what we need is musicsunday evening @ 6:00PM, wax fang will be kicking off ear x-tacy’s 25 anniversary celebration with the first “in-store’ in the new location.
upcoming ear x-tacy in-store performances:
Wax Fang / Sunday, August 1st / 6pm
Hanson / Monday, August 2nd / 6pm
Murder by Death / Sunday, August 8th / 6pm
The Fervor / Thursday, August 19th / 7pm
clouds, threatening storms, thunder & lightning, heavy rain, all before 6:00pm, i was not optimistic… then, just as i arrived at the harbor lawn and “dawes” was starting their set, a light, drizzling rain was starting to fall, but you could see the clearing skies coming in behind the rain and feel the nice breeze blowing in. optimism returning.
just before 9:00PM, as tift merritt and her band took the stage, looking westward, downstream on the ohio river, the sun decided to make a brief yet beautiful appearance, it’s first of the day, before appearing to settle into the river for the evening. clear skies, nice breeze, beautiful evening, beautiful music about to start.
i have seen tift many times (10 or 12 maybe?) and she just continues to get better and more confident on stage each time, she delivers a high energy set, constantly prowling the stage while rotating between acoustic and electric guitar and keyboard, yet never compromising main gift, her subtle yet powerful vocals. the set highlighted most of the music from tift’s excellent new album, “see you on the moon,” along with several favorites like “stray paper,” “broken,” “good hearted man” and “bramble rose” from earlier releases.
for a big, outdoor show and despite a few ignorant, immature, loud mouth drunks, the strength of the songs, the band and tift’s vocals came through loud and clear.
the band consists of; tift’s husband and tour manager (also her long-time collaborator) and drummer, zeke hutchins; lead guitarist (including pedal steel) eric heywood and jay brown on bass and harmony vocals.
so after a pretty hot, sticky and dreary day, we were rewarded with a great, energetic set of music and a beautiful evening. optimism restored.
thank you wfpk, thank you tift.
more pictures @: http://picasaweb.google.com/bivester
from her new album: see you on the moon
one of my favorites, the title song from her first album, bramble rose
see tift live, wednesday night on the great lawn @ waterfront park, approx 9:00PM, FREE!
happy birthday dear woody. thank you.
over the rhine has just announced the title and release date of their new cd, much anticipated, joe henry produced CD.
“the long surrender” will be released on january 11th, 2011 (1.1.11).
from overtherhine.com
THE RECORD WE COULDN’T IMAGINE IN ADVANCE:
Our immense thanks to all of you who helped make the new Over the Rhine record a reality. It’s been christened THE LONG SURRENDER and is currently being mastered (baptized).Tentative release date: 1.11.11.
All those who contributed will receive THE LONG SURRENDER well before the official release date, with extras. Look for a complete (long, rambling) update letter next week with much more, but suffice it to say, for now, our experience with producer Joe Henry and his cast of conjurers was nothing short of incredible. Can’t wait for you to take the ride/hear for yourself.
lookin’ forward…
the fourth of july was a beautiful sunday afternoon and evening, a perfect day for outdoor fun and music.
the city of louisville threw a party and staged a celebration of music and fireworks on the banks of the ohio river, in the heart of downtown at waterfront park.
i went down mainly to experience the magic of bettye lavette, the latest in a long line of artist’s termed an “overnight success,” even though that “overnight” equals 40+ years of hard work on ms. lavette’s part. recently, she began receiving a lot of notice for her stunning peformance of “a change is gonna come” at president obama’s inauguration and her incredible cover of “love reign o’er me” honoring the who at the kennedy center last year, both in front of nationwide, prime-time TV audiences. incidentally, the who cover was the the inspiration for her latest release, “interpretations: the british songbook,” all wonderful covers from influential british rock acts (clapton, sir elton, harrison, pink floyd, mccartney, and others).
this attention is well deserved and far too late.
this was my first opportunity to see the incomparable ms. bettye lavette live, and it was a wonderful experience to witness. she sang and stalked the stage like a woman posessed and her deep, rich and soulful voice owned the 25 acres of waterfront lawn and the thousands of people sitting, standing and lying there in the scorching mid afternoon sun.
while she was the musical opener for the evening in billing, she took control and was the headliner in spirit, voice and song.
more about bettye @: http://www.bettyelavette.com
the evening was closed out by michael franti & spearhead, this was also my first time seeing them and they too were quite impressive. a very positive, high energy band and a crack, tight group of players.
that said, while i appreciate their talents, they are a very good band, personally, i found their “jam band” mixed with reggae beat style a little boring after a few songs. to me, much of the music starts to blend together and sound the same. obviously based on the very energized, enthusiastic and large crowd (probably 2-3x the size when bettye played), largely there for franti, mine was the minority opinion, the crowd loved him.
i’m glad i got to see them and i enjoyed their set, but in all honesty, i haven’t felt compelled to pick up a cd and/or i doubt that i would make much of an effort them live again.
more info @: www.michaelfranti.com
more pictures @: http://picasaweb.google.com/bivester
on saturday night, june 26th, the original four members of over the rhine; karin bergquist, linford detweiler, ric hordinski, brian kelly reunited for only the second time since 1996.
the event was @ ric’s old, partially renovated church, ‘come studio; “the monastery” and “the event” was the reuniting of original members, joined by (current OtR member) jake bradley to play their classic 1996 release “good dog bad dog” in it’s entirity. many of these songs have been played sparingly and/or not at all in concert over the past decade, it was like reuniting with some long lost and missed friends again.
the show was limited to a sold-out audience of only 175 fans, with many receiving a commemorative, limited edition poster (by clinton reno) and all receiving a copy of the historic show.
in short, the evening was beautiful and lived up to it’s very high expectations.
more pictures @: http://picasaweb.google.com/bivester
the amazing grace potter and the nocturnals delivered a powerhouse, high energy show @ the 20th century theatre in cincinnati.
the show and her current tour are pulling heavily from their new self-titled cd: grace potter and the nocturnals.
as always, grace was full of energy, splitting time between playing her “flying v” and her “B3” (she actually seemed to be spending more time on keys this show than previous times that i had seen her) and always delivering with her strong, bluesy and soulful vocals. the nocturnals are much the same as previous tours, with the exception of the excellent catherine popper (formerly of ryan adams and the cardinals) joining on bass. lead guitarist, scott tournet remains the anchor of the band, a steady player ready and capable of stepping up and turning in some amazing licks on lead guitar when the time is right.
the theatre was packed with a great crowd, seemed to be a nice mix of “regulars” and “newbies” seeing them for the first time. everyone was very into the show, ready to give grace and the band what they needed when they needed it, but also quiet and respectful during the quieter numbers.
the 20th century is one of my favorite venues in cincinnati, an intimate feel yet comfortable for a crowd of 300-500, with great sound, nice lighting and a great staff. add the perfect band, shake well and you’ve got the makings for a great evening of music.
more pictures @: http://picasaweb.google.com/bivester
–setlist
kinda sorta in order…
cd’s
–top ten–
shelby lynne – tears, lies and alibis
ben sollee and daniel martin moore – dear companion
tift merritt – see you on the moon
carrie rodriguez – love and consequence
patty griffin – downtown church
alejandro escovedo – street songs of love
cheyenne mize – before lately
the sadies – darker circles
joan shelley – by dawnlight
she and him – volume two
–honorable mention–
ellery – this isn’t over yet
jill andrews LIVE at eddie’s attic (november 19, 2009) d/l
grace potter and the nocturnals – live in skowhegen
concerts
Levon Helm: Ramble @ The Ryman/Nashville (04.21.2010)
Over the Rhine: [Wag It] Good Dog Bad Dog Live @ The Monastery/Cincinnati (06.26.2010)
Esme Kenney Benefit @ Northside Tavern/Cincinnati (01.30.2010)
Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore @ The Brown Theatre/Louisville (02.26.2010)
Over the Rhine @ Eddie’s Attic/Atlanta (03.08.2009)
Cheyenne Marie Mize and Joan Shelley @ Glassworks Rooftop/Louisville (06.04.2010)
Josh Ritter @ The Brown Theatre/Louisville (05.17.2010)
Grace Potter @ 20th Century/Cincinnati (06.17.2010)
Over the Rhine @ Buster’s/Lexington, KY (04.24.2010)
Arnett Hollow @ Vernon Club/Louisville (04.30.2010)
i’ve been thinking about firing this thing back up. not sure if there are still any interested readers out there, but what the hell…
what we need is music 