If you can't make it out to the big ol' Coachella festival this weekend, and since you are reading this I am assuming you aren't there, you can watch it on Coachella's channel on YouTube. YouTube does a fine job video and audio-wise with their webcasts so the production values should be great unlike that lame coverage of the French Quarter Fest last week by WWLTV or whatever they were called. WWLTV made it almost impossible to find the webcast on their site probably because they wanted to hide it because the quality was so bad. The sound levels were way to high causing the bass to distort and the camera coverage consisted of a static camera back on the soundboard and video quality so bad you could barely make out what was going on on the stage. At one point on Friday afternoon, I think someone set up the camera and then went to get beers because the about 1/4 of the shot consisted of the back of people's heads. I mean really, if you can't even put a minimum amount of effort into it, why bother?
Back to the Coachella webcast now. You will find the webcast HERE. Go there for the schedule. All times are Pacific time so add three hours to get our time. That's a little help there for the time zone impaired. I would post the schedule here, but there are not one, not two but THREE channels to choose from each day so you can flip around to your hearts content. Some highlights: Cee-Lo Green, Black Keys, Erykah Badu, Gogol Bordello, Mumford & Sons, Swell Season, Bright Eyes, New Pornographers, Big Audio Dynamite, Raphael Saadiq (coming to Groovin' in the Garden this summer), Scissor Sisters, The National, PJ Harvey, and much much more. Webcasts start at 7 PM ET on Friday & Saturday, 5:20 PM on Sunday. Here is a little preview:
Closer to home, Saturday is Record Store Day celebrating our fine independent record stores that are still managing to hang on in this digital download era. As convenient as downloading music can be, there is still nothing like going to the record store, listening to music while you flip through the CDs and finding something you've been looking for. Call me old-fashioned and non-green but I still like to have that piece of plastic in my hand. Our local independent is the fabulous Plan 9 and they are participating in the nationwide festivities. There will be all sorts of Record Store Day only special releases from your favorite bands such as, well, there are too many to mention so go HERE to check them out. There will also be some live in-store performances. Here is the lineup:
12:15-1:00pm-- NO BS Brass Band
1:30-2:15pm-- People’s Blues of Richmond
3:00-3:45pm-- New Politics
4:15-5:00pm--The Dubber
5:30—6:15pm-- The Long Arms
Local Americana band The Atkinsons will be celebrating the release of their new CD with a show at Capital Ale House on Saturday night. The show is FREE and starts at 6 PM and goes until 9 PM. Also on the bill are special guests Rachel Leyco and Constance Sisk. Here is what the Capital Ale House site says about The Atkinsons: "It's been seven years and counting since The Atkinsons first set foot on Richmond, VA stages. What started out as a small acoustic outfit turned into a band that took on a life of its own. The Atkinsons meld roots, country, mountain, and rock music into their own style of rambling swing rock & roll. Heartfelt story-telling is at the core of The Atkinsons and is complemented with three-part harmonies layered over mandolin, fiddle, drums, bass, and electric guitars. With influences ranging from Old 97s to Green Day to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Drive By Truckers, the sound ends up being quite a musical stew.
The first record "American Gothic" was basically a novel set to music. It followed the misfortunes of a troubled character from his early youth until his untimely death. The upbeat musical style balances out the dark undertone of the lyrics, and together make for a record that's easy to listen to yet hard to describe.
The Atkinsons follow up "American Gothic" with their second release "Mile Marker", which takes the band on a journey through new territories of swampy roots and country swing to Texas Cajun and straight-up rock. Though cut from the same cloth, the new record doesn't pick up where the first album left off. It follows its own path from the back roads to the highways that inevitably lead you back home. "Mile Marker" is set to be released in 2011 and celebrates where the band has been and where it's headed."
Here's The Atkinsons performing "Eileen" at Ashland Coffee & Tea in December 2010:
The great Neil Young comes to the Landmark Theater on Sunday with a great big bag to hold all the money he is charging to see him. There are still tickets available ranging from $140/ticket to $88/ticket. That means he sold out the most expensive tickets in the front for $200/ticket to the hard core fans and he sold out the cheapest seats at $55/ticket for people who think a show should be priced reasonably, causing what a call a donut show, with a mess of empty seats in the middle. If you go, the show starts at 8 PM with Bert Jansch opening. Neil will be solo and playing electric and acoustic, and will put on a great show, but I don't know if it will be $200 worth of great. Here is a link to the official film from Neil's latest album "Le Noise" featuring live performances of many of the songs you'll see on Sunday night. Embedding was disabled so click HERE to watch it.
The next video on Moviefone's Best Music Scenes in Movies countdown comes from a movie that didn't do well at the box office but became a cult classic as it struck a chord with anyone who has ever had to work in a cubicle farm for a mindless, bureaucratic corporation which only sees its employees as a number. Yes, its "Office Space" and this is the classic scene where the guys finally exact their revenge on the fax machine that has caused so much trouble in their lives. Watch out because the language in the song is NSFW.
Next up in the Paste Magazine countdown of the 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 is Lady Gaga's "Telephone" featuring Beyonce. Even if you aren't a fan of Ms. Gaga (I hope she has a baby one day and names him GooGoo), this video is quite amazing because it is so over-the-top in that crazy Gaga way. It calls to mind every Russ Myers chicks-in-prison movie you ever watched. And I know you've watched them, my dirty little audience. Of course this is a lady's prison where they let the prisoners wear latex fetish gear. Beware that this video is also NSFW unless your work encourages you to watch videos of women making out in prison while wearing bondage gear and sunglasses made out of cigarettes. I've peaked your interest now, haven't I? It also features some absolutely blatant product placement (Lady Gaga for Miracle Whip?) which is lame and Beyonce's legs which is good. And don't forget the gay bakery. Here it is:
That's it. Have a great weekend!
