Musical Road Trip: Billy Joel Takes on Wahoo Territory

Live from Charlottesville, Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena, February 23

Recommended beverage
to go with this show:
We hit the Starr Hill Brewery just up the road before the show;
The Jomo (a German-style lager) was outstanding.

This has been a good weekend for the University of Virginia. On Saturday, they beat Georgia Tech, but the night before, in that very basketball arena where the Cavaliers— otherwise known as the “Wahoos”—play, Billy Joel and his band rocked the arena in a rollicking two-hour-plus set. Packed heavily with 70s stuff, the concert featured 23 Joel songs, including enough goodies for the discerning fan.

Joel’s voice sounded in top form, though he snuck a few puffs from an inhaler now and then and frequently reached for the water bottle. A decade ago, he had trouble hitting some of the high notes but he continues to hit them, almost effortlessly, on this tour, most notably during “An Innocent Man.” He also clearly was having fun up there, joking with the crowd throughout the show about his age, looks, and spiked cost of his car insurance, talking as comfortably as if he was sitting in your living room. “I’m Billy’s dad,” he joked, adding that he didn’t have much hair anymore but that now he has more head.

He also promised a rocking show despite what the Roanoke Times predicted. It turns out, on its short list of things to do that week, a Roanoke Times columnist wrote, “Aww, yeah. The Piano Man will ROCK you. With his, uh, hard-driving, um, head-banging piano.”
As I see it, the paper could have rejected publishing this assessment that could only have been written by a 15-year-old intern, but then they’d be forced to publish something regionally appropriate like, “well, hold on dere, son, I ain’t heard of no Billy Joel; I thought they said it’d be a HillBilly Show.” At any rate, there was a brief head-banger portion, as Chainsaw—Billy’s long-time roadie—rocked the house as he has on every show this tour with a cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” while Billy indeed rocked the rest of the show with classic, melodic, intelligent rock.

The setlist has remained fairly standard on this tour, which started early last year, though he has changed up a half-dozen songs here and there, offering surprise oldies. “Root Beer Rag” was a nice addition on Friday. Last year, in Boston, I was thrilled to hear “Stiletto” and “Sleeping with the Television On,” tossed in. And, in DC, it was a treat to hear “Captain Jack.”

I did have an anticlimactic-climactic moment at the show. Billy offered fans a choice between “Summer, Highland Falls” and “Vienna.” He rattled off the two options and we’d then vote by cheering. When he asked about the former, my scream seemed to be a solo; then he got some cheers for “Vienna” so he went with that one. I was thrilled to hear Vienna, but “Summer, Highland Falls” is my favorite Billy song and well, if I was at the Garden in New York, I’m confident everyone there would’ve voted with me.

Truth be told, much of the Charlottesville crowd seemed unfamiliar with the material during much of the show’s first half. What I deem as classics, such as “Zanzibar,” “the Entertainer,” and “Everybody Loves You Now,” seemed to be lost on the good folks of this town. But I had much respect for the Wahoos that night (I didn’t get one pissy glance from wearing a U-Maryland sweatshirt or Yankees cap).

I’ve been a Billy Joel fan my entire life. His music has helped me through dark times and helped me celebrate the happy ones. It warms my heart to know that Billy himself is in good spirits, seemingly happy in life. He’s been sounding fantastic vocally, which must be a product of his current contentment. “It’s either sadness or euphoria,” he sings in the song he didn’t sing that night (because the crowd chose Vienna!) I’m glad that emotional dilemma no longer plagues him and these days he generally feels the latter. “And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives,” that’s what all of us hope for.

on a personal note: These were my first-ever floor seats for a Billy show!

SETLIST

Prelude/Angry Young Man
My Life
Everybody Loves You Now (from the album Cold Spring Harbor)
Entertainer
Allentown Zanzibar
New York State of Mind
Root Beer Rag (piano instrumental from the 1974 album, Streetlife Serenade)
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
An Innocent Man
Don't Ask Me Why
She's Always A Woman
Keeping The Faith
I Go To Extremes
The River of Dreams
Highway To Hell (AC/DC cover sung by his roadie)
We Didn't Start The Fire
Big Shot
It's Still Rock and Roll To Me
You May Be Right
Only The Good Die Young
Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
Piano Man

Nathan: "Ain't Nothin' But a Party!"

Recommended Beverage
to go with this show:
ummm, Jack & Coke at this place, and make it a double

Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas at New Orleans Jazz Fest, May 2006.

Stopped by Chick Hall's Surf Club last night (no gang violence in sight, incidentally) to check out Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas, direct from Louisiana. Nathan was in top form, as usual and rocked this southern-style roadhouse (think Bob's Country Bunker from the Blues Brothers movie, minus the wire fence). On the outskirts of DC, this place is full of older hillbillies enjoying the music while keeping one eye on the NASCAR race on the tv above the bar.

A couple of Absolut Citron-and-Sprites into the evening, (and after a good friend showed up to help me cope with this interesting atmosphere that a girl from Brooklyn finds a tad unsettling), I was on the dance floor dancing among the hillbillies...and enjoying myself.

There are a few truly outstanding zydeco bands out there. Topping the list is anyone in the Dopsie family (Rockin' or Duane each have phenomenal bands should you visit New Orleans). Right on up there, authentic and hopping as ever, is Nathan Williams and his band. The sounds of a frenetic accordion and the beats on a washboard filled the place, as we soaked in the unique and awesome sounds.

Zydeco music comes from southwestern Louisiana, as does its Cajun cousin. Whereas cajun generally features a fiddle and is rooted in country music, zydeco comes from the Creole culture, features an accordion, and is based on rhythm and blues. Both are distinctly, and distinct, Louisiana styles and one can't help but smile widely and dance wildly to this music.

As Nathan loves to say, "it ain't nothin' but a party."

My Kind of Post-Punk

I was going mad a few months ago trying to find a local band that fit my definition of post-punk but could only come up with Fugazi-(and, gulp, AC/CD-) inspired hardcore bands. At the time, I was writing an article on whether there's a post-punk revival and even the local punk record label here offered little help. Maybe the type I was looking for was only in NY and LA...

Then, last night at Iota, as I watched a band called The Sounds of Kaleidoscope, I thought, "where the hell were you guys a few months ago?!" I was mesmerized. I felt transported to a little club in Manchester (not that I've ever been to Manchester). It was Brit-pop tinged punk and I was a content little shoegazer.

Post-punk lives. Look out for these DC blokes. They will rock your world.

These Cats are Crazy! Legendary R&B Revue

at the State Theatre, Falls Church, Virginia, February 3

Recommended beverage
to go with this show:
Jack & Coke is what the Cats drink

Four blues masters from all corners of the country came together for a four-hour raucous blues jam on Saturday night to close out their tour. DC’s Deanna Bogart, California’s Tommy Castro, Massachusetts man Magic Dick, and Chicago’s Ronnie Baker Brooks played before a packed house to thunderous applause. Backed by Castro’s band, each of the four led the band for a half-hour set and later in the night they all jammed together.

Casto strutted his stuff on guitar and vocals, blending blues, rock, and soul, with no shortage of charisma. Bogart, glad to be home, impressed the crowd with her boogie-woogie piano and vocals, and also played saxophone on a couple of tunes.

Then came my cousin Magic Dick who, admittedly, had too much Jack before the show and was quite the comedian between songs. The harmonica master performed several songs from the 1994 album he recorded with Jay Geils and their band Bluestime, including his cover of T-Bone Walker’s “No Sleepingest Woman.” He also played the stunning instrumental, Wammer Jammer, from the J. Geils Band days.

The final artist was guitarist/singer Ronnie Baker Brooks who gave us a taste of some Chicago blues with some mean blues hooks. The wild man then traveled through the crowd playing guitar with everything from a beer bottle to his tongue. And, then, he made his way to the bar where he managed to make himself a rum and coke with his one free hand and then gulped it through a straw.

The blues jam that closed the show was just brilliant as the musicians worked off each other in what looked not only effortless, but as though they genuinely were having fun. One of the most enjoyable numbers in that jam was “Sex Machine,” their tribute to the late James Brown. Everybody did “get on up” in what was an exhilarating night of blues and soul.

Radio Deliverance!

Score one for the liberals. After nearly a decade of griping about DC radio, I am proud to have found a station...and it's environmentally friendly, even. The classic rock station 94.7 FM has just morphed into 94.7 the Globe and, thankfully, it's got no ties to Clear Channel. It's a bit of everything that rocks: classic rock to 80s new wave to current alternative and it seems committed to diversity, not lethargic repetition. The other morning, I heard Echo & the Bunnymen, Steve Winwood, and Death Cab for Cutie back to back. Right now, as I slack at work, I'm listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers streaming from their website.

This eco-friendly radio station not only preaches to its listeners ways to become more environmentally conscious, but it's apparently powered entirely with renewable energy. And now they're playing the Smithereens. THANK YOU CBS Radio. I promise to always recycle if you keep this great music coming. Many of us here have been waiting a long, long time for good radio.

“Give Me Rhythm”—Cowboy Mouth, Dumpstaphunk Take on DC

Recommended beverage to go with this show:
Dogfish Head Raison D'etre, available at the downstairs bar,
because it's positively nutty.

On my first trip to New Orleans, a little incident toward the end of Jazz Fest weekend had me hopping to the medic tent. As I lay there, dehydrated and in agony from a sprained ankle, I heard the sounds of Cowboy Mouth coming from a nearby stage. They had so much positive energy and I found myself clapping and singing along, happily, while simultaneously seething in pain. It was an amazing confluence of emotion.

On Friday night, at the 9:30 Club, Cowboy Mouth played a 2-hour + set with unwavering intensity. They have had their own confluence of emotions over the past couple of years, as several of them had lost their houses to Hurricane Katrina and they continue touring to help rebuild their lives. But there was no talk of that at this show. Fred, the drummer/singer/motivational speaker who takes center stage, made it all about the audience. He even climbed up to the balcony at one point to tell a section of people they needed to get more involved.

“Give me rhythm” says Fred repeatedly throughout the show, signaling the audience to clap to the beat. At times, he has them jumping, singing, dancing, waving hands in the air, and just letting go—but rarely is anyone allowed to be an idle spectator. This is a full-on rock show and your participation is required. “Are you with me?!!”

Fred periodically gets to rest a little as his guitarist takes on lead vocals but even then he pounds the drums and makes insanely funny faces as he gives 200 percent. The band’s new material fits in quite well with their earlier stuff. A particularly amusing new song from their 2006 album, Voodoo Shoppe, is about having to dump a girl because she didn’t know who [The Clash’s] Joe Strummer was.

Cowboy Mouth live is a true experience that no studio album can capture, in part because of the raw energy and extended mixes all led by wild man Fred. He also skillfully mixes in a little Professor Longhair (a full-on rock version of “Going to New Orleans”), Mississippi blues, and…a Springsteen cover for fun.

In case after a few drinks you forget who you came to see, Fred leads several chants of “The name of the band is” with the audience yelling back the reply. And, Fred will tell ya if you’re not working hard enough…

Opening the show was Ivan Neville’s five-piece band Dumpstaphunk that absolutely would’ve torn the roof off the place if more people were paying attention. Their blend of funk and soul was positively infectious and an all-out jam. Ivan Neville on vocals and Hammond organ was joined by not one, but two bass players, including his brother Ian of Funky Meters fame. It’s definitely worth checking these bad boys out!

Ahh, New Orleans Jazz Fest 2007, I am ready!
ClubD will be on the scene there the weekend of April 28^th.