Fresh Bread

Ryan Adams New Album Is Good and A Letterman Performance.

Ryan Adams is back, looking sober and sounding very, very good. His new album, Easy Tiger, just hit stores this past Tuesday. It's a heavy dose of easy-does-it americana and some good ole country-tinged roots music. Throw in a classic Lou Reed-like track ("Halloweenhead") and you get Adams' best album...this year....so far.

The band has been busy this week celebrating the release of the new album. Monday night brought a mellowed out yet awesomely awesome show at Hiro. Stereogum was on hand and took some sweet pics. Last night, all of america bore witness to them performing the gorgeously light "Two" on the Letterman show. Peep it here:

Poison Video Shoot "What I Like About You"

Poison...yeah, that Poison...are getting ready to release an album of covers, Poisn'd, due out on Capitol in June.  I was on hand for the first single's video shoot.  The first single is going to be the Romantic's "What I Like About You".

Listen to four tracks on the band's myspace

View the rest of my pics here

Trey Anastasio 92Y Interview - Full mp3

Tragic Trey Anastasio participated in an interview/mini performance last night at the 92nd St Y.  Relix contributor Anthony DeCurtis was the I missed it to go to a show at the Mercury but one of my coworkers went and said it was very moving and inspirational.  Trey spoke candidly about his recent legal battles, Phish, Phil Lesh, and more.  Listen to the entire interview below:

Trey Interview - 2/7/2007.mp3

best quote:  "I just did what Page told me to do." LMAO!!!  Tell It LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Norah, Norah Throw Down Your Vocals

Her voice is like tussin on my aches.  She could be yodeling and I would still be drooling in musical ecstasy.  Ever since I saw her perform for the first time on the Letterman show years back I have been in looooooooove with her voice.  Norah Jones, I love you.

I got a sneak peak of the new album Not Too Late (out Jan 30th on EMI Blue Note) and I must say.......*shrugs shoulders*.....it's a 6.8 / 10.  Nothing new here - same formula, same amazing band (with some pretty good special guests like M. Ward and fellow Little Willie Richard Julian), strikingly similar songwriting.  If you are a fan, you'll be in to it.  If you don't dig her, then you'll probably pass.   As much as I am not blown away by this album I am in awe of her gorgeous voice.  It's enough to make me want to get sick just to take some Norah-tussin.

Peep these two tracks from Not Too Late....and make sure if you like them buy the album:

Broken.mp3

Not  Too Late.mp3

Cold War Kids - Bowery Ballroom 11.01.06

One of 2006's bloggiest bands is California's Cold War Kids.  I had meant to check out a set of theirs for what seems like 6 months but had not had a chance.  However, I really wasn't feeling their brand of rock on Wednesday.  The melodies weren't there and the neither was interest from me.  That might have been why I didn't stick it out to catch headliners, Tapes 'n Tapes.

Mountain Goats - Bowery Ballroom 09.30.06

Just wow.  Incredibly, indubitably wow.  Mountain Goats live is something else.

I caught the first of two nights of John Darnielle - aka Mountain Goats - at the Bowery last weekend and was simply blown away by the subtle strength of his music.  I have been listening to the new MG album Get Lonely like it was my day job since it was released not too long ago.  It is an album in stark contrast to 2005's effort ,the Sunset Tree.  ST was an album of upbeat pop melodies laced over dark, traumatic lyrics recounting Darnielle's difficult childhood.  GL is colder, softer, hushed....to me it just sounds like a perfectly cold early winter day.  This feeling came through with the first song of the evening, "Wild Sage", when you could distinguish every single whispered word Darnielle sang.

Thank goodness the crowd was so respectful to the performer - you literally could hear a pin drop - I wanted to catch every single lyric, word and breath out of Darnielle.  Many of the songs in the set came from the new album - "Maybe Sprout Wings", "Song For Lonely Giants", "Get Lonely", "New Monster Avenue" - as well as some oldie-but-goodies like "Up The Wolves", an "Old Broom" > "Dance Music" combo, and "The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton" (download here).

Pull your coat-collar up and peep the title track  from Get Lonely:

Get Lonely.mp3

 

RadioDread - Reggae Tribute to Radiohead

T.J.I.F Part II for today:

I loved (and still love) the Easy Star All Stars reggae tribute album to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, aptly titled Dub Side Of The Moon (so clever!!).  The boys from Brooklyn will release Radiodread on August 22nd - this time paying homage to Radiohead's 1997 OK Computer album (voted by Spin Magazine as the best rock album of the last 20 years).  The track listing and guest singers for this tribute is:

1.     Airbag - feat. Horace Andy

2.     Paranoid Android - feat. Kristy Rock

3.     Subterranean Homesick Alien - feat. Junior Jazz

4.     Exit Music (For A Film) - feat. Sugar Minott

5.     Let Down - feat. Toots and the Maytals

6.     Karma Police - feat. Citizen Cope

7.     Fitter Happier - feat. Menny More

8.     Electioneering - feat. Morgan Heritage

9.     Climbing Up The Walls - feat. Tamar-Kali

10.  No Surprises - feat. The Meditations

11.  Lucky - feat. Frankie Paul

12.  The Tourist - feat. Israel Vibration

13.  Exit Music (For A Dub)

14.  An Airbag Saved My Dub

Stream songs from the album here

Download the first single, "Let Down", on itunes

No NYC dates as of yet but the tour dates are heavy on Cali and the West Coast

Stale Bread - TJIF 03.26.06 feat Dub Side of The Moon

(thx BC)

Benevento/Russo Duo - Play Pause Stop

The Benevento/Russo Duo's new album Play Pause Stop is easily going to be near the top of my "Best Album's of 2006" list.  Just about a month ago the Duo dropped it while on tour with Trey Anastasio and Mike "Cactus" Gordon as the rhythm section to GRAB aka Mike and The Italians.  Since I picked it up on emusic PPD has been my most-played album (at least twice a day).  It is simply fantastic.

This album marks a departure for the Duo from the sounds of their first studio album,  Best Reasons to Buy The Sun.  Whereas Best Reasons takes your ears on a delightfully dark and very experimental  jazzy-jam-rock odyssey, PPD plays like an instrumental indie-rock anthems juke-box.  The album is most effectively described on the band's website:

Yes, it is a rock album — but there is no guitarist, no bassist, and you can sing along even though there are no words.

It is amazing how just two individuals - just four arms - can sound more powerful and  melodic than many of their contemporaries; even more so without a bass and a guitar.  Even more impressive are the conversations Marco and Joe have instrumentally - harmonizing each other perfectly.  This is evident from the first song of the album "Play Pause Stop" (download). Joe's drums provide the perfect backing to Marco's melody - very anthemic.  This epic song shortly drops into a brief jam section before returning gloriously to the original theme. 

Do yourself a favor and check out this album.

Catch the Duo in the city on August 28th as Part of the Rocks Off Boat cruise when they play as Bustle In Your Hedgerow.  Show info:

Monday, August 28th

New York, NY - The Temptress (Bustle in Your Hedgerow)

World Yacht Marina on 41st and West Side Highway
              Ticket Information: $30 adv/$35 dos. Purchase  Tickets here.
              Doors: 7:00 pm
              Show: 8:00 pm; 18+

Bustle in Your Hedgerow features Marco, Joe, Dave Dreiwitz (Ween) and Scott Metzger (Rana, Particle) TBD delving into the Zeppelin songbook

Justin also reviewed the album.  Head over to his Live Music Blog to read it and download three tracks from the album.

Stale Bread - GRAB @ Jones Beach 7.7.06

Gregory Isaacs - BB Kings 03.03.06

(Emcee) Are you ready to experience an experience you've never experienced before?

Actually, yes I am.  Check one more reggae legend off my 'MUST SEE...' list please.

The Cool Ruler/Original Jamaican P-Dropper Gregory Isaacs played to an oversold BB King's Times Square Friday night.  The club was incredibly packed; mostly older fans (lots of jamaican women and their 'significant others') showed up to welcome the usually reclusive Isaacs with emphatic cheers and BUCK-BUCKS. 

Isaacs played the songs you'd expect him to play from his 30 year career:  "NIght Nurse", "Tuning", "Frontdoor", "Soon Forward", "Number One", "What A Feeling" and more.  Overall, I was very happy with the performance (despite Gregory sounding waaaay toned out during the first 5 songs - slurring his vocals just a bit).  My enjoyment significantly increased once I left the crowded pit for the back in order to get my "high knees" on. 

It's hard to call out a highlight as the entire show was one I will not soon forget.  He's on tour now - stopping through my hometown venue, the Norva, on March 7th.

Stale Bread - download a sick ass Gregory show from 1982 (sbd recording)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Bowery Ballroom 02.25.06

I didn't live in NY when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs made their name known on the downtown music scene...oh and across the nation with the song 'Maps' (it's a love song in case you didn't know).

Using a small NYC club mini-tour to test their brand new material, the YYYs emerged Saturday night at the Bowery with a great wave of confidence.  The crowd rode that wave all night, enjoying the songs that will make the YYY's a band to remember in 2006.

See the rest of my pics here

Dan Fun from whosdrvingthebus.blogspot.com was at Night 1 as well as Night 2; he has excellent pics and spot on reviews.