Reviews
The Starry Plough bar, on the corner of Shattuck and Ashby in Berkeley, stands out on the block as there is not much else around. I arrived a bit early and saw Dead Heads standing outside the bar smoking joints and cigarettes, making me think I was walking down the mythical “Shakedown Street.”
In December of 2004 I saw Béla Fleck & the Flecktones at the Water Street Music Hall in Rochester. At that show Béla made a mention of his plans which at that time included traveling to Africa to research the roots of the banjo. This intrigued me as I had just been to Morocco and seen banjos being played out in the square, a sight I was not expecting, and as I also have a large amount of family in Africa.
Topics
On Thursday, for at least the third time in the last 12 months, the electro-dance-rock duo BoomBox graced our fair city and the Fox Theatre with their pulsing beats and feel-good funk. Guitarist Zion Godchaux and DJ Russ Randolph seem to like it here against the mountains, and it’s lucky for us that they do. In fact, they like the Boulder crowds so much that this time around, they brought a camera crew for a live music video shoot.
Honestly, I walked into the Boulder Theater this night expecting to hear more of a hip-hop show, which certainly was not the case. Although there were influences of hip hop, and with the keyboardist running a live audio editing software, perhaps Ableton, to me it came off as a classic rock sound. But, I was not even slightly disappointed! Mama’s Cookin’ delivers a sound that borders on replicating classic rock, think Zeppelin mixed with The Beatles, but with a modern flare.
They’re a posse of Asheville artists who play with the sort of spunk, meticulousness and joy that should be bottled and sold at some obscure roadside stand by a secret guru. The mystical, tribal and always fascinating Toubab Krewe have the ability to stir those emotions that you thought you may have lost, without singing a single phrase in any language.
Fat Tuesday, at the Fox, proved to be an evening of soulful celebration, where the positivity and spirit-moving sounds of Lubriphonic and Panjea shined as effervescently as the Madigra beads draped around fans’ necks.
The anticipation is over as thousands of fans have descended upon the city of Hampton, Virginia to take part in the first three shows since Phish disbanded four years ago. The Hampton Coliseum, a favorite venue among fans, will host this historic reunion as the band begins "phase 2" of their musical conquest.
Why do I have to go see live music? Not like to- have to. Why are recorded concerts more frequently played in my house than their studio counterparts? How can 3 hours of human life be changed into a heavenly experience just with the addition of an impassioned performance? Rhetorical perhaps, but valid questions. If you don’t agree with me, I am not sure why you are bothering to read any further. I write about music. Music that moves me, no, transports me.
Of all the members of the Grateful Dead, Billy Kreutzmann, really knew how to retire. Hanging out in Hawaii, he showed none of the predilection for road-warrioring into the sunset like his bandmates. Sure he'd play with the boys when they got back together for the full band gigs and after ten years on the island he started playing out more often with various old cronies, but he didn't have his name on the marquee with his band, his music, his beat. He was always the one behind the scenes.
