The Los, Angeles based genre blending rock outfit Frankie and the Witch Fingers newest offering is a capturing of the band onstage in 2022. Live at LEVITATION was recorded when the outfit pulled into Austin, TX and played Stubbs.
Of course the first album in over a decade from the Liverpool based Zombina and the Skeletones arrives just in time for Halloween as The Call of Zombina finds the outfit rising from the grave to howl at the moon on All Hallows Eve.
A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban (now called Boss Radio 66) put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.
All of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to RtBE and also flat out awesome!
I mean how could we have missed The Bar-Kay's "Holy Ghost" for all of these years?
Damn that is some funky stuff. WFMU Rock and Soul Ichiban always delivers the goods, but in 2014 they got some help from their friends over at Fringe Factory who offered up a Halloween themed show themselves right here.
Below are a few songs that scream out Halloween to us. We got The Primates, The Sonics, The Upsetters, a tune by the fantastic Mummies, and of course it wouldn't be Halloween without the "Monster Mash" and Elvira. She closes out our Halloween focus with her Third Man Records release "2 Big Pumpkins" written by the B-52's Fred Schneider:
Starting with light clanging and dissonant sounds to open "Thirst" on Knocked Loose's newest album You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To, first time listeners might be tempted to turn up the volume to make sure it is playing. This would be a huge mistake as the band comes screeching in with stop/start frenzy, yelling wails, and metal madness, blistering ear drums along the way.
Long Beach, California based Cold War Kidshave a new video/single, "Meditations".
About the tune frontman Nathan Willet shares,
“We went into the studio with Jonathan Rado on September 30th and today, Oct 23rd, the song is yours. We’re releasing this totally independently for the first time ever and it’s exciting to have a vision for a song, write it, record it, release it, and play it live for you all within the same month. ‘Meditations’ is about the daily struggle of being self-reflective and being comfortable in stillness. Through all these years of touring, the best release I have found is performing on stage. But with the highs come the lows. The rest of the day I live with my inner voice. This song is about learning to live in a relationship with yourself, to make that voice your friend and muse that accepts you and pushes you to be your best.”
For their only Fall shows in 2024, Phish set up shop at the MVP Arena (formerly The Knick, formerly The Pepsi, formerly The Times Union Center...) to play three nights in the Capital District as benefit shows for the newly opened Divided Sky Residential Recovery Program in Ludlow, Vermont. This is a project close to the bands heart and the fans came out in full force supporting the worthy cause.
It is of the Pixies newest release The Night The Zombies Came.
Kind of crazy that the band have been together now longer since their reunion than when they started. While none of the post reunion albums can hold a candle to their original records, they aren't disasters by any stretch. We didn't care forDoggerelbut we liked Head Carrier and this one is fairly solid, if a notch below that one.
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 PJ Harveyplaying "Dark Eyes"
Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: "Dark Eyes" is the sparse album closer on the mixed bag Empire Burlesque. That record has lots of interesting songs, but falls into that dreaded period called "the '80's". The production was modern at the time and almost instantly sounded dated. The bootleg release Springtime in New York rescues a lot of these songs, showing that other takes of these tracks prove there was still strong songwriting and performing from the Bard during this era. One song that did not need rescuing is "Dark Eyes" a stone cold stunner from/for any decade; a lesser known great song from Dylan.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: PJ Harvey is one of those artists who have slipped past RtBE. Everything heard by Harvey has been solid, just never did a full deep dive.
Thoughts on Cover:
Harvey mentions this is the first time covering this tune and while it is a bit sped up, but it is also very well done. Messing with singing styles at the end is pretty cool as well.
There will be a benefit live stream tonight, Concert for Carolina with Luke Combs, Eric Church, James Taylor, Billy Strings and more.
From the press release:
Saturday, October 26 - 2pm PT / 4pm CT / 5pm ET Tune in from anywhere in the world for a powerful evening of music, hosted by a lineup of talented country artists who are coming together to support the communities affected by the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene in the Southeast. 100% of ticket sales will be donated to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts in the Carolina Region.
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...Hot Tuna!
This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on concerts from San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.
Had to include some hippies in our monthly focus on shows from the Fillmore in SF. Here are Hot Tuna from 1988. Enjoy!
Hot Tuna - Full Concert Recorded Live: 3/4/1988 - Fillmore Auditorium (San Francisco, CA) More Hot Tuna at Music Vault: http://www.musicvault.com Subscribe to Music Vault: http://goo.gl/DUzpUF
Setlist: 0:00:00 - I Know You Rider 0:04:12 - Hesitation Blues 0:09:20 - Walkin' Blues 0:14:05 - The Other Side Of This Life 0:18:37 - That's the Bag I'm In 0:21:16 - I'll Be Alright Someday 0:24:54 - 99 Year Blues 0:30:37 - Mariel 0:35:26 - Wooden Ships 0:39:43 - Third Week In The Chelsea 0:44:24 - Papa John's Down Home Blues 0:50:01 - Keep On Truckin' 0:56:32 - Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning 1:01:14 - Candyman 1:06:28 - I See The Light 1:13:07 - Martha 1:16:34 - Embryonic Journey 1:18:46 - Ice Age 1:25:07 - Comandante Carlos Fonseca 1:28:26 - San Francisco Bay Blues 1:31:27 - Genesis 1:35:58 - Parchman Farm 1:41:53 - Good Shepherd 1:47:03 - Let's Get Together 1:50:29 - John's Other 1:57:02 - Vampire Woman 2:00:20 - Have You Seen The Stars Tonight 2:03:47 - Mann's Fate 2:09:05 - Put It In My Hands 2:13:54 - I'm Movin' 2:20:15 - Killing Time in the Crystal City 2:26:44 - Water Song 2:30:50 - America / Volunteers
Personnel: Jorma Kaukonen - vocals, guitar Jack Casady - bass, vocals Paul Kantner - vocals, guitar Guest: Grace Slick - vocals Guest: Papa John Creach - violin Guest: Will Scarlett - harmonica
Summary: Paul Kantner opens this show with an interesting observation: "Ah, the late show here. It used to be the young kids would always come to the late show to get home in time for curfew and the old folks would stay for the late show. Now all the old folks come to the early show and the young kids stay late..." The year was 1988, and for the San Francisco music scene, it seemed everything that goes around, comes around again. The legendary Fillmore Auditorium was back in business, and playing on stage was the famed acoustic duo of Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady, better known as acoustic Hot Tuna.
The duo, which formed in 1970 as a side project featuring two of the six members of the Jefferson Airplane, eventually added Airplane drummer Johnny Barbata and violinist Papa John Creach to become Electric Hot Tuna. But on this night, it was back to the original two-man, acoustic lineup for an evening of old time blues and country-blues standards. This show, part of a multiple night stand at the Fillmore recorded by promoter Bill Graham for his archives, includes a few surprises. On hand for the show were electric Hot Tuna member Papa John Creach, who contributes his tasteful violin runs on a few songs, including the boogie romp, "John's Other."
Also on hand is Jefferson Airplane/Starship founder Paul Kantner, who sits on a few Airplane and KBC Band songs, among them, the 1967 Airplane classic "Martha." And Grace Slick sits in too, contributing vocals on "Good Shepherd" and the set-closing "Volunteers". Surprises aside, this is a solid collection of classic Hot Tuna including Reverend Gary Davis' "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning," "Candy Man," Bukka White's 1930s prison lament, " Parchman Farm," and the band's own catchy instrumental, "Water Song."
Another highlight is Kaukonen's solo acoustic number for the Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow album, "Embryonic Journey." Hot Tuna (both acoustic and electric) remain a touring act, and Paul Kantner is overseeing yet another incarnation of Jefferson Starship. Sadly, Papa John Creach died in 1994, at the age of 76.
Back during the Covid-19 pandemic, New Orleans radio station WWOZ started their 'Festing In Place' programming to brighten music fans days when the world was dark and festivals were canceled.
They are continuing their Festing in Place 2024 starting today and streaming all weekend, so make sure to check out the Schedule above and tune in to one of the best radio channels in the country. Please also donate if you can.
To get in the mood, here are some artists who will be highlighted on WWOZ over the next few days:
The Asheville, NC based singer/songwriter/guitarist MJ Lenderman has worked with a host of talented alt-country artists (Wednesday, Waxahatchee) but has really been finding his way with his own voice and solo playing. Manning Fireworks, is his next step on the road to something special as he mixes dark humor, languid guitar lines, country twang and splashes of rock into his slacker tunes.
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 Phil J Gray playing "To Ramona"
Thoughts on Original: From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: "To Ramona" is on the personal quotient of Another Side of Bob Dylan as Dylan balanced political works like "Chimes of Freedom" with more intimate and humorous songs. That album is transitional while possessing some amazing songs and a lot which show the breezy greatness of Dylan. "To Ramona" in particular was recorded in one session as Dylan used a Mexican folk song for inspiration and his personal relationship with Joan Baez apparently as the lyrical topic. While the song seems so easy for Dylan, thousands of songwriters would kill for some of these stanzas, a really dynamite, if understated, tune.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: This is our first time coming across Phil J Gray who is a singer-songwriter from England. Thoughts on Cover:
A solid live cover on a cold blustery day that is played with energy and sang wonderfully by Mr. Gray.
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...The Smashing Pumpkins!
Standard disclaimer: When reviewing any Grateful Dead release at this point, it needs to be noted that a lot of the truly great shows from the band have already been professionally released. (If you are new to the band, check out RtBE's Beginners Guide to The Grateful Dead Part's one and two.) With their vast back catalog on archive.org and all of their previous releases, the band's selections are running thin when it comes to must own, professionally released shows.
That said, the band still release shows because rabid fans (RtBE included) will listen to everything they put out. So click that "Read More" button and dive in...
There are very few individuals who twist modern music to their tastes these days and succeed, MonoNeon is one of them, and Quilted Stereo is his best album yet.
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 Elvis Perkins playing "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"
Thoughts on Original: From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: Showing up on one of Bob's greatest accomplishments Bringin' It All Back Home, "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" always feels like a breather in the albums context. It is silly, the playful Dylan, a Dylan that still exists and can be forgotten about especially when getting "deep" into his serious songs. A vital part of Bob is his playful charm, and amongst the silliness and simple word play on this track he still manages to drop some bombs, " I said, 'You know they refused Jesus, too'/He said, 'You're not him'". A great example of a level of Bob's genius not often exhibit in this series, his playfulness.
Thoughts on Cover: An excellent acoustic version of the fun rambling tale.
Oh and RtBE obviously picked this for today because of the closing phrase, Happy Columbus Day, which Elvis actually skips:
I saw three ships a-sailin’ They were all heading my way I asked the captain what his name was And how come he didn’t drive a truck He said his name was Columbus I just said, “Good luck”
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...Rufus Wainwright!
The newest EP from the San Francisco based Pardoner is a combination of their love for catchy ear worm tunes combined with rough raw punk, as Paranoid In Hell covers quite a bit of ground in under 10 minutes.
Been looking forward to this one and it lives up to the hype. In fact, the first nine songs are spot on and had they ended there, it probably would be our favorite album of the year. The last six tunes do drag a bit thought but it will still probably make our 'Best Of' when we roll it out in December, definitely worth checking out.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artists, Darro & Dolly Longperforming a live cover of "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
Thoughts on Dylan Original: From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: A simple little number coming off of John Wesley Harding it discards the lyrical wizardry for a down home spin. We are rewarded with easy bliss, not often found in Dylan tunes. The emotions displayed by the singer here are heartfelt, hearty and easy going, just like the tune as a whole. Always a pleasant ride, bring that bottle over here...
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: This is the first time RtBE have encountered Darro and Dolly Long
Thoughts on Cover:
A excellent acoustic cover that strikes a gentle balance for this Monday.
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...Aretha Franklin!
This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on concerts from San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.
A few days ago RtBE spent some time exploring the Bay Area, so we wanted to do the same in our Full Show Friday's feature. Starting this special focus month with a huge bang, Aretha Franklin live at Fillmore West, March 5th, 1971.
We are now heading into the new normal with live music. Live shows will need to be flexible and streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing/listening pleasure. 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.
Live Stream: Joe Russo's Almost Dead - Hurricane Relief Benefit
On nugs.net, here is the info:
Join us this weekend in support of Hurricane flood relief. Tune in on Thursday for JRAD LIVE from Ting Pavilion & watch Friday and Saturday for two premieres from the archives. All proceeds will benefit MANNA FoodBank & BeLoved Asheville. All proceeds benefit Hurricane relief. *Subscriber discounts are not available for benefit shows. Watch unlimited through Oct 19, 2024, followed by 48 hours of on-demand access.
Traditional jazz is not the craze it was one hundred years ago, but in New Orleans time moves slow. It is the one city in this country that truly holds onto that style and has a host of bands doing it, but none currently cut to the trad-jazz core like Tuba Skinny. Their newest live album, Live @ D.B.A is a testament to their talent and the vibrancy of this quintessential American art form.
The Los Angeles trio LA LOM's debut full length, instrumental album, The Los Angeles League of Musicians on the legendary Verve Records, is a sultry mix of styles. Everything from Latin music from the 1930's to cumbia to retro rock and soul seeps into the bands sound which they say is strictly influenced by their diverse home city.
It is of the newest release from JD McPherson titled Nite Owls.
Last time we checked in with the retro-rocker we liked Let The Good Times Roll, even making our year end list in 2015. This one is solid as well, if a touch below that one.