Tim's Triangle Tribune - November, 2016
Grand, Better Things and Carraway at The Monkey House November 26, 2016
I had a great time seeing music last night at The Monkey House. It’s the busy time at work, so getting out to see music will be a challenge for the next few weeks. I missed a show I really wanted to see last week due to a very early start time on Saturday morning. Yesterday I worked 7:30am to 4pm then went home and napped for a bit. I missed dinner with my cousins and friends and got myself up and running and was out the door by 8:30. I took the lovely walk to Winooski and arrived right at the 9pm start time. I got in and settled and soon enough, it was time for the show.
I’m usually really good about writing about the shows I see, but I do miss a few. Earlier this year Villanelles played four nights at Nectar’s one month and I wrote up three of them, but newer wrote about the last one. The band that opened last night was called Grand and they blew me away. Last night they opened the show and I had super high expectations and they totally blew me away again. They have a fast indie rock sound with great melodies and changes and the songs are fun to ride along with. They take all the songs in increasingly fun places and feature furious guitar work, sweet vocal harmonies and are really good about engaging the audience. They opened with I Can’t Feel A Thing and it rocked hard. Good Times is a fun party song that is perfect for any rocking occasion. The title song to their EP Another Day Closer To Nothing is infectious in a good way. They claimed that in Vermont, Everybody Wants To Get You High and certainly might be right. They slowed things down a little so the singer could sing about his feelings, then they kicked it into a blisteringly fast pace before easing off at the end. It may have been called Just Couldn’t Say and was kind of epic. The song about putting you down and I’m coming around was really good. They had the bass player begin the one about I’m going out and he set a nice, but not too fast, pace and the guitar and drums locked in with a beautiful fury. They wrapped the night with another fun rocker and left the stage by saying “we were Grand. Thank you”. They really were. If you like rock and roll and you ever get a chance to see them, go!
Better Things followed with a huge rock sound. All of their songs have a beautiful complexity that are a challenge to follow along with. They never play a lot of songs but each one is a masterpiece of sonic power. Songs ranged from the super-intense Getting Laid In New Hampshire to the slow searing Ex-Files which builds and builds and rocks beautifully. Their set was full of majestic melodic sledgehammer indie rock and I loved every note.
I had seen Carraway once a long time ago and really liked them. I’ve recently gotten their new single and played it a couple of times on my radio show. They released the full album on Friday and last night was the release show. They have an indie rock sound with nice melodies and songs that are lovely to listen to. They opened with the a song from their first EP called Time To Save The World and it sounded great. They lit into the new album, The Bad Year, with the first two songs. Anchor and Lion Tamer both rocked hard and sounded great. They played the fun A Company Man and the endearing I’ve Come To Love. They slowed things down with an acoustic guitar and a bluesy sound for the creepy Cereal then kicked back into the full rock sound for a song that did not make the first EP or the new album, and might not make the next one, but was fun live. They played a song that got the audience singing along then played the super-catchy Last Night. I thought they were going to end the set with the easy to relate to epic The Bad Year but they tossed in a blistering rocker to close the night. Their 14 song set was everything I hoped it would be and I loved every moment.
I headed out pretty soon after the show was done and took the long happy walk home.
Cricket Blue at Light Club Lamp Shop November 19, 2016
I had a great time seeing music last night at Light Club Lamp Shop. I arrived a little early and caught a couple of songs by Bird Full Of Trees featuring singer/songwriter Kenna Donovan, Paul Boffa on guitar and vocals, and Zach Harmon on percussion and vocals. I missed most of their show, but the closing version of Fever was pretty cool.
I chatted with James Lockridge for a bit and right before showtime I said hi to Jeremy Gilchrist.
Shortly after 9pm It was time for Cricket Blue. They are a duo made of Laura Heaberlin and Taylor Smith. They both sing and play acoustic guitar and weave their voices and melodies into a magical stream. The songs are less verse chorus and more like a classic poem incarnating before your ears and eyes. They opened with Elanor and followed with a rocking version of Angela Carter. They played a song about the milkman and said there would be a video for it coming soon. They played a song in two pieces, one written by each of the two, that nicely echoed each other. Oh My Rose from the first EP was gorgeous. The song about Elliot was fun to follow along. Kentucky started with a nice flow, has that easy to sing part, kicks the pace into full gear for a bit before dropping back to the lovely “let all that is old be made new” section. Trouble Come No More followed and its gentle beauty filled the room of enchanted listeners. They introduced the magnificent Forsythia as an unrequited love song that takes place in a garden. They closed the night with the long song that sweeps through many sections. It’s a song about the mythical corn king, also known as John Barleycorn. It’s a song about a man who dies in fire and his ashes are returned to mother earth so she can come alive again and sustain life. It was pretty magical.
I did not stay long after they were done and took the short walk home. It had been a lovely warm day and Cricket only made it better.
Radio Show 184 Thursday November 17, 2016 9-11pm Eastern US Time 107.1 FM and WBKM.ORG
Tonight’s local music radio show on WBKM 107.1FM can be heard over the air on both sides of the Champlain Valley or streamed from the Facebook page link above. It will run from 9-11pm US Eastern time and will go as follows.
Song before: First We Take Manhattan (live) – Leonard Cohen
Intro
From our small city to the great big world, these are the Sounds Of Burlington. I want thank Higher Ground for sponsoring our station. They’ve got a huge show with Kat Wright releasing her new album By My Side tomorrow. I want to begin tonight with the many reports of bullying and swastika painting and acts of intimidation that have been happening since the election. We need to investigate every incident and call people out on their mean language and horrible actions. It’s time to look at ourselves as a country and encourage our good nature and step past the darker elements in our soul. It’s time to acknowledge that we’ve got problems.
1.) You’ve Got Problems – Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band 2.) Bird On The Sea – The New Siberians 3.) Are We Mad? – David Rosane & The Zookeepers 4.) Children Of The Stars – Madaila
We are going to have to remember that we are all in this together and do our part to add positive actions to our community. After all, we all live under the same stars. David Rosane has written some great post election analysis of what’s going on and what can be. He also writes great songs. The Siberians sing about love saving us and we will need to keep that in mind. Great new song from Kat and the band. The story of how that came together is pretty great. OK, here comes the last song from Song For My Double. I’ll be off next week for Thanksgiving and in December I will start a new album to play all the way through, song after song, week after week, until it is done.
5.) No One – Invisible Homes 6.) Shy Spiders – Villanelles 7.) 2000 – The Pants 8.) Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye (live) – Leonard Cohen
A lot of local musicians have been saddened by the death of Leonard. He will be sorely missed but the staggering body of work that he left us can come alive every time someone plays one of his songs or reads one of his poems. There was a beautiful gathering of local artists on Monday at Light Club Lamp Shop and that can happen whenever we want to make it happen again. Kirk Flanagan did a great version of Hey at that show, and he also played one Leon Russel song. Pants were a classic band from Burlington’s ’90’s. Spiders is a modern classic. Great song, and album, from Homes. Here’s another Burlington classic.
9.) You Don’t Like Me, Do Ya – Pinhead 10.) Wally Rides The Ferry – Zoot Wilson 11.) Destiny Waits – Bud & Budd ~ The Kind Buds 12.) New Atlantis – Aaron Flinn
Great song by Aaron. He played a couple of Cohen songs on Monday. Bud Johnson and Budd are so kind and great performers. Zoot used to rock out town in the ’80’s and Pinhead played back then too. Those songs have been around for a while but this next one is brand new.
13.) Waiting – Mr. Doubtfire 14.) The Interrogator (Enhanced) – Milton Busker 15.) Lean In – When Particles Collide 16.) Blue Light Shine – Gabrielle Douglas and the Dwellers
We will all have to shine our loving lights a lot in the next four years. Particles are out and about fighting sexism and rocking our world. Hopefully, Milton’s song will not be as on the mark as it seems like it might be. Great new song from Doubtfire. This next band are at The Monkey House tomorrow. Let’s take a walk around town with Diane Sullivan and Becky.
17.) Yayo – Dirty Blondes 18.) Hold Me Tight – The Decentz 19.) Diamond Days – The Lavas 20.) Undecided – Rocketsled
Rocketsled will get the band back together next January. I loved that one Lavas album. The Decentz played back in the early ’80’s. OK, let’s keep rocking.
21.) Comm To Space – ROUGH FRANCIS 22.) Can’t Feel It – Vetica 23.) That’s When I Reach For My Revolver – Ninja Custodian 24.) Little French Earthquakes – Phil Yates & The Affiliates
Phil was at the Cohen show too. I love that song by him and the band. Ninja played in the late ’80’s and early ’90’s and always rocked the house with that one. I love that Vetica song. Such a classic from Francis. Here’s another classic from the ’90’s.
25.) Poem For Torin (Ethan’s Stoned) – Peg Tassey MUSIC 26.) Great Escape – Jeremy Gilchrist – Singer-Songwriter 27.) My Hero, The Enemy – Gregory Douglass
Great song from Gregory. Jeremy Gilchrist played at the Cohen show and Peg Tassey was there too, but just to listen. I hope you enjoyed checking out the music of our town. I’m off next week but will be back to do it again soon.
Outro
Songs after: Arc Of the Curve – Fish Epic/Pointless Endeavors – John Wesley Strontium Burning – TILT Alone – Children in Paradise Dance Me To The End Of Love (live) – Leonard Cohen New York My Lovely – Joshua Glass Music
Local musicians playing the songs of Leonard Cohen at Light Club Lamp Shop November 14, 2016
I had a great time seeing music last night at Light Club Lamp Shop. The death of Leonard Cohen has saddened many people, so we did the only thing we could do, we got together and celebrated the music that he left to us. Some of us just stood and listened but most of the people in the room sang some of his songs.
The show was set to start at 10 and I arrived right on time. It took a couple of minutes to get going then Marcie Hernandez took the stage. She was joined by a poet who’s name I missed, but looking at the list of artists I think it was Mary Angelina. She read one of Leonard’s songs as a poem. Even without music Democracy was very powerful. Marcie took over and played lovely renditions of Going Home, Closing Time and If It Be Your Will.
Aaron Flinn took the stage next and played powerful versions of Dance Me To The End Of Love and Everybody Knows. His guitar playing was great as always, though a little less flashy than sometimes, and his deep warm voice brought the words and melodies straight into our hearts.
Kirk Flanagan took the stage next. I did not catch the name of the first song that he played, but it was short and beautiful. (per Kirk “First song was Leon Russell’s A Song For You”) Lady Midnight followed and was equally heartfelt. He closed the three song set with a gorgeous version of the overly appropriate Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye.
Charlie Messing took the stage next and borrowed Joe Adler’s card deck guitar. Charlie sung in E minor and sounded frighteningly close to Leonard. His versions of Waiting For The Miracle and The Darkness were spot on.
Before the next performer, from the side of the stage, Lee Anderson read some of Leonard’s words.
Joe Adler and Johnnie Day Durand took the stage next and were joined by Samara Lark Brown. With acoustic guitar musical saw and Sam’s lovely voice, Hallelujah was mournful and majestic. The audience sang along and the emotion in the room was almost visible. Sam left the stage and Joe took the mic and Amen was quietly stunning. They wrapped up the set with Johnnie’s request for Treaty, and it sounded great.
Before the next performer, from the side of the stage, Lee Anderson read some of Leonard’s words.
Everyone had been playing acoustic up to that point and the Lamp Shop space was such a perfect setting. It was like seeing a ton of great performances in your living room. Ryan Miller took the stage next and shook things up a little. He plugged in an electric guitar and used a mini keyboard to trigger a beat and rocked out Chelsea Hotel #2. It added a little extra zip to the show and was lots of fun. He played Bird On The Wire on the keys and sounded great.
Lee Anderson took the stage next and read an extended piece about Edith that was heavily censored many years ago when Leonard released it. His reading brought us listeners along word for word and was enchanting.
The Leatherbound Books took the stage next. They are a duo with a singer/electric guitar player, maybe Eric Daniels, and Jackie Buttolph singing as well. They sounded lovely on Nancy and Tonight will be fine.
If Charlie’s performance sounded the closest to Leonard, Phil Yates set sounded the most like his own songs with Leonard’s words and structure. Don’t Go Home With Your Hard On and Is This What You Wanted were fun songs and sounded just a little different from everything else that evening.
Willoughby Morse was up next and played his electric guitar a little softer than most of the acoustic guitars. Suzanne was very powerful and quiet. Last Year’s Man sounded great as well.
Jeremy Gilchrist – Singer-Songwriter followed with a quiet intensity. Anthem was lovely and Famous Blue Raincoats was just stunning.
Matt Nunan played a lovely version of The Story Of Issac in and E minor sort of way.
Michael Jermyn played a great version of Tower Of Song and closed the night with one I did not know. It was something about I used to be Aristotle I used to be Brian Jones.
Lee Anderson gave a short benediction then it was time for the quiet walk home. Leonard may be gone, but his words and songs will live forever, or as long as lovely people, like the ones above, keep playing them. We can rejoice in the treasures that he left us any time that we want.
Joe Moore Band, Seth Yacovone plays Dylan as The Jokerman at the WBKM birthday party at Nectar’s November 11, 2016
I had a great time seeing music last Friday at Nectar’s After seeing Tommy the night before and working a long day, I was dragging. I really did not want to go out but it was the WBKM birthday party so I felt I should represent. I got moving around 8:30 and arrived at the club just about 9.
Seth had just wrapped up his solo set so I hung out and chatted with a few cool people. Around 9:30 Joe Moore and his band took the stage. They played some funky blues for an hour or so. Joe played a variety of pipes and gizmos on the first song and played three different size saxophones over the course of the set. The bass and drum players were solid and the guitar player was exceptional. Joe sang a few of the songs and had a great voice and stage presence. They played songs like Hey Hey The Blues Is All Right, something about who’s making love to your old lady and they filled the dance floor with the closing Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). It was a rocking fun time.
Up next Seth Yacovone was joined by Todd Gevry on drums, Ian Friedman on keys and Ralph Eames on bass. Collectively known as The Jokerman they played a set of Bob Dylan songs. I did not know the first song but it was pretty cool and sounded familiar. Positively 4th Street followed and was lots of fun. A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna-Fall had a great blues rock sound. Not Dark Yet had a chilling connotation to it and was well played. The next song may have been Idiot Wind, but my knowledge of Bob’s music is a bit lacking and his catalog is pretty deep. Isis rocked pretty hard and was fun. I think the next one might have been Things Have Changed. It was late, around midnight, and I had to work early in the morning. I stuck around for Just Like A Woman then just had to leave. I heard they were going to do a killer All Along The Watchtower but even that promise was not enough to keep my tired body in the room.
The walk home was lovely and work the next day was reasonably successful. I wish I had the energy to stay until the end but am glad I caught what I did.
Tommy performed by Lyric Theater at The Flynn Center For The Performing Arts November 10, 2016
I had a great time seeing music Thursday night at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. I’ve always loved the music of The Who and Tommy has always been one of my favorites. The album is great, the movie is weird and fun, and I was excited to see what the stage production would be like.
It was a long day of putting together and performing a radio show and doing a show write-up and doing the radio show write-up. Around 6 I drove to Shelburne, picked up my brother Ken and headed back to Burlington.
We got into the Flynn and settled and did not have to wait for long until it was showtime. The band were at the back of the stage and were playing live, even if curtains were lowered to hide them and put the focus on the play. There was very little dialog, most of the story was told through the songs and the props and background visuals. The story moved quickly and was easy to follow. There were a couple of new songs that helped the story flow on stage. The ending was slightly different but ultimately satisfying. The band sounded great and there was some nice distorted guitar work that gave the show some muscle. I’m so proud of Lyric Theater. They made the whole show come alive and the vibe in the room was all about excitement. The audience stayed mostly tame, but you could feel the energy. People were really getting into it when they closed the first act with Pinball Wizard. By the end of the final act, when the full cast was on stage singing “Listening to you I get the music Gazing at you I get the heat Following you I climb the mountain I get excitement at your feet” one person started clapping along and that unleashed a wave of energy. Most of us joined in until the music mellowed out into the close of the show.
It was a fun night and a great show and I’m so glad I got to go with my brother.
Election night 2016 at Nectar’s
I had an increasingly terrible time seeing music last Tuesday at Nectar’s. It was a slow day at work, for some reason, and I got out a little early. I got home and settled and started watching TV. The 7pm returns came in and looked like they usually did and indicated the night would not be the sweep I was hoping for. It didn’t matter, winning enough would be fine. I anxiously walked down to the club and got in and settled and watched some of the returns.
Soon enough, it was time for some music. Patrick Longley picked up an electric guitar and played a ripping version of The Star Spangled Banner. He left the stage and James Kochalka and his stunning band started in with a little Twinkle Twinkle Ringo Star. They played songs about God and Magic Fingers and Washing Your Ass. James was the usual over the top front man and is always entertaining. They rocked out Old North Ender, played the first version of Pump The Keg, then asked what’s the deal with the Triangle. He implored us to not break his heart and to Pump The Keg again. They played songs about Monkeys and Scientists and Astronauts then closed the powerhouse set with Fascist Bikes. They always put on a stunning show.
I wandered into the next room to watch the election returns and was a little surprised at some of the states that had not been called.
A loud sound from the other room signaled that Crazyhearse had begun. They played a set of slow and searing songs. Some ventured towards country and some let the searing sound explode into full on rock and roll. I really liked the whole set but when they played songs like Demon Moon and Windigo, I was in heaven. After seeing them, my friend Christopher Larrow said you are right. Why go see big shows when bands like that are playing around town.
I went to the other room and watched the returns and was surprised about the long list of states that were listed as too close to call. A little bit of worry settled in.
I looked in the other room and Dino Bravo VT were about to go on so I headed in. They rocked super hard and opened with an epic instrumental and dropped it into Sugar Coated Candy Stix. They played super fun songs like Pop Music and Two Car Garage. They played A Song About The Ocean and gave it an epic twin guitar solo crashing ending. I love that song, but Tuesday night’s version was fantastically over the top. A rocking version of Past The Mark followed and they closed the set with 20th Century Boy. It was glorious.
I walked into the other room and the list of too close to call states started to dwindle, and not in a good way.
Aspero Saicos set up in front of the stage, which looked a bit odd with drummer Bobby Hackney Jr. still being at the back of the stage, but looks were irrelevant. The band played some cool sixties sounding pop punk songs. One or two had a surf noir sound and a couple flat out rocked. All of the songs were compelling and I loved every moment of their show.
I walked into the other room and watched the map turn increasingly red. It was far from a done deal but there was little to get excited about.
I took my final walk into the stage room as Patrick got up and played the National Anthem again. The Dirty Blondes hit the stage hard and rocked us out of out glumness. They opened fast and heavy with Burn then implored us not to be Cry Babies. Drunk seemed quite appropriate then they played a furious Jacking Off. We all danced to the Kung Pao then they explained the night with Too Drunk To Vote. Slut rocked hard then they eased up with the gorgeous Oh Dirty Blondes. They got a little spiritual with Hallelujah then celebrated one of the finest drummers in the land, Ornan. They must have been a little low energy by the end of that one so they went looking for Yayo. They capped the night with the super fun That New Guy Is Not James Bond.
I ducked out fairly quickly and took the heavy walk home. I stayed up until 3. and with the race still not called, went to bed. I woke up at 6 to find the expected news. One thing is for sure. Even if life does not always go your way, you can find some terrific rock and roll all over the lovely city of Burlington Vermont.
I forgot my camera so thanks to Chris for these two pictures.
Radio Show 183 Thursday November 10, 2016 9-11pm Eastern US Time 107.1 FM and WBKM.ORG
I’m heading to the Flynn tonight with my brother to see Lyric Theater do Tommy so I had to record tonight’s local music radio show earlier today. It will broadcast on 107.1FM on both sides of the Champlain Valley. You can also stream it from the WBKM Facebook page. It will run from 9-11pm US Eastern Time tonight, November 10, 2016. It will go as follows:
Song before: Anytime – jane siberry
Intro
From our small city to the great big world, these are the Sounds of Burlington. I want to begin by thanking Higher Ground for sponsoring our station. They have lots of cool shows happening this week. Well, election night has come and gone and many of us are worried about the results. It was nice to sit down and read so many comments on Facebook today. There are a lot of wonderful smart caring compassionate people in our community who can express positive hopes and dreams of working and being together even though we are worried and uncertain. Your staggering optimism buoys me. Let’s begin with a song about looking towards the positive things in life.
1.) The Light – Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band 2.) If You Get Lost – SWALE 3.) Fades To Grey – Aram Bedrosian 4.) Brothers And Sisters – Joe Adler
That is such a huge and gorgeous song. I wanted to play it because we can all use a huge amount of beauty in our world. I want to send that out to my brother Ken. That’s a new song from the staggeringly talented Aram. I played Lost for the same reason I played Brothers. Such a great new song from Kat Wright featuring some fantastic guitar work from Bob Wagner. Here is the next song from Song For My Double.
5.) One On The Skyline – Invisible Homes 6.) Not I – Andriana Chobot 7.) Amazing Journey/Sparks (live at Leeds) – The Who 8.) See Me Feel Me/Listening To You – The Who
Lyric Theater is doing Tommy this weekend so I wanted to play a couple of the lovely Who songs. With Andriana and Marie Claire Johnson in the band, it’s going to be great. Cool song from Homes. Here is a song from when Marie sang and played rock guitar.
9.) Trading Bullets – Fire The Cannons 10.) Two Weeks (’til The End Of The World) – Grand 11.) There’s A Problem – Mr. Doubtfire 12.) Monsters Are Due – Doom Service
Doom and Doubt are playing Saturday at The Monkey House where Doubt will release their new EP. Doubt are also playing tonight at Jim’s Basement with Grand. FTC were so great. I went out to Nectar’s to watch the election results Tuesday and saw all of these bands.
13.) Windigo – Crazyhearse 14.) Old North Ender – James Kochalka 15.) Chuck Berry – Dino Bravo VT 16.) Ornan – Dirty Blondes
Everyone played great sets and rocked hard at the show. Most of those songs were played. Last weekend was the Radio Bean birthday and I saw these bands and many more.
17.) Flight Of The Alligator – Cave Bees 18.) Waiting For You – Swale 19.) Lowdown – Vedora 20.) Old Man – Silver Bridget
Bridget sounded so sweet. Vedora did not play but Caroline Marie fronts them and her solo set sounded kind of like that. Swale and Bees played those songs. Speaking of Birthdays, tomorrow is our birthday at WBKM.ORG and we are throwing a party at Nectar’s. We will have The Joe Moore band, Castle Creek, and Seth Yacovone will play a set of Dylan songs with the band calling themselves The Jokerman. Since many local artists play this song, I think it’s appropriate to play.
21.) One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below) – Bob Dylan 22.) Cowgirl In The Sand – Seth Yacovne and friends calling themselves Real Old & Insane Doneky
That was from a previous WBKM birthday party. Seth always rocks so it’s going to be a good time. This next song has been on my mind lately.
23.) Last American Right – The Cush 24.) Last Night – Carraway 25.) Children Of The Stars – Madaila
I’ve been listening to their new album Traces and loving that song. I’m pretty pleased with that new Carraway song too. Hmmm, the Cush. Well, I hope you enjoyed checking out the music of our town. Let’s do it again next week, shall we? Farewell.
26.) Sayonara – Black Rabbit Outro
Songs after: The Gathering – Fish No Superman – TILT Who Are These Gods? – Dam Kat Presence – Satori Bob I Lost My Marbles – Joshua Glass Music
Radio Bean Birthday Party November 5, 2016
I had a great time seeing music at Radio Bean and Light Club Lamp Shop last Saturday. For their birthday each year the Bean always throws a huge party with tons of bands. The show goes from 8am to 2am with almost every band in town. I usually stop in early, then go to work, then come back in the evening. Last year I took the day off and stopped in several times. This year my work schedule changed and I open on Saturdays and did not think I could be at work at 8:20 after stopping in.
It was a long tricky work day. I got out at 5, stopped quickly at home and arrived at the Bean at 5:30. Joe Adler & The Rangers Of Danger had just finished a Pj Harvey song as I got in and settled. Joe Adler was joined by Dalton Muzzy, Caroline O’Connor, Eric “Regal Segal” Segalstad, AaYa Segalstad. It was a nice version of the Rangers, who always seem to be a slightly different band. I did not know the two songs they played. The one about the wicked witch and the Dead Sea Scrolls sounded familiar and was nicely rocked out. The closer about I’ll go soon featured a hyper distorted frenzied guitar workout from Eric and I was in a happy place
Note from Joe Adler & The Rangers Of Danger “Always a pleasure to see you in the audience Tim! Glad you made it. The second song was an original called Fight or Flight, the final song was a Radiohead deep cut called How Can You Be Sure.”
It was a quick changeover then Brett Hughes and the Honky Tonk played some old school country songs. He played guitar and was joined by a bass player I did not know, Jeremy Frederick on drums, a pedal steel player I did not know and Marie Claire Johnson on vocals. Brett sang most of the songs though Marie took lead on the second one. It’s been far too long since I have heard her sing and she always sounds great. They played three songs, mostly about whiskey, then called it a night. It’s not my favorite genre but they played it so well that I had a great time.
SWALE were up next and came out rocking. I did not know the opening song with the lyric “sound the alarm” that Tyler Bolles sang (Lawn Fire by The Pants per Tyler), but it was pretty cool. The band rocked hard on Jack Sharp then eased off with the lovely Waiting For You. Since they had learned the Paranoid album for a show they played last week, they ended the set with a blistering Fairies Wear Boots. It was great.
Another quick changeover resulted in Cave Bees taking the stage. They rocked as loud and hard and as fast as always. They opened with Sweet Pussy then played the newer song Juliet. Another newer one that I don’t know the title of kept things rocking hard. The song about being saved by rock and roll, I think it might be called Queen City, was brilliant. They closed the set with Flight Of The Alligator and the whole room was rocked.
I was not sure who was on left, so I looked at the schedule then immediately ran to the Lamp Shop. Caroline Marie was on stage playing Ritual as I settled in. She created the usual loops with voice and guitar then picked up the sax and blew through the lovely end section. For the next song she set up a backing track with herself on bass and Jane Boxall Percussion on drums and played guitar and sang the gorgeous song Fly. I was elated for every note and that song ended the set.
The next band looked familiar so I did not move. Silver Bridget have a beautiful sound, rock a bit, and play some familiar songs. They feature John Townsend on acoustic guitar and kick drum, Matt Saraca on electric guitar and Johnnie Day Durand on the musical saw. They played great versions of Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon, Love Me Tender, and caught the full room by surprise when they pulled out Creep. It was short, but magnificent set.
I popped back over to the Bean and saw one song from Tom Banjo and his Cranky Show. He seems pretty happy and optimistic and it was his visual aid that is cranky. He has a box with a scroll of thin paper with lots of images and a strong light behind it. Lee Anderson stood behind the machine and turned the cranks to load in each image as Tom told a story of a cat getting into lots of adventures, but always coming back. It was fun.
I popped back to the Lamp Shop and Osage Orange were on. They are a trio with a low-fi indie sound and have something compelling about their songs. One song may have said something about they could not stop us from dreaming. They finished with a new song about an arms dealer who falls in love with an herbalist. The constant refrain of I Would Sell My Guns For You was pretty cool.
I caught a couple of songs from Brian Parmalee. He played keys and set up loops and played bass and sang. It was a nice lush sounding set and I think the last song was called Fetch.
I headed back to the jam packed Bean and found a place to stand in the back and got into the swing of Steady Betty‘s set. Kat Wright and Miriam Bernardo sounded fantastic as always on the lead vocals. Caroline played bass, so I got to see her in thee bands, which is always cool. They opened with Cupid then played the one about anything to stay boy. Linda Bassick took lead vocals for her song about change is coming. Joy In The Morning followed and was divine. They closed with the song about still being in love with you boy. Everyone in the room was dancing and having fun.
At that point the length of the day caught up with me. I headed out and had a lovely walk home. I only saw 10 of the 80 bands who played but had a great time while I was there.
Bob Wagner And Friends, Sue Minter, Peter Welch, Pat Leahy and Al Franken at Nectar’s November 2, 2016
I had a great time seeing music last Wednesday at Nectar’s. Wednesday is my Saturday so having a show run from 3-5 in the afternoon was just perfect. It was a warm and sunny day and the walk downtown was lovely. I arrived just about 3 and lots of people were milling about and talking politics. I found a seat in the window until the band got set up to play. Billed as Bob Wagner and friends the band was filled out by Josh Weinstein on bass, Steve Hadeka on drums, Mike from Sad Turtle on keys and Walker on electric guitar. Bob played some stunning electric guitar and sang. Since the special guest of the day made a video about the event and said the band would be the Beatles, they opened with a rocking version of One After 909. They followed with a bunch of classic songs that I feel like I should have known but couldn’t quite place. I loved them all and had fun rocking out as the room slowly filled behind me. The second song was Ophelia. The third was something about you’re the only one, what cha trying to do. The fourth was a familiar sounding instrumental. The fifth may have been something to the effect of from time to time and your destruction. The sixth was a fun bluesish rocker. Throughout the whole show the band was ridiculously tight with a super insistent bass, steady drumming with fun fills, and lots of keyboard swirls. Walker and Bob played some leads and both were just great. A seventh song about standing strong on your love was lovely, then they left the stage as the politicians entered the room and encouraged people to vote.
The mass exodus was not ideal for the band and there was a long break that followed. I debated leaving but hung out for a bit and they came back to the stage. They played a stunning version of Crosseyed And Painless and the few people still in the room were thrilled. They played another that I did not know, but thoroughly enjoyed, and it was something about I always wanted you to love me. They capped the afternoon with a super long epic version of Reeling In The Years and Bob’s guitar work was out of this world.
I headed out pretty quickly and stopped at Drifter’s for a light dinner. It was a lovely way to spend a day in Burlington.
Radio Show 182 Thursday November 3, 2016 9-11pm Eastern US Time 107.1 FM and WBKM.ORG
Tonight’s local music radio show on 107.1FM WBKM can be heard from the Facebook link, will run from 9-11pm US Eastern time tonight, and will go as follows:
Song before: It Ain’t Easy – David Bowie
Intro
From our small city to the great big world, these are the Sounds Of Burlington. I want to thank Higher Ground for sponsoring us at the station. They have a packed week of great bands. I just got a copy of the new album by Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band called By My Side. It’s really good so let’s dive right into it.
1.) Come Dance – Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band 2.) This Land Is Your Land – VT artists 3.) We Shall Overcome – Bernie Sanders and 30 Vt Musicians
That was recorded in the 1980’s but still sounds so relevant today. With the upcoming election, if we can’t vote for Bernie, we can still follow his advice. Please vote and please don’t vote for the clown. OK, it’s time for the next song on the Invisible Homes album Song For My Double that I’m playing all the way through week after week until it’s done.
4.) The Clown – Invisible Homes 5.) Who’s Your Fool? – Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band 6.) Grounded – Invisible Jet 7.) Jazzmaster – Made by Robots
I caught Robots over the summer at Jazzfest and really liked them and have been wanting to play some of their music. Jet were a classic band from Burlington’s illustrious ’90’s. Another great new Kat song. OK, so today is my Mom’s birthday. I spent some time this morning with her and my brother. She really likes this classic Vermont singer, so this one goes out to you Mom.
8.) The Power Of The Word – Jon Gailmor 9.) 15 Steps – Maryse Smith 10.) Threaded – Jeremy Gilchrist – Singer-Songwriter 11.) Monarch Butterfly – Jenny Montana
Jenny used to play that song in the 2000’s though I have not heard from her in a while. It’s such a fun song. Jeremy Gilchrist is raising money to make his new album Threaded. If you like that song, please consider supporting him by pre-purchasing it. Maryse still comes back to play now and then and Jon is a local legend. This next band release their new album Traces tomorrow (I knew it was soon when I recorded the show but did not realize it’s out tomorrow).
12.) 1 – Madaila 13.) Nature – Madaila 14.) You Got Problems – Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band 15.) I Do – Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band 16.) Woods – Madaila
Those were the opening closing songs from Madaila’s Traces album and two more great new Kat songs. Yesterday, I went to Nectar’s and saw Sue Minter, Peter Welch, Pat Leahy, and Al Franken. Al was very serious and very funny and really wants us to go out and vote. Before and after the speeches was a tremendous show of music from Bob Wagner and friends. Here is a song from Bob’s other non indomitable band to give you a hint about what they sounded like yesterday.
17.) Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad? – Book ‘Em Blues Band 18.) The Light – Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band
Another great new Kat Wright song. Yes, Bob really is that great of a guitar player. Tuesday is election day and there is a show at Nectar’s that night so everyone can go out and party and not have to be alone, whichever way it works out. Here are a few of the bans that will be here.
19.) The Magic Robot – James Kochalka 20.) Hermaphroditus – Rue M. 21.) A Bottle Of Whiskey Later – Crazyhearse 22.) Oh Dirty Blondes – Dirty Blondes
If you are looking for music next Tuesday check out The Dirty Blondes Present: Exit Poll 2016 at Nectar’s. With those fun bands, and more, it’s going to be a great show. This next song has been running through my head all week. I hope you enjoy it.
23.) Black, Blue and White – The New Siberians 24.) Random Earth – Elephants of Scotland 25.) Sleepwalker – 1881
That song has been running through my head a lot lately too. Great song from Elephants. Our Earth is not random, it’s the only one we’ve got, so let’s do all that we can to take care of it, and us by default. I hope you enjoyed checking out the music of our town. Let’s do it again next week, shall we? See ya, ta ta, farewell….
26.) Sayonara – Black Rabbit Outro
Songs after: 13th Star – Fish Who Are These Gods? – Dam Kat Hand Of Doom – Black Sabbath Sat In Your Lap – Kate Bush Cascade – Andriana Chobot What’s In California? – Joshua Glass Music
Swale as Black Swaleth at Light Club Lamp Shop October 29, 2016
I had a great time seeing music Saturday night at Light Club Lamp Shop. I got out of work at 5 and hung out at home for a while. The show was set to start around 9:30 and by quarter of 9 I was bored and headed out the door. I quickly arrived at the club, grabbed a seat and a drink and watched as the band steadily got the show together. When they were almost set they played a rocking version of Jack Sharp to make sure the sound was right then wandered out the door. It was not long until they returned to the shop in full costume. Eric Olsen looked great as Tony Iommi, Tyler Bolles had Geezer Butler down, Jeremy Frederick had the Bill Ward scowl and Amanda Gustafson was dressed in a brown leather jacket and had all of Ozzy’s moves.
SWALE were set to play the Paranoid album all the way through, and it’s pretty common for them to play War Pigs around Halloween each year, so their tremendous version of it was no surprise. They rocked the title song hard then things got weird. Planet Caravan mellowed the full room into a drifty trance as Amanda used some cool effects to shift her voice in an eerie way. The opening chords of Iron Man elicited a fun recognition from the room and the band rocked it hard. The not so cheery tale of the end of the world in Electric Funeral was dark and bleak and beautifully played. The real treasure of the night was Hand Of Doom. It started mellow then went through a bunch of cool changes and rocked hard and deep in the middle. The psychedelic doom and gloom was in full force until it eased off at the end. Amanda left the stage for the instrumental Rat Salad. Eric had a cool shimmering effect on the guitar strings at the beginning of the song and Jeremy played a short but cool drum solo toward the end. Amanda returned to the stage for the story of the wasted person who swore that Faeries Wear Boots. Since that is the last song on the album I thought they would be done but they encored with the War Pigs/Runaway mashup they sometimes do. It would have been cool if they let it run a bit longer but they were out of time and the room was steadily filling with costumed partygoers who wanted to dance to the DJ who was on next. I quickly ducked out the door and took the heavy and happy walk home.
