And just for a good laugh…

Trampled By Turtles brought their lonesome bluegrass sound to a packed show at Webster Hall for the biggest New York show of their career, and a fired up crowd welcomed the band with enthusiastic cheers and crazed energy. Sharing songs from their new album Stars & Satellites and plenty of older material, Trampled By Turtles delivered manic bluegrass and mournful ballads over the course of a 90 minute set.

Before Trampled By Turtles took the stage, their friends These United States treated the crowd to an opening set of roots flavored rock and roll. These United States showcased rough-hewn but irresistibly catchy vocal harmonies on “The Business,” and bouncy feel good rocker “First Sight” caught the ear of a few new fans. Towards the end of their set, they invited Trampled By Turtles’ Erik Berry to the stage, and Berry lent his mandolin to the pulsing garage rock of “I Want You To Keep Everything,” trading blistering licks with These United States’ pedal steel guitarist. For the last song of the set, Trampled By Turtles frontman Dave Simonett and fiddle player Ryan Young joined in for a ragged but right take on Steve Earle’s “Steve’s Last Ramble.” With catchy rock and roll, singalong choruses and just the right amount of quirky charm, These United States are bound to be headlining venues like Webster Hall in the near future.

After These United States outstanding opening set, Trampled By Turtles took the stage greeted by a wildly enthusiastic crowd. Opening with “Midnight on the Interstate” from Stars & Satellites, Trampled By Turtles shared most of their new brand new album. “Midnight on the Interstate,” which opens with quiet strumming and Simonett’s road-weary lyrics, may have started things off calmly, but the band then ripped into the lightning fast picking of new instrumental “Risk.” “Beautiful” and “Widower’s Heart,” the two heart-wrenching ballads on Stars & Satellites, were just as delicately beautiful live, and “Widower’s Heart” drew cheers when Simonett sang, “New York was a rough town that treated me well.” But the album’s first single, “Alone” was the highlight of the night as they invited out These United States to singalong on the chorus and lead the crowd through crazed handclapping and footstomping.

“Wait So Long” from Trampled By Turtles’ last album Palomino matched “Alone” in thrilling crowd energy, as Ryan Young’s fiddle solo had the floor shaking as the crowd jumped along. Palomino reached the top of iTunes bluegrass charts and earned the band thousands of new fans, and they performed a healthy dose of tunes from that album as well. The breezy country of “New Orleans” and bruised and battered ballad “Bloodshot Eyes” were standouts, while the mournful “Again” closed the show on a somber note. Returning for an encore, they delighted the crowd by breaking out rarely played older tune “Whiskey” as the crowd joyously sang along.

Trampled By Turtles may be a group of guys with acoustic instruments, but they just can’t be pigeon-holed as a bluegrass band. Rock and roll, country and punk rock bleed into their songwriting as much as if not more than bluegrass, and live Trampled By Turtles perform with a reckless abandon that few bands from any genre can compete with. After ten years on the road, Trampled By Turtles’ hard work has paid off and their folk music on steroids sound keeps reaching more and more fans with every passionate show they play.

With a steady-grooving beat, tumbling bassline and guitar riff that sounds straight off a back porch in Alabama, “Hold On” is as catchy as rock and roll gets, and that’s before Brittany Howard’s soulful vocals enters the mix.  Howard’s tortured roar is undeniably the heart and soul of the Alabama Shakes, and when she wails, “I don’t wanna wait!” as the band crashes behind her, the Alabama Shakes already sound like rock and roll royalty.

“Hold On” is one of the most explosively catchy songs in recent memory, and sets the tone for an album full of soul-infused rock and roll.  The bouncy strut of “I Found You” and swamp rock of “Hang Loose” follow and give the album a gritty garage blues sound reminiscent of The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street.  And, like the Stones, the Alabama Shakes manage to mix battered ballads among the rockers.  The burning slow blues of “You Ain’t Alone” is a standout and features Howard crooning and screaming like a possessed Janis Joplin. 

The album’s other ballads, “Heartbreaker” and the title track “Boys and Girls” aren’t quite as inspired, but just as the album threatens to lull, the band explodes with a 1-2 punch of “Be Mine”and “Ain’t The Same.”  The greasy soul of ”Be Mine” showcased more howling vocals from Howard, while the thick guitar riffs of “Ain’t The Same” displayed the band’s powerful but funky punch as Howard’s screaming is spurred on by crashing piano, guitar and drums.

When bands experience this kind of crazed rise, we can’t help waiting for the other shoe to drop as they fail to live up to our expectations.  Boys & Girls may be only one album, but full of gritty, impassioned rock and roll, it convincingly screams that the Alabama Shakes are well on their way to great things.

