Sunday Video: Ten Years After at Woodstock
Alvin Lee makes some of the best guitar faces I’ve ever seen (and his playin’ ain’t half bad either)…
If you’re a music lover and you’ve never seen Woodstock – 3 Days of Peace & Music, remedy that now (or Netflix it).
Vanity 6 Open It Up
I thought we’d all jump in the time capsule back to 1983 this week, and take a listen to the “triple threat” tour, AKA Prince’s 1999 tour, also featuring the openers Vanity 6 and The Time. First up, Vanity 6.
Made up of Prince’s high school girlfriend Susan Moonsie (on the right above), Boston native Brenda Bennett (on the left), and Canadian model/actress Denise Matthews, who underwent the obligatory Prince name change to Vanity (reportedly after Prince first recommended Vagina – – classy!).
Vanity 6 wasn’t out there to impress anyone with their vocal and musical prowess, they were there to wear trashy lingerie and entertain, which they did. Backed up by The Time (on stage and on record), the music ranged from funky (Nasty Girl) to the new wave of the period (He’s So Dull).
It wasn’t long after this show that Vanity made the decision to break off from the Prince camp and go solo with a Motown record deal, as well as appearances in some quality films (The Last Dragon, anyone??, and Action Jackson, of course). Vanity’s personal life took a nose dive (no pun intended) over the coming years, as a severe cocaine addiction developed. But fear not folks, Miss Vanity found Jesus and is alive and well these days, doing her thing as Evangelist Denise Matthews.
The opening set:
Vanity 6
Long Beach, CA
March 31st, 1983
Opening for Prince on the 1999 TourMake Up
Wet Dream
Drive Me Wild
If A Girl Answers, Don’t Hang Up
Nasty GirlComing This Week: The rest of the show with The Time and Prince & the Revolution
Buy Vanity 6 (the CD’s out of print, but you can buy them used for a fee):
This Little Light of Mine, Live from Torino
With the new European tour under way, the Seeger Sessions Band has thrown another classic traditional tune into the mix: the gospel standard “This Little Light of Mine”. Perfect choice, in my opinion. The show as a whole has a spiritual revival quality to it, and the addition of this song only enhances the experience. It’s hard not to be moved when you have almost 20 musicians on stage playing this great music.
While a lot of Bruce fans ache for another E Street album and tour, I’m hoping Bruce takes his Seeger Sessions show through the U.S. just one more time. I want to experience it again, and I want my almost 3-year old to experience it this time. Such pure, unbridled M-U-S-I-C.
Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band: This Little Light of Mine (mp3) – live from Torino, Italy, Oct 2, 2006 – pick up We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions – American Land Edition
Here’s another great version of the song, with Sam Cooke tweaking it with a little soul / R&B flavor…
Sam Cooke: This Little Light of Mine (mp3) – from Sam Cooke at the Copa
Thursday Variety Hour
WordPress, the blogging software behind this blog, has a cool feature that snatches comment spam and tucks it away so I can delete it. I have a question. Who are the people that spend their days creating this stuff?? What low-life wastes of space get up in the morning and look forward to a day of carpet bombing the internet with this trash?
What the hell is hentaipowerpuff?? On second thought, I don’t wanna know. It just mystifies me that there are people that do this. Obviously $$$ is the driving force, but holy cow, what a way to make it.
Thank you. I guess I needed to get that off my chest.
So before I post another Springsteen tour update, I thought I’d spice it up a little. These songs have absolutely nothing to do with eachother. Or do they? I guess, like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, that it wouldn’t take too many steps to connect them up. Hmm, Til Tuesday, Billy Bragg & Wilco, and Boogie Down Productions. Maybe they all played the same festival in Finland one year. Entirely possible.
Boogie Down Productions:
Criminal Minded(mp3) – from Live Hardcore Worldwide.Til Tuesday:
Coming Up Close(mp3) – from Welcome Home.Billy Bragg & Wilco:
Walt Whitman’s Niece(mp3) – from Mermaid Avenue.Oh, and here’s a YouTube link to a 4 year old banging away on the drums like a pro.
Bologna Boss: A Trip Down the River
Sunday night was the European tour opener of Bruce and the Seeger Sessions Band. The song selections didn’t stray too far from this spring and summer’s Seeger Sessions offerings. There were, however, two additions to the set list: the traditional gospel song “This Little Light of Mine”, and a reworked version of “The River”. The Seeger Sessions treatment gives it the feel of an Irish drinking song. I picture an Irish pub with pint glasses raised high, swaying from side to side.
Bruce has definitely played around with “The River” over the years, and though I can enjoy and appreciate the different arrangements, nothing beats the original in my opinion. Here’s a little trip down the river…
The River (The Seeger Sessions Band – Oct. 1st, 2006 – Bologna, IT)
The River (The E Street Band – May 27, 2000 – Las Vegas, NV) Hey, I was there!
The River (The E Street Band – Nov. 5, 1980 – Tempe, AZ)
Released Today: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions Band – American Land Edition was released today. Go on and buy it now.
The pic up top is from this Flickr photostream.
Update: Found this YouTube video of Bruce doing “The River” in Verona the other night.
Sunday Video: Steve, Townes, and Blaze
Steve Earle sings his beautiful “Fort Worth Blues”, a tune he wrote in memory of Townes Van Zandt (bringing Nanci Griffith to tears)…
Townes sings “Snowin’ on Raton”, with a little help from Blaze Foley…
Extra: Townes sings Bruce’s “Racing in the Streets” (starts about 2:30 into the video).
Citizen Cope: More than it Seems
This tune is kicking me in the pants right now. Citizen Cope has that satisfying blend of soul and a rootsy acoustic vibe that I’m enjoying more and more with each listen. “More Than It Seems” just plain grooves, in a slow, pleading sort of way.
Memphis born, and reared in Texas and Washington DC, Cope now calls Brooklyn home. His third official release, Every Waking Moment, was just released on September 12th. Like many folks, “Sideways”, a Cope tune that Carlos Santana chose for his Shaman album a few years ago, first turned me on to the man. But whether you’ve heard of Citizen Cope or not, listen to this tune, and watch the video below. Like me, you may itch to hear more…
Citizen Cope: More Than It Seems – from his Sept. 12th release, Every Waking Moment
Citizen Cope: OfficialDrivin’ All Night: Heart and Soul, Part Three
There’s a reason this concert’s nickname is Heart and Soul. “Heart and Soul” is an important component of “Drive All Night”, probably my favorite Bruce ballad of all time. “HEEEAAAAARRRRT and SOUUUL / HEAAAAAARRRRT and SOUUUL”. It’s an intimate, heartfelt, and very powerful tune, and that’s just the studio version. Just wait til you hear this live version. Once you’re catching your breath after hearing “Drive All Night”, they’re diving right iinto a breathtaking “Backstreets”. No mercy, I tell ya.
Enjoy the final part of the show. Who out there agrees with me on ‘Drive All Night”? Is this not the best version you’ve ever heard? What’d y’all think of the show?
Bruce Springsteen & the E. Street Band
November 5th, 1980
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZPart 3 of 3: “Heart & Soul”
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
Drive All Night
Backstreets*
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)*
I’m a Rocker
Jungleland
Detroit MedleyBonus Tracks: (from The River Tour)
On Top of Old Smokey
The Price You Pay* short cut-outs during these 2 tracks (one on each)
And finally, one last time, if you don’t own The River, you really should…buy this album!
Now, look ahead to October 1st, Boss fans… Bruce and the Seeger Sessions Band are ready to take Europe by storm. It might behoof you to subscribe to my Bruce posts if you haven’t already. I’m ready to rev it up….
Kila’s Celtic Soundscapes
I thought I’d pass along a nice one I heard on Larry Kirwan’s Sirius radio show Celtic Crush. Saturday mornings are great at the House of Ickmusic. A morning paper, highly caffeinated Colombian coffee, the almost 3 year old bouncing around the room, all to the accompaniment of quality Irish music courtesy of Larry K. Kirwan is also the singer of Black 47, a popular NYC-based Irish band.
So he dug this one up a few weeks ago, and I just found it on eMusic. I have no earthly idea what the song is about, not knowing Gaelic (you Irish are welcome to offer a translation in the comments), but music is zee universal language, as we all know. Listen to the grooves throughout the song, traditional Irish instruments used in ways that are new to my ears. It’s a nine minute tune, but worth listening to all the way through, since the second half of the song is when the song really takes flight. Real nice stuff. This one is the opening track from their 2003 release, Luna Park.
Kila:
Glanfaidh Mé(mp3) – from Luna ParkKila’s Official Site.
Related: My St. Patty’s Day 2006 post, with details about traditional Irish instruments.
Heart and Soul, Part Two
Happy Monday, folks. This should start the week off right. It’s part two of Heart & Soul, with the Boss and band ripping into mostly material from The River. My favorite parts in this section are “Here She Comes” into an amazing version of “I Wanna Marry You”. I’ve always loved this song, and to hear Bruce’s intensity and passion in the vocals here makes the song so much better. And for someone who is partial to sides 3 and 4 of The River, you don’t get better than great live versions of “Wreck on the Highway”, “Stolen Car”, “Point Blank”, “Crush on You” and “Ramrod.”
Enjoy part two of this great show. Part three is coming up in a couple of days.
Bruce Springsteen & the E. Street Band
November 5th, 1980
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZPart 2 of 3: “Heart & Soul”
Thunder Road
No Money Down+
Cadillac Ranch
Hungry Heart
Fire
Candy’s Room
Sherry Darling
Here She Comes
I Wanna Marry You
The Ties That Bind
Stolen Car
Wreck on the Highway
Point Blank+
Crush on You
RamrodDownload all of part 2in a RAR file.+ A few annoying snaps and crackles on these two tracks. Sorry for the imperfections, but hey still worth postin’!
CD ARTWORK :: Reader Paul in the UK created some artwork for the CD covers. Get the front and back.
Buy This Album!
