We are now heading into the new normal with live music during the Covid-19 era. Live shows will need to be flexible and live streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are (hopefully) improving on the pandemic front but live streams will be an option for artists during 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 check out our 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: Trampled By Turtles @ The Ryman Auditorium
The first of two great shows streaming form The Ryman Auditorium this weekend as the folk/bluegrass outfit Trampled By Turtles get it started tonight. RtBE have dug them in the past and this should be a fun night as the band plays this famous hall.
You can watch it over on Mandolin and peep some video below to get in the mood for the show:
Canadian bedroom pop artist Keeper E has released her newest single "I Can Do It" ahead of her EP thank u and please and don't go, out on May 6th.
Keeper E has this to say about this particular song:
“this song expresses a deep frustration with the patriarchy. I believe that mansplaining is a way for men to hold power over women and non-binary people, by making things seem more complicated than they really are. By doing this, we can start to believe that certain things really would be hard to learn and hard to start doing, when in reality, men are just trying to hold onto their power (consciously or subconsciously) and convince themselves that they are smarter and more capable than women and non-binary people.
This song is about claiming our own power and acknowledging that we are human, and we make mistakes, and can’t do everything right, but we still deserve to be treated equally to men and not have things over-explained and dumbed down. This song is all about empowerment and equality.”
You can stream the festival through their website. This is one of the best radio channels in the country, so you should pop in and stream regularly, but these next two weekends are a must if you can't be at the Fairgrounds.
RtBE will be down very soon and we can not wait, we will be checking out this stream to tide us over, you should do the same. Peep a few videos of acts playing this weekend:
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...Little Freddie King!
Every April (and first week in May) we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Little Freddie Kingwho will be playing Today!
It has arrived! Today starts the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival at the Fairgrounds. Playing later today is living blues legend Little Freddie King. To celebrate, check out his set from the 2020 Virtual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival below to get pumped. Also tune into WWOZ later today to catch live music from the Fairgrounds!
There are many cool things that go on during summer in the City, but SummerStage is near the top of that list. They have announced their lineup and there are a few RtBE favorites gracing the stage.
Timeout has a run down plus links to BRIC shows, but a few of our favorites like the insane Trombone Shorty show on June 13th and George Clintonon June 15th make for a hell of a funky week of tunes in Central Park.
To get in the mood here is some music from Clinton from the last time he played SummerStage which we saw and reviewed:
It is of the recent live show on 4/23/2022 at Elsewhere in Bushwick Brooklyn, NY. Hell of a live music Saturday as I caught the afternoon gig in the park and this show in Brooklyn after. It was fun chatting with Corey from Von Mos after their set and The Mummies are something to behold as they deliver their insane garage rock.
Support the bands, read the review and peep some video below:
Titling an album can be a tricky thing, do you name it after the hopeful hit single, a lyric from the most affecting track, or something punny? In the case of Joe Marcinek newest release the title was obvious, Solo Guitar, because that is exactly what you get from the Chicago based guitarist this go around.
Nothing earth shattering on this collection of instrumental jazz focused numbers, just direct playing with grace as Marcinek recorded the tunes at his home with just his guitar, microphone and amp. Opener "Walking In Circles" sets the tone with lazy afternoon, jazzy guitar strums and that feeling seeps into all of the following efforts.
"Beyond Words" shows off a bit of dexterous picking while the contemplative lines of the "The Middle Way" delivers a sense of melancholy to the listener. "Reclaimed" is an album highlight with haunting guitar phrases while the bluesy "Looking for You" would come alive more with a full band. The bright "Lost in A Moment" has a Trey Anastasio ballad like feel while a gorgeous take of "Wonderful World" wraps up the light rolling record on a very positive note.
The album feels as if it was a Covid lockdown one off, constructed in confined circumstances as Marcinek usually plays with a full band, but if he chooses to move in a more restrained direction in the future, Solo Guitar is a strong start.
It is of Saturday's live show on 4/23/2022 in Tompkins Square Park of NYHC legends Madball, Murphy's Law, Burn, Cro-Mags, Wisdom In Chains and The Capturers.
A replay (with the great Burn added) from last years fest, it was a hell of an afternoon of heavy tunes put on by BnB.
Marcus King has a new album recorded and ready to be released in August.
The album, titled Young Blood, was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and the first single "Hard Working Man" is out now. It is a '70's inspired slice of booging Southern Rock.
Jack White brought his Supply Chain Issues Tour to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday night as the blue haired, bluesman fired off distorted riffs and strutted around the stage with fierce confidence.
However, before White took the stage, a reunited Be Your Own Pet opened the show with their clanging punk rock as the band has returned after a 14 year hiatus to play a few shows on this tour. Front woman Jemina Pearl propelled herself around the stage as Jonas Stein blasted out guitar lines like a young Pete Townshend on the raucous “The Kelly Affair”. Nathan Vasquez on bass and John Eatherly on drums laid down the rhythm for upbeat numbers ending their opening slot with the angular “Bunk Trunk Skunk” and raging “Bicycle Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle”.
White and band (Daru Jones – drums, Dominic Davis – bass, Quincy McCrary – keys) started their set behind a curtain, playing like a velvet blue Wizard of Oz, as they cranked out new rippers “Taking Me Back” and the wah-wah drenched “Fear of the Dawn”. The curtain slowly rose to reveal the band in front of a super high-tech lighting/video screen set up that dazzled throughout the night. The headbanging rock of White Stripes classics “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” and “I Think I Smell A Rat” had the crowd bobbing up and down; while the Barclays Center was far from sold out, the fans in attendance were loud in support of the artists on stage.
An early set highlight was “You Don’t Understand Me” as White moved his talents to the piano weaving around the tune and singing with passion as Davis and McCrary provided background vocals. The newly married White went deep on the subject love as he covered U2’s “Love is Blindness” with power and sang “Love Interruption” with yearning before a brilliantly delivered, acoustic led, “The Same Boy You’ve Always Known”.
The electro funk got amplified for “Lazaretto” while White’s loud blues pumped throughout the “Cannon” > “Give Me Back My Wig” > “Catch Hell Blues” > “Cannon” segue, shining brightest with ferocious slide playing during “Catch Hell Blues”. The set ended with a thundering “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” as Jones punched the drums, leaving the stage in darkness before returning for a five song encore which hit the peak with a crowd aided “Steady As She Goes” and one of the best arena rock songs of all time “Seven Nation Army”.
White is one of the few guitar slinging rock stars on the scene today and this tour is solidifying his standing as the quartet blazed through new and old efforts with feral sense of vitality.
The jazz nine piece KUHN FU IX are releasing a new single "Tantalos".
From the band (Christian Kühn - guitar Kelly O'Donohue - trumpet Edith Steyer - alt sax, clarinet John Dikeman - tenor sax Jason Liebert - trombone Ziv Taubenfeld - bass clarinet Sofia Salvo - baritone sax Esat Ekincioglu - bass George Hadow - drums) themselves:
Tantalos is generally associated with pain and desperation - but is his story not also a perfect metaphor for every dedicated musician's aspiration to finding the perfect composition, the perfect ensemble. the perfect moment where everything comes together and magic occurs? This is our first attempt as Large Ensemble, many still ahead, we hope, and yes, there was a lot of labor and dedication - but nothing that felt like pain or desperation. On the contrary: Call us masochists, but like almost every moment of our ten years of band history, be it on sometimes exhausting tours through half of the known world (and sometimes beyond), marathon rehearsal sessions or before surprise audiences from a dozen to thousands of listeners, we genuinely loved the strain that came with bringing this line-up together and feeding it with music that still is KUHN FU, while tapping the full potential of nine very fine and very individual musicians.
Yes, the tempting fruits of musical magic were floating around us, and we may not have reached all of them - but we do hope that on this track you'll find at least some of the magic we all were after. And we definitely had one advantage over the mythological Tantalos: We were not deprived of the liquid that we were craving for... We hope you enjoy what you are going to listen to - may it make you feel less like Tantalos himself, but rather like the readers of Homer's Odyssey: entertained, enriched and enthralled.
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 Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires playing "The Man In Me"
Every April (and first week of May) we have a special focus in our ongoing Monday Bob Dylan Cover Series on artists who will be playing Jazzfest in New Orleans. Today we highlight, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit who play the best festival in America on Saturday April 30th.
Thoughts on Original: Almost a forgotten throw away track from Bob, which proves how great he really is, this peach of a song originally appeared on New Morning. The famous La-la-la's are so unlike Bob it instantly stands out as unique in his back catalog. "The Man In Me" is playful, loving, sincere yet deceptive. It took on an added life after showing up in the cult classic The Big Lebowski and now has a whole new generation digging its quirky sounds.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
RtBE are big fans of Isbell, Shires and the Whole 400 Unit having seen them, reviewed them, and written about them a bunch.
Thoughts on Cover:
Fantastic, like most music Isbell and Shires touch. A little more gravity than Dylan's original, but the duet is a gem on every level, from Jason's vocals to shires violin, A+ stuff.
We are now heading into the new normal with live music during the Covid-19 era. Live shows will need to be flexible and live streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are (hopefully) improving on the pandemic front but live streams will be an option for artists during 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 check out our 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: Easy Star All-Stars - Live from Washington D.C.
The reggae grooves emanate from the nations capital today as the Easy Star All-Stars play and live stream their show from The Hamilton.
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...Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band!
Every April (and first week in May) we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band!who will be playing Friday May 6th.
The zydeco is flowing this week Chubby and the band let loose during a live stream from last fall which was presented by the Nola Jazz Museum. One of the reasons Jazzfest is so great is the local artists who populate the smaller stages. Hopefully you can make it down this year, but if not, here is some Louisiana flavor.
We are now heading into the new normal with live music during the Covid-19 era. Live shows will need to be flexible and live streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are (hopefully) improving on the pandemic front but live streams will be an option for artists during 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 check out our weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always, please support the artists any which way you can.
The opening night of the jamband legends Madison Square Garden, New Years Eve Residency saw Phish....Oh wait, this is April?!? Omicron postponed the events that were supposed to happen in the winter, leading up to the New Year, until the spring. Phish opened its 'New Years Run' on Wednesday 4/20 at MSG under rising Covid rates yet again in NYC. Hopefully the residency won't turn into a super spreader event as fans from all over descended on the Mecca.
Some extended venue stands from the band will kick open the door and it felt that way with a rocking "Carini>Possum" opener, but the quartet (Trey Anastasio - Guitar, Mike Gordon - Bass, Page McConnell Keys, Jon Fishman - Drums) seemed to just be getting their feet wet in their favorite arena as opposed to blowing it out. The first set was awkward overall as "Moma Dance" went spacey instead of funky and "Leaves" dulled the bright lights of the city.
First set highlights were a relaxed "Strange Design" and a strong "Stash" while the second set felt the same, a touch clunky, as the band was working up to their 4 night run with a slow burn. "Sigma Oasis" and "Down With Disease" never took flight as the band ebbed and flowed around the extended workouts.
The best parts of the second set were in "Twist" where the band moved away from the songs structure towards a more fluid jam and the end of "Reba" where the quartet locked in and sounded the best they would all night.
Closer "Drift While Your Sleeping" wasn't the exultation that it could have been as the band is saving some of their biggest songs for the shows to come. A duel encore of the bass heavy "Gumbo" and the sleek "Slave To The Traffic Light" wrapped up the night on an old school vibe as fans were happy to begin this four night run from one of the best live bands going.
The brothers Crowe have announced a new EP as The Black Crowes release 1972 via Amazon Music.
The cover EP focuses on songs released in the year of its title and it was recorded in January at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles.
“The year 1972 was a watershed moment, some of the greatest rock and roll songs ever made came out of that year. To get our band back together in the studio, it had to be a celebration of rock and roll,” said The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson. “This record is about love and devotion to something that makes us feel good. We hope that it makes fans around the world feel the same.”
1972 Track List: “Rocks Off” (The Rolling Stones) “The Slider” (T-Rex) “You Wear It Well” (Rod Stewart) “Easy To Slip” (Little Feat) “Moonage Daydream” (David Bowie) “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (The Temptations)
On the newest full length effort Sticking With It, the seven piece Seattle based band The Dip deliver a slice of retro R&B and soul with confidence. They recall the legends in the field like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett as well as modern contemporaries like Lee Fields and The Expressions and Durand Jones & The Indications.
The band (Tom Eddy lead vocals, guitar, Jacob Lundgren guitar, trumpeter Brennan Carter, bassist Mark Hunter, tenor and baritone sax players Levi Gillis and Evan Smith, and drummer Jarred Katz) take their name and inspiration from The Dap Kings, but on Sticking With It, the band delivers more vocal based songs as opposed to instrumentals (minus the smooth as silk "Yellowfinger"), with Eddy really shining from the start.
"Paddle To The Stars" is a dynamite opener with Eddy channeling Redding and delivering a affecting number. The group keeps the tracks tight with "Sleep On It" funneling smooth horn lines and B3 sound before the smacking snare, crisp brass and guitar lines on the poppy "When You Lose Someone". The soul rises on the first single "Real Contender" as the band slinks and slides around Eddy's vocals with grace and aplomb.
When the band keeps the energy high, such as the pumping "Vacation" which presents a blazing guitar solo and the skittering drums of the upbeat pleading of "Apollonia" the band is in the pocket. It is when it slows it down for the torch songs like "Anyway" and "Eye to Eye" where things can drag a bit. The backing female vocals help out those numbers but the band clicks into gear when the tempo picks up.
The group is not stuck in the past as they tackle some modern issues while delivering their retro R&B. "Crickets" lyrically deals with the ravages of climate change and societies response while closer "Forget About It" (complete with killer drum break) gives voice to the financial struggles of the 99%.
Sticking With It is a solid album top to bottom as The Dip are poised to rise higher as they tour behind it. The Dip have stuck themselves to a very sweet spot of soulful sounds on Sticking With It.
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 Death Cab for Cutie playing "She Belongs To Me"
Every April (and first week of May) we have a special focus in our ongoing Monday Bob Dylan Cover Series on artists who will be playing Jazzfest in New Orleans. Today we highlight, Death Cab for Cutiewho play the best festival in America on Friday April 29th.
Thoughts on Original: The first song in this series was a different cover of this track, here is what I wrote about it then and still feel the same way: This is a gem of a song, a twisted tale that entwines beauty and deceit, darkness and sparkling Egyptian Red Rings. One of Dylan's best in it's mystery, elusiveness and bitter biting undertones; really pure Dylan and one of his all time classics. Loved it when I first heard it, still love it today.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: Death Cab for Cutie are a band we have missed over the years and don't really have an opinion on them one way or another.
Thoughts on Cover:
This is a fun upbeat, predominantly acoustic take that has a lot of energy and got the crowd to take notice of the lyrics, which were done very well. Overall, nice speedy work from the band live from the Beacon Theater in NYC back in 2012.
Last week we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Sleater-Kinney's breakthrough album Dig Me Out. Now it is announced that a host of artists will be contributing to a benefit tribute album.
The artists covering tracks from the classic record include: Courtney Barnett, St. Vincent, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, The Linda Lindas, Margo Price, Low, Tunde Adebimpe, Wilco, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Big Joanie, Self Esteem, and Tyler Cole.
The album will benefit a local LGBTQIA+ Youth Center in Seattle. While the track listing hasn't been released, as to who will be covering what song, it is sure to be exciting with all of those talented people onboard.
Here is an original track to get hyped for this tribute:
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...Bombino!
Every April (and first week in May) we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Bombino who will be playing Friday April 29th.
The Nigerien Tuareg singer/guitarist has long been a favorite at RtBE. We have caught him live and ranked his 2016 album Azel in our top 50 of the past decade. He will surely put on a hell of a set down in Jazzfest this year.
One of RtBE's favorite bands are releasing a new album in June as the Drive-By Truckersdeliver Welcome 2 Club XIII.
The album is a homage to the venue where main truckers Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley started their career in the band Adam's House Cat. RtBE loved both of their last two albums they recently released, ranking both high in our 2020 year end review.
The new one features background vocals from Margo Price, Schaefer Llana, and R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and as big fans RtBE are really looking forward to this album. Here is a video preview:
When it comes to most band's practice tapes, they should be discarded as soon as they are no longer needed, however Sonic Youth's jams can always be examined for interesting sounds. In/Out/In is billed as a "compilation album of five songs recorded between 200 and 2010" but really these feel like practice sessions, song sketches and experiments that never proceeded to complete songs for release.
And that is OK. Sonic Youth perhaps more than any jamband, uses the studio to talk musically to each other, structuring "jams" into "songs" with weird tunings, styles and freak-outs.
The opening "Basement Contender" sounds as if it was recorded during the Murray Street era of the group as the beautiful guitar tones and blissful jams float out around the soft drum rolls. Drummer Steve Shelley is the clear MVP on this release as the questioning interplay of the strings needs a foundation to coalesce around and Shelley provides it expertly on all of these efforts.
"In & Out" uses breathy holding vocals from Kim Gordon but doesn't really go anywhere with the droning despite Shelley's upbeat drums. The growly rock and roll of Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore's guitars push "Machine" but it never rises up to the high levels of the band's 2000's strong output, while "Social Static" is just that, experimental feedback that dulls over the almost twelve minute run time.
The album wraps up with the best track here, "Out & In". The ominous meddling rock tone set by Moore and Ranaldo around warbling guitars starts hot with distortion as boiling tension climbs then drops back down in to the muck. Picking right back up, the guitars fluctuate with a bass bumping finale on a track that could run on infinitely in classic SY style.
In/Out/In will not create new fans, and isn't even a truly major release, (the band's periodic live show releases on bandcamp are much more fulfilling) but for longtime fans (RtBE firmly included) any time spent with one of the most underrated bands in history is time well spent.
The Doug Martsch based band Built To Spill just announced they will be releasing their newest full length album titled When the Wind Forgets Your Name.
This will be BTS ninth album but their first to be released on Sub Pop records. Martsch has been the only consistent member of the band and for this go around it certainly is going to be different. He produced the album and recordedit with Le Almeida and João Casaes of Brazilian psychedelic jazz rock band, Oruã. From Martsch:
“We rehearsed at their studio in downtown Rio de Janeiro and I loved everything about it. They had old crappy gear. The walls were covered with xeroxed fliers. They smoked tons of weed."
The first single is "Gonna Lose" and you can check it out below. Pre order the album which is out in September.
While we weren't fans of Pure Comedy, we dug seeing him live in Brooklyn. His newest is a lush, sweet sounding affair. The music is amazing and outshines Misty's lyrics for the first time on any of his releases. Definitely a mood trip of an album, if you are looking for some retro jazz orchestra sounds with sides of sarcasm, honesty and world atrocities check it out.
The Memphis born electric blues harmonica player and bandleader Charlie Musselwhite is releasing his newest album Mississippi Son on June 3rd via Alligator Records.
You can preorder the album now and check out an older version of "Blues Up The River" which he will be releasing on this album.
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 Lukas Nelson & POTR playing "Meet Me In The Morning"
Every April (and first week of May) we have a special focus in our ongoing Monday Bob Dylan Cover Series on artists who will be playing Jazzfest in New Orleans. Today we highlight, Lukas Nelson & POTR who play the best festival in America on Sunday May 8th.
Thoughts on Original: A swaggering track that rose out of the ashes of "Call Letter Blues" (which was later released on The Bootleg Series Volume 1-3) "Meet Me In The Morning" is a shot of blues after the blissfully mournful "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" as it kicks off side two of the famous Blood On The Tracks. The song is one of the ones Dylan recorded in NYC for Blood on the Tracks and it pulses with the city's energy. A cool note about this straight ahead song (which is tailored made for covering) is that Jack White is a big fan, playing it at times at his shows and got Dylan to perform it for the only time ever on 9/19/07 in Nashville, TN.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: We have seen Promise of the Real back up Neil Young live, featured them in our Full Show Friday's and reviewed them as well. A solid classic rock sounding, modern day band.
Thoughts on Cover:
A relaxed walk through by the band, fairly straight ahead with a fun slide guitar solo and passionate singing from Nelson, with a lyric change to end. Stout if not too adventurous or fiery, as Nelson says "That's kinda OK!".
One of the late 90's best rock albums turns 25 today as Sleater-Kinney'sDig Me Out was released on April 8th 1997.
RtBE are huge fans of SK and Dig Me Out is a big reason why. It is the first album Janet Weiss played drums on, joining Corinne Tucker and Carrie Brownstein to form one of the best trios in rock history. Their run together, up until 2019's The Center Won't Hold, produced classic album on top of classic album, but few (if any) top this gem.
From the ripping title track opening to the "Jenny" closing, the album was a breakout for the band as Brownstein's and Tucker's wails on guitar and vocals snaked into and around each other with each yell or riff. Weiss laid down the foundation that allowed the guitars to soar while also keeping things grounded and visceral.
While times have changed on some fronts it is still rare for full female bands to grab the ears of rock fans. Actually, back in the 90's it was more prevalent than it is today, which is sad. It is good that SK is still at it though and evolving with the times.
A great rock album from start to finish and the one that really put SK the map. On it's 25th anniversary give Dig Me Out a spin and play it loud. Here are a few tracks to get you started:
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...Germaine Bazzle!
Every April (and first week in May) we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Germaine Bazzlewho will be playing Saturday April 30th.
Here is a set from the legendary Germaine Bazzle from WWOZ. Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Enjoy!
It is of Jack White's newest album Fear of the Dawn.
It is no secret RtBE are super fans of Mr. White and eat up everything he does. Sometimes we eat it up too fast as we over-hyped the exciting, yet flawed, Boarding House Reach. This new album is a super charged version of those sounds. On the first few spins it was not working to these ears at all, but the more it spun, the more it sunk in and the better it felt.
It has issues for certain, but we shall see if it improves as we listen even more. The problem with reviewing in general is that you have limited time to listen, absorb and write opinions that are captured in digital amber. The 9 stars Boarding House Reach originally received would probably be 6 or 7 if we went back and reviewed it today, but the creative explosions like "Connected By Love" and "Over and Over and Over" just blew us away in the moment.
There are no great songs up tot that level on this new album but the overall tone and feeling is probably stronger than BHR. The highs aren't as high but it is more consistent, does that make it better? You be the judge.
We are now heading into the new normal with live music during the Covid-19 era. Live shows will need to be flexible and live streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are (hopefully) improving on the pandemic front but live streams will be an option for artists during 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 check out our 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 Funky Uncle 2nd Anniversary with an All-Star Band
Our favorite was the tribute to Professor Longhair which was a dynamite stream and a joy to watch.
This will be the final weekly stream but the outfit and support system will not be retiring, they will just be moving to less frequent shows. Enjoy the streams tonight and support the organization in any way possible.
Thanks to the Funky Uncle for all the work they do and all the great nights of music they provided for fans during the heart of the pandemic. To get in the mood here is some video from a past show:
It is of Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram live set from the Apollo Theater on 3/31/22.
RtBE has been a fan of Kingfish for years now, digging on his first album and really enjoying his most recent 662while highlighting both in our year end reviews.
What a hell of a show from Ingram at the historic Apollo. So far it is the best live set we have seen this year as the young blues phenom and his band delivered the soaring goods last week.
It is of the GZA's live set from the Blue Note's early show on 3/29/22.
A hell of a night for live hip hop in the Village as GZA and the Phunky Nomads brought the funky flavor of the Wu-Tang Clan to the legendary venue. It was a blast and thanks to Glen and Ramsey for the opportunity to see the show and meet the band and GZA.