Friday, May 30, 2014

Full Show Friday: Iggy Pop Live @ A venue B 1999

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Iggy Pop!
The ageless wonder Iggy Pop will be our focus today. What a frontman! The Trolls back him up here and it is a driving energetic display after an awesome acoustic opening. Really dynamite show from 1999 when Iggy was on top of his game working with a late career comeback, Raw Power Indeed! Pro Shot and Pro Sound. 
Enjoy:

1     No Shit
2     Nazi Girlfriend
3     EspaƱol
4     Raw Power
5     Search & Destroy
6     Shakin' All Over
7     Corruption
8     Real Wild Child
9     I Wanna Be Your Dog
10   I Felt the Luxury
11   Home
12   Lust for Life
13   The Passenger song review
14   Cold Metal
15   Avenue B
16   TV Eye
17   I Got a Right
18  No Fun
19  Death Trip
20  Sixteen
21  Louie, Louie

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Album Review: Richard Haswell- From The Fleet To The Medlock

Richard Haswell
From The Fleet To The Medlock - A Collection (1997-2014)
*** out of *****
The Scottish singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Richard Haswell has put together a collection of his work spanning 17 years on From The Fleet To The Medlock. It is to act as a beginners guide to the artists collection as he currently has a daunting 22 records out there. Using the internet as a guide Haswell picked from a variety of songs based on downloads, streams, critical acclaim and personal preferences.

All that stated it may not be best suited as an intro to the artist as there is a lot to digest here in form of actual songs (17), running time (77+ minutes), and musical styles. Haswell isn't hasn't been afraid to experiement that is obvious as things as varied as textured spacey instrumentals ("Tird Lanark") cozy up next to disco fueled bouncers ("The Undreamed Of") nudging past acoustic moments ("Magnetic North").

To point out some highlights, "Circus Clown" has a nice production for a basic singer songwriter tune, elevating it above some others here. The pulsing/acoustic pairing on "Arise" feels like a lost Pink Floyd number that is exciting as is the Eels sounding "Perfect Parallel" which uses expert wordplay. Things can get over-dramatic on tracks like "Brick By Brick" and "Solid Ground", both would probably improve with a less-is-more production approach.

"Cause And Effect" is the highpoint of the collection with it's winning vocals, uplifting musicality and buzzsaw sounding solo to close things, this song shows Haswell's talent and From The Fleet To The Medlock gives you access to explore even more of his world. 
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You can support the artist here, grab/stream the album directly from bandcamp here, and peep some video below:
 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Live Review: Shorty Fest 5/1/14 NO, LA

Shorty Fest
5/1/14
Generations Hall, New Orleans, LA

For the 2nd Annual Shorty Fest the crowd lined up early. Word must have spread after last years excellent show that you don't want to miss a note. Opening things up as fans filled into Generations Hall the sweet sounds of The New Breed Brass Band got dancing feet moving in the courtyard. The band went through classics like "Go To The Mardi Gras" in their own style, fans and musicians who were playing later all mingled and enjoyed.

The show highlight on this night came early and in the young form of Brandon "Taz" Niederauer. Dominating the Young Blues Showdown. Taz played one tune, a cover of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" that had people screaming and holding up rows of cellphones to capture the moment. Taz has been an Internet sensation for his guitar playing, on this night his singing was on the same exceedingly high level, a pure whirlwind "what the hell was that!" moment.

Music was moving and flowing like clockwork as some students of the Trombone Shorty Foundation joined Cha Wa to get funky on the brass. The Soul Rebels held court and got people dancing with a mega medley based around Daft Punks "Get Lucky". The legend Dr. Lonnie Smith joined some of the Foundation's players to showcase the young and old talents before the headliner started.   

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue clearly love this show and look forward to it all year. That said the set list sticks pretty close to the songs people paying top notch for tickets will know. "For True" got a good reaction and "Hey" had the easy sing along going as well as the hands in the air and hips shaking.

Like last year a surprise special guest was the highlight, this time the legend Fred Wesley joined the band for some trombone playing as well as singing his tune "House Party". It was clear that Shorty was giddy to have an idol of his on stage with him, trading off verses, horn runs and dance moves.

