Friday, March 31, 2017

Full Show Friday: Grand Funk Railroad - In Concert 1972

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...Grand Funk Railroad (and Special Guest Freddie King)!.

Sometimes we pick bands for Full Show Friday that personally mean a lot to this site (see St. Patrick's Day).and some times we just randomly pick a show...This week is that roll of the dice! We know next to nothing about Grand Funk Railroad, way before out time, but when we found out the bass player was from ? and the Mysterians we wanted to check out a show of theirs.

Meah...This show is pretty straight ahead rock and roll with fast firm Detroit drumming. The video cuts in and out at times, but for 1972 the video and sound are almost perfect from this television capture.

The coolest part is the special guest Freddie King set smack dab in the middle of the show (starting around the twenty minute mark) and the interviews to end things. A bit a different show for us this week, but fear not =, next month we focus on acts playing NOLA Jazzfest this year.    

Enjoy:


Thursday, March 30, 2017

A Scorching Beatles Cover From Lucky Chops Brass Band

One of our favorite NYC based brass outfits put out a new single on their bandcamp page. It is a cover of The Beatles classic "Helter Skelter".
We have written about the band a few times before, seen them live a bunch and even interviewed them. The group seems to have some new members in it, but the band hasn't lost any of it's fire as this cover is damn good.

Next month we are going to showcase bands playing Jazzfest and we wish these fellas made the journey south to play the best festival in America. Thanks to Billy for sending this over.


Thanks to Billy for sending this over, oh and buy all of their digital music on the bandcamp site.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Album Review: KUHN FU - KUHNSPIRACY

KUHN FU
KUHNSPRIACY
*** out of *****

KUHN FU's newest release is the jazz/prog/rock/freak-out KUHNSPIRACY, 8 tracks of varying degrees of instrumental lunacy. The group is a four piece from various nations but came together in Groningen, Netherlands.

The group is divided up this way: Composer/guitarist Christian Kuhn is from Germany, the bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld is from Israel with Serbian drummer Lav Kovac and Turkish bassist Esat Ekincioglu rounding out the rhythm section. Multi-national and multi-cultural but together they strive to create some oddly engaging sounds, good music knows no borders. 

The art work leads you to believe things are gong to get eerie and that is the truth. The songs can change on a dime, from light and airy to dark and demented metal clangs, "Barry Lyndon" is a good example of this as you have no idea which way the song will be turning stanza to stanza. After a spoken word intro, the haunted house feeling of "Signore Django Cavolo" leaks out while closer also gets some vocal codes as "Eiger-Norwand" is an ode to the ill fated mountain climber Hans Schmidt.

A more nuanced and complete flowing track is that titled "Deus Ex Machina" which progress up and down the scales but with an execution and tempo that is thrilling yet controlled in the right way. Another winning effort is "Mono Industrial Post Depression" that is groovy and attacking in the right parts making for quite the journey. 

"Maharani" is a slow paced journey that gets a mid-song jolt of chaos while "Pelto Pekka is lead by the percussion and rhythmic beats. The opening track "Taubenfeld" is reminiscent of Les Claypool's recent lighter solo work as it lumbers to and fro with eccentric changes and spacey oddness.   

You can never get comfortable with any of the tracks and that is a good thing as this style of music is made to be radical and shifting under your feet. KUHNSPIRACY is not for the faint of heart, but adventurous music lovers may just get the right kick from their craziness. 
______________________________________________________________
Support the band, buy the album on bandcamp and peep some video below:

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Album Review: Craig Finn - We All Want The Same Thing

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


It is of Craig Finn's newest solo album We All Want The Same Things. We have never shied away from the fact that we love Finn, he is one of our favorite songwriters/lyricist's alive. He creates lyrics and songs that speak directly to our soul; no joke. 

This disk is an interesting one. Having seen him live a bunch it is safe to say I like almost all of his tracks when they are more stripped down, on this disk everything is souped up, sometimes in odd ways. 

Who knows where The Hold Steady goes, but we know we will be catching every Finn show/album/EP/B-Side that we can, he also recently did a Facebook live chat celebrating the release of the new album and other stuff which is kinda cool. 

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



Monday, March 27, 2017

Dylan Cover #269 Gotthard "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 cover by Gotthard 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 Gotthard before but they are a metal band from Switzerland.
Thoughts on Cover:
Well, this is the silliest cover we have tackled for this series so far. We did a month of Mountain covers in February, and this one fits in with those hard rock vocals. On the other hand it does prove the actual durability of Dylan's tunes. 

Friday, March 24, 2017

Full Show Friday: Joe Cocker 8/20/83 Loreley Germany

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...Joe Cocker.
Cocker had a very brief high point in his rock and white soul career. It is hard to argue that he blew onto the scene amazingly with his self titled album and Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Those two disks are amazing, credit should be given to Leon Russell for being a keen musical allies for those disks, but after that very little came from the Cocker world (besides a killer Belushi impression).

He was still a solid performer though and this show from 1983 is proof of that so sit back relax and enjoy:

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Fishbone & No Redeeming Social Value Live Tomorrow NYC

We normally do not promote upcoming shows here at RtBE but this one is special. Fishbone will be playing the Gramercy Theater tomorrow night
and our friends No Redeeming Social Value will be opening the show.
There are still some tickets available and some should be available at the door at show time. We are close with NRSV, especially Glen their drummer, and having been friends with him over 20 years now we know he idolizes the band and this is show is going to be one of the absolute highlights of his musical life. 

For those without personal connections it doesn't matter as NRSV is one of the best punk/hardcore bands playing today. Hopefully you know about Fishbone, if not you should, they are one of the most underrated bands of the last 30 years playing funk, rock, metal and more. For this show they are resurrecting their album Chim Chim's Bad Ass Revenge playing it in it's entirety (as well as their other hits). 

The show will rock the party, hope to see you at the Gramercy tomorrow night. Until then check some videos below:


Wednesday, March 22, 2017

New Bob Dylan Triple Album Out Next Week, New Tour Dates

The newest Bob Dylan album is due out in a few days, and it is a big one, his first triple album titled appropriately enough, Triplicate.
Like his last two records Dylan goes back to the great American songbook covering old time standards in his laid back current style with no new Dylan originals.

We have not been very high on the latest releases from Dylan as we find them fine, well just simply dull. This will probably me more of the same, but we may just have to grab the vinyl version of it.


More info on the release can be found on his site, and any album Bob puts out is a joy at this point. Same holds true for catching him live and tour dates have been announced:

1 APR 2017Stockholm, SwedenStockholm Waterfront
TICKETS VIP
2 APR 2017Stockholm, SwedenStockholm Waterfront
TICKETS VIP
4 APR 2017Oslo, NorwaySpektrum
TICKETS VIP
6 APR 2017Copenhagen, DenmarkOpera House
TICKETS VIP
7 APR 2017Copenhagen, DenmarkOpera House
TICKETS VIP
9 APR 2017Lund, SwedenSparbanken Skåne Arena
TICKETS VIP
11 APR 2017Hamburg, GermanyBarclaycard Arena
TICKETS VIP
12 APR 2017Lingen, GermanyEmslandhallen
TICKETS VIP
13 APR 2017Dusseldorf, GermanyMitsubishi Electric Halle
TICKETS VIP
16 APR 2017Amsterdam, NetherlandsHeineken Music Hall
TICKETS VIP
17 APR 2017Amsterdam, NetherlandsHeineken Music Hall
TICKETS VIP
18 APR 2017Amsterdam, NetherlandsHeineken Music Hall
TICKETS VIP
20 APR 2017Paris, FranceLe Zénith Paris
TICKETS VIP
21 APR 2017Paris, FranceLa Seine Musicale
TICKETS VIP
22 APR 2017Esch-sur-Alzette, LuxembourgRockhal
TICKETS VIP
24 APR 2017Antwerp, BelgiumLotto Arena
TICKETS VIP
25 APR 2017Frankfurt, GermanyFesthalle
TICKETS VIP
26 APR 2017Hannover, GermanySwiss Life Hall
TICKETS VIP
28 APR 2017London, EnglandLondon Palladium
TICKETS VIP
29 APR 2017London, EnglandLondon Palladium
TICKETS VIP
30 APR 2017London, EnglandLondon Palladium
TICKETS VIP
3 MAY 2017Cardiff, WalesMotorpoint Arena
TICKETS VIP
4 MAY 2017Bournemouth, EnglandBournemouth International Centre
TICKETS VIP
5 MAY 2017Nottingham, EnglandMotorpoint Arena
TICKETS VIP
7 MAY 2017Glasgow, ScotlandSECC Clyde Auditorium
TICKETS VIP
8 MAY 2017Liverpool, EnglandEcho Arena
TICKETS VIP
9 MAY 2017London, EnglandThe SSE Arena, Wembley
TICKETS VIP
11 MAY 2017Dublin, Ireland3Arena
TICKETS VIP
13 JUN 2017Port Chester, NYCapitol Theatre
ON SALE 3/24/17
14 JUN 2017Port Chester, NYCapitol Theatre
ON SALE 3/24/17
15 JUN 2017Port Chester, NYCapitol Theatre
ON SALE 3/24/17
17 JUN 2017Dover, DEFirefly Festival
TICKETS
18 JUN 2017Wallingford, CTToyota presents Oakdale Theatre
ON SALE 3/24/17
21 JUN 2017Providence, RIProvidence Performing Arts Center
ON SALE 3/24/17
24 JUN 2017Kingston, NYHutton Brickyard
ON SALE 3/25/17
25 JUN 2017Syracuse, NYLakeview Amphitheatre
ON SALE 3/24/17
27 JUN 2017Kingston, ONRogers K-Rock Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
29 JUN 2017Ottawa, ONRichcraft Live at the Canadian Tire Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
30 JUN 2017Montréal, QCCentre Bell
ON SALE 3/24/17
2 JUL 2017Barrie, ONMolson Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
4 JUL 2017Oshawa, ONTribute Communities Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
5 JUL 2017Toronto, ONAir Canada Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
6 JUL 2017London, ONBudweiser Gardens
ON SALE 3/24/17
12 JUL 2017Winnipeg, MBMTS Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
14 JUL 2017Saskatoon, SKSaskTel Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
15 JUL 2017Moose Jaw, SKMosaic Place
ON SALE 3/24/17
17 JUL 2017Calgary, ABSouthern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
ON SALE 3/24/17
18 JUL 2017Medicine Hat, ABCanalta Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
19 JUL 2017Edmonton, ABRogers Place
ON SALE 3/24/17
21 JUL 2017Dawson Creek, BCEncanta Events Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
22 JUL 2017Prince George, BCCN Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17
24 JUL 2017Kelowna, BCProspera Place
ON SALE 3/24/17
25 JUL 2017Vancouver, BCPepsi Live at Rogers Arena
ON SALE 3/24/17
27 JUL 2017Victoria, BCSave on Foods Memorial Centre
ON SALE 3/24/17

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Album Review: Valerie June -The Order Of Time

Valerie June
The Order Of Time
**** out of *****
On her second album, the Brooklyn based Valerie June confidently takes over these simple grounded songs with her incredibly unique voice, wide ranging musicality and self confidence; June is officially a force to be reckoned with.

Originally hailing from Tennessee, June keeps an earthy small town tone to all of these tracks. On her excellent full length debut Pushin' Against A Stone she had some big name producers inflicting a bit of their style, The Order Of Time has an easier rolling feeling that fits the multi-instrumentalist even snugger.

A good example is on fantastic opener "Long Lonely Road", this track instantly sets the tone, but if it had arrived on her last disk, Dan Auerbach may have pushed it into more fuzzed out rock territory. It's just fine the way it is (and would probably still sound great souped up) and whether it was the rural Vermont recording process of the sparse instrumentation, this album just feels like a better fit for June.

A simple snare and some banjo picking swirl with layers of her vocals for "Man Done Wrong" while "Shakedown" picks up the tempo and beat. June is chameleon like with music but ethereal with her voice, a gorgeous tracks like the soaring "The Front Door" and "Astral Plane" are dream like, contemplative and melancholy while "With You" has layers of strings and falsetto singing

"Slip Slide On By" is perfectly titled with a gorgeous gospel inspired build and "Love You Once Made" is an exhilarating showcase for June's soaring voice and stout song writing while "Just In Time" suffers from June's genre hopping style a bit trying to work in country/gospel/pop all into one track ending a touch disjointed compared to her other successes here.

All these are before "Got Soul" gets rhythm and dips into a touch of Country-Motown combining fiddles and banjos with B3 organs and horns into a soft yet groove filled dance album closing track.

If there is a detriment to the album it may be that even though June is completely comfortable in various musical styles, the tone of the record is pretty much one note, never rising or falling too far in any direction, but that can also be seen as a strength for a complete work of art. Valerie June has now come out with two real winners and here's hoping the next soars even higher.
________________________________________________________________
Very pumped this disk is so good. We loved her last album even putting it in the Top Ten for the year. This is different but just as solid. Support the artist, buy the album and peep some video below:


Monday, March 20, 2017

Dylan Cover #268 Patti Smith "Boots Of Spanish Leather"

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 Patti Smith of the Dylan tune "Boots Of Spanish Leather"
Thoughts On Original:
From the first time we highlighted someone covering this tune:
One of the first Dylan songs that really bowled me over. I know on the Times They Are a-Changin' there are a ton of epic songs but this was the track that stayed with me the longest. It is ghostly in it's presentation and still just as dynamic now as when he wrote it back in 1963. My favorite show I have seen Dylan play live was back in 1999 at the RPI Fieldhouse. The whole night was great, my favorite backing band of his since The Band, a tiny venue and a setlist that was magical. One of the major highlights was "Boots of Spanish Leather", I need to break out that bootleg this week and re-live that great night.
Cover

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Patti Smith blew us away when we caught her opening for Neil Young & Crazy Horse. In complete honesty we were never a fan before those performances (we caught her twice) and we were instantly turned on our ears as she is a genuine rock star.
Thoughts on Cover:
An excellent acoustic version with Lenny Kaye playing guitar and Smith singing emotionally in a live setting. Great cover 

RIP Chuck Berry

The world of popular music lost an icon, one of the largest of the last 60 years at least when Chuck Berry passed away on Saturday Night, he was 90.
If you want a full on write up about his life, as always check out the NYTimes as they nail it. We will talk more personally here at RtBE. We don't celebrate many birthdays here on the site, but we  celebrated Chuck's, John Lennon's quote says it all,
"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'." 
-- John Lennon

In recent years we have gotten more and more into 50's rock and roll music and Chuck is the man. While all musicians of that era are criminally under appreciated Berry (and Little Richard while we are at it) have always deserved more love. In my local watering hole on 29th St. Billymarks West we put Chuck in constant rotation as people of all ages, races and upbringing enjoy his tunes. It is odd, we don't feel like mourning much with Chuck's passing, we have more of a celebration feel as he has never really been far from our ears.

He wasn't perfect, no one is, and we never like it when someone passes away you only remember the good times; he was a complex individual. His issues with women, hidden cameras, and being an ass to play with run from criminal to jerk to creepy, but hot damn his music never gets old.

You can play "Johnny B. Goode" ten times in a row and still enjoy it when the eleventh pops up; for our money it's the best rock and roll song of all time. So rather then deal with words, lets just go with a part of Chuck that will never die, his music. Rest In Peace Mr. Berry.






Friday, March 17, 2017

Full Show Friday: Black 47 Live @ Connolly's NYE 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...Black 47.

While they are not playing this year, every time St. Paddy's rolls around we think of Black 47. They are the quintessential NYC Irish Band for our personal time in this town. Their album Live in NYC is a perfect testament to their live show when we were seeing them often all around the city; the minute it starts to roll we are transported back to 1997. 

Today's show is not up to that level in quality, but who cares? Some of the fun of Black 47 was the chaos and drunkenness that was displayed each and every show they ever played. So lets dive into it today with a New Years Eve show from a place our band actually played

Here is Black 47's NYE show from a few years back at Connolly's in NYC. Enjoy:
  

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Tomorrow Is St. Patrick's Day

It is one of the few holidays we cherish and one of the main reasons is the music. Having grown up with the holiday a big deal in our house we have a special (for RtBE) Full Show Friday on tap tomorrow but we want to add a more personal touch today.
Our band Angels & Vagabonds wrote a song that was directly influenced by all of the Irish music of our youth. The track is titled "Queens Boulevard Serenade" and it takes a Queen's, NY young punk mentality and fuses it with a Gaelic sound.

You can grab all of our music at bandcamp, stream us on Spotify or iTunes and listen to the Irish influenced song below:

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Album Review: Thundercat Drunk

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

It is of Thundercat's newest titled Drunk. It is a fun retro ride from the bassist/singer/song-writer. We don't have much more to say, so enjoy the album and peep some video below:

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Live Review: Soul Rebels Brass Band 3/4/17 Brooklyn Bowl, NYC

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

We have seen the group a bunch both up here in NYC and down south in NOLA at their home base of Le Bon Temps Roule, they are one of our favorite Brass acts. They can be polished or down and dirty from phrase to phrase. This evening the group was focusing on their love for hip-hop and highlighted a lot of Brooklyn's own.

It was one of our favorite times seeing them as things just clicked. It also got us very very excited for the upcoming Jazzfest. Support the band, catch them live and peep some live video of them below:





Monday, March 13, 2017

Dylan Cover #267 Dragontears "Masters of War"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Dragontears playing "Masters of War"
Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:
Ranking as one of his most accusatory and cutting tracks Dylan condemns the whole "war machine" on this classic and vital song (the "hope that you die" line is so facking cold, it is brutal). Often misrepresented as an attack on war itself (Dylan always said he wasn't a pacifist) this track calls out the government for using war-as-business (the Cold War in Particular) and business-as-war models when lives are put on the line for meaningless reasons. As alive and burning now as it was in 1962 when he wrote it.
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
A quick search finds that Dragontears are psychedelic rock group from Denmark. We have never heard of them before.
Thoughts on Cover:
A spacey guitar layering cover that is fine if a touch repetitive. There is certainly homage paid to the power of the lyrics and original vocals a bit of dreamy escapism with the guitars. 

Friday, March 10, 2017

Full Show Friday: Son House Live

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...Son House.
This week we go back to the blues, and some raw blues at that with truly amazing video from Son House playing slide guitar and singing from his soul. The other cool thing is just listening to him intro the songs and the stories behind them.

A good friend of mine has been loving the raw blues lately so Jeff this ones for you. Enjoy:

From the Youtube page: A classic clip of Son House performing; I have edited it to be shown in it's entirety. Watch and be amazed by the late, the great: Eddie James "Son" House!

Songs are:
"Death Letter Blues"
"John the Revelator"
"Preachin' the Blues"
"I Wanna Live so God Can Use Me"

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Rancid and Dropkick Murphy's Team Up For Summer Tour

Two older punk acts are teaming up for a cross country summer tour that will have lots of older punks reliving their youths. Rancid and Dropkick Murphy's are tag teaming for their co-headlining tour titled From Boston to Berkeley Tour which (obviously) will hit both bands home town.
The full run down of the tour is here and both bands will be coming back out for a combined encore each night, which is cool. We have liked and seen both bands in the past and may try to catch the Brooklyn Boardwalk show.

Until then here are some live videos of both bands with a full list of the tour dates below:







Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Album Review: Natalie Cressman - Traces EP

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
It is of Natalie Cressman newest EP titled Traces. Cressman is a young musician who first came onto the scene by playing trombone and singing behind Trey Anasatsio on his solo tours and occasionally behind Phish.

This EP has more of an indie/dance feel as opposed to some jamband playing she may be known for but her background is varied being trained in Jazz and more. Support the artist, buy the album or stream it on bandcamp or below and peep some video:





Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Album Review: Chicano Batman -Freedom Is Free

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
This one is a winner, it is one of our favorite records of this young year so far. The first single "Friendship (Is A Small Boat In A Storm)" is fantastic, we've been digging on it ever since we first heard it (thanks Lopez). The band is playing NYC later in the month and we hope to catch them then.

Nothing really more to add, except it does have some awesome album art. Support the band grab the album from bandcamp and peep some video below:

Monday, March 6, 2017

Dylan Cover #266 Pone Hill "Country Pie" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Pone Hill of "Country Pie"
Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:
Recorded for Nashville Skyline "Country Pie" is a tasty little treat that doesn't leave you too fat after consuming it. The free-wheeling sense that accompanies it is simply charming, almost a kid song that I could see parents singing to children it has a whimsical air that elevates it up above simple throw away tune. It was certainly a surprise to hear it live, the 2000 tour was the only time he broke it out in his career.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
The group has a few cool covers on youtube, but can't find much more on them doing a basic search. Here is some more info taken from their youtube page: 
PONE HILL - live in the studio during the 70s. The band did NO overdubs and laid down several tracks. This one is called COUNTRY PIE, and was the band's take on the Bob Dylan song from his Nashville Skyline release. Audiences loved the rowdy country rock that the band performed, and they built a steady following during the years they played together. Members on this recording include Mike Reznor on guitar and lead vocals, Neal Hanna on lead guitar and vocals and George Stabile and Raeman Hanna laying down the bottom end on drums and bass guitar respectively. (They also provide vocals to the track.)
Thoughts on Cover:
This is a freewheeling cover that is a ton of fun, a touch country, a touch rock. I dig the almost fade out to come back in and boogie-woogie. "Live in the studio" is a good way to go at it and this cover is a fun way to kick off our March month in this series. 

Friday, March 3, 2017

Full Show Friday: Crosby Stills & Nash 1991

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...Crosby Stills & Nash.
We are going to 1991 today for an acoustic show from Crosby Stills & Nash. This was a tribute show to the recently departed Bill Graham and the trio are reunited. While not perfect it is a fun show that lets the trio go trough their classics and it keeps Neil Young off the stage that allows the these players to shine. 

We always felt once Uncle Neil got involved this band lost its way as he is such a large talent. We like both entities better on their own, so here we go, Enjoy:

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Album Review: Loose Buttons - Sundays EP

Loose Buttons
Sundays EP
*** out of *****
The New York based four piece Loose Buttons just released their latest EP Sundays and it is instantly ear catching for numerous reasons.

The group (Eric Nizgretsky, Zack Kantor, Manny Silverstein, Adam Holtzberg) take a sunny indie pop vibe and give it twists of 80's new wave, shoegaze power, and hip swinging radio friendly English soul. The four tracks presented here all run fairly long for indie rock, pushing the five minute mark and usually run through a variety of those genres.

Opening with "Tales Of What I'm Used To" there is a bass led march that rumbles around shimmering guitars. The group has an instant touch point; they sound like a less punk/softer version of the Arctic Monkeys. While that musicality/song-writing is a good thing, lead singer Nizgretsky sounds so much like Alex Turner it oddly throws some songs out of context. "Between Brick Walls" is a clear example of this, sounding like an outtake from the Monkeys circa Suck It And See or a Last Shadows Puppet number.

All those similarities can be a plus or a minus depending on your point of view (we love the Monkeys/L.S.P's) but also can feel derivative. Loose Buttons stretch out their sound on the best song here, "Am I The Only Reason?". The track starts with ethereal vocals that swirl before melting into a pretty breakup number, however that is just the start as they musically turn up the aggression with a sonic assault and blistering closing rave up; a real winner of a track.

The final number is another powerful one with a focus on strong drumming as the band pushes onward and upward for "Milk & Roses". Sundays is a very intriguing release from these talented New Yorker's and certainly a group to keep an eye on.
______________________________________________________________
Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below:

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Live Review: Japandroids & Craig Finn 2/23/17 Terminal 5

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
It is of two RtBE Favorites together on stage at Terminal 5 in NYC. Craig Finn opened for the Japandroids on a gorgeous night in town. While we do love both of these acts, we don't think their most recent releases are the best in their respective careers. We reviewed the Japandroids newest and Finn's will be arriving shortly on Glide. 

That said, how can you not have a good time with friends and family when these guys are on the stage?!?! Finn is our favorite lyricist this side of Dylan and Japandroids play rock and roll that makes you feel alive. 

Support both bands, buy all their albums and peep some video below: