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Okay! I have a lot of ground to cover, and I am really, really tired... so let's get to it!
Last night, I spent almost exactly seven hours at The 5 Spot listening to live music, and what a night it was. David Olney wrapped up his August Residency in fine fashion. Drawing from his immense catalog of songs, Olney - backed by a great band (Daniel Seymour, Justin Amaral, and Ward Stout) - was fiery, passionate, and powerful. Great moments: his song, "Titanic" (told from the point of view of the iceberg flowed into a Dylan Thomas poem. "Deeper Well" flowed into "Kubla Khan" and then "Who Do You Love?" (Bo Diddly) before finding its way back home.
Later, The Burning Peppermints, from Birmingham, Alabama tore up the stage with a high energy, high volume sonic assault. Next, Jon Latham reminded once again why I named him Artist of the Year for 2015. Playing a mixture of old and new songs, Latham goes to some higher plane when he performs, and he takes the audience with him. If you think this is hyperbole, then you have never seen Jon Latham perform. Following Jon Latham is not easy, but Don Gallardo and How Far West came armed with incredible songs and the ability to play them very well. It is always a treat to see Gallardo play. Last night was no exception. The night ended in the early hours of this morning with Stuffy Shmitt and an awesome band that included Sergio Webb on guitar. Shmitt moved to Nashville from New York a while back, and this was my first opportunity to see him live. It was a wonderful set of music - quirky lyrics, solid music, humor, courageousness. I hope to see him play again really soon!
Tonight: Well, tonight. First of all there is a ton of amazing live music going on tonight (and every night) in Nashville. I could probably write a daily blog just on the live music scene, and I still couldn't cover everything. Tonight alone, I can off the top of my head think of five or six shows that I could attend - everything from a huge free downtown outdoor festival to a more intimate house show. Where I will be: Starting at 6:00p.m., Mark Robinson begins his month-long Showband Residency with a stacked deck of incredible guitar players - Richie Owens, Ted Drozdowski, and Nick Kane sharing a stage with Mark Robinson is a sight I cannot wait to see. In about 5 and 1/2 hours (as I am writing this), I will be able to experience it. Nashville is known as guitar town and this quartet of players are the cream of the crop.
After that show, a bunch of us will be headed to The Basement East for an star-studded tribute/benefit for Louisiana flood victims. Proceeds from the show which features folks like Kevin Gordon, Will Kimbrough, Grimey, members of Better Than Ezra, and certain Red Dirt Girl will go to the Better Than Ezra Foundation and go toward supplies for victims of the devastating floods. Great music will also be happening at The 5 Spot and The Basement - both those shows featuring artists I love. Oh for a cloning machine or a time machine...
One last thing before we get to the Throwback Shuffle... and certainly not the least!!!!!!!
I am so happy to announce the upcoming release (September 9) of the long awaited Darrin Bradbury album, Elmwood Park: A Slightly Melodic Audiobook presented by Cafe Rooster Records. Here is the best news, as of this morning. you can pre-order the album and receive new recordings of two classic Darrin Bradbury tunes: "Life is Hard" and "True Love". If you pre-order, the rest of the album will magically appear in your inbox on September 9. The album was recorded at Eastside Manor Studios and produced by Gabe Masterson. It features an impressive list of players adding their musical magic to Bradbury's funny, tragic, sad, and uplifting songs. Musicians include, Laur Joamets (Sturgill Simpson's band), Tim Easton, Brian Wright, Megan Palmer, Jay Rutherford (Los Colognes), and many more. If you want to pre-order (and yes, you do want to pre-order), you can do so via the embedded widget thingy below. And then, after the jump, you can read about today's shuffle...
"I am the Cosmos" by Big Star
A live recording from a 1993 performance. Big Star doing a song written by the late Chris Bell who was a founding member of the band who passed away in 1978."Split Red" + "Fake Contest" by Minutemen
Next up, two in a row from Minutemen (clocking in at under 2 minutes total). Both songs were originally released on the band's second album, What Makes a Man Start Fires? (1983)"The Wait" by The Pretenders
Next up, a track from the self-titled debut album by British/US band, The Pretenders.
"Brand New Key" by Melanie
Next up, a delightful bit of pop heaven written by folk singer-songwriter Melanie back in the early 70s. An indelible part of my formative years.
"Dance to the Music" by Sly and the Family Stone
Next up, some music to get you moving from Sly and the Family Stone. This was the title track to the band's 1968 second album.
"Lookin' For A Home" by Al Kooper and Shuggie Otis
Next up, a track from Al Kooper's 1970 collaboration with then 15 year old phenomenon Shuggie Otis. A great blues flavored tune... taking me into the home stretch of my morning commute.
"Let's Talk Dirty (Intro)" by John Prine
Next, an intro from the live John Prine album that I have been posting songs from... we already heard "Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian" now, I got to hear the story of the songs creation. I could not find a video of the intro, so you get the actual song in the video playlist.
"Down by the Riverside" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Moving from Prine's intro to this song doesn't make a whole lot of sense, which is why I think I like it so much... Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an impressive and innovative musical figure and one of the early influences of rock and roll music. This song, a hit in 1944, was National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2004, 31 years after Tharpe passed away at the age of 58.
"Beatin' Like a Tom Tom" by Ernie K-Doe
Next up, noted New Orleans singer, Ernie K-Doe who was best known for his version of the Allen Toussaint song, "Mother-in-Law".
"Can't Go Back" by Soul Asylum
And in another musical non-sequitur, we move from Ernie K-Doe to Minneapolis post-punk band Soul Asylum from their Made to Be Broken album (1986).
VIDEO PLAYLIST
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