photo by WHITperson
Last night I caught a killer American Babies show at Mercury Lounge here in NYC. The show was one of four official record release parties for their new album Flawed Logic, which I mentioned in a previous post (and included a full stream of the album and their new video for “Dance All Night’).
The night started with Tommy’s latest incarnation of the Babies doing a nice mix of tunes from their last two records as well as last year’s Weight of the World EP. They kicked things off with the twangy “Dance All Night” and tore through a bombastic “Joeline,” providing an early highlight of the night. Lyrically, their new material — with its desperate characters, lost lovers, and drunken sinners — taps into the Johnny Cash-style of classic American country and blues, pushing Tommy’s songwriting approach further along the spectrum of Americana. Another highlight of the night was “Streets of Brooklyn,” one of Tommy’s strongest new tunes, featuring the locally appropriate lyrical references — “wolves of Wall Street” and “under-loved kids with vintage guitars” (Williamsburg hipsters?) — along with a beautiful progression from “streets of Brooklyn” to the “streets in Heaven.” The new tunes mixed nicely with the themes of older standouts like “Invite Your Friends,” “Brooklyn Bridge” and “Babe, Don’t Cry.” READ MORE
Some videos from last night's Bruce Hornsby show at Tipitina's in New Orleans via @LMBNOLA.
I still haven’t wrapped up my thoughts on the Paul Simon show on Wednesday night but the week rolls on! I’m not sure what you’re doing tonight, but my Friday night plans to go check out John Scofield at Grace Cathedral here in SF are fast approaching. And I’m really excited about this one; my first chance to see Scofield outside of a setting I know him to be comfortable means that I’ve got a completely open mind about what type of music I’ll be hearing tonight. I only have one clue:
NOTE: Grace Cathedral’s soaring vault produces a natural, seven-second reverberation. This effect, different from typical concert hall acoustics, will be an integral component of this performance.
Seven seconds!
Here’s the rest of the info from SFJAZZ:
John Scofield is a philosopher of funk. In a brilliant career dating back to the fusion era of the mid 1970s, the guitarist has investigated just about every greasy, stanky, fuzzy, low down, deep-in-the-pocket groove, while never foregoing his roots as a master improviser who’s accompanied giants such as Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, and Joe Henderson. Over the years he’s honed tight relationships with a multi-generational cast of musicians, including renegades like Medeski Martin and Wood. More recently on 2009’s Piety Street (EmArcy) he distilled the essence of his sound for a celebration of gospel legends like Mahalia Jackson, Thomas A. Dorsey and Dorothy Love Coates, which makes his Sacred Space debut at Grace Cathedral feel particularly apt. It’s a majestic, reverberant setting that provides musicians a rare forum for contemplative spiritual soliloquies, and audiences a supremely intimate musical encounter. For Scofield, the cathedral offers an opportunity to get back in touch with his sanctified side, and a grand space where his bountiful soul can soar.
I’ve only seen John Scofield once a long time back, and it was a less-than-stellar show given that he was onstage the whole night trying to fix the sound guy’s issues. I’m thinking this rewrites that memory and I’ll be seeing this legend for years to come.
You are doing 10 shows over the next 10 days in 7 different venues including a handful of late, late night (which is a ton but Stanton Moore is doing 27) – Not only how do you do it, but how does he do it? Seems like a good tour manager is a must to pull something like that off.
Marco Benevento: I do it with the help of a combination of things –
The Gris Gris Man
Playin’ with Johnny V and Georgey P at the Maple Leaf…in our pajamas!
And Yerba Mate
Stanton does it with -
Iced Coffee
Adam Kelly
And Papa (and Aletta of course)
How’s THAT for ticket karma?!
