Monday, April 5, 2010

BETTYSOO

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JENNY REYNOLDS with SCRAPPY JUD NEWCOMB


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BETTYSOO and JENNY REYNOLDS at Momo's 3-31-10

Decided to hit this show as both were supposed to play some new music.  Got there in the middle of Jenny's set.  We did hear one new song and it sounded really good.  The music, words, rhythm...Linda and I looked at each other mid-song and  pretty much said the same thing "I love it."  Jenny had the great Scrappy Jud Newcomb on lead guitar and Guy Forsyth's rhythm section, Will Landin on bass along with Rob Hooper on drums.  Good set. Hadn't heard her in a while.
BettySoo played a few new songs and they were also pretty great.  One she said was just finished the day before.  Maybe it was Plank (Jeff Plankenhorn on lead guitar) but his playing on it gave it a real groove thing.  It was really good.
So, for $5 we were treated to 2 singer/songwriters working out new material.  Fun night.

Sacred Ground - ACL STUDIO

 
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BRANDI CARLILE

 
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ROSANNE CASH

 
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ROSANNE CASH and BRANDI CARLILE at Austin City Limits tv show taping 3-30-10

What can I say? Got really lucky as a friend won tickets for the "space available" line for 2 ACL tapings. How lucky can you get, 2 tapings in one night??? Well, you can get very lucky, I guess, because not only was it 2 tapings but one was with an all time favorite of mine, Rosanne Cash. And Brandi Carlile...talk about a doubleheader!
The thing I love about going to these tapings, and it is a rare treat, is you know the artists are going to bring their A Game, no going through the motions. It goes without saying you're watching in a very intimate setting with perfect sound.
Space available works like this: you sign up for a drawing and they choose so many names which allows you to get in line for 2 tickets based on capacity. They let in 325 and the high rollers who donate all the big bucks to KLRU automatically get in, plus the VIP's like local musicians, etc...doesn't leave much space for we common folk but there's a little! So, you go get in line and at 5pm they come out and give you a number based on your place in line. Hence, if you want to make sure you get in, you better get there well before 5pm to get a good spot in line. They let the people with guaranteed seating in starting at 7pm. At 7:40pm, they start letting in the space available people.
We were numbers 7 & 8 as I got there at 2:15pm to get in line! The guy who won the tickets couldn't get there until 4:30pm but I sure didn't mind being the one to hang for a couple of hours. The first people there (big Brandi fans) got there at 11am!!
When we got into the studio, there were hardly any seats available. The open spots were side stage, kind of where you'd be looking more or less at the backs of the artists. But, if you wanted to stand, the entire front of the stage was wide open! I opted for that and stood right in front of the center mic! Seriously, sometimes you just have to pinch yourself to make sure these cool things are really happening!
Rosanne came on first and had a full band, including her husband John Leventhal, on lead guitar. This guy, I completely love. What a player! Not to mention, as a producer, he's delivered the best Shawn Colvin records and for my money, done the same for Rosanne, starting with her 2003 gem, "Rules of Travel."
They performed for about an hour, mostly from her most recent release, "The List." If you're reading this blog you already know the idea behind the record. I can't tell you how cool it was to be standing about 6 feet away, right in front of her, and hear these songs. She did 3 or so from "Black Cadillac" and also played "The Wheel," about the only old song she did, I think. It was fantastic.
Took about 45 minutes to get the stage ready for Brandi Carlile. I have to say, I've seen Brandi only twice before and it's been several years. Anyway, I liked her songs and of course, she has a very big voice. But, as far as seeing her live goes, I was sort of indifferent and hadn't bothered to go see her when she'd played Austin the last few years. Not after this taping! Oh my God, she blew the roof off! Really tore that stage up! She has grown into quite the performer and put together a very tight show. From the opening bell when she and her band walked out, gathered around 1 mic and did "Oh Dear" with only a ukelele for accompaniment, I think everybody in the place was mesmerized. We remained that way for the next hour. Suffice to say, I am now a big fan of hers. I can't say enough about her band, either. Tremendous. And fun to watch. Especially the new drummer. Wait until you see this set. Also, for a couple of songs, she had a string quartet. It was a killer hour! Besides her own great material (this girl is a writer!) she did Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison" which, kid you not, had the place up for grabs! It was cool too, she started with "Jackson" but morphed into "Folsom" and did the entire song. Oh, and did I mention she brought out Amy Ray to play and sing on one song? It was fabulous! Amy was having a great time!
So, I came home and was so wound up it took a couple of hours to ease down enough to go to sleep. You know you've had a banner night when that happens. I'm already waiting for October so I can experience it all over again!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

CARRIE RODRIGUEZ

 
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SXSW 2010 Thursday 3-17 Night Shows

Only made it to 1 show that night. Went to Opal Devine's south location to see Carrie Rodriguez. Opal's hosts great acts throughout the festival and all are free, unofficial events. Hadn't seen Carrie before but have always liked what I've heard of hers on the radio. It was so nice to finally see/hear her. She reminds me of Alison Krauss a little but with an edge. She can get gritty. I like it. She really has a warm, soft voice, most of the time. Great musician-violin and guitar. I like her sound a bunch.

SHELBY LYNNE




ATHLETE

 
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SAMMY LLANIS of the BODEANS

 
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HARPER SIMON

 
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MISHKA being introduced by Mathew McConaughey

 
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SXSW 2010 Thursday 3-17 Day Shows

Big mistake made on this day. There were a ton of great day shows at some of our favorite places to go hear music. Instead, we opted for the Speakeasy downtown, a free show put on by some music industry business. We went because, of all people, Shelby Lynne would be performing. I absolutely love Shelby. She has a brand new record coming out so there was no way I could resist this. Live and learn. This place was packed with people who were there for the free drinks and free food. It was loud, nobody listening to the performers except those of us right up front. It just wasn't a good listening experience. Lots of drunks.
The first one up when we got there was Mishka. I like him and he was fun to listen to. The big deal though, was Mathew McConaughey there to introduce him and then stand on the floor with the rest of us drinking a beer and bopping to the reggae.
Then came Harper Simon, Paul's son. Terrible place to try and listen to him. Not the atmosphere for the serious singer/songwriter.
BoDeans were up next. They put on a great rocking show. A lot of fun.
Next came Athlete. Didn't have a clue who this was. An English guy we thought was fantastic! Even in this lousy venue his talent was obvious.
Then came Shelby. By herself. The new record is stripped down. So disappointing to hear someone of her caliber in this barroom full of drunks. Loved seeing her but definitely look forward to when she comes back in May for a real show at a great venue.

CAROLYN WONDERLAND

 
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BETTYSOO

 
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MARSHALL FORD SWING BAND

 
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SXSW 2010 Wednesday 3-17 Night Shows

Left Joe's and headed over to Momo's for an evening of Official Showcases. These are the big deals and are not free. You need a badge or wristband to get in. If they still have room, then you can pay a cover to catch the action. We wrestled with this outing. BettySoo and Carolyn Wonderland are 2 of our favorites but we can see them pretty much any time we want to. There is so much to see during SXSW, musicians from all over the world that you may never get to see again, it's hard to give that up and go see our regulars but...after much discussion we decided, how could we miss their Official Showcases? We couldn't.
Glad we didn't. They both tore it up, had the packed house completely attentive and did Austin proud! We also got to see the Marshall Ford Swing Band, who played ahead of them. What a delight that was!
So, after about 13+ hours of nonstop music, we declared Day 1 over.

ANNE MCCUE

 
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the one and only STEVE POLTZ

 
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RANDY WEEKS with JESS KLEIN, WILL SEXTON and ERIC From Minnesota (sorry, that's the best I can do!)

 
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FREEDY JOHNSTON and JON DEE GRAHAM (lap guitar)

 
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TOM FREUND with BRUCE HUGHES AND ELEANOR WHITMORE

 
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SXSW 2010 Wednesday 3-17 Day Shows

Decided to go to Joe's Bar for most of the day as they had a couple of people I really wanted to see, Steve Poltz, who always puts on a wild show and Anne McCue, a rocker who I've been a big fan of for many years but had never seen.
These day shows at most places are free. Joe's is not a place I ever hang out at and is not what I would call a real Austin live music venue. In other words, I suffered through putting up with this place because of the talent on that day. Just to give you an idea, when you walked in their door they had a welcome sign letting you know they'd sell you a bottle of water for $5. As soon as I saw that I was determined not to spend a dime there. Not Austin style to rip people off like that.
Some highlights for me were:
Hearing Tom Freund for the 1st time. Absolutely loved him and sure want to hear more of this guy.
Freedy Johnston was great and had Jon Dee Graham playing in his band. He has a new record recently out and we got to hear several from it. I still need to buy that thing.
Randy Weeks put on a rollicking fun, country rockin' show. It was a 1/2 hour of nonstop toe tapping!
Steve Poltz was his usual off the wall self. He played the baseball song and this time mentioned Harry Caray (thank you, Steve, about time you fit him in there!). But the coolest thing was, during this song, playing a recording of the play by play when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series, through his iPhone.
Anne McCue, seemingly distracted, I thought, still did not disappoint. She has great songs, a cool voice and is a kickass guitar player. She also had the great Dony Wynn drumming, a horn section and had Amy Cook sing on a couple of songs. It was fantastic!

SXSW 2010 3-17-10 and 3-18-10

Kind of wild, what happened this year. I stressed over who I would and wouldn't see, finally put a schedule together for the 5 days (took me about 6 hours to figure it out!) and ended up getting through the first 2 days, Wednesday and Thursday, before ending up in the ER first thing Friday morning and completely missing the rest of the festival!
I learn more each year about navigating through this thing. There is so much it's overwhelming. Ya gotta get past that and just go with your gut. I'm also realizing all these free parties downtown put on by the industry folks coming in from out of town are pretty much geared for a bunch of drunks so, if you're really interested in listening to music, forget this stuff.