Any jazz aficionado who acknowledges the significance of the fusion movement beginning in the late 1960s would cite bands like Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and George Duke as prominent architects of the sub-genre. What do all of these legendary groups have in common? Drummer Billy Cobham. He’s unquestionably the finest living drummer from that period,… Continue reading Billy Cobham's Crosswinds Project | Yoshi’s Jazz
On a cold and sleepy Sunday night the veteran Punk and New Wave band, The Psychedelic Furs brought nearly 2,500 people to the Canyon Club in Agoura, California. The standing room only show featured decades of hit music from the veteran English rockers. The band featuring original members, brothers Tim Butler on bass guitar and… Continue reading Psychedelic Furs | Canyon Club | 3/4/18
Spafford, the improvisational musical wizards from down Phoenix way, swept through Marin County, California, on their latest tour, touching down for a weekend of songs and jamming at Terrapin Crossroads. Impress and conquer they did on night two, Sunday, March 4, with two powerful sets of instrumental ruminations and progressions that within five minutes ignited… Continue reading Spafford | Terrapin Crossroads | 3/4/18
In one of their biggest headlining shows to date, Baltimore-based funk phenomenon Pigeons Playing Ping Pong took over Denver for an incredible night of music at the Ogden Theater, showcasing their signature styles and earning plenty of new fans along the way. Still riding high from their incredible DisNYE-themed performance in Kentucky this past December… Continue reading Pigeons Playing Ping Pong | Ogden Theatre | 3/10/18 | Review
Forget the one-man band, Zach Deputy is a one-man orchestra. The Georgia-rooted multi-instrumentalist has devoted his life to the pursuit of musical excellence, and the development of his feel-good funky sound. Saturday, March 3rd, Zach Deputy performed to a full crowd in San Francisco’s Boom Boom Room. By the time the show was set to… Continue reading Zach Deputy | Boom Boom Room | 3/3/18
There is something about the energy created by people coming together to hear the music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. The first time I experienced this seemingly human-powered electricity was a few days before my 18th birthday, in 1994, in a parking lot near what was then the Boston Garden. When Jerry died… Continue reading Melvin Seals & JGB | Cabot Theatre | 3/10/18
Scenes from “An Evening with Shovels and Rope” include: A baby’s carriage in front of a tour bus adjacent line that wrapped around the block; the look of confusion from fans as they pile in to find this general admission show to be completely seated; and Carrie Ann Hearst and Michael Trent taking the stage… Continue reading Shovels & Rope | Boulder Theater | 3/9/18
Founding members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, of Grateful Dead fame, playing as a duo without a backing band for the first time together, ended their “Bobby and Phil Tour” with two, consecutive nights at the Chicago Theatre, after selling out New York’s Radio City Music Hall and Boston’s Wang Center. Although the two musicians… Continue reading Bobby & Phil Duo Tour | Chicago Theatre
Achilles Wheel‘s fourth album Sanctuary, released on February 28th, is a collection of originals that is authentically how they sound in performance. If that’s a plain proclamation, it’s meant as a sturdy compliment. These Sierra Mountain improvisational-spirited rockers never paid much mind as to how other “jam-bands” do it, nor do they let their influences… Continue reading Achilles Wheel | ‘Sanctuary’ | Review
Achilles Wheel‘s fourth album Sanctuary, released on February 28th, is a collection of originals that is authentically how they sound in performance. If that’s a plain proclamation, it’s meant as a sturdy compliment. These Sierra Mountain improvisational-spirited rockers never paid much mind as to how other “jam-bands” do it, nor do they let their influences… Continue reading Achilles Wheel | 'Sanctuary' | Review
