Bluegrass legends jam at Harvard Symposium
This past weekend Harvard held the first ever Bluegrass Symposium. It was called Fire on the Mountain. For bluegrass fans, they had more then just famous players (Sam Bush, legendary Bobby Hicks and Alison Brown), but also famous professors and instrument builders on hand to talk about one of America’s greatest contributions to the music community – bluegrass.
During the 3:30 session the three musicians who were told their stories about how they got started, where they learned to play, who they played with and what they feel is the future of bluegrass music. Each played some of their favorite tunes but when it came time for Sam Bush to pick his mandolin he told Bobby to join in if he felt so inclined. And boy, did he feel inclined. I know there were others recording so I’m sure there’s something better then one I captured on my little old iPhone, but you don’t need much for this to sound good. Enjoy.
For those in need of some Bluegrass in their collection, start with Bill Monroe and work your way out from there. For those eMusic subscribers, grab The Essential Bill Monroe & The Monroe Brothers collection.
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)
Michael Cera + New Islands Video = Trippy 80’s Vibe
This kid keeps getting hipper and hipper. Been a fan ever since I jumped on the Arrested Development band wagon a few years back. Here, Michael is recruited by those infectious Canadian indie rockers, Islands.
The song, “No You Don’t”, is part new wave part electronica, it’s even got remnants of Cyndi Lauper’s song, “All Through The Night”. Listen for it just under the melody.
Their third album, Vapours
Decade in Review: Hot Chip
Hot Chip
What’s fascinating about Hot Chip is how much their style evolves from album to album yet some how they manage to keep the unique Hot Chip sound in tact. What is the sound you ask? It’s the sound of electrical pulses hitting you from every dimension – 1st, 2nd, 3rd and even the 4th – which forces your body to react. Some react positively while others gasp at the electronic cross over attempt. I for one was never a big electronic music fan. I’ve always been a sucker for the classic four-piece rock band – lead guitar, bass, drummer and either rhythm guitar or keyboard player. But Hot Chip has managed to combine the best of both worlds. They usually don’t use a drummer in the studio, leaving the masterful beat making up to Felix but every now and then they’ll recruit a friend to hit the skins at their live shows such as Pat Mahoney (also plays for DFA’s LCD Soundsystem project) during their 2007 fall tour.
One of my more memorable moments as a music blogger was when I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Goddard when they played at the Paradise Rock Club in 2008 in support of their last album, Made in the Dark.
I’ll never forget the first show at Great Scott in 2006 on a random Monday night. I had only heard about them from a Philly friend who described their sound as being super chill. Chill was the last thing on their minds this night. The Warning, the follow up to Coming on Strong, had yet to be released in the states but it was a clear departure from their laid back style on Coming on Strong. This first ever stop in Boston had the band testing out their new songs and when we walked out of that show we had sweat stained clothes and big grins on our faces. I, or rather we, became instant fans and have been ever since.
Members:
Joe Goddard – vocals, synthesizer, percussion
Alexis Taylor – vocals, synthesizer, guitar, percussion, piano
Felix Martin – drum machines, synthesizer
Al Doyle – guitar, synthesizer, percussion, backing vocals
Owen Clark –guitar, bass, synthesizer
2009 Album: No album
They have an album coming out in 2010 called One Life Stand. Listen to the first single, “Take It In”.
Got me hooked: The Warning
Bonus Video: This is from the show in April 2008 where we interviewed Joe Goddard before hand. Amazing show. This is “Crap Kraft Dinner” off of Coming on Strong. The song builds and builds to a climax that always gets the house rocking. It’s common to hear them throw in the Fleetwood Mac song, “Everywhere”, at the beginning during their shows, which they do here.
The power of music can harvest crops
If you’re a fan of Edward Sharp and The Magnetic Zeros, you know that they’re very spiritual group and are well aware of how to harness good karma. During their CD release party this year they raised money to help start a farm in Uganda. The group they specifically were helping was the Gulu Widows Group of Uganda and just recently the farm that was built from this money had it’s first harvest.
To thank Edward and his magnetic zeros, the women joined together to sing the chorus of the ever so popular song, “Home”. Very uplifting scene and I’m sure the karma police are watching closely.
“home” in gulu from Voice Project on Vimeo.
Watch the original by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros
If you don’t have their 2009 debut, Up From Below, you should. It’s one of my favorites of 2009 and should be in your music library. Here are some places you can buy it online and of course, pick it up at your independent record store on the way home from work today.
The Dodos – “Time to Die” video
As reported by the band last week, The Dodos new album, Time to Die, has leaked two months in advance of the official release. Due to this common event, they’ve made some moves to help keep their pockets from draining too heavily. Learn more over at Stereogum.
Since letting their album stream, a slew of mixed reviews have been flowing in from both amateurs and professionals. I have yet to listen to the entire album myself, but I did take the time to listen and watch the video for the new song, “Time to Die”, over at Spinner.
Despite some reports that their new album lacks the punch as displayed on last year’s Visiter, this particular song stands up strong on it’s own. It starts out slow with their new addition, a xylonphonist, using a unique strumming technique where he extracts a tone from the xylophone keys with a bow creating a piercing tone, similar to what you get when you glide your finger around the brim of a wine glass. But keeping with The Dodo calling card, they pump it up with native like drums about 2 1/2 minutes into this 6 minute romp. The fast paced strum intertwined with the soft vocals of Meric Long make this a great addition to The Dodos catalog, a catalog I unfortunately don’t listen to enough.
Time To Die is out digitally on 7/28 and physically on 9/15 through French Kiss.
Brian Williams interviews Deer Tick
Are you kidding me? Awesome news about the boys from little old Rhode Island. We’ve been all about these cats for two years now since they first released War Elephant. Read our review over at the Ajisignal.com.
Watch the 3 minute interiview with Brian Williams:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Check out the recent interview in Rolling Stone with Brian Williams. The dude keeps getting cooler and cooler.
Deer Tick is coming out with their second release, “Born on Flag Day”, June 23rd on Partisan Records. Pre-order the album now.
Waxploitations “Causes 2″ Dafur benefit album
I’ve been getting a lot of communications recently from a friend who’s a big cause fighter. Her biggest cause is supporting the victims of the Bhopal chemical spill back in the early 80’s. I hate saying I’ve been too busy to take part in some of the events she’s invited us to but the truth is, I’ve been swamped.
So, in an effort to do my part to help a cause, I’m encouraging everyone to pick up “Cause 2″, the new benefit CD from Waxploitations, home of Danger Mouse, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Gnarls Barkely and Danger Doom.
“Causes” is an ongoing benefit series where 100% of the proceeds go towards supporting the men and women fighting the devastation in Dafur. The groups involved are Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam America.
Right now, MTV’s The Leak, is streaming the album in it’s entirety. So go listen to exclusive tracks from the artists mentioned above including LCD Soundsystem, The Decembrists, Devandra Banhart, Diplo, Mum, Matthew Dear, My Morning Jacket, Neon Neon, RJD2, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and many more.
To learn more about the album and the crisis it’s supporting, as well as how you can purchase once it’s released on May 5th, go to www.waxploitation.com/causes. You can also watch the promo video on their Youtube page at www.youtube.com/waxploitation and visit their myspace page at www.myspace.com/causes.
Full Tracklist:
- Black Moth Super Rainbow – happy melted city
- The Decemberists – after the bombs (live version)
- Devendra Banhart – white reggae troll
- Diplo – wassup wassup (exclusive samim remix)
- Federico Aubele – luna y sol
- Gnarls Barkley – mystery man
- LCD Soundsystem – starry eyes original (causes exclusive)
- Matthew Dear – when she don’t need me (causes exclusive)
- Mum – asleep in a hiding place
- My Morning Jacket – highly suspicious (exclusive vhs or beta dee jays remix)
- Neon Neon – i lust u feat. cate le bon (dj eli escobar remix)
- Richard Swift – wastin’ m’time
- rjd2 – wherever
- Sharon Jones & Dap-Kings – it hurts to be alone
- Tim & Eric – petite feet (exclusive devlin & ghostdad remix feat. sylvia gordon)
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2008 World Series – Game 5 (part 2) – 9th Inning – Section 142 from ryan cummins on Vimeo.
Phillies win the World Series – Celebration on Broad Street from BCR on Vimeo.
Black Kids & Cut Copy @ Paradise – 5/12/08
Black Kids Review:
Monday’s are not usually the best day for me when it comes to giving a thorough review of a show. But I kept my whits about me by not drinking too many PBRs.
I missed the opening band, Mobius Band. I know some of my fellow Boston bloggers have been following these guys but I have yet to catch on. I’m sure that sooner rather then later I’ll catch their opening act. Give them a listen and let me know what you think: http://www.myspace.com/mobiusband.
I made it just around the time Black Kids were making it on stage. The crowd didn’t seem into it right away. I think the packed house and cramped space didn’t help. They’re a band you want to sit back and groove to. Even their grooviest of tunes didn’t get me moving too much. But I don’t think that’s really the point, unless you’re completely in the bag. The point here is that they play fun, catchy music. The lead vocalist, Reggie Youngblood, has a unique sound but as we all know, we take after our idols. I heard hints of Bowie on occasion and for modern day inspiration he was definitely throwing in some British accent love for Bloc Party frontman, Kele Okereke .
My one problem with Black Kids is the line up that seems forced here – brother and sister in the same band. If Ali Youngblood actually played an instrument proficiently or had impeccable vocals, it would be one thing, but she really doesn’t do much to add to the band. The whole brother – sister thing probably works to their advantage but I recently saw an interview where Reggie said “it’s the first time I’ve played with my sister. That’s not completely OK. We don’t hang out. If we weren’t playing music, we probably wouldn’t see much of each other.” (Boston Metro). Not sure if that’s good press or not. Maybe he meant to say that “It’s OK” and the Metro either miss quoted him or he miss quoted himself.
What’s even worse about their setup is they put her front and center. When she’s not supplying the back up vocals or pushing a few keys on her mini synthesizer, she passes the time by doing a little jig. It’s kind of like the Ashley Simpson episode from SNL.
However, they’re having fun and that’s all that really matters. Would I recommend seeing Black Kids live, not really. Nothing too special. However, I would recommend buying their music for their poppy and fun songs.
Their album his coming out in July. It was recorded and produced over in London by Bernard Butler (former Suede guitarist). The album is coming out on Columbia Records.
Cut Copy Review:
Cut Copy are all about the build up. They love revving up the crowd with breaks in the song that lead up to huge bass lines and infectious melodies. If you own their recent album, In Ghost Colours, you already know this. The one thing that I felt lacked from their set was a flow. There were periods between each song that were longing then I expected. Especially since on the album the songs flow into one another.
But that is the only downfall. Everything else was just pure, good old fashion, dance fever music and electronic pop goodness.
I was able to capture most of their performance of the single “Lights & Music”. Watch below. The sound is a bit scratchy since I was up in the stage-right balcony where speakers point right at you. The more and more I go to the Paradise the more I enjoy the sound quality in certain locations such as in this spot. If you go too deep into the balcony then the sound gets muffled. I also enjoy the floor over on the left better then the right even though the right side is bigger.
And watch carefully folks, Boston kids love to get down. I mean, this place was going nuts during these build up moments. The boys from Cut Copy were eating it up. I looked down on the sea of kids and could barely make out individuals. It just looked like one big mass of human arms flaring back and forth. Too bad this was a Monday night others I would have been down there in the mix.
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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