Mice and Rifles

Mice & Rifles

Opening bands can often be a wildcard, so it was with great delight that I was treated to the passionate sound of Mice & Rifles last night. Opening for Caitlin Rose, they were the perfect compliment with their fast paced country tunes. Kevin holds his guitar like a rifle the way Johnny Cash once did, confidently banging out tunes ranging from heartwarming, political, to nostalgic. It was a perfect treat!

Mice & Rifles

Mice & Rifles

Mice & Rifles

We're going streaking!!!

Last night as I drove home from convincing students that actually reading the books they're being tested on can generally increase their possibility of passing and while I was thinking how much I wanted to crawl straight into bed as soon as I got home, I got a text saying, "extra ticket to Snoop Dog. Want to go?"

Did I want to Snoop Dog? This text seemed like the very thing that great stories are made of and I'm generally not one to pass up on a good story or concert opportunity...so I called my brother because he is always my voice of reason. "He was in Old School and he had a tv show called Doggy Fizzle Televizzle. I don't see any other reason why you wouldn't go." 

He was right, of course. So I went to Snoop Dog. 

While I am pretty outspoken about not entirely digging rap, I do have ears and listen to the radio on occasion and know a surprising number his songs. When I could see through the haze of weed, this show was probably the best people watching in quite some time. It was definitely the largest gathering of white girls very enthusiastically singing out being gang banged that I've ever witnessed. 

It also reminded me a lot of the pre-school class that I often sub for, only a perverted f-bomb dropping version. We were all a bunch of Mother Fuckers and Snoop did not let us forget that. "I say Fuck You say Fuck!"Arms waved through the smoke and STD filled air and we shouted every profanity and dirty word for lady parts that Snoop could conjure up for us to shout. 

Best of all was realizing that Snoop is probably the only rapper I know of that can pull of pig tail braids. For Rizzle!

Blitzen Trapper at Utopia Fest

Standing on the Utopia Fest stage, face buried behind his harmonica, Eric Earley of Blitzen Trapper reminded me of the old Bob Dylan vinyl covers that used to litter my father's den. His sound isn't all that different either. It was easy to listen and imagine that I had stepped back in time. Perhaps this is what Dylan always wished his voice had sounded like. Hailing from Portland, OR, Blitzen Trapper rocked the Utopia Fest stage with hints of folk, southern rock and all kinds of awesome.

Blitzen Trapper at Utopia Fest 2011

With cigarettes dangling from their lips, Earley was backed by well worked vocal harmonies and instrumentals. They have a great way of taking their album and ramping it up for a live, festival setting. The crowd loved them, I loved them, and my heart skipped a view beats every time that soulful harmonica wailed out.

Blitzen Trapper at Utopia Fest

Earley's lyrics are the heavy kind that stick to the bones. They are stories, meanings, lyrics that entwine themselves in you. Then again, when I talked with Erik Menteer after the show he said, "We all have a little redneck in us, just a little bit more, too." Perhaps that blend of old sounds reminiscent of the 60's, poetic lyrics, southern rock and a side of redneck is what makes their sound so successful. Whatever it is, Blitzen Trapper is sure to take it far. 

Mmm Bop

For all that I am into music, follow blogs, and live my life around concerts and music festivals, I wasn't always this way. Growing up in a household where Bob Dylan and the Beatles reigned, and being the awkward nerd that I was, I never really melded with the music fads as they were happening around me. I was too busy choreographing dances to Disney songs and Broadway tunes in my living room or listening to my dad playing guitar and singing like. So when the Hanson craze came through, I was oblivious to most of it. They also looked like girls and I never got that.

So when my friend texted that she had an extra ticket to see Hanson last Thursday night, I thought, why not?  If I didn't get it when I was 12, I get it now. Those boys are damn hot!  There is no question that they are men now! While still playing the bubble gum pop of their younger years, it's lowered its register and grown up a bit. They know how to interact with the crowd, even those not channeling their 12 year old selves in the front.

I wish they had played more of their newest album, but some kind of online vote from fans dictated that they play largely off of a ballady album from the early 2000's. Still, it was fun to yell and scream and have those moments I missed with I was a nerdy 12 year old. I just wished I'd had a puff painted shirt for the occasion! Next time.

The best concert I never went to

I spent a good portion of my afternoon today donned in rubber gloves helping a fellow teacher clean up piss that a certain 4 year old had sprayed all over the bathroom earlier in the day. Yup, school is back in session leaving the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and urine lingering in the air. And while I am still not entirely used to a school year that isn't accompanied by a cool crisp in the air and the musty smell of falling leaves, there is no doubt we are making our way into fall, a time to look back on the musical highlights of this hot hot summer. 

Except the musical highlight of my summer, the concert that left me giddy, clutching my hands at my chest and singing along to every song as I simultaneously danced and bounced in excitement wasn't even in Austin. I wasn't even there in person! Such is the awesome power of Dave Matthews, who streamed his final Caravan performances online this past weekend from the Gorge. It wasn't like being there in person, as I have done 9 times before, but it had so much of the same magic. He is an astounding artist who surrounds himself with incredible musicians. He said during the concert, "I'm here because I love to play." He does and it shows. It is infectious and his music seeps into the parts of my soul I never knew existed. 

I'm gushing. But he played Everyday! And he played Lying in our Graves and didn't even finish the song until the ENCORE! AMAZING!

But fangirl gushing aside, If you have never experienced Dave in person, standing in the hippie and prepster haze, letting the music wash over you, add it to your bucket list. Even his streamed version in my living room was the perfect way to end my summer and ring in a fall full of amazing concerts.

Setlist from his final Caravan concert on 9/4

Everyday
Seek Up
Why I Am
Alligator Pie
Crash Into Me
Say Goodbye
Digging a Ditch
Warehouse
Raven
Gravedigger
Lie In Our Graves
Loving Wings Good Times Bad Times (cover)
Black Jack
Granny
All Along The Watchtower

__________________

Baby Blue *
Lie In Our Graves (reprise)
Halloween
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)  (cover)

Arctic Monkey's at Stubbs

I have been a long time fan of Arctic Monkey's frontman, Alex Turner. I fell instantly in love with his side project with Miles Kane, The Last Shadow Puppets in 2008. Alex's voice is instantly captivating and his lyrics refreshing. He's also sporting a great new haircut!

Arctic Monkeys played a sold out show last night at Stubbs to a young and sweaty but enthusiastic crowd. Stubbs employees passed out cases of water to fans as they stood chanting and cheering in the triple digit heat for the band to come out. 

The heat didn't hold theses monkey's back! Check out their newest album, Suck it and See. 

The Rosebuds at the Parish in Austin, TX

Concert Review: Other Lives

Haiku for Other Lives:

tribal timpani 

hauntingly, psychedelic

tip toe vibraphone 

I fall a little bit more in love with Other Lives every time I hear them. They are the kind of band that I don’t worry about being up front for at a concert because it’s not so much about the show, but the music. It’s the kind of music for closing your eyes and letting the sound wash over you. They make great use of multiple instrumentals including violin, trumpet, vibraphone, timpani and harmonium to create unique and haunting psychedelic melodies. They ran into a few sound problems at their Parish show on Friday night, but powered through and made up for it by playing an all around great show. Check out their album, Tamer Animals.

Notes from the Jazz Fest: Rochester Recap

Eastman Theater

Rochester, NY during the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival is magical. The whole city turns out in full force  to celebrate great music. Whether it is the talent of the high schools on “Jazz Street,” the dance  music wailing from the Big Tent, or headliners the likes of Bela Fleck or Elvis Costello (what I wouldn’t give to have seen Elvis!), the music is euphoric!

Haiku for Shuffle Demons

cacophonous sound

wild bass and dancing trombone

maniac music

Year after year I am astounded by the talent of Rochester’s youth. 

One of the best parts of the festival is the surprises I never expect. On Wednesday night I wandered into Christ Church to the sound of seductive piano by the Alan Benzie Trio. He would hold his fingers over the keys as I waited in breathless anticipation for the sound I knew he would create.

Haiku for Alan Benzie Trio

Dark church shadows dance

breathless, contorting to sounds

of seductive keys

Last year as my mother and I left one venue on our way to the next, a gentleman on the sidewalk turned to us and said, “Hey, weren’t you two the ones dancing up front?  You guys were great!” There is so much great music, subtle music in a darkened church, even music that makes me cry, but there is also great music for dancing! Most nights found me in front of the Big Tent stage dancing with my mother to trombones or the other worldly sounds of Slavic Soul Party (pictured above)

Slavic Soul Party!

Trombone Shorty on the streets of Roc!

Trombone Shorty ~ Backatown by verveforecast

Concert Review: Ryan Shaw

Ryan Shaw came out on the stage tonight at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival and said, “I sing about love.” And he did. He sang, “Music is to fill us up!” And it did. Shaw filled the packed tent with love and soul with his smooth rhythm and blues to an audience that couldn’t get enough of it. His soulful voice and  R&B wails (and attempts at scat) were rounded out by the talented musicians he had to accompany him. He sang gospel tunes, love songs (he even sang one to me!), Stevie Wonder, and his cover of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of my Heart” is what makes festivals like this one so great. Tonight Ryan Shaw was a celebration of love and great music!

Tomorrow I head back down to Austin, but this was a perfect way to end my Jazz Fest and I will be sure to pocket some of this jazz love and soul and bring it home with me to share.

I love the way the Rochester Jazz Festival has such a versatile selection of music. There is music for dancing and letting loose, music for the contemporary, the traditional, cacophonous, or music for quiet listening. There’s brass and strings, plucking and strumming. And while all of the music is great, incredible even, every once in a while there is music that is transformative. It’s the kind of music that touches a part of the soul.

Last night Grace Kelly did that for me. As this young girl wailed on her saxophone and filled Kilbourn Hall with sound, I sat in the very back of the balcony smiling in the dark as her rich sound enveloped me. At only 19, Kelly is confident on stage, artfully weaving dynamics and melodies with her voice and sax. Her cover of Summertime was remarkable and the audience erupted in applause and praise.

And then Grace Kelly came out for her encore. She quietly lured us in with hushed, subtle sound and began playing Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Before I knew what was happening, tears were streaming down my face in the back of that concert hall. In all of my years of concerts, I’m not sure that has ever happened to me before. And so I sat with salted cheeks and allowed myself to be taken away by her sound.

Haiku for Grace Kelly:

floating from below

wafts enriching, dynamic

soul transcendent sax

Grace Kelly signing autographs after the show

Check out her albums on itunes. She is sure to change  your world.

Wade In The Water - Bemsha Swing by gracekellyjazz

This week I packed up my shorts, put away my sunscreen and left my sweat in Austin, Texas for a few days in the nice, cool north. While this is a chance to see my family and catch up with friends I haven’t seen since Christmas, it is really a trip to attend the Rochester Jazz Fest, which I have never missed. This unique, delightful, musically rich festival is worth traveling from anywhere to catch.

Last night I caught Bonerama, a trombone trio (with guitar, bass and drum support) who filled the big tent with New Orleans sounds. Vetrans of the fest, concert-goers knew not to bother to look for vacant seats; Bonerama is for the dance floor. I knew I had found jazz heaven when I was snaking my way through the crowd in a conga line, the marching beat of the drum and  tuba beating time and the wailing of the trombones coursing through my soul. It was jazz fest perfection!

Bonerama by Highsteppin Productions

Concert Review: Matt and Kim

Matt and Kim played a kick ass sold out show last night at Stubbs. With their usual energy and enthusiasm, they had the crowd rocking! I was the giddy screaming fan when they played Good For Great halfway through the set. Here are a few pictures I was able to snap.

Concert Review: Givers

If Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes) grew up and started a band, it would be Givers, and he would be the lead guitar and vocalist, Taylor Guarisco. Bouncing around the stage with carefree enthusiasm (and perhaps on a sugar high from chocolate frosted sugar bombs), this feel-good group is as delighted to play as the audience is to throw their arms in the air and dance along with them.

The Quintet enveloped Antones last night with high spirited, sunshine music. They have influences of Vampire Weekend with rich bayou undertones. Tiffany “Teddy” Lamson is a force to be reckoned with as she rocks on ukulele, pounds away on drums, and shakes a mean tambourine, while Nick Stephan casually plays keys only to suddenly break out in beautiful riffs on flute and sax.

Even their darker rock encore that had Lamson channeling the wailings of Janis Joplin sounded great from this group and only served to prove that their talent runs deep and will carry them a long way.

concert haiku:

on trampoline stage

bouncing enthusiasm

playing sunshine sounds

Concert Review: Family of the Year

In a perfect moment of accidental music, last night I was delighted and surprised by Family of the Year, opening act for Givers. This group out of Southern California was delightful and I have decided to write their review in poem. It just seems fitting.

Family of the Year is

wet grass between barefoot toes,

blue skys and palm trees,

classic rock harmonies,

sunshine melodies–

jangling tambourine,

heartbeat kick drum,

t-shirt and summertime smiles–

unpredictable delight!

Concert Review: The Airborne Toxic Event

Sunday night I went over to La Zona Rosa to catch indie rock group, The Airborne Toxic Event perform for an enthusiastic and devoted crowd. Lead singer, Mikel Jollett commanded the stage and passionately belted out his deep and resonating voice. It was refreshing to see Noah Harmon playing an upright bass and Anna Bulbrook take center stage with her violin. Neither was there strictly as “backup”. It was those great use of instrumentals, even having them battle licks on stage that make this group so much fun to watch. Mikel even climbed up into the rafters and holding on with one arm, leaned out and sang over the crowd. It was impressive and fun and made me want to join a rock and roll band.

Usually one to arrive early to secure a spot front and center, I arrived just before ATE went on stage and watched from the side. The sound quality was not nearly as good but the energy had no trouble translating.

singing from rafters

sweeping instrumental sounds

 resonating voice