Category On The Road
ON THE ROAD: Forecastle Photo Journal—Day Three / Louisville, KY / July 20, 2014
Hot summer weather returned to Forecastle on its final day causing me to take things slow and rest up for my major musical event of the decade—the return of The Replacements. My laid back afternoon consisted of checking out small samples of several artists in between taking in the air conditioned splendor of the VIP […]
ON THE ROAD: Forecastle Photo Journal—Day Two / Louisville, KY / July 19, 2014
It was a long and tiring but musically-satisfying second day at Forecastle. I got to see many great bands on a warmer but still pleasant day, including perhaps one of the best sets I have ever seen by anyone, anytime. My day started early with the tail end of an enjoyably fresh set from Hurray […]
ON THE ROAD: Forecastle Photo Journal—Day One / Louisville, KY / July 18, 2014
I am back in Louisville for my third consecutive year at the Forecastle Music Festival. A great lineup and unseasonably cool weather should make for a great weekend. As it turned out, I expected tonight to be the weakest night of the three. Nonetheless, my evening started and finished strong. Delayed by a construction-ridden downtown […]
ON THE ROAD: Elvis Costello: Tennessee Theatre / Knoxville TN / June 20, 2014
I recently had a good laugh reading Elvis Costello’s remarks after an interviewer followed a line of questioning that Costello deduced must have been derived from his Wikipedia entry. It is a fact that most muses about Costello simply regurgitate the same worn-out list of notable artists that he has worked with. How could anyone […]
ON THE ROAD: The Blockheads @ 929 Venue 2 / London, UK / May 23, 2014
In the late Seventies, I closely followed the releases of England’s Stiff Records. One of Stiff’s best-selling artists was the late Ian Dury who amassed major stardom in his home of England. In fact, I believe that his only tour of the States was for his debut record in 1978, opening for Lou Reed. (Yours […]
ON THE ROAD: Roddy Frame @ O2 Empire—Shepherd’s Bush / London, UK / May 22, 2014
Over 30 years ago in 1983, I was thrilled to be introduced to the talents of a 19-year old Roddy Frame through the praises of Elvis Costello. I was further privileged to see Frame’s band, Aztec Camera, open three dates on Costello’s American tour that year. Despite some later moderate success over here, Aztec Camera […]
ON THE ROAD: Willie Nile @ Outpost in the Burbs / Montclair NJ / January 10, 2014
“Willie Nile is so good I can’t believe he’s not from New Jersey!” —Little Steven Van Zandt Since his 1980 self-titled debut, I have loosely followed and enjoyed East Coast singer-songwriter Willie Nile’s recorded output. Nineteen eighty was also the year I left Jersey. It took me over thirty years to finally see him live […]
ON THE ROAD: Television @ The Georgia Theatre / Athens GA / November 7, 2013
Sometimes wishes do come true. One lazy Sunday afternoon, I hit the couch plopping down my vinyl copy of Television’s 1978 LP, Adventure. The enticing sounds of the twin guitars of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd made me regret that I never saw them perform live at CBGBs in the late 70s. In those early […]
ON THE ROAD: David Johansen @ Hamilton Stage / Rahway, NJ / October 11, 2013
In 1974, I happened to see the New York Dolls open for Mott the Hoople at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum in New York City. In retrospect, I was too young to appreciate it. All my youthful innocence saw was a sloppy performance by some guys wearing dresses. I later got what this punk rock […]
ON THE ROAD: Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion: Iridium / New York NY / October 10, 2013 (Late Show)
Jack Bruce once said that he “lived in England and Ginger Baker lived in South Africa, but that wasn’t far enough!” After seeing the recent documentary about the notorious Cream drummer, Beware of Mr. Baker, I knew exactly what Bruce meant. So much so that I attended one of Baker’s recent sets at one of […]
Music City Mike 