Pete Seeger's Clearwater "A Dream Come True"
Crouton Point Park
Crouton-On-Hudson, NY
June 18 & 19, 2011
 
Reviewed by: Bob McGuire

In 1966 Pete Seeger organized a fundraising tour to raise money for a sloop to sail the Hudson River. That concert launched the environmental movement and the tradition of the Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival Concert Series.


Pete Seger


        
Concert Fans                                   Croton Point Park


The park at Croton-on-Hudson hosted an early summer weekend of music, crafts, politics, storytelling, dance and more on five bio solar-powered stages over two balmy days. The well-run event was wheelchair friendly, family-oriented and community focused.


             
       Pete Seger talking with a child                   Performing with young musicians
 

       
A Tee Pee set up at Clearwater         Concert Goers getting oriented


The music was a happy counterpoint to this bucolic setting of rolling hills, huge weeping willows and stages set up on the riverbank.  The weekend contained a bit of classic folk, world music, kids as well as Contemporary sounds.  The generations theme would be evening closer's both nights with Pete and Tao Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and daughter Sara Lee, Tom Chapin and the late Harry Chapin's daughter Jen among other familial combinations of the folk world.

 
             
Suzanne Vega                                        John Sebastian


Afternoon sets were played on Saturday by Billy Bragg, Janis Ian, Arlo Guthrie and Dan Zanes and on Sunday by Jorma Kaukonen, Chris Smither, Suzanne Vega, The Klezmatics, Red Horse, Indigo Girls and others. There was a storyteller tent on site and most shows were staffed with American Sign Language Interpreters.


    
          Joma Kaukonen                    Press Photographers in action


   
David Bromberg                                  Janis Ian


Saturday evening led into The Low Anthem and The Felice Brothers while Sunday began with John Sebastian into Jorma, it ended with The Drive-By Truckers. This last band was probably the most electric of the weekend.  The Truckers played a measured and thoughtful set as they brought out the simple strains of "Bulldozers and Dirt" or dedicated "Tornado" to recent events.


     
  Dar Williams                                  James McMurtry

Whether it was the simple nostalgia of a 20-minute rendition of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" or the familiar strains of "Luka" by Suzanne Vega, there was something for everyone.  The trippy drone of Low Anthem closed out Saturday while The Drive-By Truckers anthemic "Gravity's Gone" and "The Living Bubba" rang out on Sunday.


        
Carlos Varela                                    Martin Sexton


                  
Fans at Crouton Park                                   Chris Smither


The revenue raised by the Revival helps to support Clearwater's numerous educational endeavors and helps to keep the Clearwater afloat. The folk core of Pete Seeger and the rest are joined every year by an amazing patchwork of bands and artists. Jackson Browne could be seen along with most other artists wandering the beautiful site in the afternoon. Browne opened the festival on Friday at a private fund raising concert.


                  
Josh Ritter                                                  The Nields


           
 Klezmatics                                             Indigo Girls


           
Clearwater Rainbow Stage                   Steve Lurie & his daughter


               
Justin Townes Earle                                        Tom Chapin



Jen Chapin
 
John Sebastian provided an uplifting moment Sunday morning with his spirited sing-along of "Daydream" from The Lovin' Spoonful catalog. On the rainbow stage this led into a perfect afternoon slide from Jorma Kaukonen to Suzanne Vega, to the Indigo Girls to The Drive-By Truckers.


      
Peter Yarrow                                   Sara Hickman


Patterson Hood came to the lip of the stage and commented at the beginning of The Truckers' set that the huge weeping willows facing him reminded him of summers at his grandmother's farm. Aside from an especially manic set by The Klezmatics, seeing this band stretch out in the bright sunlight was a rare treat. John Neff plays an impeccable steel guitar while the rhythm sections tightens every year.  Both songwriters are front and center dressed as impeccably as Sunday Preachers. They throttle back their usual set and showcase an hour of tight harmonies and some lesser played gems.


              
             Dan Zanes                                      Young Singer with Dan Zanes


           
               Tao Seeger                              Patterson Hood of Drive By Truckers



Petterson Hood and PeteSeeger


A perfect ending to a perfectly planned event. There might be Farm Aid and Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam and Gathering of the Vibes, but the Clearwater Festival offered what others don't. Real commitment to social justice, roots music and a plan bigger than themselves. If you can run a weekend event this successfully, I'll bet you could clean up a river.


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B.O.M.B. FESTIVAL HITS HARTFORD
Comcast Theatre / Hartford, CT
May 28th & 29th 2011
 
Reviewed by: Bob McGuire
 
Over sixty acts attracted about 8,000 people to the B.O.M.B. Festival at the Comcast Theatre in Hartford over the Memorial Day Weekend. The acronym stands for Bring Our Music Back and for various reasons the charity event had some difficulties filling the venue.
 

Snoop Dog at the B.O.M.B Festival in Hartrford

Headliners Weezer and Snoop Dogg didn't disappoint. The power-pop kings brought a much needed dose of hooks, harmony and polish on Saturday while Snoop Dogg served up his patented patois the following night. A disappointing no-show on the part of Whiz Khalifa led to some slack leading into Sunday's finale but Snoop eventually brought the "Gin and Juice."
 

Rivers Cuomo of Weezer at the B.O.M.B Festival in Hartrford

This festival started only two years ago in Harkness State Park as a high-school student's senior project. The gathering was shifted this year without much notice from Western Connecticut State University to the much larger arena in Hartford's Meadows, ironically out of a concern about crowd size.
 
   
The Manchurians performing during their tight set at the B.O.M.B Fest

As it happens, the smaller venue would have been more appropriate as the average of 4,000 paying customers per day barely filled the main stage area in Hartford. There were a handful of artist cancellations from George Clinton of Funkadelic who was hospitalized over the weekend to the up and coming Whiz Khalifa who's flight was held up due to bad weather in Chicago on Saturday.
 
  
Frank Bomaci onstage at the B.O.M.B Festival

The aforementioned student, Frank Bombaci, Jr., can use this year as a learning experience as he continues to build his brand. The event is a non-profit benefiting local causes like the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.
 

The press working at the B.O.M.B Fest in Hartford

Even though the low turnout meant not much profit this year, the Bombaci family intends to make a personal contribution to make up the shortfall. Frank Sr. earned his retirement building and eventually selling the Glaceau's Smartwater and Vitaminwater brands.


Guitarist Chris Allen of the Neon Trees is shown soloing at the B.O.M.B

 
Drummer Elaine Bradley of the Neon Trees

Frank Jr. meanwhile is learning the concert trade from the ground up and has hired Jason Deeney who for years worked with Gathering of the Vibes. It's a tough business in an adverse economy as organizers of The Lilith Fair found when their re-launch stalled this year in spite of their previous success.
 

12th Planet at the B.O.M.B Festival in Hartrford


12th Planet riding the crowd during his set at the B.O.M.B Festival

The low turnout that hurt the bottom line had an ameliorating effect on all the other lines however. There were no problems in accessing the vendors or using the facilities and it made negotiating the three active stages that much easier.
 

Ian Felice of the Felice Brothers is shown during his set in Hartford

Some propulsive outfits like State Radio, Neon Trees or The New Pornographers were at a disadvantage on the main stage as they were in danger of being swallowed up by the enormous arena. There was no lawn crowd to speak of either day and fans tended to bunch up in front of the performers. This gave some bands the chance to bear down on the tight knots of true believers. The bright sunlight precluded the added drama afforded by light shows and special effects.
 

Christine Ohlman at the B.O.M.B Festival in Hartrford


Singers with Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez



Cliff Goodwin and Christine Ohlman performing at the B.O.M.B

Local favorites Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez found themselves playing before noon on Sunday to a small but enthusiastic crowd while The Manchurians from Branford got to rock out in a glorified parking lot outside the main hall the day before. 
 

Singer, Songwriter Raina Mullen performing at the B.O.M.B Festival

There were high points along the way provided by Titus Andronicus, Against Me!, Best Coast and The Felice Brothers, while the cross dressing New Orleans "bounce rapper" Big Freedia was booed off the stage on Saturday evening's lead-in to the headline act.
 
      
Band members of 20,000 Leagues on stage at the B.O.M.B Festival

British electronic act Shpongle gave an interesting performance sitting atop a psychedelic pyramid contraption while Dubstep artist DJ 12th Planet ( John Dadzie ) got everyone dancing earlier at the same outdoor stage. He played with an infectious abandon, letting the turntables keep the beat on an empty stage while he surfed the crowd and pumped up the energy by sheer force of personality.  
 

Edward Sharpe on stage at the B.O.M.B Fest

The entire affair was a logistic and creative success and it's hard to say why the attendance didn't meet expectations. An event-heavy weekend, ticket prices close to $100 for the weekend, cancellations and a venue switch probably all contributed.
 
   
Fake Babies "live"

Fake Babies in action at the B.O.M.B Festival

It was fun to watch Frank Jr. from a distance during the weekend, looking like the harried record company intern in the recent film "Get Him to the Greek." He radiated boyish enthusiasm while playing master of ceremonies to the mostly up-and-coming indie-rockers on the bill, it was easy to envision this Loyola sophomore heading for the top of the pops ... with an essential assist from pops. 
  

Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria performing at the B.O.M.B


Claudio Sanchez may need a trim


Frank Bombaci Sr. was quoted as saying "We're going to find a way from our family foundation to donate to all three charities, no matter what happens here." I would expect to see this festival return next year with some hard lessons learned.


      
Band members of Health are shown rockin' hard at the B.O.M.B Fest




The D.J with Snoop Dog lights up to start the show at the B.O.M.B Fest


Snoop Dog struts across the stage at the Comcast Theatre in Hartford


The Dog Delivered

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JACKIE GREENE + 1
Live @ StageOne / Fairfield, CT

May 3, 2011
 
Reviewed by: Bob McGuire


Jackie at Stage One in Fairfield, CT
 

Jackie Greene played two sets at the StageOne in downtown Fairfield on May 3rd in front of a sold out house of attentive fans. He has been hailed as the new boy wonder of the Americana / Roots Rock scene since his first release in 2002.
 
California based Jackie Greene was an early musical prodigy. He is very familiar on the jam band scene and has been collaborating for over a decade with the likes of Phil Lesh, Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Gov't Mule and others.  B.B. King is said to have asked him to join his touring band on keyboards - not too bad for a journeyman just turned thirty.
 
Though Jackie released his first album in 2002, I've only recently been introduced to his music. He has a solid catalog of several albums and a DVD out and in 2005 his song "I Will Never Let Go" was featured in the film Brokeback Mountain. 
 
There's something rare and promising about Greene that's been recognized on his many appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, the Monterey Jazz Festival and Mountain Jam. Tonight in Fairfield he takes to the stage with just band member Nathan Dale on guitar and backing vocals.
 
Greene is a low-key figure who performs with a stream-of-consciousness vibe. He switches easily from guitar and harmonica to keyboards all evening. His accompanying guitarist Nate Dale is tasteful in the extreme, supplying deft fretwork and exacting backing vocals throughout both sets.
 
The two hundred or so fans on this night are attentive and supportive as Jackie applies his unique songwriting and interpretive skills to a mix or originals and cover tunes. He performs everything from his own "I Don't Live in a Dream" to Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home" with equal clarity and conviction. He makes the jam band crowd comfortable with some tasty Grateful Dead covers at one point - at another he brings a six year old audience member named Rita on stage to sing "Shaky Ground" for her. This is not the aloof and unsmiling performer that I'd been warned about.

 

This thirty-year-old has honed his uniquely American songwriting craft from humble beginnings to a world wide fan base. As he has said "... I've been writing, recording and performing non-stop. I've lived in cars, hotels and basements. If you do the same record over and over it becomes a boring day job."  His philosophy is rooted in musical growth and experimentation.



    

He works "Don't Let the Devil," "Gone Wanderin'," and a packet more of originals into the set while changing instruments and bantering with the appreciative crowd. He closes the evening with a strong version of "Ball and Chain."
 
It's easy to see where the "New Dylan" noose might have been hung around his neck at one point. He's famously protested "I'm just sorta sick of being the kid with the harmonica rack. I don't want to be Bob Dylan."
 
Sometimes Bob Dylan probably doesn't want to be Bob Dylan.

    

At the signing table after the two expansive sets, Jackie seems relaxed and personable. Presented with a framed photo to sign at one point, he remarks in a self effacing way that he still has the same shirt on.
 
Greene played two one hour sets and it seemed like he was just warming up. His original work is impressive and his interpretive skills obvious in his soulful takes on everyone from The Grateful Dead and The Rolling Stones to Merle Haggard and Muddy Waters. If you get a chance, do yourself a favor in this Clear Channel culture and take some time out to check out Jackie Greene. As Taj Mahal might say, he's the real thing.

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Rufus Wainwright Does It His Way at UCONN
Jorgenson Auditorium in Storrs, CT

December 10, 2010
 
Reviewed by: Bob McGuire


 
And now for something completely different: Rufus Wainwright requests no applause for first half of the show this evening. There are signs at the front door of the Jorgenson Theatre and a short speech preceding the show - an artist who wants no applause.
 
The half full hall consents and enter stage left is a rare processional: Rufus Wainwright walking in silhouette towards a lone piano ahead of 20 feet of train. What follows is a complete set of his newest, most difficult album - All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu. Just spare piano - lone voice.
Wainwright leaves behind the lush orchestration of his previous work in favor of this pared down sound, used to great effect tonight in the soulful "What Would I Ever Do with a Rose?"
The lyrics are always heartfelt but sometimes garbled this evening and the first performance was overwrought while visually intimidating and monochromatic. There are a series of eyes that remain onscreen that I could have lived without, but that was the nature of the performance: a high art enterprise demanding suspension of disbelief. A world inhabited by these very dark sketches.
 
It is a tribute to Wainwright's rapport with his fans that the attending crowd remains silent from the entrance to when he finished the first set with "Zebulon," and departed, in the same Niagra-Falls step-by-step routine as entering ... ballroom gown and all.
 
The second half of the show is more or less in the pop star mode and gives Rufus a chance to play the more familiar ballads he's known for. He reappears as more of a Ray Davies dandy requiring a shifting of emotional gears: one is reminded of the Martin Short character burbling "... gimme a C, a bouncy C!" as Rufus bounds out on stage after the short break.
 
Songs like "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk", "Vibrate" and "The Art Teacher" reground that part of the audience unprepared for the first half and remind us of an already stellar career with or without his relationship to Shrek. It's a concert again - yeah - clapping is sanctioned once more!
 
Except for swallowing his syllables a bit and over-relying on the piano, grand as it was, Rufus seems a performer with a future. He displays an impressive vocal range throughout the evening. This time around the outlook is a bit formalized and dour given the subject matter of death and remembrance - unavoidable.
 
A good deal of this new work to some degree revolves around the death in January of Mr. Wainwright’s mother, the great folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle. Two songs address his close relationship with his sister, Martha Wainwright, to whom the album is dedicated, and who will appear tomorrow night at this same venue. His folk-singer father is Loudon Wainwright III.
 
The crowd on this Friday night is centered mostly on dining couples at candle lit tables in the center, the balcony is sparsely settled and more than one patron seems flummoxed by the evenings' fare. The bar at halftime makes for some interesting listening. The overall effect is nothing if not confrontational - and stark.
 
The performance induces anxiety given the ever present eye motif: we worry in the first half as Rufus takes a sip of water - will someone shout out? Sneeze? Clap? It's not for the squeamish.
 
It's news that Rufus is engaged, so maybe a happier trajectory is occurring that will reflect itself in his music. This is an artist who's not afraid to confront his own audience, but time will tell if he's heading for his own dead skunk in the middle of the road - or not.


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BLUE MAN GROUP ENTERTAINS HARTFORD
 Bushnell Hall in Hartford, CT

October 25, 2010
 
Reviewed by: Bob McGuire


 
The Blue Man Group brought their new road show to the exquisite Bushnell Hall in Hartford this week for a five night run. It was an unqualified success playing to a sold out show on the first night. The presentation is as overwhelming and visceral as Cirque du Soleil, but with the added dimension of a direct emotional connection with the audience.
 
The show begins subtly with the lights dimming and LED messages scrolling in the upper quadrants of the custom proscenium stage. The left and right scrolls soon start to carry on a bickering Monty Pythonesque dialogue. Before a few minutes go by the entire audience is responding to the LED lights and eventually participating in the event. This is the beautiful simplicity of the evening - using a rudimentary digital tool that we see everyday in every store window to draw us in emotionally, to compel participation.
 
Like Cirque du Soleil the show is visually and sonically overwhelming, but the added dimension is the feeling of involvement rather than distance that The Blue Men offer. Parts of the performance relate as electronic vaudeville: three low tech figures in blue greasepaint interacting with the audience in a very intimate, stripped down Broadway sense. An added feature however is dispensing with the comfort zone of the theater's traditional fourth wall, as the performers reach out to physically engage the audience.  
 
On a purely entertainment level the show works as brilliantly as it's designed to: it's basically the greatest hits of The Blue Man Group presented in successive skits. On a conceptual level it involves a sly commentary as all evening the smaller, slightly drabber 'real' performers are upstaged by a simulcast of their larger, brighter and more interesting video selves. 
 
At times the audience attention might be riveted on the larger screens even while the actual performer is in the aisle only a few feet away in the 'real' world. Other times The Blue Men only partially enter into the screens on stage to a point where they are half in and half out of the electronic world. It's the electronic world that routinely demands the attention - that draws the eyeballs.
 


The simple devices used to command total attention ranged from basic LED scrolls to three drop down smart phone screens - again, something almost everyone stares at for a good part of their day and as such has the capacity to demand immediate audience absorption. Layer on stroboscopic special effects and sternum-rattling percussion and viola - a brilliant total immersion in the theatrical event at hand.
 
As Artistic Director Michael Quinn says " ... we think of ourselves more as a rock band than we do a theater show, so there are certain pieces, certain classics if you will, that people always want to see. There's the throwing and catching stuff in their mouths and making art. That's like our 'Free Bird,' if I could be so bold. Another one is when they make a song out of eating Cap'n Crunch cereal. Then I would say there's probably 40 or 50 percent brand-new material ... that's newly written for the show." And drumming: lots of drumming, from industrial PVC piping contraptions to oversize typanis. 
 
There's a lot of the rock concert, even rave, experience incorporated into the evening that steps up the performance and involves levels of audience participation not required in a more passive theater experience. The LED display demands an encore response and the audience duly acquiesces near the end: we've been trained from the beginning of the performance to respond as one entity.
 
This marks the first time that their full scale theatrical show has been presented in the United States. It has the time-tested and best Blue Man skits of the past immersed into a rock spectacle experience. Starring three mute, earless, cobalt-colored creatures, the experience reaches dazzling three dimensional territory near it's finale. The audience is immersed in blinding visual effects, pounding rave music and immense colored bouncing balls drifting out over a crowd covered in miles of connecting streamers.
 
The conceptual part of the show is in realizing how easily these responses can be elicited from the audience: if the LED requests a fist-pump response we gladly comply. Shake it's collective booty, the same. There are sly comments on art, commerce and the uneasy nexus between the two all evening - but nothing that gets in the way of enjoying the evening as anything other than pure and unadulterated spectacle.
 
Co-founder Phil Stanton has said " ... our show is really more about the collective experience of the audience. It's about all of us embracing a sense of wonder and discovery and celebrating together rather than passively viewing a performance."
 
It's hard to imagine anyone churlish enough not to enjoy this presentation which runs through Sunday in continuous performances at The Bushnell. You might think of this Blue Man offering as their own Sgt. Pepper wherein a splendid time is guaranteed for all. The venue has even bathed it's exterior in blue light to celebrate both this ground-breaking presentation and the venue's own 80th year anniversary.

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Martha Davis & The Motels Return
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire


 
Martha Davis and The Motels kicked off their summer tour at the Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk, CT on the last Saturday in June. Even though Ms. Davis is the only original member of The Motels, the sound is essentially unchanged since the hit-making heyday of the early Eighties thanks to her distinctive voice.
 
The Motels are best remembered for the top ten hits "Only The Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer" from the early eighties. And suddenly this summer she's bringing her third version of The Motels on tour for the first time in a long time. She casually mentions that this is the new bands first official gig tonight while introducing the younger musicians as "three Matts and a Felix". The basic guitar, bass, drums, keyboard line-up has been recruited from Martha's new home base on a farm near Portland, Oregon.
 
She had spent over 30 years chasing the dream in Los Angeles, recording six records for Capitol and writing well over 1,000 songs. The album "Clean Modern and Reasonable", issued in 2007, was the first release under the name "The Motels" in 22 years however.

      

The woman The Los Angeles Times had called "the most charismatic female performer in rock" seems to have rediscovered her passion for performing, while losing none of the original emotive power of her singular voice. This evening's performance before a few hundred die-hard fans starts a bit shaky but builds nicely as Ms. Davis dusts off her between song audience-interaction skills.
 
The positive reinforcement coming from her front row fans and the friendly environment of the Infinity Hall, combined with a few sips of her favorite beverage, eventually melt away the first night jitters. A mention of a recent divorce draws appreciative cat-calls from the audience and draws her out further.
 
According to her biography Martha was a married Air Force mom by the age of fifteen. Born and raised in Berkeley, CA, she moved to Los Angeles in the early '70's, along with the first incarnation of The Motels. Her mother's suicide when Martha was twenty led to the discovery of a diary which contained life-changing advice to her daughter to always pursue her dreams no matter the cost.



She relates that "even though I had two kids by the time I was twenty I decided that I had to try music". This final gift from a mother who delayed her own dreams was the catalyst that started Martha down this long road she's been on.

     

The performance tonight with her new band is less pop and slightly more theatrical, with the emphasis on the singer's finely emotive voice. All of the old hits are touched on with time for newer tunes like "Last of the Bohemians". As far as the music goes, it was the same Motel's sound with a slightly more modern, indie-rock twist. Our keyboardist, Felix, even got to do a moody clarinet solo on a new torch song near the end of the set. The encore included "I Just Might Change My Mind", "Total Control" and, of course, "Only The Lonely," which always sounded fitting for a band called The Motels.
 
The bucolic drive to Norfolk today was enhanced by the first break in what seemed to be a two-week rainstorm in the Northeast. This tiny burgh has seen it's share of good publicity lately due to the new music hall. In the several weeks since I last saw a show here there's been a local renaissance with the opening of a few restaurants in town. We decide to try the new Bistro restaurant attached to The Infinity for an after-show dinner tonight.

 

An evening rainstorm precludes sitting outside and we're pleasantly surprised by both the prices and the range of menu offerings. I've written before about this jewel of a music hall in the Northwest hills of Connecticut and wanted to make sure that I tried the restaurant as soon as I could. I'd strongly suggest a day trip - just check out the Infinity web site for several concert listings each week - before word on the 300 seat venue percolates any further. Before The Motels set I stopped in to check the menu and saw the New York Times photo crew setting up to shoot a feature on the newly opened restaurant. I'd say that gives you about a week or two to beat the crowds.

         

After finishing dinner I noticed that the adjoining hallway was still peppered with fans waiting patiently for a few words or an autograph from Ms. Davis and her new band. They were set to play New York City and then Cambridge, Massachusetts in the next few nights before heading out west for the remainder of their tour. They seemed as reluctant to leave this cultural island as the rest of us: where else would they be going tonight - back to their Motels.

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Springsteen Rocks Connecticut
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire

 
 
The Boss barnstormed Hartford on a recent Friday night, rocking the XL Center for the third time since 2007. This most recent outing saw the still-fit road warrior performing for better than two hours and managing to turn the downtown amphitheater into a rock and roll revival hall.
 
Opening with the clarion call "Is there anybody alive out there?" the band tore into "Badlands. The only squeaky wheel all night for me was the second number, the newer "Outlaw Pete." Maybe the kinks aren't worked out yet, but this number came across slightly stilted with the cowboy hat and acted-out lyrics: more a Thin Lizzy cover than a new epic in the making.

 

Just like the President, the Boss has had his own trying first hundred days this year. There was the dust-up with his exclusive Wal-Mart Best Of release plus the mixed reviews for his most recent album "Working On A Dream." He drew some criticism for his Super Bowl appearance, and then there's the more recent spate of headlines concerning an alleged affair.
 
None of this seemed to concern the headliner tonight as he pulled out the stops and raised the roof in front of a sold out crowd ready for a party. Although Patti Scialfa was not present tonight, Bruce dedicated a song to his wife at one point and explained that she had "... fallen off a horse." That said, the rest of the evening was one of those magical, firing-on-all-cylinders performances.

 

Bruce exhorted the audience early on to "... build a house of love ... of joy, music, spirit and noise." He threw down the gauntlet with his "... solemn vow to rock the house, and bring the noise!"  There was a loose, playful vibe present throughout the entire show.
 
The high points kept on coming as the powerhouse E-Street band tore through an enviable catalog of road-tested classics. For a few numbers, starting with "Radio Nowhere," Max Weinberg's 18-year-old son Jay took over on drums for several songs as Springsteen boomed "... is there anybody alive out there in Hartford tonight?"

 

Guitarist Nils Lofgren shone on a fiery version of "Tom Joad" and Little Steven took charge on the bluesy "Johnny 99".  The imposing Clarence Clemmons anchored stage left all night adding color with harmonica and his famous reed work. The rhythm section was swinging all night while the keyboardists and violinist Suzy Tyrell added the necessary flourishing touches to the proceedings.
 
The XL Center was a surprisingly intimate venue for the band, helped by three massive video screens that beamed the smallest details of the action all the way back to the cheap seats. The real time editing was superb and the entire evening would make a killer DVD release someday - the show was that good.
 
The staging was first rate, allowing for an open pit in front of the stage where the band could easily interact with their fans. Halfway through the show Bruce began collecting hand-made signs from the audience and placing them around the bandstand - they ranged from the mundane to the profane. This led to the band playing a few requests communicated from the audience ... from John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over the World" to a pile-driving version of the Trogg's "Wild Thing."

 

Following a rendition of "The Wrestler," the show headed back into the stratosphere and stayed there until the crowd-pleasing finale "Rosalita." The last section of the show included some personal favorites as the band tore into "The Rising," "Born To Run" and "Cadillac Ranch" before ending with a five song finale which included a version of the Stephen Foster tune "Hard Times Come Again No More."
 
This theme of addressing our current hard times was present elsewhere in the show as in the lyrics to "Tom Joad, the 1995 Steinbeck-inspired classic that shines a light on those forgotten or left out in the journey to the promised land:

 

"Waiting for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass"
 
It was a night of powerful and inspiring music played before a receptive and energized crowd. I used to live across the street from the XL Center in what's now the sadly empty Goodwin Hotel. That was a few decades ago, and I don't think I've seen the streets of downtown Hartford as animated before and after a concert since those days. For at least one night Hartford was, in the words of the song, "alive out there."

 

SET LIST:

BADLANDS, OUTLAW PETE, JACKSON CAGE, SHE'S THE ONE, WORKING ON A DREAM, RADIO NOWHERE, SEEDS, JOHNNY 99, THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD, RAISE YOUR HAND, WILD THING, ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD, THE E. STREET SHUFFLE, WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY, THE PROMISED LAND, THE WRESTLER, KINGDOM OF DAYS, LONESOME DAY, THE RISING, BORN TO RUN, CADILLAC RANCH.
 
ENCORE:
 
HARD TIMES COME AGAIN NO MORE, TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT, LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS, AMERICAN LAND, ROSALITA.


 

Jeff Beck Shines Bright
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire

 
Jeff Beck brought his individualistic blend of musical fusion to The MGM Grand at Foxwoods on a recent Saturday night, still looking rock-classic and amazingly fit in his sixty-fourth year. The music opened with the martial drum beat of "Beck's Bolero," the original template used to forge Led Zeppelin.
 
It was the guitar masters choice of fellow musicians that gave the night levitation: the massively talented Vinnie Colaiuta ( drums ), Jason Rebello ( keyboards ) and the crowd pleasing Tal Wilkenfeld ( bass ). Together the ensemble provided superior form around Beck's unique sonic adventuring with his trademark Fender Stratocaster.
 
Jeff Beck had been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the second time ( the first was with The Yardbirds ) by his childhood friend Jimmy Page a few nights earlier. Page called him "... the most incredible soloist of our time." Always the iconoclast, the photo used in Rolling Stone magazine this week shows the guitarist with his award in one hand giving a middle finger salute with the other as he addressed the people in his life "... that have helped me ... and those that didn't." 
 
Beck wastes no time - or words - tonight as he explores the possibilities of wood, steel and electricity without using a pick. From soulful taps to emotive feedback, he coaxes sounds out his instrument that make vocals superfluous. "Every day there's some microscopic difference to what I find in the guitar, some extraordinary coincidence of harmonics that will enable me to hear a scale or weird chord," Beck has said.
 
I remember Billy Cobham in the early seventies with The Mahavishnu Orchestra and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta reminds me of that kind of ferocious playing. With his glasses secure and a big smile for most of the set Vinnie plays in a challenging and provocative way - pushing Beck and getting a loopy grin or two from the boss as he was challenged keep up.
 
The young bass player is the revelation of the evening. That Jeff Beck completely rules on electric guitar is a given - urban myth has it that he never practices, just picks the instrument up before hitting the stage. He prefers working on his car collection during his off time: a master of the Stratocaster with something in common with Jay Leno. This bass wunderkind is another story: she left Australia at sixteen and is now in her mid twenties. She covered Beck's every move tonight with grace and power: it was like watching your teenage daughter as Jaco Pastorius. In interviews she claims that she's always been able to pick up any instrument and play it but when she picked up a bass guitar - that was it.
 
It was a pleasure to hear an undoubted master of the electric guitar play with such a sympathetic and talented trio as Mr. Beck did tonight. One of the high points was a version of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" where the bassist worked a perfect counterpoint to the whammy bar subtleties that Beck was sonically etching. The two even performed an arresting  bass duet at one point with the guitarist leaning over to tap out the high end in tandem as Ms Wilkenfeld's took a solo on the deeper end of the same fretboard. 
 
The band touched on everything from The Beatles "A Day In the Life" to "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" by Charles Mingus. "Blue Wind" and "Behind the Veil" are given precise renditions as are "Nadia," "Angel" and "Brush with the Blues." Jeff's use of the whammy bar and harmonics on "Where Were You" were astonishing to watch from some twenty feet away. He eschews a pick, rather using his thumb, fingertips, karate chops and any number of innovative ways to interface skin to electrified metal. "There are only two inventions that matter to me: the wheel and the Fender Strat," Beck has said.
 
Vinnie Colaiuta was a powerhouse on drums all night, especially on a volcanic take of "Stratus" by Billy Cobham. Keyboardist Jason Rebello lent admirable atmospherics and texture to the supportive playing all evening. Bassist Tal Wilkenfeld was a stand out, and just might have been the youngest woman in the hall tonight.
 
Ms Wilkenfeld is a riveting performer, as Beck has said "she has the adult phrasing of a mature bass player coming out of a child. It's bizarre," says Beck, who took it as a compliment when Wilkenfeld first started gigging with him and fans assumed she was his daughter. "I never thought there would be anybody like her, this little figure standing around my kitchen just wanting to play."
 
In a textbook demonstration of "Jazz-Rock" Beck effortlessly pulled sounds out of his signature Stratocaster all night not privy to mere mortals. Shards of sound fall into piles of driving rhythms as the master literally 'spanks the plank' with a hint of a grin, dressed completely in white, under his signature bonnet of jet black hair. He plays around with spaces and tempos all night, mixing force with restraint and using frequent bottleneck excursions in pointed and soulful ways.
 
After nineteen songs over an hour and a half, the concert was a collaborative effort of like-minded explorers of a precise musical terrain. It took until the end to realize that the one microphone set up stage left wasn't used a single time until the evening's goodbye's. The collaborative quartet brought the night to a conclusion with an aggressive and pile-driving version of the classic instrumental theme from "Peter Gunn." 
 
Partial Song List: Beck's Bolero, Goodbye Porkpie Hat, Blue Wind, Cause We've Ended as Lovers, Nadia, Big Block, Angel, Brush with the Blues, Where Were You, Behind the Veil, Stratus, A Day in the Life & Peter Gunn. 


 

Pevar & Friends Rock Connecticut
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
Someone put a nickel in the cosmic jukebox last Saturday night at the new Infinity Music Hall in beautiful downtown Norfolk, Connecticut. I'm not the biggest fan of the jam band phenomenon but I did see my share of Max Creek when they started out about 30 years ago.
 
Scott Murawski, guitarist with Max Creek, appeared with Jeff Pevar at Connecticut's newest music emporium nestled in these northwest hills. Pevar, of course, is a session guitarist extraordinaire with a staggering list of professional credits; he's also one third of CPR with David Crosby and Crosby's son James Raymond. He's toured with everyone from Ray Charles to Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.
 


Pevar is making the rounds in Connecticut this month and last. We had seen him perform a week earlier at Avon Old Farms Inn with Danny Kortchmar among others. Tonight is an entirely different approach from the blues based evening in Avon which also included local favorites Burt Teague and Tim McDonald. 
 
The line-up of musicians is shaken up almost nightly on these recent Connecticut gigs as Pevar plays with everyone from Kortchmar in Avon to Jeff Pitchell at The Hungry Tiger, to this evenings date with Scott Murawski. Scott has toured recently with members of Phish and The Grateful Dead.
 


Pevar has said of his changing roster of musicians "... I liken playing in this band to sitting around a poker table. The game is still going on. It goes on no matter who shows up. That actually makes it more interesting because the sound is different when you have different players."
 
Tonight's gig at The Infinity has that loose quality as the band sonically works its way through a Grateful Dead zone and on into twin guitar Allman Brothers territory - both bands having members that the musicians on stage have toured with. True to the jam band ethos, the compact auditorium is spiked with the standing mics of audience tapers.

     

The 300 seat hall seems at capacity tonight and dancers dot the aisles. The band eschews vocals for the most part and bears down instrumentally until reaching interstellar overdrive halfway through the evening. The guitar interplay between Pevar and Murawski is impressive as hints of a classic like "Summertime" shape shift into sonic extracts from Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland album. At one point "Rainy Day, Dream Away" segues into a rocking version of Muddy Waters "I Just Want To Make Love To You."  

   

The band plays two sets in the elegant little hall which touch on everthing from a reggae treatment of The Beatles "She's So Heavy" to the New Orleans classic "Hey Pocky Way." It's one of those night when you can tell that the musicians know they've hit a special synergy between each other and with the audience. A point of mutual levitation is reached by the time the band embarks on a massive instrumental version of the Led Zeppelin classic "Kashmir."
 
As Pevar has said " ... to label us as a tribute band isn't accurate. What we are is an interpretive band. We take these wonderful compositions and make them into something completely different." Tonight's gig illustrates why he's has been awarded "Best Guitarist" for several years running by The Hartford Advocate.
 
The band includes a celestial version of Hendrix's "Little Wing" in it's encore tonight before sending a satisfied audience out into the late night snow flurries. I couldn't have made a better decision on how to spend my birthday this evening.

 

I have to make special mention of the venue as it's only been open for a few months and it's destined to be a classic music destination in the tradition of places like Northampton's Iron Horse. Built in 1883, The Infinity Music Hall has been completely restored and stands out as a centerpiece of this picturesque northern Connecticut town.
 


The building had a previous life as a grocery store before having a fortune in renovations invested by the next tenants, a local theater company. The hall seats 300 with clear sight lines to it's original proscenium stage and words can't accurately convey the attention to detail throughout this beautiful structure. The balcony is set up so that once the adjoining restaurant opens up, 50 or so patrons can dine overlooking the hall.
 
The walls of the first floor lobby are lined with photos by Michael Dobo who, in addition to working as an assistant to Annie Liebovitz, has seen his credit line appear in Time, Life, Rolling Stone and The New York Times Magazine. As his web site states "... in the late 1960's and throughout the 1970's, Michael Dobo had an all-access backstage pass to many of the luminaries of the day ... stumbling around huge stacks of screaming Marshall amps, Dobo and his Nikon were also providential eyewitnesses to the Sixties as it unfolded." 
 
I thought that the mostly uncredited shots downstairs were done by the legendary Jim Marshall before running into Mr. Dobo later in the evening as he prepared to do the evenings ending announcements. He's also been blessed with an announcer's voice reminiscent of Chip Monck from the Woodstock albums. He's another creative facet of this newly opened music hall.

     

I would encourage anyone who likes quality music in a unique setting to make the drive to check out the new Infinity Music Hall. It's just a few miles past Torrington and only 35 minutes from Hartford, where the owner was originally interested in setting up. There will be a line-up of over 200 nationally known acts that will be appearing in just this first year - Leo Kottke is set to appear the following night. The staff is terrific, prices are reasonable, the setting incomparable, and the vibe extraordinary. 

 

Tweedy Solo in Northampton
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
Sailing through Hartford just ahead of the afternoon gridlock, we have a clear path to our favorite city, Northampton, Massachusetts. Having just received eleventh hour passes for Jeff Tweedy's show tonight at the Calvin Theater, we arrive four hours early: plenty of time to hit the bricks and soak up the atmosphere.
 
There's nothing like wandering this northern shire on a nearly seventy degree Spring afternoon. The streets are teeming with busking musicians and the overflow of at least a half dozen nearby colleges. There's the teasing hint of exotic cooking every few yards; a Tibetan restaurant next to a Mexican eatery, next to a pizza shop, next to an Irish pub.

 

Jeff Tweedy, of Wilco, has performed several tours without a band in the past several years, including the 2006 solo acoustic tour captured on the DVD Sunken Treasures: Live in the Pacific Northwest. Tonight's show at the Calvin Theater opens with Wilco member Mikael Jorgensen's side-project band, Pronto. They're politely received by the slowly filling auditorium.
 
In between sets I run into Al, one of the managers of the entertainment troika of The Iron Horse, Pearl Street, and the Calvin Theater here in the center of town. He's everywhere tonight doing a hundred different jobs but remembers me from a month earlier when I brought my family to see Toronto's Enter The Haggis at Pearl Street. As he changes a towel dispenser, he shares that President Coolidge was mayor of Northampton at one time, and that the then-new vaudeville theater was named after him.The Calvin was given a total makeover about ten years ago, and Al mentions in passing that the basement has always been a problem because of a river that runs underneath the venue.
 
    

After Al darts off on another necessary chore, I wander back up to the balcony and see that the stage has been set up Neil Young style: a semi-circle of acoustic guitars behind, a semi-circle of monitors in front. Soon enough Tweedy shuffles out to wild applause under low light. Alone with eyes closed and head down, he dives right in. He performs the first few songs with no introductions.
 
The full-capacity crowd adores the headliner tonight; sometimes just an introductory chord or a grab for a harmonica holder would set off waves of applause.The rafters rang with well placed hoots and the occasional heartfelt rebel yell. Tweedy, who always seemed slightly awkward bantering with an audience, is getting better with practice. A necessary art if you're the only soul on stage. 
 
The artist warms up as the crowd shouts out free-for-all requests for their favorite Wilco tunes. He jokingly gives the audience a left-handed compliment for their less than rhythmic clapping on "Forget the Flowers" and manages a few weirdly inappropriate stories concerning his dad.
 
Off color musings aside, Tweedy laid out almost two dozen career-spanning songs over the course of the evening. He even managed to work four Woody Guthrie tunes into the set from the 1997 Mermaid Avenue project with Billy Bragg.
 


When the guitarist first called out for requests after his first half dozen offerings, he stood astonished and said "... those are the same songs you asked me to play when I was here last year." Someone else called out to just play something new, Tweedy informed her that two of the last handful of songs were just that. He's developing a curmudgeonly style of stage banter and crowd control that seems apt for a person who's suffered chronic migraines throughout his entire life.
 


This darkened emo-esque offering tonight only whetted my appetite for a full-on Wilco show where Tweedy gets to channel his inner Lowell George. A youtube video shows the band barreling through "I Got You" from a few years ago. They sound for all the world like The Replacements covering Big Star in Power Pop heaven.
 
Tweedy did manage a shimmering version of Radioheads "Fake Plastic Trees" in his first encore, while straining for the higher notes. He's covered this tune on some previous dates during this tour and seems to have worked it in as a regular highlight.
 


The evening ends with the usual unplugged foray to the edge of the stage. The venue sold out hours after the tickets went on sale several weeks ago and I get the feeling that a lot of the audience probably drove much further than I did to be here tonight. He's that kind of performer: one of the best that modern American songwriting has produced.
 
SET LIST: Spiders, I'm Always in Love, Remember the Mountain Bed, Bob Dylan's 49th Beard, Jesus, etc., One by One, Everlasting, Someday Some Morning Sometime, The Ruling Class, Wait Up for Me, Muzzle of Bees, In a Future Age, Forget the Flowers & California Stars
ENCORE SONGS: Shot in the Arm, Via Chicago, Fake Plastic Trees, Wilco ( the song ), Heavy Metal Drummer, Casino Queen, I'm the Man Who Loves You, Dreamer in My Dreams & Acuff Rose. 


 

Lil' Wayne Raps in Wallingford
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
A mid-week near sell-out crowd greeted Lil Wayne on a recent stop at The Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford. The younger, mostly suburban crowd of three or four thousand was on board from the moment the headliner appeared on stage.
 
And what a stage: Kiss would be proud. A catwalk grid with flash pods and reservoirs of fire, plus musicians lowered from the ceiling to form, lego-like, your basic rock band with drums, bass, guitar and keys. Finally, add a central DJ to a posse full of rappers and mix well.

 

Due to conflicting circumstances we missed the opening acts tonight but the headliner more than made up for all that. Lil Wayne has more than a bit of the Jamaican toaster in him as he playfully dances and carries the crowd through his new 'rocked-up' set. The only lag in the evening comes with his mid-set showcase of a few very young rapper proteges.
 
The crowd was here to enjoy the show and there was plenty of riveting spectacle to keep everyone interested; more than enough smoke and flash to power a Las Vegas revue. Top energy was expended all night with the headliner stripping to fighting weight as the evening progressed. Rhymes and patois with the most menacing and/or sexually suggestive plot lines were cheerfully delivered with ancillary signifying body moves: the thrown shoulder, a roll of the dreadlocks, a flash of the grille.
 


Lil Wayne had a good year last year having won eight Grammy nominations, the gravelly voiced singer prowled the stage in Wallingford tonight spitting out a rootsy machine-gun patter with his own homegrown New Orleans spin tonight. There are charming attempts at guitar playing at one point and plenty of guest rappers joining in and fading out with their own inner logic.
 
Lil Wayne made the recent Rolling Stone list of the top 100 Agents of Change at #19, just behind Al Gore and before Bill Gates or Radiohead. After years of giving his music away for free on mixtapes, last years Tha Carter III became the best selling hip hop release of 2008. The magazine describes him as the greatest rapper alive, saying his last release has made "... the tattooed, syrup-swigging, perpetually stoned 26-year-old the weirdest pop star since Michael Jackson - and the most prolific since Prince." 
 


Commercial rap began with The Beastie Boys sampling Led Zeppelin riffs on their first album; tonight's show by Lil Wayne is a logical next step. It combined a rock band with a central DJ focus, along with pyrotechnics and dancing: in the hands of a talented artist, what's not to like?
 
Lil Wayne opened the show with "Mr. Carter" ( his surname ) and proceeded to sample his sex and money dominated back catalog. Huge screens behind the band blared every lascivious lyric all evening while they pumped out "Turnin' Me On," "Every Girl," "Got Money" and other well known anthems. At one point he divided the young audience into three parts - giving each what used to be called bawdy lyrics: mama hide your children! 
 
For a twenty six year old guy, except for getting arrested way too much, he seems to have the career thing pretty much figured out. There was nothing amateurish about the presentation tonight. The entire caravan concerned with the tour appeared to be the size of a small village.

 

The crowd is impressively enthralled with the headliner all evening. He stops the proceedings at one point to inform us all that he ain't @#!* without God, and he ain't #@!& without You. This bears repeating before the juggernaut rolls on.
 
At one point the band ripped through "Mo Fire / Fire" with enough pyrotechnics to sear your eyeballs. Lil Wayne then assayed everything in between, from "Lollipop" and "Shoot Me Down" to "Prostitute" and "Cash Money Millionaires" before closing with "Prom Queen" and encore "A Milli."

 

This kind of show plays easily in the stadiums of America: In other words, this wasn't a typical rap presentation, though there was a healthy element present in the misogynist language and MC approach. It was pure showbiz and I can say as a relatively disinterested bystander that this kid is ready for the big time. Also, as the late John Candy used to say on SCTV " ... it sure blowed up real good!"


 

 BLUESMAN HEATS UP NEW LONDON
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
The Robert Cray Band made a stop at New London's Garde Arts Center on a Saturday night  March 7th in front of a packed house of appreciative blues fans. Though the headliner stood front and center, it was by no means his show alone. Supporting musicians included Tony Braunagel ( drums ), Richard Cousins ( bass ) and James Pugh ( keyboards ).
 
By the time Cray formed his first band in 1974 his sound was fully formed: a clean Stratocaster sound that stood out from the crowd and a vocal delivery rooted in the Stax/Soul tradition. More than 30 years on that sound has been honed and perfected in the thousands of gigs he's played as an ambassador of the blues all around the world.

     

The band settled into a groove tonight that left enough room for each musician to shine. The band rocked and wailed, plunging deep into a clear well of blues on song after song.  Early on Cray showcased a new tune called "Chicken in the Kitchen" which was followed up by a few tracks from his Grammy winning 1986 album, Strong Persuader. 
 
On guitar, Cray showcases the same clean, no-frills blues approach that he always has; he's a one-man blues revival but without the flash - a Stevie Ray without the showing off. In keeping with the low-key virtuosity of the headliner, Cray's band plays close to the bone; nuthin' fancy.

     

Keyboardist James Pugh is a standout tonight and adds a lot to the sound of the ensemble, whether rocking out or adding rich, rolling gospel organ touches to the proceedings. Bassist Richard Cousins bobs and weaves, staying in the pocket all night and holding down the rhythm section with drummer Tony Braunagel. The drummer has played with the aristocracy of British rock, beginning with the first gig he landed when he moved to England. In 1971 he moved from New York to become the house drummer for Island Records - this led to his becoming a founding member of the rock band Crawler with Paul Kossoff, formerly the guitarist with Free. A decade later he was playing behind everyone from Ricky Lee Jones to Bonnie Raitt.
 
    

The intimacy of The Garde was a nice fit for The Robert Cray Band; a perfect opportunity to see a bonifide journeyman bear down on the essentials. This was evident on blues excursions like "12 Year Old Boy" where the band got to inhabit the tune and pull and stretch at its boundaries.
     
It's easy to take Cray for granted, like a comfortable pair of shoes, due to his low-key style. He's turned out a consistent string of superb albums, channeling the urban blues but always with that smooth vocal delivery and clean, distortion-free guitar tone. He jump-started the contemporary blues scene when he first appeared and continues to experiment, pushing the paramaters of soul and blues to this day.
 
One of Cray's albums that I keep going back to over the years is 1985's Showdown! on Alligator Records. Here he teams up with Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland for an instructive cutting session with two other masters of the blues. This is an album out of time, fresh sounding every time I drop the needle.    
 


The opening act tonight was Jonah Smith who performed on keyboards with just a drummer to accompany him. He had a soulful vocal delivery with overtones of rock, country and jazz. I haven't seen a touring keyboard / drummer duo since the seventies one-hit wonder Lee Michaels. At the end of his set Mr. Smith did joke about selling merchandise after the show to help bail his bass player out of jail - so maybe Lee Michaels still holds the title for the only touring keyboardist/drummer duo in living memory.
 


As usual the venue added a lot to the evening. The renovated thirties theater is easy to find and pleasure to spend a few hours in with good sound and a professional staff. A special mention to Carol the bartender who efficiently worked a double line by herself tonight, ensuring that no thirsty patron had the blues before entering the hall.

 

Robert Cray fun fact: that's him playing bass in the movie Animal House with Otis Day and The Knights. Some credit him with inspiring John Belushi to form The Blues Brothers.


 

THE CARDINALS TAKE FLIGHT IN NEW HAVEN
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
Ryan Adams and The Cardinals kicked off their winter tour at the elegant Shubert Theater in downtown New Haven on Friday night February 20, 2009. The bite of the cold wears off as we find our seats and watch the sold out venue fill. Opera boxes on both sides join with the balconies to hug an intimate stage.
 
Soon enough Adams appears under dim lighting sporting bright red boots and a Misfits t shirt. He seems to have attracted every middle aged hipster not busy elsewhere tonight along with a couple of more garrulous fans who insisted on breaking the fourth wall whenever a thought occurred tonight.

         

Mostly, this is a crowd that seems intimately aware of the prolific and intermittently brilliant headliner; there's talk in the local watering spots before the show and people trading Ryan Adams factoids on the way into the hall. Ostensibly this is the last tour with his band before the 35 year old alt-country hero backs away from the music business and marries actress Mandy Moore.
 
The Cardinals are Neal Casal ( guitar ), Chris Feinstein ( bass ), Jon Graboff ( pedal steel ) and Brad Pemberton ( drums ) and they're the perfect band for the headliner. Opening with "I See Monsters" the show built into a perfect 2 1/2 hour storm of influences and inspiration. The influences are seamlessly layered into the performance: here there's a bit of Neil Young or Tom Petty, there a hint of The Grateful Dead or The Byrds.

 

Adams shares more than a birthday with former Byrd Gram Parsons, the legendary Cosmic Cowboy and godfather of alt-country rock. Parsons was the main influence on Ryan's early band Whiskeytown and The Cardinals fill much the same role for him as The Flying Burrito Brothers did for his musical mentor.
 
The backdrop behind the drummer tonight is a massive bird sculpture that looks a lot like the cover iconography of former Byrd Gene Clark's Thunderbird album. Flanking the drummer are two American Rose-like neon sculptures that lend that essential patchouli aura to the evening's jamming interludes.

 

I arrived for tonight's show blissfully unaware of Adam's reputation or career but left feeling that I had seen one of the best performances I might see all year. This doesn't seem like a band on the verge of breaking up: neither does Adams seem prone to any similar urges. Here's hoping he just needs a career rest cure.
 
This is, after all, a relatively young man who has released ten albums under his own name and the same amount under various pseudonyms. One of his earliest bands had the catchy moniker The Patty Duke Syndrome.

 

Highlights tonight were "When the Stars Go Blue" which has been covered by U2 and a version of "Wonderwall" by Oasis, a band The Cardinals toured with last year. Researching Adams after the fact reveals one long name-drop of a career - it seems that he's a musician's musician; taken under Elton John's wing, and more recently producing an album by Willie Nelson.
 
There's not much sign of Adam's mercurial side tonight unless you count the false start to "La Cienega Just Smiled" where a badly tuned instrument had him screaming into the wings for his guitar tech halfway through the set. The band ground to a halt and waited indulgently while Ryan sorted it out and merely resumed the sensitive reading like the interruption never happened.
 
The headliner also gamely interacted with the audience - even complimenting someone as having "the best heckle I've ever heard."  The fan had yelled a request to play "Burning Photographs" or "... I'll report you to the IRS."  The singer seemed relaxed all evening, even stretching out on the floor when guitarist Neal Casal took lead vocals on a few tunes.

 

Given that The Byrds are one of my all-time favorite bands, I was in Rock n' Roll heaven with The Cardinals tonight and couldn't believe it had taken me this long to discover them for myself. A happy surprise, as this is a band that has assimilated and processed their influences in some new and creative ways. There are strains of CSN in the beautiful harmonies of "Oh My Sweet Carolina" and a hint of Dylan & The Band when Ryan straps on the harmonica holder for a raucous version of "Come Pick Me Up," even echoes of POCO in Jon Graboff's steel guitar playing.
 
Starting with "Goodnight Rose" the band began to stretch out, summoning the ghost of Jerry Garcia's meandering fretwork which developed once or twice into twin lead guitars reminiscent of The Allman Brothers as Neal Casal chimes in on his Les Paul. This song had the feel of a closing number but the 90 minute set continued for another four songs with no formal encore as the venue was up against closing time.

 

I would hope that after Mr. Adams sorts out his current medical (hearing loss) and personal problems he'll get back together with The Cardinals. If not it'll seem to me like he has a phantom limb: that's how perfectly this band fits him. 
 
Set list
1. I See Monsters
2. Two
3. Everybody Knows
4. When the Stars Go Blue
5. Fix It
6. Let It Ride
7. Magick
8. Wonderwall
9. Come Pick Me Up
10. Grand Island ( Neal Casal / vocals )
11. Meadowlake Street
12. Freeway to the Canyon ( Neal Casal / vocals )
13. Oh My Sweet Carolina
14. Evergreen
15. The Rescue Blues
16. The Sun Also Sets
17. La Cienega Just Smiled
18. Natural Ghost
19. Goodnight Rose
20. Born Into a Light
21. A Kiss Before I Go
22. Easy Plateau
23. Bartering Lines

 

LEGEND AT THE MGM
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
John Legend brought his Evolver tour to the MGM GRAND Theater at Foxwoods for a sold out performance on Friday night February 6, 2009. Legend's opener, his British protegee Estelle, was a no-show and the opening slot was hastilly filled by the headliner's brother, Vaughn Anthony.

     

Mr. Anthony, working a more LL Cool J vein with songs like "Humpin' to the Beat," did his last minute best to warm up the crowd before the main attraction. Soon enough Mr. Legend was entering the hall from the rear, making his way through the crowd and up onto the stage. At first he kept his distance from the piano and worked the microphone with a decidedly more aggressive stance than might be expected from the honey-voiced crooner.

 

Backed up by a tight band that included a three man horn section and three back-up singers ( including baby brother Vaughn ) Legend displayed an effortless command of the hall. The material was evenly divided between his three releases as the singer moved from fast numbers to slow jams with no lack of confidence.
 
The aptly named Legend switched between rocking out at the microphone to soulfully singing behind the piano where, frankly,  he appears to be more comfortable; he had the mostly couples crowd swaying and dancing from the first notes. When he clapped, they clapped; standing and dancing was the rule during tonight's scream-punctuated performance. Fortunately he has the musical goods to back up the tsunami of adoration that crashed over him for the next hour and a half.

      

The women in the house really ate up the smooth r&b crooning that Legend is famous for, but some of the best parts of the show were when he gave the grandstanding a rest. When he stopped strutting he was able to let loose that honeyed, shiver-inducing voice to great effect on tracks like "Save Room" and "I Can Change." Everything about this performer's approach - like the decided lack of overbearing machismo - points to a long and ever-widening career.
 
Given that he's only on his third release, John Legend has plenty of time to add the few missing ingredients to his stage presentation. It's been said that his suave persona limits his music; he can lack the ecstatic abandon that's often the hallmark of the truly great performers. But he's on a vertigo-inducing learning curve that's apparent each time he comes around.
 
 I caught his act a few years ago at the nearby Mohegan Sun and the confidence and stagecraft were demonstrably elevated tonight. This is evident from the boxer-like entrance at the beginning of the show to the mid-concert interlude when he picks a woman from the audience to accompany him on the sensually slow grinding "Slow Dance."

     

John Legend, it's said, harks back to the best of 1960s and '70s soul while incorporating the less-thuggish parts of hip hop. His recent duet with Outcast's Andre 3000 on "Green Light," a hit about lust on the dance floor, actually posits the possibility that politeness is sexy. In the video Mr. Legend asks the girl for permission to make his move.
 
Oddly enough he reminds me of Harry Connick Jr. in the way that he approaches being a singer / songwriter investigating a long term, multi-media career. That's his biggest problem at this point - he seems like the kind of guy that you'd like your sister to bring home: A good mannered Ivy League-mannered pragmatist. I know, we should all have these problems, but that's his.
 
Legend has the unerring career sense to be positioned for everything from multiple television appearances last year to his recent inaugural performance at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. These things don't happen by accident. 

 

Viewed through a strictly pop lens, the parallels to Frank Sinatra are as evident in his performance as the more obvious Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye influences. John Legend's connection with his audience is palpable in a two-way flow of energy that's kept up all night from the early "Satisfaction" through the later "Ordinary People" and "If You're Out There." And with apologies to the late George Carlin, any performer would kill ( die? ) for an audience as full-on responsive as the one he attracted tonight.


 

"GUITAR BLUES" WARM UP NEW LONDON
 
January 30, 2009

Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
It's another bone freezing January night as we make our way into town with just enough time for a stop at The Dutch Tavern, a friendly nightspot a short walk from The Garde Arts Center in downtown New London. A steady stream of blues fans enters the warmth of the Moorish theater filling almost every seat in the house.

     

Jorma Kaukonen, Robben Ford and Ruthie Foster, three representatives of the current state of the blues, brought their "Guitar Blues" tour to the Garde Arts Center in downtown New London on a recent Saturday night. The 1500 seat vaudeville / movie house built in 1926 is a work of art itself and was restored in 1998 to showcase the original palatial design and Moroccan themes. It's one of the few remaining historic movie palaces in Connecticut and is smoothly run with a superb sound system.



Tonight's bill consists of an interesting mix of three of America's most acclaimed guitar players. Jorma Kaukonen is a founding member of two legendary bands, the Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. According to a brochure I picked up in the lobby tonight, he also runs a Guitar Camp in Ohio when not on tour.  Robben Ford is one of the premier electric guitarists working today. Inspired by Mike Bloomfield, he was soon touring behind such blues luminaries as Charlie Musselwhite before he was out of his teens.  He moved on to tour with George Harrison on his only solo tour and played with Joni Mitchell before founding The Yellowjackets in 1977.
   
    

Austin-based Ruthie Foster is the relative newcomer of the three, but with a half dozen releases in her back catalog already. Even though she's well known in folk circles she's stated that "I come from a deep background of old soul and blues and even R&B. Early on, long before I ever got into the folk thing, I was doing more soul on acoustic guitar than anything else." This is evident tonight as Ms Foster opens the show with a deeply soulful approach reminiscent of Joan Armatrading but with the commercial appeal of a Tracy Chapman.
 
The show builds nicely as the solo Ms Foster falls into an easy rapport with the audience; she presents a powerful mix of contemporary folk with old-school gospel and blues. I'm sure she made a lot of new fans tonight - this is a woman known for having broken Ani DiFranco's record of selling a thousand CDs at a single appearance in Canada a few years ago. 

    

Jorma Kaukonen is up next. He ambles onstage looking a good deal more avuncular than he did in his Surrealistic Pillow days, but then again, so do I.  He settles into a chair with eyes closed and launches into a stunning set that illustrates why he's known as one of the leading current practitioners of finger-style acoustic guitar. 
 
Jorma runs through a set of familiar blues gems from "Hesitation Blues" and "I Am the Light of the World" to "Let Us Get Together" and "Uncle Sam's Blues." The playing is stark and mesmerizing, punctuated only by the occasional wolf howl from die-hard Hot Tuna fans seasoned through the audience tonight. His old band was known as a pre-cursor of the contemporary jam bands like Phish; many nights Hot Tuna would play for as long a six hours.
 
Closing out the evening was a phenomenal set by Robben Ford and his band ( Dewayne Pate, Bass & nephew Gabriel Ford, Drums ).  His fluid playing and obvious command of musical genres lifted the pace of the evening considerably with the audience hanging on for the ride. He moved from lightly plucked glissandos to screaming, crying bits of feedback with effortless abandon. One moment he's in a dreamy vale and the next he's channeling Stevie Ray Vaughan.
 
    

Robben Ford is joined eventually by Ruthie Foster, first on keyboards for a soulful tune and then back to acoustic guitar as Jorma strides back out for the extended finale. This is more the Jefferson Airplane Jorma, on his feet and strapped in behind a bright red hollow body electric.  He leads the band through some sixties chestnuts like his fired-up version of "Rock Me Baby" from the Airplane days.
 
The appreciative crowd won't let the assemblage off the stage tonight without at least a few parting numbers. These turn out to include a few Bob Dylan tunes, including "You Gotta Serve Somebody" which allows each headliner to take a turn at vocals.
 
It's a shame that this venue doesn't book more shows like this as the ambiance is completely unique. The staff is friendly and professional, the sound system is phenomenal and the local New London crowd warm and receptive enough to turn January into July. 

DRIVE BY TRUCKERS ROCK OUT
AT TOAD'S PLACE

January 21, 2009
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
We arrive in New Haven and find a parking spot directly across from Toad's Place.  It's mid week on an especially cold night in late January but we're first in line in front of the shuttered nightclub to see The Drive-By Truckers. We pass the time chatting with first time and long time fans as the line grows and eventually the doors open.

  
 
The Drive-By Truckers are a southern rock band from Athens, Georgia co-founded by Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley in 1996. Patterson's father is David Hood, bassist for the legendary Muscle
Shoals Rhythm Section; the elder Hood was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame only a few months ago. Another musician in the band's orbit is Spooner Oldham who's spent 50 years in the music business and will be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April; Spooner plays with the band as his schedule permits and was instrumental in getting the band together to back Betty LaVette on her Grammy-nominated "Scene of the Crime" a few years ago.

  
 
So, this is a band with a unique pedigree plus years and years on the road. Tonight is a rare Connecticut gig and like lots of others outside in the cold tonight I feel like a kid lining up outside the Richmond Hotel to see The Rolling Stones back in the early sixties. Although the band made everyone's top ten last year, from the U.K.'s major music magazines to the music reviewer from the Hartford Courant, they remain ever on the cusp of breaking big.

   
 
April sees not only Mr. Oldham's induction to the Hall of Fame, but also the release of a new Booker T. Jones album using the Drive-By Truckers as his backing band, along with Neil Young on most tracks. The famed keyboardist for Booker T. & the MG's hasn't released a solo album in almost two decades. "Their three-guitar approach appealed to me," he has said of The Trucker's. A decade or so ago I remember seeing Booker T. & the MGs backing up Neil Young on a summer tour in Mansfield, Massachusetts; it's an incestuous business.

    
 
One advantage of arriving early tonight is being able to claim some prime real estate and plant ourselves front and center for the evening.  The opening act tonight is Don Chambers and Goat.  Mr. Chambers who's been described as a weather beaten balladeer who writes haunting Southern tales and "looks like he's been dragged through a bush backwards" turns in a solid set in his gaffer-taped shoes. The sound is rusty and weathered as the four piece churns out Southern dirges accompanied by Mr. Chambers distorted and minimal banjo playing. The drummer played a small kit augmented by a step ladder festooned with battered hubcaps and sandpaper squares, all used with rustic effect. His latest album is produced by Patterson Hood of The Trucker's in keeping with that incestuous theme: The Drive-By Truckers are the Kevin Bacon of the music business as they invariably intersect with the best that American music has to offer these days.

    
 
Late last year The Drive-By Truckers toured with The Hold Steady to unanimously good reviews and the audience has a lot to look forward to as they take the stage tonight in front of their familiar Southwestern backdrop sheet. They play like a band possessed this evening, hardly touching the usual set-ups of Jack Daniels and beer arranged around them.
 
Patterson Hood is not as loquacious as he usually is - he doesn't get to one of his rambling trucker tales until the very end of the evening.  Mike Cooley, looking fit and relaxed, peals off blistering leads in between his patented drawled and weathered vocals. Bassist Shonna Tucker draws an especially fond response when she steps up to sing "I'm Sorry Houston" from their latest and arguably best release "Brighter Than Creation's Dark."

    
 
The not-quite-full house begins to vibrate and levitate early in the set as The Trucker's, firing on all cylinders tonight, put the hammer down before slamming it into overdrive. This is a band that never plays with a set list and they seem to reach back to sample a good deal of their back catalog, with emphasis on their latest release. There's a lot of playful interaction between bassist Shonna Tucker and Mike Cooley tonight. The guitarist cuts a rakish figure, laconically slashing at his guitar with the ever present cigarette dangling precariously.
 
At the end of the evening I bump into Peter Detmold, guitarist with The Reducers from New London. He dropped by after his radio gig in town to catch the end of the set. Now he's hanging around to check out the band's equipment as the hall empties out into the cold. He's typical of the die-hard fans who've made their way here tonight, even if they had to come alone.
 
I'm surprised that the club, with it's capacity of 600 or so, is not a complete sell out tonight despite the cold mid-winter, mid-week date. No one in attendance was complaining however as the band tore through a muscular and ferociously well paced set. To anyone else I would suggest a peek at the Trucker's on You Tube to pique your interest. This band won't be a well-kept secret for very much longer.
 


PARTIAL SET LIST: Let There Be Rock, Lookout Mountain, Puttin' People on the Moon, Never Gonna Change, 3 Dimes Down, Self Destructive Zones, Hell No I Ain't Happy, 18 Wheels of Love, Gravity Is Gone, I'm Sorry Houston, Marry Me, A Ghost To Most, Space City & The Righteous Path.

BOZZ AT THE MGM

January 9, 2009
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire

Still the silky soul man, Boz Scaggs played on a recent Friday night to a near full house at the elegant MGM Grand in Ledyard. Touring behind "Speak Low", Boz's latest jazzy release, the stellar band tonight was the perfect foil for his patented mixture of jazz and blues.  Looking relaxed and sounding in fine voice he led the show with a seamless professionalism beginning with the opening notes of 80's FM radio staple "Lowdown."
 
    

This time around Scaggs is touring with Gil Goldstein ( piano / synths ), Steve Rodby ( bass ), Richie Morales ( drummer ) and reedmen Bob Sheppard and Paul McCandless plus backup singers Barbara Wilson and the effervescent Monet Owens. Lending incisive leads was sometimes Steely Dan guitarist Jon Herrington who was 'musical director' on the Dan's tour last year. Not being jazz-oriented I could only place Paul McCandless from the Paul Winter Consort; he was also a founding member of Oregon. Listening to the extended solos given to everyone this evening, I had the distinct impression that there may well be more than one interesting back story among these musicians.
 
         

The nicely designed hall suits the band as the life-affirming Ms. Monet is given a few numbers to show off her gospel roots and rock the house mid-set: she succeeds in coaxing a heightened degree of animation from the polite New England crowd this evening. She engaged in a soulful duet with Boz and raised the roof on a version of The Crusaders "Street Life." This is one bandleader that's happy to give his compatriots plenty of room to shine. 
 
Scaggs, 64, had spent a few decades in semi-retirement from the music industry concentrating on his nightclub and vineyard interests. He started out in the psychedelic sixties on the first two Steve Miller albums and quickly branched out to embrace The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section which included the young Duane Allman. Patterson Hood of the Drive By Trucker's is the son of original Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood. This eponymous album, though far superior to it's competition and still eminently listenable today, didn't do well commercially. Boz often closes his show with the bluesy "Loan Me A Dime" from that 1968 album.

         

Tonight for the most part we hear the sleek, urbane hits of the 70's and 80's like "Slow Dancer," "Hercules," "We're All Alone," "Breakdown Dead Ahead," and "Look What You've Done To Me" — most recorded with a sessions group, featuring keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Pocaro, who would eventually form Toto.
Though he has an enviable, turn on a dime jazz ensemble tonight there's more than enough time to include every hit that you associate with the name Boz Scaggs: from opener "Lowdown" to "Harbor Lights" and "The Lido Shuffle." To be 64 and not look foolish in leather pants is a feat not always accomplished, but Mr. Scaggs pulls it off with his trademark vocals and breezy but meticulous old-school approach. He managed to shine on hollow body Gretsch for most of the night utilizing an array of effects pedals, as in his precise wah wah solo on "Desire."  

     

The superior acoustics and the clean seating pattern of the hall lends itself to the finely mixed top notch music we are presented with tonight. There's a nicely paced musical exposition of a forty year career in a positively run setting: no need for earplugs and not a bad seat in the house.
 
Unlike a lot of concerts where you're deposited back out onto the streets of Waterbury or Bridgeport or wherever, here your poured directly back into this swirling world of colored lights and vaguely hypnotic dinging that pervades everything. 
 
Yet for the cost of a family night at the movies there's an opportunity in this setting to see a musical legend still very much at the top of his game. Boz Scaggs personifies the singer / songwriter who is able to comfortably grow old with his dignified, blues-based persona on stage. 

 

The band rocked the house tonight from the New Orleans funk of "Miss Sun" to that jazzy workout on "Street Life." The band leader's set up for the most part was a hollow body Gretsch played through a Vox Amplifier set on a chair behind him. But most of all it was the voice, his voice: a singular instrument perfectly straddling an amalgam of jazz, blues and very high-caliber r&b pop. Boz has been playing with a bluegrass band on the side recently but has promised a return to the blues on his next release.

 

Set List Included: Lowdown, Jo-Jo, Hercules, Sick And Tired, Miss Sun, Street Life, Georgia, Look What You've Done To Me, Desire, Harbor Lights, Lido Shuffle, We're All Alone, Heart of Mine, Slow Dancer. 
 

DURAN DURAN SATISFIES 

December 12, 2008
 
Concert Review by staff writer: Bob McGuire
 
On this December evening the new MGM Grand tower glows in the proximate distance just like in the ads; a few lazy turns, up into the parking garage, and a few more steps to the elevators. We're here tonight to see eighties heartthrobs Duran Duran at Foxwood's newest theater.

 

The band has been touring for the better part of a year and this is their third to last stop. The tour kicked off last year with a nine concert run on Broadway at the Barrymore Theater.  They've been out on the road since then with much of the core group intact: Simon Le Bon ( vocals ), Nick Rhodes ( keyboards ), John Taylor ( bass, vocals ),  Roger Taylor ( drums ), Dominic Brown ( guitarist ).

     

From the beginning of their career in the early eighties the band has always had a keen fashion sense and were an early staple when MTV was still a novelty. They enter tonight like extremely well dressed soldiers wearing matching outfits as they take their places lining up precisely behind their instruments. Frontman Simon Le Bon saunters in and the show begins.
 
They opened up with "The Valley" from their newest album, The Red Carpet Massacre, and then right into the very early "Planet Earth" and the crowd pleasing "Hungry Like The Wolf."  By the second song an offhand request for a clap-along immediately involved four thousand people and by the third, the familiarity of the tune would prick up even the ear of a jaded security guard. 
  
     

Speaking of "Hungry Like A Wolf," in front of me a mother is frantically ready to catch what looks to be her seven year old daughter who is bouncing up and down on a plush seat out of her mind because this song seems to be her "moment." She's transported: Long live Rock and Roll.
 
The bass player, John Taylor, really seems to enjoy himself as he interacts with the cougariffic crowd gathered at the lip of the stage. All of the Taylor's involved with the band, incidentally, are unrelated; this includes the original guitarist who has joined and rejoined the band but who is not present tonight.  

     

For the rest of the evening the band romped through an extensive catalog of instantly recognizable tunes like "The Reflex," "Notorious," "Is There Something I Should Know" and "Save A Prayer:" the encore included chart-toppers "Rio" and "Girls On Film."
 
 On one of the few song introductions of the evening singer Le Bon archly announced: "At least they didn't try to make us write something called A Quantum of Solace." This by way of introduction to "A View To A Kill" from the James Bond franchise. And so it went. Hit after hit in a seamless disco-like synthetic cocoon of sternum vibrating techno thump; but I liked it.
     
This was a band who knew how to own the stage; they chose a static background set with a minimal feel which directed one's attention to the musicians. Nick Rhodes, the keyboardist, was ill causing cancellations in Texas a few weeks earlier but looked happy as a clam behind his banks of keys tonight. For a band who have been on the road for so long, they displayed a measure of good humor with a healthy dose of professional stagecraft.
 
Incidentally, Duran Duran has been around long enough now to qualify for entry into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame: this is a band that has sold 70 million records in a career that spans almost thirty years. They have to queue up, however, as other worthies who have yet to be inducted include Metallica, Journey, Boston, Ozzy, Heart, Willie Nelson and Tina Turner.

 

There are two other musicians on stage tonight, a multi-instrumentalist and a female singer who fattens considerably the thinness of the lead singers' range. That's as churlish as this band made me feel tonight as the sound and presentation were top-notch.
 
 The band pumped out anthems for the shiny happy people all night; the overall vibe was a lot more plus than minus, and in these waning days of empire that's not so bad.