MI Fest Brooklyn, Michigan September 17,2011 featuring The RaconteursPREVIEW

...and a host of others.

This is the inaugural MI Fest featuring as many artists with local ties as could be located for a fall concert. The headliners are The Raconteurs, led by rock-god Jack White, bolstered by the rhythm section from The Greenhornes, Little Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, and supported by sometime member of Queens of the Stone Age, Dean Fertita...all cut their teeth in Michigan bars.

Jack's even brought 5 of  his Third Man Records artists up from Nashville to fill up the third stage.

THIRD MAN RECORDS STAGE
Jeff the Brotherhood 5:00
Black Milk 4:15
Pujol 3:30
Black Belles 2:45
Thornbills 2:00
Bear Lake* 1:00
The Juliets* 12:15
* non Third Man Records Artists
 
A second stage is filled with numerous local, not quite nationally recognized acts.

MI STAGE


The Rockets 7:30
Ty Stone 6:00
Howling Diablos 4:45
Jill Jack 3:45
Whitey Morgan 3:00
The Ragbirds 2:15
Hot Club of Detroit 1:30
Jessica Hernandez 12:45
Shockwave 12:00
 
 
Now while I'm sure there are going to be some special moments at those two side stages I've decided to stay close to the VIP tent for comfort sake and take in the acts at the main stage. There's a slight chance I'll sneak away to see Black Belles but other than that I'm looking forward to virtually all the main stage artists...from Mitch Ryder onwards.

MI FEST STAGE


The Raconteurs 10:00
Sheryl Crow 8:15
Ronnie Dunn 6:45
The Romantics 5:30
Mark Farner 4:30
Alto Reed AllStars 3:30
Jeff Daniels 2:30
Mitch Ryder 1:30
The Ben Daniels Band 12:45
Marnee 12:00 
 
Some confusion at the outset as ticket prices mysteriously dropped in the week before the show. Perhaps not so mysteriously as it is late in the festival season (VooDoo in New Orleans at the end of October has the distinct advantage of being in New Orleans), it's catering to local interest and it's about an hour from Detroit, which is basically not a high-tourist draw. But it's ambitious in it's scope. I'm not averse to the crowd size being less than capacity.
 
Might have pictures, hope to have sound samples, when we get back home.
 

Tommy James and the Shondells CNE Bandshell 2011-09-03 with special guest Andy Kim

So is Andy Kim going to have someone sing Sugar, Sugar so he can do the backing vocals? My guess is that's as likely as Sinead O'Connor getting her Bob Dylan wish.
Time to enjoy a snippet of pop-heaven. Tommy James and the Shondells don't get up this way that often and how can you missing seeing a band that made up a big part of the soundtrack of your youth?

Well, your wife can be recovering from a hip replacement, wheelchair bound, it can be the last long weekend of the Exhibition, complete with AirShow, the weather report can be calling for 6 hours of steady rain with the odd thunder storm thrown in...but it'll take a little more than that.

GO Train to the Ex. More memories of childhood as we pass through the Food Building, meander along the Midway, stop in to the Better Homes building and try to find a decent spot in front of the Bandshell.

This is our first outing since back in June and while it ain't always easy, it's good to be back chasing the music. As it turns out the Air Show was cancelled due to the threat of inclement weather, it only rained for 5 minutes, we got a spot in the first row and didn't have to pay for entry to the CNE.

Cost of Transportation: $8.80
Cost of Food and Drinks: $15.50
Cost of Entry to Grounds and Concert: $0

2 hours of pleasant memories and great music: $Priceless

A little warning on the sound samples. I've been having some trouble learning about my new recording rig and this capture is what they call "hot", in the parlance of the trade. Levels a little high. Taper was absolutely fine, I promise. With a little editing it's listenable, in an AM transistor radio kind of way. While most recordings come with an admonition to PLAY LOUD, on this one you should get a set of little tinny speakers and listen from a distance(g).

Andy Kim
CNE Bandshell
2011-09-03

t01 Baby I Love You (Phil Spector et al)
t02 So Good Together
t03 Rainbow Ride
t04 talk
t05 Sugar, Sugar
t06 Happen Again(new song)
t07 How'd We Ever Get This Way?
t08 It's Your Life
t09 Be My Baby (Phil Spector et al)
t10 Rock Me Gently
_____________________

t11 Baby I Love You (soundcheck)


I guess the obvious thing is that Sinead's going to get to sing License to Kill with Dylan and Knopfler at the O2.

What a great set of songs from a Canadian artist who made a splash south of the border, not needing the boost that comes from our CanCon regulations.
With the exception of the two Phil Spector tunes all the songs above were penned by Andy Kim during a prolific spurt in the mid-60's to mid-70's, the heyday of AM Hit Radio.

He's in great voice, good spirits, treating the songs as gifts for him, as well as us.


Tommy James and the Shondells
CNE Bandstand
2011-09-03

t01 Draggin' the Line
t02 Crystal Blue Persuasion
t03 Say I Am (What I Am)
t04 Gettin' Together
t05 Ball of Fire
t06 Tighter, Tighter
t07 Crimson and Clover
t08 Hanky Panky
t09 I Think We're Alone Now
t10 Do Something To Me
t11 Mony Mony
t12 encore break
t13 Sweet Cherry Wine
t14 Mirage/Mony Mony reprise


What can you say about that set list? Well, one thing. I wasn't expecting a 15 minute version of Mony Mony. Tommy James uses this set ending song to introduce the band and to walk into the audience, shake hands, sign autographs...you know, all that post-show stuff. The show was about 60 minutes long. That's 12 other songs in the remaining 45 minutes...much more typical of '60's pop. Songs 7-9 were an absolute slice of nostalgic heaven.

Jeff Mangum (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel)Trinity-St Pauls Centre 2011-08-13

And when I say 'formerly' I also mean, for the blink of an eye or as long as the career of the chick holding that cd. Never has one artist garnered such a following with so little output. Hint to up-and-coming artists; don't wait until you're famous to disappear, do it when you're almost famous. Check out Jeff Mangum's wiki page to see how one makes a career out of not making a career. Tonight we either get an opus loosely based on Ann Franks experience or some Bulgarian folk festival.

Opening band, Scott Spillane, Laura Carter and Andrew Reiger are apparently parts of the disappeared that were Neutral Milk Hotel or the spawn of NMH, Elf Power and World of Wild Beards. Some in the community are salivating at the chance of a mini-reunion. I got no idea what's going to happen.

Goin' to the chapel and we're...so far this has been a church tour and if Jeff Mangum is a 'musicians musician' Trinity-St Paul's is a 'churchs church', majestic in design with a 115' high bell tower and an ornate pipe organ. Founded in 1889 it's been a landmark on Bloor West for generations of local Protestants of one sort or another.

Hardcore Milk fans equate seeing Mangum to a religious experience. To bad they didn't call it orgasmic, we could be in a strip bar with some Stella on the table. It's hot as Hades in this place.

So what we get is something closer to Jeff Tweedy than Ron Sexsmith, which isn't bad at all. While it wasn't The Rapture, the fans were rapturous in their attention. The reverence they show for Jeff, from the standing ovation when he comes on stage to do his OCD schtick with the guitars, to the quiet during the performance, testifies to the significance of this evening for artist and fans alike. Closest I've seen to it is the return of Leonard Cohen.

The highlight of the decent opening set was Andrew Reiger's cover of Randy Newman's In Germany Before the War.

Now it would take more time and space for me to tell you about the songs. All I can recommend is listen with open ears. Great vocal work, bizarre lyrics, not easy to absorb first time around.

Jeff sits at the mic to open the show and a young woman cries out, "I missed you" and he replies "but we're together now" before thanking her for the sentiment. He seems genuinely humbled by the adulation as he opens with an 8 minute opus and jumps right into familiar material.


t01 Oh Comely
t02 In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
t03 A Baby for Pree/Glow Into You
t04 Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone

In a talkative mood he asks the crowd if they want to sing along, commenting, "There's some bullshit idea that i don't like people singing along to my songs. Why the fuck did i write them then?"

t05 Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2
t06 I Love The Living You (Roky Ericson)
t07 talk - Question Period

A short tuning break leads to more crowd interaction. Jeff asks if there are questions and after a few exchanges this one; "Are you writing?" Jeff: "I've gone through periods of writing...if something came out of my heart naturally i'd put it out but I'm not going to make another record because of, whatever, all the other bullshit...but thanks for
asking."

t08 Ghost
t09 Song Against Sex
t10 Naomi
t11 April 8th
t12 The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1
t13 The King of Carrot Flowers Pt.2 and Pt. 3

Another call out from the audience leaves us with more tour information; "When will you be in Chicago?" Jeff: "I'm being a little slow so i don't burn myself out, next spring maybe."

t14 Holland 1945
t15 encore break

"Thank you so much for coming everybody, here's a beautiful thank you"

t16 Engine

Amy Winehouse R.I.P This Year's Model at The Mod Club Toronto ON May 12-13,2007

UPDATE: Sad to see Amy joining a long list of tortured, talented souls that did not survive the dangerous years. Had the pleasure of seeing her when she was in good form, though already showing signs of the difficulties that would overtake her life.

Here's my 2007 preview of her Toronto Mod Club appearance. Unedited.

Scroll down for the review and mp3's of the full concert.




Amy Winehouse, darling of the British tabloids, exploded onto the music scene with skill, beauty and balls in 2006. The success of the jazzy-smokey, piano bar with scratchy records in the jukebox, debut of Frank was followed with awards, acclaim and a No. 1 record in Back To Black. Lots has been said about her antics, both onstage (nipple slip in CA) and offstage (too many numerous drunken encounters to list). A minimum amount of savvy with a 'google' search will net you more ink than Amy has on her lithe arms.

She's writing a story that will be interesting to witness. It may be tragic, a la Billie Holiday or Janis Joplin. It may be less than that. It should be a monumental truimph of talent over lifestyle.

Amy's on a short showcase tour in North America. She made a brief splash at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas in March and proceeded to appear at about 50% of her scheduled shows...suprisingly cancelling a gig at the renowned Spaceland club in LA.

Her first week Stateside saw Back to Black debut at #7 on the Billboard album charts. The highest rating ever for a female British solo artist with tats, f-me pumps and missing front teeth from drunken falls.

On the 24th of April she had a showcase on Jay Leno's program, followed by her performance at the SoCal Coachella festival, which launched her series of shows that brings her to Toronto for the final two performances.

Come back in a couple weeks for a full concert review and some mp3's if all works out.

Amy Winehouse Live at the Mod Club Toronto ON 2007-05-12

Amy, Amy, Amy...she's finally here. In the short time since she first landed Stateside with a Billboard #7 debut and a showcase at the SXSW festival the press and blogosphere have turned on this rising star.
Just a bit.
I mean no one is going to far out on a limb but the overall assessments of her performances from Coachella on through the mid-west and the east coast have been less than glowing.

Of course, they've got it all wrong.

They think they are reviewing another flavour of Lily Allen or Norah Jones or Sharon Jones, even. Who? Exactly. And it's not to besmirch those talented ladies but there is no understanding Amy by comparing her to anyone.

She is a unique talent who combines retro hairdo's with new age full body tats, perched and painted on a nymph-like frame and stacked on heels. She has a penchant for dropping consonants and adopting a 'Dean Martin-like' stage demeanour, creating a soused, slurring and sassy chanteuse under blue and red lights. Onstage she can move from dreamy and disconnected when lost in a song to witty and caustic when trading barbs with the audience.

The mistake you make is in thinking it's not all absolutely plotted out in advance, that it's an accident, or an accident waiting to happen. While she's something to look at it's what you don't see that makes her a special talent.

Beyond all the stuff in the tabloids and the machinations of the star-making machinery, she is a singer-songwriter and her greatest strength is in her words.

Though she plays no instrument in her live set she writes and arranges her own material. Pretour rehearsals found her picking up her guitar to show the band the way she wanted it played. It's reported she takes no back seat musically and this live set is a testament to the success that doggedness has achieved.

She combines elements of jazz, blues and pop into her oeuvre, but it ain't the ingredients, it's how you mix 'em that counts.

The best ingredient to get the night off on the right track is found in "Addicted", her homage to herb. A light little song that sounds more like a cat-fight over a bag of green than anything else. Meant more to warm up the vocal chords than the cockles of your heart.
Lyric treat #1: "it's got me addicted/ done more than any dick did." (Now if Dylan threw out a line like that the geek-boards would be filled with essays on rhyme, they still haven't gotten over that 'capitol/skull' thing.)

Just Friends shows the wide gap between the male and female species. While mired in an affair she knows has to end she's already looking forward to when the participants can be 'just friends'. Even when doing the bad deed, knowing it's bad, knowing it has to be done, she can see a future friendship. Ain't a guy alive who could have written that piece. Well, maybe Prince.
Lyric treat #2: "the guilt will kill you...if she don't first" You've been warned.

She takes a moment to mumble something towards the audience, probably noting the opening two songs were from the new album and this one was from the 'old', or first album, Frank. "Cherry" is a tongue-in-cheek song that sounds like a lesbian tryst until it turns at the end. Just a song about a girl and her new red guitar.
Lyric treat #3: "her name is Cherry and we just met...already she knows me better than you do" ouch.

The crowd is heaping love on her with their enthusiastic applause and their attentiveness. She moves quickly into the title track, Back to Black and the level of intensity picks up in the hot, packed club. She's stretching it out vocally, dropping consonants and choosing not to finish every line. This improvisation puts some listeners off, those who would have been better to stay in their car and listen to the record. In concert it works emotively as the song takes on a feeling that transcends the literal.
Lyric treat #4: "we only said good-bye / with words..." That is some sparse writing that says so much more about the problem at hand.

Wake Up Alone is a wet-dream. Another breakup song (aren't they all?) but this one finds the author resolute in the day but vulnerable in the night. Salacious scenes stuffed with sexual images shattered by the final line that makes it all melt away: I wake up alone. Amy chooses not to sing 'alone' everytime, replacing it with what can only be called a moan.
Lyric treat #5: "when he comes to me i drip for him tonight / drowning in me we bathe under blue light." No need for pictures there.

Mid way through the song we're treated to a squeal from Amy as someone hands her a drink. Exploding applause from the audience as she doesn't miss a beat, vogues for the crowd, and sips, carefully. She explains, at songs end, that she'd been handed a 'Rickstacy', a homemade invention from her neighbourhood. She comically provides the ingredients while mentioning she does not condone this kind of behaviour and warning all to drink responsibly. That would include NOT sampling a drink that is made of 3 parts vodka, 1 part banana liquer, 1 part Baileys and 1 part Southern Comfort. As Amy said: "It'll set you on your mark."

It's just as well she took a little time to chat with the audience because this point is where the show goes from very enjoyable to superb. The songs and performance converge to raise the temperature inside this cozy venue packed tight with about a thousand bodies.

She has a false start to Tears Dry On Their Own because in the ecstacy surrounding the Rickstacy she'd forgotten she had a spoken introduction to this tune. It's a song about... "ummm, when sharks attack!" she says, before she clarifies it's more about one of those relationships gone bad that you know you'll get over...eventually.
Though the subject matter is rather depressing, the music is life affirming. Her phrasing is beyond excellent for such a young artist.
This song opens with two long lines that describe exactly how this is going to end. "All I can ever be to you is a darkness that we knew /And this regret I got accustomed to" There's not much room to crawl up from there. It may be a song about a break up but the author is not in denial. The rest of this verse takes the listener on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, one short line (or two) at a time:
pining - once it was so right /when we were at our height
reminiscing - waiting for you in the hotel at night
doubt - i knewe i hadn't met my match
desperation - but every moment we could snatch
confusion - i don't know why i got so attached
resolve - it's my responsibility / you don't owe nothing to me
compliance - but to walk away i have no capacity.

The chorus is her victory, as he walks away and she knows, even in the grey-blue shade her tears will dry on their own...meanwhile, she's free to wallow and rise above in her own time.
Lyric treat # 6: "I’ll be some next man’s other woman soon" Machine gun delivery and a ton of qualifiers all packed into a sentence that makes sense.

Cue the back up singers for their all too brief moment in the spotlight. He Can Only Hold Her turns on a shared break where 'what boys want' is juxtaposed against 'what girls want', another cautionary tale. Girls are warned about the boys who just want 'that thing' and boys are told to be wary of girls who want 'the bling'. What's strange about that central image, the hypnotic hook in the song, is that it's separate from the story of a man trying to hold a woman who's heart belongs to another.
Lyric treat #7: "Now how can he have her heart /When it got stole?" Point and match.

Time for some comic relief in the guise of F*ck Me Pumps. A cute little tune about the vaccuousness of what we all envy...youthful beauty. Light social commentary with swing. Wonder if she'll sing this song when she's pushing 30?
Lyric treat #8: "without girls like you there'd be no nightlife / all the men would go home to their wi - ives." Who's zooming who?

Turn up the soul to boiling for Love Is A Losing Game. Chock full of fire imagery it takes the listener on a lazy river ride of despair. Sh*t, if you can't feel better after listening to this stuff...you can't feel better.
Lyric treat #9: :"Over futile odds,/And laughed at by the Gods." Talk about a rock and a hard place.

Next Amy gives props to one of her favorite bands with a cover of the Zutons, Valerie and then closes the set with the already over-played, Rehab, which the audience eats up.

Encore consists of two more excellent songs. First she runs the word 'fuckery' through its paces (ie. what kind of fuckery: 1) is this 2) are we and 3)are you) in Me and Mr Jones. A bombastic tune that celebrates the oneness of a relationship ("no one stands between me and my man") even as the players are playing themselves out.
Lyric treat #10: "What kind of fuckery are we? /Nowadays you don't mean dick to me (dick to me)" Now there's a phrase you don't hear in harmony often.

Last song, another monster, You Know I'm No Good. Another cautionary tale as she sets out her faults at the start. This triangular trip through hell runs the full gamut of emotion from masochistic, co-dependency to self-destructive behaviour. But it's got a good beat and you can dance to it, I give it a 93!
Lyric treat # 11: "You say why did you do it with him today? /And sniff me out like I was tanqueray" Green-eyed monster meets discerning palate.

Terrific show. A real talent. We're going to be talking about her for quite a long time.


Post script: Note on the condition of the scanned ticket. I used to keep my tickets in a bedside drawer. A few weeks ago I over-watered a plant and all the tickets got soaked. Most of the shows I see are GA so this can be a problem as Ticketbastard officially is reticent to replace GA tix. Thank god for those bar codes. My Arctic Monkeys tickets melted together, face to face. They are laminated with something that just dissolves when wet. My Anjani tickets were in pretty bad shape and couldn't be wanded at the show...they had to punch in the numbers. Trouble with the Winehouse tickets is that I bought them from a message board. Some kid needed a hundred bucks for a ticket to a Yankee baseball game. I bought 4 to the Saturday night and traded two of them for 2 on Sunday night (my son and his friend attended that show, Amy's too good to keep to 50 year olds). In any case, I could get them replaced. Fortunately it created no problem. Just a warning though, take care of your tickets.


R.I.P Amy. Here are the mp3's.

01 - Addicted
02 - Just Friends
03 - Cherry
04 - Back In Black
05 - Wake Up Alone
06 - Banter (Rick-stacy)
07 - Tears Dry On Their Own
08 - He Can Only Hold Her
09 - Fuck Me Pumps
10 - Love Is A Losing Game
11 - Valerie (Zutons Cover)
12 - Rehab
*Encore
13 - Banter (Don't Say My House)
14 - Me And Mr. Jones
15 - You Know I'm No Good

Carole Pope (formerly of Rough Trade)Beaches Jazz Festival2011-07-15

It strikes me kind of funny, it strikes me kind of weird, some 36 years after I first saw this maverick clutching her crotch at a matinee show on Yonge St., we still haven't gotten over people being gay. We've come a long way, we still have a long way to go.

Carole Pope did an early evening set to help open the Beaches International Jazz Festival.
Staring into a bright setting sun, white jacket, lime green chiffon blouse and bordering-on-Elton-John-territory sunglasses, she launches into All Touch, No Contact and seems to be enjoying the scene.

Most of the songs she played tonight are available at itunes,from the transcend album.



She was also showcasing a few songs from her upcoming record, in conjunction with Rufus Wainwright. Tonight we got Did I Mention?, God = Love, and Viral. Apparently Viral is available at iTunes as well but I can't find it. Check out Carole's mySpace Page for a sample.

Stage patter included comments about the unsettling state of Americana, a story about Kevan Staples, not available tonight as his daughter recently had a baby, and the strange feeling one gets singing a salacious song about cool, blonde bitches when you're on the other side of 60.

She hasn't lost any of her spunk. The crowd was loving every moment as she ran through some favourites; Crimes of Passion, High School Confidential and Weapons among them.

All Touch, No Contact
Love Strikes Hard
Dream 6
*Did I Mention
**Shakedown
Americana
Seduction
Johnny Marr
High School Confidential
*God = Love
*Viral
Crimes of Passion
Twist of the Knife
Transcend
Weapons

All Touch, No Contact (reprise)




Saw Carole at the Gladstone a few years ago and did this more extensive review.

David Bromberg Quartet Hugh's Room 2011-07-03 Song Links Corrected 07/17

Eclectic roots artist David Bromberg is performing in Canada for the first time in 35 years! For 22 of those he didn't perform for anyone so we don't feel so bad. He was a fixture here near the end of Yorkville's Golden Era, playing at The Riverboat and the local folk festival, Mariposa.

Hugh's Room is absolutely packed, which doesn't bode well for an interference free night. This venue, while it has excellent sound and good sightlines for 80% of the viewers, makes way too much money off the food and drink...so they keep serving, throughout the set. Bromberg did well to keep the show so interesting that the rest of the noise was of no consequence.

I came to hear two songs if fortune smiled; Sloppy Drunk and Miss the Mississippi. Got neither. In fact, got only one song I knew, Delia, not counting the instrumental version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Really enjoyed the show. From start to finish.

David Bromberg Quartet
Hugh's Room
Toronto ON
2011-07-03

Disc 1
t01 Brown's Ferry Blues
t02 That's Alright
t03 Summer Wages
t04 talk
t05 Bring It With You When You Come*/Wooly Bully
t06 The Long Goodbye*
t07 Lookout Mountain Girl*
t08 Diggin' in the Deep Blue Sea*
t09 Blue Is Fallin'*
t10 Dark Hollow
t11 Somewhere Over the Rainbow (instrumental)
t12 Rock N Roll Millionaire/band intro
t13 Instrumental
t14 Instrumental

Disc 2
t01 Delia
t02 talk
t03 You Got To Mean It Too (?)
t04 Tongue*
t05 As the Years Go Passing By
t06 The New Lee Highway

t07 Will Not Be Your Fool



*from upcoming CD release

Daniel Lanois' Black Dub The Opera House2011-07-05

OK, a little outside the box for this one. Continuing a pattern of seeing artists who are tangentially related to Bob Dylan, I find myself in a lovely little venue found in the heart of the Broadview/Dundas residential neighbourhood only steps away from Degrassi High, wondering what Daniel Lanois is up to.

He's jammin'.

Not my favourite form of music; no Phish, Moe or Dead on my calendar. I was going to leave after 17 minutes but I figured it was only fair to give them two songs. It got better, and continuted to get better throughout the night as the jams got shorter and the songs started having words.

The opening act, Rocco DeLuca, was different, actually toyed with interesting at times, but never quite broke through to enjoyable. A strange act full of echo, reverb, feedback loops, a single guitar and a voice that he used as an instrument, like bagpipes. OK, it's obvious I didn't get it. The set did provide a unique experience. Before starting "????" Rocco notes it was done with Daniel Lanois. The crowd isn't biting...especially not it's tongue as the chattering cacophony from the floor and backroom bars was carrying all the way back stage. Suddenly Lanois appears onstage and interupts the song, taking the mic from Rocco to let us know this is a good song but a soft song and everyone has to be quiet and listen. Lanois then leads into the song with the humming intro.

Daniel's looking great as he seems well recovered from his life-threatening motorcylce crash of a year ago. He was out on the floor of The Opera House, chatting with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures, as the crowd was filing in. His mom was in attendance. It was a celebration of being able to celebrate, reason enough for all of us to smile upon waking.

I missed my opportunity to get the sweet spot in this venue. Just before you take 3 steps onto the main hall floor you pass the soundboard. On the right side of the board there's a rail you can stand behind. No obstruction in front of you, perfectly placed between the two PA systems, optimum position. It was open when I came in but I took the time to get close to Lanois at the front of the stage and it was taken when I returned. So it's 3 feet from the stage in front of the left speaker banks. Took me most of the first song to lower my recording levels to something that wasn't totally blown out but I never did get to "not distorted". Fortunately a couple of the softer songs are listenable so I've posted some samples below.

It was a treat to watch Lanois' peculiar guitar stylings. He was working it hard...bleeding fingers and all. What made the vantage point even better was being positioned in front of Brian Blade; his drumming was superb. Brian worked with Lanois on Bob Dylan's wonderful 1997 record, Time Out Of Mind.

Sweet white-soul singer, Trixie Whitley, who has good genes and looks good in jeans, was a treat to hear and watch as she spend some time behind a smaller drum kit helping out the master.

Here are some samples, and, as i warned you earlier, they are a little 'hot' in taping parlance.

Silverado

The Messenger
Jolie Louis

The Maker






Check out Roger Cullmans blogto post for another review and some terrific pictures.

And more great photos at this blog.

Elvis Costello and the Imposters SONY Centre 2011-06-23

Back in the mid-70's who would have though that Declan Patrick (Aloysius) MacManus would become a cultural icon?

We were fortunate in Toronto to see him often in his early years. He played this building in 1978 when it was called the O'Keefe Centre. I remember that show distinctly...mostly for the commotion out front as the opening band, Toronto punk-indie phenoms, The Battered Wives, were opening and being picketed everywhere they went. (Toby Swan was a member of this band and had a single hit with a cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow...a song that makes an appearance tonight.)

In the summer of 1980 Elvis was co-headliner at the Heatwave Festival just outside Toronto. This is the show that made The Talking Heads an ensemble. They were paid $200,000 for their set and went from a minimalist new wave quartet to the mega-band they became. I was the first person to buy tickets for that show, standing outside the Danforth Music Hall. Right out of the promoters trunk as the venue was slow to open. Didn't make it to the show because a ball hockey tournament in Montreal took precedence. Fuck I was stupid(er) when I was young.

Caught him next when he brought Squeeze over the ocean in the spring of 1981. Those were some great years for rock n roll but in the mid-80's music started to suck horribly, I had 2 kids and a mortgage and it would be a long time before I saw him again when he opened for Dylan in 2007. I kept buying the records though.

Elvis has resurrected the Spinning Songbook which he first rolled out in 1986. A carny wheel with hits, rarities, covers and a couple wildcards tabs. Throughout the evening, in the persona of MC Napoleon Dynamite, he invites audience members up to give the big wheel a spin. Most are inticed to spend some time in the go-go dancer cage beside the onstage lounge, where they are treated to a cocktail.

It was an exhaustive career retrospective, the show ran 2 hours 39 minutes and 30 seconds long and spanned his entire catalogue. There was something for everyone; the terrific early power pop songs, the ballads, a rarity in Earthbound, a few covers and some wonderful mash-ups, most notably the Alison medley and Pump It Up.



Disc 1
t01 I Hope You’re Happy Now (Blood & Chocolate, 1986)
t02 Heart of The City (Rockpile cover)
t03 Mystery Dance (My Aim Is True, 1977)
t04 Uncomplicated (Blood & Chocolate, 1986)
t05 Radio Radio (single, 1978)

t06 Spinning Songbook #1; w/ MC Napoleon Dynamite and guest Simoni
t07 Everyday I Write The Book (Punch the Clock, 1983)

t08 Spinning Songbook #2; Mary
t09 Joanna (Scott Walker cover, sorta)

t10 Spinning Songbook #3&4; Alison and Gord (double spin)
t11 Turpentine (Momofuku, 2008)
t12 Long Honeymoon (Imperial Bedroom, 1982)

t13 Spinning Songbook #5; Kaylee
t14 I Want You (Blood & Chocolate, 1986)

t15 Beyond Belief (Imperial Bedroom, 1982)
t16 Big Tears (This Years Model, 1978)
t17 Shabby Doll (Imperial Bedroom, 1982)

Disc 2
t01 Spinning Songbook #6; Kimberley
t02 Accidents Will Happen (Armed Forces, 1979)

t03 Leave My Kitten Alone (Kojak Variety, 1995)

t04 Spinning Songbook #7&8; Norma and Nikki (double spin)
t05 Living In Paradise (This Years Model, 1978)
GIRLS Jackpot
t06 Spooky Girlfriend (When I Was Cruel, 2002)
t07 Party Girl (Armed Forces, 1979)
t08 Girls Talk (Dave Edmunds cover, sorta)
t09 Girl (Beatles cover)

t10 Alison/Tracks Of My Tears/Tears of A Clown/No More Tear Stained Makeup/Wind Cries Mary/Somewhere Over the Rainbow (My Aim Is True, 1977)
t11 Commercial Break - Sting Ray
t12 Stations of the Cross (National Ransom, 2010)
t13 Shipbuilding (Punch the Clock, 1983)

Disc 3
ENCORE:
d3t01 A Slow Drag With Josephine (National Ransom, 2010)
d3t02 For More Tears (got no idea?)
d3t03 2nd encore break

d3t04 Spinning Songbook #9&10; Betty (double spin)
d3t05 Earthbound (unreleased demo, 1992)
d3t06 (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Brinsley Schwarz cover)

d3t07 I Don’t Want To Go To Chelsea (This Years Model, 1978)
d3t08 Waiting For The End of The World (My Aim Is True, 1977)
d3t09 I Can Only Give You Everything (Van Morrison cover)
d3t10 Pump It Up/Subterranean Homesick Blues/Purple Rain (This Years Model, 1978)
d3t11 Man Out Of Time (Imperial Bedroom, 1982)
d3t12 I Hope (National Ransom, 2010)

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin Massey HallToronto ON06/18/2011

A strange coincidence tonight as Al Jardine is playing just down the highway.

But this is the real deal. THE Beach Man. (I don't want to get Mike Love on my back until they finally resolve who owns The Beach Boys© )

Iconic rock mystery man, Brian Wilson, out of bed, well under 300 pounds, survives and thrives today, bringing the song stylings of George Gershwin to a music hall near you.

And a sloop-load of surfin' songs.

The band and orchestra are terrific. The arrangements superb. The harmonies heavenly. And take a look at the generous setlist below.

Brian Wilson sits behind his keyboard (for all but Surfin' USA where he picks up the bass)holding court over an impressive career retrospective. I've seen my share of classic artists over the past few years. I'd say only Leonard Cohen has sustained a peak performance level. John Fogerty is a close second. Some have been ravaged by time (Dylan), others by illness (Levon Helm). Brian's had to deal with a heaping helping of both and I'd say his current skills fall in the comfortable middle; not soaring but a joy to watch. What he hasn't lost is a love and enthusiasm for the songs and the arrangements as he periodically breaks out of his stoic demeanour to flash a smile and punch the air emphatically in time to the music changes.


Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
Massey Hall, Toronto ON
2011-06-18

Set 1

01 Do It Again (cut at beginning,incomplete)
02 Catch A Wave
03 Row Row Row Your Boat
04 Dance, Dance, Dance
05 Girl Don't Tell Me
06 Salt Lake City
07 Little Surfer Girl
08 Then I Kissed Her(Jeffrey on vox and Brian)
09 Please Let Me Wonder
10 Don't Worry Baby
11 I Get Around
12 Add Some Music to Your Day
13 Do You Wanna Dance?
14 The Little Girl I Once Knew
15 Darlin' (Darian on vox)
16 Sail On Sailor
17 California Girls
18 Pet Sounds (Run James Run)
19 Wouldn't It Be Nice
20 Sloop John B
21 God Only Knows
22 Heros and Villians
23 Good Vibrations

Set 2

01 Gershwin intro
02 Rhapsody in Blue (Intro)
03 The Like In I Love You (Gershwin/Wilson/Bennett)
04 Summertime
05 I Loves You, Porgy
06 I Got Plenty O Nutin'
07 It Ain't Necessarily So
08 'S Wonderful
09 They Can't Take That Away From Me
10 Our Love Is Here To Stay
11 I Got A Crush On You
12 I Got Rhythm
13 Someone to Watch Over Me
14 Nothing But Love (Gershwin/Wilson/Bennett)
15 Rhapsody in Blue (Outro)
16 encore break/Band Intro
17 Johnny B Goode
18 Help Me Rhonda
19 Barbara Ann
20 Surfin' USA
21 Fun Fun Fun
22 2nd encore break
23 All Summer Long

CR Avery and the Special Interest Group The Dakota Tavern2011-05-13Little Bean

"there's a black cat lying in the shadow of a gate post..."

And a belated happy Friday the 13th to you. Nothing but good luck on the horizon.

CR and his band are raising a little baguette money before they hop the ocean for a series of dates in France. It looks like the Special Interest Group may be with us for awhile as CR is developing a more accessible set fronted by a 'rock band', instead of some guy with a harp and keytar onstage. Not that he lets the audience off without the requisite challenge to their auditory senses.

We get a short set from the headliners tonight but were treated to 3 wonderfully interesting opening acts. Treasa Levasseur, accompanied by Brian Kobayakawa, showcased her new vinyl 45 single, Shine Your Light. The 'female CR Avery', ???? blew us away with her spoken word and a couple other people came on and played some songs.

Keyboardist Adam Farnsworth is featured more often this year. On his first stint with the band he provided the vocals on the chorus of the new song, Dungeon of Love (curretnly riding the chartres in France). Tonight he adds his unique vocal stylings to a reworked Motel: 50 Miles Out of Town and this years single, Flee By Night.

Evan Bates and Noah Walker, long-time East Van collaborators, hold the bass line and rock the chords with support from drummer, Kevin Romaine The magic, well, that's CR's job.

We've seen CR in many guises; as a solo artist, a one man band, fronting a Gospel Trio, backed by a string quartet and with this configuration, a traditional rock band. He's searching for a gem and with a little polish, he may have found it in the Special Interest Group.

You and Me Against the World (Hells Fireworks)
Flee By Night
German Computer
57 Channels and Nothing ON
Motel 50 Miles Out Of Town
Living Reckless
Promiscuous Women
______

Dungeon of Love

Check out the wonderful video for Dungeon of Love at youtube.

"and the black cat tells me, love is on it's way"

Sean Cotton Band and the Hogtown Allstars The Last WaltzHugh's Room2011-05-27

I'm not a big fan of Hugh's Room. The sightlines and sound are great. The artists are first rate supper club acts. The thing is, it's a supper club. I suspect they make more money from the tables, prior to the band coming on, than they do from the door proceeds. They do ask you to be seated early enough that you're done before the show begins but it's a business, they serve you when you want to be served. That's usually throughout the performance. It doesn't help that the type of artists, roots, folk, folk-rock on a raucous night, need a little quiet and attention to present their works. Anjani, Maria Muldaur and Mike Ford were challenged by clanging dishes and clinking glasses at the most inopportune time. Even Steve Forbert has his gentler moments rudely interrupted.

Tonight's show has an advantage. It's rock n roll. You'd have to break a glass to call attention away from the stage.

This is the BIG TIME for Sean Cotton's Last Waltz project. It's come a long way in the few weeks since I witnessed the dress rehearsal at The Hollywood on Queensway. That night showed the promise of this evening. A few performances over the past couple weeks has smoothed out the rough edges nicely. Every facet of the show was better. The guest artists not only settled into their parts, they raised everyone's game with excellent performances. The Sean Cotton Band, already tight, have reached a pinnacle, becoming the ultimate Toronto indie houseband, complementing the leads. Sean, who is to be lauded for coming up with the concept, playing the role of director, choreographer and casting agent, provides some musical highlights, most notably in Up On Cripple Creek, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and Chest Fever. His support for Corin on Mystery Train turns that song into a Foo Fighters concert if Dave Grohl had an evil twin.

Sean's father, Neil Cotton, formerly biology teacher extraordinaire, now the leader of some kind of AARP Counter Culture Club, pays homage to the transcendant Ronnie Hawkins with a growling bayou version of Who Do You Love? It was many years ago when Neil took Sean to his first concert in Toronto, one where Ronnie Hawkins was playing onstage with his son. Some 30 or so years later, the circle is closed.

Brad Hart turns in two strong songs, his voice wonderfully evocative of both Neil Young's high-pitched whine and Rick Danko's plaintive wail as he provides the lead vocals on Helpless and It Makes No Difference.

David Baxter, a senior member of the Parkdale Artists Commune, laid down some blistering solo's all evening. He warmed up quick in his lead guitar spotlight, Clapton's Further On Up the Road, and absolutely burned up the stage with instrumental breaks through most of the songs in the second set.

Toronto's Troubadour, Corin Raymond, was doing his maiden voyage with these tunes at the dress rehearsal; in retrospect it seems he was a little tentative that night. Sounds like his cherry is well busted now and he steals the show with a howling rendition of Muddy Waters' Mannish Boy.

Treasa Levasseur reprised her dangerously sexy version of Joni Mitchell's opus, Coyote. You gotta see this one to believe it. She's a little bit Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, a bit of Bette Midler in The Rose and only a hint of the girl next door. I don't want to be too forward but if Joni had performed this song, in this manner, those inmates at Clinton Prison in NJ wouldn't have booed her off the stage.

Kristin Cavoukian has found her sweet spot in Evangeline. Her and Sean really nailed it tonight. Her support, either backing or full verses, in The Weight and I Shall Be Released added an important layer of sound to this aural painting.

Steve Klodt added some southern flavour with his peon to Dr. John's, Such A Night.

Marshall Dane, who admits he's new to the Last Waltz community, has obviously immersed himself in the movie and does a punchy version of Van Morrison's Caravan before taking a respectable stab at Levon's Ophelia.

Daniel Skye, a founding-father of the current Parkdale artist scene, takes the spotlight for the two Dylan tunes. A hint of the Dylan twang in Forever Young, just enough to make it familiar and not so much that it was a caricature, resulted in a decent version of a tough song to do well. Trust me, I've seen Bob try it 15 times and decent was seldom reached.

This is more than a concert. It's a large white stallion and a flame-juggling midget away from being performance art. The musical arrangements perfectly capture the sound of that evening at Winterland. The between song banter is replicated, making you feel like your behind one of Scorcese's malfunctioning cameras. The shot that didn't make it into the film.

Enjoy the samples, visit their websites, go to their concerts.

If folks like this weren't singing songs for folks like us, what would we do with our spare time?


Sean Cotton Band and the Hogtown All-Stars
Sean Cotton - guitar, vocals (as Band members)
Graham Howes - keyboards, vocals (as Pop Staples)
Steve Klodt - piano, vocals (as Dr. John)
Mike Churchill - drums
Steve Skingley - bass, backing vocals

_______

Neil Cotton (as Ronnie Hawkins)
Brad Hart (as Neil Young, Rick Danko)
Treasa Levasseur (as Joni Mitchell, Mavis Staples) accordion
Kristin Cavoukian (as female Staples, Emmy Lou Harris)
David Baxter (as Eric Clapton, Levon Helm) guitar, mandolin
Corin Raymond (as Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield)
Marshall Dane (as Van Morrison, Levon Helm)
Daniel Sky (as Bob Dylan)

Set 1

T01 Intro
T02 Up On Cripple Creek (Sean Cotton (and the) Band)
T03 talk - no Neil Diamond
T04 Don't Do It
T05 talk - Stratocaster and Dad
T06 Who Do You Love? (Neil Cotton)
T07 talk
T08 Shape I'm In (Sean, Neil)
T09 talk
T10 Such A Night (Steve Klodt)
T11 talk
T12 Helpless (Brad Hart)
T13 It Makes No Difference (Brad)
T14 talk
T15 Stage Fright (Sean)
T16 talk
T17 Coyote (Treasa Levasseur)
T18 talk
T19 The Weight (Sean, Kristin Cavoukian,Graham Howes, Treasa)
T20 talk
T21 Evangeline (Kristin, David Baxter, mandolin, Treasa, accordion)

Set 2

T01 Further On Up The Road (David Baxter)
T02 Rag Mama Rag (David)
T03 talk
T04 Mannish Boy (Corin Raymond)
T05 talk
T06 Mystery Train (Corin, Sean)
T07 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Sean)
T08 talk
T09 Caravan (Marshall Dane)
T10 talk
T11 Ophelia (Marshall)
T12 talk
T13 Genetic Method/Chest Fever (Sean)
T14 talk
T15 Forever Young (Daniel Sky)
T16 Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Daniel)
T17 I Shall Be Released (ensemble)

___________
T18 Band Intro
T19 Smokin' in the Alley (non Last Waltz, ensemble)

Corin Raymond and the Sundowners Jonathan Byrd and the Foggy Hogtown Boys TRANZAC Club2011-05-10

The wife and I were celebrating 32 years of wedded bliss the other night and we had the pleasure of seeing Corin Raymond and the Sundowners. (Doctor recommended dosage: Minimum, once monthly.) They were opening for North Carolina native, Texas based song writer, Jonathan Byrd.

The TRANZAC Club is where Corin cut his teeth in the Toronto music scene. He was playing with the Sundowners as far back as 2002, entertaining folks on a PWYC basis in the front room. Jonathan Byrd hasn't been in Toronto since November 2009 when his chart-riding Americana album was created in an impromptu (or at least, little planned) 6 hour recording session. He's joined tonight by the same local artists who laid down those tracks.

These guys are nearing the end of what's been almost 3 months of touring North America. Jonathan introduced Corin to his fan base in the American Heartland and Texas, while Corin brought Jonathan to various houses of the holy in the Great White North.

I love Corin's set with the Sundowners. The band is ace. Tight like...well, there's nowhere I can go with that simile that won't land me in trouble. Brian Kobayakowa on bass is so good that you don't notice he's there...except that's a bullshit interpretation of what you need in a bass player. He's laying down some boom that sometimes sneaks up on you but most times just anchors the song. Treasa Levasseur is every front man's dream. Need some waltzing accordion? Got it for you. Want me to tinkle on the keys? I'm your lady. A little estrogen on the chorus? Let me carry that weight. David Baxter provides the complex riffs, the contre-temps, the heartful slide and the mandolin. Corin, well he's the troubador.

He's still working songs that will be on his upcoming album of Canadian indie song writers. The familiar Old Fort Mac laments the cost of high wage opportunities in an oil boom town.
Ridin' West On Dundas is the story of a rural boy, who grew up watching the sun set for hours over the flat prairies, finding the beauty in an urban sunset, where the golden light shines briefly on red brick.
I'm Hard On Things is just so

that you gotta listen to it. LYRIC SAMPLE: "I've worn out two gold wedding rings/ I'm hard on things."

Stealin' My Heart is Corin's love-song to the Tranzac. A tune about the financial security one can garner from singing roots music in parlours for hat money.
3000 Miles has been covered by a number of artists, some can be found on YouTube.

Who doesn't love a road tune with dope?

Corin covers Jonathan's Slip Away then introduces a new song, an homage to three great musical artists who left this world in a tragic fashion; Buddy Holly's flight, Sam Cooke's shooting and the strange case of Jackie Wilson. Under the Belly of the Night is going to be a staple in this set. LYRIC SAMPLE: "singing That'll Be The Day I Die the night before"

I'd wager that Corin may never play a live set without including There Will Always Be A Small Time. A song about the fickle nature of talent, fame and fortune.

Being at the TRANZAC the Sundowners saw fit to close with a song they wore out during their youthful residency here, Woody Guthrie's tongue-in-cheek (or tongue-in-something) Way Over Yonder In A Minor Key.

Old Fort Mac
Ridin' West on Dundas
I'm Hard on Things
Stealin' My Heart
3000 Miles
Slip Away
Under the Belly of the Night
There Will Always Be A Small Time
Way Over Yonder In A Minor Key

Jonathan Byrd's Cackalack has had some terrific success on the Americana and Folk/Roots charts in the States. It's a love song to North Carlina, taking us through it's history, ecology and culture. The word is actually short for 'cackalacky'; it's just a peculiar affectation the people in the Carolines have...they use it in place of Carolina, as in "I'm from Chapel Hill, North Cackalacky!"

If that title hasn't prepared you for a little frivolity then that's the job of Chicken Wire, the opener. It's almost a nonsense song, done bluegrass style, all about a Rooster and a Hen and the things a farmer holds dear. Not quite Ray Stevens nonsense, more in the vein of Boll Weevil.

The melodic love song Wild Ponies is preceeded by a history lesson, a tale of how these horses got on the Outward Banks. Dropped by Spanish sailors trying to save their lives in the graveyard waters off the Carolina coast, these animals adapted to the salt-grass and still roam free on the Shackleford Banks over 400 years later.

More lessons, apparently North Carolina is an ecological marvel of sorts; between what the ice age brought and what grows naturally in their southern climate. The region boasts of a diverse selection of tree species. Jonathan seems to have a penchant for the Mighty Oak as he performs the first of two 'oak songs' on the album; I Was An Oak Tree. This is the story of a thousand year old Oak that had watched kingdoms be formed and lost. It's used to make a slave ship that crashes off the American shores and continues it's journey as driftwood before it's on to the campfire and beyond.

When this album was made Jonathan was nearing the end of an intensive 3 week/19 shows tour. He found himself in a little room, surrounded by ear-selected local artists and with Ken Whitely there to capture a 6 hour session with the Foggy Hogtown Boys that resulted in this beautiful piece of Americana. Ain't it peculiar how it takes Canadians to put the 'oot into American Roots music? (Rick Danko we can still hear you singing.)The songs were done in complete takes and you can tell it would have been just like an informal (but technically proficient) jam with the tapes rolling.

Reckon I Did is a post-drinking song and what can go wrong when the lights go out.

The eternal hope one sees in a new born child is at the heart of New Moon Rise . Back to hillbilly slice of life in Dungarees Overalls followed by a tale of coming to fully appreciate your father, warts and all but perhaps a little too late, the bitter-sweet Father's Day.

More with the trees in White Oak Wood . Scuppernong celebrates the unique species of grape found on the shores of North Carolina, first cultivated over 400 years ago, where they've been part of the culture since before those ponies showed up on the islands.

And now, the national anthem of North Carolina, Cackalack!


Chicken Wire
Wild Ponies
I Was An Oak Tree
Reckon I Did
New Moon Rise
Dungarees Overalls
Father's Day
White Oak Wood
Scuppernong
Cackalack!

Sean Cotton Band Tribute to The Last Waltz Hollywood on the QueenswayToronto ON2011-05-01

Sean Cotton brought his group and a bunch of friends out to Etobicoke for a dress-rehearsal of his newest tribute,The Last Waltz, honouring The Band.

This show is showcasing at Toronto's Hughs Room on Friday May 27th. Get your table reservations here!

We last saw Sean when he brought his one-man show, The Complete Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, to the backrom at The Cameron.

This project is a touch more ambitious. The scope of the project, the size of the cast, the requirements for a unique sound, all these elements add risk. Sean and his band have been hard at work practising but the 'special guests', for the most part, have been working on their own with resources culled from the DVD or YouTube. Tonight marks their first opportunity to meld the various pieces together as the ensemble assembles.

So it's a two-drink minimum on a rainy Sunday afternoon for a free look and listen to their progress.

Sean Cotton is playing the part of Robbie Robertson, band leader and MC, for the evening. That's when he's not taking on the Danko and Helms vocals. From the outset it's apparent he's paying attention to the art of the show. The set is bejewelled with homages to that special evening; a vocal aside here, a special introduction there, some accurate choreography and more allusions that I was able to note...but I'll attest to what I remember.

Show opens with a hard slam from the Cajun south, a strong version of Up On Cripple Creek. Sean is instantly in 'screamin' lead singer rock star' mode. A full band behind him, including two keyboards, gives him lots of tools to recreate the sound. They move quickly into Marvin Gaye's Don't Do It; the song finds the bouncy groove. A touch of Motown, wrapped in Canadian Bacon and topped with a hillbilly jug band bop. It makes you wanna jump up and down in the same spot.

Seans father, Neil Cotton, trots onstage, looking like a spry Ronnie Hawkins, long silver-hair, grey beard, white cowboy hat and raybans. He's instantly in character, exclaiming "Big Time! Big Time!" as he acknowledges Sean/Robbie. Neil dofs his hat to fan the smouldering strings on Seans guitar during a blistering solo and stays in character right through to his closing exclamation: "The most fun you can have with your clothes on!" He stays onstage to accompany his son on shared versus of Shape I'm In. And despite the lament in that song, the man looks to be in great shape on the young side of 65.

We move over to the piano man, Steve Klodt, for the lead on Dr John's Such A Night. These guys ain't asking for your money and giving you nothing, attention is being paid to the details as they evoke the sounds of that magical night at Wonderland.

Neil Young is represented byBrad Hart and he's seen the movie too as he comments "I just want to say before I start that it's one of the great pleasures of my life to be playing with Sean Cotton up here tonight" reprising Neil's impromptu recognition of the greatness that surrounded him that evening.

He stays onstage to sing Danko's lead on the hauntingly beautiful It Makes No Difference. Both songs were evocative of the artists who originally sang them, well delivered without being overplayed. Not an easy task either as there may be no voice in rock n roll more achingly plaintive than Rick Danko's.

Sean comes back to the mic for more Band music, Stage Fright, another fine knock-off the rocks the joint.

JUNO nominated Treasa Levasseur takes the stage to perform Joni Mitchell's Coyote. Treasa is a fixture in the talent-rich Parkdale music scene. She delivers the highlight of the evening with a scorching version of this raunchy post-modern feminist tract. In my book her version had more punch than Joni's, and that performance is my favourite from that show. The performance is enhanced by a touch of performance art as she mimes the movements of the subjects in some transfixed state more reminiscent of Patti Smith than Joni. I guess that's where the punch came from.

Sean invites everyone who's played so far back onstage for the Staples song, with Graham Howe's in the place of Pop Staples and Treasa Levasseur sitting in as Mavison the ensemble performance of The Weight. The set closes with the other song found on The Last Waltz that came from a studio session, Evangeline, with Kristin Cavoukian doing Emmy Lou Harris' vocals.

After a quick set break Sean's back with David Baxter for a rather appropriate ragged version of Rag, Mama, Rag. They then rip off another highlight of the evening, a blistering Further On Up the Road with some wicked guitar work from both Sean and David.

Corin Raymond, Sean's partner in crime when they play as The Undesirables, comes on to do the blues portion of the night. These guys started out together, jamming, learning, honing their skills with the history of the blues. Corin's been busy, just returning from a 10 week US tour with Jonathan Byrd (still ongoing and they'll be at the Tranzac on May 10th.) He was studying his parts on YouTube and he was a little concerned about getting the lyrics right. He'd need not have worried as he tears into Muddy Waters' Mannish Boy replete with joyous howls. He closes with the Paul Butterfield tune, Mystery Train...and it was no wreck.

Sean's back to get the final part of the night in gear with another rockin' outing, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. He's followed by Marshall Dane delivering Van Morrison's Caravan and Levon Helm's Ophelia.

Graham Howe kicks into Garth Hudson's iconic intro to The Genetic Method/Chest Fever. Then we take a 7 minute ride on that hypnotic riff. Another highlight.

The show closes with Daniel Skye doing Dylan's tunes, Forever Young and Baby Let Me Follow You Down. Now I have to recuse myself from expressing an opinion on the Dylan portion as I've seen him upwards of a hundred and forty times now. It would take a 35 year younger Dylan to impress me. Set ends when the whole cast is back for the sing-a-long, I Shall Be Released.

That's some show Sean, well done.

This show will be making a few summertime appearances at various festivals. Contact Sean, find out where they are, go see it.

Sean Cotton Band
w/ special guests
Tribute: The Last Waltz
Sean Cotton (guitar, vocals
Steve Klodt (piano, vocals)
Steve Skingley
Mike Churchill
Graham Howes (organ, vocals)
Treasa Levasseur, Corin Raymond, David Baxter, Marshall Dane, Daniel Sky, Brad Hart, Neil Cotton & Kristin Cavoukian

Set 1

Up On Cripple Creek (Sean Cotton)
Don't Do It (Sean Cotton)
Who Do You Love? (Neil Cotton)
Shape I'm In (Sean/Neil)
Such A Night (Steve Klodt)
Helpless (Brad Hart)
It Makes No Difference (Brad Hart)
Stage Fright (Sean Cotton)
Coyote (Treasa Levasseur)
The Weight (ensemble)
Evangeline (Kristin Cavoukian)

Set 2

Rag Mama Rag (David Baxter/Sean Cotton)
Further On Up the Road (David Baxter)
Mannish Boy (Corin Raymond)
Mystery Train (Corin Raymond)
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Sean Cotton)
Caravan (Marshall Dane)
Ophelia (Marshall Dane)
The Genetic Method/Chest Fever (Sean Cotton)
Forever Young(Daniel Skye)
Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Daniel Skye)
I Shall Be Released (ensemble)

Bob Seger ACC Toronto ON2011-04-12

Bob's got his work cut out for him tonight, trying to excite a Toronto arena crowd on a Tuesday night.

Not much help from the instantly forgetable Steel Magnolia, the artistic marriage of a karaoke queen and a Folk Singer (©CR Avery). After capturing the hearts of dozens of hundreds via a cable-access talent show called So You Think You Can Duet? (I happened upon the show thinking it was 'do it'), they are currently the new darlings of country.
They weren't helped by the sound, distant and sparse from our seat in the back corner.
For my tastes, the genre just doesn't du et for me.
With the rare exception of a few artists; Dylan and Baez, Tammi and Marvin, Bowie and Bing, and anything done by The Band, I'm not big on the sharing of songs. I mean, if I wanna listen to a conversation I got the 3 cuties who are going to come and sit down when Seger gets onstage.

Bob Seger, the Poor Man's Bruce Springsteen. Well some may think that. For me it's more like Bob Seger, the Guy Who Gave Bruce his Schtick. Neither of those descriptions denigrates either of the artists. This is the epitome, and the pinnacle, of American Music (Rock Band category).
Seger's catalogue of radio hits puts him squarely in the pack that follows Elvis and The Beatles. He has spanned a couple generations of music, first making his mark in the hey-day of Top 40 Radio with Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1968. He was a dominant figure in the mid to late'70's when FM radio reigned. Night Moves, Stranger In Town and Against The Wind (1976-1980) can go up against three consecutive albums by any artist, coming in second only to that other Bob, Dylan. The mid-late '80's had some good moments as the GM truck commercials will testify.

But that was then, this is now.

It's a lively crowd. Lots of drunk women enjoying themselves and not too shy to show it. The audio track is speckled with various "WOOO-birds" and whistlers, the odd stumbling, late-comer and the primal screams of long past their adolescent teen idol crush phase, moms. A real rock spectacle.

This show covers the whole of his career, even show casing a couple covers from the upcoming album. It was a light on songs from Night Moves but when you puruse the set list it's hard to be particular. Seger's voice is limited at the high end as he nears what he himself calls the end of his career but that is really splitting hairs. No one left here disappointed. Crowd-love was bestowed on the band from the moment they hit the stage. It got damn near orgasmic when the mega-hits rolled out.

There are few mp3's below. Sound is sub-par, partly due to the mix in the arena but also because I'm mucking about with different combinations of bass roll-offs, pre-amps and settings on my recorders. Seem to have lost my way a bit.

T01 Roll Me Away (The Distance, 1982)
T02 Tryin' To Live My Life Without You (Eugene Williams) (Nine Tonight, 1981)
T03 Her Strut (Against The Wind, 1980)
T04 Mainstreet (Night Moves, 1976)
T05 Old Time Rock & Roll (Jackson,Jones,Seger) (Stranger In Town, 1978)
T06 Downtown Train (Tom Waits) (from upcoming album, 2011)
T07 Ramblin' Gamblin' Man (from Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, 1969)
T08 Real Mean Bottle (Vince Gill) (from Face of the Promise,2006)
T09 Good For Me (Against The Wind, 1980)
T10 *Shinin' Brightly (Against The Wind, 1980)
T11 Travelin' Man (Beautiful Loser, 1975)
T12 Beautiful Loser (Beautiful Loser, 1975)

T01 Nutbush City Limits (Tina Turner) (Beautiful Loser, 1975)
T02 Come to Poppa (Earl Randle, Willie Mitchell) (Night Moves, 1976)
T03 Gets Ya Pumping (Early Seger Vol 1, 2009)
T04 Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight (Against The Wind, 1980)
T05 We've Got Tonight (Stranger In Town, 1978)
T06 Turn The Page (Back in '72, 1973)
T07 Sunspot Baby (Night Moves, 1976)
T08 The Horizontal Bop (Against The Wind, 1980)
T09 Band Intro
T10 Katmandu (Beautiful Loser, 1975)
T11 encore break
T12 Against The Wind (Against The Wind, 1980)
T13 Hollywood Nights (Stranger In Town, 1978)
T14 encore break
T15 Rock and Roll Never Forgets (Night Moves, 1976)


* Live Debut

Teddy Thompson The Legendary Horseshoe Toronto ON2011-04-06

The music industry sucks big-time. I mean, I knew, back in the day, that The Monkees were fabricated. I was pretty certain The Archies were never going to tour (who could have forseen Gorillaz?)I even suspected Glen Campbell wasn't the talent behind the music. Today the industry doesn't even pretend to hoist product on you...they let you pick who will be #1 on the hit charts next week, on this weeks Idol.

All that gets lost in the mix is enduring music of high quality. Few, if any, of the current artists will have a lasting impression in 40 or 50 years. I can't imagine anyone mining the catalogue of Justin Beiber or Drake or Kings of Leon the way they still look back to the likes of Hendrix,Dylan or even The Kinks. There's shit there that will always be rediscovered.

Well, that's not all that gets lost. Guys like Teddy Thompson are still opening sets at The Horseshoe when we should be hearing him on the radio. Don't get me started on what's wrong with radio.

Love this guys voice. He's deft with the hook and knows the inside of a decent pop song. When you're tired of shoe-gazing, check him out.

The club is packed to capacity before Teddy takes the stage. A testament to the ground work he's laid over the past few years, opening at The Mod Club for Nick Lowe, his own headlining set at the 'Shoe, an unannounced, and missed, show at The Dakota. Some of all of those crowds showed up early.

Teddy Thompson guitar, vocals, jokemeister
Jeff Hill bass, backing vox
Ethan Eubanks drums


Track 01 I Feel
Track 02 Don't Know What I Was Thinking
Track 03 talk
Track 04 ? I Shake It Up
Track 05 Delilah
Track 06 talk
Track 07 The Next One
Track 08 talk
Track 09 That'll Be The Day (Buddy Holly)
Track 10 In My Arms
Track 11 talk
Track 12 Gotta Have Someone
Track 13 Looking For A Girl

Randy Newman Convocation Hall Toronto, ON2011-03-26

It's been almost 5 years since we last sat down for songs and stories with Randy Newman. I figured that it would be much the same songs with the possible addition of his recent Oscar winning We Belong Together. On that note...I was wrong. No pandering to the masses. The recent Oscar winner was nowhere to be heard. Got 7 different songs so it was mixed up pretty good. The big surprise was that I went to see a singer-songwriter and a piano recital broke out. Last time I saw this show I was totally focussed on the songs. Tonight it was the piano that shone through.

Convocation Hall, a unique venue that serves as a lecture hall most of the time, was less than 2/3 filled, about 800 in the audience if you count two for everyone over 250 lbs. and subtract one for all the short people. A shame really. In I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It) Randy talks of the plight of new acts trying to break into the concert circuit when old guys in walkers are still doing shows. Add to that the difficulty of seeing lots of shows when the dinosaurs doing arena concerts are asking upwards of $200 per seat. Randy's audience is being targeted by the likes of Leonard Cohen, ($250), Neil Young ($200+), Paul Simon ($180) and all the other industry darlings that can still by hyped to fill a field. (Not to disparage the quality of the shows those artists are doing, it's just that they've lost touch with their bohemian roots to say the least.)

Good comedy from the stage as well. The great line about boys; "A friend of mine, he lives close to here, had 3 boys and then a daughter. He says if he had had the girl first he would have thought the boys were retarded...girls don't eat much mud..." Observations about the music industry; "...I didn't work for Josef Stalin, I worked for guys like Josef Stalin..." And a self-awareness that a superb catalogue and wealth of talent does not necessarily fill the seats; "Thanks for coming out...you should have brought some fucking friends..." The latter said in a humurous, not bitchy, way.

On a side note, between sets I had the priviledge of talking to our former provincial NDP Premier, currently second in command of the Federal Liberal Party, Bob Rae. I canvassed for Bob in the Broadview-Greenwood riding back in the '70's before his silk-stocking socialist phase. My dad cut his hair from the time he was in university, living around the corner, through to his stint as Premier and my dad's retirement. He should be leading the Liberals, and I predict he'll be our next Liberal Prime Minister, unfortunately that means we'll have to endure 5 years of Stephen Harper.


Set 1

T01 It's Money That I Love
T02 *Laugh and Be Happy
T03 Living Without You
T04 Short People
T05 Birmingham
T06 Marie
T07 Talk - composer of the century
T08 Girls In My Life Pt.1
T09 Talk - 4 boys and a daughter
T10 The World Isn't Fair
T11 Leave Your Hat On
T12 I Miss You
T13 Great Nations of Europe
T14 Harps and Angels
T15 Talk and Training
T16 I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It)
T17 You've Got A Friend In Me
T18 Political Science


Set 2

T01 Last Night I Had A Dream
T02 *Yellow Man
T03 In Germany Before the War
T04 Baltimore
T05 My Life Is Good
T06 Emotional Girl
T07 Land of Dreams
T08 Louisiana (1927)
T09 *Rollin'
T10 Talk - Albanian Wedding Song
T11 *Wedding in Cherokee County
T12 Mama Told Me Not To Come
T13 Guilty
T14 I Love LA
T15 *Bad News From Home
T16 Losing You
T17 Red Bandana
T18 *Burn On
T19 Feels Like Home
T20 audience
T21 *Lonely At The Top
T22 I Think It's Gonna Rain
*not played in 2006

not played in 2011

In Defence of My Country
Sail Away
Dixie Flyer
Rednecks
Shame Shame Shame

Lucinda Williams Levon Helm's Ramble on the Road 2011-03-05Massey HallToronto ON

While it may appear the billing on this post is backwards, if you were there, you would concur. For the second time running the best part of the Ramble was the superb quality of the support act. Steve Earle made the show in Woodstock last fall and Lucinda shone last night.

I have to confess I've never given Lucinda Williams too much thought. In theory I saw her perform live once; she opened for Bob Dylan in New Orleans back in the spring of 2003. I was three days into a three day bender and didn't even know Dylan had a saxophonist onstage with him until the next day. Suffice it to say I have no independent recollection of the opening set. Lots of my Dylan friends have a concurrent interest in her but that wasn't enough to convince me to dedicate the time and effort to discover and unravel another artist, especially one well into her career. More recently, at various CR Avery shows, I hear a nightly testament to her songwriting skills before the performance of Bus To Baton Rouge. Still not enough to get me to the record store, (if I could find a record store, anyone know where they went?). My bad.

When her name came up on this bill, giving me an excuse to see my 5th Ramble, I figured that was my cue. My good.

The show was heavy on more recent material; 4 songs from the new release and only one prior to 1998, out of a generous 14 song opening set. Every song was well done. Her voice is truly unique, a southern drawl that makes it so country with a hint of Buddy Holly's hiccup and Rick Danko's plaintive wail.
Some songs were terrific; Tears of Joy, Drunken Angel, Blue and Essence. Hard and honest stories.

She had a funky Cate Blanchett-doing-Bob Dylan-through Lucinda thing going on. A new spikey 'do. A perpetual smile. She was a little Chaplinesque too, at times wandering about, not aimlessly, but mischieviously. The audience was warm and she was humble in her appreciation. I know she's got an edge to her, you can hear it in her voice, but in 2011 she seems well within her own skin.


A couple songs were absolutely superb.

First the wonderfully simple and simply wonderful, Born To Be Loved. It's indescribable how subtely this tune works it's magic. Each verse contains two 'observations in the negative', samples of things that shouldn't happen to anyone, a bill of human rights in a mirror. Those two lines are followed by the repeated positive declaration found in the title. The juxtaposition of the oppressive reality of the first two lines against the emotionally naked assertion in the repeated closing couplet just hits an emotional button.

Because there's no sound attached to this blog, (it's verboten to post Recordings Of Independent Origins that have anything to do with the Ramble)I've taken the liberty of transcribing this tome, totally from memory, having heard it only once...er, no wait, I bought the CD.

When reading just imagine Rick Danko's vocals on It Makes No Difference...that's how it sounded.

You weren't born to be abandoned
And you weren't born to be forsaken
You were born to be loved
You were born to be loved

You weren't born to be mistreated
And you weren't born to be misguided
You were born to be loved
You were born to be loved

You weren't born to be a slave
And you weren't born to be displaced
You were born to be loved
You were born to be loved

You weren't born to be abused
And you weren't born to lose
You were born to be loved
You were born to be loved

You weren't born to suffer
And you weren't born for nothing
You were born to be loved
You were born to be loved


The other song that knocked my socks off was the oldest of the night as Lucinda goes back to 1988 for a cut from her self-titled third album to play Changed the Locks. This is another well crafted song that doesn't follow the normal chorus-verse-chorus format but morphs into an emotion. You don't know why it works, it just works. It's the bridge, I think. The catalogue of defensive manoeuvers followed by the reasons they are necessary...absolutely heartwrenching. The progression from the mundane (locks) to the impossible (name of the town) is just exquisite.

I changed the lock on my front door so you can't see me anymore
And you can't come inside my house, and you can't lie down on my couch
I changed the lock on my front door

I changed the number on my phone so you can't call me up at home
And you can't say those things to me that make me fall down on my knees
I changed the number on my phone

I changed the kind of car I drive so you can't see me when I go by
And you can't chase me up the street, and you can't knock me off of my feet
I changed the kind of car I drive

I changed the kind of clothes I wear so you can't see me anywhere
And you can't spot me in a crowd, and you can't call my name out loud
I changed the kind of clothes I wear

I changed the tracks underneath the train so you can't find me again
And you can't trace my path, and you can't hear my laugh
I changed the tracks underneath the train

[harmonica solo]

I changed the name of this town so you can't follow me down
And you can't touch me like before, and you can't make me want you more
I changed the name of this town

I changed the lock on my front door, I changed the number on my phone
I changed the kind of car I drive, I changed the kind of clothes I wear

I changed the tracks underneath the train, I changed the name of this town
I changed the name of this town
I changed the name of this town



I don't want to minimize the quality of the rest of the show but these two songs are going to take awhile to absorb. And she wasn't done yet, as she'll appear again later in the evening to provide the highlight in the second set.


Lucinda Williams - vocals, guitar
Val McCallum - guitar
David Sutton - bass
Butch Norton - Drums

T01 Tears of Joy (from Little Honey, 2008)
T02 Can't Let Go (Randy Weeks)(from Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, 1998)
T03 Well Well Well (from Little Honey, 2008)

T04 Drunken Angel (from Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, 1998)
T05 Born To Be Loved (from Blessed, 2011)
T06 Blue (from Essence, 2001)
T07 Concrete and Barbed Wire (from Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, 1998)
T08 Convince Me (from Blessed, 2011)
T09 Seeing Black (from Blessed, 2011)
T10 Essence (from Essence, 2001)

T11 band intro
T12 Honey Bee (from Little Honey, 2008)
T13 Changed the Locks (from Lucinda Williams, 1988)
T14 encore break
T15 Blessed (from Blessed, 2011)
T16 Joy (from Live at the Fillmore, 2005)

The thing about Levon Helm is...you don't get near enough Levon. If you haven't seen the Ramble yet you should get on your horse and make your way to Woodstock. Seeing this hootenany in Levon's barn is an experience that transcends the evenings agenda. When he goes on the road he isn't shy about bringing quality artists with him but it's not quite the same thing. In fact the buyer should beware. This is not a Band revue, though homage is paid to that part of Levon's career. If you think you're gonna hear hit after hit, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down or Up On Cripple Creek...well, it ain't gonna happen. The center piece of Levon's performance is Ophelia, and it's almost worth the price of admission. (As an aside, Up on Cripple Creek would have been an appropriate song tonight as Lucinda hails from Lake Charles, Louisiana.)He lends some harmonies to a few of the other songs, shares the lead on Dylan's Blind Willie McTell with Larry Campbell and takes a verse or two of The Weight, but other than that it's his mandolin, drums, cheer-leading and sense of bon-vivant that carries the show, not nostalgic renditions of Top 40 hits...and that may not be a bad thing.

It really should be billed as "Ramble on the Road: A Hootenany of American Music, featuring Levon Helm and many special guests." That's not to disparage Levon. This stuff wouldn't be available without him, it's a joy to share his love of this music.

Levon Helm drums, mandolin, vocals
Larry Campbell guitars, vocals
Brian Mitchell keyboards, vocals
Teresa Williams vocals
Amy Helm vocals
Clark Gaydon Trombone
Jay Collins Sax
Stephen Bernstein Trumpet
Eric Lawrence Sax
Howard Johnson Tuba
Byron Isaacs Bass
Jimmy Wieder Guitar
Justin Drums
Disc 1

T01 Intro (John Donabie)
T02 The Shape I'm In (Brian Mitchell vox)
T03 A Whole Lot of Reasons(?)(girls vox)
T04 Little Lost Sheep(?) (girls vox)
T05 Opheilia (Levon vox)
T06 Cyprus Grove (Larry vox)
T07 Ain't That Good News (girls vox, Sam Cooke)
T08 Bourgeois Blues (Brian Mitchell vox, Leadbelly)
T09 Crescent City(Lucinda Williams vox)
T10 Evangeline (Lucinda Williams vox)

Disc 2

T01 Deep Elum Blues (Larry Campbell vox)
T02 All On A Mardi Gras Day (ensemble
T03 Blind Willie McTell (Larry and Levon, vox)
T04 ?Come Home (CW Gatlin vox)
T05 Goin' To Acapulco (Byron Isaacs vox)
T06 Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning (girls vox)
T07 some somnambulant hymn type song (girls vox)
T08 When I Go Away
T09 Band Intro
T10 The Weight (ensemble)
T11 encore break
T12 I Shall Be Released (ensemble)