Friday, September 30, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Pearl Jam plays Floyd

Pink Floyd week wraps up on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with Pearl Jam playing "Mother" from "The Wall".  Late Night is on at 12:35 AM on NBC.

In case you missed it, here is Roger Waters & Foo Fighters doing "In The Flesh" earlier this week on the show.

Perpetual Groove, Hogtober, No BS! Brass Band, William Walter & Co

Friday night, check out the No BS! Brass Band at The Camel.  It's $7 to get in.  The show starts at 9 PM with openers The Brand New Life.  Here's the band playing what appears to be an impromptu set at Camp Barefoot 5 in August.  When none of your instruments need electronic amplification, that's something you can do.


William Walter & Co. will be at Sine'.  Show starts at 10 PM and it doesn't look like there is a cover charge.  Here they are, also from Camp Barefoot 5.



I just kind of stumbled on YouTube's Rock in Rio live webcast and am watching/listening to Stevie Wonder live while I write this blog.  There isn't a schedule up for the webcast but from the Rock in Rio festival site it looks like things start at 1:30 PM our time on Friday, Saturday & Sunday.  Bands playing include Shakira, Lenny Kravitz, Maroon 5, Coldplay, System Of A Down & Guns N' Roses.  No guarantees on who you will actually see on the webcast but it might be worth a look-see.  At the very least, they may have lots of crowd shots of beautiful Brazilian women in thongs.

There are a ton of festivals this weekend, not really much musically, but you might want to get out of the house for one of them.  I'll cover some below.  For more, check out the story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch HERE.

Bark in the Park goes down to benefit the Henrico Humane Society on Saturday morning from 9 AM to 1 PM.  There will be a 5k race, a 2k dog walk, dog contests, vendors, a petting zoo, moon bounce for the kids and lots of dogs.  It's out at Deep Run Park and admission is free.

The Hog is returning to Church Hill!  For those of you who have been here in Richmond, you will of course remember the High on the Hog fests at the top of Church Hill at Libby Hill Park.  Well, now it's back as Hogtober and it will run from noon until 7 PM.  It's free to get in.  There will be bbq to eat, stuff for the kids to do, and adult beverages for the adults.  Music includes Rosie Soul & The Rock n' Roll Cowboys at 12:30, The Atkinsons at 2:30, People's Blues of Richmond at 4, Jackass Flats at 5, and B2B Band at 6. 

Get your jam on with Perpetual Groove on Saturday night at The National.  Tix are $15 in advance, $18 at the door.  Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Former Champions.  Here's PGroove playing at their festival (Amberland) in 2009:


Have a great time this weekend! 

Tony Jordan

Thursday, September 29, 2011

They Might Be Giants@National, Late Night Pick of the Night: Laura Marling

The always kooky, always entertaining, They Might Be Giants will be at The National tonight.  Tix are $23.  Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Jonathan Coulton

We'll have a full rundown of the weekend's musical events tonight.  Tried to do it last night.  Set the alarm on my new cell phone to wake my up in case I fell asleep lying down with the 4 year old while he went to sleep.  Fell asleep, of course.  Found out that the Vibrate on my new cell phone is not nearly as strong as the one on my old phone as I slept right through the alarm and numerous text messages.

Late Night Pick of the Night is English folky singer-songwriter Laura Marling on Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35 AM on NBC.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Roger Waters w/Foo Fighters & Greatest Gig In The Sky

To celebrate the release of the Pink Floyd deluxe edition CDs, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is hosting Pink Floyd week.  Every night the musical guest will play a Floyd song and tonight should be quite spectacular with Floyd bassist Roger Waters joining Foo Fighters to do "In The Flesh".

Speaking of Floyd, you can listen to Floyd playing "Dark Side of the Moon" in it's entireity live at Wembley in 1974 accompanied by some of the originial videos used during the performance along with some trippy new visuals.  It starts at the top of each hour and will only be on until 9/28.  I particularly like the jam in "Any Colour You Like".  Click HERE to listen and watch.