A joy to be a part of a new generation toasted an elder statesman as a younger 3rd era of students reaped the financial rewards so they can blow funky in the future.
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This is a great part of Jazzfest for us to participate in the last 2 years, giving money to a great cause and seeing an amazing night of music...what more can you ask for? Here's to year 3 in 2015. More info on the foundation is here and you can watch some video below:



Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Album Review: Fungi Girls- Old Foamy EP

Fungi Girls 
Old Foamy EP
**and1/2 out of *****
The three piece lo-fi outfit from Forth Worth, TX have put out a short EP that showcases three great tunes, making for an excellent summer freak out. Recorded a few years ago and only now released the group, Jacob Bruce (guitar/vocals), Skylar Selinas (drums), Deryck Barrera (bass) work with a engaging combo of scuzzy no frills playing and catchy tunes that contain fiery moments.

The title track plays with a surf-rock pop ascetic. Lyrically the track is ladled with hefty helpings of ooh's and ah's. Underneath it all the tempo changes mix up as drums and bass push things faster or slow on their own whims. "Dark Times" swims in the same stream as the band ba-ba-ba's under a punk infusion before a mega guitar solo takes center stage.

The disk ends with "Party For Zeb" and the echo laden vocals stay at an arms length like fellow Texans The Black Angels. The garage rock feels natural and cleaning up the sound/production may yield better results or perhaps cause the sound to fall apart on itself, either way these three tunes on Old Foamy are a fun ride.
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Another great bandcamp find.
Support the band here, grab the album or stream it here

Sazerwrap Part 2: The Music

The Sazerwrap has been the @RockBodyElec way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest in New Orleans.  We will breaking the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the Music.  Only 11 Months until next years festival!
While the food rightfully deserves its own post, the music is the real star at the end of April/beginning of May in the Crescent City. We will look into some of the real highlights so click that read more and join us for a recap...

Monday, May 26, 2014

Enjoy Memorial Day, Have a BBq!

We wished the Bard a happy birthday on Saturday so we are taking Memorial Day off, enjoy the unofficial start of summer with a BBq...



Or Murphy's Law Style...


Anyway...enjoy, and thanks for reading.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Happy Birthday Bob Dylan

Well our favorite is turning another year older and we wanted to give him a happy birthday shout out. We have written about him maybe more then anyone on this site with our Monday Dylan Cover series, so we won't say a whole lot today.
Thanks to our friend Loren for pointing this out from the University of Delaware doing a radio tribute today from 2-6. You can listen here. There are a host of other celebrations around the world tonight, if you are in South Carolina you can hit The Clay Pot for show, if you are in Byron Bay in New South Wales Australia catch this gig and a little closer to home a jaunt up to Woodstock would let you partake in this worthy show.

Enjoy the day and feel free to listen to some Bob.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Full Show Friday: Gary Clark Jr. Portugal 2013

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Gary Clark Jr.!
An early favorite of this site, this review is still one of the most clicked on links we have, I am sure we helped him get his Grammy. That first EP is probably his highpoint with us as we weren't so hot on his full length. All four of the EP tunes are here so that's a big plus and you can't even come close to fucking with his live set... awesome. We caught him back in 2012 in the Blues Tent at Jazzfest, also at Bowery Ballroom and simply put, wow.

This hour long set is pretty damn perfect, makes me wonder if he has a new disk on the horizon...anyway, enjoy some electric blues on this Friday, info and setlist below. Pro Shot Pro Sound.

Enjoy:

Setlist:
When My Train Pulls In
Ain't Messin' 'Round
Travis County
Please Come Home
Things Are Changin'
Numb
Don't Owe You A Thing
Bright Lights, Big City

The band:
Gary Clark Jr: guitar, vocals
Johnny Bradley: bass
King Zapata: guitar
Johnny Radelat: drums

Thursday, May 22, 2014

New Jack White Interview and Title Track from Lazaretto

The amazing Bob Boilen and the people over at NPR should be applauded for a cool interview with RTBE man-crush Jack White.
You can read it here which is cool, but you can listen to it here or stream it below.

The more we hear Jack talk the more we like him...can't help it. Can not wait to hear Lazaretto. Here is the title track to get pumped for it:

Live Review: R. Scully's Rough Seven 5/3/14 NOLA

Got a new review posted over @glidemag of the 5/3/14 live show from Saturn Bar in New Orleans, LA. Go Right C'here to read it!
There were 3 bands playing that night, R. Scully's Rough Seven, Norco Lapalco, The Boy Sprouts and it was a hell of a show in the Bywater.

The Boy Sprouts impressed us, Norco Lapalco were weird in a good way and the Rough Seven blew our doors off as per usual. We said a lot about it in the review so we won't say much more other then the Rough Seven are amazing and easily were the highlight show from our Jazzfest trip.
This is becoming the norm and we only hope this band continues their high level of playing.
Keep on Rockin' In the Free World.  





Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Album Review: The String Cheese Incident- Song In My Head

The String Cheese Incident
Song In My Head
**and1/2 out of *****
The String Cheese Incident's first studio album in 9 years, Song In My Head, finds the band familiarly hitting the jamband notes over a spectrum of musical influences.  The title track plays like a rolling Grateful Dead shuffle with many parts lending themselves to musical exploration but the album also puts a high premium on the noodle dancing masses.

There is a light funky groove found on a bunch of these tracks. "Betray The Dark" implores with a rumba feel and drum breakdown while "Let's Go Outside" continues the thread via some rapping inspired nonsense spiritual/poetry lyrics. "Rosie" just wants to get down over the increasing beat and disk closer "Colliding" tries to soar above the clouds but struggles to truly get airborne.  

One of the better tracks is the balladesque "Struggling Angel" which is accentuated by nice piano work and a harmonica. Tracks like the reggae fueled "Stay True" and the Caribbean Jimmy Buffet flavored "Can't Wait Another Day" will surely be easy breezy favorites in the live setting and that is where this band lives.

So it begs the question why this album now. The band was clearly excited to record the live staples and use the studio for new purposes. When it comes to that though perhaps less would be more, a perfect example being the opening "Colorado Bluebird Sky".

The song plays as a classically great bluegrass tune for the first two minutes before an electric guitar provides an awkward transition into a jammed out ending. Perhaps crafting just a simple, tight, effecting bluegrass classic for the studio album and saving the jamming for live shows would have been a better balance. Either way the band will be out on the festival circuit this summer doing what they do best in 2014 and beyond.       
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Not really our bag, but not remotely bad either. After some dark disks last week SCI certainly bring the positivity man!

Support the artist here, buy the album here, peep some video below:

Looks like they did cut down the jamming for the studio version...

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A Re-Release No One Asked For

Thanks to our uncles over @glidemag we found out that Pink Floyd are re-releasing The Division Bell. Question is, who cares?
We have been thinking a lot about the record industry over the last few years and this is clearly a money grab of the highest order. Who, outside of diehard fans, thought the Division Bell was a remotely good album? People are disappointed and rightfully so. We are not massive Floyd fans, but we do like some of their stuff, notably Wish You Were Here and The Dark Side Of The Moon. Even back in '94 this smelled like a bloated lazy half assed effort...to re-release it just seems empty and hopeless.

During a time when the industry has no idea what to do, this seems safe. Take a classic rock name, add some tracks, snazzy packaging and presto, fans who are "craving real rock" will buy it...and I am sure there will be some revisionists who claim it is great, a forgotten gem. It's not.

Those people should get online and check out different bands, prog-rock is alive and well and all you need is to click here and find an array of groups playing it on bandcamp. You can save a bunch of money, support new fresh acts and let the industry know recycling crap is for fertilizer not record players. Below are two streaming prog album we found on Bandcamp, it took us all of 2 seconds.    They are a Polish group, Iceberg Soul who are also affiliated with Jar of Hope, Apple Peel in this genre.

Check out new acts, don't reward lazy millionaires.     



Sazerwrap Part 1: The Food

The Sazerwrap has been the @RockBodyElec way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest in New Orleans.  As in past years we will breaking the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the food.  Only 11 Months until next years festival! 


Food and joyous celebration of eats, cocktails and ribaldry are just as important to the music on our annual Jazzfest pilgrimage. Click the read more and jump in...

