Hot Club Of Cowtown in Burbank, 4-19-13 Photos

Hot Club Of Cowtown did two sets at Joe’s Great American in Burbank, California on Friday. I’d been to this venue only once before, because it’s not my favorite place to see a show. The people there (some of them, anyway) seem to feel entitled to any space they desire, even if it’s space you happen to be occupying. And they get upset if you don’t accommodate them by disappearing. The other time I was there, people were line-dancing to I See Hawks In L.A., and they kept running into me deliberately. It was weird.

This time I planted myself in the front, near the stage-left speaker, and was bothered only a couple of times.  But the music was so good that I didn’t let the other stuff get to me.  The band did a number of tunes from their new album, Rendezvous In Rhythm, including “Avalon,” “I’m In The Mood For Love,” “Slow Boat To China,” “The Continental,” and “If I Had You.” It was a treat for me to hear those songs because I’m a big fan of the new album.

They also did a few songs from their previous release, What Makes Bob Holler, an album which is a tribute to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. From that CD they performed “Oklahoma Hills,” “Big Ball In Cowtown,” “What’s The Matter With The Mill,” “Stay A Little Longer” and “She’s Killing Me.” These are all good songs, and fun to dance to.

There was a bit of a sound issue with Elana James’ fiddle at the beginning of the second set, but only in the monitors. It sounded fine in the house. I’m definitely going to try to catch these guys again the next time they’re in town. Hot Club Of Cowtown is Elana James on fiddle and vocals, Whit Smith on guitar and vocals, and Jake Erwin on bass and backing vocals.

Here are a few photos from the night:

Marshall Chapman: “Blaze Of Glory” (2013) CD Review

I became a fan of Marshall Chapman’s music when I heard her 2010 release Big Lonesome. That is an excellent CD, one I’ve listened to quite a bit. So of course my expectations were fairly high for her new album, Blaze Of Glory. And she certainly does not disappoint. This is one of my favorite albums of the year so far, and two of the songs in particular are stand-outs: “Beyond Words” and “Dreams & Memories.”

The songwriting on this album is really strong. And I also love Marshall Chapman’s voice. She seems to give you everything; there’s nothing hidden, and nothing shy about her delivery. And there is often something quite sexy about the way she sings. All but two tracks on this release are originals.

The album opens with “Love In The Wind,” a song which uses that great Bo Diddley rhythm. That sound always makes me feel good, and often gets me dancing. There’s something about it that says life is all right; it works on some gut level. “Love In The Wind” is a duet with Todd Snider. After the line, “I gaze at you and I get high” there’s a little chuckle that doesn’t feel planned, and so is delightful. I love the way Marshall sings the lines, “Lovin’ you is like loving the rain/That first drop falls and I’m insane,” particularly the way she plays with the word “rain.”  She sings “Here we go” as they head into a cool instrumental section. There is some nice stuff by Jim Mayer on bass on this track.

“I Don’t Want Nobody” opens with the line, “I don’t want nobody calling me their honey but you,” and I immediately love it. Her voice is sexy, which works so well with this sort of love song, and the song has a great country rock vibe. Plus, I dig the line, “I don’t want nobody/Telling me I’m bitchin’ but you.” She turns quite playful by the end.

I love the feel of “Nearness Of You,” that early rock and roll slow dance number. Those songs are still so effective, and this rendition is wonderful. This is one of only two covers on this album. It was written by Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington, and has been done by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Bing Crosby, Etta James and many others. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “I need no soft lights/To enchant me/If you’ll only grant me/The right to hold you ever so tight/And to feel in the night/The nearness of you.”

“Beyond Words” is my favorite song on this album. It’s gorgeous, and simple, and perfect – a wonderful love song with lines like “The touch of your hand/And my heart is helpless/And that’s just the way/The way that it is.” Everything about this song is just exactly right, from the near whisper in her voice at times, to that occasional deep thump of the bass drum, to that wonderful guitar part by Will Kimbrough. This is one of my favorite songs of the year so far. Even if for some reason you don’t want to pick up this disc, you should at least check out this song.  “’Cause wherever you are/That’s where life is.”

“Let’s Make Waves” is a different kind of love song, with a fun vibe. The line “The Atlantic, the Pacific/Okay I’ll be specific” makes me laugh. This one was written by Marshall Chapman and Shannon Wright.

“Dreams & Memories” begins with the lines “Last night I dreamed about you/You called me by my name.” Something about the sound of this song strongly presents this as a doomed love, even as she sings, “When I awakened I was happy.” There is a wonderful tension to this song. It is powerful and beautiful, definitely one of this CD’s many highlights. You’re right with her when she sings, “Dreams and memories/Right now that’s all I have/Dreams and memories/To keep my heart alive.” And there is some nice work by Mike Utley on the Hammond B3.

The second of the album’s covers, “Blues Stay Away From Me,” was originally done by the Delmore Brothers, and covered by several artists over the years. This tune has a good rhythm. And of course I absolutely love the piano – that old style always sounds so good to me.

When I go to a concert, if I get even just one moment when the music transports me completely out of myself, then it’s a great night. In “Waiting For The Music,” Marshall Chapman sings of the anticipation of love, “Waiting for the music to take me away.” Sometimes music is a good substitute for a lover. Close your eyes, and let Marshall Chapman carry you away. “You don’t have to do anything/All you have to do is love/Now you go find yourself a song to sing.”

“Call The Lamas” is certainly the goofiest song on this album. It’s my least favorite, but there is still something kind of adorable about it. Like the “Om” bit, which I can’t help but like. And it has something of a reggae thing going on. I wonder if the Dalai Lama would dig it. She released a different version of this song on her 2006 album, Mellowicious! 

“Not Afraid To Die” is a great country song. Marshall reminds me a lot of Johnny Cash on this one. She sings, “I did everything I could to die young/And leave behind a beautiful memory.” I love the backing vocals, which show she’s still very much of this world, surrounded by good folks. This song has a positive vibe, especially with lines like “So bring it on whatever lies ahead/Sorrow, joy, heartbreak and the rest/’Cause the only thing that matters in the end/Is the love you gave to those you love the best.” By the way, this album itself works as an argument against the line, “I’ve already lived way past my prime.”

Interestingly, “Blaze Of Glory,” the last song on the album, starts seemingly as a variation on the theme, with the line “I never intended to make it this far.” But this song is actually quite a bit different from the previous track. In one verse, it looks back to her youth when she saw Elvis Presley perform from the balcony reserved for “colored” folks (her family’s maid took her to the show). Each time “blaze of glory” is sung, it has a different meaning. At the end, she sings, “Now every morning at the break of dawn/I brush the sleep out from my eyes/I’ve got to see that sun rise up in a blaze of glory.”

CD Track List

1. Love In The Wind
2. I Don’t Want Nobody
3. Nearness Of You
4. Beyond Words
5. Let’s Make Waves
6. Dreams & Memories
7. Blues Stay Away From Me
8. Waiting For The Music
9. Call The Lamas
10. Not Afraid To Die
11. Blaze Of Glory 

Blaze Of Glory is scheduled to be released on May 28, 2013 on TallGirl Records.

Randall Bramblett: “The Bright Spots” (2013) CD Review

Randall Bramblett might be best known for his work with Gregg Allman and Elvin Bishop (among others), and for his songwriting (his tunes have been covered by Hot Tuna, B.J. Thomas and Bonnie Raitt).  However, he put out two solo albums in the 1970s (That Other Mile and Light Of The Night). Then in the late 1990s he resumed his solo recording career. His new album, The Bright Spots, features all original material, and these songs show what a damned good songwriter he is. Randall Bramblett plays several instruments, including keyboards, saxophone and guitar, and is a powerful force vocally. But often it’s the lyrics that really make love these songs. My favorites are “My Darling One,” “Shine” and “Detox Bracelet.” This is an album I appreciate more each time I listen to it.

The Bright Spots opens with “Roll,” a song with a great raw, bluesy energy, and with nice touches on horns. The backing vocals add to the song’s power. The CD’s title comes from this song’s lines, “Lizard in a whirlwind/Monkey in a trash bin/And that’s just the bright spots.” This song has a lot of cool lyrics, and I like this line: “Everybody wants you, nobody needs you when they really get to know you.” There is sometimes an urgency to the vocal delivery, and there is also a good little jam toward the end of the song.

There are splashing sound effects, and the sounds of laughter at beginning of “Every Saint.” I generally don’t like effects in songs, but Randall makes it work, incorporating it into the structure. This song starts off slow, quiet, easy, and quickly finds a good groove (but you get the sense of something difficult lurking just below the surface). The title line is, “Every saint is an accident/A wild shot in the dark.”  Great line, right? And check out these lyrics: “Well, I’m on a crooked highway/No map, no history/I’m going to keep on wandering ‘til I find you next to me/Well, I got lost and broken somewhere in the night.” “Every Saint” was written by Randall Bramblett and Jason Slatton.

The chorus of “’Til The Party’s All Gone” feels like a hit song: “Do what you want to do/Anything you say is true/Who’s going to tell you if you’re wrong, you’re wrong/Go where you want to go/Anyway, it’s your show/You’re going to party ‘til the party’s all gone.” There certainly are some pop sensibilities at work – check out the “doo doo doo” section. But it’s the cool instrumental section immediately following it that I love most. (The sound of the guitar at times reminds me just a bit of Los Lobos’ “Dream In Blue” from Kiko.)

I love the feel of “My Darling One.” It’s a pretty tune, with a hint of sadness in Randall’s voice as he sings lines like “The day is burning down/Just another candle going out.”   This is one of my favorites. I’m really fond of Randall’s work on keyboards on this song. There is also some nice work by David Causey on slide guitar. And of course there are some wonderful lyrics, like these lines: “Never seeing the cracks in the world/You dance so fast, the lines start to blur.” “My Darling One” was written by Randall Bramblett and Jason Slatton.

“Whatever That Is” is an unusual blues song. It has a great rough quality, both in the vocals and in the music. There is also a certain humor to this tune. Early on, Randall sings, “And I’m living in reality now/Whatever that is/They say everything has got a time and a season/Your love ain’t got no rhyme or reason/And I’m coming back down to earth/Wherever that is.” I totally love those lines. The music of this one is seriously cool; I like the groove on keys by Randall, and also the percussion by Gerry Hansen. At one point the guitar suddenly comes on strong, with a nice lead. That’s Tom Bukovac on guitar.

“Shine” is a sometimes gorgeous song that really reaches out to anyone having troubles or feeling lost or lonely. Randall asks in the song’s opening lines, “What do you do when you run out of things to say and the world will not cooperate?” The answer comes, “Do your best and kiss the rest goodbye.” The backing vocals on “Shine, shine, shine” add a lot of power to the song, as they work to make you feel less alone, almost like they’re cheering you on, helping you over the next hurdle. Wonderful. This is one of my favorite tracks.

It’s interesting how a single detail or line can sometimes get to you, rip you apart. Early on in “Detox Bracelet” Randall sings, “You were standing in the sun/With your detox bracelet round your arm/Your beautiful arm.” And it’s that kind addition of “Your beautiful arm” that nearly breaks me. Just that detail, the way love can be expressed, the way it’s sometimes shown. That expression of love is unexpected. He repeats those lines at the end of the song. And check out these lines: “Want to hear your laugh again/Want to see your smile, your lopsided grin/We almost killed you with our love and kindness.”

“All Is Well” a slow late-night jazzy tune with nice touches on keys by Randall. I also appreciate these lines: “I lost my keys to the future/I lost my hold on the past/I’ve got to give up on my predictions/All is well.”

CD Track List

1. Roll
2. Every Saint
3. ‘Til The Party’s All Gone
4. My Darling One
5. Whatever That Is
6. John The Baptist
7. Shine
8. Trying To Steal A Minute
9. Detox Bracelet
10. You Bring Me Down
11. All Is Well
12. Rumbling Bridge

The Bright Spots is scheduled to be released on May 14, 2013 on New West Records.

Adventures On Record Store Day, 2013

Yes, today’s the day, folks: Record Store Day. Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day are probably still my favorite holidays. But Record Store Day is close.  I got very little sleep, as last night I went to see Hot Club Of Cowtown (I’ll be posting photos later), and they did two sets – they were actually still playing when I left at 1 a.m.

Woke up at 6:27 a.m., showered, then called my brother. He’s on the east coast, three hours ahead of me, and I figured he’d already be inside the store. Nope. He was in line, and had been for a while. We went over each other’s wish lists, and he said he’d call me and let me know what he got.

Meanwhile I headed to Amoeba in Hollywood. I parked a good distance away, on a street where there are no meters. It took me several minutes to walk to the store, and right as I got to the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga, my brother called me.

He managed to get me the Grateful Dead CD, the Mumford & Sons CD, and the Richard Thompson 7”. I was of course especially excited about the Richard Thompson record, as there were only 500 made. He also picked up the Trey Anastasio record and the Patty Griffin record for himself. The Patty Griffin one was also limited to 500. The Newbury Comics that he went to had only one copy of it, and he grabbed it. He wasn’t able to find a copy of the Page McConnell LP.

As he was telling me this, I turned the corner and saw the line to get into Amoeba.  It wasn’t even 8 o’clock, and the line went all the way down the block, and possibly around the corner. There were hundreds of people there, and clearly many of them had been there for hours already.  I figured there was no way I was going to get any of the records I wanted, and made the sudden decision to leave there immediately and head to Freakbeat Records in the valley.

Freakbeat doesn’t open until 11 a.m., and in previous years, I hit Amoeba first at 9, then drove up to Freakbeat to pick up an extra copy of one or two important records (like the Leonard Cohen “The Future” single a few years ago), plus anything Amoeba had run out of. Freakbeat is a much smaller store, and they get fewer things in, but it was definitely my best bet at this point. Plus, it’s a totally cool store, and I like to give those guys my business.

Parking is annoying, because it’s all two-hour spots, and I was going to need at least three hours. So I parked a bit away on Moorpark, then walked down to Ventura.  There were approximately thirty people ahead of me in line. It was a little after 8:30 a.m. I had a book with me (two, actually), but ended up chatting with the couple in front of me, and the time went by pretty quickly.  One of Freakbeat’s employees came out with paper and had everyone write down their wish lists.

I wrote:

• Neal Casal: “Mountains Of The Moon” 7”
• Page McConnell: “Unsung Cities And Movies Never Made” LP
• David Bowie: “The Stars Are Out Tonight”
• David Bowie: “Drive-In Saturday Night”
• Patty Griffin: “Ohio”
• Billy Bragg: “No One Knows Nothing Anymore”
• Grateful Dead: “Rare Cuts & Oddities 1966”

He then came back around, and asked each person in line what his or her number one choice was, and he made a list of those. The guy in front of me said the Poltergeist soundtrack (a very good choice, as it’s limited to only 500 copies). He was told they got only one copy in, and it was his, so he was lucky. I gave as my first choice the Neal Casal record, as that one too is limited to only 500 copies. And I was told the same thing: the store got in only one copy, and it was mine. Hurrah!  And he continued down the line.  The idea was that no matter how far back you were in line, you would still get at least one thing that you wanted.  That’s cool, but I started to worry that someone else might choose Patty Griffin. Even if it was someone like 50 people behind me, I then wouldn’t get a copy.

When I got into the store I handed an employee my list, and then stood in the much shorter line inside. There was an old issue of Rolling Stone magazine there from February 1972, a month before I was born. The Grateful Dead were on the cover, Bob Weir in a giant fur coat. I really wanted to buy it. It was $15. The photo captures the band at an interesting moment, because this was after Keith had joined the band, but before Pigpen died. And it was after Mickey had left, but before Donna had joined. I looked at that photo for a while.

And then it was my turn. My stack was very small.  No Patty Griffin.  No Page McConnell. And only one of the two David Bowie records. No picture disc.  They did have the Grateful Dead on vinyl, but it was $35 or $36 (which means $40 with tax), so I didn’t buy it. Since I have the CD waiting for me in Boston, I can live without having that album on vinyl (okay, I still really really really want it, but I’m broke).

So here is what I bought:

• Neal Casal: “Mountains Of The Moon” 7”
• Billy Bragg: “No One Knows Nothing Anymore” 7”
• David Bowie: “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” 7”

Okay, yes, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t pick up the Page McConnell record for my brother, and I was disappointed that I couldn’t get that other Bowie record for myself. But still, I got most of what I wanted.  Most of the people who had come out of the store before me were carrying these nice black Beatles bags.  When I was handed a black bag, I assumed it was the same one.  But when I got to my car I noticed it was a Metal Blade bag. I don’t know who Metal Blade is. Oh well.

But here is what else was inside that bag (yes, there are lots of free items on Record Store Day – I’m telling you, it’s a great holiday):

• Lucinda Williams: “World Without Tears” on vinyl (two records)
• Fiona Joy Hawkins And The Blue Dream Ensemble: “Live At The Q” CD
• The Silver Ticket: Terminal Sales Vol. VI compilation CD
• It Must Be The Music compilation CD
• Rock Paper Music compilation CD
• Caroline Record Store Day compilation CD
• Selecto-O-Hits Limited Edition Sampler CD
• Record Store Day sticker sheet (stickers of album covers)
• Promotional poster for Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

That’s a lot of stuff.  Obviously, the item I’m completely thrilled about is the Lucinda Williams 2-record set. That’s fantastic. Now I just need to get my turntable fixed.

By the way, it's not too late to enjoy Record Store Day. Check out the record stores in your area. Most have special events happening throughout the day, including concert appearances.