Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Late Night Pick: Phoenix; Phoenix webcast

Phoenix will pull double duty tonight to promote their new album "Bankrupt". They'll be on Late Show with David Letterman tonight on CBS at 11:35 PM. And they'll be doing a "Live at Letterman's" webcast at 8 PM ET HERE. The webcast will be live and is actually after the taping of the show, which is taped at 5:30 PM. Buzzfeed recently decided that Phoenix is the most adorable band ever and gives you 40 reasons why HERE.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Late Night Pick: Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite

Old school and new school blues hook up as Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite appear on Late Show with David Letterman tonight on CBS at 11:35 PM. Ben & Charlie released an album earlier this year called "Get Up!" Ben's Facebook page reports: "Ben Harper is helping to raise money for the family of Australian pro skateboarder Lewis Marnell, whose untimely death in January at the age of 30 left his family in dire financial straights. A lifelong skateboarding enthusiast and friend t...o skaters around the world, Harper has reunited with the Innocent Criminals for the first time since 2007 to re-record the song "Jah Work" from his 1997 album, "The Will to Live." The song will be available on iTunes tomorrow, with all proceeds going to the family memorial fund. Watch the video on YouTube here: http://bit.ly/12UBGBm"

Friday, April 26, 2013

RIP George Jones, Late Night Pick: Iron & Wine

The man Keith Richards called a "national treasure", country singer George Jones, passed away today at the age of 81. The obit is HERE. Here's George doing "He Stopped Loving Her Today":



And here's Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers with his song about George Jones car crash in 1999:



Tonight on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, check out Iron & Wine promoting their new album, "Ghost on Ghost". Iron & Wine stopped by public radio station WNYC to talk about the new album and play some tracks from it and you can check that out HERE.

English Beat, Tift Merritt, Blockhead, Hackensaw Boys, The Chelsea Clintons, Vampire Weekend webcast

It's a real busy weekend and that's a good thing. It wasn't too long ago when Richmond was lucky to get a national act coming through once every couple weeks. Now, we've got multiple national acts to choose from each week and a resurgent local music scene and I couldn't be happier.

On Friday night at The National, contemporary bluegrass band, The Hackensaw Boys will do two sets (no opener). Doors open at 7, show starts at 8, tix are $15. The Boys have a new album out called "For the Love of a Friend - Live in Kinderdijk (NL)". You can listen to it HERE. And here's their song "Dance Around":



At The Camel, Southern Belles bring their country, funky (cunky? funty?) jams Friday night. Show starts at 10 with opener Woodwork. It's $6 to get in. The Belles have been working on some new songs so we'll see what they've got on Friday night. Here's the Belles doing "Every Little Thing" at Rapture in C'ville last month:



Southern Belles have been know to play a Grateful Dead tune or two but if you want your Friday night to be all Dead, go to Cary St. Cafe for King Solomon's Marbles. The show starts at 10 and it's $7 to get in.

Saturday starts early and with good beer at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery as they throw a little party to debut their Bourbon Cru beer. The party starts at 2 as they tap the beer and have five food trucks set up so you can get a base as the beer is quite strong (10.2% ABV). At 5 PM, Black Girls will play for an hour, followed by The Trillions at 6 PM, followed by another Black Girls set at 7, followed by another Trillions set at 8. Between the two, you'll have a good time dancing to the power pop and quaffing some fine beverages. Here's Black Girls doing "So Sorry" at Balliceaux on Valentine's Day:



Over at Modlin Center at University of Richmond, you've got the intriguing duo of John Sebastian and David Grisman. Tickets range from $10 to $36 depending on your demographic and the show starts at 7:30. In case you don't know who they are, here is the press blurb for that one: "The musical history of John Sebastian and David Grisman dates back to their college days in the 1960s at New York University in the heyday of the Greenwich Village folk revival. The two made their first recording together as members of the Even Dozen Jug Band. After legendary solo careers – Sebastian as the lead singer of one of America’s most popular bands, the Lovin’ Spoonful and Grisman as the father of the acoustic music revolution with his genre-defying “Dawg music” – the pair have reunited to create “Satisfied,” a stunning collection of acoustic duets featuring traditional folk tunes, blues, instrumentals, and original songs." Couldn't find any good videos of them together so here's David performing "Shady Grove":



