Review: Lucero - Off Broadway - St. Louis, MO - 12/07/2010

From the stage singer/guitarist Ben Nichols advised the nearly sold out crowd, "We've been on the road for 9 and a half weeks and this is our last show before we go home. Tomorrow I will be home, but there's no other place I'd rather be than here."  A statement like that can sometimes lead you to believe that the band is either road weary or in prime, well-oiled condition to present a great show. For Lucero, however, the statement was very much the latter!

Sporting his trade mark V-neck white t-shirt with tattoos showing and a camouflage hat, Ben Nichols led Memphis based Lucero through a two hour plus set of their brand of punk inspired Country/Rock/Soul to the crowd at Off Broadway in St. Louis, MO. Augmented by a 2 man Memphis horn section of saxophone and trumpet, but missing pedal steel player, Todd Beene, Lucero played an inspired set that warmed the St. Louis crowd frigid from the recent falling temperatures and left everyone wanting more by night's end. Nichols' whiskey soaked voice is the perfect for these Americana tinged songs of heartbreaking relationships, drinking, bar fights, motorcycles, family and service to our country. The tag of being Memphis' answer to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is probably a bit unfair and overstated, but the band certainly shares some traits with that famous band -- legendary live shows, rabid fans, and long and varied set lists.

Starting with the Stax influenced "The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo" from their recent release 1372 Overton Park (Universal Republic Records, 2009), Lucero immediately got the partisan crowd reved up for a good night and showcased piano/organ player Rick Sheff's chops. Besides playing 8 of the 12 tracks on their latest album, Lucero played a selection of songs from each album in their strong back catalog during the 26 song set.

Clearly appreciative of the turnout for a Tuesday night show, Nichols stated, "Fridays and Saturdays are for amateurs... Tuesday night is the 'real drinker's' night. A song or two into the set, bass player, John C. Stubblefield asked for more kickdrum, vocals, guitar and organs in his monitor and Nichols cracked wise, "Somebody missed sound check!" Throughout the set Stubblefield, got more inebriated and continued to grab the microphone between songs and exhort some incoherent banter to the crowd.

The pace slowed after the high energy, fast-paced start for the bluesy "Nights Like These" and "Chain Link Fence," but kicked right back in again for the outstanding "Sounds Of The City."  After receiving some 80 proof refreshments from the crowd, Nichols cracked, "Thank you for the shots. Let's play some drinking songs." The band kept switching up the pace during the middle of the set, while still managing to stay in a groove and keeping the crowd focused. With Memphis as a home base and the horn section in fine form, the band would have made Otis Redding proud with the neo-soul number, "Goodbye Again."

Lucero (L-R): Ben Nichols, Todd Beene, Brian Venable, Rick Sheff, Roy Berry, and John C. Stubblefield

About three quarters of the way through the set, Nichols gave the band a break and stayed out to play some songs with piano/organ player, Rick Steff, as his only complement.  Steff played organ and accordion on a couple of songs from Nichols' solo album and a couple of Lucero songs "The War" and "Mom." Nichols thanked the crowd for indulging him in this interlude in the middle of the show. "Thank you for putting up with the slow, sad bastard shit," said Nichols before launching into "Mom."

Near the end Nichols told advised that the band had a rule that if someone vomited on the bus the person that cleaned it up would be paid $50. After the previous night when Nichols had puked on the bus, he had been fined a hundred large. So, Nichols had made a deal with the sound guy, working right behind where we were standing, to decrease the fine by $20 if he could hit him with a new found hacky sack from the stage.  The crowd parted and ready for the throw. Nichols took his shot, but came up empty sailing it into the balcony.  Venable somehow retrieved the hacky sack after it was thrown back to the stage and gave it a try; hitting the light the sound guy used to see the board!  Missed it by that much...

The band finished the main set strong pushing the crowd into a frenzy for the last three numbers - "What Else Would You Have Me Be", "I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight", "Tears Don't Matter Much". With beer flying from the $4 Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboys, the crowd up front was re-energized and singing at the top of their lungs.  When not singing, Nichols would turn his back to the crowd and relentlessly stalk Roy Berry's drum set like an animal ready to strike. Venable and Stubblefield enjoyed the crowd's energy and did not shy away from the beer bath they were receiving from the enthusiastic crowd.

After a short break, Nichols came out for the encore alone and played "Better Than This" with his hollow body Epiphone guitar still sounding great twenty four songs into the show. The band came back for the final song, "All Sewn Up," an up tempo rocker about tattoos, and the venue exploded and then it was all over.

After the show the band hung around and conversed about music, had drinks with the fans, signed autographs, and took pictures. In more articles that I can count I had read that Nichols, Venable, and the rest of the band are the least pretentious musicians you'll ever meet and that held true at the St. Louis tour stop as well. Nichols was standing next to the bar talking to some fans wearing a green Army fatigues jacket, with a jean jacket underneath and a red hoodie. After Nichols did some shots at the bar with some other fans, I told him how much I had enjoyed the show.  I continued and stated I "hated to admit this was my first Lucero show, but certainly would not be my last," and Nichols gave me a big hug! Not long after Nichols joined our group and started chatting. After a few minutes, my friend Jeff also told Nichols that he had his "Lucero cherry popped" at this show, Nichols said, "that gives me a great idea for a t-shirt" and made a beeline for the merch table to share his idea with the merch girl.

As for the future, a couple days prior to the St. Louis date the band played a show in Denver, CO. According to another blog, Nichols advised the writer he had written 17 new songs, but the band needed to get home first before they could start recording new material. More information about a new album can be gleaned from this past week's edition of the Riverfront Times, Nichols told that writer that the new songs had mostly been written on an acoustic guitar, but may change significantly after entering the studio and giving them the full band treatment.

Personally, 1372 Overton Park has been on constant rotation since I bought the album the day it came out in late 2009.  While a new Lucero album may have a different feel than its predecessor, it will nevertheless be highly anticipated by myself and many others.

