Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Album Review: Chris Staples- Golden Age

Chris Staples
Golden Age
***and 1/2 out of *****
Sometimes in these fast flying twitter times a good back story really helps open up an album to more than it seems upon first listen. Golden Age by Chris Staples is one of those. The former loud rock guitarist has been writing more introspective softer songs and in the last few years have had a ton of crushing issues hamper his life. Internal organs literally stopped working, relationships ended and a horrible accident left him broken and hugely in debt.

He took all of those experiences and put together this album that reflects on past mistakes and hopes for a better future. It is a completely honest straight ahead work that reminds to a lesser degree of Eels Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. The brief opener "Relatively Permanent" is simple honest and contains great word play. This trend would continue with various instrumentation and levels of pathos from track to track.

The title track gets relatively funky and off beat with its backward looking and questioning sense of if things were really better in the past. If "Golden Age" looks back, "Cheap Shades" gets in a time machine to Staples birth in a dour affecting way. "Missionary" reflects on schooling with banjo and horn flourishes while "Full Color Dream paints a brighter picture over solid instrumentation.      

The fatalistic sense of realism comes through clearest on "Park Bench" as living everyday to its fullest becomes the only goal. The piano leads "Always On My Mind" while "Time Square" duets a loving personal travel story before a cold plea for Vacation" and escapism.

The elephant in the earphones is Staples vocals. It is just not the sense of loss that equates him to Eels, it is also the vocal delivery that can be clipped dry and average at best. With songs this personal though the singing cuts right through to the heart of the issues and works perfectly. Would a better vocalist improve these songs? Doubtful.

In the end of course, Staples himself describes the album best:
"It's really easy to idealize an earlier time in your life, but it's not useful. It can be a trap that keeps you from finding new good things to live for. Golden Age is about that myth we carry around. The myth of our past being idyllic. I don’t want to waste any more time dwelling on it."
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Support the artist, buy the album, peep some video below:

Monday, August 29, 2016

Dylan Cover #245 Frazey Ford "One More Cup Of Coffee"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover from Frazey Ford and it is a version of "One More Cup Of Coffee" 
Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
Bob's story tunes seemed to crest on Desire and "One More Cup Of Coffee" fits in the Western/Biblical/Mystical motif of both "Isis" and "Romance In Durango" but puts fourth a more ominous feel then either. Singing with Emmylou Harris on the original recording a haunting combo of voices which gets along perfectly with violins and other rag tag players from the sessions.
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I have never heard of Frazey Ford before. Turns out she is a Candian singer songwriter who has been at it for a while with The Be Good Tanya's and now is going solo. Check her out.
Thoughts on Cover:
A fine cover. Ford's voice is the draw here and you will enjoy the cover if you enjoy her falsetto voice that flutters around. We did. 

Friday, August 26, 2016

Full Show Friday: Phish 7/3/16 SPAC Saratoga, NY

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...Phish!
August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays

With Travers weekend here, we figured we would end this series with the band we have seen the most at the historic Saratoga venue. Phish. With Vermont being so close this is almost a hometown show for the band anytime they visit the state park. Page's Father has shown up on a few occasions and the band just seems to really enjoy the venue. 

While we didn't make up there this year our Sister did and while she wasn't enamored with the shows, Summer + Saratoga + Phish ='s Classic any way you add it up. Especially with the amazing interwebs and the ability to watch this show now (until it is taken down) wherever you may be. Pro Shot, Pro Sound. We hope you enjoyed this month's focus on a great venue. 

