Post-Turkey Post-Punk

Our closest local friends, non-Marls edition, have a kid named Rory who goes to the University of Pittsburgh. They were a theater kid in high school and love to perform. Pretty good recipe for a lead singer, as it turns out. Rory's band, Straight Decline, just released an EP entitled Mid-Semester Crisis. Here's the first single, "There Are No Mathematical Jokes, Only Mathematical Punchlines (Calculus Song)". If you like Midwestern Emo, you'll enjoy.

And here they are performing a live set at The New Low in Pittsburgh:

Go See JD McPherson and/or Kate Clover

Last weekend I went to see JD McPherson and he kicked ass.  You can tell he spends time with Dan Auerbach because he and the band sounded meticulously like their album versions ... except when they decided to jam out and did Bloodhound Rock into Wolf Teeth and blew the roof off the place.  Apparently they've done this before.

They also covered Richie Valens, Iggy Pop, and The Velvet Underground.  Here's the setlist, I'll embed a Spotify playlist here later.  Suffice it to say it was good-old-fashioned, extremely accessible rock n roll and you should go see him if he's in your area.

But even more impressive was the opening act, Kate Clover.  Her stuff on Spotify is crisply produced and she even has videos so I expected something pretty commercial.  Instead I got an honest-to-god punk rock show.  Here's an older set with decent recording quality.

And here's a set with her current, better guitar player (but you can't hear the vocals too well).

So go see her too.

I saw The Walkmen!

I saw The Walkmen this past weekend as my first post-pandemic concert.  I've been a fan for a long time and I thought I would never get to see them because they went "on hiatus" in 2013 so I was excited for their Revenge Tour.  I got on the pre-sale list early this year.  Tickets went on sale at 10 am and when I logged in at 10:01 am (because I had a fucking Teams call) they were sold out.  Luckily they enjoyed their short tour so much that they greatly extended it and I was able to catch them at Asbury Lanes, up close and personal.  It was great.

If you aren't familiar with The Walkmen you should acquaint yourself with them.  If you're a traditionalist like me and prefer the album approach, start with "A Hundred Miles Off."  They have an early-2000s sound, jangly and indy, but also really boozy.  Lots of their songs sound drunken.  Here's a Spotify playlist based on the setlist from the show.  

I always thought these guys should be way more popular than they are, but now I realize that they need a stylist and a little more on-stage charisma to win over the masses.  They're one of those bands that you see live and you realize that it's really two guys doing all the work.  Hamilton Leithouser, the frontman, reminds me a lot of former Unit M'er Sammy the Bull in both appearance and dance moves.  Fortunately for him, he sings like someone threw Rod Stewart, Julian Casablancas, Brandon Flowers, and a fifth of gin into a blender.  The other main guy, Peter Matthew Bauer, plays just about every instrument except the drums.  Like Leithouser, he has some awkward moves.

But they fucking rocked the house.  Leithouser sang his ass off, Bauer hustled his ass off between instruments, and the other guys worked their asses off too.  Much like Prince's pants they were completely assless by the end of the show.  I was delighted to hear Little House of Savages, The Rat, Postcards from Tiny Islands, Angela Surf City, On the Water, In the New Year, Thinking of a Dream I Had and the songs from A Hundred Miles Off.  I wish they played the other songs from A Hundred Miles Off (especially Brandy Alexander, Tenley Town, Lost in Boston, Another One Goes By and Emma Get Me a Lemon), Revenge Wears No Wristwatch, and Greasy Saint.  It was $30 well spent.

So sign up for their newsletter and go see The Walkmen if they ever go on tour again.

Up on the Roof

Now that the pandemic is over, expect some crazy live music stunts. Weird locales and impromptu concerts.  Let this be a good residual effect of what has been so bad for so long.

Like, maybe... concerts on the rooftop?  It's happened before!

Here are 4 instances of rooftop performances in rock history.

Jefferson Airplane, New York City, 1968
Edgy (NSFW because of the first loud shout from the band to command your attention), short, and lots of fun. Like Rob in college. The po-po shut it down pretty quick and with extreme prejudice.

Madness, Buckingham Palace, England, 2012
Awfully cool to play from atop the Palace, though it was official and a bit contrived. Still, I love Madness, and there's a nice juxtaposition that exists between this worldwide mega-clip atop the royals and the same song pseudo-performed by the same band in front of the lads' flat on The Young Ones in 1982. (I like the earlier gig better.)

U2, Los Angeles, 1987
Oh, the fuzz. They don't like musical mayhem in the streets, do they? This one is also a bit contrived, but it's got a bit of Edge to it, eh? It's the best video of the lot, by design.

The Beatles, London, 1969
The one that defines "rooftop concert." This remains the last Beatles live performance ever, atop Apple Studios in the UK. There's a backstory, and Billy Preston, and coppers, natch. Read the many stories and the countless factoids about the episode. But watch the short gig, and check out the wonderful "Don't Let Me Down." To know it was their last always grabs me.

Random Idiots, playing on or under a roof near you soon.

A District Ex-Pat, Wishing Ruefully

One of the not-that-many reasons I lament having left big city life in 2005 can be summed up in one online stroll.