Set List
The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo
That Much Further West
Can't Feel A Thing
Nights Like These
Chain Link Fence
Sounds Of The City
Kiss The Bottle (Jawbreaker cover)
I'll Just Fall
Raising Hell
Bikeriders
Johnny Davis
Darken My Door
Last Night In Town
Goodbye Again
Slow Dancing
Sixteen
Sweet Little Thing
Last Pale Light In The West (Ben Nichols solo album, Sheff on accordion)
Davy Brown (Ben Nichols solo album, Sheff on accordion)
The War
Mom
What Else Would You Have Me Be
I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight
Tears Don't Matter Much

Encore
Ben solo - Better Than This
All Sewn Up

The opening band, John Henry and the Engine, played an gutsy, impassioned set of original music to get the night started. Wearing their influences squarely on their sleeve, the band's music hearkened back to the sound of mid-1980's Replacements and Soul Asylum, early 1990's American mixed with a little soul. This assessment is backed up from a quote from St. Louis' KDHX 88.1 FM that was reprinted by the Columbia Tribune, “With relentless guitars and restless voices, John Henry and The Engine burn through the past, present and maybe even the future of American music.”

Singer/Guitarist John Henry has certainly done his research and studied hard on the duties of a Rock 'n Roll front man. Almost to a fault he had all the right moves around the stage. With that said, Henry's harmonica playing and singing along with the band's attack of each song kept the attention of the crowd unlike a lot of opening bands where the crowd gets bored midway through the opening act. The organ/piano work by Michael Hickey was lost in the mix of guitars and the drummer's heavy pounding and wild flailing made it seem like he was playing in another, much bigger venue. Introduced with the line, "For those of you who are music buffs, this is in the key of E minor," a cover of the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers classic, "Refugee" was well executed in the middle of the set. However, the reaction of the crowd seemed ho-hum at best about the number and may be due to the overplay of such a song on St. Louis Classic Rock radio over the years. With some mentoring and more shows under their belt, John Henry and the Engine could certainly move to the next level. Find the band on Facebook and Twitter.

Review: Chris Mills - Fred's Six Feet Under - St. Louis, MO - 12/04/2010

Although there was no doorman and I did not have to provide a password to gain entry, Fred Friction's Six Feet Under is part speakeasy and part hanging out with your friends in an old basement with no authority figures to ruin your fun. Shortly after my arrival and pleasantries were exchanged with Chris Mills and old friends, Mr. Friction became taskmaster and forced Mills to start his show for our host (complete with beer bottle cap necklace) was due at Off Broadway for the Uncle Tupelo tribute show happening the same evening.

With no new release since Living In The Aftermath (Ernest Jenning Record Co., 2008), the Brooklyn based Mills stuck to a rough outline of a set list while taking requests and heckles from the audience - mostly via our host Friction himself. Demonstrating his self-deprecating humor, Mills strummed and joked his way through a 90 minute, nineteen song set. Wielding only a Guild acoustic guitar, capo, strong voice and a Pabst Blue Ribbon for good measure, the set included his variety of witty, upbeat Pop/Rock songs and achingly beautiful ballads full of pain, melancholy and sorrow.

Playing his first St. Louis date in four years in front of a roaring television simulated fireplace, Mills seemed relaxed, comfortable and in good spirits while stripping his songs to the bare bones with just his voice and acoustic guitar. With only his voice, he improvised subtle nuances by adding horn parts and melodies that richly enhanced his last two records. Lacking the sheer power of the full band, Mills voice bore much of the responsibility for conveying the melody, vibe, and laid bare feelings that many of his songs possess. For his effort, the audience - mostly full of childhood friends, parents and friends - thanked Mills for his work with strong applause and appreciation.

The solo performance, however, enhanced subtleties of the artist that are often lost in the setting of a full band performance. Between songs he told stories of his day job instructing children in music education and taking trips to Europe to teach Norwegian children about American protest music. In the future if Norway goes to war with Sweden or Finland we'll know who to blame. Next, Mills told the story of time he was back in the area working at St. Louis based Imo's Pizza and folding pizza boxes when a co-worker asked him what he was up to and Mills recounted how he was back living with his parents and working this job contemplating his next move. The co-worker replied, "You must be living the dream" and the basis of a new song was born as he launched into "Chris Mills Is Living The Dream." From there Mills jumped back in time nearly a decade and a half to tell the story of his now younger 22 year old self writing the song "Fresh Young Mouth" after his attraction to a much older bartender went unrequited. Later, he received big laughs recounting the tale of receiving word last year from a television writer only days before air that his song, "Such A Beautiful Thing", was to be featured in an episode of the CBS drama Criminal Minds titled "Cradle To The Grave." Mills excitement was dashed after asking his wife to spread the word to family and friends only to find out that the episode dealt with a crazed maniac who kidnapped women and forcing them to have sex and children with him killing all in the end. Finally, during the middle of "You Are My Favorite Song", the crowd was treated to a short tale of how one of Mills' successful songwriting friends had advised that the tempo change to a waltz in the middle of the song matching the lyric did not work.  Mills reply was that he was leaving the song as written because he felt, "his audience was smart enough to catch the reference."

While the majority of his performance was highlighted by material from the last two albums, the set list featured songs from each of his full length albums and even included a few new songs. The choice of songs represented his career well, and seemed apropos, when near the end Mills told the gathering he will be touring to promote a ten year retrospective next year and plans a St. Louis date. Here's hoping that the budget will allow for a full band tear-the-roof-off performance and some more new material to showcase alongside some old favorites.

Set list:

Untitled #1

A Farewell To Arms

In The Time Of Cholera

Suicide Note

The Silver Line

Chris Mills Is Living The Dream

Escape from New York

Blackbirds

Constellations

Fresh Young Mouth

Brand New Day

New song - When We Were Young

New song - Try Not To Die

Watch Chain

New song - Last Days

Such A Beautiful Thing

Atom Smashers

You Are My Favorite Song

Calling All Comrades

Below are included a few performances to give you an idea of his music and the night. Enjoy!

Check out My Space to listen to songs from Living In The Aftermath. 

Happy Birthday Chris Hillman!

Forty six years ago The Byrds had just changed their band name from The Jet Set and were rehearsing songs at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles under the tutelage of producer Jim Dickson.  Chris Hillman had joined Jim (later Roger) McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby's folk group to play bass guitar in a new Rock 'n Roll group. Balanced out by Michael Clarke on drums, The Byrds were signed to Columbia Records on November 10, 1964, but the contract originally only included McGuinn, Clark, and Crosby. For Hillman it was the beginning of a long musical career that lasts into today.