- “W.S. Walcott Medicine Show”

RIP Levon Helm, the greatest drummer and singer in rock and roll history.  From changing the scope of American music forever with Bob Dylan and The Band to hosting Midnight Rambles at his Woodstock home in recent years and carrying the torch of Americana roots music onward, Levon Helm is one of the most talented and influential musicians of the past fifty years.

Of course there’s little I can say about the music that Levon created with The Band that hasn’t already been said.  His voice was the soundtrack to my life, and also for millions more.  From that familiar thumping drumbeat and famous first words “I pulled into Nazareth…” Levon tapped into the core of American consciousness and captured our souls immediately.  Whether it was his gorgeously delicate drum rolls on “I Shall Be Released,” or soulful vocals on “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” Levon Helm was a cornerstone of some of the greatest rock and roll music of the past fifty years.

Levon was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, and while fighting through it, damaged his vocal chords and lost the ability to sing and even talk.  Never one to give up, Levon not only beat cancer but regained the ability to sing and dedicated the rest of his days to celebrating life and sharing his music.

When he passed away, Helm was surrounded in the hospital by friends and family singing songs to him, and his from his birth to his death, Levon lived music.  I’ve never seen anyone express the kind of sheer, boyish joy while playing music that he did.  Levon’s 70th birthday celebration at Mountain Jam 2010 stands out.  After a lengthy rain delay, Levon took the stage on a brutally cold night with gusting winds and tornadoes and played for the next three hours straight.  In a moment that reflected the entire evening, Levon took the third verse of “The Weight” and struggled at first as the wind and rain swallowed up his voice.  But refusing to be subdued by the weather, Levon beat that too.  I felt the sheer power of Levon’s voice as he bellowed out the last line of the verse with a boom that seemed to shake the mountain.  Levon sat pounding away on his drums for nearly three hours as freezing wind and rain whipped around him, and with a radiant smile the whole time.

And that’s how I’ll always remember Levon, smiling from the stage with a boyish enthusiasm and a twinkle in his eye, incredibly grateful to be alive and doing what he loved.  RIP Levon Helm, a man who was every bit as inspirational as he was talented.

And enjoy this magical performance from his 70th birthday:

As Luther had joined Soulive during their Bowlive run last month, it was only fitting that Krasno and Hall joined the North Mississippi Allstars at the same venue.  Hall took lead vocals and wailed away on a cover of Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Around In Circles” that featured scorching solos from Krasno and Dickinson, which was undoubtedly the highlight of the night.

You can download or stream the show here.

Or watch the entire show below:

Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby – Dark Star > Jack Straw

Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby debuted their brand new collaboration at Oakland’s Fox Theater last weekend.  The show featured each Hornsby and Weir performing solo sets before teaming up on third set together.  The project is more than just a one time collaboration, and the pair were just announced as a headliner for Gathering of the Vibes where they will be joined by Branford Marsallis.

The excitement of a sold out crowd at Brooklyn Bowl was soaring through the roof as Soulive took the stage for the final night of their Bowlive residency. Bowlive, now in its third year, featured ten nights of Soulive with special guests and surprise collaborations. With no announced guests for the final night, the sold out crowd was excited to see what treats the band had in store. With The Allman Brothers in town at The Beacon, whispers of a potential Derek Trucks sit in flew through the crowd like wildfire.

Much to the delight of the crowd, Trucks did indeed show up after the Allman Brothers’ show, but didn’t join Soulive until nearly one in the morning. By that point Soulive had been going strong for hours, taking the stage around 10:30 after an incendiary opening set by close friends The London Souls.

With a debut album recorded at Abbey Road Studios, The London Souls have already experienced a significant measure of success for such a young band. But that feels like just a tiny taste of what’s to come. With crashing drums and huge guitar riffs, The London Souls build on the classic power trio sound of Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Having performed live in New York and on the festival circuit over the past few years, The London Souls have turned into a monstrous live band. They are more comfortable with each other since the recent addition of a new bassist, and this opening set found guitarist Tash Neal thrilling the crowd with searing guitar solos while the band stretched out on songs from their first album and new tunes destined for their upcoming sophomore effort. While watching The London Souls, I can’t help feeling that someday I’ll look back in awe and marvel at how lucky I was to see this band before they turned into rock and roll giants.

After The London Souls’ barn-burning opening set, Soulive took the stage accompanied by a horn section. Between The London Souls’ energetic opening set and excitement for the night’s surprise guests, Soulive’s first couple songs of instrumental funk felt timid, but the band was just getting started. Things heated up halfway through the set, as Soulive invited out Bowlive regular Nigel Hall to sing original “Too Much” and a couple of covers. To close the set out, The London Souls’ Tash Neal also joined the band, and with Hall’s wailing vocals and Tash’s scorching guitar leading the way, Soulive paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix with a rousing cover of “Them Changes.”

As Soulive took the stage for a second set, the crowd was greeted with dozens of white balloons as the show turned into a loose party. The band kicked the set off with “Bubble” which highlighted Neal Evans and followed with the crazed, exploratory funk of “One In Seven,” that found Eric Krasno’s guitar gracefully darting around the thumping rhythm section of Alan Evans’drums and Neal Evans’ clavinet, before Alan Evans took over with a drum solo. As the clock passed midnight, the band dipped into material from their latest release, Beatles tribute Rubber Soulive.  Krasno shined while shredding his way through “Eleanor Rigby” while Tash Neal joined in for a menacing cover of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).”

After The Beatles tribute, Derek Trucks emerged with soul singer Ledisi for a cover of “A Change Is Gonna Come.” As highly anticipated as Trucks’ sit in was, the relatively unknown Ledisi managed to steal the show with her stunning vocal performance. Bowlive allows Soulive to act as hosts and collaborate with a variety of friends, not only big names like Derek Trucks, but also emerging young talents like Ledisi and The London Souls. By generously sharing the spotlight with so many talented friends, Soulive managed to keep things fresh and exciting over the course of their ten-night run and after three years of fun, Bowlive has turned into one of the New York music scene’s best traditions.

In Dr. Dog’s early days, the band picked up steam despite shying away from major labels and producers, preferring to stick to their own vintage, lo-fi style. On their last album Shame, Shame, that style seemed like it had evolved, as for the first time, they used an outside producer and embraced a bigger sound. Shame, Shame finds the band at their catchiest but also hardest rocking, as years of heavy touring had turned Dr. Dog into a true rock band with rumbling bass and drums and clashing guitars.

Dr. Dog’s new album Be The Void finds them retaining the raw rock and roll edge of Shame, Shame with their most musically aggressive and ambitious album yet, while also returning to the quirky, experimental style of their early days. The country blues of album opener “Lonesome” sets the tone for Be The Void, as it is irresistibly catchy and charming despite utterly nonsensical lyrics and barroom cheers. Between the oddities of “Lonesome” and the bongos and spacey keyboard effects that open the album’s second song, “That Old Black Hole,” the band wastes no time in declaring that their decision to go back to self-producing must have been motivated by their love of doing whatever the hell they want in the studio.

After perfecting streamlined rock and roll with Shame, Shame, Dr. Dog have produced a wild collage of sounds with Be The Void. On the new album, they flesh out these songs with improved musicianship and studio bells and whistles. Make no mistake, not all of the bells and whistles work. The computer noises at the beginning of sleazy rocker “Warrior Man” add little to the song, and the bongo drum led breakdown in the dance pop of “Heavy Light” is even more surprising (though, like everything else on Be The Void, it will grow on you quickly). But the unabashedly loose, fun vibe of the album is contagious and musically, Dr. Dog thrives most in this anything goes atmosphere.

Dr. Dog is built on the unique songwriting partnership of bassist Toby Leaman and guitarist Scott McMicken, who trade off songs throughout the album. Because their writing styles are so different, the album is full of sudden twists and turns. While Leaman’s songs are fairly straightforward, McMicken’s songs sound like a collage of soundscapes. From the electro-pop of “Heavy Light” to the memorable psychedelic dance edge of “How Long Must I Wait,” McMicken’s songs force Dr. Dog into new musical territory.

While McMicken’s songs on Be The Void tend to lean towards experimental psychedelic pop, Leaman’s songs are comfortable rockers. “Warrior Man” nods a little too heavily at The Kinks, but “Big Girl” could be the best rock song Dr. Dog has ever recorded. With Leaman’s infectiously catchy chorus and McMicken’s slashing guitar solos, “Big Girl” finds Dr. Dog fully capturing their live energy in the studio. Leaman’s “Vampire” and “These Days” feature more howling vocals and searing riffs from McMicken and rhythm guitarist Frank McElroy, and show that the band is just as influenced by ‘70s glam rock as they are by ‘60s psychedelic pop.

With the right mix of heavy rock and roll and indie charm, Dr. Dog’s Be The Void is a loose, ragged and lighthearted album that keeps growing on you until it just won’t leave your head. After enduring years and years of comparisons to The Beach Boys and The Beatles (and seemingly no one else), Be The Void finds the band embracing a wider palette of influences and moving closer to their own sound in the studio. Be The Void is harder rocking and livelier than anything they’ve recorded before, and though the experimentation makes for an album that is not as immediately catchy as Shame, Shame, it also creates an album that is certainly more adventurous and ultimately at least as enjoyable.