The Bad Plus at the Boulder Theater Halloween night was a truly fun event. Taking the stage at 9:30pm the three piece Jazz band made up of Reid Anderson on bass, Ethan Iverson on Piano, and David King on drums settled on the stage in the glow of a warm red light. They opened up with the theme from the movie Halloween evoking light laughter from the audience. They continued to tease the Theme from Halloween through out the night.

They started by playing two new songs from their new album "Suspicious Activity?", the best of these being the political statement song "The Empire Strikes Backward". Like their first two albums the Bad Plus likes to cover unique songs. This evening they did the (Theme from) Chariots of Fire, also off of the new album, and a first time played "Live and Let Die" a very odd timed piece that brought smiles to all of the members playing on stage.

Of all songs played that evening I would have to say the new song "Rhinoceros is my Profession" would have to be my favorite. Along with an incredible bass solo and separate drum solo, the Bad Plus brought the sitting audience to the edge of their seats. The last song before the encore I do not know the name of, but was by far was the loudest, strongest, fascinating song of the night.

To me this group works better in a sit down setting than an open field. (see the good write up about them at Bonnarroo) There is a lot of comparison to an acoustic Medeski, Martin, and Wood, but this band has their own unique sound and should be a must see any time they come thru your town.

As I walked up to the Boulder Theater on Friday night there were a ton of people standing out side. Normally these are fans having their last cigarette before heading into the venue for the show. But tonight all of these people were looking for anyone with an extra ticket. I grabbed my ticket from will call and headed in to the all ages show. The place was packed! I heard there were 115 people on the guest list, not to mention the fact the place was sold out by Friday morning. Other bands have covered albums at their shows; Phish being most famous for doing everything from Loaded by the Velvet Underground, to The White Album by The Beatles. This night though, would stand on its' own…. Rose Hill Drive was going to cover Led Zeppelin One.

The opening band was just finishing its' set as I found my friends and grabbed a drink from the bar. We settled as a group towards the back and waited as the lights went down. A large screen was set up behind the band and a video started playing. The images we see are thru the eyes of a person as if they are waking up to a new day. After looking out the window we see our vision directed back in front of a turn table. In front of our face appears a Led Zeppelin One album cover. At this point the crowd erupted in cheers as the album was placed on side 'A' and the needle was dropped to track one. The lights on stage came up and Rose Hill Drive kicks into Track one of Zeppelin One's 'Good Times, Bad Times'.  The place is alive with fans screaming and applauding while the band rips thru its' set of music.

I had listened to the whole Zeppelin One CD earlier in the day wondering how a three piece band could cover this historic album. I was surprised to see the band was joined on a few songs by their friends Mendle on harmonica and Patrick Lee on keyboard. Images of old blues musicians flashed on the screen thru the song 'You Shook Me' as the band hammered out the tunes like true fans of music history.

The video production that was running in the background as they played was an array of images corresponding to each song. During a sweet version of 'Dazed and Confused' they flashed images of President Johnson and the Vietnam War. I was told later that the video images were compiled by their friend Mendle. Most of this information was provided to me by a kind fellow standing behind me named Danny Boy and his friend Dawn.

The melodic sound of keys on 'Your Time is Gonna Come' was followed by some of the most intricate guitar playing by I have seen in awhile on 'Black Mountain Side'. The three piece of Daniel Sproul on guitar, brother Jacob on bass and lead vocals, and Nate Barnes on drums have made a name for themselves on the local music scene. Now they have planted the seed to grow as a nationally recognized band.

Rose Hill Drive has helped create a local following of hard rock fans in Boulder . It's hard to imagine this band embodying a town like Boulder, but I saw every type of fan in the audience that night. Kids not old enough to drive or drink were standing with parents who might have seen the original Led Zeppelin line up back in the 70's. There were both college kids and bikers standing next to each other as Zeppelin's music brought a smile to each of their faces. Rose Hill ended the classic album with 'How Many More Times' and the strong voice of Jacob was like that of a young Robert Plant reincarnated there on stage. They might be young, but their sound is everything classic.

Instead of a set break the band went right into eleven more songs proving the might of their young age. I was amazed to see how many fans knew all of their songs and was delighted to hear them singing along. Rose Hill Drive has a strong enough set list to play their own music and create a crowd on any night. As one fan said, 'This could be the last time you see them for $15.00'.  I know I have seen them four times now and am always impressed each time at the young talents they have become.

At the end of the show the crowd applauded the new kings of rock and fans lined up to buy the show on CD and also get the limited edition poster in the lobby. I see nothing but great things happening for this band and hope they keep playing with the same drive I have seen them building up the past two years.  If they are playing anywhere close to you, go see them now so you can say you saw them when.

Rose Hill Drive | Boulder Theater | Boulder, Colorado | December 30th 2005

Full Set List:

1. Good Times Bad Times

2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You

3. You Shook Me

4. Dazed and Confused

5. Your Time is Gonna Come

6. Black Mountain Side

7. Communication Breakdown

8. I Can't Quit You Baby

9. How Many More Times

10. Look On Yonder Wall (Elmore James)

11. Cool Cody

12. The Guru

13. Cold Enough

14. Stuck In Boulder Blues

15. Mexico

16. Showdown

17. Raise Your Hands

18. Roadhouse Blues*+

encore:

19. City

20. Off To The Games

* w/ Patrick Lee on keys

+ w/ Jaques Armand on bass

It's always hard to sum up a whole CD in just a few paragraphs. Some artists work their lyrics into their music and some make the music around the words they write. Devendra Banhart's fourth album is a combination of both smooth melodies and pop beats. His style of music he is creating crosses into the "freak-folk" category.  This is the first album of his I have heard but understand he comes from a very four track solo artist background. This album is very polished and you can tell the 24 year old is finding his own voice and sound. The best way I could describe his style is Cat Steven and George Harrison meeting Sid Barrett some where in a New York City park around 1976.

It took me a few times of listening to this CD to see what qualities Banhart has as a song writer. Some of his songs are little too much for me. In the title track 'Cripple Crow' Banhart's voice flutters like a crow and actually makes me queasy when I listen to it.  But there are some songs on this CD that do deserve recognition. "Queen Bee" and "Saw Kill River" are wonderful Sunday afternoon songs that make you want to kick back and think about the good things in life. Banhart also has the ability to bring in a tribal beat and help the listeners head bop. "I Feel Just Like a Child" is a fun song about never wanting to grow up and in my favorite song, "Chinese Children' he sings everywhere he'd live he'd have some Chinese Children.

This is not the type of music you would play to help get you out of bed in the morning, rather the type of music that makes you want to curl up under the covers all day. The music has a very broad listener appeal. The front cover of the CD shows a large amount of people similar to the Beatles Sgt. Peppers album. I think Devendra Banhart is trying to show thru his music how kind words and peaceful thought embraces the core of all of humanity. Is this a CD I would listen to everyday? No. It is a CD I would own for about 6 of its' tracks, but 6 of 22 songs is not enough for me to shell out money for.

If you like smooth, almost ethnic sounding music, give this CD a listen. I think it would appeal most to fans of folk styled singer songwriters. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the worst and 5 the best, I grade it a 2.5. But hey, I'm just one guy…check out some of it for yourself. www.cripplecrow.com

Pearl Jam is back, I'm not saying they ever left, but remember when Aerosmith quit drugs and came back with a hugely successful album, that's kind of like this. Pearl Jam has never stopped creating music or touring almost non-stop in the past 15 year. This new album, I think, is the best thing they have ever done. I know there are a lot of Pearl Jam fans that will disagree with me, but regardless, this music is right for this moment in time.

From the first track 'Life Wasted' you can tell this band has a lot to say.  They speak of a life wasted and never going back again, this idea flows into the second song on the CD called "World Wide Suicide". This politically driven commentary on how the current War has taken this whole word over, is the hardest driven point on the whole CD. A clear shout against the current administration, this song is exactly what millions of Americans are thinking but afraid to say. Pearl Jam has become a combination of similar political rock acts like Rage against the Machine and U2. You can tell they put a lot of themselves and their ideals into this album.

Other songs of note are 'Comatose' and 'Severed Hand'.  All of these songs would be great in concert. Yesterday, 05.04.2006, Pearl Jam played Letterman, after the show taping they played a live concert for the audience and web cast it directly off of the CBS website.  They played the two songs just mentioned and also 'Marker in the Sand' and 'Gone' off of the new album. I was lucky enough to see the whole live streamed show.

Out of all of the songs on the new CD, I like 'Big Wave' and 'WWSuicide' the best. Now that I say that, it will change by the end of the day. If you ever liked Pearl Jam, you will love this new CD.

Most music fans over the age of 14 and under the age of 35 know who The White Stripes are, if not, they might have heard of Jack White the guitar player. Not as many fans have heard the name of the Raconteurs, but they will.

The Raconteurs is the new band featuring Jack White of the WStripes fame and friends of his from the Detroit rock scene. This group formed just this past year and their first release is a fun pop-rock nod to good times and deep thoughts.  Guitarist Brendan Benson has had three major CD releases and the WStripes have been known to cover his song "Good To Me" live at their shows. These friends from Detroit put out a good collection of songs that are short, driving, and full of harmonies.

"Steady As She Goes" starts out the CD with a single drum, ala WStripes, but kicks in with a full band blending behind Jacks never maturing voice. "Hands", the second song on this CD, has a wonderful breakdown of harmonies in the middle of the tune. You can tell this will be a major sing along when they come to play Denver CO in July. Two other major hits on this CD are "Intimate Secretary" and "Level"; both songs are great to play loud. My favorite song on this CD has to be "Yellow Sun", it's a nice simple tune and I find myself singing it long after the song is over.

Will this band be the next biggest thing to Rock and Roll…probably not. But what the Raconteurs have going for them is the ability to write good, simple songs that you can appreciate after the first listen. Check out their website or yes, their MySpace page will also give you more info.

I give this CD a 9 out of 10 rating.

Band Members

-Jack White - vocals, guitars, songwriting

-Brendan Benson - vocals, guitars, songwriting

-Jack Lawrence - bass

-Patrick Keeler - drums.

It's hot out tonight. The temp in Denver is over 100 degrees. The weather man will tell you it has something to do with the Heat Index, I say it's because The Raconteurs are playing the Fillmore tonight and they brought the scorching heat with them.

The Raconteurs are a blend of 1 part heavy guitar known as Jack White, of the White Stripes fame, 1 part melodic voice Brendan Benson, and the three parts heavy rhythm of Jack Lawrence on bass, Patrick Keeler on Drums, and the unknown keyboardist all former members of the retro sounding garage band known as The Greenhornes.

The opener for tonight's show is a new act out of San Francisco calling themselves just "Kelley Stoltz". The young singer songwriter has four CD's to his name. A young lady in the crowd yells out what's your bands name! Kelly's response "We still can't think of a good name so we are using mine". Regardless, the music was pretty good. The tunes sounded like a variety of music. At one moment we hear the overstated sound of Supertramp, the next the late Syd Barrett and The Velvet Underground. This was their first Colorado outing and seemed a little over whelmed to be playing in 'the biggest room we have played in yet.' This band could really do well, but I'm not here to talk about them.

It's now 9:15pm, the lights are down and the speakers have been blaring something between the soundtrack to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and the music of a 60's surf movie. Finally the lights come up and the backstage is dressed in a brown tapestry sporting a large R on it. The band is on stage and the crowd ready to go!

The Raconteurs CD is a little over 35 minutes long, so it's not surprising they played everything but one song from it.  The opener for tonight's show is Intimate Secretary a song that sounds like a 1980's Car's cover, but is actually an original.. The second song is Level and is the first time we get to see Jack hold his guitar high as he smiles and controls the front of the stage already dripping wet with sweat. There is a great understanding with this group, it turns out they are a band and not a back up for Jack White. Benson works he gentle guitar and voice thru the smoothest of harmonies while he and White sing their big hit Steady As She Goes. The nicest surprise was a David Bowie cover of It Ain't Easy off of the Ziggy Stardust album. There was also a shout out the queen of Boots herself Nancy Sinatra when they played a heart wrenching, soul collapsing version of Bang Bang (My Baby Shoot Me Down).

One of the best songs of the night had to have been Yellow Sun. White and Benson started by really jamming hard with a sweet blend of acoustic and electric guitars then adding the keyboards and rhythm sections until the bounce of the music mellowed out into a smooth wave of bliss. A song I have never heard them, or anyone play, was a cover of a 70's garage band called the Flamin' Groovies; the song was called Headin' for the Texas Border. This closed the set out and everyone waited for the second set to start.

Guess what….no second set. But The Raconteurs did come out and finish off the night by starting into a heavy blues jam, then right into the deepest blue song on the CD called Blue Veins. You could tell the band was all alight from the crowd yelling requests and screaming louder than one would think for a Sunday night show. The last song was a blazing version of Hands. Calling the crowd to chime in on the Hooo Hooo's,  I predicted this song would be a crowd favorite when I reviewed this CD a few months ago.

It was a great show, if not a bit too short. This band has only been together for less than a year and is playing their 1^st US gig since coming off of a very successful European tour. I can't complain about a short show when every part of it was great. If you are able to…see these guy's live, it will blow you away.

It's a wet and cold Friday Night in Denver Colorado. Outside the sleet it turning to snow and inside Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom the stage is melting into the eclectic sounds and sights of Banyan. The west coast based Banyan was created by Stephen Perkins, the long-time drummer of Jane's Addiction. This ever evolving group of musicians has included at times, bass great Rob Wasserman, guitar legend Steve Kimock, members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore to name a few.

Playing bass tonight is punk rock Godfather Mike Watt who played with the Minuteman and Firehose on the late 1980s. Watt just completed a short tour with the reformed Iggy Pop and the Stooges in Europe and is back playing a series of shows with Banyan. Willie Waldman was also on stage and has been playing trumpet with Banyan since 2000. Waldman a core player in Banyan has played and recorded with everyone from Perry Farrell to Snoop Doggy Dogg. A great guitarist and longtime friend of the Banyan crew, Clint Wagner rounded out the Friday Night line up.

The opening song 'Mad as a Hornet' was a loud cry of funk that pulled everyone in the room to the front of the stage.  The hard-thumping drums of Steve Perkins dominated the night, even more so as his drum kit was front stage center and he masterfully controlled the musicians from his perch. The first few songs were all instrumental bits where Waldman and Watt blended the horn and bass into a loud thunder clap; you could almost see the ripples rolling thru the crowd. Clint Wagner took his time getting warmed up, but eventually he was bending his guitar and making it scream as he played his fast fingered guitar solos.

Normally Banyan is accompanied by artist Norton Wisdom. Wisdom, or Wiz as he's known, normally takes the stage as another member of the Banyan group by painting an ever changing picture on Mylar with his paints. Tonight the art is flowing thru the brush of Denver local and very talented artist, John Bukaty. Bukaty's musically inspired piece was an ever changing work that at one time looked like the American flag but evolved into an image of the musicians playing on the stage.

Banyan does not just play instrumental melodies, they tend to reach out and cover some very diverse songs. The crowd of around 200 people was treated to Mike Watt's singing Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born On the Bayou". Watt tends to scream and moan his songs rather than try and cover them as they were written. Banyan really electrified the audience by covering not one, but two Stooges songs "Fun House" and "1969". These were followed by a cover of one of Funkadelic's most eerie songs "Maggot Brain". The highlight of the night though was a full on high-speed version of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" that left the crowd wide eyed and dumb founded.

I first saw Banyan in New Orleans back in 2004. Since then this band of various artists has evolved into a group of creative mad scientists. Stephen Perkins and Willie Waldman have help create a group that can never be categorized or classified as anything but the best in music, art, and expression. There is no other band that sounds or expresses what music is about in such a unique way.

Avery Brewery in Boulder Colorado has a small tucked away tasting room down the back ally of a local business park. They have a large selection of fresh tasty beers on tap, and I was there enjoying one when four guys drove up in a Green Van from Ft Collins. As they unloaded their equipment, set up their mics, tuned their guitars, and oiled up the Tuba I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a great set of music from Ft. Collins own Handpicked Holler!.

This four member band, with former members of Wildwood Holler!, has been playing together since August of 2008.  They include Michael Kirkpatrick on mandolin, guitar, and vocals, Josh Beard on Tuba, Brian Adams on Guitar and vocals, and Josh Vogeler on drums and vocals.  Playing in a brewery tasting room is nothing new to this group as they have been playing every first Wednesday of the month at Odell’s Brewery in Ft. Collins. We are kind of the local house band on those Wednesday's, explained Adams, We play for a few hours and it’s a great time. Some of our older crowd is made up of parents and sometimes they bring their kids down to dance at the shows.  Tonight in Boulder it is a crowd of business men and college kids enjoying this bands music and fun stage presence.

Handpicked Holler has a lot of good things going for it; most obvious is the music. The vocals of Kirkpatrick, Adams, and Vogeler are soft yet strong in dynamics as each adds their own part to the songs harmonies. The other surprise is seeing Josh Beard as he plays his Tuba like a four stringed bass. The bass sound of the Tuba fits perfectly with the guitar/mandolin combination and was a huge hit during their version of the Allman Brothers "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed".  This band is not so much Bluegrass as it is ‘Folkadelic’; they play some songs in a bluegrass format and others in a folk rock way. They have been known to cover a wide variety of artists like The Beatles, Peter Tosh, Trampled By Turtles, and my favorite cover of the night of 'Maze' by the newly reformed Phish.  But it is their originals that really pack a punch. Kirkpatrick used the poem "Eldorado" by Edgar Allan Poe to create a wonderful tune that was diverse in arrangement and lyrical form. The other tune that went over well for me was 'On the road to Gemini', a song written a few years ago when members were in route to play the Gemini Festival in Oregon. The band will be back there again this year as well as playing the New West Fest in Ft Collins this Summer.

This is a fun group to watch and listen to. They are currently in the studio recording their first CD and should be out in summer of 2009. If you would like to hear more I would suggest trying to see them perform live. They play tonight, 4/17/2009, in Greeley at the Rio Grande and also this Saturday at the Aggie Theater in Ft. Collins.

The unique sound of meniskus is hard to classify. They have been labeled as Latin, European, House, Trance Rock, but none of these really pinpoint what their music sounds like. At times you can hear a mystic Middle Eastern influence, at other times hints of Ukrainian Punk and ancient ancestral harmonies. The only way to really understand is to see them perform live.  Meniskus's live stage performance is what makes this band great. They have finally caught some of the live energy on their latest release 'LIVE at The Walnut Room' recorded in Denver, Colorado in early 2010.

The opening track 'Morocco' is drenched in the soft nylon strings of  Venezuelan-born Bardusco's guitar and Eric Ostberg's howling violin.  Cris Ryt builds the tempo on the drums until the song eventually erupts like an exploding volcano. This transitions smoothly in to the second song, 'The Equalizer'; a driving, strong riff built on the passionate moans of Ostberg's voice. Track three, Latina really reflects the true sound of meniskus. Ryt provides a tantric techno beat as Ostberg and Bardusco trade leads that lift the soaring strings from high down to crashing bass chords below.  'Again', is one of my new favorites, the march of the drums and shouts of Again providing the attitude of a punk song.  'Sheik Don't Mind' is another reflection of the way these three band members play so well together. The feeling and emotions of each person combine in such a way that the song can sound different from night to night. Their world trance classification can be explained by the next track called 'Nightly Erotic'. It flows like the silken dress of a Persian belly dancer as she dances across the floor.  If ska is polka, and polka is punk, then 'The Partyer' is fun as funk. This is a song for everyone; I could easily see it get plenty of air play on KBCO.  'Brigade' is the anthem of this CD, it reminds me of the strong messages sung by U2 in the 80s.  'Combo' is another quick moving song built on forceful emotions and played as fast as a speeding train; by far my favorite song on the CD.  Last is a bonus studio track called 'Greed'. If this song is any indication of where meniskus is taking their music, we have lots to look forward to from this band in the future.

This band has perfected their skills from years on the road and polished their sound by days spent in the booths of Coupe Studios. It’s good to know the energy of their live shows has finally been captured on their CD.

Its been many years since I have seen Rush play and I'm glad I finally got to see them again. Rush has a very dedicated fan base and when tickets go on sale for their shows, they sell out in minutes. That was the case with this years Red Rocks show and is also why they added an additional second show to their Colorado run. The other reason these specific shows sold out so fast, is because Rush has been spending this tour covering their 1981 classic 'Moving Pictures' in its entirety.

In typical Rush fashion the band started the show with a comical skit played out on a large screen before the band took the stage. Due to some technical difficulty the video was cut short, but all it took was Alex Lifeson running out with his arms in the air to bring the roaring crowd to his feet. Rush pounded out the opening riff to 'The Spirit of the Radio' and the place went wild. The band spent the first set rocking through a long history of music, both new and old, and even played a few new tracks from a forth coming album. One of the new tracks is called BU2B (Brought Up To Believe) and may be one of the heaviest Rush songs I have ever heard live. After a very strong first set Rush left the stage to a cheering crowd hungry for more music.

The Rush Time Machine Tour has a great stage set up. Neil Peart was center stage and sat on a rotating drum set placed upon a Victorianised golden geared wheel. Alex Lifeson's Triamp and Coreblade amps were fused into custom cabinets that look like three old time wooden radios. The Hughes & Kettner built rig had Steam and Fire shooting from the top of it at different times during the show. Not to be out done, Geddy Lee had four similar, yet unique, time machine looking amps with the words 'Real Time', 'Half Time', 'Bass Time, and 'Sausage Time' lite beneath them. The funniest thing was through the whole show you could see actual sausage links spewing from the last amp with the words 'Sausage Time' lite beneath it. The fire and steam erupting from the amps were joined by random exploding fire balls that flew across the stage through out the show.

The second set was preluded by another Rush video. As before, the band members played different roles in a comedic skit almost poking fun of themselves for what was about to happen. The video stopped and the very familiar intro to 'Tom Sawyer' was soon bringing smiles to every ones faces. Rush continued on to play the whole 'Moving Pictures' album and I was amazed to hear the crowd never stop shouting from excitement the whole time! So many good songs on this one album and I was surprised how much I really loved every minute of that show. After they completed the last song off of 'Moving Pictures' the band was rewarded with a long standing ovation from the crowd. They then went on to play another new song called 'Caravan' off of their yet to be released new album and finished up the set with two songs from the always popular 2112.

The encore was short but very sweet. Alex Lifeson started playing a Polka Style intro to 'La Villa Strangiato' and then in true Rush fashion, the whole band broke out into the actual song and rocked it! Even better was the reggae intro to 'Working Man' and the ending where everyone at Red Rocks singing the last song together ....'Seems to me I could live my life, much better than I think I am. I guess that's why they call me, they call me the Working Man!'

The wonderful show was at its end, but Rush had one more gift for its fans. A final video showed two actors, Paul Rudd and Jason Segal, from the movie 'I Love You Man' sneaking into Rush's dressing room back stage. If you are a Rush Fan and have never seen the movie, then I suggest you go see it now. All I need to say is that there is nothing better than hearing Geddy Lee say 'I slap-ah the bass' and seeing the humor that this great band has and its appreciation to its many many fans, both young and old.   Rush does play one more show at Red Rocks this Wednesday August 18th 2010. If you can get a ticket, I highly suggest you go!

SET ONE:
The Spirit Of Radio
Time Stand Still
Presto
Stick It Out
Workin' Them Angels
Leave That Thing Alone
Faithless
BU2B
Freewill
Marathon
Subdivisions

SET TWO:
Tom Sawyer
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Limelight
The Camera Eye
Witch Hunt
Vital Signs
Caravan
Drum Solo
Closer To The Heart- Extended Intro
2112 Part I: Overture
2112 Part II: The Temples Of Syrinx
Far Cry

ENCORE:
La Villa Strangiato Working Man

Small towns give birth to good things, two of them are old friends and great music. This is how I heard Dick Prall was playing in Boulder; thru an old friend with a great taste in music.  Dick Prall is a singer/songwriter based in Chicago and born in Iowa that was making his way through Boulder Colorado while playing a series of shows all along the front range.  Dick's set, at the Rock n' Soul Cafe,  was shorter than he would have liked as he was struggling with some allergies caused by the recent fires and over all dryness this time of year brings to Boulder. You would never have known he was struggling at all as his voice came through as strong as a gale force wind. There is something sweet and kind about the way Dick Prall sings his songs.  He combines the best of Paul Simon's writing ability with the fluid harmonies of another Chicago singer/songwriter Andrew Bird.

Dick played a variety of songs from two of his CD's 2004's 'fizzlebuzzie' and 2007's 'Weightless'.  'Grand Marquee' is a song that reminded me of being a kid listening to my parents stack of 45's with my head phones on and is a reminder of how the current state of the music industry is not what it was just a few years ago.  'Barely Moving' was inspired by a guy that did not feel he needed to let his girlfriend know he was breaking up with her; its a wonderful song with light melodic verses.  As a solo act it can be hard to get a specific feeling across with out a band to back you up, this was not the issue with the song 'Copperhead Town'; there was general fear in his warning to 'stay away for Copperhead Town'.  Two other songs I really enjoyed were 'Boulevard' and 'Devils', both sung with the same casual, matter of fact manner that gives Dick Prall his own unique style and sound. The final song of the evening was a 'joking ode to stalkers everywhere' called "The Cornflakes Song', the type of song that's so fun that at the end everyone was singing along 'ba ba bah babah baah'.   It was a great first introduction to the music of Dick Prall, but I know it won't be the last.

Artist site: http://dickprall.blogspot.com