January 2008 Archives

I'd like to start this post by saying, People! Please start going to good shows again. I was willing to forgive you for not going to see Will Hoge last week, because Southern California was almost entirely under water with all that rain, but you had no excuse this week for your lack of attendance at what I think may easily have been The Best Show Ever.

I was actually on the fence about whether or not I wanted to see Mark Olson (of the Jayhawks - I'm not sure if I should say "formerly" of the Jayhawks or not - are they getting back together? Are they not? I don't have a clue anymore) and Mary Gauthier, only because the responsible voice inside my head kept saying I should really throw that money at some bills instead of the $20 it would cost for the ticket, plus the $2 service fee, plus parking, plus beer...Then again, I had another voice inside my head (and this one MUCH more obnoxious and whiny) saying, "But you stayed home last night! Can't you go out tonight?" And then of course, it's the end of the month, and when I saw that my paycheck was more - much more - than I thought it was going to be - well, that obnoxious whiny voice won big time.

Mary Gauthier was clearly the draw of the evening - sonically, she's a lot like Lucinda Williams, but for as pissed off as Lucinda Williams is, Mary Gauthier is just sad and depressed. I almost want to tell her that the world isn't that fucked up - but then again, I don't, 'cause then her music wouldn't be as good. No backing band for Ms. Gauthier, just a guitar and harmonica, and she kicked ass.

Unfortunately, I think about a quarter of the audience had left by the time Mark Olson had finished - which totally sucked, because he was really great! I think of him as what I would think of Bob Dylan, if I liked Bob Dylan. But I don't. I hate Bob Dylan. I hear other people sing his songs, and I think it's the greatest thing ever. Then I hear Bob Dylan sing his songs, and I find myself praying to a god I don't even believe in for some sort of very loud explosion to happen nearby, permanently damaging my ears so that I never have to hear Bob Dylan again. But Mark Olson was phenomenal - and with only his guitar, fiddle player (who's name I can't remember, but I know he was from Italy and he was awesome - I'm a sucker for fiddle players), and percussionist who sometimes played the piano - it made for a very intimate show.

Perhaps I should mention that I was drinking at this show - no shock to anyone, I suppose. However, my drink of choice is Shiner Bock, which I've only seen sold in Texas, at Alex's Bar, and at some sports bar in Santa Monica (and sold in the bottle at Ralph's, Howe's, and Whole Foods). So it's not a huge surprise to me to find that the Troubadour doesn't carry it. My second choice drink (a distant second) is a good ole Bud Light, which the Troubadour also does not sell. So I have to order an MGD. Six dollars for one MGD! I nursed that first MGD through Mary's set, giving me a fairly good buzz. Now, the Troubadour is usually a standing-room-only venue, but they'd laid out the folding chairs for this show, which I thought was hot. That was EXACTLY how I wanted to spend my night - just a little drunk, watching good live music. However, the place was packed enough that I wasn't able to get the ideal aisle seat that's also close enough to the center of the stage. So I was stuck in the middle, and as I frequently do at "sit down" concerts, I budget that if the opening act played about 45 minutes, the closing act would play about an hour and a half, so I'd need two more drinks. During the interval between acts, I got up to get two more MGDs - that way, I wouldn't have to get up in the middle of the set. Genius, isn't it?! I can't help it - I'm a thinker. However, I'd just - and I mean, just started my third MGD - only 50 minutes in! - when Mark Olson announced his last song. So I had to chug, because I'd paid $6 for that beer alone, and as much as I'd tried, I couldn't forget that I'd spent over $20 on beer, and easily could have bought a 12-pack for less than that at my local market. "This is what I get for trying to be responsible," I thought.

All in all, it turned out well, except for the fact that I'm really pissed off that YOU didn't go. Please don't make me even madder by not showing up to the Hot Club of Cowtown show at Safari Sam's on Saturday. Unless you want to be lame like Wanda and go to the Stevie Nicks show instead.

Maybe one day they'll learn how to properly spell "Yep Roc."

After working nights for the past year and a half, you can only imagine how excited I was when two weeks ago, my ultra-cool new boss swapped me to working days. But I was also a little nervous. For the past year and a half, my nightlife had been relegated to hoping that the good bands were playing on one of my two nights off each week...so I felt a little rusty going back to my previous life of going out three to four nights a week. Would I really be able to take back my throne as the Queen of the Honky Tonks?

Happily, the answer was yes.

I hit the ground running on Wednesday, January 16th (the previous two days were spent trying to work ahead, in anticipation of Punk Rock Bowling that weekend) with Cross Canadian Ragweed at my favorite venue, the House of Blues, Sunset. Last year's show was comprised of almost entirely new material from their then-current album, Garage, which was cool, but people come to see CCR for "17," "Constantly," "Bang My Head," and the like. CCR played a nice mix of the old and new this time around (Hey, they played that song, too!), and getting to sing back, "Sweet Home Alabama!" at Cody Canada's prompt of, "They sang about Savannah..." was one of the moments that I know I'll look back on fondly on my deathbed. Cody, by the way, looks a lot less scary now that's he's cut off much of his formerly waist-length hair.

Punk Rock Bowling that weekend consisted of a lot of driving, bowling, shopping (you need to see my boots), eating (I'm still thinking about that chicken I had at Billy Bob's Steakhouse), but mostly drinking. Got to see The Adolescents Friday night, and Throw Rag proved on Saturday night that even with a crappy sound system, they are still great - both clothed and unclothed.

I left Las Vegas early Sunday afternoon, concerned about the amount of work I'd have waiting for me at the office on Monday...and also wanted a bit of a "resting period" before the week began. My "resting period" plans were blown out of the water half-way through my drive when a friend reminded me that Pat Green was playing at the House of Blues, Anaheim that night. I've never been able to resist temptation, so I drove straight to Disneyland, with enough time to change clothes, get tickets, and still see the opening band, who was about as memorable as their name (I couldn't tell ya to save my life). Pat was awesome, but in case I was worried that Orange County wasn't as Republican as ever, I can now rest assured that that's not the case at all. Pat's mention of, "I'm looking forward to 2008! Yeah, there's gonna be a new jerk in office. Or a woman!" was met with boos, and when Pat sang, "Here We Go," and substituted "Toby Keith" for "Nashville" in the line, "I gave up on Nashville a long time ago," I was the only one who cheered. Great.

Wednesday afternoon found me at the taping of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," as Shooter Jenningswas the musical guest. Watching the taping is truly an amazing experience - it really doesn't seem possible that they're able to write (especially without writers), produce, memorize monologues, rehearse, and execute a full hour show day after day. Guests included a contortionist, a crazy lady who spun dishes and bowls at the top of poles, and another crazy lady who made her housecats do all sorts of wacky tricks (they call this "Writers' Strike Filler"). Adam Carolla and Richard Roeper rounded out the guest list (Adam Carolla's voice isn't nearly as obnoxious as I remember it being on "Loveline" - that was part of his charm!), and Shooter was awesome.

I had sort of a dilemma in planning Friday night...Jason Isbell (formerly of the Drive-By Truckers) and Will Hoge were playing at Spaceland, but Todd Snider (who is a not-miss) was playing at The Mint, followed by Steve Poltz's CD release party. Fortunately, I discovered a work-around...if I went to see Jason and Will at the Vault 350 in Long Beach Thursday night, that would free me up to see Todd and Steve at the Mint Friday night. And I wouldn't have to worry about getting lost driving in Silverlake. Perfect.

I'd called the Vault ahead of time to get a rough estimate of when Will Hoge (my priority) would be going on (I knew I'd need to take a nap if he was going on late enough) and was told 11p. I figured if I arrived by 10p, I'd be able to see most of Jason Isbell's set, and all of Will's. Well, shockingly, I got lost in Long Beach, and arrived at approximately 10:15p to discover signs on the front door saying that Will and the opener would be playing extended sets because Jason was ill. From within, I could hear Will crooning, "When I Can Afford to Lose," the first song on his new CD, Draw the Curtains, so I was anxious to get inside, but not so anxious that I didn't let the doorman give me a comp ticket because I was cute (read: because I have a nice rack). Inside, I found that the torrential rains had kept most people away - there were maybe 30 people in the venue that I'd seen fit 700. It was cool, though, to be able to sit down and watch a great show at a great venue, and even Will sadly commented that the Vault had the best sound at any venue he'd played at during this tour, and only a handful of people had braved the weather to see it.

We were a bit late arriving at the Mint for Todd's scheduled 8p performance, but that was okay, because Todd was more than a bit late going on stage, so it all worked out. This was the third night that Todd had played the Mint, and he'd be back Saturday night, and if I had been able to, I would've attended all four nights - Todd is that awesome. I thought it was a little ironic that Todd was playing Los Angeles on the same night that his nemesis, Garth Brooks, was also playing Los Angeles (more about that in a bit), and yet, he didn't take on his usual diatribe about how one of the songwriters of Garth's "Beer Run," had stolen the idea from him, and in retaliation, Todd wrote a song called "If Tomorrow Never Comes," which has a completely different message than Garth's hit of the same name. Todd played both songs, but omitted his usual explanation.

Prior to Steve Poltz's set, a guy named Tim Bluhm, lead singer of The Mother Hips, played. Tim has a very nice voice, and a mellow, but not unenjoyable, set. Tim and Steve host a songwriters' workshop each year; this year it will be in Yosemite, and in Costa Rica next.

Although Steve co-wrote Jewel's "You Were Meant for Me," his sound is far from commercial-pop. Sonically, he's much more similar to Tim Easton, Blue Rodeo, and Jayhawks, but he's also definitely been influenced by Todd Snider, with his comedic and frequently self-deprecating explanations of how some of his songs came about.

It was time for something completely different Saturday night, as I held tickets to see one Garth Brooks play the last of five shows held over two days, an unprecedented move by any performer. The concerts were a benefit for the Southern California 2008 Fire Relief Campaign, with all proceeds from tickets and merch sales going to the fund. Garth had played two shows (one at 6p; one at 10p) Friday night, with the first airing live on CBS. I understand that Garth was not a fan of having to constantly stop and start between songs for the taping, and was much more amped up for the second Friday night show. Each of Garth's five performances had slightly different set lists (Garth says he knows that there are some die-hard fans who would be in attendance at all five shows and wanted to mix it up for them, and to have people compare notes and say, "No, he didn't do that at our show!"), and Huey Lewis was a guest at the Friday night shows, but not at the Saturday shows. Garth's wife, the phenomenal Trisha Yearwood, performed a couple of songs with Garth at all five shows, earning more applause than Garth himself! The chemistry between them was unbelievable during their Grammy-winning duet, "In Another's Eyes," even from opposite ends of the stage. I felt a little like I was seeing Garth fifteen years too late - in videos, we see him running all over and jumping off the stage, and this show didn't have that kind of energy - maybe because the man is now nearly 46 years old - and also because this was his fifth show in two days - and third show in one day! However, it was very clear how much Garth loves performing and how much he misses it - and also how much his fans miss him.

I haven't really had time to make plans for this week's night life, except I know that I'll be back at the NBC studios on Monday to see Dierks Bentley perform on Leno...but with Lady Antebellumat the Mint on Tuesday, Deana Carter at the Roxy also on Tuesday, and Mark Olson and Mary Gauthier at the Troubadour on Thursday...it looks like my dance card is starting to fill up.

So it seems that young Miley Cyrus is such a fan of Shooter Jennings that she named her new puppy Shooter after him. This makes her cool enough that I may consider becoming a Hannah Montana fan after all. I wonder if Shooter can get tickets to her show?

(By the way, Shooter performs on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" tonight, January 23rd. Ms. Jen, it's okay to turn on your TV for that, right?)

Favorite Albums –
The only things I can come up with off the top of my head – other than this cheap toupee – are “At My Age” by Nick Lowe and “The Last Post” by Carbon/Silicon. Nick Lowe is not doing his “brooding serious artiste” thing this time and is back to being funny. For those in need of an introduction, Carbon/Silicon is the current project of old punk rock heroes Mick Jones and Tony James. It may not be as good as The Clash or Generation X, but it sure beats the snot out of Big Audio Dynamite and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. What do these acts have in common? All of them – Nick Lowe and the two principals of Carbon/Silicon – are either gray-haired, bald, or both. I find that safe and non-threatening.
They’re also English. I find English people safe and non-threatening.

Favorite Example of Music Journalism.
A review of a Van Halen show in the OC Register used the following phrases:
1. Feverishly tapped arpeggios
2. Six-string wizardry
3. Largely unparalleled expertise
4. Stormy sonic squalls
5. Complex fretwork
6. Tearing up so many monster riffs

A Memorable Live Show – The Germs at the Key Club, Hollywood, December 29th.
So the singer of the Germs died in 1980, someone makes a movie about him in 2007, the band reunites and hires the actor who plays him in the movie to be their new singer. Some people consider this sacrilege. I like it. I think it’s a good idea. Some people, like Jello Biafra, have said that it’s un-punk and that the Germs should not be doing what their doing. That should be all the justification they need to keep doing it.
At the Key Club (formerly Gazzari’s), the Germs started on time and played for over an hour. That never happened with the original band. Singer Shane West, who also acts in one of those TV hospital shows I’ve never seen, is quite comfortable on stage and has become quite effective in dealing with hecklers. Darby Crash was probably never comfortable on stage. Is it really the Germs? Who cares? It’s as close as most people are ever going to get. It's not a tribute or a re-enactment, it’s just a show and it’s a darned good one. The Germs had some great songs and the songs should be performed live.
If some people don’t like it, that’s their problem.

The Ventures Are Finally Getting Inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I realize that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is impossible to take seriously, but it’s still nice to see the Ventures get some recognition for being one of the greatest bands ever. In my book, they’re up there with The Beatles and The Ramones and should have been voted in during their first year of eligibility, which I believe was 1826. Their genius was eliminating all the unnecessary clutter in songs – like the words – and stripping it down to just guitars and drums. This is as unexpected and as life-affirming as Rodney Bingenheimer getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Congratulations.

Now if those Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snobs really want to retroactively buy some credibility, they should invite KISS to their little clubhouse. KISS proudly represent everything that is loud, tacky and tasteless about rock and roll. The Hall of Fame committee, or whatever they are, seem to have forgotten that rock and roll is supposed to be loud, tacky, and tasteless. Madonna is getting voted in this year and she is basically just KISS with breasts.
I suspect that what is really preventing KISS from entering those hallowed and pretentious halls is the large fire-breathing, blood-spewing, and opinionated mouth of Gene Simmons. He has let it be known that he wants nothing to do with this Hall of Fame nonsense. However, Ozzy Osbourne and Johnny Rotten also said the same thing but that didn’t stop the Hall from inducting their bands against their wills. Why not KISS? It can’t be based on popularity because KISS was bigger than Black Sabbath and the Sex Pistols combined, with Little Johnny Cougar and Jefferson Airplane thrown in for good measure.
Ozzy was easy enough keep in line with sedatives and all Johnny did was send a nasty letter and boycott the ceremony, but Demon Gene wouldn’t let them off so easy. They know that he would not only show up, but show up sober and articulate, eat everything at the buffet table, and talk until the room was empty.
That will be something to hope for in 2008. Or maybe 2009.

Predictions for 2008
Since I recently obtained box of records that contained nineteen KISS albums, I predict that I will write something about them (that last bit was just a teaser). Since there were also a couple of Donny Osmond records in the box, I predict that I will give them to Cindy Lu at the next meeting of the great barflies.net minds.

Fashion Trend for 2008 – Pantaloons. Laugh if you want, but I was right about eye patches a few years ago.

Like me, Dave Alvin has always lived in California. The housing tract across the street from my house used to be filled with orange groves, although the scent of orange blossoms is long gone. So when Alvin sings about bulldozing the orange groves and dry rivers, well, it strikes a chord. Now Alvin has a new album, West of West: Songs from California Songwriters—Volume 1, that is supposed to be autobiographical (even though he only wrote one half of one of the 13 songs). Don't you find that when Alvin sings his song, the California song, he's singing your song too?

“I’m a fourth generation Californian,” Dave declares. “I grew up here and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, but it’s not blemish free. It took me a while to understand that Brian Wilson’s songs were about sun and fun with a hint of melancholy, and that hint is what makes that Beach Boys stuff so amazing. Woody Guthrie wrote about looking for the promised land but he also wrote about the migrant camps. When people outside the state think of California , they don’t think of migrant camps and hard times, but that’s what Haggard is singing about in many of his California songs. The best California songs come from the intersection where hopes and reality collide."

Dave Alvin is playing at McCabe's in Santa Monica, CA in January.

Upcoming Shows:
Fri. & Sat. January 18-19 @ McCabe’s
3101 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Now that CMJ has dropped their alt country music reporting for independent, community and college radio stations, thank God we have John Conquest at Third Coast Music to take up the cause. As part of his work with the essential publication for roots music, John has put together a collective of alt country djs under the moniker Freeform American Roots - FAR - and compiles a monthly listing of "real music played by real djs for real people."

According to the Third Coast Music website, "FAR charts are compiled from reports sent in by actual DJs with freeform (i.e. no playlists) radio shows on public, college and community stations round the country (and world). Each of them lists the six albums they took most pleasure in playing, one of which can be their Album of the Month (designated by a * and their initials)." This is of course, in direct opposition to most other radio stations, country or not, where music is picked by computer or by committee based on a tangled metric of advertising, demographics, payola, and voodoo. You can view the FAR charts for November here.

In addition to the charts, TCM also compiles a year-end "Best Of", so I thought I'd share this years Best of 2007 with you. While I don't agree with all these picks, nor even play them on my own show, they make a nice alternative checklist for those of you looking for some real roots music to check out.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
#1 Starline Rhythm Boys: Red’s Place
2 Sam Baker: Pretty World
3 Levon Helm: Dirt Farmer
4 Steve Earle: Washington Square Serenade
5 Eilen Jewell: Letters From Sinners And Strangers
6 Cornell Hurd Band: Beyond The Purple Hills
7 Teddy Thompson: Upfront And Down Low
8 Gurf Morlix: Diamonds To Dust
9 Dwight Yoakam: Dwight Sings Buck
10 John Lilly: Haunted Honky Tonk
11 Ry Cooder: My Name Is Buddy
12 Elizabeth Cook: Balls
13 Jimmy LaFave: Cimarron Manifesto
14 David Serby: Another Sleepness Night
15 The Rizdales: Radio Country
16 Mavis Staples: We’ll Never Turn Back
17 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand
18 Yarn
19 Dennis Brennan: Engagement
20 Bill Kirchen: Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods

DEBUT ALBUM
#1 Kendall Carson: Rearview Mirror Tears [6]
2 Rachel Harrington: The Bootlegger’s Daughter
3 Ryan Bingham: Mescalito
4 Martha Scanlan: The West Was Burning
5 Laura Bell: Looking for A Place Already Gone

VARIOUS ARTISTS/TRIBUTE ALBUM
#1 Goin’ Home; A Tribute To Fats Domino
2 Wounded Heart Of America; Tom Russell Songs
3 Song Of America
4 Dwight Yoakam: Dwight Sings Buck
5 Just One More; A Tribute To Larry Brown
5 Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Vols 2 & 3
6 Always Lift Him Up; Tribute To Blind Alfred Reed

Big Sandy should have a new album out, shouldn't they? Please boys, be more prolific! Until they are, we can enjoy the "good old tunes" when they play locally in Southern California.

Click this link for a media player for the song, “Slippin’ Away,” from their latest Yep Roc release, TURNTABLE MATINEE!

UPCOMING SHOWS:

Fri. January 11 @ Blue Café
210 Promenade
Long Beach, CA 90802

Sat. January 12 @ Arcadia Blues Club
16 E. Huntington Dr.
Arcadia, CA 91006