1.
Ben Sollee at Veterans’
Memorial Theatre, Davis, CA 2012 I am happiest when I’m making things, and
events are no exception. Since co-founding the Davis Live Music Collective I’ve been very lucky to have had a hand in bringing a few shows to
town, or at least putting a stamp on them with promotional graphics and artwork.
From the first, formative days of DLMC we had a short list of acts we wanted to
host, and Ben was at the top of mine. He and I grew up about an hour and ten
years apart in Kentucky, and I had been following his career in music and
activism since his outstanding collaboration Dear Companion. He was highly recommended by the long-standing
music co-op in Indiana, Friends of Bob, so when Ben posted to Facebook that he
was interested in forming something similar in Lexington I jumped at the chance
to invite him out to see what we were up to. I took on the show like a thesis project,
mostly not wanting to weigh down anyone else in the group with my expectations.
Like a thesis project I learned enough to write a book about what not to do, but also what works and how
to do it right.
Ben was able to piggyback a Friday show on
his Sunday gig at the High Sierra Music Festival, so I picked him up at the
airport with his drummer Jordon Ellis and all their gear, and showed them
around for the weekend. In the end it was about the music, and they put on a
great show full of energy and surprises at how soulful and fun a cello and a drum
kit can sound in the right hands. But having the main attraction nod and point to
you sitting in the first row as he wraps up the encore wasn’t bad either.
2. Jon Langford with
Sally Timms and the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus at the Hardly Strictly
Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco, CA 2008 After seeing Langford's Waco Brothers
on Saturday afternoon the idea of catching the bright eyed Welshman and some of
his friends first thing Sunday morning was supposed to be like warmed and
welcome leftovers. What we got was Christmas dinner in October. The line-up was
essentially the Wacos, and they played with as much energy and swagger as they
had twenty hours earlier. Oh, and did I mention the thirty-or-so full grown
Canadian men singing behind them? They played Jon's songs, sea chanteys, mining
and labor songs - but to be honest they could have been singing Row Row Row
Your Boat and I would have marched out and bought a boat to row that very day.
Never underestimate the power of the human voice, especially when amplified and
backed by a kick-ass band. It's the sort of thing I'll never forget or likely
see again. I have since had the pleasure of seeing Jon in various incarnations,
as well as meeting and working with him on a show or two in Davis. He is the
genuine article.
3. The Jayhawks and
Wilco at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington, KY 1995 So this new little band called Wilco opened the show for The Jayhawks who
were rolling on the success of Tomorrow the Green Grass. Both bands
ripped through their new releases nearly cover to cover with some Uncle Tupelo
and a fair amount of Hollywood Town Hall for good measure. Mark Olsen's wife
Victoria Williams joined The Jayhawks for several songs including "Miss
Williams' Guitar" and their raucous closer "Ten Little Kids,"
then both bands took the stage for a crazy Golden Smog encore of "Red
Headed Stepchild." 1995 was the year alt-country seemed to coalesce and
emerge under the larger rock-n-roll umbrella. It was the year No Depression
Magazine formed to document the movement and it was the year I saw two of its
pioneering and most enduring icons generate the electricity that powered the movement
through its heyday and well beyond.
4.
Wilco at Bogarts in Cincinnati, OH 2002 / at the Mondavi
Center in Davis, CA 2012 We caught the Cincinnati show during our last pre-child
visit to Kentucky (though Amy was pregnant). Dave Mikkelsen met us there. We
missed most of Preston School of Industry but we were there for one thing and
one thing only... Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The ink was still drying on its
reviews which we all remember raving about its groundbreaking experimentation,
trashing its departure from traditional roots music or avoiding the issue
altogether to focus on the band's label and line-up changes. YHF created
a rare sort of excitement and the band captured and amplified it that night. To
my delight Tweedy and Co. drew heavily from Being There, leading off the
set with "Misunderstood" and its tightrope. This was a bigger,
bolder, smarter Wilco - a Wilco that would soon take over the world. They
played all the new songs and interpretations of favorites plus a few surprises
including the then unreleased "Handshake Drugs" and "Kicking
Television." For me and many others YHF was a watershed moment in a
genre we already loved and respected. Catching Wilco live in that moment was as
rare and special a thing as I could have hoped.
Fast forward a
decade and 2300 miles, Wilco release The
Whole Love which finds them not just owning the world but making it to suit
their desires. Our 2002 bun in the oven has a seven year old little sister, and
twitter is a thing. One thing remains, however – Wilco has a way, regardless of
budget or worldly exposure, to say the things I want to hear.
5.
The Head & the
Heart at Sophia's Thai Kitchen, Davis 2012 They played in Davis a year earlier
before anyone knew who they were. Being truly good people who remember the
folks on the way up, they called Kevin at Sophia’s after a cancellation in the
Bay area offering a “secret” show. Kevin calls DLMC to offer a generous thank
you for supporting music in Davis, and suddenly I’m making posters and standing
shoulder to shoulder on the smallest / best stage in town with one of the biggest
bands going. The under-age kids and those who couldn’t get tickets came out
anyway and stood on the sidewalk, rewarded for their patience once the noise
ordinance kicked in and the band literally leapt the railing to play in the bushes,
acoustic and exultant for the love of a good time. It was a night many will
never forget, including me.
6. DLMC PRESENTS: Jolie Holland, Sea of Bees and Camila Ortiz
at Odd Fellows Hall; Davis Music Fest, Downtown Davis (all of you); Kelly Hogan at David Horning’s house; Jon Langford, Roger
Knox and Walter Salas-Humara at David Horning’s house; Typhoon, Laura Gibson
and Lost Lander at G Street WunderBar in Davis 2012 It has been a very good
year… (see #1)
7.
Black Crowes at Louisville
Arena, Louisville, KY 1993 As a 16 year old rock fan living in the
south, I was hooked from the first notes. I sat with all the drunk, aging
rockers to see them open for ZZ Top in 1990, and I would see them headline the HORDE
festival in 1995. But this is the show I’ll always remember. The Jayhawks
opened and they were terrific. In fact the group
I was with had come primarily to see them. But my friend’s sorority sister’s
brother was working security and we were all getting backstage passes if we
hung out through the first few Black Crowes’ songs so of course everyone wanted
to stay. The break between sets seemed very long, and the crowd grew to include
more of the drunk, aging rockers from the ZZ Top show. Finally the lights came
on and the arena burst to life. The stage was covered in an impressive curtain of
dangling light bulbs behind which Chris Robinson paced like a tiger. They
opened with an especially heavy "No Speak No Slave," then that was
it. He made an announcement about needing to take care of some business and
said they’d be right back, but they never returned. Everyone got refunds, so I
got to see a great Jayhawks set for the price of gas money. According to MTV
the next day, the band had a run-in with local law enforcement over their
alleged possession of some pot. According to my friend’s sorority sister, her
brother was the guy who got his face punched by the cops for trying to bar the
door while the band hid the loot. While I’m more inclined to trust Rolling Stone's version of the story, it was certainly a memorable night.
8. Dave Alvin & the
Guilty Ones at the City of Davis 4th
of July celebration, Community Park, Davis, CA 2012 Instead of spending 4th
of July weekend at the family cabin playing games and wading in the river I
helped the city host a genuine rock and roll icon. A great evening of community
and music aside, walking Dave Alvin through the crowd to the port-a-potties
remains a highlight of the summer, and I say that realizing exactly how awful
it sounds.
9.
Vic Chesnutt at Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco, CA
1998 So
the evening started dubiously with scheduled opener David Gray sitting in the
front pew with a cold that kept him off stage while Maria McKee writhed on the
piano bench and sang opera-bar interpretations of her own songs. In contrast
Chesnutt was a pinned butterfly, a beautiful tragedy who forced the salvation
of his own music through a badly patched vessel. His hands struggled with his
instrument and he forgot the words of songs that were either too new or
unrehearsed, or too old and infrequently remembered. His stories were frank and
sweet and ached with gallows humor so we ached with him. When the pieces came
together, notes and phrases that could only be his, it was like discovering cut
crystal in a dusty room. Hard, fragile, and perfect - glimmering shards
reflecting the mess all around.
10.
Phish at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado 1995 The morning of the
show I woke up with the intense memory of a dream in which I knew what it was
like to be bald. Before the rest of the house was awake I walked down The Hill
to a barber and had her shave my head. That night we bought some huge brownies
in the parking lot and ate them like we were actually hungry. Everyone took
turns rubbing my stupid bald head while the band played tons of stuff from Rift,
an amazing version of "Run Like an Antelope" and stretched
"Tweezer" for about fifteen minutes. All was virtuoso jam band bliss
then the entire audience was abducted by aliens while walking to their cars. No
kidding.
11.
The Knitters at The Palms Playhouse in Winters, CA 2008 First of all The
Palms looks and feels like the kind of place you might go for a wedding
reception. You have to walk up a flight of stairs slightly wider than the ones
in most apartment buildings, tickets are checked by a guy with a little wicker
basket who will absolutely remember your face if you have to go back to your
car for something and the bar sells as much coffee as beer. It seats 220
people. My friends and I sat up front and were treated to a rockabilly show
that might as well have been in my driveway. There's no such thing as security
there so I was able to tell Dave Alvin thanks in person after the set and John
Doe's brother sold Amy a t-shirt. The highlight was an extended Obama-dedicated
romp through "The New World" with a verse of the Beatles
"Revolution" nicely covered in the middle. The Knitters clearly love
what they're doing and it's easy to see why. Hearing them play so close to home
and with such good friends made the love that much easier to feel.
12. Okkervil River at the
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco, CA 2009 Will
Sheff and mates have developed a tight and exciting stage show with some pat
but rewarding routines - enciting the crowd to clap in double-time during
"Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" from The Stage Names - but
it all came off as genuine and enthralling. When the show ended I felt as if I
somehow had a hand in the set list and understood the gravitas, humor and irony
of songs like "John Allyn Smith Sails" more completely. Sheff
announced that this was their last show of a long tour and that they would
really miss all of us, then, as if to squeeze every last bit fun from their
journey, launched into a barn burning, string breaking "Unless It's
Kicks" to close. What gives this mess some grace unless it's fiction? The
songs, the stories, even the show is a work of fiction, a messy rock-n-roll act
intended to illicit all the right feelings - but for an hour in October I felt
its grace and believed every word.
13.
Avett Brothers at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco, CA 2010 / at The Grove in Sacramento, CA 2012 The
landslide acceptance of 2009’s I and Love
and You catapulted the Avett Brothers from grassroots troubadours to main
stage icons just in time for our annual trek to the park. The sweet relief of
finally finding Amy in the crowd of thousands as they launched into their
second song was amplified in every song. But the show I’ll always remember was
the one at The Grove. I hadn’t heard of the place and couldn’t believe there
were tickets available. The girls had been singing along in the back of the car
for a year, so we bought four tickets and took our daughter’s to their first
big concert. Nola worried that the big noise would get stuck in her ears
forever until we found her some earplugs. Hazel read Harry Potter by stage light during the songs she didn’t know, and
stood on her chair shouting along to the one’s she did. Maybe someday they’ll
remember it as fondly as I do.
14.
Will Oldham as Bonnie
“Prince” Billy at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco, CA
2010
Oldham is a notorious and prolific chameleon. I first saw him and his brother as
Palace Brothers in 1996 at Bimbo's 365 in San Francisco, then as a very
down-home string band version of Bonnie 'Prince' Billy at HSB in 2008. By 2010
Oldham was a transcendently unsettling soul singer dressed in black with
polished nails, lipstick and his signature eyeliner. No one I’ve seen can simultaneously
draw you in and freak you out the way he can, leaving you wondering what the
hell just happened and craving more.
15.
Steve Earle at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco, CA 2004 Steve
Earle was the main reason I started dragging everyone I know to San Francisco
the first weekend of every October. I’ve managed to catch some if not all of
his closing sets at HSB six of the nine years I’ve been, seeing him plugged in
and pissed off, solo acoustic, packed around a single mic with four other men
like an old radio show, and with a New Orleans brass band. The man is an
institution I will enjoy seeing even when his growling becomes indecipherable
with old age.
16.
Conor Oberst at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco, CA 2010
Amy and I knuckled under to pressure from Kelly and (mostly) Christine to brave
the youthful sea of hipsters in order to catch Bright Eyes himself headlining
solo, backed by the Felice Brothers. I knew his story and what are by now his
standards, but wasn’t prepared for the passion he brought. He put on an amazing
show – world’s removed from the sad-sack kid I was expecting – and I’m glad he
seems to have become something of a fixture at HSB since then.
17. Heartless Bastards at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco, CA 2012
These guys played so hard and made such a great impression that I ponied up to
see them play virtually the same set again that night at GAMH (see below). Texas
sized cuts of crackling, thunderous Ohio bedrock that epitomize the importance
of seeing a band live.
18.
Jenny Lewis at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA 2012 One of the
amazing perks of having a three day festival in town is the sheer density of
artists in one place at the same time. I missed her set at HSB earlier in the evening
in order to see The Head and the Heart, but I had seen Jenny & Jonnny two
years earlier and we had tickets to her show that night so it was okay. Turns
out it was better than okay. She was loose and lovely, in perfect voice and
joined on stage by the Watson Twins who swayed and cooed in matching gowns like
doo-wop singers from days gone by. It was all the more electric for knowing
that Justin Townes Earle was upstairs in the crowd and Conor Oberst was perched
stage right with his band, ready to join in at any time.
19. Old 97's at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco, CA 2009 Contagious
and charismatic, Rhett Miller and friends worked up a sweat selling everyone
within earshot on the importance of good old fashioned heart-sick, beer
swilling rock and roll. Guest spots by personal favorites Jon Langford and Exene
Cervenka only sweetened the pot.
20. Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at the Paramount Theater
in Oakland, CA 1998 Lovett
is the Texas definition of classy, and the beautiful Art-deco interior of the
Paramount allowed him to woo the crowd with just the right amount of aw-shucks
respect to share in a certain sense of wonder. His large band easily expanded
and contracted to showcase the best, most nuanced elements of the man's songs
while his sideways smile lightly leavened his always achingly honest singing voice.
I for one walked away a little more humble and very happy.
21.
Bon Iver at Freeborn
Hall in Davis, CA 2012 The impossibly spare and beautiful For Emma… will always have a special place with me, so I was
committed. But I hadn’t given Justin Vernon’s bigger sound on the new album a
fair listen yet, so I was skeptical. The minute I saw a bass saxophone and
French horn in his twelve piece ensemble I was reassured. The band expanded and
contracted to make the most of each song, filling the hall with texture and art,
giving me a real appreciation for what I hadn’t yet come to accept – a goal toward
which artists aspire.
22.
The Beach Boys at
Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, OH 1984 You never forget your first, even if you
were too young to remember much. The Reds lost to the Cubs, but we got to stay
and hear all of Mom’s favorites. It was a great big loud spectacle, and a great
way to start a life of live music. Thanks Mom and Dad!
23. Son Volt playing a side stage at the HORDE festival in
Nashville, TN 1996 / at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA 1997 Jeff Tweedy’s Wilco
made it out of the post-Uncle Tupelo gate first, and while I loved A.M. my
money was on Jay Farrar’s Son Volt for the real rock and roll. I went out of my
way to miss whichever stoner behemoth my sister and her beaux were seeing on
the main stage with the hope of hearing something from Anodyne, and was treated to a small crowd and a big set from their
debut. A year later at the Fillmore, Son Volt was on track to own Americana
with a new album and great, sound – textured and varied – and soon to be
derailed by Jay’s solo turn as a beatnik downer, and a little game changer
called Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
24.
The Bad Plus at the Mondavi
Center, Davis, CA 2012 Best. Drummer. Ever. Watching David King play is like
watching a kid wrestle his giant pet octopus. And win, as if that were the most
natural and joyous thing a person could hope to ever do.
25.
Beck at a taping of
the Late Show with David Letterman, New York, NY 2003 Amy and I got caught
in Manhattan for the Blizzard of ’03, and so did Beck. He had played the show
the night before but was stranded in the city so stayed on for another night,
playing a B-side from his lovely new downer Sea
Change. The whole event had a great feeling of camaraderie, and seeing Beck
was an unexpected highlight.
26.
Modest Mouse at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco, CA
2000 or 01 The
Moon and Antarctica had
been playing in my house and car and head for the better part of the year so it
was great to finally hear all the hopeless cosmic pathos of "Third
Planet" and "Paper Thin Walls" explode among lighthearted gems
"Teeth Like God's Shoeshine" and "Talking Shit About a Pretty
Sunset." The best part might have been hearing Isaac Brock call some guy
an asshole for shouting out "COWBOY DAN!!" in between every song. And
yes, they played "Cowboy Dan."
27.
Justin Townes Earle at
the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco,
CA 2011 Like most fans in the information age, it’s hard for me to see JTE
without wrapping each song in its long, heavy backstory. Is the guy still
sober? Is this song about his dad?
Does he know how much he sounds like his dad? I came away from the show with
the same questions, but also in awe of the guy’s talent.
28.
Titus Andronicus at The Fox Theatre in Oakland, CA 2011 The Monitor was the best thing that happened to music in 2010 so seeing
them on the bill to open for Okkervil River was like rock and roll Christmas.
29.
Peter Gabriel headlining the WOMAD festival in Boston, MA
1994 However
you may feel about his post-So output there is no arguing the man's
ability to put on an up-to-the-minute high tech show. He made the favorites
bigger than life and he highlighted new material from Us with guest
performers and dazzling effects to bring the audience on stage and out of our
minds.
30.
Dana Falconberry at
Dennis Carlson’s house in Davis, CA 2012 Twenty or so people, many of them friends,
packed onto rearranged couches and folding chairs in the living/dining room to
be dazzled by Dana’s intimate tales of natural wonders. The setting was
perfect, and gave a genuine sense of the traveling musician’s need to connect
with people in a variety of ways. I can’t wait to see her on a bigger stage.
31. Califone at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, CA 2010 As memorable for
the company as the show, Rusi, Lesa and I drove to SF from Davis after work and
met a friend of theirs for dinner. The band played a more rock and soul version
of their arty American glitch folk, and the songs never ended which suited
everyone just fine. A new pal David Horning was there, so we exchanged
greetings, then founded the Davis Live Music Collective together a year later.
32.
Drivin' 'n' Cryin' at
the now defunct Wrocklage club in Lexington, KY 1993 It was a night of
firsts: first time I went to a show alone; first 21+ show on a fake ID; first
time I saw what I thought of as a “big” band in a tiny club; first time I saw a
fan hand the bass player a joint. They played fast and loud and drank and sweat
– it was pure rock and roll.
33. Blitzen Trapper at
Harlow's in Sacramento, CA 2009
I saw these guys again in 2012, but the 2009 Furr tour caught them at their best – a tight six piece shaking it
loose, making the records feel bigger and more alive.
34.
Lumineers at Harlow's in Sacramento, CA 2012
Nothing like last minute tickets from a DLMC pal for the biggest little show in
town. I missed them playing on the porch at Sophia’s earlier in the year
because we were camping, then they exploded and sold out two nights at Harlow’s
and everywhere else they went.
35. The Robot Ate Me at Delta of Venus in Davis, CA 2006 Carousel Waltz is a great, odd-ball album that fell out of left
field into a very sweet spot in my life in 2005. It had all the big,
inscrutable emotion of a Jeff Mangus opus packed into catchy little bedroom pop
tunes. Turns out Ryland Bouchard, who is The Robot Ate Me, has some deep Davis
connections so a show at Delta wasn’t that unusual. He played toy instruments and
electronic gadgets that spilled out of a magician’s suitcase into the crowd. He
was like a skittish creature in the wild; fragile, unpredictable, maybe a
little dangerous and playing by a set of rules the rest of us are not wired to
understand. Afterward was as approachable as any good neighbor, but the
impression was set. This guy is something else.
36. Keb Mo and Alvin
Youngblood Hart, free in-store at Borders Books, Harvard Square 1995 Nothing like stumbling onto two amazing
young blues singers you just heard about playing for free at the… Border’s
Books? Why not. It was like Black History month story hour at the library. France Blues is still one of my
favorites.
37.
Letters to Cleo at Tufts,
Boston 1995
I was visiting town for a school break and got dragged along to the show. I
don’t remember the opener, but I remember the sound guy played Weezer’s debut
album cover to cover before the lights went down. Fucking genius. The live band
was a lot of fun too.
38. Arlo Gurthrie at the Newport
Folk Festival, Rhode Island 1994 I went with my then-girlfriend and our camp
counselor friends while we were all shacked up together in Boston for the
summer. They were into Ani DiSomebody and the Indigo Girls. I was into her. We made
it all the way from Boston to Newport before I realized I had left the tickets
at home, so I left them there and went back. Hearing Arlo sing the entire Alice’s Restaurant Massacre AND four
extra “family only” versus of This Land
is Your Land made it worth the trip.
39.
Barry Manilow at the Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati 1985 Mom loves her some Manilow.
I was 11 or 12, and just starting to get into my own thing, which was
definitely not Barry Manilow. I
remember my Mom’s perfume, and Dad being stressed out about getting there on
time. I remember thinking that the tickets must have been expensive because the
seats were pretty good, and feeling a little guilty about not wanting to go.
Then there was the skinny tan man in a bright white suit. I remember my sister
sleeping through the whole thing. I also remember wanting Copacabana to go on forever.
40.
Robert Earl Keen (Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, San Francisco
2006 I’ve seen Robert Earl Keen twice, both at Hardly Strictly, and it was
like seeing two entirely different people. The first time he was sharp and
funny, and played all my favorites in a way that made me appreciate them like a
brand new fan. Three years later he was so drunk he slurred his way through
half the songs and sapped the fun right out of it.
I was not pregnant.
ReplyDelete