Live Los Lobos
You know, this blog will turn four years old this year, and it turns out I’ve never graced the pages with live Los Lobos before. Huh? That’s just wrong.
Here’s a great soundboard show from last year’s Edmonton Blues Festival. The crowd is great, and they go bonkers when the band pulls out Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” for the encore. Another highlight is David Hidalgo’s guitar wizardry on “Mas y Mas”.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and again): Los Lobos are an American treasure, and hands down one of the best bands around.
For the whole show, download the ZIP.
Los Lobos @ the Edmonton Blues Festival
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
August 27th, 20071. Pigfoot Shuffle
2. The Neighborhood
3. Don’t Worry Baby
4. Evangeline
5. David Hidalgo intro to Fat Man
6. The Fat Man
7. Manny’s Bones
8. Let’s Say Goodnight
9. Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio
10. Volver, Volver
11. I Got Loaded
12. Mas y mas (mp3)
13. Cinnamon Girl (mp3)Keep up with the boys at Los Lobos.com.
Review: George Michael in Phoenix, June 22
You know what’s entertaining to me? The looks I got from people over the last couple of months – some of them close friends of mine – when they found out I was going to see George Michael in concert. Say what you will friends, but like a lot of people, George’s music has been a part of my life for over 20 years.
Thinking back, I was never a huge fan of the Wham! stuff. It wasn’t until 1987, when George released Faith, that I would call myself a fan. Four words reeled me in: I – Want – Your – Sex.
Review: Los Lobos at the Mesa Arts Center
Eleven years had passed since I last saw Los Lobos (1996 at the Electric Ballroom in Tempe). But like fine wine, time only makes them better and intensifies the experience. A gray bearded David Hidalgo and his band mates of thirty plus years took the stage Saturday night at the beautiful, 2-year old Ikeda Theater at the Mesa Arts Center. For the next two hours, the band took us on a journey that clearly showed why they remain one of the tightest, most eclectic bands out there today. It also reminded me how grossly underrated these living legends are. A freakin’ travesty, to be honest.
Upcoming Shows – Los Lobos
Seeing Los Lobos live should be on the Lifetime To-Do List of every music lover out there. Well into their fourth decade of making music together, with the same core lineup of friends / musicians since their start in East L.A. – David Hidalgo, Cesar Rojas, Louie Perez, Steve Berlin, and Conrad Lozano – these guys are as talented, tight, and dynamic as ever. They dip into several genres: blues, roots, latin, folk, traditional Mexican, and others. And if you haven’t heard their take on the Dead’s “Bertha”, you’re cheating only yourself, my friend.
Los Lobos – Bertha
Los Lobos is kicking off a tour on Friday night at Royce Hall at UCLA. Saturday night, they’ll be at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA. I’ll be catching them in a couple of weeks at the Mesa Arts Center in my neck of the woods (I’ll have a review up soon after).
Check out the tour dates, and go check out these legends when they come to your area. That’s an order. You’ll thank me.
Another Los Lobos classic…
Los Lobos – I Got Loaded
Links: Los Lobos Official Site | Los Lobos on LastFM | Hear their version of Bob Dylan’s “Billy 1” from the I’m Not There soundtrack (LastFM)
Buy: Amazon MP3 Store
Tour Dates
02.01.08 – Friday – Royce Hall, UCLA – Los Angeles, CA
02.02.08 – Saturday – Belly Up Tavern – Solana Beach, CA
02.15.08 – Friday – Abraham Chavez Theater – El Paso, TX
02.16.08 – Saturday – Ikeda Theater – Mesa, AZ
03.05.08 – Wednesday – Ithaca State Theatre – Ithaca, NY
03.06.08 – Thursday – McCarter Theater – Princeton, NJ
03.07.08 – Friday – William Patterson University – Wayne, NJ
03.08.08 – Saturday – Shubert Theater – New Haven, CT (Michael, represent!)
03.09.08 – Sunday – Strom Auditorium – Rockport, ME
03.11.08 – Tuesday – The Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, CT
03.12.08 – Wednesday – Birchmere – Alexandria, VA
03.13.08 – Thursday – The Grand Opera House – Wilmington, DE
03.14.08 – Friday – Lehigh University / Zoellner Arts Ctr Bethlehem, PA
03.15.08 – Saturday – Bardavon 1869 Opera House – Poughkeepsie, NY
03.16.08 – Sunday – Calvin Theatre – Northampton, MA
03.21.08 – Friday – Columbus Palace Theatre – Columbus, OH
03.25.08 – Tuesday – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA
03.27.08 – Thursday – Jack Singer Concert Hall – Calgary, Alberta CANADA
03.28.08 – Friday – Northern Alberta Jubilee Aud. – Edmonton, Alberta CANADA
03.29.08 – Saturday – Bowness Hall – Calgary, Alberta CANADA
03.30.08 – Sunday – Eric Harvie Theatre – Banff, Alberta CANADA
04.01.08 – Tuesday – Vancouver Centre For The Arts – Vancouver, B.C. CANADA
04.02.08 – Wednesday – Royal Theatre – Victoria, B.C. CANADACheck out their tour page for more dates extending into the summer.
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.
Live Earth Moment: Gimme Shelter
So I spent many a minute yesterday clicking around, checking out the different Live Earth performances around the globe. Kudos to MSN for their webcast coverage. They even made it user friendly for us Mac users (though you did need IE to be able to click around from city to city). One of my favorite moments yesterday was a Keith Urban / Alicia Keys performance of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” during Keith’s set. Color me impressed, they rocked hard…. (and Alicia, you weren’t lookin’ so bad either).
By the way, did you guys see the Police play “Message in the Bottle” with John Mayer, and – uh – Kanye West? “Uh! Yeah! Uh. Uh. Uh. Yeah.” Um, no.
Ickmusic Live: Bruce Cockburn, 1993
“Wow”, I say.
As a lover, yes lover, of Bruce Cockburn‘s music, coming across this crystal clear show from 1993 – the year I discovered his music – is a godsend. My very favorite Cockburn tune, “All the Ways I Want You”? Check. Second favorite, “One Day I Walk”? Check. Pissed off activist Bruce? Check (“Stolen Land”, “Maybe the Poet”, “Rocket Launcher”). Great sense of humor in the between-song banter? Double check.
Just a great show. If you’re a Cockburn fan and you haven’t heard this, prepare for your head to spin. If you’re not familiar with Bruce’s music, spend some time with this show, and it’s likely you’ll end up a fan.
BRUCE COCKBURN
Fox Theatre
Boulder, CO
August 28th, 1993Introduction
Maybe the Poet
Wondering Where the Lions Are
Tibetan Side of Town
Train in the Rain
All the Ways I Want You
Southland of the Heart
Soul of a Man
The Blues Got the World by the Balls
Mama Just Wants to Barrelhouse All Night Long
Stolen Land
Mighty Trucks of Midnight
If I Had a Rocket Launcher
If a Tree Falls
All the Diamonds in the World
One Day I Walk
Tie Me at the CrossroadsAlso check out:
Bruce’s Official Site
Live: Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, 1999
I. Am. A. Slow. Reader.
I’ve always enjoyed reading books. But damned if it doesn’t take me an eternity to read one. Especially over the last decade, as the internet has consumed any free time I previously devoted to books. And maybe it has something to do with reading immediately before bedtime. Four, five pages and I’m too tired to go on.
So my intent is to do my first book review, since I was just sent Chris Salewicz’s new book, Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer. But since it may take me while to get through it, I wanted to at least make you good people aware that this book is out there. Chris Salewicz was a music journalist in the seventies, covering the exploding punk scene for several publications, and befriending many of the bands, including the Clash – so he has a unique insider’s perspective on Joe Strummer.
Joe’s been gone for more than four years now. He left us too early at the age of 50. Shitty thing is, he was just hitting his stride again with the Mescaleros. After a long hiatus, he had formed the band in the late 90’s, and released Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, their debut album, in 1999. A tour followed, and as you’ll hear, Joe was back in prime form. With healthy doses of Clash favorites, old reggae songs, and new Mescaleros tunes, the live shows were great.
Interspersed between the songs is the classic Strummer stage banter. Before launching into Toots & the Maytalls’ “Pressure Drop”, he introduces it this way:
“We’re doing it by a Clash arrangement where we fuck the whole song up completely. But what can you do? I’m a great believer in tradition.”
Enjoy the show. I should have a quality book review to you by, oh – let’s say, Christmas.
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros
Theater of the Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA
November 24, 1999Download ZIP (mp3)
Intro
Shouting Street
Diggin’ The New
X-Ray Style
Rock The Casbah
Ishen > Brand New Cadillac
Tony Adams
Trash City
Nitcomb
The Road To Rock n’ Roll
White Man In Hammersmith Palais
Safe European Home
Yalla Yalla
Rudie Can’t Fail
London Calling
Pressure Drop
Tommy Gun
Island Hopping
Forbidden City
Junco Partner
Straight To Hell
I Fought The Law
Bankrobber
White RiotThe Clash rage at the US Festival
Joe Strummer was not happy when he hit the stage at the US Festival in 1983. There’s different stories about what was pissing him off so much. But the gist of it was that the Clash were upset when they heard that Van Halen took a million dollars to headline the third and final night of the festival. The Clash, by contrast, refused to go on stage until US Festival organizer Steve Wozniak (of Apple Computer) agreed to donate a large sum of money to charity. There was even a backstage shouting match between Joe Strummer and David Lee Roth, if you can believe that. Oh to be a fly on the wall on that day.
Well, what resulted was a very spirited set, with Joe Strummer taking some time between songs to rant and rave against consumerism and the American way. This is also guitarist Mick Jones’ last performance with the Clash.
RIP Joe Strummer: 1952-2002
The Clash / “Clash Calling”
Saturday, May 28th, 1983
Glen Helen Regional Park
San Bernardino, CA
US Festival ’83* The only imperfection of this show is that “London Calling” cuts out about half way through and jumps about halfway into “This is Radio Clash”. Don’t worry, you’ll get over it quickly.
London Calling / This Is Radio Clash
Somebody Got Murdered
Rock the Casbah
The Guns Of Brixton
Know Your Rights
Koka Kola
Hate and War
Armagideon Time
Sound of the Sinners
Safe European Home
Police on My Back
Brand New Cadillac
I Fought the Law
I’m So Bored with the USA
Train In Vain
The Magnificent Seven
Straight to Hell
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
ClampdownShriekback live at the Paradiso
It’s an 80’s triple assault! First Journey, then Prince’s ’88 aftershow, and now the circle is complete with a 1984 Amsterdam set by Shriekback. I posted a year ago about my fondness for their 1986 record ‘Big Night Music‘. This show comes a couple years before that release.
Made up primarily of Barry Andrews, Dave Allen, and Carl Marsh, this British group formed in 1982. Andrews was originally in XTC, and Allen came from Gang of Four. Put together Allen’s strong presence on the bass, Andrews’ synthesizer and whispered vocals, Marsh’s rhythm guitar and more melodic vocals, and a mix of cool drum programming and live percussion, and you have a funky, ethereal, and very unique sound.
Shriekback got together again in 2004 after a long hiatus and recorded their 2005 release, ‘Cormorant’. You can hear a couple tracks from every one of their albums on their web site. When this Amsterdam show took place in October of 1984, they had an EP and an album under their belt (‘Tench’ and ‘Jam Science’).
This is a short set, and I’m not sure if there was more to their set this evening or not, but it’s a neat glimpse into Shriekback’s world, circa 1984.
Shriekback
Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam
August 10, 19841. Flayling
2. Hand On My Heart
3. Feelers
4. Mothloop II
5. White Out
6. Suck
7. My Spine (Is The Bassline)Lineup:
Barry Andrews: keyboards, vocals
David Allen: bass, backing vocals
Carl Marsh: guitar, vocals
Martyn Barker: drums
Pedro Ortiz: percussion- Check out Shriekback’s web site and listen to tunes from all of their albums.
- Buy Shriekback music: Amazon US | Amazon UK
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