Monday, April 13, 2009

leonard cohen @ nokia theatre 4/11/09

"the panic of the moment"

well hats off indeed. 3.5 hr. gig of delightful music mixed to absolute perfection. one of the best bands I have ever seen - the steely dan of folk or something along those lines. the webb sisters sounded terribly on the mark, too good, and backed mr. cohen without ever over-taking him. His voice sounds better, or the same, or perfect as ever, or however you will have it: sublime - layers of experience and knowledge make you feel almost as if before some god. all the standards played to perfection - with a mix as if you were listening to this performance in the studio with three or four other people. the whole theatre seemed to shrink as his voice flushed into your brain and heart. achy to be sure. I suppose my main impression, and what I walked out of there with, was mr. cohen's sense of humility and honor. when his girlfriend sang "boogie st." his hat was off for her, held to his chest, the entire song. it was as if in his listening he were serenading her with silence and deference. an entirely real person, something you never see anymore. genuine beyond genuine. his hat was off to the band as well continuously thruout the evening, and to the audience. the poem "a thousand kisses deep" made me want to vomit I was so fraught with it.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

chelsea girls @ the roxy 4/10/09

covers. they came on around 11.30 - blond drums, blond bass, blond lead (pretty feisty guitar actually) and blond vocal. I think the bass player might've fronted nashville pussy at one time. blew water onto the crowd rather than jack daniels fireballs - ala okc so many years ago. these chicks were having fun: openers (and best cuts) included welcome to the jungle and baracuda. packed house of mainly idiots as usual forever. their third gig from what I could tell and to be honest, fairly good chops for a cover band. well thought out and well presented - just like the fine old club they played at. I stayed about halfway to 3/4,s thru the set then busted. w/ carmen electra introducing.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Monday, April 6, 2009

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Saturday, April 4, 2009

bonnie 'prince' billie @ modified 4/4/09

strange phoenix joint but a great show. he came on around midnight and played till around 1.30. about a hundred or so people in this tiny gallery with the worst sound set-up ever. not to mention all the poop of this first friday for the first friday mess. to the uneducated eye it looked like: lead fender strat, viola, billie on rhythm, upright electric bass, sick fucking drummer, and a very poorly amped/mic'd whatever mandolin. for a band that arrived looking pretty worn out they absolutely busted, ripping thru mostly older material. the crowd, besides a few idiots, was clearly reverent, giving him his due. idiots with flashes everywhere tho. huh.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

jj cale @ belly up 3/29/09

jj came on at around 9pm for an unplugged gig in solana beach supporting his "roll on" record. The set, though, was full of excellent standards with just a couple new ones in the middle of the show. The band was in top form - jj on guitar, some sort of semi-acoustic job, and his four backers on respectively: a casio keyboard, fender bass, drum kit and electronic drum kit supplying tabla. It was a fine show with jj in fine form with the feel of grasshopper in breadth: he played two or three instrumentals. the crowd sucked - screams of magnolia (which he encored with) and after midnight thruout the night. Due to the unplugged format there were also "turn it up" and "louder" screams to which jj didn't acknowledge. He played quiet and cool and it was kick ass all around. His guitar work was impressive and seemingly un-rehearsed. The chops and vocals are still there. The one cover was a jimmy reed tune the tabla player sang. After midnight and cocaine were of course covered. The dude continues to amaze me - he stands for everything fine and independent in modern rock and roll and still, nobody gets it.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

dig

I wonder sometimes what is so different between a classical piano recital in some aged parisian church and tom petty at the greek. or for that matter where george winston comes into play...are we all so jelous? - lo winston's guitar play is fine stuff, tho no one appears to listen. or bob weir's rhythm play or john jacob niles' comprehensive guides - the quietude of the good stuff; the seamlessness of it.

where does the enjoyment of music cross over into the need for music? what is good music? what is talent? is talent passion - i.e. odetta in her last days or miles in the 80's? Why are there trends in music?

these and many other questions my blog will attempt to answer, or ruminate on really. also maybe a look here and there at fine pieces of vinyl and their implications. all the very very----