wild sweet orange @ ear x-tacy/louisville (07.31.2008)

tonight, the birmingham, alabama based band “wild sweet orange” played a nice 45 (+/-) minute in-store set @ the most excellent ear x-tacy here in louisville to celebrate this week’s release of their first record “we have cause to be uneasy.” the band performed tonight as a 5 piece, while billed as a four piece consisting of; preston lovinggood (vocals, acoustic guitar), garrett kelley (bass), chip kilpatrick (drums), taylor shaw (electric guitar), unfortunately i didn’t get the name of the other player on guitar tonight. i got to talk to them for a few minutes after they played tonight, all very pleasant, nice young men that seemed very appreciative of the support they’ve received.

i always hate the dreaded “what kind of music do they play” question… well, it’s a nice blend of rock, power pop with a little twinge of a folkish vibe on at times. but no doubt, they can bring it, they are a really good band with a very talented vocalist. lovinggood’s voice is great, very much his own but at times you’ll hear a little bit of bono or maybe griffin house come out when he starts to wail. not a bad thing at all. he is the perfect compliment to their sound, which i’m sure is no accident, since he is the chief songwriter and producer.

i really enjoyed their live performance and i’m still running through the record for the first time and digesting it lyrically, sonically i’m really enjoying it, the sound is really nice. a very nice listen; “ten dead dogs,” “sour milk,” and “an atlas to follow” seem to be the standouts for me on the first pass thru.

my suggestion, go to wildsweetmusic.com (streaming audio link on top left of page) or www.myspace.com/wildsweetorange and have a listen for yourself, it’s worth your time.

and on a side note, while i myself am a “southern boy” and grew up on the music of “allman brothers band” and the like, i always love seeing a band that comes out of the deep south that breaks that “southern rock” stereotype and dispells the theory that if you come from the south, you’ve gotta sound like “lynyrd skynyrd” to be successful. good on them for doing that.

concert photos: wild sweet orange @ ear x-tacy (by bill ivester)

tour schedule
August 1, 2008 Pontiac,MI PIKE ROOM AT THE CROFOOT
August 3, 2008 Chicago,IL LOLLAPALOOZA Show Time- 12:30 PM
August 4, 2008 Omaha,NE THE SLOWDOWN
August 6, 2008 Minneapolis,MN THE VARSITY THEATER
August 10, 2008 Austin,TX STUBBS
August 11, 2008 Houston,TX STUDIO AT WAREHOUSE LIVE
August 12, 2008 Dallas-Ft. Worth,TX HOUSE OF BLUES
August 13, 2008 Shreveport,LA The Rustic Cowboy
August 14, 2008 Memphis,TN The High Tone
August 20, 2008 Nashville,TN Belcourt Thearter
August 27, 2008 Orlando,FL THE SOCIAL
August 28, 2008 Gainesville,FL COMMON GROUND
August 29, 2008 Athens,GA 40 WATT CLUB
August 30, 2008 Columbia,SC 5 POINTS PUB
August 31, 2008 Mt Pleasant,SC VILLAGE TAVERN
September 2, 2008 Charlotte,NC Neighborhood Theatre
September 3, 2008 Charlottesville,VA GRAVITY LOUNGE
September 4, 2008 Philadelphia,PA KHYBER
September 5, 2008 Brooklyn,NY SOUTHPAW
September 6, 2008 Hoboken,NJ MAXWELLS
September 8, 2008 Baltimore,MD FLETCHERS
September 9, 2008 Richmond,VA CANAL CLUB
September 10, 2008 Greensboro,NC GREENE STREET CLUB
September 11, 2008 Atlanta,GA THE EARL
September 12, 2008 S. Jacksonvil,FL JACK RABBITS
September 13, 2008 Tampa,FL WMNF Birthday Bash
September 14, 2008 Gainesville,FL Real Big Deal Fest

Newport Folk Festival (August 2nd & 3rd)

i was really hoping to make it up for this, my three current favorites; over the rhine, cat power and cowboy junkies are all playing the (arguably) most famed and prestigious ongoing festival in the history of music, the newport folk festival. plus sets by legends like levon helm, brian wilson* and richie havens along with sets by other greats like; gillian welch, steve earle/allison moorer, son volt, the black crowes and jakob dylan, playing where his father was booed off the stage 43 years ago for “going electric.” jakob, by the way, will be playing a solo acoustic set. it should be a great weekend and with jimmy buffet “headlining” and closing it out, there would be a great opportunity to slip out early and beat the traffic.

hopefully we will be getting a full report from friend and previous contributor, keith bergendorff who will be attending the festival along with several cowboy junkies and over the rhine shows in the region.

The Newport Folk Festival is a multi-day, multi-stage music festival held at the historic Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island.

Saturday, August 2
Doors: 10:00 AM – Show: 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM

Cowboy Junkies 11:30 – 12:20
Young @ Heart Chorus 11:30 – 12:10
Sydney Wayser 11:30 – 12:00
Red Rooster 12:25 – 1:15
Jakob Dylan 12:30 – 1:20
Richie Havens 12:40 – 1:30
Jesca Hoop 1:35 – 2:15
Steve Earle & Allison Moorer 1:40 – 2:30
Trey Anastasio 2:00 – 3:00
American Babies 2:35 – 3:05
She & Him (feat. Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward) 2:50 – 3:40
Willy Mason 3:30 – 4:10
Stephen & Damian Marley 3:30 – 4:45
Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) 4:00 – 5:00
The Felice Brothers 4:35 – 5:35
The Black Crowes 5:15 – 6:45
Cat Power 5:30 – 6:30

Sunday, August 3rd
Doors: 10:00 AM – Show: 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM

Ryan Fitzsimmons 11:30 – 11:50
The Honors (OurStage Winners) 12:10 – 12:55
Brandi Carlile 12:15 – 1:00
Over The Rhine 1:15 – 2:10
Richard Julian 1:20 – 2:10
Calexico 1:20 – 2:20
Kaki King 2:30 – 3:20
Jake Shimabukuro 2:30 – 3:30
Gillian Welch 2:40 – 3:40
Son Volt 3:40 – 4:40
One Flew South 4:00 – 5:00
Levon Helm 4:10 – 5:10
The Avett Brothers 5:00 – 6:00
Jimmy Buffett 5:40 – 7:15

Schedule subject to change
* “official” postings/articles note brian wilson as a performer, i have yet to find his name/time slot on a schedule.