Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Iowa Arts Festival; June 4, 2011; Downtown Iowa City
I came for Joe Ely the night before, but I stayed for today’s line-up, an impressive one that included some all time favorites and some new ones. Sam Knutson had been introduced to me as Iowa City’s resident singer-songwriter, though at the time he was running sound for Ha Ha Tonka at the Mill. He gave me a copy of his un-mastered CD, a creative collection he intends to put out one of these days. As the first act on the stage today he stuck to some of his more tried and true songs, some of them more than a decade old. He was accompanied by a relaxed rhythm section that had obviously played with him before. There was a short break before David Zollo who started early so that he could head out of town to another gig. I remembered Zollo from his days in High and Lonesome (one of the greatest alt country band names ever), and while his set wasn’t that memorable today, it was certainly pleasant.
That left a big break before Teddy Thompson was scheduled to take the stage, so I took refuge from the heat in a neighborhood bar for a Bloody Mary and nacho time out. It seemed a bit odd that the solo Thompson had been booked for an outdoor festival, but the very civilized crowd was quiet and attentive during his set. Even though Thompson looks angry in most of the pictures I took, he seemed to be really enjoying himself. His dry British humor spiced up the between song banter. “I’m going to play another song,” he stated matter-of-factly, “because that is what I am paid to do. I showed up here thinking I would try out some stand-up comedy, but they told me no, I had a contract to sing.” “I have some really interesting sweat stains going on here,” he bemoaned as the heat grew more oppressive, and someone yelled at him to take off his shirt. “I might,” he grinned, “I’ve been working out you know.”
Thompson’s newest release Bella is another strong collection, though the song titles seem to suggest a cycle of failed relationships. The opening track “Looking for a Girl” details a wish list of qualities for the perfect girl (drinks, smokes, takes a joke, good in bed, you know, the usual requirements), while subsequent titles “Take Me Back Again,” “Take Care of Yourself,” and “Gotta Have Someone” suggest that even when he knows what he’s looking for it doesn’t always work out. He dedicated part of his set to songs from his country covers record Up Front and Down Low where he takes on classic American artists like Ernest Tubb’s “Walking the Floor Over You” and Charlie Louvin’s “You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye).” “I’m qualified to do country songs,” he claimed, “I am from the south… of England.” He went on to claim that the British seemed to know more about real country music these days than we did, “What have you done to it?” he asked, concerned. “Well, not you in particular, but as a country.”
He was followed by my long-time favorites the Bottle Rockets. I’d talked to them earlier in the day, and they didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see me so far from home, even when they were scheduled to be in Madison the next weekend. It must have made some impression though because after a conference following the first song of the encore, Brian stepped up to the mike, “She is all the way in Iowa, we might as well play her song.” I was grinning ear to ear from the first note till the last of “When I Was Dumb.” This was definitely an earned encore. Brian had already put away his guitar and pedals when the crowd’s enthusiasm brought them back. “I’ve only gotten my pedals back out once before, you guys are pretty special.” They deserved the crowd’s admiration, they had just played a blistering set that drew from their entire catalog. Classics like the bouncy “Hey Moon” and the tragic “Kerosene” from their self-titled first record paired up with tunes “The Long Way” and my personal favorite “Get on the Bus” from Lean Forward, their most recent release. I found out later that lead singer and songwriter Brian Henneman actually is a bus rider, which didn’t surprise me at all.
The night ended with Alejandro Escovedo. I enjoy Escovedo, but (at the risk of blasphemy) I don’t love him the way most of the alt-country crowd does. That meant rather than stay right up front I could return to the Beverage Area and watch the rest of the show from there. I’m glad I didn’t leave though since Escovedo brought Bottle Rocket guitarist John Horton out to play on a couple covers at the end of the night. This is often my favorite part of one of his shows, as he tends to pick some interesting ones. I’ve seen him do “Beast of Burden” many times, but tonight it was the underrated “Miss You.” Horton was awesome. Yep, very glad I stayed.
Sam Knutson
Teddy Thompson
Bottle Rockets
I came for Joe Ely the night before, but I stayed for today’s line-up, an impressive one that included some all time favorites and some new ones. Sam Knutson had been introduced to me as Iowa City’s resident singer-songwriter, though at the time he was running sound for Ha Ha Tonka at the Mill. He gave me a copy of his un-mastered CD, a creative collection he intends to put out one of these days. As the first act on the stage today he stuck to some of his more tried and true songs, some of them more than a decade old. He was accompanied by a relaxed rhythm section that had obviously played with him before. There was a short break before David Zollo who started early so that he could head out of town to another gig. I remembered Zollo from his days in High and Lonesome (one of the greatest alt country band names ever), and while his set wasn’t that memorable today, it was certainly pleasant.
That left a big break before Teddy Thompson was scheduled to take the stage, so I took refuge from the heat in a neighborhood bar for a Bloody Mary and nacho time out. It seemed a bit odd that the solo Thompson had been booked for an outdoor festival, but the very civilized crowd was quiet and attentive during his set. Even though Thompson looks angry in most of the pictures I took, he seemed to be really enjoying himself. His dry British humor spiced up the between song banter. “I’m going to play another song,” he stated matter-of-factly, “because that is what I am paid to do. I showed up here thinking I would try out some stand-up comedy, but they told me no, I had a contract to sing.” “I have some really interesting sweat stains going on here,” he bemoaned as the heat grew more oppressive, and someone yelled at him to take off his shirt. “I might,” he grinned, “I’ve been working out you know.”
Thompson’s newest release Bella is another strong collection, though the song titles seem to suggest a cycle of failed relationships. The opening track “Looking for a Girl” details a wish list of qualities for the perfect girl (drinks, smokes, takes a joke, good in bed, you know, the usual requirements), while subsequent titles “Take Me Back Again,” “Take Care of Yourself,” and “Gotta Have Someone” suggest that even when he knows what he’s looking for it doesn’t always work out. He dedicated part of his set to songs from his country covers record Up Front and Down Low where he takes on classic American artists like Ernest Tubb’s “Walking the Floor Over You” and Charlie Louvin’s “You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye).” “I’m qualified to do country songs,” he claimed, “I am from the south… of England.” He went on to claim that the British seemed to know more about real country music these days than we did, “What have you done to it?” he asked, concerned. “Well, not you in particular, but as a country.”
He was followed by my long-time favorites the Bottle Rockets. I’d talked to them earlier in the day, and they didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see me so far from home, even when they were scheduled to be in Madison the next weekend. It must have made some impression though because after a conference following the first song of the encore, Brian stepped up to the mike, “She is all the way in Iowa, we might as well play her song.” I was grinning ear to ear from the first note till the last of “When I Was Dumb.” This was definitely an earned encore. Brian had already put away his guitar and pedals when the crowd’s enthusiasm brought them back. “I’ve only gotten my pedals back out once before, you guys are pretty special.” They deserved the crowd’s admiration, they had just played a blistering set that drew from their entire catalog. Classics like the bouncy “Hey Moon” and the tragic “Kerosene” from their self-titled first record paired up with tunes “The Long Way” and my personal favorite “Get on the Bus” from Lean Forward, their most recent release. I found out later that lead singer and songwriter Brian Henneman actually is a bus rider, which didn’t surprise me at all.
The night ended with Alejandro Escovedo. I enjoy Escovedo, but (at the risk of blasphemy) I don’t love him the way most of the alt-country crowd does. That meant rather than stay right up front I could return to the Beverage Area and watch the rest of the show from there. I’m glad I didn’t leave though since Escovedo brought Bottle Rocket guitarist John Horton out to play on a couple covers at the end of the night. This is often my favorite part of one of his shows, as he tends to pick some interesting ones. I’ve seen him do “Beast of Burden” many times, but tonight it was the underrated “Miss You.” Horton was awesome. Yep, very glad I stayed.
Sam Knutson
Teddy Thompson
Bottle Rockets
Friday, June 03, 2011
Iowa Arts Festival; June 3, 2011; Downtown Iowa City
Ha Ha Tonka was recently offered the opening spot on Joe Ely’s tour. They’re too young to even know who he is, but I was so excited I swore I was taking the full two weeks off and going with them. Unfortunately it didn’t end up working out, but it did lead me to the Iowa Arts Festival where Ely was one of several impressive acts. I had thought about attending last year when the Pines, Jeffrey Foucault and the Honeydogs were all featured, but the threat of rain kept me from making the three and a half hour drive. This year’s line-up was even better. As opposed to Madison’s Art Fair on the Square where music is an afterthought, the Iowa Arts Festival balances music and art equally and they do it well.
The ninety plus degree day turned into an equally sweaty evening, but under an umbrella in the “Arts Festival Beverage Area” with a cold beer proved a fairly pleasant way to watch first band Crooked Still. With guitar, upright bass, fiddle, cello and banjo they were pretty good if you like that sort of thing. I made friends with a retired couple who enjoy music as much as I do, and we talked about the bands we love. Once Joe Ely took the stage however I left the beers behind to be up close. The very civilized crowd who had set up their chairs for the evening stayed seated, but they left plenty of space in front for me to wander up. I was immediately impressed with his band, an experienced bass player, an adorable young drummer and a fantastic guitar player who switched easily between acoustic, electric and slide.
Ely will be releasing his twenty something-eth studio record Satisfied at Last on June 7th and he played many of the instantly memorable songs from it tonight. The melancholy “Mockingbird Hill” features two lonely characters straight out a Harry Chapin song. Ely said part of it came from a conversation he overheard, and he made up the rest. “You Can Bet I’m Gone” tells the interesting story of a man who picked a unique way to be put to rest- he had his ashes put into shotgun shells and then had his friends invited over for a shooting party. “Leo and Leona” features another pair of Ely’s colorful characters, though this time in the south of the border world of bullfights. There were no shortage of the hits either, “Me and Billy the Kid” drew cheers from the crowd and the epic “The Road Goes on Forever” had folks singing along. At the end of the night I was even more disappointed the tour hadn’t worked out, I could have easily seen Ely a dozen more times.
Ha Ha Tonka was recently offered the opening spot on Joe Ely’s tour. They’re too young to even know who he is, but I was so excited I swore I was taking the full two weeks off and going with them. Unfortunately it didn’t end up working out, but it did lead me to the Iowa Arts Festival where Ely was one of several impressive acts. I had thought about attending last year when the Pines, Jeffrey Foucault and the Honeydogs were all featured, but the threat of rain kept me from making the three and a half hour drive. This year’s line-up was even better. As opposed to Madison’s Art Fair on the Square where music is an afterthought, the Iowa Arts Festival balances music and art equally and they do it well.
The ninety plus degree day turned into an equally sweaty evening, but under an umbrella in the “Arts Festival Beverage Area” with a cold beer proved a fairly pleasant way to watch first band Crooked Still. With guitar, upright bass, fiddle, cello and banjo they were pretty good if you like that sort of thing. I made friends with a retired couple who enjoy music as much as I do, and we talked about the bands we love. Once Joe Ely took the stage however I left the beers behind to be up close. The very civilized crowd who had set up their chairs for the evening stayed seated, but they left plenty of space in front for me to wander up. I was immediately impressed with his band, an experienced bass player, an adorable young drummer and a fantastic guitar player who switched easily between acoustic, electric and slide.
Ely will be releasing his twenty something-eth studio record Satisfied at Last on June 7th and he played many of the instantly memorable songs from it tonight. The melancholy “Mockingbird Hill” features two lonely characters straight out a Harry Chapin song. Ely said part of it came from a conversation he overheard, and he made up the rest. “You Can Bet I’m Gone” tells the interesting story of a man who picked a unique way to be put to rest- he had his ashes put into shotgun shells and then had his friends invited over for a shooting party. “Leo and Leona” features another pair of Ely’s colorful characters, though this time in the south of the border world of bullfights. There were no shortage of the hits either, “Me and Billy the Kid” drew cheers from the crowd and the epic “The Road Goes on Forever” had folks singing along. At the end of the night I was even more disappointed the tour hadn’t worked out, I could have easily seen Ely a dozen more times.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Blake Thomas/Whitney Mann/Count This Penny; May 28, 2011; High Noon Saloon
Blake Thomas moved to Minneapolis in October after spending six years, more or less, in Madison. During those years, the longest stretch he’s lived anywhere since he left home, he released his first three records, made a lot of friends and made even more fans. They all came out tonight to celebrate the release of his fourth CD, the Window and the Light. The songs on Flatlands, his previous release, spilled out him in a very short amount time, the product of an uncertain and emotional time in his life. In contrast, the songs on this new CD were years in the making. While they don’t have the same emotional punch as the confessionals on Flatlands, they are just as strong and demonstrate an increased range in his songwriting. From the Tom Waits-ish “I Just Don’t care like I Did Before” to the excellent “Cradle to the Ground,” this is a different Blake Thomas than the sensitive singer-songwriter we’d gotten to know over the course of three records. For one, he likes to rock a lot more.
And the title track is a prime example of this, an extended jam that well surpasses the five minute mark live and on CD. The all star band, which included Mary Gaines, Chris Wagoner, Louka Patenaude, Chris Sasman, and Josh Harty, that backed him tonight recreated the recorded version well. In addition there were many guest musicians in the course of the evening. Jeremiah Nelson played guitar on “Bad Love,” a song he had written that Blake covers on the record. Nelson also gets a shout out in one Blake’s songs, “Tell Jerry he can have the Mossman when exhaustion takes me.” The Mossman in question is an acoustic guitar from a company that burned down many years ago. Teddy Pedriana added some of his psychedelic keyboards while his Blueheel bandmate Justin Bricco added the face melting guitar solos. On the songs from his earlier releases, the core band of Sasman, Patenaude and Harty were joined by the ridiculously talented Shauncey Ali on fiddle. Perhaps the special-est guest of the night was Blake’s fiancé Mary Fox who took a turn at the microphone for the duet “Let Me Play in Your Show,” a song she had written about Blake many years ago.
Tonight was a co-release show with Whitney Mann who was releasing her second EP. Mann is a favorite of local critics for her sweet voice and sincere songs. Her talented band also included her fiancé Kyle on guitar. At least half the good sized crowd was there to see her, and it was easy to see why she has so many fans. Also on the bill were Madison newcomers Count This Penny. I had met two of the trio, guitarists/vocalists Alan and Amanda Rigell, in my basement for a show there and it was nice to finally see them play. Their third member is a banjo player who lends their Appalachian pop an authentic air. Unpretentious and refreshing, Count This Penny is a new local band worth checking out. How can you not like a band that is named after a Sesame Street skit?
Count This Penny
Blake Thomas and his band
Blake Thomas moved to Minneapolis in October after spending six years, more or less, in Madison. During those years, the longest stretch he’s lived anywhere since he left home, he released his first three records, made a lot of friends and made even more fans. They all came out tonight to celebrate the release of his fourth CD, the Window and the Light. The songs on Flatlands, his previous release, spilled out him in a very short amount time, the product of an uncertain and emotional time in his life. In contrast, the songs on this new CD were years in the making. While they don’t have the same emotional punch as the confessionals on Flatlands, they are just as strong and demonstrate an increased range in his songwriting. From the Tom Waits-ish “I Just Don’t care like I Did Before” to the excellent “Cradle to the Ground,” this is a different Blake Thomas than the sensitive singer-songwriter we’d gotten to know over the course of three records. For one, he likes to rock a lot more.
And the title track is a prime example of this, an extended jam that well surpasses the five minute mark live and on CD. The all star band, which included Mary Gaines, Chris Wagoner, Louka Patenaude, Chris Sasman, and Josh Harty, that backed him tonight recreated the recorded version well. In addition there were many guest musicians in the course of the evening. Jeremiah Nelson played guitar on “Bad Love,” a song he had written that Blake covers on the record. Nelson also gets a shout out in one Blake’s songs, “Tell Jerry he can have the Mossman when exhaustion takes me.” The Mossman in question is an acoustic guitar from a company that burned down many years ago. Teddy Pedriana added some of his psychedelic keyboards while his Blueheel bandmate Justin Bricco added the face melting guitar solos. On the songs from his earlier releases, the core band of Sasman, Patenaude and Harty were joined by the ridiculously talented Shauncey Ali on fiddle. Perhaps the special-est guest of the night was Blake’s fiancé Mary Fox who took a turn at the microphone for the duet “Let Me Play in Your Show,” a song she had written about Blake many years ago.
Tonight was a co-release show with Whitney Mann who was releasing her second EP. Mann is a favorite of local critics for her sweet voice and sincere songs. Her talented band also included her fiancé Kyle on guitar. At least half the good sized crowd was there to see her, and it was easy to see why she has so many fans. Also on the bill were Madison newcomers Count This Penny. I had met two of the trio, guitarists/vocalists Alan and Amanda Rigell, in my basement for a show there and it was nice to finally see them play. Their third member is a banjo player who lends their Appalachian pop an authentic air. Unpretentious and refreshing, Count This Penny is a new local band worth checking out. How can you not like a band that is named after a Sesame Street skit?
Count This Penny
Blake Thomas and his band
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