Excellent cocktails, interesting food, and world class jazz. If you get a chance to catch a Sunday show in Cambridge at the Mad Monkfish, just do it.
Best Jazz in Boston: The Mad Monkfish
August 27, 2023
art, concert, music boston, cambridge, jazz, live music, the mad monkfish, travel 1 Comment
Regina Spektor plays circles around Aimee Mann at Wolf Trap
August 27, 2023
concert, music aimee mann, concert, donnie, geri, live music, regina spektor, video, wolf trap Leave a comment
I mean, Aimee Mann was really good. But Regina Spektor is in a completely different league.
Still, Aimee Mann played some greats.
Like “Save Me”
But Regina was better and she played some favorites too.
Like “Fidelity”
And “Samson”
But above all, this magical “Becoming All Alone”
We had a great evening with Donnie and Geri, sneaking bourbon mint fizz cocktails into Wolf Trap.
Andrew Bird in RVA
April 4, 2023
concert, photography andrew bird, concert, live music, music, photography, richmond, RVA, video Leave a comment
The Andrew Bird show in Richmond was excellent. Go see the Inside Problems tour if you get the chance.
Florence and the Machine: In Manchester with Shoes
February 6, 2023
music, travel ao arena, concert, england, florence, florence and the machine, free, heaven is here, lisa, live music, manchester, morning elvis, my love, never let me go, noel, romey, shake it out, ship to wreck, uk, you've got the love 2 Comments
There is a back story of sorts. Way back in the summer of 2022 in Virginia, we decided it would be fun to see Roxy Music and also Florence and the Machine when we could. Happily, we managed to do both, but only with some doing.
The plan for the Florence show was to get to the UK on business in November, skip American “dead turkey day,” meet up with our best British friends, and catch the show in Manchester. But somehow Florence broke her foot in London (while we were there) the day before the Manchester show.
We vowed to return.
Here are some bits from the show, an emotional powerhouse led by a charismatic master of the stage. What a show.
The AO arena is a great place to see a show, mostly because the crowd is fantastic. But the best reason to see a show there is because Noelie and Lisa are excellent hosts and are really fun to hang out with.
The crowd gathers.
We don’t even remember who the opener was.
Then, it was showtime!
Heaven is Here was the first song of the night. Florence had shoes on.
Ship to Wreck
Free
Dog Days Are Over. This is my favorite Florence song, and I was psyched it made the setlist. The fucking phone diatribe was captured in bits. Here it is in all its glory.
Of course the real Florence fan (and the reason we were all here) is Romey. She knew all the words to all the songs and had a huge smile on her face.
Romey dances.
Morning Elvis
My Love
You’ve Got the Love is Romey’s favorite Florence song. She was super psyched that it made the setlist.
The encore song Never Let Me Go had 20,000 people singing along.
Never Let Me Go, performed for the first time in a decade.
Shake it Out
Furnace Mountain at Home: Berryville, Virginia
January 30, 2023
music aimee curl, barns of rose hill, berryville, BORH, danny knicely, fiddlin' dave, furnace mountain, Furnace Mountain Band, live music, morgan morisson, music, photography, video Leave a comment
One of the great bands from this area, Furnace Mountain counts the Barns of Rose Hill as its home venue. They consistently sell out their shows at the barns, and for good reason. Here are some pictures and videos from the Dave’s Birthday Bash show.
A superb song like Suzanne showcases the band’s high level of talent.
Of course there is classic old timey music to play as well.
There were some non-standard parts of this show, it being a birthday bash and all.
Doritos were served, but only to select teenagers.
As the show happened on the Lunar New Year’s Day (welcome to the year of the rabbit), a Chinese folk song or two were offered from the stage. Normally, the band sticks to Americana.
Danny plays a mean mando. Of course he plays everything else too.
The medley.
A crowd favorite and one of the band’s best songs, Bluebell.
So next time Furnace Mountain plays, get your tickets early.
2023’s First Gig: JOBIE in RVA
January 10, 2023
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Tonite Only
JOBIE!
The Southside Lounge is a private juke joint situated at a non-disclosed location just south of Richmond, Virginia. And it’s a damn fun place to play a gig.
My good friend Charles Arthur’s daughter performs as JOBIE mostly in Boston. Her first CD “grendel” is available on Spotify. It’s excellent work. The show was a CD drop party in Richmond where JOBIE grew up.
First comes sound check. (I played fiddle on one song.)
This was Romey’s birthday gig present to me. Here’s the birthday girl herself. All we need is…LOVE.
And then come the people. The place was packed with an engaged, raucous crowd.
Family gathering on the stage.
Behind the scenes from the green room.
The star of the show, herself.
Mandolin.
Cello
Drums
Here we go.
Irish Goodbye included some fiddle and pole dancing
Loudoun and Romey had a great evening.
Y’all come back now, ya hear?