Tony Jordan
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Live Webcast from French Quarter Fest in New Orleans
It took me a while to find it on the WWLTV web site (you'd think they'd want to call some attention to it), but here is the link to the live webcast from WWL-TV at the Abita Stage of the French Quarter Fest: http://www.wwltv.com/video?id=119003039&sec=554827
You can find the schedule for the Abita stage and the whole festival here: http://www.fqfi.org/frenchquarterfest/schedule/index.php?date=2&order=start&order_type=DESC
There is supposed to be a live webcast on nola.com also but I can't find it.
You can find the schedule for the Abita stage and the whole festival here: http://www.fqfi.org/frenchquarterfest/schedule/index.php?date=2&order=start&order_type=DESC
There is supposed to be a live webcast on nola.com also but I can't find it.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
French Quarter Festival, Dr. Dog, The Whigs, Justin Townes Earle, Elikeh
We begin with our first festival webcast of the year. The French Quarter Festival will be webcast on two sites, WWLTV.com & nola.com. The festival runs 1 PM ET - 8 PM ET on Thursday, noon ET to 1AM on Friday, 11:30 AM to 1 AM ET on Saturday, 11:30 AM ET to midnight ET on Sunday. Neither site had a schedule of what they will be showing. I beleive the WWLTV.com site will be showing what is on the WWL-TV stage, which is local New Orleans music but that should be just fine as the local music in NO is just as good, if not better than, many national acts.. That pretty much goes for the whole festival actually, with blues, jazz, zydeco, dixieland and other musical styles all represented. Nola.com could be showing anyone and some of the big acts are Bonerama, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (who will be playing Friday Cheers this year).
Closer to home, Dr. Dog will be at The National on Thursday night. Tix are $22, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Floating Action. Dr. Dog hails from Philly and plays what one might call indie pop. Their influences include The Band, Beatles, Beach Boys, Big Star (why do so many great bands start with the letter B?), Kinks, Harry Nilsson, The Who, and XTC. Here they are performing at WUTK studios (skip ahead to about :50 to go right to where the music starts) on March 21, 2011.
Also on Thurday, The Whigs will be at Capitol Ale House Downtown. Show starts at 10 PM and tix are $12. Here is the little press blurb from the Capitol Ale House site: "Frontman Parker Gispert, drummer Julian Dorio, and bassist Hank Sullivant formed the Whigs in 2002, while the three Athens-based musicians were attending college at the University of Georgia. With a jaunty mix of Westerberg-like swagger, alt-rock songwriting, and a heartfelt country disposition, the Whigs played their first shows around campus and soon graduated to higher-profile performances, including opening slots for the likes of the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and the Futureheads. Recording sessions for the band's debut album, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip, took place in an empty frat house several years later, and the disc was independently released in 2005. By the following year, the Whigs' audience had widened considerably, prompting Rolling Stone to hail the trio as one of the "10 Artists to Watch." The bandmates graduated from college that spring, and ATO Records signed them to its roster before the year was up." Here they are performing "Waiting" on 3/25/11 in Birmingham AL:
On Friday, Steve Earle's boy, Justin Townes Earle, comes to town, getting critical raves of his own. He too is alt-country, though not as raw as his daddy. JTE will be at The Camel. Doors open at 8, show at 9 with opener Josh Small. Tix are $20 but are sold out right now. Here he is playing at Ringwood Library in Ringwood NJ last Sunday. This song is "One More Night In Brooklyn":
Saturday night you can groove to the afropop sounds of Elikeh at Alley Katz (turn down your sound if you wish to avoid the horrible music on the Alley Katz site!). Tix are $10. The show starts at 11 PM and includes J3 Project & DJ Graybeard of WRIR 97.3 FM. The Austin Chronicle named Elikeh's album "Adje Adje!" in their Top 10 albums of 2010. Here's a taste of Elikeh at the 2010 Takoma Park Folk Festival. I could see this show getting really hot & sweaty with lots of dancin' on a late Saturday night.
Our next scene in Moviefone's the Best Music Scenes in Movies is from Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice". This would be the scene where Beetlejuice posesses the dinner guests to dance to Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat (Day-O)". This movie now really highlights so many stars of the 80's with Geena Davis (my, she was hot), Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder (hey, she was in last week's clip), Michael Keaton (where did he go and when he will be back, other than voice work in Pixar flicks), Catherine O'Hara (loved her since SCTV days), and Jeffrey Jones. Enjoy!
On to this week's entry from the Paste Magazine 25 Best Music Videos of 2010. This week its animation from The Avett Brothers – “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise", a great song and a great video featuring the rise and fall of a street in small-town America and the billboard that watches over it all.
Heading to the Picasso exhibit on Friday and looking forward to that. Then a t-ball game and Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby on Saturday with my oldest boy. Sunday, my fantasy baseball draft, which is not as much fun since we now are all spread out and have to do it via conference call, but is still kind of fun. So a busy weekend but fun busy. Hope you have a great weekend!