Now Enjoy Phish's show from last month:
Phish: Sun, Jul 03, 2016
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

Set 1:
0:42 The Wedge,
7:25 Heavy Things,
13:14 Tube,
18:12 Sugar Shack,
24:35 Lawn Boy,
27:44 Sparkle
31:49 Sample in a Jar, *
36:39 It's Ice
44:48 Guelah Papyrus,
51:08 Ocelot
1:00:14 Scent of a Mule
1:11:14 Possum

Set 2:
1:58:48 Soul Shakedown Party,
2:02:54 The MOMA Dance **
2:20:31 Twist
2:28:25 Joy
2:34:01 Breath and Burning,
2:39:11 Axilla
2:42:31Theme From the Bottom
2:50:28 Harry Hood
3:01:29 Show of Life

Encore:
3:09:23 Rock and Roll

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Album Review: John Paul White- Beulah

John Paul White
Beulah
**and1/2 out of *****

One half of the wildly popular The Civil Wars, John Paul White returns after a few years of silence with his first solo album and his first release since the splitting of that group. Beulah is a soft mediation on relationships and loss which fit White's soothing croon perfectly.

There is an easiness to White's voice, but as a songwriter things seem to be a bit harder to come by as his mix between simple country folk and overproduction schmaltz clouds the record. Things open well with the delicate acoustic based "Black Leaf" that adds chimes for some uniqueness and "What's So" is excellent southern Gothic folk with energy. After that things go a bit wonky.

"The Once And Future Queen" moves into fairly pop mainstream areas but adds some gorgeous backing harmonies. Lyrically it is stale as are follow ups "Make You Cry" and "Fight For You" the first is delicate but dull and the second has more muscle but doesn't take it anywhere.

"Hope I Die" picks things back up with some bizarre tape loops to start and an intriguing beat. Lyrically it pulls in blues folk and pop string sections over his fluttering vocals that soar. It is a highlight of the disk putting emotion and substance into the track.

The simple and sparse "Hate The Way You Love Me" amps the country while "I've Been Over This Before" brings in The Secret Sisters for a duet but that pull between backyard folk and pop gets blurred with late arriving strings.

"The Martyr" is more confident and direct showcasing a B3 organ with Whites most secure singing over standard lyrics but some that may go to the deeper feelings of his last bands breakup. This track (which somehow reminds of a Tom Petty tune) clearly shows the past Grammy winners talent, but consistency on this first solo disk is the issue.
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Support the artist, buy the record, peep some video below:

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Album Review: River Whyless- We All The Light

River Whyless
We All The Light
**** out of *****

On the bands second album We All The Light an Americana spirit meets a world vibe and gets filtered through unique vocal play, string work, rhythms and phrasing creating an awesome full length work. The Asheville based four piece River Whyless (Ryan O'Keefe: vocals, guitar Halli Anderson: vocals, violin Alex McWalters: drums Daniel Shearin: vocals, bass, harmonium) will be making a national name for themselves with this release.

Cutting to the chase with the opening lyric of "You can talk to god/In the morning when your sober/You can talk to me/when you're all fucked up tonight" the bands "Baby Brother" takes violins, glowing harmonies and light percussion to announce the groups intentions. "Failing Son" has the rhythm take over but there in lies the strength of the band, even with country influences and soaring harmonies are in the spotlight, it is the rhythm of the tracks that takes the lead in various forms.

"All Day All Night" is the best example of this and calls to mind Paul Simon's best work with flashes of West Africa mixed into this Americana string play and singing. Another Asheville based group, Toubab Krewe fused the music of Mali with a jamband direction but here River Whyless take a more pop approach and succeed.    

"Sail Away" and "Kalangala" continue that melding of world vibes before Anderson takes lead vocals and delivers fluttering affections with the dramatic "Bend Time" the questioning "One For One" and darker "Blood Moon". The dueling of lead vocals over hand claps for "Life Crisis" lead to the disks best story but the one downside to the album is that there isn't a truly standout complete track that ropes the listener in. That said, the music does that trick after just one listen even if the album gives its best songs early.  

The cover art and the wrapping up of the closing track linking the thematic album give an artistic touch and proof the band are fans of the Talking Heads, but they are still evolving. For now consider them a more mountain version to Vampire Weekends city world music vision, River Whyless makes everyone's ears shine with We All The Light.
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Had never heard of River Whyless before this review but damn we love this disk. Support the group, buy the album and peep some video:

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Album Review: Miss Sharon Jones! Soundtrack

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
It is of the soundtrack of the new documentary film Miss Sharon Jones! The soundtrack takes live tracks from Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings from throughout the bands amazing career. We have written about the band before, but still don't think they get enough credit for basically creating that retro-soul sound that seems to be everywhere right now. 

The trailer for the film is below as well as a song from the soundtrack. Read the review and enjoy the film. 

Monday, August 22, 2016

Dylan Cover #244 The Rhipeters "Maggie's Farm"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes is a live cover of "Maggie's Farm" from The Rhipeters
Thoughts on Dylan's Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:
"Maggie's Farm" is classic Dylan, everyone thinks they know what it's about and they are sure they are right, but they all think different things. I will confess I like the sped up Electric version from Newport Folk Festival that caused the end of popular folk music (in theory) and really solidified Dylan's pop music career. It is a great tune and really flows in lots of forms making it perfect to cover.
Cover

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
 Not much out there on them,  but they seem to be a cover band doing tracks for youtube videos. More can be found here.
Thoughts on Cover:
A good basic acoustic cover that moves at a bright tempo. THe best part may be the added harmonies to this offering. Happy Monday. 

Friday, August 19, 2016

Full Show Friday: Def Leppard 8/5/2014 SPAC Saratoga, NY

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...Def Leppard!

August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays

Wow, great to see the Lep make an appearance this month! This show is from their 2014 tour where they hit the US with KISS of all people. Def Leppard is a fun live experience as their songs just work perfectly in big crowds and strip clubs. 

On thing that we have not mentioned yet in this series is how weak this years August SPAC lineup is. With the horses running you would think they would be able to bring in more top notch acts, but they are few and far between in 2016. 

Back to the show, this is a handheld video of the full show, and while it is shaky and zoom heavy the sound is really solid. The visuals gave me a bit of a headache, so you may want to put this one on in the background, but thanks to person who suffered and videotaped the full show. 

Enjoy:

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Original Misfit Jerry Only Ready For Riot Fest

We already wrote about the upcoming Riot Fest with some intriguing reunions but more is coming out directly from the Misfits bassists mouth regarding their reunion. Jerry Only the bands original bassist chatted with Blabbermouth and some cool facts came out.
Some exciting revelations came out of this chat. Only hopes to keep this going, running through about 25 classic songs for both of these reunions shows with the hope the band doesn't implode onstage. 50/50 odds on that....

The fact that they hope to still play (Halloween shows in NYC anyone?!) is exciting, so is the rumor that Dave Lombardo of all people will be behind the kit for these shows. Lombardo earned the respect of all metal fans by pounding the skins of Slayer and it will be a total treat to hear him supporting Only, Danzig and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein.
Here's hoping things go well and until those shows, how about some Misfits for Thursday night?


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Album Review: Jank- Versace Summer

Jank
Versace Summer
*** out of *****
The Philadelphia based three piece Jank have put out their third release, an EP titled Versace Summer and for a band that describes their sound as Weed Pop their sound is dynamic and has broad appeal. The EP works in the worlds of pop, surf, lofi, punk and noise rock combining all (sometimes at once) for a pleasurable breezy run through from a clearly talented band.

Things start a bit grimy on "Grim Reefer" as the band uses feedback and a touch of angst to play with sonic dynamics over shouting lyrics but things get clean fairly quick as some dexterous guitar work brightens up "Chunks (cool enuff)" that while lyrically is questioning relationships, musically it is confident and soaring.

That clean bright sound sticks around for most of "General Tso What?" with fluid lines before crashing into an unfiltered end blast. This back and fourth between pretty and ugly is at the root of Versace Summer moving from a love song about a bike ("This is a song about my bike "Ralph" and it's called "Ralph") to the more raw ("Alligator") but it is when the styles mix in the same track the best results are found.  

