Honey, Herman Cain is on the phone...

Late Monday afternoon trail mix...

Most Likely You Go Your Way (Bob Dylan) Blonde On Blonde
I'm Down To My Last Cigarette (k.d.lang) Shadowland
I Ain't Got You (The Animals) The Complete Animals
All This Is That (The Beach Boys) Carl & the Passions
One Part Be My Lover (Bonnie Raitt) Luck of the Draw
Don't Forget About Me (Dusty Springfield) Dusty In Memphis
After the Fall (Ray Davies) Other People's Lives
Too Late Honey (Rob Stone & the C-Notes) Just My Luck
Is This Love? (The Iguanas) Super Ball
Satisfaction (Otis Redding) The Very Best of...
Lonely Financial Zone (Jonathan Richman & Modern Lovers) Roadrunner
London Calling (The Clash) London Calling
No Drawers (Marva Wright) Blues Queen of New Orleans
Message of Love (The Orbits) A Million Dollars Worth of Doo Wop
All Revved Up With No Place To Go (Meat Loaf) Bat Out Of Hell
Don't Step On It (James Hunter) Believe What I Say

Say hey, Terrie!...

Just received a quick reply to my Thanksgiving greeting from Jazz Fest bud Terrie (one of the notorious Shoe Ladies) saying she recently attended the Orlando Calling Music Festival and loved it.

Schedule Day 1 featuring the Killers, Drive By Truckers, Roots, Felice Brothers, Raconteurs, Pixies, O.A.R. Avett Brothers
Schedule Day 2 featuring Bob Seger, Justin Townes Earle, Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph, Kid Rock, Dwight Yoakam, Brandi Carlile

A record store Saturday...

I took Tom Waits' advice (see poster below).  Just back from a quick trip to Waterbury's Brass City Records with the following (all for $36!):

• Talking Book (Stevie Wonder)
• The Season (Jane Monheit)
• Song X (Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman)
• The Melody At Night With You (Keith Jarrett)
• The Honeydrippers, Vol I (Robert Plant)
• 12 Songs Of Christmas (Etta James)
• Blood On the Tracks (Mary Lee's Corvette)

AND in the mail, I got my copy of Get Out the Lotion (Low Cut Connie)

Brass City Records in-store concerts through the years.

Iron Bowl today...

Auburn and Alabama played their first football game in Lakeview Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 22, 1893. Auburn (then named the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama) won 32–22, before an estimated crowd of 5,000. As if a signal of the future, disagreement between the schools began immediately as Alabama considered the game to be the final matchup of the 1892 season and Auburn recorded it as the first of 1893. (more at Wikipedia)

Just watched the ESPN documentary, Roll Tide/War Eagle, about the Alabama-Auburn rivalry.  Them's some crazy-ass fuckers.  Great song tho...

Message from Tom Waits...

I can't get no satisfaction...

(Reuters) - Legendary musician Jimi Hendrix was named the greatest guitar player in history on Wednesday by Rolling Stone magazine in a list compiled by a panel of music experts and top guitar players.  "Jimi Hendrix exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage," said Grammy-winning guitarist Tom Morello in the magazine, citing Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" as key tracks.  Hendrix is joined by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend among the top 10, in a list laden with rock 'n' roll icons spanning decades.

The panel of experts recruited to vote for their favorite guitar players included musicians such as Lenny Kravitz, Eddie Van Halen (who was voted No. 8), Brian May and Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys, along with a selection of Rolling Stone's senior writers and editors.  The experts also weighed in on their favorites, with Pearl Jam's Mike McCready calling Eddie Van Halen "a master of riffs" and Joe Perry praising Jimmy Page's "vision of how to transcend the stereotypes of what the guitar can do."

The full list will be featured in a special issue with four special covers of Van Halen, Clapton, Hendrix and Page, and will be on newsstands and online at www.rollingstone.com on Friday. Rolling Stone's top 10 greatest guitarists follow:

1. Jimi Hendrix 2. Eric Clapton 3. Jimmy Page 4. Keith Richards 5. Jeff Beck 6. B.B. King
7. Chuck Berry 8. Eddie Van Halen 9. Duane Allman 10. Pete Townshend

TOP 100 Guitarists (Rolling Stone) 

Too High, Too Low

Everybody's working for the weekend...

• Zero Tolerance (those intolerant bastards) are playing tonight at the Milestone in Bristol, CT

• Sarah Borges at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA tonight

• Christine Ohlman is at Blackeyed Sallys in Hartford on Friday night

• Friday night, the Dirt Salon in Hartford is having a pot luck jam featuring Carlos Hernanadez Chavez and guests. (Byob and a dish $15/pp; Byob only $20/pp)

New Kate Bush: "50 Words For Snow"...

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British singer Kate Bush may believe the music industry is "collapsing," but her latest album has been hailed by some critics as a classic and she has promised more to come after years away from the studio.  "50 Words For Snow" is a concept album consisting of seven tracks, each much longer than the average pop song, which was described by the L.A. Times as "an art-song cycle that veers from delicate to blustery but always with a sheen of elegance."  In her five-star review, the Telegraph newspaper's Helen Brown called it a "quietly beautiful album," while Simon Price in the Independent on Sunday wrote of Bush's first album of new material since 2005's "Aerial":  "To the relief of anyone who carries a torch for the reclusive genius, it's a beauty."

Bush, who rarely gives interviews and studiously avoids the limelight, appears to share critics' sense of enthusiasm for 50 Words For Snow.  It is her second album this year following "Director's Cut," a re-working of music from previous records.  For an artist who waited 12 years between "The Red Shoes" in 1993 and Aerial, it has been a prolific period.  (the whole enchilada)

 

Sarah smiling...

SARAH BORGES EMAIL
You heard me right, it's not only turkey time, but it's time to hear me play my new record in its entirety tomorrow, November 23rd, Thanksgiving Eve at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA, with the band that played on the album (Russell Chudnofsky, Kimon Kirk, and Andy Plaisted). We'll be debuting the songs, as well as playing a super fun set of music fit for dancing. Perfect way to burn off all of the calories you're going to eat on Thursday.

Sarah Borges Thanksgiving Eve Event

Wednesday, 11/23, 8:30pm

Johnny D's Holland St., Somerville, MA

Kimon Kirk opens

Saturday marks the only Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles show of 2011 at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, MA. Rob Dulaney, Binky and original Broken Singles guitar player, Russell Chudnofsky will play the hits that made us famous (or at least got us lots of free drinks!). The Saturday-after-Thanksgiving tradition continues, so get your tickets now!

Saturday, November 26

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles!!!!

Narrows Center for the Arts, Anawan St, Fall River, MA

Amy Black opens

It's here already? That's right folks, it's not just Thanksgiving, but my record-making fun(d)raiser is coming to an end! So far I've raised just about $8000, which is amazing! We've got the songs recorded, mixing is just about to start, and oh, did I mention that not only did Steve Berlin from Los Lobos produce the record, but that Terry Adams from one of my favorite bands ever, NRBQ, makes a guest appearance?!!!   Be still my beating heart!

The only thing I still need to do is pay for it all! So it's time for little ol' me to thank big-hearted you for donating already, and to ask that if you haven't done it yet, you pretty-please do it NOW!! Check out the donation website and pre-order the new record, or donate for lots of other fun prizes.  And since this is the last week you'd better act fast, and to encourage you to do it there are a couple of way cool things happening:

Starting RIGHT NOW we'll be streaming one of the rough mixes from the record on the donation website. You can hear what YOU helped to make!!

And second, if we can hit $10,000 by SUNDAY (I know - SO MUCH money and SO LITTLE time!!!) I'll be streaming a mini-concert LIVE from my very own living room and broadcasting it straight to you via Ustream. This concert will be for my donors ONLY!!  If you contribute by Sunday, you can watch, listen, and talk all about it with all of the other donors. You can even send me requests.  And I will even play them.  Just for you.  Once you've made a contribution we'll let you know when, where and how to tune in.

Nothing goes better with your turkey and cranberry than a side of songs and guitars, so come on everybody, grab a drumstick (either kind) and CLICK TO DONATE!!!!

Hartford's cafe society...

Courant jazz critic Owen McNally writes of Hartford fashion designer/music impresario Dan Blow's current offerings in the Insurance City: Japanalia's Dan Blow Expands His Empire With Jazz Brunches At Atheneum:

• Cafe Eiko- "an improvised venue (Blow) sets up at night within his West End boutique, Japanalia Eiko."
• Muraski Cafe at the Mark Twain House- monthly jazz brunches
• Dirt Cafe, 50 Bartholomew Ave- Wednesday nights
• Wadsworth Atheneum- "Jazz Brunch Series"

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Living dangerous. (just finished 'Steve Jobs' and can't use ly anymore)...

A couple of days of music in Cambridge....(Special report from Peter M)

Thursday night, one of the guys in my painting class had given me a spare ticket to the Boston Philharmonic, a not-the-BSO-but-well-regarded classical operation.   Sanders Theatre at Harvard is a beautiful space, a tribute to the wealth of 19th century Boston. The maestro, Benjamin Zander, is a real showboat. He gave long talks before each piece, with live demos by the orchestra, who are sitting there waiting to play....I bet they love that. The program is all Brahms, the First Piano Concerto and the Fourth Symphony. Great stuff. The Fourth is a real war-horse, full of chunks you've heard a thousand times, but still powerful.

After the concert heading back to my car I realize the woman walking right behind me with her friends is tonight's soloist. With long dark hair and high black boots she looks just like the other fashionable young women out in the Cambridge evening ...young, beautiful and talented.

Redbones for a beer. Hello! Still in the third quarter and it's 10 to 10! The Jets look bad, bumble to a field goal. But Tebow is worse. He's terrible! Three and out again. Then the 5-minute drill. Unbelievable. Nobody touches him on that last 20 yard run.

A slightly wild-eyed but not dangerous looking guy sits next to me. Quickly I learn he is 47, can't see why they are playing football on Thursday night, is bi-polar, gets a check from the state, and has $4. Orders a Narry and hands over the four bucks. He's pretty excited when Dez gives him a 16-ounce can plus $1.30 change. I know he's thinking, if these guys sitting at the bar drinking $6 drafts could help me out a little,  I could get a second 16-ouncer. He starts an animated conversation with the two deaf guys sitting on his other side. A couple of minutes earlier they had signed to him that they were deaf, but he must have forgotten already. As I'm leaving after the satisfying Jets loss, he suggests a contribution, but I pass.

Friday night picking up Bob at Logan at 9:45. Old guys awake at that late hour is a music opportunity. Atwoods in Cambridge for Tim Gearan Band. It's Friday Night for sure. The place is packed, but no Tim Gearan in the Band. Another local guitar hero, Dennis Brennan is subbing. (I think we saw him with Sarah Borges at the Lizard Lounge a few years back.) He's cranking rock and roll, a couple of Smuttynoses revive Bob after a long plane ride, and it's going good. Then the fight starts. Right in front of the stage, bodies flying, yelling, bouncers (burly guys in standard issue black leather bouncer jackets over hoodies) rush in. The signature moment is the guy in the white t shirt, suspenders, neck tattoo and bulging veins screaming at somebody across the room as he's pushed out the back door, "This ain't Davis Square, motherfucker!" Gotta be some history there....and probably not the end of the story.

The band comes back on, the dancers are little more subdued, and the night is back on track after the excitement.  Time to head for the suburbs. I'll catch this show again some time. Tim Gearan should be back as usual, and Blondie says she's here every Friday night.

Friday night Bonnie...

Listen to more Bonnie Raitt at Wolfgang's Vault.

Bonnie through the years (there were others, but the memory is failing):
Woolsey Hall at Yale (1975)
Bridgeport Jai Alai (1977)
Oakdale Theatre, a very strange show with her father, the Broadway legend John Raitt (1979)
Toad's Place, where she was kinda drunk; Green Lights era (1983)
Oakdale Theatre, where we discovered John Cleary (2003)
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (2009)

It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday. Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend ...

So you think we're not uber-cool here at johnnykmusic? I think lyric-checking Rebecca Black should put an end to that!

Still waiting (impatiently) for  PHS Mark's report on Wednesday's Trombone Shorty show at The Klein.  He must be out of the office at a very important meeting.

Leon Russell with a free show at Mohegan Sun's Wolf Den tonight (can't go, the boys 'n girls from Brooklyn coming up for the weekend weekend).  Sawtelles on Main Street in Middletown tonight at Javapalooza.  Eilen Jewell has two shows (1st sold out) on Saturday night at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA.

Lee Pockriss, who wrote the music for midcentury pop hits like “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” “Catch a Falling Star” and “Johnny Angel,” died on Monday at his home in Bridgewater, Conn. He was 87.  (NY Times)

You can now go to the official Amy Winehouse website to watch the Our Day Will Come: Amy Winehouse Tribute.

Leon Russell induction into the R&R Hall of Fame (wonderful, understated version of A Song For You with John Mayer):

Thirsty Thursday...

Rolling Stone has learned that blues-rock duo the Black Keys have been booked as the musical guest for the December 3rd episode of Saturday Night Live, with host Steve Buscemi. The band, who will be promoting their seventh album, El Camino, will have the rare distinction of appearing on the show twice in the same year; their first time on the long-running sketch series was on the January 8th episode with host Jim Carrey.

Hump Day...

Pool Hall Stud Marky G at The Klein in Fairfield tonight to catch Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (with our best bud guitarist "Sneaky Pete" Murano).  Opening is Devon Allman's Honeytribe, who will headline at the Hungry Tiger in Manchester on Thursday night.  He's Gregg Allman's son.

New Ruthie out soon!...

Ruthie Foster will release her new album, Let It Burn, on January 31, 2012. The CD features special guests The Blind Boys of Alabama, soul legend William Bell, and the rhythm section of The Funky Meters (bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Russell Batiste). Recorded in New Orleans with producer John Chelew (The Blind Boys of Alabama, John Hiatt, Richard Thompson), Let It Burn also includes New Orleans-bred guitarist Dave Easley, renowned saxophonist James Rivers and Ike Stubblefield (Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, and Eric Clapton) on organ.  In addition to two new tracks from Foster, "Lord Remember Me" and "Aim for the Heart," Ruthie adds her signature sound to songs by Adele, Black Keys, Los Lobos, Johnny Cash, The Band, Pete Seeger, Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.

Ruthie will be appearing at City Winery in NYC 3/9/12.  Sounds good to me - anyone else?

iTunes Match - Legalizing your dodgy music collection has never been easier...

(ZD Net.com)  Yesterday Apple finally released the iTunes Match service, and legalizing your dodgy music collection has never been easier.

Note: While I’m going to be talking about ‘pirated’ music here, don’t take that to mean that I’m OKing the practice or in any way condoning it. I don’t.

iTunes Match is a new $24.99 a year cloud music service from Apple that makes your iTunes library available to you everywhere you go (as long as that everywhere has an internet connection). It works by scanning your entire iTunes library and duplicating this up in the cloud server. Duplicating your tracks is handled in three ways:

• All your iTunes purchases are already in the cloud waiting for you
• Any songs that you’ve ripped from CD or acquired via other means (naughty-naughty … but Apple forgives you!) are scanned and matched against Apple’s catalog, and if a match is found, Apple gives you a free, DRM-free copy to do with as you please, no questions asked
• Any tracks that iTunes doesn’t recognize (such as those from your Tuvan throat singing collection) will be uploaded to the cloud - (the whole enchilada)

Gumbo's greatest hits?...

One's in the bedroom cleanin' fish and the other's out cutting a deer, I think it just got country over here.

UConn Huskies are playing Wagner tonight...

Music-drama in three acts, words and music by Richard Wagner, who calls the work, "eine Handlung" (an action). Produced, under the direction of Hans von Bülow, Munich, June 10, 1865. First London production, June 20, 1882. Produced, December 1, 1886, with Anton Seidl as conductor, at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, with Niemann (Tristan), Fischer (King Marke), Lehmann (Isolde), Robinson (Kurwenal), von Milde (Melot), Brandt (Brangäne), Kemlitz (a Shepherd), Alvary (a Sailor), Sänger (a Helmsman). Jean de Reszke is accounted the greatest Tristam heard at the Metropolitan. Nordica, Ternina, Fremstad, and Gadski are other Isoldes, who have been heard at that house. Edouard de Reszke sang King Marke, and Bispham Kurwenal. - (more)

(Wagner, coached by Dan Hurley, is 1-0 after winning 73-57 at Ivy League champ, Princeton, on Saturday.)

Just purchased: Get Out the Lotion by Low Cut Connie...

"Get Out the Lotion" is available for download / CD at LOWCUTCONNIE.COM.

Low Cut Connie Mission Statement from website:

Low Cut Connie is ready to fondle you with rock n roll fingertips.
Low Cut Connie wants to drink a shake with you and dance like lunatics in New Jersey.
Low Cut Connie wants to dream your dreams with you like mystical hobos.
Low Cut Connie wants to bowl strikes down your lonely little alleys.
Low Cut Connie wants to clean your plates and sing doo-wop in your parlor.
Low Cut Connie is ready and willing to ride with you all the way to dawn in Yankton, South Dakota.
Low Cut Connie wants your parents and your children and your animals down by the lake...all swimming in happiness.
Low Cut Connie is your friend, your brother, your mistress, and your plumber.
Low Cut Connie wants to jerk tears from your eyes, and move your hearts to scream sex and joy.
Low Cut Connie wants to smash your piano to bits and repair your refrigerator for free.
Low Cut Connie wants to pour booze on your floor and walk backwards to Wendy's.
Low Cut Connie wants to pound music into your soft temples and meditate after the fact.
Low Cut Connie wants to come to your sleeping town, just to meet you and know you and love you forever.
Low Cut Connie wants to kiss-kiss with you all night long and woo you with hot hysterical drumsticks.
Low Cut Connie wants to draw you with Telecaster crayons on your table for breakfast.
Low Cut Connie wants to leave you like strangers, gorgeous and anxious, and quietly streaking in the morning light.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave in NYC tonight and Fairfield next Wednesday...

PHS Mark with Orleans Ave guitarist
"Freaky Pete" Murano at Jazz Fest 2011

(NY Daily News)  The trombone can blare and wail, or swoop and soothe. But seldom has it nabbed the pop spotlight enjoyed by the sax or trumpet. You’d have to go back to the swing days of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey to find a starring role for this long and meaningful instrument.

Enter Trombone Shorty, the man best positioned to bring the sexy back to his title contraption. It helps that he’s 25 years old and a looker. Naturally, Shorty hails from New Orleans, a city whose famous brass bands have always given strong play to this underappreciated horn. But Trombone Shorty (nee Troy Andrews) hasn’t ghettoized his style to fit the city’s stereotypes. (the whole enchilada)

11/11/11 at Terminal 5, NYC
11/16/11 at The Klein, Fairfield, CT

Zak Brown & Gregg Allman singing "Georgia On My Mind" at the CMA Awards...

I tried watching some of this show, but it was painful. Therefore, missed this.

Lucinda Williams set list at First Ave in Minneapolis...

Can’t Let Go  /  Pineola  /  Drunken Angel  /  Buttercup  /  Stow Away in Your Heart (new song)  /  People Talking  /  Concrete & Barbed Wire  /  Fruits of My Labor  /  Copenhagen  /  Born to Be Loved  /  Trying to get to Heaven (Dylan cover)  /  Those Three Days  /  Seeing Black  /  Essence  /  Unsuffer Me  /  Changed the Locks  /  Joy  /  Honey Bee    ENCORE:  Blessed  /  Ain’t My Cross to Bear (Allman Brothers)  /  Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young) - (concert review)

Last Sunday night at Cafe Nine...

Dex Romweber Duo (Tom Hearn photo)

The Death of Johnny Gumbo...

The iconic character, born in pre-Katrina New Orleans at Lucy's Retired Surfer's Bar after a few morning Bloody Marys, has, tragically, passed.

New Orleans Times-Picayune obit:

The Gumbo was laid to rest in a quiet, sparsely attended ceremony recently next to the dumpster at the local hang-out, The Float. Long time musical buddy, Jose Feliciano, was on hand to sing one of the Gumbo's favorites "Feliz Navidad." Attendees were given used hot dog wrappers to scatter over the coffin. Long remembered for his lack of judgement, devil may care, throw caution to the wind attitude, the Gumbo's epitaph read "Yu know Whaat?!"

The Death of Me by Dex Romweber Duo:

With your lies, your lies, your lies

And your perfect pair of thighs

Peter, his roof guy, and the Boston Symphony...

Paid my roof guy in hundred dollar bills, US greenbacks. Hyperactive tax dodger. At my kitchen table he notices classical music post cards, notices, etc., says he's a huge classical music fan. "Grew up listening to Grateful Dead etc. Then one day heard a classical piece...changed my life!" As the old folks say, "You know you know never can tell."

After my unhappy experience with Shelby Lynne, Saturday evening went to the Boston Symphony. Two Haydn symphonies and then concert excerpts from Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nurnburg.

Haydn symphony number 1 is clearly a baroque symphony, made for a small string orchestra in a Viennese music room. Number 100 is a full blown Classical Symphony for a big orchestra with brass and percussion, made to blow the doors off a big public concert hall in London, where Haydn went to be a rock star and make big money... and set the path for Beethoven's great symphonies.

The Meistersinger is great stuff, with a huge orchestra, solo singers, and a hundred plus chorus...and you can't help but hear the echoes of virulent German nationalism.  At one point the chorus shouts at full volume, "Wach' auf!" "Awaken!"  .....a Nazi Party election slogan in the 20s and 30s. And of course it is set in Nurenburg, the site of the Nazi party rally of Leni Riefenstahl's film Triumph of the Will. Check out Triumph of the Will on youtube.  In that film and in her film of the 1936 Olympics, Riefenstahl created the standards for dramatic documentary/propaganda film. All those NFL Films low angle shots of the long pass dropping out of the sky are pure Riefenstahl.

Dex Romweber Duo at Cafe Nine...

"Romweber is still ruler of his own bossa nova rockabilly kingdom, skipping from surf-guitar rave-ups to spacey instrumentals to sepulchral balladry, with the occasional Xavier Cugat cover tossed in. Only a sibling could keep up, and Sara's accompaniment is perfectly dialed into Dexter's otherworldly wavelength." --Spin.com
"Classic, howling, other-worldly Dex"-- NOLA.com

Let's do this.  I hate 'doors open at 8; show starts at 9' because I'm now committed to getting home at one in the morning.  Seven o'clock Sunday shows are so much better.  Suck it up.  The Reet says no way, but I'm meeting the Pool Hall Studs along with Jackie and Mo.  Hey, everyone needs a really good fifth wheel.  Nothing against these two warmup bands, The Fadeaways and Jackie & the Cedrics, but I really came to see Dex.

Tooling down State Street, I pull into an open space in front of Cafe Nine, not the sign of a sold-out show, but good for me.  Around the side to the entrance, where I fork up my $8 cover, get stamped and receive a CD (given to first thirty patrons)!  I can't read who it is though.  Inside the renovated bar (they chopped off the front end of the bar and removed one of those annoying posts), the Fadeaways, a really young Japanese surf, garage, punk band, are tuning up, so I grab a Bass Ale and look around.  Just as the Fadeaways burst into their LOUD and quite lengthy set (I like them), Mark and Maureen appear.  Barry/Jackie arrive almost an hour later and wonder why Dex isn't on.  Hey, Barry, we've still got Jackie & the Cedrics to go!  He's annoyed that Dex Romweber didn't go on at nine, but it's almost ten!  Talk about a prima donna!

Eric Danton of the Hartford Courant is here as is Michelle Terranova a/k/a Go Kat Go, who produces these rockabilly shows and the Gansett Girls (hi, neighbor, have a Gansett!) are here!  We get posters and shit!  Gansett Kingers are $2.50.  We discuss the 'death' of Johnny Gumbo (the iconic character, born at Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar at the 2005 New Orleans Jazz Fest, is gone forever) while Jackie & the Cedrics do their quirky spin on Buddy Holly, Ray Charles, surf guitar songs, etc.  As with the Fadeaways, I can't quite get whether these guys are a campy, inside joke or serious about rockabilly.  It's all good fun.

We spot Dex Romweber's sister/drummer Sara arriving, grabbing a beer and taking in the stage show.  Finally, showtime.  Mark's on a tight schedule (he's a VERY busy guy on a VERY busy schedule, unlike you and me) and hints he might have to leave early.  Barry makes no such excuses; says he might leave early.  Whatever.  Dex and Sara take the stage; Dex, looking rumpled and worn, mumbles a brief hello, almost a personal one since the 'crowd' numbers in the several dozen.  Suddenly, he hunches over the mic and starts 'awailin' and a slashin.'  I'm not too familiar with the Romweber catalog, but I think he's performing a sizable chunk of his new album, Is That You In the Blue?  His second number is the title cut, an Elvis-esque ballad that's become one of my favorite songs recently ("I hope you find loneliness with him, whatever dark night you're in.").  Sister Sara is pounding out the backbeat, looking very cool with her long hair covering her face as she keeps up with her brother's sometime frantic, slightly off-center delivery.  I like him a lot, but can't help feeling bad for this talent (he's one of  Dan Auerbach and Jack White's heroes for God's sake!) playing before such a small crowd.  Oh, well, late Sunday night shows in small towns will do that.  My other four wheels decide to call it a night about halfway through the set, but I persevere.  Good show.  I forgot my free CD.

Here's a clip from a Boston show the previous night:

A slap at our girl, Lucinda?...

From chicagoist.com about an upcoming Lucinda Williams show:
Williams' slow as molasses delivery and marching to her own drum have led to speculation by some fans that her concerts are marred by a drinking problem. Williams isn't one to shy away from a good drink, but live she still puts on a mean show regardless of whether she's feeling her oats. Williams also has the name recognition to play mid-sized venues like the Vic and Riviera on a regular basis, which makes her gig tomorrow night at Durty Nellie's in Palatine especially curious. Adoring fans can view it as an opportunity to see Williams in concert in a very intimate venue; skeptics will say it only puts her closer to the bar.  Lucinda Williams plays Durty Nellie's (180 N. Smith St., Palatine) in a 21+ show 8 p.m. tomorrow night. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets as of post time are still available online.

Autumn backward???

Brief email from Keith on last Wednesday's Brandi Carlile concert at the Calvin Theater in Northampton.  The Reet and I were to accompany them, but storms and health issues kept us home:

Show was very good - she has quite a beautiful voice (and i say with all my masculinity intact).  Got rid of the tickets, but no one actually sat in those seats.  Go figure!

There, what more information can you ask for than that concise synopsis!

Get off your ass, JohnnyK, and get down to Cafe Nine Sunday night...

The Dex Romweber Duo
Part rockabilly, part surf guitar, part early Elvis, but more than all that.  Big influence on Jack White of the White Stripes.  Go Kat Go's (Michelle Terranova) final show at Cafe Nine.  Doors open at 8; show at 9.  Here's a podcast discussing Dex and his new cd- podcast!

"Dexter Romweber was and is a huge influence on my music. I owned all of his records as a teenager, and was thrilled at the fact that we were able to play together recently on tour. His attitude towards music is remarkable. And his songwriting, along with his love of classic American music from the south, be it rockabilly, country or R&B, is one of the best kept secrets of the rock n roll underground."-- Jack White (White Stripes')

"Dex Romweber is nothing less than an icon of the American music underground. Pioneering the template for the stripped to-the-essentials guitar/drums duo format in the (should be) world famous psycho-surf-rockabilly-garage-punk combo Flat Duo Jets - so often emulated, so rarely duplicated - Dex continues his resurgence with the new album Is That You In The Blue? With sister Sara on drums, the DEX ROMWEBER DUO is a potent combo that'll get your leg twitching with the beat and your heart racing - and sometimes breaking - with the feral excitement of music. If it don't, you might want to consider turning in your "I Heart Rock n Roll" badge. Seriously"

Shelby Lynne setlist- Highline Ballroom, NYC

Here comes Shelby, there goes Shelby...

Late night review from Peter, who, on the strong recommendation of JohnnyK, went to see Shelby Lynne at Johnny D's in Somerville last night:

Went to Shelby Lynne tonight. Hey, 7:30 show...I can handle that. Traffic going in...why does it take me an hour to get to Somerville these days?

Get a ticket, place is a third full. Go down the street to redbones for a beer...OK, two.

Back at Johnny D's at 7:30. Now full. She comes on at 7:46. (Guy in front of me tries to read his watch, can't see it, so he turns on his phone....7:46.

Crowd is pretty gray....not symphony gray, more Bonnie Raitt gray.  $25 cover...don't think I've ever paid more than $10 or $15 here before...she must be good.

Sad girl songs, respectful applause from the audience.......guess they know this shit. Hey, the youtube shows her rockin' out. This stuff was wicked boring, pathetic sad girl songs. Shelby, I really don't care about your Momma and your Sissy back in Alabama. Yikes!

Anyway, two beers and 45 minutes and I'm outta here. Maybe she came out with a band and kicked ass later on, but I couldn't hang on to find out.

Stravinsky Firebird on the radio coming home ... good palate cleanser.

Was I a little harsh?

Peter

OUCH!  As  Mrs. Cleaver once said to Mr. Cleaver at breakfast one morning, "Ward, weren't you a little rough on the Beaver last night?"  But the REAL tragedy is shown below, for he did not stay to see Shelby play with Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band!
  

Shelby Lynne appears at the Highline Ballroom in NYC on Wednesday and at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA on Thursday, so, friends and family in the Big Apple and the Big Kegger, DO NOT pass up this opportunity to see her.

Six degrees of separation:
1.Shelby Lynne is Allison Moorer's older sister.
2.Allison Moorer is married to Steve Earle
3.Steve Earle is the father of Justin Townes Earle
4.Justin Townes Earle nodded to Johnny K going downstairs to the bathroom at the Iron Horse Music Hall last month.
5.Johnny K used to know Johnny Gumbo pretty well until he up and moved to the Great NorthLeft and doesn't communicate anymore.
6.Johnny Gumbo used to hang with (maybe once) Kevin Bacon

Speaking of power balls...

CT Powerball winner in Fairfield county- could it be the rapper Rant On?

One more push for Beantown friends/family to take the opportunity to see Shelby Lynne at Johnny D's in Somerville tonight.  Break out a rally beer or two.  She's really good!

New Amy Winehouse album, Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures, forthcoming.  Hoping it's not JUST a money grab. Cover photo shot by Bryan Adams.  Among the cuts will be Like Smoke featuring rapper Nas and a remake of Ruby & the Romantics' Our Day Will Come:

Nashville cats play clean as country water....

While those of us in CT hunker down in our bunkers (with frequent trips to Starbucks for internet access) waiting for a return to normal, Trish and George escaped to Nashville, where Trish sends the following camera photo while at B.B. King's: