Solid Sound Festival 8/13-15

It's hard to believe that it's been two weeks since the Solid Sound Festival ended. I meant to write something sooner but you know how it goes when you get back from vacation. Over the last two weeks I've been catching up with work, catching up on sleep, and trying to catch some pesky possums that may have been the culprits in wounding our cat. Just in case you were curious two of them were captured last night. Hopefully that will be the end of them...but enough about that; this is a music blog so here we go.


My girlfriend and I arrived at the Mass Moca a little later than expected on Friday night due to some plane delays (no surprise there) Once we arrived on site we were a bit tired but excited to soak in North Adams, the Berkshires and all the music we were about to hear. We pretty much just got our wristbands for the weekend, grabbed some food and checked out some of the Wilco related exhibits (including a poster retrospective) the first night. We did catch a little of Deep Blue Organ Trio's set while we chowed down on some local pizza and refreshed ourselves with a few Magic Hat Wackos. After eating and checking out the lay of the land we decided to head back to our hotel and rest up for a big Saturday.

On Saturday we had about a 20 minute drive into N Adams from Bennington VT (where we were staying) It was a breathtaking drive through the windy roads in the shadows of the mountains. After dealing with 115-120 degree heat index for a few weeks the highs in the 80's was a welcome relief. We arrived just in time to check out one of the comedians, Hannibal Buress. I had seen his name a few times in some magazines and Chris Rock even name checked him on the Howard Stern show so I was pretty excited. Well I feel that he lived up to the hype. He did about a 45 minute set and while there were a few slow points my girlfriend and I did have some laugh out loud moments. We also had a few minutes to check out the Vermont based Mountain Man...Which was actually three women mostly harmonizing, occasional picking up an acoustic guitar. The lady's voices were impressive. We watched about 3 or 4 songs and then decided to check out some of the art exhibits. After that it was time to go see "the big boys" and head out to the vacant field behind the art museum.

We arrived in time to throw down the blanket in a good spot to check out Mavis Staples. As the sun started setting Ms Staples come on stage and after about an hour set acquired many more new fans (including myself) She sang spirituals, original songs (including Jeff Tweedy on guitar for a few tracks or "Tweedy" as she referred to him) and did a great version of The Band classic, "The Weight." After Mavis left the stage we had enough time to get some food and do another beer run before Wilco. They came out opening with "Wilco (The Song) with I believe the same stage effects they had when I saw them in Richmond this past spring. Although it was a cool theater in VA it was a little more awe inspiring with the backdrop of the Berkshire Mountains. The band played a solid 2.5 hour set hitting all the albums (with a few rarities that I've never seen performed live) It was definitely an exciting show for all the Wilco geeks in attendance. After it was over my girlfriend and I had smiles on our faces and headed back to the hotel excited to know that another day of music was ahead of us.

When Sunday came around my girlfriend and I both realized we were going to miss coming to the Mass Moca. It had been a wonderful weekend of great music, food, culture and awesome weather...but we still had one more day to go. We kicked off the day by checking out The Autumn Defense (which includes Wilco members John Stirratt and Pat Sansone)(Well after checking out the Natural Land Bridge up the road) I hadn't heard any of their tunes before, but I enjoy their playing in Wilco so I was excited to hear them. I'd seen them described as a throwback to 70's radio rock drawing comparisons to Neil Young and America. Well the descriptions were spot on. The guys came out and played a mostly acoustic set of original tunes (except one cover by Big Star to end the set) I was pleasantly surprised by Sansone's and Stirratt's side project and look forward to checking out their new CD that I believe comes out in November. After the show we walked to one of the other courtyards to catch a little of The Nels Cline Singers. I'm a huge fan of Nels' guitar work on Wilco records and he's a bit of a maniac onstage which is fun to watch but his side project is more of an experimental jazz trio. Well after a few minutes we decided it wasn't for us so we decided to take one more walk around downtown North Adams.(see Mohawk theater picture above) After killing about an hour we headed back to the field to see Jeff Tweedy solo, the closing show of the festival. (If you look hard at the picture to the left that's Jeff on stage during his solo set)

I'd only seen Jeff Tweedy perform solo once before so I was pretty excited about the show. Once again we secured a nice spot of grass and grabbed one more round of beers to cap off the weekend. He came on and pretty much everybody remained seated so we had a great view of the performance and were able to lay back and soak in almost two hours of originals, covers, and collaborations. Besides a bit of spitting rain during the last performance the weekend was perfect. It consisted of amazing music, good food, no long waits at the beer tents, historic architecture, and gorgeous mountain views. There’s a possibility this won't be the last Solid Sound festival. I'm anxious to see what they come up with next year. Hopefully it will give my girlfriend and I another excuse to head up to the mountains!

I've attached one Jeff Tweedy solo tune and one Wilco track from the festival. To get a copy of the entire shows check out the bt. etree link on the left side of the site.

Simple Twist of Fate - Jeff Tweedy (Bob Dylan Cover)

On and On and On - Wilco

Tribute - Jerry Garcia

Today marks the 15th anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death. It's hard to believe that he was only 53. Would've been nice if he treated his body a little better. Who knows how many more great tunes we'd have to enjoy. I guess we'll never know, but he did leave plenty of amazing tunes for us to digest. Thanks for the great music. Here's one of my favorites.

All the years combine
they melt into a dream
A broken angel sings
from a guitar
In the end there's just a song
comes crying like the wind
through all the broken dreams
and vanished years

Stella Blue


When all the cards are down
there's nothing left to see
There's just the pavement left
and broken dreams
In the end there's still that song
comes crying like the wind
down every lonely street
that's ever been


Stella Blue


I've stayed in every blue-light cheap hotel
Can't win for trying
Dust off those rusty strings just
one more time
Gonna make em shine


It all rolls into one
and nothing comes for free
There's nothing you can hold
for very long
And when you hear that song
come crying like the wind
it seems like all this life
was just a dream
Stella Blue




Stella Blue - Live

Sunday Morning Coming Down - Bob Dylan

Ah yes here we go again, another Sunday night. Not to rub it in but I've got a short week coming up. My girlfriend and i are headed up to Massachusetts at the end of the week to catch the Solid Sound Festival . I'll report on how it went when I come back.

There's a few reasons why I selected this track tonight, one being that i hadn't heard this song for awhile. The second was this album was released in 1978. Hey that's the year I was born and my birthday is this week so happy birthday to me! Hope you enjoy the tune. Maybe I'll be introduced to some new bands at the festival that I can post about. Till next time......

Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)

Wild Card Wednesday! - The Zombies

I was a huge Monkees fan growing up. I had a few of their albums and I never missed the TV show when they used to play it on Nickelodeon. Anyways these guys remind me of that genre of music. (I'm guessing they were one of the influences for the Monkees)

I don't know about you but one of my favorite parts about the Zombie's music is the high involvement of the organ. Why this isn't more present in today's music I'll never know.

Alright hope you enjoy today's 60's flashback post.

I Want You Back Again

Sunday Morning Coming Down - The Gin Blossoms

I'm not sure how some people are able to sit at their desks all day and not listen to the radio. I found out that I was a bit of a minority at work because I actually listen to music/talk radio to make the day pass by a little faster. Sure I sometimes have to turn down the volume to concentrate or talk to a higher up but other than those times I need the constant noise.

I kind of got tired bringing in CD's everyday so I stumbled upon a few radio shows I enjoy online.

The other day I came across CBS radio with a station category called Class Reunion.(we're not allowed to download Pandora) They have every year from 1960 to 2007. Anyways once you click on your preferred year you'll only hear music from that year. I went ahead and clicked on 1996. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a mix of rock, R&B, rap and pop. Anyways it kind of brought me back to the high school years and one of the bands that had the most rotation during this time was the Gin Blossoms.

I actually got to see these guys play almost two years ago at the Charleston Fair. I was a little surprised when I saw them on the fair schedule. Usually it's some past contestant from American Idol or a country star that may have had one hit song. The fair can be kind of a creepy place but my girlfriend and I ventured off on a Thursday night to see what the boys sounded like. The icing on the cake was that we had free passes to get in. I didn't have high expectations but when the band hit the stage they sounded exactly like they did in 1995. I had forgotten how many hits these guys had. You could tell they were having a good time. They even made a few jokes about themselves playing the "fair circuit." After about the third song someone in the audience yelled "Hey Jealousy." the singer responded by saying, “Sir we actually don’t get paid unless we play that song. So don't worry." Alright here's one that you'll probably recognize. I’ve also included a link to the Reunion Radio. I think you'll enjoy checking out your year.


Until I Fall Away


Class Reunion Radio

Back To The Future - The Smashing Pumpkins

It's hard to believe that's it been 16 years since I last saw The Smashing Pumpkins perform live. I was 15 years old and it was the first of three Lollapalooza’s that I attended. At the time I was most excited to catch the Beastie Boys and A Tribe Called Quest...neither of which disappointed. The Pumpkins were the headliners that year so by the time they got on stage I was wiped out. I don't particularly remember anything special about the show (I remember it being so crowded during the Beastie Boys that my feet were actually off the ground because of the movement of the audience-still the most frightened I've been in a crowd) although I do remember many nights listening to Siamese Dream on my disc man trying to fall asleep.

Since that time I've been a casual fan of the band, pretty much just knowing the hits. When I saw that they were back together (well Billy Corgan and three new people) and coming to Charleston I felt the urge to check it out. After all they were playing in a club downtown that holds less than 1000 people.

So last night my girlfriend and I ventured off to the music farm.(after stopping by Mia Pomodori for some delicious calzones) For this tour the pumpkins had two opening bands. We timed it just right to get to the venue right before the second band started. Hey I'm all for seeing opening bands but two is pushing it. Anyways the place wasn't too full so we went into the "pit" area of the club and checked out Kill Hannah. I hadn't heard of them before the show. The guys sounded pretty good but the singer reminded me of a young Corey Feldman (from the Dream a Little Dream era) so it was a little distracting. so after they got off the stage the place was increasingly getting more crowded (part of it was the smokers decided to come back in and join the fun) anyways it's a little warm in these parts as it is but once you stick a 1000 people in small quarters it's like a sauna. After being pushed and pulled for 15 minutes my girlfriend and I decided to retreat towards the back to catch the show. One thing that I noticed was that the last 15 years haven't been kind to some of the alternative boys. There were plenty of overweight guys with facial hair holding onto three- four beers cruising through the crowd... i wouldn't really care that much but after about 20 of them "squeezed" by us sharing their sweat and beer i was a bit annoyed.

Once we found a decent spot with a little more breathing room the pumpkins came on. The band opened with a new track that sounded pretty good. They played a few new tunes throughout the set mixing in some familiar ones for us old school/causal fans. He even had a rant calling out Collective Soul saying they ripped off his band. Kind of crazy that's he’s still holding a grudge against them. I 'm not really sure that they're around anymore. Anyways the old songs sounded good but weren't really that "tight". In fact they were a bit sloppy/garage band sounding. It almost felt like Billy knew he kind of had to play some of these songs but he hurried through them to get to the new stuff. I understand you want to move on from the past but when I saw Springsteen two years ago the guy still plays Born to Run like it's a recent top 1o smash. Overall I'd give the show a positive review. The venue's not my favorite because no matter where you stand you're constantly moving out of someone’s way. But once we got past that we had a really good time. The only thing that would've made the show complete was if they ended with Tonight, Tonight. I'd been following the set lists for the last few shows and they've played it every time. Well I guess they just didn't feel like it last night, which is cool but still a little disappointing. So anyways I figured I'll go ahead and post it tonight. Hope you enjoy.

Tonight, Tonight

Happy Birthday Jack White!

I flipped my music calendar today and discovered today is Mr. White's 35th birthday. Here's a little live track back from 2000 and one from the Conquest EP. I just watched the Under Great White Northern Lights documentary a few nights ago. If you're a fan it's worth checking out. Hopefully they'll reform one of these days so i can see them live. Have a good weekend.


When I Hear My Name - Live

It's My Own Fault For Being Famous -featuring Beck

Happy Birthday Ringo!

Peace and love! Peace and love! Happy 70th birthday Ringo. Here's one of my favorite tracks featuring the birthday boy on vocals (Sorry Octopus Garden fans). I'm sure most of you have this one already but if not...enjoy!

