Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Forth of July Playlist...
Chuck Berry - Back in the USA
Amos Lee - Freedom
Shooter Jennings - 4th of July
The BoDeans - Freedom
Smashing Pumpkins - Geek USA
The Byrds - Chimes of Freedom
The Beach Boys - Surfing U.S.A.
Crosby Stills and Nash - Find the Cost of Freedom
John Mellencamp - R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
Dave Matthews Band - Cry Freedom
Steve Miller Band - Living in the U.S.A.
Junior Brown - Freedom Machine
Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Keith Urban - Freedom's Finally Mine
Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove
Lenny Kravitz - Freedom Train
Soundgarden - 4th of July
Luther Allison - Freedom
U2 - 4th of July
Rage Agianst the Machine - Freedom
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - First Flash of Freedom
X - 4th of July
Toots Hibbert - Freedom Train
Lucinda Williams - Metal Firecracker
Martina McBride - Independence Day
John Mellencamp - Justice and Independence
U2 - Freedom for My People
Monday, June 13, 2011
Black Keys White River State Park 61011
The Black Keys brought their brand of lo-fi, blues based garage rock to Indianapolis's White River State Park on Friday June 10th, 2011. While I am not sure that this performance would have won over any new converts to the band, judging by the reaction of the faithful that were in attendance that evening, everyone seemed pleased with the show.
Opening the show was Booker T (of Booker T and the MG's fame). It's good to see a legend like Booker T back to recording and touring. It had been 28 years since Booker T had released a studio recording until 2009's Potatoe Hole (with the Drive by Truckers). Booker T gave a solid performance, offering up material from his new album, "The Road to Memphis" as well as material from his days at Stax Records including: "Green Onions", "Take me to the River", "Hold on, I'm Comin" and closing with "Time is Tight".
But this night belonged to The Black Keys. Their most recent album "Brothers" has launched the group into a larger audience than ever before, winning Grammys in 2010 for "Tighten Up" (Best Rock performance by a duo or group with vocal), and Best Alternative Music Album, for "Brothers". ("Brothers" was also Rolling Stone Magazine's #2 Best Albums of 2010.) Not bad for a group that recorded their first two albums in drummer Patrick Carney's basement on an eight track tape recorder.
I admit I came around late to the group, but felt "Brothers" was a solid offering and wanted to see what a Drummer and Guitar Player Duo could do in a live setting. Let's just say their live shows are like the Black Keys music, minimalistic and straight forward, no frills rock and roll. Except for a huge Mirror Ball during "Everlasting Light" and a large grid of lights that spelled out "The Black Keys" during their closing numbers, there were no special effects. Not a lot of audience participation either, just a steam roller hour and a half set I don't think anyone would want to get in the way of.
The playing of the older songs first with just Dan Auerback on guitar and Patrick Carney on drums, then later adding bassist Nick Movshon and Keyboardist Leon Michaels for the newer songs, did away with the awkwardness some artist struggle with of trying to mix the old material with the new. While some of the older die hard fans may have been aghast at the adding of bass and keyboards, true artist grow, evolve, and challenge themselves. Simply put, there's a reason "Brothers" has won the accolades it has.
Highlights of the set included: "Busted", "Everlasting Light", "Howling for You", Booker T sitting in on "Ten Cent Pistol" (My personal favorite of the evening) and "Tighten Up" on which Dan Auerbacmk's voice was stellar.
The question becomes, what do you do with a band that never planed on making it this big? How do you allow them to reach their new audience while remaining true to themselves and their music? I really don't have the answer to that question, and to be honest, for an hour and a half on a beautiful night outdoors in Indianapolis in June with some good company, I really wasn't worried about it, I just enjoyed the show.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
JJ Grey and Mofro Headliners Louisville KY 10/15
On a beautiful October Friday night JJ Grey and his band-mates Mofro brought their funky brand of southern fried front porch soul to Headliners Music Hall in Louisville KY. JJ's second release for Alligator Records, Georgia Warhorse, is a solid offering, showing off the various styles that have earned this band a very loyal fan base. This show featured five songs from the new CD, it's always interesting when a band tries to merge old and new songs together.
For the uninitiated, JJ Grey and Mofro are a hard band to categorize, part Jam Band, part Blues Band, part James Brown meets George Clinton with a killer horn section funk and soul revue type of thing.
It didn't take long to see how the new songs would translate live. The opening number "The hottest spot in hell" was given the full throttle treatment that somehow seems lacking on the CD. As my friend said "I cant believe the difference between these guys live and the CD". The very funky "Dirt Floor Cracker" followed. It seemed obvious the party was on and old and new material could meld seamlessly together.
When people compare JJ's singing style to Otis Redding, it's easy to write it off as hyperbole. Anyone that heard " A Woman" on this night would understand this is simply not the case. Half the battle is simply getting your audience to believe you're passionate about that which you sing, and this is where JJ excels. "You guys came ready tonight", he said to an enthusiastic crowd, who then responded by singing along with the chorus on several occasions.
The Hercules Horns generally provide a powerful punch to Mofro's shows, and this night was no exception. There were stellar solos on "Orange Blossoms", "Everything Good is Bad" and the fan favorite "Ho Cakes". "Georgia Warhorse" the title song from the new CD, was as low down dirty blues as it gets. The encore consisted of two songs "King Hummingbird" (again off the new CD), which is probably better left to JJ's solo acoustic sets than a club setting, and another funky fan favorite "On Fire".
If you like all things southern fried, with healthy side portions of Stax inspired (not ripped off) soul, and some funky horns for a sweaty good time, go see these guys live. As another person in our group said "They're fun".
The problem with uncategorizable bands is, no matter how passionate and talented, the record companies don't ever seem to know how to market them to their appropriate audience, so breaking out to a mainstream audience is very difficult. Meanwhile the Justin Biever's and Jonas Brothers of the world get rich, while talented bands like JJ Grey and Mofro are relegated to sweating out a living on the road touring relentlessly. Somehow I get the impression JJ and his band mates don't really mind. As JJ would say... "ba bap a lam bap a lam...on fire...."
