Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Album Review: Junkie- W/E

Junkie
W/E
*** out of *****

The San Antonio based Junkie delivers an engaging mix of surf rock, lo-fi garage and oddball pop with their newest release w/e. The trio manages to craft their own quirky sense of engagement over these twelve tracks that deal with social isolation, awkward love and getting really high.

The disk is in a sense a throwback as songs are rooted in simple 50's rock style with direct teen lyrics (not from the 50's by any stretch), basic harmonies and hooks, however the band fuzz it up and inject their own style, breathing fresh life into the songs. "glued ghouls" sounds like it was taken out of a malt shop and dipped into ganja based batter complete with mini bass break that moves.

The opener "i like the things you say" couldn't be anymore straight forward and direct while "hurl" uses woo's to the best of their ability. "always in love always bummed" goes angular excellently and is one of our favorite overall efforts here.

"olives owner" has a punchy directness while "bowls" samples Spicoli a few times also picking up the energy in a circular lyrical fashion that deals with, what else, "Smoking THC, Tripping on LSD". The only misstep is when the band tries to stretch their formula over six plus minutes on "i'm not complaining (i think i like it)", the idea and their style in general just works better in small doses.

Closing with the notion "A lot of things bother me/but I don't care, it's whatever" they've captured a perfect slacker motto for the current generation. While the band can become repetitive in many ways, that is directly where their charm lies. It is the basic things that make rock and roll continually great and Junkie seem to have those pretty well covered on w/e.
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Another completely random Bandcamp find, support the band, buy the album and stream it below:

Monday, May 30, 2016

Enjoy Memorial Day, Have a BBQ!

Enjoy Memorial Day, Have a BBQ!

We wished the Bard a happy 75th birthday recently so we are taking Memorial Day off from our Dylan Cover series. Enjoy the unofficial start of summer with a Hardcore'Q


No Redeeming Social Value Style...


Or Murphy's Law Style...

Have fun, stay safe. 

Friday, May 27, 2016

Full Show Friday: The Brides of Funkenstein 3/18/1979

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 Brides of Funkenstein!
Have you noticed our understated theme this month for Full Show Friday's? No...well we picked a year and found 4 great and diverse shows from 1979. Why? No idea. Next month we have a much more solid theme, so stay tuned, but as for this Friday....

The Brides of Funkenstein! Bringing some disco infused riffs and a full female vocal section led by Lynn Maybry and Dawn Silva the Brides on this night opened up for P-Funk. They were short lived but influential and popped around the P-Funk universe. Lynn also sang backup for The Talking Heads in 1984 and shows up in Stop Making Sense.

A great energetic funk show from 79, pro-shot, pro-sound. Set list and funky players below. Enjoy:

Setlist:
War Ship Touchante/Birdie
Ride On
Vanish In Our Sleep
Together
Amorous
Disco To Go
Outro

The Ladies: Lynn Maybry, Dawn Silva, Sheila Horne, Jeanette McGruder

The Band:
Blackbyrd McKnight- Guitar
Jeff Bunn -Bass
Gary Hudgins -Keyboards
Dennis Chambers -drums

The Baltimore Connection Horns : Bennie Cowan, trumpet; Greg Boyer, trombone; Greg Thomas, Sax

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Live Review: Black N Blue Bowl 2016

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
It is of the 2016 edition of the Black N Blue Bowl at Webster Hall in NYC. This all day festival (down from two days in the past) showcases some of the best in Hardcore and Punk rock. Thanks to Pitchfork NYC for putting it on and BNB Productions

Our day was made when our personal friends Billy Club Sandwich not only reunited but clearly stole the show from bigger name acts as the band fired up the crowd for the first time in years. 
The videos on youtube do not do it justice but the set was incredible. The other bands were fun, it was great to see all my friends (old and new) so feel free to support all of the bands that played. Below is a bit of video from the day, but nothing came out that great, I will update them if better videos surface:

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

New Dinosaur Jr. Single "Tiny" Live on Jools Holland

Yesterday we were so pumped to share that the great Dinosaur Jr. is back at it, and today we can share the band's new single "Tiny".
The group played Jools Holland last night and will be focusing a lot on Europe this tour, but back here in the States we can still enjoy the catchy feedback laden rock that J Lou and Murph have distilled as their own.

Here is "Tiny" from their upcoming Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not. It sounds like every other Dinosaur Jr single...meaning its awesome. Can not wait to get the full LP in early August.


New Graveyard Lovers Song, Playing Pianos Tomorrow Night

A few years ago we stumbled upon a band that we immediately enjoyed, Graveyard Lovers from Brooklyn, NY. We were impressed with their disk Dreamers so much we reviewed it for Glide and ranked it high in our year end review.
We still listen to that disk all the time and are pumped we now have more GL to slap on as the band is releasing it's follow up titled Past The Forrest of Fruitless Thoughts. They have released a few songs from the new album, here is one of them "Storm":


The band is also wrapping up it's Piano's Residency Tomorrow Night, they are a blast to catch live, so come on out and see them. Below is a bit of live video of the band from their past.
Personally we have met Tricia and Zach, seen them live a few times and enjoy their style. We can't wait to hear the full disk, you should support the band.


Tuesday, May 24, 2016

New Dinosaur Jr. Album & Tour Set Summer 2016

In a great bit of news Dinosaur Jr. are set to release their newest album titled Give a Glimpse Of What Yer Not out on Jagjaguwar on 8/5.
Here is Henry Rollins to tell you more about it:


Very excited for this as Dino Jr is an RtBE Personal Favorite and we can't wait to see them live this summer with Jane's Addiction. The tour supporting this disk is extensive so find a location close to you and check them out.

The first single, "Tiny" comes out tomorrow but we love this band so much we had to pre-order the new release and we can tell you, it is classic Dino. Until they "officially" release it, here is a track of theirs we have been listening to lately off of their most recent release I Bet On Sky, titled "Almost Fare" and below are ways to pre-order Give a Glimpse Of What Yer Not.

Pre-order the album here:
Direct: http://smarturl.it/dinosaur_jr
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/dinosaurjr_it
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/dinosaurjr_amz
Support your local independent record store: http://smarturl.it/dinosaurjr_ind

Happy 75th Birthday Bob Dylan

No one has ever been better. Happy 75th Birthday Robert Allen Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan.
Enjoy a few of his best songs:


Monday, May 23, 2016

Dylan Cover #235 Patti Smith "Wicked Messenger"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Patti Smith of "The Wicked Messenger"

Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
A breezy musical number (only 2 minutes long) with some biblical lyrics that actually would foreshadow Dylan's religious musical phase that would arrive in the late 70's/early 80's "The Wicked Messenger" has a cool bass line to match the acoustic guitar. Like most of John Wesley Harding there is a mellow mood that tends to play down the lyrics and even masks the fire and brimstone a bit. The song has seemed to pop up every few tours and can usually be found towards the ends of sets, playing the roll of up-tempo-get-down track. Live versions certainly have improved the tracks standing in my mind from the original.
Cover Tune:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
A few years ago, if I picked this cover, I would say right here that Patti Smith does nothing for me. After seeing her a few times live over the last couple of years though I realized how mistaken I was. Totally blown away, she, Lenny Kaye and the whole band are fantastic. Most importantly she is a real artist, rock star and a poet one of the best out there still.
Thoughts on Cover:
The off kilter rocking and vocals ramble around and being amplified helps immensely. This isn't my favorite cover in the series but it isn't horrible, an aggressive way to start this spring week.  

Friday, May 20, 2016

Full Show Friday: The Jacksons 1979 - The Destiny Tour

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 Jacksons!

Here is a jamming show from The Jackson's Destiny Tour. That album was the first the brothers wrote and recorded for themselves in their whole career. It was their third post Motown release and also their best, also their last before Michael went full solo. A nice slice of history with the brothers.

Enjoy:

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Free R&B Shows in Brooklyn This Summer

More free shows for New Yorker's to partake in. This time we are headed to Metrotech in Brooklyn for their day time R&B Festival sponsored by BAM.  Some day time funky tunes? Don't mind if we do.
The lineup is fantastic this year (as always) and who can complain about free shows? Full lineup here and some highlights below with video.
The classic Zapp plays June 2nd, kicking off the series:

The Fatback Band another old school funk group take the stage on July 7th.

And pictured above is The Hallelujah Train featuring the amazing Brian Blade, his dad the pastor Brady Blade Senior and Daniel Lanois!  That is going to be a show on July 21st...and it's all free.

The Hallelujah Train - Trouble in My Way from Savannah Music Festival on Vimeo.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Riot Fest Reunites Original Misfits & The Hold Steady

For the last few years Riot Fest in Denver and Chicago has delivered some excellent reunion shows and this year is no exception. We will get to the headliner in a bit, but what caught our eye immediately was that an RtBE Personal Favorite The Hold Steady will be returning to the stage and reuniting with Franz Nicolay to celebrate their best album Boys & Girls In America.

This marks the first time The Hold Steady are playing since their Bowery Show that we were less then thrilled with so we are hoping they are energized and will take this reunion show on the road. We first saw the band on the original B&GIA Tour and were blown away they instantly jumped up our list of favorite bands.  


Speaking of bands that have jumped up our list of favorites, the original Misfits lineup who will be headlining Riot Fest in both cities is one of those bands lately for RtBE. Last fall we downloaded the first three albums of the band on recommendation of a music lover and in looking at some recent stats Static Age has been our most played album since then.

When we were younger we never liked the Misfits, thought they were silly. They are still silly, but we have grown to love their musicality and Danzig's voice; their early stuff easily rises to the heights of punk rock.



So support both of these reuniting acts, as well as the rest of the lineup and grab your tickets to both shows today.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

House of Vans Free Shows Brooklyn 2016

Another week, another set of free shows coming up in NYC this summer. We already discussed Summerstage, Celebrate Brooklyn, now it's House of Vans time.
As you can see from the flyer above the excellent Summer Series is back. We have reviewed a few of these in the past and they are fun shows. You will need to RSVP for the Jon Hopkins, The Black Madonna and The Field show coming up on Thursday.

This week's free show is not RtBE's style but we are looking at the Quicksand/Converge punk show on July 6th as a possibility to attend. Def support this great series and all the others around the city this summer.

Here are some videos of bands who are playing House of Vans to get the blood pumping.



Monday, May 16, 2016

Dylan Cover #234 Andi Knittel "Shelter From The Storm"

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 Andi Knittel of the Dylan tune "Shelter From The Storm"

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover version:
An epic track, feeling simple and etched in history at the same time. Religious overtones, passionate asides all mix within the confines of the illustrious/mysterious "She" who is bringing us all in. A gorgeous song and one of my favorite odd phrases Dylan has ever recorded, "Hunted like a crocodile/Ravaged in the corn". I have no idea what it is supposed to mean and I don't care, it is perfect. One thing that may bring this one down a peg overall is the connection to another great song "Up To Me" which is basically the same tune...hearing one always makes me want to hear the other.
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artists:
Have not heard of Andi Knittel, but you can find out more about him on his facebook page.
Thoughts on Cover:
Straight ahead if a bit quicker acoustic cover. Downside is Andi's affected Dylan impersonation. No need to put on the fake accent, better when you sing like yourself. 

Friday, May 13, 2016

Full Show Friday: Van Morrison 10/6/79 Capital Theatre

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...Van Morrison!
This is a damn good show, there is a ton of info after the jump about this particular show taken from the concert vault. Just click that Read More there, then click play on the video and dig into this gem of a Van The Man night of music. Complete with history, setlist, players and more.

Pro Shot (black and white) Pro Sound, don't get much better. Enjoy!


Thursday, May 12, 2016

Album Review: Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow

Nothing
Tired of Tomorrow
**and1/2 out of *****

The Philadelphia based four piece Nothing's newest release Tired of Tomorrow comes after lots of trials and tribulations among the band members but as that old tired cliche goes...doesn't kill...stronger. The disk is loaded with worry, uncertainty, and lots of layers of spacious rock that asks some questions only to leave unsatisfied answers.

The band, guitarist and singer Domenic Palermo, guitarist and singer Brandon Setta, drummer Kyle Kimball and bassist Nick Bassett move between genres like dream pop, shoegaze, alt rock and metal but are somewhere in-between them all. Think of a much more laid back version of Cymbals Eat Guitars or a completely neutered Deafheaven and you have a decent starting point. Both of those groups chop up genres winningly and aggressively while for Tired of Tomorrow finds Nothing dabbling instead of truly owning the sound.

Opener "Fever Queen" sets the tone with layers of sonic sound over a short to the point effort. Guitars wash over everything making lyrics a bit tough first go round, but the band moves with ease, if not a whole lot of urgency. Where things get the most hectic is on the heavy "Curse Of The Sun" which feels like a horse ready to gallop even faster and "Our Plague" which builds to a big noise rock instrumental ending.

The band mostly spends Tired Of Tomorrow in that middle ground with tracks like "Eaten By Worms" starting sparse and getting larger, "ACD (Abcessive Compulsive Disorder)" resembles The Cure at it spaciest and "Vertigo Flowers" amps the drums, slightly increasing the energy over soundscapes of six strings.

"The Dead Are Dumb" is the most successful of these 'dreamgaze' tracks; easy rolling spacey lines, around a smooth well sung chorus of "Isn't it quite the same/Isn't it such a shame?" that becomes hypnotic in its grace. "Nineteen Ninety Heaven" is a fun experiment as well that takes a big beat and pairs it with sparse guitars.

The band has been through a lot and the album feels weighted with questioning hopeless lyrics, but also a sense of future redemption in the upbeat, almost poppy tracks. While not earth shattering, and a bit one note, Tired Of Tomorrow is still a fun float along disk to drift with.
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 Support the band, buy the album and peep some video:


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Black N Blue Bowl 2016 This Saturday Webster Hall

Every year there is a a hardcore/metal/punk showcase unlike any else in this city: The Black N Blue Bowl. For the past few years it has taken place at Webster Hall and it will do so again this year on Saturday.
Buy your tickets to catch some of the best hardcore metal acts playing today. We went last year, reviewed it for Glide and hope to do the same this year.

Here are the details and a preview video:
Line Up:
American Nightmare
Adolescents
Madball w/Matt Henderson (Demonstrating My Style)
Hazen Street
Leeway
Billy Club Sandwich (Reunion)
Rykers
Rhythm Of Fear
Blind Justice
Regulate
...and more TBA...
Info:
May 14 @ Webster Hall
125 E 11th St
New York, NY 10003
Doors - 1pm
ALL AGES
21 to drink
$40 Presale
$45 @ Door

That is a solid lineup of some NYHC legends, with a Boston Band headlining.While we were never into Give Up The Ghost/American Nightmare we dug Demonstrating My Style more than any other Madball album, always appreciated Leeway and are excited to catch Cali's Adolescents for the first time.
We can't hide the fact though that the main reason we (and many others I'm guessing) will be pumped to attend this year's festival, is to see Billy Club Sandwich reunited for the first time in years. We are personal friends with the band, having been around since their very beginning and are excited they will be returning to the stage. 

To see Martin, Gary, Tony and Glen back at it is going to be a treat to long time fans and those who missed them their first go around so peep some video below of them and some other bands playing, grab your tickets and see you in the pit.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Celebrate Brooklyn Free Shows 2016

Last week we discussed some free shows from Summerstage in Central Park. Today we highlight some shows from the Celebrate Brooklyn Series that has a lot of our old and new favorites.
Brooklyn Vegan has complied a full list for everyone. Bands that jump out to us are Dr. Dog, Sharon Jones, The Violent Femmes and more. 

The Wood Brothers are playing as well as killer lineup of Femi Kuti and Bombino on July 22nd. You can also access the full site and peep some video below to get in the mood:
 
 

Monday, May 9, 2016

Dylan Cover #233 Barry Gonen "The Mighty Quinn"

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 Barry Gonen playing "The Mighty Quinn"


Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:
Not officially released until 1970's audience and critic defying Self-Portrait "Quinn The Eskimo" first found life with Manfred Mann, before a lot of the world heard Dylan sing it himself. It had been on The Basement Tapes though and lots of bootleggers, underground fans and admiring fellow artists got to bask it its rollicking glory. A fun old ride that makes everyone from children to adults smile. A favorite purely because it is one of the plain funnest songs in Dylan's catalog one of my personal highlights regarding the song has nothing to do with the playing, it has to do with what Dylan himself wrote about it in Chronicles
"On the way back to the house I passed the local movie theater on Prytania Street, where The Mighty Quinn was showing. Years earlier, I had written a song called 'The Mighty Quinn' which was a hit in England, and I wondered what the movie was about. Eventually, I'd sneak off and go there to see it. It was a mystery, suspense, Jamaican thriller with Denzel Washington as the Mighty Xavier Quinn a detective who solves crimes. Funny, that's just the way I imagined him when I wrote the song 'The Mighty Quinn,' Denzel Washington."

Cover

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I have never heard of Barry Gonen he seems to post covers to his youtube page.
Thoughts on Cover:
This is an interesting cover choice. Gonen messes around with some things and makes it feel almost like a Jimmy Buffet version of the tune. While not a huge fan of the cover (it goes on a bit long) we always love hearing unique takes on Dylans songs. 

Friday, May 6, 2016

Full Show Friday: The Tubes 8/24/79 Oakland Aud

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 Tubes!

When we were in NOLA on Saturday night we caught one of the best (and our favorite) groups playing anywhere today, The Rough Seven slayed it at Vaughn's. The show was amazing as always, we will probably discuss it on it's own at another time. 

An interesting thing happened though, a fellow fan in the crowd was wearing a Tubes t-shirt, we hadn't thought about them in so long that when we came home we looked online to revisit their tunes and loved this show...so here it is for Full Show Friday. 

The San Fran Band is an oddball mix of showmanship, musicianship and art rock. "White Punks on Dope" is classic satire and for this show they end with some Who covers. For those who don't know the keyboardist here, Vince Welnick, went on to join The Grateful Dead in 1990 until the end of their run.   

Black and white with great audio and video from Bill Graham's vault. Setlist and a lot more information regarding the recording and show after the jump. Enjoy:

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Desert Trip Festival: Classic Rock Fans & Money Makers Dream Come True

By now it's been announced for a few days but if you haven't seen it, there is a new festival called the Desert Trip Festival.

You can read all about it from the NY Times, but the crux is the biggest names in rock and roll history (who are still playing) are coming together for a three day festival in Indio, California outside of Palm Springs and also the site of Coachella.

Beatles and Stones and Dylan Oh My! 

This will be an epic show on many fronts, boomers will find it hard to pass up. There will be huge dollars for scalpers but there will probably never be a lineup like this ever again.Something about it doesn't sit right with us though and we can't put our finger on it?

Maybe it is because we just got back from Jazzfest and are festival'ed out, but we are not chomping at the bit to grab tickets and we can't figure out why? Granted are all time favorites are playing, but we are not super excited by it and are a bit confused by that. Feel free to post your thoughts below some recent live video from the big name fest players.
 

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Free Central Park Summerstage Shows for 2016

With summer on the horizon one of the best aspects of nice weather in this great city is free outdoor shows all around town, including the grand Central Park. Summerstage is a fantastic program and there are shows almost every night for free come the summer in the city.
There are already some shows we are circling here at RtBE including the very first. "The Legends Honor McCoy" finds some all-time Jazz greats playing with and honoring piano hero McCoy Tyner. Ron Carter will be on bass for this one honoring the legend and it should be a hell of night June 4th.


Other highlights include a new jazz player Kamasi Washington on Sax for a June 18th show, King Sunny Ade on Sunday July 3rd and The Feelies on (unfortunately) a Monday July 18th.

 
Here is the full schedule of all the shows, get out and see some:
Saturday Jun 4 – 6:00 PM – The Legends Honor McCoy: McCoy Tyner Quartet / Ron Carter / Roy Haynes
Saturday – Jun 11 – 3:00 PM – Cymande / KING / Deva Mahal / DJ Parlerr
Wednesday – Jun 15 – 7:00 PM – Yiddish Soul: A Concert of Cantorial and Chassidic Superstars
Saturday – Jun 18 – 6:00 PM – Kamasi Washington
Tuesday – Jun 21 – 6:00 PM – Fête de la Musique: CharlElie Couture / Yael Naim / General Elektriks / La Femme
Wednesday – Jun 22 – 8:00 PM – Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series featuring Angel Blue, Ben Bliss, Alexey Lavrov, and Dan Saunders
Saturday – Jun 25 – 3:00 PM – Butler, Bernstein, and the Hot 9 / The Hot Sardines / Bria Skonberg and the New York Hot Jazz Festival All-Stars featuring Anat Cohen, Vince Giordano, Wycliffe Gordon, Joe Saylor and Dalton Ridenhour
Sunday – Jun 26 – 8:00 PM – Comedy Central Presents: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Stand-Up in the Park
Monday – Jun 27 – 7:00 PM – Indigo Girls
Wednesday – Jun 29 – 8:00 PM – Screening: A Ballerina’s Tale / Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project / Pre-Show Panel
Saturday – Jul 2 – 7:00 PM – Freedom Party® 13th Anniversary
Sunday – Jul 3 – 3:00 PM – King Sunny Adé / Orlando Julius and the Afro Soundz / DJ Rich Medina
Wednesday – Jul 6 – 6:00 PM – Mexrrissey / Los Cafres / La Dame Blanche
Friday – Jul 8 – 6:00 PM – Leon Larregui / Rodrigo Amarante / Grenda
Sunday – Jul 10 – 3:00 PM – Justin Roberts & the Not Ready For Naptime Players / Mister G / Excerpts from Finding Neverland / Gizmo Guys
Saturday – Jul 16 – 6:00 PM – Taiwanese Waves: Anpu / Wonfu / Sunset Rollercoaster
Sunday – Jul 17 – 3:00 PM – Paulo Flores / Herencia de Timbiquí / Monsieur Periné / DJ Greg Caz / DJ Manny
Monday – Jul 18 – 7:00 PM – The Feelies / Beach Fossils
Wednesday – Jul 27 – 8:00 PM – Complexions Contemporary Ballet / Carolyn Dorfman
Saturday – Jul 30 – 7:00 PM – Unknown Mortal Orchestra / Empress Of
Sunday – Jul 31 – 7:00 PM – Rock Steady Crew 39th Anniversary with Nice & Smooth / Bahamadia and more
Saturday – Aug 6 – 6:00 PM – Monobloco / Cabruêra / Boogarins / DJ Luiz Santos
Sunday – Aug 7 – 7:00 PM – Igmar Thomas & the Revive Big Band present: A Journey Through the Legacy of Black Culture, produced by Revive Music / Pre-Show Panel
Wednesday – Aug 10 – 8:00 PM – Tamar-kali with ASE Dance Theatre Collective / Nathan Trice Rituals
Sunday – Aug 14 – 6:00 PM – Mbongwana Star / Batida / Young Paris / Okayafrica Electrafrique feat. DJ Underdog / Pre-Show Panel
Wednesday – Aug 17 – 8:00 PM – DJ KS 360 & Full Circle Souljahs Presents: Behind The Groove / Soul Connected / Raphael Xavier
Sunday – Aug 21 – 3:00 PM – Sweet Micky / MHD / DJ Erick La Peau
Sunday – Aug 28 – 3:00 PM – GoldLink / Backyard Band / DJ Spicoli
Wednesday – Aug 31 – 8:00 PM – Chicago The Musical: 20th Anniversary Concert

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Album Review: Charles Bradley- Changes

Charles Bradley
Changes
**** out of *****

The third release for the retro soul crooner Charles Bradley is his best yet as Daptone Records and the collective surrounding it continues their trend of classic sounding R&B that scratches that deep itch. Titled Changes the disk finds Bradley sounding his most assured and wide ranging as the Menahan Street Band, Budos Band and others back him up with easy rolling grooves.

Opening with a spoken word tribute and take on "God Bless America" which rolls into "Good To Be Back Home" the self assured tone is set. There is nothing earth shattering here, just rock solid soul played with confidence and power. "Ain't Gonna Give You Up" allows for Bradley to show off his vocal range as the passion flows in front of trumpets and well manicured snare hits.

The title track could have been a train wreck as Bradley and the players decided to cover Black Sabbath, but picking "Changes" works better than possibly could have been expected. It casts the song in a new bass driven light, while keeping the feelings and pain of the original, just filtering it successfully through a different lens.

"Ain't It A Sin" picks up the energy as the players and Bradley is particular gets fired up while the Gospel Queens join for some backing vocals on a pair of slow burners with "You Think I Don't Know (But I Know)" and "Change For The World". "Slow Love" closes out the album and outside of the genre crossing cover there isn't anything ear-popping, but that is not the goal of Changes. The collective contributors involved just want to put out good old fashion soul music that could stand up with the classics; mission accomplished.
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Support the artist, buy the album, peep some video below:

Monday, May 2, 2016

Dylan Cover #232 Jack Green "Desolation Row"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today is a cover by Jack Green of the Dylan tune "Desolation Row"



Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this track:
A magnum opus of early Dylan. A song that is mystical and heated, politically charged while never explicit. One of the more expansive songs he has written and an early indicator that Dylan was on another level lyrically. From Ezra Pound to Bette Davis there are literary references, pop culture bits and a complete fabled world that comes alive in the ears. A true high point when it comes to Bob Dylan songs.
Cover: 

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I am thinking this is Jack Green from The Pretty Things doing a solo acoustic take on the Dylan tune...I could be wrong though as there are a few Jack Green's out there.
Thoughts on Cover:
A straight ahead acoustic cover. Just a retelling in Jack's voice makes it an easy choice for a recovery Monday after Jazzfest.