Tony Jordan
Closer to home, Dr. Dog will be at The National on Thursday night. Tix are $22, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Floating Action. Dr. Dog hails from Philly and plays what one might call indie pop. Their influences include The Band, Beatles, Beach Boys, Big Star (why do so many great bands start with the letter B?), Kinks, Harry Nilsson, The Who, and XTC. Here they are performing at WUTK studios (skip ahead to about :50 to go right to where the music starts) on March 21, 2011.
Also on Thurday, The Whigs will be at Capitol Ale House Downtown. Show starts at 10 PM and tix are $12. Here is the little press blurb from the Capitol Ale House site: "Frontman Parker Gispert, drummer Julian Dorio, and bassist Hank Sullivant formed the Whigs in 2002, while the three Athens-based musicians were attending college at the University of Georgia. With a jaunty mix of Westerberg-like swagger, alt-rock songwriting, and a heartfelt country disposition, the Whigs played their first shows around campus and soon graduated to higher-profile performances, including opening slots for the likes of the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and the Futureheads. Recording sessions for the band's debut album, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip, took place in an empty frat house several years later, and the disc was independently released in 2005. By the following year, the Whigs' audience had widened considerably, prompting Rolling Stone to hail the trio as one of the "10 Artists to Watch." The bandmates graduated from college that spring, and ATO Records signed them to its roster before the year was up." Here they are performing "Waiting" on 3/25/11 in Birmingham AL:
On Friday, Steve Earle's boy, Justin Townes Earle, comes to town, getting critical raves of his own. He too is alt-country, though not as raw as his daddy. JTE will be at The Camel. Doors open at 8, show at 9 with opener Josh Small. Tix are $20 but are sold out right now. Here he is playing at Ringwood Library in Ringwood NJ last Sunday. This song is "One More Night In Brooklyn":
Saturday night you can groove to the afropop sounds of Elikeh at Alley Katz (turn down your sound if you wish to avoid the horrible music on the Alley Katz site!). Tix are $10. The show starts at 11 PM and includes J3 Project & DJ Graybeard of WRIR 97.3 FM. The Austin Chronicle named Elikeh's album "Adje Adje!" in their Top 10 albums of 2010. Here's a taste of Elikeh at the 2010 Takoma Park Folk Festival. I could see this show getting really hot & sweaty with lots of dancin' on a late Saturday night.
Our next scene in Moviefone's the Best Music Scenes in Movies is from Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice". This would be the scene where Beetlejuice posesses the dinner guests to dance to Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat (Day-O)". This movie now really highlights so many stars of the 80's with Geena Davis (my, she was hot), Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder (hey, she was in last week's clip), Michael Keaton (where did he go and when he will be back, other than voice work in Pixar flicks), Catherine O'Hara (loved her since SCTV days), and Jeffrey Jones. Enjoy!
On to this week's entry from the Paste Magazine 25 Best Music Videos of 2010. This week its animation from The Avett Brothers – “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise", a great song and a great video featuring the rise and fall of a street in small-town America and the billboard that watches over it all.
Heading to the Picasso exhibit on Friday and looking forward to that. Then a t-ball game and Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby on Saturday with my oldest boy. Sunday, my fantasy baseball draft, which is not as much fun since we now are all spread out and have to do it via conference call, but is still kind of fun. So a busy weekend but fun busy. Hope you have a great weekend!
Tony Jordan
Friday, April 1, 2011
Guggenheim Grotto, Janis Ian, VCU, Limelight, DJ Williams Projekt
I think all music is overshadowed this weekend by the VCU game that has set the town on Fi-yah! Speaking of that, The National will be hosting a party to watch the VCU game on a giant screen on stage and the many HDTVs around the venue. Doors open at 5, the game starts at 6 and its $3 to get in. For that price, you then also get to stick around and watch the Rush tribute band, Limelight. I don't know if the prices go up after the game if you just want to see Limelight, but The National site says that tix just to see Limelight and opener, Richmond Engine #3 (Primus tribute band), are $12.50. Here's a preview of Limelight:
If you want to see some original music after the game, head over to The Camel to see Richmond bands, DJ Williams Projekt and opener, The Mantras. Show starts at 9 PM. The Camel web site doesn't indicate whether there will be any cover charge, but if there is, it will be minimal. Here is DJ Williams Projekt at Camp Barefoot last August:
Also on Saturday night, The Guggenheim Grotto will be at Ashland Coffee & Tea. The show starts at 8. Tix are $15 in advance, $20 day of show. The AC&T site says, "heady mix of pop, folk and soaring melodies around ever present vocal harmonies : “With debts to both Radiohead and The Beatles, this is modern, intelligent, lyrically potent pop.” – The Boston Herald
Over the past three years Mick Lynch and Kevin May of pop/folk act The Guggenheim Grotto have touched U.S. and U.K. audiences in a way the duo couldn’t have imagined. From setting out as Dublin songwriter circuit regulars alongside artists like Damien Rice and Glen Hansard, to building a devoted cult following in the U.S. with warm embraces from media and competitive iTunes charting, the band has captivated audiences and tastemakers on both sides of the pond with its mix of poetic, often literature-inspired lyrics set to timeless, soaring pop melodies."
Here is The Guggenheim Grotto performing "Just Not Just" in 2010 (song starts around :30, that's not them playing the funky opening theme, at least I don't think so):
On Wednesday night, Janis Ian of "At Seventeen" fame will be playing at Ashland Coffee & Tea. The show will start at 8 PM. Tix are $27 in advance, $32 day of show. Here is what it says on the AC&T site about Janis: "Who are the great songwriters in America today? Not the most popular. Not the richest. Simply the greats. Ask any student of the form, and Janis Ian will be counted among them The writer of “Jesse” “Stars” artists as diverse as Mel Torme and Cher; and the seminal “At Seventeen” brought her five Grammy nominations (the most any solo female artist had ever garnered) in 1975, and which is now reaching its third generation of listeners. Ian is a formidable talent, a force of nature. Ella Fitzgerald called her “The best young singer in America”. Chet Atkins said “Singer? You ought to hear that girl play guitar; she gives me a run for my money!” Reviewers have called her live performances “overwhelming to the spirit and soul”, and “drenched with such passion, the audience feels they’ve been swept up in a hurricane.” Not to mention her short stories, her songs for film and television… and oh, yes. She also runs a foundation, named for her mother, that works with various universities and colleges to supply scholarships for returning students; they’ve raised over $300,000 to date! The glowing reviews come as no surprise to Ian’s loyal fan base, who give her website a stunning quarter million hits per year – even though she hasn’t had a top twenty record here in three decades. Nor to the computer community, who adopted her article “The Internet Debacle” as their Bible against the RIAA’s fight to stop downloaded music. Nor her international fan base, who flock to her concerts and allow her to play sold-out concert halls in Holland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and others too numerous to mention. Nor the science fiction community, who embraced her anthology “Stars” with glowing reviews like the one from Publisher’s Weekly that begins “This dazzling, highly original anthology….” Quite a broad spectrum of interests and communities, for a woman who started her life on a New Jersey chicken farm in 1951." Here she is doing "At Seventeen" on the old "Midnight Special" show:
If you ever wondered what the 10 most disliked videos on YouTube are, check this out: http://www.buzzfeed.com/melismashable/the-10-most-disliked-videos-on-youtube. Unsurprisingly, most are Justin Bieber videos. I tried to watch the Rebecca Black, "Friday" video just to see what all the fuss was about and I only made it a minute before I wanted to shove hot needles into my ears, though that will never erase the memories. The horror, the horror. You'll have to follow the link above to the videos if you want to try for yourself. I refuse to let that video and song besmirch my blog.
This week's Best Music Scene in Movies is from "Reality Bites". I don't believe I have ever danced around a convenience store while stoned. Usually I just want to get my Slim Jim, Butterfinger and Snapple and get the hell out. But, whatever (see that's me adopting my Gen X ennui).
I just saw that Snooki was going to be on the next Wrestlemania. You knew that was coming. It was destiny.
In our Paste Magazine 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 countdown, here is Hollarado doing "Americanarama" with the help of 24 of their friends. This is a pretty clever video and the song reminds me of something Cracker or Camper Van Beethoven would have done in the late 80s.
Ok, nighty night. Have a great weekend. GO VCU!
Tony Jordan
If you want to see some original music after the game, head over to The Camel to see Richmond bands, DJ Williams Projekt and opener, The Mantras. Show starts at 9 PM. The Camel web site doesn't indicate whether there will be any cover charge, but if there is, it will be minimal. Here is DJ Williams Projekt at Camp Barefoot last August:
Also on Saturday night, The Guggenheim Grotto will be at Ashland Coffee & Tea. The show starts at 8. Tix are $15 in advance, $20 day of show. The AC&T site says, "heady mix of pop, folk and soaring melodies around ever present vocal harmonies : “With debts to both Radiohead and The Beatles, this is modern, intelligent, lyrically potent pop.” – The Boston Herald
Over the past three years Mick Lynch and Kevin May of pop/folk act The Guggenheim Grotto have touched U.S. and U.K. audiences in a way the duo couldn’t have imagined. From setting out as Dublin songwriter circuit regulars alongside artists like Damien Rice and Glen Hansard, to building a devoted cult following in the U.S. with warm embraces from media and competitive iTunes charting, the band has captivated audiences and tastemakers on both sides of the pond with its mix of poetic, often literature-inspired lyrics set to timeless, soaring pop melodies."
Here is The Guggenheim Grotto performing "Just Not Just" in 2010 (song starts around :30, that's not them playing the funky opening theme, at least I don't think so):
On Wednesday night, Janis Ian of "At Seventeen" fame will be playing at Ashland Coffee & Tea. The show will start at 8 PM. Tix are $27 in advance, $32 day of show. Here is what it says on the AC&T site about Janis: "Who are the great songwriters in America today? Not the most popular. Not the richest. Simply the greats. Ask any student of the form, and Janis Ian will be counted among them The writer of “Jesse” “Stars” artists as diverse as Mel Torme and Cher; and the seminal “At Seventeen” brought her five Grammy nominations (the most any solo female artist had ever garnered) in 1975, and which is now reaching its third generation of listeners. Ian is a formidable talent, a force of nature. Ella Fitzgerald called her “The best young singer in America”. Chet Atkins said “Singer? You ought to hear that girl play guitar; she gives me a run for my money!” Reviewers have called her live performances “overwhelming to the spirit and soul”, and “drenched with such passion, the audience feels they’ve been swept up in a hurricane.” Not to mention her short stories, her songs for film and television… and oh, yes. She also runs a foundation, named for her mother, that works with various universities and colleges to supply scholarships for returning students; they’ve raised over $300,000 to date! The glowing reviews come as no surprise to Ian’s loyal fan base, who give her website a stunning quarter million hits per year – even though she hasn’t had a top twenty record here in three decades. Nor to the computer community, who adopted her article “The Internet Debacle” as their Bible against the RIAA’s fight to stop downloaded music. Nor her international fan base, who flock to her concerts and allow her to play sold-out concert halls in Holland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and others too numerous to mention. Nor the science fiction community, who embraced her anthology “Stars” with glowing reviews like the one from Publisher’s Weekly that begins “This dazzling, highly original anthology….” Quite a broad spectrum of interests and communities, for a woman who started her life on a New Jersey chicken farm in 1951." Here she is doing "At Seventeen" on the old "Midnight Special" show:
If you ever wondered what the 10 most disliked videos on YouTube are, check this out: http://www.buzzfeed.com/melismashable/the-10-most-disliked-videos-on-youtube. Unsurprisingly, most are Justin Bieber videos. I tried to watch the Rebecca Black, "Friday" video just to see what all the fuss was about and I only made it a minute before I wanted to shove hot needles into my ears, though that will never erase the memories. The horror, the horror. You'll have to follow the link above to the videos if you want to try for yourself. I refuse to let that video and song besmirch my blog.
