Phishin' at Merriweather Post Pavilion

While I am not a hard core Phish fan, I certainly appreciate their musical skill and their enthusiasm for their fans.  That enthusiasm is undoubtedly reciprocated by the fans.  I went to the Sunday June 12, 2011 show at Merriweather Post Pavilion.  I heard that the Saturday show was very solid, but traditionally Phish gives some of their best performances on Sundays at MMP.  Fortunately for me and my friends, Phish followed that trend and gave a stellar performance that we will always remember.

Pre-partying at Adam's house was fun.  His son, Jake, 6, had a sweet I-tunes mix with Black Eyed Peas, Paul Simon and Donna Summer (seriously).  The burgers were delicious and the company was good.  Then we headed to the show amidst some stormy clouds.  It poured in transit, but once we got there, the rain stopped.  We set up a tent and enjoyed some tasty beers and subs from Scittino's in Catonsville.  "People watching" at a Phish show is an event unto itself.  It is a spectacle filled with tatoos, skin and "colorful" outfits.  The Phish Phans are fueled by plenty of alcohol and the occasional illicit drug.  Everyone is friendly and easy-going.  It is truly a great scene.

My buddies, Andy and BJ and I had "Pit" tickets.  That meant we were on the floor.  For the first set we were about 20 feet from the railing in front of the stage.  Here is Trey Anastasio (lead guitar and lead vocals) from where we were standing.

I loved the first set.  They opened with Buried Alive and Trey actually held up a fan's sign that requested the song.  Then they played Lonesome Cowboy Bill, a song they had not played since 2003.  I enjoyed the classic songs Sample In a Jar, Divided Sky and Wolfman's Brother.  Here is my video clip of Sample In A Jar.

Another highlight for me was Phish's rendition of Stevie Wonder's song, Boogie On Reggae Woman.  They closed the hot set with several fan favorites: Halley's Comet, Bathtub Gin, Jesus Just Left Chicago (ZZ Top) and Character Zero.  The pit literally erupted during when they played Character Zero.

Phish had a solid second set.  They played several new songs which are not really up my alley, but the jams were pretty tight overall.  One highlight was when they played Steam and covered the pit crowd with steam.

By the time Phish was about to do their encore, BJ, Andy and I had worked our way to about 6 feet from the railing.  That is the closest I have been at a Phish show since 1994 (first row) when they performed at the Indiana University Auditorium for about five thousand students.  Last night's encore was Sanity, Makisupa Policeman and First Tube.  They were all first rate in my opinion, and I read one reviewer's posting that it was "the best encore he had ever seen".

One other funny story from the evening involves my buddy BJ.  No shocker there since funny stories seem to follow him.  Prior to getting back into the car to go home, he went into the woods to urinate.  However he went very deep into the woods for some privacy and stepped in some serious human hippie fecal matter.  He did not realize it until he had trekked it back into Andy's brand new car.  Although we had to deal with the stench, the degree of hilarity easily made up for it!

BJ, Andy and Me (Scotty B)

Overall, great friends, great show and great times!  Hopefully Phish comes back again to Merriweather next year.  If you have never been, definitely try to check it out!  

June Tunes

I am still waiting for an album to knock me over.  While I am waiting for that to happen, here are a couple of cool tunes to check out:

I posted about Foster the People back in March, but they recently released their first full length album, Torches.  It does not have much diversity but it is still a quality debut album.  If you are a fan of Passion Pit or MGMT, you will enjoy Foster The People.  I fully expect several songs to get airplay on mainstream radio.  "Pumped Up Kicks" may have already peaked but "Helena Beat" is on the rise.  The whole album is solid and will very likely make my Top Ten Albums of 2011.

My buddy, Steve Glass, introduced me to this next artist (I think it is his cousin).  His name is Kam Royal.  I am really enjoying his sharp-tongued, quick-witted prose and style.  I have not digested the entire album, but after one listen, it has me very intrigued.  I look forward to diving into it a bit deeper.  Keep up the good work Kam Royal.  Check out "Dude".  The Glass family should be proud.

Kanye West's masterpiece My Dark Twisted Beautiful Fantasy was my favorite disc of 2010 and the quality songs just keep rolling off of this album halfway through 2011.  The centerpiece song in my opinion is "Monster".  Kanye finally edited his video of this song so that it could be played on Mtv.  It is still misogynistic and gruesome but artful and brilliant nonetheless.  I am posting the unedited version so be careful around children.  Also, I have added the thirty minute continuous video, Runaway, with several threaded songs from this album.  The imagery on this mini-movie is staggering and Kanye's genius jumps off the screen.  It is DEFINITELY worth thirty minutes of your life.

My Morning Jacket has a new album, Circuital, that has encouraging signs after my first listen.  There is a bit of a buzz about them playing Bonaroo this weekend.  Check out the title track, Circuital and Holdin On To Black Metal.

 

I am digging the first song off of Coldplay's new album.  The song is called "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall".  It has that anthem chorus that Coldplay has patented.  It will surely make its way up the charts.

Daniele Luppi and Danger Mouse combined to write and produce Rome.  Norah Jones and Jack White get the vocals for three songs each.  The whole album has a cool, sultry feel that is worth a listen.  Check out Two Against One and Season's Trees.

Ready for my first ever gospel song?  Yup, I said gospel.  Check out Kirk Franklin performing I Smile.  Try not to snap to it.  Virtually impossible.  Enjoy!

Ready for my first country song?  Yup, I said country.  Jake Owen's third album will be released shortly.  This song, Barefoot Blue Jean Night, sounds best with a Budweiser in your hand.  Enjoy!

Cool Stuff In April

While nothing has flat out "floored" me musically this year, there are several songs and albums that are worthy of heavy rotation on my ipod.  Most notably, the Foo Fighters' new album Wasting Light.  The album is a hard rocking throwback to the days when rock albums dominated the airways.  The album was produced by Butch Vig.  He produced Nirvana's epic album Nevermind.  Wasting Light was recorded in David Grohl's garage without any computers.  In addition, Krist Novoselic, of Nirvana, joins the Foo Fighters.  Check out a few of my favorite songs from the disc.

Moving into Indie Rock, everyone needs to check out the Wye Oaks' third studio release, Civilian.  It was released in March.  The duo of Jen Wasner (McDonogh) and Andy Stack (Catonsville) produce a sound that is deeper, richer and fuller than you would expect.  Andy, a Berklee School of Music grad, is ultra-talented and Jen has a voice that is soulful and pleasing to the ear.  Her guitar has improved very nicely.  They are patients of Leikin and Baylin Dental care too.  Like peanut butter and chocolate this pair works together perfectly, just make sure you brush your teeth afterwards.  Check out the title track "Civilian", you won't be able to listen to it once.

I am also really enjoying Young The Giant.  A solid band with good beats and lyrics they are worth a listen.  The entire self titled album is solid if not spectacular.  I would not be surprised if "My Body" became a crossover hit.  If you like that, check out "I Got". 

In the Pop arena, another British artist (following the recent success of Tinie Tempah and Adele) is opening a lot of eyes.  Check out Jessie J.  A Pop artist with a funky side, I expect her songs to dominate the airways this summer.

I have been listening to this next song since before it was released in the States in December.  It just debuted in the Billboard Top 100 and appears to be on the rise.  Check out Martin Solveig and Dragonette doing their single "Hello".  Say "hello" to this catchy tune.

Two other songs that appear to be headed up the charts.  The first one is by the Beastie Boys.  I have been a fan since middle school.  That is scary!  Their latest release is called "Make Some Noise" and I have a feeling this song will do just that on the charts.  Their forthcoming album is entitled Hot Sauce Committee Part 2.

Another fun song that is sure to be a Summer hit is Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO ft. Laura Bennett and GoonRock.  Although this song sounds very similar to all of LMFAO's other songs, that is not necessarily a bad thing when you consider the success they have had.  

New Music for March

Here is a sampling of some interesting and kind of obscure tunes that I am listening to these days:

Foster The People.  Lots of people are comparing them to Phoenix, Peter Bjorn and John and MGMT.  They have a great sound and catchy chorus.  I would not be terribly surprised if this Indie band crosses over to mainstream radio.

Hugo.  This guy made a sweet remake of 99 Problems by Jay Z.  He also has a good song called "Bread and Butter".  He will be performing at SXSW this year.  Check him out.

Tinie Tempah.  This guy is huge in the UK.  His Trans-Atlantic emergence is inevitable.  If you ask me, he sounds a bit like Taio Cruz with the New Zealand guys from Flight of the Concords on HBO doing their comedic rap "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros"  You'll see what I mean.

Beady Eyes.  This band is new but not really.  They are the majority of Oasis without Noel.  If you like Oasis, you will like this disc.  It is a bit more toned down than Oasis, but a great listen.

Lady Gaga Releases Video for "Born This Way" Today

Even if you are not a fan of "Pop" music, Lady Gaga's new video is worth a watch.  She enjoys pushing the envelope.

Scotty B sees the Drive By Truckers????

When I posted my "Take" of the Grammys, I was notified by a reader that J Roddy Walston and the Business were playing at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC.  I am typically opposed to travelling to DC to see music.  I feel that if the band does not deem Baltimore a significant enough city to play here, then I do not deem them significant enough to travel to see them.  It does seem a bit petty, but hey that's just how I feel.  However, I really did want to see J Roddy Walston and this time they were opening for The Drive By Truckers who I had never seen and had always heard great things about their shows.  My buddy Steve is a big fan of DBT so we agreed to drive down together.  Problem was that we only had one ticket between the two of us and the show was sold out.  Compounding the problem was that my friends BJ and Andy also decided to come with us.  Further compounding the problem was that dinner with my family took a bit longer than I expected.  After some discussion with the fellas, we decided to still make the drive, knowing full well that we may not get in.  At 7:45, the 4 of us with one ticket left Catonsville.  While approaching the area of the 9:30 Club we had to take a detour.  About 20 police cars and 9 square blocks that were "caution-taped" delayed our arrival even further (I didn't need to leave Baltimore to see a crime scene).  Arriving outside of the 9:30 Club we solicited many people for 3 other tickets.  Unfortunately for us there were also many other people soliciting tickets to this sold out show.  Unsuccessful, we went across the street to the local pub, Duffy's, hoping that someone had tickets there.  Nope, still nothing.  Determined to get tickets, I headed back outside to brave the elements (without a jacket) to find my "miracle".  A half of an hour went by and I asked literally hundreds of people for extra tickets...still nothing.  During this time, I can hear J Roddy through the doors crushing it.  Finally, a guy walked up who had an extra, in fact, he had 3 extras!  However, he had already been approached by another guy (who I had befriended while scouring the corner of V St and 9th St).  The seller's wife really wanted to sell to me the tickets since they had 3 tickets and I needed 3 tickets, however, I told them it would not be right to shut out the other buyer, so I agreed to take the remaining 2 tickets.  Pleased with my efforts, I ran back to Duffy's to give my three friends their tickets and headed back outside to find that one elusive ticket.  Aggressively working the corner like a prostitute on "rent day" I was becoming discouraged.  Then J Roddy's set ended, my energy ran low, and my hands were numb so I went back to Duffy's.  I figured that the 4 of us would head back out and surely come upon just 1 one ticket.  The four of us went back out and worked the corner as a team, but at this point the Drive By Truckers had begun their set and traffic into the venue had slowed to a trickle.  BJ had an idea, he said that we could sell one ticket and that he and Andy would head back to Duffy's, thus allowing Steve and I to go into the concert.  At first Steve and I refused, but at the behest of Andy and BJ, we finally acquiesced and ventured into the show.
At first, we stood in the back to hear "Do It Yourself", "Gravity's Gone" and "The Company I Keep".  Then, Steve and I relocated to the other side of the club and were able to get pretty close (albeit directly in front of the speaker) for the rest of the show.  At this point I knew everyone in the 9:30 Club because I either solicited them for a ticket or hung outside with them while trying to buy tickets.  They played a few new songs off of their new album Go-Go Boots.  I enjoyed their rendition of the first single "Everybody Needs Love"

which is sung by the more mellow "Eddie Hinton".  Other highlights of the show included "Dead, Drunk and Naked" and "Hell No I Ain't Happy" with Patterson Hood on lead vocals.  Towards the end of the show, a bottle of Jack Daniels was passed around which seemed to give the fellas one last burst of energy as they ripped through "Let There Be Rock" and "Shut Up and Get On The Plane".  The finale was not the "Zip City" that many people were praying for (they played it the night before) but was an enthusiastic "Lookout Mountain".
I am definitely still bummed that I missed J Roddy Walston and The Business, but at least I got my first DBT experience.  It was a good show and I would like to see them again but will not travel to DC to see them, especially without a ticket!!!!!
Here is a video I took during the show. The quality is not great but it is all I got.  He gives a "shout out" To J Roddy Walston and The Business.

Drive By Truckers 2/19/11 "Let There Be Rock" and "Shut Up and Get On a Plane"

Scotty B's "Take" of The Grammys

Lots of people have asked about my "take" on the Grammys.  This is likely because it was a heavily watched show.  The more mainstream the Grammys have become, the more people watch it.  This leads to higher ratings and increased revenue.  Don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing the Grammys for going mainstream, I am merely stating the obvious.  "Pop" is called "Pop" because it is popular and by definition, popular means that a lot of people like it.  If I owned CBS, I too would highlight the "Pop" acts.  You have to give the people what they want or they will turn the channel to find something that they do like.
Everyone wants exposure and the Grammys are an amazing platform.  This wide television audience will do wonders for the careers of Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers whose individual performances and subsequent compilation with Bob Dylan were pretty epic.  Hopefully, someone who likes Lady Gaga or Katy Perry will see the talent in Mumford and Sons (my #2 album of the year) and download their album too.  Then while they are checking out Mumford and Sons, they come across Broken Bells (my #8 album of the year) or Black Keys (my #9 album of the year).

With that being said, let me highlight a few of the bands that were nominated for Grammys but were not highlighted like the "commercial acts".  Please support these bands via downloads or concerts tickets otherwise all we will have left is mainstream/commercial radio.  None of the songs are obscure, but they are all high quality songs that deserve a chance to be on your ipod.