tom waits - "glitter and doom" @ the fox theatre/atlanta (07.05.2008)

still on a great 'post-show' buzz. a couple of posts back i mentioned fearing that i sounded like a “gushing fool." well, here we go again...

the show was last night was absolutely incredible, a great show/set, the acoustics in the fox are amazing and the mix was perfect, kudos to the guy running the sbd.
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so, about 9:00 PM, the theater goes dark and slowly, dim lights begin to highlight the backdrop on the stage. you can sense, but not really “see” any movement. then, a white hot spot hits center stage, and seemingly out of nowhere… standing on a beat-up riser, in a dark “slightly worn” suit and a dark bowler hat, with a huge smile on his face is the reason that we are there, tom waits. hands straight up in the air, he starts stomping on the riser, the crowd is standing, clapping, whistling and screaming. white plumes of “smoke” start floating up into the lights from the riser. he stomps harder, smoke keeps rising and his smile gets bigger. he stomps and smiles, we clap and whistle, seems to be a fair trade.

and we're off...

there were so many highlights it’s hard to know where to start. vocally, he was "on the mark," with it being the last night of the tour, i guess he didn't feel like he had to "save" his voice ( ;-) ) and before i start rambling too much, it seems appropriate to note that his band was fantastic, all great players (named below), tight and meshing perfectly with each other and with him. he has added a full time horn player and keyboardist and larry taylor had moved from his usual position on bass to "guesting" on lead guitar on a few songs (apparently only @ the atlanta show). other than taylor and his son casey on drums/percussion it was a completely different group of players than when i saw him a couple of years ago. i guess "the" highlight(s) for me would have to be "9th and hennepin" followed by a rocking “lie to me.” during the intro for “9th and hennepin," a single bare unlit light bulb dropped out of (seemingly) nowhere right next to tom’s face. unfazed, he continued talking. as soon as he kicked into the song, the light, much to tom’s "surprise, and shock," flickered on and became a prop which he mastered for the duration of the song, then “poof”…it disappeared much as it appeared.

"chocolate jesus," "hold on" & "get behind the mule" were also pretty amazing and would have to be close seconds for me and the "innocent when you dream/hoist that rag/make it rain" trifecta was also pretty damn sweet. at the end of and extended take on “make it rain,” and with tom chanting (ie: screaming) a command to “make it rain,” glitter began to fall over him like rain (apparently from that same magical place that gave us the light bulb) covering his dark suit and bowler. very cool visually. towards the end of the set, regardless of your beliefs, if you weren’t ready to shout a big, loud "AMEN" or "MERCY" after he took the sold-out crowd of 4,000+ to church with "jesus gonna be here," well then, you just weren’t alive and breathing to begin with.

along the way, he charmed us with a couple of subtle, yet hilarious stories about; $300,000 watches (or $9.95 CVS watches), condiments (or condom-mints) and alphabet soup (or nazi pas-ticas) as only he could, before closing the set with a rowdy and fun “singapore.” after a short break, he and the band returned and kicked off the encore w/a killer, extended ”eyeball kid” where during the chorus, he playfully swapped out his black bowler with one covered with tiny mirrors reflecting the spotlight all over the theatre. at the end of the song there was great little exchange between him, casey and the audience. then he sent us all home happy with the appropriate “anywhere I lay my head.”

he started the show with the big smiles and we left the theatre with them. again, seems to be a fair trade.

what a night. he's as brilliant a showman and performer as he is a writer and musician, which says a lot. there was not a single lowlight/mediocre moment in the evening. hell, it was tom waits!

i found the quote below in "the columbus (oh) dispatch" it seems to describe him perfectly, much better than i ever could...

Waits may be one of the country's best accidental musicologists. He rummages through an assortment of genres — blues, gospel, jazz, folk, Latin, beat-box and cabaret, to name some — and weaves them together into something new. Hearing one of his songs for the first time, one is almost positive that it's an old favorite. Yet everything he does is remarkably original and fresh.

Add to that his unmistakeable lyrics — inspired in part by the Beat Generation and refined by his partnership with his wife, writer Kathleen Brennan — and it's easy to see why he is one of the most important singer-songwriters of this age.

The showmanship is always a direct relation to the music. He opened in the guise of a revivalist preacher, booming out Lucinda, Way Down in the Hole and Falling Down.

His antics reached a peak later in The Eyeball Kid, an oddity of a song in which, for one verse, he donned a mirror-ball hat. As he revolved slowly in the interludes, his head became a makeshift light show.

When the songs slowed down and the thoughts grew deeper, though, he stilled his physical energy and flowed into such profound moments which held the audience absolutely still until their final chords.

In a sense, Waits is a medium, channeling the spirits of long-dead bluesmen, pioneers of rock and traveling minstrels. His voice, while aging, still can travel from a growl to a wail to a whisper in a split second.

Waits doesn't create new worlds; he makes people rethink the past, present, and future. His song Time, sums it up: “… their memory's like a train/You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away/And the things you can't remember tell the things you can't forget/That history puts a saint in every dream.”

on a personal note, it was also kind of a sentimental journey for me. many years ago, the fox (and atlanta in general) was where “i cut my live music teeth.” in my younger days, there was a time that i rarely missed any show of note there. my friends (and sally, my “ex”) and i were regulars. we saw it all. it was nice to be back there again, it has probably been 20+ years since i have seen a show in that beautiful place and it was just as sweet as i remembered it. lotsa good nights, good vibes and good memories for me in that building, it felt "good." so to top off the night, just for the hell of it it, i decided to detour down piedmont, past the old “broadview plaza” and blew a kiss and say a “thank you” to the corner where the old “great southeast music hall” once stood. i also spent a lot of great nights with friends there and that was where, 30+ years ago, i was fortunate enough to see mr. waits perform for the first time and was introduced to the genius that is tom waits and i’ve been hooked since (btw, he was the opener for the comedian, martin mull who wrote a song about the old music hall called "i've played some shitholes, but this takes the cake" =) ).

the set:
lucinda > ain't going down to the well
down in the hole
falling down
chocolate jesus
all the world is green
cemetery polka
who's been talkin'* > 'til the money runs out
such a scream
november
hold on
black market baby
9th and hennepin
lie to me
lucky day
on the nickel
lost in the harbour
innocent when you dream
hoist that rag
make it rain
dirt in the ground
get behind the mule
hang down your head
jesus gonna be here
singapore
encore:
eyeball kid
anywhere i lay my head

*howlin' wolf cover

the band:
patrick warren - keyboards
omar torrez - guitars
vincent henry - horns & acoustic guitar
casey waits - drums and percussion
seth ford-young - bass
sullivan waits - congas and clarinet (and selling t-shirts and books before & after the show...)

*larry taylor joined in on guitar on several songs.

i had to "stealth" the pictures, so there is nothing particularly "artistic." more just to document the evening...

over the rhine - "ohio: in concert" @ the national city pavilion/cincinnati (05.24.2008)

ok, i'm a little late getting to this one...

i realized that never posted anything about OtR's - “ohio: in concert” show, i started (and stopped) writing it several times, it was too good of an evening not to publically comment on. at first, just afterwards, it was a bit too overwhelming to try to put into words, then I traveled to atlanta the following weekend to spend some time with my family and to catch their show at the variety playhouse. then it just kind of got away from me.

so, here goes...on the day of the show, the inaugural show at the national city pavilion, i arrived around 2:00 for soundcheck, a lot was going on; juicy, mike and nick were doing the final audio and stage set up, mickey was finishing setting up his drum kit. i wandered around and got to spend a little time w/karin and linford and chat some with jake and (OtR's manager) glen. everyone was in a great mood looking forward to what was ahead, all was right with the world. there was still an amazing amount of finishing work going on around the venue. i saw full-grown trees planted in a matter of minutes, two huge video screens placed and hung and seats numbers placed on several hundred seats. not to mention a kid getting stuck on a roller coaster @ coney island and taken off the ride by a ladder truck from the anderson township fire department. interesting afternoon. and oh yeah…there was sound check too.

i walked around and shot during the very loose sound check. karin and linford had brought on a couple of extra players to fill in the sound for the show and to more replicate the sound of the album. kenny hutson (a former bandmate of jake’s from the vigilantes of love) joined in on guitar and pedal steel and nick radina (of the cincinnati band, tropicoso), a familiar face from doing tour management and monitors on several previous OtR tours, on percussion, and they were a perfect fit, a great compliment to the sound. i always enjoy hearing the music flush out and come together during the final minutes before a show and i appreciate the opportunity to be there.

the show kicked off just a few minutes after after the scheduled 8:00 pm time with karin walking out on the stage solo, quietly sitting down at the piano and launching into the opening notes of "B.P.D." seconds later, the rest of the band casually strolled and picked up their instruments and joined in. and we were off.

the show was split into two sets, "disc one” and “disc two” (if you aren’t aware by now, they were playing their acclaimed album “ohio” in full, in sequence) and "B.P.D." was the perfect rousing, wailing starting point to the evening. the other “disc one” highlights for me: “what i remember most,” the always beautiful “anything at all” (dedicated to cincinnati's legendary bluegrass diva and good friend of karin, miss katie laur), followed by the rarely played “professional daydreamer,” the fun and sexy (a "make out song," as karin intro'ed it)“lifelong fling” and the apocalyptic hymm and always moving & powerful “changes come,” which karin dedicated to “all of those we remember on memorial day.”

time to take a break and flip sides…

after an OtR first, a clothing change mid-show by karin…and as the crowd strolled back in to the opening notes of “long lost brother,” we were off and running with side two. next was the touching and beautiful yet pained “she,” the rollicking “white girl rap” of “nobody number one,” followed by “cruel & pretty,” which i love and is always a treat to hear. things then slowed down with a heartfelt explaination by karin of writing the next song 5 years ago as war broke out in iraq and how hard it was to believe that 5 years later, while playing “remind us” again that we are still fighting this war. “a wing and a prayer” indeed. during the closing moments of the song, there was an erie sound of fireworks going off in the distance, almost sounding like gunfire.

now we’re gettin’ political and topical and next was one of my favorites, a wailing version of “how long have you been stoned” was dedicated to “the current administration” to a smattering of boos (the show was in the very "red" state of “ohio” afterall). the song closed with an extended, almost tribal drumbeat provided by mickey and nick. a very nice touch. next was the rarely (if ever) played “when you say love,” the torch song/ballad “fool,” the norwood inspired “hometown boy,” vocally always one of karin’s best and then they closed it out the "official" set with the lovely “bothered” and the out-and-out gospel and hopeful words of “idea #21/it’s not too late” with just karin, linford and jake on stage. a very different from the full choir version on the record, but equally as beautiful and moving. and everyone in the place was smiling and standing as they left the stage.

after a short break the encore and surprises kicked in to high gear, with everyone back on stage, a heavy drumbeat and bass line kicked in, then the ironic and tongue-in-cheek words “i went back to ohio” rolled out of karin’s mouth with a half sneer/half smile, the perfect surprise, the perfect song to follow their 2 disc classic tribute to their home state. and they had a blast with it. simply “my city was gone” by cleveland’s “the pretenders” rocked! after the applause died down, there was a request (command?) of “hit it kenny” from karin and we got the tease of the heavy guitar opening riff from “CSN&Y’s” “ohio” (tin soldier’s and nixon’s comin’, we're finally on our own, this summer i hear the drummin', four dead in ohio) before the song transformed into an out and out rockin’ version of gillian welch’s “miss ohio.” "oh-me-oh-my-o, miss ohio" was sure having some fun up there tonight.

and to close out the evening, in this political season, they said goodnight to all with their timely “bi-partisan initiative”…”if a song could be president,” with the “underachiever in chief” line even getting applause…in freakin’ ohio!

it was a fantastic night, hearing many of the songs that had been out of the rotation for a while was like welcoming old friends again and hearing professional daydreamer, when you say love and idea #21 for the first time in concert was wonderful.

the evening ended with smiles, good conversation and hugs at a short after party, then a short stop off for a drink with friend’s @ lebo’s down the street. my only regret of the evening, unfortunately, missing what would have been the undisputed cap on the night…bruce’s soaring karaoke rendition of “sweet caroline.”

soundcheck


the line-up:
karin bergquist - vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
linford detweiler - keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass
jake bradley - bass, electric guitar
mickey grimm - drum kit
guests:
kenny hutson - electric guitar, lap steel guitar
nicolas radina - percussion

over the rhine - "under the beams" @ the rapp granary/new harmony, indiana (06.14.2008)

ok, where to start? it's going to be hard to talk about this without sounding like a gushing fool, seriously.

i headed out to new harmony for over the rhine's show there a little early, wanting to get a feel for the town after discussing it with mickey (grimm, OtR's amazing drummer & resident of new harmony) several times and then recently reading more about it and it's history. while driving over i got a text from karin (bergquist, OtR's amazing vocalist) telling me that everything was fine, but to suggesting to "bring yer waders" and informing me that the national guard was there, since new harmony sits on the banks of the recently severely swollen wabash river... that didn't sound very good. i really didn't know what to expect but i continued to drive and soon began passing army transport trucks (probably 30+ or more) loaded down with sandbags, backhoes and other heavy machinery. ok, now i was a "little concerned." a few more miles down the road i began to see, on both sides of the interstate, what appeared to be lakes, but then i noticed the rooftops of barns and homes and realized that they were really corn and soybean fields, not lakes. ok, now i was a little more concerned, maybe a little bit worried.

i soon reached my exit and a few minutes later, new harmony. only to find one of the most beautiful little towns that i have ever seen in my life. almost surreal in its beauty and charm, it's like a town time forgot. in a good way. then as i turned off of church street towards the granary, i spotted the many national guardsmen, in full camouflage unloading these flatbeads full of sandbags and building virtual walls to protect the historic homes, the "roofless church," the incredible, modern, richard maier designed visitor center from the ravages of nature... high, fast running water. i was within 10 feet of the flow of a river that should have been about a quarter of a mile away. once again, surreal. very surreal.

and yet, none of this dampened the spirit and the people of this amazing place. they went on with life seemingly as they always do. the street antique show was still happening, the local (and very good) country music band was still playing on the street corner, neighbors were still walking and riding their bikes around town, smiling and stopping on the street to say hello, shake hands and welcome all to their home, then offering sightseeing tips to an obvious stranger (me). a woman stopped me as i was coming out of the roofless church, asked where i was visiting from, welcomed me, then put down the kickstand on her bike and said "oh, you've just got to see the garden across the street." she took me by the arm, leaving her bike unattended on the sidewalk and walked me to the garden while explaining much about the town to me. again, very surreal and then you begin to realize, it's so sad that this is such a shocking aberration...this is how we used to be, this how we should be.

a little later, while walking the town before the show and turning the corner towards the granary not long before the doors opened, i crossed paths w/molly and grafton (mickey's wife and son) riding their bikes to the show, waving, laughing and talking all the way (you're probably expecting me to say someting about surreal about now...).

so how do you top off a day like this? you take a town full of these kind people, add a few interested visitors, put them in one place... a beautiful, historical room, "the rapp granary," as linford might say; "a well made thing," to share an evening of beautiful words, music, discussion and friendship led by a group of wonderful, talented and "good" people; karin bergguist, linford detweiler, jake bradley & mickey grimm... "over the rhine." i was lucky enough to spend much of the 30-minute preshow w/mickey's mom, sandy and his sister, kim. what a blast, it's easy to see how mickey "is what he is" after spending some time with sandy, what a kind, sweet and lovely woman.

and it's always a pleasant surprise to walk into a room where OtR is playing and see a grand piano on stage, this time a steinway baby grand was sitting on the front left corner of the stage and linford (OtR's amazing piano player) took full advantage of the beauty it had to offer us. karin was spot on vocally as all have come to expect from her, full of passion, energy, spirituality and beauty. my expectations are always high for her performances and she has never failed to meet (and generally exceed) them. last night was no exception, simply, she rocked the joint. her voice is an amazing "instrument" in it's own right, a true gift of nature. and she has mastered it. jake (yep, OtR's amazing bassist/guitarist) and mickey were as solid as ever and he really seemed to enjoy playing front of his neighbors. it was also great to see molly joining in on several songs, her harmonies w/karin are wonderful.

in short, the show was amazing, a big event for this small town, mostly all locals who seemed to be pleasantly confused by us travelers. the band played two sets, with about a 30 minute break in between to socialize over homemade cookies, brownies and punch, it wasn't "timed" and no one was too rushed. and the treats were delicious.

during the first set linford told a charming story about playing hymns on the family piano for his mother when he was a child and trying to stump her with them (he also noted that he was never able to). he continued the story talking about visiting her recently and taking her to a covered dish church dinner, complete with tater-tot casseroles and fruit and "jello mold" desserts. apparently the entertainment, a local barbershop quartet, was unable to make it and since linford was "a professional musician" and there was a piano in the corner of the room, he became the featured entertainment for the evening. playing old hymns that were called out to him by his mother's friends, he discussed how odd it was that he can't remember songs that he wrote five years ago yet he remembered everything they requested that evening from his early years. a couple of songs into the second set, he mentioned that during the break a woman said "well you talked about the old hymns but you didn't play one." so he launched into a beautiful solo of "let the lower lights be burning" for her, to a quiet, dark, still room. it was stunning. beautiful.

all-in-all, i can't imagine a better day spent. it was beautiful. perfect. and yes...a bit surreal.

the setlist...

first set:
i don't wanna waste
fever
born
desperate
roll
innocent
trumpet child
kiddin' (and mickey really showed off for the hometown crowd)
trouble (w/molly)

break:
homemade brownies and kiss cookies

second set:
motherless child
orphan girl (w/molly)
let the lower light be burning (linford solo)
suitcase
ohio
tom (w/molly)
president (w/molly)
encore
hush now
drunkards prayer

the line-up:
karin bergquist - vocals, guitar, piano, cookie sheet
linford detweiler - piano, guitar, bass, vocals
jake bradley - bass, guitar
mickey grimm - drums and all kinds of shaky things
molly felder - backing vocals

ellery @ the rudyard kipling/louisville - june (friday the) 13th, 2008

tonight ellery, the husband and wife duo of tasha and justin golden (on piano/vocals and guitar respectively) played an opening set for garrison starr @ the legendary "rudyard kipling" in old louisville. it was a beautiful set in an intimate room with great sound. unfortunately, it was under-attended, but that didn't effect tasha and justin, they played like it was a full house.

i was first exposed to them via over the rhine a few years ago and have seen them 6-8 times since and love what they do more and more each time i see them. tasha has one of the more beautiful, sweet but yet powerful voices that i have heard lately. they are excellent writers, with touching, meaningful and thought prevoking lyrics with beautiful melodies. in other words, they do it all and they do it well. very well.

i got a chance to spend quite a bit of time just chatting about music, people, politics and nothing in particular with them before the show and they are truly generous, nice people, funny and insightful and lovers of music, each other and what they do. as wonderful people as they are artists. which always makes finding and supporting performers like this so much more enjoyable and rewarding.

find out more about them @ http://www.ellerymusic.com

OtR tomorrow night in new harmony. :)

alejandro escovedo @ headliner's/louisville (06.11.2008)

one of these days i have to play catch up, it's been too long.

but on to "now"...




my god, what an incredible show. hands down the best live performance that i have seen this year. alejandro's band consisting of: alejandro escovedo - guitar & vocals, david pulkingham - guitar, hector munoz -drums (his drummer of 23 years), brian standefer - cello, josh gravelin - bass and carrie rodriguez - violin & backing vocals generates a power that must be heard to be believed. remember the phrase "wall of sound" that was associated w/phil spector in the 60's...well, this is an updated, unabashed, incredible loud and live "wall of sound." all of the basics of hardcore rock and roll, two guitars, bass & drums, supplemented by an amazing cello player and the incomparable "special guest," carrie rodriguez on violin.

tonight was the first night of his tour w/james mcmurtry (who performed a painfully long hour & thirty minute opening set) after opening 3 shows for dave matthews (and as alejandro said, "having the honor of being ignored by 17,000 people per night"). he fully took advantage and enjoyed playing for his audience, a crowd there to see him. and carrie, dove in head first and rocked her fine little ass off, she was a great compliment/addition to this group of players.

most of the songs played tonight were from his new record, "real animal" (due out june 24th & recorded in lexington, ky) which he sold (and i bought) early tonight for the first time tonight + a several of his standards thrown in. one of the highlights was the title song "real animal" which he wrote about iggy pop and who he damn near channeled during the performance of the song. an amazing perfomance. he opened with "put you down" to set the pace and closed out the show with a rocking cover of the stones "beast of burden," during the "pretty, pretty, pretty girls" chant he invited two girls out of the audience that were dancing in front of the stage to join him on stage for the duration. and he enjoyed having them up there. a lot, it seemed.

what a show. go see this man play live. you will not be disappointed.

ben sollee opened the evening and played a beautiful 30 minute solo set. i was standing next to carrie rodriguez who came out to watch ben play and she replied "WOW!" and hooted, whistled, screamed and applauded loudly after each song ben played. pretty high praise from an amazing talent in her own right.

mcmurtry wasn't "bad," just your basic alt-country power trio, after about the third 6-7 minute song that was virtually indistinguishable from the one before or after it, i was ready to move on, unfortunately james wasn't. it would have been a perfect night if it had just been ben followed by alejandro.

but even he and his "set that wouldn't end" couldn't dim the light that was alejandro tonight...

some pics from ben's opening set.

kathleen edwards - headliner's/louisville (04.17.2008)

first, kathleen edwards rocks. absolutely no debate or question about it. she rocks. for those not familiar with her, she's one of those little girls (maybe 5'-5'2" & 100-110 lbs) with a big voice and she can drink and cuss (and rock) harder than any man (or woman) twice her size. she is currently touring in support of her (excellent) new record, "asking for flowers" and played headliner's on thursday night, which was a perfect (yet unfortunately, underattended) venue for her and her band, led by husband colin cripps.

this was the third time that i had seen her and while she was excellent everytime, each show has been better than the one before and last night was no exception. about 5:30am (after her show ended about 12:30 am), louisville experienced a very rare event, a 5.4 scale earthquake, followed by a 4.7 aftershock @ about 11:40am, i joked to a co-worker that kathleen rocked the city so hard that it was still shakin' the next morning.

her set was well balanced from her two previous records, "failer" and "back to me" (still my favorite) and leaning heavily towards stuff from "asking for flowers." while her first two nailed me from the first listen, i was a little disapponted with "asking..." on the first pass, but it has grown on me with each additional listen and now holds up very well to her other work.

she opened the show by telling us..."you’ve got to warm up a little bit before you bust a nut” and moved into the beautiful "mercury" (from "failer"), playing an old and well-worn gibson acoustic. we were also treated to her on electric and fiddle/violin, her band was tight and had a great time playing with her/for us. we also got the back story behind "i make the dough, you get the glory" (great one/marty mcsorley) and the live debut of "oh canada."

one of the funniest moments of the night was her telling us after the first couple of songs, "i love playing louisville, this is my beverage mecca" then she bent over, picked up her glass, which we later found out contained woodford reserve and held it up to the audience and said "i'm no diva, but it's great that you don't have to explain what 'bourbon is' in your rider when you play here" to huge applause. then she asked "which way is woodford county?" someone pointed towards the back of the stage and she turned around, took a sip, bowed and blew a kiss in that direction. later in the show, while playing very hard and pacing the stage, she accidentially kicked over her glass of woodford and told us, "oh no! i spilled my bourbon...GOOD NIGHT!" (it was quickly replaced with a smile from a fan up front).

kathleen, like most music that i seem to enjoy, doesn't really fit neatly into any "genre"... not pop, not rock, not alt-country, she's like if you threw them all into a bag, shook it up hard and let it go. and it works. beautifully.

i was able to snag a setlist and she signed it and a couple of pics for me after the show. as she was previously, she was very sweet and personable, thanking me (and everyone else) for coming out and supporting her and her music, such a sweetheart.

i've said often, if you get a chance to see this girl play live. GO! trust me, you will not regret it.