With A Little Help From My Friends

Soundtrack Week - Saturday Night Fever

“Would you just watch the hair? You know, I work on my hair a long time and you hit it. He hits my hair.” - Ah yes my favorite line from this classic flick. In case you don't know here's a brief synopsis of the movie:

Nineteen-year-old Brooklyn native Tony Manero lives for Saturday nights at the local disco, where he's king of the club, thanks to his stylish moves on the dance floor. But outside of the club, things don't look so rosy. At home, Tony fights constantly with his father and has to compete with his family's starry-eyed view of his older brother, a priest. Nor can he find satisfaction at his dead-end job at a paint store. However, things begin to change when he spies Stephanie in the disco and starts training with her for the club's dance competition. Stephanie dreams of the world beyond Brooklyn, and her plans to move to the big city just over the bridge soon change Tony's life forever.

I hope you enjoyed soundtrack week. till next time...

More Than A Woman - Bee Gees

Soundtrack Week - Pulp Fiction

Royale with cheese, Bring out the Gimp, Zed's Dead, Get the shot!...this movie has so many quotable lines. This is definitely my favorite movie from the 90's.Just in case you haven't seen this (if not rent it this weekend) here's a brief description....


Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents.

Flowers on the Wall - The Statler Brothers

Soundtrack Week - Once

I didn't quite know what to expect when we threw this one in the DVD player but after a few minutes I was fully invested in the flick. I'm not the best at summarizing movies so in case you missed this one, here's what the Internet has to say:



An (unnamed) Guy is a Dublin guitarist/singer-songwriter who makes a living by fixing vacuum cleaners in his Dad's Hoover repair shop by day, and singing and playing for money on the Dublin streets by night. An (unnamed) Girl is a Czech who plays piano when she gets a chance, and does odd jobs by day and takes care of her mom and her daughter by night. Guy meets Girl, and they get to know each other as the Girl helps the Guy to put together a demo disc that he can take to London in hope of landing a music contract. During the same several day period, the Guy and the Girl work through their past loves, and reveal their budding love for one another, through their songs

I think after checking out this song you'll put this one on your queue......Enjoy.

Falling Slowly - The Swell Season

Soundtrack Week - Over The Top

For my money this is the best arm wrestling movie ever made. If you've never seen the movie here's what Imbd had to say....Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who's trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his wife, he tries to make amends with his son who he left behind years earlier. Upon their first meeting, his son doesn't think too highly of him until he enters the nation-wide arm wrestling competition in Las Vegas.
Wow I may go dust off my VHS copy and watch this bad boy tonight!

The soundtrack featured heavy hitters like Sammy Hagar, Eddie Money, Frank Stallone, and this man...the king of the 80's soundtrack, Kenny Loggins. Turn it up!

Meet Me Halfway

Sunday Morning Coming Down - Death Cab For Cutie

Good Afternoon. I just started listening to these guys at the end of last year. I was home one Saturday night watching PBS (Pretty Rock N Roll huh?) Anyways I started watching Soundstage just to see who was on and instead of changing the channel I stayed put for the whole hour. Well most of you probably were devotees for awhile but if not I recommend giving them a listen. Hope to be back sooner than later.

Brothers On A Hotel Bed

Wild Card Wednesday - Apple Gabriel

I don't know about you but once the days get longer and the temperature starts climbing I like to pull out the ole reggae Cd's. This track was from a compilation that came out a few years ago. Sometimes the tribute albums can be a bit lame but I feel that this one has more winners than losers. Here's a new take on an old classic.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Soul Music Sunday - Marvin Gaye

So after posting so much in February I decided to take off the month of March. I really try to post a couple times a month but stuff happens. I went to a pretty cool show since we last saw each other. I had the pleasure of seeing "An Evening With Wilco" at the National Theater in Richmond, VA. If you didn't hear about the tour they did a handful of dates with no opening band. They ended up being on stage over three hours and the show included about a 10 song acoustic set. Oh yeah on top of that they were playing small theaters so i got to witness this with only 1500 other people. Alright let's end this weekend on a good note. I hope you enjoy this weeks edition of Soul Music Sunday.

What's Happening Brother