Jerry Miller, lead guitarist of the 60s garage band Moby Grape, played an excellent live set at Don Quixote's in Felton.
Jerry's vocals were a little rough, but the playing was excellent. Check out the videos below.
, Best of Moby Grape
, Vintage
Here's a report on the 2008 AC/DC "Black Ice" tour as it made its way to Oakland Coliseum. This has been one of my most popular posts, so I'm highlighting it for those who may have missed it.
This was a great live gig, perhaps one of the best I'd seen all year. The band delivered a performance with the energy & enthusiasm of men half their age. And it was L O U D !
I managed to get quite a few decent photos and videos from my smuggled Canon G9 
The set list has not varied much on this tour, but here's what was played in Oakland:
* = Video posted on YouTube.
It was a good mix of AC/DC's hits along with some new material. I suppose no set list is perfect, and I would have preferred to skip "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" or "Anything Goes" in place of "Jailbreak" or even "Decibel" from "Black Ice" but that just reflects my personal opinion. I'm sure others would have their own quibbles. With a catalog of 30 years, I think this was about as good as it gets and I'm really just nit picking at this point. Bottom line: this was a great concert. Or as many AC/DC fans have commented on Youtube it was "the best ever, man. I was there!"
While some are critical of AC/DC for sticking to a formula, I think it's a pretty successful one. If Buddy Holly were still around, I wouldn't expect him to change a whole lot either. Of course, AC/DC's got 30 years of this formula, but the more I listen to their recent "Black Ice" CD, the more I think it's better than 90% of the new music out there today, Coldplay included.
Singer Brian Johnson (now 61) was in great form. I thought his voice was better than I've heard on videos from more than 10 years ago. Perhaps by allowing a day's rest between gigs, they've found a way to keep things going until he's 71. I sure hope so. He's belting it out with energy to spare and can still hit the high notes.
Angus Young put on a great show dressed in his usual Aussie schoolboy outfit ripping guitar solos throughout the evening. He's not running around on stage quite as much as he did in the past, but he's not phoning it in either. He worked the audience into a frenzy and sweated more than many a marathon runner in this nearly 2 hour show. Honestly, I don't know how he manages to play as well as he does while running around, spinning on the floor and never missing a beat. It may be a bit of showmanship, but its still impressive. Unfortunately, I ran out of memory and could not get the full version of his guitar solo on video. Sorry 'bout that!
Overall, it was a great concert and tribute to the fact that old guys can still rock. If you've caught AC/DC on tour or are planning to, let me what you think.
, Back in Black, Highway to Hell, Stiff Upper Lip
Following up on my post about Fabulous Thunderbirds
While the opening acts Carolyn Wonderland followed by the BlueBonnets were phenomenal, honestly, I was disappointed with Vaughan's performance. Maybe it was the old school set list, maybe it was the late start, maybe the beer wasn't cold enough. Who knows? But the whole thing felt off for me. I know Vaughan still lives in the shadow of his younger brother's phenomenal guitar antics, and I wasn't expecting him to do an SRV tribute or ThunderBirds re-enactment. But it didn't work for me.
In comparison, the opening acts stole the show. Carolyn Wonderland and especially the BlueBonnets brought energy and passion that really got the crowd hopping. I left around 1am with a long drive ahead of me. I was happy to have seen the opening acts, but disappointed in Vaughan. But maybe it got better after that. Take a look at the videos and judge for yourself.
Now if Vaughan would re-join the Thunderbirds, that would be interesting. Meanwhile, for die-hard fans, Jimmie Vaughan is touring Europe in July and back at Antone's this Friday August 6.
, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie VaughanI've been seeing quite a few gigs at Moe's Alley, the latest and best being UK up-and-comer Matt Schofield. His classic brit blues trio is touring pretty much non-stop and it's definitely worth catching. Schofield and his keyboard player have been playing together since they were in short pants and they've added a superb drummer Kevin Hayes, formerly of Robert Cray's Band.
The band played cuts from his album Heads Tails & Aces
They're on tour through the US, Canada and Europe through the end of the year.
I've got a backlog of gigs that I haven't posted yet, so let me try to get a few taken care of. A couple months back I managed to catch Blues harp master Kim Wilson at San Francisco's Biscuits & Blues club. Last time I saw Wilson was at a lone European Fabulous Thunderbirds
Wilson is as close to a modern blues legend as you can get. He co-founded the Fabulous Thunderbirds with Jimmy Vaughan and has been giving it his all for more than thirty years, delivering a powerful blend of rock and blues. Wilson has pulled the Thunderbirds back together for a summer tour through the US, Canada and Europe. This is a unique opportunity to see a legendary band. Or you can catch the Kim Wilson Blues Review in the fall as part of the Legendary R&B Cruise out of San Diego.
And if you're in the bay area, be sure to check out Biscuits & Blues; its one of my favorite clubs with great live music, cold beer and and spicy southern food.
, Fabulous ThunderbirdsI managed to catch blues guitarist Coco Montoya at Moe's Alley at a post Santa Cruz Blues Festival gig. Coco and the band did not disappoint. It was a nice mix of blues and smooth R&B. Best of all, Coco was joined on stage by soul singer Sir Harry Bowens and guitarist Randy Jacobs of The Boneshakers. They played some great classic songs as well as newer cuts from his latest CD, Dirty Deal
Coco Montoya first started out as a drummer and toured with Albert Collins, learning blues guitar. He later joined John Mayall's Blues Breakers, following in the footsteps of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. The band is touring through the US and Canada in the summer, so be sure to catch this blues legend if you can.
, Essential Coco Montoya
, Dirty Deal
I apologize it's taken me forever to post these videos of The Black Crowes. They played a private corporate gig a while back and just ended up gathering dust for a while. I must admit, I wasn't blown away by the performance and that was part of the reason I've been slow to post.
So if you're a die-hard fan of the Crowes, enjoy. But if you're not, I don't think this performance will win you over. Still fans of classic rock may want to check out the site Live Black Crowes for more videos and music. The Cabin Fever
I've got some other videos in the queue from recent gigs by Jimmy Vaughan, Kim Wilson (both of the Fabulous Thunderbirds), and the hot Austin girl band The Bluebonnets. So stay tuned...
, Cabin Fever (DVD) If you're a fan of 60's english blues, you need to take a look at Joe Bonamassa's web site and figure out when he's coming to your town. Heck, he's playing in Australia, the US and Europe and that's just through the early part of the summer! So he's bound to make it nearby sooner or later. And when he does, don't miss it.
I managed to catch a gig in Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago on short notice and it was the best show so far this year. Maybe the best gig I've seen since Buddy Guy last fall.
Bonamassa has been playing since he was 13 years old and was mentored by some of the greatest blues musicians ever. At 14 he played in the band Bloodline along with sons of Miles Davis and Robby Krieger. Now at 32, he's a man on a mission to spread his own unique blend of electric blues. And, let me tell you, Bonamassa has a musical style with depth and breadth. You've got everything from classic Cream style heavy blues to prog-rock and some acoustic alchemy and theremin thrown in for good measure. The whole show ran for just over 2 hours, though it felt much faster.
Watch for Bonamassa's latest CD Black Rock
, Black Rock, Live Royal Albert Hall DVD
Pink Floyd tribute band House of Floyd is back on tour in California and Oregon with upcoming gigs in Arcata, Petaluma, Modesto, Healdsburg, Vacaville, Bend, Big Sur and beyond. I stopped by the Santa Cruz show on March 27 at the Rio Theater, and it was awesome.
As I've said before, they put on a tremendous live show. House of Floyd gets as close to note-perfect as any band I've ever seen --including Roger Waters' own "Dark Side of the Moon" tour. The set list is new for every gig, but you'll hear plenty of classic cuts from "Dark Side of the Moon," "The Wall" as well as more obscure Syd Barrett era songs. Best of all, Mark Showalter made sure that the inflatable pig will be there, too. Not to mention the lazers, the fog machine and other cool visual effects. It was a great show and the audience was friendly, appreciative and dancing in the aisles as the night went on.
Highlights for me included Pat doing a phenomenal job on vocals for "Money," "Great Gig in the Sky" and some totally trippy instrumental work.
Here's some videos I posted on YouTube from the first set. The second set was even better.
I'm not the biggest deadhead around --I've probably seen fewer dead shows than presidents Clinton or Obama --but I've always admired the way the Grateful Dead cultivated their fan base. While they really only had one hit record over a career of more than 30 years, they had a cult-like following thanks to their constant touring and a novel approach to live concert recordings.
The Atlantic has recently published an article called "Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead" which covers some of the main points of how the dead grew their audience. In a model that was prescient to open source software and internet startups, they did so by giving away their core product. The dead were one of the first bands to not only allow, but to encourage fans to tape concerts and give away recordings:
Much of the talk about “Internet business models” presupposes that they are blindingly new and different. But the connection between the Internet and the Dead’s business model was made 15 years ago by the band’s lyricist, John Perry Barlow, who became an Internet guru. Writing in Wired in 1994, Barlow posited that in the information economy, “the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away.” As Barlow explained to me: “What people today are beginning to realize is what became obvious to us back then—the important correlation is the one between familiarity and value, not scarcity and value. Adam Smith taught that the scarcer you make something, the more valuable it becomes. In the physical world, that works beautifully. But we couldn’t regulate [taping at] our shows, and you can’t online. The Internet doesn’t behave that way. But here’s the thing: if I give my song away to 20 people, and they give it to 20 people, pretty soon everybody knows me, and my value as a creator is dramatically enhanced. That was the value proposition with the Dead.” The Dead thrived for decades, in good times and bad. In a recession, Barnes says, strategic improvisation is more important then ever. “If you’re going to survive this economic downturn, you better be able to turn on a dime,” he says. “The Dead were exemplars.”
I'll do a write up of one of my favorite dead albums, Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses), in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the videos from The Dead's Shoreline concert last year.
, American Beauty
Elvis Costello's show "Spectacle", now in its second season on Sundance, just keeps getting better. Not only is Elvis looking younger and more fit than he has for years, he's managed to pull together some of the most diverse and interesting musical guests you'll ever see play on stage together. Costello has always been a brilliant, if eclectic, performer. It turns out he's also a tremendous interviewer, getting musicians to open up about their influences and song writing in a way that a non-musician never could. Some have called the show a musical equivalent to "Inside the Actor's Studio" and I think that's a good comparison.
If you haven't seen the show, check it out on Sundance or get the first season DVD
The second season has included Bono and The Edge from U2, Bruce Springsteen, Lyle Lovett and Niko Case. My favorite recent episode has featured New Orleans pianist Alan Toussaint, Nick Lowe, Ray LaMontagne and drum legend Levon Helm from The Band. To see the these musicians talk about the influence of "The Big Pink" on their styles and then play "The Weight" together with the Imposters was just tremendous.
Costello fans can also rejoice in the long-awaited complete release of "Live at Hollywood High" after more than 30 years. I remember the three song EP that came out with "Armed Forces" back in 1979 when Costello was just 23 years old. It's been a long wait, but worth it.
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