Free music was alive and well in Rochester this weekend. I hit only a small portion of it on Saturday. Started at the Tarbox Ramblers at the Bop Fest, the Bop Shop's mini-music fest in the Village Gate. After having not seen them during my 5 years in Boston, I have now seen them twice in the past few months, thanks entirely to the Bop Shop. This time Michael Tarbox was accompanied only by his drummer. Oddly, the first show with the full band was billed as Michael Tarbox and this show was billed as the Tarbox Ramblers, should be the other way around I think? Anyway, it was good to see the tunes in a different light. Though I definitely preferred the full band treatment. I really don't want to miss another Tarbox show, too good.
After that it was across town for Boulderfest. The first time I went it was a paid event and they drew in national talent like Akron/Family, Vetiver, Megafaun and Dr. Dog. Some of my favorite bands out there. They have since pared it down to a free event with mostly local acts. They draw a ton more people this way and I understand the move, though with such a great booking 2 years ago I am a little disappointed to see it move in this direction. To the promoter's credit, the crowd was very thin then, so it was definitely a good move from that perspective. I haven't heard John Brown's Body in a long time and they have gone through some major changes since. Overall they were a lot of fun and sounded great. Reggae kind of follows along the lines of funk for me, seemingly so easy yet truly very difficult to get it right. JBB showed they could play a tight reggae groove with the deep pulsing bass and the chickawah guitar rhythms, though when they started adding in modern flourishes they started to lose me a bit. Elliot Martin made for a top-notch reggae frontman. Unfortunately when I tried to catch Jimmy Cliff Thursday night he got an unusually late start (1 hour break between bands?) and with my daughter in tow I was forced to leave just as they had come on. It would have been great to compare the two different approaches to the music, old and new.
Showing posts with label michael tarbox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michael tarbox. Show all posts
19 July 2010
09 June 2010
Catching Up: The Rest of the First Half of 2010
I promised myself I wouldn't put myself in this position again, yet here we are. Is this blog dead? Possibly, we'll see if I can keep up for what is shaping up to be a crazy June. History says no. I'm greasing up the old blogging gears with the minimal shows I've caught the last few months.
Back in February I made it out for Rubblebucket @ the Westcott Theatre. Recommendations were coming in at all angles for these guys so I was glad to finally catch them. They put on a great show, and in some unexpected ways. The horn section did a lot of singing, which potentially could be awful, but in the case of Rubblebucket it was a revelation, this was the band at its best. Every time they mentioned a song was new it was one of their better tunes, so I think I like the direction these guys are moving and look forward to some repeat visits.
I made it out to see local indie-rockers Walri again, this time at Lovin Cup. Atomic Swindlers opened the show but were really the headliners, not too many stuck around for Walri, which was unfortunate. They put on another fantastic show. Then I caught them again a few weeks ago back at Abilene where I first was introduced to them. This time they were swapping and sharing sets with Auld Land Syne all night long. I had seen Auld Lang Syne open for the Avett Brothers last year and was disappointed. I don't know if it was nerves or something at that show, but this was simply a different band than what I had seen previously, and that is to say, they were damn good. They played a set, passed the stage off to Walri, then shared the stage for a set, then repeated the whole ordeal playing right up until last call at 2am. It was a local music orgy and boy did it turn me on. Aural pleasure. Hey, they say Abilene used to be a Burlesque House... Hoping to catch Walri again this Friday at one or two of their shows that night which both look to be yet another unique offering from this band. Highly recommended!
Got another El Ten Eleven notch in the belt at the Bug Jar. This was an angry El Ten Eleven and it didn't particularly work in our favor. Kristian had his bass stolen at their show in Montreal and so they couldn't play a good portion of their catalog. Lots of disparaging comments about our neighbors to the north and even some scorn (albeit funny and necessary) thrown out to some very loud and chatty people up front. At any rate, still another great show, just not as good as their last time through.
While I was in Boston, I was implored to see Michael Tarbox. He played so often I just assumed the opportunity would be there forever. Then I left having never saw him. Thankfully, the Bop Shop brought him to the Lovin Cup, and this time I would not pass on the chance. Mercy was he good. A cross between Waits and Dylan with better guitar chops than both of them, and a fantastic backing band, the Tarbox Ramblers. They squeezed a ton of music into the evening. One of the highlights being a recently penned and unrehearsed tune they learned their way through on stage. The band was so tight that it went without a hitch, though it was nice to see them play loose and fresh with a precarious twinge.
Back in February I made it out for Rubblebucket @ the Westcott Theatre. Recommendations were coming in at all angles for these guys so I was glad to finally catch them. They put on a great show, and in some unexpected ways. The horn section did a lot of singing, which potentially could be awful, but in the case of Rubblebucket it was a revelation, this was the band at its best. Every time they mentioned a song was new it was one of their better tunes, so I think I like the direction these guys are moving and look forward to some repeat visits.
I made it out to see local indie-rockers Walri again, this time at Lovin Cup. Atomic Swindlers opened the show but were really the headliners, not too many stuck around for Walri, which was unfortunate. They put on another fantastic show. Then I caught them again a few weeks ago back at Abilene where I first was introduced to them. This time they were swapping and sharing sets with Auld Land Syne all night long. I had seen Auld Lang Syne open for the Avett Brothers last year and was disappointed. I don't know if it was nerves or something at that show, but this was simply a different band than what I had seen previously, and that is to say, they were damn good. They played a set, passed the stage off to Walri, then shared the stage for a set, then repeated the whole ordeal playing right up until last call at 2am. It was a local music orgy and boy did it turn me on. Aural pleasure. Hey, they say Abilene used to be a Burlesque House... Hoping to catch Walri again this Friday at one or two of their shows that night which both look to be yet another unique offering from this band. Highly recommended!
Got another El Ten Eleven notch in the belt at the Bug Jar. This was an angry El Ten Eleven and it didn't particularly work in our favor. Kristian had his bass stolen at their show in Montreal and so they couldn't play a good portion of their catalog. Lots of disparaging comments about our neighbors to the north and even some scorn (albeit funny and necessary) thrown out to some very loud and chatty people up front. At any rate, still another great show, just not as good as their last time through.
While I was in Boston, I was implored to see Michael Tarbox. He played so often I just assumed the opportunity would be there forever. Then I left having never saw him. Thankfully, the Bop Shop brought him to the Lovin Cup, and this time I would not pass on the chance. Mercy was he good. A cross between Waits and Dylan with better guitar chops than both of them, and a fantastic backing band, the Tarbox Ramblers. They squeezed a ton of music into the evening. One of the highlights being a recently penned and unrehearsed tune they learned their way through on stage. The band was so tight that it went without a hitch, though it was nice to see them play loose and fresh with a precarious twinge.
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