Big Ears 2019: Performances Seen over the Four Days

I finally made it to the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN this year!  Here's a list of every musical performance I saw over the four days.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan - The Standard

Kukangendai - The Mill and Mine

Very Very Hot Evil - The Pilot Light

Altered Statesman - The Pilot Light

Friday, March 22, 2019

Bela Fleck and Edmar Castaneda - St. John's Episcopal Cathedral

Joep Beving - Knoxville Museum of Art

Mary Halvorson's Code Girl - The Mill and Mine

***late afternoon dog-walk break***

Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid and Larry Grenadier - Knoxville Museum of Art (Nate Chinen: Playing Changes)

Spiritualized - The Mill and Mine

Uncle Earl and Friends - Boyd's Jig and Reel

IE - The Pilot Light

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Columbia Icefield - The Standard

Kristin Anna Valtysdottir - St. John's Episcopal Cathedral

Thumbscrew - The Standard

***late afternoon dog-walk break***

International Contemporary Ensemble and Carla Kihlstedt - Bijou Theatre

Makaya McCraven - The Mill and Mine

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn - Tennessee Theatre

Bluegrass Jam - Boyd's Jig and Reel

Hawktail - The Standard

Bill Frisell's Harmony - The Mill and Mine

Brooklyn Rider with Kayhan Kalhor - Bijou Theatre

Uncle Earl - The Mill and Mine

IE at The Pilot Light

Thumbscrew at The Standard

Hawktail at The Standard

Bill Frisell's Harmony at The Mill and Mine

Uncle Earl at The Mill and Mine

John Prine Live Concert Review - The Singing Mailman Delivers

Pretty good, not bad, I can't complain

Actually, every John Prine concert review should be just about the same.  Fully invested audience members are going to be taken on a 90+ minute emotional journey that includes laughter, tears, love and sorrow.  That was the case with the show I saw on 11/11/17 at the Altria Theater in Richmond, VA and it was also the case with the last concert I saw him do about 10 years ago, and yes it was pretty much exactly the same when I first saw him live during the summer of '95.

In all these years the setlist and arrangements haven't changed that much.  A few new songs have trickled in over time, equally as brilliant as the ones before, while a few of the old standards have been left behind.  It doesn't matter.  John Prine is really, really good at writing John Prine songs.

I've been wanting to say something about this most recent concert ever since it happened, but I really can't find the words.  "Nostalgia" isn't exactly what I'm looking for.  Prine's songs have always been loaded with nostalgia, even on his first album when they were new songs.  So it is nostalgia, but it's also not nostalgia.  There was something incredibly enriching and cathartic at this point in time to be completely engrossed in the concert experience.  It felt like a time-jump that could have been any decade among Prine's performing career, and/or a quantum leap to any point along my concert-going life up 'til now.  Time went out the window.

This audience was right there, with him one-hundred percent, just like I remember in Roanoke many years prior.  The energy in the Altria Theater was tingling, same as it ever was.  Prine's genius and delivery perhaps even more apparent than ever before.  His songs are so simple and yet so genuine, the lyrics embedded deeply into the minds of anyone who has ever taken the time to enjoy his music.  Every word hit home and every note rang true on several levels.  I was entertained, to say the least.  Maybe that's part of the nostalgia as well?

The Richmond Folk Festival is a Different Kind of Music Festival

If folk music is the classic Greenwich Village image of a guy like Bob Dylan or a gal like Joan Baez singing and strumming an acoustic guitar, then I can’t really think of many Richmond Folk Festival performers over the festival’s 11 year history that meet this description.  Peter Rowan maybe.  No, when this festival says "folk" they mean something more like indigenous traditional world music.  It could be multi-generational bluegrass musicians from up in the mountains or music of the Middle East or Eastern Europe.  The kind of stuff a songcatching ethnomusicologist might bring back as field recordings after journeying to far off regions. 

So many festivals are about headliners and featuring hot new acts.  The Richmond Folk Festival is not another Lockn’ or Bonnaroo or even a Newport.  You won’t find Phil Lesh, My Morning Jacket, Dawes, Grace Potter or Dr. Dog on the bill.  Not yet anyway.  There's always hope!  The biggest name or mainstream performer that the Richmond Folk Festival has ever had, best as I can remember, might be Rosanne Cash, and yet the festival regularly draws between 150,000 to 200,000 curious people over its 3 days.

So why do so many people come to a downtown festival featuring a bunch of obscure artists playing weird traditional music that most of us have never even heard or heard of?  Because that’s a very Richmond thing to do, it turns out. Eleven years ago when the festival started, Richmond was just on the cusp of embracing the arts, food and other things enlightened, but a sense of ennui and procrastination still lingered.  It was a complete surprise that so many people showed up and embraced this event from the very first year and it has stayed that way ever since, although it is no longer a surprise.  It's an annual ritual now.  Yay Richmond!

Myself, like a lot of others it seems, have learned to treat the Richmond Folk Festival with a great deal of respect and gratitude; a mature approach that tries to put the music first, and maybe partying second.  Where else can you stumble upon a tent where thousands of people are silently watching an Indian tabla player with rapt attention?  Or have your choice between seeing Native American Smoke Dancers or DJ Grandmaster Flash?  The cool thing is you can find yourself in any of these situations with a cup of craft beer because it is sold throughout the fest and you can take it to any stage and all over the grounds. That helps.

It's not so easy to pigeon-hole the Richmond Folk Festival crowd.  It's not just progressive white folks.  The festival also attracts many African-Americans as well as people from all sorts of different backgrounds and ethnicities, as it should.  If you want diversity – gender, age, race, families, culture – The Richmond Folk Festival brings it. Being walking distance from the thriving campus of VCU, the festival also pulls in a strong college contingent.  

Yep, I’m pretty psyched that we continue to have this festival and that all kinds of people go and support it.  Where would I like to see it evolve?  If possible, I'd love to see it continue to expand the definition of folk music by featuring more artists on the cutting edge or fringes of "traditions" and/or people who are pushing things farther instead of just those who represent retrogrades.  For example, how come they never got Ornette Coleman before he passed away, or Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, or the Sahara Desert rock band Tinariwen, or Bela Fleck, or Kind Sunny Ade, or modern acts with folk roots like The Decemberists or Gillian Welch?  In other words, there is room for both Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis, but more Miles please.  We shall see.

Mary Halvorson on Reading, Interpreting and Improvising

Mary Halvorson

Jazz and Avant-Rock guitarist Mary Halvorson has quickly become one of my favorite musicians. Getting to see her play live for the first time last month as part of the Tomeka Reid Quartet - while sitting just a few feet away - helped solidify this growing appreciation and gave me a little bit better idea of how she does what she does.

Mary was working from written music on a stand. I happened to see one of the pages and what she was doing was way more abstract and varied than what could have possibly been written on the page, and yet she seemed to maintain her concentration on the notation even during long periods of free improvisation. I asked Mary about this process and this was her response.

“With Tomeka's music, there is quite a variety in how the compositions are structured. Some of the tunes are way more open, in which case I am reading less and interpreting more, and others are more highly structured. If you see me staring at the page, I might be reading or following a solo form to improvise over. However, it's just as likely that I might not be reading at all and my eyes just happen to stay focused on the page after I've finished the notated portion. This happens sometimes too.

But regardless of what I'm reading, I do try to let the composition guide the direction of the improvisation. Even if I'm not playing over a form, the written material that comes before and/or after is still integrated into improvisational sections. For me, this is what ties it together into a coherent piece of music and gives each piece its own identity.” (Mary Halvorson)

Review: Tomeka Reid Quartet featuring Mary Halvorson - 8/29/15 at Normals in Baltimore

Tomeka Reid

Sometimes the smallest shows are the best.  Like the one I saw last night in Baltimore.  137 miles each way just to see a free improv jazz group in a side room of a small indie book and record store.  It was a CD release show for the Tomeka Reid Quartet:  Tomeka Reid - cello, Mary Halvorson - guitar, Tomas Fujiwara - drums, and Jason Roebke - bass.  Part of the Red Room experimental music series at Normals Books and Records.  A $6 cover charge granted front row access to some incredible in-the-moment music making.

Admittedly, my main inspiration for going to this performance was because of the opportunity to finally get to see the New York based guitarist Mary Halvorson play live.  I have been obsessed with Mary's music for the last year or more and she's quickly become one of my favorite musicians.  I can't really describe what she does or how she does it or even why I love it so much, but it really resonates with my ears.

Since my friend and I had driven all the way from central Virginia and got there a little early, the concert organizers basically allowed us to sit wherever we wanted and I chose a seat directly across from where Mary would later be playing.  The green Line Six Delay Pedal was a dead giveaway.  I was literally four feet away from her the whole set with a direct view of her fast moving fingers.  I was slightly concerned that the close proximity would be weird or uncomfortable but I don't think it was. Mary is used to this kind of attention.

Mary Halvorson

But, I digress because although my original intention may have been to see Mary, I was incredibly impressed by cellist Tomeka Reid.  This particular project is her quartet, after all.  In this incarnation she's the leader and composer of most of the material, and Tomeka excelled in this role.  I know there are some other jazz cellists out there but this was my first time seeing the instrument played in that style or at that level.  As an amateur hobbyist tenor banjo player, I definitely take an interest in cello technique due to the commonalities of 5ths tuning and longer scale length that both instruments share.

The music of the Tomeka Reid Quartet was equal parts chamber ensemble, classic jazz and freeform improv.  Every tune reached epic heights and touched on different themes and emotions - from light and airy to hard-hitting and heavy.  Having now listened to the CD they were celebrating, it's clear that they were being quite liberal with their interpretations of these compositions last night, treating them as living, breathing things and not some stagnant dots on a page.  It wasn't quite as free as, say Ornette Coleman free - there was always a foundation there - however, it did frequently branch out into some very intriguing experimentation, with a strong melody at the heart of each piece worth returning to.

I was already familiar with drummer Tomas Fujiwara through his work with Mary in the excellent Thumbscrew project with bassist Michael Formanek (who I think was in attendance).  Tomas (pronounced TOH-muh) was extraordinarily impressive.  It was obvious that he has tremendous training and discipline and knows his jazz chops and history, but Tomas has also found a way to be unique and be himself in a virtuosic manner.  I felt like I was seeing one of the world's best drummers in action (which I was), along with definitely one of the world's best guitarists and likely one of the best jazz cellists.

I haven't mentioned bassist Jason Roebke yet because his playing was somewhat beguiling.  Tomeka's cello already fills in a bottom end in a way, so Roebke's bass has to plunge deeper to find its place, which he did successfully for the majority of the set.  The only time Roebke lost me was when he went on one of his particularly out there solos which were quite radical even in this setting.  Not being familiar with his playing at all, I wasn't always sure what to make of it.  There was definitely an edginess there that the more I think about it the more I kind of like.  It kept you guessing, that's for sure.

Altogether, this was definitely the experience I was hoping it would be and more.  Driving up and back to Baltimore isn't exactly a casual night out.  We left about 2:30pm and chose to go the scenic route up 301.  An accident a few cars ahead at the crest of the two lane Nice Bridge over the Potomac from VA to MD caused an hour long setback as traffic came to a complete halt on the bridge high above the river and we waited for emergency crews to clear the way.  Then upon entering Baltimore we encountered massive football stadium traffic.  Fortunately the Waze app provided us with an alternate route for the last few hassle-free miles, although it did take us through neighborhoods straight outta The Wire.  Four and a half hours after leaving we were there!

We still had time to eat a huge, tasty meal at the nondescript Caribbean restaurant across the street and then scour the records for a few minutes in Normals.  I got some Satchmo, Duke Ellington and Tiny Grimes LPs, but the best find was Konono No. 1's "Congotronics" album.  That is some crazy music!!!  Lastly, I should mention that Baltimore organist Liz Durrette warmed up the crowd before Tomeka's set with about 20 minutes of solo improvisations filled with blue notes and creepy cartoon-like motifs.  That was pretty cool too.  And home by 2:30am for a full 12-hour adventure!

Trey Was Great, But The Dead50 Fare Thee Well Shows Aren't His Legacy

Trey Anastasio, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir (6/27/15). Photo by Jay Blakesberg

The five recent "Fare Thee Well" concerts celebrating the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary cemented their status as the greatest American rock band of all time.  At the same time, these shows also seem to have solidified Trey Anastasio's status as the best living rock n' roll guitarist.  Nobody on the planet could have filled those shoes any better than Trey did.

I knew that Trey would be good, but I had no idea that he would be that good, or that well received.  He put in an unbelievable amount of work getting those songs down to the point that they were second nature.  Under immense pressure he delivered in droves.  You could sense that the music was coming from the purest, most reverent place possible, yet his years of experience as the Phish band leader and months of focused practice on the vast Dead catalog meant that he knew when to step up and take charge (and at the Chicago shows that was often).

MVP Trey was directly responsible for leading many jams to the magical places that people didn't think were still possible, but with the added benefit of it never feeling forced or obligatory.  He treated each moment of these five nights as if it were the most important moment of his musical career, and rightfully so.  Plus, whenever he sang lead vocals on a Jerry song I'm sure most everyone in the crowd quickly learned to breathe a sigh of relief and assurance.

Yes, this was a great career-move for Trey whether he was thinking on that level or not.  However, I have seen it mentioned that these shows would be Trey's legacy, and I have a bit of an issue with that point of view.  It's actually a kind of insulting when you think about it.  It's like saying all the hard work he's done up until now - and the work he'll continue to do - was OK, but making those final Dead shows an incredible experience for thousands of deadicated 'heads is the most important thing he could have ever done.

Having seen some mind-fuckingly awesome Phish shows on many occasions, I can assure you that Trey has already been performing at this level on an almost nightly basis for decades now.  His true legacy lies not in the Grateful Dead music he just helped resurrect, but in the dozens of brilliant compositions and countless hours of collective group improvisation that have been created via his "day job" with Phish.

Without Trey ultimately assuming the helm, these shows could have easily been filled with more senior moments than moments of transcendence, but that speaks more to Trey's overall skills and confidence as a musician and his legacy of work lying outside this one-off ensemble rather than within it.

Bill Frisell and Billy Martin played with Phil Lesh!

I'm a long-time fan of the Grateful Dead and even got to see them play a few times in 1994 and 1995 while Jerry Garcia was still alive.  Despite this, I don't often pay a whole lot of attention to the different lineups of "Phil and Friends" that Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh often puts together, although I respect his exploration of the Grateful Dead songbook and the way these various ensembles can find new paths of improvisation within these old songs.

When I saw a Tweet last week that mentioned that guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Billy Martin had performed two full sets on 4/22/15 (Earth Day) with Phil at his Terrapin Crossroads home venue in San Rafael, CA I took notice.  Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell is one of my favorite musicians, although I have never associated him with Grateful Dead music.  Drummer Billy Martin is definitely one of my favorite drummers and probably does have more of a connection to the jamband scene via the fanbase of Medeski, Martin and Wood - the esteemed improv trio that he is a member of.  Bill and Billy jamming with Phil was an unanticipated dream come true.

I was sure Billy Martin could sit in with no problem, but I didn't know how Bill Frisell would do in this setting, which might consist of unfamiliar material that is outside of his comfort zone.  I also wondered how he would be received by the Deadhead audience?  Watching the first set it seemed that Bill was a little unsure of himself and his role, and was not well acquainted with the songs.  But, as the first set progresses you can see Frisell learning what treatment the music calls for and gaining trust in his fellow musicians, especially in the more open, improvisatory moments.  As expected, Billy Martin's playing sounds very natural throughout, almost to the point where you forget that this is also his first time (?) collaborating with Phil Lesh.

To fill out the band, Phil employed his long-time cohort Rob Barraco on keyboards and a guy that I was unfamiliar with named Dan Lebowitz on guitar and pedal steel.  Having Barraco in the band helped provide structure where it was needed, and Barraco more than holds his own when things get more exploratory.  I was impressed by Barraco's playing abilities in a way that I never had noticed before.  Lebowitz is obviously familiar with the material and does a fair job in this highly-advanced musical conversation.  Perhaps he could have backed off a little bit at times and let the music breathe more?

The 2nd set began in the biggest way possible with a Dark Star that rose and fell and then rose again to unimaginable heights.  From there on the rest of the 2nd set consists of some of the best in-the-moment music making I've ever heard, with each musician reaching for the apex of his abilities.  As Bill Frisell gains more confidence he is able to add his "Frisellian" stamp to these songs.  The unmistakable sound of Frisell's voicings on these Grateful Dead themes is something I never thought I would hear.  When paired with the Billy Martin's drumming and Phil's quintessential bass, it's a wonderful mix.

Having read the setlist in advance I was looking forward to hearing the stand-alone When You Wish Upon A Star encore, while also being a little trepidatious, not knowing how that would go over.  Would it be a letdown that seemed in lieu of a more powerful encore such as a Shakedown Street or Help on the Way?  Never fear.  When You Wish Upon A Star is so exquisitely beautiful that it perfectly summed up the vibe of the music that had just transpired over the last 3+ hours, in a way that didn't need any addendum.

This seems like a once-ever occasion, but I would love to hear these guys get together again! There's an intimacy to this performance and a level of hear-a-pin-drop listening coming back from the audience that can only be achieved in a smallish room such as the one where this show took place.

Review - Dark Star Orchestra at The National, Richmond, VA 12/28/14 (performing 7/14/76)

This past Sunday, December 28 was my first time seeing the Grateful Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra since guitarist Jeff Matson came on board. I had seen DSO several times with John Kadlecik in the Jerry Garcia slot until he was called up to the majors to join Furthur in 2009. Part of my hesitation in seeing DSO since then was because I wasn't sure if they would be as good with the new guy as they were with JK. I'm happy to report that there has been no drop off in quality with Jeff Matson at the helm.  It's different, but in a good way.

Dark Star Orchestra

Kadlecik’s vocals and tone are spot-on (close your eyes and it's Jerry), but I found Matson to be an edgier, more adventurous guitarist. Matson also proved to be a confident leader, taking the band down creative, and sometimes dark, paths of improv that went to places beyond just the duties of replicating a setlist and arrangements. Rather than trying to mimic Garcia, Matson's vocal delivery differed in ways that actually worked to his advantage, giving the music an in-the-moment feel.

I’m definitely not as up on my Grateful Dead history and minutia as I used to be - haven't studied it in years - although I still think I am way more aware of song rotations and the sounds of different years than the Deadheads who actually lived it in the 70’s and 80’s!  For example, by looking at the stage setup before they started one could assume it was a post-1974 Keith and Donna era show based on the two drum sets and the keyboards positioned on the left.

The opener Promised Land was sans “Donna” (Lisa Mackey) but when she materialized for the 2nd song Sugaree this confirmed that it was either 70’s show or an original setlist. Matson made a particularly good impression on this Sugaree, building it to an early peak, then letting it settle down and mellow out the last time through.

Minglewood came next. No clues there except for maybe the absence of the “T for Texas, T for Timbuktu” verse(?). The placement of Scarlet Begonias as the 4th song of the 1st set seemed odd to me and the way they were playing it indicated that this was a pre-1977 version that wasn’t going to go into Fire on the Mountain. This made it fairly clear that they were doing a 1976 show. (I usually try and guess the year of a DSO concert by the third song of the 1st set.)

The only thing that sort of threw me off was the absence of Blues for Allah songs. It being 1976 you expect things like Help / Slip / Franklin’s, The Music Never Stopped or Crazy Fingers, or maybe even It Must Have Been the Roses. The whole first set could have been a 1974 set, especially with the sparkling Playin' / Drums / Wheel / Playin’ end to the set, but the presence of two drummers meant that it couldn’t have been 1974 unless there were some ’74 shows with Mickey Hart that I was forgetting.

Jeff Matson - photo by Suzy Barocas Perler

The whole 2nd set was a highlight. The ballads were on point and there were some monstrous jams during Let It Grow into Eyes of the World, and then again leading from Wharf Rat into The Other One. They finally played something from Blues for Allah as the last song of the 2nd set - The Music Never Stopped. We left as soon as the show encore of Johnny B. Goode started, so we missed the announcement of the performance date and the bonus “filler” encore of The Weight, but a quick glance at 1976 setlists when I got home confirmed that we had just seen them do 7/14/76 at the Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, CA.

I would definitely go see DSO again with Jeff Matson as Jerry. He could really tear into '73 or '74, or even something earlier.

Richmond Folk Festival Saturday Re-Cap

Skies were overcast, the weather was a bit chilly, but the music was superb at the Richmond Folk Festival yesterday!  In fact the music was about as good as I ever remember it being, but I probably say that every year.  I also really liked the new stage layout - it felt more condensed and easy to navigate - with the stages on more equal footing.  I never really liked the old Altria stage (main stage)  anyway, as performances there always felt a little stale compared to some of the other stages.

Just about every act I saw was a highlight.  I began the day with steel guitarist Kayton Roberts and his country music friends on the Community Foundation Stage, who put on a good show of traditional country.  The only downside of that set being the constant needing to applaud every solo taken by his guitarist and 85 year old fiddler, but that's part of that style, I suppose.

The Hot Seats Short Band (missing Ben Belcher) put on a good, very oldtime oriented, set at the children's stage.  I only wish they could get to play on one of the less out of the way stages.  Imagine what they could do on, say, the Dance Pavilion stage, with Benny boy in tow.

As we left The Hot Seats a surprisingly good band was playing on the Community Foundation Stage:  The West African Highlife Band.  I love those West African rhythms and melodies, and these guys really jammed it out.  I'm looking forward to checking out one of their sets again today!

We saw a little bit of Furnace Mountain Band - who can really mesmerize and delight an audience - but chose to leave their set early to catch a little bit of the French-Canadian band Le Vent du Nord.  I'm glad we did.  Le Vent du Nord tore it up!  Tres bien!

The mighty James River - as seen from the side of the Dominion Dance Pavilion

Then we hoofed it on over to Brown's Island to catch a few minutes of William Bell's soul / rhythm and blues.  I definitely wanted to see some of this kind of music this weekend and although this stage was packed we made it up toward the front.  Unfortunately, his set was the same time as the mariachi band (Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano)  so we meandered back over to where we had just seen Le Vent du Nord to give that a shot.

With so much going on at one time - all the time - it's hard to stay at one stage for long.  After getting a taste of the Mariachi band we took a few minutes to watch the Balkan brass band (Boban and Marko Markovic Orkestar).  For some reason, this Balkan music didn't really grab me; probably because I was anxious to head back over to Brown's Island to the MWV stage for the Global Rhythms workshop.

I love and hate the workshops at the Richmond Folk Festival.  I'm there to see the musicians from different styles and cultures jam together, but usually the moderator takes so long talking to each individual musician that very little music gets played and the jamming is saved for an awkward moment at the end.  Not so for this drumming meetup, because the drummers - representing India, West Africa, the Dominican Republic, Egypt and more - collectively took it upon themselves to get multiple drum jams going, resulting in a standing ovation from the audience.  The beatboxer Shodekeh held his own with these guys.  This was probably the highlight of the day for me.

When we left the drum workshop Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers were still playing in the Dance Pavilion so we got to see a good bit of their set and they were killing it!  We made it to the front of the stage just as Dwayne Bopsie and his rub-board player jumped down into the crowd to play in the midst of the people tightly packed in up front.  This was awesome, but might have been lost on those toward the back of this crowded stage.  This zydeco band was almost more like a jamband in flavor and feel - they really kept the energy going.

The Holmes Brothers were playing when we walked by Community Foundation Stage, so we got to check out their old school gospel and rhythm and blues music for a few minutes.  They played the best version of Amazing Grace I have ever heard.  As the Holmes Brothers were playing, I looked behind me to see that the Mayan Sundance ritual had already commenced.  Four (?) guys in Tezcatlipoca Voladores had just started to make their descent by swinging around the 80 foot pole, while one guy sat on top. Watching this as the Holmes Brothers played was a surreal experience.

Jazz pianist Lafayette Gilcrhist and beatboxer Shodekeh getting funky!

The stage they now call the Altria stage is a great stage with a natural amphitheater.  We were ready and waiting when Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes - featuring Shodekeh - took to the stage to debut his new go-go suite for the first time in public.  The first two movements were one long 30 minute jam that had me thinking of both P-Funk and King Sunny Ade.  He briefly paused to introduce the band, before playing the 3rd part of this new piece of music, which was equally as enticing as the first two parts.  So much good music in one day!

We had plans to stay for Le Vent du Nord on the Altria Stage, but were too wiped out and overly stimulated from the constant exposure to awesome music, non-stop for 7 straight hours, so we left after Lafayette Gilchrist, knowing that we could listen to Le Vent du Nord on 88.9 WCVE on the ride home.  Unfortunately, that set wasn't being broadcast.  I wonder why?  Oh well, Ian Stewart's World Music Show wasn't a bad alternative.

Looking at today's Richmond Folk Festival schedule, I am equally excited to head down there soon for another great day of music.  They pack it all in between noon and 6pm today, then it's gone for another year, so get it while you can!

Festival Re-Cap: Red Wing Roots II, July 11-13, 2014

This past weekend was the 2^nd Annual Red Wing Roots Music Festival at Natural Chimneys Park in Mount Solon, VA (just over 2 hrs. from Richmond).  It was our first time attending this festival presented by The Steel Wheels, but I’m sure we’ll be back.

Getting into the festival was easy.  No real long lines and the parking arrangement made sense.  For those camping on-site, it was a fairly short walk from where you parked to where the campsites were.  Checking in was pretty much no hassle.  After getting your wristband you were free to make additional trips out to your car to haul in any additional items you might need.  Red Wing Roots is a kid-friendly festival.  Many granola-minded moms and dads had brought their children along, which is a pretty cool culture for the kids to be exposed to in my opinion.

The Chimneys (photo by Vickey Higgins Goff)

The setting for the festival is picturesque and park-like, with the two main stages (Shenandoah Mountain Stage and the South Stage) positioned between the awesome natural chimneys from which the park gets its name.  Sets on these two primary stages were staggered so that as soon as one act was ending a performer on the other one would begin.  The Blue Mountain Brewery beer garden was catty-cornered a hundred yards or so back, so you could watch and hear both the Shenandoah Mountain Stage and the South Stage from the beer garden if you wanted to.

The proliferation of urban food trucks these days means that the munchie options at festivals of this kind are better than ever.  There were several great food vendors, but I especially liked the Goatocado booth.  Very healthy and yummy.  There was a general store set up with ice and other provisions.  The porta-potties, bathrooms and showers were kept clean and there were never any long waits to use them. 

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three (Six?) (Photo by Vickey Goff)

For our group of friends, a festival such as this is as much an opportunity to hang out and reconnect (and get into all sorts of mischief) as it is a chance to see great music.  I only saw some of the bands that played on Friday and Saturday (and none on Sunday), so I’m not able to give a good overview of the performances other than saying the cool vibe and natural setting certainly helped spark some inspired performances from the assembled bands.

Highlights on Friday for me were the Steel Wheels kids set as we were setting up our camp, and Pokey LaFarge and Trampled By Turtles later that evening on the main stage.  On Saturday my faves were Mandolin Orange, Tim O’Brien’s songwriter showcase as well as his set with Darrell Scott, plus The Steel Wheels 8pm set and The Devil Makes Three at 9:30pm.  Friends who witnessed The Stray Birds, Brothers Comatose and Yarn on Sat. commented on them as being strong also, but our gang unanimously agreed that the Devil Makes Three gave the best set of the weekend.  None of us stuck around for any music on Sunday, having shot our wad after the first two nights.

The Devil Makes Three! (Photo by Vickey Higgins Goff)

Festival hosts The Steel Wheels do a fantastic job putting on Red Wing Roots.  The only thing I can think of that might improve upon it in the future would be to branch out slightly beyond the roots/Americana focus to include a few other acts like a Dawes or Dr. Dog (rock), or maybe an unabashedly jammy jamband/improv-oriented ensemble, or an uptempo reggae/world music performer.  Richmond, VA’s The Hot Seats would be perfect for an 11pm slot, like the one they did at Watermelon Park fest a couple years back.

Despite that small suggestion for a slightly broader lineup, I actually loved Red Wing Roots just the way it was.  However it comes together next year I’m sure it will be worth checking out again!

Those Rare, Magical, Unexpected Live Music Experiences

Sure, it's great to go see one of your favorite bands live when you know all their songs and you're pretty much guaranteed a great show and a familiar experience, but it's a rare occasion when a completely unknown band blows you away with such a memorable performance that you become an instant fan.  I can think of only a few times where this has happened to me - from as far back as almost 15 years ago and as recently as this month.

Yonder Mountain String Band

Yonder Mountain String Band, 10/30/1999, Wolf Tongue Brewery, Nederland, CO
We had just moved to Longmont, CO in fall 1999 and had heard about this new local bluegrass band that was kicking ass and taking names.  So, having never heard their music before, we made the trip up the mountain to tiny little Nederland to check out Yonder Mountain String Band at Wolf Tongue Brewery on the night before Halloween. Snow was already on the ground, even in October, in this friendly mountain town and we got to know some of the eccentric locals at the bar before the band started.

This was a more innocent time, and being young and hungry, Yonder Mountain was just what I was looking for.  They had one foot in the traditional world, but more more importantly they were taking that next step into the unknown, steering bluegrass to where it had never been before.  I don't remember too many details from this show in particular, but as a diehard Phish and Grateful Dead fan, I latched on to Yonder Mountain big-time and for the next half dozen or so years would see them well over twenty times.  When I started learning to play oldtime and Irish music I temporarily got too snooty for bluegrass and jambands, or bluegrass jambands, but things are starting to mellow out again now to the point where I can circle back around to this music with a whole new appreciation of how truly fun it was and is.

My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket and Dr. Dog, 1/24/2004, The Canal Club, Richmond, VA
Jambase.com had named My Morning Jacket's album It Still Moves in a tie for the best album of 2003, so on that testimonial alone I went to go check them out in Richmond on 1/24/04.  Prior to the show I had only listened to It Still Moves a couple of times, and it hadn't really made any impression on me.  As we were walking in to the Canal Club, the opening band was just starting.  I didn't even know there was going to be an opening band - opening bands always suck anyway - who is this Dr. Dog?

Minutes later I was enthralled by the music being made by an opening band that I was completely unfamiliar with.  I think Dr. Dog basically played everything off of Easy Beat, even though that yet to be classic album wouldn't be released for almost another year.  I remember going up to the band after the set telling them that was the best set I had ever seen an opening band play and I bought the only CD they had with them that night, which was Toothbrush.

As My Morning Jacket took the stage I was still gushing about Dr. Dog.  As far as I could tell, there was no way they were going to top that, but boy was I wrong.  Like the budding rock stars they were, My Morning Jacket commanded the stage with a gusto that instantly made them the equal of Led Zeppelin, U2, Pearl Jam, and all the other great rock bands that had come before.  Even more impressive, I would later discover that this was one of the first shows with Carl Broemel on guitar - as their previous guitarist had left the band just prior to this tour leaving them scrambling to find his replacement.  Even though I was completely sober for this show, I was so jazzed up afterward that I stayed up all night consumed by an excitement that I could find no limit to.

The Ceili Bandits (Yvonne Casey), 11/20/2004, McGann's Pub, Doolin Ireland
On our first trip to Ireland we stayed the first two nights in Doolin, a small village in West Clare reputed to be a music mecca.  This was a case of perfect timing, because we woke from a nap to find flyers posted advertising the CD release party for Yvonne Casey's debut album that Saturday night at the pub a short walk from our bed and breakfast.  Yvonne Casey was an up and coming local fiddler who had just recorded a self-titled CD with the band she was in called The Ceili Bandits.

I was completely ignorant and naive to Irish music at the time, but I thought we'd give it a go.  We weren't the only ones with that idea.  McGann's was packed with family, friends and locals, all of whom were in an extremely jovial mood, even for the Irish.  I don't know when exactly the music started, and I don't know when it stopped that night either, if ever.  Truly, truly magical.

At one point in the night I had this feeling rush over me that this was something to never forget.  Copious amounts of Guinness, champagne and Bulmer's had been consumed over several hours, but, despite the effects of booze I was able to harness that euphoric state and use it as a means to slowly nurture a true appreciation of Irish traditional music in the ensuing years.

Mandolin Orange

Mandolin Orange, 2/14/2014, Ashland Coffee and Tea, Ashland, VA
It happened again out of the blue and seeing Mandolin Orange a couple weeks ago is probably the impetus for this post.  I've had some great live music experiences over the last decade, but the ones that come to mind as peak experiences were all by bands that I was either already a big fan of, or at least relatively familiar with.  However, Mandolin Orange caught me completely off guard.

Mandolin Orange is a duo consisting of Andrew Marlin on guitar and mandolin, and Emily Frantz on fiddle and guitar.  I had listened to one of their CD's once and had watched some YouTube videos, but frankly it sounded sort of boring and I didn't really decide to go to this show until the day of.  Yeah well from the moment the first lyric was sung to the last note of the 2nd set encore, I was enamored by this transcendent, beautiful, mesmerizing evening with this understated duo.

The lyrics so oddly remote yet accessible, the musicianship so refined, the songs so natural, going places I didn't see them going, ending when I didn't expect them to end, and continually enticing me in a way that was perfect in that moment.  I think everyone in that room felt the same thing.  Words can't describe it so I'll stop trying.  Andrew writes some great songs.

As I was driving home tonight something reminded me of that Dr. Dog / My Morning Jacket concert from 2004, and then it occurred to me that it was ten years ago last month that it happened.  Then I thought about those couple other occasions from my past that were similar experiences, and then I realized that most recently Mandolin Orange had left a similar impression.  Then I felt compelled to get this all into words so I spent the last 2 hours writing this.  Thanks for reading.

Live Music Re-cap – The Green Boys, Sweet Fern, Bumper Jacksons and more

The Green Boys (with Del McCoury)

I’ve seen some great music over the last 3 weeks, starting with The Green Boys on 10/25/13 at Ashland Coffee and Tea.  I’ve been to all three of The Green Boys' shows at Ashland Coffee and Tea, and this was definitely the best of the three.  They didn’t seem as nervous, were tighter than ever before, and kept things flowing at a steady pace.  The addition of drummer Jonathan Burkett for this gig helped complete their sound.

People's Blues of Richmond

The following day, Saturday 10/26/13, we headed down to Richmond to check out the first ever Boulevard Pumpkin Festival, not knowing that we were about to be exposed to a balls-to-the-wall, trippy as hell rock band called the People’s Blues of Richmond.  It was quite chilly this day, but PBR heated things up with their Zeppelin and Hendrix meets Dr. Dog influenced sound.  I wouldn’t call PBR derivative…they inhabit the influence of their rock and blues forebears.  I wasn't even going to the festival for the music – which is usually crappy at something like this - so seeing a band of this caliber was quite unexpected.  I’m not sure if I’m ready to see PBR inside a packed club though…not sure the eardrums could take it.

Sweet Fern - photo by Laura Fields

The following Friday, 11/1/13 was the UkeFest Virginia, which is kind of a kooky event, but one of our favorite local acts Sweet Fern was playing.  Sweet Fern is comprised of the lovely songstress Alison Self on ukulele and guitar, and master musician Josh Bearman who rotates through several stringed instruments during the course of a Sweet Fern set, including mandolin, clawhammer banjo, tenor banjo and guitar.  Sweet Fern’s charming combination of country duets, Carter family songs and jugband material went over well with the older UkeFest audience.  

The Bumper Jacksons

We were committed to returning to the UkeFest the next evening 11/2/13 because we had already bought tickets to see The Bumper Jacksons, a band I had heard good things about but had never seen.  I’m glad we went back because the Bumper Jacksons were great!  I loved, loved, loved the sound of Jess Eliot Myhre’s clarinet.  Although the she only played it on a few songs, it really brought to mind the sound of a 1920’s speakeasy.  Chris Ousley was very entertaining on ukulele, banjo, guitar and mouth horn – yes mouth horn!  It’s obvious that these two are well versed in traditional music, but still have a lot of fun with it.

Mia Friedman, Owen Marshall and Ari Friedman

Most recently, I got to see the Boston based sister duo Ari and Mia Friedman with Owen Marshall as they passed through Ashland on their current tour on 11/7/13.  Not only are they great musicians, with sort of a refined sense of folk music, but they are also great people that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know this year over the course of their two visits to Ashland.  Despite a 10-hour drive to get to the venue and a small turnout, these professionals still gave a very warm performance.  I think I laugh more at Owen Marshall’s between song comments than any other musician’s on stage banter.  I hope more people come to see Ari, Mia and Owen next time.  You’re missing out if you don’t!

There’s aren't any shows coming up in the near future that I can think of, although I am looking forward to The Hot Seats at Ashland Coffee and Tea on December 28^th!

Phish Wears "WingSuit" on Halloween in Atlantic City

I closely monitored the Phish message boards in the days leading up to their Halloween show to see if news of which classic album they would be covering had leaked.  No definitive spoilers ever surfaced.  We would have to wait until the doors to Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall opened at 6:30pm on 10/31/13 when folks entering the venue were handed a “Phishbill” with this announcement.

Phish - Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, NJ - 10/31/13 (photo from @PHISH_FTR)

Up until last night, Phish had played 6 Halloween concerts since 1994, and on all of those occasions the 2^nd of 3 sets has been a cover of a classic album by another band as their “musical costume”, including The Beatles’ White Album, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light and the Velvet Underground’s Loaded.  Rumors this year included Eat A Peach by the Allman Brothers, On the Road by Traffic, and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis.  These all turned out to be bunk.

As fans entered the show they were informed however, via the Phishbill, that Phish would be playing their own, as yet unreleased album, tentatively titled Wingsuit.  This probably explains why very little new material had been introduced thus far in 2013 during the summer and fall tours…Phish was waiting to unleash 12 brand new songs for the first time on Halloween night.  When I found this out I immediately ordered the webcast.

Phishbill cover - Wingsuit

Phish seemed unusually nervous in what was sort of an obligatory 1^st set.  I enjoyed the “Phishy” songs like Poor Heart, Silent in the Morning and Mound, and would like to have seen more of those instead of the somewhat generic rockers like Back on the Train and Kill Devil Falls.  Maybe those loping Americana type songs help alleviate the jitters?  I dunno.  I wasn’t too concerned about the 1^st set anyway, as the focus was obviously on what was about to happen in the 2^nd set of the night.

After a break where the webcast displayed some hilarious pictures of fans in the costume contest, Phish came back on to play the Wingsuit portion of the show.  I’m a natural skeptic and wasn’t initially sold on the 1^st 3 songs.  It also seemed like the crowd in the Boardwalk Hall wasn’t quite on board with it either, but it’s hard to be sure from the webcast.  Phish is a band that relies on familiarity and crowd interaction; it’s tough to do that with never before heard songs.  Then things started to change. 

The 4^th song Monica hooked me in and I began to really warm to the idea of what Phish was laying on us…this was going to go down in Phishtory as one of their ballsiest performances ever.  All new material that none of us even knew they were writing, being introduced as the musical costume in the 2^nd set of a Halloween show???  What if it flopped?  How could it flop?

Phishbill - Wingsuit song list

I began second-guessing my first impressions of the first 3 songs and wanted to go back and listen to them again, but there was no chance of that in the moment, because the songs just kept coming...each one distinct from the last.  From song 4 all the way to the very end, with the possible exception of the last song You Never Know, I was very impressed by the Wingsuit songs.  I loved the fresh arrangements that sounded foreign yet familiar, and the stripped down, acoustic portions of the set requiring a different stage setup. 

It was obvious that Phish had really been working on this music to get it ready for performance, taking great care to definitively present these debut renditions.  Almost all classic Phish styles were represented, from proggy composed pieces, to funky groove numbers, to quirky acoustic folk ditties, to psychedelic jam vehicles...even one called Winterqueen that had a catchy Caribbean vibe to it.

Apparently the 12 songs that were played as Wingsuit are part of a larger batch of about 25 that they are preparing to take into the studio as soon as the Atlantic City run is done on 11/2.  The final album, if it does end up being called Wingsuit, will likely contain some, but maybe not all of the songs performed during this Halloween set, and could contain additional songs which were not debuted on this night. 

What I heard on the webcast gives me great confidence that after 30 years as a band, Phish is still a vital, creative ensemble that is not only constantly reexamining and breaking new ground within its past body of work, but is also still pushing forward with new compositions that expand upon its vast repertoire.  Wingsuit has the potential to be a great album.  I hope Phish jumps right back on these songs and plays some of them again over the next two nights before the Fall tour is over, to give them even more of a work out before heading into the studio.

My Five Favorite Phish Shows (Among the ones I’ve seen)

I’ve been a fan of Phish for 20 good solid years.  Without bothering to figure out the exact total, I’d estimate that I’ve seen Phish about 45 times since 1994, maybe more, but not since 2011.  In honor of the fact that I’ll be seeing Phish again for the first time in more than 2 years when they return to Hampton next weekend, I’ve compiled this list of my five favorite Phish shows, of the ones I’ve seen.

This is a highly subjective list with much more emphasis on my recollection of how I felt about the show at the time, rather than based on an analysis of how it might have held up since then or in comparison to other performances.

12/31/95 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

This was the first and only time I saw Phish at MSG.  12/31/95 is well-documented by fans as being one of the best shows Phish has ever played, possibly the best show they had played up to that point.  I would agree with that, as I felt like I was witnessing Rock N’ Roll history at the time.  I distinctly remember there being a dog inside the venue and its owner saying something like “yeah, this is like my dog’s seventh show”, which took me aback because the dog had seen more shows than me.  At the end of the 3rd set I turned to the normal looking woman on my left and exclaimed “you might think it’s over but it ain’t over!”.  Not sure what I meant by that because the house lights were on and the show was definitely over.

11/22/97 – Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

I went to both nights at Hampton that November, 11/21 and 11/22/97, and either one could have legitimately made my all-time top 5.  I chose the 2^nd night because I remember thinking it was slightly better than the night before.  The way they really take things out there, like on Mike’s Song, Weekapaug, and especially during Halley’s Comet, is the stuff that made Fall 1997 such a legendary tour.  If this isn’t the pinnacle of their playing, it’s pretty darn close.  When they broke into Bouncin’ for the encore, instead of being cynical about it, I was truly loving that song as much as anything I had ever heard before.  I walked out of that show saying “if you didn’t like that (meaning the whole show) then you don’t like Phish!”

9/25/00 – Sandstone Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, KS

This show is memorable because my wife and I saw it during our honeymoon, although it was kind of a bizarro honeymoon because we hadn’t gotten married yet.  We did elope a few days later at the Vegas shows, but were celebrating our honeymoon in advance while in Kansas City.  Imagine trying to explain that around the morning table at the bed and breakfast we stayed at.  I recall going to a winery before the show, then later drinking that fancy wine directly out of the bottle in the parking lot and sharing it with some Phishy wooks we were hanging out with that day.  The show opened with the Beatles song Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey, which I believe is the only time it has ever been played outside of the White Album Halloween ’94 set.  It was pretty cold that night, but we claimed some “seats” near the front of the stage, so it was warm up there.  Not sure how others regard this show, but I liked it a lot.

3/1/03 – Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

This was one of those magical nights where every note from start to finish seemed spotless.  You can blame it on a wicked combination of glowsticks and milk stout.  Perfect song selection and song order, nice mixture of tempos, moods and structure.  I recall, even as early as 2003, going into the show with doubts as to whether Phish was still capable of playing great shows like those of yore (you know - the 90’s), as well as wondering if they did play one of those golden shows would I even be able to recognize it as such?  Those concerns were allayed by this masterful performance.  Looking back now at the setlist, it belies the force within.

3/6/09 – Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

The “comeback” show.  There was a distracting nervous energy surrounding this event which almost prevented me from including it in the top 5.  I can still feel the overwhelming adrenaline rush that everyone in Hampton Coliseum seemed to simultaneously exude, as Phish began playing the opening notes of Fluffhead to start the show.  It was an instant statement of confidence and reassurance that can’t really be expressed in words, but that we all intuitively absorbed.  My memories of this show are a little spotty, too much pre-show drinking away the butterflies, but Phish came out with something to prove and prove it they did.  Phish was back…maybe not better than ever, but still better than anybody else.

Review: Cracker Acoustic Duo at Ashland Coffee and Tea

So, I saw the Cracker acoustic duo again the other night at Ashland Coffee and Tea – AKA David Lowery and Johnny Hickman of the band Cracker.  I saw them there 2 or 3 years ago as well.  Both shows were great, although I think I liked the first time better simply because of the novelty of it.

Cracker (Johnny Hickman and David Lowery L to R) on 8/16/13

I’m not really even a Cracker fan.  I was barely aware of their radio hits in the 90’s (Low, Teen Angst [What the World Needs Now], Get Off This and Euro-Trash Girl).  I was a Leftover Salmon fan, so when Leftover collaborated with Cracker on what was sort of like a Cracker’s greatest hits album (Oh Cracker Where Art Thou), I got that CD and it remains one of my all-time favorites.  But that’s pretty much the extent of my Cracker listening.  I have listened to some Camper Van Beethoven though!

I don’t really have any association or history with the versions of the songs that Cracker recorded on their actual albums; if it wasn’t on that Leftover Salmon album I am probably not familiar with the song at all.  Basically, my main impression of Cracker and their songs is from what I’ve been exposed to in these two live performances in a very small room, which I suspect is different than the experience of most Cracker fans who owned their early albums like Cracker and Kerosene Hat and/or who have been there for multiple decades. 

Because of this, it seems sort of weird that I would have liked the two shows so much.  Stripped down to just the two of them on stage, without any apparent baggage of their past rock n’ roll life or fame, my experience was just of a couple dudes ready to deliver some really great songs.  David Lowery’s cynical lyrics are deceptively wise - I like where he's coming from, and Johnny Hickman’s guitar playing is remarkably good, even if it is a little show-offish for my typical taste.

David Lowery and Johnny Hickman of Cracker

I guess the point I’m trying to make is these could have been any two guys up there on stage, giving their songs a shot.  The fact that these guys happen to be relatively famous rock stars who were playing in front of sell out crowds both times, doesn’t really change the fact that they still had to prove their worth on the spot to me, a guy unfamiliar with their work, same as two unknowns playing for a few bucks at the bar across the street would have had to do. 

From the instant I first saw them I could tell these guys were pros, which made me want to go back the next time they played this local venue, even though I never got around to listening to any Cracker albums in between.  I can't remember if they did Loser last time - the Garcia/Hunter song that Jerry performed in the Grateful Dead - but they did it this time as the 3rd song out and it was awesome!