Powered by WordPress
The Cult - King Contrary Man
The Cult - Edie
The Cult - I, Assassin
The Cult - Born Into This
The Cult’s Official Site, The Cult on MySpace, Buy Born Into This
Designated Driver. Music to my ears when the show is across the bridge. The wife volunteered to do the driving duties, so I broke the seal on a bottle of Beam early for this show. Gone solo or not, Isbell, in my opinion, is still part of the Trucker family and half a bottle deep is the best way to start a night at the rock show. Common decency dictates the whole deal. The last time the Truckers were in town, they played to a packed Jannus Landing, and on the way to the show I wondered how that would translate for Isbell. The crowd was significantly reduced compared to the Jannus show, but it was still bigger than most for an artist touring on their debut cd.
Jason and his band took the stage with the familiar Jack Daniels bottle in hand, and in that single moment I knew everything was gonna be okay. Opening the show with “Brand New Kind of Actress”, the same track that opens the cd, gave me a moment of worry. Ever since I saw Social Distortion play their new cd track by track, in order, and then walk off stage, I have worried when a show opens with the first track from the current album. Five minutes later, though, all my worries were squashed as Jason started picking the familiar opening riffs of “Decoration Day”….and the crowd went wild. From there, the band played a good mix of songs from Sirens, spiced with DBT familiars, and a few covers to round out the set. The crowd favorites were obviously Jason’s old DBT tracks “Outfit” and “Never Gonna Change”. Walking in, I wanted to hear two songs, my very favorite Isbell song, “Goddamn Lonely Love”, and my favorite track from the new cd “Try”. He managed to get both into the set, so I went home drunk and happy.
In closing, I would like to type a few lines about the band itself. Ever since Jason went solo, I have wondered about the 400 Unit. Was it really Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, or was it Jason Isbell and a revolving cast of players that were gonna heretofore be known as the 400 Unit? While I will not pretend to actually know anything beyond what anyone can see, standing out in front of a stage and watching them play, they certainly seemed to be a band and not a front guy with some hired guns. They were tighter than I expected them to be, and guitarist Browan Lollar even got to take over lead singer duties during a rather spirited cover of The Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”. Speaking of Lollar, whew, did Jason find himself a gem in that guy! That kid has got so much stage presence and charisma oozing out of him that I found it hard to watch the rest of the band at times. Oh yeah, and the boy can play the fucking hell out of a guitar as well.
All in all, I was really happy with Jason’s creation. I hope he keeps this lineup for the next cd and I look forward to hearing what Jason does now that this has his undivided attention.
Jason Isbell - Brand New Kind of Actress
Jason Isbell - Try
Drive-By Truckers - Never Gonna Change
Drive-By Truckers - Goddamn Lonely Love
In Florida August nights are hot and I don’t mean wear a pair of shorts hot. I’m talking wear as little clothes as possible and you’re still gonna sweat hot. It’s a fact that we’ve come to live with. Rain offers no solace, instead it adds to the stifling humidity. This is Florida and these are our August nights. The Mofro boys come from Jacksonville and they know this. This particular Friday night was not an unfamiliar site for Floridians. Afternoon thunderstorms turned into night mug. We had a hurricane out in the Caribbean projected to come just close enough to the Gulf to allow the weathermen to practice their hunkerdown speeches and Mofro playing under the ol’ Oak trees that cover the Skipperdome. Sweat, affordable beer, fried foods and a swampy soulful blues band from J-ville following the hyper-sweaty dirty blues outfit that is Tampa’s own Nervous Turkey made this seem like a perfect Florida storm. A Florigasm if you will.
As I said last week, I had never seen the Mofro boys live before and as the sold out crowd began to filter in I soon realized I was definitely in the minority but it seemed like a welcoming enough crowd. I settled in at the front of the stage to watch the Nervous Turkey boys. I have seen Nervous Turkey two other times in bars with acoustics as poor as my grammar. Seeing them in the Skipperdome sealed the deal for me. I love these guys. They play a brand of blues that makes me wanna drink and there’s nothing wrong with that. For the bulk of the show I was completely taken in by Mr. Locke but as their set was winding down I took a look around. The crowd had probably tripled in size and a lot of them were just as enthralled with these fellas as I was. If you get a chance do not pass on seeing Nervous Turkey, I guarantee that you’ll have a good time.
Next came the reason for the evening. A bead of sweat slowly ran the length of my back as the band took the stage and began to tune up. “It’s been too long Skipperdome” were the first words from Mr. Grey’s mouth. The crowd response was exactly as it should have been. The opening instrumental quasi-jam band number with Grey announcing his band gave way to Florida:
Now skyscrapers and superhighways / are carved through the heart of Florida / Building sub-divisions while the swamps are drained / makin’ room for people and amusement parks / It’s like watchin’ someone you love die slow / Yeah they’re killin’ her one piece at a time / I know some fools who think I should let go / but they never seen Florida through my eyes
It was here I really began to appreciate both the honesty of these guys and the connection they have with the crowd. I would really like to think that the connection with Florida based crowds is a lot closer to the bone than it is with outta state crowds but something tells me I should not be so naive. Blogcritics put it so perfectly I am just gonna quote them direct:
Like shamans, the charismatic Grey and his sinuous band build their modestly structured, unprepossessing songs into small volcanoes of emotion, with the audience supplying half the energy.
It wasn’t some low key soul show mind you. No, No, No. The funk of tracks like “How Junior Got His Head Put Out“, “Nare Sugar” and “Ho’ Cake” most definitely proved to be crowd favorites and caused more than a few folks to break out in fits of spontaneous dancing. In the end I left feeling less like I went to a show and more like I had just witnessed an event. Do you know what I am saying? I know it sounds cheesy but I just feel like I am devaluing the the night if I just call it a show. I dunno, maybe it’s the heat talking.
Mofro - Florida
Mofro - Ho’ Cake
Mofro - How Junior Got His Head Put Out
Mofro - On Palastine
�
I am a frequent reader of the Hank III message board. Apparently there is some beef between III and Shooter. I don’t know either one of them, so I could give 2 shits, but to some people on there you gotta like one or the other, regardless of whether you like them both or not. Because of that, I have read a lot of Shooter sucks show reviews. I tried to block them out and go into the show merely as a fan of the music who had never managed to see him live. I’ll never know if I went into that show with depressed expectations due to the III message board chatter or not, but I do know that Shooter and the .357s blew my expectations away.
They took the stage a little after 9 o’clock with no opening act. First thing I said to my wife was, “Looks like a scene right out of a movie about the Southern rock movement of the 70’s,” and she agreed. Seems fitting to me. While a lot of people call Shooter “country” I’ve seen both of his studio releases as more rock than country. Call it revivalist Southern Rock if you wanna, but they just reinforced my opinion live.
The crowd size honestly surprised me. I had not spoken to a single person outside of my wife in this area who knew who Shooter was, but judging from the sing-alongs, I need to get a little more talkative. They crowd knew their Shooter, in fact the only stuff that did not get a full crowd harmony was the new material. Personally, I had a great time adding my part to the harmonies and left the show with a shit-eating grin that can only come from too many drinks and a great night.
Highlights of the night for me were “Electric Rodeo”, “Lonesome Blues”, the new song, Shooter’s cover of I Don’t Think Hank Done It This Way, “Manifesto No. 2″ and my absolute favorite Shooter track yet, “Hair of the Dog”. Reduced expectations or not, I can tell you that the next time Shooter and Co. is in town they are gonna have one hell of a high water mark to live up to. Their own. Fuck that country label and the III message board. If you like that classic Southern rock sound, then check this kid out when he rolls through your town. You’ll thank me the next day after the hangover starts to recede.
Shooter Jennings - Hair of the Dog
Shooter Jennings - Manifesto No. 2
Shooter Jennings - Electric Rodeo
As a side note: My camera’s batteries died about 10 seconds after I turned the camera on and I had pretty much relegated myself to having to find a stock picture for this piece. Then I saw thee 3 people taking pictures from the crowd and it was immediately obvious they knew what they were doing, so I had the wife write down my email address and the web address.
They were really nice to the slurring drunk jackass (me, not the wife) who, in the middle of the show, is handing them a napkin with some contact info and going through this drunken spiel about a camera and dead batteries. They took my napkin with a smile and said “no problem,” so I wobbled away confident. Then Saturday passed with no email and the reality of a drunk fella at a concert approaching a stranger set in and I knew I was gonna be grabbing a stock photo for this piece.
Enter Sunday…and an email.
Turns out the fellas at Blind Imagery Photography weren’t just humoring a drunk person and to top it all off they sent me the photo that heads this piece. Freaking awesome. So much better than anything I ever would have taken and may I say it adds a sense of professionalism to the site.
