Akron/Family, Vetiver @ Boulder Festival

I thought I had a good idea of what I was in for, but I had no idea what I was IN for. Long story short, Akron/Family blew my mind last Friday evening. (Keep reading for the long story) They wiped our palates clean and then built a musical universe from the ground up until it was towering over us, awesome in scope and power. Excuse the excessive use of superlatives herein, but there is no other way to get across the excellence other than a complete "-est" fest. I knew that I really wanted to catch them--still I almost missed this show for various reasons--but really I didn't quite know why. As in I really didn't know much about them. As in, when they came on stage 6 strong I had no idea that half the band was actually Megafaun (who had played earlier and who I am disappointed I couldn't get there early enough to see in retrospect) I have no idea how they could pull this show off with only 3 guys, let's just hope they somehow manage to always tour as this 6. It was a circus up there. The show started modestly enough, a lot of slow builders that began spacey but morphed into raging noisy rockers. After a few songs in I was thinking that it was growing a bit repetitive, great, interesting, but repetitive in structure. And lacking the all out energy I was expecting. Then they toss in this instrumental piece that had the sweetest little infectious guitar lead, on par with Rana's "Whenever You Can", the type of riff you could just listen to all day and never grow tired of.
Here's video proof:

From there they drifted into a spacey vocal/rhythm interlude and the bass player (who was a badass btw) handed off to the Megafaun guitarist and grabbed the mic. A Lovelight bass groove was produced and before you knew it we were engaged in a full-on Pigpen-esque Lovelight. The energy kicked up a notch onstage and in the small but packed-in crowd. I thought this was a showstopper. But in reality it was the show starter. Immediately after Lovelight came a groove that was so funky it nearly caused widespread instantaneous booty implosion. Think late-70s Stevie. This lasted for a while and I just never wanted it to stop. Insane. The crowd was now full into it and the stage show just getting crazier. At some point a young child who had interrupted the opening of the show by banging some drums at a vendor tent had made it on stage, dancing and banging on his drum. The crowd became a member of the band on multiple occasions with plenty of vocal participation and claps and snaps. The drummer from Vetiver joined in for a 3 drum attack for the 2nd half too. It was a cacophony of sound with tons of percussion, pipes, flutes, recorders, recording devices even, and some hilariously over the top all-out screaming. The show ended with Ed is a Portal that had the crowd in a frenzy, explosive. Then that fizzled out into another vocal jam with vocals regarding the Vetiver drummer's playing of the triangle. This turned into an impromptu song about triangles, circles and squares with hand motions and all. As the song neared its end a small display of fireworks went off somewhere off in the distance. Fitting.

They came out for a quiet, past-curfew encore of I Know You Rider, with the entire band front of stage, mostly acoustic, and with the guitarist from Vetiver joining in on harmonica. Akron/Family's guitarist expertly evoked Jerry Garcia for a beautiful ending solo, and the crowd dispersed in glee.


Akron/Family were the headliner in the first of a three night festival put on by the Boulder Coffee Company. It was a fine little festival, but unfortunately I couldn't catch any more of it. In addition to some great local talent on tap, Dr. Dog was headlining the second day. It was a tough pill to swallow to have to miss that set. Oh well.

I did catch Vetiver though. They get thrown in the freak folk scene a lot, and as such I was not expecting to like them too much. But they really weren't all that "freaky." Pretty straightforward retro-folk rock. Great vocals, good songs, quite enjoyable.


Also took in the set by the local group Baby Shivers' Boutique. They had a unique set-up and showed a lot of potential, but it was so very rough around the edges, and not even just on the edges. I'd like to see how they develop their sound more. A couple of songs fell flat, but others held great promise. I'll keep my eye on those guys...

Gettin' HIGH Part III: Phil Lesh and Levon Helm @ HIGHland Bowl

I closed out this little trilogy on a serious HIGH note. I'll come right out and say it, this concert was near perfect. Looking back I don't think I would change one thing, except the steep ticket price. But at least I didn't give Ticketbastard a cut.

I left the beautiful smell of smoking meats and followed the stench of western New York's biggest hippie gathering of the year. With the rain behind us the weather turned perfect again, and the setting for this concert could not have been any better. Might as well have dropped us into Golden Gate Park in the late 60s. The Highland Bowl is a bowled area in the park, with nice sloping hills on all sides, surrounded by trees, featuring a small amphitheater in the middle. There was a good amount of moochers hanging out in the periphery of the park getting free access to the music, and not too bad views for some of them too. The only security presence was at the fences surrounding the area, inside it was virtual free-for-all. An old man decked out in about as much marijuana swag possible on one human body (he wasn't wearing any shoes but if he was I am sure they would have sported a marijuana leaf) whipped out his bag of goodies, broke it up, rolled one, smoked it and passed it around in broad daylight without ever looking over his shoulder for fear of getting caught. The show drew a decently large crowd, tough to really tell how many in this setting. There were a lot of people there, but it was spread out nicely and you could really go anywhere you wanted with ease, even all the way 3 rows off the rail. It was a very mellow scene, as it should be.

Anyway, onto the music. Levon Helm and his band were up first. The setup reminded me of the Soul Stew show I had seen the night before, the size of the band and the 3 piece horns were what really made the connection. Whereas Soul Stew examined the bluesier side of American music, Helm and his band dug into the folk roots realm more, oh and also this band you might have heard of before, whose name was, wait don't tell me, oh yeah, The Band. Levon's band on this night accordioned from as few as 4 to as many as 10 members, and yes, even featured an accordion. Larry Campbell pulled double duty on the night playing in both bands and John Molo also sat in on drums for a bunch of tunes. They closed with the Weight just as the Soul Stew had the night before. I had thought to myself then, I am definitely hearing this one again. This was a great set to see, in part to see a living legend, and in larger part because the music was just so damn good. I will have to pick up his new album pronto.

As I read some reviews of last weekend's All Good Festival I realized that nearly every band I saw this week, from Widespread on through to Phil Lesh, also played at All Good. And most of them played at Rothbury the week before. I guess Rochester makes a good stopping point between Michigan and West Virginia. Good for us.

I don't remember the last time I had seen Phil and Friends. A few years maybe. But I also don't remember seeing a Phil and Friends concert that was quite this good, rivaling the best of the Herring/Haynes era. Jackie Greene is just that good. He's got the voice, he absolutely shreds on guitar, and plays piano and organ too... Then throw in Larry Campbell on guitar and pedal steel (which I am a total sucker for), Steve Molitz on keys (who happened to be a nice change and upgrade from Barraco, throwing in some unexpected and whacked-out sounds here and there, but in a good, nay great, way), and Teresa Williams from Levon's band adding some fantastic vocals here and there. Wow, this was a great band. And by the way, Phil Lesh is the best jamming bass player out there. He somehow holds down the low end and doesn't ever play a bass line all night. His fingers are always moving and he never settles on a single groove, it is constant change with him. But he also never stands out and never puts his sound out front, always melding in perfectly with everyone else.

The first set wasn't so much about what was played, but what was played in between what was played. Phil would call out commands into his mic and the band would heed, switching key, changing rhythm, or simply heading in a new direction. These little interludes were fantastic. At set break I realized I hardly could repeat a single song they played, but I knew I loved every minute of it.
Set closing Cosmic Charlie:

The second set was then all about what they played. And they freakin played. Rippin versions of the Other One, Morning Dew (how good with Jackie and Teresa on vocals?-- this was a total shudder free concert), and Help>Slip>Frank's. Franklin's Tower was such a sweet way to end the night. The band was bopping, the crowd was hopping, and Teresa was dancing (her voice just a perfect addition here), it was seriously electric. Jackie Greene was just an all-star. I have heard good reviews since he joined on, but really I couldn't have expected this, the kid can play! And has it been mentioned that he bears the initials JG?! What a great day. I left before the encore to beat the crowd and get home after a long day.

Set 1: One More Saturday Night, Cumberland Blues, Me & My Uncle > Brown-Eyed Women, So Hard To Find My Way > Operator, Cosmic Charlie

Set 2: New Speedway Boogie > He's Gone, Candyman, Cryptical > Other One > Cryptical > Morning Dew, Help On The Way > Slipknot !> Franklin's Tower

encore: Truckin'

Download the show here

Gettin' HIGH Part II: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band @ HIGHland Park

Early afternoon Saturday I headed over to Highland Park for the My Big Rib BBQ and Blues Fest. It was a ribs competition that also featured a pretty damn good music lineup. And it was a beautiful hot and sunny summer day, what could be better? Wait a minute, is it about to rain? I arrived after the Reverend Peyton and his band, I mean, and his Big Damn Band of three, were already underway. I scanned the BBQ vendors, all sporting lengthy lines, and walked straight up to the small stage where the band was playing to about a dozen or so people. This was their early set, they had one more set later in the day after a couple of other bands, and then played another set the next day. I would be missing the later set to go catch Phil and Friends who also happened to be playing at the Highland Park just down the street.

So you've heard of freak folk right? Well, this music was hick folk. Total backwoods get down and get dirty music. They're the type of band that replaces the tom with a pickle bucket. They're the type of band that has a full time washboard player. They're the type of band that can tell a story about seeing their cousin on Cops and you believe every minute of it. And it was a song too, with the oh so clever title of Your Cousin is on Cops. Great song. Reverend Peyton leads the band with his wife on washboard, and his brother on drums and pickle bucket. He plays guitar and harmonica, and (eat your heart out Charlie Hunter) he plays bass lines with his thumb. He shows off his guitar playing prowess in this clip: (not sure why this came out so damn dark)

Then the rains came and they came hard. The small crowd all huddled in as close to the stage as possible to get in under the tent as best we could. But the rain came in sideways and the crew scrambled to get their stuff covered. "Washboard" Breezy got shocked from her mic while Reverend Peyton worked out some technical difficulties. They eked out one more tune before calling it a day, or at least a set. I totally dug these guys, keep an eye out for them for sure.

After that I went to check out the BBQ. I sampled 3 different rib offerings, all pretty tasty. I was partial to Willingham's personally... the other 2 were heavily doused in their too-sweet-for-my-taste sauces. In between rib gorging I caught a little of the local outfit Po Boys Brass Band. They sported a four trombone attack on the frontline which is their trademark. They ripped through a bunch of New Orleans favorites including Cissy Strut and a Blues for Ben. Pretty sweet having such a good New Orleans-style brass band so close to home. And with my belly full I set off to get my Phil. (and Levon...)

Stay tuned for Gettin' HIGH Part III

Gettin' HIGH Part I: Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival @ HIGH Falls Brewery

Managed a nice little weekend of music here in Rochester. It all started soon after work Friday night at the inaugural concert at the High Falls Brewery. Scrapomatic opened the show. A one-guitar duo, they played a nice folksy blues mix, similar in scope contemporarily (sic) to The Wood Brothers, with a little less...um, zazz. They got some help here and there from Duane Trucks and Yonrico Scott on drums, Kofi on keys, Todd Smallie on bass, and the sax player from the Soul Stew Revival, all who would return shortly, even Mike Mattison, Scrapomatic's singer, who also sings for the Derek Trucks Band.

Soul Stew Revival is something that has been a long time coming. Ever since the joining of Tedeschi and Trucks the question has not been what if, but when. It was inevitable. I don't fault them at all for the time it took them to get together a band, for it takes a while to cook up a soul stew. It takes the perfect ingredients and the perfect timing. Now I won't go as far to say that this outfit they put together is perfect, but damn if it don't taste good! Now I am coming at this from a Derek-centric view having seen him many many times, really I try hard not to miss him. Susan I have seen a couple of times with her band and a handful of times sitting in with Derek's band. The Soul Stew Revival is definitely a Susan-centric band. So I didn't get my long Derek tangents and free jazz noodlings. He took the backseat to Susan, it was her band, they played mostly her songs, well mostly covers really, but her songs more than his. She led the band on stage and called the shots for the most part. And though it was Derek's entire band on stage with him, they took a back seat too. Mike Mattison, he took a seat cramped in the way back, facing the wrong way, in the family wagon. I was thinking how it must be tough to pull double duty as a vocalist, but then when his services were hardly needed for the main set it made a lot more sense. So rounding out the band were Derek's younger brother Duane on drums, Count Mbutu on percussion and a 3 piece horn section. I wished that Susan had at least kept on Jeff Sipe as her drummer. It was a nice touch adding more family to the mix, but Duane was a bit of a heavy hitter and his bass drum was drowning out a good amount of the full sound this band brought. Plus a Yonrico/Sipe rhythm section would have been quite the treat. Incindentally Sipe sat in with them the next night... oh well!

It turned into a pretty nice evening weatherwise and they must have done VERY good with walk-up ticket sales because the promoter was nearly complaining about the over-abundant, larger than expected crowd. They weren't prepared for it and the beer and food lines showed it. The big crowd was treated to a great show, including great covers of Don't Think Twice, Hey Jude, Key to the Highway, and The Weight, which included a nice slide trombone versus slide guitar intro.

Setlist:
Don't Do It, People, I Wants To Be Loved, Anyday, Don't Think Twice, Don't Cry No More, Pack Up Our Things, Sugar, Get Out My Life, Glad You're Gone, Little By Little*, Hercules, Hey Jude, Key To The Highway, The Weight
E: Gonna Move
*- w/ Adrianne Hayes

Stay tuned for Gettin' HIGH Part 2: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band @ HIGHland Park, and Part 3: Phil Lesh and Levon Helm @ HIGHland Bowl

Widespread Panic @ Main Street Armory

I: From the Cradle, Better Off, Three Candles>Pickin Up the Pieces,
Wondering, PAYMH>Stop Breakin Down, Dark Day Program>Proving Ground

II: Conrad, Already Fried, One Arm Steve>Jam>Driving Song>Papa's Home>Drums>Papa's Home>Driving Song, Gimme>Machine>Barstools and Dreamers, Mr Soul

E: Sympathy for the Devil (with Jerry Joseph)

The weatherman said it was 92 in Rochester. I'm not sure where they had the thermometer set up for that reading, but it was definitely not in the Main Street Armory. It was well over 100 in there with a nice cloud hanging up in the ceiling when I arrived about 20 minutes before showtime. The place was not even 1/10th full, this was just pure bottled heat. As it filled soon after the boys got kicking just after 8 it only got hotter, and the sweat induced and likewise inducing humidity only got worse. It was almost unbearable if it weren't for that bear of a man standing up above me in the Schools Zone. I felt pleased as punch to be catching Widespread Panic in my new hometown of Rochester. The chances they were playing there this year of all years seemed highly unlikely... the last time being over 11 years ago. I was at that one too...good show btw.


Show opened modestly. I have said it before, and I will say it again, Jimmy owns Pieces now. Beautifully done. Party at Your Momma's House had me thinking about Mr Houser the whole time. It never quite struck me until hearing it last night, it was one of his later tunes, but man if it isn't quintessential Houser. This segued seamlessly into Stop Breaking Down. No typical Panic breakdown and build back up, or fizzle out and emerge out, just smooooooth. Ending the set with Proving Ground as the big rocker of the set, but it's a pretty slow rocker. Jimmy brought new life to the ending noise as everyone else fuzzed out in faux intensity, he was still playing notes. Outside of the speed metal world I don't know that anyone can play as fast and controlled as him. In conclusion, set 1 had to be the mellowest set I have seen since the barely audible full on acoustic set at SPAC back in 93.

Maybe we're Better Off?


Dave came out for the second set teasing Walk on the Wild Side very hard. Question was, would they? Opening riff to Conrad said they would. They immediately knocked it down a notch though with Already Fried which seemed to go on forever. Decent song I guess, but pretty damn slow. Then One Arm Steve which is far far away from being my favorite. But who's complaining when they tack on a set-making jam at the end? I couldn't describe it in too much detail, except to say it went places. Highlight of the show. The jam came to a complete stop, really that segue mark is pretty inaccurate. Then came the double breaded sandwich with a meager drums for the meat. This killed the sandwich twofold. One, the jam out of drums is generally excellent, and two, the jam back into Driving is also usually excellent. Kinda missed both those here. The whole band stayed on stage for drums, but it still dragged on for a while. Then Gimme (it was Tuesday after all), which had me thinking of Houser all over again. Haven't seen this one in a long while so that was nice. Set closing Machine>Barstools, Mr Soul had this set coming out nice and solid. No crazy epic midweek underattended weird venue type show, but solid Panic.


They did have one tricky surprise left for us though. At the encore break they brought out an extra amp, mic, and some lyric sheets. So not only a guest, but a random tune to boot. The girl next to me informed me that the venue's answering machine had a message about a Jerry Joseph postshow happening right there at the venue. Not sure if that ended up happening, not sure how it would have happened, but there he was, Mr. Jerry Joseph on stage for the encore. Dave started playing the bass to Sympathy for the Devil from off stage, and Sonny, Jojo, and Todd came on and joined in the groove while the crowd sang "Oo Oo, Oo Oo". Then the all J's guitar trio of JB, Jimmy, and Jerry Joseph came on and got the party started. Great encore, sealed the show up nice and tight. And finally we could get our asses out of the sweat lodge.
Memo to the Main Street Armory: Please refrain from booking any concerts from May-October.

Captured just a bit of the tail end of the Sympathy Jam:

All-Star Break: Live Mix

Half of aught-eight is in the books. Time to reflect mix style. Here are samples from most of the bands I've seen so far, some from the exact show I saw, some from the same time period, some not even close. Enjoy...

Benton Harbor Blues - Fiery Furnaces - 30 June 2006
KD REVIEW
Krdish - Syme - 5 March 2008
KD REVIEW
I Had a Dream I Died - Le Loup - 15 October 2007
KD REVIEW
Unknown - Charlie Hunter Trio - 19 February 2008
KD REVIEW
Something for Rockets - Benevento/Russo - 1 March 2008
KD REVIEW
Dondante - My Morning Jacket - 13 June 2008
KD REVIEW
Battle of Evermore - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant - 15 June 2008
KD REVIEW
Power Lord - Campbell Brothers - 13 November 2004
KD REVIEW
Ain't Got Nothing to Go Wrong - Dead Meadow - 29 March 2006
KD REVIEW
Can You Tell - Ra Ra Riot - 30 January 2008
KD REVIEW
Spine of a Dog - moe. - 12 June 2008
KD REVIEW

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