Late Night Pick: The Both

Tonight on Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:35 AM), watch the alternative/indie/singer-songwriter duo, The Both. The Both is Aimee Mann and Ted Leo who have some pretty stellar records on their own too. Here's The Both in a 16 minute NPR Tiny Desk Concert:

Craig Ferguson Leaving "Late Late Show:; Late Night Pick: Semi Precious Weapons

Craig Ferguson announced Monday that he's leaving the "Late Late Show" on CBS at the end of the year. There has never been a talk show quite like Craig's "Late Late Show" and his brand of insanity will definitely be missed. I guess I won't make it onto the show so I'll always have to decide if I would choose "awkward silence" or "dance with a horse". Oh, come on, it's no contest! I would definitely "dance with the horse"! The good news is that Craig is not retiring so we'll see him around. HERE'S the story about him leaving.

Tonight's Late Night Pick is alternative/indie/hard/glitter/glam/dance/punk band Semi Precious Weapons on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight at 1:35 AM on NBC. Here are they are with a song they named after themselves or vice versa:

Late Night Pick: St. Paul & The Broken Bones

Tonight neo-soul band St. Paul & the Broken Bones will be on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35 AM on CBS. You can get a good preview of SP&TBB who will be at Friday Cheers on June 20. And at about this time (5:16 PM, Friday) next week, we'll all be getting ready to head down to Brown's Island for the first Cheers of the summer. Can't wait!

Now the lead singer, Paul Janeway, looks like your IT guy. But check out that voice! Here they are doing "Call Me" (not the Blondie song):



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Tinariwen

Tonight on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, 1:35 AM), get worldly with the desert blues rock band from Mali, Tinariwen. In 2012, they won a Grammy for Best World Music. Their music is hypnotic and danceable. Here they are performing in desert recording sessions for their 2011 album"Tassili":

Here's Paramore performing "Ain't It Fun" on Late Night with Seth Meyers last night.

Late Night Pick: Paramore

Tonight, we'll visit Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC at 12:35 AM. If this isn't the first time, it may only be the second. Seth has not had a lot of musical guests on and the ones he has had on haven't been too good. Perhaps the best bands are shying away until they see if they like the show. Perhaps Jimmy Fallon, whose studio is across the hall, is grabbing all the big musical guests when they hit NYC.

Tonight, Seth has alternative/pop/indie/emo/punk band Paramore. MTV has an Ultimate Fan Experience contest with Paramore, Fall Out Boy and New Politics. Click HERE to enter. If you win, uou and a friend will fly to Raleigh, North Carolina to watch the show from the front row. Then you'll hop on the New Politics tour bus and travel to Charlotte and work as Fall Out Boy's "fun tech" for the day and become the honorary 4th member of Paramore. In Charlotte, there will be a BBQ lunch with all the bands before you get to interview Paramore and attend their meet and greet as the 4th member. Next up are bass lessons from Fall Out Boy so you can play 'Saturday' on stage with them and perform 'Misery Business' with Paramore.

Here's Paramore's "Decode" which has over 100 million views on YouTube:



And here's Beck performing "Blue Moon" (not the old doo-wop song) on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night:

Broadberry review, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, Woods, Alejandro Escovedo, Indigo Girls, Earth Day Festivals, Jackass Flats, Clint Black

I went to the new Broadberry on Saturday night.

The good: Great sound. Cool decor with the long bench of seats, chandeliers, and light up go-go stands (no one took advantage of them, but it's bound to happen). Long bench of seats could keep those that want to yap during the show back there rather than annoying those at the front who are there to hear the music. Big video screens behind bar that were showing the food and beer menus but will hopefully be used in the future to show live footage of the band on stage and/or cool visuals.

Potentially bad: Bathrooms are right next to the stage which could cause issues during packed shows. The room is long and thin, rather than wide, which could make it hard to get close to the stage during packed shows. If it's sold out, you could be stuck a long way from the stage and the bathrooms. The kitchen area juts out a bit between the bar and the stage. Would have been nice if they could have cut that back to have a straight sight line from the bar to the stage. But this could also work in your favor when you are trying to get a beer as it could cut down on the number of people sitting at the bar while the music is on.

Overall impression was that this should be a great addition to the venues in Richmond, but I'm interested to see how it is during a sell-out.

