Blog Archives
Simon Townshend Stands Well On His Own
Some friends of mine who are huge fans (and whose opinions I trust) turned me on to Simon Townshend a couple of years ago.
Simon Townshend
Simon is Pete’s younger brother and he plays with The Who when he’s not touring on his own. I love The Who but I would rather see Simon on his own; his deeply personal songs shine in the small venues where I have seen him perform.
Simon
I Love Me Some Old-Timey Music
One of my favorite venues, Johnny D’s, started a Free Friday series within the past year, and it took my friend Laney Jones to get me to one of those events.
Laney Jones
This was going to be my first time seeing her with her full band The Lively Spirits (which ended up being not quite true – her fiddle player was not playing with them this night), and I was excited!
Jacy Anderson, Laney and Matt Tonner
An Ethereal Performance By A King
Carole King, that is…
Carole King
Let me start by saying that this is not going to be a review but rather an expression of the high esteem in which I hold Carole.
Carole and The Blue States
A Real King Graced The Stage
BB King is one of the first blues musicians with whom I fell in love when I was around 13 years old. I had not seen the 88-year-old BB perform in at least fifteen years, so I was overdue for one of his shows.
Quinn Sullivan and BB King
BB is a living legend; he has been performing for 66 years, which is more than many artists can say. Last night, Lynn Auditorium was the scene of his most recent performance.
BB
Bluesy Soul Was In The House
I was not familiar with John Németh & The Bo-Keys before this show; to be honest, I went because I wanted a table for the late show that followed.
John Németh
Whatever the reason, I’m glad I went to Johnny D’s early because I was introduced to a terrific blues/soul harmonica player and singer, as well as to The Bo-Keys.
The Bo-Keys
Stellar Guitarists At Club Passim
I saw Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge perform together at the Deadly Gentlemen’s Ball in January, so I knew what to expect or so I thought.
Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge
I would venture to guess that the more they play together, the better they get; that was certainly the case last week at Club Passim. Read the rest of this entry
Amazing Evening of Acoustic Soul and Blues
I had little idea of what to expect from Southern Soul Assembly, who performed at the House of Blues this week.
Southern Soul Assembly (Luther Dickinseon, Marc Broussard, JJ Grey, and Anders Osborne, l to r)
I knew this show was billed as ‘southern songwriters in the round’ and that’s an accurate description of it. It does not being to convey, however, the quality of what I heard this night. Read the rest of this entry
New Wave Music Is Still Relevant
Believe it or not, between 1981 and 2005, I did not go to many concerts so I never saw Neil Finn perform. Not with Split Enz in the 1980s. Not with Crowded House in the 1980s or 1990s. Not with his brother Tim in the 2000s.
Neil Finn and Band
Neil is currently touring in support of his recent release, ‘Dizzy Heights’; he appeared Monday night at the Shubert Theatre, a venue that hosts a variety of theatrical and musical productions. Read the rest of this entry
Al Kooper, A Blast From My Past
When I was in a band in high school in 1970 – Iron Majesty was its name (and no, you’ve never heard of it) – our biggest influence was Blood Sweat and Tears and their first album, Child is Father to the Man. That was the only one of BS&T’s early albums on which Al Kooper performed.
Al Kooper
Al is touring this year to mark his 70th birthday, and he made a stop at Regattabar this weekend. I did not want to miss one of these shows. Read the rest of this entry
Amy Helm’s Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree
I did not know what to expect from Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers when I traveled down to the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, Connecticut on Saturday night.
Amy Helm and two of the three Handsome Strangers (Bryon Isaacs on the left, Dan Littleton on the right)
I had only seen Amy once with Ollabelle (a folk band) and really enjoyed her then. This is a very different band, and I love it! Read the rest of this entry
suze reviews the blues 