Category: Mike Mills

Americana Music Fest – Part IV – Thursday Night

So, I talked about struggling my way from the front of the stage of the Delta Spirit show at Live on the Green, and unfortunately not being about to stay around to see Jakob Dylan and his band The Wallflowers close out that evening, but I had my Americana wristband and a full schedule planned. 

The Basement was my first stop for a performance by the always wonderful Angel Snow.  We first wrote about Angel way back toward the beginning of this little music blog experiment.  She is a Nashville singer-songwriter with a heavenly voice, and a gift for writing really great songs.  She wrote a couple of songs that Alison Krauss recorded on her Paper Airplanes record.  Angel’s songwriting partner and frequent collaborator is Viktor Krauss – Alison’s brother.  Viktor was not at this show, as he was across town playing at with the great Jerry Douglas. This information would prove to be foreshadowing in a way.  The hard lesson learned is that one cannot be everywhere at once during the Americana Fest.  But more on that later.  Angel has a new album due out in early October with a return engagement at The Basement with Marc Scibilia and Matraca Berg for the CD release show.  She did a few songs off the new album and some our favorites like Coals and Water and Fortune Teller.  Even though Mr. Krauss was not present, her  band sounded great and her voice was as amazing live as it is on record.




I left The Basement with the intent to head to The Station Inn to catch Mary Gauthier and to see Richard Thompson.  My lesson learned is that if you are wanting to see Richard Thompson at The Station Inn – unless you have better connections than I do, you better show up early.  So, yeah, I reached The Station Inn to find a line outside and the likelihood of enough people leaving before Richard Thompson played not so good.  So, I punted and decided to head over to The Rutledge lest I be shut out from the Big Star tribute show.  

Now, grant it I was bummed about missing Richard Thompson and Mary Gauthier, but you know what, the real lesson learned from the evening was, when it comes to the Americana Fest, you just have to pick your venues and stick it out, and know that though you may miss some amazing shows, you are also going to see and hear some equally but different amazing music.

The theme for the evening at The Rutledge – a decent sized club on 4th Avenue, which unless I’m mistaken is where one of Nashville’s first modern era Coffee Houses, Blue Sky Court was located – was Memphis music.  Around 11:00, the Bo-Keys took the stage.  They were introduced as a modern take on the classic Memphis sound.  Lead by bassist Scott Bomar, The Bo-Keys opened with a couple of really boss instrumental songs which sounded amazing.  Then, they brought up their featured vocalist Percy Wiggins, who dressed to the nines had the look of a legendary soul singer, and that is exactly what he is.  This was truly classic Memphis Soul-stew sound with a face forward and anchored solidly in the present time.  

The band includes the sole surviving member of The Bar-Kays who were killed in the crash that took the life of  the great Otis Redding, the drummer was part of the Hi Rhythm Section which played on many of the classic Stax recordings.  Other members of the band included guys who had played with Al Green, Rufus Thomas and Bobby “Blue” Bland.  I have to say, I’m not an expert when it comes to this part of the Memphis sound, though, like you I’ve definitely heard it, but I do know great music when I hear it, and The Bo-Keys make great music.  





For me, the highlight of the night – heck, of the festival, of my life as a music fan, was the closing set of the night.  I had been talking about the All-Star tribute to the music of Big Star ever since I heard about it.  All I knew going in was that the show was going to feature Chris Stamey of The Dbs, Mike Mills of R.E.M. and original Big Star member Jody Stephens plus…  Hell even without the … that was good enough for me, and the mind reeled as to who the … could be…

As it turned out, the … did not disappoint:  Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs), John Davis (Superdrag), Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Clockhammer), Bill Lloyd (Foster and Lloyd, solo), Byron House (Band of Joy etc., etc., etc.), Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi All-Stars) and several young North Carolina-based musicians including Skylar Gudask and Brett Harris and I’m probably missing some amazing people… 

So, what I can tell you is that a Big Star tribute with that cast would have been amazing no matter what.  Even if it had been sloppy and hastily thrown together, it would have been legendary.  But… honestly, the reason this show was so amazing to me, was not the stellar band and guests, it was the music.  Big Star, I honestly don’t know how to adequately write about how important a band they were.  How much of the music I grew up listening to and enjoying owes a huge debt to this Memphis band.  The late Alex Chilton, Chris Bell and Andy Hummel along with Jody Stephens to me, redefined what this music  (progressive, avant-garde, alternative, whatever) could be.  

So this show and what made it so amazing for me.  This band which at times included a full string section (which sounded amazing) brought the songs to life in a way I never could have anticipated.  I can’t even begin to give you a blow by blow, song by song account, but here are some highlights:

Mike Mills vocals on September Gurls




Bill Lloyd on In the Street

Skylar Gudask on Thirteen
The whole crowd on Thank You, Friends
and so much more…
great moments like Luther Dickinson whose father, the late Jim Dickinson produced Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers album talking about hearing some of the songs in a rough version when he was just a kid.

So, yeah, I was completely blown away, and all sense left me which I think is what Big Star’s music is supposed to do.  I left the club exhilarated and exhausted and flying on a musical high…. and this was just my first night of the Americana Music Festival….

  

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Featured Friday Music Shuffle – Thank You Friends Mix

Well, well, well… I had the musical experience of a lifetime last night, and I am still trying to wrap my mind around the awesomeness of it all.

First of all, the evening started at Live on the Green which is a free live concert series put on by Lightning 100.  The Dunwells took the stage around 6:30.  I made my way up to just behind the barricade in front of the stage.  The Dunwells are young band, that included the Dunwell brothers, from Leeds in the England.  The sunset while the Dunwells were playing, so it grew darker as Delta Spirit hit the stage. I was really impressed by the energy this band has live. I had to bale at the very end of the Delta Spirit set to get to the Basement for an Americana Music Association Festival showcase.  This was no small task since during the Dunwells set as Delta Spirit was setting, a seemingly endless crush of humanity. 

So, I eventually pushed my way through the crowd and made my way over to The Basement in time to see Angel Snow’s set.  We wrote about Angel Snow last year.  She has an incredible and unique voice and along with her usual musical partner, Viktor Krauss (Allison’s brother), she writes great songs.  Viktor wasn’t present for this set because he was playing with Jerry Douglas. Angel Snow has a new album due out in a couple of weeks.

I left The Basement after Angel Snow’s set and there my night took it’s first and only hiccup.  I was intending to go see Mary Gauthier and Richard Thompson at The Station Inn. Unfortunately, two things happened. My mind did a timewarp thing, and I totally spaced on where The Station Inn is located.  See, up until a few years ago, The Station Inn was located right inside ‘V’ where 12th Avenue South and 11th Industrial split off. At that time, the area was pretty desolate otherwise.  The Station Inn has not moved, but the area is totally transformed. Anyway, by the time I finally made it to the club, a line had formed indicating the building was at capacity.  I figured the odds of enough people leaving between Mary and Richard Thompson for me to gain admission was not good, so I decided to head straight to The Rutledge, and truthfully, I’m really glad I did.  I got to that club just in time to see The Bo-Keys take the stage for some authentic Memphis Soul. The band is made up of people who helped shape the Memphis sound including folks who played with Isaac Hayes and Al Green including members of the Hi-Rhythm section, plus a truly awesome vocalist named Percy Wiggins who has a long and storied career of his own.  

Oh yeah, and while waiting for the Bo-Keys to play, I started seeing some familiar and famous faces….

The night ended (and the morning began) with a star-studded tribute to Big Star.  This set deserves and will get a post of it’s own, but suffice it to say, this was a musical high-light of my entire life. It was enough that as billed, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Chris Stamey of The Dbs, and Jody Stephens of Big Star were part of this bill, but that was really just the tip of the iceberg.

Needless to say, I’m running on just over 2 hours of sleep and a 1/2 bottle (so far) of 5 Hour Energy that I got at Live on the Green.

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And yes, even with all that, we do have a shuffle this morning.  We’ve skipped the last couple of weeks of Featured Friday simply because we’ve had a bunch of Featured Artists show up throughout the week, but that has not been the case this week, and I kind of feel like I’ve been neglecting my Featured Artist… so I decided to shuffle up a playlist of songs from these artists.

First up we have Nashville’s own Korby Lenker with Lovers and Fools.  

Next, we have Florida-based singer/songwriter Alex Bennett with Jesus Blues off his fantastic One Way Train album. 



Couldn’t find a video for Jesus Blues…

And finally, we have And the Giraffe who were kind enough to explain the Nashville connection we alluded to on the Featured Artist page. Josh Morris who is 1/2 of And the Giraffe now lives in Nashville – so there you have it..  We have Magic 8 from 2011s Something for Someone.

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Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – Defying Deification Mix

April 5th, and I’ve reached the last day of my work week.  It’s likely that there will not be a music shuffle tomorrow, but I’ve got a lot of ground to cover – Coming soon:  Band of the Month Poll for March, Band of the Week for the first week of April, plus tons of work on a project which I hope to be able to announce soon.
To the shuffle:  
My parents were both born in Louisiana, and I have a fair amount (about 3/4) of cajun blood running through my veins.  When I hear the chank-a-chank of the accordian and fiddle, I can’t help but tap my toes.
 
Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys – Danser san comprendre/Dancing Without Understanding from their 2011 album Grand Isle. One of the best contemporary practitioners  of Cajun music, Grand Isle pushes this traditional regional folk music into the 20th Century with some elements of modern rock without losing the essence of what they are all about.  Danser san Comprendre/Dancing without Understanding is en excellent introduction to this band.
A video of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys
Although my mother was born in the heart of Cajun country, my dad was actually born in Metarie – part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. I feel a connection to the Crescent City which belies the limited time I’ve actually spend there. 
 
Dear New Orleans is a live benefit album for Sweet Home New Orleans and the Gulf Restoration Network.  It features a wide range of artists – everyone from My Morning Jacket to the Flobots to Steve Earle. Our track today, is a cover of a Neil Young penned CSN&Y song Ohio performed by R.E.M. bassist, Mike Mills accompanied by the New Orleans trombone band, Bonerama.
Next, we have another cover.  Remember when Thursday’s were all about covers here at Ear to the Ground?  Apparently, my shuffle button does… 
Ane Brun was born in Norway, but currently lives in Sweden. She is a singer songwriter who has been actively making music since 1998.  She recently dropped a fine cover Arcade Fire’s Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) (spelled Neighbourhood on my download) from the 2004 album Funeral.

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Affiliated Links:

Best of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys Best of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys
Matching a respect for the tradition with a forward-looking vision, these guys have set the standard for modern Cajun music. Three new ones join La Pointe Aux Pins; Katherine; La Toussaint; La Danse de Mardi Gras; Allons Danser; King Zydeco; The Corner Po