Wednesday night, Indigo Girls check into The National. Tix are $20 in advance, $25 day of show for floor seats and $25 for a reserved seat in the balcony. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and no opener is listed. The Indigo Girls are as socially active as always and they performed today at the big protest in DC against the Keystone XL pipeline. Here's video of that:



Friday night at The Broadberry, it's an Americana show with Jackass Flats, Tarrant, and Sturgeon City. Show starts at 8 and it's $7 to get in. Jackass Flats will be at the 2nd Annual Bluegrass in the Meadows festival in Ashland VA on 5/10. Here's Jackass Flats at Capital Ale House in March with "Quit Trying to Save Me":



Two Earth Day festivals on Saturday and if you don't mind walking (and you shouldn't on Earth Day) you can hit them both. RVA Earth Day is in the Manchester section. This will go from 11 AM to 7 PM. All sorts of stuff to do. Bring the kids. There will be adult beverages too. Here's the music schedule:

12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – Three Sheets to the Wind

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. – The Hit List

3 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Black Girls

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. –Mighty Joshua

6 p.m. - 7 p.m. – DJ Williams Projekt
Here's DJ Williams Projekt at the RVA Sun n' Wake Fest last year:

Over at 17th Street Farmer's Market, it's the Richmond Earth Day Festival. All sorts of stuff to do. Bring the kids. Adult beverages served (Hardywood Beer and 26 wines). Music comes from Richmond Youth Jazz Guild (11:30 AM), My Darling Fury (12:30 PM) and Goldrush (3:00 PM). Drumbot will also be there:

Saturday night, country music star Clint Black will be down at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell. Tix are $55.50 for reserved orchestra seating and $36.50 for GA in the balcony. Doors will open at 6, show starts at 6:30 with an opener of some sort. It's been 25 years since Clint debuted on the Grand Ole Opry. Here's Clint at the Opry last year with his wife Lisa Hartman Black:



Sunday night is a really good night for music with a lot of good bands playing. I'm going to something but I'm not sure what yet. There is an early show at Gallery 5 with punk band Perfect Pussy, neo-psychedelic band Yamanataka//Sonic Titan and Green Dreams. Doors open at 5, show starts at 5:30, it's $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Here's what people are saying about Perfect Pussy:

“On stage, front woman Meredith Graves has the charisma of a star in the making.” -Billboard
“I Have Lost All Desire for Feeling, instantly evokes basement shows rank with fresh sweat, dark except for strings of christmas lights, windows shaking, overloaded PA bleating away, and the band across the jampacked room discernible only by the occasional upward-flung limb. If you make it to one of this Syracuse band’s two outer-borough shows this week, expect to leave with bangs dripping, ears keening, and heart pounding.” -Paper Mag
“One of the boldest new rock bands.” -Pitchfork
“These punk kids from the mean streets of Syracuse, New York, deliver high-energy slabs of mayhem-friendly post punk noise, a wall of guitar and Casio. Meredith Graves knows how to run her mosh pit like a dictator runs a birthday party.” -Rolling Stone
“One of the best debuts you’re likely to hear this year.” -Stereogum

Here's Perfect Pussy doing "Driver" live at The Cobalt in Vancouver on 3/23/13:

I've been into this song by Yamantaka//Sonic Titan called "One" which starts with a Native American influence and then erupts into heavy noisy psychedelia:



At Capital Ale House downtown Sunday, it's roots rocker and friend of Springsteen, Alejandro Escovedo. It's $20 to get in, doors open at 7, opener Amy Cook comes on at 8, and Alejandro comes on at 9. HERE is a review of their recent show in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Here's Alejandro and the band doing an acoustic version of their "San Antonio Rain":



And here they are rocking with "Tender Heart":



Strange Matter features psychedlic folk rock from Woods Sunday night. It's $12 to get in, Quilt and Warren Hixson open and the doors open at 8. Woods new album, "With Light And With Love" came out a week ago and it's getting good reveiws so far. Here's Woods "To Clean":



Here's a song sung by a frog and a bear to brighten up your day:



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Beck

Beck will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight at 11:35 PM on ABC. Beck will be playing this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin TX  (10/3-5 & 10/10/12) along with Pearl Jam, Eminem, Outkast, Skrillex, Lana Del Rey, Lorde and lots of other bands. Hopefully there will be a webcast. Here's Beck's video for "Girl":



