Good things from Old Crow Medicine Show
You can count Old Crow Medicine Show among those bands that I like more and more each time I hear them. They may have the “old timey” label affixed to them, but it’s only one facet. The guys play quintessential American music – folk, rock, bluegrass – and they have a hell of a lot of fun doing it.
On August 18th, OCMS will release their first live DVD, Live at the Orange Peel and Tennessee Theatre. I’ll soon have a copy to give away to one of you fine folks. In the meantime, see this excellent clip from the DVD. Talk about a loose band having a good time together. This is live music…
This one’s called “Down Home Girl”..
You can catch up with the guys at their Official Site.
And get this, they’re launching the Big Surprise Tour on August 4th, along with The Felice Brothers, Justin Townes Earle, and the Dave Rawlings Machine (feat. Gillian Welch). Now that’s a traveling show. These are the dates so far. Hopefully they’ll creep their way west…
AUGUST 2009
04 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Casino Ballroom
05 – Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
06 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
09 – Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion
10 – Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre
12 – Louisville, KY @ Waterfront Park
13 – Nashville, TN @ Riverfront Park
14 – Knoxville, TN @ World’s Fair ParkYou can also catch them later this month opening for the Dave Matthews Band along the Eastern seaboard.
New Tunes: Ted Russell Kamp
I would call playing bass for Shooter Jennings a pretty cool gig. Touring the country, laying down the bass lines for Shooter’s rowdy rockin’ brand of country. But does Ted Russell Kamp rest on his laurels? Helll nooo. His brain’s a buzzing with all sorts of cool tunes, and he’s been busy in his Southern California headquarters recording his own albums, writing his own songs, and making some extra scratch as an in-demand session player.
Poor Man’s Paradise looks like Ted’s 5th studio album (based on his AllMusic discography). Truth be told, a few of the songs are a tad cliche for my tastes (“Just a Yesterday Away”, “Let the Rain Fall Down”). But the strong ones make up for it. Leading the pack is this slow burner of a tune – “Let Love Do The Rest”. A song for a dark night, driving home from a tavern in the rain, thinking about that person who’s just out of reach.Give me a Hammond B3 and a forlorn ballad and I’m a happy man.
Buy: Poor Mans Paradise
Visit: Ted’s Official Site
Reggae Riddims, Red Stripe, and Ryan
I’ve been in a pretty deep reggae phase lately, branching out and exploring some artists I’m less familiar with: Jacob Miller, the Congos, Bunny Wailer, the Gladiators… if you ever want to get lost and explore some reggae, go to Last.fm and start up Bunny Wailer Radio, or Culture Radio, or Jacob Miller Radio. Then grab a Red Stripe (or a Guinness), sit back, and enjoy.
The Congos – Congoman – from Heart of the Congos
Jacob Miller – Shakey Girl – from Collector’s Classics
Have you guys & gals seen Three Sheets yet? It’s already 3 seasons old, but I just started watching a few weeks ago. Zane Lamprey is the brilliant & hilarious host, and he has the enviable job of traveling from country to country, exploring local drinking culture (often followed the morning after by finding the best local hangover remedy). It’s such a great show, and will have you laughing out loud no more than 3 minutes in.
Check out the Jamaica episode of Three Sheets here on YouTube. You’ll find out why Guinness is just as popular with the locals as Red Stripe. Trust me, it’s worth your while.
By the way, the channel that hosts Three Sheets, MOJO HD, will be going off the air on December 1st. Worry not, though, Three Sheets will be picked up somewhere, it’s just not clear where yet. Meanwhile you can catch up on all the episodes online for free at Hulu. And if you flip on Mojo today, you’ll land right in the middle of a Three Sheets Marathon. Cheers!
So the other day, I was flipping through my HD channels and came across a show called Music in High Places on Palladia. This episode featured Ryan Adams in Jamaica. Now, I’ve always been a distant admirer of Ryan Adams. I have a few of his records, both solo and with the Cardinals (and I need to get the Whiskeytown albums). But I can feel myself being drawn more and more into his music.
This performance of “Firecracker” on the show was my highlight. I’ve been playing the hell out of this YouTube video since.
Plant, Kraus and Prine Kill the Blues
I was driving home from work last week, listening to Sirius Disorder while Howard was on commercial (sorry, I’m addicted), and was thrilled to hear a great song that I’d only previously heard coming from the raspy voice of John Prine. But this time it was emanating softly and sweetly from the mouths of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
It turns out that Plant and Nashville bluegrass cutie Krauss holed up with producer T-Bone Burnett for an album of covers. They take on a broad sampling of some of their favorite tunes, ranging from the Everly Brothers to Tom Waits. The album, Raising Sand, will be out October 23rd. This should be good. Check out the track list (with songwriter in parenths):
“Rich Woman” (Dorothy LaBostrie/McKinley Millet)
“Killing the Blues” (Rowland Salley)
“Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” (Sam Phillips)
“Polly Come Home” (Gene Clark)
“Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)” (Phil and Don Everly)
“Through the Morning, Through the Night” (Gene Clark)
“Please Read The Letter” (Robert Plant/Michael Lee/Jimmy Page/Charlie Jones)
“Trampled Rose” (Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan)
“Fortune Teller” (Naomi Neville)
“Stick With Me Baby” (Mel Tillis)
“Nothin'” (Townes Van Zandt)
“Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson” (Milt Campbell)
“Your Long Journey” (A.D. Watson and Rosa Lee Watson)The song I heard in the car was “Killing the Blues”. Silly me, not knowing that “Killing the Blues” isn’t a Prine-penned song at all, but rather a 1977 composition by Rowland Salley, who went on to play bass in Chris Isaak’s band. A great song, cool lyrics…
PRE-ORDER Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand on the Rounder Records Site or Amazon.
Jason Isbell: An Album & Show Review
Hey everyone, this is Cam, another individual Pete has generously asked to periodically contribute to his blog. I’ve been holding off on this post for some time. Why?
a) I presumed that after the initial flurry of publicity there would be little coverage of Jason Isbell‘s debut album – Sirens of the Ditch – or his extensive tour with stellar opening acts Justin Townes Earle on many dates in July, and Centro-matic for much of August. I was wrong – both tour and CD are getting lots of coverage. Now this is a ‘just in case you haven’t seen it anywhere else’ post…
b) I wanted to see Jason & the 400 Unit live, and for that I had to wait until he came back to my town! Last time, I saw him open for Son Volt (which was great), but it’s different when you’re the headliner…
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by the ‘buzz’ – a talented artist releases a long awaited high quality CD and supports it with a great live show and extensive tour.
Jason & the 400 Unit finally came back to Toronto on Tuesday. The venue was most suitable for a rock show; the aging but still going strong El Mocambo, known for now-legendary shows by Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Rolling Stones, U2, and Marilyn Monroe (yes that’s correct, in ’58 apparently!) amongst many others over the years.
Considering the ‘El Mo’ is best known as a college bar, it was quite busy for a weeknight in the middle of the summer when school is out. The band took to the stage around 10:30 or so. My friend asked which one was Jason, to which I replied that Jason was in the middle, in a plaid shirt. “The country-looking guy?!” he asked, a tad concerned. I nodded as Jason picked up one of his electric guitars, and kicked off “Grown”, one of the many tunes on the new album. As always, I thought of Pete, and by extension Ickmusic, as Jason sang the lines: “… are you still dancing to Purple Rain?” After the first few bars my friends were nodding enthusiastically, and by the end there was no more talk of country.
Jason & the 400 Unit followed up on the first tune with a cover of a great song called “The Assassin”, which Jason announced will be released in some capacity in a month or so. “The Assassin” was penned by Patterson Hood, Jason’s former band mate in the band Drive-by Truckers (DBT), whom he joined in late 2001 or so and left abruptly early this year. Sirens of the Ditch was recorded on the few, brief breaks he took from touring with DBT.
Even though the album features some of his old band mates, most of the songs sound unlike his contributions with the Truckers. My other friend, who’d seen Jason with DBT in the fall, remarked that solo Jason is more “controlled”; I agree and think this is in particular reflected on the album. I also think that it’s a sign that the band has practiced hard for the tour, and is in especially fine form.
As the night progressed, Jason switched to acoustic guitar and handed lead guitar duties over to Browan Lollar, who did a great job, and continued to impress the crowd. After a short “smoke break”, Jason returned on solo acoustic before – not a minute too soon – he picked up his electric guitar and the band rejoined him for the final set of songs. These included the first track from Sirens, “Brand New Kind Of Actress”, the smoke-infused blues burner “Hurricanes & Hand Grenades”, & the classic rocker “Try.” To top it all off, the final encore was Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak”, which left the crowd again howling for more.
The tour is still on – see Jason’s website for more information. The 400 Unit, Jason’s band, is comprised of Browan Lollar on guitar, Jimbo Hart on bass, and Ryan Tillery on drums. Son Volt keyboardist Derry deBorja has also joined them on this tour, allowing Jason more time to focus on his guitar playing and vocals.
Buy Sirens Of The Ditch.
Captain’s Dead has Jason’s April 18th show at Irving Plaza in NYC.