Roxy Music in Washington
September 11, 2022
art, film, music, photography andy mackay, avalon, bryan ferry, concert, jealous guy, live music, more than this, new york, phil manzanera, romey, roxy music, slow disco, st vincent, to turn you on, washington dc, while my heart is still beating 2 Comments
The Roxy Music show in DC was excellent and fun. St Vincent opened up (and not many of the audience members knew her stuff). We rocked out. Here are some bits.
We parked at the arena (though it cost some $$$ it was way worth it as we drove directly out in under 2 minutes). We arrived early enough to buy a very bad gin and tonic from the sports betting center on the corner before the show.
We were in the venue about 30 minutes before the show. Row 12!
St Vincent played lots of material from her new album.
New York
Only mother fucker in the city…
Slow disco.
The stage change took about 25 minutes. And it was worth the wait.
ROXY MUSIC in the house!
The show began with Avalon interstitial into Re-Make/Re-Model.
A guitar solo by Phil Manzanera.
Bryan Ferry was full of energy during this show.
Andy Mackay on woodwinds.
The guitar gets wild
While My Heart is Still Beating
Roxy gets psychedelic.
As does Romey! You go girl.
Many of the interludes were beautiful in just the right Roxy way.
One of our all time favorites To Turn You On
The Main Thing
The crowd was into it. And the visuals were just as much of the experience at the music. One guy in front of us knew every word of every song.
An all time favorite (though honestly I would rather play this than listen to it), More Than This.
Romey captures some bits.
And a very much great version of Avalon (though, don’t be the asshole who talks over this song).
The Warhol set was awesome
Jealous Guy
Congrats on 50 years of being a band, Roxy Music! You guys still rock.
Metallica in Germany
June 25, 2022
film, music, photography claudia, download, download festival, festival, five finger death punch, germany, live music, markus, markus schumacher, metal, metallica, music, photography, video 2 Comments
What do you do when you land in Germany? The answer involves a Camaro and the Autobahn and Metallica.
Markus’s airport car service
After a quick shower to wash off the metal tube, it’s time for the first Radler. A slippery slope to lots of beer. It is, after all, Germany.
The download festival. Here we come.
The duck is your co-pilot
Cider for the win
In the van things are serious
The weather GOOD
The weather BAD
duckface
After a bunch of beers (who is counting?), we wound our way over a 5km spiral into the venue. Germans are a very orderly bunch. Bt who thought up this entrance and exit plan?
MOO.
Sabaton from Sweden
Rock and roll
What?!
My crowd. What an unruly, fantastic bunch.
There was beer
Did I mention the part about the beer?
We pushed off the rain through sheer psychic magic, but it was only delayed.
Nap time for the American
Five Finger Death Punch
You may start with five fingers, but you will end up with four.
Finally, Metallica
Are you feeling good? Yes, we are.
Some guitar for you.
Rocker
Nothing else matters in this crowd of strangers. Metalheads are a welcoming bunch.
I am not alone.
My first metal show was the best one ever.
Music Mode: Ritt and Wilder Release Hinge (with some fiddle)
May 19, 2022
art, film, music, photography bitter liberals, fiddle, gem, hinge, live music, music, new music, rhine, ritt deitz, where's aubrey, wilder deitz 2 Comments
My music has been on a COVID hiatus for way too long — only the occasional rain in the desert with Rhine or a Bitter Liberal or two. Fortunately, along came Ritt Deitz who just released a new album and did a four show tour to promote its release. Buy a copy of Hinge here.
I played two of the shows with Ritt and his son, multi-instrumentalist and talented child Wilder. The shows were great. Here are some bits.
Wilder Deitz plays mandolin
The DC date was actually in Vienna at Diego Ruiz’s house.
The lineup (near the end anyway)
An excellent place to play a house concert. Great people.
All temporary of course. As we are not of this world.
Cocktails by Bill Shepardson. Where did that doctor’s bag come from?
Wilder Deitz plays piano
No, mandolin. Wilder plays mandolin.
The feet
Wilder plays guitar
No wait, it’s piano that Wilder plays.
Some other fiddler
I did play, honest. But nobody was there to record said playing. He said he played. He played.
Sing it.
Then it was on to Wilmington, NC for a Sunday evening performance (close enough to the Stick to merit a long drive).
Feet up between sets
The venue was a fiddle shop of the highest caliber. Ronald Sachs for the win.
Who needs people? Music is enough. Right? Yes? Music is enough?
Nope. The people add the magic. Connect.
The mosquito green room.
On the stage again. The music was even better.
These people charge the batteries. Thank you, people.
Sing it.
Then it was over. More please.
Like a puppy on the beach.
Fin.
Moon Hooch at the Bright Box
January 29, 2020
music band, bright box, live music, moon hooch, saxophone, Virginia, winchester Leave a comment
The kids they danced and shook their bones. There is no way to see Moon Hooch without dancing. And sweating. Through your clothes. YES.
The best part about seeing Moon Hooch perform at the Bright Box is the sheer intimacy of being 2 feet from the performance. Invigorating. Life affirming. Danceable. Fun.
We’re sad that James Muschler has moved on, but Moon Hooch still rocks the house.
