Noam Pikelny (Helsinki)
Solo banjo show in support of upcoming album Universal Favorite. Probably won’t be as funny without the inter-song banter…
[Noam Pikelny]
Music
[Noam Pikelny]
Wood Brothers (Massry Center for the Arts)
Wood Brothers smoked out the Massry in support of a live album recorded at Levon Helm Studios.
[Wood Brothers]
Lee Harvey Osmond (WAMC)
Tom Wilson and his son Thompson making Albany a better place. Running out onstage with an mind blowing a capella version of John Henry into a rocking version of fellow Canadian Fred Eaglesmith’s 49 Tons. They ran through much of Beautiful Scars, pulled some duets from the two recent Blackie and Rodeo Kings records, read a portion of his upcoming book and made the most of a sparsely attended show.
What you missed:
Joshua Tree / Fretboard Summit
Trip to San Diego for friend visitation, Fretboard Summit and a side trip to Joshua Tree National Park. Serendipity reigned as we spent a day waiting in line and failing to get tickets for Paul McCartney at Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneertown having arrived there in the morning on a sight-seeing whim. Didn’t need to see the band, you could hear them just fine from outside where there was much to see and do. Besides hanging out with the awesome guys on the porch of Chaparrosa Outfitters, there were meteors, a mountain rescue and a gate crashing woman pushed off the bar porch onto a cactus. All while boomer females screamed like teenagers for Sir Paul hoping to catch his ear from the parking lot. Um… they didn’t.
Danny Barnes had to cancel his appearance at the Fretboard Summit (hope things are OK) but Courtney Hartman, Molly Tuttle, Joe K. Walsh, Grant Gordy and the rest made my horrible golf skills tolerable.
[The rude turds who selfishly ran and cut to be first in line for tickets]
[McCartney at Pappy and Harriet’s video from inside…]
[Chaparrosa Outfitters]
[Fretboard Summit]
Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble (Van Dyck)
It’s not many places where you can wander in off the street and hear a great jazz band play an arrangement of a Mr. Bungle tune, but the Van Dyck happens to be one of them.
Dave and Phil Alvin & the Guilty Ones (Helsinki)
Lisa Pankratz, Chris Miller, and Brad Fordham backed up the brothers Alvin. Seemed like they were just at the Hollow, but they can drop by anytime they want…
Sarah Borges opened.
Buke and Gase (Half Moon)
A pleasure to finally see these two do their thing in person. Aleuchatistas opened doing their avant-whatever drum and guitar loopiness.
[Buke and Gase Live (NPR)]
[Aleuchatistas – Sundowning (live Amplified YouTube)]
Danny Barnes, Joe Walsh, Grant Gordy (b side)
This year’s winner of the prize for excellence in banjo shows up in Oneonta with two members of Mr. Sun playing through original music, bluegrass standards and a bit of Thelonius Monk in front of a chatty crowd. Go see them if you can in MD, PA and NYC and try not to talk too much while they’re playing; they don’t show up at your morning conference call and fire up tributes to each other. Come to think of it, wish they would…
[Danny Barnes Gigs]
Fruition
Bender Melon wrote this song during the 2004 election season mostly as a joke. I point it out every four years because I think it is kind of funny in it’s caricature of the egotism of presidential candidates. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one amused. This year it’s not so funny. Little did I know in 2004 that the character in the song would win the Republican nomination for President in 2016. The only difference this year is that instead of “homemade” “matching uniforms”, the nominee and his wife wear an elite tailored uniform costing more than the average annual income of a good number of people in this country. The rest is pretty much spot on. I expect should they win the office this year, the uniforms will be unzipped down the center and intergalactic lizard aliens will emerge announcing the takeover of the planet.
Miracle Legion (Iron Horse)
Missed them in Albany due to Grey Fox conflict so a mandatory road trip ensued. Worth it just to see Mark’s beard. Fancy Trash opened with the pleasant surprise of Ray Mason on bass. I like Northampton. For those not following along, Miracle Legion has released their formerly hard to find back catalog on Bandcamp. Immerse yourself.
[Fancy Trash (Bandcamp)]
[Miracle Legion (Bandcamp)]