1. Go to any of the websites/apps featuring a calendar of live arts performances for a city/region*.
2. Select Norfolk, VA.
3. Peruse.
4. Select Washington, DC. (Or New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; or even Raleigh, NC for that matter.)
5. Peruse.
   
6. Review comparatively.

*My site of choice has been Pollstar for years, but I also call upon JamBase and others for no real reason from time to time.

I miss out on a massive slew of during-the-week or inconvenient-weekend shows in larger areas.  The most prominent acts of our time only hit the big stadia where they can get the most bangin' bang for their buck. Even the bands that are throwin' back mid-range gravitate elsewhere first. It's simple economics.

Norfolk/Virginia Beach/etc. -- once known as Tidewater, then christened Hampton Roads 30+ years ago, occasionally called Coastal Virginia or SEVA, then rebranded ham-fistedly as "The 757" this past December . . . whatever it's called, it suffers from the French syndrome known as cul-de-sac-itis, as we are a distanced offshoot on the East Coast rock and roll corridor of I-95, and we are a road to nowhere. This pleases some xenophobic residents, impacts supply chain, and limits performing arts visitors. Sad but true.

So we starve, musically speaking, or we overpay. In 2012, a local venue paid $140,000 to land The Black Keys. That seems steep for this middle-sized burg to be plunking down on someone not prefixed as Sir and who dropped their first record post-9/11. Again, just for dollars and cents reasons. But I had GA Floor tix and dug that show.

Perhaps someday Pharrell and company can help elevate this corner of the state up from a cornerstone of Colonial American history into something more culturally and rock-relevant. This was a start. In the meantime, I'm left to lean on my monitor like it's the plate glass of a storefront and window-shop at concerts in other towns.

Case in point: The Exile Follies

Three indie-rock stalwarts whose commercial heyday... okay, indie acts don't have a commercial heyday. Let's just say those of you who drift (Rob) or even dwell (Squeaky) in the realm of sub-superstar bands of the 80's and 90's know these three cats from back then.

Grant-Lee Phillips
Band: Grant Lee Buffalo
GLB Songs I Like Best: "Mockingbirds," "Truly, Truly"
Also: His solo album Nineteeneighties acoustically covered alt-rock tunes from... guess when. "Love My Way" stands out. Plenty of other chill albums through the years.
Fun Fact: He's of Native American heritage and a direct descendant of those who walked the Trail of Tears. And he's cool.

Kristin Hersh
Band: Throwing Muses (with the fantastic Tanya Donelly)
TM Songs I Like Best: "Bright Yellow Gun," "Mexican Women," "Not Too Soon"
Also: She has a fairly robust solo catalog, but the first song off her first album is my favorite -- "Your Ghost," with Michael Stipe on the chorus.
Fun Fact: She once sent a direct Twitter message to me about something I said. (It wasn't "cease and desist."). She's cool.

John Doe
Band: X (with the fantastic Exene Cervenka)
X Songs I Like Best: "White Girl," "The World's a Mess, It's in My Kiss," "Under the Big Black Sun," "4th of July," etc.
Also: Solo stuff and collaborations abound. Saw him do "Gimme Shelter" live, and it was blistering. Like "The Golden State" a lot.
Fun Fact: I almost ran him over backstage in Tipitina's in 2008. My starstruck response to him: "Hey, it's John Doe... I mean, uh, sorry." And he chuckled. He's cool.

The aforementioned Gimme Shelter before the aforementioned near-collision:

In 2002, after each of their bands had pretty much ceased to be, these three happened upon each other and launched a small, quiet tour of intimate venues called The Exile Follies.

I read about it much later. Sounded intriguing.  As described by Phillips:

I suppose there was a curiosity about pooling our strengths together in such a way that it allowed for some creative elbow room. The old tradition of songwriters in the round, where everyone sits in a circle and swaps songs was hard for any one of us to imagine. We came from the sticky clubs, where the speakers were always on the blink and chairs were a liability. We decided to tweak it a bit.
Our show was broken up into individual sets, just one of us on stage until the moment when the next performer would take the mic. As a transition, two of us would perform together. Vaudeville stuff. The running order came down to a coin toss until we settled into a comfortable rhythm. The evening would culminate with all three of us performing together.

They're running it back this year. Aaaaaand, circling back to my point, they are only hitting:

• DC - Tues, Feb 4
• Philly - Weds, Feb 5
• NYC - Thurs, Feb 6
• Boston - Fri, Feb 7
• Cleveland - Weds, Feb 12
• Chicago - Fri, Feb 14

Oh, well.  Had I not moved, I'd definitely drop $32 and hit the City Winery in DC on a Tuesday for virtually on-stage seats and tables and bevs and rock and/or roll.  

Anyway... go check it out, big city types. Maybe I'll see you there.

Say, That's Not Peter Cetera

Summertime is here again, our just about, and with that comes a bevy of music festivals, countrywide rock tours, and summer shows in each of the gheorghies' respective homelands.  I implore you people: go out and take in some live music, then blog about it at GTB.  I love to read about what you guys are listening to and the shows you see.

Some of you ask: what shows are out there?

Go here:  Pollstar.  Individual band pages are worthy but take longer to sift through.  Other sites exist and are fine (Bandsintown, JamBase, etc.) But Pollstar has been my go-to for a long time, and you can search by city, venue, or band quickly and easily.

So, what should these good people see?

Whatever you want! And if what you want is to see a big-name act that costs more than it should and you're stuck in row YY or at the back of the lawn and you're watching the band on a screen and they look like Fisher-Price figures, at the very least... at the very least... they should be the band you intended to see.

What the hell does that mean, Whitney?

Okay, forgive the rant, but there is a growing trend I'm seeing wherein older bands of prior popularity are touring the globe with a hodgepodge of musicians who were not a part of the original incarnation of the band.  Sometimes those stand-ins have replaced vital elements without whom, this really isn't the same band, now is it? But you see no asterisks or disclaimers.  And it's crap.

Obviously, things happen in the course of the life of a musical act.  People die.  People fight and leave.  People go solo.  People just get tired.

Obviously, there are some slots in the roster of a given band that could be filled by just about anyone.  For Random Idiots, that was 2nd pots/pans player.  Scott MacDonald took Jason Elliott's spot there for "Dr. Seuss" because Elliott was on the john or talking to his girlfriend or something.  Nothing was lost, and the rest is history, of sorts.

But when either the role that is replaced is a major one, or the talent that is lost is formative and foundational to the band, please don't ask the listening audience to just nod along like it's the same ol' same ol'.  It's not.

Lead singers are tough to replace, fair or not.  When Brian Johnson replaced Bon Scott, AC/DC recorded an amazing classic album's worth of material before hitting the road.  A quick switch of Brian as Bon just wouldn't have worked. Talking Heads cannot continue without David Byrne. It would rob the public of what they paid to expect.  Say what you will about Dead and Company, but at least they aren't out there peddling the name Grateful Dead without Jerry.  Without John Fogerty, the rest of the dudes took to Creedence Clearwater Revisited. It's about truth in advertising.



Here we go.  I've taken the liberty of doing some work for you. I'm taking a look at the landscape of summer tours and letting you know which are the real deals, which are close enough, and which are pale facsimiles for which you should be paying knock-off prices.

To preface this, I include an interview from Derek Trucks after Gregg Allman died. Keep an eye out for the subtle dig:

Trucks closed the book on the Allman Brothers Band forever after the deaths of both Allman and his uncle, who died in January. "You can't have an Allman Brothers gig without an Allman brother," Trucks said. "I've heard people try to argue that you can, but I'm not buying it. If [late band co-founder] Duane [Allman]'s not there, Gregg certainly better be there. There are a few bands out there right now that are using names that maybe shouldn't be. That's another discussion." 

This is that discussion.  Here goes.

Lynyrd Skynyrd
Hey, boys, if your ears were ringing, it's because you are the A#1 band out there that's using a name you maybe shouldn't be.  Ronnie Van Zant and Steve and Cassie Gaines died in one of rock's greatest tragedies. Ronnie's voice and lyrics were at the core of every Skynyrd song. After a 10-year hiatus, a handful of the survivors reformed as Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Maybe shouldn't have. Ronnie's little brother Johnny has manned the mic since. Through the years, original members have faded to the point where it's only guitarist Gary Rossington left.  Admire the perseverance, but it's not Skynyrd and if even one unknowing ticket-buyer thinks they're getting the original... hell, maybe they deserve what they get at this point. Anyway...  Verdict: Cover Band.

Fleetwood Mac
Last month the band announced that Lindsey Buckingham was no longer a part of the band. Okay, so the band has had numerous lineup shifts throughout its 50-year career, and maybe you were big fans of the Peter Green or Bob Welch eras of the band with hits like "Black Magic Woman" and "Albatross." You weren't. The core lineup since' 75 of Fleetwood/McVie x 2/Buckingham/Nicks was a hit machine for a brief moment, and they are a terrific live act to see.  But Buckingham is a living genius and the heart of too many of those hits. He and Nicks left the band in the late 80's, and the number of people that attended Mac shows without them you could fit on a single school bus.  And they were disappointed.  Stevie is there, but without Lindsey, leave it be.  Verdict: Not the Same.

Weezer
Their songs have faded into dreck, but I've seen Rivers Cuomo and Co. in recent years. Still good, 3/4 intact, and Cuomo is most everything to Weezer. Verdict: Good to Go.

Pixies
Pixies were a band most (included me) missed seeing in their original stint ('87-'92).  I did catch them when they reformed in 2004, and they were great.  Black Francis still leads the band around the country, (now with Weezer in tow) but there's one problem.  Kim Deal left the band 5 years ago this week.  There's a reason the Dandy Warhols sang "Cool as Kim Deal." Her voice, her bass, her cool.  An irreparable divot. Verdict: Not the Same.

Steely Dan
A two man classic.  Fagen and Becker.  Becker and Fagen. Walter Becker died in September. To tour again as the Dan without him there?  Verdict: Eat Bat Prick

Guns N' Roses
It's simple.  Axl, Slash, and Duff is good enough.  Axl and Buckethead and whoever else? You're crazy. They have the core together right now, so go see 'em before they implode again. Verdict: Good to Go.

Eagles
A strong assemblage of talent from their earliest days, but Henley and Frey were at the center.  Minus Glenn Frey, the best days of the Eagles are already gone. Verdict: Not the Same.

Stone Temple Pilots
Name someone in this band beyond Scott Weiland.  He died. Verdict: Not the Same.