Thanks for being awesome people!
Due to the rarest of rare events here in Tampa (show starting on time) I missed each and every opening act and walked in just as the Shackshakers were finishing their first song.
The scene was familiar. Newbies to LSS standing up front. Veterans of Shaker shows standing out of range of snot rockets and the occasional pubic hair tossing, but with their hand covering the top of their cups just in case they underestimated J.D.’s snot launching and pube tossing prowess. The bean pole that is J.D. Wilkes preaching to the crowd with a fire and brimstone to rival any Penecostal preacher, sometimes using old-fashioned microphones or a harmonica, all with a frenzy that surprising everyone, rookie and vets alike. All being backed by his choir, featuring the ever popular David Lee (guitarist), Mark Robertson (bass) and the new guy on drums banging out a gothic-rockabilly-polka version of southern rock/punk.
They played the crowd favorites such as Agony Wagon, Blood on the Bluegrass, CB Song and Pinetree Boogie. However, this time through they also played a couple of new songs that, at least live, were a lot heavier than most previous material.
Look, have you ever tried to tell someone a really funny story and when you were finished they just looked at you, so you drop the “you had to be there” gimmick? That’s what trying to explain a Shackshaker show is like. You should have been there. An LSS show is part rock show, part circus side show and part tent revival and, for those lucky enough to witness them, they are never forgotten. This show was no different.
Next time, be there.
Legendary Shack*Shakers - All My Life To Kill
Legendary Shack*Shakers - Something in the Water
Legendary Shack*Shakers - Blood on the Bluegrass
PICTURES FROM THE SHOW ARE AVAILABLE HERE
—-
A few days prior to the LSS show the wife and I went down to Jannus to see Two Gallants open for Les Claypool. A pairing I found odd prior to the show only got odder when we showed up. Most of the crowd had obviously never heard of Two Gallants and really had no interest in getting to know them either, which really was a shame because the band kicked ass. I decided I was gonna look at this show as a study of how a shit crowd can turn a good show into an “ehhh” show. The Two Gallants put on a fantastic show but I had no passion for it because the crowd was totally unreceptive and crap. One thing is for sure though; I can not wait for Two Gallants to come to town by themselves.
“some say that hip hop’s dead… and towards those people who believe that… we would like to offer this: hip hop’s not dead… it’s just certain peoples careers within hip hop that are dead.. they don’t want to admit that though. haha… it’s time for the new wave of hip hop to shine, so get out the way and let us do our thing.” ~ Swamburger, Crowbar 2007
Solilla brought their hiphop revolution to Ybor City on Saturday night for everyone with open ears. Along the way, they also brought fellow hiphop revivalists Grey Matter and DJ J Storm to the tent for the sermon.
Honestly, I don’t get out to as many hiphop shows as I would like, but I always seem to make it to the best shows. This show was no different. First up was Grey Matter. No dancing girls, no bells, no whistles. A DJ with a beat and an MC with a rhyme. The beauty of the minimalism is that there was nothing left to focus on except the songs. Lesser acts may crumble under such simplicity, but Illustrate’s writing is up to task. I had never heard of these guys before this show but I hope to hear more from them in the near future. Let’s hope that a talented pair with intelligent and thoughtful lyrics don’t get swept to the side in favor of dancing girls and stadium chants.
Next to the stage was DJ J Storm. Grey Matter’s Illustrate introduced him by calling him one of the 5 best DJ’s you (meaning us, the crowd) will ever get to see in person. A tall order for sure but to quote Casius Clay, “It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true”. Personally, I had never had the chance to see a turntablist in person. It is ridiculous. So much going on. I think I would have to see this guy a couple of more times to truly wrap my head around it, but it was awesome. He is probably the best DJ I have ever witnessed in person.
Finally the time had come for S.O.S. to deliver the knockout punch. DaVinci brought his MPC’s out to play, sometimes with his hands, other times with his elbows, and when push came to shove he was even seen playing one with his face. All the while, Swam and Alexandrah delivered their politcal and spritual based songs with the spot on rapid fire nimble tongued delivery fans have come to expect. Swam even took time in the middle of the set to shine a light on the silliness of the current hiphop scene and remind everyone where hiphop really came from. He also showed off his old school dance steps, from the running man to the moonwalk. Hitting on favorites such as Market Place, Black Guy Peace and Ur Turn they had the crowd firmly in their hands. My only complaint was that the show just wasn’t long enough but a man much wiser than me once said “Always leave them wanting more”.
They did.
All in all, the night was a celebration of what is right with the often maligned (both fairly and unfairly), misunderstood and misrepresented scene of hiphop. Hopefully Tampa/St. Pete can see more of such nights in the future.
Grey Matter - No Question
DJ J Storm - The Number One Contender
Solillaquists of Sound - As If We Existed
I wish I could tell you how to buy Coalinga but for now it seems like the only way to get it is to see them live. If they are coming to your part of the world (tour dates here) then you should go and see them. As good as their cds are, the live version is better. Every time. If they aren’t coming to your town then contact them via myspace and tell them ninebullets.net convinced you to buy their awesome new cd “Coalinga” and that they need to take your money.
Since there is barely any mention of this album at all on the internets I’ll give y’all the track listing:
The Weary Boys Official Site, The Weary Boys on myspace
Here is a review of the show that they played here in town last month that I never got around to posting:
Mario’s gone and the Weary Boys continue on. That is my take on the new Weary lineup. Last week while talking about the upcoming show I said, “I imagine it will be a tad awkward for the crowd at first, seeing as how most of them probably don’t know Mario has left the band yet.” That was pretty darn accurate. When they took the stage you could see the crowd start to put it all together and the scuttlebutt kicked up. This went on for about 5 songs before the crowd realized everything was fine, and then it just became a normal Weary show but with a banjo instead of an electric guitar. The remaining members of the band seemed to be much more engaged with the crowd than in previous visits, and Cary (the drummer) gets more mic time. Hell, the bassist even sang a song. They played a lot of songs from their new cd, which I bought, and by the end of the show everyone was clapping, dancing, singing along, and everything was right with the world. With the departure of Mario their underlying rock and roll is gone though. They are much more traditional now. As a friend of mine said during the show “They are a full on hillbilly band now.”
Indeed they are. They seem to be happier with it and that is all that matters. If you liked them before then fret not….you’ll like them now. It’s possible you’ll like them even more.
Shreveport, Louisiana guitar prodigy Kenny Wayne Shepherd brought his travelling version of the 10 Days Out…..Blues from the Backroads cd/dvd collaboration to Tampa for a night of rock and blues guitar worship.
The show began with KWS and his band doing a short set of music from Kenny’s earlier releases. I viewed this as an opening act and counted the songs until the meat of the show began. I like Kenny’s music, a lot; but this night was about the fellas he brought on tour with him, and I could not wait for them to get on stage.
Before the touring “guests” came on stage, Kenny stepped to the mic and gave a brief synopsis of the 10 Days Out project. Then he let some clips from the beginning credits of the dvd run on a movie screen along with some clips from Buddy Flett’s portion of the disc before Buddy took the stage. This was when the fun began! Five songs full of slide guitar solo’s by Buddy and ending his set with Honky Tonk Blues from the 10 Days Out cd, the show was only set to get better. Before Buddy left the stage he and Kenny sat down to pay homage to the late Etta Baker by playing her 10 Days Out contribution Knoxville Rag.
This led to welcoming Jessie Sanders to the stage. Jessie’s Chicago blues style guitar playing and harmonica really seemed to energize the crowd. Jessie seemed to be having more fun than anyone else on the stage during his set, which culminated in a tit-for-tat exchange of guitar licks with Kenny in a crowd rousing “Got My Mojo Workin’.”
Next to take the stage was Bryan Lee. Bryan gave Kenny his first chance on a stage at the age of 13 and now things come full circle as Kenny gets to take Mr. Lee out on tour with him. Since I got 10 Days Out and started collecting the music of the artists featured on the disc , Bryan Lee has without question been my favorite, and he did not disappoint on this night as he brought his New Orleans flavor to the stage. Closing Bryan’s set with the crowd pleasing Tina Marie set the stage for all of the nights participants to join him and Kenny for a few songs.
For an encore Kenny came out and did a version of Voodoo Child that would have made Jimmy sit back and take notice. It definitely left the crowd speechless. Which leads me to an overall observation of the show. As talented as Kenny Wayne Shepherd is, and the boy has got talent to spare, he was content to take a back seat during the bulk of the show, much like he did on the cd. This truly was a homage to his influences. In an era of the look at me attitudes of athletes and rock stars it was pretty damned refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, Kenny got his share of the spotlight but when it was time for the other people to shine he was able to blend in and play the role of backing band member with a sincerity and grace that I can appreciate.
Should the Blues from the Backroads tour get back out on the road and come to your town you should make a point to go. It is a rare treat to see the collection of talent that this tour offers on a single stage.
Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working
Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Also, here is a clip from Kenny’s new cd/dvd, 10 Days Out…Blues from the Backroads. It is from the documentary you get and is KWS with the surving members of Muddy Waters’ band. This is my personal favorite performance on the cd.
You see bands described as primal all the time. Hell, I’ve used the term, but at the Radio Moscow show you could see it. People everywhere, goose-necking, feet-stomping, hands clapping, motherfuckers playing air guitar, one dude dancing, and this one fella was going all Joe Cocker and shit. It was awesome. All of this mind you, by a crowd that I’m gonna guess was largely unfamiliar with band. While trying to tell you people what the band was like, I kept coming back to the reaction of the crowd. They were infectious. The drummer seemed to be beating his kit into submission as much as playing it, and fucking singer/guitarist? Forget about it. They are a huge, loud guitar orgy just waiting for you to give them an ear. And Tampa did. In all the shows I’ve seen at New World I have never seen a band play an encore and Radio Moscow was not planning on playing one either but the crowd demanded it. I ain’t exaggerating either. The crowd seriously demanded it and the band couldn’t hide the smiles when they came out to play it. So, if you can imagine it, the bar is closed, the house lights are on, and none of the people present at the beginning of the show have left and furthermore, they are begging for more. And all of this from a band most had never heard of an hour before.
Radio Moscow made some fans in Tampa. I hope Tampa made some fans outta Radio Moscow.
If these kids come to your town don’t pass on it. Trust me, you’ll thank me the next day.
Radio Moscow - Mistreating Queen
Radio Moscow - Timebomb
Radio Moscow’s myspace site, Radio Moscow on Alive Records, Buy Radio Moscow’s debut cd
Sadly enough, I forgot to take the camera and therefore have no pictures for you.
Okay, here is the deal. Real work has it’s size 14 firmly up my ass this week so this will be my last post till next week. Last Saturday we went out to the land of the rat for The Roots show. I have been a fan of The Roots for years but had never managed to see them live. Walking in my expectations were sky high….nice venue, large crowd, awesome band, a designated driver that was not myself and recently voted best hip-hop act in the Central Florida scene Sol.iLLaquists of Sound opening the show.
The moment Sol.iLLaquists of Sound took the stage my expectations were blown away like a frog with an m-80 in it’s ass. These guys are a social hiphop act with (1) male rapper, (1) female rapper/singer, (1) female backup vocals and (1) guy on the drum machines. They sound sort of like The Black Eyed Peas if B.E.P. was still making descent music. With politically charged lyrics heavy on social and self awareness. Notice I did not mention a DJ in their lineup? They have this guy…he has 3 drum machines and he plays them things like pianos. It is truly awe inspiring to watch live as he plays 90% of the music live. I hope to do a full feature on these guys in the coming weeks.
Next up was The Roots. They opened up their portion of the show by marching through the arena with horns and cowbells before taking the stage. First they took the stage, then they took over the night. To say these guys are talented is like saying North Dakota is a little chilly in February. Their show flowed seamlessly from hip-hop to soul to funk to rock to jazz and back again. Everybody from ?uest to the horn-line got their time on centerstage. They did originals, Bob Dylan covers, Police covers and a hip-hop montage in the middle of the show that was about 15 songs with snips of everything from Salt ‘n Pepper to Talib Kweli to Wu-Tang. Probably the most impressive moment of the show, to me, was when the guitarist, Kirk Douglas did a note perfect version of the Star Spangled Banner but replaced the lyrics with the lyrics of Dylan’s Masters of War. (youtube clip)
It is not very often you go to a show and have your already high expectations obliterated. This was one of those times. There will never be another Roots show in the Central Florida area that doesn’t have my ass firmly planted somewhere in the audience. I would reccommend both Sol.iLLaquists of Sound and The Roots to anyone. Seriously, even if you are not a fan of hiphop I can almost guarantee that you would have a great time seeing The roots. They are just that good. The Legendary Roots Crew indeed.
« Earlier Posts · · · Later Posts »