Top 9 shows I saw in 2009:
9. Derek Trucks Band @ Water Street Music Hall
Derek Trucks. Chuck Campbell. Nothing more needs to be said.
8. Ponytail, Phantogram @ Bug Jar
Two of the best new finds of the year played about 20m apart from each other. Even if Yeasayer was a disappointment, this show still stood apart from the rest for the openers alone.
7. Rochester International Jazz Fest Day 8
A night that included guitar master Pat Martino, the most inventive musician I saw all year, Arve Henriksen, and pedal steel wizard Robert Randolph throwing down with the Campbell Brothers, Susan Tedeschi and Ryan Shaw. Yeah, that's making this list.
6. David Rawlings Machine/Gillian Welch @ Newport Folk Fest
The whole folk fest was a fantastic treat, but the standout sets were both David Rawlings and Gillian Welch under different monikers. Also would love to throw in here the Avett Brothers who I finally got to see this year, twice!
5. Akron/Family @ Mohawk Place
There was no show this year that saw me dancing harder.
4. El Ten Eleven @ Bug Jar
Third time was the charm, they brought it to the next level.
3. Wilco @ Artpark
Best Wilco show in by far the best venue I have seen them.
2. Bill Frisell @ Kilbourn Hall (early and late)
There was a 10m or so segment in the late set that was easily the best music I heard all year.
1. Phish @ Syracuse War Memorial
God I hate to waste space here espousing love for Phish when that's the last thing the blogosphere needs, but after seeing average-at-best shows at Fenway and Darien Lake, there was no denying that this was the real deal. Phish is back baby!
Showing posts with label david rawlings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label david rawlings. Show all posts
21 January 2010
18 October 2009
Catching up: August and September
A quick rundown of some stuff from late summer, boiled down to one (mostly run-on)sentence recaps.
Newport Folk Fest
It was one of the most stacked lineups in recent memory for the fest, celebrating its 50th year, with a great mix of old and new (take a listen over at npr.)
The zoom on my camera broke that week so video offerings are limited.
Ben Kweller: They were missing their bassist, but it didn't bother me one bit, quite enjoyable set.
Avett Brothers: They continued to impress in advance of their fantastic new album from the big stage, and then gave a select few (not I unfortunately) a treat from atop the Fort Adams. (They perform about 3:30 into the coverage)
Del McCoury Band: Surprisingly and a tad disappointingly, the only bluegrass heard all weekend, here mixing it up with a some sousaphone from Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
David Rawlings Machine/Gillian Welch: Gillian Welch, as expected, was phenomenal on Saturday with her husband David Rawlings, and then he, with Gillian at his side, equaled and then surpassed her set on Sunday. Together, they were the hands-down highlight of the weekend.
Iron & Wine: Never met a Sam Beam song I didn't instantly fall in love with, remarkable.
So much more to get excited about from the weekend, but let's leave it at that for now. Hope to make it again next year.
Phish @ Darien Lake
I've been to all four of Phish's Darien visits, and this was probably the worst, which isn't saying much since the first three were some of the best shows I have ever seen. (Saved by a late but GREAT GREAT Antelope, and this Drowned wasn't too shabby either)
Felice Brothers @ German House
The German House seems to suck the energy out of a show, maybe it would be different if it were packed, still they are a ton of fun to see live, with a tad too much tossing water into the crowd. (insert Gallagher joke here)
Akron/Family, Slaraffenland @ Mohawk Place
(It's official, I drank the kool-aid and it tastes like Akron/Family... LOVE LOVE LOVE) As much as I enjoyed Slaraffenland's rhythmic pop tapestries in their opening set, they didn't do too much (or not nearly as much as Megafaun previously I should say) to add the Akron's set and were somewhat underutilized (considering their multi-instrumental prowess I wondered why they were only used as a horn section.)
David Grisman Quintet @ Water Street Music Hall
Man, I haven't seen Grisman in ages, I think I figured it's been about 8 years, and the man's still got it.
Newport Folk Fest
It was one of the most stacked lineups in recent memory for the fest, celebrating its 50th year, with a great mix of old and new (take a listen over at npr.)
The zoom on my camera broke that week so video offerings are limited.
Ben Kweller: They were missing their bassist, but it didn't bother me one bit, quite enjoyable set.
Avett Brothers: They continued to impress in advance of their fantastic new album from the big stage, and then gave a select few (not I unfortunately) a treat from atop the Fort Adams. (They perform about 3:30 into the coverage)
Del McCoury Band: Surprisingly and a tad disappointingly, the only bluegrass heard all weekend, here mixing it up with a some sousaphone from Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
David Rawlings Machine/Gillian Welch: Gillian Welch, as expected, was phenomenal on Saturday with her husband David Rawlings, and then he, with Gillian at his side, equaled and then surpassed her set on Sunday. Together, they were the hands-down highlight of the weekend.
Iron & Wine: Never met a Sam Beam song I didn't instantly fall in love with, remarkable.
So much more to get excited about from the weekend, but let's leave it at that for now. Hope to make it again next year.
Phish @ Darien Lake
I've been to all four of Phish's Darien visits, and this was probably the worst, which isn't saying much since the first three were some of the best shows I have ever seen. (Saved by a late but GREAT GREAT Antelope, and this Drowned wasn't too shabby either)
Felice Brothers @ German House
The German House seems to suck the energy out of a show, maybe it would be different if it were packed, still they are a ton of fun to see live, with a tad too much tossing water into the crowd. (insert Gallagher joke here)
Akron/Family, Slaraffenland @ Mohawk Place
(It's official, I drank the kool-aid and it tastes like Akron/Family... LOVE LOVE LOVE) As much as I enjoyed Slaraffenland's rhythmic pop tapestries in their opening set, they didn't do too much (or not nearly as much as Megafaun previously I should say) to add the Akron's set and were somewhat underutilized (considering their multi-instrumental prowess I wondered why they were only used as a horn section.)
David Grisman Quintet @ Water Street Music Hall
Man, I haven't seen Grisman in ages, I think I figured it's been about 8 years, and the man's still got it.
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