Alice in Chains
I grant you, you can likely name Jerry Cantrell.  But Layne Staley meant too much to the band.  Verdict: Not the Same.

Styx
Tommy Shaw and a couple of others are in.  Dennis DeYoung and Mr. Roboto are out. Verdict: Not the Same, but do any of you guys really give a crap?

ZZ Top
All present and accounted for, sir.  Verdict: Good to go.

Def Leppard
Lead guitarist Steve Clark died of alcohol poisoning when the elder gheorgies (excepting Monsignor KQ) were in college poisoning themselves with alcohol, and Rick Allen is missing an arm, but otherwise they're the same.  Verdict: Close enough.

Journey
Wow, this one is interesting.  Dude, if you love Journey, and more people than ever seem to, go see Arnel Pineda. The sound is extraordinarily similar, and Steve Perry ain't walking back through that door. Verdict: Good to go.

The Who
Keith Moon died 40 years ago.  The Ox 16 years ago.  Daltrey and Townshend are all-timers among all-timers and worthy, though.  Verdict: Legit.

Little Feat
Lowell George 1945-1979.  Enough said.  Verdict: Cover Band.

The English Beat
Dave Wakeling is still the voice, and that counts for a lot. Verdict: Good enough.

Cheap Trick
Amazingly, mostly intact. Touring with "Skynyrd." More authentic. Verdict: Good to go.

Foghat
Also touring with "Skynyrd" this summer. Only the drummer from the original lineup. Verdict: Cover Band.

Violent Femmes
2/3 together. Vitally importantly -- with Gordon Gano.  Verdict: Good to go.

Phish
Simple.  They are still the same dudes.   Verdict: Good to go.

Chicago
Rob's first concert featured Peter Cetera and the gang. Now it's just the gang. Verdict: Not the same.

REO Speedwagon
Mostly still together, Kevin Cronin still singing. Roll with the non-changes. Verdict: Good to go.

Steel Pulse
David Hinds and Selwyn Brown and a newer crew. Get behind me Satan. Verdict: Good enough.

The Wailers
Debatable, a pale imitation of their former leader, but at least Family Man Barrett is there.  Verdict: Eh.

U2
Just kidding. Some things never change. Verdict: Duh. Good to go.

10,000 Maniacs
Natalie Merchant left during the Clinton administration. Verdict: Not even close.

Barenaked Ladies
Steven Page left in 2009.  Sang most of their best songs. Verdict: Not the Same.

Pearl Jam
Locked and loaded with most of the original crew.  Verdict: Good to go.

Yes
This one's for Mr. KQ. The roster rotates every few years. Steve Howe is pretty much the only original in the current iteration.  Verdict: No. (Sorry.)

The Cult
It was always Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy.  Still is. Verdict: Good to go.

Squeeze
Same with Squeeze: Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook.  Verdict: Good to go.

Dave Matthews Band
You know what's odd?  Dave is obviously still there, but with LeRoi passed on and Boyd now out (in lots of ways), is it the same experience? Verdict: Debatable.

INXS, AC/DC, and REM aren't doing this any more, but they were never the same after losing members of the band and now they are all kaput.

If you're at the State Fair and see "Quiet Riot" or "Thin Lizzy" playing, keep in mind that there are no original members in either band.

And Michael McDonald is... out of the Doobies.

Oh, one last one.

The Beach Boys
A few years back, I took my daughters to see them when Brian and Al joined #1 d-bag Mike Love for the 50th reunion tour.  It was great.  Soon thereafter, of course, it fell apart again, and now it's back to just Mike and not-quite-original-but-close Bruce Johnston and others (not John Stamos). This is bullshit of the highest order, as Mike Love continues to sue for the right to be the only Beach Boy in The Beach Boys™. Honestly, people. Verdict: Bad cover band.  Don't do it.


Be forewarned, and don't be afraid to write into Dear Gheorghe with questions about a band coming to your town.

Move Over Dad, 'Cause I'm a Double Dipper

Tuesday night was a humdinger for music junkies like me.  I began the evening at the historic Naro theater in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk.  As I mentioned that day, they were part of the one-night-only theatrical release of the documentary on the Avett Brothers.

The film is good fun. Now, I can't recommend the film if:

• You like your music documentaries to have sex, drugs, violence, arrests, and general mayhem throughout the picture.  This film is the opposite of the "Behind the Music" on Mötley Crüe. Two musically inclined brothers whose feelings about each other are the diametric opposite of the Gallaghers.

• You want all concert footage.  There's a lot of studio footage, backstory clips, family time, and behind the scenes of the process. Good live stuff, but it's not Stop Making Sense.

• You don't like overly emotive bad banjo players.  These dudes emote heavy.  Seth Avett describes the band as guys who read their diary on stage.  Scott Avett says it's never crossed his mind that people might not want to hear his innermost feelings.  And he admits that's really stupid at times.  That's just who they are.  

Some cool stuff includes clips of them as a wanna-be grunge band in the early 90's; lively performances; closer looks at a couple of the other band members, including my friend's old co-worker at IBM Joe Kwon who's now the cellist; some emotional moments surrounding the health of bassist Bob's child; Deb from "Dexter"; and a cool segue from scratching out lyrics to them performing the song live.

Rob, check it out.  Rootsy, probably don't.

--THEN--

As soon as the credits rolled, my friend Jeff and I trucked it downtown to the Norva, where St. Paul and the Broken Bones had just taken the stage.  

A friend gave us VIP passes (her cousin Allen is the trumpet player), and we spent the night overlooking the band from immediate stage left. They were outstanding -- extremely enthusiastic performers and pure purveyors of soul. Lead singer Paul Janeway spared not an ounce of sweat, and his moves were... well, he had a lot of moves.  

I hadn't seen this Birmingham-based act before, but I'll see them again.  Based on their gratitude at the crowd going bonkers, I expect they'll come back to Norfolk.  At least I hope so.

Yes, the mic is lying on the floor

Check out the video.  Paul Janeway had crawled under the drum riser mid-song, and sang a verse from under it. Just silly.  Here's when he comes out...

Tons of fun.  Great night. Damnation, I enjoy music.

Your Handy-Dandy Calendar of Rock & Roll

Last year was a bit challenging for me in a handful of ways. Family illness, divorce #2, got no jack, blah blah blah. There's no time to feel sorry for yourself in a world brimming with sad events and sorrow, but I probably did.

But music is solace, especially if you can emotionally compartmentalize like I can.  A good rock show cures what ails you for two to four hours at a time.  Festivals even moreso.  And against some odds, I did manage to make it to a boatload of good concerts last year.  As I recall, in order:

• Badfish
• Wilco
• Widespread Panic
• Pink Talking Fish
• Jimmy Buffett
• Pearl Jam
• Jason Isbell
• Violent Femmes
• The Wailers
• Avett Brothers
• Bruce Springsteen
• English Beat / Squeeze
• Old 97's
• The Cult
• Drive-By Truckers

Thus far this year I have caught three of those same bands once again, plus Ween, Green Day, Trombone Shorty, U2's Joshua Tree tour, Lionel Richie, the Australian Pink Floyd Show, and a ton of bands at JazzFest in New Orleans. Plus some local acts.  And the Random Idiots uncorked session in Norfolk pre-OBFT.  And drumming on my desk when I'm bored.

Seems like a lot.  But never enough, I guess, because there's more on the docket. Who's with me?

Okay, I'll be more specific.  I began to assemble a list of bands heading to the area over the next few months.  Then "the area" expanded, since we've journeyed far and wide for the right rock concert in the past.  And then I thought I'd have some fun with it and threw in my estimated percentage chance of attending each show. And some bands I likely will not see.  Ever.

Note... that percentage figure increases substantially if other gheorghies are going to go.  Some recall the mini-summit of 2013 in NJ for the Old 97's/DBT's show.  No fewer than 4 GTBers ganged up for that one.  Let's do this.  Apologies to Mark, Squeaky, and others geographically displaced from my town.  Though I will friggin travel for the right show.

Also... what is up with the explosion of music venues in DC now?  I leave town and they pop up like an outbreak of... whatever that is down there.  Used to be the Verizon Center for big acts, the 9:30 Club for mid-majors, and the Black Cat and such for the littl'uns.  Now: Rock & Roll Hotel, Hamilton Live, The Anthem, Hill Country Barbecue Market, U Street Music Hall, Sixth & I Historic Synagogue (??), Lincoln Theatre, and a place near the old Bayou called Gypsy Sally's -- each of which have bands I listen to playing there.  Kind of awesome, kind of wtf.

Anywho... come join me for some musical shenanigans, won't you?

Gheorghe's Milestones in Music

A recent survey conducted by the Clarence Institute of Finding Shit Out (CIFSO™) shed some light on some of the foundations of musical event attendance by the gheorghies through the years. Its intent was to allow GTB writers and readers alike to develop a contextual understanding of some of the posts and comments where rock and roll music is the topic. I dare say that we have learned a lot.

Note: if you consider yourself a gheorghie (a. get help, but b. . . .) and you were not surveyed, please do not take offense.  CIFSO standards and practices ensure a level of disorganization, gaps, scattershotness, haphazardry, outdated e-mail addresses, and erroneous data collection.  By our very design we incorporate a percentage error plus or minus 37.  It's what we do.

On to the findings.

We wanted to learn about concerts attended.  It's our belief at CIFSO that something as simple as the purchase of Snow's Twelve Inches of Snow is an egregious music error, but it's one easily made (sort of) and without much consequence.  (Like twelve bucks or so.)  It should not reflect too poorly on the purchaser nor render his opinion of Social Distortion's major label debut moot and meaningless.

Going to a show, though?  Well, mistakes can be made, but in our statistical expert opinion, it's a far more telling barometer of the quality of rock music taste.  Or lack thereof.  It says a lot about you if you have seen Billy Joel 27 times. Or moe.  Or Ned's Atomic Dustbin.  Or Garth Brooks.  Or the Weather Girls.  And the knowledge of whom you pay and/or travel to see rock it out helps serve our reading audience with background information.  Let's face it, reading Dave's well-crafted post from yesterday with the backstory that he either: (a) pays to see Jersey Shore cover bands meticulously cover old songs while he hates the original versions of those old songs, (b) was an indie pioneer and saw the Flaming Lips in a tiny room in college, or (c) got a hard rock band tattooed on his leg and then went to see them more than any other act . . . well, the more you know . . .

Anyway, that stuff plus the gheorghies' original foundations of seeing music once upon a time, as well as how far each concert-goer was willing to travel for a certain act all makes for good intel . . . for filtering out the bullcrap of some yahoo who broke their cherry on Warrant and made connecting flights to see Toby Keith.

Here we go.

The first question we asked of the GTBers was what their first concert was.  Who took your rock show virginity?  You always remember your first.  Unless you're Dave.

G:TB's First Concerts

TR: Whitesnake/Great White
Danimal: O.M.D. opening for Thompson Twins '85
Marls: Herman's Hermits/The Turtles
Squeaky: The Cars, Hampton Beach, NH
Zman: John Denver
Dave: either Sting (Dream of the Blue Turtles) or R.E.M. (Fables of the Reconstruction) with the Feelies, 1985
Mark: Warped Tour (Fishbone/Rancid headliners)
rob: Chicagoooo!!!
Shlara: The Jacksons (as in Michael and his brothers) Victory Tour at RFK
Whitney: The Monkees (w/ Herman’s Hermits); Grateful Dead a few months later.  Apparently I was born during WWII...
TJ: Steve Winwood, 1990, SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center – great venue). Warren Zevon opened for Winwood. That is correct – Warren Zevon opened for Steve Winwood. Almost 30 years later I’m still baffled by this.
KQ: Go-Go's at Kings Dominion. BoDeans opened.
Mr. KQ: Peter Frampton
Clarence: Eddie and the Cruisers at Tony Mart’s, followed quickly by Stillwater

CIFSO can draw some interesting conclusions here, both individually and as a group.  But we won't. That's not what we do!  Instead we will let you do that in the comments.

We followed that question with this one: What's the furthest you ever traveled for a rock and roll show?

G:TB's Longest Road Trip for a Show

Zman: NY to Boston to see BRMC with Squeaky. NJ to Boston to see Jane's Addiction, Dinosaur Jr, and Living Colour with Squeaky but he didn't get the tickets so we saw a bluegrass band instead. So 225 to 250 miles.
Whitney: San Francisco for Outside Lands Music Festival ’14. Non-festival: Wilco in Brooklyn with Squeaky or the RnR HoF opener in '95 with Evan.
Squeaky: While living in VA saw a band at the Crocodile Club in Seattle. Can't remember the band but it was an offshoot of Mudhoney. And also 54-40 in Vancouver.
Mark: Smokin Grooves Tour - Cleveland, OH (Jurassic 5, The Roots, Outkast)

rob: Does JazzFest count? If not that, we saw King Sunny Ade at Millennium Park in Chicago last month.
Shlara: Foo Fighters in London
Danimal: U2 in Chicago
Marls: Don Ho in Honolulu
TR: Saw a Panic run at the Wiltern Theatre in LA in '01
TJ: OK, well, if you count Latham as my home, I guess it’s the Tribe Called Quest concert I saw at William and Mary. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever traveled to see a concert – I’ve always seen concerts in close proximity to where I was living at the time. [Ed. Note: Lame.]
KQ: That's probably Sister Hazel in Atlanta.

Mr. KQ: B-52’s, Orlando, FL circa 1981
Dave: Daytona! Primus/Salt 'n' Pepa/Ugly Kid Joe/Naughty By Nature [Ed. Note: a couple of other gheorghies were there as well, so this might be their actual pick]
Clarence: Spinal Tap, Cleveland / Detroit; Nick Rivers with special guest Autobahn in Germany; Infant Sorrow at the Greek

As CIFSO could have predicted (but didn't), answers ranged from inter-continental to barely across town. Interesting, mildly.

Finally, the crack engineers of this survey felt that its centerpiece had to be the band each of the group has seen most.  There are few truer gauges of your musical taste than the artists you have plunked down cash and gone to see the most.  One stray visit to a Dead show is one thing, but if you have seen 73 Phish concerts, we can assume more things about you.  Prejudices are created, like chances are you don't think of "Ringwald" when I say "Molly."  You get it.  This is like KGB.  Answer questions, please, comrade.

G:TB's Musical Acts Seen the Most in Concert

Okay, children, it's time for a game.  Match the gheorghie to their most-seen band!

The gheorghies:
(Ed. Note: The Gheorghies is a good name for a band . . . if it's not already taken)

Clarence – Danimal – Dave – KQ – Mark – Marls –Mr. KQ – rob – Shlara – Squeaky – TJ – TR – Whitney – Zman

The concerts (and how many times):

- U2 - 6 times 
- Aerosmith (3 times between 1994 and 1998) 
- Probably Pearl Jam, though Carbon Leaf and Sister Hazel are up there. (I could count but I was under the impression there would be no math.) 
- Drive-By Truckers (5 or 6 times and Jason Isbell twice). Allmans 4 or 5 times. 
- Widespread Panic (35-40x) 
- Either Old 97’s or They Might Be Giants. If you count Rhett solo shows, it's probably the former. (8ish) 
- Wilco (~17 times) 
- Has to be The Cult! (7?) 
- Either The Allman Bros or Springsteen (Sorry, 70’s and early 80s a bit of a blur) 4 or 5 each 
- The Roots (7-8 times) 
- Foo Fighters (like 8 or 9 times). Everyone else is only 4-5 times: U2, Grateful Dead, Bruce, Old 97's, Glen Hansard 
- Reverend Horton Heat (4 or 5 times) 
- Bob Mould (7 times) Widespread Panic, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order (4 times)

- Either The Zack Attack or Wyld Stallyns, maybe 69 times each . . . although I spent a lot of time seeing Dr. Fünke’s 100 Percent Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution, much of which I don't remember thanks to the forget-me-nows

Make your picks at home and wait for the Answer Key to published in this space soon.  Good luck!

CIFSO's survey is complete.  Please do not find fault in the process. Because there is none.  Just learn about your co-bloggers, judge if you must, mock as a rule.  Enjoy.  (And go see more shows.)

Love,
Clarence

Sturgill Simpson is not related to Jessica Simpson or Homer Simpson or OJ Simpson but you should check out his new album anyway

Sturgill Simpson released his third album, "A Sailor's Guide to Earth," last month and you should check it out if you haven't already done so. Simpson is typically considered a country artist, but some of the songs on this album don't fit into that category. If not for the twang and timbre of his voice they'd be flat-out indie R&B. For example, "Call to Arms" is on some straight Blues Brothers shit.



Check out the switch at 2:20 in "Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)":



And "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)" has a little Al Green in it:



Simpson's developing a habit of including startlingly unexpected and good covers in his albums. This time around he did "In Bloom."



I've seen a lullaby version of "In Bloom" before, but this is a lot better.

Simpson will be in Brooklyn, Boston, and DC on October 8, 9, and 11, respectively. Who's up for a show?

Music Maelstrom

Out of nowhere, this has turned into three days of action packed live music for me.

Saturday night I went to Norfolk's Town Point Park, a grassy downtown knoll that overlooks the Elizabeth River, for the annual Bayou Boogaloo.  If not inherently obvious, it's a New Orleans themed festival that runs for three days.

Upon entering the grounds, I caught the tail end of Amanda Shaw. (Awww, yeah.) I first saw her at JazzFest when her band played the Fais Do Do stage about 10 years ago.  She was 14.  She came directly from school that day to lead her band at the Fest. Unbelievable.  Our late great friend Flynn went up and chatted with her after her set.  I think he hit on her.  Believable.

Highlights, as usual, included Amanda's renditions of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

The Rebirth Brass Band followed, delivering their same brass funk soul beat that they have for years.  Always great.

And Trombone Shorty followed.  The offstage Troy Andrews is a phenomenal trombone (duh) and trumpet player who has been part of Tremé's music scene since we was a little kid; we first saw him onstage at JazzFest as a guest for his brother James Andrews (don't go to him if your knee hurts) and the All-Stars around the turn of the millennium, when Shorty was 13.  These days he adds a whole lot of guitar rock funk to the brass, and it's a crowd pleaser.  Saturday night he closed, and he crushed.

But I only saw the first half of the show.  At that point stepbro Ian called a water taxi, and a few minutes later a 20' outboard number pulled right up the the bulkhead about 30 yards from where we'd lucked into VIP section free beers at Trombone Shorty.  For $6 a head, the water cabbie rode us across the river to Portsmouth, right to the nTelos Pavilion.  From drinking an Abita at Shorty to drinking some nameless domestic light at The Avett Brothers in about 12 minutes.  The Avetts walked onstage about two minutes after we walked into the general admission SRO pavilion floor.  Well played, Ian.

The Avetts offered up their each-and-every-time-I've-seen-them frenzied energy and great sound.  They simply bring a level of effort not generated by most bands, plus they've got more talent in their whole body than I have in my pinky finger.  As Willy said, strike that, reverse it.

The Avetts cranked through excellent numbers new (Live and Die, Geraldine, Paul Newman vs. The Demons) and old (At the Beach, Murder in the City, Paranoia in Bb Major) with seamless vigor.  I'm a fan. They bring it.  They brought it.

So, a big night for music for me.  Sunday did not relent.

We're friends with the singer and guitarist of an Asheville, NC bluegrass outfit called Town Mountain, and they played last night at the Taphouse in Norfolk -- for $10 you got a great gig in a tiny watering hole plus all the pulled pork and fried chicken you could eat.  Not bad.  Check out these cats if they hit your town.

[They do many originals and lots of more traditional tunes, but this one has great appeal to me.]

. . . and then there's tonight.  This afternoon I'm headed up to DC.  One of our Virginia Beach friends is cousins with keyboardist Chuck Leavell; for those not in the know, he was with the Allman Brothers in the 70's and has played with Clapton, the Crowes, etc. . . . and, since the early 1980's, the Rolling Stones.  So our friend asked for four VIP tix to see the Stones tonight, and we got 'em.  Giddyup.

Until Gheorghe: The Music Festival Happens, This'll Do

Sometimes it all comes together. 

Music festivals abound these days, and although not a single one seems to have popped up in my hometown yet (yet . . . business plan forthcoming), they seem to be weekly occurrences in most of the country, at least in the warmer months.  A few hometown friends recently embarked upon the Allmans' Wanee Music Festival in Florida with great success, and I'm hearing about other such rocking gatherings all the time.  So, I'm giving another music fest a little G:TB press . . . ho hum, right?

Well, this one seems to have several very Gheorghian elements to it.  Although I think pigeonholing this event as a "music festival" is likely giving the weekend's other aspects short shrift, it's several days' worth of Appalachian folk/bluegrass/rock/whatever music on the edge of the Pisgah National Forest not far from the Smoky Mountains.  Right up rootsy's alley, right?

It takes place down in the Tar Heel State on Memorial Weekend -- in Transylvania County -- not the same Transylvania where Gheorghe: The Dude hails from, but an interesting coincidence.

In Brevard, North Carolina, to be precise, and Rob knows what comes next.  Brevard is the newly opened east coast home of Dale's Pale Ale.  Oskar Blues Brewery expanded east last year, opening a post in Brevard to serve the massive mid-Atlantic demand stemming from Leesburg and Norfolk, VA. And the brewery is one of the festival's platinum sponsors, natch.

Good music and voluminously hopped mutha of a pale ales in Big Gheorghe's homeland namesake?  Need one more G:TB hook?  Okay.

What's it called?  The White Squirrel Festival, of course, celebrating certain inhabitants of Brevard trees and parks. Our very own white squirrel would be right at home.

There's a parade, 5k/10k White Squirrel races, a white squirrel photo contest, and something called the SquirrelBox Derby. (Different than the one from our undergrad days.)  They even have Pisgah Pete, a white spokesquirrel who is reputed to be able to kick Punxsutawney Phil's ass.

So, until we get off our duffs and create our own brewery-sponsored music festival, this will have to do.  Anyone looking for something rather Gheorghey to do over Memorial Day (other than hanging in DC with Abe Lincoln Whitney), head on down to western Cackalacky and take in the White Squirrel festival. 

In the meantime, here's a highly compelling video of white squirrel Rob (not to be confused with White Power Bill) and his family.  Gripping stuff.  SFW.  SFCP.  (Safe for church picnics.)

 

Rockin' the Suburbs

In the last months of Waylon Jennings' life, the legendary outlaw recorded a cover of the Old 97's 'The Other Shoe', a country-tinged tale of a spurned lover's revenge. The 97's stood in as his backing band, and when Jennings struggled with the phrase 'an elixir' in the song's second verse, frontman Rhett Miller was called upon to help. "Think of two beautiful women naked together," a nervous Miller told Jennings. "And remember 'Annie Licks Her'".

Miller told that story Monday night at Jammin' Java in very suburban Vienna, VA on the first date of a tour in support of 'The Dreamer', his third solo record. He was moments from delivering the punch line when he blushed, realizing that he'd misjudged the crowd just slightly. "Oh, God. I just realized there are kids in the audience," he laughed, before finishing the story and delivering an acoustic version of the song. It was the only misstep of a rollicking evening.

I went to the show with my wife not really knowing what to expect. Jammin' Java's a neat little venue, but the emphasis there is on little, and suburban DC on a Monday night ain't exactly Jazz Fest. I should've known that my favorite musician wouldn't disappoint. Miller and his band, The Serial Lady Killers, were using the small club as essentially a dress rehearsal for their national tour. "We've got a lotta songs tonight, so we're just gonna get right to it," Miller said by way of introduction.



25 tunes and over two hours later, Miller and the band ripped through a lively version of 'Our Love' to close the show with as much energy as they opened it, and the Moms and Dads in the audience did their damnedest to forget they didn't have to go to work the next morning. Maybe it was the proximity to the stage. Or perhaps the novelty of seeing one of my favorites in such a local joint. Could've been the Dale's Pale Ales that went down like water, too, I guess. Whatever the reasons, this show went immediately into my top 3 of all time.

The band mixed several songs from Miller's new record with a healthy dose of his earlier solo work and a heaping helping of Old 97's cuts, including standouts like 'King of All of the World', 'Murder (or a Heart Attack', 'Nineteen', 'Four Leaf Clover', and 'Barrier Reef'. At the midpoint of the set, the band took a break while Miller played a handful of acoustic tunes by himself, including the aforementioned 'The Other Shoe'. His down-tempo acoustic version of the band's riff-heavy 'Timebomb' reimagined the song in a way I hadn't ever considered.

As Miller stopped to introduce the band at one point, he exclaimed, "I'm a really lucky man. I've got two great bands." The Serial Lady Killers certainly lived up to the billing, with guitarist Tommy Borscheid, bassist Greg Besher, and drummer Angela Webster, sounding anything like a band running through several songs for the first time.

In addition to the Old97's discography, Miller's early solo work was well represented, with 'I Need to Know Where I Stand', 'The El', 'Singular Girl', an electrified version of 'Question' - interesting counterpoint to the acoustic 'Timebomb', 'My Valentine', and 'Four Eyed Girl' standing out.



I don't recall much about the new tunes, except to say that they sounded tight. 'Picture This' was a noteworthy exception. It might be the most optimistic - even happy - love song Miller's ever written. That's not saying much, given his catalogue of wrenching heartbreak and self-loathing, but it's a beautiful little tune, made moreso by the presence of Heather Robb of opening act The Spring Standards, who performed the song with Miller.

Tuesday morning coming down didn't feel all that great, but the ringing in my ears and cobwebs in my head were more than worth it. Live music, man. It's good for what ails you.