We saw Wye Oak at Chapel Hill's Local 506, this past Saturday. It was sold out, despite the fact that Matt Pond PA was playing two blocks down at the Cats Cradle, at the same time. What a town.

But first, a Baltimore band called Lower Dens played a set. I'd never heard of them before, and as is always the case with opening bands, I had little hope of them being any good. But, I liked them! A lot of what they played reminded me a bit of early 80's stuff like Joy Division, Bauhaus, etc. - droning, minimal drum and bass, guitar as atmosphere, kind of metronomic at times. The singer, with a haircut like a cross between Tank Girl and young Robert Smith, has some vocal licks that remind me a bit of Siouxsie. So, that was all cool.

Then, Wye Oak.

They're a two-piece; he plays drums with his right hand, and keyboards with his left; she plays guitar and sings. And they make a fuckload of noise - a huge, fat, grumbling sound, which was partly her guitar and partly whatever he was using for bass sounds from the keyboard (sounded like a sampled bass, actually). Just gigantic.

They played a lot of songs from their new record, "Civilian" (title track), which came out last week. It's good: a lot of good songs, and couple of things that just haven't clicked with me yet but which were better, live. Their last record, though, "The Knot", is the best thing I've heard in a long time. And, they played a few songs from that, too, which was 100% pure awesome.

All in all, a great show.

This was the second night of Wye Oak's tour, but everybody in both bands was sick with a cold. And despite Wye Oak's singer's plan to beat her's back with whisky, they have ended up canceling their Monday and Tuesday night shows (Atlanta, Memphis). So, unlucky them, but lucky us for catching them before they got too sick. heh.

(updated to include the gobs and gobs of text that were eaten by a stray HTML tag)

Got to see Robert Plant & The Band Of Joy last night.

I'd seen him once before (89-ish) but I don't remember anything from the show - except that, from my little spot of mud near the back of the lawn @ SPAC, his guitar player at the time looked like Jimmy Page (and everybody was hoping it really was!). It wasn't.

So, I needed to refresh my memory. I haven't really been grabbed by what I've heard of his recent releases, so I wasn't sure I'd be all that into it. But hey, it's Robert Plant, so at the very least I'd get to see him and maybe he'd do some Zeppelin songs.

Well, he did do a bunch of Zeppelin songs (joy!), all of them countrified to one degree or another. "Black Dog", on one extreme, was almost unrecognizable except for the words. On the other end of the spectrum, "Tangerine", already fairly folky, was basically the same as when he did it on Zeppelin III, 41 years ago. There were a half-dozen others, too. None of them sucked and most of them rocked, but in a different way than the originals. He also did a couple of songs from his mid-80s period: "Mood For A Melody" and "Tall Cool One". I'd totally forgotten about those two, and was hoping that, if he was going to do songs from that era, he'd do "Big Log" or one of the Honeydrippers songs (ex. "Sea Of Love", "Good Rockin At Midnight"). Oh well.

Of course, he also did a bunch of newer songs and traditional country/gospel songs, and most of them sounded pretty good - though I couldn't tell you their names.

The "Band Of Joy" is his current band, and includes, among others, Patty Griffin (a successful country singer/songwriter in her own right), the legendary Buddy Miller (who we've seen with Shawn Colvin, all kinds of people @ Merlefest, and with his wife, Julie Miller). Miller, Griffin and [insert name of random stringed instrument]-player Darrell Scott each took over vocals for a song of their own, sending Robert fucking Plant to go stand in the back doing back-up vocals (ha!). Luckily they were all very good. So, that was a treat. Everyone but the drummer sings, and so many songs had impressive five-person harmonies. Also a treat.

Great show, really. Like I said, I wasn't sure if I'd really like it, but I did. They put on a good show. Having seventh row seats didn't hurt, either.

And, to make things even better, the rarest of things happened before Plant took the stage: the opening band didn't suck! In fact, the opening band was fucking awesome. It was Luther Dickinson (of the Black Crowes, North Mississippi All Stars, etc.) and his brother, Cody, doing the drum-and-guitar duo thing. Luther Dickinson is a monster of electric slide guitar. He just fucking Tears. It. Up.. for example. Their set also featured someting I'd never seen before: the psychedelic, stereo-flanged, wha-and-delay washboard solo. Sounds like a horrible idea, but it was actually really cool. So, bonus.

No pictures. I've had some issues with taking pix at that venue before so I didn't bother bringing a camera last night ... unlike everybody else in the audience. Sigh.

Back in 1976, my dad took me on a road trip with him and his friends, from north-central PA to Lenox MA for a music festival (don't know which one). I don't remember much from the trip, since I was only 5. But I do remember bits and pieces: riding there in the VW van, sleeping in the VW van (which I recently learned was parked on the side of the MA Turnpike overnight - safe!); I remember a big crowd; I remember later thinking I was there when Doc Watson recorded his legendary live version of Black Mountain Rag (we weren't - that happened years before). So, not much - and some of that was imaginary.

Well, recently my aunt found some pictures from that show and sent them to my dad, who just sent them to me. They were pretty faded, as you'd expect from 35 year old snapshots, and I've restored them the best I could.

Here's Leon Redbone:

I suppose that helps explain why I like him - he was at the first concert I can ever remember attending! Since then, I've seen him twice - he puts on a good show.

Here's Doc Watson and his late son, Merle, to whom the big NC bluegrass festival, MerleFest, is dedicated:

And, coolest of all, here's skinny five year old me standing next to Merle Watson while he signs someone's autograph:

I actually do remember standing in that spot at the side of the stage, looking back at the crowd, but I could never remember what I was doing there. And now I know: I was sneaking around, annoying Merle Watson!

Sweet!

And for those who don't follow bluegrass: Doc Watson is a legend in the genre, and one of the finest guitar players ever - and he's blind, too! Merle was his son, and was a fine guitar player in his own right, and had been playing with his dad since at least '65. But, Merle was killed in 1985 (tractor accident). Doc started MerleFest in '88, in honor of his son, and it's grown to be a huge multi-day festival. And though 87 years old, Doc is still playing; and he often plays with Merle's son, Richard.

Saw the incredible Matt Pond PA last night, at the Local 506.

Great show. Great songs. Great vocals. Even the sound was good (a rare and special treat).

Came away loving the band twice as much as I did before.

It was, however, hot as fuck in that club. A regular rock-n-roll sauna.

Bobby Long opened.

He does that big open-chord folky strummy thing. Plus, we were told, he's friends with one of the Twilight guys.

Today I find that none of my comments are showing up on either Balloon Juice or on Matt Yglesias' blog. This happens from time to time on both, but rarely both at once.

I feel rejected.

I also feel like I got run over by a train. Which is partially true, I guess. Thanks to Mrs. Cleek's fine choice of high school classmates^* , we got to spend a good part of last night and a slice of this morning watching and then hanging out with some of the guys from the band, Train. Good times, no sleeps.

I'm kindof ambivalent about Train's music, but I can't deny that they are a very entertaining live band (and apparently would be doubly-so, if I was a teen-age girl). I liked their songs a lot better live, than I do when I hear them on someone else's radio. And, that guy can really sing.

* - specifically Jerry, the guy who now plays guitar, keyboards, etc. for them when they're touring.

We saw this guy last night.

It was the second of two sold-out shows. And, for whatever reason, we were probably two of the 10 oldest people there. Everybody else was college or high-school age. This is a change from a lot of shows we've seen (ex. Robyn Hitchcock, Belew, Junior Brown, etc) where we're the youngest b far. What kind of shows do people our age go to see ?

Whistling and playing the same melody on a glockenspiel, while holding a guitar chord. The guy's a genius.

The mic in front of his glockenspiel is in 90% of all the shots I took. I should've moved it out of the way - it was only inches from my face.

He was great, as usual.

And unlike last time, we could watch him work his array of samplers and effects - shoeless, no less.

He had a band with him this time, which made for a bit of a different experience than when he's solo - louder for sure, more focused too.

St. Vincent opened.

I'd never heard her before, not even of her, actually. St Vincent is the stage name of Annie Clark: the guitar player, singer, songwriter, etc., behind it all. What she, and her band, sounded like was... usually melodic though sometimes brutally harsh and dissonant, loop-based, complex in both layering of parts and in rhythm and structure, dense, with multi-layered (sometimes looped) vocals delivered by a woman who spent a lot of time with a haunted distant look on her face. She was also a really good guitar player.

Unfortunately, I didn't really get into most of it, because the sound where we were standing (right in front of her), was just a huge barrage of noise. That's what I get for standing up front - I don't necessarily blame them. The crowd was more familiar with her stuff, and they seemed to love it.

Curious, I listened to some of her stuff on iTunes, today, and it sounded like a more experimental version of Fiest, or a more melodic Deerhoof. All that dissonance and harshness from the live show is pushed way back in the mix, the parts that jutted-out like rusty knives last night are texture in the studio, and the result is shiny and pretty. I like it.

We saw Colin Hay last night, at the Arts Center in Carrboro, NC. Don't know who that is? Many years ago, he was the singer for Men At Work. It's been a long time since Men At Work's rapid rise and fall, but Hay's been busy: he's released solo 10 albums, he plays in Ringo Starr's band, he's even had a few acting roles. And last night was the last stop on a short solo acoustic tour.

He played Men at Work's biggest hits (Down Under, Who Can It Be Now and Overkill - which he turned into a full crowd sing-along), played songs from his 22 year solo career, and told stories. In fact, I'd estimate that he spent almost as much time telling stories as he did playing songs - which was fine, since he is surprisingly funny. His solo stuff seems to fall squarely into the same groove as James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Randy Newman and Sean Colvin: smart, folky, singer/songwriter stuff - what I hear on my cable's "Adult Alternative" channel (or XM's "The Loft"). It's a bit outside my zone, but he puts on a great show, and I was glad to have seen it. Catch him, if you get the chance.

After that show, I mentioned to my wife that I thought Middle Distance Runner (who we were listening to on the drive up to Carrboro) was playing at a bar the next block over. And despite it being a Sunday night (she has a job, so "weekdays" matter to her), she insisted we go give it a check-out. So we did.

It was a three band night, and the second band was just starting: Farewell Flight. I'd never heard of them before - I don't think they even have a record out yet. But they were pretty good. They do that emotional, anthemic, mid-tempo (Coldplay + Americana = Kings Of Leon) thing which I've never loved, but they sold it well. The singer was mightily happy about his giant cup of beer. I was pretty happy with my Jamesons.

Then Middle Distance Runner came on and did a quick set. I'd heard good things about their live show, and was not disappointed. Great songs, great harmonies, energetically delivered - despite the sad fact that there were only 12 people in the room (no really, I counted). Some band called "U2" was playing to a crowd of 55,000 down the road in Raleigh at the same time; maybe that had something to do with the turnout.

Even songs I was a little iffy on, from their "Plane In Flames" album, were terrific live. And the stuff from their new album sounded great. I was most impressed.

The surprising and shimmering Queen-style harmonized guitar solos in "Sundays Are Hell", delivered without a hint of smirking irony, had me laughing with delight. If any of my bands had tried such a thing, back in the early 90's while the world was still recovering from hair metal, we'd have been pelted with eggs. But thankfully we're all past that now. And besides, the sound fits the song's vaguely early 70's vibe perfectly. I wish it was on-line somewhere.

So, I definitely recommend giving these guys a look, if they come to your town. And give their new CD a listen, too - I'm loving it so far.

Saw this band called "Heart" last Friday.

You've probably heard of them.

They fucking rocked.

Even if, for some reason, Ann's vocals were often nearly inaudible unless she was wailing (which she can apparently still do, just as well as she could 30 years ago, FYI). When Nancy sang lead on a couple of songs, we could hear her fine. Mrs C blames the fact that we were 4th row in front of the guitarist's amps - yeah, they were pretty loud.

A local band, Nantucket, who had a minor hit back in the late 70's, ("Heartbreaker") opened. They were pretty good, though I didn't know any of the songs. I didn't get any good pix, but here's a crappy one of the singer:

Cary, NC.

T'was one hundred degrees, and all through NC
Not a creature dared brave August's swampy heat;
Yet speakers were hung off the rafters with care,
In hopes that the audience soon would be there;
The bands were nestled all cool in their bus,
While whispers of heat stroke passed between us;

My wife in her sunglasses, and I in my cap,
Had found a good spot, to watch the opening acts,
I was buying some wine, when there arose quite a clatter,
I turned my head to see what was the matter.
Back to our lawn chairs I flew like a flash,
Passed the wine I'd just bought, and let out a gasp.

The rollicking cast of this bluegrass-themed show
Played the opening song, which I did not know.
But, who to my wondering eyes should appear,
But Gillian, David, and twelve tiny reindeer,
Err, no, t'were not reindeer, t'was a different show.
No, these were musicians, some you might know!

More rapid than weasels their guitars they played,
David strummed, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Critter! now, Ketch! now, Morgan and Gillian!
On, Greg ! on Christmas ! on, Ian and Justin!
To the top of the verse! now wait for the call!
Now solo! solo! Solos for all!"

As dry leaves that before the hurricane fly,
When one missed a line, they all let it slide.
Through song after song the players they flew,
The dozens of boys (and Gillian too!)
And then, with a winking, most departed,
For the first band's set had officially started.

Justin Townes Earle was doing his show,
Though soon was re-joined by some from Old Crow.
He was dressed all in white, at least it looked to me -
For from where we were sitting, we couldn't see his feet.
An acoustic guitar he had flung on his back,
And he sang country songs, old-timey, in fact.

Then the Felice Brothers: their antics, how merry!
Their cheeks were like roses, their noses like cherries!
Carefree and raucous through their songs they careened,
Like Marah and Dylan, the Pouges and Springsteen.
So joyous their playing, we assumed they were drunk;
So young, so irreverent, my wife called them "punks".

In his grey flannel suit and her simple black dress
The David Rawlings Machine came up to play next.
Songs about sugar, Cortez, and Queen Jane,
Gillian Welch strummed, while David Rawlings sang.
Though it's not quite the same, to see them this way,
It's still a good time, and boy can he play!

The Old Crow Medicine Show, they were the last;
They sang of cocaine and moonshine, love and white trash.
They're a boatload of fun, with their songs about sin;
And they played fast as lightning, and sharp as a pin.
We'd seen them before, but they were better this time;
Or maybe it was the heat - and the beer, and the wine.

And then all the bands, they all went to work,
And filled up the stage; then started with a jerk,
A song from the Willburys: The End Of The Line
Though it was a little rough we all liked it fine.
And then a 'Mats song, from Pleased To Meet Me.
Justin Earle sang it, it felt a bit sleepy.

Yet then came a song they played with real feel
Old Crow's Dylan re-work, the great Wagon Wheel
The crowd sprang to their feet, with cheers and with whistles,
And the band played the song, and man did it sizzle.
And then they were done, and up came the lights,
"Thank you to all, and have a safe drive."

Big Surprise Tour in the WSJ

We saw a truncated version of Marah last night: singer and guitarist Dave Bielanko (the only original member), a stand-up bassist and a keyboard player. The rest of the band quit/was fired - except for Bielanko's brother, who is busy being a new father. But that's not a problem; Dave Bielanko can sell a song without them.

I suppose it'd be better if he could sell some tickets though. There were probably no more than 40 people there last night. My wife and I were the only people to buy tickets in advance, so the guy at the door knew our name as soon as I said the words "will call" - ours was the only name on the list. I started thinking, during the show, that Marah could be this generation's Big Star - they're excellent but almost completely overlooked because their sound's a few years behind the times. Though maybe that was the $3 quarts of Guinness talking. Check back in 15 years, to see if I was right.

Bielanko has a really great rockNroll voice, and he's a surprisingly good guitar player, too. Very entertaining. Fantastic show. Catch it if you can - they're on a short tour of the south right now.

I'm far too tired to write anything more, though. Friggin show didn't end till 1AM.

(not from last night)