Dave Rawlings Machine at the Paradise

Here's my surefire remedy for temporary relief of serious back pain: Start with some exquisite acoustic guitar solos. Add some beautiful harmonies. And a dash of dueling fiddles with some tasty harmonica.
This works so well you might even find yourself moving your hips a little when you could just barely stand upright hours earlier.
Yes, my solution has a name. It's the Dave Rawlings Machine and for three hours Saturday night at the Paradise I forgot all about my woes because Rawlings, backed by his more famous partner Gillian Welch and a trio of great musicians  -- fiddler Ketch Secor and bassist Morgan Jahnig from Old Crow Medicine Show and fiddler/guitarist Gabe Witcher of the Punch Brothers -- performed some serious magic onstage.
Gillian may be more popular with the masses but Rawlings guitar work is like no one else: it's melodic, it's intricate, it weaves in and out like Jerry Garcia used to do but never meanders. The group is absolutely tight. When Gillian is in charge (billed as Gillian Welch), she takes the lead and, yes, her vocal prowess is stronger than his. But the beauty of The Machine is that they really swing -- they almost rock those acoustic instruments.
I didn't keep a set list so I'll do what I can from memory.
First they started a little bit late when one of the roadies tripped over something, knocked over a table and nearly busted the bass. Once that was cleared up, on came the Machine starting off with "Monkey and the Engineer." Most of the set was made up of Dave's "A Friend of a Friend" album.  "I Hear Them All" was in there early with "This Land Is Your Land" sandwiched in the middle of the song.  The beautiful "Ruby" shined with Gillian's amazing harmony vocals backing his. She and Dave were just meant to sing together. They just seem to fill in each other's empty spaces like no pair I can think of.
Next they broke out the banjo (maybe for "It's Too Easy," not exactly sure) to roars of cheers from the crowd, and Gillian exclaiming that Boston is a banjo lovin' town.
One of my favorite moments was when the other musicians left the stage and Dave and Gill played their unreleased song, which I know as "Throw Me a Rope" (others call it "The Way It Should Be"). After the first verse, Gill stopped abruptly saying she couldn't go on because Dave's guitar was so out of tune. They started up again and that song is just mesmerizing. If Gill doesn't put out a new album soon and include that... well... I keep telling myself it's coming.
Then Gill got to lead a couple tunes of her own. A request for "Red Clay Halo" (the banjo again) and "Miss Ohio." And I think just before the end of the set, Gabe Witcher led the group through The Band's "Ophelia." It's funny I had just seen Witcher a week before with the Punch Brothers opening for Josh Ritter. I didn't recognize him fully until they mentioned who he was.
After a short break, they came back for a second set that included a bunch of songs about candy, including "Sweet Tooth," "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and a third one. Then the exquisite pair of "Method Acting"/"Cortez the Killer" and "How About You" was in there somewhere.
I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but it was all so great. I haven't said much about Ketch Secor, but his fiddle and harmonica playing adds so much to the sound as does his baritone voice. The main set ended with Dylan's "Queen Jane Aproximately."
They came back for two encores and the crowd was rocking. I've seen Gillian and Dave a couple times before but I've never seen such a rowdy, excited crowd -- and they knew almost all the words to the songs.
The first encore included three tunes: "Too Be Young (Is to be Sad)" and "The Weight" and I cannot remember the third -- maybe someone can recall.
They left the stage and came back again to a huge roar. They all stood center stage around one mike and sang the a cappella "Go to Sleep Little Baby," with the crowd clapping along and Gillian adding a stomp and a clap for emphasis. They left the stage again to more roars. It was a great night.
Please feel free to chime in if I missed something or have something wrong...
I'll post pics and/or a setlist when I find it.

Grace Potter at the House of Blues, Boston

                                                        Photo by Mallory Finley

This was a band supposedly jet-lagged.
Six months after  Grace Potter and the Nocturnals last played the House of Blues, the band returned to the venue just off a tour overseas and ripped through a two-hour set filled with soaring vocals and guitar-heavy highs. Despite comments about her jet lag, Grace sang and danced up a storm – moving easily from the center stage mike, with guitar or without, to her Hammond B3 – never missing a step, a lyric, a breath. She's Tina Turner for a new generation.
And she's finally backed by a band that can keep up with her. In the six months since I saw them last, the new Nocturnals – guitarists Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco, bassist Catherine Popper and drummer Matt Burr – have melded into a cohesive, dynamic group, adding power and finesse to new songs off the upcoming self-titled album as well as the fan favorites.
The group has transformed itself. The once neo-hippie jam band has grown up, dressed up and given itself a harder-rocking sheen. They can still jam, and do it well, but there is a little more pop attitude thrown into the mix. In my review of the band from November (HERE), I foresaw them as a female-led version of the Allman Brothers. I would now like to amend that. I think they are leaning more toward an early-'70s version of Heart. Nothing wrong with that.
Grace and Catherine Popper arrived on stage in swishy mini-dresses and heels (though for both the shoes came off somewhere around midpoint), the boys in suitcoats. They blasted through an early set of new and old songs, including band classic "Ah, Mary" and the new, reggae-ish "Goodbye Kiss." The band showed its ability to mix song styles, as it moved from more new tunes, the jammy "Oasis" and the poppy "One Short Night," to the blues of "2:22."
Grace was completely into it. Dancing wildly, arms over her head, jumping up and down in place. The main set's end was something to behold as the band tore through two more new songs, "Hot Summer Night" and "Paris," with confidence and authority. "Paris" featured some screaming guitar from Scott Tournet. And "Nothing But the Water" went from Grace singing alone to rip-roaring band accompaniment back to just Grace. She knows how to work an audience.
The encores were great as well. Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" seemed to be meant for them to cover. It was followed by another fan favorite, "Stop the Bus,'' and a super new tune, "Medicine," which is sure to be a showstopper for a long time.
This is a band on its way up. How far and which direction are the only questions.
The show if available for download HERE
View Mallory Finley's pics from the show HERE



Setlist (from This Is Somewhere blog)
Only Love
Sweet Hands
Goodbye Kiss
Ah, Mary
Mastermind
Oasis
Money
One Short Night
2:22
Apologies
Tiny Light
Big White Gate
Falling or Flying
Here's to the Meantime
Hot Summer Night
Paris
Nothing But the Water I & II
------
White Rabbit
Stop the Bus
Medicine

Josh Ritter at the Orpheum, Boston

There are some shows you hype so much in your head that by the time you actually see the show, it's a letdown. Let's just say this, that never happens for a Josh Ritter show. Because as great as you expect it to be, it's always better -- way better.
Josh and his old faithful, but newly dubbed, Royal City Band came to the Orpheum last night and delivered a show that was not only entertaining but masterful. There is no artist I can think of who seems to have as good a time on stage as he does, and no band that can go from subtlety and quiet to full-on rocking out.
The setlist is below, but the highlights are many.
The band strolled on to "Curtains," the instrumental that opens the new album, "So Runs the World Away." The seamlessly picked up the orchestration of the song on their instruments and then in semi-darkness segued into "Change of Time." "Southern Pacifica" followed before they launched full-blast into "Rumors," which included some tough-ass playing from guitarist Austin Nevins.
They brought things down a notch for wonderful versions of "Folk Bloodbath," "Monster Ballads" and "Good Man." The crowd was great, participating in singalongs as necessary but also singing quietly enough to let Josh's voice be heard.  When Josh hit the chorus, "I'm a good man," well-deserved cheers, hoots and hollers went up all around.
It was here the show hit the next gear. With "Rattling Locks," Josh took to a small keyboard, Sam moved to electric drums, and Darius Zehlka, the bands' manager, came out to pound on drums and cymbals next to drummer Liam. Zack took center stage leading the band in the huge percussive intro while Austin knifed in the heavy guitar lines.
After the mayhem, it was back to quiet, and the magical song "The Curse." It's just amazing how the band goes from muscular to delicate in a matter of a song. Sam's piano filled in the beautiful melody behind Josh's amazing story song about a mummy falling in love with an archeologist.
The Paul Simon-esque "Lark" followed and then another treat: Josh solo doing Springsteen's "The River." And while the crowd was in a hushed faze, Josh had all the lights turned off, moved to the front of the stage and delivered a completely acoustic "In the Dark." The crowd quietly helping out with the ooohs.
The band came back on and charged into "Kathleen" and the audience went nuts, rising to their feet and dancing in the aisles, as if they had finally gotten the invitation they were waiting for to party. And the band kept it right, cranking up "Right Moves" and  brining them back down a notch with "Girl in the War."
And then another special treat. Sam's mom (my stepmom) was invited up on stage to read Edgar Allen Poe's "Annabelle Lee" backed by the band before launching into "Another New World." But there was no time to catch our respective breaths because "Harrisburg" was right on its heals, complete with Zack's wonderous version of "Wicked Game."
The set finally wound to an end with a joyous "Lantern" and incredible, fast version of "To the Dogs,"
which ended with the boys in stop-motion, holding their pose for nearly a minute before completing the final notes to the song.
Phew! A break to realize what we had all witnessed... a band completely in charge and in sync.
Back for the encore, "Hello Starling" led it off to more cheers and hysterics from the crowd. The older songs got the loudest cheers and really got the crowd going. The opening act, the Punch Brothers, were brought on stage to play the silly "Next to the Last True Romantic" (see my video HERE), and finish up the night in a mostly a cappella, finger-snapping  "Wait for Love."
To see my pics, click HERE

the setlist:
Curtains
Change of Time
Southern Pacifica
Rumors
Folk Bloodbath
Monster Ballads
Good Man
Rattling Locks
The Curse
Lark
The River
In the Dark (literally in the dark)
Kathleen
Right Moves
Girl in the War
Another New World (w/ reading of Poe poem by Sam's mom)
Harrisburg (w/ Zack's Wicked Game)
Lantern
To the Dogs
-----
Starling
Last True Romantic (w/ Punch Brothers)
Wait for Love (w/ Punch Brothers)

Paradise gets a makeover -- a plea

Shelby Lynne at the Paradise in 2005.

It was recently reported that the Paradise Rock Club in Boston is on the verge of renovation (story HERE). This scares me to death.

The Paradise has a storied past. Bands like the Police, U2 and REM played there when they were starting out. It is the perfect spot to see Kathleen Edwards, Shelby Lynne and the Low Anthem, who I recently caught there. Its stage can handle punk, bluegrass and everything in between. It is a place to get up close to whichever act graces the stage.

For anyone who has seen shows at the Paradise, you know what you're getting when you step through the door. First, the ticket prices are relatively cheap for the mid-level and up-and-coming acts that play there. Second, it's a small club, capacity is around 700, with few seats. So you know you'll be up close to the bands, sweating to the beat. While it may get crowded, there's usually enough room in the back near the bars to find a little personal space. And finally, beer prices are reasonable.

The club will close around July 4 and reopen after Labor Day in its new configuration.

With a renovation, you never know what you'll get.

From the Herald story: "Plans call for the box office and hallway leading to the club entrance to be knocked down to increase the floor space, and a new box office will be built near the front of the building. The current dressing rooms will be demolished; new ones will include such amenities as showers. Another source said the Paradise Lounge, a separate room in the front of the club, will be reconfigured to enlarge the capacity of the rock club to around 1,000."

What I'm most worried about is demolishing the aura of the place. In its current form the Paradise is not fancy or shiny or bright. It's a rock club, as rock clubs should be: small and dark with a good sound system. That's all rock fans really care about. Showers for the band? We're all for it. But don't ruin the club.

The House of Blues is fine, but we don't need another one. Beer prices there suck; we're paying for ambience.

So please, Paradise owners, think twice before you renovate. Do the right thing and make sure you keep the club's spirit intact.

Low Anthem at the Paradise

With some bands, you go see their show, you love the tunes, you go home. The Low Anthem, for me, made me think. Don't get me wrong, their show was pretty great, their ethereal-folk rock is incredibly intense, soothing, mysterious and lush. It washes over you. Also, the band is incredibly tight and talented. Their harmonies are spot-on and the band's voices play off each other beautifully. Each of the four musicians – Ben Knox, Jeff Prystowsky, Jocie Adams, and Mat Davidson – play multiple instruments. It's impossible to list what each one of them plays, so let's just take Jocie, for example: She played guitar, bass, clarinet, drums/percussion, and the best was this instrument called cotales, which has a bunch of small cymbals on top that she bows between to make the gorgeous ethereal backing sounds to a lot of their tunes. The combination of Knox's whispered vocals and acoustic guitar plucking, Prystowsky's sparse acoustic bass playing, Adams on the cotales, and Davidson on pump organ is truly magical.
They played quite a few songs off their album, "Oh My God Charlie Darwin," including great versions of "Charlie Darwin," "To Ohio," "Cage the Songbird," and "Ticket Taker," which, after you see how completely they reproduce them live, you realize that the album isn't a layered studio effort as you might have thought.
They broke away from their woozy, whispered-vocals sound briefly in the middle of the show for a two-song, ear-crunching electric set, that seemed a little out of place. Even though they do show that side of their personality on their recordings, it was a little bit jarring live.  Once the two songs were done, they went back to their quiet stuff and never returned to the electric instruments.
So that's my concert overview. Now the thoughts that floated through my mind during and after the show: First, many of the songs, excluding the electric ones, not only have the same tempo, but a similar sound. Now they play a ton of different instruments, I count 14 listed on their MySpace page. So I was surprised that the songs sounded so similar. It's not they all sounded exactly the same, but some varying tempos could have aided the show. Toward the end of the show, the crowd seemed a little restless, like they were waiting for something to happen. There were some really beautiful moments, where the group all stood around one microphone and sang together (see photo above). Also, it seemed that the sound could have been a little louder, given the quietude of the songs. Maybe it was tough to balance the really loud rock with the quiet stuff in the overall mix of the show.
And finally, and I know I've been rambling here, but I thought the crowd was pretty small for a band that seems to have pretty good buzz. Maybe the Low Anthem is really more of a critics' band than a rabid following-type. It really thinned out at the end and there was a lot of loud talking in the back by the bar, which was very disappointing.
To view more pics from the show, click HERE

Anais Mitchell's Hadestown live at Passim

Just waking up after a great night of music at Club Passim in Cambridge. Anais Mitchell recently released the concept album "Hadestown," a modern, folk opera take on the Greek myth Orpheus. Last night she brought it to life on the small and very crowded stage at Passim. To try to describe the full background of her folk opera Hadestown would take way too long here, and it has already been told in great detail in Joan Anderman's recent Globe feature, which you can read HERE. On the album, the various characters of the story are performed by the likes of Greg Brown and Ani DiFranco, among others, which is wonderful. But for the live show at Passim, Anais brought together some of the finest Boston-area musicians, and as usual these guys not only performed beautifully, they obviously enjoyed the challenge and reveled in each other's voices. When they weren't singing, they were swaying, eyes closed and applauding each other. The roster included (and I'm praying I don't leave anyone out) Tim Gearan, Peter Mulvey, Kris Delmhorst, Dinty Child, Rose Polenzani, Anne Heaton and Melissa Myers. Five of them sat around a table in front of the stage, each taking on a character, while Anais led the group through the album, start to finish. The group was backed by the Michael Chorney sextet, a jazzy group that supplied both beautiful soundscapes and kickin' tempos when needed.
I'm hoping someone will post a video soon because words just don't do justice to the amazing community feel and soaring harmonies coming from the stage.
Because of the configuration of extended stage, I ended up first row, front and center. While this was a great spot to see the performers' expressions, it made it impossible to break out my camera. So I have attached a photo that Passim sound guy Matt Smith took. Hopefully, someone else will post more pics soon.

All a'Twitter

I recently joined twitter HERE. I waffled a long time about joining... do I really need more "things to update" in my life? No, not really. But I decided to join because I realized there are things posted by bands -- news tidbits, video -- that I was missing.
So in lieu of original content at the moment, here are four videos I found through Twitter. All are really cool to watch. Enjoy.

The Submarines doing the Beatles "For No One"

The Submarines » The Beatles from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

Peter Wolf and Shelby Lynne


Josh Ritter doing "Rattling Locks" in rehearsal


Grace Potter playing live in a rolling studio at SXSW