Here's The Shins on Jimmy Fallon last night kicking off Pink Floyd week with "Breathe":

Monday, September 26, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Radiohead

Radiohead doesn't do a whole lot of TV but they will be on a special one-hour episode of the Colbert Report tonight.  The show will include an interview with the band and multiple performances.  Colbert Report is on at 11:30 PM on Comedy Central and then they repeat it multiple times after that.  Radiohead may be touring next year and perhaps they will confirm that on the show.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Sonny Rollins

Tonight, check out jazz legend Sonny Rollins on Tavis Smiley on PBS. Check your local listings for air times.

Foster the People, Bio Ritmo, Scott H Biram, Primus, Frank Turner

Your weekend begins with band with the pumped up kicks, yes, it's Foster the People at The National.  Tix are $23.  Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with Reptar and Cults.  You'll want to get there early to see Cults.  Foster the People is all over the place these days with their catchy little number "Pumped Up Kicks".  Here they are doing a "Tiny Desk Concert" for NPR and I bet they play that song.  They'll probably be more amplified at The National but this is cool.


After 20 years, you get to be called an institution, and Richmond institution Bio Ritmo will be celebrating their 20th anniversary with a show at Gallery 5 on Friday night.  Tix are $12 and the show kicks off at 9 with NO BS Brass Band.  Bio Ritmo has a new album out called "La Verdad".  Here's Bio Ritmo at Las Tablas, wherever that is.


You can check out the webcast of Clear Channel Media's (they own a whole lot of radio stations) iHeartRadio fest from Vegas HERE.  This will feature some of the best of pop music along with some of the worst (Black Eyed-Peas, Carrie Underwood, Rascall Flats, J-Lo, Bruno Mars) so pick your spots.  The show runs from 10 PM ET to 3 AM ET on Friday and Saturday nights.  Highlights on Friday include Jay-Z, Coldplay, Alicia Keys and the one I want to see, Jane's Addiction (who will probably go on first).  On Saturday, highlights include Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Sting & Jeff Beck (how the hell did he get on this bill?).  By the way, David Guetta will be on the bill, who I mistakenly called an American Idol guy on one of my Late Night Pick blogs the other day.  When I watched the Last Call with him on it, I found out he is an internationally known French DJ.  I think I was thinking of David Archuleta whose name rhymes with Guetta but is otherwise nothing like him. 

Gutbucket blues man Scott H. Biram will bring his tiny riot of music to The Camel on Saturday night.  Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with opener The Dimmer Twins (love the name!).  Here's Scott on "Live From Sugar Hill Studios" last year.  He kicks off the show after a short intro.  I'm guessing he plays for about 1/2 of the one hour show since there is only one other musical guest.  That's the other musical guest in the screen shot down there, not Scott.  Scott is not as fuzzy.


Also Saturday night, Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls will be at The Canal Club.  Tix are $13 in advance, $15 at the door.  Doors open at 8 and the show kicks off later with openers Andrew Jackson Jihad and Into It, Over It.  You may dig Frank if you like The Clash, The Decemberists, Bruce Springsteen, or Billy Bragg.  Here's Frank doing "If Ever I Stray":


Primus is back with a new album, "Green Naugahyde", and they are coming to The National on Monday to play a juicy two fat set show for you.  Tix are $35, doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:30 and don't be late because it's just Primus, no opener.  Here they are doing "American Life" at Bonnaroo this year with their giant spacemen.
 

If you didn't read my ode to the now defunct R.E.M., check it out below.

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Thursday, September 22, 2011

R.E.M. is over

In an announcement on their web site, R.E.M. has announced that it is over and they have called it a day.  It's hard to say just how much this band meant to me, especially in the late 80s - early 90s, which were their peak years.  Like many of my generation, I discovered them when I got to college.  As great of a rock town as Philly is, in the 80's, the city only had classic rock stations and I couldn't get any college stations were I lived so while I had heard "Fall On Me" and I had "Fables of the Reconstruction", they had never really clicked with me. 

Then I got to college and discovered "Life's Rich Pageant" and it was all I listened to for about three months.  It was their most aggressive album, which appealed to me, young rocker that I was.  It felt free and political and not too weird but just weird enough to be different from the Led Zep and The Cult that I was listening to.  This was also one of the first times that I felt this band was my little secret and only a select few knew about them.  Elitist, perhaps, and indicative of that hipster, "they're cool if they're unknown" attitude but I was in college, so forgive me.

A year later, "Document", their last album on the indie label IRS, blew up, at least at college.  It was on at every party that first semester and even the people that weren't into "college music" (that's what we called alternative back then) owned it but we didn't mind.  Something that good had too be shared so we all dunkenly bopped around to "It's the End of the World As We Know It" and misinterpreted the meaning of "One I Love" until we actually listened to the lyrics.  I went to see them for the first time at The Spectrum that tour, which was maybe half-full, so they still didn't really feel BIG.  I don't remember a lot of that show except a loose feeling unlike that of other arena shows I had seen and a cover of Lou Gramm's "Midnight Blue" which I wasn't quite sure if they were being ironic or not but they played balls out and like they meant it.

A year later (1988) they went BIG with "Green" the first album after their big payday from Warner Brothers.  For some reason, I didn't feel like they sold out.  The album still sounded like them and it featured loud, aggressive music like "Orange Crush" and "Turn You Inside Out" along with some beautiful and sad songs like "You Are the Everything", "The Wrong Child" and "I Remember California".  I saw them at the beginning of the tour for that album and then again toward the end.  It was a massive tour and I remember feeling after the second show (at the Mann Music Center) that they seemed tired.  I hoped the grind of the big label album/tour/album cycle wouldn't be their ruin.

"I Remember California" sent me off to my summer in LA and that summer I really began to dig into their older albums, "Murmur" and "Reckoning", especially "Murmur".  I listened to "Murmur" a lot that summer on a crummy cassette with Pete Townshend's "All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes".  "Murmur"'s indescipherable lyrics and swampy sound (made swampier by the bad cassette) were a resting place within the glitz and neon colors of LA.  I especially remember listening to "Murmur" while I say on Huntigton Beach on the 4th of July, watching surfers and drinking beer and feeling like I was in the right place at the right time, right now.  "Perfect Circle" still give me chills and almost brings me to tears.

"I Remember California" brought me back to the East Coast for my senior year and R.E.M. disappeared for a while and then came out with what I think is their masterpiece, "Out of Time".  This was one of those albums that was the right album at the right time and seemed to be speaking right to me.  I had graduated in June but was still living on College Hill, not in school, but not feeling completely out either.  I was adrift, unsure what I was going to do, unsure of where I stood at the time and where I would go in the future.  I don't know if the band felt the same ambivilance, on a major label but still trying to keep indie cred.  But the songs on the album seemed to reflect what I was feeling ("Low", "Country Feedback", "Half a World Away", "Losing My Religion") and put me at ease about it ("Belong", "Shiny Happy People").

"Automatic for the People" was next. I was in radio at the time and the day that we got the single "Drive" in, I ran into an office and threw it into the CD player, incredibly excited to hear it before anyone else.  It sucked you in slowly, lyrically and musically, before exploding with guitars.  I listened to it a number of times in a row and just reveled in it, letting it envelop me.  This was my radio album, as I heard the hits many times while on the air, but I never got sick of them and I would always turn it up.  They felt like a respite from the anger and aggression of the grunge music at the time ("Everybody Hurts" - "so hold on....hold on") but also fit in and didn't feel out of place.  And "Nightswimming" still stands as one their most beatiful songs.

Their last great album "Monster" followed in '94.  They had seemed to embrace some of the aggression of the grunge movement but also harkened back to some of that swampy, blurry sound of some of their earlier albums. 

"New Adventures in Hi-Fi" was next.  Perhaps the fact that is was made on tour made it feel a bit casual to me and it didn't really click with me as much as previous albums.

Then the drummer, Bill Berry, quit, and the band just never sounded as interested after that.  The albums would still have a few great songs, but they seemed inconsistent and while I enjoyed them, they wouldn't really click with me.  Perhaps time and the inevitable biography's will have the band tell us if they felt different too.  Perhaps when Bill left is stopped feeling like four friends against the world and more like a job or a business where they hired people to fill his place for an album or a tour.

But the slow decline of the band can't take away their impact on me and my generation.  The hippies would talk about the Beatles and the Stones and though I love those bands, they could never be mine.  They weren't the bands that I grew up with and grew with.  They weren't the bands that I waited with anticipation for the new album from and then played the album over and over again, trying to decipher where the band was and what they meant and what the songs meant to me and my life.  R.E.M. was one of those bands, one of my bands and they always will be.

Berry, Buck, Mills & Stipe.  A Perfect Circle of aquaintances and friends.  R.E.M.  R.I.P.

Tony Jordan

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Elbow, Jack White & ICP, Grunge Quiz

Our Late Night Pick of the Night tonight is Elbow on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35 AM on NBC.  Elbow is from Great Britain and is getting nominated for all the big Brit music awards (Mercury Prize, Q Awards).  Here they are on the Mercury Prize Awards Show:


Also, here is the long-awaited (well perhaps someone was awaiting it) collaboration by Jack White & Insane Clown Posse.  It's weird.  This is on YouTube but is audio only.


And with the release of Nirvana's "Nevermind" deluxe edition (5 stars in Rolling Stone) and Pearl Jam's "20" movie, the New York Times has a grunge quiz.  I didn't do as well as I expected only scoring 13 of 19, mainly missing the ones where you had to choose one or more.  See how you do HERE.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: The Decemberists

Tonight the Decemberists are on Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC at 1:35 AM.  You will definitely want to DVR this one so you can skip through the segment with David Guetta, who I think was one of those American Idol winners who fade away after the inevitable American Idol tour.  Here's The Decemberists' video for "The Calamity Song".  "Let's play Global Thermonuclear War."

Monday, September 19, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Bruce Springsteen

Bruuuuuuuuuce!  An easy choice tonight as Mr. Springsteen appears on this repeat (from last November) of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  Tonight at 12:35 AM on NBC.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Stewart Copeland

Not a whole lot to choose from tonight on late night TV, but I'll go with a repeat of Stewart Copeland, drummer for the Police and Oysterhead (may they get back together someday), on David Letterman at 11:35 PM on CBS.

William Elliot Whitmore, Steve Earle, GWAR, Widespread Panic

And so it begins.  It's that time of year in Richmond, when there is a good band or artist to see just about every night, through the end of October or so. 

Things get started Friday night with Steve Earle & The Dukes and Duchesses featuring Allison Moorer at The National.  Tix are $32.50 for reserved Orch, $27.50 for reserved Balcony and $18.50 for Standing General Admission .  Doors open at 7 PM, show starts at 8.  Here's Steve with the band doing "Copperhead Road" in August in Rochester NY:


There will even be great music if you're sitting at home this weekend.  The Austin City Limits Festival will be webcast live on YouTube.  YouTube does a nice job with two different channels to choose from.  You go HERE to watch it.  It will start at 2:30 PM our time, Friday, Saturday & Sunday.  Go to the web site to check out the full schedule.  Some highlights include Brandi Carlile (3:10 PM Friday), Ray LaMontagne (5:10 PM Friday), Bright Eyes (7:10 PM Friday), Coldplay (9:30 PM Friday), Alison Krauss (5 PM Sat), Fitz & The Tantrums (6 PM Sat), Iron & Wine (6 PM Sat, remember I said there were two channels), My Morning Jacket (9 PM Sat), Fleet Foxes (7:30 PM Sun).

If you are in the mood for bar-b-q, blood, gore and hard rock on Saturday, check out the GWAR-B-Q at The National on Saturday.  This was moved to The National at the last minute from Hadad's Water Park at the last minute because Henrico County would not issue the proper licenses for the show.  Slave Pit’s Dave Brockie had this to say about the debacle-“We feel we have been treated in an unjust manner. There have been music festivals for years in Henrico County with no problem OR licenses. We jumped through hoops, hired cops, made safety plans…and at the last second they chose not to give us the permits.”  Doors open at 1, show starts at 2.  Appearing will be Gwar, Darkest Hour, Kepone, Mensrea, DBX, Groundscore, Argonauts, with Special Guests and G4's "Attack of the Show" co-host Candace Bailey will be eaten by GWAR”s World Maggot.  Tix are $25.  Here's GWAR's 2009 video for "Let Us Slay".  NFTFOH (Not For the Faint of Heart):

If you prefer your music a little on the milder side, and really, anything compared to GWAR will be milder, check out blues-folk singer and troubadour William Elliott Whitmore joined by Ryan Brosmer, The Vacant Stairs, Hi I’m Bryce, and the Manifestivus at The Camel on Saturday night.  Show starts at 9 PM and tix are $10.  This is my pick of the week and if any of you mugs care to join me, that's where I'll be, even if I have to fly solo.  Here is William performing "Hell or High Water" live at KEXP in Seattle:


If you want to get the kids outside and air 'em out now that the weather is nice, on Sunday head out to DiggityFest featuring Dan Zanes & Friends (if you've seen Disney Channel, you've seen him and Dan was in the Del Fuegos) and Richmond-based The Diggity Dudes along with Hope Harris & The Cousins Jamboree and Silly BusHERE is an article about the fest from Thursday's Times-Dispatch.  Besides being a great time, it benefits a great cause in Connor's Heroes.  Tickets for Adults (13 yrs and older) are $17 in advance / $20 at the door; Kids (12 yrs and under) are $10 in advance / $13 at the door and Kids under 3 are FREE.  The show will be at Westchester Commons in Midlothian.  Check out the web site for directions.  Gates open at 11:30 AM, show starts at 12:30 PM and it will run until 5 PM.  Dan Zanes makes music that the parents can enjoy too.  Here he is doing "All Around the Kitchen":


Sunday night, Celtic rockers Flogging Molly will be at The National.  Tix are $25 in advance, $28 at the door.  Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with The Stanfields and Peoples Blues Of Richmond.  You can check out their entire 30 minute set from the in-store they did at Amoeba Records in SF right here:


Monday night, Carolina Chocolate Drops will be at University of Richmond's Camp Concert Hall, Booker Hall of Music.  The show starts at 7:30 PM.  Tix are $32 for adults, $16 for kids and $10 if you are a U of R student.  Here's what the U of R site says about them: "Since 2005, the Grammy® Award-winning string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, have been impressing audiences with their electrifying performances. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are the newest and youngest players in a long lineage of black string bands and have created a unique sound of their own. “Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we are modern musicians.” —Justin Robinson. Rolling Stone described the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ style as “dirt-floor-dance electricity”."  I will say that these guys (and gal) mix old-timey music with hip-hop in a fresh and exciting way.  This is a video from a performance they did in Pittsburgh.  Ignore the Sunstar Music Festival thing at the beginning.  This is a cover and you may recognize the song but it's not like you remember it.  Music starts at about the 1:30 mark.



Finally, Monday also starts 3 straight nights of Widespread Panic at The National.  These guys will be taking an extended hiatus after this year (their 25th anniversary! now I feel old.) so who knows when we'll see them again.  The Times-Dispatch spoke with bass player and Richmond native Dave Schools.  You can check that out HERE.  Tix are $45, doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7:30 each night.  No opener as usual, just two sets of Widespread and we wouldn't want it any other way. Here they are playing "Chilly Water" in Oakland CA last year:
  

So much to see and do!  Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Thursday, September 15, 2011

3 Sheets to the Wind, Late Night Pick of the Night: Girl Talk & Interpol

Tonight, yacht rockers Three Sheets to the Wind will be at The Republic.  Show starts at 10 PM and is FREE to get in.  More on this weekend's concerts on tonight's blog.

Tonight's Late Night Pick of the Night is the dj who was just in town for the RVA Music Fest, Girl Talk.  He'll be on Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35 AM on NBC.  Interpol will also be on.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Neon Indian & Trombone Shorty

Chillwave experimental pop band Neon Indian and Trombone Shorty (probably not together but you never know) will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight at 12:35 AM on NBC.

Here's the latest video from Neon Indian, "Polish Girl":

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Lykke Li, Grace Potter, School of Seven Bells

It's a repeat of an all-female rockers Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC at 1:35 AM.  The show features Lykke Li, Grace Potter, & School of Seven Bells.  Also note that Last Call is now being show on Fuse TV, several times daily (2:30 AM, 6:30 PM & 10:30 PM).  Not sure if they are showing the one that was on NBC earlier in the day or if they are showing other repeats.  But its worth checking out because Last Call had consistently had good, new music on it, as you know if you are a regular reader of Late Night Pick of the Night.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: The Zombies

Yes, this is The Zombies of "Time of the Season", "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No" fame. They split up in 1969 but apparently are back together for old times sake and they will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight at 12:35 AM on NBC.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Rush Signs With Roadrunner, Preps New Album for 2012 | Billboard.com

Rush Signs With Roadrunner, Preps New Album for 2012 | Billboard.com

Excited for a new Rush album because they are always consistently good, if not great. Not so excited for yet another Rush live album, as they seem to do one for every tour. Perhaps a Live retrospective culling the best from their extensive touring history would be more welcome.

Late Night Pick of the Night: Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight & Friday night at 12:35 AM on NBC.  Tonight Cameron Crowe will be on with them, no doubt talking about the new documentary he made about Pearl Jam called "Pearl Jam Twenty".  Here's the trailer for the film:

Pearl Jam Twenty from Pearl Jam on Vimeo.

RVA Music Fest, Buckethead, Okkervil River

The big news this weekend is the RVA Music Festival but first let's get to everyone's favorite KFC bucket wearing, Michael Myers (from Halloween) mask wearing, guitar player.  That's right it's none other than Buckethead.  Buckethead will be at The National on Friday night.  Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Lynx.  Buckethead may have a silly name and may want to keep his anonymity but "has been voted number 8 on a list in GuitarOne magazine of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time"[6] as well as being included in Guitar World's lists of the "25 all-time weirdest guitarists"[7] and is also known for being in the "50 fastest guitarists of all time list""  He's played with Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrell from P-Funk, Iggy Pop, Les Claypool, Serj Tankian, Mike Patton, and is probably best known for being with Guns N' Roses for four years during part of the "Chinese Democracy" years.  Here's the first 38 minutes of his show on Sunday in Pittsburgh.  If you like what you see, you can also check out Part 2 of the show.


Saturday night the RVA Music Festival gets under way in venues around the city.  Check out the link there to see the full Saturday night schedule.  If I was going to pick one show to hit up on Saturday, I would go to see the playful pop of Miniature Tigers at Strange Matter.  You'll probably like Miniature Tigers if you like Flaming Lips, Bon Iver, My Morning Jacket or Weezer.   Also on the bill are Marionette, Baby Help Me Forget & Fire Bison.  It looks like Miniature Tigers go on next to last, before Marionette.  Doors open at 8, show starts at 9, and tix are $8 in advance, $10 day of show.  Here's Miniature Tigers performing "Dark Tower":


Sunday is the big RVA Music Fest Main Event down at 18th & E Main St in Shockoe Bottom.  There will be one tent chock full o' DJs, and a bunch of local bands including No BS Brass Band, Balck Girls, Goldrush, Antero, The Trillions, Diamond Center, White Laces, The Silent Age, Climbers, Luggage, & Proverbial.  Then the national acts Best Coast, who play flirty power pop, and Girl Talk, the DJ who will get the party going by mixing rap, 80's music, pop and whatever else will get the joint dancin'.  You can download his last album here for free: http://www.illegal-art.net/allday/. He can’t charge for it because he uses so many samples that he would get sued like crazy.  The Main Event on Sunday will run from 2 PM to 10 PM, so you can still make work the next day.  Tix for the Main Event are $22 in advance, $30 at the gate, and $100 for VIP.  If anyone is going to the RVA Music Fest, drop me a line.  Here's Best Coast's "When I'm With You" in which the lead singer hooks up with a real clown.  No, I mean it, he's a real clown.


And here is some tasty Girl Talk (NSFW BTW) for you in which he mixes Lil' Wayne, Procul Harum, Blackstreet, Radiohead, The Band, Kanye West, Kenny Loggins, and more into one big ol' mash-up:


If you still want more you can check out indie-folk-rockers Okkervil River at The National on Sunday night.  Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with Wye Oak opening.  Tix are $18 in advance, $21 day of show.  Here's Okkervil River's video for "Wake & Be Fine" from their recent album "I Am Very Far":


That'll do it for this week.  Have a great weekend and drop me a line if you're going to the RVA Music Fest.

Tony Jordan

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Epic Freddie Mercury Google Doodle

Google had this epic Freddie Mercury Google Doodle (their daily re-imagining of the Google logo) yesterday to celebrate what would have been Freddie's 65th birthday.  Check it out.  It kicks ass.

Late Night Pick of the Night: Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, has released what may be his final album, "Ghost on the Canvas", and is recieving some much overdue respect from current musicians.  Hear him talk about that and perform one or two songs from the album on Tavis Smiley on PBS.  Check the link there or your local listings for when the show airs in your area.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: The Antlers

Indie Rock band The Antlers appear tonight on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35 AM on NBC.  The Antler's new album "Burst Apart" has shown up on quite a few "Best Album of the Year (So Far)" lists. 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Late Night Pick of the Night: Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz has returned with his best reviewed album in a decade, "Black & White America" and I'm sure you'll hear a song from it tonight when he performs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35 AM.

No BS Brass Band, Rocketts Red Glare, Jeff the Brotherhood, moe.down

It's traditionaly a slow weekend on Labor Day Weekend as people tend to do their end of the summer type things like cookouts.  However, if you've had no power for a week thanks to Irene and have been cooking out on your grill because your oven doesn't work, cooking out may be the last thing you want to do if and when your power is restored.

If you do get the power back on, you can hang out in your air conditioned house, charging all your gadgets, and getting your fridge cold again and watch the FREE moe.down XII festival webcast courtesy of iclips.net.  Besides featuring many sets of moe., which is never a bad thing, this year's lineup includes Ween, TV on the Radio, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Slightly Stoopid, Railroad Earth, Levon Helm (of The Band) with Bob Weir (of the Grateful Dead), Ozomatli, New Mastersounds, & Gary Clark Jr.  The actual lineup and schedule of the webcast has yet to be announced but things get started at the actual festival at 8 PM on Friday, and noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Here in Richmond on the non-interwebs, otherwise known as live and in person, the No BS Brass Band will be performing Saturday (10:30 PM start) & Sunday (9:30 PM start) at Balliceaux.  Both shows are FREE.  Here is the band performing at Barbes in Brooklyn in July. 



If you want to close out summer with a bang, head down to Rocketts Landing on Monday night for the Rocketts Red Glare - Labor Day Fireworks show.  The Richmond Symphony concert will start at 7:30 PM and the fireworks go off at dusk.

On Wednesday night (9/7), Jeff the Brotherhood will be at Strange Matter.  Doors open at 8 PM, show starts at 9 PM with openers Little Master & Sports Bar.  Cover charge is $8.  Here is their psychedelic video for the catchy little pop-punk number "U Got The Look" (not the Prince song).  Note the "Jeffro Tull" bass drum logo.  Funny.



And that's pretty much it for this weekend.  Rest up because things get Ka-ray-zay over the next two months with mucho bands, the Folk Fest and the RVA Music Festival (next weekend!). 

Have a greate weekend!

Tony Jordan