• Country Rock

    Ky-Yi Bossie – come along with Bob Weir

    If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Bob Weir over the last 10-15 years, it’s that he is most definitely not going to shave that giant mustache and beard. Bob, such a handsome dude underneath that hair! Ah well, the beards are here to stay all around me, I may as well just get used to it.

    Crazy to think that more than 21 years have gone by since the passing of Jerry Garcia, bringing with it the end of what was the Grateful Dead. Bob has never let up though. He’s carried on with Ratdog over years with a rotating cast of characters in the band (sorry to see that the great bass player Rob Wasserman passed away earlier this year); and he has re-congregated in different incarnations with his former Dead band mates, most recently as Dead & Company, with John Mayer joining in on guitar and vocal duties (A+ decision on everyone’s part). I’ll finally be checking them out next May when they visit Phoenix on the second show of their tour (May 28).

    Adding to his always active life in music, Bob also released Blue Mountain earlier this year, only the third album of his career billed only as Bob Weir (along with 1972’s Ace and 1977’s Heaven Help the Fool). It’s a collection of “cowboy” songs, as he’s referred to them, with help from quality musicians like Josh Ritter and a couple members of the National (who curated that huge and excellent Dead tribute project earlier this year, Day of the Dead).

    The album struck a chord with me. I love the downtempo side of the music, and the great melodies and laid back acoustic stylings in Blue Mountain really grabbed me.

    A notch above the rest for me are “Gallop on the Run,” “Whatever Happened to Rose,” and especially “Ky-Yi Bossie,” painting a vivid picture of addiction and relationship problems that have to be at least semi-autobiographical. It’s imaginative and honest, framed in a very catchy cowboy tune with a very cowboy title. Check it out…

  • Country Rock

    Notting Hillbillies in Newcastle (Redux)

    I stumble across this show quite frequently in my travels through iTunes, and I was reminded again of it this morning while picking around on my acoustic guitar. I was toying around with the beautiful guitar parts of the Dire Straits tune “Why Worry”, and decided to punch it up in iTunes so I could play along. Up came this live version by the Notting Hillbillies – a relatively short-lived group from the early 1990’s made up of Mark Knopfler, Steve Phillips, Brendan Croker, and Guy Fletcher.

    I posted this show back in 2006, and thought I’d bring it back for those who want to hear a laid back, tight-knit group of friends playing some great music. The Dire Straits covers are especially great – particularly the Calypso version of “So Far Away”.

    THE NOTTING HILLBILLIES
    Swan Hunter Shipyard
    Newcastle, England
    July 6th, 1993

    1. Intro
    2. Calling Elvis
    3. So Far Away (Calypso version)
    4. Your Own Sweet Way
    5. Run Me Down
    6. Why Worry
    7. Railroad Worksong
    8. Feel Like Going Home
    9. Setting Me Up
    10. Outro

    Check out the Notting Hillbillies’ one and only album: Missing…Presumed Having A Good Time

  • Country Rock

    Ryan Bingham on Letterman: “The Weary Kind”

    If you caught the end of Letterman on Monday night, you caught Ryan Bingham‘s “The Weary Kind” – a Golden Globe nominated tune from Crazy Heart (a movie which by all accounts is fantastic). The song was written by Ryan and T-Bone Burnett.

    I’m still waiting for the opportunity to catch Ryan live. Until that day, performances like this hit the spot. Make sure to watch the funny exchange between Dave and Ryan afterward.

  • Country Rock,  Roots Rock

    New Raul Malo – Lucky One

    Former Mavericks frontman Raul Malo will be releasing his first album of original material in eight years on March 3rd. Lucky One was recorded over the last couple of years at Raul’s Nashville home. Co-producing several of the tracks is Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin.

    Here’s a free & clear mp3, courtesy of Fantasy Records, Raul’s new label. Seriously, I could listen to Raul Malo sing the phone book…

    Raul Malo Lucky One (mp3)

    Links: Pre-Order Lucky One on Amazon |Raul’s Official Site | MySpace | Facebook/iLike

  • Country Rock,  Roots Rock

    Calling out to the Old 97’s

    Where are the Old 97’s? I know they have some tour dates scheduled, but we haven’t seen any new studio stuff since 2004, when they released their debut on New West Records, Drag It Up. The formerly Dallas-based band has released some gems over the years, my favorite still being 1997’s Too Far to Care. Fusing country, punk, rockabilly, and later on more of a pop oriented sound, the Old 97’s really shine on the stage. These guys put on an amazing live show. An energetic and spastic live show. A late 90’s Old 97’s show at Nita’s Hideaway in Tempe is one of my live music highlights.

    The guys are apparently still together, though I need to figure out if a new album is in the works. They left Texas a while ago. I believe lead singer Rhett Miller still lives in NYC (Rhett lived right near ground zero with his girlfriend on 9/11/2001), and bassist and singer Murray Hammond lives in L.A.

    Though they have an arsenal of barnstorming, shit-kicking songs that will knock your pants off and have you hopping around like Hee Haw’s Grandpa Jones, I especially enjoy the slowed down Old 97’s. Here are a couple of great down-tempo Old 97’s tunes…

    Old 97’s: Salome (mp3) – from Too Far to Care

    Old 97’s: In the Satellite Rides a Star (mp3) – from Drag It Up

    Old 97s Official Site.

  • Blues,  Country Rock,  Roots Rock

    Joe Ely with the Boss in Dublin

    ely and springsteen

    This would make a great St. Patrick’s day post, but it’s only September, and I’m way too impatient to sit on this show for too long. The date is St. Patty’s Day 1996. The location is Dublin, Ireland. Joe Ely and Bruce Springsteen both find themselves overseas on their latest tours (Joe for Letter to Laredo, Bruce for The Ghost of Tom Joad).

    It was the last night of Joe’s tour, playing in front of a raucous Dublin crowd. And lo and behold, who’s in the house but his friend Bruce, who comes on stage to join Joe for a handful of the last few songs of the evening. I’d call this a pretty decent way to celebrate a St. Patty’s Day…

    By the way, I’m curious, does any Bruce / Ely aficionado out there know how far back Springsteen and Ely go, where / how they met, etc.?

    Joe Ely
    March 17, 1996
    Dublin, Ireland
    w/ special guest Bruce Springsteen

    Gallo Del Cielo
    Ranches & Rivers
    Spanish Love Scene
    Rode Goes On Forever
    Boxcars
    Saint Valentine
    I Saw It In You
    Run Preciosa (fades out)
    Bluebird
    Letter To Laredo
    Gangster Of Love (Sung by lead guitarist Jesse Taylor, RIP 1950-2006)
    Me & Billy The Kid
    Road Hog
    BBQ & Foam
    All Just To Get To You *
    Oh Boy *
    Settle For Love *
    1000 Miles From Home
    My Eyes Got Lucky
    Fingernails Medley *
    Blowin’ Down The Road *

    * with Bruce Springsteen

  • Country Rock,  Folk

    It’s Been a Long Time Comin’

    Bruce and the band have been pulling out some good ones on the final few shows of the tour. Here’s the Seeger Sessions take on one of my favorites from ‘Devils & Dust’, a great tune called “Long Time Comin”. This one stays pretty true to its original version, more so than any of Bruce’s other material that have been given the Seeger Sessions makeover. It’s a nice country rock feel to it with the slide guitar and the full band.

    More to come!

    Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band
    : Long Time Comin’ (mp3) – live in Detroit, Michigan, June 16, 2006

  • Country Rock,  Indie

    Gone for Good

    James Mercer

    Here’s a great live version of a great indie-country song (indiecow? countrindie?), sung by a great singer, James Mercer of the Shins. Do enjoy.

    James Mercer: Gone for Good (mp3) – live 07 Jan 2004 – studio version comes from Chutes too Narrow

  • Country Rock

    We’ll go Stepping Out

    Waco Bros

    Thanks to those of you who have followed me from my old web address to another one, and now finally to this one. I promise, this is the last stop! As you can see, I finally got my domain sorted out, and got my WordPress blog transferred over to it. For you bloggers out there, I definitely recommend WordPress. Blogger / Blogspot is a great way to get started, but if you’re ready to make a leap to better blogging software with cooler and more robust features, look at WordPress.

    First off is the Waco Brothers. Jon Langford, founding member of the Mekons, formed alt-country-rock-punk band the Waco Brothers in the mid-90’s. Jon’s from the UK, but expatriated to Chicago, and obviously has a soft spot for that American rootsy country sound with a whole lot of brash punk sensibility thrown in. This one’s great, and reminds me of a drive back from Las Vegas years ago with this tune cranked (truly the wickedest city in the world).

    Waco Brothers: Wickedest City (mp3) – from Do You Think About Me

  • Acoustic,  Country Rock,  Latin

    Sunday Grab Bag 2

    Another random sampling of some music I’ve been particularly enjoying of late.

    Though a ton of artists have recorded this Boudleaux Bryant classic, I first heard Nazareth’s version as a kid, then the Everly Brothers (who did the original in 1961). It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally heard Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris do things to it that make me quite content to never hear another’s version again.

    Gram Parsons w/ Emmylou Harris: Love Hurts (mp3) from Grievous Angel (1973)

    A Cuban friend at work was kind enough to turn me on to legendary conguero Carlos “Patato” Valdes, thought by many to be the greatest Cuban conga player. This one comes from ‘The Legend of Cuban Percussion’, a 2000 release. With a flute, piano, bass, and Patato on the congas, it is most definitely headphone worthy.

    Carlos “Patato” Valdes: Luz (mp3)