"#freesam" lets the drummer get after it gloriously pushing the action on the other hand the experimental "Gucci Spring" is just an odd filler (strange for an EP) before the deft playing of closer and title track which stops and starts on a dime. The trio (Matt Diamond - Guitar/Vocals , Ruben Polo - Bass/Vocals Sam Becht - Drums) are incredibly talent which raises this over other offerings that mix genres like this. They have crafted catchy numbers blending the breezy beach surf pop with gritty city power for Versace Summer.
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Support the band, buy and stream the album on bandcamp (or below):

Monday, August 15, 2016

Dylan Cover #243 Sarah Chesler "Jokerman" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is live a cover by Sarah Chesler playing "Jokerman"
Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:
The kick-start to his "back to rock and roll" album Infidels, "Jokerman" is a monster. A torrent of images, symbols, thoughts, proclamations, fears and fables; it feels like a dam was broken in Dylan's brain and all of these things just poured out. Musically it moves along but doesn't add much to the towering wordplay as the tune is dominated by the lyrics which seem almost never ending; Dylan has penned wordier tunes, but few feel as heavy as this. Flawed, but reaching for something, it is a not a great Dylan song but it is one that lets us peak into his brain a bit. For more on this tune, check out this post.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Have never heard of Sarah Chesler. From her facebook page it mentions she makes pop/jazz music and that is certainly the vibe of this Monday's cover. She plays in both Sweden and Connecticut so fans on both sides of the Atlantic can catch her.
Thoughts on Cover:
An energetic if a toch sterile of a take on the tune. It retains that sense of 80's cheese to it, but it is such a weird song to begin with that kind of oddness is fine. She and the band cut out a few verses, but overall the tempo and pace work well.  

Friday, August 12, 2016

Full Show Friday: Pearl Jam 8/27/2000 SPAC Saratoga, NY

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...Pearl Jam!

August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays

Now that we got rid of that dreck from last week (Editors Note: Easy...) we can all agree on the greatness of this band. Pearl Jam are American rock royalty and they bang out some damn satisfying music under starry skies. 

This one is extra special because we were there. Another RtBE favorite Sonic Youth opened the set (wish that video was here) as they were touring behind their NYC Ghost and Flowers album. That was never one of our favorites, but the band still played old classics like "Teenage Riot", "Bull In The Heather" and "100%" . PJ even tipped their hat to NYC avant-rockers during "Daughter" and added a bit of SY noise-rock in one of favorite tunes of theirs, "rearviewmirror". 

For the main act the band seemed to put extra aggression into things to start before becoming nuanced later in the set. This was a long show, and one of my favorite memories was hearing "Yellow Ledbetter" wafting over the gorgeous grounds of the State Park with my friend Don who insisted we hit this show (Thank You!). This show reignited my love for the band and while the recording is on a video camera and a bit shaky the sound is excellent for a 2000 outdoor venue. 

Amazingly you can also download this full show over at the Internet Archive for free, keeping a lasting copy of this night. We did. Enjoy:
    

Support the band:
http://pearljam.com/activism/vitalogy...
http://pearljam.com/goods/

August 27, 2000
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY

Breakerfall
Whipping
Spin the Black Circle
Hail Hail
Corduroy
In My Tree
Dissident
Given to Fly
Nothing As It Seems
Grievance
Light Years
Daughter/(Beginning to See the Light)(WMA)(Androgynous Mind)
Lukin
MFC
Wishlist
Better Man
Even Flow
Insignificance
Rearviewmirror
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Sleight of Hand
Do The Evolution
Once
Timeless Melody
Small Town
Leatherman
Porch
---
Soon Forget
Black
Yellow Ledbetter/(Nobody's Fault But Mine)

All Dinosaur Jr Albums Ranked

Hey all, got a new list up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
With the band releasing its 11th studio album last week Shane over at Glide asked me to put together a list ranking all of Dinosaur Jr's releases. This is a tough task which I found out when last year I picked a song to showcase from all of their albums. Truth is, the band have been amazingly consistent most people have personal fav's but I went back and listened to them all and try to be objective. 

Who knows if I succeed but here is my list. I think that number one and eleven are fairly clear cut (one stone cold classic, one baby stepping onto the scene) the rest can almost be shuffled and re-arraigned in various orders. Anyways...enjoy the list, feel free to share your own and peep some video from the band below:
  

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Live Review: Dr. Know Benefit w/ Cro-Mags, Breakdown etc 7/23/16 Tompkins Sq Park, NY

Dr. Know Benefit
with: Breakdown, Token Entry, Cro-Mags, Antidote, Maximum Penalty
7/23/16 Tompkins Square Park NY, NY

Unfortunately one of the legends of the hardcore punk scene has been dealing with some very severe health issues:
As many of you know, Gary Miller (aka Dr. Know or Doc), guitarist of the Legendary Washington DC punk band Bad Brains, suffered cardiac arrest in early November last year. His condition quickly progressed to multiple organ failure, and he was on life support for almost 2 weeks. At the time, his doctors gave him a 5% chance of survival. But by the power of PMA, LOVE and FAMILY, he was able to pull through and survive.
All funds contributed to this campaign will be directly deposited into a bank account created by a representative of the Bad Brains specifically for this purpose. Any amount of money you can contribute to this fund is greatly appreciated by Doc and his family.
The show raised a considerable amount of money for Dr. Know and provided the NYC crowd with a kick ass old school punk show on the Lower East Side, a perfect combo. The Saturday afternoon show started early under sweltering skies; it was one of the hottest days of the summer so far and the city was sweating and stinking from the subways to skyscrapers.  

Maximum Penalty started the show and the fans in attendance revved up the pit to work out the stress. By passers were stunned and a few stuck around the full day. A fantastic reaction kicked the show off right before Antidote continued the trend of streamlined punk and old school positive vibes via tracks like "Life As One" and "Something Must Be Done" which slammed ahead but still squeezed in ripping guitar solos.   
Cro-Mags
While some fans took cover in shade others melted under the blazing sky before the Cro-Mags took over and John Joseph reasserted, "We are doing this for one reason, Dr Know". The band went through their patented set at this point in their career, slamming out the hits to an appreciative stage diving fan base. "We Gotta Know", "Street Justice" and "Hard Times" all sound as propulsive as ever with the band firing on all cylinders. 

The Cro-Mags have been playing the scene often the last few years but Token Entry have been away from New York for a very long time. The band's Jaybird album is a must have for any fan of the NYHC/Punk scene with its upbeat tempos and shout along choruses. The band's set focused on that disk with tracks like "The Fire", "The Whip" and "Token Entry" blaring out with power and speed as if it was 1988. Unfortunately due to the heat or the fans unfamiliarity with the group, the crowd was tepid during their set, but that takes little away from the groups performance and here's hoping they play the city again soon.    
Breakdown with our friend Dom on Stage
Headlining the show on this day was the legendary Breakdown. Frontman Jeff Perlin stated "Old School? We are Ancient School" as the bands original lineup from 1986 was on stage ripping through the heat. The group played their classic beat-down tracks such as the "love song" called "All I Ask" and "Safe In A Crowd", The group was tight as Anthony Drago's snare drum as Perlin dropped tips like "Hardcore Hints, always double knot!" as he held up a stage divers lost shoe in-between songs like "Don't Give Up" and "You Gotta Fight". Ending with the climatic "Sick People" had the pit in a frenzy and the crowd overflowing on the stage to sing along to close a great day of music for a great cause.
Cooling off post show with Glen and Jeff
Extra special credit should be given to Cousin Joe, Drew Stone and Laurens Kusters and all the others who put this amazing day together. If you would like to contribute to Dr. Know please do so here. As always, keep a positive metal attitude and much love flowing to all the brothers and sisters.

Some video from the show:

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Album Review: Dinosaur Jr.- Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
Well one of RtBE's Personal Favorites has released a new album and it is more of the same hard rock goodness. While this one hasn't instantly wormed its way into our ears yet, however it is still pretty damn good. I would actually rate it as the fourth best of the comeback albums, but it also the most raw if that is your thang.

Support the band, read the review and peep some video:

Monday, August 8, 2016

Dylan Cover #242 DeFacto "One More Cup Of Coffee"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover from Defacto and it is a version of "One More Cup Of Coffee" 
Thoughts on Dylan Original:
Bob's story tunes seemed to crest on Desire and "One More Cup Of Coffee" fits in the Western/Biblical/Mystical motif of both "Isis" and "Romance In Durango" but puts fourth a more ominous feel than either. Singing with Emmylou Harris on the original recording a haunting combo of voices which gets along perfectly with violins and other rag tag players from the sessions. A damn good song.
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Not much is known about De Facto, his (?) facebook page is no longer active and there are just a few videos on his youtube page.
Thoughts on Cover:
A slow fine cover of the track, a bit sleepy for a song about the java but a fine way to start a hot Monday.


Friday, August 5, 2016

Full Show Friday: Dave Matthews Band 5/25/13 SPAC Saratoga, NY

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...Dave Matthews Band!
August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays

Well there is certainly a theme with the last few big band posts as the RtBE staff are split when it comes to Dave Matthews Band, some love them, some hate them. What can not be disputed is the bands draw in upstate NY and really everywhere they tours that has suburban semi-hippies living within a two hour driving radius. When we were in high school it was a major draw each summer, but yet your humble writer never saw them once (thank god) and still can't stand the mans voice. 

Our esteemed Editor however has enjoyed them multiple times, but not in many a moon. Because of that we decided to showcase a fairly recent set from the band to kick off our SPAC month here at RtBE. Enjoy:    
Dave Matthews Band
May 25, 2013
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

01:08 Seek Up
21:45 Intro to...
23:02 Don't Drink the Water
30:18 The Idea of You
36:06 Rooftop
43:26 Drum Intro
47:32 Say Goodbye
55:02 So Right
1:01:56 Joyride
1:06:39 Where Are You Going
1:12:30 Grey Street
1:19:43 Spaceman »
1:25:58 Corn Bread
1:32:38 Snow Outside
1:44:48 Shake Me Like a Monkey
1:48:56 Drunken Soldier
1:59:14 Jimi Thing
2:17:14 What You Are
2:23:35 ---EncoreBreak---
2:26:19 Little Thing (tease)
2:27:42 Belly Belly Nice
2:32:14 Pantala Naga Pampa »
2:32:52 Rapunzel

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Album Review: Snowglobe- Snowglobe

Snowglobe
S/T
*** out of *****

The newest release from the Memphis based band is a self-titled effort and anytime a group drops a self-titled release after putting out a few albums it acts as a sort of reboot. The 11 track effort is song focused, yet still wandering and a touch odd; all which makes for an engaging ride.

The band is made up of Brad Postlethwaite: Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Keyboards, Drums, Saw, Kitchen Sink, Jeff Hulett: Drums, Vocals, Guitars, Luke White: Guitar, Vocals,  Tim Regan: Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Brandon Robertson: Bass, Nahshon Benford: Trumpet, Euphonium.

There can be an effortless feel to the proceedings and seeing how the players have been working together since High School that could be the reason for the easy rolling notes, which also happens to be the focus of the retro looking disk opener, "Easy". Harmonies and sounds blend and whirl together in an organic way, reminiscent of White Denim or Neutral Milk Hotel.

"Walking With Her" contains a Byrds jangle while other songs like "Big and Bright" and "Birthday" continues to recall the psychedelic pop with large swells builds and more of the great harmonies. The band can put too much special sauce into the tracks though as "One More Little Thing" settles into a groove but goes overboard with dramatic strings. Another downer is "We Have No Heat" which lyrically just stays in the title phrase so long that even the over driven guitars can't save it.

Better efforts are "Sid" which moves swiftly along but drops flourishes throughout or the keyboard driven ease of "We Were In Love". This song is an easy highlight of the disk, snapping with bubble gum pop in the vein of The Monkees; it is a vibrant three minute gem of a track. The harmonies return for the most tripped out tracks on the disk, the closing pair of "Little Hands (Universe Pt 1)" and "The Race, The Cure, And The Magic Machine (Universe Pt 2)" that meander around with spacey looseness.

Overall Snowglobe out on Super Sonic Sounds Records has retro warm appeal, but still adds new things to that familiar pop rock sound that is so rooted in the 60's.
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Thanks to Kandice from Nine Mile Records/ Super Sonic Sounds Records for sending this our way. Support the band, buy the album and peep some video:


Tuesday, August 2, 2016

New Warpaint Album Heads Up Coming Soon, New Single Here.

We here at RtBE have always appreciated the art-rock LA based Warpaint so we are excited to hear that their newest album, Heads Up will be out September 23rd via Rough Trade Records.
They released the first single from the album titled, creatively enough,"New Song". You can hear it and the see the full listing of their album and upcoming tour below.

They certainly have upped the dance-ibilty and electro sound and toned down the art rock/noise at least on "New Song". We will see how the rest of the disk is in late September.

Tracklist
01 Whiteout
02 By Your Side
03 New Song
04 The Stall
05 So Good
06 Don’t Wanna
07 Don’t Let Go
08 Dre
09 Heads Up
10 Above Control
11 Today Dear

—Warpaint — 2016 Tour Dates
Aug 18 Pukkelpop Kiewit Hasselt, Belgium
Aug 19 Lowlands Festival Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
Aug 21 Green Man Festival Abergavenny, United Kingdom
Aug 23 The National Concert Hall Dublin, Ireland
Sep 19 The Showbox Seattle, WA
Sep 20 Imperial Vancouver Vancouver, Canada
Sep 21 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
Sep 23 Symbiosis Gathering Oakdale, CA
Sep 24 Music Tastes Good Long Beach, CA
Sep 25 Life Is Beautiful Las Vegas, NV
Sep 27 Gothic Theater Englewood, CO
Sep 29 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
Sep 30 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL
Oct 01 St. Andrews Hall Detroit, MI
Oct 03 Danforth Music Hall Toronto, Canada
Oct 04 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Oct 06 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
Oct 07 Warsaw Brooklyn, NY
Oct 08 The Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Oct 09 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
Oct 12 The Filmore San Francisco, CA
Oct 13 The Fonda Theater Hollywood, CA
Oct 22 Simple Things Festival – Bristol, United Kingdom
Oct 23 Queens Hall Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Oct 24 Albert Hall Manchester, United Kingdom
Oct 26 The Dome Liverpool, United Kingdom
Oct 27 Roundhouse London, United Kingdom
Oct 29 Pitchfork Music Festival Paris, France
Oct 30 Live Musik Hall Cologne, Germany
Nov 01 Astra Berlin, Germany
Nov 02 Paradiso Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nov 04 Iceland Airwaves Festival Reykjavik, Iceland

Monday, August 1, 2016

Dylan Cover #241 David Albion "Romance In Durango"

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 David Albion playing "Romance In Durango"

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover version of this song:
Containing the best opening line of any Dylan song (which places it high on the best opening line of any song ever) "Romance In Durango" is a movie played out over violins, words, dead bodies, love, adventure and life. A western tinged Dylan tune that talks about a horse taking him to Durango. A fantastic burst of creative songwriting and exhilarating playing it is a timelessly fantastic tune.
Cover:

Thoughts On Cover Artist:
Like a lot of people in this series we have not heard of David Albion before. He is a Southern California folk artists who has lots of covers on his youtube channel.
Thoughts On Cover:
A nuanced acoustic cover from Mr. Albion. More sedated than the original and the relaxed vibe does work for a song that is usually more upbeat. 


Also need to send some special Happy Birthday wishes to Meg. Enjoy your day.