And here's Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings on last night's repeat of Conan:

Late Night Pick: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Tonight, check out a repeat of Conan (11 PM, TBS) from January with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Even though every other late night show is first-run this week, Sharon Jones beats any of the other musical guests on the other shows tonight. If you are headed to Europe this summer, try to catch the Daptone Super Soul Revue featuring the best artists from the Daptone label including Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley, Antibalas, Sugarman 3 and Saun & Starr. Here's Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings with "I Learned the Hard Way":



And here's Broken Bells doing "Control" on Conan last Thursday night:

Late Night Pick: Broken Bells

Conan is not a repeat tonight (every other late night talk show is) and he's got Broken Bells tonight on TBS at 11 PM. You can pick up a limited edition Broken Bells "Holding for Life" 12'' vinyl on Record Store Day tomorrow featuring three previously unavailable remixes plus acapella and instrumental versions. Here's "The High Road":



Here's Schoolboy Q on last night's repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live doing "What They Want":

Broadberry Grand Opening, Chili Cook Off, The Coathangers, Local H, Del McCoury Band, Hypercolor, Dopapod, Legend 20th Anniversary, Record Store Day

Thursday night, the newest venue in Richmond, The Broadberry, has it's first of two Grand Opening shows. It'll have 24 beers on tap and go-go dancing platforms. Ladies, wear your tassles. The first night brings the RVA funk with No BS! Brass Band, Black Girls and Goldrush. Doors open at 8 and it's $10 to get in. The second Grand Opening event is on Saturday night with the best of RVA jamtronica and Former Champions, The Polychrons and Silo Effect. Again, the doors open at 8, and it's $10 to get in. I'll be going for free thanks to winning a little Facebook contest and I thank The Broadberry for that. I'm looking forward to seeing the place and I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time there in the future. Buy tickets for these shows now as they are looking like sell-outs because everyone wants to see the new place. Here's Former Champions at The National in March 2013:



Friday, down at the Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, reigning king of bluesgass, Del McCoury and his Band will take the stage. DelFest is happening again Memorial Day weekend in Cumberland MD with Del McCoury Band, String Cheese Incident, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, Bela Fleck, The Travelin' McCourys and more. Here's a fun video with Del McCoury Band riding down Esplanade in New Orleans in a horse-drawn carriage and playing some fine music:



In town on Friday, alternative indie pop post-grunge rockers Local H are at the Canal Club with The Vacant Stairs and Red States. Doors open at 7:30, tix are $12 in advance, $14 at the door. You may like Local H if you like Sponge, Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind, Everclear, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, or the Pixies. Here's Local H getting crazy covering Lorde's "Team":



It's Record Store Day on Saturday so celebrate your local independent record store by heading to Plan 9 and buying one of the special Record Store Day releases on vinyl or CD  from one of your favorite artists. There will also be music at Plan 9 with WRIR DJs from 10 AM - 2 PM, Eric Hunter & The Distractions at 2 PM, The Orewlls at 3:30 PM, and The Skaters at 5 PM. Here's The Orwells having fun on the Weezer Cruise this year:



At Richmond International Raceway Saturday it's the XL102 Chili Cook Off with a great lineup including Seether (7 PM), Panic At The Disco (5:30 PM), A Day to Remember (4 PM), The Hold Steady (2:30 PM), Kongos (1:30 PM), and The Orwells (12:35 PM before they head to Plan 9), Fun Size (11:45 AM) & Strongbow (11 AM). Gates open at 10:30 AM and it goes until 8. Tix are $18 in advance and $40 at the gate. If you are looking to prioritize your band watching, in order of my preference, check out The Orwells, A Day to Remember, The Hold Steady, Panic! at The Disco, Kongos, then Seether. Here's A Day to Remember's "Right Back At It Again":



It's Legend Brewery's 20th Anniversary Party at Legend Brewery on Saturday from 2 PM - 8 PM. It's $10 to get in, but only $12 to get in and get an all you can eat wristband. Mmmmm, all you can eat. There will be live music from The Remnants, Wayne Reynolds, Slack Family Band, and Black Girls. Bring the kids because there will be a kids area with face painting, balloon sculptures and special 2% beer for the kids (just kidding about the beer, though they would sleep well that night what with the playing outdoors and the alcohol). And they'll have their new Bourbon Barrel Imperial Brown Ale.

