The 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is underway!...

John Fogerty joining the Black Keys at Coachella for a tribute to Levon Helm...

One week to Jazz Fest 2012!...

Frantically trying to finish up work stuff so I can get ready for Jazz Fest 2012 (2nd weekend).  This will be my 8th with the Pool Hall Studs, but the first without the late Johnny Gumbo.  He will be missed, but Peter M will fill in admirably, but most likely without the spectacular face-plant of 2011.  The Reet says that all my tee shirts are getting kinda ratty and I should buy some new ones.  Geez, I thought they looked perfect.  Well, okay, I guess the tan 2000 Litchfield Jazz Festival one has holes that have become a bit too large, but the dark grey Lucinda Williams is still a keeper.  PHS Barry D is contemplating an early Jazz Fest arrival this Sunday to catch Bruce Springsteen; said that The Boss was awesome last week in NYC.  Replacing the late Levon Helm on 2nd Saturday in the Blues Tent will be the Warren Hayes Band with guest Dr. John.

Meanwhile, Everso Records has left a new comment on my post "Here comes Shelby, there goes Shelby...", a Peter M review of a Shelby Lynne concert at Johnny D's in Somerville.  Apparently, Mr. Records is sensitive:

The artwork is done by Jorgine Jensen who I'm sure does not want the image associated with such a negative light of SL. What a messed up review. Incredibly rude...She ALWAYS gives a great show. Ask the roomful of people who actually got it.

The 2012 Meriden Daffodil is this weekend.  Hope the weather warms up a bit.  Music Schedule

Louisiana Music Factory posts Jazz Fest Schedule...

Drive By Truckers' tribute to Levon Helm...

Saturday is Record Store Day!..

Special issues - history article

Integrity 'N Music, Wethersfield CT- superb selection of jazz, new/used, vinyl/cd; in-store performance at pm today by New Unity Quintet.
Brass City Records, Waterbury CT-funky little record/tool shop hidden on 2nd floor; large selection of used vinyl/cd; has stage for performances, but have never seen one.

April 18th 2012...the mother lode of Psych & metal collectables...from a mint Butcher cover to an unpeeled VU banana cover to ALL of the Chocolate Watchband albums to Live Like a Suicide to Motley Crue on Leathur to Promo white label Who albums to New York Dolls to Red Hash to Pink Floyd Tower record labels to WAY too many mono pressings of 60's rock albums to list.....these are the REAL collectables...and just in time for record scam day! closed Thursday and Friday to prepare for Saturday...drop by but please bring a napkin or towel to mop up the drool....

Turn It Up, Northampton MA- excellent collection of used vinyl/cd along with new issues; I visit this store as often as I can make it up to Northampton.
Gerosa Records, Brookfield, CT- I've never been there, but if The Sawtelles say it's cool, then it's cool.  The Sawtelles are playing there at 3 pm this afternoon.
Redscroll Records, Wallingford CT- I stopped there pre-Christmas when I heard they were getting rid of their cd collection.  Picked up a bunch of Xmas presents.  Since I'm not a purist (although admittedly a music snob), I don't buy vinyl (too much trouble; hell, grew up listening on transistor radio!).  Good store, though.
Exile on Main Street, Branford CT- Took a ride down I91 to I95; a cool little shop just off Route 1, good selection of new and used CDs.  Picked up: Celebration, Florida (The Felice Brothers), Electric Dirt (Levon Helm), Come And Get It (Eli 'Paperboy' Reed), Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now (Justin Townes Earle)

R.I.P. soulful man...

Levon Helm dies from throat cancer at 71 (story) (tribute at wolfgangsvault):

• Shelby Lynne -"Oh yeah.... I met Levon at the Ryman back in my Nashville days... He looked me in the eye and said "I sure do like your singing". My heart grew big as a watermelon. I'll never forget that moment. Soulful dude. I will miss him." -SL 
• Low Cut Connie - "The boys in Low Cut Connie are so very sad to hear about Levon's passing...RIP..you were the shit. One of the greatest drummers and voices in Rock n Roll" 
• Bob Dylan -"He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation. This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I'm going to miss him, as I'm sure a whole lot of others will too."
• Some guy named Dire Wolf - "I'll watch The Last Waltz (for about the 50th time), drink beer, smoke a fat one and sing along like a fool."

At dinner last Friday night, I was telling Keith that one of the upcoming Jazz Fest sets I was really looking forward to was the pairing of the Levon Helm Band (although not THE Band) with Mavis Staples closing Saturday in the Blues Tent. Alas, news first came that Levon had cancelled (following exits by John Mayer and Eddie Vedder), but now it comes out that Helm is in the finally stages of his battle with cancer.  Very sad.  This guy was a keeper. I think I'm going to listen to Music From Big Pink for awhile.-JK

Dear Friends,
Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey. ...

Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration... he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage...

We appreciate all the love and support and concern.
From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy

Iconic Dick goes stiffie...

I don't want to go all Erich Segal on you, but what can you say about an 82 year old Dick who died?  That he was really swell, that he was head and shoulders (well, perhaps not shoulders) above his contemporaries, that he loved a good beat and the Stones, that he helped us watch balls drop each New Year's Eve?  Rapper RantOn said it best, "We all dug the Dickster.  Whether it be American Bandstand or New Year's Rockin' Eve or any of that other shit he be doin', the Dick had style, a stroke of genius if you will.  No envy, Yo, the Dick deserves a big hand."  Tru dat, Rant.

Please remember to tip your Ho...

Just some pre-Pres stress relief (ABC News)

A senior administration official briefed on the accusations against the Secret Service agents pulled from duty in Colombia tells ABC News that a heated argument between at least one of the alleged prostitutes and at least one of the Secret Service agents first alerted authorities of the Hotel Caribe in Cartagena to the cavorting between Secret Service agents and prostitutes.  The argument was a dispute over the bill for services rendered, the administration official said.  Read More

Working Girl Playlist:

She Works Hard For the Money (Donna Summer)

House of the Rising Sun (Animals)

Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March (Box Tops)
There She Goes Again (Velvet Underground)
Tenderloin (Rancid)
Lady Marmalade (Labelle)
Babylon Sister (Steely Dan)
Call Me (Blondie)
Roxanne (Police)
Lucky Dogs Make Me Horny (Johnny Gumbo Party Band)

Been busy, will be back on track come Tuesday...

Jimmy Buffett acoustic with Mac McAnally will fill Eddie Vedder's vacated Jazz Fest spot.  May opt for Esperanza Spaulding and/or Florence + the Machine.  Saints' owner Tom Benson has purchased the NBA Hornets and wants to change their name.  How 'bout the New Orleans Johnny Gumbos in honor of the late beloved Jazz Fest icon!

Suggestion from Maryalice:  "Peter says you're heading to New Orleans for a little relaxation (New Orleans/relaxation--oxymoron;-)  My favorite place in the US.  If it's still there, spend a few hours at Andre's World Beat in the Quarter.  Two or three floors of music and all the Hurricanes you can stomach!"  Can't find it, though.

Jane Monheit performs at the Mattatuck Museum in The Bury tonight.  Cafe Nine gets Kinky Friedman  for performance and booksigning on June 6.  Very cool.

Eddie Vedder cancels Jazz Fest appearance.... who will replace???...

(nola.com) -Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder has canceled his scheduled appearance at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz Fest. He has postponed the rest of his 15-city ukulele tour to the fall, in order to recover from temporary nerve damage in his right arm that resulted from a back injury sustained earlier this year.  Read More

Feel like getting your ass kicked? Alabama Shakes at One-Eyed Jack's in New Orleans...

(nola.livemusicblog.com) - The early portion of the set was highlighted by moments of pure and syrupy band syncopation (see “On Your Way“) that would be contrasted by a raw and uproarious latter half to the show. The band kept things straight-laced on the first leg, working within the confines of a few familiar blues and gospel arrangements rooted in the soil of the Southland – moaningly slow at times and fiery trudging and room-filling when the tempo picks up. These more familiar sounds were highlighted on the band’s insta-famous EP and were later traded for some interesting hybrid compositions – including a couple Dick Dale-meets-Carl Perkins surf-a-billy tunes that stood out from the whole set. The brief set blew by in a blink, but not before silver-tongued lead singer Brittany Howard took full command of the room, stomping around the stage and gaining the house’s full and utmost attention, while asking with a beggar’s emphasis: “I hope you really love me/And I hope you like me too”.

It’s hard to conceive of a more impassioned and rawer talent out there than Howard, and at this point in her career, she is still brimming over with newfangled enthusiasm to the recent onslaught of support the band is experiencing. The well-deserved comparisons to Janis Joplin are unavoidable and neither an insult to Joplin nor a statement on any lack of originality for Howard. The bespectacled Shakes’ front woman finessed her way down the dark end of the street on “You Ain’t Alone” with a bell-clear high scream before bellowing out the signature throaty rasps made famous by the legendary dynamo Joplin on “Hold On”. Read More

The Night Tripper

Dr John Revamped by James McKinley (NY Times)

FOR decades Dr. John, the New Orleans pianist and songwriter, has stubbornly inhabited the psychedelic voodoo stage persona he created in the late 1960s. He still walks around with an African staff adorned with totems, bones, an alligator tooth, a vial full of a friend’s ashes and a juju bag.

But at 71, when many musicians might be cashing in on nostalgia tours or eyeing retirement, Dr. John appears to be stepping outside of that persona, both personally and professionally. He has an ambitious new album, “Locked Down” (Nonesuch), a collaboration with Dan Auerbach, the singer and guitarist from the popular blues-rock duo the Black Keys. And this weekend he begins a three-week residency at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a series of nine concerts intended to celebrate his contribution to American music over six decades.

Mr. Auerbach, 33, said one of his goals in producing the album was to persuade Dr. John to let his mask slip and to create songs about Mac Rebennack, his real self. “Sometimes, when you are a character, I think it can be draining emotionally and personally,” Mr. Auerbach said during an interview in the East Village. “And Mac as a human has so much to say and so many real-life experiences. I wanted the music of Dr. John and the lyrical content of Mac Rebennack.”  Dr. John said Mr. Auerbach had created a rough-edged sound during 17 intense days of recording in Nashville last fall. “He pushed and pulled me in some ways that made something different happen,” Dr. John said. “He’s an aware little cat.” Read More

Black Keys in New Orleans today...

The Black Keys @ NCAA Big Dance Concert Series, Woldenberg Park NOLA - 3/31/12 || Photo by Wesley Hodges

Ruthie Foster guests with the Allman Brothers at Beacon Theatre in NYC last week...

Give National Cleavage Day your support!...

Thursday question: Do you like your women with or without whiskey? Jes askin'....

Love these guys!

The Cubes are here, the Cubes are here!...

The New Orleans Jazz Fest scheduling cubes for 2012 have finally arrived!

Fri Apr 27
Sat Apr 28
Sun Apr 29
Thu May 3
Fri May 4
Sat May 5
Sun May 6

A difficult choice looms at the close of our first day, Thursday, May 3rd:  Eddie Vedder (Acura Stage), Florence + the Machine (Gentilly Stage), Esperanza Spaulding (Congo Square Stage), James Cotton Superharp Band (Blues Tent), The Iguanas (Fais Do-Do Stage)!

Just another Manic Monday...

Received a text pic on Saturday night from the Iron Horse Music Hall, where the Andersons were taking in James Hunter.  In response to my query about the show, Sharie pens "Good, but no Mollena.  Played the early show, so had to end and get the crowd out, so just a quick little encore.  Music and voice were really good."  Johnnykmusic is a big fan of the English soul singer.

Meanwhile, over in RI, Shelby Lynne was getting rave reviews of her performance at the Narrows Center in Fall River.  The Patriot Ledger's Jay Miller writes, "....but Lynne's encore was absolutely amazing, as she did a gorgeous a capella version of Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" that had the audience transfixed. (As most fans probably know, Lynne did an album of all Springfield songs in 2008, "Just a Little Lovin'".) And there's a pleasing kind of summing up quality to the ballad "Iced Tea" which ended the night, with another 300 people no doubt a little bit stunned at how much of Shelby Lynne's soul they'd been invited to see, and how much it had touched all of theirs."   Rumor has it that she peered out into the audience and commented to no one in particular, "I don't suppose Peter M drove down for the show tonight."

The Black Keys will play at the Coke Zero Countdown as part of the Big Dance Concert Series at the Final Four. The event will be held on Saturday, March 31st in New Orleans and is free. Come on down to Woldenberg Park in the French Quarter at 11 am!

It started with a whisper...

The song from the Buick Verano commercial has been popping into my head a lot these days, so I decided to find it - it's Everybody Talks by Neon Trees:

The song 1983 from Neon Trees' performance on Live At Daryl's House:

Wild Weekend? Congratulations....

After almost two years, traded in my Droid for an iPhone.  Does anyone know how to paste video to Facebook (actually, to Blogger)?  Hoping to be more efficient posting to johnnykmusic at Jazz Fest this year.

Kal David (Fabulous Rhinestones) has an eight o'clock show at the Watertown's Red Door Cafe on Sunday night at the EXACT moment that the Joe Krown Trio featuring Walter Wolfman Washington and Russell Batiste hits the stage at Cafe Nine in New Haven.  Here is a Fabulous Rhinestones live performance (circa 1974) audio from tape recording (probably WHCN) from outdoor concert at Pope Park in Hartford, CT around summer of 1974. Harvey Brooks on bass, Kal David on lead guitar, Marty Grebb on keyboards and Jack Scarangella on drums.

Hey, that's Spandau Ballet, man! (don't be so pretentious, I hear you singing along in the car)...

Top 'O the Mornin' to Youse (and a word to the wise: anyone within 100 miles of a certain JR on St. Paddy's Day, please take the proper precautions)....

Not only did Lamb lie down on Broadway last week, he did it again last night in Louisville...

Huskies bow (wow) out meekly to finish sad season.  Keith and Vinsanity must look long and hard in the mirror about their fan performances this year.  At least I don't have Mizzou or THE DUKIES going to the final four!  Do you feel like I Do?


The Boss gives the keynote address at SXSW:

Recommendation from G n Y - Alabama Shakes...

Who are these guys? 
(americansongwriter.com)- The Alabama Shakes are four musicians from North Alabama who grew up together in a small town fifteen miles from the Tennessee state line. They formed a rock and roll band after high school, and started playing together two evenings a week after their day jobs finished. Without each other – four parts constituting a greater sum as a whole – they may never have found that musical alchemy.  By the fall of 2011, they’d opened a few shows for Drive-By Truckers, and fans outside of the state began taking notice of their simple, heartfelt soul music. Across the pond, publications like NME and The Guardian were raving about them. At New York’s CMJ Music Marathon in October, they blew away the music industry and media, and went on to sign record deals with ATO and Rough Trade for their debut album, Boys & Girls, which they’d recorded nearly a year before. Jack White just tapped them to launch a singles series for Third Man Records.  Read More

Big East out, Black Keys in to World's Greatest Arena...

(NY Times)-Primordial equals durable for the Black Keys, a two-man band — Patrick Carney on drums, and Dan Auerbach on guitar and vocals — originally from Akron, Ohio, and recently transplanted to Nashville. Visuals aside, their concert on Monday night could easily have taken place in 1973. It was a set full of stomping drumbeats and distorted guitar riffs carrying mostly declarations of woman trouble and other mental distress.  The songs were blues-rock, garage-rock, borderline psychedelia and loud pop, mostly harking back to the 1960s; the most recent musical reference, with brawny guitar tones and upper-register backing vocals, was the T. Rex of “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” and “Jeepster.” Yet the Black Keys weren’t playing some blues bar for a handful of nostalgic baby boomers or a classic-rock radio station’s office party. This was a sold-out Madison Square Garden, with a general-admission floor crowd clamoring toward the stage and an audience full of girls eager to dance and scream.  Read More

Time Out New York's #10 NYC song...

CHELSEA HOTEL NO. 2 (Leonard Cohen)
Famously, Leonard Cohen introduced this song live with a reference to Janis Joplin, implying the song was written about she and Cohen's short affair in the Hotel Chelsea. Despite Cohen's later apology for this statement, it has forever colored the rich, fissured narrative of the song. Unlike many writers who turn poems into songs, Cohen considers them entirely separate, but this is certainly one of his more poetic songs. Just listen to his emphatic voice hushing the music that seems to play only as a background for his baritone as he tells the story of a tender, too brief romance. Hotel Chelsea,that gritty soul of New York's bohemian artists, is the setting of "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" and it is evoked in all its messy beauty, from the unmade bed to the limousines waiting in the street.  Read More

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel, 
you were talking so brave and so sweet, 
giving me head on the unmade bed, 
while the limousines wait in the street. 
Those were the reasons and that was New York, 
we were running for the money and the flesh. 
And that was called love for the workers in song 
probably still is for those of them left.

Spring Back!...

Are we all ready to fill out our Sprockets?

On Chris D's recommendation, I've been listening to Austin's Band of Heathens lately.   On March 3rd, they played at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans (got to get back there this year); here's a concert review from Live Music Blog Nola and a clip (below) from the show of Look at Miss Ohio, a Gillian Welch song.  Band of Heathens will be in NYC on Friday, March 30 at the Hiro Ballroom:

Huskies out, but not down...

Shabazz stat line courtesy of Tom L (with sarcasm): FG 5-17  TO-5 A-3  Shabazz!!!!  But that's okay, the Huskies are dancing.

Great Mardi Gras dinner featuring Abita beers at Anthony Jack's Wood-fired Grill Thursday night (Barry will rot in Hell for having it during Lent), causing us to miss the return engagement of the Dex Romweber Duo at Cafe Nine.  Also missing Ruthie Foster's gig tonight at the City Winery in NYC.  Great place!

However, Bruuuuuuuce at the Apollo Theater Friday night (NY Times story):

photo stolen from Questlove of the Roots

Time Out New York's listing of top 100 New York songs...

SHABAZZ!!!!!  Bro's Jim & Paul at the World's Greatest Arena in NYC all week for the Big East tourney.  Hope they are not up to Lexington, 125.    

Time Out New York 100 Best
One fundamental rule—a song had to be specifically and explicitly about some aspect of NYC, be it good, bad or ugly—led to some startling omissions: Whither Patti Smith, Blondie and Talking Heads? Weeks of heated deliberation and occasionally heartbreaking cuts followed as we parsed lyrics and contexts; even seeming no-brainers like “Positively 4th Street” got voted off the island as we pondered relative merits to wrestle out a ranking.

100. XTC, “Statue of Liberty” (1978)
99 Charles Hamilton, “Brooklyn Girls” (2008)
98 Le Tigre, “My My Metrocard” (1999)
97 The Insect Trust, “The Eyes of a New York Woman” (1970)
96 Phil Ochs, “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends” (1967)
95 The Moldy Peaches, “NYC’s Like a Graveyard” (2001)
94 Jerry Orbach/Original Broadway Cast (42nd Street), “The Lullaby of Broadway” (1980)
93 Phosphorescent, “The Mermaid Parade” (2010)
92 Judge, “New York Crew” (1988)
91 Tom Waits, “Union Square” (1985)
90 Unsane, “D Train” (2005)
89 Genesis, “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” (1974)
88 The Crystals, “Uptown” (1962)
87 Original Broadway Cast (Rent), “La Vie Boheme” (1994)
86 Fred Neil, “Bleecker & MacDougal” (1965)
85 Al Kooper, “New York City (You’re a Woman)” (1971)
84 Grandmaster D.S.T., “The Home of Hip-Hop” (1985)
83 Kid Creole and the Coconuts, “Dario (Can You Get Me Into Studio 54)” (1979)
82 Death Cab for Cutie, “Coney Island” (2001)
81 Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, “Greenwich Village Folk Song Salesman” (1968)
80 Paul Simon, “American Tune” (1973)
79 3rd Bass, “Brooklyn–Queens” (1989)
78 Bobby Short, “I Happen to Like New York” (1973)
77 The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, “Fairytale of New York” (1987)
76 The Dictators, “Avenue A” (2001)
75 The Trammps, “The Night the Lights Went Out” (1977)
74 Dion, “King of the New York Streets” (1989)
73 Shelley Plimpton and the Original Broadway Cast (Hair), “Frank Mills” (1968)
72 U2, “Angel of Harlem” (1988)
71 Fear, “New York’s All Right If You Like Saxophones” (1982)
70 The National, “Daughters of the Soho Riots” (2005)
69 Billy Joel, “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” (1976)
68 Sting, “Englishman in New York” (1987)
67 The Ramones, “53rd & 3rd” (1976)
66 Barry Manilow, “New York City Rhythm” (1975)
65 Glenn Miller, “Pennsylvania 6-5000” (1940)
64 Village People, “Fire Island” (1977)
63 Suzanne Vega, “Anniversary” (2007)
62 Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, “Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)” (1998)
61 Gil Scott-Heron, “New York Is Killing Me” (2010)
60 Run-D.M.C., “Christmas in Hollis” (1987)
59 Steely Dan, “Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More” (1975)
58 Kool G Rap and DJ Polo, “Streets of New York” (1990)
57 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “New York City Serenade” (1973)
56 Laura Nyro, “New York Tendaberry” (1969)
55 Nina Hagen, “New York/N.Y.” (1983)
54 Boogie Down Productions, “South Bronx” (1986)
53 MC Shan and Marley Marl, “The Bridge” (1986)
52 The Magnetic Fields, “The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side” (1999)
51 Andrew W.K., “I Love NYC” (2001)
50 Bill Withers, “Harlem” (1971)
49 Odyssey, “Native New Yorker” (1977)
48 Jay-Z with the Notorious B.I.G., “Brooklyn’s Finest” (1996)
47 Jeffrey and Jack Lewis, “Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror” (2005)
46 Tom Browne, “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.)” (1980)
45 Ace Frehley, “New York Groove” (1978)
44 Bob & Earl, “Harlem Shuffle” (1963)
43 Original studio cast (On the Town), “New York, New York” (1960)
42 Interpol, “NYC” (2002)
41 Nat King Cole, “Harlem Blues” (1958)
40 Alice Cooper, “Big Apple Dreamin’ (Hippo)” (1973)
39 The Rolling Stones, “Shattered” (1978)
38 The Avett Brothers, “I and Love and You” (2009)
37 Bruce Springsteen, “The Rising” (2002)
36 The Strokes, “New York City Cops” (2001)
35 The Bee Gees, “Stayin’ Alive” (1977)
34 Tom Waits, “Downtown Train” (1985)
33 Bob Dylan, “Talkin’ New York” (1962)
32 Ella Fitzgerald, “Manhattan” (1957)
31 James Cagney, “Give My Regards to Broadway” (1942)
30 Bobby Womack, “Across 110th Street” (1972)
29 Jennifer Lopez, “Jenny from the Block” (2002)
28 Suzanne Vega, “Tom’s Diner” (1987)
27 Simon & Garfunkel, “The Only Living Boy in New York” (1970)
26 Elton John, “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” (1972)
25 Stevie Wonder, “Living for the City” (1973)
24 Ryan Adams, “My Blue Manhattan” (2004)
23 Lou Reed, “Halloween Parade” (1989)
22 New York Dolls, “Subway Train” (1973)
21 Nas, “N.Y. State of Mind” (1994)
20 The Ramones, “Rockaway Beach” (1977)
19 Billy Joel, “New York State of Mind” (1976)
18 Vampire Weekend, “M79” (2008)
17 Simon & Garfunkel, “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” (1966)
16 Joni Mitchell, “Chelsea Morning” (1969)
15 LL Cool J, “Doin’ It” (1996)
14 George Benson, “On Broadway” (1978)
13 The Velvet Underground, “I’m Waiting for the Man” (1967)
12 Duke Ellington Orchestra, “Take the ‘A’ Train” (1941)
11 Wu-Tang Clan, “C.R.E.A.M.” (1993)
10 Leonard Cohen, “Chelsea Hotel No. 2” (1974)
09 Ryan Adams, “New York, New York” (2001)
08 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, “The Message” (1982)
07 Leonard Bernstein with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, “Rhapsody in Blue” (1959)
06 Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972)
05 Billie Holiday, “Autumn in New York” (1952)
04 LCD Soundsystem, “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down” (2007)
03 Beastie Boys, “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” (1986)
02 Frank Sinatra, “Theme from New York, New York” (1980)
01 Jay-Z with Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind” (2009)

Harvard into the Big Dance!

Things are just super Tuesday!

Huskies score easy win at Big East in NYC, while co-ed scores repeatedly in Stonehill College dorm room...


What does Stonehill College alum and former Westie Punk Gussy P have to say about THIS?

Lindsay Blankmeyer, a former student at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, is suing the school over the sexual behaviors of her roommate, claiming that the college did nothing to help her.  Blankmeyer claims in her lawsuit that her roommate, Laura, would have sex with her boyfriend while she was in the room and sleeping.  “The roommate was having online and actual sex right in front of her,” Blankmeyer’s complaint states. She also claims that Laura would engage in “sexually inappropriate video chatting when Lindsay was in the room.”  Because Blankmeyer alleges her mental health deteriorated while she was in that situation and the school did nothing to help her resolve it, she is suing the college for $150,000.  Read More

New Jack White...

Sunday morning trail mix...

Nuevo Boogaloo (The Iguanas) Nuevo Boogaloo
Out in the Woods (Leon Russell) Carney
Born Under a Bad Sign (Albert King) Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues
Back on Top (Van Morrison) Back on Top
What's the Matter Baby (Timi Yuro) Classic 60's Hits
Poison Moon (Elvis Costello) My Aim Is True
One Track Memory (Rosie Flores) A Honky Tonk Reprise
Rocket In My Pocket (Lou Ann Barton) Read My Lips
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again (Steely Dan) Can't Buy a Thrill
Poet (Sly & the Family Stone) The Essential....
Autumn Leaves (Rickie Lee Jones) Naked Songs
Perfidia (Linda Ronstadt) Mambo Kings
Take It Easy (The Animals) The Complete Animals
It's Raining (Lou Ann Barton) Read My Lips
I'm So Excited (John Lee Hooker) 20 Great Hits
It's the Same Old Song (Four Tops) The Big Chill
Lover To Love (Florence + the Machine) Ceremonials

Keith & Vinsanity blow big lead AGAIN, but Shabazz saves the day for Jimmy C!..

MIA - Has anyone seen Jeremy Lamb?  Seriously, I think somebody ambushed him on one of his tepid crossovers.  I was listening to how the Cameron Crazies stand for the entire game as a show of support for their team.  It's kind of sad that we have one UConn fan like that, who has stood for the entire season, yet no one noticed (that he was standing).  I noticed, Keith.

Troubadour Chris D stopped in yesterday on his way to NYC to catch alma mater Harvard Crimson play at Columbia (they won in OT).  Chris recommends Band of Heathens' Live at Antones.  Put it into the car listening rotation.

QU Bobcats (really Braves) back in Brooklyn tomorrow at noon to take on top-seeded LIU Blackbirds (singing in the dead of night) in NEC semi-finals.  I want to go, but lazy-ass Gene Z #3 doesn't want to.

Fortune Cookie message from last night's Chinese delivery:  "Your ear for music is becoming more finely tuned." 

The Sawtelles - Tonite 9pm elm bar w/ Furors & Rope, opening/pinch hitting for Mold Monkeys who had to cancel due to illness.

Discussion of new Bruce in NY Times...

Johnnykmusic:  Disappointed by Bruce's Grammys performance, which consisted of a plodding, overbearing, oversimplified anthem railing against those rich and right, I don't hold out hope of loving Springsteen's Wrecking Ball.  The Jons Pareles/Caramanica review it below:

The New York Times’s pop critics Jon Pareles and Jon Caramanica discuss Bruce Springsteen’s album “Wrecking Ball,” to be released Tuesday by Columbia. 

JON PARELES Jon, if good intentions were all that mattered, Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball” would be a shoo-in for album of the year — which is, not coincidentally, an election year. “Wrecking Ball” is Springsteen’s latest manifesto in support of the workingman, and his direct blast at fat cats and banksters who derailed the economy. It’s sincere, ambitious and angry, which can lead to mixed outcomes. It also — which may be a surprise on an album billed as a broadside — holds some of Springsteen’s most elaborate studio concoctions since “Born to Run.” 

JON CARAMANICA But, Jon, I too was born in the U.S.A., a country with a Constitution that guarantees the freedom of interpretation! We can talk about the intention of the author all day long — and certainly Bruce’s boomer army will do just that — but the text is far more ambiguous, and in plenty of places on this album, just outright flat.  I agree, it’s energizing to hear the type of ambitious arrangements that he’d largely abandoned when he retreated into rural bard mode. And the chill of hearing the booming sax solo on “Land of Hope and Dreams” drove me to the liner notes to confirm that, yes, it was Clarence Clemons. And “We Take Care of Our Own,” my lyrical bête noire, has the hardest-working music on the album.  Read More

Email from the boys of Low Cut Connie...

Fans and friends...we've got a lot of things brewing over here.  The most exciting of which is that next month we're going into the studio to make a NEW RECORD.  This one is gonna smash it outta the park....so just brace yer pretty selves.  The new songs are killer-diller.

If you are anywhere in the New York City region, we're doin a hot little gig next Saturday night (3/10) at the Living Room, with an afterparty to follow.  We're hittin' Gainesville, Florida the following Friday... then we got a big show in Philly in early May, and a Cinco de Mayo show/party we're throwing in Spanish Harlem.

We're gonna be hittin the road in June, July, and August in advance of the record release in September...so we hope to come to your town!!

In the new press column, we've got a big article coming out in Magnet magazine next week, and we've recently had major features in the Philadelphia Inquirer, NY Times, Time Out NY, etc.  OH and last week, Dave Marsh, the legendary music critic and Springsteen biographer, interviewed Adam and called Low Cut Connie... "the most important American band to come along in years".  Whoa...maybe overstated, but hey we'll take it!

Thanks for all the love and support and mutual titillation you've shown us over the last year... stay tuned, stay involved with us...and get ready for a great year for Connie fans.

Love,  the boys in LCC

The Blackeyed Peas...

AJ tried to bunt.  Gumbo didn't; he just tried to walk.  

Let's get it started...

Newport Folk Festival announces line-up ...

LEAP!...

Huskies suck again in the clutch; Davie Jones dies.

But there's always Kristen Wiig:

If it is Tuesday, this must be Providence..

MUST-WIN for the UConn Huskies tonight in the inappropriately-named Dunkin' Donuts Center (there is no center in a Dunkin' Donut)... They never have an easy time there.

Good warmup for Jazz Fest with Anthony Jack's Mardi Gras dinner next Thursday, complete with Abita Beer.  Barry will probably rot in Hell for doing this during Lent, but that's his problem.  I'm good. Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya    That same night, the Dex Romweber Duo returns to Cafe Nine in New Haven.

JR (the artist formerly known as Johnny Gumbo) rips Jazz Fest...

This morning brought howling winds following yesterday's (when all my troubles seemed so far away) surprise snowfall.  It also brought an email of blistering criticism towards the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival:

Piano Shirt Friday shirt

Sorry, JK. Just looked through the line-ups and days and think the first weekend has the second one beat by a long shot. But it also seems they continue to get farther and farther away from the real stuff...the real JazzFest music... cajun, blues, honky tonk, and jazz. Guess you have to play to the masses and get the “pop”. Bring in the dollars. Will be interested to hear your take on the music. Guess I’ll become one of those dis-enfranchised critics. - JR

1st Weekend- Fri Sat Sun
2nd Weekend- Thu Fri Sat Sun

Hey, JR, how are things in the Great NorthLeft?  Since I have always respected your taste in music, your pointed opinions about this year's schedule and the state of Jazz Fest in general bear notice.  Your point about 1st weekend versus 2nd may have some merit.  Let's look at the matchups, noting that weekend two has a four-day to three-day built-in advantage:

• Headliners- Beach Boys, Bon Iver, Tom Petty, Feist, Trombone Shorty, Springsteen, John Mayer vs. Eddie Vedder, Florence + the Machine, Zac Brown, Grace Potter, the Eagles, My Morning Jacket, Foo Fighters, Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt.  I suppose I would agree with you here.  The Beach Boys reunion would have some nostalgic/historical interest, though their performance at the Grammys was disappointing; I'd be very interested in Bon Iver because I haven't 'gotten' them/him yet; Tom Petty would be a solid set; Leslie Feist would be fantastic; Shorty is always great; I've become a bit bored by Springsteen (and he did nothing at the Grammys to change my opinion); we saw John Mayer (very good) a few years ago.  Overall, I'd give it a B.  So, compare those with Eddie Vedder acoustic (okay, but Pearl Jam was great a couple years ago); I'm a big fan of Florence + the Machine; I can take or leave Zak Brown; Grace Potter is worth a look; the Eagles could be very good (or possibly just old and boring); I have no interest in Foo Fighters or My Morning Jacket; the Nevilles are the Nevilles (and that's a good thing) and I love Bonnie.  I'd give it a C.  The big disappointment was not getting the Black Keys for either weekend (especially since Dan Auerbach just finished a new album produced by Dr. John).

• The New Orleans standard bearers- This group of Nola musicians perform almost every year, are always great, and there is an effort made to keep them fresh by mixing them with each other and with visiting musicians.  Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Eric Lindell, the Iguanas, Amanda Shaw, Theresa Andersson, Tab Benoit, Sonny Landreth, Marcia Ball, Terrence Blanchard, Galactic, etc. are tremendous.  It's a push (with an A), because you can't lose.

• Looking forward to see-  Texas Tornados (Doug Sahm's old band), Chuck Leavell w/ Bonnie Bramlett, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Janelle Monae vs. Esperanza Spaulding, Mavis Staples, Levon Helm, Steve Earle, Malone Brothers (potential for some great guests), Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings.  Although I'd love to see Carolina Chocolate Drops and Janelle Monae, I've got to give the edge to 2nd weekend here (LOVE Esperanza Spaulding). 

Which brings us to your issue with the state of the current New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the eternal cry of "you're selling out the old fans who made you." My less-than-humble perspective (despite this year being only my 8th Jazz Fest) is that the BIG FESTIVAL business is extremely competitive, and there is an absolute requirement to know your product and your customer.  Being one of the oldest festivals does not guarantee future success, and, when compared with Coachella, Bonnaroo (taken from the Dr. John album Desitively Bonnaroo), SXSW, it can be viewed as a negative by younger patrons.  What makes Jazz Fest unique is its setting, New Orleans- the music, the food, the culture.  Jazz Fest started out many years ago as a copycat of the Newport Jazz Festival.  When did it sell out?  When, after its infant years in the city proper, it tried to get bigger by luring people from outside Louisiana and moving to the Fair Grounds?  Screams of selling out were heard then. Around 2004, like it or not, Jazz Fest was in financial trouble and was forced to change or disappear.  National acts became an important part of the mix.  The purists were disgusted, the soul of the festival had been compromised.

Reality check: we don't live in a vacuum.  It's crazy to think that many of the outside acts that play Jazz Fest have not been influenced by the musical heritage of New Orleans, and, equally important, it's narrow-minded (and wrong) to think that the opposite has not occurred!  As for the scurge of 'pop'ular music infiltrating the Fest, there is bad, good, even great pop music, evidenced by New Orleans' own Fats Domino, Lee Dorsey, Dixie Cups, etc.  Somewhere in my old vinyl collection there is a frayed Sonny & Cher album cover with a picture of a young session piano player named Mac Rebennack on the back.  Hell, Dr. John lives in Connecticut for Christ sakes and Allen Toussaint spends great periods of time in NYC.  It can be a win-win.  I love hearing the reverence for New Orleans from the visiting artists; love having Trombone Shorty show up in a Kid Rock set or Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas drop in on Paul Simon.  And some the best shows I've seen were outsiders (example: the Ike Turner show in the Blues Tent).

But even if you hate the outsiders, where else but New Orleans can you stop in for the best stuffed chicken wings and Bloody Marys for pre-Fest lunch at Emeril's Nola (where, if you eat at the bar, I've heard you need not tip) or have a heart stopping Lucky Dog with ALL the fixings on Bourbon Street at 3am, or kick a couple of Pool Hall Studs' asses at pool, causing them to whine for the next five years (the very best)?  And where else can you annually avoid running into the lovely (well, maybe not REAL lovely) and talented Scarlett O'Hara and her watermelon hat, toast a few with the Mark, Lisa and their New Jersey crew, and have a great Monday night getaway dinner with our old pals, the Shoe Ladies (complete with Entourage).

The defense rests.

So Mitt Romney's wife tools around in a coupla Caddys ....

Honey, I just wonder what you do there in the back 

of your pink Cadillac?

I love you for your pink Cadillac
Crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back
Oozing down the street
Waving to the girls
Feeling out of sight
Spending all my money
On a Saturday night
Honey I just wonder what you do there in back
Of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac

Cadillac Man (The Jesters)
Cadillac Song (Reckless Red)
Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache (Robert Gordon)

Dion with the Del Satins at Joe's Pub in NYC...

It's Fat Tuesday y'all!...

Live From Daryl's House - Allen Stone...

Linsanity Sunday...

Chip's Unnamed Local Band Show

New episode airs TONIGHT at midnight on WCCT (your CW affiliate, channel 11 or 20 on your cable system) - featuring the Suicide Dolls, the Sawtelles and The Can Kickers!

Another disappointing UConn fan effort by Keith 'n Vinnie...

Why not a Vin Big Face?

These guys are just not getting the job done.  Blame Jeremy, Shabbbbbbazzzzz, Olex, etc. all you want, but the real reason for the Huskies' colossal collapse is the very poor performance up in the stands by KNV.  In an ill-advised move, Vin tried to rally the team, then down just four, during a timeout by shouting down to start singing RESPECT.  Respectful of the storied laxman alum, the players tried, but none of the Huskies could spell it right, so Ryan Boatright decided to talk some SHIT instead and wound up with a technical (which they also couldn't spell).  Game over.  With four games to go in the regular season, there is not much time left.  How about you STEP IT UP!

Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins...

Johnny GreatNorthLeft rants on The Answer:
(Exclusive email sent from resort condo while on holiday in Mexico) I luv reading these stories of these NBA cockheads who blow tons of money 'cause they ain't got no smarts to begin with. Why do we emulate them when all they can do is put a round ball in a round cylinder? Sorry, just needed to vent a little about the lost priorities in our world. OK, I feel better now! 

JK comment- I think it's because you can't put a square ball into a round cylinder, but I could be mistaken.  And it's nice to see you have not lost your compassion for your fellow man, JR. 

Dos Equis- The Most Interesting Man in the World:
"He's been entangled in love triangles, pentagons and hexagons."

Be my Valentine...

Valentine's Day playlist:
Chances Are (Johnny Mathis)
At Last (Etta James)
Love Make a Fool of Me (Al Anderson)
Girl In a T-Shirt (ZZ Top)
Love Slave (Leon Russell)
Love Is a Losing Game (Amy Winehouse)
Brown-eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
Paradise By the Dashboard Light (Meatloaf)
I Wanna Thank You, Baby (Delbert McClinton)
Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael)
Bring It On Home to Me (Sam Cooke)
Blessed (Lucinda Williams)
Lovely Rita, Meter Maid (The Beatles)
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Bob Dylan)
Howlin' For You (The Black Keys)
My Girl (Otis Redding)
Groovy Kind of Love (Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders)
Passionate Kisses (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
Baby, Let Me Take You Home (The Animals)
Is That You In the Blue? (Dex Romweber Duo)
I Feel the Same (Bonnie Raitt)


In a related love note, rumor has it that JR has gone vegan: