Pete’s Top Albums of 2011
2011 was another year of musical discovery for me. Clocking in highest on the discovery meter were San Francisco’s Girls; but right up there with Girls were two bands that can’t technically qualify for my best of 2011 album list: Delta Spirit and Titus Andronicus. Their latest albums – History from Below and The Monitor (respectively) – were both released in 2010, but I didn’t hear them until this year. Overall, when I think of 2011, these three groups reigned supreme in my corner of the world.
When it comes to 2011 live shows, it was also Titus Andronicus that blew my mind (back on April 18th at The Rhythm Room in Phoenix). All punk and passion, courtesy of front man Patrick Stickles. My jaw hit the floor.
But on to the albums. Looking back at my iTunes and Last.fm listening history, it was clear to me that I wouldn’t be able to muster up a Top Ten list. Sure, I could B.S. and include something like the Beasties’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two – which I enjoyed on some level, but never listened to straight through more than twice. Thinking about albums, ’tis all about honesty, and what’s truly important to me as a full body of work. So in that spirit, here are my Top 8 albums of 2011…
1. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost ($5 on Amazon)
I had heard – and loved – “Laura,” a single off Girls first album a couple years back. But it wasn’t until this year that I fell completely head over heels for the San Francisco band led by Christopher Owens. The quirky “Honey Bunny” video drew me in – and when I tracked down the new album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, it was over – I was hooked. It’s rich with emotion, it rocks, it’s delicate… I can’t wait to follow Christopher around from here on out and hear what he has to say. Both Girls full lengths and the EP are excellent – discovering them has been the music highlight of my year.
Highlight: “Alex” – Hypnotic. Beautiful. Sublime.
2. Greg Brown – Freak Flag ($4.99 on Amazon)
Here’s one that surprised me. Though I loved “The Poet Game” single many years back, no full album of Greg Brown’s had really come along that knocked my socks off. Freak Flag did just that. Full of beauty, wisdom and Greg’s wry sense of humor, it’s the folk masterpiece of 2011.
Highlight: “Where Are You Going When You’re Gone.” All groove and growl. Toe tappin’ funky folk (there is such a thing).
3. Middle Brother – Middle Brother ($5 on Amazon)
I love Delta Spirit. I love Deer Tick. I love Dawes. So it’s no surprise that Middle Brother was up among the tops this year, since the group is made up of the front men of all 3 groups. I had the pleasure of seeing Middle Brother live this summer at the Newport Folk Festival, which may very well have been their last performance… but something tells me Taylor Goldsmith, John McCauley and Matt Vasquez will be making more music together somewhere down the road.
Highlight: “Million Dollar Bill” – This is a Goldsmith-penned song that also shows up on Dawes’ new record, Nothing Is Wrong. On the MidBro version, the three guys each get a verse, and the result is profound, in my ever so humble opinion. I prefer it to the Nothing is Wrong version.
4. Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong ($4.99 on Amazon)
It’s hard not to be endeared to this L.A. band that channels the SoCal / Lauren Canyon 70’s vibe. Taylor Goldsmith is a brilliant lyricist, and they’re just getting started. That’s scary (in a very good way). And their live show? Forget about it. Passionate and fiery stuff…
Highlight: “Fire Away” – This tune features Jackson Browne on background vocals, Taylor’s brother Griffin taking lead vocals on the bridge, and the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench on the organ. Great sing along chorus – a tune that really takes off into the stratosphere by song’s end – especially live.
5. My Morning Jacket – Circuital ($4.99 on Amazon)
Jim James (er – Yim Yames) and the boys of MMJ always put me in a good place. Another solid studio album featuring tunes that ignite in a live setting. I must have watched MMJ on at least 3-4 festival webcasts this summer. Another mind-blowing live band that can also deliver in the studio. Confession though: I just don’t like “Holdin On To Black Metal.”
Highlight: “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)” – I’m a sucker for some mellow MMJ. A great moment when the drums come in at “I-I-I-I’m going where there ain’t no fear…”
6. Deer Tick – Divine Providence ($5 on Amazon)
Snarly wild man John McCauley is back with another Deer Tick record. This time he shares the spotlight with drummer Dennis Ryan and guitarist Ian O’Neill, who write and sing on a few tunes. Divine Providence has a little bit of everything – honky-tonk rock, punk, pop. Oh, do I need to mention they’re also a killer live band? I saw them three times this year – twice in their home state of Rhode Island as they took over the Newport Blues Cafe during Folk Festival time.
Highlight: “The Bump” – The Deer Tick theme song. “We’re full grown men! But we act like kids!” The drunken devil strikes again.
7. Lenny Kravitz – Black & White in America ($10.49 on Amazon)
I was frankly surprised by Lenny’s latest. Rock, funk, soul, pop – yep, pretty much the Lenny Kravitz blueprint throughout his career. But the hooks and melodies caught on quick with me, and had me coming back for more helpings. The last time I enjoyed a Lenny album this much, I was 21 (1991’s Mama Said)!
Highlight: “Liquid Jesus” – A sexy 70’s soul vibe as Lenny channels his inner Curtis Mayfield.
8. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones ($9.99 on Amazon)
I was looking forward to a full length album from the UK’s Frank Turner since stumbling across his set at the ACL Festival a couple years back. It was worth the wait. Frank’s working class, populist folk/punk is alive and well in England Keep My Bones.
Highlight: “If Ever I Stray” – Certain songs give me goosebumps and make my eyes well up with their sheer power. This is one of those songs.
I Support The War on Drugs
Man, I can get behind The War on Drugs. Their latest, Slave Ambient, is fantastic – one of those albums that instantly draws you in.
It’s a rock & roll framework, but the album title doesn’t lie – there’s an ambient undertone to the whole album. The keyboard / synth sounds add that dreamscape layer that makes this whole record a really cool journey.
Here’s just one example: “Your Love Is Calling My Name”…
Slave Ambient is only $5 on Amazon. You can also check it out streaming on Rdio or on Spotify.
Deer Tick’s New Video for “Main Street” [NSFW?]
If there’s one thing that’s true about Deer Tick frontman John McCauley, it’s “what you see is what you get.” The man is completely unfiltered and open, which is quite evident in Deer Tick’s brand new “uncensored” video for “Main Street,” their first single off Divine Providence. I see the term “uncensored,” and I’m immediately on booby alert. But ah, the joke’s on me, because what I found instead was the peein’ pecker of Mr. John. Amid a cacophony of exploding fireworks, a select few of the giant DEER TICK letters in the background fall away to reveal – eh – something else.
If there’s a point to the video other than explosions, urinating, and wrecking instruments, I’m not sure what it is. But the slow motion cinematography is impressive and pretty damn entertaining. There doesn’t always have to be a point, after all.
If you haven’t picked up Divine Providence yet, today’s a good day – you can pick it up for
$3.99 on Amazon.Sons of Anarchy, Katey Sagal, and Leonard Cohen
I’m knee deep in another great TV series courtesy of Netflix’s streaming. A couple months ago, I fell into Breaking Bad, and it was without question the best damn TV show I’d ever seen in my 40 plus years. I still believe that – but not far behind has to be FX’s Sons of Anarchy.
The series about a northern California motorcycle gang features the great Charlie Hunnam as Jackson “Jax” Teller, the VP of the Sons of Anarchy. I wasn’t familiar with Hunnam before this series, but it’s hard not to fall for his badass portrayal of Jax. You develop a bond with the whole motley cast of characters – Clay Morrow, the prez, played by Ron Perlman; Tig, Half Sack, Opie, Police Chief Unser…
And then there’s Katey Sagal, who most of us know as Peg Bundy from Married With Children. Truthfully, not being a big TV guy over the years, I don’t remember even seeing her since her Peg Bundy days. But she’s been busy over the years as her IMDB entry will attest. And her Sons of Anarchy role as club matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow has blown my mind. Gemma is mother to Jax, and wife / “old lady” to club president Clay Morrow. She’s fierce and mean as a pitbull, but devoted, loving and oh, just a bit protective of her family. You love her one minute and despise her the next.
Toward the end of Episode 4 of Season 3 (‘Home’), a great version of Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire” began to play. It featured a soft, beautiful female vocal. A-Googling I went, and lo and behold, it is Katey Sagal singing (along with backup band The Forest Rangers). There’s actually an album out – Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Season 1-4 – that features a few other Sagal-sung songs, including “Son of a Preacher Man.”
The pairing of film & TV with the right music is a talent unto itself, and Sons of Anarchy picks some great music that is both familiar and unfamiliar to me. You can make some great discoveries this way. While I was loosely familiar with Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire”, I was never impacted as much by the song until I heard Sagal’s version while watching the ‘Home’ episode of Sons.
Well, better get back to the series. The boys are going overseas to Ireland, and some shit is about to go down.
UPDATE (Dec 6th): Rolling Stone just posted an interview with Katey Sagal in which she talks about her singing. I didn’t know that she’s married to the show’s creator, Kurt Sutter.
Old Californio’s latest, ‘Sundrunk Angels’
Somehow I missed the summer release date of Old Californio‘s latest album, Sundrunk Angels. Well, I was on a 2 week east coast vacation, so that may be why – but, better late than never.
The Pasadena, California band – led by guitarist, lead singer & songwriter Rich Dembowski – knocked me off my feet back in March 2009 when I heard “Mother Road” for the first time.
They have a rootsy, harmony-filled folk-rock vibe reminiscent of other Golden State bands of years past – groups like the Byrds, Moby Grape, and the good old Grateful Dead.
courtesy of Kent Gelb I’ve had a chance to spin the new record a few times now, and it does not disappoint. Favorites for me so far include the strong album opener, “Learn to Cheat”; the slowed down, almost mournful tone of “Sundrunk Angels”; the explosive band treatment of “Allon Camerado” (check out the build up around the 3 minute mark); and the simple beauty of “Unsatisfied” – tasty guitar picking, a lazy harmonica and some killer harmonies (something the Old Californio boys excel at).
Another solid album from Old Californio. I hope Rich and the boys keep going and get the recognition they deserve outside of the southern California Americana/folk-rock scene.
Listen to Old Californio – “Allon Camerado“
Buy Sundrunk Angels.
Recap: John Prine at the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix
Pardon me while I enjoy this warm afterglow I’m feeling – the afterglow that comes from seeing living legend John Prine perform live.
It was a Saturday night, and the setting was perfect – the ornate 82-year old Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix. Loudon Wainwright III‘s hour-long opening set was filled with his brand of humor and songs “about death and decay.” Songs like “The Shit Song,” “Heaven,” and a request from promoter Danny Zelisko, “Dead Skunk,” were nothing short of hilarious; but he also offered up some introspective tunes with a melancholy edge, like “Thanksgiving”, a quiet ballad about dysfunction around the Turkey Day table. Having never truly explored Loudon’s music, the set made me want to dip back into his catalog and see what I’ve been missing all these years.
But the night, after all, belonged to John Prine. At 9pm, John and his trio took the stage and didn’t stop for two solid hours. The songs covered his 40 year recording career from his first 1971 self-titled album to his last studio offering, 2005’s Fair & Square. In fact, he played eight out of the thirteen songs from his first album.
The anti-war “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” was introduced by telling the audience the song was so old, he couldn’t remember which war it was about.
“Angel From Montgomery” featured a beautiful mandolin opening by guitar/harmonica man Jason Wilber, who ended the tune with some great electric slide.
“Sam Stone”, about a heroin-addicted war veteran, started off with John solo acoustic. Then bass player Dave Jacques walked out and joined in with a bow on his standup bass – and finally Wilber walked out and joined in on some quiet electric.
The contributions of Wilber and Jacques can’t be understated. Their years of experience backing up Prine have made the three a single organism. They know when to add the slightest nuance and embellishment to a tune, adding sweet, quiet notes to John’s acoustic classics like “Far From Me” and “Hello In There” – yet they can crank it up to power trio volume on folk rockers like “Bear Creek Blues,” “Picture Show, ” and the fun ditties like “Fish and Whistle.”
Prine and the band have re-worked some tunes into some fantastic new arrangements too. “Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody”, the opener from 1995’s Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings, was transformed into something dark & funky, with Wilber playing these low slide riffs that added an edge to it. “Lake Marie” also was reworked, but not losing its entertaining but slightly sinister vibe.
Wilber and Jacques left the stage for a few tunes, leaving John and his guitar to strum out “Crazy As A Loon,” “Dear Abby,” and one of my all-time Prine favorites: “Blue Umbrella.”
Earlier in the set, Prine dedicated “Souvenirs” not only to his late friend and songwriting partner Steve Goodman, but to the doctor who cleared him of cancer a decade earlier, who was in the audience.
Since discovering his music in my late teens, John Prine’s music has helped me navigate the challenging, sometimes absurd path of life. His songs are honest, funny, wry, and comforting. Some folks you just trust, and look to in life to help show you the way. John Prine is one of those people for me (and for countless others, many in the audience last night). Throughout the night, I found myself closing my eyes, savoring the experience of spending time with one of my heroes.
God bless John Prine.
Set List
John Prine
Orpheum Theater, Phoenix, AZ
November 19, 2011Spanish Pipedream
Picture Show
Humidity Built the Snowman
Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore
Six O’clock News
Souvenirs
Grandpa Was a Carpenter
Far from Me
Christmas in Prison
Fish and Whistle
Long Monday
Glory of True Love
Angel From Montgomery
Crazy As A Loon *
Dear Abby *
Blue Umbrella *
Sam Stone [solo & band]
Bear Creek Blues
Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody
Hello In There
Lake MarieEncore:
Paradise (with Loudon Wainwright)*John solo
Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses – Live in Munich
Everyone I’ve met who has seen Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses in a live setting has one thing in common: they all rave about the experience. I’ve always seem to just miss him when he comes through town or plays at a festival. The closest I came was at the ACL Festival a couple years ago – I think I opted for getting a good spot for Band of Horses.
Thanks to the ACL webcast on Youtube earlier this year, I got a free show at the house. The channel still has a few songs posted from the performance. The set finale was “Bread and Water.” Tell me this doesn’t sum up Ryan and his band in a few short minutes…
Raw, gritty, real.
Rock, country, folk, blues.
Charm, good looks, charisma.Not that’s how you carry yourself as a frontman. I know Ryan’s married now, but man, he must’ve reeled them in back in the day. He was a pro bull rider when he started writing songs and playing guitar. This is a man’s man if there ever was one. And has he ever turned into one hell of a songwriter.
Here’s a full show from a stop in Munich, Germany over this past summer. It’s from a radio broadcast, so the sound is pristine. Enjoy it…
Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses
Live in Munich, Germany
June 17, 2011[download a zip of the whole show]
Dollar a Day
Depression
The Other Side
Dylan’s Hard Rain
Southside of Heaven
Hallelujah
Tell My Mother I Miss Her So
Hard Times
Liam Blues
Direction Of The Wind
band intro
Bluebird
The Poet
The Weary Kind
Malaguena
Sunshine
Bread and WaterRyan Bingham – vocals, guitar
Matthew Smith – drums
Corby Schaub – guitar, mandolin
Elijah Ford – bassRecap: Deer Tick at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix
The great thing about Deer Tick live is the no frills, no bullshit, “it’s only rock n’ roll” attitude. Lead singer/guitarist John McCauley is the embodiment of it all. He’s clearly in it for the music, and doesn’t much care about self-image or putting on those rock band front man airs. But that’s not to say he doesn’t have a good time and doesn’t embrace some of the – um – rock star lifestyle.
Shuffling on stage last night with three bottles of Coors and the red plastic cup that was never too far from his grasp, John and the band rocked the face off the Crescent Ballroom last night – growling, spitting, and, yes, snot-rocketing his way through a 90 minute, 19-song set full of new tunes from their brand new album Divine Providence, along with some older tunes spanning their first three albums (most from their debut, War Elephant) and a couple of well-placed covers.
They opened with the great Divine Providence album opener, “The Bump,” which serves as a great introduction to the band: “We’re full grown men! / But we act like kids! / We’ll face the music / Next time we roll in“; and the ultimate intro to John: “I got a name / They Call Me The Bump / One night with me / Is gonna mess you up … I’m a drunken devil! / I’m not the king of cool!“
And off they went. The set featured 9 songs from the new album, including two sung by guitarist Ian O’Neil (the hard charging “Walking Out The Door” and the southern rock ballad-feel of “Now It’s Your Turn”) and one by drummer Dennis Ryan, “Clowning Around” (Dennis wrote the song about John Wayne Gacy). The first released single from the record, “Miss K”, is good-time rock at its finest, and really pumped the crowd.
John and the band are loose and relaxed between songs, noodling around like they’re in rehearsal. It’s fun to see. Between songs, we were treated to the theme from Law & Order, AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”, and my favorite, drummer Dennis Ryan singing a verse of Santana & Rob Thomas’ “Smooth” – but sung as Tom Waits. Classic.
Deer Tick played five tunes off of War Elephant, including another highlight of the night, a slowed down “Ashamed” with a killer sax solo from Rob Crowell. Just as cool was the song they chose next, a raucous cover of the Replacements’ “Bastards of Young.”
Speaking of covers, the band also showed off their alter ego Deervana, with a spot on version of Nirvana’s “On a Plain.”
The night wrapped just after midnight, with the party anthem off the new album, “Let’s All Go To The Bar.” They were on for a full 90 minutes, but it still seemed short, and there wasn’t even enough time for an encore (I’m guessing the Crescent Ballroom curfew is 12 midnight). Everyone was ready for more, but it wasn’t to be. Instead, I made my way out back and chatted with the band for a few minutes (along with my smuggled can o’ Four Peaks Hop Knot IPA – shh).
me & john mccauley To me, there’s nothing as invigorating as a solid, genuine, live rock n’ roll show. Deer Tick are as real as they come – an unaffected group of guys who clearly love playing music together and insist on having a great time doing it. It’s all for the love of the music – and luckily, those of us in the crowd get to come along for the ride.
Deer Tick Set List
October 28, 2011
Crescent Ballroom, PhoenixThe Bump
Easy
Baltimore Blues No. 1
Main Street
Chevy Express
Walkin’ out the Door
Ashamed
Bastards of Young (Replacements cover)
Clownin Around
Funny Word
Choir of Angels
These Old Shoes
Now It’s Your Turn
Miss K.
On a Plain (Nirvana cover)
Not So Dense
Mange
Let’s All Go To The BarLuz de Vida, Music for Tucson
Summers are hell, the nut jobs are many, but I love my home state of Arizona. And in the almost 19 years I’ve called it home, nothing that has happened here was more shocking, sad and incomprehensible than the tragedy in Tucson on January 8th, 2011. The shooting outside a Safeway store took the lives of six, and injured 13 more, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Tucson-Based music writer Eric Swedlund, who has been an online pal of mine for years (via his music blog, Catfish Vegas), was communications director for Gabby Giffords’ campaign back in 2008, and he was deeply impacted on that January day, having known many of those killed and wounded. In the days and weeks after the shootings, Eric – along with a like-minded group of Tucson writers, venue operators and recording engineers – banded together to form Music Against Violence.
Throughout the year, they gathered contributions from a host of musicians both from Tucson and with strong ties to Tucson. The result is a 37 song (!) compilation called Luz De Vida: A Compilation to Benefit the Victims of the Tucson Tragedy. It features the likes of Tucson artists Calexico, Giant Sand, Dead Western Plains, Sergio Mendoza y La Orkestra, among many others. It also features national artists like Neko Case, Spoon, Jimmy Eat World, Meat Puppets and Chuck Prophet (here’s a full track listing).
Local label Fort Lowell Records is offering the set in digital format as well as a twelve song limited edition yellow vinyl.
I encourage you to check out the compilation – 100% of proceeds go to the Tucson Together Fund, which is the only officially sanctioned fund to assist the victims and families of this tragedy. This is an exceptional collection of southwest-flavored music, and it goes toward a great cause.
BUY – Luz de Vida: on Amazon, on iTunes, or Music Against Violence / Luz de Vida
VISIT – Music Against Violence official site | Music Against Violence Facebook
LISTEN – Check out a couple of songs here from alt-country pioneers Giant Sand and rock/soul/electronic outfit Dead Western Plains:
Giant Sand – “Recovery Mission” (mp3)
Dead Western Plains – “People Beat” (mp3)
“Carolina” and a growing obsession over Girls
God, have I fallen hard for this band. There’s some sort of musical synergy that I share with Girls singer/songwriter Christopher Owens. The three Girls albums (2 full lengths and an EP) are played regularly, and every listen is more and more of an enriching and fulfilling experience. I connect so deeply with his melodies, his lyrics, the soft touches, every nuance of his voice, and pretty much every element he crafts into his songs.
Case in point, the journey of “Carolina” from Broken Dreams Club, their stellar 2010 EP. It’s broken up into three separate parts: first, a calm, quiet into with guitars (pedal steel and electric) and some other-worldly effects; then the drums gradually build and launch into the second part – a driving, trance-inducing rhythm where the first lyrics come in…
“Get the reaction / get it right now / Find a connection / Get it right now…”
And finally, an unexpected transition to one of the sweetest, most beautiful melodies you’ll ever hear, where Chris breaks out his familiar falsetto and these lovesick, heart-wrenching words:
“I’m going to pick you up baby, throw you over my shoulder
Take you away, I’m going to carry you home
To Carolina, Carolina
Away to southern Carolina
And then I’ll never let you go.”It’s classic build and release – so, so satisfying.
I love love love these three records…
Album (2009)
Broken Dreams Club (2010)
Father, Son, Holy Ghost (Amazon MP3 Exclusive) (2011 – still only $5!)CAROLINA!
