audience (good naturedly, of course.) 
the sound mixer must have wondered what planet you came from with a comment like that.
