Blues Harp Masters Rock Ramshead

Hangin' with blues harp masters Mark Hummel (left) and my cousin, Magic Dick, after their show at Ramshead Tavern in Annapolis on August 29. (Dick got a haircut! Compare with photo below).

[below] Me (left) and my cousin Deb with our cousin
Magic Dick at Nissan Pavilion in 1999
after the J Geils reunion tour.

Entrain Rocks Reston

Evan, Lenny, Tommy, Sam, Alex, and Dann form the New England musical sensation, Entrain.

Entrain rocked Reston Town Center on August 19 where they played a free show. Evoking a dancing frenzy and, at one point, a conga line, the boys tore it up on stage with their infectious rhythms driven by outstanding percussion and a lively horn section.

Ok, this is my first shameless plug. I have an unnatural attachment to this great, funky band from Martha's Vineyard and I happen to co-coordinate this concert series. Below is some info from a press release I distributed in advance of this gig:

Entrain plays a funky mix of blues, reggae, calypso, zydeco, jazz, and funk—sometimes several of these genres within the same song! They've been gaining awards, airplay, and fans across the country with their infectious rhythms and raw energy. Hailing from Martha’s Vineyard, Entrain has taken to the road to promote their newest live album, Entrain Live Volume Two: Right Away People.

Formed by drummer Tom Major in 1993, Entrain is a group of veteran musicians whose upbeat, rhythm-driven songs always pack the dance floor. All multi-instrumentalists, they masterfully blend guitar, keyboard, trombone, saxophone, a variety of percussion, and solid vocals to create their eclectic sound. In addition to their latest release, Entrain has five studio albums and another live album. Their song, “Dancin’ in the Light,” currently is featured in a national television commercial for Sylvania light bulbs. They have a Boston Music Award under their belts for Best Live Show and have been named Best Regional Band in New England by the Boston Tab Newspaper readers’ choice. Come aboard the Entrain!

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What's with the name, you ask? According to drummer Tom Major, he was reading the book, Drumming at the Edge of Magic, by Mickey Hart and came across the term "entrainment" which Hart used to describe the event that takes place when a group of drummers/musicians are all “locked” into a groove. Thus, the name entrain and a great band was born.

Did Not Find Heaven in the Church

August 9, State Theatre, Falls Church

Recommended Beverage to go with this show:
the Rogue Dead Guy would’ve been perfect,
on several levels, but the State was out
so Dominion summer and Anchor Steam were my group's picks

I own a couple of albums by the Aussie-pop band, The Church (though apparently they have about 20, six of which were only released in Australia. Who knew?) And, I’d seen them live once before, a couple of years ago at the Birchmere, in the bandstand, and I remember everyone was dancing. But when I walked into the State Theatre in Falls Church last night and found more tables and chairs than usual, including across the dance floor, this tipped me off that a mellow show was forthcoming.

Mellow isn’t a bad thing. After all, I had several choice naps throughout their set, which was refreshing. But, for me, the tone was set during the first song when frontman Steve Kilbey began completely off pitch, then recovered by song’s end. Numerous songs in the set were filled with insightful lyrics, carried by Kilbey’s deep, sexy voice. But, while some bands can improvise and experiment with various styles, it became clear that the Church should stick with rock, their foolproof genre. Their retooled version of “Metropolis,” in flamenco style, just did not work.

Deep into their two hour set, a fan called out a request for “Reptile,” a popular and upbeat classic for this band, but Kilbey shot it down, saying he preferred people not shout out requests. That’s when he added, to most people’s surprise, that the band had some 20 albums, therefore some 200 songs, and could only include a small sampling at any show. That was rude, mate, and a great way to alienate yer small American fan base, particularly the few who actually know a song other than “Under the Milky Way,” albeit one from the same album. They of course played "Under the Milky Way" during the encore and, of course, Kilbey took the opportunity to expound on the song's popularity at length before singing it.

This Aussie-with-attitude bit was not very appealing. Plus, they started late and went quite late for a venue in Falls Church, so I left before they finished their encore. (hey, ClubD has a job and had to get up in the morning!) Perhaps they played "Reptile" in the end; maybe they didn't. But one thing's for certain. Opening act Rob Dickerson, former lead singer of The Catherine Wheel from Liverpool, stole the show.

Dickerson played some songs from his solo work and a few Catherine Wheel songs, all with that gorgeous voice--and impressive vocal range--at times using pedals for reverb. He humbly noted that his band had never performed in this area before and he was thrilled the crowd was being so receptive to, and recognized some of, his music. He joined the Church on guitar during the encore and the crowd seemed quite happy he finally got his chance to perform in this area.

Yorn is the Real Thing

Recommended Beverage to go with this show:
a dark, bold amber ale

Pete Yorn sings to a sold-out crowd at the Birchmere on August 8. It was a solid and refreshing two-hour set.


