Maybe I’ve grown jaded and all, but lately the gimmicks and ploys and artificial soul spewing from some of these up-and-comers in the ‘industry’ (loose interpretation) have been dancing on nothing short of exhausting. Too much self-awareness, far too little genuine appreciation for the necessary steps on the ladder to iconic reverence. Folks wanna be first-off famous—you cannot fall in love with the rock stars, to paraphrase my favorite flick on the subject (you’ve seen it).

It means “My Country”—Mon Pays, that is—to the native Malian, Vieux Farka Toure. According to the guitar virtuoso, the album is a tribute to his home, produced during a period of ethnic and religious strife that has brought unrest to the landlocked West African nation. The hope and zeal behind these songs is tangible.Mon Pays is a beautiful collective piece.

One obvious advantage to living in New York City is how spoiled we are musically. Every major musical act plays shows here, small acts you might not get the chance to see elsewhere, week long residencies, combinations of musicians you won’t ever see play together again.  The sheer amount of great music any given night is staggering.

Rage. Rest. Repeat. This was the motto printed on flyers around Boulder promoting Umphrey's McGee upcoming Red Rocks show, and it was the one the band adhered to faithfully on Friday night. Mixing in a high-energy varied set list with their unique, dynamic musicianship, Umphrey's proved why they are one of the best live bands, jam or otherwise, performing today. 

The Silent Comedy is no laughing matter. Set to release the six-track EP Friends Divide on June 10^th, The Silent Comedy has been fermenting nicely in San Diego’s local bar scene. Their previous album Common Faults sold over 14,000 copies. They have been accumulating a cult-like following, impart due to their ruckus live performances which have fondly been dubbed a “Whiskey Tent Revival”.

To start, Camera Obscura introduces Desire Lines with a brief, sweeping overture (simply, “Intro”) that hints at the structured dreamscape to come—not that any future tracks on the record revisit the string arrangement procured here; I mean to say that this short, overwrought musical construct belies the band’s aspiration to sublime grandeur in obvious subtext. But that’s all just intellectualizing what amounts to a barely a half-minute movement on the album.

I remember back a couple years ago I was spending New Year’s Eve at this little ski hill pub up in New Hampshire, and there was a live band heading up the evening from a corner stage. They were good too, playing your standard classic rock fare of the Stones, Petty, and the like.

Singer-Songwriter Rachel Brown made her appearance in a weekly residency at the Darby in NYC last Thursday night and if you’re looking for a slam-dunk date spot idea, look no further. Never having been to the Darby before, I was very impressed at what I found: a chill, elegant spot with a modern, more youthful jazz club atmosphere .

About 40 devoted fans stuck it out through two very mediocre bands to hear Filligar on a Tuesday night at Larimer Lounge.  The rock quartet is made up of three blond brothers: Johnny, Teddy and Pete Mathias with their childhood friend Casey Gibson.  They formed in Chicago in 2000, and have released 4 albums.They’ve been named one of music’s “Next Big Things” by SPIN Magazine and listed along with Wilco, Delta Spirit, and Heartless Bastards as “One of America’s Top 8 Live Acts” (Boston’s RSL music blog).While Filligar is a tight solid group of musicians, I was left wondering "what's the big

Along the lines of Woody Guthrie’s this Land Is Your Land, The Hollows came together from a few regions of the United States.