At The Camel Saturday night, see Hypercolor (were they named after the Hypercolor shirts of the 80s?), James Wallace & the Naked Light and The Trillions. Show starts at 9 and it's 7 bucks to get in. This is the release party for Hypercolor's new EP. Here's their excellent new song, "100 Hands". I've only listened to this song 3 times today and I'm already in love with it.



Tuesday night, alternative/indie/garage/punk band, The Coathangers are at Strange Matter. Doors open at 9, show starts at 10 with openers The Audacity, The Nervous Ticks, The Ar-Kaics and DJ Santa Claud spinning between sets. It's $10 to get in. Here's The Coathangers video for "Follow Me". That may or may not be The Coathangers in the video. I'll let you decide.



Over at Canal Club on Tuesday, jamtronica band Dopapod takes the stage to melt your face. Doors open at 8 and The Shack Band opens. Tix are $7 in advance, $10 at the door. Dopapod jammed with Papadosio at Papadosio's 8th anniversary show. Here it is:


I took the latest BuzzFeed Quiz, "What Music Era Do You Belong To?". I got Laurel Canyon in the Late '60's/Early '70's. Not a bad place to be, but too mellow for me I think. If you want to take the quiz for yourself, go HERE.

Have a great weekend! See you at Legend Brewery and The Broadberry on Saturday!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Schoolboy Q

Check out west coast, left field rapper Schoolboy Q on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight at 11:35 PM on ABC tonight. He'll perform "Studio" and "What They Want". Here's Schoolboy Q enjoying some time on vacation with some ladies who I'm sure are close, personal friends in "Man of the Year". I believe the guys will like this video. Language is NSFW. Jiggly parts may be NSFW either.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band; Late Night Pick: Rosanne Cash

Get your New Orleans on tonight with the funky and fantastic Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Capital Ale House downtown. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and no opener is listed. Tix are $15. Here's DDBB in Germany in 2008:



Tonight on Tavis Smiley (check the web site for local air time), it's music royalty Rosanne Cash. As always, don't know if Rosanne will perform or will just be interviewed, but even if just an interview, her history is rife with interesting stories. Rosanne is currently riding high on the strength of her excellent new album, "The River & The Thread". Here she is doing "500 Miles" on Austin City Limits:



Here's U2 doing "Ordinary Love" acoustic on last night's Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon:

Black Lips @ National, Late Night Pick: U2

Garage rock band, Black Lips, will be at The National tonight. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with opener, Natural Child. Tix are $20 at the door. You might dig them if you like the Rolling Stones, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, or The Kinks. Here's the Black Lips "Bad Kids". Sing along with the bouncing ball!



Almost all the late night show are in repeats so watch U2 on a repeat of Jimmy Fallon's first Tonight Show (11:35 PM on NBC). We are still waiting for U2's new album and last reports said it might not be out until next year, which would make 6 years since their last album. Here's U2's "Beautiful Day":



And here's KISS with some bonus content from The Tonight Show on Friday night doing "Hotter Than Hell/Firehouse":

Late Night Pick: KISS

They were just inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last night amid all the usual egos and controversy but that's all put aside tonight as KISS performs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight at 11:35 on NBC. For all the wrangling that went on before the Hall of Fame ceremony amongst the original members, they did play nice (but not play music) in last night's ceremony. Read about it HERE. And here's the original band in a full show from 1976:

Weekend Picks: The Wonder Years, Branford Marsalis, Future Rock, Beer Parties

Philly punk-pop band, The Wonder Years (yes, they named themselves after the TV show) will be at The National tonight. Tix are $19. Doors open at 6, show starts at 6:30 with openers Fireworks, Citizen, Real Friends and Modern Baseball. Certainly getting  a lot of bands for your money there. Here's Wonder Years' new video for "Dismantling Summer".



Jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis will be at the Modlin Center with his Quartet tonight. Show starts at 7:30 and tix range from $10 - $40 depending on your demographic. Here's the press blurb on Branford in case you don't know him:

NEA Jazz Master, renowned Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and Tony Award-nominated composer Branford Marsalis is among the most revered instrumentalists of his time. Having cut his teeth in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and his brother Wynton’s quartet, Marsalis has become one of jazz’s most forward-thinking, innovative, and prolific practitioners. Marsalis has performed and recorded with jazz legends including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, and Sonny Rollins and has collaborated with everyone from Sting to the Grateful Dead. 

 Here's a half-hour of the Quartet live from Germany in 2003:



People's Blues of Richmond will rock The Camel Friday night. Shack Band will open, doors will open at 8 and it's $5 to get in. This is the start of a tour that will take PBR to NC, GA, SC, a big dip through FL, LA (including New Orleans), MS, AL, TN, and then returning to RVA and The Camel on 5/3. Good luck on the tour, boys and stay out of the swamps! There be gators there. Though a gator skull would look cool on top of your amps. Here they are doing "Die, Die, Die" at The Camel on 11/30/13.



Saturday, it will be a beautiful day to drink beer (well, what day isn't, really?) but it will be even more beautiful at RVA Rocks On Tap on Mayo Island. It'll run from noon until 5 with all of your favorite local craft breweries, and ONLY local craft breweries, providing the suds. Please, please, please, don't embarass yourself by asking for a Coors Light. Tix are $25 for GA, $40 for VIP. Both tickets get you unlimited sampling and you can buy a 16 oz. beer for $6 - $7 each. VIPs get in an hour early, have a catered VIP section, preferred parking and a free treat at the official after party at Southern Railway Taphouse. There will be bands too, but they don't list who.

Saturday night, it's jamtronica time, so you can dance until the binky falls out of your mouth with Future Rock, The Manhattan Project, and Groove Status at the Canal Club. Tix are $10 in advance, $15 at the door and the doors open at 9. Here's Future Rock on New Year's Eve 2013 with "Reaching New Heitz":

Sunday it's more beer and bands with The Southern Belles at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery for their release of their Capital Trail Pale Ale (say that three times fast), and we know Richmond loves their pale ales. Things get underway and besides beer and the Belles, the food trucks will be out too so you can chow down. Here's the Belles full set at The Camel on 4/4/14:



Have a great weekend! More on next week's bands next week.

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Hafez Nazeri

That didn't take long. It was announced today that Stephen Colbert will leave his pseudo-Republican Colbert Report behind and take over for Dave Letterman on the Late Show. That's a great choice and it will be fun to see what Colbert does with the show.

For tonight's late night pick, we're going world music with Hafez Nazeri, an Iranian composer. He'll be on Tavis Smiley on PBS tonight. Check your local listings for time. Here in Richmond, Tavis is on at 3 AM on channel 57 so set those DVRs. As always with Tavis, don't know if Hafez will perform or if they'll just talk. Hafez's "Rumi Symphony Project: Untold" is currently #2 on the world Classical album charts. Here's the Project peforming "Enlightenment":



On the rock side, here's "Tom Petty" doing "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" with Stevie Nicks on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night. You may recognize the guys that introduce them too.



And finally here's Birds of Tokyo on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night with "This Fire":

Late Night Pick: Birds of Tokyo

Alt/indie rockers from Australia, Birds of Tokyo, will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight at 11:35 PM on ABC. On Facebook, they shared some highlights from their first tour of America:

So we’ve finished our first lap of the USA and now we are about to embark on some exciting LA performances. Here are the highlight stories that we’ll happily elaborate if provoked.
 1. When arriving in Nashville, we realized we had left Westy in Knoxville, he’d missed the bus and took a 4 hour taxi to get to the show on time.
 2. In Dallas, Kenny was punched in the head and mugged (he’s fine not even a bruise) in broad daylight in front of a group of nervous onlookers.
 3. In San Fransisco we witnessed a homeless man grab a street artists’ painting, and smash it through a window of the pub we were in.
 4. In New York Glenn rested his arm on a hot pipe in the band room and suffered third degree burns right before we went onstage.
 5. In Denver we only had 15 miles left in our gas tank before we finally found a petrol station in the middle of a snow blizzard.
 HONERABLE MENTION - We were greated with complimentary condoms at the Portland hotel, had delightful catfish sandwiches in the middle of Tennessee, -27 degree (Celsius) temperature in Minneapolis.
 Above all, the trip has been pretty f**king hilarious and we very much intend on doing a second lap. Special love and thanks goes to all the kind folk we’ve met along the way.

And  here they are with "Lanterns":

Here's Nas & Q-Tip doing "The World Is Yours" on last night's Tonight Show:

Late Night Pick: Nas featuring Q-Tip

A lot of rap stars don't last more than an album or two, burning brightly, quickly and then never heard from again. Nas bucks that trend and has been consistently making good records since his classic "Illmatic" came out in 1994. He's joined tonight on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon by another classic rap artist, Q-Tip. Nas may be performing something off of "Illmatic" tonight as he is doing a number of events surrounding the 20th anniversary of that album including performing the whole album live at the Lovebox Music Festival in the UK, releasing new mixes of the songs on a release called "Illmatic XX", and releasing a documentary called "Time is Illmatic". Here's Nas doing "Patience" with Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley in 2010:

Here's Sky Ferreira performing "I Blame Myself" on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday night:

Late Night Pick: Sky Ferreira

Indie pop singer/songwriter Sky Ferreira will be on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight at 11:35 PM on NBC. Sky has been out on tour with Miley Cyrus and Icona Pop. This dreamy pop song "Everything is Embarassing" has an early Madonna feel too it from the drum machine track to the accompanying black & white video. And that's not a bad thing.



Mike Mills of REM was one of the first to break the news of Letterman's retirement on Twitter yesterday. How did he know? Because he was on the Letterman show last night with Joseph Arthur and Peter Buck to pay tribute to Lou Reed. Joseph Arthur's new album, "Lou", is a tribute to Lou Reed. Here they are doing "Walk on the Wild Side" last night.

Letterman Announces Retirement, Late Night Pick: Joseph Arthur

Dave Letterman announced today that he will be retiring in 2015. You can click HERE for the full story and click HERE for a Rolling Stone article from a few years ago which talked about the early days of his show and how he changed TV. I've been watching Dave since his ill-fated, but very funny, morning show, which I woke up early every day in the summer of 1980 to watch. Too weird for mornings, he would soon end up on Late Night and his humor worked perfectly there, tweaking talk show conventions and allowing his bizarre brand of humor to live comfortably and live music from bands MTV wasn't showing. I watched when I could in high school. It was one of the few shows I watched on a regular basis in college, getting together with friends after studying for bong hits, beer and Dave before bedtime. I got to see the show live twice. I saw Late Night when the whole crazy "who will take over the Tonight Show" thing was going on with guests Connie Chung and QB Jim Kelly. I then saw the fifth episode of the Late Show with Midnight Oil on the show. Yes, it's as cold in the theater as they joke about. I don't watch Dave as often as I used to now, primarily because there a many other options (as evidenced by this blog) and his humor isn't as cutting edge as it once was. And everyone of those other late night hosts wouldn't be around and doing their brand of humor if it wasn't for Dave. But watching him is still a pleasure. I grew up with Dave. He's the weird uncle I wish I had. I'm looking forward to his victory lap. And unlike when Carson, Leno or Chevy Chase (just kidding) ended their shows, I think I'll shed a tear or two when Dave goes and remember summer mornings before going into 7th grade, doing bong hits with Dave in college and countless classic moments when I laughed until I cried. A year of Late Shows left.

Anyway, tonight's Late Night Pick is the Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 PM, CBS) so we can watch how he announced his retirement and also music from alternative singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur. Here's Joseph Arthur at the Glastonbury Music Fest in 2000:



Nickel Creek was on the Tonight Show last night and here they are backstage talking about their song "Helena" and doing an acoustic version of that tune:

Late Night Pick: Nickel Creek; New Richmond Concert Venue

Nickel Creek is back to celebrate their 25th anniversary after a seven year hiatus while the band members did solo stuff. They'll be on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight at 11:35 PM on NBC. Nickel Creek will be in Charlottesville at the Ntelos Wireless Pavilion on 4/26 and tickets are still available. Here they are doing "The Lighthouse's Tale":



In big news for live music in Richmond, the owner of The Camel (where I'll be tonight to see Dave Hause) is opening up a new venue that will hold a crowd of 350. For comaprison, The Camel and Strange Matter hold about 200. So they'll be fitting a niche in Richmond for bands, national and local, that are too big for those places but not big enough for The National, which holds 1500. The new place is called Broadberry and will open this month. Looking forward to seeing many shows here! Here's the article from Style Magazine: http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/new-midsize-concert-venue-announced/Content?oid=2052123

And here is Manchester Orchestra performing Monday night on Late Show with David Letterman:

Weekly Picks: Psychedelic Furs, Bipolaroid, Loudon Wainwright III, Leo Kottke, Southern Belles, Zep Replica, Big Payback, Fear of Music

Friday is packed with music. If you've ever wondered what would happen if Led Zeppelin, James Brown and Talking Heads did a concert together, well, wonder no more. At the Canal Club Friday night, it's tribute band mania with Zep Replica (their last show ever!), The Big Payback and Fear of Music. Doors will open at 7, it's $8 in advance, $10 to get in. FOM will start the show at 8 so get there early. All fans of Phil B. should attend also. Here'e Zep Replica doing "Since I've Been Loving You" at Hardywood Brewery on 11/17/12:


Zep Replica - Since I've Been Loving You from Todd Raviotta on Vimeo.

At the RVA Theater (formerly the Hat Factory) on Friday night, it's Rockn' to Lockn' Round 1 as Virginia bands face off to see who will get a spot on the big stage at this year's Lockn' Festival. The first round will feature Everwilde, People's Blues of Richmond, The Green Boys, and Bryan Elijah Smith and the Wild Hearts. All of them are great bands and if one of them is your favorite, make sure you get there to vote. It's $8 to get in. There will be four rounds in all over the next few months with the championship round at the RVA Theater on August 9th which, perhaps not coincidentally considering the Grateful Dead/jam band centic Lockn' Fest, is the 19th anniversary of the death of Jerry Garcia.

Speaking of jam bands, The Southern Belles (who will hopefully be in a later round of Rockn' for Lockn')c continue their first Friday residency at The Camel. It's $7 to get in, show starts at 10 with openers Brushfire Stankgrass from Asheville NC. You can catch the Belles on the radio or the interwebs (www.wxjm.org) on WXJM from Harrisonburg on Thursday night from 8 - 10 PM. Here's the Belles on March 19 at Cary St Cafe with the "Jet Trails Medley" featuring Jet Trails (Southern Belles) > Bloody Well Right (Supertramp) > I'm a Wreck > Jet Trails.



Legendary folk musicians Leo Kottke and Loudon Wainwright III at the Modlin Center on Saturday night. The show starts at 7:30 and tix range from $18 - $36 depending on your demographic. Here's the press blurb on the show:

"For more than four decades, Leo Kottke’s innovative fingerpicking style of guitar-playing has earned him five “Best Folk Guitarist” wins (Guitar Player magazine), a “Best Instrumentalist” win (Performance magazine), an induction into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame, two Grammy nods, and an honorary doctorate. Kottke has released 22 studio records and 14 compilations, live albums, and soundtracks.
 Throughout a recording career consisting of 25 albums, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, humorist, and actor Loudon Wainwright III’s songs have been covered by music icons including Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Rufus Wainwright, and more. In addition to a prolific music career, Wainwright’s acting credits include film roles in Knocked Up (for which he also recorded the soundtrack), The 40 Year Old Virgin, Elizabethtown, The Aviator, Big Fish, 28 Days, Jackknife, and The Slugger’s Wife, and television roles including Parks and Recreation, Undeclared, Grounded for Life, Ally McBeal, and M*A*S*H."

Here's Leo doing "Deep River Blues" in 1997:

And, seeing as the weather is finally warming up, here's Loudon getting you ready for summer with "Swimming Song":



Sunday, The Psychedelic Furs will be at The Beacon Theatre in nearby Hopewell. Tix range from $20- $55. Show starts at 6:30. No word on whether there will be an opener or not. The Furs had a great run of hits and albums in the 80s. This one was my favorite, "Love My Way":

On Monday night, at record store Steady Sounds, there will be a free in-store performance from Louisiana band Bipolaroid who play "delta psychedelic music influenced by the likes of Dr. John the Night Tripper, Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd and the 13th Floor Elevators" which sounds right up my alley. Richmond's Roseanne will open. It starts at 5 PM and goes until 7. It's FREE but if you want to bring some $ to help out the touring band, they'd be grateful. Here's Bipolaroid's new video for "Self-Portrait".



Who says cartoon aren't good enought for Carnegie Hall? Here, Ensemble ECJW (don't ask me what that means) of Carnegie Hall do a medley of 43 Cartoon Theme Songs. See if you can name them all. The fun visual cues they provide might help.



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan