Dawn Landes @ Club Passim 1-19-10
Dawn Landes, originally from Kentucky, now living in New York City, just released her 3rd album. At least she thinks that’s right. It may be a little more because there are a few EPs thrown in the mix throughout the years. Yes, Dawn has been jamming in the new wave of folk / country scene for roughly ten or so years now. In fact, she played Club Passim about eight years ago. She slung her gee-tar on her back, made the trip on the Fung Wah and played solo during one of Harvard’s folk festivals.
The album is called Sweet Heart Rodeo and the overall theme is about relationships and the way it can feel like you’re riding a bull just to keep everything on track to… happiness? Sure, that sounds about right. In fact, the title track is based on her grandmother who ran away to join the rodeo back in the depression era after her grandfather ran off with all their money.
Dawn and her tour mates – Josh Kaufman and Ray Rizzo – have been playing together for a couple of years. But Ray, the drummer, and Dawn have known each other since her Louisville days. And it shows in their brother / sister like aurora that I got from the both of them. Ray, as both Josh and Dawn claimed, is their renaissance man. He’s not just a drummer, he’s a harmonica player, keyboard and tambourine man all wrapped in one. I’m sure I’m missing one or two other instruments he toyed with. My favorite though was his mini Korg sitting strategically to the right of his kit for easy access.
Not to leave Josh out, he’s written his own song for the album, Dance Area, which matches perfectly with Dawns singing style. He played bass for most of the show but picked up his guitar for various occasions, something that Dawn clearly enjoyed when he did so. And I did too.
While Dawn may have country influences, her vocals are not your typical Dolly Parton type country sound (Dolly happens to be one of her favorite country singers). Combined with her move to New York then to France and back to New York over the past ten or so years, that southern accent has gone bye bye. But she’s able to real in a country tinge here and there where appropriate.
Listen to Dawn and Justin Townes Earle singing a Dolly Parton cover, Do I Ever Cross Your Mind
After Danielle Doyle opened the show, who did her part to make us laugh and even sing a little, Dawn and company came up to put on a very enjoyable show. The majority of the set was filled with songs from Sweet Heart Rodeo. They opened with Wandering Eye, a stand out in my opinion on the album, which may entirely be because I’m a sucker for the harmonica or that she mentions going to Philly, my birth city and also secretly my favorite city (but don’t tell that to my Boston brethren). Oh, wait, I just did.
Romeo, a playful swing and sway tune followed. She sings of being stood up by her boyfriend on her birthday. Men. So typical.
I took a minute to capture live footage with my trusty iPhone camera. Little Miss Holiday is a song that was written about Jodi Foster’s character in Taxi Driver. Watch them play it live:
While she played mostly her new songs, they threw in some covers from time to time. One traditional tune that I think was The Storms Are on the Ocean, an old 60’s French song originally sung by a super model that Dawn said nobody truly understood or listened to her music with a seriousness it deserved. They finished off the night with a Tom Petty song, Southern Accents. Perhaps a slight poke at her lack there of.
But the standout of the night was the song Bodyguard, which is found on her 2006 release, Fireproof
Listen to studio version of Bodyguard
Download Young Love from Sweet Heart Rodeo
Watch the video for Young Love
Buy Sweet Heart Rodeo
(Photo credit: C. Van Slyke – View more Pics at his Tumblr page)
Toussaint and Buru Style @ Johnny D’s 1-15-10
Back in November I stumbled upon an article in the Boston Herald discussing the return of a local legend – Toussaint the Liberator. For years, Toussaint played at Matt Murphy’s in Brookline with the China Band. Nights would get pretty hot and packed at the small Irish style pub in the heart of Brookline. When I use to live on Beacon Street just between Coolidge Corner and Washington Square we would go at least once or twice a month. Many nights spent in the back room hanging out with Bill Carbone, Johnny Trauma, Toussaint and who ever else happened to find themselves out back to grab a smoke. Those were some good times.
But those good times have past. Since then, Toussaint had broken off from the China Band and went on tour with Soulive as their lead man. After a couple years of touring and an album on the legendary Stax Label, they went their separate ways. Not because they didn’t get along, but rather it wasn’t the right fit. Toussaint even made it clear in the Herald article that he still communicates with the band members and has the utmost respect for them and the music they create.
Which brings us to last night. Bill Carbone, a fantastic drummer well known for his chops here in the Boston music circuit. Some of you may remember him from his Miracle Orchestra days. He started Buru Style a couple years back and when Toussaint came back into the fray after being away for a little while from the music scene, he saw a perfect fit for his vocals.
Those of you that are fans of the Budos Band or anything from the Daptone Record label for that matter, will find themselves drawn to Bill’s creation – A keyboard player that also has a Moog (I believe) which helps bring in the funk when needed; two sax players that play tighter then an old sailors knot; a bassist that knows how to lay the grooves and a guitar player, who was surprisingly a crowd favorite towards the end of last nights show. I hadn’t paid much attention to him all night but it took Toussaint to turn, look and make us recognize his guitar players abilities. He had a great way of floating notes in and out of Toussaint’s vocal rhythms. All in all, they do a great job of mixing in the reggae influences with a touch of funk and a boat load of soul.
There’s no question that we saw a very grown up Toussaint last night. Our crew all noticed that immediately upon seeing him on stage. I talked briefly to Bill after the show where he explained they just finished up recording their first album. It’s now going into the mastering phase. They are taking a little break after a few more shows here in January while Toussaint makes a trip down to the islands (Virgin I believe). They’ll be back in Boston at Church in March and if you’re a fan of energy, dancing and seeing one of the best under appreciated vocalists, then I’ll see you there.
They have an EP available in various outlets. You can also pick up the Buru Style instrumental album, The Crab, and Toussaint and The China Band’s album over at their Store.
I shot some amateur video with the phone last night:
Phish video guerrillas get sophisticated
I’ve been searching around YouTube recently for videos of Phish because you can’t really get a feel for this band unless you see them live.
It’s hard to argue against the fact that Phish fans are some of the most loyal fans in all of music. Heck, even Travis McCoy from the pop group Gym Class Heroes went to a show this tour and said on his Twitter account, “Most devoted fans I’ve ever seen…My hat is off to these guys yo.” Not that this means too much coming from a pop dude like this but nonetheless, however annoying you may find them, they’re going to stick by their band through thick and thin.
And with loyalty comes dedication to capturing the moments every Phish fan craves and looks forward to talking about with friends and family members even if their friends would rather they keep their enthusiastic stories to themselves. In the past, this dedication was usually in the form of taped recordings. Phish allows a certain amount of tapers to record each show and in return these tapers trade and share their recordings with the community. In fact, many professional marketers see this as one of the most powerful techniques in marketing – to give your information away for free. David Meerman Scott writes in his book, World Wide Rave, “do you market like Led Zeppelin or the Grateful Dead.” Of course he’s referring to the same type of freedom the Dead gave their fans in recording that Phish gives to theirs. This creates what they call a “long tail” effect. For example, even thought Phish went without playing a single live show or releasing any album for almost 5 years, they still had kids in high school that followed and listened to all their live music that was floating around the internet and from being past down from big brother or sister.
But video is slowly but surely taking on a more prominent role in the Phish world. Many are bringing in cameras that are capable of recording high quality shots. I’m guessing many have the HD Flip cameras. They then post to YouTube to share to the world.
An even more hardcore sharing technique is live streaming of the shows through ones iPhone or other mobile device. Sites like Ustream can have upwards to 2 even 3,000 viewers at once during a live show. And often times these streams are choppy and have poor sound quality yet the fans will continue listening so as to feel like they’re a part of the experiencing taking place at that very moment. One of the more popular channels is the Hood Stream channel.
For me, these clear and crisp videos are remarkable and I look forward to sifting through to find some great jams. Here are some of these amazing video guerrillas at work.
Phish @ Madison Square Garden, NY, NY 12-2-09 “Peaches en Regalia (Frank Zappa cover)”
Phish @ Portland, ME 11/29/09 “Mike’s Song”
Phish @ Albany, NY Compilation Video
Taxpayer @ T.T. The Bear’s Place – CD Release Party
This Friday, October 30th, a local Boston outfit called Taxpayer are playing T.T. The Bear’s Place in support of their upcoming CD, Don’t Steal My Night Vision (great title by the way).
Their gritty moody rock sound clings to the bands clear stance on the current state of our country. If you’re looking to chant along with your fellow citizen in anger at seeing our money fall down dark holes and into the hands of slimy, greedy, unholy creatures (read your congressman), then head over to TT’s this Friday.
Oh, and in case you weren’t aware, Taxpayer was nominated by the Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll for Best Local Album of the Year.
Download & Listen to “We Have Arrived”
Yonder Mountain String Band @ House of Blues (Boston) 10-16-09
(All concert shots were taken by Adrian Mott – See more on his Flickr Page)
My first experience with Yonder Mountain String Band was back in college at the Higher Ground, a small venue just outside of Burlington, that has (or rather had as it since moved to a new location) an intimate vibe. Intimate and bluegrass often go hand in hand.
Fast forward eight years and now I’m seeing them at the House of Blues in downtown Boston. A venue that can hardly be described as intimate. If you’re a hardcore Bluegrass fan, you probably already know, but Yonder is not your typical bluegrass experience. And in fact, if you’re someone who is just getting into the genre, this show may not be up your alley.
Yonder is strictly for those who are either a fan or were a fan of the jam band scene. They take what is typically viewed as a structured genre – songs with clear beginnings and endings – and turn it into a state of it’s own that usually has no boundaries. For those seeking the unknown with their music this is exactly what you want out of a band. Personally, there is always this curiosity that draws me to the jam band philosophy. However, if I were given a choice between a traditional bluegrass show (i.e. Sam Bush, Del McCoury or Tony Rice) and a jam band bluegrass show, I’d go with the traditional.
If you were to take the instruments away from each band member your first impression may not be one of bluegrass. The bass player himself looks like he could be coined the bluegrass version of Kid Rock with his long “counter culture” like hair dangling from the full brimmed black hat. But as soon as they start to banter and make short, often times cheeky side jokes, you know these are bluegrass players.
The crowd was your typical jam scene with mostly college kids filling the House of Blues with your occasional Dead Head from New Hampshire making the trek down. Saw a couple of what looked like high schoolers who are just starting to explore the jam world. Per usual at these types of shows, there were two sets. The crowd remained well in tact for the second set which convinced me we were at a pretty good show when it comes to pretty good shows you normally get really drunk at such as this. There were family members of the band in the crowd as well which always ups the level of playing.
In the end our crew of about ten deep had a good time during the wacky bass duel where Ben Kaufmann (upright bass player for YMSB) and what appeared to be one of the opening band members or just a friend took turns on the upright switching hands right in the middle of their plucking. We enjoyed the covers of Fleetwood Mac and Talking Heads. We didn’t necessarily enjoy the fact that House of Blues is grossly under staffed in the bartender field and it took way too long to get that first beer. Thankfully, either due to the owners realizing this dilemma, or just good marketing sense, they had loose beer cans being sold by girls walking through the dancing crowd. One rule, however, you can only have one beer in hand at a time, which is a rule strictly enforced (wink wink).
Like many other jam bands (i.e. Phish), Yonder is not well known for great studio works. Their latest “The Show”, was released to a few praises from the likely of places – Relix, Rolling Stone and Billboard. But I don’t even think the band would argue that in order to experience their music as it’s suppose to be experienced you need to see them live – and drunk too. In fact, as they say in their song, when the feeling is right reach for “one more jagermeister shot”.
Download & Listen to “Compliacted” from the new album.
And most importantly, go see YMSB on the road:
10/22 Madison, WI Orpheum Theatre with Split Lip Rayfield
10/23 Chicago, IL House of Blues
10/24 Chicago, IL House of Blues
10/28 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
10/29 Omaha, NE Sokol Auditorium
10/30 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
10/31 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
12/29 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater
12/30 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
12/31 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
Review of “Throw Down Your Heart”
I knew going into this special viewing of the Bela Fleck documentary, “Throw Down Your Heart”, that it was going to be special event. But my expectations were not only met but were exceeded.
For starters, the fans came out in force by showing up early to get in line for a front row seat. The line stretched from the side entrance at the Coolidge Corner Theatre all the way into the back parking lot and out past the entrance to the CVS. We were beginning to wonder if our tickets were even good enough to secure a seat.
Luckily, the room was larger then I remembered. We got in and had plenty of seats to choose from. The sold out crowd appeared to be a healthy mix of old and young music geeks with the occasional burnt out hippie. As we settled in, our host came walking down the aisle to introduce the film and to explain that following Bela will be joining us for some Q&A and to play a little music that was inspired from this experience.
Lights out, here we go. It starts out in the eastern country of Uganda where we meet Haruna Walusimbi, the first of many African musicians that Bela would make a profound connection with both musically and personally. This section of the film was one of the more emotional and memorable moments for me and perhaps Bela, although if you ask him ALL of it was equally memorable. There’s a moment at the end of this part of the trip, just before he leaves the village, where Bela is left standing there, on the verge of tears, unable to express the emotions he felt as the random villagers came up to shake his hand and to welcome him back any time he was in Africa. It was a strong sense of community that Bela wasn’t use to back in the United States.
Haruna also gave us an emotional moment when he and Bela are playing a song that he wrote about his father, who passed away when he was just a young boy. Haruna had to take care of his family and be the man of the house and the song is about how proud his father would be of him after all he’s accomplished as a young man and now as a grown up.
The Thumb Piano is introduced to us in Uganda. This lovely instrument is found all over Africa and in the next leg of the trip, Tanzania, we’re introduced to a blind musician, Anania Ngoliga, who plucks the thin metal strips at the same speed that a Stevie Ray Vaughn would race through his guitar solos. Both witty and crazy at the same time, when asked why two local women were thrown in jail for fighting over him he simply replied, “try me and you’ll see”. Anania’s ability to scat every single note as he plays on the Thumb Piano is mind-boggling.
Tanzania also introduced us to the music of Hukewe Zawose. Now deceased, his family has carried his legacy on. They have a unique singing style that is called gogo singing.
After Tanzania Bela moved on to The Gambia. It’s here that the origin of the banjo has been traced back to the African instrument, the akonting. During the second round of slave trafficking, the slave drivers allowed the Africans to bring on board one instrument as to help keep their spirits up. They believed this would help diminish the casualty rates that were so high during the first trip. Once back in the states, the instrument remained in play unlike tribal drums that were seen as a disturbance. The white southern slave owners eventually adopted the instrument starting the evolution process of the banjo we now know today.
The Jatta Family is a well known family within the banjo community who are helping to breathe life back into this old instrument that was on the verge of becoming extinct. So it was a must stop for Bela. Unlike the banjo, the akonting has only two strings. But the shape is just like that of a banjo – big round base with a neck stretching out from the base.
The last stop on Bela’s journey is Mali. Mali is considered Africa’s musical epicenter and just about every top musician migrates to this West African country. Bela is greeted by Oumou Sangare, a famous female vocalist. And when we say famous, here in Mali she’s so famous that she doesn’t even need to drive with a license plate. Lets just say that there aren’t too many other Land Rovers cruising around the town. Like many Africans, her life story is a testament to the strength of humanity. Many Africans are able to relate to Oumou because she came from such a poor upbringing so her success provides the locals with hope. And upon first listen to her sing, you’ll know why she’s become so successful.
I could go on about the amazing musicians that this film introduces you to but it would take up another full page of computer space so I’ll let the album, which is currently available for purchase, and the DVD when it comes out in November, introduce you to the rest of the story.
One of the more interesting tidbits about this film was how Sony originally said they would help fund the making but then dropped it after they saw the raw footage. They claimed they didn’t have anything promising! In fact, they asked if Bela would be interested in returning to Africa to film some extra footage with a Forest Whitaker type of actor. Bela and his brother, Sascha Paladino, felt that Sony just didn’t understand the direction they wanted to go so they made the bold decision to go it alone.
So it’s a great story of “who’s laughing now” cause based on the response from the crowd in Brookline to the reactions I’ve heard from festivals and showings, the album and DVD should be a big success.
Keep an eye on Bela’s myspace page for up and coming tours with some of the musicians that took part in the making of both the movie and album. They plan to release the DVD in November where there will be a directors cut. The original film had an hour more of footage but apparently all festival people said that if it’s not 90 minutes or less it won’t make it into their schedules. To see if any screenings are happening near you, visit the official move website at www.throwdownyourheart.com.
Review of Andrew Bird @ BoA Pavilion 6/19/08
On this gloomy Friday, that turned into a partial sunny afternoon, we dragged our work week bodies to the Seaport Bar & Grill for some pregame beverages before walking over to the Andrew Bird / Calexico show at the BoA Pavilion with a clear understanding to catch all of the opener. Those unfamiliar with Calexico, get familiar. Originating from Tuscon, Arizona, they’ve been around the block. If you listen to WERS you’ve probably heard their latest single, “Two Silver Trees “, off of Carried to Dust. Over the years they’ve received sporadic recognition and exposure such as their collaboration with Iron & Wine for an EP, In the Reins, but are definitely due for more. One of their more famous tracks is a cover of the Love song, “Alone Again”, which closed out their set and forced us out of our seats to get the blood flowing before Andrew hit the stage. Turning around at the end of their set, I was happy to see a good portion of the venue filled. I’m sure they picked up a few new fans from this night.
Over all, the venue was a little more then half full for the show. A bit odd, considering Andrew Bird has been gracing the Boston area with his presence for over a decade (from Johnny D’s, to Middle East to Berklee to the Pavilion). But it was also refreshing to go up to get a beer and not have any line.
“Sweetbreads” opened the set, which is more commonly known as “Dark Matter” off of Armchair Apocrypha. Andrew was his usual talkative self and explained after this song that he was inspired by a cook book about sweetbreads that he once read while half asleep and thinking about eating thoughts. As he rambled he began to confuse himself and the crowd. Andrew likes to open his mouth and let his thoughts do all the talking so it’s usually disjointed. Sticking with the same album, they jumped into a lively rendition of “Fiery Crash”.
Reaching back a little father into his library, they played the slow and fidgety tune, “Opposite Day”, from …Mysterious Production of Eggs. The next set of songs would highlight his latest release, Noble Beast, starting with “Fitz and Dizzyspells”. The energy from this song was a sign of things to come for this show. “Natural Disaster” followed and relaxed the crowd back from the edge of our seats where we sat bobbing our heads to Fitz. “Mastersworm”, a song about radiolarians, tiny microorganisms that live at the bottom of the ocean. Andrew is a tried and true nature boy and it shows throughout his lyrics. Before moving on, he explained that the next couple of tunes are about anti-social tendencies. “Oh No”, the Noble Beast single and one of Bird’s greatest whistle-a-long songs to date, was first up. We tried to whistle with him but not every human being has as much saliva as Bird so this was short lived. “Effigy” was the second anti-social inspired song. The next song, “Anonanimal”, was inspired by the animals from the movie The Dark Crystal as Andrew explained. How can you not love this guy.
The first and only cover of the night was an old timey tune called “Trials, Troubled, Tribulations”. The next song, “Imitosis”, showcased the chops of Andrew’s drummer, Martin Dosh. I was hoping to get a “Simple X”, a song that blew me away at the Berklee show a couple years back and introduced me to Dosh’s abilities. “Cataracts” slowed things down but this was necessary for what was to come.
This was the last show for the joint Andrew and Calexico bill. Andrew has known the boys from Calexico for sometime and was very sad to see their paths divide. We all knew what this meant, it was time to use up the space on the giant stage; enter the six members of Calexico. “Skin is, my” kicked things off and as the guitars roared and horns soared towards the first chorus, the crowd slowly rose to their feet. For the remainder of the show most of us stood to pay homage to the amazing performance unraveling in front of us. The sound was huge and everyone was feeling it. Even folks who would rather sit joined in on the excitement. When they broke into “Synthian Empire”, I turned to my friend Josh in excitement. I had claimed this my favorite song of the year back in 2007 when Armchair Apocrypha came out and hearing it with Calexico on stage was a huge treat for these ears. One more with everyone, the sneaky but heartfelt song, “Tables and Chairs”, found on …Mysterious Production of Eggs. As they took their bows and left the stage, the crowd roared and banged on chairs giving them a clear sign that we would not be happy with just one more song.
Up until this point they had played songs from only the past three albums, besides the old timey cover tune. So it was a special moment when Bird came out all alone to pull off “Why?”, a song from his 2001 release, The Swimming Pool. As he rubs his head and moves about sporadically, this song shows off Andrew’s madness perfectly. From the pluck of the strings to the vilont stoke of his bow with horsehair loosely flying about, Andrew Bird is a true modern day virtuoso.
They went on to play two more songs in the first encore (“Headsoak” and “Fake Palindromes”). Then, feeling the excitement in the crowd, Andrew came back out for a 2nd encore and played “Don’t Be Scared” off of his 2003 album, Weather Systems.
It was quite a night and ranks up there with shows I’ve seen at the pavilion as well as shows I’ve seen period. We took a lot of pictures, below are just a handful. To see more, go to T Dog’s Flickr page.
Complete setlist:
- Sweetbreads/Dark Matter
- Fiery Crash
- Opposite Day
- Fitz and Dizzyspells
- Natural Disaster
- Mastersworm
- Oh No
- Effigy
- Anonanimal
- Trials, Troubles, Tribulations
- Imitosis
- Cataracts
- Skin is, My (w/ Calexico)
- Scythian Empire (w/ Calexico)
- Tables and Chairs (w/ Calexico)
1st Encore:
- Why?
- Headsoak
- Fake Palindromes
2nd Encore:
- Don’t Be Scared
Pictures from the show:
Passion Pit @ Paradise Rock Club 6/18/09
When I first heard “Sleepyhead” early last year I didn’t know what quite to think. Minus the vocals, the sound was familiar. Electropop is nothing new and is considered by some to be almost mainstream thanks to Matt Murphy and his LCD Soundsystem project and our friends across the pond, Hot Chip. But if I had to choose one of the two that Passion Pit reminds me the most of it’s LCD. Not necessarily because of their sound but because of how the music is produced and written. In essence, a one man show.
In no way am I discounting the talent that now supports Michael Angelakos. As clearly stated at this show, Passion Pit is more a band then it is a moniker like LCD Soundsystem is for Matt Murphy. Keeping the beat behind the drums with his big studio headphones is Nate Donmoyer, on the synth/samples/guitar is Ayad Al Adhamy, on bass is Jeff Apruzzese and on the keyboard is Ian Hultquist. It’s still way too early to say whether ‘Pit will have a similar rotating cast of characters like LCD but it’s safe to say that right now, the band appears to be locked in to a groove.
I began the show in the pit, snapping a few shots before handing it off to my photo guerrilla, T dog. Therefor, the performance didn’t start to really hit me until they played “Secret Place”. As I suspected in my preview, the chorus section that uses a group of kids for the melody was supported by the crowd, but not because the band asked them to, but because the crowd wanted to. This formula suites Passion Pit very well. Besides Michael’s vocal style, this helps differentiate them from the other electropop bands. Later, when they played “The Reeling” for the encore, the crowd responded with force, “Oh noooooooo”, over and over again.
Besides the typical standouts, “The Reeling” and “Sleepyhead”, a song that took me for a ride was “Swimming in the Flood”. One of the slower tracks on Manners, their debut album. With its simple keyboard line over Michael’s floating vocals, this song does a nice job of lifting the crowd in to a frenzy as it draws to a close.
With the family and close friends in attendance, the band was excited to be home. To me, it seems as if lead man, Michael Angelakos, is a bit shocked by the rush of success and attention they’ve received. Everyone else appears pumped to be along for the ride. It must be a daunting thought to be the main song writer for a band that has only one hour of material, was signed by a major label (they are signed to Columbia Records in the U.K.), and will be under the gun to reach into his brain to pick out more “Sleepyheads” and “The Reelings” to keep the momentum going. It’s a daunting task but one I sense Michael is up to.
One thing is for sure, the kids were jamming last night. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Paradise is by far the best midsize venue in the greater Boston area. From the giant polls painted to look like funky trees that stand smack in the middle of the room to the close proximity of the balcony that hovers over the crowd, there’s a sense of comradery in the ‘Dise. Every show that’s geared towards dancing should be performed here. My only comment would be to the house sound team. The bass amps stage right were a bit ridiculous. I felt my brain move several inches to the left and right every time the bass or kick drum was hit with force.
I look forward to following Passion Pit and hope that next time around instead of one hour of music in their repertoire they’ll have two hours to help keep the party going.
Here are some more pics from the show for your enjoy
ment.
For more Passion Pit info, visit the following sites:
www.myspace.com/passionpitjams
Passion Pit tonight at Paradise in Boston (Sold Out)
Going to the Passion Pit show tonight at the Paradise Rock Club. Should be a good time as it’s a home coming show for these Emerson students. Not even sure you can call them students anymore based on the media reaction to their latest album, Manners.
Buy Manners: (Amazon) (iTunes) (Insound) (eMusic)
Looking forward to seeing how the crystal clear production on the album translates in a live show. Wonder if they’ll keep the chorus of kids in the music some how for songs like “The Reeling” and “Little Secrets”. I bet, in fact I’d be willing to put a PBR on this one, they encourage the crowd to sing the parts. I can see it now, “higher and higher, higher and higher”.
See you kiddies there.
Stream “The Reeling” (Mike Snow Remix) courtesy of RCRDLBL
Bonus Downloads
Listen & Download: “The Reeling” (Wallpaper. Remix)
Listen & Download: “Sleepyhead” (Wallpaper. Dio Remix)
Remembering middle school with Better Than Ezra
If you grew up going to grade school in the 90’s, then you know you jammed out to “Good” by Better Than Ezra at one point in your life. Well, get ready, cause you have another chance to grab that girl across the dance floor you woosed out on asking to dance in middle school to that song when they swing in to Boston to play the Paradise Rock Club on June 20th.
Believe it or not, Better Than Ezra has a loyal fan base and they call themselves, get ready, the “Ezralites”. Another little tid-bit I learned about the trio from New Orleans, no one really knows the origin of their band name. The band purposely kept it a secret as a promotional tool.
They aren’t on tour to relive the old days, they are alive and kicking and recently came out with some new material on the album, Paper Empire, released on May 12th.
Buy Tickets to the Paradise Show
Better Than Ezra official website
Purchase Paper Empire (iTunes) (CD)
Listen & Download: “Absolutely Still” (off of Paper Empire)
Listen to “Good” over at the Hype Machine and become one with your pegged jeans
Full Tour Schedule:
June 16 9:30 Club Washington, DC
June 17 Trocadero Philadelphia, PA
June 18 Thursday At The Square Buffalo, NY
June 19 The Fillmore NY @ Irving Place New York, NY
June 20 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
June 23 House Of Blues Cleveland, OH
June 25 The Vogue Indianapolis, IN
June 26 4th Street Live Louisville, KY
June 27 House Of Blues Chicago, IL
June 28 Summerfest Milwaukee, WI
July 9 Alive @ 5 Stamford, CT
July 10 Bottle &Cork Dewey Beach, DE
July 11 The NorVa Norfolk, VA
July 12 The National Theatre Richmond, VA
July 14 The Rex Theatre Pittsburgh, PA
July 15 Emerald Theatre Mount Clemens, MI
July 17 Snowden Grove Ampitheatre Southaven, MS
July 18 40 Watt Club Athens, GA
July 19 3rd &Lindsley Nashville, TN
July 24 Kansas City Live Kansas City, MO
July 25 The Pageant St. Louis, MO
August 13 Plaza De Cesar Chavez San Jose, CA
August 21 Power Plant Live Baltimore, MD
August 22 Budweiser Downtown Live Raleigh, NC
October 4 Gretna Heritage Festival Gretna, LA
October 7 Walt Disney World Resort, Epcot Center Orlando, FL
October 17 Great Miss. River Balloon Race Natchez, MS
About Editor
Name: Luke "Kip" Owen
Location: Boston, MA
Contact: kippy[AT]hip2besquare[DOT]net
Twitter: twitter.com/kipdog
Youtube: youtube.com/kipdog
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