Supporting music in Richmond since 2000 - "Eight-sided whispering hallelujah hatrack / Seven-faced marble eye transitory dream doll / Six proud walkers on jingle-bell rainbow / Five men writing in fingers of gold / Four men tracking the great white sperm whale / Three girls wait in a foreign dominion" - Grateful Dead - "The Eleven"
This weekend, two big shows with one of my favorite bands, Drive-By Truckers, who will be at The National on Friday and Saturday night with Saturday night being the "Big Halloween Ball" so wear your costumes (the venue has requested no masks be worn, please). Tix are $20 in advance, $25 day of show. The doors open at 7 and showtime is at 8 with opener Bobby Bare Jr.
I will be there on Saturday night in the old, reliable cow costume. These are going to be pretty special shows with the band promising different shows for each night. The specialness is increased by the bands ties to Richmond, their second home, which include the artist who does most of their album and poser artwork, Wes Freed (that's his poster up above) and Jay Leavitt, former GM of Plan 9 and current owner of Deep Groove record store. HERE is an article on the long history between Jay & DBT lead singer, Patterson Hood.
If you can't make it to the shows, or just want some extra music, Bobby Bare Jr. will be at Plan 9 doing an in-store performance at 2 PM on Saturday. Patterson Hood of DBT will be visiting his old friend at Deep Groove for a performance at 3 PM which I am hoping to drag one of the kids to.
Here are the Drive-By Truckers doing "Used To Be a Cop" from their upcoming album, "Go-Go Boots".
Thursday night (11/4), electronica duo Pretty Lights will be at The National. Tix are $25 in advance, $28 at the door. Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:30 with opener Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5). Here they are grooving at Red Rocks last year.
If you prefer your rock n' roll a bit more trad, Drivin' N Cryin' will be at the Capital Ale House Downtown on Thursday (11/4). Tix are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. The show starts at 9 PM and make sure you get there on time to catch opener, Sons of Bill, who hail from Charlottesville. DNC had a sizable hit back in the 90's with "Fly Me Courageous" and have been out playing their southern roots rock for almost 25 years now. You might dig DNC if you like The Jayhawks, Replacements, Soul Asylum, Wilco, Black Crowes, BoDeans, Georgia Satellites, Widespread Panic, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Allman Brothers Band, Big Star, Skynyrd, The Stones or REM. Here they are doing "Eye of the Hurricane" in Atlanta in August.
This review of albums released in October at 10 year intervals is highlighted by October 1980 which saw the release of Talking Heads' "Remain In Light", Springsteen's "The River", Dire Straits "Making Movies", The Police's "Zenyatta Mondatta" (the first CD I ever bought), and U2's "Boy".
Feeling much better today after the Phils win last night. We live to fight another day. However, because I fell asleep with my son while putting him to bed, I watched the game from about the 5th inning forward on the DVR starting at 11:20. So I didn't finish the game until 1 AM and then went to sleep. Wasn't about to start the blog at that time. So it will be another quick one this AM.
Tonight, jam band Perpetual Groove comes to The National. Tix are $18, doors open at 8, show starts at 8:30 with openers The Former Champions & Wyllys. On Wyllys from the P Groove web site, "With 12 years of experience behind the turntables, Wyllys is proficient in every style of dance music and can weave a seamless sonic tapestry together that always gets the crowd going. Having shared the stage with The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee, and Orchard Lounge, he is no stranger to "the big gig" and delivers every time. Coming off of 3 huge sets at North Coast Music Festival, Wyllys is ecstatic to party with his old friends Perpetual Groove. Expect a lot of collaborations and a huge party vibe." Here is Perpetual Groove from Charleston in August playing "It Starts Where It Ends":
Also Saturday night, Richmond's own The Riot Before will headline a pop-punk rock show at The Camel. The cover is $7, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers O Pioneers!!!,Junior Battles, Red City Radio, and This is Your Life. The Riot Before is getting some regional acclaim with shows in Norfolk, NC, GA and FL coming up. Here they are playing "We Are Wild Stallions":
Singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato will be at The Camel on Sunday. Tix are $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers Ha HA TONKA & David Shultz and The Skyline. You might like Rocky if you like Sufjan Stevens, Paul Westerberg, Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, or Neil Young. Here is Rocky's song, "White Daisy Passing":
Paul Thorn will be at The Canal Club on Sunday night. Tix are $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Doors open at 7 and openers will be Dean Fields & Ted Dalton Band. Paul fits into that alt-country mode and has lived quite a life. Per AllMusic, "was a prizefighter and skydiver before becoming a rootsy singer/songwriter. As a boxer, Thorn once fought against Roberto Duran and as a musician, he has toured and collaborated with Sting, Paul Carrack, Joe Diffie, Tanya Tucker, Ronnie Milsap, and Carole King." Here is Paul singing "If I Can Get Over Her". He tells a pretty funny story in the intro.:
Metric is at The National on Monday night. Tix are $20 in advance, $23 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener "A Special Guest". I hope no band ever decides to call themselves A Special Guest becuase that would get really confusing on concert announcements and on the marquee. Some of your daughters (does anyone under 30 read this blog? does anyone read this blog?) may know Metric from the "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" soundtrack. I heard those hot vampires are all the rage with the kids these days. Metric play synth-pop new wave electronica rock and one might compare them to The Breeders, Liz Phair, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blondie, The Cars, Missing Persons, The Cure, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Pretenders, or Sonic Youth. Here you can check out a bunch of stuff by them and decide for yourself who they sound like.
Finally, Peter Case will be at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Thursday. Three-time Grammy nominated "Case has been playing music and writing songs for over 40 years now – From the new wave “The Nerves” (who wrote "Hanging on the Telephone", the song made famous by Blondie) and the pop/rock sounds of “The Plimsouls”, to the folk/blues sounds of his acoustic-oriented solo career, Case is the rare songwriter who’s considered life from all its angles and hasn’t flipped yet, though he’ll be the first to admit that as time goes by, the weirder it gets." Tix are $18 in advance, $23 day of show. Show starts at 8 PM with no opener. Here he is "After Hours on Pico Blvd" doing a medley of some of his tunes:
A quick post on tonight's music action in Richmond. I was going to do this last night but was too shocked, angry and depressed after the Phils blew it in the 9th against the Giants. I knew we were in trouble when all the "experts" said the Phils were the overwhelming favorites to win the World Series. Odds are now heavily against us even making the Series. I hope to have a blog up on the full music activities for the weekend later tonight but that will again depend on the results of the Phils game and how I feel and how late it is.\
Anyway, enough of "woe is me and my woeful team" blubbering. Matt & Kim will be at The Canal Club tonight. Tix are $18 and doors open at 7 PM with Donnis opening. Matt & Kim hail from hipster Mecca, Brooklyn NY. You may like Matt & Kim if you like The Decemberists, B-52s, New Order, or Elastica.
Here you can listen to their song "Lesson Learned" while watching them gettin' nekkid in Times Square. I love watching the people who try to be cool and not look at the naked people. Be sure to watch until the surprise ending.
Also tonight at The Republic, Richmond's favorite yacht rock band, Three Sheets to the Wind, will perform the greatest 70's smooth rock hits of ALL TIME! Festivities get under way at 10 PM and its FREE.
Tix are going on sale today, Friday, at 10 AM for John Mellencamp at the Landmark Theater on Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 7:00 PM. There is a Premium Ticket Package you can get for $142.30 which includes: one reserved ticket located in the first 10 rows of the stage, an exclusive John Mellencamp concert shirt, a collectible tour poster (limited, numbered), a limited edition vinyl copy of John Mellencamp's new album "No Better Than This", and a commemorative tour laminate. Otherwise, the tix are $53.40.
Though John Mellencamp may not be selling as many albums as he used to, his last two albums, "No Better Than This" (2010) and "Life Death Love and Freedom" (2008) have been critically acclaimed and he puts on a great show.
This Saturday afternoon, you can check out some free music at the A'maize'ing Meadow Farm Harvest Festival at Meadow Farm in Crump Park at 3400 Mountain Rd in Glen Allen. This will run from noon to 5 on Saturday. You can see performances by the Hackensaw Boys, Susan Greenbaum, and The Runaway String Band, but exactly when who will play I don't know since they don't have a schedule posted. Bring the whole family because there will also be "many hands on activities and demonstrations of typical homemaking and farming tasks of the era such as cider making, candle dipping, bee keeping, blacksmithing, woodworking, and a natural dye demonstration. Some additional a‘maize’ing activities include corn husking contests, corn shelling, and popcorn sampling. Children ages 3-12 can visit the Great Pumpkin Patch of Meadow Farm and take part in gourd decorating and cornhusk doll making." And there will be clogging. (Language in video NSFW.)
Saturday night, New Orleans' favorite sons, The Radiators, will be at the Hat Factory. Tix are $20 in advance, $24 day of show. Doors open at 8 and show starts at 9. The Radiators are always good for a fine party and on a Saturday night, doubly so. Here they are rockin' out in Norfolk CT on Wednesday night:
Sunday, if you're up for a little trip to Charlottesville, the Avett Brothers and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals will be playing at Charlottesville Pavilion. Tix are $35. Doors open at 6, show starts at 7 with Grace & The Nocturnals taking the stage first. Here's Grace & The Nocturnals doing "Paris" on the Ellen show last week:
Here's the Avett Brothers doing "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise" on the Jimmy Kimmel show:
Sunday night in Richmond, Death on Two Wheels will be at The Camel. Tix are $8 and the doors open at 7 with Glass Clovers opening. Here is Death on Two Wheels doing "Calling Us All Back Home" earlier this year at The Roxy in LA.
Monday night at The National, New Pornographers come to town. Tix are $20 in advance, $25 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with Tokyo Police Club. Here is New Pornographers doing "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" on the Studio Q show on Canadian TV. Forgive them for looking a little rough and grumpy. Apparently, Studio Q is a morning show and rock bands never do well in the AM. But it doesn't seem to effect the performance.
That's all I got this week. I'll leave you with this one which shows what would happen if The Beatles, Joan Jett, Cypress Hill, House of Pain and Rage Against the Machine all got together and rocked out. Actually the mashup and accompanying video are quite good.
Its Folk Fest weekend in Richmond! Yes, the annual Richmond Folk Festival is here once again, taking place on Brown's Island and in the area around Tredegar Iron Works Friday (6 PM - 10:30 PM), Saturday (noon - 10:30 PM) and Sunday (noon - 7 PM) and its FREE. Check out the web site for all you need to know about parking and the shuttles. The Folk Fest is like taking a trip around the world in music with the styles of bluegrass (Tony Rice & Peter Rowan), cajun, blues, salsa, Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, tejano, Haitian, Irish, Brazilian capoeira, rockabilly, New Orleans brass band, jazz, go-go, shape note singing, Siberia, Iran, fiddle music, gospel & North Indian tabla all represented. Walking from tent to tent taking it all in lets you celebrate both the diversity and the similarities between all these forms of music. For the kids, there is an large family area with crafts, animals and a stage set up where the kids get to hear and play music with some of these master musicians. I'll be down there volunteering on Friday night at one of the info booths and Sunday at the Dominion Stage and then hanging out too so I hope to see you down there.
When you can't be at the Folk Fest, you can tune into the webcast of the Austin City Limits Fest from Austin, TX (duh). The webcast is HERE. You can also watch it on Facebook HERE. The webcast runs from 1:30 PM - 11:30 PM on Friday, 2 PM - midnight on Saturday, 2:15 PM - 11 PM on Sunday (all times Eastern here). Bands on the webcast include Sonic Youth, Spoon, Vampire Weekend, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Gaslight Anthem, The xx, Gogol Bordello, Matt & Kim (coming to the Canal Club soon), LCD Soundsystem, Band of Horses, The National, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and more.
Back in Richmond, on Saturday night, Built to Spill will be at The National. Tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with opener Revolt Revolt. You may like Built to Spill if you like Modest Mouse, Beck, Radiohead, Neil Young, Hendrix, Beach Boys, Beatles, Doors, Sonic Youth, Flaming Lips, or Band of Horses. Here is their latest video for "Hindsight":
The National announced a couple of upcoming shows on Facebook yesterday. Robert Earl Keen w/Reckless Kelly on November 10. Tix are $25 for standing floor and they are on sale this Saturday, Oct 9. Gregg Allman will be at The National on Tuesday January 4th and they haven't posted a ticket on sale date or price yet.
Sunday, Deerhunter will be at the Canal Club. Casino vs. Japan and DuckTails will be opening. Doors open at 7:00. Tickets are $14.00 in advance, $17.00 at the door. You might dig Deerhunter if you like Sigur Ros, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Echo & The Bunnymen, Radiohead or Sonic Youth. Here is Deerhunter's full set at the Noise Pop festival in SF in February 2009:
Pimps of Joytime will be at the Capital Ale House on Wednedsay night. Show starts at 9 and tix are $10. Here is what the Ale House web site says about them: "If you have yet to encounter the Broklyn-based band, The Pimps of Joytime, prepare to take a funky ride! The PJT’s live events and recordings have captivated fans all across the country, as they have begun writing their own success story, show by show, and track by track.
Bandleader Brian J is a charismatic and soulful visionary, whose well-crafted songs invite the listener to enter a world of infectious dance grooves and indelible melodies. Spending formative years in New York City, New Orleans and Los Angeles, Mista J honed his craft, becoming an accomplished live performer, multi-instrumentalist and producer.
In 2005, Brian began to assemble a group of righteously soulful vocalists and musicians to assist in bringing to life the musical concept that would become The Pimps of Joytime. The band's diverse sound and spirited attitude is strongly influenced by the Brooklyn DJ culture and live music scene from which they emerge. Recent collaborations with legendary artists Cyril and Art Neville of the Neville Brothers and Roy Ayers have helped vitalize the band's connection to its roots."
Here they are doing their song "Blues Wit You":
I'll leave you with the greatest song about Wendy's chili & Frostys ever written. From an old Wendy's training video, here is "Chili Can Be Served with Cheese".:
And just for kicks, I just created my quarterly mix entitled "I'm a Beautiful Sandwich - Summer 2010 Mix".
Here is what's on it:
Disc 1
1. Girls Who Smoke – Drive-By Truckers (2:58)
2. Loving You Is Easy – Sarah McLachlan (3:07)
3. Nobody – Doobie Brothers (4:40)
4. F**k You – Cee Lo Green (3:44)
5. California Gurls – Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg (3:53)
6. Bulletproof (Radio Edit) – La Roux (3:25)
7. That Lady (Part 1 & 2) – The Isley Brothers (5:34)
The Bruce Springsteen documentary, "The Promise: The Making of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town,'" debuts tonight on HBO. It will also be included on the "Darkness" box set that comes out in November. My DVR is already set to record this. Here is a review from the Philly Inquirer:
