Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Tea Party...no, not those people, the awesome Canadian band!

One of my favorite Canadian bands is The Tea Party. They bear no resemblance to the political movement. They're a proggy, classic rock-sounding trio. Imagine Jim Morrison fronting Led Zeppelin and you have a starting point. Anyway, they have been dormant for a bunch of years but they just released a live record and accompanying Blu Ray. I just downloaded the former and will get the latter. It's very cool to see them back at it and I hope they go on a full-fledged reunion tour.

Here's one of my favorite tunes of theirs: "The Bazaar" off of their best record: The Edges Of Twilight.


Rockin, eh?

The one time I was aware they were playing DC was at the old 930 Club (that long ago!) and I wasn't able to go because they were opening for Dogstar and the show was sold out. What a crock! Screw you, Neo!

Another funny story: I was sitting in the backseat of a car driving back from a King's X show at Jaxx in Springfield with my buddies Clay and Doug and I started making up a song, to the tune of another TP song called "Correspondences," about a demon fighting Doug. I don't remember the specificities but there was a line about the cold hands of death around Doug's throat. And something about spitting in Satan's face. What can I say, I had a few to drink.

Anyway, check out The (REAL) Tea Party. They are actually a REALLY cool band.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Joe B in DC

I've blogged a few times about Joe Bonamassa. He is one of my favorite guitarists out there. My friend Patrick thinks Joe is a bit of a tool but whatdoesheknowhe'sdumb. Anywho, Jodi and I went down to The Warner Theater last night to see Joe do his thing. And what a great show!


I've seen a few shows at The Warner. I know I have seen Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan there. I think that's where I saw the Nutcracker when I went. I think I saw Grease there. It's a great venue, not that big. We were a bunch of rows up in the balcony but the view was damn good.

Joe started the set acoustic doing a couple covers and few songs off his new record. I initially labeled that record a disappointment. After seeing the show I will probably re-assess that. Seeing a show does that to me; once I hear the songs in the live setting they have a new life to them that I carry over into the record listening. The same thing happened a couple years ago with the Brandon Flowers (of The Killers) and his solo record; I thought it was pedestrian until I saw the show and the record wound up in my favorite ten of the year.

So Joe is shoe-horned into the blues bins of the record stores. That element is there but it is just part of the vibe. He has a very classic rock feel, a British bluesman kind of thing. Kind of got a harder Humble Pie era Peter Frampton and Rory Gallagher (I know that he's Irish) kind of thing. Gary Moore pops into my mind, oh yeah, Joe did a Gary Moore cover so there you go.

Anyway, he started acoustic and that was very cool. Then he picked up his electrics and rocked the joint. He is a pretty avid guitar collector and it seemed he had most of them with him. He started with a gorgeous tobacco looking Gibson Explorer, an army of Les Pauls, a big Gibson hollow-body, a beautiful Gibson ES-335, a white SG, and something at the end that wasn't a Gibson but I could see it close enough.

The band was tight. He was supported on drums and bass and keys. Joe is obviously a bit of a prima donna but in his case it is okay and not douchey. I mentioned to a friend on Facebook that it is fun to see someone who is so unabashedly a show-off. The stage set up is all about him. The drums and keyboard are off to the sides on risers while his rig gets center stage, naturally. Jodi said that my band should play with a carpet on the stage. Unfortunately we aren't playing the Warner Theater.

Cover-wise they did a blazing version of "Young Man's Blues" channeling the Live At Leeds version. The ending medley was ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid," Whitesnake's "Still Of The Night" (HA!) and Zep's "Dazed and Confused." I could have sworn there were a few other Zep licks thrown in there.

The best song of the night was a tune called "Mountain Time." This is an original of his. The record version is good, but the live version is fantastic. It just soars, up and down back and forth. A real great song to end on because it packs a real punch.

So a great show. Jodi had a really good time. She said she liked it better than Gov't Mule. We did have a crazy drunk lady sitting next to us who got some kind of disconcerting Facebook message (ah technology, how you fins new ways to aggravate us) and cussed and punched her husband for the following twenty minutes. They left after about halfway through the show. YAY! Joe is better appreciated live than in the studio; in the live setting he can really show off. I recommend his Beacon Theater live record from earlier this year.

Here's a few more pictures. We're not too close, so they are not the best but you get the idea.




Monday, November 19, 2012

In Defense Of Lana Del Ray

I sort of feel like Daniel Webster today, as I put pen to paper...errr...well you know what I mean. And like his Seventh of March speech I rise not as a rock lover or an indie rock lover but as a music lover. And what I wish to speak on is Lana Del Ray.

For those not in the know, Lana Del Ray is a strange mix of sexpot, lounge singer, and weirdo pop singer. Her voice is to put it mildly an acquired taste. She's not beautiful, I'm not even sure if she is really pretty, but she is still alluring and sort of mesmerizing to look at, kind of like a Salvador Dali painting. I am not really sure if she's real, but evidently Axl Rose loves her.

Here's the video for "Video Games" the shot-across-the-bow in DelRayDom:


I don't think she'd get any traction if she didn't look like she does. I think without the weird vamp thing going on she'd be lumped in with the Regina Spektor's and Nellie McKay's and the Joanna Newsom's of the music world. But she is who she is so she gets to be on Saturday Night Live before she even has a record and becomes British GQ's Woman of the Year. Hey good on ya!

So is it worth all the fuss? Entertainment-wise it's without a doubt interesting. Just singing a line like "my pussy tastes like Pepsi cola" with a straight face warrants applause. Her whole thing is her schtick. Does the music stand up? In places. Her first record, Born To Die, is just that...a first album. There's some clunkers for sure, but there's some great stuff. "Video Games" is a great track. "Diet Mountain Dew" is better; it has a great slinky Hollywood-trash thing going. "Radio" is a great track. She just released a companion to that record called Paradise gets help from big shots like Rick Rubin on "Ride."

Again, is it worth the fuss? I think it's pretty good. She's an interesting artist for sure. According to the liner notes she has a songwriting credit for all the tracks. Except for a (apparently super-obligatory) cover of "Blue Velvet."

Does she deserve all the attention, be it positive or negative or whatnot? I think some of the negative attention veers toward mean-spirited. Her SNL performance left many underwhelmed to put it gently. I thought she looked really nervous. I'd be nervous if I was asked to go on SNL. Is it fair that she gets the attention that other artists don't get? Probably not, but that's been going on ever since records started getting made. I've read stuff about her not having worked for it and not deserving the place she has in the music sphere, as if deserve has anything to do with it. Like any artist she was the right person at the right place at the right time.

But rock n roll isn't just music. There's also image and style and all that stuff. And she has a strangely interesting image. If you're one of those who don't think image is part of rock n roll, that it's all-about-the-music-man, I give you this, and this, and this, and this. And this just because it makes me laugh a lot! HAHAHAHA! Back to the point: I sympathize with the substance-over-style crowd, but I give LDR a break because she's onto something different and weird. For me she is a helluva lot more interesting that Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber and OneDirection and the rest of the claptrap in the modern pop music-sphere. While writing this I am listening to Paradise and damn my indie rock street cred if I ain't diggin it. Sue me.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The (Latest) Next Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen is about as iconic an artist you can get. I think even if some people don't care for his music they have to respect him. I've written before about how I was in that group until I started playing guitar and writing songs of my own. It was at that point that the music of artists like Springsteen and Neil Young really began to speak to me.

You always hear about the new Springsteen. I've written about a couple of those bands, like The Gaslight Anthem and Titus Andronicus. The fellow who best reflects Springsteen through a modern prism is a song-writer by the name of Ryan Bingham.

I first heard of him as the fellow behind the songs in the great Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart. In it Bridges plays an old outlaw country singer who gets a chance to redeem himself. The music is classic alt-country in the Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings vibe. The movie is great and the music is one of the catalysts. He deservedly won an Academy Award for "The Weary Kind."

After the movie came out I bought Ryan's current-at-the-time record Junky Star. I thought it was pretty good but it didn't really stay with me. His 2012 record, Tomorrowland, has. And it's that record where the Springsteen vibe comes to me. Especially Bruce's The Ghost Of Tom Joad record.

Here's a tune off Tomorrowland called "Flower Bomb." It's not the best song off the record but it's a good song and it serves a point.


The rest of the record has a rockier and grittier sonic-texture, but the vibe from this clip flows throughout. The thing about Springsteen is that he makes you really feel the music and lyrics. I listened to Tom Joad again today and was struck by the power of it; songs like "Highway 29" and "Youngstown" and "The Line" have a power to them. It's a real master flexing his muscle. It's a record that makes you stop and listen. And for me I really appreciate the depth and strength of the song-writing.

Listening to Ryan Bingham, you can feel that kind of power. The song titles alone show that Ryan is up to something a bit more: "Rising of the Ghetto," "No Help From God," "The Road I'm On." Where Bruce is telling other people's stories Ryan is still telling stories that feel, to me at least, more from inside himself. To me this is the development of an artist. He's not a master but he's a damn good apprentice and he's well on his way. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a Tom Joad or a Nebraska inside Ryan Bingham waiting to bust out, waiting for the right songs to come along and for the spark to strike them. He's definitely a talent to keep tabs on. I recommend checking him out. Tomorrowland is pretty much guaranteed a spot on my year end favorite list.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Bright Lights

One of the more interesting guitar players out there is Gary Clark Jr. His new record, Blak and Blu just came out and is one of the better records I have heard this year.  He is nominally considered a blues guitarist but he shouldn't be pigeon-holed into that genre. He has plenty of rock and plenty of straight blues and a good dose of R&B.

I first heard of him in Rolling Stone and with the song "Bright Lights."


That's from Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival in 2010. It's a pretty killer cut. Just great guitar playing and a great voice. This song shows up on his Bright Lights ep from last year and again on the new record. It's a worthy song for double inclusions.

He played the 930 Club last Friday and I thought about going, but I also thought about seeing Earth, but in the end I didn't go to either because I am a loser and an old man. Well, not really, I was just tired from band practice the night before and didn't want to stay up too late. OK, I am a loser and an old man. Sue me.

Anyway, I like the new record. Like I said it's a good mix of rock and R&B with a classic blues vibe. It could easily have been a standard blues record, which would be kind of boring. I am not the biggest blues fan in the world. I appreciate it for the great talents that are in the genre, but I can only take it in doses. I have to be in the right mood for it. This record cuts through that though.

It probably won't make my favorite 10 of the year of the year but it's very enjoyable and will have staying power through next year. It's better than the latest Joe Bonamassa record and he's I guy I really like too. I download (legally of course) maybe 8 to 10 new records a month depending on what's new. I guess from reading the blog you're getting the impression I dig music, so it's only natural I reckon. If Gary comes back through town I will likely go see him. He also has excellent taste in guitars.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Rats/Toys in the Cellar/Attic

A passing thought while listening to Boneyard on Sirius. Isn't "Rats In The Cellar" pretty much a re-write of "Toys In The Attic?" By the way, we're talking about old Aerosmith songs.

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:

Then again, maybe that's the point. Let's check Wikipedia. Ah, yep! It is! Oh well. What do I know.

Couple more thoughts. Aerosmith right now as a band are pretty much inconsequential, even though they have a new album coming out tomorrow. Does anybody really care? Is a new Dianne Warren penned ballad necessary? That said, their first few records frakking rock seriously. Even Permanent Vacation and (especially) Pump kick ass.

My favorite old Aerosmith tune? They didn't write it (that would be Rufus Thomas), but it's definitely "Walking The Dog" just because of that fat groove and that wicked scratch Joe Perry does at the end of the chorus.



And about "Ozzy's Boneyard" on Sirius. I liked it better when it was just Boneyard. Now that they have Ozzy sponsoring it or whatever it is he's doing, they play way too much Accept and not nearly enough Rush. Boo to that!!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

There's Your Mule

Last night's rock and roll excursion took me and Jodi and my bandmate Tom to The Fillmore in Silver Spring to see Gov't Mule. Tom is a big fan of their leader Warren Haynes. He's a great guitar player and a soulful singer. He's also a busy guy. Gov't Mule is his band, but he's done solo stuff and spent some time in the Allman Brothers Band and played a bunch with the Grateful Dead guys after Jerry Garcia passed on.

The Allman Brothers is a good way to describe Gov't Mule. It's jammy based southern rock. Here's a clip of them at a Sirius studio show doing my favorite track of theirs: "Broke Down On The Brazos."


This track is a guitar players delight. Great riffs and licks. Solos like crazy. I wonder if Warren's guitar tech has to rewire that pickup selector after each show. Warren is a great guitar player. He can be lay down the sleaze but is also a really tasteful player. As demonstrated by this track from his 2011 solo record Man In Motion. This is called "River's Gonna Rise."


Usually I like shorter, hooky kind of songs. But sometimes I like to hear a good jam. I wasn't planning on seeing Gov't Mule until Tom asked if I wanted to go. Since I am pretty much always up for a show, I said hell yeah. I am glad I went because it was a great time. They played over 3 hours, including a great cover of "Working Class Hero" that I am going to want to steal for my band. We choose wisely by getting stage right and had a great view of Warren for the whole show.


Tom read up and found out this is a Gibson reverse Firebird
Warren and Jorgen Carlsson

One of his signature Les Pauls

So a really good time out. I was starving so I recommended we cap off the late evening with a visit to the Tastee Diner in Bethesda. MMMMMM! Nothing like pancakes and eggs and hash browns at 2am!!

Me rocking my new GM tee at band practice today

Friday, November 2, 2012

Greetings From The Rock n Roll Hotel

When I posted about the Old 97s show I mentioned I had seen two shows in 72 hours. The other show was the great New Jersey band Titus Andronicus. If you want to learn more about them you can read far better profiles of the band here and here. If you have stuck with me this far, THANKS!

TA from the back of the room
The leader of Titus Andronicus is Patrick Stickles. He has been the constant in the band for all three records (I think that's true..since I don't buy physical CDs anymore I no longer find myself able to recite band lineups from record to record, nor able to recall song titles anymore). The comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are legitimate in that both bands operate on a level bordering on out-of-control. The elder statement of New Jersey have honed their craft where their intensity is always controlled but the audience still gets the feeling of joy. These new kids are still figuring that out but I think they are getting there. The first time I saw them was a couple years ago at The Black Cat. They were touring behind The Monitor which surprisingly was my favorite record of 2010. When I saw them I thought the show was too out-there, too much of teetering on the edge. It is a wild feeling, sure, but it felt like the manic-ness was getting in the way of the music. Not so the second time. Though my vantage point was at the back of the room the energy level was high but the control was there. Sure there were freakout points that saw everything and everybody careening around the room, but it came in waves, not in a sheer wall of madness. If you are looking for a rock show and want to see a young band bringing their all, then Titus Andronicus are for you!

The new record is called Local Business. Like the show, it's a much more restrained record than The Monitor. The previous record used the Civil War as a backdrop for the songs to be constructed around. The latest record foregoes the concept and simply brings the rock. As reviews say, it's the most accessible of their three records (The Airing Of Grievances being their first) so it's an excellent starting point.

Here's the video, the shoot of which is described in one of those links up top), for "In A Big City."


If you listen close you can get that Springsteen vibe. The anthemic vibe that makes you think something different is going on here, something important. Usually that's greeted with cynicism or appropriate derision, but when songs like this are done with such earnestness it's hard not to admire it and to pump your fist along with it. It's hard not to have it catch your attention. The music almost says "Stop what you're doing and listen to me because I've got something going on here." Happily the majority of the record does that ("Food Fight" being the exception).

Couple other random thoughts. I have seen the band twice now and still don't have a tee shirt. Both times I was unhappy with the design. Unfortunate that because tee shirts are trophies for shows. I feel almost empty when I don't get one, and ecstatic when I score three (like at this show). Also, this was my first trip to the Rock n Roll Hotel on H Street in DC. I have been meaning for a long time to check this place out but something, be it something else or simple laziness, gets in the way. Not this time! It's a great little club. Reminds me inside of the old 930 Club but without the pole in the middle. Now that I've popped my proverbial cherry there I hope to report back on many shows there.