The wonderful singer-songwriter Tift Merritt will be at Capital Ale House on Saturday night. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Tara Mills and Yankee Dixie. Tix are $15. You'll dig Tift if you like Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams, Andrew Bird, Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynne, Sheryl Crow, Dolly Parton, Dusty Springfield, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Susan Tedeschi. Here's Tift from "Last Call with Carson Daly" doing "Still Not Home":

Over at The National on Saturday night, it's 80's ska band, English Beat (only one original member left, Dave Wakeling). Tix are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers 808 and Craig Honeycutt. A lot of people had some nice things to say about Margaret Thatcher upon her death, but not Englishman Dave Wakeling, "The American perspective of Margaret Thatcher, certainly from a foreign policy point of view, was that she was a trusted ally — of Ronald Reagan’s in particular — and did a pretty good job at it. And there’s an argument there. But what most Americans didn’t see was the complete dismantling of towns and villages, of people’s lives being cut short and then cutting their own lives short because they thought, like the Sex Pistols said, that there was no future. That time signaled a breaking of the English spirit, where people who used to have each other’s back, and used to talk to strangers — Thatcher turned neighbors into competitors." Here's a song that's not about Margaret Thatcher, but Pete Townshend once told me it's about a blow job (not kidding, Pete really told me that):



Susan Greenbaum, our local folk poet, will be at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Saturday night. Show will start at 8 and it's $12 to get in.


Funky, avant-hip-hop band, Photosynthesizers are at The Camel Saturday night. This will be the first in a series of 10 showcases called LISTEN in which the Photosynthesizers will showcase various art forms. This one is called "Light In Sound" and will feature "an explosive showcase in music". It's $5 to get in and the show starts at 9 with openers Lela Bizz and Anhayla. Here's Photosynthesizers from RVA TV Sessions:



Also on Saturday night, it's an electronica showcase at The Canal Club with The Polish Ambassador and Blockhead. Doors open at 10 and tix are $18 in advance, $22 at the door. Check out Blockhead's Facebook link back there as he makes some really funny status updates such as this one, "Dumb thought of the day: There should be a senior citizen porn star named Reese Witheredpoon." And Blockhead makes some really cool, psychedelic videos like this one for "The Music Scene":



On Sunday, you can enjoy Trongone Band unplugged at Tobacco Company starting at 7 PM.

Vampire Weekend will webcast their show from the Tribeca Film Festival live on YouTube at 9 PM on Sunday right HERE. The amazing Steve Buscemi will be directing. Here's Steve handing out flyers for the show and delivering bowling tips. Buscemi is freakin' awesome!



And if you didn't see the Jimmy Kimmel video of the ridiculous hipsters at Coachella who told Jimmy's crew how much they loved non-existent bands, check it out. What a bunch of posers.



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Thursday, April 25, 2013

RIP Richie Havens, Late Night Pick: The National

Folk singer Richie Havens, probably best known for being the opener at Woodstock and the video of his great performance in the Woodstock movie, passed away on Monday at age 72. You can read his obit HERE. I bartended at a small restaurant/bar called "The Hearth" outside of Doylestown PA in the early 90's. Our owner was a big music fan and even though the place was small, he would book some really good acts to play this small intimate bar. Richie played there and I didn't make much on tips that night because barely anyone came to the bar during his performance as everyone was enraptured. I wasn't complaining as you don't get to see someone with that much charisma and talent in such a small venue. After the show, he hung out "backstage" i.e. the kitchen for a bit and talked with some of us on the staff. I'll echo Bruce's comments in that he was indeed kind, gracious and outgoing. I recall that the owner's girlfriend had made Richie some chocolate-covered strawberries and he seemed genuinely pleased to get them, beaming that fantastic smile of his. We've truly lost a great talent and a beautiful soul. Godspeed Richie!


Tonight, check out the band The National on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35 AM. The National's new album "Trouble Will Find Me" will be out on May 21.  They will also be playing here in Richmond at the club, The National, on June 8.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Late Night Pick: Lisa Loeb

Tonight, we'll go with a repeat of Conan from February featuring Lisa Loeb. Conan is on TBS at 11 PM and then repeated at 1 AM. Lisa will also be featured on the show "The New Girl" which stars Zooey Deschanel, which makes sense because Lisa was the original adorable, hipster, waif.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Late Night Pick: Steve Martin & Edie Brickell

Edie Brickell (wife of Paul Simon, formerly with New Bohemians) has teamed up with Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers on a new album called "Love Has Come For You" which comes out on April 23. They'll both be on Late Show with David Letterman tonight on CBS at 11:35 PM. I'm interested to tune in tonight and hear what they came up with.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Late Night Pick: ZZ Ward

ZZ Ward does a combination of blues, pop, and rock that kind of reminds me of KT Tunstall and sounds pretty good. She'll be on Conan tonight on TBS at 11 PM and then a repeat at 1 AM. Here's ZZ performing her song, "Charlie Ain't Home":

Friday, April 19, 2013

Earth Day fests, Chili Cookoff, STS9, Former Champions

Saturday, the festivals start in force with three festivals to choose from including two Earth Day Festivals. The first Earth Day festival is the RVA Earth Day Festival & Celebration put on by Style Weekly. It'll run from noon until 7 PM in the Manchester section of town, just across the 14th St. Bridge. Besides all the Earth Day activities, the band schedule is this:

  • 12:00 –1:00 - The Garbers
  • 1:30 - 2:30 – Farm Vegas
  • 3:00 - 4:00 – No BS! Brass Band
  • 4:30 - 5:30 – The Southern Belles
  • 6:00 - 7:00 – White Laces
Within walking distance of that fest, is the Richmond Earth Day Festival run by Enrichmond Foundation at the 17th St. Farmer's Market. That will go from 11 AM to 5 PM. They don't have a band schedule up but the web site says performers will include Andy Vaughan and The Driveline, Susan Greenbaum (12:30 PM), Upper East Side Big Band, and Sons of Zebedee.

Both of the Earth Day fests are FREE!

Over at Richmond International Raceway, it's XL102's Chili Cookoff. Tix are $15 in advance, and $30 at the gate. There will be lots of chili and beer. This one has a number of national acts, with the highlights being indie-folk rock group Churchill at 1:10 PM and alt-metal group Flyleaf at 4:20 PM. Here's the full band lineup:
  • 7:00pm: Three Days Grace
  • 5:40pm: Matt & Kim
  • 4:20pm: Flyleaf
  • 3:15pm: Twenty One Pilots
  • 1:55pm: Eve 6
  • 1:10pm: Churchill
  • 12:25pm: Breaking Laces
  • 11:35am: Against Grace
  • 11:00am: If It Takes Forever, Rock Off RVA Winner
Gates open at 10:30 AM and it'll go until 8 PM or whenever Three Days Grace get done. Here's Churchill's video for their song, "Change":




If you are still up for rockin' after all the festing, head to The Camel for jamtronica dance band Former Champions and their party celebrating the release of their new album, "Special FX Machine". You can download the new album for FREE HERE. The band Segway will start the night off around 9 PM and it's $8 to get in. Here's a video promoting their tour back in January, but it'll give you a nice sample of their music:



More jamtronica, this time from national act STS9 at The National on Sunday night. Tix are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Door open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Eliot Lipp. Here's STS9 doing "Unquestionable Supremacy of Nature" at a show in Oakland in March:



Have a great Earth Day weekend!

Tony Jordan

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Late Night Pick: Phoenix

Phoenix put on a great show at Coachella this past weekend. I caught that on the encore showing on the webcast. Tonight, they'll be on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC at 11:35 PM. The big buzz from their show at Coachella was their collaboration with R. Kelly on the song "1901" that incorporated a few R. Kelly tunes:

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Late Night Pick: M83

Tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live (11:35 AM, ABC), electronic pop band M83 returns. It looks like Jimmy is getting a lot of the bands that played Coachella last weekend and then are sticking around in LA to play Coachella again this weekend. M83 did the soundtrack for the new Tom Cruise / Morgan Freeman movie, "Oblivion", which starts Friday.You can listen to that soundtrack HERE.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Late Night Pick: Richard Thompson

Tonight on a repeat (from 3/13) of the Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 11:35 PM) it's the great guitarist and singer/songwriter, Richard Thompson. From his work with Fairport Convention, to his duo with his then wife, Linda ("Shoot Out the Lights" is one of the great break-up albums of all-time) to his solo work over the last three decades, it's all good from Richard. Tonight, he'll probably perform something from his new album, Electric, which was produced by Buddy Miller and has a guest appearance from Alison Krauss. But here is one of my favorite Richard Thompson songs, "Beeswing":

Monday, April 15, 2013

Late Night Pick: Josh Ritter

Tonight on a Late Show with David Letterman repeat (from 3/12/13) on CBS at 11:35 PM, contemporary folkie Josh Ritter will perform a track from his latest, well-received album, "The Beast In Its Tracks". Josh will be playing here in Richmond on May 22 at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. Josh's song, "New Lover", is #2 on Paste Magazine's 25 Best Songs of 2013 (So Far).

Friday, April 12, 2013

Late Night Pick: Shuggie Otis, Coachella Webcast starts at 6:30 ET

The funk guitarist, Shuggie Otis, who had a few great albums in the early 70's and once turned down an offer to join the Rolling Stones, is making a comeback and is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight, hopefully playing with The Roots. But if you interview Shuggie don't ask about the Stones. Per his website, he will only answer questions about future plans and not "questions that have been posed to him repeatedly regarding disproportionate curiosities".

Also, don't forget the Coachella webcast starting today on YouTube with three different channels to choose from. The webcast starts at 6:30 ET Friday through Sunday and you'll need to stay up late if you want to catch the headliners, but there is lots of good stuff on earlier too.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Late Night Pick: Paramore

Emo-punk-pop band Paramore have returned after four years with their best reviewed album yet, the self-titled "Paramore". The album just got a pretty good review from Jon Pareles in the New York Times. They'll be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight at 11:35 PM on ABC along with Tom Cruise and Ke$ha.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Late Night Pick: Jake Bugg

New 19 year old, English singer-songwriter Jake Bugg appears on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight on CBS at 11:35 PM. Jake is big enough in Britain that he'll be opening for the Stones when they play Hyde Park in London in July.

Bob Dylan, Carytown Beer Fest, White Lung, Rusted Root, Beach Fossils, Wrinkle Neck Mules, Ivan & Aloysha

Lots of music going on this weekend and on into next week.

We start Wednesday night with Rusted Root at the John Marshall Ballroom. The show will start at 8 and tix are $40 VIP and $25 GA. Rusted Root still making great music but still best known for their hit "Send My On My Way" which has also been in a lot of movies and commercials since then. They do have a sense of humor about that. A few years ago, when they played Brown's Island, they introduced the song saying, "This is the one all the kids are waiting for. We call this one the "Ice Age" song." And indeed my young son, Zach, had waited patiently all night for that one. Here's a track from Rusted Root's latest album, "The Movement", called "Monkey Pants".



Thursday night at Strange Matter, it's an underground punk fest (Stay Sweet III pre-fest) with 14, count 'em, 14 bands. The actual Stay Sweet Fest III is at The Camel Friday through Sunday, but it's sold out, so if you didn't get tix for that, this the next best thing. Doors will open at 5, show starts at 5:30. It's $8 to get in, $10 at the door. You can go HERE to see the full lineup and show times. The headliner is Vancouver riot grrrl group (and guy) White Lung. Here's White Lung's video for "Take the Mirror":



Starting Friday afternoon, the Coachella Festival will be webcast on YouTube HERE Friday through Sunday. Figure it's on the West coast so it will start somewhere between 3 PM  - 5 PM. They haven't put the webcast lineup on YouTube yet but bands playing the festival include Stone Roses, Blur, Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, Sigur Ros, New Order, Japandroids, Franz Ferdinand, Moby, Violent Femmes, Janelle Monae, Shovels & Rope, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Social Distortion, Tame Impala, Lumineers, La Roux, Gaslight Anthem, OMD, Father John Misty, Rodriguez, and many more. YouTube usually runs two or three different feeds so you can pick the band you want to see.


Here at home on Friday, dreamy indie pop band Beach Fossils will be at Strange Matter. It's $12 to get in, doors open at 9, Positive No and Warren Hixson will open. As you can see from the poster up there, this is the first show of the tour. Here's their song "Adversity":


Bluegrass/roots band Wrinkle Neck Mules will be over at Capital Ale House Downtown for a Saturday night hoedown and hootenanny. It'll be a 10 spot to get in, doors open at 8, showtime is at 9 with a "special guest" opening. That means they didn't have an opener lined up when they posted it on the web site. The Mules have been working on some new songs so you may hear something for the first time at the show.
Here's the band performing "When the Wheels Touch Down" at The Southern in C'ville last year:



Sunday, quaff some ales at the Carytown Craft Beer Festival in, guess, Carytown! It'll run from noon to 6 PM. It's $15 in advance, $20 at the gate and your admission gets you a souvenir pint glass and unlimited tastings. There is also a $10 designated driver admission which includes free soft drinks.

Monday at Strange Matter, folk-pop band Ivan & Aloysha will perform for your pleasure. It's $10 in advance, $12 at the door. The Lone Bellow (who will be at Friday Cheers this year) and In Sheep's Clothing open. Here they are doing their song, "Running for Cover" live on KCRW last month:



Finally, next Tuesday, 4/16, a show I'll be attending with the legendary Bob Dylan and his Band at the Landmark Theater. Dawes will be opening. The show will start at 7:30 and tix are $52. Bob ain't gettin' any younger so you may want to catch him now before he joins the immortals in rock and roll heaven. There are still some tickets available in the top balcony but not many left. Here's a video from Bob's latest album, "Tempest", which see him continuing to mine traditional American music. This is "Duquesne Whistle" in which we learn not to try to pick up women who drive Gremlins and that Bob in some sort of Mexican gang:



I'll see you at the Bob show. I'm calling it a night as the allergies have kicked in and I've got a weird too-much-Sudafed and beer buzz going on. In a daze but wide awake. Hope I can get to sleep soon and I know the dreams will be strange.

Tony Jordan

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Late Night Pick: Gary Clark Jr.

Excellent up-and-coming (he may have arrived) blues guitarist/singer Gary Clark Jr. will be on Late Show with David Letterman tonight on CBS at 11:35 PM. Gary will be hitting a lot of the big festivals this year, including Mountain Jam, Crossroads Guitar Fesitval, Tortuga, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Shaky Knees and Beale St., so hopefully we'll get to catch a full show on one of the webcasts. And hopefully, he'll play in Richmond soon!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Late Night Pick: Keith Richards, Ghostface Killah

Keith Richards will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight on NBC at 12:35 AM. Keith is not the music guest, that spot belongs to Wu-Tang Clan rapper, Ghostface Killah. I suppose Keith will be talking about the  Stones' upcoming US tour. I'm hoping for a comedy bit with Jimmy as Mick together with the real Keith. If you want to check out Ghostface's new album, "Twelve Reasons to Die", you can stream it on NPR HERE.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Late Night Pick: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The always exciting Yeah Yeah Yeahs have returned and they will be on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight at 11:35 on CBS. You can watch a full album preview of their new album "Mosquito" with commentary by the band right here:

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Late Night Pick: Damien Jurado

On a new Last Call with Carson Daly tonight (1:35 AM on NBC), check out indie singer/songwriter Damien Jurado. Here's Damien doing "Museum of Flight" in Raleigh last September:

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Memory Tapes, They Might Be Giants, Acoustic Anarchy, Southern Belles, Dean Fields

Hope you are all enjoying Spring Break this week. Been out of work for a couple days with the kids. Ready (kind of) to get back to work tomorrow. Will also get back to the Late Night Pick tomorrow as that is my little break at work.

Onto this weekend's bands. We'll start with classic jam rockers Trongone Band at Cary St. Cafe for their usual Thursday night show. Show starts at 10 PM and there is no cover.

Friday night, Southern Belles are at The Camel with Itchy Hearts and Farm Vegas. The show starts at 9 and it's $7 to get in. Besides their own, excellent tunes, Southern Belles always do a few choice covers and here they are doing The Band classic, "Shape I'm In" at Rapture in Charlottesville in January.



Over at Tobacco Company on Friday night, People's Blues of Richmond will rock your face off starting around 9 PM. There is no cover charge. Here's the band doing "Nihilist Blues" down in SC last month.



Folk-pop singer Dean Fields will be out at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Friday night. Show starts at 8, tix are $8 in advance, $10 day of show. Here's Dean's press blurb:
1000 shows, 9 years, and 200,000 miles have passed since Dean Fields went on the road to pursue a career in music. During that time his address changed from Miami to Nashville to Boston until most recently returning to his hometown of Richmond, VA. Now, back in Nashville, he hits the road again to promote his most recent release ‘Under A Searchlight Moon’ . His recent homecoming has found Fields selling out shows in Richmond VA, as well as nearby Washington DC. “Dean Fields writes lyrics like Leonard Cohen and sings like Jeff Buckley. It’s no surprise that there’s a serious buzz on this Virginia singer-songwriter.” (Free Times) While continuing to feed his passion for music, Dean is fueled by a single-minded love to perform, sharing the stage with KT Tunstall, Blues Traveler, Rosanne Cash, Eric Hutchinson, Colin Hay, Bob Schneider, Auqualung, Hootie and the Blowfish, John Hiatt, Cake, Bruce Hornsby, Rusted Root, Madeleine Peyroux, Carbon Leaf, among others. In addition, Fields’ maturity as a writer and performer is brought to the fore by some of the region’s finest musicians including members of Mandy Moore, Sparklehorse, Agents of Good Roots, KD Lang, Carbon Leaf and Modern Groove Syndicate.
Here's Dean's video for "Forever Never Knowing":




Saturday, it's an early show at Strange Matter with dreamy, ambient, electronic pop artist Memory Tapes, the alias for Davye Hawke. It's $10 in advance, $12 at the door. It's an early show so it will start at 5 PM and be over no later than 9 PM. Here's Memory Tapes remix of Pendentif's "Embrasse Moi":


If you want to see how some classic punk rockers have aged, head to Capital Ale House on Saturday night for the Acoustic Anarchy tour featuring Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols, Sylvain Sylvain of New York Dolls and  Dave Brockie of GWAR. There is limited seating available (that just seem wrong), and tix are $13 in advance, $15 day of show. Here's the New York Dolls on their recent reunion tour doing "Personality Crisis":



Sunday, the quirky pop of They Might Be Giants comes to The National. It's $20 in advance, $23 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Moon Hooch. If you and the kids are a fan of their children's music (which is quite awesome for child and adult alike), do not bring them to this show. No one under 14 will be admitted. If you've ever wondered how often TMBG use certain words, someone has created a word frequency chart for their songs. While they've only used the word "Marty" in five songs, that's 78.43 times more common than in printed English. Here's their latest video for the song "You Probably Get That A Lot":



Here's the 11th best video of 2012 according to Paste Magazine. It's Aimee Mann with guest star and Rolling Stone cover boy, Jon Hamm, recreating, in a way, her classic video with Til' Tuesday, "Voices Carry":



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan