It is of the 8th Annual John Henry Benefit for The Keswell School held at Town Hall in NYC on Monday night. Steve Earle's special guests on this night were David Byrne, Kurt Vile, and Terry Allen.
This is the third year in a row RtBE has attended the benefit, 2019, 2021, as it was paused after the pandemic. Each has been solid in their own way.
One of the most engaging, spill-your-soul-on-the-floor, New Orleans acts reunited for a run through of dirty, noisy, heartfelt, rock on a sweaty Saturday night in BJ's Bywater Lounge as the Rough Seven took flight once again.
The band is led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Ryan Scully as he deals with heartbreak, rage, mental anguish and society as a whole around swelling crescendos and blast outs of brass, bass, guitar, keys and drums, as the group lock in around the vocals. Opening with a newer tune titled "Orange Potatoes" the band got revved up building the tension as Stoo Odom pumped the bass and Mike Andrepont hit the kit.
"Golden Parachute" amped up the guitars of Scully and Rob Cambre, along with Meschiya Lake's backing vocals while "Sugar Daddy" delivered a sexy slow groove to the packed house. The outfit caught it's breath, but only for a second, as keyboardist Ratty Scurvics began the classic "I Would Rather Go Blind" which was a barn burning showcase for Lake, as she belted out the tune with a raw power that was staggering; a clear set highlight.
Not resting one bit, the band began the slow burn of "Meltdown" which was a guitar showcase for Cambre and Scully as they interwove allowing Cambre's adventurous noise flourishes to crash and land with precision. Things then took a sentimental turn with one of the Rough Seven's sweetest songs, "St. Anthony" before another garage rocker “Where’s My Phone” delivered a Them “Gloria” vibe, which utilized Rick Hukill's trombone to great effect. The extended effort dripped into "Preacher By Day" which slowly worked it's way into a noise rock blaze up, with chaos swirling around the packed house and small stage.
The bands dynamite set wrapped up with their cover of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful", a song the group has made their own. Engaging the crowd to sing along, Scully and Lake sung with energetic, uplifting positivity while the band pushed and pulled with glorious fluidity and power. The climax was just that as Lake crowd surfed through the bar with everyone vibrating on another level as the Rough Seven reunion wrapped up, highlighting a Jazzfest weekend filled with them.
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The Rough Seven are one of RtBE's favorite bands of all-time. Support the band, and peep some video from the show below:
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Axel Cabela playing "One More Cup of Coffee"
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 Detroit Cobras!
Unfortunately Rachel Nagy passed away last year, but thankfully we have all of her records and great videos like this to remember her. RtBE are big fans of the Cobras and seen them a bunch. This is a solid show, and the band have announced live dates to help celebrate Rachel's life.
Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Set List below:
Line Up : Rachel Nagy : vocals Mary Ramirez : guitar - vocal Eddie Baranek : guitar - vocal Dale Wilson : bass - vocal Kenny Tudrick : drums - vocal
Setlist : Don't knock, Putty, Cha cha, Midnight, Bad girl, Feel good, Just can't please, Yaki, I can't go back, What more, Ya ya, Stay down, Kitten, Weak spot, Laughin', What's going on, Holler, Cry,on, shout
Emo-rapper, singer songwriter Gabby Durden has a released a new video for her single "ribcage (awakening)".
The artist is a former esports participant who has shifted gears after traumatic experiences. In her own words:
“My mother’s suicide awakened something in me. I began reevaluating a lot of my life. I couldn’t keep bottling myself up. I refused to stay quiet…enough was enough. This is a new chapter. This is who I truly am.”
For the cymbals (and more) maker Zildjian's 400th Anniversary, the company wanted to do something special during the annual Jazzfest celebration in New Orleans. They hooked up with Stanton Moore (Galactic) and he offered up his home base of Tipitina's for a unique showcase on Tuesday afternoon, in between the bookend weekends.
He also reached out to his many friends to create a world class house band consisting of Ivan Neville, Eric Krasno, Nick Daniels, Tony Hall, Ari Teitel, Joe Ashlar, Brad Walker, and John Michael Bradford. This lineup would be the headline at any other show, but this one was specifically designed to give the drummer some. All the percussionists were in the spotlight on this afternoon as two drum sets were set up in front of the famous venues stages and a rotating cast of who's-who of the New Orleans drum scene cycled through.
One of the unique shows clear highlights arrived early as the great Nikki Glaspie (Nth Power) took over and stole the show with her singing and playing on the Betty Harris classic (penned by Allen Toussaint) "Break In The Road", there was no need for warm-ups when this band and drummer can shine so brightly to start. Adam Deitch (Lettuce) brought in the deep funk, which was the theme of the afternoon, as he slapped out "Action Speaks Louder Than Words" from New Orleans own Chocolate Milk.
The dynamic Joe Dyson (Pat Methany) brought the Mardi Gras Indian vibe alive with tempo changes and breaks during a Wild Tchoupitoulas number while AJ Hall played the skins expertly in front of deep bass and popping horns. One of the style surprises on this afternoon was Jason Marsalis who is known more for his vibes and jazz playing, but on this sunny day decided to break out the deep funk with his rendition of The Meters "Africa" as Krasno wailed on guitar and singer Ivan Neville changed the lyrics to New Orleans.
Moore had been MC'ing and introducing each artist, but when it became his turn to slide behind the kit he did not disappoint. He chose to play his rendition of Dyke and the Blazer's "Let A Woman Be A Woman (And A Man Be A Man)" and perhaps it was because he was on his home turf, he slapped that skins the hardest out of any drummer at this show, bringing a hard driving, almost punk edge to the funky tune, as the brass wailed behind him.
NOLA legend Herlin Riley confidently played to a set of drummers who clearly love his style while Chris Myers delivered a version of "People Say" which allowed the house band to stretch out. Another standout highlight from an afternoon filled with them was Jamison Ross' delivery of "Them Changes" which found the drummer singing and playing with fierce energy.
The drummers kept arriving, while percussionist Taku Hirano may have been the MVP, playing with everyone on supportive percussion. Ricky Sebastian added swing to Meters tunes while Pedro Segundo added Latin jazz flair to the funk.
It would be hard for Zildjian's to celebrate their 400th Anniversary in a town in America more committed to drums than New Orleans and on this afternoon the party kept rolling, starting the day off funky for many in attendance.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes from Sam Moss and is a live cover of "Simple Twist of Fate"
Thoughts On Original: From the first time we talked about a cover version of this song: Well the classics just keep coming in this series, now here is "Simple Twist of Fate" what a gem of a song. Impeccable lyrics, gorgeous phrasing, just a great great song that is hard not to enjoy even if people are not fans of Dylan.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is RtBE's first time checking out Sam Mosswho is a songwriter and strings player based in Cambridge, MA.
Thoughts on Cover:
A well played acoustic cover of a great song. Gorgeous way to start off this week.
RtBE not only writes about music, but also creates some. Angels & Vagabonds (mostly) acoustic EP titled Anyways... turns eight today.
It is exciting to go from critic/reviewer of music, to creator of tunes. Special thanks goes out to friends and band mates. While it has been a few years since a release from the group, more music is actually on the way...
You can stream Anyways... below and you can also go here and download the album for free (or any donation you would like). The album is also available on Spotify, Youtube, Itunes AMI Jukeboxes and elsewhere. Thanks for listening and reading.
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...Treme Brass 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 Treme Brass Bandwho will be playing Sunday May 7th.
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 (and donate), but these Jazzfest weekends are a must if you can't be at the Fairgrounds.
Peep a few videos of acts playing this weekend to get in the mood:
Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
**** out of *****
I want to start with a disclaimer. I'm largely unfamiliar with Lana Del Rey's catalogue. For some reason, I found Lana Del Rey too zeitgeisty and assumed her music would not be for me. After listening to Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, I have to admit that I was wrong.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artists, Tom Jones doing a cover of "Not Dark Yet"
All April (and the first week of May) RtBE focuses our Monday Dylan Cover Series on artists who are playing this years New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Today is Tom Jones who play the festival Sunday May 7th
Thoughts on Original: From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: A excellent Dylan tune from any era but one that in particular screamed "I'm Still Alive And Kickin'!" on Time Out Of Mind at a phase when Dylan was simply an after thought on the current popular music scene. One of Dylan's most haunting tracks; it is hard not to feel his emotions and finality of the coming darkness as Dylan sings this lyric set. An all-time great that is mysterious, foreboding, honest and powerful. First class Bob.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Tom Jones is a classic crooner. Never been huge fans of this style, but he is solid for what he is. That said...
Thoughts on Cover:
Last year we found our least favorite cover in this entire series. This one is challenging for the title. It isn't Tom Jones singing that hurts it, in fact, he sounds pretty solid, but what the hell is going on musically? A disco freak out? Paired with some of the most morbid lyrics in Dylan's career? This is a major misstep. I would say it isn't Jones' fault, but it is his name on the album so it is. Not as bad as Rod, but damn close.
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 (and donate), 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:
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