Friday, December 27, 2013

Late Night Pick:Chvrches

Scottish synth-pop trio, Chvrches, whose album "The Bones of What You Believe" is popping up on all sorts of year-end best of lists, is on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly tonight on NBC at 1:35 AM. If you are in Edinburgh on New Year's Eve, you can catch them at Edinburgh's Hogmanay. If not, you'll have to wait until they are in DC at the 9:30 Club on 4/29 & 30. Here's Chvrches doing "The Mother We Share":

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Weekly Picks: Charlie Wilson, Infamous Stringdusters, Papadosio, Skip Castro Band, The Nighthawks, Dark Star Orchestra, YARN, GWAR

The weekend between Christmas and New Year's is always a busy one. Everyone has time off which means those bands can play every night and this weekend is no exception.


Friday night, jamtronica band Papadosio comes to The National. Tix are $18 in advance, $23 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers EarthCry & Jimkata. EarthCry is a project from Papadosio's singer Anthony Throgmartin so get in there early if you want to check that out. Here's Papadosio doing "Dream Estate" in Ohio in November:



Over at the Canal Club on Friday, it's time for some old school blues-rock from Skip Castro Band and The Nighthawks. Doors will open at 8 and it's $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Here are the bands jamming together last year at The Jefferson Theater on the Chuck Berry classic "Little Queenie":




Saturday, bust out your tie-dye and head to The National for Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra. Tix are $25 in advance, $30 day of show. Doors will open at 7 and the show will start at 8. Get there on time because there is no opener, just two fat sets from DSO. They may recreate the setlist from a classic Dead show, they may just make it up as they go along, but either way this is as good of a classic Dead show as you'll get. Since today (12/26) is St. Stephen Day, let's hear DSO doing the Dead classic by the same name:



Lead singer on some of The Gap Band's biggest hits ("Early in the Morning", "You Dropped a Bomb on Me", "Party Train") and a Grammy nominated solo artist, Charlie Wilson will be at The Landmark Theater on Saturday night. Tix range from $51 - $81. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. No opener is listed, though it says the show is hosted by comedian Buckwylde. Here's Charlie telling you what his name is:



And here's Charlie with The Gap Band. Don't miss that train, people! This video is soooooooooooooo 80's!



It's bluegrass night over at The Camel with YARN. It's $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors will open at 9 and James Justin & Company will open. It's still the holidays so here is YARN performing Ray Charles' "The Spirit of Christmas" from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation":



If you've had enough of Christmas cheer and are ready for some bloody, mucous, and other bodily fluids sprayed mayhem, then by all means get thyself to the GWAR show at The National on Sunday night. Tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:30 with openers Iron Reagan, Battlecross and Gritter. And if you haven't already signed it, please sign the petition asking the NFL to allow GWAR to play the halftime show at the 2015 Super Bowl. If middle America thought Janet Jackson's nipple was bad, wait'll they get a load of this:




The Infamous Stringdusters will settle into The National for two shows on 12/30 & 31. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 each night. Tix on the 30th are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Tix for the 31st are $35 in advance, $40 at the door because everything is more expensive on NYE. They have a really fantastic selection of openers for these shows. On Monday night, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Jesse Harper and No BS! Brass Band will open. On Tuesday night, Sons of Bill, Carl Anderson and Love Canon open. Expect lots of mixing, matching and jamming across bands. Here's the Stringdusters jamming out in a style of their very own on "Machines" at The Festy Experience in October:



No BS! Brass Band will throw a party of their own on NYE at The Camel. Doors will open at 8 and The Green Boys will open the show. Tix are $20. Here they are at The Camel doing their great cover of a Rush tune at The Camel in November:



Cary St. Cafe will throw a New Year's Party of their own with Grateful Dead tribute band, King Solomon's Marbles. It starts at 10 PM and for $10 you get in, get some party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. Couldn't find any new KSM video so this'll have to do. I remember watching this show on pay-per-view.




At Capital Ale House on NYE, The Big Payback - James Brown tribute, will get down and get funky. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and it's $15 in advance, $20 at the door to get in. Make sure you get a cab ride home so you can enjoy all those tasty, high ABV beers. Here they are at Cary St. Cafe in June 2012:



I'll leave you with this one which tells you all you need to know about pop-country in 2013:


Have a Happy New Year!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Deer Tick

A band with a horrible name but a good sound, Americana band Deer Tick appears on a repeat of Conan (all the shows are in repeats this week) tonight at 11 PM on TBS. You can check out Deer Tick's recent performance on NPR's World Cafe HERE. Here's Deer Tick doing "Main Street" (not the Bob Seger song):

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Weekend Picks: Carbon Leaf, k.d. lang, Jason Mraz, Murphy's Kids, No BS! Brass Band, Jackass Flats, DJ Williams Projekt

Here it is. Almost Christmas. Everyone is hunkering down with their family and friends, exchanging gifts, drinking egg nog (wtf is nog, anyway?), eating Christmas cookies, getting in arguments with their born-again, conservative cousin about the War on Christmas (isn't the fact that the stores put up their Christmas decorations on 11/1 enough to see that Christmas is winning?), running around to get that last minute Christmas gift at 5 PM Christmas Eve (my wife/girlfriend will love this quart of motor oil from the 7-11!), drinking spiced rum, wrapping gifts (just throw it in a damn gift bag, I can't wrap this!), drinking Christmas ale, stuffing stockings (I'd like to stuff your stocking, baby! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)), drinking bourbon, watching "Christmas Story" (Scut Farkus!), drinking margaritas and enjoying peace on earth (for a day anyway) and the goodwill of men (until the post-Christmas sales start).


Oh, what's going on in music, you ask? Well, Saturday night, prepare to rock it ska style at Kingdom with the Skalidays 2013 show with Murphy's Kids, Eastern Standard Time, Signal Fire, No BS! Brass Band, 6TA, and Among Criminals. The show starts at 6 and it's $10 to get in. The show benefits WRIR and Food Not Bombs. Here's Murphy's Kids set at Friday Cheers this summer:




Saturday night at The Camel, get your Christmas bluegrass on with Jackass Flats. Jackass Flats will be taking on the Big Lebowski soundtrack. Tara Williams will open, doors open at 9 and it's $7 to get in. There will be a costume contest so dress as your favorite dude or dudette and win $50 (first prize) or $25 (second prize).

Saturday, there is a big benefit for SPARC's (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community) Live Art: Tree of Life featuring Jason Mraz, k.d. lang, Christina Perri, Rene Marie, Robbin Thompson, Daniel Clarke, Steve Bassett, Susan Greenbaum, Jesse Harper and more. There are less than 30 seats left for the show at the Landmark Theater so get them now. Tickets are $65. Here's Jason Mraz and the SPARC Students from the show two years ago doing "Winter Wonderland". I think the kids' laughter when they come out with Jason says it all.




Also, Saturday, hometown boys Carbon Leaf will be at The National. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Tix are $15 in advance, $18 day of show. The Alternate Routes open. Carbon Leaf was recently featured on Huffington Post in an article about the difficulties of getting good sleep and eating right on the road. They'll be wrapping up a two month tour here Saturday. Here's the Carbon Leaf fall tour announcement featuring their song "Circus" and you can see just how far they've traveled and imagine how happy they'll be to be home for the holidays:



If you have no interest in waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve, and instead want to get your groove on and maybe catch a glimpse of that crazy sleigh going by as you stumble out of The Camel, head there to see DJ Williams Projekt on 12/24. It's a Funky Holiday Party so wear your tacky Christmas sweater but be prepared to strip it off when you get all sweaty from dancin'.

I'll leave you with this ditty from Animal, Beaker and The Swedish Chef from The Muppets. Have a very Merry Christmas!



Almost forgot this one....



Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Chance the Rapper

Jazzy, alternative rapper Chance the Rapper will be on the Arsenio Hall Show tonight. Arsenio is on WUPV here in Richmond at 11 PM. Check your local listing for station and times in your area. Chance's second album/mixtape, "Acid Rap", came out as Metacritic's 9th best album of 2013 based on reviews from professional critics. Here's Chance doing "Juice" (some language NSFW):

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Late Night Pick: Tame Impala

Australian psychedelic band, Tame Impala, will be on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly from November of this year on NBC at 1:35 AM. Tame Impala's album "Lonerism" has been nominate for a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Here's "Feel Like We Only Go Backwards" from that album:

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Late Night Pick: Polica

Check out the dreamy, trippy, electronic pop of Polica tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC at 11:35 PM. Love this song from Polica called "Lay Your Cards Out" featuring the sexy vocals of lead singer, Channy Leanagh.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Late Night Pick: Gregg Allman & The National

Tonight on the Colbert Report, Gregg Allman and The National will be on. Not sure if they'll be playing together or not. The National does have some jam band cred as they've played with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. Bob sat in with them for a song at the Outside Lands Fesitval in SF last fall and he's incorporated some of their songs into his solo sets. At the very least, Gregg will be doing a Christmas song duet with Stephen Colbert.

Things are looking good for The National too. They recently received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album for "Trouble Will Find Me". The Colbert Report is on at 11:30 PM on Comedy Central and repeated a few times during the next 24 hours.

Here's The National with "Demons" from "Trouble Will Find Me":



And here is some classic Gregg Allman with "Come and Go Blues":

Friday, December 13, 2013

Late Night Pick: The Lone Bellow

Americana band The Lone Bellow will be on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight on CBS at 12:35 AM. Here they are covering the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Love the harmonies these guys get.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Late Night Pick: Robbie Fulks

Alt-country/folk singer/songwriter Robbie Fulks will be on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight at 1:35 AM on NBC. Robbie's critically acclaimed album, "Gone Away Backward" was recently named by Rolling Stone as one of the best country records of 2013.

Here's Robbie doing a song called "Cigarette State" about our neighbor state to the South:

Queens of the Stone Age, Hamaganza, Ghost of Pop, Matthew E White, Swearin', John Mayer, Royal Thunder, Diarrhea Planet

This is the last busy music week in Richmond for a while and there is lots of good stuff out there so try to squeeze in some music between your Christmas shopping and holiday parties.

We start with the mellow sounds of John Mayer and Phillip Phillips at the Richmond Coliseum. Show time is 7 PM. Tickets run from $39 to $80. There are still some good seats available. John has been through many phases in his career and right now he is in 70's country rock mode ala The Eagles or Jackson Browne. Here's a little preview of the show courtesy of John's Road Sessions YouTube series:




Friday night at Balliceaux, No BS! Brass Band will be there with some new music in hand or in horn, as the case may be. Show starts at 10 and it's $5 to get in. No BS! Brass Band continues to make a name for themselves as they'll be playing at the NYC Winter Jazz Fest in January. Here's No BS! Live at Forbes (Magazine?) with "Run Around":




The annual Hamaganza charity variety show stretched out to two nights a few years ago and the first stop is at Poe's Pub Friday night and then Lulu's on Saturday night. Admission is $10 or a nice juicy ham and all proceeds and hams go to the Central VA Food Bank. Hamaganza is always a crazy, surreal, funny, odd good time. You'll see local celebrities, fire juggling, musical whistling, dancing girls, ukeleles, drag queens including the large and legendary Dirtwoman, bad but fun music, arm wrestling, a Neil Diamond tribute band and so much more.


If you are looking for some fun with the kids on Saturday afternoon and the rain holds off, head down to Christmas on MacArthur in the 4000 block of MacArthur Ave. It will start at 11 AM and end at 4 PM. There will be a parade, lots of stuff for the kids and music from Susan Greenbaum, The Janet Martin Band and The Taters. And it's FREE. And bring an unwrapped toy for Toys of Tots and get a raffle ticket for a chance to win 1 of 6 free bikes.


Saturday night, Ghost of Pop 9 at Gallery 5 shows off some of the best Richmond music with My Old Ways, The Awesome Few, Long Arms, The Northeners, Hypercolor, Goldrush, and Black Girls. It's just $5 to get in and the money goes to HomeAgain, a local emergency shelter system. Things get underway at 6 PM. Here's My Old Ways playing earlier this year when it was much warmer:



Over at The National Saturday, indie rock band twenty one pilots performs along with The 1975 and MS MR. Doors open at 6, show starts at 7, tix are $22.50 in advance, $25 at the door. You might like twenty one pilots if you like Fun., Regina Spektor, Paramore, The Strokes, Of Montreal, or MGMT. Here's twenty one pilots doing "House of Gold" live:



At Strange Matter, it's punk-pop on Saturday with Swearin', Little Master, Snowy Owls, and Hoax Hunters play starting at 10 PM with doors opening at 9. Tix are $6 in advance, $8 day of show. Here's Swearin' at the late, great Maxwell's in Hoboken NJ earlier this year doing "Here to Hear":



Homeboy done good, Matthew E White returns to town for a much anticipated show on Sunday at Strange Matter. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with special guest Howard Ivans & DJ Mixie & Sister Goldenhaze. Tix are $12 in advance, $14 day of show. This was the message Matthew posted on Facebook a few hours ago, "Richmond friends. I have spent the last year and a half touring around the world on a record, Big Inner, that was made in our village. It was created with a spirit injected into me by this city and was raised up by the gifted musicians who practice their craft here. After 122 shows this year with my closest friends, musical conspirators and 100 proof Virginia gentlemen, we will be ending this whole story with a show Sunday night at Strange Matter. We would love to see you. This town means the world to us and Sunday will be very special, a way to say thank you for the immense support we all have felt and an appropriate ending place after a year that has changed all of our lives. Hope to see you there!" Here's Matthew doing "Big Love" in Paris last month:

Veuillez installer Flash Player pour lire la vidéo

Sunday at The Camel, dark, brooding stoner metal band Royal Thunder will get heavy on your ass, if you let them. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8, tix are $10. Here's their set from Newport, KY earlier this year:


DJ Williams Projekt checks in at City Dogs on Sunday. This is billed as the "RVA Funk Review with special guests" so you know your booty will be shaking. It's FREE to get in and it starts at 10 PM. Here's DJ Williams (on guitar) playing in his other band, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe:



Monday at Strange Matter, the band with the worst name in the universe, Diarrhea Planet, will play. Just think of an entire planet made of diarrhea. Ewwww. It's $8 to get in. Doors open at 9, show starts at 10 with openers The Midnight Ghost Train, No Regrets Coyote (cool Joni Mitchell reference for a band name), and Hot Dolphin, named after the infamous dolphin porn magazine (just kidding). Don't let Diarrhea Planet's name fool you. There loud, punk-pop sound, garage rock sound is pretty good and they'll rock your face off as noted by their nomination by NPR for one of the the best albums of 2013. Here's "Ugliest Son" from their latest album, "I"m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams":



The show of the week is Queens of the Stone Age at The National on Monday night. Not just because I'll be there but because this band is at the top of their game right now. They sold out this show at $50 a ticket on a Monday night. Their latest and truly awesome album, "...Like Clockwork" is showing up on all sorts of year end top 10 lists. They make great, weird, creepy videos. They get Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl and Elton John to play on their latest album. Doors will open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with opener RIBS. If you're going, let me know and we'll hang out while we rock out. If you can't get to the show, the next best thing is to watch it on YouTube as broadcast by NPR from The Wiltern Theater in LA in May:



And here is their creepy video for "Vampyre of Time & Memory". This song is one of many on their latest albums that gives me goosebumps in a good way:



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Late Night Pick: Iron & Wine and Calexico

An indie rock marriage made in heaven, Iron & Wine will get together with Calexico tonight on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35 AM. This won't be the first time the two acts have been together as they collaborated on a 7 song EP back in 2005. Expect some Christmas music, namely a cover of the Pogues/Kristy McColl song "Fairytale in New York".

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Late Night Pick: Chvrches

They just played here at The National over Thanksgiving weekend and now you can catch them on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight at 1:35 AM on NBC. They are synth pop band Chvrches and their latest album, "The Bones of What You Believe" is doing quite well critically and commercially. If you missed them at The National, you can road trip in April and catch them up in DC at the 9:30 Club on April 29. Here's Cvrches doing "Recover":

Monday, December 9, 2013

Late Night Pick: 7 Days of Funk featuring Snoopzilla & Dam-Funk

Snoop Dogg's new project is the funk tribute, 7 Days of Funk. Snoop is performing under the name Snoopzilla as a tribute to Bootsy "Bootzilla" Collins so you can dig where this funk is coming from. Producer/DJ Dam-Funk is Snoop's collaborator. Let's watch Conan tonight on TBS at 11 PM to see what they have come up with. If you can't wait, the whole album is streaming on NPR HERE.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Moon Taxi, Polar Bear Club, Southern Belles, The Heritage, Citizen, Diamond Youth, Sainthood Reps

It's a pretty slim weekend for music. Next weekend picks up nicely as there will be a lot of local bands and national bands from Richmond home for the holidays and squeezing a show in for their local fans and family before Christmas.

Up and coming alternative/progressive/jam band Moon Taxi will be at Capital Ale House Downtown on Friday night. Tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors open at 9:30, show starts at 10 with opener The Shack Band. You might like Moon Taxi if you like Steely Dan, Rush, King Crimson, Medeski, Martin & Wood or Phish. Here's a song from their last album, "Cabaret". This song is called "Mercury":



Over at The Camel, local (but spreading throughout the East Coast) jam band Southern Belles plays with The Heritage opening. Doors will open at 8, music will start after 9 and it's $7 to get in. Here's the Belles doing "Getaway" at Capital Ale House in September:




At Strange Matter on Friday evening, alternative/indie/emo/pop bands Polar Bear Club, Citizen, Diamond Youth and Sainthood Reps will give you a full night of rock and roll. Doors open at 6 PM, show starts at 7 and it's $15 to get in. Here's Polar Bear Club doing "Blood Balloon" (NSFW language):



That's it for this weekend. As you may have heard by now, former political prisoner, then South African President Nelson Mandela died today. I'll leave with two songs to commemorate him.The first is a brand-new U2 song that came out in the biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom". The second is the song I first thought of when I heard he died, an early MTV staple from The Specials. RIP Nelson Mandela.






Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Robert Randolph, Emeli Sande

Tonight on Tavis Smiley on PBS (check Tavis' site for local times) check out interviews with extraordinary steel guitar player Robert Randolph and singer-songwriter Emeli Sande. While Tavis' show does not always include a performance by the musical guests, the format does allow for the most in-depth interviews with the artists than any other late night show. Robert Randolph will be at FloydFest this summer out in Floyd, VA along with Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, Lauryn Hill, Ray Lamontagne, Ziggy Marley, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Buddy Guy, and more.

Here's some recent music from both of the guests. Here's Robert Randolph and the Family Band in their show the other night at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester NY joined by Papa Mali on guitar, Eric Krasno (Soulive) on guitar and Bobby Keys (Rolling Stones) on sax.



And here's Emeli Sande doing "My Kind of Love" with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon:

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Late Night Pick: The Wild Feathers (again)

They are making a big late night push for you to spend those Christmas dollars on their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. They're the Americana The Wild Feathers and they'll be on Conan tonight at 11 PM on TBS. Here's the video for their first single, "Backwoods Company" rockin' out, drinkin' moonshine and beer, smoking weed and putting something on their tongue:

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Late Night Pick: Dawes

Roots rock band Dawes will be on Conan tonight at 11 PM on TBS. Dawes is nominated for two SiriusXM Spectrum awards for Artist of the Year and Breakthrough Album of the Year.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Late Night Pick: The Wild Feathers

The Wild Feathers will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight on ABC at 11:35 PM. The Wild Feathers describe themselves on their Facebook page as "They're like if Led Zeppelin & The Band had a baby in Joshua Tree that grew up listening to Ryan Adams covering the Stones 70's country influenced songs." The Americana band has received a lot of critical acclaim for their self-titled debut album. If you go to their web site, you can get a free four song download from their show for 101.9 KINK in Portland. They are also up for a SiriusXM award for Best Artist Discovery and Best Song Discovery. And they have good taste in cover tunes as evidenced be their version of this Grateful Dead classic:

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Late Night Pick: Shemekia Copeland

Blues singer Shemekia Copeland will be on the Tavis Smiley show on PBS tonight. Check your local listings for the time in your area. I think they bury the show at 3 AM on our Richmond PBS so its definitely a DVR thing. Unlike some of Tavis' musical guests, Shemekia will be performing music on the show, at least that's what it looks like from the picture on the site. Here's a promo video for her album "33 1/3" which came out last year:

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Cvurches, MGMT, People's Blues of Richmond, Fear of Music, Trongone Band

Not a whole lot going on this weekend but a local band on the rise, two local cover bands and couple hip national acts should be enough to provide entertainment for all types if you need to get away from the relatives or take them out for a rockin' good time.

You can get the weekend started by taking out those relatives who saw the Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead in the 70's to Cary St. Cafe on Wednesday. Trongone Band is playing, starting at 10 PM and it's FREE to get in so you won't have to cut into your Black Friday shopping budget.

Is that cousin in town who used to drag you to go see "Stop Making Sense" at the midnight show every Saturday night in high school? Bring him to The Camel on Thursday night to dance off that Thanksgiving dinner in that herky-jerky David Byrne style with Talking Heads tribute band, Fear of Music. This is also a FREE show. Doors will open at 8 and the show starts at 11 PM so you can get a nap in to sleep off the triptophan (sp?) before you head out. Here's the promo video for the show:



And here is the Talking Heads' "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)":




Friday night, Cvurches (yes, you spell it with the v) will be at The National. Cvurches is an indie synth pop band which you might like if you like Prince, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Lorde, or Polica. Tix are $20 in advance, $23 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Wet. Curches has been nominated for Indie Album of the Year, Best Artist Discovery and Best Song Discovery for the SiriusXMU End of Year Awards. Here's their latest number, "Lies":



Saturday, psychedelic electronic pop band MGMT are at The National. Tix are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Kuroma. See these guys if you like Flaming Lips, Polyphonic Spree, Tame Impala, Of Montreal, Capital Cities, David Bowie, Suicide or Pink Floyd. Check out this freaky video for their new track, "Alien Days":



If you prefer your music less freaky and more raw, like pouring whiskey into an open wound, get down to The Camel on Saturday night for the power blues of People's Blues of Richmond. The Green Boys and Tarrant will open. Doors open at 9 and it's $7 to get in. PBR is just back from a tour of Colorado where I am sure they tested the new Colorado marijuana laws. Here's PBR doing "Free Will":



Thanks for reading the blog everyone! Thank you!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Trombone Shorty

The late night landscape was looking pretty slim tonight with mediocre pop and pop-rock bands and one of my most hated bands ever and then I saw New Orleans jazz-funk man Trombone Shorty was on the Arsenio Hall Show and I knew we would be alright. Aresenio is on at 11 PM on WUPV here in Richmond. Check local listing for times and station in your area.

Trombone Shorty and his band, Orleans Avenue, recently toured with Zac Brown Band. He was also voted Best Trombonist in famous jazz magazine Downbeat's Readers Poll and Shorty and the band were voted one of the best in the Jazz Group category.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Late Night Pick: Mazzy Star, Jake Clemons; new Springsteen album

90's dream pop band, Mazzy Star, returned this year with their first album in 17 years, "Seasons of Your Day", to critical acclaim. They'll be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight on NBC at 12:35 AM. Jake Clemons, who took over the sax role in the E Street Band after his uncle passed away, will be on also, jamming with The Roots.

Jake will be featured on Bruce's upcoming album, "High Hopes". Bruce just announced today that the album will come out on 1/14/14. Here's the title track:

Friday, November 22, 2013

Late Night Pick: Foals

Tonight on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, 12:35 AM) from 10/24, check out indie rock band Foals. Foals have a new wavey, art rock sound so check them out if you like King Crimson, U2, Joy Division or Talking Heads.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Late Night Pick: J Roddy Walston and the Business

Indie roots rockers J Roddy Walston and the Business will be on Late Show with David Letterman tonight at 11:35 PM on CBS. I saw them open for Drive-By Truckers last year (new album coming in March!) and they put on a good, fun, rowdy show with lots of long hair whipping around as J Roddy thrashed on the keyboards. They'll perform their song "Heavy Bells" tonight. Their song "Use Your Language" was recently featured on the series finale of "Eastbound & Down" and you know if Kenny Fu**in' Powers likes the band, they must rock.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Jonathan Richman, Jaheim, Coney Island Rock n' Roll Show, No BS! Brass Band, Fear of Music, Trongone Band, King Solomon's Marbles

As it's the weekend before Thanksgiving, not too many national acts on the scene, but a good week to catch some local favorites.

You can start Thursday night with the classic blues/jam rock of Trongone Band at Cary St. Cafe. Show starts at 10 PM and there is no cover.

If you want some sexy soul to warm you (and a partner hopefully) as the weather gets cold, head to the Landmark Theater on Friday night for the Jaheim / Chrisette Michele show. The show starts at 8 PM and the tix run from $50 to $72. If you dig D'Angelo, Maxwell, Luther Vandross, R. Kelly, or Teddy Pendergrass, you might dig Jaheim. Here's his latest video, "Chase Forever":





No BS! Brass Band brings their horny (see what I did there) funk to The Camel on Friday night. James Wallace and The Naked Light will open the show at 9. Chelsea Temple will come on around 9:45 and No BS! will kick in around 10:30. It's $7 to get in. Here's No BS! doing "Git it Awn'":



If you are having an acid flashback on Friday night or just flat out trippin', get thyself to Cary St. Cafe for Grateful Dead tribute band, King Solomon's Marbles. Show starts at 10 PM and there is no cover. This is KSM's 15th anniversary show and band members, past and present, will make appearances. Speaking of the Grateful Dead, hope you are all taking advantage of 30 Days of Dead with a new song picked from the vault for download every day this month. And don't worry if you missed some. The whole month's selections are there for you to catch up. I would particularly point you toward the selection on 11/9, which was recorded at my alma mater, Lafayette College. Unfortunately, this show took place a few years before I got there. It's a very good show and you can find a fine audience recording on the Internet Archive with John Cippolina joining the band for the second half of the second set. Here's the first song by the Grateful Dead that I loved and the first song I ever saw them play in concert (3/31/87), "Jack Straw" with a grumpy looking baby at the beginning:



On Saturday night, indie rock pioneer, Jonathan Richman will be at The Camel. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. No opener is listed so get there on time. Tix are $15. Here's Jonathan doing "Vincent Van Gogh" in '83 on Australian TV:




The Coney Island Rock n' Roll show hits Richmond on Saturday. Not just bands (The Urban Pioneers, The Jesse Ray Carter Trio, and Reverend D-Ray and The Shockers), this show also will include a freak show courtesy of The Cut Throat Freak Show and burlesque from Scarlett Storm Burlesque. It should be quite an event and it all goes down at Wonderland starting at 9 PM. Not sure what the cover is so call Wonderland if you want to know (643-9233)

Tuesday night, Talking Heads tribute band, Fear of Music, is at Cary St. Cafe. Show starts at 10 PM and there is no cover. I caught these guys a couple weeks ago at Balliceaux and they had the whole place moving with an nice mix of T Heads hits and deeper cuts. Here's a clip from that show at Balliceaux that shows the band playing "Pulled Up":



If' you haven't checked out the new interactive video for Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", please do so now. As you flip through the "channels" on the TV as the song plays, all the channels feature people lip syncing the song, some shows real, some fake. It's a great use of the internet medium and it's really surreal and amazing. Go HERE now.

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Jessie Ware, Ron Burgundy

Tonight on Conan, check out alt-R&B songstress, Jessie Ware. Conan is on TBS at 11 PM and repeated at 1 AM. You might dig Jessie if you like Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, Lisa Stansfield, or Sade.

Also, on the show tonight, the return of newscaster Ron Burgundy. Things could escalate quickly.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Late Night Pick: Capital Cities

Neo-psychedelic electronica group, Capital Cities, is on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight at 1:35 AM on NBC. Check out Capital Cities if you like bands like MGMT, Fun., Of Montreal or the Bee Gees.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Late Night Pick: Luscious Jackson

One of my favorite 90's bands, Luscious Jackson, reunited a few years ago and they have a new album out, "Magic Hour", their first album (if you don't count a kids album a few years ago) in 14 years and it's getting good reviews so far. HERE is a tasty review from the NY Times. They'll be on Late Show with David Letterman tonight at 11:35 on CBS.

Here's one of my favorite LJ songs from back in the day, "Why Do I Lie?":

Friday, November 15, 2013

Late Night Pick: Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths, and now doing the solo thing, will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight at 12:35 AM on NBC. Tune in if you like, well, The Smiths, also Elvis Costello, Richard Ashcroft, Damon Albarn, Matthew Sweet, Noel Gallagher, PJ Harvey, Joe Jackson, Peter Murphy, or Mick Ronson.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Skydog, The Story So Far, Rock Lotto, Nighthawks, Former Champions, Southern Belles

We'll start our weekend at Capital Ale House Downtown for Allman Brothers tribute band, Skydog. Doors open at 9:30, show starts at 10. Tix are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. The band does a fine job recreating the classic Allman Brothers sound. If you can't catch them in Richmond Friday or you live closer to DC, you can catch them in Leesburg on Saturday night. If you like the Allman Brothers or think you should, check these guys out. Here's a short video that combines interviews with rehearsal footage:



And for a slightly different take on the Allman Brothers, here's Frank Zappa doing "Whipping Post":




Over at The Canal Club, it's the local jamtronica band, Former Champions, along with DJ Phil Dice and Digipossum. Doors open at 9 PM and it's $7 to get in. The Former Champs are billing this as "Startin' Somethin'" as in the Michael Jackson song as they'll be doing their take on MJ's music all night long. Here's a taste of the Champions from a video that was promoting their gig on 11/5 at Cary St. Cafe.



"Do you fell lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" Then head down to Rock Lotto at Strange Matter on Saturday night. What is Rock Lotto? Strange Matter assembled 40 musicians three weeks ago. They threw everyone's name into a hat and did a random draw forming 8 bands of 5 members each. The bands were given the 3 weeks to come up with a 10 - 20 minute set and you can see and hear the results on Saturday night starting at 7 PM. This is a benefit for WRIR and the Central VA Food Bank so you can get in with $10 or $5 and at least 2 cans of food.

THE BANDS (last to first/headliner to opener):

SARL CAGAN
WHIMSICAL ASS FASHION
WINKLE
INFECTED CEMETERY
GHOST BITCH
JERK BOOTH
SKULL THEATRE
DICK WOLFE

I don't have a video for this so here is Frank Zappa doing "Stairway to Heaven". Got to see this the one and only time I saw Zappa and remember being surprised and laughing when the horn section kicks in. Great stuff! Wish the video was better quality but the sound quality is pretty good.



On Sunday night, catch renowned blues band The Nighthawks at Lulu's. The show will start at 7 PM, tix are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Here they are doing the classic, "Mannish Boy".


Wednesday night at Kingdom, pop punk band with a good buzz, The Story So Far, checks in. Also playing will be Stick To Your Guns, Such Gold, Rotting Out, and Souvenirs. Doors will open at 6 PM and it's $16 to get in. Here's their latest single, "Empty Space":



If you would rather do the funky, Americana, jam band thing on Wednesday night, go to Cary St. Cafe for The Southern Belles. Show starts around 10 and it's FREE to get in. After the show at Cary St., they head down to NC for shows in Asheville (Friday) and Winston-Salem (Saturday). Here's the Belles entire show from The Camel on 11/1. They open with a tune you might recognize.


Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Late Night Pick: Tame Implala

Australian neo-psychedelic band, Tame Impala, will be on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight on NBC at 1:35 AM. Tame Impala is on tour with last night's Last Call guest, Flaming Lips, who cover the Tame Impala song, "Elephant", in this video:

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Late Night Pick: Flaming Lips

The always entertaining, sometimes confounding, psychedelic punk band Flaming Lips will be on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight on NBC at 1:35 AM. They have a new EP coming out on November 29 called "Peace Sword" featuring music for and inspired by the film "Ender's Game". I'm sure the music will blow the minds of those seeing the movie.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Late Night Pick: Black Joe Lewis

Check out funky blues man, Black Joe Lewis, tonight on Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35 PM on CBS. I was a big fan of Black Joe's last album, "Scandalous", so I'm interested to see what he's up to now. I've heard the first single, "Come to My Party", and it sounds like the same party vibe as the last album and that's not a bad thing. Black Joe was recently on NPR's World Cafe and they performed three songs from their new album. You can listen to that HERE.

Here is the amusing video for "Mustang Ranch" from his last album. Love the song and love the video.

Paul Burch, Coheed & Cambria, Manchester Orchestra, Joe Bonamassa, Sam Bush & Jerry Douglas, The Lonely Teardrops, The Front Bottoms, Balance & Composure

At the Modlin Center on Friday night, is the sensational bluegrass duo Sam Bush & Jerry Douglas. Tix run from $10 to $45 depending on your demographic. Here's the press blurb on the duo:

"Known as the King of Newgrass, Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Sam Bush has played a pivotal role in expanding the horizons of bluegrass music, fusing it with jazz, rock, blues, funk, and more. Best known for his jaw-dropping skills on the mandolin, Bush is the cofounder of the genre-bending New Grass Revival and has played with everyone from Emmylou Harris and Béla Fleck, to Charlie Haden, Lyle Lovett, and Garth Brooks.

Dobro master and 13-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas is to the resonator guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric guitar: elevating, transforming, and reinventing the instrument in countless ways. In addition to his 13 solo records, Douglas has played with everyone from Ray Charles to Alison Krauss and has produced albums for Krauss, the Del McCoury Band, Maura O’Connell, and Jesse Winchester. His latest solo album Traveler features guest appearances by such notable friends as Paul Simon, Mumford & Sons, Eric Clapton, and more."

And if you've got kids that like Taylor Swift, you can tell them Taylor asked Sam to play in her all-star band at the CMA Awards this month.

Here they are playing together at the 2012 Telluride Bluegrass Festival with John Cowan doing a rippin' version of Little Feat's "Sailin' Shoes":



Honky tonk country artist Paul Burch plays with his band, WPA Ballclub, at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Friday night. The show starts at 8 PM, it's $10 in advance, $15 day of show. Here's the press blurb for Paul:

"Paul Burch, Nashville’s honky tonk auteur and a writer of unmistakably modern but instantly classic songs, will release his 9th album Fevers this fall on Plowboy Records. Backed by his redoubtable band the WPA Ballclub, Fevers brings the intense, unbridled, and bravado of a Burch’s stage show into the studio. Produced with multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin (Jack White’s Buzzards, Third Man Records), Fevers is a riveting and haunting mix of honky tonk, stringband blues, and bop grooves that defies easy categories.
Critics have praised Burch’s albums as “music that sounds thoroughly modern but completely unlike contemporary country” (USA Today) and Entertainment Weekly has called him “a modern day Jimmie Rodgers.” The UK’s Uncut has awarded Burch’s last three albums 5 stars saying: “No one makes records like this anymore.”
Born in Washington D.C., Burch was first singled out when his 1996 debut, Pan American Flash, was named Amazon.com’s #5 Best Country Albums of the 90s and was described by Billboard’s Chet Flippo as “extraordinary…establishing Burch as a leader in marrying country’s roots tradition with a modern sensibility.”
Along with a GRAMMY nomination for his contribution to the comeback album by the Louvin Brothers’ Charlie Louvin, Burch has worked with a range of equally ineffable artists including Ralph Stanley, Exene Cervenka of X, Mark Knopfler, Lambchop, Vic Chesnutt, and R&B great Candi Staton. Burch’s songs for Last of My Kind, a companion to Tony Earley’s bestselling debut novelJim the Boy, were called “heartfelt and elegant in their simplicity” by the New York Times and his tribute to Buddy Holly,Words of Love, led to a new fan in Holly’s widow, Maria Elena. “Words of Love is a beautiful album,” said Maria Elena. “He has everything Buddy wanted to hear in an artist–his own style and his own sound.”  PB  recently produced famed Nashville songwriter David Olney’s Predicting the Past.
Peter Guralnick, author of biographies on Elvis Presley (Last Train to Memphis & Careless Love) and Sam Cooke (Dream Boogie) says: “I’m a Paul Burch fan. How could I not be? His music never fails to achieve its purpose, what Sun Records founder Sam Phillips has deemed the unequivocal purpose of every kind of music: to lift up, to deepen, to intensify the spirit of audience and musicians alike.”"

Here's Paul and the band with "Couldn't Get a Witness" from his new album "Fevers":




If you are more into rocking hard with some prog metal, Coheed & Cambria will be at The National on Friday. Tix are $25 in advance, $28 at the door. Doors open at 6, show starts at 6:30 with openers Balance & Composure (make sure you're in on time to see them) and I the Mighty. You might dig Coheed & Cambria if you like Rush, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, or Dream Theater. Here's the video for their song, "Number City", from their latest album, "The Afterman: Descension". This song is pretty poppy compared to a lot of their stuff, even including a horn section, but still weird enough to be Coheed & Cambria:

On Saturday, it's an evening with blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa at the Landmark Theater. The show will start at 8 and it's billed as "An Evening with Joe Bonamassa" which usually means no opener. Tix run from $71 to $91. Yes, you read that right but he can sell 'em because only Balcony seats remain. In a review of a March show at London's Royal Albert Hall, UK web site Get Ready to Rock said, "Bonamassa is a barometer of just how far blues rock artists can go. He’s broken through the glass ceiling hampering the genre, while remaining fiercely independent. He’s set new standards with impeccable playing, carefully chosen material, a cast of top musicians and an intuitive producer. His audience has grown exponentially and internationally, and judging by tonight, he’s even copped some of Clapton’s Albert Hall crowd." Here's Joe doing "Don't Burn Down That Bridge":




Richmond's world renowned salsa band, Bio Ritmo, is at The Camel on Saturday night. It'll start at 10 PM with openers Soul Power and dj sets in between the bands. It's $10 to get in, $5 for students. Here's the band's "La Verdad":




Sunday at The National, alt-rock band Manchester Orchestra will perform so you can get your kicks. Tix are $16 in advance, $20 at the door. Doors open early at 6 PM and the show starts at 7. Make sure you get in early to see The Front Bottoms. They'll be on before MO and O'Brother will play before Front Bottoms. Here's Man O playing "Simple Math" at The National on 11/16/11:




Local punk/garage rock band, The Lonely Teardrops, will rip it up at Bandito's on Sunday at 9 PM. I believe it won't cost you nothin' to get in. Here they are combining two of the greatest things ever, surfing and monkeys, in a song called "Surfin' Monkey":

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Late Night Pick: Nine Inch Nails

Tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, 11:35 PM), catch a rare TV appearance from Nine Inch Nails. I caught one of their shows on one of the festival webcasts this summer and it was outstanding. Hopefully, they'll do some of the same minimalist, shadow staging they have on their stage show. Judging from some of the pics on the NIN site, they've added some more twists to the staging and made it even cooler. NIN will be doing a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2014 with Queens of the Stone Age (don't miss QOTSA at The National next month!) in which the opener each night will be decided by a flip of a coin.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Late Night Pick: Florida Georgia Line

Took a day off yesterday because I didn't want you sitting around reading my blog (yeah, right) instead of getting out to vote. Tonight's late night pick is country band Florida Georgia Line on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC at 11:35 PM. Their song, "Stay", is currently the number one song on iTunes.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Late Night Pick: Janelle Monae

The funky alternative R&B/neo-sci-fi-soul powerhouse, Janelle Monae, will be on the Arsenio Hall Show tonight. Arsenio is on WUPV at 11 PM here in Richmond. Check your local listings for channel and time in your area.

I've seen Janelle lately on SNL and Later with Jools Holland and she never fails to get my booty shaking and bring a smile to face. She can mix 60's girl band backing vocals, with a 70's horn section and 2010 beats and make it all work with her personality, beauty, singing and dancing. She could become huge but hopefully we'll get to see her at The National before she hits it big. If you want a quick little synopsis of her career up to now, check out THIS slide show on the BET site.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Late Night Pick: Big Sean featuring Kid Cudi

Rappers Big Sean and Kid Cudi will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35 AM. Speaking of Jimmy Fallon, Tux (Jimmy Fallon & Jason Schwartzman) reunited on the show last night to perform their Halloween classic, "Mr. Scarecrow":

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Tera Melos, Dr. Dog, Autumn Bottom Brews Fest, Southern Belles, Three Sheets to the Wind

Southern Belles continue their First Friday residency at The Camel this Friday. It's $7 to get in, doors open at 9 and Woodwork will open. Though the Belles play mostly originals these days, here they are a couple weeks ago dipping into the Floyd catalog for "Time" and "Echoes":




Saturday night, get your yacht rock on with Three Sheets to the Wind at The National. Tix are $15 in advance, $20 at the door and $35 if you want VIP. Doors will open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Party of Four (America's #1 Tribute to 90's Jangle Pop, or at least they say so). Three Sheets will don a musical costume for mini-set of Tom Petty's greatest hits. Party of Four's musical costume will be a mini-set of Gin Blossoms. There will also be a costume contest with prizes for Best Yacht Rock Attire, Best Duo/Team Costume, and Best Overall. Here's some classic Tom Petty with the official video for "Change of Heart":


Sunday at the 17th Street Farmers' Market, the 3rd Annual Autumn Bottom Brews Festival (I think there is a stripper named Autumn Bottom) goes down without strippers, but with lots of good beer, food and music from Andy Vaughan & the Driveline (noon) and Jackass Flats (2:30). The whole event runs from noon until 5 PM and it's FREE.  Here's Jackass Flats at Hoss's on October 7:



Prog Rock band Tera Melos is at Strange Matter for an early show on Sunday night. Tix are $10 in advance, $12 day of show. Doors open at 5 and Zorch and Dumb Waiter open. If you want a preview of their show, here is a 30 minute set Tera Melos did at the famous Amoeba Records in San Franscisco on April 14 this year:



Psychedelic indie rockers from Philly, Dr. Dog, will be at The National Monday night. Tix are $20 in advance, $22 day of show. Benny Yurco and the Revealers will open when the show starts at 8. Doors open at 7. You might like Dr. Dog if you like The Band, Big Star, Harry Nilsson, Beach Boys, The Kinks, or XTC. Here they are performing their new single, "Broken Heart" in Nashville yesterday.



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Holy Ghost!

The Late Show with David Letterman has, appropriately enough for Halloween, the dance band Holy Ghost! (exclamation point is in the band's name) on the show tonight on CBS at 11:35 PM. You might like Holy Ghost! if you like New Order, LCD Soundsystem, or Depeche Mode.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Halloween: Built to Spill, Black Girls, Former Champions, Trongone Band

Looking for some rock n' roll on Halloween? Well, there's a lot of it going on.


Indie pop rockers Built to Spill will be at The Canal Club Thursday night. It'll be $25 to get in. Slam Dunk, Genders and The Warm Hair will open. Doors will open at 7 PM. There will be a costume contest and free giveaways. Doug Martsch of Built to Spill will do a DJ set after the show which you can stick around for. Here's the band in Hamburg this year playing "Goin' Against Your Mind":




Black Girls will get super freaky at Balliceaux on Halloween. It'll be $5 to get in and the show starts at 10.


Former Champions will be joined by members of Silo Effect at The Camel for a Halloween jamtronica extravaganza. There will be a costume contest, vendors, live painters and the Champs are promising some surprises. Should get crazy. Music starts at 9 PM.  Here's Former Champions doing "Song 7" at The National in March:




If you like to celebrate your Halloween in classic rock style, head to Cary St. Cafe for Trongone Band. There will be a costume contest and there is no cover charge. Music starts around 10 PM with Barrelhouse. Trongone Band will don their musical costume at 11:15 PM by doing Widespread Panic's Jackassolantern album in its entirety which has no original Widespread Panic songs on it. Then Trongone Band, Barrelhouse and special guests will jam the night away.

More on the rest of the weekend's events tomorrow. For your Halloween pleasure, here's Phish doing "Ghost" a few days ago in Worcester MA:

Late Night Pick: Queens of the Stone Age; Avett Brothers webcast

My hard, psychedelic rock band of choice these days is Queens of the Stone Age and they'll be on Conan tonight at 11 PM on TBS. Coming out at some point today (it wasn't posted as of 5 PM), QOTSA will have an interactive music video for their song "Vampyre of Time & Memory". Just in time for Halloween. Here's the trailer:



Over on the David Letterman site, tonight at 8 PM, The Avett Brothers will do a one hour live performance. You can watch it HERE. They'll most likely be playing a bunch of tunes from their new album "Magpie and the Dandelion".

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Late Night Pick: Wayne Shorter Quartet

Arsenio Hall is really mixing it up on his new talk show. Last night, it was underground hip-hop, tonight it's jazz legend Wayne Shorter and his Quartet. Wayne was a quadruple winner in this year’s Downbeat magazine critics poll, topping the categories for Jazz Artist, Jazz Album, Jazz Group and Soprano Saxophone. At 80, Wayne still relishes improvisation and performing "without a net". HERE is a recent interview with Wayne in the Cape Breton (Australia) Post. Arsenio is on WUPV in Richmond at 11 PM, the rest of you can check Arsenio's web site for times and channels.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Tribute to Lou Reed and Delivering Newspapers, Late Night Pick: Hiatus Kaiyote

I'll always associate Lou Reed with delivering newspapers. Way back in 1982 or so, I was delivering newspapers for the Courier-Post, a South Jersey newspaper that was an afternoon paper on weekdays and a morning paper on weekends. The Walkman had just come out and my mom got one but I quickly assumed ownership of it to accompany me during my deliveries. Between my mom and I, we had very few cassettes at the time as they were quite the newfangled thing too. One of the tapes my mom had was Lou Reed's "Rock N' Roll Animal". I had heard the name Lou Reed, knew he was important in rock history, maybe knew "Walk on the Wild Side". I checked it out and loved it. This became my Sunday morning paper delivery album. There was something about popping that cassette in and starting my bike ride to where I picked up the papers with the beautiful twin guitar jam, melodic and then rocking, that starts "Intro/Sweet Jane" on a crisp, fall morning or a quiet, summer morning when the humidity wasn't too bad but promised to get hot later in the day. All alone, barely any cars or people out, the freedom of the bike and the feeling of good work, I would get to the paper box just about when Lou hit the stage to sing "Sweet Jane". I learned the song so well that I became somewhat famous within my fraternity for being able to play perfect air guitar to "Intro/Sweet Jane" channeling guitarists Dick Wagner & Steve Hunter and then Lou himself.

Sure, things took a dark turn when "Heroin" started. Dark, mysterious with dreams of sailing a thousand years ago, the warning "it's my wife and it's my life" and the apathetic surrender, "but I guess, I just don't know". It made the drug sound almost alluring but something about Lou's resignation said, "stay away, I've been there, it'll take you over".

Click. Time to turn the cassette over. The rock n' roll on this side was like a shot of caffeine to help me finish the route. And I needed it, because I was most likely up late Saturday night watching "Night Flight" or MTV or playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends, and I wasn't drinking coffee back then. "White Light/White Heat", "Lady Day" and "Rock & Roll" would drive me onward getting me through until I could get back home.

Later, I would hear more Lou. His "New York" album came out in college and I played it all the time in my room and on my college radio show. I would hear the Velvet Underground albums that spawned those songs on "Rock N' Roll Animal" in their more primal, raw forms and all the covers by those the VU influenced. I would listen to five minutes of "Metal Machine Music" before going "WTF?" like everyone else, including Lou. But I still go back on "Rock N' Roll Animal" and when I hear the opening notes of "Intro/Sweet Jane", I take a moment, bust out my air guitar, and remember those Sunday mornings on my bike, still mostly innocent, but with Lou about to tell me about the dark and weird and wonderful and romantic and frightening things that lurked out there in the back rooms and alleys and that if things ever got rough, "Despite the amputation / you could dance to a rock 'n' roll station / It was all right / it was all right".


Here is the obit from Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lou-reed-velvet-underground-leader-and-rock-pioneer-dead-at-71-20131027

Also, check out their 20 Essential Lou Reed songs: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/20-essential-lou-reed-tracks-20131027

Live Music Blog put together a nice piece on the many tributes from other musicians: http://livemusicblog.com/2013/10/28/tributes-to-lou-reed-onstage-around-the-world/

I also thought Lou's friend, Peter Gabriel, wrote a touching personal  tribute to his friend that captured the enigma of Lou: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151809062154760&set=a.428107324759.215226.292910949759&type=1

Tonight's Late Night Pick is the Australian neo-soul, alternative hip-hop band Hiatus Kaiyote on The Arsenio Hall Show. Yes, Arsenio is back (Woof! Woof! Woof!). Arsenio is on WUPV at 11 PM here in Richmond. Check your local listings or Aresenio's site for times and channel in your area.

Tony Jordan