The Byrds first recording session for Columbia Records on January 25, 1965 was only for a single.  The A side contained the Bob Dylan composition "Mr. Tambourine Man" and the Gene Clark original "I Knew I'd Want You" took the B side.  Producer Terry Melcher hired The Wrecking Crew, an L.A. group of studio musicians responsible for the music on many 1960's hits.  Only Roger McGuinn was allowed to play his signature Rickenbacker guitar on the tracks.

Here's the second television appearance ever by The Byrds on Hullabaloo from May 8, 1965.



After Clark left The Byrds in 1966, Hillman took a stronger role in the group and even wrote four of the songs on Younger Than Yesterday (1967).

After his stint in The Byrds, Hillman went on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers with ex-Byrd
Gram Parsons. Next Hillman went on to participate in the Stephen Stills project, Manassas, and even regroup with the original members of The Byrds for swan song album in 1973. Later, Hillman was part of Souther-Hillman-Furay, McGuinn-Clark-Hillman, and The Desert Rose Band. Hope you're having a good one Chris!

Happy Birthday Ozzy!

It took a lot of water to down just that fucking bat's head, let me tell you. It's still stuck in my fucking throat, after all these years. People all over the world say, 'You're the guy who kills creatures? You still do it? You do it every night?' It happened fucking once, for Christ's sake. - Ozzy Osbourne

Sending out birthday wishes to the Prince Of Darkness, John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne on his 62nd birthday. Say what you will about Ozzy now, but before he abused himself for years with untold substances this guy could rock -- hard. Growing up with classic rock radio you could see the huge influence that Sabbath had on younger bands. An unabashed Beatles fan, Ozzy helped create a whole sub-genre of Rock 'n Roll. From metal to punk, and rock to thrash, Ozzy is an icon. In the early 1980's it was subversive and taboo to like Heavy Metal. Listening to Sabbath and Ozzy solo records in the basement with the lights off and candles glowing was a rite of passage. Music can take you to another place and scare your parents is a good thing when you're young!

Check out these clips of "Iron Man" and "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath from a concert in Paris, France in 1970.

New Buffalo Tom Record Due Out February 2011

Cover art for new album by Buffalo Tom titled Skins

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a huge fan of Buffalo Tom.  I latched onto this Boston based band around 1992 and have been a loyal listener ever since.  Their albums Let Me Come Over (1992), Big Red Letter Day (1993) and Sleepy Eyed (1995) became classics alongside other 1990's acts that had their starts in the late 1980's or early 1990's like Pavement, Superchunk, Sebadoh, Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub, and Uncle Tupelo. In fact, two of my favorite shows of all time were performances Buffalo Tom gave at the late, great Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, MO in 1993 and 1995. 

So, when I read last winter that Buffalo Tom was in the studio working on a new album I immediately started anticipating their new album. That wait is now over. The new record, Skins, their first album since their 2007 release Three Easy Pieces will be released on their new label Scrawny Records on February 15, 2011. Skins was produced by the band in their hometown of Boston, MA, and mixed by long-time friends Paul Q. Kolderie (known for his work at Fort Apache) and Tom Polce. Kolderie produced the band’s breakout third album, 1992’s Let Me Come Over and Polce produced 2007's Three Easy Pieces. In addition to the regular edition of the album on CD and vinyl there will be a deluxe edition with demos, B-sides, and a postcard. The first single, "Arise, Watch" was premiered this past Monday at Stereogum. Check out the track here. The album also features the track “Don’t Forget Me,” a collaboration with another Boston icon, Tanya Donnelly (Throwing Muses, The Breeders, Belly).

Here’s the tracklist for the regular edition:


01 “Arise, Watch”
02 “She’s Not Your Thing”
03 “Down”
04 “Don’t Forget Me”
05 “Guilty Girls”
06 “Miss Barren Brooks”
07 “Paper Knife”
08 “Here I Come”
09 “Lost Weekend”
10 “The Hawks & The Sparrows”
11 “The Big Light”
12 “The Kids Just Sleep”
13 “Out of The Dark”


For some thoughts on the new album and the direction of the band from guitarist/singer, Bill Janovitz, check out this interview from The Alternate Side. For a more private look at Janovitz, please check out his blog. When he's not working his day job in real estate, Janovitz also finds time to write about his life and music and includes great stories with his versions of some of his favorite songs. Finally, you can find the group on Twitter and Facebook.

Happy Hanukkah Everybody!

The Hanukkah holiday has started early this year and runs from December 1 to 9.  Enjoy this now famous song written by Adam Sandler for the classic Weekend Update skit on Saturday Night Live being performed by the one and only Neil Diamond!

For me, I wish I was in Hoboken, NJ at Maxwell's to catch one of the shows by Yo La Tengo over the next eight nights!

2011 St. Louis Record & CD Shows

The dates for the 2011 St. Louis Record and CD Shows have been released. This show is for you if you love vinyl (45's and LP's), compact discs, 78 RPM records, videos, rare items, and more. If you haven't been to one of these shows check out the video made by Lo Fi St. Louis from You Tube at the bottom of the post for a glimpse of what the show is like.

Where:
American Czech Hall
4690 Landsdowne (at Kingshighway)
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Dates: (All shows on Sundays)
January 9
March 6
May 1
July 10
September 11
November 6

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Admission: $3.00
Early Bird: $5.00 (8:30 a.m.)
Table Fee: $35.00 (set up 8:30 a.m.)

Click on the link to this post for the Official St. Louis Record and CD Show website
For Information send an e-mail
You can also find their page on Facebook

Release Dates - December, January, & February

Dec 7
Feist - Look At What The Light Did Now [DVD/CD]
Jefferson Airplane - Live at The Fillmore Auditorium 10/15/66: Late Show: Signe's Farewell
Jefferson Airplane - Live at The Fillmore Auditorium 10/16/66: Early & Late Shows: Grace's Debut
Jefferson Airplane - Live at The Fillmore Auditorium 11/25/66 & 11/27/66: We Have Ignition 11/27/66: We Have Ignition [2 CD's]
Jefferson Airplane - Return To The Matrix 2/1/68 [2 CD's]
Ministry - And The Co-Conspirators: Undercover
Modest Mouse - Fruit That Ate Itself [Vinyl]
The Mynabirds - All I Want Is Truth [Single]
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remaster [Vinyl & CD]
Ohio Knox - S/T [CD reissue of obscure 1971 album]
Radioseed - There Has To Be More [Peter Wikstr"m of Ecovillage]
Ravi Shankar & George Harrison - Collaborations [3 CD/ 1 DVD] [Limited Edition]
Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People [EP]
Two Cow Garage - Sweet Saint Me
Various Artists - Circus Days: Pop Psych Obscurities 1966-1972 [6 CD's]

Dec 14
Ryan Adams And The Cardinals - III/IV [Vinyl & CD]
Kid Rock - Born Free [2 LP / Bonus CD]
Phish - Alpine Valley: 2010 [2 CD / 2 DVD]
Brian Setzer Orchestra - It's Gonna Rock Cause That's What I Do [Blu Ray]
Sonic Youth - Sister [180 gram Vinyl]
Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising [180 gram Vinyl]
Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque [180 gram Vinyl]
Van Halen - II [180 gram Vinyl]
Van Halen - Women and Children First [180 gram Vinyl]
Van Halen - 1984 [180 gram Vinyl]


Dec 21
June Carter Cash - Press On
Ride - Nowhere [180 gram Vinyl]
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Runnin' Down A Dream [Blu Ray]
Tom Waits - Closing Time [180 gram Vinyl]
Tom Waits - The Heart Of Saturday Night [180 gram Vinyl]
Tom Waits - Nighthawks At The Diner [180 gram Vinyl]
Tom Waits - Small Change [180 gram Vinyl]


Jan 4
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Mardi Gras: 40th Anniversary Edition


Jan 11
Edie Brickell - S/T
Cage The Elephant - Thank You Happy Birthday [Vinyl & CD]
Cake - Showroom Of Compassion [Vinyl & CD]
Cure - Entreat Plus [Vinyl]
Get Up Kids - Automatic [Vinyl]
Jimmy Eat World - The Lowdown
Queens Of The Stone Age - S/T
The Stooges - Thousand Lights: Live In 1970 [Import CD]
T-Model Ford and Gravelroad - Taledragger [Vinyl & CD]
Tapes 'n Tapes - Outside [Vinyl & CD]
Wire - Red Barked Tree [Vinyl & CD]
Punk Attitude (DVD)

Jan 18
Gregg Allman - Low Country Blues
The Allman Brothers - S.U.N.Y. at Stonybrook 9/19/71 [Limited Edition]
Dennis Brown - At Joe Gibbs
The Carrier - Blind To What Is Right
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead [Vinyl, CD, Super Deluxe CD]
Dolorean - The Unfazed
Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred For Mankind
Jae - Balls & Kittens Draught & Strangling Rain
The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall [Vinyl]
The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall [Expanded Edition]
The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass [Vinyl]
The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass [Legacy Edition] (2 CD's)
Less Than Jake - Hello Rockview
Less Than Jake - Losing Streak
Mudhoney - Head On The Curb [Vinyl]
Night Ranger - Authorized Bootleg: Live Marquette Michigan 8/8/84
Robert Pollard - Space City Kicks [Vinyl & CD]
Social Distortion - Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes [Vinyl]
Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetr [Vinyl]
Sparklehorse - Good Morning Spider [Vinyl]
White Lies - Ritual
Jason D. Williams - Killer Instincts

Jan 25
Caroline - Verdugo Hills
The Ex - Catch My Shoe
Gang Of Four - Content
Amos Lee - Mission Bell
Lynn Miles - Fall For Beauty
Motorhead - World Is Yours
Pearl Jam - Death On Two Legs
Vagrants - I Can't Make A Friend 1965-1968
Woven Hand - Threshing Floor [Former 16 Horsepower singer]
Young The Giant - S/T
Robin Zander - Countryside Blvd. [Cheap Trick singer]
13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere [Reissue]
Various - Rarest Rockabilly Album In The World Ever

Feb 1
David Lowery - The Palace Guards [1st Solo Record]

Feb 8
Elvis Costello - Pomp & Pout: The Universal Years

Feb 15
Bright Eyes - The People's Key
Buffalo Tom - Skins [CD & Vinyl]
Hayes Carll - Kmag Yoyo [Vinyl]
Drive By Truckers - Go Go Boots

Feb 22
It's A Long Way... (DVD)

Mar 1
Lucinda Williams - Blessed

Lunch Hour Used CD Finds

Found a selection of new and old stuff while at Euclid Records over lunch.

Belle And Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitresses (finally found this used!)
Roky Erickson with Okkervil River -
The Mynabirds - What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood
Nico - Chelsea Girl
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St. [Deluxe Edition]
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix (Why didn't I have this album before?)
Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
Telekinesis - S/T

Live In Studio At KDHX 88.1 - Samantha Crain

Recently, I volunteered to do some writing for the local community radio station KDHX 88.1. I thought it would be a great opportunity to further develop my writing skills and keep up with some current music at the same time.

Check out my review of the recent in studio performance by Samantha Crain at KDHX 88.1 in St. Louis in late May. Here's a link to my review on the KDHX website.  Thanks to Roy Kasten, KDHX web editor and host of the show Feel Like Going Home, for giving me the chance to do some writing.

You can find out more about Samantha Crain at her website or her myspace page.

What Does Music Mean To You?

Music means different things to different people. For some music is just background music to the other things they are doing at the time – watching a movie, walking through a store, riding an elevator, or on hold waiting for someone to come back to the phone. For others music is what is popular right now on the radio or on television. However, when pressed about what artists they liked a few years ago they are at a loss. While still more people predominantly like music from a certain era of their lives – i.e. high school, college, or a decade that spans that time in their life. Finally, there are people who love many different forms, styles, genres, eras of music both popular and esoteric.

Personally, I fall into the last category. My music library consists of songs from every one of the last 11 decades and includes bluegrass, blues, classical, country, folk, funk, hip hop, jazz, punk, rap, rhythm & blues, rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, show tunes, soul, swing and more.  I do not own very much gospel or zydeco, but you get the picture. Yet it seems I am always looking for more music from artists I already know, new artists I am just discovering or artists I have only heard of in passing.