This week's Best Music Scene in Movies is from "Reality Bites". I don't believe I have ever danced around a convenience store while stoned. Usually I just want to get my Slim Jim, Butterfinger and Snapple and get the hell out. But, whatever (see that's me adopting my Gen X ennui).
I just saw that Snooki was going to be on the next Wrestlemania. You knew that was coming. It was destiny.
In our Paste Magazine 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 countdown, here is Hollarado doing "Americanarama" with the help of 24 of their friends. This is a pretty clever video and the song reminds me of something Cracker or Camper Van Beethoven would have done in the late 80s.
Ok, nighty night. Have a great weekend. GO VCU!
Tony Jordan
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Groovin' in the Garden, Salt N Pepa, Irish Fest, Perpetual Groove, Mike Watt
My bracket is pretty much shot after tonight's first games so I'm rooting for the underdogs from here on out. And VCU & U of R, of course.
Onto the music. Groovin' in the Garden announced their lineup for the summer. They'll be at Lewis Ginter in May with this lineup:
5/5 - Cracker
5/12 - Donna the Buffalo & New Riders of the Purple Sage
5/19 - TBA
5/26 - Nanci Griffith
Then they switch to Maymont in June:
6/2 - Toots & The Maytals
6/9 & 16 - TBA
6/23 - Umphrey's McGee
Pretty good lineup. I wish Richmond wouldn't jam so much good music into Thursdays & Fridays in May & June. Its going to be really hard to pick and choose.
Back to this weekend. If you are disappointed that they moved the Snoop Dogg show to April and you need a old school rap fix, you can't do much better than Salt N Pepa's Legends of Hip Hop at the Richmond Coliseum on Friday night. Tix run from $39 - $76 and the show starts at 8. Joining Salt N Pepa will be hip hop legends Biz Markie, Doug E Fresh, MC Lyte and Naughty By Nature. Here's the best song from all these groups, Doug E. Fresh's "The Show". For being from the early 80s, I strangely could not find a video for this song. So no "video" on this one, but you get the song.
A word about the Coliseum. I went to the CAA Tournament and confirmed once again that the Coliseum sucks. They absolutely need to tear that place down. The concourses are so tight that if you get a line at one of the stands more than say, 5 people deep, you cut off the flow of people around the arena. A simple thing they could do to improve the place would be to put up some signs. When you walk in the door, there are no signs telling you which way is which section or which way the bathrooms are. Its bad enough that the bathrooms are practically hidden under stairwells. They could at least have some signs that stick out over the concourse so you could look down and see where the closest bathrooms are. But you end up walking half way around the arena looking for a bathroom only to find later that if you had turned left instead of right, you had a bathroom one section away from you. Throw in the crumbling stairs, the ceiling speakers with the paint peeling off, and the worst, overcooked, hot dogs I have ever had, and this place is just an embarassment. Really Richmond, find a way to build a new one because the Coliseum is a decaying pile of crap.
Saturday & Sunday, the Church Hill Irish Festival, one of Richmond's best festivals, goes down in Church Hill on 25th Street between Broad & Franklin. Its $2 to get in and proceeds are donated to the St. Baldrick’s Society and their fight against childhood cancer, the Church Hill Association, the Church Hill Crime Watch, Richmond Hill, Child Saver’s Clinic of Richmond, St. John’s Church, the St. Peter’s Meals Program, Stone’s Circle of Friends and many other neighborhood causes. They have a nice children's area with the usual bouncy things and games and all proceeds from the children's area go to “Connor’s Heroes”, an organization that assists families and children who are fighting childhood cancer. There are food and beverages available including the adult kind ofe beverages (its an Irish fest for Christ's sake). It all happens rain or shine, Saturday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Sunday from 10 AM to 6:30 PM. There is music all day and this year's fest is dedicated to Richmond musician and long-time supporter of the Irish Fest and its charities, Page Wilson, who passed away a few weeks ago.
Here is the Saturday band lineup:
Bluegrass Celtic Stage
11:00 - 11:45 Glasgow Kiss
12:00 - 12:45 Robin Carns
1:00 - 1:45 Detox Mountain Boys
2:00 - 2:45 Cary Street Ramblers
3:00 - 3:45 A Pack of Luckys
4:00 - 4:45 Big Boss Combo
5:00 - 5:45 Sommervilles
6:00 - 6:45 Highway 249
Guinness Stage
10:00 - 10:30 PARADE
10:30 - 11:00 An Cor Rud Irish Dancers
11:00 - 11:30 Donny Brook
11:40 - 12:10 Miles O’Brien
12:10 - 12:30 Muggivan School of Dance
12:30 - 1:00 King Golden Banshee
1:15 - 1:45 Powder Keg
2:00 - 2:30 Haze & The Transients
2:45 - 3:15 Tinkers Damn
3:30 - 4:00 The Atkinsons
4:15 - 4:45 Kelly Kennedy & Lilt
5:00 - 5:30 Bart Chucker Band
5:45 - 6:15 Mothers Little Helpers
6:15 - 7:00 Uisce Bethea
And here is Sunday's band lineup:
Bluegrass Celtic Stage
11:00 - 11:45 Old Town Celtic
12:00 - 12:45 Virginia House Band
1:00 - 1:45 A Good Natured Riot
2:00 - 2:45 Thistle & Shamrock
3:00 - 3:45 Cook County
4:00 - 4:45 Harper & Co.
5:00 - 5:45 Uncle Phugly
6:00 - 6:45 East of Afton
Guinness Stage
10:00 - 10:30 Bagpipers
11:00 - 11:30 Razen Caine
11:45 - 12:15 Faculty Lounge Lizards
12:30 - 1:00 The Remnants
1:10 - 1:40 Cross Roads Irish Dance
1:45 - 2:15 Rattlesnake Shake
2:15 - 2:45 St. Baldricks Head Shave
2:45 - 3:15 Three Bad Men
3:30 - 4:00 Blue Line Highway
4:15 - 4:45 Uncle Drew and the Powhite Boys
5:00 - 5:30 Janet Martin Band
5:45 - 6:30 Andy Cindy & Then Some
After the Irish fest on Saturday, head down to The National to get your groove on. Perpetual Groove that is. The jam band returns to Richmond with opener Zoogma. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Tix are $15 in advance, $18 day of show. Here is Perpetual Groove playing "Speed Queen" on 3.4.11:
Tuesday night, alternative/college/punk rock hero Mike Watt comes to town with his band The Missing Men. They'll be at the Canal Club with openers The Vacant Stairs and Horsehead. Doors open at 8. Tix are $10 in advance, $13 at the door. Here is Mike & the Missing Men at Chop Suey in Seattle about a year ago:
This week's Best Music Scenes in Movies scene is from The Fabulous Baker Boys and features Michelle Pfeiffer singing "Makin' Whoopee". She was never hotter. Ok, she was pretty hot in the Catwoman suit, too.
In our continuation of Paste Magazine's 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 list, we have Lissie and an elephant doing "Everywhere I Go". Elephants not only have a great memory, but they are very persistant. I know I wish I had an elephant following me around becuase then no one would f**k with me. Screw these cats I have. I'm getting an elephant tomorrow.
Have a great weekend! If it doesn't rain, I hope to see you at the Irish Festival.
Tony Jordan
Onto the music. Groovin' in the Garden announced their lineup for the summer. They'll be at Lewis Ginter in May with this lineup:
5/5 - Cracker
5/12 - Donna the Buffalo & New Riders of the Purple Sage
5/19 - TBA
5/26 - Nanci Griffith
Then they switch to Maymont in June:
6/2 - Toots & The Maytals
6/9 & 16 - TBA
6/23 - Umphrey's McGee
Pretty good lineup. I wish Richmond wouldn't jam so much good music into Thursdays & Fridays in May & June. Its going to be really hard to pick and choose.
Back to this weekend. If you are disappointed that they moved the Snoop Dogg show to April and you need a old school rap fix, you can't do much better than Salt N Pepa's Legends of Hip Hop at the Richmond Coliseum on Friday night. Tix run from $39 - $76 and the show starts at 8. Joining Salt N Pepa will be hip hop legends Biz Markie, Doug E Fresh, MC Lyte and Naughty By Nature. Here's the best song from all these groups, Doug E. Fresh's "The Show". For being from the early 80s, I strangely could not find a video for this song. So no "video" on this one, but you get the song.
A word about the Coliseum. I went to the CAA Tournament and confirmed once again that the Coliseum sucks. They absolutely need to tear that place down. The concourses are so tight that if you get a line at one of the stands more than say, 5 people deep, you cut off the flow of people around the arena. A simple thing they could do to improve the place would be to put up some signs. When you walk in the door, there are no signs telling you which way is which section or which way the bathrooms are. Its bad enough that the bathrooms are practically hidden under stairwells. They could at least have some signs that stick out over the concourse so you could look down and see where the closest bathrooms are. But you end up walking half way around the arena looking for a bathroom only to find later that if you had turned left instead of right, you had a bathroom one section away from you. Throw in the crumbling stairs, the ceiling speakers with the paint peeling off, and the worst, overcooked, hot dogs I have ever had, and this place is just an embarassment. Really Richmond, find a way to build a new one because the Coliseum is a decaying pile of crap.
Saturday & Sunday, the Church Hill Irish Festival, one of Richmond's best festivals, goes down in Church Hill on 25th Street between Broad & Franklin. Its $2 to get in and proceeds are donated to the St. Baldrick’s Society and their fight against childhood cancer, the Church Hill Association, the Church Hill Crime Watch, Richmond Hill, Child Saver’s Clinic of Richmond, St. John’s Church, the St. Peter’s Meals Program, Stone’s Circle of Friends and many other neighborhood causes. They have a nice children's area with the usual bouncy things and games and all proceeds from the children's area go to “Connor’s Heroes”, an organization that assists families and children who are fighting childhood cancer. There are food and beverages available including the adult kind ofe beverages (its an Irish fest for Christ's sake). It all happens rain or shine, Saturday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Sunday from 10 AM to 6:30 PM. There is music all day and this year's fest is dedicated to Richmond musician and long-time supporter of the Irish Fest and its charities, Page Wilson, who passed away a few weeks ago.
Here is the Saturday band lineup:
Bluegrass Celtic Stage
11:00 - 11:45 Glasgow Kiss
12:00 - 12:45 Robin Carns
1:00 - 1:45 Detox Mountain Boys
2:00 - 2:45 Cary Street Ramblers
3:00 - 3:45 A Pack of Luckys
4:00 - 4:45 Big Boss Combo
5:00 - 5:45 Sommervilles
6:00 - 6:45 Highway 249
Guinness Stage
10:00 - 10:30 PARADE
10:30 - 11:00 An Cor Rud Irish Dancers
11:00 - 11:30 Donny Brook
11:40 - 12:10 Miles O’Brien
12:10 - 12:30 Muggivan School of Dance
12:30 - 1:00 King Golden Banshee
1:15 - 1:45 Powder Keg
2:00 - 2:30 Haze & The Transients
2:45 - 3:15 Tinkers Damn
3:30 - 4:00 The Atkinsons
4:15 - 4:45 Kelly Kennedy & Lilt
5:00 - 5:30 Bart Chucker Band
5:45 - 6:15 Mothers Little Helpers
6:15 - 7:00 Uisce Bethea
And here is Sunday's band lineup:
Bluegrass Celtic Stage
11:00 - 11:45 Old Town Celtic
12:00 - 12:45 Virginia House Band
1:00 - 1:45 A Good Natured Riot
2:00 - 2:45 Thistle & Shamrock
3:00 - 3:45 Cook County
4:00 - 4:45 Harper & Co.
5:00 - 5:45 Uncle Phugly
6:00 - 6:45 East of Afton
Guinness Stage
10:00 - 10:30 Bagpipers
11:00 - 11:30 Razen Caine
11:45 - 12:15 Faculty Lounge Lizards
12:30 - 1:00 The Remnants
1:10 - 1:40 Cross Roads Irish Dance
1:45 - 2:15 Rattlesnake Shake
2:15 - 2:45 St. Baldricks Head Shave
2:45 - 3:15 Three Bad Men
3:30 - 4:00 Blue Line Highway
4:15 - 4:45 Uncle Drew and the Powhite Boys
5:00 - 5:30 Janet Martin Band
5:45 - 6:30 Andy Cindy & Then Some
After the Irish fest on Saturday, head down to The National to get your groove on. Perpetual Groove that is. The jam band returns to Richmond with opener Zoogma. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Tix are $15 in advance, $18 day of show. Here is Perpetual Groove playing "Speed Queen" on 3.4.11:
Tuesday night, alternative/college/punk rock hero Mike Watt comes to town with his band The Missing Men. They'll be at the Canal Club with openers The Vacant Stairs and Horsehead. Doors open at 8. Tix are $10 in advance, $13 at the door. Here is Mike & the Missing Men at Chop Suey in Seattle about a year ago:
This week's Best Music Scenes in Movies scene is from The Fabulous Baker Boys and features Michelle Pfeiffer singing "Makin' Whoopee". She was never hotter. Ok, she was pretty hot in the Catwoman suit, too.
In our continuation of Paste Magazine's 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 list, we have Lissie and an elephant doing "Everywhere I Go". Elephants not only have a great memory, but they are very persistant. I know I wish I had an elephant following me around becuase then no one would f**k with me. Screw these cats I have. I'm getting an elephant tomorrow.
Have a great weekend! If it doesn't rain, I hope to see you at the Irish Festival.
Tony Jordan
Thursday: Mountain Goats, Three Sheets to the Wind
Gonna give you a quick rundown of what's going on tonight, then do the rest of the weekend in another blog later today. Tried to get up to do the blog last night but t-ball practice wore me out. I'm getting old and trying to keep 4 - 6 olds orderly while teaching baseball fundamentals and keeping it fun it very tiring.
Tonight at The National the critically acclaimed Mountain Goats will perform. Tix are $18, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Megafaun. The Mountain Goats have been around since the mid-90s but are gaining some buzz around them now as evidenced by their 3 sold out shows in NYC next week. You'll probably dig the Goats if you like REM, They Might Be Giants, Leonard Cohen, Syd Barrett, Dylan, or Lou Reed. Its a kind of dreamy indie-pop thang. Here they are on a recent appearance on Letterman:
That's Thursday. See ya later tonight!
Tony Jordan
Tonight at The National the critically acclaimed Mountain Goats will perform. Tix are $18, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Megafaun. The Mountain Goats have been around since the mid-90s but are gaining some buzz around them now as evidenced by their 3 sold out shows in NYC next week. You'll probably dig the Goats if you like REM, They Might Be Giants, Leonard Cohen, Syd Barrett, Dylan, or Lou Reed. Its a kind of dreamy indie-pop thang. Here they are on a recent appearance on Letterman:
If you are in more of a yacht rock mood tonight, be sure to catch Three Sheets to the Wind at their steady gig at The Republic. The gig is FREE and show starts at 10 PM.
That's Thursday. See ya later tonight!
Tony Jordan
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Snoop Dogg at the National rescheduled
From The National website:
Due to the death and subsequent funeral and services of his close friend Nate Dogg, SNOOP DOGG will be forced to reschedule his date from this Friday to April 26. All Tix purchased for this show will be honored on the new date. Black Liquid & Photosythensizers will still be performing this Friday. All Snoop Dogg ticket holders can get into this show for free and will get to keep their tickets for the Apr 26th show
Due to the death and subsequent funeral and services of his close friend Nate Dogg, SNOOP DOGG will be forced to reschedule his date from this Friday to April 26. All Tix purchased for this show will be honored on the new date. Black Liquid & Photosythensizers will still be performing this Friday. All Snoop Dogg ticket holders can get into this show for free and will get to keep their tickets for the Apr 26th show
Monday, March 21, 2011
Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar was abducted by Aliens
Apparently, Sammy believes this. Which explains a lot. I believe the aliens told him, “Drink lots of tequila”. Maybe the aliens are giant agave worms from Alpha Centauri. All I know is between this and the drunk EVH stories, I really want to read his new book.
http://io9.com/#!5784143/van-halens-sammy-hagar-was-abducted-by-aliens
http://io9.com/#!5784143/van-halens-sammy-hagar-was-abducted-by-aliens
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Torche, Post Teen, Worn In Red @ Strange Matter
See the story below for some shows announced for Innsbrook this summer.
This weekend, head to Strange Matter on Friday night for Torche, Post Teen, Worn In Red, and The Catalyst. Doors open at 9, tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Torche falls under the stoner metal category and they've been getting some good reviews. And stoner metal doesn't mean ponderous and depressing as evidenced by this video for "Across the Shields":
That's about it this week. I guess the clubs are expecting everyone to be nursing hangovers from St. Patty's Day all weekend. Let's hit up the next video on the 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 from Paste Magazine. Tonight its Yeasayer with 'O.N.E.". I did kind of dig the 80's disco vibe of the song but I didn't think the video was all that great since it too has an 80's disco kind of vibe that was best left in the 80's. There is a cool payoff moment about 3:27 in but that's a long way to go for a 10 second effect. You be the judge.
On to the other list we are following, the Moviefone Best Music Scenes in Movies list. This one is a classic from a classic rock movie, "Sid & Nancy", the story of Sid Vicious (played by Gary Oldman) and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen ("Siiiiiiiiiiid!"). This is the final scene with Sid putting his own punk twist on the crooner classic, "My Way". Hard to believe Gary Oldman would one day play Commissioner Gordon in the latest Batman flicks when watching this. He really channels Sid as the true wasted f**k-up he was.
That's it. Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Where's my green beer?
Tony Jordan
This weekend, head to Strange Matter on Friday night for Torche, Post Teen, Worn In Red, and The Catalyst. Doors open at 9, tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Torche falls under the stoner metal category and they've been getting some good reviews. And stoner metal doesn't mean ponderous and depressing as evidenced by this video for "Across the Shields":
That's about it this week. I guess the clubs are expecting everyone to be nursing hangovers from St. Patty's Day all weekend. Let's hit up the next video on the 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 from Paste Magazine. Tonight its Yeasayer with 'O.N.E.". I did kind of dig the 80's disco vibe of the song but I didn't think the video was all that great since it too has an 80's disco kind of vibe that was best left in the 80's. There is a cool payoff moment about 3:27 in but that's a long way to go for a 10 second effect. You be the judge.
On to the other list we are following, the Moviefone Best Music Scenes in Movies list. This one is a classic from a classic rock movie, "Sid & Nancy", the story of Sid Vicious (played by Gary Oldman) and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen ("Siiiiiiiiiiid!"). This is the final scene with Sid putting his own punk twist on the crooner classic, "My Way". Hard to believe Gary Oldman would one day play Commissioner Gordon in the latest Batman flicks when watching this. He really channels Sid as the true wasted f**k-up he was.
That's it. Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Where's my green beer?
Tony Jordan
First Innsbrook shows announced
Innsbrook After Hours announced their first few shows and it is their usual line-up of classic rock and country artists. So far, here's what we've got:
Thursday, 4/28- Lynyrd Skynyrd or more accurately the one guy left (Gary Rossington) from the original band with a bunch of other guys who play Lynyrnd Skynyrd music including material from their last album "God & Guns" that will be sure to excite the Sarah Palin/Tea Party crowd. Do they play "Saturday Night Special" too and aren't those two songs contradictory?
Wednesday, 5/4- Stone Temple Pilots - if Scott Weiland doesn't end up on rehab again. Or perhaps hope he doesn't and then maybe you'll get to see one of his classic meltdowns at Innsbrook.
Wednesday, 6/1 - Travis Tritt
Wednesday, 6/8 - The Monkees (Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork) - as far as classic rock reunuions go, three out of four ain't bad. That's a better orignial member percentage than Skynyrd.
Wednesday, 7/20 - Elvis Costello & The Imposters
For ticket info go HERE.
Thursday, 4/28- Lynyrd Skynyrd or more accurately the one guy left (Gary Rossington) from the original band with a bunch of other guys who play Lynyrnd Skynyrd music including material from their last album "God & Guns" that will be sure to excite the Sarah Palin/Tea Party crowd. Do they play "Saturday Night Special" too and aren't those two songs contradictory?
Wednesday, 5/4- Stone Temple Pilots - if Scott Weiland doesn't end up on rehab again. Or perhaps hope he doesn't and then maybe you'll get to see one of his classic meltdowns at Innsbrook.
Wednesday, 6/1 - Travis Tritt
Wednesday, 6/8 - The Monkees (Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork) - as far as classic rock reunuions go, three out of four ain't bad. That's a better orignial member percentage than Skynyrd.
Wednesday, 7/20 - Elvis Costello & The Imposters
For ticket info go HERE.
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