Saturday, April 9, 2011

Memphis In May: Beale Street Music Festival (Saturday Edition)

This will be the second festival I'll be attending this summer. I'm only going down for Saturday so it's only fair I review that one first. Let's get it on: (In order of appearance times)


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYSIlPQn167xwv-Hr2oZ8NGFmOCaALtzVGP54PtUAGOqidFwlVFAvMIRQfsVFIHMyG-nnpPPYn0oxA5k2Gm3dH7LhucqtwyAXFCNUFLzy2FCqpOZnTZ9dGOZLoUvnYrgRJYK5h_hOkoU/s400/Travis+Wammack+-+Follow+Me.jpg1.Travis Wammack : From Mississippi and sounding straight out of a Bee Gee's video, he has a very Marvin Gaye feel to him. This guy starts the Saturday off. Needless to say I'll probably be late.








2. One Less Reason : Alternative Rock similar to the mid-2000's hits like Fuel and Cold, this band sounds mostly slow. Everything I could find is depressing as hell. This may give me 'One Less Reason' to go watch this band.





3. Lotus : An electronic jam band from Indiana. Alot like Broken Social Scene, they form instrumental tracks for their live shows. Looks interesting enough.





4. Amy LaVere : Obviously specializing in an upright bass performance, Amy LaVere sends a new take to performing by playing this and singing with another guitar player on set. Reminds me a lot of Alanis Morrisette.








5. Blind Mississippi Morris : Known as 'The Real Deal from Beale', and blind since the age of 4, BMM plays the blues like people wish they still could. I think it takes real trauma these days like blindness to actually be blue about something. I think this could be some real musical talent here.



http://oldrockhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/JimboMathus.jpg
6. Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition : A blues jam band (I'm sure you'll get sick of these by the end of the weekend) that focuses on their live play, I can't find much on these guys. It's your basic blues jamming.


http://www.first-avenue.com/files/images/performer/sickpuppies.jpg 
7. Sick Puppies : 2 guys, a girl, and a twisted band name create this rock group from Australia. They're focused on hard alternative, sounding a lot like Breaking Benjamin or something of the sort. They have four albums to date.





8.  The Experimental Tropic Blues Band : Very odd band with very odd lyrics. I'll probably pass on this one.





 
 
9. Paul Thorn : From Mississippi, this guy has an acoustic country feel to him. He's a one man show for the most part, so don't expect anything huge. He's opened for Sting, but he's also opened for Toby Keith. He loses lots of points for that one.





 


10. Devon Allman's HoneytribeSorry for the quality of the video, it's all I could find for music that was live and also current. Basically you probably know who this is, if not, he's the son of Gregg Allman, ya know, the Allman Brothers. No biggie. But hey, their album has guest appearances from Huey Lewis. Cool, right?

 


 11. Hinder : Not Featured. If you know who this is, you'll know why. They suck. Not going to this.

 12. The New Pornographers : YES! First show I'm extremely excited about. I can't wait for this one. They're from Canada and were formed in '97, but don't let that fool you. The voice on this girl/guy duo is amazing. With a new released album last year, that leaves them with four albums out currently. Listen up and go see this!





13. Jerry Lee Lewis : Wow, this guy is still kickin', huh? I'll put an old clip for the nostalgic types. Turning 76 this year, he's showing up at a music festival to rock out some more. Just wow.











14. Brad Webb : Often accompanied by Blind Mississippi Morris, here's yet another blues singer looking to jam. Basically just plays the guitar.



 
 
15. Reba Russell Band : A woman's perspective on having the blues. Too bad I'm not interested.





 THE NEXT TWO ARE ON TWO DIFFERENT STAGES AT THE SAME TIME, OMGGG!!!! Choose wisely.

16. Mumford & Sons : Sporting what I'd vote as one of my favorites songs of last year (attached), I'd say these guys give a good fighting name back to Bluegrass Rock. They have also been known to have dedicated their music to their live show. So I don't plan on missing this, but I may wait until Bonnaroo. Not sure yet.






17. 8ball & MJG :Straight outta.. well, Memphis. Here's the O.G. style rap that most people will recognize as soon as they hear the voices. I honestly want to see this show. Which is why I'll probably have to wait until Bonnaroo to see Mumford. (also because my wife doesn't like Mumford. =\)







18. Macy Gray : Starting not 10 minutes after the previous two artists named comes this blast from the near-future past. I'll post the only song anyone ever remembers from this one. And is she going to perform like she looks in the picture? I wonder.
My main question is, is it Gray or Grey? The world may never know.



19. Brad Webb continues to play in this spot for about another hour and a half. Someone apparently can't get this guy to put that guitar down. 

20. Cee-Lo Green : Looking close enough to a big-headed alien, Cee-Lo Green could be seen just for his face alone. But if not, I think everyone and sadly, their mother, have heard his new single 'Fuck You'. So this crowd could get 'hoppin' until he runs out of his two songs people know.



21. Lucinda Williams : Coming in with the headliners, this country sounding singer-songwriter comes all the way from the early 80s. And yet I'm not sure why she's playing so late. There's also one more person playing in this spot, and that is...








22. Magic Slim & The Teardrops : The age old question gets raised, do you have to be black to play pure blues? And that age old answer is 'of course, idiot'. The last true blues of the night, get your fill here. But plan on staying awhile, they play some long long songs.




23. Kirk Whalum : And here's some Jazz to end the night as well. Touring with Whitney Houston until she found out that Crack Cocaine is fun, he has had a total of 7 grammy nominations. 






24. Ke$haTrashy, explicit, and also kinda sexy in a 'Mom, I brought home a stripper, I hope you don't mind' kinda way, Kesha is our much loved disco-party starting freak. I can't wait to get my techno on to this show. This will probably be how I end the night, sorry John Mellencamp. 




25. John Mellencamp :  Finishing off the night, it's the original Jack & Diane builder himself. Looking a bit like Mickey Rourke in his old age, he's the 'Cougar' of rock'n roll and blues. Too bad he dropped the Cougar.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Rites of Spring! (Next Weekend at Vanderbilt)

My first set of concerts I'll be attending is the music festival known as Rites of Spring. You can get the list of bands performing at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ros/schedule

FRIDAY NIGHT
This is my take on the bands performing. I don't know some of them but I'll link them anyways:

http://sonicdiet.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/futurebirds.jpg1. Futurebirds :Their musical talent sounds great, but I don't know that I like their singing as much. They're straight out of college from Athens, GA.




http://www.electriclila.com/images/clients/originals/pimps.jpg2. The Pimps of Joytime :Reminds me a little of some sort of post-funk movement straight out of the 70s. Stephanie's first reaction was 'Very happy sounding'. Brooklyn-based and they seem to have the disco era under control.






http://www.cmt.com/sitewide/assets/img/news/2010/08_10/jerrod_niemann/jerrod_niemann_8827-x600.jpg
3. Jerrod Niemann : Well this guy is considered a headliner but I just can't take country music seriously. With more double negatives than a runaway train (I know that doesn't make sense but just roll with it), This guy is not getting my vote for best in show. See attached picture.






http://theneptunes.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Sara-Bareilles.JPG4. Sara Bareilles : One of the three reasons I'm going to the Rites of Spring, Sara is a fan favorite of mine. As a piano (barely) player myself, I appreciate great piano music. She's also a favorite for her voice, and she's not bad on the eyes.
The song attached is Bottle It Up, one of my favorites.




5. Public Enemy: Wait, what? You can't be serious. But oh yes, Vanderbilt's very serious. They're bringing Flava Flav to the set and he forgot to carry along 'Hoops' for the adventure. Meh, I might watch for the fun of it.





http://www.students.stedwards.edu/mgarciap/the_national.jpg

6. The National : With the deepest voice in the music rock industry, The National have broken out with Five Albums from Cincinnati, Ohio. They may be a slower sound because of his drawly voice, but you can bet your ass I'll be there to see this show.




SATURDAY
http://www.chinashopmag.com/wp-content/themes/redbull/images/cache/wm__580px_Young_Jesus_Web_DD-8361__580__350.jpg1. Young Jesus : Well this will start the Saturday off. Finding a picture of the band was next to impossible since there are quite a few pictures of an actual younger version of our savior. This band won that Red Bull contest that no one cares much about so they are decently talented. That still doesn't mean I'll go to this one.


2. David Mayfield Parade :Something about this band screams 'Evangelists' but I'm not sure what it is. Other than his enormous beard and the sound of the music making me want to convert religions. But they honestly don't sound bad, I kinda like it. 




http://outtheother.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451aecf69e2011570b600b2970b-800wi3. Madi Diaz : I posted a picture of her with horse because quite frankly, I thought it was son of a bitchin' cute, okay? I was tipped off about this from Meagan Fisher, and she's in love with her, so I guess we'll be going to see her.



http://woxy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/features2.jpg4. The Features :Great sounds, great voice, and an entertaining show will make you want to party the night away. These guys will bring all of that and more. First big headliner of the night, get ready.




 
5. Matt & Kim : I found out about this band around their first CD from Zak Pandino, a fraternity brother of mine, and I was hooked. The hippy piano beats that make you want to jam, the hooks and the singing are great, and another cute girl in the band. I plan to make this my second reason for coming to the show, even though they'll be at Bonnaroo too.



http://themusicslut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/edward-sharpe-and-the-magnetic-zeros.jpg6. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero : What a big family of people. I've only heard this Home song and I'm back and forth about it. On one hand, it has an upbeat tempo and some good voices, but on the other hand, the lyrics make me want to drive a nail into my skull. Your choice.



7. Kid Cudi : I'll be honest, at first I referred to this guy as 'Kid Shitty' because Day N Night is one of the worst songs I've ever had to listen to. But after his new CD has released and I've gotten a better idea of his sound, I've been a fanatic. Pursuit of Happiness, Erase Me, Make Her Say, etc, really changed my ideas. So this will be how we end the festival.







HOPE TO SEE ALL YOU DAMNIES THERE!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Concerts I am attending this year:

I'll update more about the lineups later, but as of now I'll be attending:


Rites of Spring on Vanderbilt's campus, April 15th,16th.
Memphis in May, April 30th, Saturday only.
Lady Gaga, April 19th, here in Nashville.
Katy Perry, FRONT ROW, IN THE PIT, August 19th.

So that's that.