June 11th, 2013
Madison folk-rockers The Mascot Theory are to play a benefit gig in support of the Mineral Point Railroad Museum. I can testify that the museum is a pretty hoopy little joint. Plus the Opera House is not too far from the Brewery Creek Brewpub. You can grab a pasty, drink some fine beer, and see a show just like the area’s Cornish settlers.
June 11th, 2013
It was a sold out audience last Thursday at the High Noon Saloon for Son Volt’s first Madison appearance in a while. They were in town in support of the new Honky Tonk album which takes the band’s established acoustic side and throws in some George Jones and Buck Owens.
But first came the openers Colonel Ford which mostly seems to be a rotating cast of St. Louis-area musicians performing country classics. Last week the band consisted of Son Volt minus Jay Farrar, although Farrar has been playing pedal steel with them lately. They got the crowd warmed up with a treasure trove of great country tunes including George Jones’ “White Lightning” and “I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail” by Buck Owens.
These days Son Volt is, besides Farrar, his long-time cohort Mark Spencer on keyboards and pedal steel, bassist Andrew Duplantis, who’s been with the band since it reformed in 2005, newbie Gary Hunt on guitar and fiddle, and drummer Jay Edwards who filled in for Dave Bryson. They played a set that concentrated on the less rocking side of the band with an emphasis on Honky Tonk and 2009’s American Central Dust.
“Down to the Wire”, a favorite of mine from American Central Dust, kicked things off and the mid-tempo numbers led by Farrar’s acoustic guitar kept on coming. Also from ACD were the beautiful “Dynamite” and the country-inflected “Dust of Daylight” which would have sounded at home on Honky Tonk. The shiny new “Wild Side” is a delicate shuffle in the studio but lost a bit of the maudlin and gained a little heft on stage. Going back a bit further, “Highways and Cigarettes” from The Search and Sebastopol’s “Barstow” fit in well despite their darker lyrics sprinkled with social commentary.
There were a few times when Farrar dispensed with the acoustic guitar and strapped on his Epiphone. “Hoping Machine” from New Multitudes, an album of new music with Woody Guthrie lyrics, provided a nice change of pace. It was a moody slow-burner that gradually built up to climaxes with some of the most beautiful singing of the night. The band pulled out “Drown”, the closest thing to a hit for them, to get the set moving to a close. It was followed by “Afterglow 61″, one of Farrar’s best rock songs.
The encore started with “Hearts and Minds”, the lead track from Honky Tonk. It gave way to two of Trace’s most beloved songs, “Tear Stained Eye” and “Windfall”. It finished with Waylon Jennings’ “Stop the World (And Let Me Off)”. The crowd was enthusiastic all night beginning with Colonel Ford. I figured that a set heavy with new songs would leave many disappointed and yearning for “Loose String” or “Live Free” but people seemed happy with steady honky tonk beats and country shuffles. Perhaps as a reward for the sustained enthusiasm, the band returned for a second encore and did “Medication” from Okemah and the Melody of Riot. I adored this song with its raga-like guitar melodies and dissonant jamming when I saw Son Volt in 2007 and it proved no less powerful this night.
June 4th, 2013
Last night Madison’s progressive rock cover band, PROG, graced the stage at the High Noon Saloon.
Where was Michael BB’s Rick Wakeman cape?!
To commemorate Rush’s induction into the Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame, the night was heavy on their music. There were some miscues on “Natural Science” but they pulled off “La Villa Strangiato” just about perfectly. They did all of side one of Moving Pictures which was quite impressive. Methinks they should do side two next time. I’d be happy to contribute to the angry mob sound at the opening of “Witch Hunt”.
I think that “I Know What I Like” is new to the set and they did a bang-up job on it. Just needs a tambourine solo.
It’s too bad Scott Eagle has left. This leaves the band sans flautist and most of their Jethro Tull repertoire is gone. They did a nice version of “Aqualung” but, without flute, there isn’t much classic Tull for them to play. Perhaps they can add “To Cry You a Song” to the setlist.
Local guitarist Steve Schad played between sets and did a really nice version of “To Be Over” as a rockin’ “Cactus Boogie”. He done Steve Howe proud.
June 4th, 2013
Sure, Robert Fripp gets all metaphysical when it comes to Gurdjieff and feisty when it comes to artist royalties but he’s really just a softy. Watch him along with his wife Toyah Willcox on the British TV show All Star Mr & Mrs.
May 1st, 2013
It’s basically a given that the Carolina Chocolate Drops will swing through the Madison area at least once a year. Last weekend the band had a two night stand at the Stoughton Opera House and both shows were sold out. They were in fine form when I caught them on Friday night.
What started as an attempt to keep the Piedmont musical legacy of fiddler Joe Thompson alive has turned into a musical outfit of great prowess extolling the joy of whatever music catches the band’s fancy. The line-up has solidified with founding members Rhiannon Giddens and Dom Flemons joined by newcomers Hubby Jenkins and Leyla McCalla, although the latter pair have been part of the band for a couple years or thereabouts.
The night began with a spirited performance of “Black Annie”, a piece learned from Thompson, and continued with the old bluegrass tune “Don’t Get Trouble in Your Mind”, one of the band’s signature songs, which invited audience participation. The members of CCD all excavate the histories of folk music so you don’t have to and they love to report on what they’ve found. For instance, Giddens brought out a replica of a 19th century banjo for the medley of “Briggs’ Corn Shucking Jig/Camptown Hornpipe” and launched into a mini-lecture about how the banjo was originally an African-American instrument, black face minstrel shows, etc.
Much of the set was familiar, having been performed in their Madison-area shows previously. In addition to “Don’t Get Trouble in Your Mind”, songs like “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad”, Johnny Cash’s “Jackson”, and “Sourwood Mountain” proved their mettle as reliable crowd pleasers. On the other hand, former stalwarts “Cornbread and Butterbeans” and “Hit ‘em Up Style” were absent. But in their place were some tunes that were new to Madison audiences. Flemons stepped out on Gus Cannon’s “My Money Never Runs Out” and Tampa Red’s “Got It Fixed” while Giddens once again demonstrated her tremendous voice with the doleful “Julie”, a song she wrote after having read a true tale from the Civil War. And Hubby Jenkins added “Buck Creek Girl” to the mix.
McCalla stepped out from behind the cello to do “Rose Marie”, a Haitian song which, like Giddens medley of tunes sung in Gaelic, helped broaden the band’s scope to include more than old-timey Southern folk song. The Chocolate Drops aren’t touring behind a new album but they did include a few songs from their last effort Leaving Eden. “No Man’s Mama” and the title track once again showcased Giddens’ pipes with the latter bringing tears to the eyes of my significant other.
While there were a few genuinely tender moments, CCD shows are mostly light-hearted affairs and Friday night was no different. The audience was invited to dance and sing, Giddens cut a rug, Flemons twirled his guitar, and Jenkins played the bones behind his back. Foot-stompin’ fun and most of the audience left the Opera House knowing more about the history of the banjo than they did coming in.
April 30th, 2013
There have been some notable deaths in the world of music this year that I’ve completely neglected to mention. So let me correct this situation.
Country music’s George Jones passed away last Friday. His marriage to Tammy Wynette is legendary as was his alcoholism. Who will step up and drive lawn tractors to the tavern? I’m not the biggest George Jones fan around but there’s no denying he made some great music. “White Lightning” is a classic but I can’t find a performance of it that’s not mimed. Luckily “The Race Is On” is also a great tune.
Earlier last week folk singer Richie Havens died. He is surely known best for his performance at Woodstock or what ended up in the film, at least. As with Jones, I can’t say I’m a big fan of his. While I certainly like the songs of his that I’ve heard over the years, for one reason or another, I just never made a concerted effort to investigate his back catalog.
Oddly enough, Havens has a prog rock connection. He sang on Steve Hackett’s “How Can I?” and “Icarus Ascending” which are on his second solo album Please Don’t Touch. Hackett saluted Havens on his blog and, helpfully, since I was wondering, explains how they ended up working together: “One evening after supporting Genesis at Earls Court he came to dinner and insisted on helping my mother to wash up. He had such a big heart in every way. All night I was dying to ask him if he would consider working with me. I was about to kick myself for missing the opportunity when he suddenly said ‘Hey man, we should work together sometime…’”
More firmly in the progressive rock world was Peter Banks. He was a founding member of Yes and, coincidentally, they even covered Richie Havens’ “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” while he was in the band. Steve Howe stole all the Yes guitar thunder but Banks was certainly no slouch.
April 30th, 2013
The (mostly) reunited Black Sabbath release 13 on 11 June. It’s the first Sabbath album of all-new studio material in 18 years and the first studio album with Ozzy since 1978. The band have released a song from 13 called “God Is Dead?”. While the production is all shiny and clean, the song itself is very reminiscent of classic Sabbath.
April 25th, 2013
I saw this over at Dangerous Minds.
Get yourself a SUPER-OUTTA-SIGHT-JETHRO-TULL-T-SHIRT and score with the ladies. After all they love apparel with “an enticing likeness of sexy Tull leader Ian Anderson somewhere in the vicinity of the right boob”. Who knew Benefit was such an aphrodisiac? On the other hand, I did once get down with a lady as side 1 of Songs From the Wood played.
April 25th, 2013
Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week and The Foo Fighters performed “Overture” from 2112 at the ceremony. And they did so in style wearing the same pseudo-kimonos that Rush themselves wore back in 1976.
April 5th, 2013
All Songs Considered is usually a vast wasteland of soulless indie crap, but I subscribe to their podcast because they occasionally have some gems and this is one of them. Ólöf Arnalds is an Icelandic musician/singer and “Treat Her Kindly” is an absolutely gorgeous song. I love the drone in the background – very Nordic.