Desolate. Poetic. Cinematic. Enter the dry crusty world of the Sonora Desert. Quite a scene they have down there.
To make a long story short, Giant Sand evolved from the 80's band Giant Sandworms, and moved from L.A. to Tucson, Arizona in the early 90's. It took songwriter/singer/guitarist Howe Gelb a few years before finally settling with a steady band lineup, who themselves moonlight significantly as Calexico(read on).
New to Giant Sand? Start with the masterpiece - Chore of Enchantment. For an album that was recorded over 3 years in several different studios and w/ different producers, it is one of the most coherant and intriguing "concept" albums since Pink Floyd's "The Wall". The album is a tribute to Howe's friend and co-hort Rainier Ptacek.
Once you get sucked in, we suggest committing equal interest to Howe's solo albums. Confluence was released on a major label in 2001, while you can only get Down Home 2000 through the OW OM store.
Hard to believe, but after all these years, the Kinks sound more relevant than ever.
The Kinks are misunderstood because they are belovedly remembered for a handful of songs that inarguably reside in anybody's greatest 100 rock song list. "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" might be in anybody's top 10.
Whatever may ail you this holiday season, you can always count on Jack McDuff to bring you through! Feel bothered? Alienated? Trapped? Bored? A whee bit stressed? ... this space recommends "Glide On" for smooth, funky organ / guitar music that gets you out of tough fixes.
Take it from a man who feels the pressure of pulling magic tricks from his arse each and every Christmas...... Jack McDuff : Gliiiiiiiiiide ON.
Listened to an audience recording of Velvet Underground from the Boston Tea Party (12-12-68). This show is astonishing, and you can really hear the room. Bass is thick and everywhere while the vocals are lower in the mix, but Lou Reed still cuts through. The sound seperation makes it easy to decipher the fantastic guitar interplay. Mo's drums lay a solid backbeat.
If you consider V.U. sloppy but dig their sincerity and influence, thou shalt reconsider!! The Velvets at their peak are definitive rock and roll. A wondrous racket.
So nothing kicks like the Mule. But they are too generous... sure we like getting treated to special guests like Phil Lesh and Greg Allman but for once, please give us an SF show w/out a Dead Set in the middle??
Thank you Warren and thank you Mr. Abst! And you other lads too. We are glad to see that you are a true band again. And we sure like some of those new songs... "About To Rage" hits the spot. "Devil Likes It Slow" was another smasher, but the tonite's keeper is "I'm So Tired" from the Beatles' White Album. I think we'll have to hear it again to believe it, but best I can recollect it was on the money.
The show was November 10, 2004 at the Fillmore in San Francisco. I downloaded a sanctioned soundboard souvenir from MuleTracks and should report that the soundboard quality is stupendous. I think I'll buy the download for the following night too!
The band was dressed in uniform as they were filming the 2-show run for a DVD. Not the typical fillmore show... usually it's free-wheeling, cover-heavy, severely jammed out. This was the most "pro" I've ever seen them, as they were really trying to nail down many of the newer songs. Which they did. But no segues and really a much different vibe. This was the disciplined show I always wanted but now I'm looking forward to traditional form in December.
The "Viking" - a rarity - completely blew doors. Brand new "Chains of Love" was really hot too. They were loud and they rocked!! Pretty fun time even though my co-traveler actually... you won't believe this... took a nap upstairs on the Fillmore balconey. And the way home... LONELY drive back across that menacing bay bridge. Thankfully my pals Miracle Man and Ddisko arrived in upbeat spirits following the Cardinals drudging of the Giants.
One more note: opener Jackie Greene was impressive.
Update: I appear for 0.7 seconds early in the DVD :-)
Lambchop just played the Fillmore for the first time after their double-release of Awcmon and No You C'mon. Interestingly, the CD they are selling on the road -- Nashville Does Dallas -- is better than both!
They were an 8-piece this time out on a range from 6 to 14. Sounded perfect. It sounded like warm, melting butter. As always. And note that Paul Neihaus was back in the fold. The "Strange Nashville" show now features some distinctive showmanship from Kurt Wagner. He bested even the infallible Col. Bruce Hampton for climactic one-note solo! The rage!!!
It's Friday night at the Warfield in SF and we have the tip. Expect something Deadish to happen. Please not! Tonite is exactly Gov't Mule Gig #1000. I really NEED my Mule and I'm looking forward to checking out the newly decided Mule 3.0. And that's what we get for the first set. They wasted no time... the opening Blind Man really showed us how Danny Louis can play with Warren. Matt Abst was his usual brilliant self. Andy Hess can certainly play with these guys too but he's far less in front than lost muler Allen Woody and some of the 2.0 revolving cast, such as Les Claypool.
Anyway, we take in a solid 70-minute set from the second downstairs tier. Intermission and we charge up front. Very front. Very smart. Who emerges, back to the audience, to twiddle w/ a bass rig on stage left for 20 minutes? Mister Phil Lesh, of course. A second drumset is assembled. Bob Weir is racing around backstage. Duh.
Now let me be clear... I love my Dead (w/ Jerry, that is) but as mentioned prior I NEED my Mule and I want it straight. Not too grudgingly we settle in up there and enjoy the ensuing 82-minute debut set of [upcoming summer 2004] The Dead. Minus Jimmy Herring. So Billy and Mickey and Phil and Bob and Warren and I suppose it was Chimenti. (tough angle!)
The drummers' coffee didn't kick in immediately but Phil dropped bombs and Weir really let Warren Haynes take command. It was his show after all. I should mention the "Sugaree" really smoked. Lesh was like a little kid... Warren kept trying to shake off "The Other One" but Phil kept insisting. Lesh got his way after an embarrassingly bad "Cryptical". Good god. "Viola Lee Blues" had it's moments, klunked a little too. "Lovelight" closed the set convincingly.
Hope everybody has a good time on Dead tour this summer but this was the only set I will require. Back to Mule. They played on for another hour with some hard bop and hard blues.
Here's the setlist:
1st Set: Drums > Drums/Bass > Drums/Bass/Keys > Blind Man In The Dark > Game Face > Birth Of The Mule ^> Slow Happy Boys, Fool's Moon, Bad Little Doggie > How Many More Years > Higher Ground > How Many More Years, One, Sco-Mule, When Doves Cry > Beautifully Broken > When Doves Cry > Beautifully Broken > Thorazine Shuffle
2nd Set(Dead Set): jam (1)> Lay Of The Sunflower (1)> Cryptical Envelopment (2)> The Other One (2)> Wang Dang Doodle (2)> The Other One (2)> Sugaree (2), Viola Lee Blues (2)(3)> Turn On Your Lovelight (2)(3)
3rd Set (back to Mule): John The Revelator (4)*> 32-20 Blues (4)> Drums (4)> jam (4)> 32-20 Blues (4)> Fiyo On The Bayou (4)+> 32-20 Blues (4), Keyboard intro > Fallen Down (4), Mule > Third Stone jam > MuleEncore: Keyboard intro > SoulshineSetlist
Notes: ^ contains Eleanor Rigby tease; (1) Phil Lesh on bass, no Andy; (2) Phil Lesh on bass, Bob Weir on guitar, Jeff Chementi on keyboards, Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart on drums, no Andy, Danny or Matt; (3) Matt & Danny return to the stage; * Danny on trumpet; (4) Zigaboo Modeliste on drums; + first time played
They came, they blazed, they bled, and they were accompanied by large dancing animals. The favorite was the, well, not sure what it was,,, a kangaroo? A unicorn who lost his horn?
I know I'm too old for this -- too damned old -- but somehow we made it all the way up front for the Flaming Lips. We saw Wayne Coyne nervously flit about the stage getting all his props in order. His trademark suit looked like it had been slept in for 30 nights but how he shined this night.
Now we have a theory,,, Wayne simply can't sing. Listen to the live tapes, and sure enough, he's just waaaaaaaaaaay off. But when you're there, you just don't know it. Think of Pink Floyd meets the Teletubbies. What really matters here? Dig the bleeding cross routine and the strobe suit during "Gash". That's heavy fun.
We did scare Mr. Coyne a time or two. Didn't mean it. You see, there were dozens of gigantic plastic bouncing balls that indeed were bounced about the Warfield for the entire show. My [tall] friend would catch a ball, hold it up for me, and I'd "Gash" it up and back, aiming for that famous balconey behind us. But sometimes it would shoot straight up and hit the stage lights waaaaaaaaaaaayyy up there and Wayne, trying to avoid a Curtis Mayfield moment, gave us a distressed glance and we chilled.
One of these days I'm going to be one of those dancing animals on the side of the stage but right now I'm too old for this. Ah, good show... good show.
