The biggest sham perpetuated by mainstream rock and pop music magazines is the narrow “greatest guitarists of all time” annual issue. In the editor’s defense, it’s probably a dreaded task. Most of these sorts of publications (none specific come to mind, of course) tend to focus their top picks on the straightforward rock guitar heroes.… Continue reading Leo Kottke | Boulder Theater | 1|27|2012 | Review
Lacking both the alluring eccentricity of Arm’s Way and synth drenched electro pop driving Vapors, Islands‘ A Sleep & A Forgetting is unmistakably the least compelling album overextended singer/songwriter Nicholas Thorburn has ever hatched. Chalked full of trite, minimalists, lovesick shells of his band’s earlier efforts that never quite get off the ground, this LP… Continue reading Islands | A Sleep & A Forgetting
If you are a Deadhead living in SFO, PDX, PHL, BWI, or NYC, I need to talk to you about time and energy. But not in the “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” tradition of “Practice, Practice, Practice”. Instead, I need to talk to you about the temporal evolution and aggregate electrical output that… Continue reading The Motet | Funk is Dead | Cervantes | 1|27|2012
Amy Ray’s newest solo release Lung of Love expresses the folk elements of Indigo Girls, while allowing Amy to stretch her rocker wings a bit more than she did on last year’s Beauty Queen Sister. She has been called the more edgy half of the duo, and her solo material has always displayed that. Ray… Continue reading Amy Ray: Lung of Love | New Album Review
What happens when you take little pieces of bluegrass, surf rock, Afro-pop, Spanish flamenco, hip-hop, and blues, and then shake them up in the “Boggle cube” of these North Carolina based artists? Well, you’ll get ONE of The Toubab Krewe’s songs. Shake it again, and these same pieces of musical inspiration will form a totally… Continue reading Toubab Krewe Brings Down The Bluebird
2012 offers us a lot of mystery, wonder, and spirituality. It induces the end of a great cycle, which brings upon the rebirth of the world to a higher level of consciousness, according to the Maya. Great cycle changes can cause a huge amount of turmoil and change. But, it is all for our greater… Continue reading STS9 Great Cycle Spectacle in Denver
“I can’t rock without a chandelier…that’s just where I am in life,” joked Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy, commenting on the décor (namely the purple glowing chandeliers) in the Fillmore Auditorium on Thursday night. Denver was the first stop on the 2012 leg in support of 2011’s The Whole Love, the group’s eighth studio album… Continue reading Wilco | Fillmore Auditorium | Denver, CO | 1/19/12 | Review & Pics
Last night the famous Fox Theater hosted a band that has been rapidly finding fame of their own. Or should we say…infamy? Drawing in an audience from the blustery Boulder wind, The Infamous Stringdusters, warmed us up with a set that left us with no doubt why their ascension to the top of the bluegrass… Continue reading Infamous Stringdusters | Fox Theater | 1/19/12 | Review & Pics
With the release of his fifth album, Jackie Greene said in an interview that he was tired of being labeled as the “new Dylan.” Now almost four years later with another record under his belt, Greene’s live performance has placed him in a realm outside of the more simple acoustic guitar and harmonica playing solo… Continue reading Greener on the Other Side: Jackie Greene Shows Freedom, Experimentation on Stage
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind?Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and auld Lang syne? For auld Lang syne, my Jo (or my dear),for auld Lang syne,we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,for auld Lang syne. Bottle rockets and snap pops~ on December 30, 2011 Abakus, EOTO, and Disco Biscuits took to a stage… Continue reading Disco Biscuits & EOTO | Chicago, IL | 12/30/11 | Review & Pics