[ClubD wishes to thank Olsson's in Dupont for donating a copy of Yorn's EP, Westerns. Yorn's attempt at rockabilly is nothin' short of fantastic.]

If I was stranded on a deserted island and allowed to bring only one cd (assuming I also had a disc player and long-lasting batteries), I might very well chose Pete Yorn's first album, Music for the Morning After. It's a disc I can listen to from start to finish probably hundreds of times in a row without tiring of it. It didn't leave my single-disc player in my car for months after i first heard it, in fact.

Yorn focused heavily on that album on his summer acoustic tour to promote the upcoming release of his third album, Nightcrawler, on August 29. He's scheduled to go on a full band, full-throttle tour with it this fall.

He began the set solo acoustic, playing a few songs including the deep cut, "Sleep Better," from his debut album. When introducing that album's first track, "Life on a Chain," he mentioned he'd been trying to get a record deal for years and after playing that song for a Columbia Records exec, he finally sealed the deal. Yorn was then joined by a keyboard player for several songs who he said he'd played with back at Syracuse University in a 'hair band' and they remained friends and bandmates.

It's refreshing how understated Yorn is; he's so gracious and modest, as if always recalling his humble roots and thankful to have broken into a career he loves. He may look like Jim Morrisson on stage, but he is introverted and soft-spoken up there, as if he was sitting chatting with you in your living room.
The acoustic duo grew into a quartet by mid-show and they began rocking out. The New Jersey boy recalled those humble roots in song, covering Springsteen's "Atlantic City," then rolled it into his rockin' song, "Murray," a tribute to Murray Wilson, father to the Beach Boys.

He also played two songs from his new EP "Westerns," only available at his shows. His foray into country-rock is a success. One of these songs he wrote for Nancy Sinatra then decided to record it himself and promised the audience that the song, titled, "Don't Mean Nothing," was not the Rick Astley tune by the same name. It's quite prolific, in fact: "It don't mean nothin', till ya figure out what it means." Good point.

The few songs he offered up from his new album sounded quite good and complete the trilogy. This versatile talent with the sultry voice, calm demeanor, and rugged good looks left fans quite happy, anticipating the new album and the fall tour. This fan has since popped Yorn's first album back in the cd player where it will soon compete with the new disc.

SETLIST (The Birchmere, August 8, from Yorn's website)

PY solo acoustic: Intro > For Nancy
Friend of the Devil* (*Grateful Dead cover) > Life on a Chain
Sleep Better

PY & Joe K.:
Undercover
Bandstand in the Sky
June

PY, Joe K., Sid & Mal
Alive
Long Way Down
Pass Me By
Ask* (*The Smiths cover)
Atlantic City* (*Bruce Springsteen cover) > Murray
Just Another
Burrito
Don't Mean Nothing
The Good Advice
Turn of the Century
Georgie Boy
Closet
For Us

Encore: PY & Joe K.:
Lose You
Full Band:
Broken Bottle
Strange Condition
Suspicious Minds* (*Elvis Presley cover)
Crystal Village
I Feel Good Again* (*Junior Kimbrough cover)

Live from Chicago: Lollapalooza Packs in Great Music

August 6

Recommended Beverage:

water and Gatorade…gotta hydrate in the heat.

Nestled in Chicago’s Grant Park, the river off in the distance on one end, the skyline hovering on the other, and a large fountain in the middle that mercifully spewed a geyser every half hour helping fest goers beat the heat, Lollapalooza 2006 was a success. Chicago hosted it for the second year in a row and ClubD was there on Sunday, racing around to the various stages. [Saturday, she was at Wrigley watching the Cubbies win, but back to the music...]

Let’s start with the “fly-bys”—you know, the bands you hear a bit of as you’re making your way across the field toward the band you’re intending to see. Of these, for me, the winner is: Hot Chip, an eclectic London synthpop band who play a great fusion of alt-pop and acid jazz, what they’ve dubbed “turntablism.” Only heard one song but loved it. The runner up is Of Montreal, who hail from REM’s hometown. Dressed in uber bright colors, they were quite entertaining and stopped me in my tracks. Honorable mention: Pepper, who hopped around different genres nicely: punk, then reggae, but then the hip hop/rock tune didn’t work for me and I pressed onward.

Four main stages on opposite ends of the park pumped out fantastic music all day. Here are my notes in order of appearance:

Nickel Creek: This was perfect music to relax to on a hot, summer day, while stretched out on a blanket. Warm vocals and a fiddle made this folk-band a pleasure to hear and watch…

Matisyahu: Every music fan in the world needs to see this guy live. He’s so talented and it’s pure genius. He’s an Orthodox Jewish guy, living in Brooklyn, who blends reggae and hip hop with Israeli chants, with parts in Hebrew. He took the Fest’s largest stage by storm with his unique rhythms; the crowd was hopping. Given the heat, he dressed down from his usual frock (suit and top hat) but did wear his yarmulke and tzitzit (fringes that typically hang from a prayer shawl that remind one to do good deeds) and he has the full beard. Matisyahu energetically bounced around the stage singing, backed by a tight band. Some in the crowd waved Palestinian flags. He had this to say, which had me beaming with pride to be one of his tribe. With so much happening in the world today, he said, remember to “keep your hearts pure and your hands clean and his Majesty will take care of the rest.” Amen.

The Shins would share the same unfortunate fate as Wilco would later in the day. They played the one main stage with sound troubles. The crowd right in front probably got a decent show, as all of the sound came from the stage, but everyone else suffered as speakers on the field were not working and the vocal mic was barely audible. Further hurting the Shins was the singer’s stiff stage presence, though the guitarist bounced around a bit. They were not very inspiring live. Caught two songs (ya know, the ones from the Garden State soundtrack that made these lads famous here), then bolted to….

The Reverend Horton Heat. I couldn’t help chuckle thinking of the line from (appropriate in Chicago) The Blues Brothers when the woman says “We have both kinds [of music] here: country and western.” Their country rock was fantastic and fun, but when they moved to the hard rock, I was done. As I walked off, they went into an excellent cover of “Folsom Prison,” so I paused, clapped along, then moved onto what would become the performance of the day for me.

She Wants Revenge: Caught the last half of their set and what a great live act, absolutely the surprise of the day. Dressed in black, they emulate the 80s synthpop sound of Depeche Mode and New Order. These California boys had the crowd dancing and clapping. Great stage presence. Excellent vocalist. Loved ‘em. Then, I ran across the field to…

Wilco. I’d looked forward to seeing this band, perhaps more than any other, and was sad to find the stage’s aforementioned sound problems completely kill it for me. Even if the crowd was silent, it was a strain to hear them, particularly the vocalist, so we stood there frustrated and a few began to single along with the band, creating the only audible vocals. They pressed on, unaware, and seemed to recover during the last song, though I took off just after “Heavy Metal Drummer” for….

Blues Traveler. These guys always put on a great show. They sounded tight as ever. John Popper was in great form, energetic, and just conquered the harp. They did a few popular hits, including “But Anyway,” and a few new tunes that all sounded great. Ben Wilson on Hammond/keyboards is an extraordinary talent.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: I hovered way in the back. All other stages fell silent as they headlined, unopposed. Their 75-minute set rocked out with a good mix of old and new and thankfully they did not include the irksome song “Love Rollercoaster” in their set.

ClubD left the Fest tired and happy…

Guster Loses its Luster, but LaMontagne Shines

August 1, 2006

Recommended Beverage:
during this headliner, go with a few cheap beers and relive the college days

I don't own a Guster album, but there are a few songs on several of their albums that I really enjoy and I've heard they really jam out live, so I was surprised to find them somewhat irritating in concert at Wolf Trap. Their first few songs sounded so nauseatingly pop that one could easily forget they label themselves alternative. This jangly pop showed itself quite often throughout the night though at times their raw talent did shine through. They harmonized, added a few other instruments in certain songs from keyboard to trumpet, and by the last song before the encore, "Fa Fa," the percussionist went bongos on the congos.

Still, something about their show made me feel like I was at a huge frat party. Some seemingly long-time fans of this band that has toured incessantly for a good decade were scattered about, but the crowd largely consisted of folks barely out of college. Midway through the show, a few guys were dancing wildly on the lawn nearby and I was glad to see people so into the music when, moments later, those same guys got escorted out by security for public drunkenness. If it wasn't such a steaming hot night, I too might've taken to the bottle...

Clearly, I missed the boat and should've seen these guys years ago before some label inspired this overproduced sound. They were quite amusing at times, though. Their youngest member, Scooter, did jumping jacks through the whole break until the band returned for its encore. And at one point the singer did a rap from Revenge of the Nerds to see if the sign language interpreter could keep up.

What saved the night for me was the glowing performance by co-bill Ray LaMontagne. He performed a large sampling from his debut album Trouble and several songs from his upcoming second album, Till the Sun Turns Black, which sounded equally fantastic. One of the new songs had such a great country-rock beat that the sign interpreter and an older usher toward the lawn were dancing, totally lost in the music.

Backed by a full band, LaMontagne soared through his set of folk-rock-blues with that soulful, smoky voice that warms you through and through. It's no surprise he considers Otis Redding one of his influences; his music is also reminiscent of early Van Morrison. LaMontagne, a former shoe factory worker from Maine, is a joy to hear both on disc and live.

Opening band Rogue Wave, from San Francisco, was excellent as well, providing a good reminder of what alternative is supposed to sound like.