Album Review: Zombina and the Skeletones - The Call of Zombina

Zombina and the Skeletones

The Call of Zombina 

*** out of *****

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. 

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Song

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.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

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:

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Song

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.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

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.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us, 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:

Celebrating The Halloween Spirit Through Songs

A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

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.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads 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:

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Songs

 A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

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.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads 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:

The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Bobby "Boris" Pickett · The Crypt-Kickers "The Monster Mash"

Elvira "2 Big Pumpkins":

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Songs

 A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

All of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to RtBE and all are 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.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads 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:
The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Bobby "Boris" Pickett · The Crypt-Kickers "The Monster Mash"

Elvira "2 Big Pumpkins":

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Songs

A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

All of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to RtBE and all are 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.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads and of course it wouldn't be Halloween without Elvira. She closes out our Halloween focus with her Third Man Records release "2 Big Pumpkins" written by the B-52's Fred Schneider:
The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Elvira "2 Big Pumpkins":

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Songs

A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

All of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to RtBE and all are 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.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads and of course it wouldn't be Halloween without Elvira. She closes out our Halloween focus with her Third Man Records release "2 Big Pumpkins" written by the B-52's Fred Schneider:
The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Elvira "2 Big Pumpkins":

Tomorrow Night Murphy's Law Return with Drunken Rampage

Tomorrow night @ The Kingsland in their home borough Murphy's Law return to action, even better news is that Drunken Rampage will be opening the show. RtBE has a personal connection with that band to as our friend Simon is the lead singer.

A few weeks ago RtBE had the privilege to attend a benefit for Jimmy G the lead singer of Murphy's Law who has been dealing with medical issues and bills. Jimmy was in attendance and thankfully is recovering.

Here are a songs from both bands to get in the mood.

Murphy's Law Return on Halloween with Drunken Rampage

A few weeks ago RtBE had the privilege to attend a benefit for Jimmy G the lead singer of Murphy's Law who has been dealing with medical issues and bills. Jimmy was in attendance and thankfully is recovering. So much so that they will be playing their first show back on Halloween in Brooklyn.

It is great to hear that Jimmy and crew will be back hitting the stage at The Kingsland in their home borough, even better news is that Drunken Rampage will be opening the show. RtBE has a personal connection with that band to as our friend Simon is the lead singer.

While Halloween falls on a school night, we may need to head out to BK to catch this great punk/NYHC lineup. Below is a few songs from both bands to get in the mood.

Phish Fall Tour Announced: Halloween In Vegas 2018

More tour dates, as Phish has announced their Fall Tour for 2018 and the ticket request period has begun. The tour starts in a familiar spot, Albany, NY.

RtBE has caught some of our favorite shows from Phish @ The Knick (when it was still officially called the Knickerbocker Arena) downtown in Albany and may head up there for this opener. Then the band hits the legendary Hampton Coliseum where we have also been lucky enough to have caught Phish for some fun shows. The true highlight however is the closing dates of Las Vegas where Phish will celebrate Halloween.

The group has made Halloween a musical holiday in the jam community and elevated the expectations for a lot of bands on that spooky night.  Full tour dates are below an to get in the mood here are a few videos from Phish playing Albany back in the day and from the last time Phish celebrated Halloweens in Vegas 2014:

October 16: Albany, NY – Times Union Center
October 17: Albany, NY – Times Union Center
October 19: Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
October 20: Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
October 21: Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
October 23: Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
October 24: Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
October 26: Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
October 27: Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
October 28: Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
October 31: Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
November 1: Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
November 2: Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
November 3: Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Songs

A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

All of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to RtBE and all are 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.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads and of course it wouldn't be Halloween without Elvira. She closes out our Halloween focus with her Third Man Records release "2 Big Pumpkins" written by the B-52's Fred Schneider:
The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Elvira "2 Big Pumpkins":

New Brooklyn Venue Elsewhere to Open on Halloween

Brooklyn keeps opening more and more live venues these days and this one is going to be a place RtBE will certainly be checking out in the near future, even if it is all the way out in Bushwick...

The owners behind Glasslands will return to Brooklyn with Elsewhere opening this Halloween with a show from Battles. Glasslands was home to some great experimental rock and roll and was a vibrant artist space back in the day so we will keep an eye on the calendar to get out there very soon.

Two RtBE favorites No Age and Evolfo are already scheduled to play the venue so those may be the first shows to check out. To celebrate here are videos from Battles as well as No Age and Evolfo. 

Dylan Cover #253 Domino "I Want You"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Domino singing "I Want You" 

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

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Can't find much about Domino, feel free to add info in the comments. Her Youtube page has a few other songs of hers.
Thoughts on Cover:
A fine straight ahead take, nothing grand, nothing bad, just a decent working of the song with some pleasant, soft vocals.

Oh, and can't forget...Happy Halloween!

Full Show Friday: Widespread Panic 10/31/08 Nolaween

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...Widespread Panic!

This week we toss it back to Halloween '08 when Widespread Panic were playing the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. To be honest, we have been down to that town so much on Halloween, we can't remember if we were there in '08 or not, either way we were not at this show...or any other Panic gig. This group really never did it for us, even in the roaming world of jambands, Panic was/is dull to our ears. All the players are excellent and we have loved them in other projects (Schools with J.Mascis and Herring in PLQ) but as a group we never hopped on board.

All that said, no reason we can't check out the bands gig from a few years back via crystal clear sound and video. The covers of "Born on the Bayou" "Time Waits For No One" and "Baby, Please Don't Go" along with the encore special guest Trombone Shorty make this a fun ride. Full set list below, so Happy Halloween and Enjoy!   


1:
Born On The Bayou
Pigeons
Time Zones
Disco
Diner
Greta
Christmas Katie
Her Dance Needs No Body
Worry

2:
Protein Drink
Sewing Machine
Mama Kin
Mercy
Baby, Please Don't Go
Time Waits For No One
Blight
Surprise Valley
Drums
Surprise Valley
Imitation Leather Shoes

E: Proud Mary, Brown Sugar*

* with Trombone Shorty

Continuing the Halloween Spirit Through Tunes

On of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban has put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists. 

They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you directly download here. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one here directly as well. Both of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to us...and are 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 this year they got some help from their friends over at Fringe Factory who offered up a Halloween themed show themselves right here.

There isn't enough time in the day to hear all these great tunes that the people over there dig up, but we can always try to listen to it all. Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads:
The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Full Show Friday: Screamin' Jay Hawkins Tokyo 1990

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...Screamin' Jay Hawkins!

This month RTBE will pay homage to The Blues with 5 special shows for every Friday in October. So get sad, get happy eat your greens and get the blues.

What a treat on this Halloween, we get the freakydeaky blues of one of the all-time great performers, Screamin' Jay Hawkins. If you haven't seen the documentary on him yet, you need too, what a life- or at least what a world class yarn spinner.

Nobody could be more perfect to wrap up this monthly blues series on Halloween then Screamin' Jay. So happy there was a show on youtube. This is the reason we decide to pick October to celebrate the blues so we could on Halloween with Screamin' Jay.  Just another example of the scope and depth of the blues, they certainly have put a spell on us.
 
Enjoy:

Dylan Cover #161 Lina Paul & Arthur Kranzler "Love Sick"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Lina Paul & Arthur Kranzler playing "Love Sick" 

Thoughts on Original:
From our first cover take on this song:
The opener on Dylan's 1997 classic Time Out Of Mind, signaled to the world, that the old bard had tons of great songs left in him.  Considered by some (not RTBE) his comeback album  Time Out Of Mind showcased stark songs with biting lyrics and most importantly lush sounding production; Dylan ditched modern sound for one he liked better.  The result was a true winner, no better seen then on this disk opener.  Dylan identified with every human via the lyric, "I'm sick of love/and I'm in the thick of it"  Who hasn't been there?  A great song that kicks off a great album, it would be nice if he played it live though...  
Cover:


Thoughts On Cover Artist:
Like lots of artists in this series I have never heard of Lina Paul or Arthur Kranzler before listening to their take on this tune. Lina Paul seems to be a European singer songwriter from her bandcamp page and I couldn't find out anything about Arthur Kranzler unfortunately.
Thoughts On Cover:
Wow these are the types of covers I really like as it moves the Bards work into complex new realms. A touch of trance digital beats and power all lurk under the service as Paul's vocals floats hauntingly on top, mimicking the original. This is a hell of a cover and continues to prove "Love Sick" is an amazing song, ranking high on Dylan's all time list when it inspires covers like this. A spooky track to kick off Halloween week and closes an October where we found 4 great cover examples, versions we had never heard of; months like this make us want to continue this series for another 161 more songs. 

Happy Halloween! Ah-Wooo!

I am down celebrating Nolaween getting ready for The Voodoo Experience and I think I just saw a Perfectly Quaffed Werewolf!!!

Bite Down!

Draw Blood!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Grateful Dead - 10-31-1983 San Rafeal, CA

 With Halloween now a ghoulish memory we will check out the holiday from the past where the Grateful Dead took to the stage, 10-31-1983, from Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium.  Click that link for the archive, or listen right c'here:

Not much time today so I will get right too it...

This show is known for the last "St. Stephen" the the group would ever play, also being the first time it was played on the west coast in decades.  The version of Stephen is also famous for Dennis McNally author of the excellent Long Strange Trip, proclaiming that this version sucked in an interview:

"The last time I recall the Dead playing St. Stephen was Halloween 1983. They played it for the third time that month. The first time was great, the second was mediocre, and the third was God-awful."

I for one don't think this version is awful by any stretch and love the exploratory jam leading up to it, but that is skipping ahead a bit.  Before those jams and songs we got a few gems sprinkled in, the first set in particular has some excellent versions of "Peggy-O" and a great "Brown Eyed Women",  two first set staples from this time, both get emotional playing and singing from Jerry.

A truly nailed second set, who can argue with such warhorses as "Help>Slip>Frank" to open things up.  A blazing beginning that keeps soaring with "Estimated Prophet" for the Cali crowd and a nuanced "Eyes of The World".

The long drums are a bit drawn out but the Space is intriguing as is the extended jam that finds the group winding their way into the bust out of "St. Stephen" for the last time.  The crowd explodes but this version is a lot more relaxed then the powerful East Coast versions earlier in the year.  Maybe it is the California air that just eases the band into not hurrying things, but the mellow mood has got them with this version.  Ok maybe McNally is right, it's not the best, but it certainly isn't shitty.

A powerful "Throwing Stones">"Not Fade Away" set closer is rocking as is the encore of the Beatles "Revolution", not a full musical costume but it is fun to dress up in that cover song encore.


An added bonus this week, dead.net is doing a 30 Days of Dead download giveaway... Check it out as I am sure there are going to be more then a few gems released.  (I plan on collecting the best of the best and posting them here next month, so stayed tuned)