July 2009 Archives

When folk legend Joan Baez took the stage at Woodstock forty years ago next month, it was 1:00 in the morning. At Thursday night's sold out concert at Boardinghouse Park, Baez kicked things off at a much more respectable 8:30PM, to the delight of the hippie turned grandparent crowd. As audience members made their way back to their seats, the excitement and anticipation grew feverish and a woman in front of me summed it up perfectly when she uttered, "She's here!" as she caught a glimpse of Baez off to the side of the stage. Joan Baez: political activist; the voice of the 60's folk movement; an icon. In Lowell. While most of the crowd left their tie dye t-shirts at home, Baez strolled onto the stage looking very hip in a pair of bell bottom jeans, her smile as radiant as ever, her calming presence a wonder to behold. Easing into Lily of the West, Baez and her four piece band of seasoned players set the tone for the evening reworking the traditional folk song into a breezy blue grass tune. Though she may not have the three octave voice she once had, she had complete control of the remaining two, singing with a heartfelt conviction from the start.

Between songs Baez acknowledged the enthusiastic audience, appreciative of the cheers and applause. She talked about Woodstock and how people's lives were forever altered by that infamous weekend. In a bizarre moment, however, a woman to the side of the stage began laughing hysterically while Joan tuned her guitar. As Baez and the rest of the audience tried to imagine anything that could possibly be that funny, the outbursts continued, Baez addressing the crowd, "At Woodstock they warned us not to take the brown acid." Another hysterical cackle, at which point Baez, with perfect comic timing quipped, "Too late."

Following a miserable, rain drenched drive to Tanglewood Tuesday night to see Tony Bennett, with five minutes till show time, I was wondering how a performer about to turn 83, could possibly have enough left to move anyone beyond the nostalgia of it all. Within minutes, however, Bennett had me and everyone else in the audience in the palm of his hand as he crooned, whispered and belted his way through the American songbook. During the final note of Maybe This Time from Cabaret, a shiver shot up my spine and I was reminded about the power of song to stir the soul.

Yesterday afternoon, after a mind blowing performance by Tuvan throat ensemble Alash at St Anne's Churchyard, friends and I hung around for the singing and song styles workshop. Joining Ayan-ool Sam from Alash were African American acapella group The Brotherhood Singers from Kentucky, blues singer Trudy Lynn from Texas, and honky tonker Sage Guyton from California. After each act performed individually sharing styles and influences, (Ayan--ool Sam speaking through an interpreter), it was suggested they try something together. Someone from the Brotherhood shouted out Amazing Grace. Once the key was agreed upon,Trudy Lynn started singing the plaintive melody; Sage Guyton worked out the guitar chords; the Brotherhood Singers supplied some four part gospel harmonies. What happened next was a festival moment for the ages. After sitting out most of the song, Tuvan throat singer Ayan-ool Sam, with a nod from the Brotherhood, began the eerie, low pitched drone of his Siberian ancestors and then simultaneously started to sing the melody to Amazing Grace with the others supplying the back up. Maybe it was the spontaneity of the moment. Maybe it was the melding of cultures and histories. Maybe it was simply the churchyard setting in the heart of the city I love. But as the song hit its climax, for the second time in a week, a bolt shot up my spine again as the unworldly sounds filled the air and I was reminded of the power of song to stir the soul, and more importantly...to communicate. I wasn't alone. As the song came to an end, the mesmerized audience, realizing they had just witnessed something very special, jumped to their feet in appreciation and admiration as the musicians on stage smiled from ear to ear, none bigger than that of Ayan-ool Sam. Amazing!

After an afternoon of bopping to Klezmer tunes, humming along to Tuvan throat singing, or dancing in the street to a Congolese thumb piano, sometimes you just need a little something familiar to cap off the day. As the Lowell Folk Festival winds down on Saturday, the music heats up at the tent in front of Major's Pub on Jackson Street. Billed as the Uptown Lowell Music and Arts Festival and presented by the pub, this LFF after hours party features four of Lowell's finest bands: Melvern Taylor and His Fabulous Meltones; Jen Kearney and the Lost Onion; Los Wunder Twins del Rap; and a special appearance by Roll the Tanks, the Lowell punk quartet who made the move to sunny California. A Tanks homecoming is always a welcome treat and with the release of last years Suffer City garnering some well deserved praise in punk mags across the country, this is a great chance to see the band before they hit it big. Check out Police Me and Saddle Up two of the standout tracks on Suffer City.

Melvern Taylor gets things started at 7:00 each act performing on the hour after that. $7:00 cover...worth every penny. So saddle up!

Though he began his musical career as an angry young rapper, Michael Franti has evolved into a compassionate revolutionary, an artist willing to use his voice and song to stimulate thought and encourage change. In his 2001 release, Stay Human, Franti balances his passionate opposition to the death penalty with soulful pleas for social awareness and tolerance. The result is a trippy, hippy, political throwback akin to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On with enough contemporary soundscapes to bring it up to date. It's both provocative and comforting; retro and current.

Tomorrow night Michael Franti and Spearhead bring their fusion of rap, hip hop, reggae, and soul to the stage at Boardinghouse Park in one of the band's last performances before they join the Counting Crows and Augustana on the West Coast in what is being billed as The Saturday Night Rebel Rockers Traveling Circus and Medicine Show . That show will see all three acts sharing the stage and all playing each others songs. Could very well be a circus. As for me, I'll be very happy catching Franti and Spearhead alone by the banks of the Merrimack surrounded by the red brick beauty of the mills.

In 2003, Rolling stone listed the Beach Boys Pet Sounds as #2 in their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Inspired by the unity of Rubber Soul as an album and not just a collection of songs, Brian Wilson began writing the songs for Pet Sounds. With his competetive and creative juices on overdrive, Wilson produced a studio masterpiece, a sonic wonderland of bells, barking dogs, electronic and classical instruments and heavenly vocal harmonies. Bob Dylan once said, "Brian Wilson, he made all his records with four tracks, but you couldn't make his records if you had a hundred tracks today." One year later, after hearing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Wilson abandoned work on the Smile album and fell deeper into a depression that would haunt him for years.

On November 12th, Brian Wlison brings his summery sounds to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are on sale this week. The fact that Brian Wilson can still talk in complete sentences is reason enough to show your support. Battling decades of drug addiction, obesity, anxiety and depression, Wilson has survived, conquering many demons along the way and his reemergence as a touring musician is one of the greatest comeback stories in rock history. Should not only be a great night of music but an inspiring one as well.

Great music to be had all over these parts this weekend capped off by the Wilco show at LeLacheur Park on Saturday. Friday night Los Lonely Boys bring their rousing Tex Mex sounds to Boardinghouse Park or, if you're feeling a little lethargic with all the rain and want to be sedated even further, head to the Firehouse in Newburyport to catch the dreamy sounds of pianist/guitarist Vienna Teng. Saturday night Ani DiFranco plays Boardinghouse and a quarter mile up the Merrimack alt/country/pop heroes Wilco play to a packed house at LeLacheur. Opening for Wilco is Nebrasken Conor Oberst (picture) who is quickly establishing himself as the next great singer/songwriter. With comparisons to Bob Dylan and Graham Parsons, Oberst continues to win critical and fan acclaim with his May release Outer South. A rolicking collection of biting, somewhat sarcastic songs, Outer South shows Obesrt willing to share the spotlight allowing six of the tracks to be sung by his bandmates. The result is an album that sounds like a band of brothers who have been playing together for years; a great record from beginning to end. Finally, the Newburyport Riverfront Festival kicks off at 2:00PM Saturday. Highlights include Eric Hutchinson, Fastball and Katie Herzig. Regardless of your musical tastes, this weekend has something for everyone so get out and hear some music!

After hearing Joe Cocker's soul stirring inerpretation of With a Little Help from My Friends, Paul McCartney and George Harrison quickly summoned Cocker to meet them hoping he could work some magic on a few other Beatle ditties: Harrison offered up Something; McCartney was more than willing to part with She Came in Through the Bathroom Window. With Leon Russell at the helm, Joe Cocker did it again infusing each song with his gritty growls and bluesy phrasing. Forty years later, Cocker's first three albums hold up remarkably well, his Dylan, Beatles, and Leonard Cohen covers outshining the originals.

If you regret missing Cocker's blistering performance at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium a few years back, you can catch this rock legend on June 7th when he plays the Hampton Beach Casino. Can't make the show, check out one of the concert clips from Woodstock or the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour on You Tube. And if that's not enough to make you long for the days when sex, drugs and rock and roll ruled the world, relive what may be one of the funniest SNL moments ever...John Belushi's impersonation of Cocker complete with hands flailing and facial distortions. You'll be laughing for days!