Which category do you fall into? Does music consume you or do you just care who won the last edition of American Idol?

The Friday iPod Shuffle - 6/4/10

Where Were You In ’92?
This shuffle list came about after seeing a few friends from high school last weekend at the Little Pieces shows I attended.


Brian Wilson – Barenaked Ladies – Gordon
Mark Peril Theme – Sneakers – Racket
Crowded In The Wings – The Jayhawks – Hollywood Town Hall
These Days – 10,000 Maniacs – These Are Days [Import Single]
From Hank To Hendrix – Neil Young – Harvest Moon
Everybody Can Change (Live) – Vic Chestnut – Rare On Air, Vol. 2
Thunder Road (Live) – Bruce Springsteen – In Concert/MTV Plugged
Counting Backwards (Live) – Throwing Muses – The Curse: Live In London
Brown Eyes (Demo) – Red House Painters – Retrospective
Stuck On You – Sneakers – Racket
Sparky – Kristin Hersh – Hips And Makers
You Get Me High – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Playback [Boxset]
When I Get This Way (Over You) – Material Issue – Destination Universe
Orange Rolls, Angel’s Spit – Sonic Youth – Dirty
Frankie And Johnny – Bob Dylan – Good As I Been To You
Kitchen – The Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray
Closer – Peter Himmelman – Flown This Acid World
Bullet In The Head – Rage Against The Machine – S/T
Criminals – Uncle Tupelo – March 16-20, 1992
The Statue Got Me High – They Might Be Giants – Apollo 18
It Comes Around – Jude Cole – Start The Car
Jungle Song – Sonia Dada – S/T
Man On The Moon – Sugar – Copper Blue
Bam-Bam – Luscious Jackson – In Search Of Manny
Power And Glory Part II – Lou Reed – Magic And Loss
A Letter To Elise – The Cure - Wish
Find The River – R.E.M. – Automatic For The People
Forever Baby – Juliana Hatfield – Hey Babe
Egyptian Crème (Live) – Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Live At The Cambridge Folk Festival
April Fool – Soul Asylum – Grave Dancers Union
You Stupid Asshole – Mudhoney – March To Fuzz
Crazy – Aerosmith – Get A Grip
Chalkdust Torture – Phish – A Picture Of Nectar
Hollywood – The Wallflowers – S/T
Galileo – Indigo Girls – Rites Of Passage
Dyslexic Heart – Paul Westerberg – Singles (Soundtrack)
Manic Depression – Throwing Muses – Various Tracks [Promotional]
Dome – The Church – Priest = Aura
Everybody Loves Me But You – Juliana Hatfield – Hey Babe
The Girl On The Greenbriar Shore – Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 – Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006
Kid’s Allright - Bettie Serveert – Palomine
Overblown – Mudhoney – Singles (Soundtrack)
Sleepwalking – Brenda Kahn – Epiphany In Brooklyn
Free Time – Michael Penn – Free-For-All
Night Of Chill Blue – Superchunk – Incidental Music 1991-1995
Starter – Portastatic – Some Small History
Candy Everybody Wants – 10,000 Maniacs – Our Time In Eden
Pearl – Throwing Muses – Red Heaven
Witches Night – The Judybats – Down In The Shacks Where The Satellite Dishes Grow
Velvet Roof – Buffalo Tom – Let Me Come Over
29 – Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience
My Evil Twin – They Might Be Giants – Apollo 18
Harvest Moon – Neil Young – Harvest Moon
My Morning Song – The Black Crowes – The Southern Harmony And The Musical Companion
Come Talk To Me – Peter Gabriel – Us
Loomer - My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Junk Bonds - Sebadoh - Smash Your Head On Punk Rock
Be My Yoko Ono - Barenaked Ladies - Gordon
Dreaming - Yo La Tengo - Freedom Of Choice [Various Artists]
Untied - Superchunk - On The Mouth
Somebody To Shove - Soul Asylum - Grave Dancers Union
Sugar Kane - Sonic Youth - Dirty
Beestung - Kristin Hersh - Hips And Makers
Seen The Doctor - Michael Penn - Free-For-All
Hot Dog - Eugenius - Oomalama
For The Life Of Me - The Wallflowers - S/T
These Hills - Iris DeMent - Infamous Angel
Grindstone - Uncle Tupelo - March 16-20, 1992

Live In Concert: Little Pieces - Cicero's - St. Louis, MO - 05/27/10

 Yesterday morning I was getting my daughter ready for pre-school and she was not getting out of bed very easily. She has a clock radio/wave machine in her room so I turned off the waves and turned on the radio to see if that would stimulate her senses. I had the radio tuned KDHX 88.1. The show that was playing in the Thursday morning time slot from 5-7 a.m. is called Pop The Beat Bubble Burst, a show that plays various forms of Rock 'N'Roll including pop, jangle, power pop, etc. I was moving in and out of the room and I came back in and heard a familiar song playing and wondered to myself "Who is that band? I know that song." Sure enough it was a song called "Record Mine" by Little Pieces, a Seattle based trio! See the song list for the radio show here.

A few months ago my lifelong friend, drummer Rob Lloyd, e-mailed me asking about venues in St. Louis to play a show later in the year and some suggestions on sending a press kit to KDHX. I sent him back my thoughts and he ended up booking a show at Cicero's in St. Louis and sending a press kit with their full length debut album and new EP and a letter about the band and their upcoming show to Rich Reese at KDHX.

At midday Rob called to check in and see if I was going to make the show later that night. At that point I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it and advised I would at least be seeing the show on Sunday in Collinsville. He was excited that their song had been on the radio earlier in the day and gave me the schedule of the two shows and we chatted about his trip. He recounted the story of one of his checked bags, including his snare drum and merchandise, not making the flight from Seattle to St. Louis. Luckily a stressful situation was avoided when the airline was able to deliver the bag later that same night.  He also revealed that the band may be splitting in the not so distant future with the possible move by singer/guitarist Herman Jolly from the Seattle area to Portland, OR.  Rob seemed at peace with this possibility which likely had a lot to do with his baby daughter and owning a small business.

After our phone call and then speaking with numerous friends, I found that most people were attending the show on Sunday as well so I felt I should show my support by going to the Cicero's show as well. Since this decision was made on a last minute notice I didn't show up to the venue until just before Little Pieces started their set. There were four acts on the bill - a rapper J. Coates, Little Pieces, Farewell Flight and Heroes Of The Kingdom which includes another longtime friend of mine, Christian Powell, on guitar. I had already missed the rapper who went on first, however, I saw a few old friends and acquaintances and settled into a draft of Anchor Steam to listen to the set.

Little Pieces played a tight set consisting of songs from their debut album from 2008 and a six song EP they released earlier this year. The sound guy got the mix of guitar, bass, drums and vocals just right without any of the components overpowering the other parts. Even with some borrowed equipment the band seemed at ease with the set up.  Singer/guitarist Herman Jolly had his black Epiphone Les Paul guitar sounding great playing through a borrowed Fender Twin Reverb.  The warm Les Paul sound was heavy in the small room, yet the higher stings had nice clarity without a lot of crunch keeping the pop feel intact. Bassist Grant Badger's bouncing lines cemented the back beat while adding color to the mix as a good bassist in a trio should. Badger shuffled around the front of the stage with a Fender bass through an Ampeg rig since he wasn't tied to the microphone stand like Jolly. Lloyd was on his game last night playing with ferocity like a man on a mission. His signature heavy, yet tight drumming style, complete with drum stick twirls, gave the pop tunes from the long player much more of a Rock vibe in the live setting especially on songs like "Hurricane" and "Wrote A Letter." On some of the newer songs like "Chessman" classic rock style fills dominated and his playing seemed liberated from the simpler beats of the full length LP. Lloyd's performance was about putting on a good show for the audience and it showed. The set only lasted 10 songs, roughly about 45 minutes, which seemed a little truncated, but a packed bill necessitated adhering to a strict schedule.

Little Pieces Set List 5/27/10 - Cicero's - St. Louis, MO

• Key On A Kite
• Hurricane
• One Million Feet Below
• Record Mine
• Wrote A Letter
• Fit You Like A Glove
• After Me
• I'm A Bull
• Summertime In Space
• Chessman

After the show and the equipment was torn down, I exchanged greetings and talked with Rob for a while about the set offering him a Boulevard Wheat for his effort.  Later, I spoke with Badger and offered my thoughts on the set and asked him for a copy of their new EP. After I handed over my $5 we chatted about the band.  Badger told me that he and Lloyd have recorded another album's worth of material and only need to add Jolly's guitar and vocals to the mix. However, Badger also confirmed the news that the band's future is uncertain with Jolly possibly moving sometime soon, but also seemed okay with the possible end to the band.
For certain a rift is in the air, but time will tell what happens and all things are possible.

I caught a bit of the set by Farewell Flight, but Rob wanted to go out into the restaurant and talk so we left the twenty something band behind for the quieter quarters. I was not able to stick around to see the set by Heroes Of The Kingdom (sorry Christian) since I had to be up early for work the next day, but will likely catch a show in the near future since the band is based in St. Louis.

Little Pieces have a few more Midwest dates they are playing this weekend -

Champaign, IL - Mike & Molly's
Friday, May 28, 2010
9:00 pm
105 North Market Street, Champaign, IL 61820

Springfield, IL - Private Party
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Contact them if you would like to attend.

Collinsville, IL - Hurricanes Bar & Grill
Sunday, May 30, 2010
9:00 pm
222 West Main Street, Collinsville, IL 62234

Upcoming Concert Scheule

On Friday, I did some research of the concert schedules for the local music venues. Here are the highlights at what jumped out at me.  I am going to one of the Little Pieces shows this week and I just bought tickets for the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers show in mid-July. Unfortunately funds and time will limit the amount of these shows that I actually see. However, my goal is to write reviews here of what I end up attending. Get out there and support live music!

May
Wed 5/26/10 – BoDeans – Old Rock House - $25 – Doors 7 p.m. Show 8 p.m.
Thur 5/27/10 – The Great Outdoors / Little Pieces / Heroes Of The Kingdom - $7 – Cicero’s – 8 p.m.
Sun 5/30/10 – Little Pieces – Hurricane’s – Collinsville, IL

June
Fri 6/4/10 – Mother Hips w/ Don Gallardo & How Far West – Old Rock House - $10 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Thur 6/17/10 – Jay Farrar – Old Rock House – $20 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Sat 6/19/10 – Marah – Blueberry Hill - $12 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Sat 6/19/10 – The Great Crusades, The Saps, Dana Anderson – Off Broadway - $8 Doors 8:30 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Mon 6/21/10 – Blitzen Trapper w/ The Moondoggies – Off Broadway - $12 adv/$14 DOS – Doors 7 p.m., Show 8 p.m.
Sun 6/27/10 – Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears w/ Hacienda – Off Broadway - $10 adv/DOS $12 – Doors 7:30 p.m. Show 8 p.m.
Mon 6/28/10 – The New Pornographers w/ The Dodos – The Pageant – $22.50 adv/ DOS & Balcony $25

July
Thur 7/1/10 – Henry Rollins – The Pageant - $23.00
Mon 7/12/10 – Minus The Bear – The Firebird –
Fri 7/16/10 – The Gaslight Anthem – Pop’s – $15 adv/DOS $17 – Doors 7 p.m.
Sat 7/17/10 – Modest Mouse – The Pageant –
Sun 7/18/10 – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers w/ Drive By Truckers – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Sat 7/24/10 – Silversun Pickups w/ Against Me! & Henry Clay People – Live on The Levee – Downtown St. Louis - Free

August
Fri 8/27/10 – The Black Crowes – The Pageant - $49.50 floor/ $59.50 balcony
Fri 8/27 & Sat 8/28 – Lou Fest – Forest Park

September
Thur 9/2/10 – Johnny Winter – Voodoo Lounge
Fri 9/10/10 – Todd Rundgren – Roberts Orpheum Theater – 8 p.m.
Sun 9/19/10 – Farmer Jason Ringenberg Family Matinee – Off Broadway - $8 adv/DOS $10 – Doors 2:30 p.m. Show 3 p.m.

October
Sat 10/23/10 – Suzi Shelton Family Matinee – Off Broadway - $8 adv/DOS $10 – Doors 2:30 p.m. Show 3 p.m.
Fri 10/29/10 – Roger Waters – Scottrade Center
Sat 11/13/10 – Chris Smither – The Focal Point - $20

Happy Birthday Bob!

Today is Bob Dylan's 69th birthday so I felt compelled to go to my favorite independent record store, Euclid Records, and get a Dylan album that I didn't already own and check out what else was interesting.  On my drive to the store I was listening to Dylan's Tell Tale Signs release from The Bootleg Series on my iPod. An alternate version of "Most Of The Time" came up that I really liked so I thought I might look for his Oh Mercy album or possibly Slow Train Coming, Infidels or Before The Flood. As always I could have walked out of there with a stack of LP's and used CD's and dropped a few hundred dollars, but I restrained myself and only bought a few. Here's what I picked up...

Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms - $11.99 [New]
The Bottlerockets - Zoyzia - $8.99 [Used]
Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy - $8.99 [New]
The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America $8.99 [Used]
The Police - Ghost In The Machine [Remastered] - $7.99 [Used]
Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers $7.99 [Used]

I was excited to find The Hold Steady album as I only had a digital copy at home.  I was also excited to find the new Band Of Horses album for a reasonable price and I finally got the last Police album that I needed to replace my old CD copies with the remastered versions.

After I got in the car and headed back to work I was looking at the condition of the used compact discs that I had bought. When I opened up the cover on the Police album I noticed that I had not received the right disc in the package.  The clerk had given my Jerry Garcia's album Run For The Roses (Arista, 1982) instead.  When I got back to work I called and told them about the mistake and they apologized and advised that I could come back in and switch out when I was back in the neighborhood.

While I have been a longtime fan of the Grateful Dead I have never gotten around to checking out their solo work. So after I got home I made sure to download the Garcia album into iTunes so I could listen it to it soon.

All and all a good trip.

The Friday iPod Shuffle - 5/21/10

Bed Of Nails – Husker Du – Warehouse: Songs And Stories
Disappear – INXS – X
Bad Day – Juliana Hatfield – Bed
The Wake Up Bomb – R.E.M. – New Adventures In Hi-Fi
I’m Alive – Throwing Muses – Hunkpapa
Vengeance Is Sleeping – Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Kick Me And Cancel – Robert Pollard – From A Compound Eye
Start Again – Catie Curtis – A Crash Course In Roses
Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying (Live) – Belle And Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (Live)
Sudden Stop – Percy Sledge – The Ultimate Collection
Hey Nonny Nonny – Violent Femmes – Why Do Birds Sing?
O My Soul (Rehearsal) - Big Star – Nobody Can Dance
Silvertown – John Gorka – After Yesterday
Nature Boy – The Sea And Cake – Nassau
Straight Into Darkness – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Playback
Off The Hook – Peter Frampton – S/T
Your Angel Steps Out Of Heaven (Live) – Elvis Costello – Almost Blue
Cypress Branches – Rachel’s – The Sea And The Bells
Never Mind – The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me
Breakerfall (Live) – Pearl Jam – 10/11/2000 St. Louis
Theme To Barney Miller – Television’s Greatest Hits
Gotta Travel On (Live) – Flatt & Scruggs w/ Merle Travis – Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall
Day After Day – The Pretenders – The Singles
Broken Arrow – Buffalo Springfield – Again
The Lost Child – The Stripling Brothers – Down In The Basement - Joe Bussard’s Treasure Trove Of Vintage 78’s
Summer Baby (7” Version) – Pavement – Slanted And Enchanted: Luxe And Redux
Always On My Mind (Live) – Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash – Storytellers
For What It’s Worth [Stereo Version] – Buffalo Springfield – S/T
Goodbye Stranger – Supertramp –
Your Ghost – Kristen Hersh w/ Michael Stipe – Hips And Makers
Golden Slumbers – The Beatles – Abbey Road
Twenty Five Miles – Edwin Starr – Motown Legends
Clubhouse Stomp – The New York Hawks – Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns
Aquarium – Robyn Hitchcock – Eye
Get On With It – Letters To Cleo – Aurora Gory Alice
Almost Beating – Bill Janovitz & Crown Victoria – Fireworks On TV!
So What!!! – The Lyrics – Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-68
Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room – Iris DeMent – Infamous Angel
Goodnight Moon – Will Kimbrough –
Dear Madam Barnum – XTC – Nonsuch
No Depression – Uncle Tupelo – No Depression

Forever Young

A while back we bought a book for my daughter titled Forever Young. The text is by Bob Dylan from the song of the same name and the illustrations are by Paul Rogers.  No, not the same Paul Rogers of Bad Company fame though. The illustrations begin by showing a fellow modeled after Woody Guthrie giving an acoustic guitar to a young boy in the honor of a long standing tradition.  The illustrations continue to show the boy playing at home to his parents, playing to a crowd in the park, playing in his room, daydreaming, walking and singing in marches, playing with a group of musicians in the park, and finally giving the guitar to a young girl. My daughter calls this book "the guitar book." We have been reading this book here and there for a while now. However, lately it's been in heavy rotation during our nightly bedtime stories.

Forever Young By Bob Dylan and Illustrated by Paul Rogers (Ginee Seo Books, 2008)

This past Saturday afternoon I found some time to pull my acoustic guitar from it's slumber and noodle around and strum along to some songs while my wife and daughter were out. When they came home my daughter was excited to see the guitar and wanted to strum the strings and play with the guitar pick.  I let her play around with what she wanted and answered her questions as she pointed to different parts of the guitar. 

A few months ago I taught her to talk into the soundhole of the guitar and hear her voice inside the guitar body.  On Saturday she spoke into the soundhole with her mouth up against the strings. Instinctively, I asked her "who's in there?"  Without hesitating and full of confidence my daughter replied back to me, "Bob Dylan!"  This response obviously made my wife and I  laugh heartily out loud.

That's my girl!

Classic.

The Friday iPod Shuffle - 5/7/10

Title: 2000-2009

Light Show – Robert Pollard – From A Compound Eye
More Of You – Laura Love – Fourteen Days
Charlemagne In Sweatpants – The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday
Are You Alright? – Lucinda Williams – West
The Charging Sky – Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat
Good Eye – Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
Asphyxiated Circle – Guided By Voices – Half Smiles Of The Decomposed
I Missed The Point – Neko Case – Blacklisted
Jolene – Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
Bling (Confession Of A King) – The Killers – Sam’s Town
I Can’t Stop – Al Green – I Can’t Stop
If I Give My Soul – Johnny Cash – Unearthed
Theologians (Live) – Wilco – Ashes Of American Flags
Alive (Live) – Pete Yorn – Live From Soho (iTunes Exclusive EP)
The Return Of Jackie And Judy – Tom Waits – Orphans
#1 Must Have – Sleater-Kinney – All Hands On The Bad One
Down On The Riverbed – Dave Alvin – West Of The West
Darken My Door – Lucero – 1372 Overton Park
Mirror, Mirror – Whiskeytown – Pneumonia
Breakin’ The Law – The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
Phone Book – Jay Bennett – The Magnificent Defeat
Soul Of A Man – Ollabelle – S/T
Stay On The Ride – Patty Griffin – Children Running Through
Hollow Man (Live) – R.E.M. – iTunes Live: From London
You Want That Picture – Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Lie Down In The Light
These Eyes – Jarvis Humby – Assume The Position It’s…
Argument – Fugazi – The Argument
Amsterdam – Griffin House – Lost & Found
Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer – Mark Kozelek – Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer [EP]
Hollow Reeds – Lois Maffeo & Brendan Carty – The Union Themes
Rhythm & Soul – Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

The Fun Is In The Hunt...And The Deal

Two new albums that I have anticipating this spring were being released today. At lunch I went looking for these new releases and see if there were any other deals. My friend Eric gave me money if I found the new album by The Hold Steady and I headed out into the beautiful weather.

I first went to Best Buy and they had a couple of the albums I was looking for but not everything on the list.  This particular location has consolidated their racks in the last few weeks and you can tell they aren't ordering as much stock.  The selection is not as bad as Borders, but it's not very good either.

After walking around Best Buy a while I decided to leave without buying anything and head over to Target. I parked at the edge of the parking lot and walked past all the stay at home moms to the electronics department. My expectations were low going in, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

Court Yard Hounds - S/T [Columbia] - $9.99 (for Mary)
The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Everywhere [Vagrant] - $9.99
Minus The Bear - Omni [Dangerbird] - $6.99
The New Pornographers - Together [Matador] - $7.99
She And Him - Volume Two [Merge] - $9.99

The Court Yard Hounds and The New Pornographers records at Best Buy were $11.99 each.  I checked Amazon and found I could have saved $2 each on The Hold Steady and Court Yard Hounds albums but would have spent $5.00 more on the Minus The Bear album so I actually saved $1.00 - pre-tax of course.  Besides I also picked up greeting cards for Mother's Day...something I would never buy online.

Overall, not bad for brick and mortar. Now if I could only buy these albums that cheaply at my favorite record stores instead of the box stores.

New Music - Release dates for May and June

Since I have been buying some music lately I figured that it was time that I made a list of new albums that I needed to get or check out in the upcoming weeks and months. Although I have already bought new albums by Spoon, Johnny Cash, Drive By Truckers, and Patty Griffin there have been quite a few albums that I have missed already.  Most are by favorite artists or ones that that I follow. This could be a very good year for music if the first few months are indicative of the entire year!

Bettie Serveert: Pharmacy of Love [Second Motion]
Broken Bells - S/T
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
The Nels Cline Singers - Initiate [Cryptogramophone]
Jakob Dylan - Women And Country
Roky Erickson With Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil
Juliana Hatfield: Peace and Love [Ye Olde Records]
John Hiatt - The Open Road
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 - Propellor Time [Sartorial]
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
Natalie Merchant - Leave Your Sleep [Nonesuch]
Midlake - The Courage Of Others
Allison Moorer - Crows
Robert Pollard: We All Got Out of the Army [GVB Inc]
She & Him - Volume Two [Merge]
Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power: Legacy Edition [Columbia/Legacy]
Peter Wolf - Midnight Souveniers
Various Artists: The T.A.M.I. Show - Collector's Edition [DVD] [Shout! Factory]


To further that sentiment the month of May starts out with a bang and holds up pretty well through June so far. This week some of the albums I have been anticpating all year are coming out (e.g. Hold Steady and New Pornographers) and the trend keeps going each week into the middle of June. Here's what I am looking forward to in the next couple of months.
 
May 4
Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record [Arts & Crafts]
Court Yard Hounds - S/T [Columbia] (w/ Bonus Tracks & DVD)
The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever [Vagrant]
Greg Laswell - Take A Bow
Minus The Bear - Omni [Dangerbird]
The New Pornographers - Together [Matador]
Josh Ritter - So Runs The World Away [Pytheas Recordings]

May 11
Keane - Night Train
Hot Tuna - Live At The New Orleans House -Berkley, CA - Sept. 69
Jim Lauderdale - Patchwork River
The National - High Violet
Poco - Live At Columbia Studios Hollywood 9/30/71
Johnny Winter - Live At The Fillmore East - 10/3/70

May 18
Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms
The Black Keys - Brothers
Cheap Trick - The Doctor
Crooked Still - Some Strange Country
The Jayhawks - S/T (AkA The Bunkhouse Album)
Otis Redding - Live On The Sunset Strip
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St. (Deluxe Edition)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Controversial Negro

May 25
John Prine - In Person And On Stage
Hank Williams III - Rebel Within

June 1
Tift Merritt - See You On The Moon

June 8
Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer Of The Void
Nada Surf - If I Had A Hi-Fi
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - S/T
The Roots - How I Got Over
Teenage Fanclub - Shadows

June 15
Cowboy Junkies - Renmin Park
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Chris Isaak - Live At The Fillmore
John Mellencamp - On The Rural Route 7609 [Box Set]
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Mojo

June 22
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - London Calling: Live In Hyde Park [Blu-Ray/DVD]

June 29
Alejandro Escovedo - Street Songs Of Love

July 13
Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises