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Frank De Blase on September 1st, 2010
Velvet Elvis' music manages to get max traction in a bluesy, stoner sludge. Slow grooves and volume work a heavy trip, yet the tunes still soar thanks to the band's punk roots, energy, and aesthetic. It's a cool combo of classic sounds that the band clearly acknowledges - The Stooges,
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on September 1st, 2010
The last time hardcore troubadour Dave Alvin blew through town, Chris Gaffney was in his band, The Guilty Men. Gaffney died in April 2008, leaving a void that Alvin filled up with "Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney" in 2009. At the same time "Dave Alvin and
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on September 1st, 2010
The Pheromones play indie rock with a throbbing dirge and a wonderfully atmospheric sustain. Hook-heavy and just plain heavy in spots, the band's clever and consistent use of minor keys leaves happy and sad to battle it out for domination. It's thoughtful and seductive and honest, pulling the listener into
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Frank De Blase on August 25th, 2010
Mikey Jukebox (a.k.a. Mikey James, a.k.a. Mikey Lapiana) does it all. He writes all the music, plays all the instruments, and takes all the heat for being an uncompromising musician with a singular focus and vision. From playing drums in bars when he was knee-high to a longneck, to touring
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on August 25th, 2010
Chris Beard obviously took his time on this one. "Who I Am and What I Do" is the blues guitarist's third CD, and first for Electro Glide Records. Those who have seen Beard before have been blinded by his fleet-fingered flash and been knocked out with his speed and heat.
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on August 25th, 2010
Sort of how the strongest survive in the mosh-pit cauldron, this endless bill of young and furious post-emo, proto-punk bands may be more like gladiator elimination day in ancient Rome. I mean seriously, there's something like 25 band on this bill. All of them are established in the scene, with
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on August 25th, 2010
You really don't have to twist my arm to get me to check out a live show. But just in case you want to, keywords like "gypsy jazz," "swing," and "belly dancers" will add torque to your twist. Portland, Oregon's Underscore has all those things, plus a dose of Balkan
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on August 25th, 2010
Merle Haggard is playing first on this double-bill so that you don't have to endure Brooks and Dunn's set. That may ruffle a few hats, but the band is plastic and shallow, especially when held up to the actual Okie from Muskogee. The 73-year-old Haggard has just released "I Am
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on August 18th, 2010
Songwriting powerhouse Walt Wilkins did his time in Nashville, writing songs for others for 10 years before heading back for Texas and out of the grasp of the star-maker machine. Wilkins' music is honest and honestly ragged. You can hear the dust in the air around the various musicians as
Choice Concerts
Frank De Blase on August 18th, 2010
When I first went to Australia three years ago seeking the approval of my future in-laws, I was knocked out by the radio; DJs were considerably more profane and the rock 'n' roll was fresh, exciting, and in the case of hard rock quartet Airbourne, equally profane. Airbourne is shirts-off,
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Frank De Blase on August 30th, 2010
Carolyn Mark's body language indicated a full band in her head, even though it was just her and a fiddle player set up by the Abilene jukebox Thursday night. Mark is half of The Corn Sisters, a countrified duo whose other half is wailin' alt-country siren Neko Case. In a
Music Blog
Frank De Blase on August 23rd, 2010
When an artist splits from a group, or a group disbands (as bands will do), the artist often has to work harder, especially when trying to stake his or her own claim in roughly the same genre. The Blue Avengers are no more, and yet singer Alana Cahoon presses on,
Music Blog
Frank De Blase on August 19th, 2010
Made my way downtown to The Club @ Water Street Wednesday night to dig The Fools and The Deep Blue Dream get on down. I was initially a little worried that I was only going to hear The Fools play one song, because as I walked in the joint, the
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Frank De Blase on August 16th, 2010
It was back down that same stretch of 5 & 20 Friday night for Sheryl Crow and her guest Colbie Caillat at CMAC. While mosquitoes feasted on my blood, Caillat came out in a sparkly go-go dress that glinted in the setting sun. Her first hit, "Bubbly," sums her sound
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Frank De Blase on August 12th, 2010
It was a blues triple bill Wednesday night at CMAC, starring George Thorogood, Robert Cray, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Despite an entirely new line-up and a lack of the hipster grease that once defined the band's persona, the night belonged to the T-Birds, especially after front man Kim Wilson's five-minute
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Frank De Blase on August 6th, 2010
Off the top of my head I can think of two punk anthems that were made to be strummed. Rock --- and more specifically, punk rock - guitar is more often about the slash and burn, the abuse, the down stroke, the attack. But two songs, The Velvet Underground's "Sweet
Music Blog
Frank De Blase on August 2nd, 2010
The Party in the Park festival site has gotten some great shows so far this year. But as a venue, it blows. It's a parking lot; there's no shade and no vibe. OK, maybe the Freddie-Sue Bridge in the background is kind of cool. But remember the Festival Tent? Manhattan
Music Blog
Frank De Blase on August 2nd, 2010
I was just a kid when The Majestics were making the scene here in Rochester, and was just making the scene myself when Majestics guitarist Rudy Valentino was rockin' it in Hard Rain. Valentino has been gone for a spell --- first Jamaica, then Europe --- but he made a
Music Blog
Frank De Blase on July 30th, 2010
In order to decipher Willie Nelson's phrasing, you'd have to invent new punctuation: the slow-release comma, the mid-sentence period, the participle (with extra dangle), the endless ellipses... and the total eradication of exclamation points!
Nelson is and was beyond casual as he finally took the stage at CMAC Thursday night. Sporting
Music Blog
Frank De Blase on July 22nd, 2010
Walking out of Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band's CMAC show last night, erstwhile man-about-town Tim "gimme the low-down" Brown summed it up like this: he said if someone had put all the songs played during the show on a CD, it would have been a
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