Late Night Pick: Queens of the Stone Age

I have been loving the new Queens of the Stone Age album, "...Like Clockwork" to the point that I played the song "I Appear Missing" six times in a row at top volume while working out last week. It's heavy, dark, and psychedelic and at times wraps you in a whirlwind of sound helped by guests such as Elton John, Trent Reznor and Dave Grohl. So you can bet I was excited to see that they will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight on ABC at 11:35 PM. Here's "I Appear Missing" from their "Live at Letterman" show:

Late Night Pick: Brad Paisley, Booker T. Jones; RIP JJ Cale

Country star Brad Paisley will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight on NBC at 12:35 AM. Also, legendary organist Booker T. Jones will be sitting in with The Roots as an added bonus. Brad joined the Rolling Stones in Philly last month to play the Stones' classic, "Dead Flowers". Here's a taste:



Great songwriter and guitarist JJ Cale passed away on July 26. You may not know JJ but you know his songs like "After Midnight", "Call Me the Breeze" among others. HERE is the obit from Rolling Stone.

Late Night Pick: The Lumineers

Along with a lot of Anthony Weiner jokes (it's just too easy), you'll also see The Lumineers tonight on The Colbert Report on Comedy Central at 11:30 PM. Hopefully they'll have a new song to play tonight but here they are performing their big hit "Ho Hey" at the Glastonbury Festival a few weeks ago:

Yonder Mountain String Band, Front Bottoms, Dierks Bentley, O.A.R., Kepone

We've got a lot going on live this weekend but we'll start with a webcast. It's the Newport Folk Festival webcast on NPR. You can watch it HERE. It starts at 2:30 ET on Friday and noon ET on Saturday and Sunday. Performers include Old Crow Medicine Show, Lone Bellow, Shovels & Rope, Jim James, Father John Misty, Trombone Shorty, Justin Townes Earle, The Avett Brothers, Tift Merritt, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Lord Huron, Michael Kiwanuka, Beth Orton, The Lumineers, Andrew Bird, Beck and more.

Yonder Mountain String Band will stop off here on their way to FloydFest. They'll be in town Friday night at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Gates open at 5:30, music starts around 6. There will be an opener but right now they are TBA. Tix are all General Admission, $25 in advance, $30 at the gate. You'll like YMSB if you like Aquarium Rescue Unit, Bela Fleck, Del McCoury Band, Nickel Creek, Bill Monroe, Infamous Stringdusters, David Grisman, Grateful Dead, Phish, or Widespread Panic. Here's YMSB doing "If You're Ever In Oklahoma":



Classic Richmond hard rock band Kepone will make a rare appearance at Gallery 5 on Friday night. It's only $5 to get in. Doors open at 7 and Joesphine and Kid is Qual will open the show starting at 8. Here they are rocking Balliceaux last October:



At the Hippodrome on Friday, Susan Greenbaum will perform. Doors open at 7 and the show will start at 8 PM. It'll be $10 to get in.

Black Girls will be at Balliceaux on Friday night. It's $5 to get in and show starts at 10. They just finished working on a new album so they should have some fresh new tunes for ya.

King Solomon's Marbles will steal your face with Grateful Dead covers at Cary St. Cafe Friday. They start at 10 and there is no cover.

Indie pop band The Front Bottoms will be up front and personal at The Camel Monday night. The show will start at 7:30 with openers Tiny Moving Parts, Hold Tight! and Lighjars. It's $12 to get in. You might like The Front Bottoms if you like Green Day, Jonathan Richman, or The Replacements. Here's their new video for "Funny You Should Ask":

Wednesday night at Pocahontas State Park (one good thing about all the concerts there this year is that I have finally learned how to spell Pocahontas without looking it up) O.A.R. will perform. Gates open at 5, show starts around 5:30 with openers Andrew McMahon and Allen Stone. It's all General Admission and tix are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Can't say I'm a big fan of O.A.R. They strike me as Dave Matthews Band light. I would probably have gone to see them when I was in college but only because the sorority girl I was trying to get with liked them. Nowadays...meh. Here they are live at Red Rocks last year:



Out at Innsbrook Wednesday is country star Dierks Bentley. Gates open at 5, show starts at 6:30 with opener Rocketknife. Tix are $30 for General Admission, $45 for Gold Circle Reserved, $60 for Gold Circle Preferred. Dierks recently helped raise $476,000 in a show to benefit the families of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots, the firefighter team that lost their lives in the Arizona wildfires. Here's Dierks doing "Tip It On Back":

If you're playing from home on Wednesday, be sure to tune in to the latest Weir Here webcast from Bob Weir (Grateful Dead, etc.) on his TRI Studios web site. This week's webcast starts at 8:30 ET and will feature guitarist Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule, Phil & Friends, The Dead). This show will be a celebration of Jerry Garcia's birthday so hopefully some other musicians will show up to celebrate too.

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Avett Brothers, Beatlemania, People's Blues of Richmond, Trongone Band, Late Night Pick: New Order

Americana/folk rock band Avett Brothers will play at the Richmond International Raceway Classic Amphitheater tonight. The RIR people are trying to make that place an active venue for acts (mostly country, so far) again and more power to them. The Avett Brother are on their way to play at the Newport Folk Festival which will be webcast on NPR this weekend (more on that in tonight's weekend blog). General Admission tickets are $40 at the gate tonight. Gates open at 6 PM. Show starts at 7:30 with opener Scott Miller. Here's Avett Brothers doing "Pretty Girl From Michigan":



Over at Short Pump Town Center tonight, you can see a free show with Beatlemania, who are obviously a Beatle cover band. Now I don't think they'll have the giant, multi-media Broadway show that I saw when I was in 6th grade. But you know the music will be good and I bet they play it well. The show will run from 6 to 8 PM.

People's Blues of Richmond will be at The Camel tonight to celebrate the release of their new CD, "Good Time Suicide". Your $7 cover charge gets you a copy of the CD. The Northerners and Mission South will open the show. The doors open at 9 PM. Here's PBR playing "Cocaine Powder":



Trongone Band will be play classic jam rock over at Cary St. Cafe for free. Well, it's free for you, I'm sure they are getting a few dolla. Show starts at 10 PM.

Tonight's Late Night Pick is classic 80's synth pop band New Order on Late Night with new father Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35 AM.

More on the rest of the weekend tonight.

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Jason Isbell

Jason Isbell, formerly of Drive-By Truckers and not carving out a damn fine solo career for himself, is on Late Show with David Letterman tonight on CBS at 11:35 PM. Jason's new album, Southeastern, which I've been listening to quite a bit lately, deals often with his hitting bottom on alcohol and his redemption when he finds sobriety. Jason was recently interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air" show and you can listen to that HERE.

Late Night Pick: Regina Spektor, Franz Ferdinand webcast

Tonight on a Last Call with Carson Daly repeat, alternative singer/songwriter Regina Spektor performs. Last Call is on NBC at 1:35 AM. Regina just released a new song called "You've Got Time" for the new, much buzzed about, show "Orange is the New Black". You can listen to it HERE.

As an added late night bonus, Franz Ferdinand will be on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight at 11:35 PM on CBS. But more importantly, they'll be webcasting an hour long concert from Dave's studio tonight at 8 PM ET which you can watch HERE.

Late Night Pick: ZZ Ward

R&B singer/songwriter ZZ Ward is on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight at 11:35 PM on ABC. You might dig ZZ if you like Macy Gray, Joss Stone, Janis Joplin, Adele, Amy Winehouse or Christina Aguilera.

Kisses, Diamond Center, Farm Vegas, Doobies, Virginmarys, Ashland music fests

We begin the weekend with the return of Diamond Center who were off for a year making families and hopefully, making some new music too. They'll be at Balliceaux as part of the WRIR Commonwealth of Notions music festival that is spread throughout the city Thursday through Sunday. It'll be $5 to get in and it starts at 10:30 PM. Diamond Center play spooky, surfy, noise psychedelia and here's a taste with "SAMO""



If you want some upbeat, funky jam rock, check out Farm Vegas over at Cary St. Cafe. Show starts at 9:15 PM with Russell Lacy and there is no cover. This is their final show of the summer before they head up to the frozen tundra of Manitoba to rehearse, write new music, commune with nature, run naked with wolves and escape the heat. OK, I made that last part up, but this really is their last show of the summer so go get sweaty with them. Here they are playing at Dominion Riverrock in 2012:



A couple festivals on Saturday. Over at Ashland Coffee & Tea, they'll have CJ the DJ's Bluegrass Boogaloo to benefit CJ's Thumbs Up Foundation which assists kids with pediatric cancer. The show runs from noon until midnight. It's $20 to get in and your money goes to help a great cause. They've got two stages and here's the lineup:

Patio Stage

12:45     Wilkinson Family Band

2:00        Roger Reynolds & Co.  

3:15        Wilkinson Family Band

4:30        Rattlesnake Creek       

                                                                             

Main Stage        

12:00     Cary St. Ramblers    

1:15        River City Band                      

2:30        String’d Beings             

3:45        Randy Waller            

5:00        East Of Afton

6:15        The Taters

8:00        Mark Newton & Co.

10:00     Jam Sessions

Also in Ashland, Center of the Universe Brewing Company, they'll have the Summer Moon Music Festival which will go from noon until 9 PM. There will be COTU's fine beers, pit roasted barbecue, a fresh oyster bar and bands. Admission is FREE. Here's the band lineup:

12:00 PM – 12:50 PM Curbside Collective

1:20 PM – 2:10 PM Oh! Cleary Sisters

2:40 PM – 3:30 PM Acoustic Couch

4:00 PM – 4:50 PM River Water

5:20 PM – 6:10 PM Ryan Hearn

6:40 PM – 7:30 PM Crump Experience

8:00 PM – 9:00 PM Jahvaquarium

"Which Doobie you be?" - Perhaps the greatest line from the greatest episode of "What's Happening?" ever, where we all learned that it was bad to bootleg shows, you should never betray your friends, The Doobie Brothers, and that the bootleg would sound like crap anyway if you recorded them on a old handheld Sears tape recorder stuffed inside your trench coat. Hopefully, you won't make the same mistake Rerun made when The Doobie Brothers perform at Pocahontas State Park on Sunday night. Gates will open at 5, show starts around 6:30 with Lara Johnston and it should be a bit cooler. Tix are $50 for Gold Circle, GA is $30 in advance, $35 at the gate. Here they are doing "China Grove" in Lewiston, NY on July 9. With YouTube out now, what Rerun did seems so innocent.

If you like your music a little newer, go to Strange Matter on Sunday night to see Motive, Kisses, Herro Sugar, Those Manic Seas & Atom Eyes. Show starts at 7 and it's $7 to get in. The highlight here will be neo-disco/new wave pop band (maybe the music won't sound that much newer after all) Kisses. Here's Kisses with their latest single which I'm diggin', "Huddle":

Monday night at The National is XL102's Summer Meltdown with The Virginmarys, Conditions, The Unlikely Candidates, and American Fangs. The doors open at 6:30 and the fun gets under way at 7:30. Tix are $10 in advance, $12.50 day of show. Here's a little promo video for the tour:



And here they are doing "Dead Man's Shoes" which is a pretty rockin' tune. Great riff rock.

Tuesday night, you can watch a live concert webcast from anarchistic, insane, gypsy band Gogol Bordello. If you want to see massive amounts of energy and wine drinking, watch the show HERE at 9:45 PM EDT.

Wednesday night at Innsbrook,  Richmond boys Robbin Thompson and Steve Bassett team up for a show. Gates open at 5, showtime is 6:30. No opener is listed but there may be one. Tix are $28 for Gold Circle Preferred, $23 for Gold Circle Reserved, and $13 for GA lawn. Here they are together last year doing the Jerry Butler classic, "He Will Break Your Heart":



Also Wednesday night, it's another Bob Weir (Grateful Dead) webcast from his TRI Studios, this one called Weir Unusual (intriguing...) with guests Shannon McNally and Cossbysweater (bonus points for that name). The webcast starts at 8:30 ET and you can watch it HERE.

Finally, we'll leave you with this video that Mike K. turned me on to. It's karaoke night at the Mos Eisley Spaceport Cantina and who should show up but Lando Calrissian. Watch for cameos by Patton Oswalt and Jason Schwartzman (RIP "Bored to Death", a funny funny show).

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Brock Butler, Three Sheets to the Wind, Trongone Band, Late Night Pick: Rhye

Brock Butler, lead singer/guitarist of the recently disbanded Perpetual Groove, will be at The Canal Club tonight. Doors open at 7:30 and show starts at 8:30 with openers Gallo Vera, Imaginary Sons, and Thom Somerville. Brock will come on around 11 PM. Tix are $10. This is a benefit concert and all proceeds from the show go to the American Society for Suicide Prevention. Here's Brock doing three songs in Lexington NC in July. Looks like he is doing the one-man, looping thing.



70's yacht rock cover band, Three Sheets to the Wind, will be at Tobacco Company tonight. Show starts at 9 and it's free to get in. This isn't necessarily yacht rock but it fits the mellow groove of the 70's era.


Classic rock cover band, Trongone Band, will be at Cary St. Cafe tonight. I heard they did a fantastic job opening up for Marshall Tucker Band at Innsbrook. Show starts at 10 and there is no cover.

Late Night Pick is electronica band Rhye on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight on ABC at 11:35 PM.

BB King, Southern Belles, Late Night Pick: Court Yard Hounds

Blues giant BB King will be at Innsbrook tonight. Tix are around $20 -$30 (no price listing on site and they aren't available online because it's too close to showtime). The MoBros will open the show at 6:30 (gates open at 5) and BB comes on around 8. Because of the heat, they will let you bring two water bottles into the show. BB may be getting up in years but he should be OK with the heat. He is from Mississippi after all. Here. BB will tell you all about it and his farming job.


Young Man in a Hurry from B.B. King Museum on Vimeo.

Southern Belles will be over at Cary St. Cafe tonight. They'll start at 10 PM and there is no cover. If you missed their First Friday show at The Camel and their tribute to Sly Stone with The Big Payback, you can stream or download that HERE. I was there and the Sly tribute was an absolute blast. I didn't know The Camel could hold that many people on the stage and it was funky!

Tonight on TV, watch two-thirds of the Dixie Chicks (Emily Robison & Martie Maguire) in their new collabo, Court Yard Hounds. They'll be on Late Show with David Letterman tonight at 11:35 PM on CBS. Their second album, "Amelita", was released yesterday and is getting good reviews.

Late Night Pick: Adam Ant

Answering the question, "Where is he now?" with, "On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight on NBC at 12:35 AM", it's Adam Ant. He released his first album in 17 years this past January and the reviews were decent but he may win an award for longest album title of the year: "Adam Ant Is the BlueBlack Hussar In Marrying The Gunner'sDaughter".

Late Night Pick: White Lung

Canadian punk rock group White Lung will be on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly tonight at 1:35 AM on NBC. Here's White Lung rocking your face off with "Take the Mirror":

Crime In Stereo, Bio Ritmo, Robbin Thompson, Oregon Hill Funk All-Stars

Will have to be another shorty this week. I intended to do it last night, but fell asleep with my son and woke up bleary-eyed at 11:30 and not willing to start a long blog at that late time. I've been really tired this week. Don't know if its the weather. (I checked the National Weather Service today. It's rained 21 of the last 42 days. And it's probably been cloudy with no rain for another 7 days.) My back hasn't been helping much either but my chiropractor helped fix that last night. (Thanks, Dr. Anna!) Anyway, enough of my griping. Let's get to the music!

Punk/new wave band Crime in Stereo make a rare appearance at The Camel on Saturday night. It's $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers In Between, Averman & Springtime. Wear your moshing shoes. Here's Crime In Stereo doing "I Am Everything I Am Not":



If you prefer your music a bit folkier, check out Robbin Thompson at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Saturday night. Robbin has a new CD out, "A Real Fine Day", in fact, this show is the release party. You'll hear lots of stuff from the new album plus older faves. Show starts at 8, tix are $15 in advance, $20 day of show. Here's Robbin with his band at The National in January doing "Brite Eyes":

If you prefer your music salsa-ier, go see Bio Ritmo at Lulu's on Saturday night. I believe this is the last area show before they head over to Europe to play a bunch of dates and festivals. You can listen to Bio Ritmo's brand new single, "Picaresca", HERE. And if if doesn't get you moving within the first 15 seconds, you are probably dead. Show will start at 9 PM.

If you need some groovin' on a Sunday afternoon, head to The Camel for their Funky Brunch with Oregon Hill Funk All-Stars. It'll run from 2 PM - 5 PM and it's FREE to get in.

Hope that'll get you through the weekend. Have a good one! Something tells me The Alarm would really like this weather.


Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Capital Cities

Pop electronica group Capital Cities will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight on ABC at 11:35 PM. In what may be the first time Fox News ever got a story right, here is a report on Capital Cities and how they are "taking the world by storm". Fox News knew I must be saying mean things about them and I couldn't embed the video but HERE is the link.

Late Night Pick: Portugal. The Man

They presumably gave themselves that band name so you wouldn't think Portugal. The Country was on a late night show or a festival bill. They are Portugal. The Man even though they are a band. Why didn't they call themselves Portugal. The Band and why the period in the middle of the name. Well, they are a rather psychedelic band so perhaps it was the drugs. Anyway, they are pretty good so check them out tonight on Conan on TBS at 11 PM. P.TM's latest release, "Evil Friends" (the best kind?) is getting good reviews so far and was produced by Danger Mouse.

Late Night Pick: Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Now that Independence Day has come and gone, new episodes of the late night show are back and we'll kick off the week with the New Orleans groove of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35 AM. PHJB's new album, "That's It!", comes out tomorrow and it is the first ever album of all original compositions in the band's 50 year history.

Late Night Pick: John Fogerty with Dawes

Tonight on a repeat of Late Show with David Letterman, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty teams up with new purveyors of the 70's California sound, Dawes. Late Show is on CBS at 11:35 PM. John will be part of the first Interlocken Festival taking place in Arrington VA (about 2 hours away from Richmond) September 5 - 8. John will be playing with Widespread Panic on Saturday. Other performers include Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Furthur, Black Crowes, and more.

Middle Class Rut, Peter Frampton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Rick Derringer, Southern Belles, No BS! Brass Band

Happy 4th of July!

If you aren't heading out to the fireworks tonight, there should be some musical fireworks (see what I did there) on VH1 (on the TV or on their website) tonight as they broadcast the Fourth of July Jam from Philly live tonight starting at 8 PM. Philly's own, The Roots, put the show together and will perform. Other acts include Jill Scott (8:10 PM), Grace Potter (8:35), Hunter Hayes (9:15), J. Cole (9:30), John Mayer (9:50), and Ne-Yo (10:20).

On Friday night at Balliceaux, No BS! Brass Band celebrate the release of their second album this year, "Fight Song: A Tribute to Charles Mingus". The show starts at 10 PM and its $5 to get in.The band is starting to get big. HERE is an article about them on the Wall Street Journal blog and you can also stream the full album there. And here they are doing a "Tiny Desk Concert" on NPR:


Over at The Camel on Friday night, Southern Belles continue their First Fridays residency there. The Big Payback (James Brown tribute band) will be opening and they'll combine with the Belles to do a special Sly & The Family Stone set which should be funktastic. There may be a slight cover charge to get in though neither the Facebook page or The Camel site are reporting one. Doors will open at 9 PM. Here's the Belles doing "Getaway" down in NC on their recent tour.



Saturday night, Susan Greenbaum Band will be at Ashland Coffee & Tea. Show starts at 8 PM and its $12 at the door. Here's Susan and band performing "On My Way" at AC&T a couple months ago:



Indie rockers Middle Class Rut will be at Canal Club on Monday night. Tix are $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Doors open at 6:30 and openers are American Fangs and Daylight Burning. Middle Class Rut just released their second album, "Pick Up Your Head" on June 25. Here's the first single from that, "Aunt Betty":



Wednesday night at Innsbrook , its guitar hero time with Peter Frampton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Rick Derringer. Gates open at 5 PM, show starts at 6:30. Tix are $20 for GA lawn and $35 and $45 for Reserved. Roger McGuinn joined Peter a few days ago at the tours stop at the Beacon Theater in NYC.



And here is Rick Derringer playing "Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo" with Edgar Winter in '73 just because it's a kick-ass song:



Have an excellent Independence Day!

Tony Jordan

Marshall Tucker Band, Trongone Band, Bio Ritmo, Late Night Pick: ZZ Ward

Doing a short blog to catch you up on tonight in case you want to go out and party since you don't have work tomorrow. The rest of the weekend blog will come out tonight or tomorrow tonight.

Veteran 70's Southern rockers, Marshall Tucker Band, will be at Innsbrook tonight. Gate time is 5 PM, the show starts at 6 PM with Trongone Band, and MTB comes on at 7:30. In the event of rain, you are allowed to bring small, collapsible umbrellas in, but really, be kind to those behind you and just wear a rain jacket or poncho so everyone can see. It's just a little rain. Tickets are $18 for GA lawn and $30/$25 for Gold Circle. MTB released a new live album this year which was recorded at the South Carolina Music Hall of Fame concert in '95 and features four of the original members of the band (only original singer Doug Gray is still in the band now) along with Charlie Daniels and Jaimoe & Butch Trucks from Allman Brothers Band. Here's the original band performing "Can't You See" in 1977:



Trongone Band will head over to Tobacco Company after their opening slot at Innsbrook for their own show which will start at 9. So if you like what you see of them at Innsbrook, head on over there later. It's free to get in.

Salsa band Bio Ritmo will be at Emilio's tonight (also next week on the 10th) starting at 10 PM. It's $7 to get in. You can wish the band luck as they'll be leaving soon to play in Spain, France and Poland starting on July 19. Here's the band playing "La Muralla":



Tonight's Late Night Pick is blues/neo-soul singer ZZ Ward on Jimmy Kimmel Live at 11:35 PM on ABC.

That's is for now. More on the rest of the weekend tonight or tomorrow.

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Dropkick Murphys, Bob Weir Webcast

That Celtic band from Boston, Dropkick Murphys, are on the show with that Celtic guy from Boston, Conan, tonight at 11 PM on TBS (repeated at 1 AM). There will be lots of red hair and pale guys moshing. The band will be back at The National on August 18 trying to clear the stench Ted Nugent will leave there from the night before.

Also, Bob Weir will continue his Weir Here webcasts at 8:30 PM ET on the TRI Studios website on Wednesday night. Tonight, Bob will jam with the band Moonalice and FOG. He's got webcasts scheduled every Wednesday through the end of the month and guests will include Mark Karan, Tea Leaf Green, and Warren Haynes.

Late Night Pick: The Lumineers

All the late night shows are in repeats this week due to the Independence Day holiday, so we can catch up on some shows we missed. Tonight on a repeat of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from the middle of last month, folk-rock trio The Lumineers, perform. Late Night is, of course, on at 12:35 AM on NBC. The Lumineers hit it big with the song, "Ho Hey", and they'll do their follow-up on Late Night.