How often do you see a band in concert that's got one big, obvious hit that, surely, will be the grand finale to the show? But then you worry, well, maybe they're sick of playing it. OMG, maybe they're not going to play it!
The Mavericks put on a stellar performance--free of charge, no less--at the Leinie Lodge at the Minnesota State Fair, the second of a two-night stand, on Thursday, August 30. And, wow, did they ever milk the suspense for everything it was worth before closing with a totally rousing version of "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down" that left the audience too sated, too exhausted to demand yet another encore.
It was non-stop rockabilly and western swing with a Tex-Mex flavor from 8:30 to 10:20 p.m. The Mavs are a tight 9-piece band with stellar musicians and musicianship at nearly every position. The 1st "break" came at about 10 minutes before 10. Malo came out to start the 1st encore with a couple of solo acoustic ballads. The band then returned to play the standard "Guantanamera," another slow cooker, while the crowd palpably yearned (I guess I should say, demanded) to rock some more.
After a second, more half-hearted attempt at "good night," the band quickly launched into the Isley Brothers/Beatles classic "Twist and Shout." This sounded for all the world like a closer, especially as the Mavs repeated the chorus and coaxed the audience into singing along. And it would have been a perfectly fine closer under normal circumstances.
But these were not normal circumstances so that, finally, when Malo and lead guitarist Eddie Perez lit into that twangy, tell-tale guitar riff, the crowd pretty much went nuts. "I can't sleep a wink anymore," Malo sang, and the few who hadn't recognized the guitar riff went even more nuts.
My wife and I set out to see and hear as much music as possible this summer and the highlights include Rufus Wainwright, Alison Krauss, Los Lobos, the Blood on the Tracks Band Live, the Auto Body Experience and many more. "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down" was the simply the single greatest performance of the year so far.
If you're going to be playing rockabilly, of course, you better have a solid rhythm section, and bassist Robert Reynolds and drummer Paul Deakin were more than up to the challenge. The top soloists were the horns--a trumpet and a sax--whose names I don't remember and cannot find anywhere on the internet. Keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden was terrific, especially on the piano, but he also added color to the mix by coaxing a variety of other sounds, including a Hammond B-3 sound, out of his digital keys. Perez, who is new to the Mavs for this tour, and accordionist Michael Guerra, were better on some tunes than on others but Perez, in particular, more than earned his keep by absolutely nailing that crucial solo on "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down."
But the star of the ensemble is Malo. I don't know about the oft-made comparison to Roy Orbison but I know that Malo projects easily above the Mavs' 9 instruments. And what you hear, so clearly, is a terrific and expressive tenor.
All in all, it was already a night of high-spirited music when the Mavericks totally knocked their biggest hit right out of the park. It was a nearly perfect performance by a band that could hardly have been expected to be this good.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Alison Krauss Tames the Jerky Boys and Girls
The Biltmore, built by George W. Vanderbilt circa 1895 and located in Asheville, NC, is billed as "America's largest home." It is also one of America's great tourist attractions and is a beloved brand around the Asheville area. So, when you book 31-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss and her band, Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, at the Biltmore's concert venue, well, you've booked a must-see and must-be-seen event for western North Carolina scene-makers.
C'mon, now, you know who you are. You're the folks who are willing to pay $75 to hang out and socialize and drink beer and, well, as I said, to be seen. But, what with your tin ears and all, listening to Alison Krauss is an afterthought. So, when the music starts at 8:10--and there's no opening act, that's Alison Krauss up there on stage--when the music starts at 8:10, that's when you start thinking about actually coming into the outdoor "hall" and finding your seat.
And so, as Krauss and Union Station are opening with the title song from their latest record, "Paper Airplane," here they come--all the Jerky Boys and Girls, stumbling and mumbling in with their beers and their ticket stubs. And as Dan Tyminski sings "Dust Bowl Children" and then the entire band rips into the traditional bluegrass breakdown, "Cluck Old Hen," still they come. Finally Krauss more or less closes out the Getting Seated portion of the show with "Lay My Burden Down."
Finally the focus is on the music, unless you're somewhere around the perimeter of the seating, where you'll find all the Jerky Boys and Girls who never even attempted to get themselves seated. They're still out there jabbering away.... But for most of us, the focus is finally on the music.
And, hey, Alison isn't in her best voice tonight but she's still Alison, the sweetest voice in all of pop music. And now she's knocking "A Ghost in This House" and "Miles to Go" right out of the park.
Then the focus returns to the band on Jerry's solo, Paul Simon's "American Tune" paired with Chick Corea's "Spain," from Douglas' new record, Traveller. Then Tyminski sings again on "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn," and gets the biggest ovation of the night so far. A few minutes later he sings "A Man of Constant Sorrow" and gets an even bigger one.
That, in fact, concluded the main part of the show, much to the audience's consternation. I mean, it's only been an hour and a quarter, and about an hour since all the Jerky Boys and Girls quieted down. But fear not, the band returned--or, better yet, removed themselves to center stage where they gathered closely around Krauss in various combinations. One fellow described it as the "acoustic" part of the show but, of course, it was all acoustic. But now, Barry Bales and his bass was retired. A more stripped down sound with an emphasis on harmony vocals was presented, and with a medley of tunes in truncated form.
They included “When You Say Nothing at All,” “Whiskey Lullaby,” “Down to the River to Pray” and “Your Long Journey." "Down to the River to Pray" was presented in an especially sparse form so that the audience felt compelled to join in the singing, which created a pleasing ethereal effect. Then, to cap the evening was a full-length version and the show’s best song, “There Is a Reason.” Douglas may be the greatest instrumental in the world, as Krauss asserted, but Ron Block's guitar solo on "There Is a Reason" was every bit as beautiful as anything Douglas played tonight.
Overall, it was a fine performance by one of pop music's best working bands. The vocals were only at a B+ level, but the harmonies and Tyminski's contributions were as good or better than lots of bands all by itself. The instrumental playing, both as accompaniment or in solo form, was impeccable...A+. The crowd and the ambience generally was not so good though, again, by concert's end, most of the Jerky Boys and Girls had settled down.
But, you know, it's still a free country. Why somebody would feel compelled to spend $75 to have a conversation, I don't know.
C'mon, now, you know who you are. You're the folks who are willing to pay $75 to hang out and socialize and drink beer and, well, as I said, to be seen. But, what with your tin ears and all, listening to Alison Krauss is an afterthought. So, when the music starts at 8:10--and there's no opening act, that's Alison Krauss up there on stage--when the music starts at 8:10, that's when you start thinking about actually coming into the outdoor "hall" and finding your seat.
And so, as Krauss and Union Station are opening with the title song from their latest record, "Paper Airplane," here they come--all the Jerky Boys and Girls, stumbling and mumbling in with their beers and their ticket stubs. And as Dan Tyminski sings "Dust Bowl Children" and then the entire band rips into the traditional bluegrass breakdown, "Cluck Old Hen," still they come. Finally Krauss more or less closes out the Getting Seated portion of the show with "Lay My Burden Down."
Finally the focus is on the music, unless you're somewhere around the perimeter of the seating, where you'll find all the Jerky Boys and Girls who never even attempted to get themselves seated. They're still out there jabbering away.... But for most of us, the focus is finally on the music.
And, hey, Alison isn't in her best voice tonight but she's still Alison, the sweetest voice in all of pop music. And now she's knocking "A Ghost in This House" and "Miles to Go" right out of the park.
Then the focus returns to the band on Jerry's solo, Paul Simon's "American Tune" paired with Chick Corea's "Spain," from Douglas' new record, Traveller. Then Tyminski sings again on "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn," and gets the biggest ovation of the night so far. A few minutes later he sings "A Man of Constant Sorrow" and gets an even bigger one.
That, in fact, concluded the main part of the show, much to the audience's consternation. I mean, it's only been an hour and a quarter, and about an hour since all the Jerky Boys and Girls quieted down. But fear not, the band returned--or, better yet, removed themselves to center stage where they gathered closely around Krauss in various combinations. One fellow described it as the "acoustic" part of the show but, of course, it was all acoustic. But now, Barry Bales and his bass was retired. A more stripped down sound with an emphasis on harmony vocals was presented, and with a medley of tunes in truncated form.
They included “When You Say Nothing at All,” “Whiskey Lullaby,” “Down to the River to Pray” and “Your Long Journey." "Down to the River to Pray" was presented in an especially sparse form so that the audience felt compelled to join in the singing, which created a pleasing ethereal effect. Then, to cap the evening was a full-length version and the show’s best song, “There Is a Reason.” Douglas may be the greatest instrumental in the world, as Krauss asserted, but Ron Block's guitar solo on "There Is a Reason" was every bit as beautiful as anything Douglas played tonight.
Overall, it was a fine performance by one of pop music's best working bands. The vocals were only at a B+ level, but the harmonies and Tyminski's contributions were as good or better than lots of bands all by itself. The instrumental playing, both as accompaniment or in solo form, was impeccable...A+. The crowd and the ambience generally was not so good though, again, by concert's end, most of the Jerky Boys and Girls had settled down.
But, you know, it's still a free country. Why somebody would feel compelled to spend $75 to have a conversation, I don't know.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Frank-n-Me, or Underground Freak Out Music
I've long since re-name this blog Boomer Rock. But when I first created it, I had intended to write about Frank Zappa and nothing but Frank Zappa. Surely, you've noticed my list of the top 25 artists of the record, on which Frank Zappa sits proudly at #1. Well, I'm finally getting around to my original purpose, which is not only to write about Frank. It is also to digitize my Zappa vinyl collection, at least that part of it that I haven't already duplicated on CD.
Here without further ado or fanfare are the FZ vinyl records that I have in my collection and have never upgraded to CD, if you'll pardon the expression "upgrade." I should simply say modernize, but what the hell. They are:
Here without further ado or fanfare are the FZ vinyl records that I have in my collection and have never upgraded to CD, if you'll pardon the expression "upgrade." I should simply say modernize, but what the hell. They are:
Mothermania (1968)
Uncle Meat (1969)
Burnt Weenie Sandwich (1969)
200 Motels (1971)
Just Another Band from L.A. (1972)
Waka/Jawaka•Hot Rats (1972)
Roxy and Elsewhere (1974)
Bongo Fury (1975)
Zoot Allures (1976)
Tinsel Town Rebellion (1981)
Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar (1981)
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save A Drowning Witch (1982)
The Man from Utopia (1983)
Them or Us (1984)
Jazz from Hell (1986)
In truth, these aren't my favorite FZ recordings. My faves have been "modernized" and, frankly (pardoning the expression), I'm surprised at how much of Zappa's catalog has been "modernized" to CD. So, these are records I haven't listened to for anywhere from 15 to 30 years, and I'm looking forward to it. I expect to discover some "new" (for me) Zappa chestnuts in the process.
But while I'm here, let me tell you about my earliest introduction to Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. My friends and bandmates Ron and Charlie loaned me We're Only In It for the Money. This would have been my senior year in high school. My friend Claude had just asked me to join his band, The Situation. Claude played rhythm guitar and sang. Dave played bass. Ron was the drummer, and Charlie was lead guitar. Claude and Dave were school friends from Faribault, while Ron and Charlie lived some 25 miles away in New Prague. Actually, I'd be pretty sure it was Ron who loaned me the record. He had one friend in particular who cultivated the wild man/misfit image, though it's also true that there were some folks in that crowd who were genuinely wild and misfitted to polite society.
So, anyway, here is this record and, first of all, on the cover you've got the band in drag. This is the famous Sgt. Pepper's parody with various and sundry famous faces pasted, collage-like, into the chaotic mob scene. But nobody noticed that, there was just this scuzzy looking group of ugly guys in the front row in disgusting drag.
And, then, on the inside--I mean, listening to the music and reading along with the lyrics--it just got more and more inflammatory...more and more imperative not to let your parents hear what you were listening to. "Ever wonder why your daughter looked so sad? It's such a drag to have to love a plastic mom and dad." "Shut your fucking mouth about the length of my hair/How could you survive if you were alive, shitty little person." "Concentration Moon/Over the camp in the valley...American way, threatened by us/drag a few creeps away in a bus."
Holy shit. And, today, 41 years later, all a person can come up with to say in the face of We're Only In It for the Money, all's I can come up with is still just, Holy shit. And, to think, he used to be such a nice boy.
My re-introduction to Frank and the Mothers came a year or a year-and-a-half later, when Terry brought this LP over to the house where I lived with a bunch of guys. That was the year when six of us enrolled in school full-time--for probably about 15 credits each, on average--and by the end of the first semester we had collectively completed the requirements for maybe six of them. Six credits out of a possible 90. You could say we partied pretty hard.
Anyway, Mothermania is a greatest hits type record put together by Verve Records after Frank had left the label. Frank hated the label and he hated this record. But, seriously, it's a great, great collection. The producers did Frank a favor by just focusing in on the songs and getting rid of all of the usual flotsam and jetsam with which Frank surrounded them. Sure, the songs are just part of Frank's oeuvre, but they're an important part and here they really shone. In this new and different setting, Frank's music seemed just a little less mind-blowing, but it seemed a lot funnier. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.
After that, I was hooked, and I started buying Frank's records, mostly used. So a lot of them are pretty beat to shit. I hope they play okay.
And, just for the record, Underground Freak Out Music is a vamp that the Mothers played in Miami in 1969 and which is memorialized on You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Rufus Wainwright Charms the Zoo
It has been a music-filled summer, which is what I intended for it to be. My friends and I have seen a number of local acts, national acts, you name it. Up until the other night, the best of them all was the so-called Blood on the Tracks Band, who played 2 hours of brilliant Dylan covers on Saturday night, July 25, in St. Louis Park, MN. Billy Hallberg, Lonny Knight, Kevin Odegard and a cast of, well, many, many more, put on a terrific show. Better than Los Lobos, better than Steve Earle and band, better certainly than the Shins....
But not better than Rufus Wainwright. Rufus. who played at the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday, August 11, is just an absolute gem, both a great musician and a great entertainer. His is one of the wittiest stage personas I've ever seen. He seems to genuinely enjoy being up on stage in ways that escape most musical artists, and his joy and his fun is contagious and lifts the whole audience.
Take my wife (please!). No, seriously, take my wife. She is not a big fan of his music--not a big fan of his singing voice, specifically. "He sings through his nose," she always says. But seeing him live softened her right up. She was singing his praises by concert's end.
And for those of us who are fans of his music--and even of his singing!--well, the songs, the music, the singing, the repartee, it all adds up to a terrific package and the summer's--the year's--best musical experience.
Where to begin? I mean, I'm not even that impressed by his newest LP, Out of the Game. "But, of course, I'm not" out of the game, he said. And, of course, he is not. He is very much in the game, though not at the very top of his game on Out of the Game. Compared to his masterpieces, Want One and Want Two, there's more of a sameness to many of the tunes. But in a live setting, they exhibit more personality than on record. Still, "Rashida," "Barbara," "Jericho" and "Montauk" from the new album were among the least memorable songs in the show.
On the other handle, "Candles," which opened the show in a cappella style and in stage darkness, was terrific. The title track was nice, and "Bitter Tears," with its paradoxically jaunty melody, ended the show on a huge up-beat.
Still, the highlights included "The One You Love" and "Art Teacher" from Want Two. Also, "The Man That Got Away" by Judy Garland, which Rufus dedicated in catty fashion to Liza Minelli who, when asked if she had listened to Rufus' recording of her mom's songs, said, "Why would I do that?"
Then a tribute to Rufus' dad, Loudon the III, by way of one of Loudon's songs, "One Man Guy." And just in case you missed it, "One Man Guy"is a hilarious paean to utter self-absorption. Loudon is a "one man guy" totally in thrall to himself, at least that's what the song says. When Rufus sings it, it is of course a love song to his dad. Nice.
And, finally, by way of highlights, was a version of Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," his love song to Janis Joplin, sung in a duet with Leonard's son Adam Cohen, who was one of 2 opening acts (Krystle Warren was the other). Honestly, I would have preferred to hear Rufus sing it alone. Adam's voice is unlike his father's but it too is only semi-melodic and totally idiosyncratic. Nice by itself, a little tortured in a duet or if otherwise required to capture a melody.
But Cohen capitalized on his unique voice and style in his own act, with understated accompaniment (mostly cello and keyboard with a little bit of drum machine) and some great three-part harmony singing by the two accompanists who are not identified anywhere on Adam's Web site. All in all, Adam brings a unique style that's pleasant enough in small doses.
Likewise Krystle Warren with her jazzy, scat-filled singing. She returned as a back-up singer for Rufus as well,
It was a great night with three distinctive musical stylists, headed up by the Artist of the Year (as of today) in Rufus Wainwright.
But not better than Rufus Wainwright. Rufus. who played at the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday, August 11, is just an absolute gem, both a great musician and a great entertainer. His is one of the wittiest stage personas I've ever seen. He seems to genuinely enjoy being up on stage in ways that escape most musical artists, and his joy and his fun is contagious and lifts the whole audience.
Take my wife (please!). No, seriously, take my wife. She is not a big fan of his music--not a big fan of his singing voice, specifically. "He sings through his nose," she always says. But seeing him live softened her right up. She was singing his praises by concert's end.
And for those of us who are fans of his music--and even of his singing!--well, the songs, the music, the singing, the repartee, it all adds up to a terrific package and the summer's--the year's--best musical experience.
Where to begin? I mean, I'm not even that impressed by his newest LP, Out of the Game. "But, of course, I'm not" out of the game, he said. And, of course, he is not. He is very much in the game, though not at the very top of his game on Out of the Game. Compared to his masterpieces, Want One and Want Two, there's more of a sameness to many of the tunes. But in a live setting, they exhibit more personality than on record. Still, "Rashida," "Barbara," "Jericho" and "Montauk" from the new album were among the least memorable songs in the show.
On the other handle, "Candles," which opened the show in a cappella style and in stage darkness, was terrific. The title track was nice, and "Bitter Tears," with its paradoxically jaunty melody, ended the show on a huge up-beat.
Still, the highlights included "The One You Love" and "Art Teacher" from Want Two. Also, "The Man That Got Away" by Judy Garland, which Rufus dedicated in catty fashion to Liza Minelli who, when asked if she had listened to Rufus' recording of her mom's songs, said, "Why would I do that?"
Then a tribute to Rufus' dad, Loudon the III, by way of one of Loudon's songs, "One Man Guy." And just in case you missed it, "One Man Guy"is a hilarious paean to utter self-absorption. Loudon is a "one man guy" totally in thrall to himself, at least that's what the song says. When Rufus sings it, it is of course a love song to his dad. Nice.
And, finally, by way of highlights, was a version of Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," his love song to Janis Joplin, sung in a duet with Leonard's son Adam Cohen, who was one of 2 opening acts (Krystle Warren was the other). Honestly, I would have preferred to hear Rufus sing it alone. Adam's voice is unlike his father's but it too is only semi-melodic and totally idiosyncratic. Nice by itself, a little tortured in a duet or if otherwise required to capture a melody.
But Cohen capitalized on his unique voice and style in his own act, with understated accompaniment (mostly cello and keyboard with a little bit of drum machine) and some great three-part harmony singing by the two accompanists who are not identified anywhere on Adam's Web site. All in all, Adam brings a unique style that's pleasant enough in small doses.
Likewise Krystle Warren with her jazzy, scat-filled singing. She returned as a back-up singer for Rufus as well,
It was a great night with three distinctive musical stylists, headed up by the Artist of the Year (as of today) in Rufus Wainwright.
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