After many festivals together, this year’s Mountain Jam was going to be different. This year my wife and I would have a six-month old child with us, our son Harry. As I discussed in an earlier post, we had no idea what to expect.

A beautiful Saturday at Mountain Jam

Well, I am happy to report that the entire weekend was just fantastic. HB seemed to truly enjoy himself at the festival. We put a lot of thought into preparing for this year’s fest, trying to predict what we would need and were definitely prepared. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s the kind of baby that thrives on other people, that loves to interact with others. There was no shortage of other people for him to look at this weekend.

HB, sporting his hearing protection

Of course, traveling with a baby changes things. Just getting out of the bed and breakfast took longer. Once we did leave we wouldn’t just drive over to the festival, but rather took the long way around, ensuring that Harry could get a decent nap in before we hit the fest. A nice benefit of the extra driving was a chance to see the beautiful land around Greene County. Since we were driving HB around, I brought my camera along and was rewarded by some beautiful shots. You’ll find them below this article.

Once we were at Hunter, and had gotten our cartload of gear to our spot, we were able to finally sit down and enjoy the day.

Sunday’s Camp, HB and his favorite t-shirt, and Saturday’s camp.

In any other year, at any other festival, I have been one of the 12,000 people attending. Just going about my day, digging the music, enjoying the brews. This year, however, I felt like a rock star. Walking around with a baby on your chest will do that. All of a sudden, everyone I passed was smiling at me (or should I say, us).

HB sleeping while The Hold Steady rage on the main stage.

Okay, but what about the music? This was Mountain Jam, after all! Well, unlike prior years I could not focus on the music first. Friday and Sunday, we left after about an hour of the headliner. Sunday it had gotten way too cold for HB on the mountain (low 30s), and on Friday, the kid had just had enough. Had it been warmer I would have simply laid Harry down on a blanket to sleep, but that was not in the cards this year.

The lineup this year was, as usual, jamband-heavy, which was fine with me. However, my two favorite acts of the weekend could not be described as jambands: Gomez and The Hold Steady. Gomez played a strong, though largely unappreciated set on Saturday followed by The Hold Steady, whose melodic hard rock has made them one of my favorite bands of recent years. That said, it was strange seeing them in sunlight.

Craig Finn, The Hold Steady

Unfortunately I made it to the mountain too late on Friday to see much of Porter Batiste Stoltz. However, I was able to catch Tea Leaf Green and Railroad Earth. Railroad Earth’s set was great, the first time I had seen them live.

Tea Leaf Green, Friday Afternoon

The Mule brought it for two nights, and the Allmans were great on Sunday. Finally, I have to mention Michael Franti who returned for another year on the Mountain and didn’t disappoint.

Sure it was different, but this was one of my favorite festival weekends of any I’ve attended. What a thrill to be able to share our love of the music with our son. More than anything else, I’m glad that he had a good time. No, he wasn’t nearly as happy as I was to see Michael Franti, but for what he can appreciate, the funny guy next to us making him laugh, wind in his hair, being bounced around during Spearhead, watching the fest through his eyes made it all worthwhile.

More shots from our weekend upstate are below. You can find the entire set of photos from the weekend here.

HB and I sharing a Positive Jam on Hunter Mountain

South Street, Greene County

Bobby, The Hold Steady

Ian Ball, Gomez

Shhhhhhhh. HB sleeps through Michael Franti and Spearhead

“Who’s got my veggie burrito?”

Related posts:

• Mountain Jam 2008 | From the Mountain Recap and Photos, Day 2
• Mountain Jam 2009 Starts Today
• Mountain Jam Initial 2010 Lineup

The Dead rolled into New Jersey’s Meadowlands on Tuesday night for the first of two nights in the swamp. Although I’ve seen Phil and Friends a bunch of times (a great band), and seen two Ratdog shows (which was two too many), this was to be my first time seeing The Dead, the 2009 edition.

There are many people that could dissect the set list and tell you that “dude, this was the best ‘Eyes’ since 1987,” and “bro, they haven’t done ‘New Potato Caboose’ into ‘Estimated Prophet’ since 1979!” I am not one of them. What I can tell you is that I thought the opening run of “U.S. Blues,” “Scarlet > Fire,” and “Birdsong” was great. I also dug the second-set closing “Eyes of the World,” with some fantastic harmonies.

With an ever present smile, Phil was something to behold on bass. I may not be a huge Deadhead, but I’m a big fan of Phil Lesh.

Kreutzman and Hart were solid. And Bobby was, well, Bobby. His voice was never a strong point and is less so in 2009.

This one is my favorite shot of the night. It’s a nice shot of Bobby, but what makes it for me is Phil in the background. He’s watching Bobby do his thing and the beaming smile on his face says it all. The man is happy to be back with his brothers on the road.

Warren Haynes was solid in the Jerry role. For much of the night he seemed restrained, and it was a bit unusual to see him not stepping up to take the lead. However, when he did, it was the highlight of the night for me. After Bobby’s attempt at the first verse of “Turn on Your Love Light,” Warren took over and the result was a real burner. If there was one Grateful Dead song meant for Warren Haynes to sing, this is it. With all due respect to Pig Pen, Warren tore it up. His voice has a power and energy that Bob Weir could not possibly muster. “Dear Mr. Fantasy” was another song where he took the lead and another highlight for me.

Branford Marsalis sat in for much of the night, and while his sax was a welcome addition, at times it made the already mid-tempo night verge into light jazz territory. Although a valiant effort, their cover of Miles Davis’s “Milestones” never quite went anywhere and coming right before the bathroom break of “Drums/Space” was part of a long dead spot in the second set that didn’t hold my interest. That said, having Branford joining in on “Drums” was a nice change from the usual.

Jeff Chimenti, the latest in a long line of Grateful Dead keyboard players.

I found the show to be a bit on the mellow side, without the energy that I would have hoped for, on the part of both the band and the crowd. Maybe my expectations were too high. Something inevitably changes when a band is made up of guys in their sixties. Some of this was a result of the venue, for sure. The Izod Center is famous for eating sound, without much of the liveliness that other arenas have. In addition, the entire area behind the stage was closed off, as was the upper deck across from it. Add to that “plenty of good seats available” in the upper reaches of the arena in general, and there was a a lot of space to be filled. I have no doubt that the vibe in a sold-out Garden the Saturday night before was very different.

It may not have been the Grateful Dead, but I can put a Dead show on the list of bands I’ve seen. I’m glad that I schlepped out to Jersey to catch this show but, much to my surprise, don’t feel the need to catch another on this tour. I’ll wait for Phil and his Friends to come back into town.

My full set of photos from the show can be found here.

(Set 1)
U.S. Blues
Scarlet Begonias>
Fire On The Mountain*
Birdsong*
Feel Like A Stranger*
High Time
Turn On Your Love Light*

(Set 2)
New Potato Caboose>
Estimated Prophet>*
Milestones>*
Drums>*
Space*
Dear Mr. Fantasy>*
Dark Star>*
Eyes Of The World*
Donor Rap

(Encore)
Franklin’s Tower*

*With Branford Marsalis

Related posts:

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• The Dead Planning Obama Concert, Tour for Spring 2009
• Sirius to Create Grateful Dead Radio | Fader Mag Covers Garcia

Tickets? Check. Beer? Check. Goodies? Check.

Wipes and Diapers? Check.

HB, ready for a weekend on the Mountain

The festival season is fast approaching.  However, this year is going to be a very different experience for me and my crew. This year, I’m bringing along a six-month old, my son Harry. Crazy, you say?  I don’t think so.  Does it change the whole festival-going experience as we’ve known it so far.  For sure.

Since 2001, my wife and I have hit at least a festival a year: the Vibes, the late and great Berkfest, Langerado, and for the past four years, Mountain Jam.  We’ve got the whole thing down to a science.  We know what to bring and we know how to get it all in one cart to schlep up the mountain.  This year is a whole new deal, though.

My niece, Sammi, and her freshly painted face, at Langerado ‘07

It was one thing to spend a weekend on the Mountain just two adults. However, this year there are things we’ll need to bring to the Mountain because we’ve got our son with us.  There’s the tent, to give him a place to crash during the day, hearing protectors, toys, changes of clothing, and the aforementioned diapers and wipes, and there are many things I am sure I haven’t even thought of yet. None of this stuff was with us last year.

I’ve been surprised at the number of times people have wanted to know why I would expose my son to “that environment.”  Inevitably these are people that have never been to a festival.  Sure there’s a certain amount of sketchy people, but I live in New York City.  I see at least three sketchy people on the way to the office each day.

My nephew, Matthew, at Langerado ‘07

It’s not like this is the first time I’ve gone to a festival with kids, although they were much older than my son. In ‘07, my niece and nephew (then six and eight) came along for the afternoons at Mountain Jam.  They had an awesome time, were fascinated by the freaky people, and were treated quite nicely by them in return. They did wonder why the place smelled “funny,” but didn’t think anything of it. They’re kids.  They do look like they’re having a pretty good time, don’t they?

Sure, there’s the risk that HB could be having a bad day, if that’s the case we’ll have to adjust our plan.  That’s what you do when you’re a parent.  But, for all of the challenges that bringing a baby to the festival will add, they pale in comparison to the joy I’m going to have sharing the experience with HB.  When I think of dancing with my son on the side of a mountain, with 10,000 other fans getting down to Michael Franti with us, I’m overcome with emotion.

Should be a great weekend on the Mountain. Have you traveled with kids to a festival?  Have any tips to pass along?  Please share them in the comments!

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• Mountain Jam 2009: Silly Rabbit, Fests are for Kids
• Mountain Jam 2009 Starts Today
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I was surprised to find out that in the fifteen years that Weezer has been putting out some of hardest and catchiest pop music around, last Wednesday night’s show was their first time headlining the storied arena. Go figure.

Rivers Cuomo is one of the more interesting front men in rock. At some moments he is rocking out as hard as he can; case in point…

At times he lets his Harvard-educated inner nerd come through, addressing the crowd in Spanish, Japanese, Italian, and Portuguese over the course of the night. Finally, he ended up the night in a soccer uniform, complete with knee protection. The randomness of it was pretty funny.

An eclectic crowd filled the not-quite-sold-out Garden. From the kids that were out late on a school night, like this guy, to people like myself that have been listening to them since the beginning and haven’t had a “school night” in many years. This was my third time seeing them and if prior shows felt like Rivers Cuomo and his band, Wednesday night’s show was a more of a complete team productions.

Rivers is without a doubt the leader, but each member of the band got a chance to take lead vocals, which made songs that I’ve heard so many times sound a different. The “Weezerheads” (or whatever they’re called) on the band’s message board seem to be taking issue with Rivers letting others sing his songs, but the jamband fan in me appreciated the band changing things up — even if they weren’t sung as well as he could do ‘em.

The setlist spanned the band’s entire catalog, with over 20 songs in their tight 90 minute set. Old-school highlights for me were “El Scorcho,” off of Pinkerton, the classic “Undone (The Sweater Song),” and “Hash Pipe.” As much as their songs’ catchy hooks grab the listener, their heart-felt lyrics make them a more than your standard power/emo pop. One of the funniest moments of the night came early, during “Pink Triangle,” when the MSG crowd sang the lines “my god she’s a lesbian, I thought I had found the one.” No other band has lyrics like that.

In addition to a healthy dose of old-school, the set was heavy on songs from their latest release, their third self-titled effort (but known as the Red album). “Pork and Beans” and “Troublemaker” rocked, and the band redeemed one of the more unusual songs on the new disc, “The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived.” On the album, the song had not grabbed me, but its grandiosity was perfect for filling up an arena with sound. “King,” the album closer, was sung by Scott Shriner, the bass player, and was a highlight of the evening, powerful and featuring some of Brian Bell’s best guitar work of the evening.

Rivers took his turn behind the skins during the band’s take on Oasis’ “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”

Lead vocals on this one were handled by their drummer, Patrick Wilson.

There were two encores, each with something unique to offer. The first was a “Hootenany” that filled the stage with musicians playing everything from acoustic guitar, to flutes, to horns, to accordions. Rivers got lost in the crowd, as he lead them through “Island in the Sun” and “Beverly Hills.” The second cover, Nirvana’s “Sliver,” opened the second encore leading up to the show closing “Buddy Holly,” a song that sounds as fresh in 2008 as when it was released in 1994.

In all a tight, fun show from a band that created emo rock and continues to show the wannabes how it should be done.

A selection of photos from the night are below, and my full set of photos from the night can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/oliversarmy/sets/72157607532936097/

Setlist
Weezer
Madison Square Garden
New York City, 9/24/08
(My Name Is) Jonas
Pink Triangle
Perfect Situation
Say it Ain’t So
Suzanne
Keep Fishin’
King
Undone (The Sweater Song)
Pork and Beans
Dreamin’
Dope Nose
Troublemaker
Automatic
Hash Pipe
El Schorcho
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived

Encore 1
Island in the Sun
Beverly Hills

Encore 2
Heart Song > Sliver
Buddy Holly

Related posts:

• Pearl Jam | Madison Square Garden, New York 6/25/08
• Hootenany with Weezer
• Foo Fighters Rock the Garden

A month or two ago, I wrote a column forecasting some of the changes in the current state of live music and the path the industry may take over the next year or two in natural response to the current state of the overarching music industry. In it, I claimed that touring out West could become too expensive and difficult for some bands, relegating groups to regional tours only (at best). Against my own advice — or soothsaying — I am about to embark on a roadtrip through America’s Southwest, complete with a number of live music dates thrown in the mix. Over the course of approximately 20 days, I will see over 20 bands and try not to burn myself out while on vacation.

I’ll warm up my rock and roll legs here in Chicago where I have a “solid fan base,” catching five or six shows up through next weekend. I imagine this is what a smart band would do before a major tour; try and make some quick money with as little cost to the group as possible. Then next weekend, “the band” (me and my three buddies) will meet in Denver for the Monolith Festival. After a weekend of too much of everything, we’ll get in a rented SUV and start driving across the southwestern part of the U.S. Again, we are doing this trip with the rock dream in mind, which will definitely result in us driving long distances and not sleeping enough.

The “tour” ends in the great city of Los Angeles, a place where dreams are made. The final outing will be a glorious My Morning Jacket concert at the infamous Greek Theater on a lazy Sunday night. Who else am I going to see, you ask?

Here are the lucky twenty. And I must say, if this were its own festival and I was copying the lineup, I’d be there in a heartbeat.

Andrew’s End of Summer Music Tour:

Andrew Bird, Mike Gordon, Benevento/Russo Duo, Lymbyc Systym, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Vampire Weekend, Cut Copy, Foals, Atmosphere, Holy Fuck, White Denim, Justice, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, The National, Spiritualized, STS9, Cold War Kids, Man Man, and finally My Morning Jacket.

Related posts:

• 20 Bands, 20 Nights | Tired and Five Bands Short
• 20 Bands, 20 Nights | Ten Days In…
• Do Great Live Bands Need an Album to Tour?

Tonight is the unofficial beginning of a serious run of concerts for me and I couldn’t be more excited for this evening’s show. Mike Gordon is stopping by Park West in Chicago. The last time I caught Gordon was with The Duo and the show was off the charts. Tonight is already lined up to be a special night. On Mike’s website it says that tonight’s date is going to be a variety show and he hinted at “all kinds of possibilities,” in a recent interview on JamBase. A Mike Gordon variety show? Sounds awesome. Photos and review to follow next week. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Related posts:

• Photos: Mike Gordon @ Park West, Chicago 9/4/08
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It’s great that most everyone got to see Radiohead this summer on their numerous individual tour dates or here, here and here. Yet if you didn’t get a chance to catch the most blogged about band in the world or you didn’t quite get your fill, the band is webcasting their stop in Santa Barbara tonight. It’s promised to be a special night and after all the amazing things the band has done online this year, I wouldn’t second-guess them.

In a post Colin threw up on Dead Air Space, he states that the band is celebrating the end of their US leg by bringing everyone in on the fun. The details of the webcast are not yet live but the band promises to get them up soon. Though its not nearly the same thing as being there, Radiohead has been known to take extended breaks from playing in the States. Take advantage and watch the band rock out in the Bowl.

Related posts:

• Download, Stream Radiohead Live from Santa Barbara
• Radiohead NYE Webcast Tonight
• Radiohead Announces US Tour Cities, No Dates Yet

All Photos by Ken Gilbertsen

Since moving to Chicago, almost a year has passed before I was finally treated to a show at the theater which bears the city’s name. It was worth the wait, as I got to see Steely Dan tear up the beautiful Chicago Theater. The Dan put a second stop in Chicago on their Think Fast, Steely Dan Tour after the first one sold out in days and I’m certainly glad they did.

A good friend treated me to the ticket for taking care of what is most dear to him: a one year old Rhodesian Ridgeback named Lola. It was payment well beyond the services rendered. The enigmatic Donald Fagen was is full form — rocking the always fashionable suit, sunglasses, sneakers and calling the crowd “gang”. Walter Becker had his moments too; he broke into a narrative during “Hey Nineteen” to introduce “the Cuuueeervooo Gold” that was pretty priceless. Overall the show was tremendous and the opener, Deep Blue Organ Trio, set the standard early.

Deep Blue Organ Trio is a Chicago based jazz band centered around organist Chris Foreman. He wields what may be the greatest instrument in music, the Hammond B3. They played a great short set of traditional jazz and a little bit of funk. The stage was lit with three blue lights leaving the room spattered in pale azure; reminding us that this was Chicago and Chicago is cool. At first, the group seemed demure against the backdrop of the larger stage but as each song came and went the trio grew in stature. They locked into some seriously nice grooves thanks in large part to guitarist Bobby Broom and the band as a whole set the stage for what was to come.

Since LMB posted the Steely Dan tour announcement there has been a huge amount of feedback from fans of the band commenting on the shows that they have seen and their experiences. Its awesome to have such a response from the readers for a band that I really love and I consider this my contribution to that conversation. Most of the comments have been exactly how I expect enthusiasts of Steely Dan to respond but some have been superficial in nature. Being upset because they didn’t play all of their chart toppers — or what you consider to be the songs they should play — is something to which I must respond.

Steely Dan is a rare band that has extraordinary depth of quality in their catalogue. That means you may not catch all your favorites but the ones you do hear turn you in a new direction that you never knew was there, a part of the band that before the night never existed. Its a learning experience. Eric Harvey said it best when he commented in a column for Pitchfork, “I’d earned my appreciation for Steely Dan.” Amen, sir. Okay, I feel better now; back to the review.

This being the second Chicago date on the tour I’m sure they tried to get in a lot of songs they felt they may have missed back in July. This meant quite a few hits but also some hidden gems that brought a wide smile to my friend’s face — Russ is a connoisseur of the Dan. The band — minus Fagen and Becker — took the stage first and went into a instrumental intro that has become somewhat of the norm on this tours. They played short instrumental versions of “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” and “The Fez” but with an interesting bass line that resembled “On Broadway”, which was a really cool touch. Then the duo came out to a standing ovation and started immediately into “The Royal Scam”.

I considered it an interesting opener yet the beginning of the show was marked with a number of darker, more mellow songs and “The Royal Scam” certainly fed the beast. The staccato piano was a nice introductory sound and played a foil to Fagen’s voice throughout the song. Though this may be a song that is known more with the versed fans it served as a really solid opener, making the statement that we were here to see them, they weren’t here to play for us.

From there the band jumped into “I Got the News” which lacked that special something and that was Michael McDonald’s backup vocals. Probably the only average tune on Aja, it still played well with the early theme of the show. Then two songs from Countdown to Ecstasy began to draw in more of the crowd. “Show Biz Kids” gave the female backup singers opportunity to show off some of their chops and then the Dan dropped “Bodhisattva” on everyone. This snapped any fair-weather fan out of indifference and got a lot of middle-aged men and women shaking what the good lord gave them. The group rocked the song out, especially Keith Carlock who continuously impressed throughout on the drum set.

A real surprise track mid-set was “Aja”, which is one of the Dan’s lengthiest and most ambitious tunes. I imagine it as a song that may have shown up on Fagen and Becker’s version of “South Pacific” or if Rogers and Hammerstein were actually cool. The sonic attention, much like “Royal Scam”, is focused through the use of a staccato riff that works down the scale. The live version made me love the song more now that I’ve heard it that way. A total of four song were featured from Aja with “Josie” and the ever wonderful “Peg” rounding out the quartet.

The middle of the almost two hour set was the strongest part of the show personally. Steely Dan delved into some solo territory when they played Fagen’s “New Frontier” from his seminal album Nightfly. The synth skips through the song adding a lighter mood to combat Fagen’s wry voice. This album is as underrated and unknown as masterpieces come and if you haven’t checked it out, do so. Soon after, Becker got his shot on vocals during “Gaucho”, which made the song very different from when Fagen sings it on the album.

The later half of the set was certainly dominated by the hits and with about five or six songs left the crowd never sat down again. One of the highlights was a rousing “Kid Charlemange” which holds new weight in Chicago now that Kanye West sampled the song for his own “Champion”. Steely Dan is one of the most heavily sampled groups for a reason, they’re music is intricate and crosses genres. The clavinet in the background alone with the base line could suffice as a a song for most groups but not Steely Dan, they need much more. The vocal line “Is there gas in the car? Yes there’s gas in the car,” really got the crowd to a peak in energy.

The main set was followed by a really nice two song encore featuring “F.M.” and “My Old School”, which were a great end to the show. The crowd seemed genuinely pleased with the quality and song selection of the set. I was surprised with how many hits they tackled and can’t imagine how anyone would come away wondering why they didn’t play this or that. The show was a great exclamation point for this part of my summer and I hope these tours become a regular thing for the Dan. The stage production, sound and the band itself all emulated professionalism during the two hours. Thanks to Ken Gilbertsen for the great photos, my buddy Russ for the ticket and of course Steely Dan for the music.

For more of Ken’s great photos from the Steely Dan show and elsewhere click here.

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A few weeks back, Justin posted some news about TV on the Radio’s upcoming fall tour. I remember reading the post and thinking that it was short tour considering TVOTR has an album release in the near future. Well, my intuition was spot on and they’ve extended their tour well into the autumn months. The tour extends into November now and hits all over, including Chicago — which is good for me.

TVOTR’s new album details have been announced as well. Dear Science, will drop on September 23rd and quite frankly I am nothing but excited. The first single from the album, “Golden Age”, is streaming on the website right now — just click that gold, underlined TV on the Radio above. Its been on repeat for twenty minutes over here and I must say that its great. It seems that My Morning Jacket isn’t the only band channeling everyone’s favorite 50 year old gender bender (that’s Prince to you).

The anticipation surrounding Dear Science, is big. TVOTR’s outstanding sophomore LP, Return to Cookie Mountain, is one of my top albums made this decade and Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babies is a raw, hard charging debut. However difficult it is to produce three unique and artistic albums in a row I have full faith in David Sitek’s production and the rest of the band’s abilities. Follow the jump for dates.

I last saw TVOTR during their run with Thievery Corporation on the Outernational Tour. Their set was really strong and the sound definitely transitioned into the larger setting. Yet, seeing them in a theater as a headliner is something that I am very, very excited about.

TV on the Radio Fall Tour 2008:

09.05 Musicfest NW, Portland, OR*
09.06 Showbox, Seattle WA*
09.07 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver BC*
09.09 Macewan Ballroom, Calgary AB*
09.10 Starlite Room, Edmonton AB*
09.12 Knitting Factory Boise ID*
09.13 In the Venue, Salt Lake City UT*
09.14 Monolith Festival, Red Rocks CO
09.19 Street Scene, San Diego, CA
09.20 Treasure Island Festival, San Francisco CA
10.10 Electric Factory, Philadelphia PA+
10.11 Lupos, Providence, RI+
10.13 Wilbur Theatre, Boston MA+
10.14 Masonic Temple, Brooklyn NY+
10.15 Masonic Temple, Brooklyn NY#
10.16 Masonic Temple, Brooklyn NY^
10.18 Bogarts, Cincinnati OH+
10.19 Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis IN+
10.20 First Ave, Minneapolis MN+
10.21 First Ave, Minneapolis MN+
10.22 Riviera, Chicago IL+
10.24 Voodoo Festival, New Orleans LA+
10.25 Tabernacle, Atlanta GA+
10.26 Bijou Theatre, Knoxville TN+
10.28 Lakewood Theatre, Dallas TX+
10.29 House of Blues Houston TX+
10.30 Stubbs, Austin TX+
10.31 Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City OK+
11.02 Ogden Theatre Denver CO+
11.06 Wiltern, Los Angeles CA+

[via JamBase]

*Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson to open
+The Dirtbombs to open
#Telepathe to open
^Dragons of Zynth to open

Related posts:

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It was a rare kind of August Sunday in New York City. Sunny, comfortable with no humidity in the air. A perfect day, as Central Park’s Summerstage wrapped up its 2008 schedule with a day of soul and funk.

We got to the park in time to hear the last couple of songs from Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens.

I’ve always loved the sound of a gospel choir.

Next up was the Menahan Street Band, in their debut performance. Made up of members of the Dap-Kings, Budos Band and others, it was no surprise that this was a tight outfit.

Their set really impressed me, and I’m looking forward to their debut album, dropping in October.

Finally, there was Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. This band gets better each time I see them. She has played many of the major festivals this year, including Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, so it was a treat to be able to see her in a smaller setting.

The Dap-Kings opened with a jam and song of their own. Very nice.

Sharon Jones joined her band, opening her set with “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” turning the James Brown classic into her own song. From there, she and the Dap-Kings ran through a very generous set, crammed with a great overview of their entire catalog from their earlier releases to their latest 100 Days, 100 Nights.

Here’s a gallery of shots from the afternoon. If you were there, let us know what you thought.

Naomi Shelton

Meneham Street Band

Meneham Street Band

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

The complete set of photos from the day are here.

Related posts:

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