It’s about time I got back on the road again. The Herndon circuit. Crossroads, will you ever let me go? So, I’m auditioning for a new band next Tuesday. If all turns out well, I’ll be back where I belong this summer: playing cheesy 80s pop songs to drunk people who don’t care what day it is much less that there’s a band playing. Before I get there though, I have to pass the audition, and before that, I have to learn forty songs this weekend. I heard you had a big mp3 collection…
Holidays are here again
For those still looking for gifts, Shinedown is the best Soundgarden cover band this side of Audioslave. And, the CD doesn’t have any of that XCP BS. Not to be confused with Trey Anastasio’s solo effort, Shine, which does have XCP, and it really sucks besides.
Weary of travel, I am spending the X-mas and New Year’s here in VA. I’m going to cook a turkey on Christmas morning with AC. Should any friends reading this feel like joining us in person, you are more than welcome to drop by. There will be way too much food for the two of us to eat. Also, my yearly confession of no social life: invite me to your NYE party, kthx.
Bad music
My new contender for worst song ever is the dance mix of “Kiss the Rain.” Somehow I managed to escape this song for most of its lifetime; however, it caught up with me: they play it every single time I am at the gym. Hearing the lady wail a barely-on-key refrain over and over and over again provides a strong incentive to either work out more often such that if I ever meet the guilty sampler, I may handily pummel him, or else to never work out again. I’m not sure which.
Also, gym people, please stop playing anything by Cher, kthx.
Labor days are here again
Now that it’s Wednesday, it’s time to recap the weekend. I’m a slacker.
Saturday night I had the pleasure of seeing Derek Trucks Band (again) with Angeline up at the Recher. DTB was in good form with a mostly new set (not even Joyful Noise made an appearance) featuring some good gospel-y numbers and a straight-ahead jazz rendition of Greensleeves. Good stuff, listen for yourself.
A pleasant surprise was Baltimore-based opener Jayakar, who turned out a set full of nicely arranged, funky, memorable jam tunes. Apart from some weakness in the vocals department, the band has got it together and I look forward to seeing them on their own soon.
On top of that, we discovered a nearby billiards and table tennis Mecca, as well as a nice place for a five mile hike. Thus I suggest a new slogan for the Maryland tourism board: “Baltimore: why not?”
Weekend
So, the weekend was a smash. It began on Saturday (as many weekends do), with the fun that is removing kitchen cabinets. Armed with a crowbar, an electric screwdriver, and a healthy disregard for safety, Angeline and I tore into the melamine boxes, liberating screws and nails from twenty years of servitude. In the space of a couple of hours, we pulled out all of the base cabinets, the countertop, and the range hood. We then took a break and screened Jerome’s new favorite movie, Wedding Crashers. I concur with his review.
The next morning I unwired all of the appliances in preparation for the arrival of hired hands Scott and Jerome. I didn’t even electrocute myself. After help arrived, we drew on Scott’s extensive mechanical engineering background and J’s immense skill in belt-tightening to move the big stuff in about half an hour. Then we chatted a bit over a beer and an orange (it’s a breakfast drink). I’d blog more about this but it really deserves a podcast.
Sunday evening I went to go see the Dragonflys [sic]. I went solo but had a great time anyway. The State was sparsely populated, so I was one of only maybe half a dozen people in the dance floor area — most other patrons had taken a table. Barraco joked, “what is this, dinner theater?” I situated myself just to the left of Jimmy Herring’s monitor, directly in front of the stage (a convenient place, by the way, to rest one’s Sam Adams). This ensured the mix that I heard was about 95% Jimmy’s Super Reverb and 5% everyone else. They played a lot of the tunes from the CD which I am completely unfamiliar with (note, Jimmy does not appear on the recording), but there were also a few blues and jam tunes on which the band wailed. In fact the only song I recognized was a perfect cover of Steely Dan’s Kid Charlemagne. Larry Carlton’s solo on that song is widely considered one of the best rock solos of all time, and Jimmy resisted the urge to go crazy, playing the solos note for note. On other tunes, Herring played firey jazz lines, always with a wry smile peeking out under his beard, and at times full on laughter when he and another band member would quote each other’s phrases. I couldn’t hear Barraco that well, but he is a fine keyboard player with a good voice. The bandmates connected for tight vocal harmonies and plenty of rhythmic and melodic interest. In all, the show was well worth the $13 and if Jimmy ever blows up, I’m going to miss being able to watch from ten feet away.
That guy named after fish
People often ask me to recommend new music. They ask, I presume, because radio sucks now, and because, as a musician, I must have my fingers on the pulse of the underground. Unfortunately, my few musical discoveries have been more or less serendipitous, or else the artists that I do like are not accessible to the average non-musician. (My mom once said of a frenetic Coltrane solo, “That sounds like a bunch of noise.” “Of course,” I replied.)
But here is a brand new band, whom I haven’t ever heard, yet who I know will destroy every other band in their path. Called The Dragonflys (yes, spelled thus), the band features Jimmy Herring on guitar and Rob Barraco on keys, both of The Dead and many other bands. I have waxed rhapsodic about Jimmy Herring before, so I’ll neglect to do so again. But this weekend’s show at The State Theater is going to be an amazing set, and I’ll stake a pile of cash on that without having listened to a single Dragonflys track.
Dragonflys. The State. Sunday. 8:30pm. I encourage both of my readers to attend.
EJ
Last night I went to go see the guitarist Eric Johnson. This makes the fifth show of his that I’ve seen. It was a decent show, but I don’t think EJ brought anything new to this tour. He has a new CD out (I haven’t heard it) and most of the selections he played from it were less than stellar, except “12 to 12” which has been in his setlist for years. Anyway, he played lots of Ah Via stuff including “Cliffs of Dover” which I am happy to learn is hybrid picked. String skipping that intro is damn near impossible.
I’m also coming to the realization that EJ can’t improvise his way out of a paper bag. The protracted opening to “Cliffs” had no direction apart from “play a set of dispersed triads in a random key center and then play a fast descending pentatonic lick.” Melodic development in many of his solos was absent, which is a shame because the guy does possess the ability to write good lines (see Manhattan’s non-improvised jazz solo).
What did make the ticket price worthwhile was opener Josh Dion Band. Dion is a energetic singer/drummer with great chops on both sides of the slash. His band, a seven person crew with keys, bass, guitar, and three backup singers, delivered a high powered set of funk that never flagged. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys again.
Not censored yet
18 people in China downloaded my silly rendition of yankee doodle via some crazy search engine (the ranking seems to change by the minute). World tour in 3..2..1..
Codetalkers
Last night I went to see Col. Bruce Hampton and the Codetalkers, with special guest Jimmy Herring. Hampton of course was the brainchild behind the unit who rescued the aquarium, where Jimmy first came to acclaim by literally dozens of fans. The crowd at historic State Theater last night was also pretty sparse, around 150 at the most, but those of us who made it caught a real treat. The State bills Codetalkers as “eclectic,” which was right on: selections ranged from bluegrass to standard jazz progressions, all mixed in with the band’s great stage antics. (At one point, on cue from the colonel, everyone began playing with their instrument behind their head. Including the bass player. Who was playing an upright string bass.)
I’ve raved about him before but I have to say that Herring once again reinforced my conviction that he is today’s best unknown guitarist. He effortlessly plays in, around, and outside the changes, at times with a Allman-esque pentatonic simplicity, at others with blistering arpeggios and bebop riffs. Also contributing was local Ron Holloway on the sax. I thought I had seen him play before, and after poking around on his website, I’m pretty sure he sat in on a DTB show at the Birchmere once.
Codetalkers aren’t what I would consider “serious” music, but they are all serious musicians, just having fun on stage. And if you don’t have a good time watching them, you suck.
Vai
Last night I went to Baltimore with Wizz and Newman to watch Steve Vai in all of his completely over-the-top vainglory. That’s not me being harsh, that’s just his shtick: the guy even has a fan on stage to blow his long flowing tresses about. As Brandon put it, “wardrobe changes, interpretive dance, homo-erotic guitar sharing, what more could you want?” Well, for all that, the guy definitely has skills. Pictured above-left is one of the highlights of the evening: Vai and other masterful guitarist / keyboard player Tony MacAlpine trading licks behind someone’s gargantuan head. TMAC’s shirt said “I trip over my wiener” and there’s a picture of a dachshund. The show closed with a jam number including special guest Mike Keneally aka Hat Guy, bringing the total number of guitarists on stage to five.
One thing is clear: I need a guitar with LEDs in the fretboard.
I left my wallet in Brandon’s car, and didn’t feel like going back over to retrieve it at 1:30 AM last night. This brought up an interesting problem: how do you get to work the next day if Metro costs $5 and you have no money or no obvious way to get money? The answer: Coinstar! Though, it just might be a good idea to keep a couple twenties in the house in case that ever happens again.