radiowilco

As long time long time resident of Burlington, VT, I always pay attention to the bands that Higher Ground books around the time of SSF.  Alex Crothers, the clubs owner, is also the longtime producer of SSF and Sky Blue Sky.  So, Higher Ground has just booked King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard for a mighty two night stand at the club on the Wednesday and Thursday before the first day of SSF.  Mdou Moctar, White Denim and Foxygen (amongst others) all played HG over the years either right before or right after the festival.  So, I'm kinda' thinking we will see King Gizz in late May at Mass MoCA.

^^^^Love Joe Henderson's playing - I'll have to check out this reissue.

It's amazing... Blue Note has been reissuing some of their best titles under their Tone Poet imprint.  Stunning quality and perfect pressings...all of them!

in no particular order -

1)  Brittney Howard - Jaime

2)  Freddie Gibbs and Madlib - Bandana

3)  Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow

4)  Big Thief - UFOF and Two Hands

5)  Bill Callahan - Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest

6)  William Tyler - Goes West

7)  Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride

8)  Jeff Tweedy - Warmer

9)  Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains

10)  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen

Reissues:

1)  REM - Monster

2)  Joe Henderson - State of the Tenor (and all of the Tone Poet reissues from Blue Note)

3)  Prince - 1999

I bought GA tickets this morning - this festival comes highly recommended from some friends who have gone every year.  $140 for both days is a steal for this type of festival and the terrific line up Shovels and Rope have assembled  - this Platinum Pearl package thing is really ridiculous, however... Have never been to Charleston - gonna make a full week of it and hit up Savannah as well!

This is all wrong... it's a real misread from the band about what they think SS fest-goers want on the Friday night. Frankly, I wasn't expecting something out of this world - was kinda hoping for the Friday and the Saturday to be repeat-free shows with a few deep cuts. I haven't seen the band since the last Solid Sound so I am craving two big Wilco shows. 5 to 10 songs, as has been said, could take up to an hour of the show. Gonna try to join the glass is half full club on this one as I am still going for sure.

Angelique Kidjo brought her Talking Heads "Remain In Light" tour to Burlington this evening for a sold out show at the Flynn Center.  This was one of very best shows I have seen in a very long time.  Angelique has that similar quality to her that Mavis Staples has -- you just want to be in her presence...listening...watching...and soaking up all of the love!  She's an amazing performer with a voice that possess huge range and brilliance.  The band is sensational.  The arrangements of the Talking Heads songs are superb and all of the players have extraordinary chops.  

I think this is toward the end of her touring on this album, but if she comes your way -- don't sleep on it.  Go!

Here's the set list as played:

Instrumental with Percussion Solo

Born Under Punches

Crosseyed and Painless

Cauri (Kidjo Original)

Listening Wind

The Great Curve

The Overload

Pata Pata (Miriam Makeba)

Houses In Motion

Afrika (Kidjo Original)

Once In A Lifetime

Tumba (Cover)

________________________________

Burning Down the House (from Speaking in Tongues)

Thanks for tip - I watched this last night... also, it's streaming for free on Amazon for those who are Prime members.

I really enjoyed it.  The concert footage is excellent - it's an amalgam of all three nights from The Power Station.  And, there is ton of songs that include the Wilco boys playing in a variety of set ups with the other musicians.  Highlights include an incredible version of At Least That's What You Said and Reservations.  Also, a killer version of Fake Plastic Trees with Jeff bringing amazing warmth and beauty to the song.  After the song ends - Jeff thanks Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway for "allowing him to sing the song" and then calls it "one the greatest songs ever."

I was also reminded of just how talented the Finn family is -- Neil's voice is simply gorgeous on every song he sings and Liam is not too shabby either.

For those of you who caught this run Auckland -- you were witness to something very rare and special.

Well worth watching!

A really enjoyable evening at the Corona Theatre in Montreal last night...  Jeff/Wilco always seem to play really well in this great city, and if memory serves, this is the first time that either Jeff or Wilco has played this amazing old theatre across the street from Joe Beef which is one of the very best restaurants in Canada -- perhaps all of N. America?  Jeff spent the better part of the evening playing his 1931 Martin, which he reminded the crowd that he used on every recording since the Mermaid Avenue sessions.  He continued to tell the story of the "big bust" at the Canadian border.  A woman on the floor asked how they got released, and Jeff quipped that he told the border agents that he could play any Neil Young song with his hands tied (or in this case, cuffed) behind his back :-)  Another nice bit from the banter corner came when he asked the audience which Wilco record had not had any songs played from it to that point in the show (answer - Sky Blue Sky)  This, of course, turned into a free for all of requests coming from the audience.  The final request -- predictably, Free Bird -- was yelled out... Jeff stared him down with a smile and called for Security.  There were a few more moments of quality banter -- he discussed developing his own "persona" over the last thirty years of performing, and Wilco having no hit songs that needed to be played every night... I'll let others chime in here. One final observation -- Jeff's solo shows seem to be a good four or five songs shorter on this tour than usual... not a complaint (okay, a little bit of complaining), but 21/22 songs are not quite enough for these ears.

Looking forward to the Higher Ground show next Tuesday.  HG is celebrating its 20th Anniversary all month long so it should be a real good time... if you're going (and like very drinkable Session IPAs) grab one (or more, if you're not driving) of the just released Zero Gravity HG20.  Way yummy!

Here's the set list as played:

Via Chicago

Bombs Away

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

Ashes of American Flags

New Song - First Time Played (gorgeous song)

Hummingbird

Remember the Mountain Bed

New Madrid

Locator

Laminated Cat

Bull Black Nova

Passenger Side

Noah's Flood

Jesus Etc.

I'm the Man Who Loves You

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Misunderstood

California Stars

Impossible Germany

Kamera

Shot in the Arm

Yo La Tengo came through Burlington last night, and as always, really delivered the goods.  No opening act and two amazing sets with a great three song encore... This is my tenth time seeing this band over many years and they never disappoint.  A wonderful and dreamy first set of "quiet songs" and a deep and dizzying second set of "loud songs," which is such a great way to see them play their music.  They played eight songs from their new record "There's A Riot Going On" and the rest were a smattering of their song book from a range of records spanning their entire career.  A truly enjoyable evening...

Here's the set list as played:

You Are Here

She May, She Might

The Crying Lot of G (one of the highlights of the evening)

Ashes

Let's Do It Wrong

How to Make a Baby Elephant Float

When it's Dark

Black Flowers (another highlight)

Here You Are

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Out of the Pool

Before we Run

The Story of Jazz (yet another highlight)

For You Too

Shades of Blue

Mr Tough

Big Day Coming

Sugarcube

Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind (and, another highlight)

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Connection (Rolling Stones) (Dr. Mark Fisher on drums - Dr. Fisher is a Burlington psychiatrist who played drums in Ira's first band in high school named "Heat Wave" :-)

Periodically Double or Triple

What Can I Say (NRBQ)

Well - if there is an antidote to living in Donald Trump's America - it's spending a solid 90 minutes with Mavis and her incredible band!  Tonight marked Mavis' first show of 2018 and Burlington showed up in full force for a sold out gig at the Flynn Center.  This show marked her first live performances of "Who Told You That," "Build A Bridge," "Little Bit," and "No Time For Cryin'" from If All I Was Was Black.  Each of these songs were great, but "No Time For Cryin'" as the encore was particularly powerful.  You could feel the anger, frustration and hope in each word as urged the crowd to take a stand and stop sitting around while this oligarch fucking destroys our country.  It was good shit... 

Here is the set list - as played:

Come Go With Me

Take Us Back

Slippery People

For What It's Worth

Who Told You That

Build A Bridge

Little Bit

Freedom Highway

You're Not Alone (beautifully rendered this evening)

We're Gonna Make It>

Jam>

Touch A Hand, Make A Friend

I'll Take You There

---------------------------------------------

No Time For Cryin'

If memory serves, I think Jeff suggested in St. Paul that bbop should consider touring with The National while Wilco take their much deserved break in 2018... After last night's show at the Metropolis in Montreal - it may be something he should consider doing... or, at least, catching them a few times as they continue to tour on Sleep Well Beast

This is my fifth time seeing this band and I continue to be blown away by their live shows (I like their records a lot too).  Last night's superb two-hour show was made even more special because the Metropolis is one of the very best rooms to see live music performed anywhere in N. America.  Those you who have seen Wilco perform there over the years can attest to it's charm, great site lines and fantastic sound.

Lots has been written about this band of four brothers plus one -- so need to go into any of that other than to say their chemistry (and DNA) make them an incredibly enjoyable band to see perform live.  There is def something going on between the four brothers that is a bit outer worldly.

Here's the set list - as played... again, catch them if they are coming near you this winter.  My bet is that summer will see them playing much larger venues and sheds.

Nobody Else Will Be There

The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness

Walk It Back

Guilty Party

Don't Swallow the Cap

Afraid of Everyone

Born to Beg

I Need My Girl

Santa Clara

Secret Meeting

Conversation 16

I'll Still Destroy You

Turtleneck

Slow Show

Graceless

Carin at the Liquor Store

Day I Die

Fake Empire

About Today

Pink Rabbits

___________________

Mr. November

Terrible Love

Dark Side of the Gym

Memories

It's tomorrow... Friday at 10am.

I'm certain about that - not certain about the password.

LOSEIT = Password for tomorrow's TM presale for Beacon shows???

Best shows of 2016:

• Margo Price - Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
• Jason Isbell - Flynn Center for Performing Arts - Burlington, VT
• Yo La Tengo - Music Hall - Portsmouth, NH
• Dinosaur Jr - Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
• Bon Iver, Erykha Badu, Senywa, Mavis Staples, William Tyler, Beach House and Day of the Dead - Eaux Claires Festival - Eau Claire, WI
• Phish (w/Bob Weir) - Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN
• Bad Plus w/Joshua Redman - Lincoln Theatre - Washington, DC

The National played a terrific show last night at Joe's Field.  It was great to see the field full of people enjoying a great night of music in the Berkshires to welcome in summer.  Storms were predicted - but the thunder and lightning never came, which made for a lovely (if a little chilly) evening.  This was my first time seeing The National and I was really impressed with the band.  The mix was spot on and the overall sound was amazing.  This is a band that is clearly on top of their live game.  Matt Berringer's baritone is really something to behold - a truly unique and gorgeous voice.  The Dessner's guitar play throughout the entire show was spectacular and nuanced.  The Devendorf's are a terrific rhythm section - add the three guys that play horns (the Brass-Holes as Berringer called them) and an array of synthesizers and you've got an amazing live band with a huge sound.

They debuted four new songs - all of which sounded great and ready to be recorded.  Highlights for me were This is the Last Time, Pink Rabbits, Peggy O, England, Mr. November and Fake Empire.

Here's the printed set list:

Don't Swallow the Cap

Sea Of Love

BloodBuzz Ohio

Hard to Find

Afraid of Everyone 

Squalor Victoria

Peggy O (Grateful Dead Cover)

I Need Ny Girl

This is the Last Time

Iris

Kingston

Sometimes i Don't Think

Slow Show

Pink Rabbits

England

About Today

Fake Empire

_____________________________

Morning Dew (Grateful Dead Cover - Did Not Play)

The Day I Die

Mr. November

Terrible Love

Vanderlyle (Full Band Front of Stage - Stripped Down Version)

www.relix.com/articles/detail/indie_is_dead_inside_the_massive_day_of_the_dead_compilation

“Wilco is in the bag that the Dead were—as much as I don’t get from their records, I get from their live performances,” Weir says. “I’d always heard: ‘You’ve got to hear this band Wilco. They kind of remind me of you guys.’ When I finally heard them live, I was blinded. They play off of each other and they get the songs. When they’re playing, everybody in their band knows every word of that story. You can hear everybody watching the movie in their music.” 

Really looking forward to the release of "Day of the Dead"

For all of you Deadheads on the board - it appears that The National are very, very close to releasing their Grateful Dead curated tribute record... Will Hermes reports it is five and half hours of music!  You can can see the bands and the songs they played in a series of tweets from Hermes in the link below...

Hermes tweets that one of the songs on the monster LP is a live recording (presumbly from the AmericanaramA tour) of Bob Weir sitting in with Wilco on a version of St. Stephen.

http://www.jambase.com/article/bob-weir-joins-wilco-for-st-stephen-in-2013

Well... I thought it was a good night all around.  I was in the 12th row/dead center - and we stood all night.  Being a long time Burlington resident, I am always conflicted about seeing rock shows at The Flynn.  In some cases - I skip them altogether because the venue does not really lend itself to the full rock n' roll experience.  With Higher Ground/Alex Crothers strong relationship with TMM and the band - it would have been way better to book them for two nights at the club instead of a theatre show... That said, I thought the sound was amazing!

I will confess to be the being the guy who requested One By One - and When You Wake Up Feeling Old... so, I was pretty pleased to hear both of these tunes that I thought were stand outs last night.  Also, I thought the Sunken Treasure and the Hummingbird were outstanding.  This was my third time seeing Star Wars and I continue to enjoy hearing the record played from top to bottom.  I say this as I will only be seeing two shows on this tour - I think if I were seeing more shows, this would kinda' get old.  King of You, You Satellite and Random Name Generator were ridiculously good.

Anyway - I really enjoyed myself and thought the band was in fine form - now, off to Portland...

Up before sunrise at the Hilton to make the most of my one full day in Burlington. And I will be standing from the first note!!!

Nice! Yes... Stand Tall!

Enjoy your day - if you need some suggestions - just let me know.

Actually, they played consecutive nights at Stubb's in Austin to close out 2015's touring calendar. And I'm afraid they played SW both nights there. You can't really blame them since that's what they're promoting and the vast majority of people at any given show haven't already seen multiple gigs like we have...

Thanks bbop - as always, I really enjoy reading your reviews and thoughts on the shows.  I will be at the Flynn Theatre tonight (hope you'll finally make a Burlington show) and will head over to Portland tomorrow as well.  That will be it for me this winter...  Having seen Star Wars indoors back at the Metropolis in September - I couldn't agree more that it is WAY better indoors.

I am hoping Burlington brings some real energy to the show tonight.  Like most theatre's - the Flynn can suffer from the stand up/sit down issue.  I have found that if people get up early - and stay standing through the first song - everyone gets up.  The room sounds amazing...

If anyone needs suggestions on where to drink, eat or hang while in our little fair city - lemme know.

I agree Vacant Horizon.  I think Mayer is just what these guys were looking - but took a while to find.  As I said in my earlier post on the Albany show - Mayer really had the Garcia-like tone down cold.  Couple that with the fact that he couldn't/shouldn't be a Garcia clone (think John K) - the whole thing really works.  Again, there were some tempo issues last night that Weir was driving that don't serve the songs - in my humble view.  Also, and again, would be much better if Weir gave all of the Garcia tunes to Mayer to sing...

Oteil could be the hidden gem of this group.  After listening to a couple of songs from last night - I was reminded of just how good he sounded.  He clearly feels this shit down deep, and to his credit, play nothing like Phil.  And I mean that in a good way...

Just back from Albany - and I must say, I was really impressed.  The first few songs of the first set were a bit shaky and the sound was muddy - they straightened that out by the time John Mayer took control of the He's Gone.  The Birdsong - Music to close the first set was superb.  The second set was really well played from start to finish.  The Lost Sailor - Saint was terrific, but the Help-Slip-Franklin's was the highlight of the evening for my ears.

Some Observations:

1) John Mayer can really play and really sing!  His guitar had a superb Garcia-like tone throughout the entire evening, but his playing was his own.  He's clearly enjoying the moment and I am sure will only get better as the tour moves on.

2) Weir sounded and looked a lot better (to me) than he did in Santa Clara and Chicago.  His playing was assured and his vocals (for the most part) were on point (and pitch).  He is clearly leading the band to slow some of the material down which has an uneven effect, and I think he should give up more of the Garcia songs he is singing and pass them on to Mayer.  That said, they shared vocal leads on T. Jed, NFA and Touch of Grey.

3) Billy and Mickey are the glue to this operation (not surprisingly).  They sounded great all night, and after the muddy sounding start - were turned up beautifully in the mix.  Otiell also sounded great - he was playing was also featured in the mix and I thought he really held his own.

4) This is gonna be a much more "jammy" band than the one we saw in Chicago.  For me - this is good news.

I will be seeing them again in Nashville in a few weeks - looking forward to seeing how all this progresses.  If you're on the fence about this - I say go!

So, Neil Young and Willie Nelson's boys dropped in on Vermont last night to play a show for 11,000 adoring fans of all ages.  The show was a clear thank you to Vermont for passsing the nation's first and only GMO labeling law, which he sings about on his new record "The Monsanto Years."  Neil was in extremely fine form last night and The Promise of the Real proved to be an excellent backing band on all counts.

There were too many tracks played off "The Monsanto Years" for my taste last night, but what are you gonna do?  If anyone else sang these songs -- people would shake their heads.  But Neil Young is, well, Neil Young... and somehow he figured out a way to pull it off -- for the most part...

Here's the setlist as played:

After the Gold Rush (Solo Piano)

Heart of Gold (Solo Guitar)

Long May You Run (Solo Guitar)

Old Man (Solo Guitar)

Mother Earth (Solo Organ)

Hold Back the Tears (w/Promise of the Real joining for the rest of the show)

Out on a Weekend

Unknown Legend

From Hank to Hendrix

Harvest Moon

Wolf Moon

Words

Lookin' for a Love

Moonlight in Vermont (Sung by Lukas Nelson who played Neil's Upright Piano - and sounded just like his father did 30 years ago!)

A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop

People Want to Hear About Love

A New Day for Love

Country Home

Down By the River (20 full minutes)

If I Don't Know

Working Man

Monsanto Years

Love and Only Love

I grabbed:

The 101'ers

Neko Case

Miles Davis

T Monk in San Francisco

Johnny Cash Live in Prague

Blitzen Trapper - Harvest Live

Sun Records RSD 2015 Collection

The Replacements

The White Stripes

A nice haul - glad to support Pure Pop here in Burlington.  This place was about to go under until vinyl came roaring back...

Anyone planning to head out early in the morning?

Here's my grocery list:

101'ers - Elgin Avenue Breakdown
Decemberists - Picaresque
Dionne Warwick/The Stranglers - Walk On By
Dresden Dolls - The Virginia Monologues
The Autumn Defense - The Autumn Defense
Grandmaster Flash/Stiff Little Fingers - The Message
David Bowie/Tom Verlaine - Kingdom Come
Ian Dury - New Boots and Panties
Simple Minds - Celebrate - Live From The SSE Hydro Glasgow
Bob Dylan - The Basement Tape
Happy Mondays - Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches
Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy. Live. Barrowlands.
Johnny Marr - I Feel You
Various Artists - An On-U Journey Through Time and Space
Miles Davis - Box Set vol. 2
Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
Trojan Records: Rude Boy Rumble
The Darjeeling Limited OST
Jah Wobble - Let’s Go Psycho
Ride - OX 4
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Amon Tobin - Dark Jovian EP
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Swans - 12" EP

I have often said that the rhythm section was the weak link in the Dead, but wow. Maybe it wasn't meant that way...

I think this came the wrong way   Phil, Mickey and Billy are terrific - I loved hearing those guys play during my time seeing the band (mostly 82 to 85).  I just meant that Russo/Driewitz had a sound all ofg their own - and I liked it a lot!!!

That show was AMAZING! What a band. Russo totally rules, incredible drummer.

 

 

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