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REVIEW: Seun Kuti & the Egypt 80 @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 3/18/12)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I have to be honest, part of me loves afrobeat due to it originating from my country of birth – Fela Kuti brought it to the forefront in Nigeria in the 1970s (I was born in Jos, Nigeria in the mid-70s as well). Another part of me loves afrobeat due to how straight-up awesome that it is… blending and stirring folk, jazz, funk, rock, and world music into a brilliant, bubbling, oozing-through-your-pores musical and political form of expression. It represents the struggle alongside the joy… and it’s got a funky beat I can dance to…
Sadly, I missed Femi Kuti (elder son of Fela) when he came through a few years back. But I love the music, and didn’t want to miss that opportunity again. I got into the style via NYC-based Antibalas. When I saw that Seun Anikulapo Kuti was coming to Eugene, I had to go…
had. to.
The opener was California based instrumental afrobeat band Afromassive. The crowd was sparse at first, but near the middle of the set, the WOW Hall was beginning to fill out…
They played a 45 minute set of instrumental afrobeat songs and a James Brown cover… definitely fun and danceable. They were an 8-piece band on this tour – lighter on the horns than what was to come, but definitely a horn-centered funky vibe.
They were a perfect warm-up for Sean Kuti and the Egypt 80… The Egypt 80 was Fela Kuti’s band that Seun started singing in as a young boy. After his father died in 1997, Seun took over the band when he was only 14! Many of the members in this 15-piece (!) touring band were active in the band when Fela was alive and kicking.
The set kicked off with singer / trumpeter Muyiwa Kunnuji (in purple below) getting things going on vocals for “Giant of Africa.” During this song, each member of the horn section got a chance to come out and show off their chops with a solo…
Sean came out during the 2nd song with backup singers/dancers and his sax in tow. He took over the bulk of the lead vocals duties, but most of the band pitched in for the shouts and choruses…
The band played a spirited set of anthems with large swaths of stunning musicianship. The band, presumably the same from the album’s liner notes (as the album photo appears to be the same people), was made up of the aforementioned Seun on sax & vocals, Muyiwa on vocals and trumpet, Bidemi Adekunle on baritone sax, Gdabe Okunade and Lekan Animashaun on trumpets, Oyinade Adeniran on tenor sax, David Obayendo and Gbenga Alade on guitars, Kunle Justice on bass, Ajayi Raimi on drums, Kola Onasanya on percussion, Okon Iyamba on shekere, Wale Toriola on keyboards, and Iyabo Adeniran and Yetunde Ademiluyi on backing vocals and dancing.
Setlist: 90+ mins
- Giant of Africa
- African Soldier
- Kalakuta Show [Fela Kuti]
- Zombie [Fela Kuti]
- African Problems
- Rise
- Mr. Big Thief
- The Good Leaf
- You Can Run
No Encore (despite “Mosquito Song” listed)
Seun was drinking hot tea during part of the set… which couldn’t have helped with the heat on the packed stage. His voice had been giving him troubles; so they ended their set without the listed “Mosquito” encore, despite the many cheers for an encore from the nearly-danced out crowd. This was only the band’s fourth show on a 2-month long tour (full tour dates at the bottom). I wish Seun rest and many large mugs of tea!
I picked up their most recent record, From Africa With Fury: Rise. I dig it. It’s available in CD or 12″ double-vinyl at the show… or over on the Amazons. And next time a Kuti or other afrobeat band comes to town… get there. You won’t be disappointed.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Seun Kuti’s Site
- Seun Kuti’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Afromassive’s Site
- Afromassive’s Facebook / MySpace
- My Other Afrobeat Reviews~
- Antibalas @ Berbati’s Pan (Portland – July 2010)
- Antibalas @ Southgate House (mini-review) (Cincinnati – Apr 2007)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates below.
Next show for me… well, as I write this, it’s in a few hours… Skerik’s Bandalabra @ Cozmic Pizza (3/20). After that, it’s Dan Bern @ Cozmic (3/27) and Ani DiFranco @ Roseland (3/31).
~Dan – np: Seun Kuti and the Egypt 80 – From Africa With Fury: Rise
SEUN KUTI & THE EGYPT 80 PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2012 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Seun Kuti & the Egypt 80 – Spring 2012 U.S. Tour Dates
3/15 – SXSW – Austin, TX
3/16 – Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
3/17 – Mt. Tabor Theater – Portland, OR
3/18 – W.O.W. Hall – Eugene, OR
3/21 – Center for the Arts – Grass Valley, CA
3/23 – Moe’s – Santa Cruz, CA
3/24 – Mateel Cultural Center – Redway, CA
3/28 – Belly Up – Aspen, CO
3/29 – Boulder Theater – Boulder, CO
3/30 – Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS
3/31 – Englert Theater – Iowa City, IA
4/1 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
4/4 – Variety – Atlanta, GA
4/5 – Duke Performances – Durham, NC
4/6- Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
4/7 – Club Helsinki – Hudson, NY
4/8 – Highline Ballroom – New York, NY
4/12 – UW Madison – Madison, WI
4/13 – Rhythm Foundation – Miami, FL
4/14 – The Cedar – Minneapolis, MN
4/15 – Coachella – Indio, CA
4/16 – Campbell Hall – Santa Barbara, CA
4/18 – UC San Diego – San Diego, CA
4/19 – Zellerbach Hall – Berkeley, CA
4/20 – UCLA Royce Hall – Los Angeles, CA
4/22 – Coachella – Indio, CA
4/24 – KTAOS Solar Center – Taos, NM
4/25 – Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM
4/27 – New Orleans Jazz Festival – New Orleans, LA
4/29 – Houston International Festival – Houston, TX
5/2 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
5/13 – Lake Eden Arts Festival – Black Mountain, NC
Seun Kuti & the Egypt 80 in Eugene [photos soon]
Youngest son of afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, Seun Anikulapo Kuti & the Egypt 80 hit Eugene’s WOW Hall on Sunday night… it was an amazing show!
More photos, setlist and review of the show to be posted by Wednesday morning are posted here.
~Dan
REVIEW: Secret Chiefs 3 in Oregon @ WOW Hall & Dante’s (Eugene & Portland – 2/6 & 2/7/12)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I’ve been a fan of instrumental world/surf/film metal shape-shifters Secret Chiefs 3 for a long time and a fan of Los Angeles-based, Cambodian-pop-fusion band Dengue Fever for a handful of years as well.
SC3 and DF has their own connection. Dengue Fever’s debut album in 2003 was on Web of Mimicry, the label that SC3 frontman Trey Spruance runs. Their connection goes a little deeper still. Dengue guitarist Zac Holtzman
was in Dieselhed with Danny Hefietz (drummer for Mr. Bungle – another Trey Spruance band). Danny is also back drumming with SC3 on this co-headlining West Coast tour.
For this tour, the bands have been switching off their order of performance. I was able to catch both Oregon shows… for Eugene (Mon 2/6), DF played first and SC3 closed. There was no opener, and Dengue Fever went on just before 8:30 at WOW Hall. I have a couple of their earlier records, but never had the chance to see them live. I dug it… pretty fun, and it looked like they were having fun on stage as well.
They played about an hour of Cambodian power pop. Trey Spruance joined them on stage and played guitar and a wicked solo for their final number “1000 Years of a Tarantula”…
DF Eugene 2/6 Setlist: about an hour
- Genjer Genjer
- Seeing Hands
- New Year’s Eve
- Hold My Hips
- Tiger Phone Card
- Durian Dowry
- A Go Go
- Uku
- Pow Pow
- Sober Driver
- Only A Friend
- Cement Slippers
- 1000 Tears of a Tarantula [with Trey]
No Encore
Secret Chiefs 3 came out at about 10pm, donned in long, dark hoods except for violinist/ guitarist Timb Harris dressed in more masked martial arts attire…
This was my third time seeing them, and it was definitely the tightest band I’ve witnessed. They ripped through a blistering set of proggy, world metal. The off-kilter timings, the meticulous instrumentation… all spot on. “Bereshith” is a tune that I think I saw them start the 2007 NYC show with, and I thought it was “off” in NYC. It’s a really odd number, from a timing perspective. This time… they nailed it.
Probably the most strikingly different moment “live vs. studio” was the gorgeous intro/outro to “Exodus.” The intro/outro on the Book of Horizons studio version is a lovely melody played on strings (Eyvind Kang on viola & Timb Harris on violin). For this live setting, Timb put down his violin and played it on trumpet. I looooooove trumpet… and this melody on trumpet about made me swoon…
SC3 Eugene 2/6 Setlist: about 80 mins
- Radar (The Day the Earth Stood Still) [Bernard Herrmann]
- Zombievision
- Personnae: Halloween [John Carpenter]
- Balance of the 19
- Fast
- Bereshith
- RFID Slaverider / Agenda 21 / Codex Alimentarius (Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini Medley)
- Sophia’s Theme
- Vajra (Rat Puriya)
- Combat for the Angel
- Tistriya
- Book T: Exodus [Ernest Gold]
- Saptarshi
- Encore: Hurqalya
For Portland (Tues 2/7), I showed up at Dante’s right around 8pm, and the first band wasn’t going on until closer to 8:45. It was U SCO, who I had never heard of before; so I walked to the near-ish Deschutes Pub and had one of the last pours of their Jubel Kriek (their Jubel Ale aged 25 months in a barrel on cherries and with Brettanomyces). They blew their 2nd (and last) 1/6 BBL keg shortly after I ordered. Mmmm… sour beer… after that, I skedaddled back just in time to catch U SCO’s bitchin’ set.
U SCO were helmed by guitarist Ryan A. Miller, who I had just seen a week prior in Eugene opening for a solo bass show from Trevor Dunn (a former Trey Spruance band member as well). Small musical world in a quite vast musical sea. Crazy. Anyway, U SCO was a shredding, avant-garde jazz-metal band – to the best of my descriptions. They’re a three piece made up of Ryan on guitars, Jon Scheid on bass, and Phil Cleary on drums. They also had a guest saxophonist for some songs. They’re from Portland; so I hope I’ll get a chance to see them again. Definitely!
SC3 started setting up right afterwards and hit the stage about 9:45pm… of core of their setlist was the same, but they did throw in a few new ones: “The 15,” “The 4” and “Zulfikar.”
They ripped through a great set once again. They’re such a tight band on this tour – quite stunning. Even when Trey kicked his cord out for about 5-10 seconds during “Halloween,” they didn’t miss a beat. And, once again, Timb’s trumpet intro/outro for “Exodus“… swoon…
SC3 Portland 2/7 Setlist: about 70 mins
- Bereshith
- Radar (The Day the Earth Stood Still) [Bernard Herrmann]
- Zombievision
- Personnae: Halloween [John Carpenter]
- The 15
- The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun)
- RFID Slaverider / Agenda 21 / Codex Alimentarius (Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini Medley)
- Vajra (Rat Puriya)
- Zulfikar
- Tistriya
- Book T: Exodus [Ernest Gold]
- Saptarshi
No Encore
The one gripe with the Portland show… the lighting was pretty poorly matched. They didn’t turn the house lights down until nearing the end of SC3’s first song. Also, the lights in general were behind the band, and they were still too bright if you ask me. For some bands, that’s probably good… but with the Chiefs, the air of mystery and cloaks in darkness adds to the allure of the live show. Don’t get me wrong, it was still an amazing show. I’m just glad I got to catch it in Eugene, too.
I had a long drive home and work in the morning; so I sadly bailed on Dengue Fever’s closing set in Portland. I’m sure it was groovy like the Eugene show. Sorry, but my body thanks me for getting home at 1am instead of 2:30am!
The tour wraps this weekend… but stick around, SC3 are bound to kick something off later in 2012. More 7″ vinyls? More touring? The long-awaited Book of Souls? A Chinese Democracy cover album?
If you missed the tour, I’d HIGHLY RECOMMEND checking out their new schwag… including the new SC3 Traditionalists Le Chanson de Jacky / The Western Exile 7″ split (featuring Trey’s fellow Mr. Bungle band-mate Mike Patton on “Jacky”), the 12″ re-releases of First and Second Grand Constitution & Bylaws, and three bitchin’-design new t-shirts.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Secret Chiefs 3 / Web of Mimicry Record Label Site
- Secret Chiefs 3’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Dengue Fever’s Site
- Dengue Fever’s Social Media Links (see below)
- U SCO’s Site / Facebook / Bandcamp
- My Other Related Reviews~
- SC3 @ Doug Fir (Portland – Aug 2008)
- SC3 @ Bowery (NYC – Mar 2007)
- (Timb’s old band) Estradasphere @ 2nd Story (Bloomington, IN – Oct 2006)
- (U SCO guitarist) Ryan Miller/Trevor Dunn @ The Goat (Eugene – Jan 2012)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
- Dante’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates below.
Next show for me… most likely the David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) house show in Portland on 2/15, unless something pops up before then.
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Film Works XIII: Invitation to a Suicide
SECRET CHIEFS 3 & DENGUE FEVER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2012 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
SC3 & DF 2012 West Coast Tour Dates
- Jan 24 – Denver CO – Bluebird Theatre
- Jan 25 – Santa Fe NM – Santa Fe Brewing Company
- Jan 26 – Phoenix AZ – Crescent Ballroom
- Jan 27 – Los Angeles CA – El Rey Theatre
- Jan 28 – Santa Ana CA – Constellation Room
- Jan 29 – San Diego CA – The Casbah
- Jan 31 – San Luis Obispo CA – Club SLO Brew
- Feb 1 – Santa Cruz CA – Moe’s Alley
- Feb 2 – San Francisco CA – Great American Music Hall
- Feb 3 – San Francisco CA – Slim’s
- Feb 4 – Sacramento CA – Harlow’s
- Feb 6 – Eugene OR – WOW Hall
- Feb 7 – Portland OR – Dante’s
- Feb 8 – Seattle WA – Neumos
- Feb 9 – Bellingham WA – The Wild Buffalo
- Feb 10 – Vancouver BC – Rickshaw Theatre
Secret Chiefs 3 & Dengue Fever in Eugene & Portland
Due to my schedule, I won’t be able to edit photos until Wednesday night, but I should have my Secret Chiefs 3 / Dengue Fever post covering both the 2/6 Eugene WOW Hall show and the 2/7 Portland Dante’s show posted on Thursday morning. Here’s a teaser from Eugene…
2/6/12 Eugene Setlists:
2/7/12 Portland Setlist (SC3 only):
Bereshith
Radar
Zombievision
Personnae: Halloween [John Carpenter]
The 15
The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun)
Medley (Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini)
Vajra (Rat Puriya)
Zulfikar
Tistriya
Book T: Exodus [Ernest Gold]
Saptarshi
no encore
Check back Thursday morning for more photos…
~Dan – np: MadLove – White With Foam
REVIEW: Chali 2na @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/16/11)
Chali 2Na is a rapper that commands an album. His deep baritone and unrivaled flow were a staple on Jurassic 5’s albums. His height and booming voice also command a room. I’ve seen Chali many times with J5, but for various reasons, I’ve always missed him when he’s brought his solo tour through town.
This show was going to fall into that same trap… until the Michael Jackson-tribute Cirque du Soleil show set for Wednesday, November 16th got canceled and moved to only being on Tuesday the 15th (my review of the Eugene MJ Cirque show here). “Yay! I could hit Chali’2 solo show!” In fact, had the Cirque tickets not been so much, I would have bailed and gone to see Chali anyhow…
What makes Chali so good? Well, check out the video for “Step Yo Game Up”…
There was a DJ I didn’t catch the name of as an opener, and then tour opener MTHDS went on late (10pm or so). They were good and got the smallish WOW Hall crowd warmed up. I was worried that the crowd for Chali 2Na would stay low, but I guess a lot of people were downstairs during the earlier sets as the floor got a little more packed during Chali’s show…
more photos below
Chali hit the stage around 11:15pm with his live band the House of Vibe. They were a three-piece rock format with “Brew” on keys and vocals… there was also a drummer and bassist (didn’t get their names). It was a fresh take to see a live band with a rapper… most times I’ve seen rap in a live setting, it’s been to DAT or a DJ.
Setlist: the first hour…
- Unknown
- “Mister DJ”
- Comin’ Thru
- Don’t Stop
- F.O.W. (Fish Outta Water)
- International
- Guns Up
- Welcome to the Fish Market
- Freedom [Jurassic 5]
- Quality Control [J5] w/ MJ “I Want You Back” & “I’ll Be There” (snippets)
- What’s Golden [J5]
- Step Yo’ Game Up
- Righteous Way
- …
I bailed around 12:20am… caught about an hour of Chali’2 set. Great show, wish it would have started earlier – especially for a Wednesday night. I loved that he threw in a few Jurassic 5 tunes. Keyboardist “Brew” sang a few Michael Jackson ditties in the middle of J5’s “Quality Control”… the crowd ate it up!
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Chali 2Na’s Site
- Chali 2Na’s Social Media Links (see below)
- MTHDS’ Site / Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- House of Vibe’s Site / Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates on Chali’s site HERE.
Next show for me… Over the Rhine @ the Aladdin Theater in Portland tonight (11/17).
~Dan – np: Causing A Tiger – How We Held Our Post
CHALI 2NA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
PHOTOS: Jason Webley & Mood Area 52 @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 10/31/11)
Fantastically fun Halloween show by Mood Area 52 and Jason Webley at Eugene’s WOW Hall. Tons of accordion, sing-a-longs, baby carrots, leaves, water bottle shakers, giant balloons (even one Jason got about waist-deep into until it popped), and great music. Jason last show (for a while) is 11/11/11 at the Moore Theatre in Seattle… go if you are able!
MOOD AREA 52 & JASON WEBLEY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Jason Webley’s Site
- Jason Webley’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Mood Area 52’s Site
- Mood Area 52‘s Facebook / MySpace
- My Other Related Posts~
- Webley @ Eugene Celebration (Eugene – Aug 2010)
- Mood Area 52 & Raquy and the Cavemen @ Joe’s (Eugene – Sept 2009)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Next shows for me… Chris Chandler at Sam Bond’s (11/5), My Brightest Diamond at Mississippi Studios (11/6) & Puscifer at Paramount (11/7).
~Dan – np: U2 – Zooropa
REVIEW: Melt Banana @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 10/1/11)
Melt Banana started off their two month U.S. tour with an initial stop at the WOW Hall in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday. Their last time through Oregon, the Tokyo-based screamo/noise metal band didn’t stop here, and the freezing rain & severe winter fog kept many Ducks who wanted to trek up to Portland away. Not so this time… and I made it there just in time to catch their blistering set.
Agata shredded up the guitars, making dental exams seem pleasant. Yako was a sandstorm of power and unexpectedness on vocal duties… and charming in between songs. The drum & bass battery (presumably Takiya & Rika) propelled the blasts of music forward.
It’s one thing to hear this band on record, it’s quite another to see them live. They’re going all over the U.S.A. from now until late November! Catch them (dates below). They’re also working on a new album, out in 2012.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Melt Banana’s Site
- Melt Banana’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Other Related Reviews~
- Jeff Matarrese’s photos in ODE (Eugene 10/1)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates below.
Next shows for me… Chromeo & Opeth at the Roseland (Portland) in a couple of weeks!
~Dan – np: John Zorn – At the Gates of Paradise
MELT-BANANA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
MxBx 2011 U.S.A. Tour Dates
- 10/1/2011 WOW Hall Eugene, OR
- 10/2/2011 Star Theater Portland, OR
- 10/3/2011 Chop Suey Seattle, WA
- 10/4/2011 The Badlander Missoula, MT
- 10/6/2011 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, UT
- 10/8/2011 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO
- 10/9/2011 The Record Bar Kansas City, MO
- 10/10/2011 The Waiting Room Omaha, NE
- 10/11/2011 The Mill Iowa City, IA
- 10/12/2011 Nutty’s Sioux Falls, SD
- 10/13/2011 Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN
- 10/14/2011 High Noon Saloon Madison, WI
- 10/15/2011 Cactus Club Milwaukee, WI
- 10/16/2011 Subterranean Chicago, IL
- 10/17/2011 Cicero’s St. Louis, MO
- 10/18/2011 The Bishop Bloomington, IN
- 10/19/2011 The Historic Southgate House Newport, KY
- 10/20/2011 Mac’s Bar Lansing, MI
- 10/22/2011 Grog Shop Cleveland Heights, OH
- 10/23/2011 The Haunt Ithaca, NY
- 10/25/2011 Wrongbar Toronto, ON
- 10/26/2011 Il Motore Montreal, QC
- 10/27/2011 T.T. The Bear’s Cambridge, MA
- 10/28/2011 The Space Hamden, CT
- 10/29/2011 Santos Party House New York, NY
- 10/31/2011 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA
- 11/1/2011 The Red Palace Washington, DC
- 11/2/2011 Ottobar Baltimore, MD
- 11/4/2011 Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC
- 11/5/2011 The EARL Atlanta, GA
- 11/06/2011 The Engine Room Tallahassee, FL
- 11/08/2011 Backbooth Orlando, FL
- 11/09/2011 Crowbar Tampa, FL
- 11/10/2011 Double Down Gainesville, FL
- 11/11/2011 Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, FL
- 11/12/2011 Caledonia Lounge Athens, GA
- 11/13/2011 The End Nashville, TN
- 11/15/2011 BottleTree Birmingham, AL
- 11/16/2011 Alabama Music Box Mobile, AL
- 11/17/2011 Fitzgerald’s Houston, TX
- 11/18/2011 The Prophet Bar Dallas, TX
- 11/19/2011 The Mohawk Austin, TX
- 11/20/2011 Jack’s Patio Bar & Grill San Antonio, TX
- 11/22/2011 Club Congress Tucson, AZ
- 11/23/2011 Hollywood Alley Mesa, AZ
- 11/25/2011 The Bunkhouse Las Vegas, NV
- 11/26/2011 Soda Bar San Diego, CA
- 11/27/2011 Echoplex Los Angeles, CA
- 11/28/2011 Harlow’s Night Club Sacramento, CA
- 11/29/2011 Bottom Of The Hill San Francisco , CA
Kaki King @ WOW Hall in Eugene 2011
Full review with more photos of Kaki King & Washington to be posted by Saturday… UPDATE: GO HERE
~Dan
REVIEW: Derek Webb @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 1/20/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I’ve been a fan of Derek Webb ever since seeing him in Caedmon’s Call in the mid-90s. His voice and lyricism is something I connect with, regardless of my now-differing beliefs. He’s a genuine artist & thinker, and I think he’s a Christian that I think really “gets it”… or is at least trying to “get it” (we’re all a work in progress)…
His last two albums, 2009’s Stockholm Syndrome and 2010’s instrumental Feedback, have some of the best material he’s put out, in my opinion. Since I went into a long-ish discussion about my connection and thoughts about Webb & Christianity in my review of the Jennifer Knapp tour in the Spring 2010 and my thoughts about Feedback, I’ll keep this review shorter and sweeter…
We showed up a little after the early start time… I got a chuckle out of Derek’s tweet about it being a “Christian seated show” (with photo) and took in the last half of opener Anna Gilbert‘s set…
Anna is an Oregonian, went to the University of Oregon, lives in Portland, and has a handful of delightfully sonic pop albums. Her third CD, Your Love My Medicine, was produced by none other than knob-wizard Charlie Peacock (his wiki). Anna’s sound… poppy, singer-songwriter. Nice positive songs.
After a short break and a beer, Derek hit the stage at 8pm…
Great set, a mix of songs from his solo albums, a couple of Caedmon’s tunes… and one lonely cover song. Based on my prior experience with Derek, and his recent Democracy covers series (now heading into Volume 2), I figured he’d hit us with another cover or two.
The acoustic version of the mostly electronic Stockholm Syndrome songs worked well. “What Matters More” is a favorite, and while the studio version is full of electronics, the stripped down version still remained one of my favorites from the night. For other Derek fans (or Derek himself), have the Stockholm songs ever been played out live with keyboards and/or a full band (Joshua Moore, etc)? That would kick ass.
Setlist: about 90 mins
- The End / The Very End
- The Spirit Vs. The Kick Drum
- New Law
- I Hate Everything (But You)
- Freddie, Please
- A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fears
- I Love/Hate You
- God’s Hometown [Caedmon’s Call]
- I Just Don’t Want Coffee [Caedmon’s Call]
- Wedding Dress
- Heaven
- What Matters More
- She Must And Shall Go Free
- (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding [Nick Lowe]
“Spirit vs. Kick Drum,” “Love/Hate,” and the Caedmon’s “Coffee” were some other favorite selections from the night. His banter was charming as usual. I was surprised he didn’t talk about Shawn Colvin being on his flight to Eugene… alas, perhaps he was distracted by Delta not being as gentle with his guitar as he’d have liked… assuming his guitar makes it back to Nashville with him, he needs to get a few things checked out (loose screw or something).
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Derek Webb’s Site
- Derek Webb’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Anna Gilbert’s Site
- Anna Gilbert’s Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- My Other Related Reviews~
- Aladdin Theater w/ Jennifer Knapp (Portland – April 2010)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
He’s playing Seattle, WA, tonight (1/22 @ the Q Cafe). Check out more tour dates at http://derekwebb.com/.
Next concert for me… Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp-Muhl’s Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger on 1/28.
~Dan – np: No-Man – Returning Jesus 
DEREK WEBB PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Derek Webb – 1/20 Eugene setlist (full review by Sat)
Derek Webb last night at the WOW Hall in Eugene, Oregon… Update: GO HERE FOR FULL REVIEW
Setlist: about 90 mins
- The End / The Very End
- The Spirit Vs. The Kick Drum
- New Law
- I Hate Everything (But You)
- Freddie, Please
- A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fears
- I Love/Hate You
- God’s Hometown [Caedmon’s Call]
- I Just Don’t Want Coffee [Caedmon’s Call]
- Wedding Dress
- Heaven
- What Matters More
- She Must And Shall Go Free
- (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding [Nick Lowe]
Full review & more photos posted by Saturday… GO HERE FOR FULL REVIEW.
~Dan – np: No-Man – Speak
More Hi-Res Photos added from Le Serpent Rouge show (WOW Hall 11/30)
I just added nineteen (19) new / better photos of Tuesday’s Le Serpent Rouge show which were shot by Margaret O’Brien of emobie photography. Check ’em out at the original review post…
REVIEW: Le Serpent Rouge @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/30/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
12/3 update: emobie photographs added
Last night, the Indigo Bellydance group and friends brought Eugene the stupendously entertaining Le Serpent Rouge: An Evening of Beguiling Dance and Strangely Familiar Music.
Le Serpent Rouge is a traveling road show that captivates. At its core it is the Indigo: made up of Mardi Love, Rachel Brice, and Zoë Jakes (L-to-R in picture to the right).
While they have danced in various groups — including the Bellydance Superstars, Beats Antique and the Yard Dogs Road Show — The Indigo is the group that they call home. They each bring their own influences to make their own modern dance forms unique. Love’s fluidity, Brice’s sinewy strength, and Jakes’ intensity and charm make their sum greater than each one individually. They are known to be theatrical and playful, often playing characters within their performances.
While rooted in Middle Eastern styles, their dance style for this tour might be found in an old West saloon mixed with a Prohibition-era speakeasy. The burlesque and tribal fusion bellydance fits snugly with steampunk-meets-flapper blues/jazz/jug band from the Crow Quill Night Owls and Gallus Brothers. Tub bass, washboard, kazoo, banjo, guitars, percussive bones, feathers, tattoos and legs.
Local group Blair Street Mugwumps were the openers the show… fantastic performers. I had never heard them, but I had heard of them, and well, now I’ll make a point to hear more of them. All fantastic musicians, and while not all that dissimilar from the main group, they were a noticeable difference from “just another opening band.” A jug band with a modern edge. Quite entertaining.
Le Serpent Rouge started with Rachel Brice coming out dressed as an old lady… and introducing the show for us. The show was a nice mix of saloon tunes from Crow Quill Night Owls and the Gallus Brothers with dancing (group, duo and solo) and skits mixed in. The dramatic side of the Indigo shone through in their silly stage presence.
As far as the backing bands… the Gallus Brothers were actually part of the Crow Quill Night Owls band, but then splintered off to do silly tricks, juggling, and of course… glitter throwing. Here’s a shot of one of their silly tricks during a song…
Of course, the ladies of the Indigo were lovely… here are a few photos, with more at the bottom. I’ll also post some from Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography) once she gets them edited… update: added 12/3.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- The Indigo’s Main Site / Zoe / Rachel / Mardi
- The Indigo’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Crow Quill Night Owls‘ MySpace
- Gallus Brothers‘ MySpace
- Blair St. Mugwumps’ Site / Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- My Other Related Reviews~
- Beats Antique @ McDonald (Eugene Celebration – Aug 2010)
- Beats Antique @ Faeireworlds (Mt. Pisgah – Jul 2009)
- The Indigo @ Oregon Country Fair (Veneta – Jul 2008)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
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Tonight is their last night of the tour (Dec 1st at Portland’s Mississippi Studios). For a list of where they’ve played, check below.
~Dan – np: Puscifer – C is for…
LE SERPENT ROUGE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld
and Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography)
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Le Serpent Rouge Fall 2010 Tour Dates
- 11/5 – Seattle, WA – Market Theater
- 11/6 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
- 11/9 – Ashland, OR – CultureWorks
- 11/11 – Sabastopol, CA – Hopmonk Tavern
- 11/12 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
- 11/14 – Reno, NV – The Great Escape
- 11/16 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
- 11/18 – Tucson, AZ – Solar Culture
- 11/20 – Albuquerque, NM – Low Spirits
- 11/23 – Los Angeles, CA – King King
- 11/28 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
- 11/30 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
- 12/1 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
Le Serpent Rouge later today…
Sorry for the delay… The Indigo‘s Le Serpent Rouge show in Eugene’s WOW Hall last night was excellent. Review and more photos to be posted later today / this evening…
more photos soon…
~Dan
More OTR Eugene photos are now up
Margarita of emobie photography takes better photos than I… some of her Over the Rhine and Lucy Wainwright Roche photos from Monday’s show at WOW Hall (11/15) are now posted on that review page:
https://jazzsick.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/otr-eugene2010/
Portland show at Aladdin (11/17) to be posted later today…
~Dan
REVIEW: Over the Rhine @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/15/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
It’s been three long years since I’ve seen Over the Rhine. I missed them on their last tour through Portland (Doug Fir 2009) due to illness. Going three years between shows is odd… I mean, when I lived in Southwest Ohio, I would see them 5 times a year (on average) for about 10 years. Well, I’m making up for lost time by seeing them in both Eugene and Portland (Aladdin show review link). One might call me a fan.
For those that don’t know Over the Rhine, they started out as a four piece in Cincinnati in 1989 and put out their “post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art-pop” indie debut ‘Til We Have Faces in 1991. It was Karin Bergquist on vocals & guitar, Linford Detweiler on bass & keyboard (later focusing on primarily keys), Ric Hordinski on guitar, and Brian Kelley on drums. They put out four studio albums and a dark, broodingly beautiful Christmas album as a four-piece. Then in the late 90s, Ric & Brian left. Ric went off to do some amazing records under the moniker MONK (check it!). Brian still drums for various groups around Cincinnati.
Karin & Linford carried on the Over the Rhine flame throughout the years… moving away from a rockier feel to a more folky-pop-Americana thing. What I like about Over the Rhine is they continually change and evolve into a different band with each album and each outing. I’ve seen them rock out, I’ve seen them jazz it up, I’ve seen them happy, I’ve seen them somber, I’ve seen them celebratory, and I’ve seen them tell stories that will make you laugh and cry.
They’re on their annual West Coast tour as a precursor to their forthcoming album, The Long Surrender – which (last I saw in print) comes out on January 11, 2011 (aka 1/11/11). I’ve heard the songs from it (it pays to pre-order), and I’m digging it a bunch.
They also have a huge back catalogue (my count: 8 studio albums, 2 Christmas studio albums, 3 studio & live b-side releases, 4 official live releases, 1 greatest hits, and 3 Linford solo releases). While it’s hard to limit a large catalogue to a few albums, go check out some of my faves: the indie rocker Eve (1994), the acoustic homespun Good Dog Bad Dog (1996), the re-imagined band on Films for Radio (2001), or the magnum opus Ohio (2-CD 2003). You can’t go wrong. Happy scout’s honor.
So, being that I haven’t seen them in three years, it was noted as a duo show by their publicist, and they have a large catalog of songs to play, I was excited for the hopeful surprises. But first the opener…
Lucy Wainwright Roche played a humourous 30 minute set prior to Over the Rhine going on. She was a great mix of stand-up comedian (unintentional?) and singer-songwriter. Nice banter in between the songs. You can see her father Loudon’s humour in her. Where else are you going to hear about a car break-in “clean up” instead of a theft? Or a first date whose lung collapsed at dinner? And then top it off with a “Hungry Heart” sing-along? Lucy was a very formidable crowd warmer-upper!
A suprise to me based on the initial reports, Karin & Linford weren’t just a duo on this West Coast jaunt. They also brought along percussionist and cuatro player Nick Radina. He provided some nice layers to the already grogeous sounds coming from the guitars and keys and voices. Nick and Linford also played a nice instrumental which was called “Descarga” on the Santa Fe setlist. I don’t know if this is the actual name, or just some other setlist identifer. Anyway, it had a nice Latin feel.
They played a lot of their forthcoming The Long Surrender songs, with a few Trumpet Child and Drunkard’s Prayer songs thrown in. Linford was on keyboard for most of the night, but did join Karin on guitar for a handful of tunes. Karin also busted out some poetry prior to their “Bluebird” tune and a nice backstory about her mom’s nursing home prior to “Only God Can Save Us Now.” The backstory made the song make much more sense to me… especially all of those characters.
Setlist: about 75 mins
- The Laugh Of Recognition
- I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time
- Trouble (horny & inebriated mix)
- “The Bluebird” by Charles Bukowski [poetry reading by Karin]
- There’s A Bluebird In My Heart
- Rave On
- Undamned
- I Want You To Be My Love
- (Instrumental)
- Oh Yeah By The Way
- The King Knows How
- I’m On A Roll (to be covered by The Judds on their next record)
- Drunkard’s Prayer
- Only God Can Save Us Now
- Days Like This [Kim Taylor song]
- All My Favorite People
- Encore: Infamous Love Song
- No Kill Shelter
It was soooooo great to see them again after too many years. We got to chat with Linford for a bit after the show. I forgot to ask / confirm the release date of The Long Surrender (the merch lady said Feb 8th instead of Jan 11th). Here’s hoping they stick to 1/11/11, because that’s a superb release date… if I remember and I see him, I’ll check on Wednesday.
Anyway, Linford was glad to be able to spend a little bit of time in Oregon. He said that had a great experience on their Roots on the Rail tour (go here for Bill Ivester’s write-up of the experience). They might be doing another train tour next year in the west/central United States (Colorado area?). I’ll be seriously considering it for 2011 vacation plans.
For the meantime, enjoy some Eugene photos. Sorry about the primarily black & white and graininess… WOW Hall is a dark venue with normally high use of red lights (i.e.- death for my camera’s focus). Here’s hoping I’ll get some better shots at the Aladdin Theater show in Portland on Wednesday.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Over the Rhine’s Site
- Over the Rhine: The Orchard
- OTR’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Lucy Wainwright Roche’s Site / MySpace
- My Other Related Reviews~
- Aladdin Theater (Portland – 11/17/2010)
- Doug Fir Lounge (Portland – Sept 2007)
- Bogarts (Cincinnati – March 2001)
- Canal Street Tavern (Dayton – June 2000)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
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Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
OVER THE RHINE PHOTOS
these 11 pictures (cc) 2010 Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography),
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
these 22 pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Fall 2010 Tour Dates
- Fri, 2010-11-12 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
- Sat, 2010-11-13 San Franscisco, CA Great American Music Hall
- Mon, 2010-11-15 Eugene, OR W.O.W. Hall
- Wed, 2010-11-17 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
- Fri, 2010-11-19 Seattle, WA Triple Door
- Sat, 2010-11-20 Seattle, WA Triple Door
- Sun, 2010-11-21 Seattle, WA Triple Door
- Fri, 2010-12-03 Marion, OH Palace Theatre
- Sat, 2010-12-04 Kent, OH Kent Stage
- Sun, 2010-12-05 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
- Tue, 2010-12-07 Columbus, OH Lincoln Theatre
- Fri, 2010-12-10 Louisville, KY Bomhard Theater
- Sat, 2010-12-11 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music 7pm & 10pm
- Fri, 2010-12-17 Cincinnati, OH THE LONG SURRENDER PREMIERE @ the Jarson-Kaplan Theatre (in the Aronoff Center)
- Sat, 2010-12-18 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre
- Sun, 2010-12-19 Norwood, OH St. Elizabeth’s
REVIEW: Eisley @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/14/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I got into Eisley after a Paste video sampler with the video for “Marvelous Things” (from their Warner debut). It’s a well shot video… bright colors and mopey* looking kids singing excruciatingly hooky pop-rock (*-ah, the mid-2000s). Little did I know that they were all related (sisters & a brother). When the young DuPree kids started (as Moss Eisley) – Chauntelle was 15, Sherri was 13, Stacy was 8, and Weston was about 11 or 12. They were later joined by Garron DuPree (their cousin) when their bassist Jonathan Wilson left. Familial band make-up and young starting ages aside, they write great songs. In fact, the familial slant probably helps with their songwriting. It’s definitely in their genes.
I’ve been a fan of theirs since 2005, but they’re touring schedule has been elusive and just didn’t line up with my calendar. So, five years in the making… my first Eisley show… the “Over the River and Through the Wood” Tour. They just signed with Equal Vision Records, after a long battle to get let out of their Warner contract. Their third studio album (which I think has been done for some time) will come out on Equal Vision in early 2011.
Christie DuPree was the first opener. She was accompanied by Collin DuPree. Let’s just assign that last name to everyone on stage last night (ok, not Ives the Band – but there were 7 DuPrees on stage at some point last night!!). Christie went on around 8pm and played a nice handful of songs over the next 30 minutes. She had a acoustic-pop, singer-songwriter vibe… and her voice was very Eisley-esque. Of course, that’s not a shock, as she is their little sister. I could see some maturity in the tunes, and I think shes got a solid songwriting base with plenty of room to grow and progress, too. Definitely enjoyable! She had a homemade EP for sale… and I imagine she’ll be on the road with Eisley in the near future, too.
Ives the Band went on around 8:45 and played a bit over a half hour as well. They have been described as Beatles-esque. That’s a tough description to match, and while I don’t think they hit that mark (again – tough to do), they had some nice hooks and melodies. Great power pop from San Diego. Their album, The Incredible Story of Mr. Birch, is out now.
Eisley hit the stage around 9:45 and started right into their set without much chit-chat. Sherri & Stacy shared lead vocal duties last night, and even though Sherri was sick, she pulled off her songs quite well. In fact, had she not mentioned it, I might not have noticed.
Of their 19 song set, my guess is Sherri covered 2/3 of the set’s lead vocal duties (too lazy to count it up – sorry!). The 300-400 or so fans at the WOW Hall got treated by many favorites from their two albums, Room Noises and Combinations, as well as a couple of new songs…
Setlist: about 75 mins
- The Valley
- Invasion
- Ten Cent Blues
- Come Clean
- Brightly Wound
- Tree Tops
- Marvelous Things
- Go Away
- Telescope Eyes [acoustic]
- My Lovely [acoustic]
- Kind [acoustic / new song]
- Golly Sandra
- Many Funerals
- I Could Be There For You
- Memories
- I Wasn’t Prepared
- Sad [new song]
- Lost at Sea
- Ambulance
No Encore
Some of my favorites were the acoustic pieces, as well as the aforementioned “Marvelous Things.” Great show, great band. They’re going to be on the road again in the spring of 2011 when their new album comes out. I’m glad they’ve added Eugene to their touring plans now and in the future.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Eisley’s Site
- Eisley’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Christie DuPree’s Site
- Ives the Band’s Site
- Ives the Band’s MySpace / Facebook / Twitter
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
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Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Over the Rhine – The Long Surrender
EISLEY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Eisley Fall 2010 Tour Dates
- 10/10/2010 – New Orleans, LA – Tipitinas Uptown (18+)
- 10/12/2010 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall(16+)
- 10/14/2010 – Gainsville, FL – 1982 Bar (All Ages)
- 10/15/2010 – Tampa, FL – Crowbar (AA)
- 10/16/2010 – Orlando, FL – The Social (AA)
- 10/17/2010 – Tallahassee, FL (18+) – Club Downunder, FSU
- 10/19/2010 – Atlanta, GA (AA) – The Loft
- 10/20/2010 – Greenville, SC – The Handlebar (18+)
- 10/21/2010 – NYC, NY – Gramercy Theater (16+)
- 10/22/2010 – Farmingdale, NY – The Crazy Donkey (AA)
- 10/23/2010 – Asbury, NJ – The Wonder Bar (AA)
- 10/24/2010 – Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel (AA)
- 10/25/2010 – Philadelphia, PA – North Star Bar (AA)
- 10/27/2010 – Boston, MA – The Red Room@Cafe 939 (AA)
- 10/29/2010 – East Lansing, MI – Union Ballroom @ Michigan State (AA)
- 10/31/2010 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
- 11/1/2010 – Akron, OH – Musica (AA)
- 11/2/2010 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
- 11/3/2010 – Indianapolis, IN (AA) – Earth House
- 11/4/2010 – Minneapolis, MN – The Varsity Theater (18+)
- 11/5/2010 – DesMoines, IA – The Vaudeville Mews (AA)
- 11/7/2010 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom (AA)
- 11/8/2010 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room (AA)
- 11/9/2010 – Denver, CO – The Bluebird Theater (16+)
- 11/10/2010 – Salt Lake City, UT (AA) – In The Venue
- 11/12/2010 – Boise, ID – The Venue (AA)
- 11/13/2010 – Portland, OR – Wonderland Ballroom (AA)
- 11/14/2010 – Eugene, OR (AA) – WOW Hall
- 11/15/2010 – Seattle, WA (AA) – Chop Suey
- 11/17/2010 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Slo Brewing Co (AA)
- 11/18/2010 – San Francisco, CA (AA) – Swedish American Hall Acoustic
- 11/19/2010 – San Diego, CA – Soma Sidestage (AA)
- 11/20/2010 – Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones (AA)
- 11/21/2010 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre (AA)
- 11/24/2010 – Austin, TX – The Parish (AA)
- 11/26/2010 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Studio (AA)
- 11/27/2010 – Dallas, TX – Palladium – The Loft (AA)
Over the Rhine swing through Oregon
Over the years, Over the Rhine has achieved indie cred, gained notability and had the opportunity to open up for Bob Dylan, Adrian Belew, The Cowboy Junkies and many more. They have been featured in Paste Magazine’s Top 100 Living Songwriters and Indie Rock A-to-Z lists. They span genres from folksy singer-songwriter pop to jazzy, sultry gospel to rustic, storytelling Americana. Whichever “sound” Over the Rhine produces, husband-wife duo Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist live their lives in their songs. They are a treasure for those who know their work: the gentle tinkling of the keys, melodic strumming on an old acoustic guitar, pontifications and allegories of their daily life on the farm outside Cincinnati and the ambrosial poetic words from Bergquist’s microphone oozing through the cracks amongst the notes. Detweiler makes being a musical beat poet a realistic modern possibility. Bergquist’s provocative voice is offset by her down-to-earth charm and humor. That charm makes what they do seem more tangible, real and relatable. They could very well be in your living room, singing for you alone.
Fresh off their “Across the West” train tour, Over the Rhine’s stop in Eugene & Portland will be a special, intimate duo show — featuring an array of songs from Detweiler & Bergquist’s 20 year history and their forthcoming album, The Long Surrender (due out 1/11/11).
Eugene (Mon 11/15): doors at 7pm, show at 7:30 pm at WOW Hall
For more info: http://wowhall.org/events.php
Portland (Wed 11/17): doors at 7pm, show at 8pm at Aladdin Theater
For more info: http://aladdin-theater.com/show_page.aspx?eventid=1901
I’ll be at both. If you see me shooting away near the stage, come and say “hi” during the break or afterwards.
~Dan – np: Mephista – Entomological Reflections
REVIEW: Yard Dogs Road Show @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/5/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Great show last night by local bellydance favorites / friends Audralina & Luminessah followed-up by a melting pot of sights and sounds from the headliner – Oakland’s Yard Dogs Road Show. [I have to apologize, as due to a “user error” I lost about half of my photos when transferring to my computer. Luckily Margarita was also snapping away.]
Opener Dela Project suffered the most from the lack of photos due to my error… sorry! They were a great gypsy-folk duo… nice sound and a wide array of instruments including saw, wood block, cello, as well as a traditional bag of tricks. Up next was a beautiful set of bellydance numbers by Lila, Regina & Ali of Luminessah with Audralina doing a couple of songs as a set break.
The bellydance set was more intimate than the last time I saw a MEDGE show at WOW Hall. Both Luminesseh and Audralina danced on the floor (not the stage), surrounded by candles and tunes coming from DJ Layla. Layla mixed it up for Luminessah’s last song (total improv!!).
The capper for the night was the Yard Dogs energetic set. I had never experienced the Yard Dogs, but they were equal parts street band, roaring ’20s flapper show, burlesque, hipster steam-punk, and rock circus – including a sword (and chair leg) swallower. It was a completely fun experience, and a nice set-up on the WOW Hall stage. The YDRS banners seemed to box the group in pretty tight on stage, but they pulled it off amazingly.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- YDRS’s Site
- YDRS’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Luminessah’s Site
- Luminesseh’s MySpace / Facebook / Twitter
- Audralina’s Site
- Dela Project’s Site
- Dela Project’s MySpace
- WOW Hall‘s Site / Facebook / Twitter
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~Dan – np: Elliott Smith – An Introduction to…
LUMINESSAH, AUDRALINA &
YARD DOGS ROAD SHOW PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Margaret OBrien (emobie photography)
& Daniel Temmesfeld, you may use freely
under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (15 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (42 pics)
REVIEW: final ISIS tour @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 5/29/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
On May 18, 2010, post-metal powerhouse ISIS officially called it quits. They did everything they wanted to do, and said everything they wanted to say… and this May & June tour would be their last. It was a good run: 13 years and 5 brilliant studio albums.
The break-up news was deeply saddening news to the fans, but at least we get one last hurrah.
The show opened with Jakob (a three-piece from New Zealand). They played a solid 40-minute set of instrumental post-rock. They had heavy moments, but they were decidedly the “calmest” of the trio of bands last night. They were really tight and created a great, building wall of sound. Great for fans of a harder edged Explosions in the Sky. Jakob’s debut, Solace, is out now.
Tombs (a four-piece from Brooklyn) were more in the metal category. Guttural vocals, double kick drum blasts, but more building in their guitar sound compared to other metal fare (e.g.- similar to ISIS versus Slayer). A great 40-minute onslaught to our ears. Check out their album, Winterhours.
ISIS went on just before 11pm and came out hard and heavy… while both Jakob and Tombs were tight, it seemed as though things got kicked up a notch when Isis hit the stage. The audience crowded the stage to be pummeled by the sweeping and soaring musical backbone amidst Aaron Turner’s powerful voice…
They played a hauntingly brutal mix from Wavering Radiant, In the Absence of Truth, and a few oldies thrown in as well. There were a handful of moments of Aaron’s more melodic vocals, but that was few and far between… the show tended to show off Isis’s more pained vocal cuts. They played about 90 minutes…
Setlist: (thanks for corrections from a fellow fans)
- Deconstructing Towers
- Not In Rivers, But In Drops
- So Did We
- Threshold of Tranformation
- Ghost Key
- Collapse and Crush
- From Sinking
- Encore: In Fiction
- The Beginning and the End
It’s sad to see Isis end, but at least they are ending with a kick ass tour. Also, if you go to one of the shows (see below), there is a TON of merch… they’ve brought about everything each member has ever been involved in. I dropped some coin for the Japanese limited edition Panopticon, Oceanic, 7.23.06 live, and the Melvin split 12″ vinyl. That was barely scratching the surface for this excellent “Isis Garage Sale.”
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
Check out the final tour dates for ISIS below.
~Dan – np: Ellery – This Isn’t Over Yet
ISIS, Jakob & Tombs PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
ISIS – 2010 TOUR DATES
May 26 2010 The Casbah w/ Jakob & Tombs San Diego, California, US
May 29 2010 Wow Hall w/ Jakob & Tombs Eugene, Oregon , US
May 31 2010 Rickshaw Theatre w/ Jakob & Tombs Vancouver, British Co, CA
Jun 1 2010 Neumo’s w/ Jakob & Tombs Seattle, Washington, US
Jun 2 2010 Doug Fir Lounge w/ Jakob & Tombs Portland, Oregon , US
Jun 4 2010 Great American Music Hall w/ Jakob & Tombs San Francisco, California, US
Jun 5 2010 The Troubadour w/ Jakob & Tombs Los Angeles, California, US
Jun 12 2010 Bonnaroo Festival W/ Clutch, Melvins, Flaming Lips, etc. Manchester, Tennessee , US
Jun 14 2010 40 Watt Club w/ Melvins Athens, Georgia , US
Jun 16 2010 9:30 Club w/Melvins Washington, Washington, US
Jun 17 2010 Theater Of Living Arts (TLA) w/ Melvins Philadelphia, Pennsylvan, US
Jun 18 2010 Webster Hall w/ Melvins New York, New York , US
Jun 19 2010 Music Hall Of Williamsburg w/ Melvins Brooklyn, New York , US
Jun 20 2010 Paradise Rock Club w/ Melvins Boston, Massachuse, US
Jun 21 2010 Paradise Rock Club w/ Melvins Boston, Massachuse, US
Jun 22 2010 Port City Music Hall w/ Cave In Portland, Maine , US
Jun 23 2010 Club Soda w/ Cave In Montreal, Quebec , CA
REVIEW: Charlie Hunter @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 5/18/10)
Charlie Hunter‘s new CD Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid was the first CD through the gates in 2010. The CD is named after a saying from an undisclosed curmudgeon musician who used to pull that on his players (no, it’s not indicative of Charlie’s payment habits).
The album is a fun jaunt full of the groove-laden jazz that Charlie Hunter fans know and love. It’s a highly recommended purchase for 2010… (pictured to the right)
The current “Evening with Charlie Hunter” tour is slightly stripped down compared to the album… it features Hunter on guitar, Ron Miles (trumpet) & Eric Kalb (drums). They hit the WOW Hall stage just after 8pm and played two sets and a long encore… well over two solid hours. All three men played effortlessly… their first set was smokey and soulful. Their second set was a bit more upbeat with more solos, including a few standards mixed in with the Neglected tunes.
Eric and Ron were very tight players, with stunning solos in their own right. Eric had a great feel, and while I think Ron stayed in the shadows more during the sets, the trumpet flavor he added to the trio was a perfect fit.
One of the most amazing things from the night was watching Charlie play. His seeming ease at which he plays bass and guitar on one instrument is stunning (and curse-worthy for the guitar aficionado in the crowd). If you weren’t watching the stage, you’d easily be fooled that it was a quartet and not a trio. It’s quite an amazing thing to see and hear. He’s so unassuming about it, too… a showman without the show-off attitude.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Charlie Hunter’s Site
- Charlie Hunter on MySpace
- Ron Miles on MySpace
- Eric Kalb on MySpace
- Charlie ‘Neglected‘ interview on NPR Music
- WOW Hall
~Dan – np: Method of Defiance – Inamorata
CHARLIE HUNTER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
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