Brian Wilson, Wolf Trap National Park, Vienna, Virginia

The results are in: Brian Wilson is a rock legend

Seeing Brian Wilson was a last minute decision, but I figured I couldn’t go wrong in deciding to see the Beach Boy rock legend on a beautiful summer evening on the lawn at Wolf Trap. The night continued to improve when a guy trying to unload his extra seats outside the venue sold us seats in the orchestra pit for less than what lawn tickets would have cost and a fifth of what they would have originally cost him.

Nonetheless, we made way into the venue and onto the lawn as we had wanted to sit in the grass and enjoy some food and drinks before making our way down to the seats. The lawn was nearly empty and we were able to pick a spot right near the front. Brian and his new 10 piece crew started promptly at 8pm. His selections included a number of famous Beach Boys hits including “Good Vibrations,” “Surfin’ USA,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” and many others. It’s almost mind boggling to remember just how many hits the Beach Boys had had over the years, most of which happened from the mid- to late-sixties. Equally impressive is that his voice still sounded pretty good after all these years. While he couldn’t hit the highs quite the same as he could in his younger days, it was a solid showing for a man approaching 70 years old. He also had rearranged many of the songs over the years in some interesting ways, adding in intros/outros, instruments, and verses as well as blending his works with other famous songs.

After an hour long set, Brian and his band left the stage. While we waited for them to return to the stage, we took the opportunity to migrate from the lawn to our seats down below. They were an incredible deal, in the orchestra pit only three rows from the front of the stage. The sound at that distance was much different. We were close enough that we were hearing the instruments being played directly, both the drums and percussion on their own as well as the small stage amps behind each musician, instead of through the large speaker system on the lawn. This of course made for a much more intimate show. However, Wilson’s voice was much less pronounced being that close, being drown out by everything else happening on stage. In contrast to the Adele show I just wrote about, someone at Wolf Trap was at their peak of their professional, seamlessly bringing his delicate voice to the back reaches of the venue. However, there’s not as much acoustically that can be done at that close range to balance it out. At that distance, Wilson certainly looked his age was well, requiring help around the stage by band members and roadies. Most of the set consisted of the a live playing of Wilson’s new album, “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin,” which includes covers of ten George Gershwin songs, bookended by passages from Rhapsody in Blue, along with two new songs completed from unfinished Gershwin fragments by Wilson and band member Scott Bennett. The new arrangements to the classic songs were layered, detailed, and beautiful, truly an example of music coming to life as art, especially that close to the performance. At the end of the set, Wilson shuffled off-stage though returned for two solid encores of more Beach Boys hits and covers.

Adele, Electric Factory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Powerful soul music; somehow no one cried

The line just to get into the Adele show was getting longer and longer as we arrived at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia and made our way to the bar next door to grab some food. Unfortunately, their kitchen was really backed up and we had to finally head over to the show hungry, not the best start. By this time, the line just to get into the show was wrapped around the building and around several other buildings. I had frankly never seen anything like it before, though it was only my second time at the venue and probably the first time in about a decade.

Despite the length of the line, it moved quickly once the doors opened and we were still able to get a pretty decent spot, only slightly to the left and not more than 35 feet or so from the stage, so the night was getting much better already. The opening act, The Civil Wars, an indie folk duo comprised of singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White, were one of the best openers that I had seen in quite a while. Mixing simple chords with complex vocal harmonies, they were a beautiful way to start the night. They seemed to really be enjoying themselves and each other on stage and had great chemistry. We were quite disappointed to find out later that they weren’t a couple as we definitely assumed that they had to be sleeping together. Perhaps it’s an open relationship.

Adele took the stage to thunderous applause, beginning by singing “Hometown Glory” mostly acapella, then being joined by a large backing band. Despite being relatively early in her career, she’s already developed a number of solid hits and crowd favorites, including selections from her modestly successful debut album “19” and her sophomore smash hit “21.” The inspiration of the majority of the songs on the latter mainly stemmed from a recent breakup and she truly bares her soul in both her lyrics and her delivery of them. I was also pleased to hear her cover the Steeldrivers song, “If It Hadn't Been for Love,” which the Steeldrivers had included in their set the previous week when we had heard them at Jazz Fest. The power of Adele’s voice is something that few of her contemporaries can match, and she already easily deserves comparison to voices like Aretha, Mariah, and Christina Aguilera. She’s also quite a presence on stage, playing up her delightful British-ness to her American audience, telling jokes, and espousing her appreciation for her recent success. My one grip however was that the acoustics didn’t seem properly adjusted for such a voice-centric performance and the over amplification of the drums, guitars, and bass at time took some of the focus off her singing. Fortunately, her voice is so powerful that she was able to compensate for the bad acoustics and still sound pretty good.

Approximate Setlist:
Hometown Glory
I'll Be Waiting
Don't You Remember
Turning Tables
Set Fire to the Rain
Daydreamer
If It Hadn't Been for Love (Steeldrivers Cover)
My Same
Take It All
Rumour Has It
Right as Rain
One and Only
Love Song (The Cure Cover)
Chasing Pavements
Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan Cover)
Someone Like You
Rolling in the Deep

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Fair Grounds Race Course, New Orleans, Louisiana

Jazz Fusion Ahead

Though the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival lasts for a total of seven days spread over two weekends, sadly my schedule only permitted me to take a short trip to New Orleans. So while I was only able to attend two days of Jazz Fest, those two days were able to give me the flavor of the festival experience. Located a short drive away from downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter, Jazz Fest attracts some 60,000 people each day to upwards to ten or so stages, featuring an ecelectic mix of music. Whiles acts like Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, and Bon Jovi headline each day, the focus of much of Jazz Fest are the lesser known acts earlier in the day. I’ve never seen such a long list of acts and known so few already, especially considering the size of the festival. Many of the artists are jazz themed or at least jazz influenced, including many local acts. Though the die-hard improvisational jazz fan could certainly find plenty of more traditional improvisational jazz, many of the most popular acts, including those I came to see, are more of the jazz influenced variety, who fuse elements of rock, blues, and funk into their style.

Our Jazz Fest experience started early Friday afternoon, several hours after the gates had officially opened for the day. We made our way to the Gentilly State, one of the larger at the venue, for Buckwheat Zydeco, named for the zydeco music he plays, a style developed in New Orleans creole style of music with fast tempos and featuring the use of an accordion and washboard. We next wandered to the slightly smaller Congo Square stage for another local act, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers.

A big part of the “heritage” element of Jazz Fest is sampling the local cuisine, so I shared some alligator stew with my brother as we sat in the grass and listened to 90’s two hit wonder Better Than Ezra. I couldn’t help think, “Play ‘Desperately Wanting’ and ‘Good’ and get off the stage,” though I refrained from voicing it at a decibel level audible above our little group. Clearly, I need some more Jazz Fest heritage, that is, their policy of providing guests with leftover cardboard boxes full of ice for your beer that you’ve bought in bulk. Like any festival, the most popular acts are always stacked up at the tail end of the day, but no one objected to making our way to a more minor stage for the bluegrass band, The Steeldrivers. We then finished our day at the main stage, finding a great spot not far from the stage where some other guests left their large tarp staked in the ground. Since Arcade Fire was the only band of the trip whose catalogue I am intimately familiar with, it was certainly the highlight of the day for me.

On Saturday, we again made our way into the Jazz Fest festival grounds in the early afternoon. We started our day at local act My Name is John Michaels, which despite being a terrible name for a band in my humble opinion, was a good way to start off the day. Next up for the day was another local band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a brass band who I was already familiar with and had seen at several festivals before. They were the epitome of my previous statement regarding the style of the festival, jazz influenced fused with other genres. I also happened to run into some friends from college, which was a pleasant surprise.

For the last set of the day, I split my time between Jimmy Buffett on the Acura Stage and Lauryn Hill on the Congo Stage. Jimmy is of course always fun but I was not, shall we say, in the right state of mind (i.e drunk enough) to have the full experience at a Buffett concert. Nonetheless, it was fun briefly. Michael wasn’t too into it; I don’t think he really knew any of the songs. Lauryn Hill was also fine, but nothing special. It was a much different crowd, both in demographics and temperament. Far away from her stage, there wasn’t much to see and truth be told, we really weren’t that into the whole thing. So not the best way to close to the festival for us, but nonetheless another good day overall.

Sweetlife Music Festival, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland

The summer music festival season offically kicks off at Merriweather

Though not the first small, single day festival held at Merriweather Post Pavilion, it was the first Sweetlife Festival, I believe named after the local salad-specialty restaurant, Sweetgreen. With a much smaller line up and a relatively inexpensive ticket price, Sweetlife featured about a ten bands all of which played on the main state at Merriweather, guaranteeing that patrons could see every band in the lineup but leaving them to sit through whatever was up next.

I had some trouble with my car keys in the early afternoon and the additional logistical wrangling caused our group to arrive at the venue later than expected. So by the time we arrived, we had already missed nearly half the acts of the day, including several that I did not really care to see anyway such as Modern Man, U.S. Royalty, Walk the Moon, and Theophilus London, as well as a few that I would have liked to see including Ra Ra Riot and the majority of Cold War Kids, the latter of which we only arrived for the tail end of their set. However, it had been raining most of the afternoon and it was still coming down at a good clip when we arrived, so it wasn’t terrible to have to stay out of the rain a little while longer. It was tolerable with a rain jacket, but even sitting on a blanket, it was impossible to prevent one’s ass from getting damp. I lamented not buying VIP tickets underneath the pavilion.

The first act we saw in its entirety was the indie electronic Crystal Castles, with a fun, danceable set to start the day off. The female lead singer was quite a site as well. It was clear she was excited to be playing such as large crowd, taking swigs from a fifth of bourbon and screaming at the top of her lungs. However, judging from the fact that she had a broken foot, which I heard was caused by her failed attempt to stage dive at a previous event, perhaps her demeanor had little to do with the crowd.

Following was Lupe Fiasco, performing what I would dub pretty mainstream and uninteresting hip hop (though I’m no connoisseur of the genre). I still can’t decide if I love or hate his new song which utilizes for its hook the notes from the chorus of Modest Mouse’s “Float On.” While I’m happy to hear the ditty in a new context for a new audience, it’s always disappointing to hear the bastardization of a song that you love so much. However, I was sure that I thoroughly hated his long, nonsensical political rant towards the end of his set.

The sun had not quite yet gone down as mash-up master Girl Talk hit the stage. Though I’m still disappointed that I have not seen Girl Talk in a club atmosphere, being treated to his live performances in a festival setting is still without disappointment. More so than anything thus far, the whole crowd was moving and singing along to his various samples.

Garage rock revival indie gods The Strokes were the final act of the night. While I certainly consider them an act to see for posterity, I’ve never been a huge fan. Nonetheless, it was a solid set and I realized how prolific their music is after over a decade together.

Club Scout, Black Cat, Washington, DC

Celebrating the release of the new Club Scout 7"

It was another fun Club Scout set at the Black Cat. This show was in celebration of the release of their new 7” vinyl. Now if I could only get my record player working.

Cut Copy & Holy Ghost!, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

The hipsters came from far and wide to see the fun synthpop band

I walked into the venue with opener electropop duo Holy Ghost! already on stage. I had recently heard of them and figured they’d be a good way to start off an evening. Their high energy and carefree beats got the crowd dancing even as the night was young. The crowd was on the young side and damn were there were a lot of hipsters. Guys in skinny jeans and girls in ironic trucker hats everywhere. And lots and lots of plaid. Scanning the crowd, I attempted to position our group as close to the stage and adjacent to the biggest group of hipsters that I could find. I figured this would be our best bet for getting amongst a group that would also be dancing and having fun. As a bonus, it seemed a number of hipsters in this group were gay – no one dances like gay hipsters – jackpot! Cut Copy took the stage, and the sold out crowd went wild. And of course, I was dancing and jumping up and down right in the middle of it all. The show was blast and the band sounded great as they cycled through their hits, both older selections as well as from their newest album, Zonoscope. Who said that hipsters didn’t know how to have a good time?

Approximate Setlist:
Visions
Nobody Lost, Nobody Found
Where I'm Going
Feel the Love
Corner of the Sky
Lights and Music
Take Me Over
Pharaohs & Pyramids
Saturdays
Hearts on Fire
Sun God
Need You Now

DeVotchKa, 9:30 Club, Washington, Dc

A unique blend of Eastern European Gypsy, Mariachi, and indie rock with beautiful vocals and a mini- burlesque show

Since discovering them on the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack (which I now realize was almost five years ago), I’ve been consistently impressed by DeVotchKa, in both their studio releases and live performances. The four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, and Mariachi music with American rock and folk roots to produce a sound which few other groups can compare. This show, almost unfortunately, wasn’t sold out. I’m consistently surprised that DeVotchKa hasn’t developed more of a following. A Tuesday night in late March at the 9:30 Club would be my second time seeing them at my standard venue and my third time overall (other time was with David Byrne at Wolftrap). Having seen them previously, I was anticipating a good show and looking forward to hearing both old staples as well as live versions of songs from their newest album, 100 Lovers, released earlier in the month.

It was arguably my favorite of any of their performances that I’ve seen, which is remarkable since often second and third performances don’t stack up to the first. Perhaps it had something to do with lead vocalist Nick Urata. For some reason, perhaps the mood I was in, the place I was standing, or the effects that were chosen, the clear highlight of the evening was his enchanting singing. His powerful yet haunting voice sounded amazing as it carried through the small club as he savored each note. His voice was incredible, just incredible. It’s been some time since I’ve been so impressed in a vocal performance, although it probably didn’t hurt Nick’s chances that I was so disappointed with Shane MacGowan’s drunken stammering at the Pogues show the previous week.

The story I’ve heard is that DeVotchKa got their start playing as a backing band to burlesque acts. So another aspect worth mentioning is that they still incorporate some of these elements into their live performances. The last time that I saw them, an area in the audience was cleared so a female acrobat could propel herself up and down a ribbon/cloth/rope during their encore. This time around, they upped the ante a bit, with a pair of acrobats performing throughout the show, including the aforementioned highwire acrobatics as well as some more grounded sensual dancing and rhythmic gymnastics. The whole thing added a fun and unique layer to the performance. Top notch all around.

Approximate Setlist:
The Alley
Head Honcho
Queen of the Surface Streets
Poland
The Clockwise Witness
The Man from San Sebastian
We're Leaving
Vengo! Vengo!
Exhaustible
All the Sand in all the Sea
How It Ends
Basso Profundo
Undone
Contrabanda
I Cried Like A Silly Boy
100 Other Lovers
The Enemy Guns
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
You Love Me
Such a Lovely Thing