Monday, May 19, 2014

Dylan Cover #139 Royston & Co. "Simple Twist Of Fate"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes from Royston & Co.and is a live cover of "Simple Twist of Fate 
Thoughts On Original:
From the first time we talked about a cover version of this song:
Well the classics just keep coming in this series, with "Simple Twist of Fate" what a gem of a song.  Impeccable lyrics, gorgeous phrasing, just a great great song that is hard not to enjoy.
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
All I got to go on is the info in the about section on youtube: Royston (Vocals), Allan Faull (Guitar/Vocals), Mike McCullagh (Drums), Vivienne McCullagh (Keys). Google searches don't bring up much else except for other Dylan Covers but this group seems confident (to say the least) about this song especially Royston on vocals who gets the headline here.
Thoughts on Cover:
A powerfully delivered live rendition of the classic Dylan tune. Normally people go light and easy, with a devil may care attitude when they tackle this jam but not Royston and company. The vocals are delivered with venom and the playing is electric and sturdy a good add to our series as we approach 150 covers.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Full Show Friday: Frank Sinatra 1970 Royal Festival Hall

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Frank Sinatra!
Not everyone can get an intro from Princess Grace of Monaco, but Ol' Blue Eye's can, let's slip it back in time Daddy-O. Granted 1970 wasn't the highpoint of Sinatra's career, but he still brings his charm, charisma and voice to this performance. Backed by a full orchestra in England Sinatra has been better but still the star as the players are fine if not super dynamic.

Giving a shot to "Something" (even jokingly admitting he is still learning it) clearly shows that Sinatra's time is gone, yet he is timeless. Just peep the dynamic version of "I Get Along Without You Very Well". Simply amazing. 

What more can be said about the chairman of the boards? Well here's one, we recently read this article and love how it changed reporting forever and per-shadowed blogging without access. Feel free to read it and check out the show, setlist below:
Enjoy:

Setlist.
1- Introduction By Princess Grace Of Monaco.
2 - You Make Me Feel So Young.
3 - Pennies From Heaven.
4 - I've Got You Under My Skin.
5 - Something.
6 - The Lady Is A Tramp.
7 - I Get Along Without You Very Well.
8 - Didn't We.
9 - One For My Baby.
10 - I Will Drink The Wine.
11 - I Have Dreamed.
12 - My Kind Of Town.
13 - My Way.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Album Review: Archie Powell & The Exports-Back In Black

New review up @glidemag
 
Read it Right C'here!!!
It is of Archie Powell's & The Exports newest release Back In Black.

We made zero secret about how much we loved the groups last release and still listen to it often (It would have been 8 or 9 stars in the current rankings for Glide) even ranking it in our top 5 for 2012.  This one is a lot different.

Rawness, punk rock, screaming all enter the fray. We are no strangers to any of this, but in Archie and the boys context the mesh of that and pop-rock song writing the blend wasn't that smooth.

Find out for yourself though, support the band here, grab the album here and peep some video below.
 

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Album Review: Planning For Burial- Desideratum

Planning For Burial
Desideratum
*** out of *****
They got it right calling Planning For Burial a "gloomgaze" act. The newest release, Desideratum, is a clanging mix of noise and majestic swirls playing long and working up over hills and depressions.

Planning For Burial is a solo project from Matawan, New Jersey's Thom Wasluck who does it all himself from the drums, machines, guitars, pianos and synths to the deeply buried vocals and loops. Impressive in its structure, things are certainly dark here but like successful other entries in this genre it is the rays of light that make it stand out from the depressing crowd.

That can easily be seen on the opener "Where You Rest Your Head At Night". Containing grating repetitive guitars that melt into a drone the track feels bleak before a hopeful piano phrasing works its way through the darkness propelled by a upward mobile drum, all of which fights to break through the six string strangle hold. Noisily glorious.

The title track cuts the distortion for more of direct piano based approach and this strategy of LOUD/soft/LOUD tracks continues throughout as "29 August 2012" blasts and "Purple" releases. The long "Golden" closes out the disk combing all of Wasluck's likes into one massive feedback driven metallic stew.

The music on Desideratum is engaging but like many acts in the shoegaze/doom field vocals are an issue, words are unintelligible trapped behind walls of noise and singing seems to just be another layer of sound in the mix. Texture and tone are at the forefront though and the bright bleakness makes Planning For the Burial worth following.   
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Interesting release, you can follow the artist here, buy the disk here, stream their tunes here and peep some video below:
  Planning For Burial - Desideratum Album Teaser from planning for burial on Vimeo.
 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Album Review: The Black Keys- Turn Blue

New review up @glidemag

Read It Right C'here!!!
 It is of The Black Keys Fantastic new release Turn Blue

We have written a lot about the band on this site, and have not always been positive, but this album is a real winner. Solid through and through. Just the first and last songs as we mention in the review are worth the price of a download.

We said a lot in the review and will probably say more in the near future, but until then support the band, grab the album and peep some video:
Our favorite tune of the year so far, "Weight Of Love"

"Gotta Get Away" what an amazing video too...

Monday, May 12, 2014

Dylan Cover #138 Jimmy LaFave "Buckets Of Rain" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Jimmy LaFave doing "Buckets of Rain"
Thoughts on Original:
From our first take on a cover of this tune:
Dylan's mid career masterpiece closes out with this song and to me it always seemed tacked on whimsically.  After going through a ton of raw emotion with "Idiot Wind" and other tunes, Blood on the Tracks finishes with this ditty.  Honestly never one of my favorites, it acted more as a palate cleanser and a sweet one at that. 

Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I am not aware of Mr. LaFave but a simple Google search lets me know that he is a Woody Guthrie disciple which would makes sense. A folk artist from the midwest LaFave has a distinct singing style. You can find out more info on him here.  
Thoughts on Cover:
Wow, this one shocked. As we mentioned this tune never did it for us, but LaFave and company really nail this one. Jimmy's phrasing is unique slamming words together then spreading them out at will. His backing musicians make a poetic, dramatic ambiance that adds gravity to a song we always thought of as flippant. If we were still giving grades in this cover series this would be an A+, different and dynamic, right up our alley.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Full Show Friday: The Grateful Dead 12-30-83 San Fran, CA

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...The Grateful Dead!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zoooma
Just getting back from Jazzfest and as always we need to be held. Both mentally and physically, recovery mode is needed. Nothing soothes like the good old Grateful Dead. We have obviously talked about them a lot on the site so we won't say much more.

This show comes from the super Voodoonola whose collection of Dead shows is simply magical. This is from an odd year with the band 1983, but it is a killer show. Recently we just chatted with a friend about the magic of Brent, and he is in fine from from the opening "Bertha" until the rare (and universally panned) "Day Job" encore.

A juiced up night for the fellows, the energy is high. The sound is amazing (listen to "Greatest Story" with Jerry's Wah-Wah combing with Brent and Phil, Unreal), paired wonderfully with the concert vid. Excellent work all around. 

Enjoy:
(UPDATE: Sorry looks like VoodooNola made this one private since I created this post. Here is a Streaming link to the full show over on Archive.org. Also we will embed the stream below and also add a few video clips from Music Vault of individual tunes from the show, sorry about that!)

 "Ramble On Rose"

"Shakedown Street"

"Terrapin Station>Drums"

"Space>Trucking>Wharf Rat"


Thursday, May 8, 2014

Album Review: The Black Angels- Clear Lake Forest

The Black Angels
Clear Lake Forest
***and1/2 out of *****
Record Store Day has really become an event, allowing bands to experiment, while offering rabid fans new releases. The Austin based psych-rocking The Black Angels released a new EP just about a year after releasing their latest full length disk. These are billed as new songs but if they are outtakes from Indigo Meadow or not, the important things for fans (us included) is that we get to hear them (on some spiffy vinyl too).

Indigo Meadow started showing retro-pop tendencies Clear Lake Forest stays that course. Opener "Sunday Evening" contains tempo changes jangling instrumentation and up beat lyrics; the tune radiates some positive vibes even while lyrically questioning everything we know to be true. The disks highpoint comes next via a killer wah-wah and Pixie inspired noise-pop work of "Tired Eyes". This tune proves the band can write direct pop songs in their own tripped out style and be successful.

"The Flop" continues the upbeat freak-out with a surf rock inspired acid haze that could be a great sound track to a B-Movie from the 60's where cheesy monsters do the mashed potatoes on a beach with bikini babes. "The Occurrence At 4507 South Third" is the only track here that doesn't work with its annoyingly repetitive organ going nowhere but things improve on "Linda's Gone" which goes right to the heart of The Velvet Underground's sound, surprisingly it is the only track that stretches the bands sound out past 4 minutes.

"The Executioner" goes back to the albums opener, playing with tempo changes but instead of positive feelings things vibrate via evil thoughts. The band will always have a dark-side but opening things up to a retro shiny sound even a tiny bit makes their overall process even better. As is sung, "If it feels good/Do it again."    
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We've always dug The Black Angels and are happy to hear this. Hope to catch them live again soon. 

Support the band here, peep some video below:

 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Album Review: Teen Hustle- Radio Spies

Teen Hustle
Radio Spies
*** out of *****
From the brain of John Sullivan comes Teen Hustle's first release Radio Spies with Sullivan singing playing guitar and bass while Matt Heroman slams the drums. The group has a link to indie/noise/pop groups of the late 80's and early 90's with acts like Dinosaur Jr. Afghan Wigs and more recently Kurt Vile getting shout outs. 

The group amps up the level of feedback and noise but keeps the songs out of the avant-garde realm. A highlight rocker is "Gossip" which motors along with upbeat drumming and floating vocals. A clanging repetition marks "One Day We Will Look Back At This And Laugh" while the opening title track "Radio Spies" pushes upward towards the arena rock ceiling.

"Off To" has a positive vibe through it with soaring vocals and "Darling One's" contains a smiling pop atmosphere. "Spring's Derision" showcases a rhythmic groove before closer "Sweeney, Matt" closes things with rising tempo builds, layers of 6 strings and pounding drums.

A confident first effort from the duo who float in alterna-rock waters down at the mouth of the Mississippi.  
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The last of our NOLA bandcamp finds in honor of the city and Jazzfest. There is so much variety in that town it is crazy, Teen Hustle is probably the one closest to home for RtBE so we figured we would ease back into our regularly scheduled broadcasting with it. Stay tuned for our famous Sazerwrap of the festival coming soon...now we need to recover.

Support the artist here, grab the album here or stream it below:

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Album Review: World's Strongest Man- I'm Sorry This Scares You

World's Strongest Man
I'm Sorry This Scares You
*** out of *****
A mix of expansive rock with poetic overtures and samples the duo behind World's Strongest Man have crafted an engaging release with I'm Sorry This Scares You. Dealing with travel/escapism, death/rebirth, human frailty and injustice in the bands spoken word lyrics, things take on cinematic feel.

The opening "I. Catching Out II. The Farther We Get Out The Better" is a gorgeous journey, upbeat and positive with pleasing sounds but an angst lurking below the surface. "The Wye" opens with a train whistle, playing harder overall with a obvious nod to the bands math-rock influences.  

Musically, there is a touch (or at least a hint) of last year's critical darling Deafheaven's Sunbather, but by going the spoken word, less metallic route, the message is easier to digest. That said, the generalist tendencies of the poetry make it feel us-against-them which puts relating on a more mob oriented then personally connective level. A scratchy delivery and underbelly of unsightliness keeps them from dipping into bored teen angst.

Drums thump and slap with crispness and as the instrumentation expands so does the drama as violins color "I. Who I Am, Who I Was II. What Will I Become" before a straight edge lyrical finale. The album's closer, the 7 minute "I. Corrosion & Weakened Joints II. Iron In Our Blood" isn't as strong as it's opener but a sampled Woody Guthrie harmonica solo adds depth to the albums overall feeling of escaping in all forms, mentally, physically, spiritually.  
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Another bandcamp find of a pretty cool release on Community Records out of New Orleans, although the band is from Florida.

Support the band here, grab the album here, peeps some video below:

Album Review: The Damn Choir- Creatures Of Habit

Hey all,

Got a new review up on Glide

Read it Right C'here!!!

It is of The Damn Choir's newest release Creatures of Habit.

Lot's of thoughts on the disk and noticed some typos in the review (mental note, edit better) so I am not going to say much more here. Feel free to post your thoughts on the disk below

Support the band here, grab the album here and peep some video below:

Monday, May 5, 2014

Dylan Cover #137 The String Cheese Incident "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by The String Cheese Incident playing "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"

This month our Dylan Cover Series will focus on artists playing The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The String Cheese Incident headlined the Acura Stage on 5/1.

Thoughts on Original:
An energetic romp that has been covered by everyone, this tune is a great swirl through Dylan's freaky mind. It was a punch and a whirlwind journey through Juarez, Mexico around Easter time...Maybe. There are lots of literary hints dropped, as well as a mischievous smile throughout. One of the First Dylan tunes we gravitated too and with good reason, it is still one of our favorites.    
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
To us The String Cheese Incident will always represent the third wave of "jambands" assuming the Dead invented the genre, Phish popularized for a new generation and bands like moe and especially tSCI are big bands after them. We fell out of the movement then and overall have always thought of SCI as too light and airy for our tastes. We need some low end and that is not really SCI's specialty so they never did it for us. That said, we have some more coming from them this month on RtBE
Thoughts on Cover:
A jammed out take that extends for almost seven minutes with an extended end jam. Upbeat and mandolin heavy as it romps around. The lyrics are adequately sung and even the switch to the band's home of Colorado is forgivable. Not a unpleasant take.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Full Show Friday: Arcade Fire 10/29/13 Capitol Studios LA

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Arcade Fire!
 Every April we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Arcade Fire who will be appearing on the Acrua Stage Sunday May 4th

This Friday we are showcasing the biggest "indie" band to play the festival. Each year it seems the jazzfest organizers go out of the way for one younger "hip" band to play. This year it is Arcade Fire. Having never seen them if we go to the festival on Sunday we will def be checking them out. While we aren't sold on their newest (repetitive, disco dullness), we really dug two of their past releases. We rated The Suburbs high on our year end list and really enjoy the drama of The Funeral. While they will always fall into the catagory of bands we respect more then we actually listen to, a festival like Jazz in NOLA is a perfect place to catch them.

This show is from Capitol Studios in LA, and while it has an odd stage set (brings new meaning to looking down on your audience), the music is a good representation of the current live shows, while the editing is too frantic, then again it was on MTv. For us the best of this set comes last with the older songs being highlights in "Sprawl II" and their best song "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)". Enjoy:

00:00 Reflektor http://bit.ly/1g8hdOG
07:19 Flashbulb Eyes http://bit.ly/1ct2qNC
10:21 Afterlife http://bit.ly/1i5muYB
16:04 It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus) http://bit.ly/1d7V9FR
22:46 We Exist http://bit.ly/1dznH9z
28:16 You Already Know http://bit.ly/1ho2HpE
32:37 Normal Person http://bit.ly/1gz6my2
37:24 Haiti http://bit.ly/1a83GWI
42:57 Here Comes The Night Time http://bit.ly/1e6h5xu
49:25 Supersymmetry http://bit.ly/1cPUDur
54:10 Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) http://bit.ly/1cPULtH
59:40 Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) http://bit.ly/1cxbAoW

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Album Review: The Levee Toppers- Levee Toppers EP

The Levee Toppers
Levee Toppers EP 
** out of *****
A trio of bluegrass/folk players from New Orleans, who released their first self-titled EP to Bandcamp. This 3 song instrumental EP is quick and to the point, but the band prove in that short time that they are worthy of playing some sawdust stomping Americana.

"Poor Ellen Smith" open things as the boys play and record live. This is an inference but also one with some measure as the actual recording levels seem to shift med way through the songs and the instrumentation becomes muffled. As a demo first release it is hard to knock the fellas but this is a touch distracting from the fine playing.

The country boy swagger of "Grub Springs" is warming with casual ease. The set closing "Sally Goodin" is the brightest spot as the band's fiddle flies while strings soar in all different directions yet is as cohesive as can be. A bright start and a good old timey find, keep plucking away on top of those levee's.
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Yet another NOLA diverse find on bandcamp.

Support the band, Grab the disk here, stream it below:

Album Review: Minister Jo "Cool" Davis and Cordell Chambliss Live In Church

Minister Jo "Cool" Davis and Cordell Chambliss 
Live In Church
**and1/2 out of *****
The gospel is brief but poignant on  Minister Jo "Cool" Davis and Cordell Chambliss Live In Church recent release. Never dot he tracks become preachy, just joyful and to the point of spiritual salvation. 

Beginning with the personal journey of "I'm Coming Home" finds Minster Jo "Cool" singing about heading home to heaven to be reunited with his mother. The former bouncer at Tipitina's is confined to a wheelchair these days due to losing his lower leg and foot to diabetes in 2006 but his faith has not wavered. "I'm Going Through" Starts up a waltz vibe before the cover of The Beatles "Let It Be" that is highlighted by a crisp electric guitar throughout.

The cover like most of these tracks are short, without the gospel rave ups and throw downs. The players get to the point and move on. That said tracks like "Door's Will Open For You" are joyous and positive and stretching them out might bring even better results.      

The highlight track is the closing "Second Line" which features a guest spot from The Rebirth Brass Band, adding horns to Davis' vocals. Again more is craved, but the spiritual positivity is still radiating from these tracks captured Live In Church
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Another great NOLA bandcamp find, this time of the gospel vein.

Support the artist here, grab the artist here and stream the disk below: