Monday, July 31, 2017

Dylan Cover #286 Dalit Sagi "What Was It You Wanted"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Dalit Sagi of the Dylan tune "What Was It You Wanted?"

Thoughts On Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
Oh Mercy brought Dylan back in from the creative wasteland that was his 1980's. It had an eerie sense of foreboding, helped by producer Daniel Lanois and the ghosts of New Orleans. The irritable old man in Dylan came out a bit here as well, and "What Was It You Wanted" is a good example of that; a confused searching which colors/clouds the lyrics/theme as the protagonist just can't seem to get it right.
Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Dalit Sagi seems to be an Israeli folk singer who posted a few covers on her youtube channel.
Thoughts on Cover:
For what seems to be her second language Sagi has a haunting vocal quality to this cover. What seems like a live one off take, the quality of the recording may not be up to the level of other covers in this series but the passion is there and sometimes that is all that matters.  

Friday, July 28, 2017

Full Show Friday Tweedy Live At BAM 2014

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...Tweedy!
Today's show is from Tweedy, and here is the full description from the youtube channel:

Part of 2014 Next Wave Festival and Nonesuch Records at BAM

Jeff Tweedy, founder of the pioneering Chicago rock band Wilco, makes his BAM debut as part of Nonesuch Records at BAM.

Celebrating the release of the new album Sukierae (out 9/23)—under the moniker Tweedy, a collaboration between Jeff and his 18-year-old son Spencer—the father-son duo is joined by Jim Elkington on guitar, Darin Gray on bass, Liam Cunningham on keyboards and guitars, and Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius on backup vocals, to perform new Jeff Tweedy-penned tunes. Wilco guitarist Nels Cline joined them for the encore.

Jeff also performed a solo acoustic set featuring songs from the Wilco and Uncle Tupelo catalogs.

Well we can't add more than that, setlist is below. Enjoy:



SET LIST:

Nobody Dies Anymore
Fake Fur Coat
Diamond Light Pt.1
Flowering
High As Hello
New Moon
Honey Combed
Desert Bell
Summer Noon
Wait For Love
Slow Love
World Away
Low Key
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
New Madrid
Hummingbird
You and I
Please Tell My Brother
Born Alone
Hesitating Beauty
Jesus, Etc.
Radio King
Passenger Side
I'm the Man Who Loves You
A Shot in the Arm

Encore:
Love Like a Wire
Only The Lord Knows
Give Back The Key To My Heart
California Stars

Thursday, July 27, 2017

New Lee Ranaldo Album Electric Trim Videos and Tour

One of Sonic Youth's killer guitarists Thurston Moore put out a fantastic album this year that was based in 60's sprawling rock and roll. Now their other guitarist who is more rooted in that Grateful Dead/Psychedelic sound is putting out his own album as Lee Ranaldo releases Electric Trim.
RtBE have dug Ranaldo's solo work in the past so we are looking forward to hearing this one. Sharon Van Etten figures prominently on the album singing multiple back ups and dueting with Ranaldo on a track. 

The first two singles are out, as well as tour dates with Ranaldo playing Brooklyn on 11/9 (tickets here). Below are two tracks from the album:
  

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Album Review: The Courtney's - II

The Courtney's 
II
**** out of *****

The melodic female trio The Courtney's hail from Vancouver, BC and on their strong second album continue to craft blissful indie-pop that is straight out of 1992 while fluttering gorgeously directly into 2017.

Each of the ten tracks here could be a single with their melodic ring, lightly fuzzed guitars and head bopping beats. "Minnesota" was the first one to jump out with it's shuffling drums and angular guitar solo, but the formula is the same for almost all of the numbers here. Gorgeously layered vocals that pair beautifully over teenage day dream lyrics while the guitar and bass stretches and sways behind.

"Silver Velvet" and "Country Song" open things in this vein with the latter running longer, letting the players strum. "Tour" kicks up the urgency as the group speeds down the highway to the next gig and cooks with an immediacy that places the listener in the van wit the trio. The bass and march step to the forefront for the elongated "Lost Boys" which calls back to the movie and vampire teenage boyfriends and even while running seven minutes stays engaging and fresh.    

If are detriments one could point to bland lyrics on some tracks ("Iron Deficiency" comes to mind) as well as the fact that there isn't a track that is an instant must hear and in this genre that makes the whole album feel a bit light. In comparison to say Bleached Welcome The Worms (a bit more rock orientated sure, but same style) which has the standout "Wednesday Night Serenade".  However like that album, the majority of the efforts remain top notch.

The shimmying sing-a-long "Mars Attacks" and the bubbling rumble of "Frankie" close the disk out on solid notes, cementing it as a must hear for fans of this genre. Instantly catchy and engaging, perfect summer music for convertible driving, The Courtney's II is a slice of indie-pop heaven that shines with charm and confidence.
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Support the band, buy the album or stream it below or on bandcamp and peep some video below:


Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Album Review: Public Enemy - Nothing Is Quick In The Desert

Public Enemy
Nothing Is Quick In The Desert (Except Death)
***and1/2 out of *****
There has been a lot of what the public calls "Dad Hip-Hop" coming out lately and while some of it is from artists re-establishing themselves or trying to turn back the clock, Public Enemy who have nothing left to prove, decided to drop a free album on the 4th of July for their fans to celebrate 30 years in the business.

The business is very much on Chuck D's mind as he stated in regards to the title:
"It looks dead like a desert. But there's plenty of life in the desert when one is educated on what they see and hear. There, a cactus absorbs and stores water deep in its root, taken from the air itself and certain creatures thrive in that dry heat whereas the average cannot. It pays to be above average (or well below it) in the desert for survival. The music industry is similar in that analogy. It's still in motion, it just needs redefinition."
So the free offer may be more than a PR Stunt as the group struggles to reach an audience, RtBE are fans of PE and even we didn't know they dropped albums in 2015 and 2012. Whatever the means of getting the disk out, the group seems inspired, crafting an album that bangs, rocking hard while dealing with social issues and culture in general.

The most impressive thing about the groups 14th studio album is that it is just that, a full album. Sequenced and performed/produced to flow directly from one track into the other it's seamless playing works wonderfully from the first track. Ever since the beginning Chuck D wanted to be the activist Mick Jagger fronting a rock band and in recent years PE has gone almost all live (with the excellent DJ Lord) while performing with multiple guitars and drummers. For Chuck and company this makes perfect sense after their recent jaunt into Prophets of Rage.

That musicality is instantly evident as guitars and beats mix with drum breaks and bass drops. "sPEak" is a call to action after a slow title track sets the scene and "Yesterday Man" calls out to many of today's culture touchstones Kanye and Klan included. From these openers to the old school "Rest In Beats Parts 1 & 2" the albums excellent closing in memoriam track that calls out all the lost artists, the group is locked in and loaded for big game.

While other older MC's (Big Boi in particular) sound just as fresh vocally as they did years ago, Chuck D does not. There is clear age in his delivery however, his voice was never his strongest attribute, it was what he was saying and that stays the same as he calls out a long list of issues he wants to deal with. The guests also help out the vocal sound, as everyone from Ice-T, PMD, Easy Mo Bee, Sammy Vegas and Solé show up to add some unique vocal styling behind the SW1/Bomb Squad assault rifle sound.

The whole album should be listened to but there are a few standout tracks that elevate the concept album (Chuck mentioned Paul's Boutique and Death Certificate as inspirations). "Smash The Crowd" is a aggressive party-is-over jam that bobs and weaves with metal guitar, a perfect song for Body Count front man Ice-T to help out on while perhaps the disk highlight is "SOC MED Digital Heroin". Guests galore bring the sound of PE into the now and deals with a digital culture in a funky as fuck way, tons of samples, riffs and beats color the background while MC's shake their damn head at internet/social media woes leading to inaction.

There are some stumbles, "Toxic" has lines that feel forced while "If You Can't Beat Em Join Em" drags in the middle but on the whole this is an unexpectedly rock solid album from the Hip-Hop Heroes and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Never count legends out...
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Color RtBE surprised, as we listened to a lot of hip-hop this month, and if you would have told us the newest Public Enemy was going to be our favorite we would have laughed. This is a really good disk that deserves to be heard.

Support the band, buy the album, peep some video:


Monday, July 24, 2017

Dylan Cover #285 Warren Haynes "One More Cup Of Coffee" 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 from Warren Haynes 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 tune:
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:
We love Warren Haynes. Since The Godfather of Soul passed away Haynes could be the hardest working man in show business, and his solo tour for Ashes & Dust was a joy as was the full album which we rated high on RtBE's 2015 year end list.
Thoughts on Cover:]
We have heard Haynes cover a ton of songs live over the years, however we have never heard him cover this song. We can't believe it has slipped by until now, this is a FANTASTIC cover. Warren voice, his guitar lines, the added violins...wow, maybe one of the best in the whole series considering it's live one take nature.

Friday, July 21, 2017

Full Show Friday: Soundgarden 7-13-2012 Hyde Park

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...Soundgarden!
This week we are going with some of grunge/alt rock legends Soundgarden. When Chris Cornell committed suicide, we didn't do a post or comment much. Friends of ours, who loved the band and the man as an artist were much more deeply moved and we talked with them and listened to the best tracks from Cornell and company.

Today though we pay tribute to the artist with this Full Show Friday. RtBE caught the band on their reunion tour down in NOLA at Voodoo Fest and while the group was never our bag, we were happy to say we saw them once. This show is another big festival, Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park from almost exactly five years ago. The show is pro-shot with pro sound and fans could not ask for more. Full setlist and details below the video. R.I.P Mr. Cornell.

Enjoy:



SOUNDGARDEN July 13, 2012 - Hard Rock Calling Hyde Park, London, UK Running Time 1:53:57
01 Searching With My Good Eye Closed 02 Spoonman 03 Gun 04 Jesus Christ Pose 05 Black Hole Sun 06 Outshined 07 Hunted Down 08 Drawing Flies 09 Blow Up the Outside World 10 Fell on Black Days 11 Ugly Truth 12 My Wave 13 The Day I Tried to Live 14 Beyond the Wheel 15 Let Me Drown 16 Pretty Noose 17 Superunknown 18 4th of July Encore 19 Rusty Cage 20 Slaves & Bulldozers/(In My Time of Dying)

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Yo La Tengo Hanukkah Shows On Sale Tomorrow

Earlier this week Yo La Tengo played Central Park's Summerstage and made an announcement from the stage, they will be once again playing their famed Hanukkah shows in December 2017.
Tickets go onsale tomorrow via Ticketfly. The band used to play their shows at Maxwell's in Hoboken, but since it closed in 2013 the band has now moved their winter shows full of covers and surprise guests over to RtBE's favorite venue in NYC, Bowery Ballroom.

We will def be taking in a show during the run, you should as well the band is great live. Below are some tunes to get in the mood:
  



Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Ministry Playing NYC Pre Sale Live Now

The industrial metal gods Ministry are coming to NYC and playing two shows (one Brooklyn 10/16, one Manhattan 10/17) with Death Grips. Brooklyn Vegan is doing a pre-sale for tickets right now.
Tickets are here and Brooklyn Vegan will be handing out the pre-sale password. The band is one of our favorites from our youth and we still get down to Psalm 69 often but we have never caught them live so we hope to remedy that now. Come to think of it, they always make their best albums when they are disgusted by Republican Presidents, Rio Grande Blood is great, so they are due a new one.

To get in the mood here is some video:


Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Album Review: Big Boi - Boomiverse

Big Boi
Boomiverse
**and1/2 out of *****

On Big Boi's (Antwan Patton) first solo release, the underrated Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty he extended his Outkast success and while it never ventured far from his main acts style, it proved he could carry on at the top of his game with a solo career. Then came some experiments and moves towards more "modern Hip-Hop" via partnerships with Phantogram and others on the incredibly underwhelming Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors and Big Grams. 

Now the ATL-ien returns and the results are somewhere between Left Foot's party time looseness and futuristic more recent efforts; not a return to form but steps back in the right direction. He has not lost any of his pure rhyming style and comes directly at you in the opening "Da Next Day" dropping excellent rhymes in impressive fashion. However the track features a good supporting verse from Big Rube and nothing else. No chorus, no memorable beat, so when the MC's are done it feels more like a demo than a successful disk opener.

That stated, the best efforts appear early. "Kill Jill" is a hoot as he partners with long time comrade Killer Mike and Jeezy which also shows Big Boi changing up his flow to fit the odd Asian inspired beat from Organized Noize. "Mic Jack" has a surprisingly good vocal effort from Adam Levine supporting over an 80's inspired dance beat while "In The South" pulls everything back to his hometown of the Atlanta.

The most complete track is not surprisingly the most "old school" sounding as Scott Storch (of all people) creates a Southernplayalistic-style beat where Big Boi digs in, spreads out and describes the "Order of Operations".

From here on the album begins to drag and disappoint, while still experimenting and searching for a sound. "All Night" is an interesting effort based on an old-time piano riff, that while unique never succeeds, "Overthunk" indulges his more digital tendencies and "Chocolate" is a one note joke that sticks around way too long.

"Made Man" drags and never takes off, "Freakanomics" is a scattered odd digital-beated mess which finds Patton singing and "Follow Deez" ends the disk on a dull note. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is the perfect-on-paper-pairing of Big Boi, Snoop Dogg and Organized Noize production for "Get Wit It". The finish product is so much less than it's parts, a boring, bland instantly forgettable number which is disheartening for these all-time all-stars.

That is the issue with all of Antwan Patton's work these days, there is such high expectations based on his career as half of one of the greatest hip hop acts of all time along with the excellent beginning to his solo career. While he has very little to prove, there is a sense he still could be one of the best on the planet if it all came together on one of his releases...or perhaps a reunion?!?
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We love Big Boi, so perhaps we grade him harder than others, but this was a let down for us, not anywhere near as bad of a letdown when we heard Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors though. Oof, that was bad, this is just average for these times. We still like it better than the new supposed best hip hop albums this year....

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


Monday, July 17, 2017

Dylan Cover #284 Shadowland "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by the Shadowland of the Dylan tune "It's All Over, Now Baby Blue"

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
Baby Blue is magical all around, from the pure asshole way he sung it to Donovan to put him in his place in Don't Look Back, to the heart breaking recent live versions on the never ending tour. The song has a lot of what makes Dylan who he is; mystery but a sense of understanding somehow. Dominated by the amazing lyrics the song is a hard one not to like.
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Having never heard of Shadowland before, it turns out that they are a British progressive rock band from the 1990's. It is interesting, there is a live version of them playing the song, and the minute I saw them doing a 60's cover I thought of the Lemondheads.
Thoughts on Cover:
What starts out as seemingly a Dylan impersonation with a simple acoustic guitar amps up into a full band effort (while still mostly acoustic) and vocal acrobats from front man Clive Nolan. The full band playing including electric solo and big drums elevates this a bit, but the vocals feel a bit forced, as if they wanted to make the song much bigger than they did. An odd choice between making it their own and keeping it in the original vein. 

Friday, July 14, 2017

Full Show Friday: Solange 2017

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...Solange!
The last few Full Show Friday's here at RtBE have been old (in some cases dead) white men, so we figured we would update the formula. Here is Solange from a very recent show in 2017. I can't find out exactly where or when, so feel free to comment if you know more about this set.

We reviewed her album last year, and while we personally like her sisters a lot better it is nice to mix things up every now and then. This concert is pro shot with pro sound, and it may not be around for long, so enjoy it while you can:

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Album Review: King Woman - Created In The Image Of Suffering

King Woman
Created In The Image Of Suffering
*** out of *****
From San Francisco comes this doom-metal four piece that sludge's through rock passages and wallows in the pain while rocking through the mud.

King Woman started from in the mind of front woman Kristina Esfandiari and grew into this, the bands debut on Relapse records. The soaring, dream like layered vocals are a unique twist in a genre that usual prides itself on growls and bellows but the sad part is the lyrics become just as clouded for most of the record. The trudging low end is there and for the most part the band plays it tight to the vest.

Opener's "Utopia" and "Deny" show the formula, big sounds, wallowing lyrics, female vocals and move on without much left in the path to be remembered but on the third track the group coalesces nicely. "Shame" is direct lyrically, and grows out of a constant feedback buzzing that allows the drums to move and plow ahead.    

This genre usually lends itself to long plodding numbers and group digs in for the second half of the album with some extended odyssey's starting with "Hieroplant". The track feels like a mix of Pink Floyd vocals and slower Black Sabbath backing as it floats along, moving from the swamps to outer space.

Other longer excursions like "Manna" aren't as successful as it dulls before it takes any sort of flight while "Worn" runs shorter but contains more variety and energy. "Hem" closes things out by amping up the doom and foreboding.  Along with some interesting album art and slightly unique concept King Woman's first Relapse release is a cool listen with room for the band to grow going forward.
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Support the band, buy the album, stream it below or on bandcamp and peep some video:



Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Album Review: Bash & Pop - Anything Could Happen

Bash & Pop
Anything Could Happen
***and1/2 out of ****
While Bash & Pop put out an album in 1993 (Friday Night Is Killing Me) and no one from that release is present this go around in 2017, no one except main B&P'er Tommy Stinson. Famous for playing in The Replacements Stinson put together Bash & Pop after that band's break up and resurrects it now after a short reunion of his main claim to fame.

Stinson mentioned in interviews that he wanted this record to sound like a live band having fun on record and that is a clearly a success, evident right from the power pop opening of "Not This Time". The whiskey and women get to shaking as "On The Rocks" swaggering like some of the best late seventies rock and roll while the title track has fluid lead guitar and a melodic structure that worms its way into your ears.

His cohorts this go around is an impressive list of players (Steve Selvidge on guitar and vocals, Justin Perkins on guitar and vocals, Tony Kieraldo on keyboards and vocals, and Joe Sirois on drums) and the sense of comradery is palpable especially when they are in full out rocking mode. When the tempo slows down things aren't as fantastic, while "Breathing Room" "Can't Be Bothered" and "Anybody Else" are average mid-tempo/ballads but it is when the players lock in and cook (like on the rambling "Unfuck You") that the album comes alive.

Other players like Luther Dickinson and Frank Ferrar join in and the style of live rocking fits perfectly on "Bad News" with some smooth slide guitar while the power pop makes a come back for "Never Wanted To Know".  The roadhouse country twang of "Anytime Soon" has a world weary sound and the rollicking "Jesus Loves You".

Who knows if/when the band gets back together for another record, and who would even be playing on it, but as it stands, Anything Could Happen shows that Stinson still has things to say and energetic rocking ways to say them.
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Support the band, buy the album and stream it on bandcamp, peep some video below:

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Album Review: Vince Staples- Big Fish Theory

Vince Staples
Big Fish Theory
** out of *****

In interviews and on twitter Vince Staples has no short sense of ego, claiming he is so far ahead that he is making music for the year 2029 and music for the MoMA not your Camry, and that arty sense of adventure is everywhere on his newest Big Fish Theory. The simple issue is, if this is music for the future or modern art museums, it isn't all that great to listen to in the present.

The phrase disjointed came to mind often during the twelve song album, for a disk running only thirty six minutes it sure feels a hell of a lot longer. There are slight themes of isolation, hip hop culture and lost love, but the album break's up, fall's apart and never coalesce, the opener "Crabs In A Bucket" is a good example of the project as a whole. There is a wispy beginning that sets an artsy tone, a strong verse from Staples, then an electro beat outro with some female vocals equaling a big nothing when it is over.

Staples rhymes are intricate and boastful and he seems confident in his style which is forceful. While his spoken word/lightly sung sections are dull, when he is on message he is engaging. The pairing of "Alyssa Interlude" which contains a spoken word sample from Amy Winehouse and "Love Can Be..." is an engaging look and isolationism lost love/lost fame and celebrity culture but elsewhere there is little flow to the overall album.
     
The major reason for this is clearly the beats. There is a techno/house feel with slick production and an obvious sense of trying to be different/original from the beginning. Art-hop that pulls out the bottom when big banging is needed for a chorus ("Party People"), dark sluggish musical odes that don't match braggadocios capitalism ("Big Fish") and cluttered efforts that over-bake then somehow under-cook a track ("7:45). The production was handled by a few camps including Zack Sekoff, SOPHIE, Jimmy Edgar, GTAFlume and none manage to put it all together for staples; there are no standout tracks here.

When Kanye West dropped Yeezus he changed hip hop by producing the first grand scale art-hop record that clearly fucked with the status quo. Since then countless other artists have enjoyed the freedom West reveled in. Few of them have crafted timeless listenable albums however that can stand alongside the classics in the genre from yesteryear. Whether it be minimalist soundscapes, lack of low end or change for the sake of change things haven' been strong since that album changed young ears. Big Fish Theory, while adventurous, never becomes engaging and fails to reel in the catch it is looking for.
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We have tracked Staples work since the start and haven't yet grasped the appeal. Support the artist, buy the album and peep some video below.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Dylan Cover #283 Alex Harvey "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 Alex Harvey 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 which actually 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:
We had not heard of Alex Harvey before finding this cover, but now are intrigued by his sound and story. A Scottish Blues/Rock musician who left the world two soon, we will have to dig into Harvey's stuff.
Thoughts on Cover:
A quick freewheeling cover that includes a lot of instrumentation for such a short song. It somehow feels tossed off and meticulous, which is a neat trick. 

Friday, July 7, 2017

Full Show Friday: Steely Dan at Shoreline, 1993

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...Steely Dan!
This week we are heading to Mountain View, California back in 1993 for the Steely Dan reunion tour. If RtBE is being honest, Steely Dan never did it for us, but it is a short work week and we already gave you a full show on the 4th of July from a better band anyway.  All of the info regarding the show can be found below the video. Enjoy:

From the youtube page:
For some unknown reason, there are freeze frames at the beginning of all of the songs from this video. That flaw aside, this is still the best video I’ve seen from the reunion tour, seeing as the Nashville show is skippy, and the two audience videos I have from Philadelphia and Jones Beach are low-quality (I will be sharing at least portions of them though). This video is also pretty rare and not nearly as commonly sold/traded/shared as the Nashville one, so enjoy!

Instrumental Medley (The Royal Scam, Bad Sneakers, Aja) 0:12
Green Earrings 8:42
Bodhisattva 14:00
IGY 19:49
Josie 25:58
Hey Nineteen 32:57
Book Of Liars 39:14
Chain Lightning 43:38
Green Flower Street 55:29
Home At Last 59:35
Black Friday 1:05:56
Tuzz’s Shadow 1:10:30
Deacon Blues 1:16:37
Tomorrow’s Girls 1:24:43
Babylon Sisters 1:31:23
Reelin' In The Years 1:38:11
The Fall Of '92 1:45:15
Peg 1:51:32
Third World Man 1:56:12
Countermoon 2:02:31
Teahouse On The Tracks (small skip before this song; couldn't fix it, sorry) 2:07:28
My Old School 2:15:39
FM (No Static At All) 2:22:37

Joining Fagen and Becker are:

Drew Zingg on lead guitar
Peter Erskine on drums
Tom Barney on bass
Warren Bernhardt on piano
Cornelius Bumpus, Chris Potter, and Bob Sheppard on saxophone
Brenda White-King, Diane Garisto, and Catherine Russell on backing vocals
Bill Ware III on the vibraphone
Boz Scaggs - guest appearance on Black Friday

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Bottom Line Tribute Coming in October

One of the iconic NYC live music venues, The Bottom Line closed in 2004 but Paul Shaffer will be hosting an All-Star tribute to the location right down the block from where it once stood.

There will be a two-night tribute show (October 13 & 14th) at the NYU Schimmel Center as a host of stars come out and join the former Late Night/Late Show band leader. Our friends over at Brooklyn Vegan are reporting that the likes of David Johansen and Christine Lavin will be there and the Schimmel website itself mentions Darlene LoveJimmy Vivino will also be showing up to share stories and songs from the venue. Here is a snippet of the preview:

Join us for a multimedia celebration of The Bottom Line, featuring music and memories, songs and stories by a selection of artists who were regular performers at the iconic club. Host Paul Shaffer with special guests will swap stories about their favorite times on stage, off stage and backstage and perform songs that made the club a destination for fans of all music genres. 
From opening night on February 12, 1974, when headliner Dr. John jammed with Stevie Wonder and Johnny Winter in front of an audience that included Mick Jagger, Carly Simon, Bette Midler and an SRO crowd of entertainment industry luminaries, The Bottom Line was destined to be a cultural touchstone and hub of the music industry. For the next 30 years The Bottom Line influenced and impacted millions of music fans, providing a rich soundtrack to their lives that reflected the changing times.
Should be a cool event and tickets are onsale now. There were thousands of amazing shows that were recorded at the venue, and perhaps down the road we will dedicate a month of Full Show Friday's to it (like we did for CBGB's) but for now, how about a few individual songs recorded at the location to get us in the mood?  


First up, Tower of Power (how about those fucking hair cuts?!?!) playing "Squib Cakes" from 1989


Then we go to 1978 for Van Morrison and "Wavelength", recorded live at the club:


Then we hop to 1990 and check out JJ Cale doing "Magnolia":


And wrap it up with some some jazz in the venue as Branford Marsalis and company do "Yes or No" in 1989:

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Album Review: Rancid - Trouble Maker

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!


It is of Rancid's newest release Trouble Maker. The punk rock legends from Berkeley, California just continue to put out solid albums that speak directly to their fans. While personally we liked ...Honor Is All We Know a bit better, Trouble Maker is pretty good. 

Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below:
  

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Enjoy The 4th of July with The Grateful Dead

The United States celebrates it's Independence today, so enjoy the outdoors, hanging with friends and living life. What better soundtrack for that is there than The Grateful Dead?!?!
(It's official, this is our new 4th of July tradition, so enjoy this great show)

We took the opportunity a few years back to talk about the Best American Band question on July 4th. Now we are just giving you our answer in concert form, the Grateful Dead's July 4th 1989 concert. What a doozy! It is the perfect time to bust it back out.

This was played/filmed up at Rich Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills and captures the Dead in one of their better late period shows, pro audio and video to boot. From the opening "Bertha" to the 1st set closing "Deal" Jerry is just on and seems to be in a great mood. A few personal favorites of RtBE's are in their ("Stagger Lee", "Row Jimmy") adding to us digging on this set.

Not many setlist surprises, just on point playing from the group. The second set starts with a great "Touch of Grey" before the reggae tinge of "Man Smart, Woman Smarter".  "Terrapin Station" is always a welcomed 2nd set addition and RtBE are always a sucker for Brent's work on "I Will Take You Home" as it just melts our hearts. What better Encore for the 4th of July then "US Blue's"?

The full set list is below, Enjoy:

Set 1
Bertha
Greatest Story Ever Told
Cold Rain and Snow
Walkin' Blues
Row Jimmy
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Stagger Lee
Looks Like Rain
Deal

Set 2
Touch of Grey
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
Ship of Fools
Playing in the Band
Terrapin Station
Drums
Space
I Will Take You Home
All Along the Watchtower
Morning Dew
Not Fade Away
E: U.S. Blues

Monday, July 3, 2017

Dylan Cover #282 Brian Lee "I Want You"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Brian Lee singing "I Want You" 
Thoughts on Original:
(From the first time we tackled a cover of this song)
A song that fits the Gemini Dylan like a glove; direct lyrical yearning chorus with verses that meander about introducing characters like roadblocks in the way of true love. It was the last tune written for the mega Blonde on Blonde and a song he and others (it was Al Kooper's favorite) admired so much he almost titled the album after it. Never a track that jumps to the top of peoples "favorites" or "best of" Dylan lists but one that really nails what the artist is all about in some of the simplest terms.
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Well I can't be sure, is this the Brian Lee who wrote songs with Lady Gaga or not? Unfortunately my detective skills are lacking today, but this looks like his FB page so we will link to that. I don't believe it is that same person, I think this is a different artist same name...anyways...
Thoughts on Cover:
Fun cover and even better video. The cover is fairly direct with added backing vocals and more instrumentation and the video is a great take on the Dylan style. a cool cover.