Archive
REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 4/12/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Ani DiFranco comes through Eugene on just about every West Coast tour – which is always a delight. The crowd seemed a tad sparse… perhaps due to the lack of new Ani material out there recently. She’s prolific, but hasn’t put out an album since 2008’s Red Letter Year. She hasn’t even put out any new official live bootlegs since 2009. With that lack of apparent new music on the shelves (CD World or iTunes), one might think she’s taking a break. Well, as you’ll see from the setlist below, no break has occurred with her songwriting proliferation…
Super busy week; so I apologize in advance… I didn’t catch the opener Animal Prufrock this time. I saw her back in 2008 with Judy Grahn & Ani D. I enjoyed Animal’s raucous energy, but again… twas an uber-busy week, and I couldn’t make it to the McD for the early opener start time (Animal @ 7:30, Ani D @ 8:30!).
I got into the venue about 30 seconds before Ani and band hit the stage. Whew, perfect timing! Her band this time was the same as her prior Eugene gig… Andy Barger on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion, and Todd Sickafoose on contrabass. Fantastically gelled band… I love watching these guys play. In fact, I’ll be seeing Mike Dillon play again next week in Eugene. At the end of the Ani tour, he’s hitting the road with Skerik and the rest of the guys with Garage A Trois.
Tons of new stuff was played…
Setlist: around 90 minutes pre-encore
- Anticipate
- Angry Any More
- Unworry (newish – she played it at Eugene 2009)
- Paradigm
- Promiscuity (new)
- Gloating (new)
- W.O.W. (new)
- J (new)
- I Know This Bar
- See See “Still in Love with You” (new)
- The Atom
- Everest
- If You’re Not (new)
- Untouchable Face
- Which Side Are You On?
- Encore: Overlap
- Angel from Montgomery
Due to a hectic week, I had to bail right before the encore. Based on other reports from this tour, she also played a few older tunes and maybe the newer tune “Mariachi.” Anyone with a good memory or notes throw a little help on what she played after “Which Side…” for an encore?
As far as the new stuff, I dug it… especially “Gloating,” “Jay,” and “W.O.W.” I will say one of the best things of the night was the main line to “If You’re Not”…
If you’re not getting happier as you get older, you’re fucking up.
A lot of new stuff to digest… I usually need some more time for the new material to kick around my brain. Perhaps with this glut of new material, she’s heading into the studio soon for studio album #18(!). Anyone catch her Crystal Ballroom show in Portland? Any major difference in setlist?
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Ani DiFranco’s Site
- Ani DiFranco’s Social Media Links (see below)
- My Other Ani-Related Reviews~
- McDonald Theatre (Eugene – Oct 2009)
- McDonald Theatre (Eugene – Apr 2008)
- McDonald Theatre’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Next show for me… Skerik, Mike Dillon, Marc Benevento and Stanton Moore are Garage A Trois @ Sam Bond’s 4/21.
~Dan – np: Todd Sickafoose – Tiny Resistors
ANI DIFRANCO PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Ani DiFranco in Eugene (4/12)
Photos and review of Ani DiFranco’s show at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene coming soon(ish)!
Check back Wednesday evening or Thursday morning for the report from Eugene!
Her Portland show is Wednesday… check it!
~Dan
REVIEW: The Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 3/16/11)
I hadn’t heard the Punch Brothers prior to the show, outside of a few clips on their webpage… but what I did hear, I knew I’d love it. I have also been a fan of frontman Chris Thile’s mandolin work with Nickel Creek; so I knew what to expect from at least his performance.
The show started with a delightful set from local fiddler prodigy Tatiana Hargreaves (backed by Scott Law on guitar). I had seen Tatiana play (with her brother Alex) during Works Progress Administration’s show at the WOW Hall in 2009 – which is a side project from Glen Phillips and Sean & Sara Watkins (from Nickel Creek as well)… so her opening for the Punch Brothers made perfect sense. Her set was a great warm up for what was to come (sorry, no photos came out of Tatiana & Scott, my camera was acting up).
The Punch Brothers went on shortly after Tatiana’s set. No flashy stage set-up or lights, just five guys and their instruments. The Punch Brothers are Chris Thile on mandolin & vocals, Gabe Witcher on fiddle/violin, Noam Pikelny on banjo, Chris Eldridge on guitar, and Paul Kowert on bass. They played a hour and a half or more with a great split between rollicking bluegrass vocal numbers and more stretched out instrumental pieces.
The overall musicianship in the entire group was evident early on. They were a quite tight five piece string band, and the lack of drums was barely noticeable – their use of rhythm duties amongst the strings was more than enough to keep the jammy, progressive instrumental movements rolling along. Since I don’t know their material all that well, I can’t really help out on the setlist front. I know they played “Rye Whiskey,” the Beatles “Paperback Writer,” a stunning mandolin-centric version of Radiohead “Paranoid Android,” and Chris Thile did a riveting Bach piece on solo mandolin.
Also, per Serena from the Register Guard, they covered the Strokes and Josh Ritter as well.
Fantastic show, and I shall get to know their music before they swing through again. Their latest CD is 2010’s Antifogmatic (pictured to the right).
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Punch Brothers’ Site
- Punch Brothers’ Social Media Links (see below)
- Chris Thile’s Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- Tatiana Hargreaves’ Site / MySpace / Twitter
- McDonald Theatre’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Next show for me… probably Lawn Gnomes & Upstate Trio @ Cornucopia (3/25) or Pojama People (an Oregon Frank Zappa cover band) @ Sam Bond’s Garage (3/26).
~Dan – np: David Bazan – Fewer Moving Pieces
THE PUNCH BROTHERS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Boys Eats Drum Machine & Beats Antique @ McDonald / Eugene Celebration (Eugene, OR – 8/28/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Eugene Celebration 2010 “Raise the Roof” was in full effect on Saturday. This year’s Celebration was in a partnership with with Springfield/Eugene Habitat for Humanity and Northwest Community Credit Union to fund the construction of two houses in the Eugene-Springfield community over the next three years.
We caught some good grub, interesting people watching, scoped out the pretty damn awesome electric vehicle (the Pulse made by Arcimoto)… and some music. The first band I saw was Upstate Trio. They’re from New York, but now live in the Eugene area. Great groove rock trio. I hope to catch them again soon.
Boy Eats Drum Machine was the next major act to take in. I saw him open for That1Guy in May (review link with photos below), and he put on a great show. Last night’s performance wasn’t any exception. Sax, turntable, drums, effects pad, loops, and all around great grooves from this one-man wrecking crew. Check out the stop-animation video for “Hoop+Wire“:
You can also download the BEDM song “Hoop+Wire” on mp3 and FLAC (or other options) for FREE over at Bandcamp. Next up…
As mentioned a little over a week ago, Beats Antique is coming out with a new album in about two weeks. It’s called Blind Threshold. If it’s anything like their past two albums and an EP, it’ll be great.
They hit the stage around 11pm and played a fairly percussive set. Zoë Jakes wasn’t able to dance last night. She hurt her knee a while ago and is on doctor’s orders to take it easy for a while. So, we didn’t get the gorgeous dance performance that we’re used to (photos of Zoë dancing at prior events linked below). Despite the lack of dancing by Zoë, their infectious music got the rest of the crowd to pick up some of the slack. It was a great show, and hopefully they’ll be back soon, with Zoë in full health.
The overwhelming bass attacked our ears for both BEDM’s and Beats Antique’s sets. It got especially painful up in the balcony; so we stayed downstairs for most of the night. All in all, a great hour-long set from each band. Round 2 of Celebration for me today… I hope to catch 3 Leg Torso‘s set.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Upstate Trio on MySpace
- Boy Eats Drum Machine’s Site
- BEDM on MySpace
- Beats Antique’s Site
- Beats Antique on MySpace
- Zoë Jakes’ Site
- Zoë Jakes MySpace
- Prior Reviews:
- BEDM opening for That1Guy (WOW Hall, May 2010)
- Zoë w/ Rachel Brice & Mardi Love (Oregon Country Fair 2008)
- Beats Antique w/ Zoë dancing (Faerieworlds 2009)
- Eugene Celebration
- McDonald Theatre
Check out more Beats Antique tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Bar Kokhba Sextet – John Zorn 50th Birthday Celebration 11
BOY EATS DRUM MACHINE & BEATS ANTIQUE PHOTOS
pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld, except for Beats Antique #21-29 (cc) 2010 Margaret O’Brien, you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Beats Antique Tour Dates
- 8/20 – Sheldon, VT – Liberate Music And Arts Festival
- 8/21 – Stephentown, NY – Bella Terra Music Festival
- 8/28 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre
- 9/10 – Clarks Grove, MN – Harvestfest – Harmony Park
- 9/11 – Minot, ME – 1st Annual Dankfest
- 9/17 – Laytonville, CA – Earthdance
- 9/18 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
- 9/24 – Seattle, WA – Decibel Festival @ Motor
- 9/25 – Arcata, CA – Aracata Theatre
- 9/28 – Fargo, ND – The Aquarium
- 9/30 – Madison, WI – Majestic Live
- 10/1 – Milwaukee, WI – Miramar Theatre
- 10/2 – Chicago, IL – Abbey Pub
- 10/3 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
- 10/6 – New Orleans, LA – Republic
- 10/9 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits
- 10/11 – Mobile, AL – Alabama Music Box
- 10/12 – Birmingham, AL – Zydeco
- 10/13 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In
- 10/14 – Asheville, NC – TBD
- 10/15 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House
- 10/16 – Athens, GA – New Earth Music Hall
- 10/17 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade – Hell Room
- 10/22 – Allston, MA – Harpers Ferry
- 11/11 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret
- 11/12 – Edmonton, AB – The Pawn Shop
- 11/13 – Calgary, AB – Royal Canadian Legion
- 11/14 – Winnipeg, MB – Crescent Wood United Church
REVIEW: Zappa Plays Zappa @ McDonald (Eugene, OR – 6/12/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Five years running, Dweezil Zappa and his precision-cut Zappa Plays Zappa band have toured the world bringing us a different slice of Frank’s music to our ears. Past tours have featured players from Frank’s own classic ’70s and ’80s band arsenals: Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ray White and more. There are no “old guard” members present in the 2010 incarnation — but regardless of which musicians surround Dweezil’s guitar mastery, the fact remains that the genius, adventurous spirit birthed in Frank’s songs is still alive.
The ZPZ band this time around is Dweezil Zappa: Guitar; Scheila Gonzalez: Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals; Pete Griffin: Bass; Billy Hulting: Marimba, Mallets & Percussion (and lead vocals for a bit); Jamie Kime: Guitar; Joe Travers: Drums & Vocals; Ben Thomas on lead vocals; and introducing Chris Norton on Keyboards & Vocals.
With no opener, the band kicked into their long set a little after 9pm… they played a super tight, super long set. Having seen the ZBZ band with Napoleon Murphy Brock and Ray White in the past, I was skeptical of this “new guy” Ben Thomas. He joined the ZPZ band after Ray White left the tour last year. After the first vocal belt, there was no more skepticism… Ben can sing (and plays a mean trumpet, harmonica and cow bell, too). He handled the lows and highs, and carried the tunes in a way that would have made Frank proud.
Throughout the set, each band member got their time to shine… “Echidna’s Arf” was probably the tightest song the band played… lightning fast, and spot on. Dweezil had killer solos on “Florentine Pogen” and “Pick Me, I’m Clean.” “Big Swifty” & “Mystery Roach” showed off great solos from Billy on marimba, Scheila on sax, and Jaime on guitar. Joe’s drum solo at the end of “Latex Solar Beef” could have ended the show, but (lucky for us) they stayed out and finished the main set with “Apostrophe” that featured Pete’s fuzzy, dirty bass groove and solo.
Here’s what they played:
Setlist: about 2 & 1/2 hours
- Purple Lagoon
- Stinkfoot
- Daddy Daddy Daddy
- What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are?
- Florentine Pogen
- Big Swifty
- Mystery Roach
- Advance Romance
- The Blue Light
- Pick Me, I’m Clean
- Blessed Relief
- Echidna’s Arf
- Keep It Greasey
- Easy Meat
- The Little House I Used To Live In
- Latex Solar Beef (with hints of Willie the Pimp)
- Apostrophe
- Encore: Lonely Little Girl
- City of Tiny Lites
- Cosmik Debris
- I’m the Slime
As in the past, amazing musicians this time out. Some of the highlights were the aforementioned tight “Echidna’s Arf,” “Florentine Pogen,” and the more gentle “Blessed Relief.” The only song I was craving that wasn’t played was “Peaches En Regalia,” but it was nice to hear some older, rarer Frank songs being trotted out in lieu of the “fan fave” Peaches. As far as sound quality, near the front it was OK, but I heard from people in the middle and back that it was a bit muddy. Regardless of that downside, the evening showed off a super tight band who gave their all! ZPZ band, Eugene loves you! Come back soon!
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Zappa Plays Zappa’s Site
- ZPZ on MySpace
- Dweezil on MySpace
- Prior Review~ ZPZ w/ Ray White – Jan 2009 (Portland, OR)
- McDonald Theatre
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Jóhann Jóhannsson – & In the Endless Pause There Came Sound of Bees
DWEEZIL ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (18 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (32 pics)
Tour Dates
- May 30, ’10 Chilicothe, IL Summer Camp Music Festival
- Jun 3, ’10 Mexico City, MX Teatro de la Ciudad
- Jun 5, ’10 Ozark, AR Wakarusa Festival
- Jun 6, ’10 Kansas City, MO Crossroads
- Jun 7, ’10 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
- Jun 8, ’10 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
- Jun 10, ’10 Ventura, CA Ventura Theater
- Jun 11, ’10 Santa Rosa, CA Harmony Festival
- Jun 12, ’10 Eugene, OR McDonald Theater
- Jun 13, ’10 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
- Jun 14, ’10 Seattle, WA Moore Theater
- Jun 15, ’10 Vancouver, BC Orpheum Theater
- Jun 17, ’10 Richmond, VA Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
- Jun 18, ’10 Pittsburgh, PA Palace Theatre
- Jun 19, ’10 Tarrytown, NY Music Hall
- Jun 24, ’10 Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theater
- Jun 25, ’10 Providence, RI Lupo’s
- Jun 26, ’10 Westbury, NY Westbury Music Theater
- Jun 27, ’10 Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues
- Jun 28, ’10 Verona, NY Turning Stone Resort and Casino
- Jun 29, ’10 Niagara Falls, NY The Rapids Theatre
- Jul 1, ’10 Bridgeport, CT The Klein
- Jul 2, ’10 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
- Jul 3, ’10 Great Barington, MA The Mahaiwe
- Jul 4, ’10 Oxford, ME Nateva Festival
- Jul 5, ’10 Moncton, NS Capitol Theater
- Jul 6, ’10 Halifax, NS Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
- Jul 9, ’10 Amsterdam, NL Melkweg
- Jul 10, ’10 TBA, TBA Soon
- Jul 11, ’10 Weert, NL Bospop Restival
- Jul 12, ’10 Antwerp, BE Openluchttheater
- Jul 14, ’10 Tel Aviv, IL Hangar 11
- Jul 19, ’10 Nice, FR Nice Jazz Festival
- Jul 21, ’10 Cambridge, UK Cambridge Corn Exchange
- Jul 22, ’10 Brighton, UK Brighton Centre
- Jul 23, ’10 Wolverhampton, UK Wolverhampton Civic Hall
- Jul 24, ’10 London, UK London Classic Rock Festival
- Jul 25, ’10 Liverpool, UK Liverpool Summer Pops Festival
- Jul 26, ’10 Glasgow, UK Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
- Jul 27, ’10 Gateshead, UK Gateshead The Sage
REVIEW: Medeski Martin & Wood @ McDonald (Eugene, OR – 2/25/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
This was my fourth time seeing the great trio of Medeski Martin & Wood… and the second time as an “evening with,” which tends to work out nicely for a weekday concert. No painful opener to sit through, and less likely a late show time.
We got to the venue only a few minutes before they went on. They came out around 8:20 and started off with one or two from Zaebos, their album from John Zorn‘s Masada Book Two: Book of Angels series. From there, they hopped right into a Medeski-keys-oriented tune and a more exotica piece. Overall, their show last night was definitely more of the MMW groove show, versus a improvisational MMW “messin’ around” kind of show. 
Sure, at one point illyB pulled out the ducks calls while Chris and John noodled around, but then they ripped right back into the more lyrical pieces.
McDonald had the floor set up with chairs for the evening, which was a shock for me. The crowd started out in chairs, but by the third song, they were moving up the aisles and dancing. 
When MMW came back out for the second set, it was pretty much a dance party… well, a dance party with a bunch of pesky chairs in the way.
I’ll post the setlist when/if I find it… again, I recognized a couple Zaebos tunes, 
plus I’m pretty sure they played “Amber Gris,” “Padrecito,” “Amish Pinxtos,” “Reliquary,” “Free Go Lily,” and a few more Radiolarians tracks. Don’t quote me on all of those songs, but it was definitely a Radiolarians-heavy show.
Setlist: (thanks, nastyshadows!)
- Set 1: Agmatia
- Pappy Check
- Broken Mirror >
- Disrobe >
- Open Improv >
- Padrecito
- Amber Gris
- Set 2: Free Go Lily
- Jean’s Scene
- Reliquary
- New Planet
- Cloud Wars
- Encore: Bass Solo >
- Chubb Sub
Two hour-long sets plus encore (which started out with a nice Chris Wood bass solo). Excellent show. Medeski Martin & Wood do not disappoint.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- MMW’s Site
- MMW on MySpace
- Nov 2008 McDonald Theatre – Concert Review w/ Photos
- McDonald Theatre
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Dave Holland Quintet – Critical Mass
MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (9 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (21 pics)
February 2010 Tour Dates
- 17 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
- 18 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
- 19 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
- 20 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre
- 21 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
- 23 – Petaluma, CA – The Mystic Theatre
- 24 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Club Crown Room
- 25 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre
- 26 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
- 27 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at The Market
Zappa Plays Zappa @ McDonald Theatre (canceled)
So, I just got a call from TicketsWest… the Zappa Plays Zappa show for tonight has been “canceled due to inclement weather in California“… boo… no word on a reschedule. Tickets will be refunded at the place of purchase.
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: The Swell Season – Strict Joy
Current Tour Dates
- Nov 19, ’09 – Austin, TX – Stubbs Amphitheater
- Nov 20, ’09 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
- Nov 21, ’09 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues
- Nov 23, ’09 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
- Nov 24, ’09 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up
- Nov 25, ’09 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
- Nov 27, ’09 – Lake Tahoe, NV – Montbleu Resort
- Nov 28, ’09 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre canceled
- Nov 29, ’09 – Spokane, WA – Bing Crosby Theater
- Nov 30, ’09 – Bend, OR – Tower Theater
- Dec 01, ’09 – Arcata, CA – Van Duzer Theater
- Dec 02, ’09 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater
- Jan 3-7, ’10 – Carribbean Ocean – Jam Cruise 2010
- Jan 8, ’10 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live
- Jan 9, ’10 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz Ybor
- Jan 11, ’10 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
- Jan 12, ’10 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre
- Jan 13, ’10 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
- Jan 14, ’10 – Richmond, VA – The Hat Factory
- Jan 15, ’10 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
- Jan 16, ’10 – Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre
REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 10/21/09)
Ani DiFranco is one of my favorite artists. The fact that she’s as prolific as an apple slicer at a pie factory doesn’t hurt my need for new music from her. I’ve posted many times before the “stats” behind her release schedule (it is both ridiculous in her velocity and my tracking of said velocity). This last span of time between 2008’s excellent Red Letter Year and, well… no new album is quite uncharacteristic of her. Based on the amount of new songs in the setlist, I expect a new album is right around the corner.
For this recent tour, I got to the venue a little late, as I had to drive in from Portland (I’d been up in Seattle on Mon & Tues for work, and Portland on Wednesday). I couldn’t miss Ani, though. No photos this time around, as cameras weren’t allowed in the venue. I did snap one via my iPhone (below).
Opener Anais Mitchell was good. She seemed kind of shy, but also playful. While I don’t think her sound really set herself apart from the many singer-songwriters out there; she just completed a folk-opera, Hadestown, based on the myth of Hades and Eurydice. Ani appears on it, and it’ll be out on Righteous Babe, I’m sure.
(the sole crappy iPhone shot of the night)
Ani and her band came on around 9pm. Her band this time was Andy Barger on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion (who I’ve seen play with Skerik & the Dead Kenny G’s), Todd Sickafoose on contrabass (who I’ve seen many times with Ani). They started out with, as acknowledged by Ani, a very schizophrenic set of songs.
Setlist: just shy of 90 minutes
- Fuel *a fave of the night*
- Paradigm
- Manhole
- Modulation
- Swan Dive *a fave of the night*
- Red Letter Year
- Coming Up
- November 5th, 2008 (new song – formerly known as “November 4” – free live download)
- Albacore (new song)
- Unworry (new song) *a fave of the night*
- Way Tight
- God’s Country
- Napoleon
- Splinter (new song) *a fave of the night*
- Which Side Are You On? (new song – 30’s tune by Florence Reese, reworked by Ani – free live download)
- Mariachi (new song)
- Both Hands *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Little Plastic Castle *a fave of the night*
- Barroom Girls (Gillian Welch cover with Anais Mitchell and Animal Prufrock)
Thanks for the setlist corrections, francoapple.
A great show, followed by a drive back up to Portland for work. I think of the new songs, “Splinter” is my favorite – – followed by “Unworry” (with a great chorus “facts are pretend anyway” ). Both of those songs are a bit more poetic than the rest. I had “November 5th” from a free download back last fall, and while I like Obama and was happy on November 5th, the song seems kind of cheesy. Same thing goes for “Which Side Are You On?” It’s available for free via the link in the setlist above (note: there may be a limited opportunity for the download). While I agree with its premise/lyrics, I think Ani’s done better, more poetic political songs.
Oh well, I guess with her output, there’s bound to be some songs I don’t like as much. But all in all, a great show. It was good to see her with a band, as usual. Maybe next time, with Mike Dillon’s influence, she’ll bring Skerik along for some horns. :)
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Ani’s record label – Righteous Babe Records
- Ani DiFranco on MySpace
- Anais Mitchell
- Anais Mitchell onMySpace
- McDonald Theatre
~Dan – np: Erik Friedlander – Grains of Paradise
Ani DiFranco Fall 2009 Tour Dates
- Sep 11 2009 – Kalamazoo State Theatre – Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Sep 12 2009 – Krannert Center Guitar Festival – Urbana, Illinois
- Sep 13 2009 – Paramount Theatre – Aurora, Illinois
- Sep 15 2009 – Mayo Civic Center-Presentation Hall – Rochester, Minnesota
- Sep 16 2009 – DECC Auditorium – Duluth, Minnesota
- Sep 18 2009 – Fargo Theatre – Fargo, North Dakota
- Sep 19 2009 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Sep 20 2009 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Sep 22 2009 – Riverside Ballroom – Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Sep 23 2009 – The Vic Theatre – Chicago, Illinois
- Sep 25 2009 – Michigan Theater – Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Oct 10 2009 – Lobero Theatre – Santa Barbara, California
- Oct 11 2009 – Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, California
- Oct 13 2009 – Rio Theatre – Santa Cruz, California
- Oct 14 2009 – Tower Theatre – Fresno, California
- Oct 20 2009 – Arcata Community Center – Arcata, California
- Oct 21 2009 – McDonald Theatre – Eugene, Oregon
- Oct 23 2009 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, Oregon
- Oct 24 2009 – Moore Theatre – Seattle, Washington
- Oct 25 2009 – PAC Concert Hall – Bellingham, Washington
- Oct 27 2009 – Centre for the Performing Arts – Vancouver, British Columbia
- Oct 28 2009 – Royal Theatre – Victoria, British Columbia
- Nov 13 2009 – State Theatre – Ithaca, New York
- Nov 14 2009 – Zeiterion Performing Arts Center – New Bedford, MA
- Nov 15 2009 – Calvin Theatre – Northampton, Massachusetts
- Nov 17 2009 – The Egg – Albany, New York
- Nov 18 2009 – Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, Connecticut
- Nov 20 2009 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Nov 21 2009 – The Town Hall – New York, New York
REVIEW: Medeski Martin & Wood @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – – 11/15/08)
FYI… my PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
Keys player John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood make up one of my favorite groove and experimental jazz trios on the scene today. I’ve seen them twice prior (once only casually, once as a hardcore fan), and this third time was again in the clearly hardcore fan category.
This tour from Seattle to Reno is the last of three short jaunts in 2008 that are all part of their Radiolarian experiment. This special series – named after a type of single-celled organisms with remarkable exoskeletons – sees the trio getting together for five days to hammer out new material. Then they go on a brief tour to practice the pieces live, after which they cut a record of the new material. Instead of the standard industry practice of write -> record -> tour, MMW will write -> tour -> record.
The opener was no one. This was an “Evening With MMW” type of thing. Which, IMO, just rocked. It’s not to say that an opener might not have been enjoyable, but sometimes you just want to dig into to the real deal.
Medeski Martin & Wood were on top of their game. The hit the stage around 8:20pm and played a 1st set that was about 60/40 on the experimental vs. groove jazz. Their experimentation seemed a little bit more cohesive than, say, their Live at Tonic from a few years back. I dug it a lot, but some of the crowd was definitely itching for their more danceable, groove-oriented jazz. They ended this first set around 9:30pm and took a break…
(click for larger)
I toyed with the idea of leaving… I mean, I just saw 70 minutes of fantastic MMW. I’m glad I stayed, though. They hit the stage again around 10:00pm and played another solid hour plus of 120% groove. Great vibe, great fun… at one point all three were playing percussion of some sort. They also had a more rock tune in the bunch. Near the end of their 2nd set, I went to the “lounge” area to see what it was all about. I grabbed a beer and partially watched the encore via the TVs in the lounge (a weird but convenient trend in concert going these days). Near the end of the encore, I had to see it from the floor. Fantastic show all around!!
MMW’s setlist for tonight? Ha! I could only tell you that it was a smokin’ 2++ hour show… but song names and jazz music are usually hard to recollect. If I get wind of a set list via the MMWSetlist site, I’ll post it here. It may very well have been all Radiolarians Part 3 outside of the encore (which had been “Crosstown Traffic” at recent shows).
Their newest album, Radiolarians 1, is out now and is fantastic. As is their John Zorn / Masada Book Two album, Zaebos… Radiolarians 2 & 3 are expected out early 2009, I imagine. I’m glad to be part of the Radiolarians 3 performance this swing through Eugene. They’re going in to record Radiolarians 3 over Thanksgiving (or so said the merch lady).
The Appropriate Linkage:
Next show… tomorrow (Monday the 17th) is Jason Schimmel’s Orange Tulip Conspiracy at Samurai Duck in Eugene. OTC is a great eclectic instrumental band (similar to Jason’s other band Estradasphere but without the “metal” aspect). I wish it weren’t late on a Monday at a dive bar, but it promises to be a VERY good show nonetheless.
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Film Works XXI: Belle de Nature / The New Rijksmuseum
MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – – 4/16/08)
Wow… great show last night from Ani and her compadres…
The opener was poet Judy Grahn‘s spoken word to beats and such from Animal Prufrock (formerly of Bitch & Animal) and guitarist Anne Carol. They played about 35-40 minutes. The songs/poems they played are presumed to be something along the lines of…
- Bowls
- Emotional Boner
- Vampires
- Mental
- Love Me
- The Forest
- Bledsung
- (unknown)
- Walk & Taxi Back (my favorite of their set)
Ani DiFranco came around 9pm, played for just over an hour and a half. The background was really cool (but simple). It was a big curtain with different colored lights. McDonald Theatre didn’t seem to pull this out for That1Guy & Buckethead last month… alas, it was nice for Ani’s backdrop.
The last few times that I’d seen her, she only had bass accompaniment from Todd Sickafoose (who has not one but two nice jazz recordings). This time, she also had Allison Miller on drums and Mike Dylan (or Dillon) on xylophone (or was it a vibraphone?) and bongos.
Set list:
- Shy
- Half-Assed
- Not a Pretty Girl
- Swim
- Lag Time
- Decree
- Napoleon
- As Is (a favorite of the night)
- Subdivision (a favorite of the night)
- Here For Now
- Swan Dive (a favorite of the night)
- Fire Door
- Anticipate
- The Atom (new song, presumed title)
- Alla This / Bankroll (new song, two titles floating around the internets)
- In the Way
- Shameless (a favorite of the night)
- Encore: Gravel
- Hypnotized
Eight times in eight years… it’s a good annual (or so) tradition to see Ani at work. The new songs seemed familiar; so perhaps she played them last year on tour, too. I look forward to her next album, which is probably “due” in 55 days based on the scientifically syncronized Ani DiFranco album gestation calendar (currently 9.16 months per Ani release, and 6.46 months if the “official bootleg” live albums are brought into the mix)*.
~Dan – np: klezmer podcast no. 33 (here)
*- Go on, tell yourself that I’m making these numbers up. The sad truth. I’m not.
REVIEW: That1Guy & Buckethead @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – – 3/22/08)
’twas an oddrocker double bill yesterday… That1Guy and Buckethead.
This was my fourth time seeing Mr. 1Guy. My review of his show last fall is here. That1Guy started right after 9pm and played for just about an hour. He started out with the haunting strings of “Forgotten Whales” (a song that actually made it on our wedding CDs for the dinner… teehee). He played a lot of instrumental tracks on the magic pipe (a big metal pipe jacked up on electricity), but he also did “Buttmachine,” “Weasel Pot Pie,” and “The Moon is Disgusting.” I kinda wish he would’a done “One,” alas he didn’t. He pulled out the magic boot (a cowboy boot jacked up on electricity)… it’s got a nice tabla-like sound. He also pulled out the magic saw (a large saw jacked up on electricity) and played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” A couple times in his set he went to a very repetitive place, alas, still an overall great show from That1Guy. Check him out sometime if he comes to your town… todays show was a solid 4.5 stars.
Check out some videos of That1Guy (click the pictures)…
Live in Oz:
One:
Buttmachine:
Buckethead went on at 10:30pm. This was my third time seeing him, and my wife’s first time. I was bummed with no live band backing him. He played along to drum & bass & ’lectronic DAT tracks… that were TOO LOUD. It was too hard to hear him play his guitar half the time. Plus the live band atmosphere is much better. Anyway, he started out with “Jump Man/Night of the Slunk”… played a bunch of other stuff… also played “Stick Pit”… we had to leave 45 minutes in. The volume levels were PAINFUL (and we had earplugs in)… but not so much the guitar volume levels, mainly the backing tracks… ::sigh:: Guitars: 4.5 stars… everything else: 2 stars… so much so that it was unenjoyable past 45 minutes. I totally missed the potential for his patented nun-chuk robot dancing.
I hope to see him again soon (July in Dayton with my brother, maybe)… I hope he has his band back with him.
The appropriate linkage:
the guy with the shirt, the other guy with the pipe, and the guy with the hat walk into a bar
Three blogs within 24 hours… oy, not a good sign.
Anyway, I’m exicted about two more shows coming up (I love living in a cool college town)…
NYC trumpeter Peter Evans is playing at Cozmic Pizza on Monday, Feb 4th. He’s adventurous, he’s played with John Zorn in the past (yay), and his band projects (Mostly Other People Do the Killing and Spärks) sound cool, too.
http://www.myspace.com/peterevanstrumpet
http://www.myspace.com/mostlyotherpeopledothekilling
http://www.myspace.com/nycsparks
And then… That1Guy and Buckethead on the same bill (Eugene’s McDonald Theatre on Saturday, March 22nd). Cool. It’s the Saturday after finals… and my wife says she’s up for the challenge (she likes That1Guy enough, but has only really been “confronted” by Buckethead’s calmer stuff… as it’s good for massages and our weddings CDs, but not what he really does “in concert,” per se). :-)
http://www.myspace.com/that1guy
http://www.myspace.com/bucketheadfann
http://www.myspace.com/bucketheadnfriends
~Dan
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
Creative Commons
This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news 