For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.
Today we highlight: Christina Aguilera - Ladyland Festival 2021
Tonight is the 2021 Christina Aguilera - Ladyland Festival 2021. To get in the mood here is a tune from Ms. Aguilera herself:
Jonathon Long has been playing the blues his whole life and while road weary and already a Blues Award winner, he is still learning new tricks as his writing evolves and takes the front seat over his blistering guitar playing for his newest release Parables of a Southern Man.
The long running twelve song effort can draw comparisons to early Jason Isbell and Warren Haynes, two artists Long is clearly aspiring towards as Long lets his words and singing take over where his prodigy like playing had on past efforts.
A wide stylistic net is cast with roadhouse swagger, gospel reverence, country rambles and at the heart of all of it is the blues. Perhaps most surprisingly is the cleaned up tone and sound on the album as Long seems to be shooting for a mid 80's Robert Cray clarity and texture.
That vibe can be clearly heard tracks like the slick "Landline", the cleaned up to almost pop levels "All I Need" and "My Kind of Crazy" which could be played over the finale of a romantic comedy. Even the boogie ready "My Kind Of Woman" which starts out seemingly in a back woods ZZ Top fashion, pulls back and shoots for the middle of the road with the fuzzy rough edges cut off and the tone slicked back.
While the blues will always be there for Long, the new style of songwriting is intriguing, rarely does he dip into cliches with his lyrics, however that can lead to a few clunky exchanges. Opener "Madison Square Garden" is a great example, delivering his large hopes and dreams to the masses with a cool take on things around bright guitar lines and vibrant piano work; here's hoping he sings it there one day.
The dynamite guitar work in "The Ride" outweighs the slower singer songwriter "Pain" while "Savior's Face" is his best lyric, holding up the hypocrisy of some worshipers with relevance and gospel fueled power. Long has made a clear tonal shift to more mainstream polished success on Parables of a Southern Man hopefully opening doors to a wider audience.
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 Dayne Rothbletz playing "Lay Lady Lay"
Thoughts on Original: From the first time we addressed a cover of this tune: Excellent track and the first time the world heard Dylan's new singing style, which would only last forNashville Skyline. This song is the standout track from this album, it is a classic and so simple, yet sweet and timeless. One of Dylan's best tracks, this phase was the the closest to "country" he ever got and "Lay Lady Lay" is an overall fantastic piece of music.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: This is RtBE's first time hearing Rothbletz.
Thoughts on Cover: Rothbletz tries out two singing styles, a "normal" and an interruption of Dylan's vocal performance he broke out for Nashville Skyline only. Very few artists in this series go to these lengths to mimic his sound from this era. Certainly a unique version of this tune.
For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.
Today we highlight: Phish - Clifford Ball Dinner and a Movie
To raise money for Meals on Wheels and celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Clifford Ball, Phish is hosting a special two night Dinner and a Movie event:
For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.
For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.
Today we highlight: Phish - Clifford Ball Dinner and a Movie
To raise money for Meals on Wheels and celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Clifford Ball, Phish is hosting a special two night Dinner and a Movie event:
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...Watain!
It is upon us! BLACK Friday! In a tradition we started a few years ago it is time for the most evil Black Metal ever; because really it is the perfect soundtrack if you are hitting the brutality of shopping on this day. Granted we here at RtBE are not fans of the genre (or shopping) but have researched a few bands after enjoying the documentary Until The Light Takes Us.
Today we broadcast straight from the depths of hell with the Swedish black metal band Watain. The show is from their Bloodstock 2018 performance giving RtBE our yearly dose of the black metal; get out there and kill for Capitalism!!!
Pro shot, pro sound, full set list below. Enjoy!....or BURN!
It is of Dinosaur Jr's live set from 11/20/21 at Brooklyn Steel.
One of RtBE's Personal Favorites, Dino just keeps rumbling and sounding great. I must have wrote "heavy" in my notes of the show nine times, they were loud and proud on Saturday.
Since it is a holiday here in the USA, also make sure to enjoy your time with loved ones and family. As a famous man once said, "Enjoy Every Sandwich"...especially the leftover turkey, mashed potato, stuffing and gravy ones on potato rolls...
The last few years we have thrown it back to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades of the past and this years no different.
Here is the 1997 Thanksgiving Day Parade, now go get stuffed!
For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.
Today we highlight: The Iguana's.
The Instagram post earlier today from The Iguana's says it all:
The debut self titled album from Carl 'Buffalo' Nichols is a excellent collection of warm, welcoming blues numbers that combine his acoustic guitar playing and inviting voice.
There is a strong confidence to the singer-songwriters first full length and while he is not reinventing the wheel with his straight forward acoustic blues, there is a polish and poise to the sound delivered on this self titled release. Born in Houston, TX raised in Milwaukee, WI, and now a part of the Austin, TX blues scene, the well traveled artist uses those searching feelings on the smooth opener "Lost & Lonesome". The introductory track showcases the strengths of Nichols with fluid playing and radio friendly vocals.
His commitment to the blues art form flows through "Living Hell" and "Sick Bed Blues", while his sound may be more clean than other blues artists, the singer songwriter in him proves these sufferings were lived through and honest. The best offering on the record is "These Things" which combines violin string pulls, picking acoustic guitars and Nichols pretty singing into a winning combination.
The juxtaposition of the full out love song "How To Love" with his direct protest pain ridden "Another Man" proves that Nichols songwriting chops run the gamut. "Another Man" in particular is bursting with pain about violence and the murdering of black people in America at the hands of police in straight ahead raw/effective fashion.
The album ends with some light electric guitar based blues as the celebratory "Back On Top" sees a brighter future while album closer "Sorry It Was You" using shuffling drums and swelling guitar lines to push the blues forward before a sweet fuzzy solo winds its way through the brokenhearted proceedings.
The first solo blues artist Fat Possum has signed in over twenty years is different from the raw hill country sound blues fans are used to from the label as Buffalo Nichols smooth, polished instrumentals and comforting vocals are primed to for larger things as this singer songwriter will surely grow from this strong debut.
It is of Bob Dylan's live show on Friday night 11/19/21 at the Beacon Theater in NYC.
RtBE are huge Dylan fans and the last few pre-pandemic concerts of his we caught were some of the best we ever saw. That said, this show was focused on Rough and Rowdy Ways and that is not our favorite release of his hence this wasn't our favorite show, but it is Bob and there are always a few great moments.
Support the artist, see him live, read the review and listen to a bootleg of the show below:
This album was clearly coming for Deafheaven, but the bands breaking up with the metal scene unfortunately doesn't return topnotch results.
The San Francisco based metal band has been moving towards a straight rock record as they progress but Infinite Granite not only scales back George Clark's piercing screams to dour straight ahead singing, it also zaps all the energy from the band gone are the power drums and soaring climaxes and what's left in their wake moody almost dream pop record.
If someone finds this album without hearing the bands past work, they would be stunned the first time Sunbather or Bermuda roles out. The group have morphed into more alt-rock territory without the catchy hooks, yet when certain riffs from Kerry McCoy cut through the gloom with exciting tone. Ordinary Corrupt Human Love was the transition, now the new Deafheaven has arrived.
Opener "Shellstar" uses soft indie rock to start building to a finale while "In Blur" amps the ringing six strings and heavy drums but ends up feeling weighed down and depressed. There is a sense of Joy Division and Morrissey influences throughout the album and "Great Mass of Color" revels in that with ooh and ahhs around well recorded bass.
The best of the bunch is the layered "Lament For Wasps" as the band lets the song roll out and breath around different metallic like sounds. Both "Other Language" and "Villain" use dance ready beats for dark night clubs, but while "Other Language" lavishes in shiny riffs, "Villain" tacks on a metal screaming ending from their past and it feels forced among all of the other changes which lead to the newly acquired light shoegaze sounds.
On their fifth studio album Infinite Granite, Deafheaven has morphed into a completely different band with tepid results. The ex-metal group are leaving blast beats and lacerating screams behind, forging their own path and are fearless in making the music that suites them at the moment.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by The Lumineers playing "Subterranean Homesick Blues".
One of the most iconic songs from Dylan's most famous period and a very early showing of how powerful a music video could be. Dylan nods to beat poetry, current events, Chuck Berry's "No More Monkey Business", paranoia, and the Vietnam War all in around two minutes of linked lyrics over one of his earliest electric recordings. There is also the sly sense of humor which Dylan never gets enough credit for, while raging against the proverbial machine. A classic '60's tune in all respects and one non-Dylan fans usually love as well.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Wrote about them when we covered a different Dylan cover of theirs for this series.
Thoughts on Cover:
This is an interesting cover as the lyrics are sped through then things drop down for the breaks. Not our favorite cover in this series, but a different guest heavy percussive based take on the old tune.
For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.
Today we highlight: The Slip - Live from Relix Studios
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...Eels!
This week we focus on Eels show from Pukkelpop from 2019. A cool set with lots of covers tossed in. Pro shot, Pro sound, full setlist below. Enjoy!
1:15 Out in the Street (The Who cover)4:00 Raspberry Beret (Prince cover)7:41 Bone Dry11:04 Flyswatter14:04 Dog Faced Boy18:29 That Look You Give That Guy24:07 Prizefighter27:12 My Beloved Monster31:46 Little Joe!33:28 Today Is the Day36:27 Novocaine for the Soul40:27 Souljacker, Part I45:27 I Like Birds47:47 Fresh Blood Fresh Blood53:40 Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson cover)58:07 The End (The Beatles cover)
For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.
Today we highlight: NOLAxNOLA ‘21: “Show Your Love! A Virtual Celebration Of New Orleans”
A celebration of a great town with great music goes down the 19th and 20th this weekend:
