#sax and the city band rock

[davidca]

Elevate Your Wedding Day with Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland

Your wedding day is a momentous occasion, a day filled with love, joy, and cherished memories. One key element that can truly elevate your wedding celebration is the music. It sets the tone, creates the atmosphere, and ensures that your guests have a fantastic time. If you're in search of the best wedding band in Ireland, look no further than Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland.

Why Choose Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland?

Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland is a musical powerhouse, known for their exceptional performances at weddings and special events. What sets them apart and makes them a top choice for couples looking to create an unforgettable wedding day? Here are a few compelling reasons:

1. Musical Versatility: Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland boasts a wide-ranging repertoire that can cater to a variety of musical tastes. Whether you're into classic hits, modern pop, or timeless jazz standards, they've got you covered.

2. Talented Musicians: The band is composed of highly skilled and talented musicians who are passionate about what they do. Their dedication to their craft shines through in every note they play.

3. Saxophone Magic: As their name suggests, they feature a saxophonist whose melodic tunes can add a touch of elegance and sophistication to your special day. The saxophone's soulful and smooth sound creates an unforgettable atmosphere.

4. Interactive Performances: Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland doesn't just play music; they engage with your guests and ensure everyone is on the dance floor, having a great time. Their interactive performances are a highlight that your guests will remember for years to come.

5. Professionalism: From the first inquiry to the final note of the night, you can expect professionalism and top-notch service from Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland. They work closely with you to tailor their performance to your preferences, ensuring that your vision for your wedding day is realized.

Discover More on Their YouTube Channel

If you're intrigued and want to see Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland in action, their YouTube channel is the place to go. There, you'll find a treasure trove of videos showcasing their incredible performances at various weddings and events. These videos offer a glimpse of the energy and magic they can bring to your wedding day.

Watching their YouTube videos allows you to:

- See Their Talent: Experience the band's exceptional talent and musical prowess.

- Feel the Atmosphere: Get a sense of the vibrant and celebratory atmosphere they create at weddings.

- Gather Ideas: You might even get inspired with ideas for your own wedding from their performances.

In the digital age, YouTube has become a valuable resource for couples planning their weddings. It offers a convenient way to preview wedding bands and other vendors before making a decision. Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland's YouTube channel provides the opportunity to do just that.

Your wedding day should be a reflection of your love story and your unique style. The music plays a crucial role in making that vision a reality. With Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland, you're not just booking a band; you're securing a key ingredient for an unforgettable, music-filled celebration.

So, if you're on the quest to find the best wedding band in Ireland, make sure to check out Sax and the City Wedding Band Ireland's YouTube channel. There, you'll witness firsthand the magic they can bring to your special day, ensuring that your wedding is a harmonious symphony of love and joy.

[dustedmagazine]

Vague Plot — Crying in 9 (Island House)

Vague Plot’s jams shimmer like highways melting in the heat, running straight on through Kansas or Nebraska until they disappear in the undecipherable distance. Which is to say, they go on for while, repeating the same short grooves ad infinitum, with modest changes, until the measures blow by like mile markers and the journey transcends itself.

“Moto” which opens, metes out the time in sharp, strummed intervals, a little syncopation marking irregular edges in the tick-tocky flow. And within that context, a sax can wail, a guitar can howl, a lick can bloom and fade and collapse in distortion. There’s order so that disorder can grow, a white picket fence around wild tangles of vegetation.

Vague Plot is made up of New York City avant-indie regulars, veterans of other bands, who got together to make driving, moving, long-form instrumental music a la Can and Popul Vuh during the pandemic. The one you’d probably pick out of a line-up first is Zachary Cale, here one of two guitarists, alongside Uriah Theriaultof Woodsy Pride. Phil Jacob of Psychic Lines plays the sax sometimes and a keyboard otherwise, while Ben Copperhead plays bass and John Studer drums.

The music grows contemplative in blues-tinged “Haunted Head” before spinning off into psychotropic grooves, like some weird mesh of Loren Connors and Om. It attains purity in the slow-evolving tones of closer “Windswept” which has a bit of Kluster in its crystalline lucidity.

You might think, with Cale involved, that there’s be a rustic rocker thread in Vague Plot’s aesthetic, a little Neil Young crashing through the motorisms. There mostly isn’t, sorry to disappoint, except oddly enough, on the tape’s best cut, “Cyclic.” Here Jacob’s sax wanders in and around a heavy groove that’s ever so slightly shaded with country rock tones. It’s a puzzle palace, a metronomic experiment in extended pulse, but with a ragged heart, and it’s the wildest and most excellent part of an excellent little album. Fuck the cowbell. Let’s have more guitar.

Jennifer Kelly    

[daggerzine]

Class- A Healthy Alternative (Feel It Records)

Hot damn! I just saw Class less than a week ago at Gonerfest in Memphis and they blew my ears out in the best way possible. Four fairly unassuming guys from Tucson, Arizona who've been put on this planet to rock. I had heard a handful of cuts before this album, but I hadn’t really done a proper deep dive into the band. This past week, after Goner, I dove into their previous LP and now comes this new one.

The songs come rapid fire and whoever it was that described them as "Wire meets an Oi! band" was on the mark. 10 songs in 25 minutes and they barely come up for air.

The first three cuts, "Scared to Care," "Burnout City,"' and "Be-Bop with the Rats" (some wild sax on that one) will definitely serve as an appetizer for the rest of the album. 

Seriously, if you haven’t given these guys a listen yet, and you’ve read this far, please do so. I know you've got some Class somewhere in there.

https://nowthatsclass.bandcamp.com/

[rjwhite]

That's the Day I Throw my Drugs Away

The Morphine album Cure for Pain came out 30 years ago, on September 14, 1993. A few years back, I was on this music review mailing list, where each member had to take a turn writing about an album of great importance to them. This was mine.

Ever since I was a kid, cities always held a fascination for me. I was not well-traveled, growing up in the middle of Michigan. The idea of being in some cosmopolitan, dense, East Coast metropolis was amazing to me, yet it took until well into college to even head out there, for a college television conference in Providence in 1996. We made the drive from Michigan State University, cut across Canada in the dead of night to spend a day in Boston, then head down to Providence in rush hour traffic. Checked into the hotel and one of the people in our group asked who was playing in town. Morphine at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel. A friend said we absolutely had to go, as the band was amazing. I’d never heard of them, but went along because, hey, a concert in an actual, real city and everything, you know?

A loud club with cheap beer. Lots of people crowded in. The band came on. It was one of those weird things you always remember. These guys were on stage- not young, one of them playing a bass with only two strings? The one guy playing two saxes at once? The lead singer going into some beat poetry? What was this? I’d never seen or heard anything like it. My mind exploded. The band, the crowd, everything was in sync. Leaving the club, being downtown in an old, established city- the whole weekend of experiencing something I’d built up for so long … it just cemented that I needed to be in a place like that. I needed to live somewhere with history, vitality.

We got back to East Lansing and one of the first things I did that week was go to Flat, Black and Circular (still one of the best record shops I’ve ever been lucky enough to shop) and pick up Cure for Pain. It wasn’t even the album they were touring for (Like Swimming). I think Cure for Pain was the first one I saw in the rack? But it grabbed me and entranced me and hooked me for life. I listened and listened and listened. This incredible, smooth, wonderful mix of I don’t know what- jazz? Rock? Stories of cheating and sleaziness and sadness and loss and regret?

It’s just a wonderful thing to just discover a band you had no idea existed and instantly be taken with them. To feel that connection you never knew was there and somehow know you’ll be listening to them for a good, long while. It’s almost like falling in love with someone, you know?

I just always associate the album with that time and it’s all smashed together in my head, making that absolutely certain decision that, someway, somehow, I was going to live on the East Coast, in an honest-to-god city where I could go to places like Lupo’s and see bands like Morphine for the first time.

Now, I live in Philadelphia and never go to shows!

Though the odd, strange miracle of the internet, I’m able to hear a bootleg of that very night, knowing that 21-year-old RJ is in that crowd somewhere, just happy and dumbfounded by what he is hearing and utterly enjoying being in that moment.

I don’t know if I can hear myself in there, though. That might be too strange, like thinking of the dead people in the repeated laugh tracks of old sitcoms.

But, the record! Just a pleasure to listen to, front to back.

“Dawna” and “Buena” kicking it off… “I’m Free Now” as a sad, incredible post-breakup song where you feel like that terrible jerk who’s made a bad mistake (I'm free now to direct a movie/Sing a song or write a book about yours truly/How I'm so interesting I'm so great I'm really just a fuck-up/And It's such a waste to burn down these walls around me)... That delicate mandolin of “In Spite of Me”... The barrelling train of “Mary Won’t You Call My Name”... That jazzy, smoky rambling of “Let’s Take a Trip Together”... “Thursday” is almost a short film, with the wenching title track slamming you right after… all of it...

July 3 will mark the anniversary of Morphine frontman Mark Sandman’s death from a heart attack in the midst of a 1999 concert in Europe. If you could throw this (or anything from their wonderful catalog, really) on, I think that would be nice.

Anyway, that's why I love this 30-year-old record and this band. Listen to it wherever you can, it's a hell of a beautiful thing.

[4trackcassette]

If someone wanted to get into Springsteen but didn't really know where to start, what would you recommend?

omg very honored you came to me haha. it really depends on what you're into/what you're looking for!!!!!!! i actually have made an intro Bruce playlist for one of my friends so if ur interested in that here it is (it's a few years old so doesn't have anything super recent but like. Still good)!! but i can't help giving some commentary so I'll split this into a couple of sections for ya

Hits!

"dancing in the dark" - it's Bruce's biggest hit for a reason! great lyrics, danceable, and overall a great rock song. born in the USA is just a massive album overall and this is one of the cuts that propels it.

"born to run" - this is a super fun song to drive to. also to run to. i think it captures some of those key Bruce-y elements - the driving current, piano and sax, the urgency in his voice, the desire to get out. From born to run which was his breakout album, it really encapsulates a lot of what people love about him.

"I'm on fire" - off born in the USA, this is a song that screams DESIRE to me. There's lovely space to this song. I love the music video as well. this live version also kills me. I could probably quote the speech he gives at the beginning from how many times I've listened. It's haunting.

"tougher than the rest" - this is one of my fav Bruce love songs. tunnel of love is a little more of a mature album, and this song is just representative of his growing sound, as well as a wonderful, spacey, love song. it also has a lovely music video... i have so many thoughts always

"do I love you (indeed I do)" - Okay Bruce didn't make this one a hit (its a motown song by frank Wilson) but it's a banger off his most recent cover album and it's just full of joy! i really love the sound and he really uses his older voice well and you can tell he's having fun!

Full Albums

imo he basically doesn't miss with a full album 1975-87. It's spottier from then on out, depending on your preferences, but all his live stuff is pretty stellar.

born in the usa (1984) - this is the CLASSIC bruce album (and his most popular). definitely a great album to drive to. accessible and pop! it's not my personal favorite but it's a great album and a great place to start. Nebraska (1982) was largely written at the same time and is like a lot sparser but also stellar songwriting. I wouldn't recommend listening to it first. "Atlantic city" is a great cut, and "Nebraska" is one of my fav songs (esp this live version)

darkness on the edge of town (1978) - this is probably my most listened to full album. it's a perfect balance of Bruce maturing as an artist but also bringing just great energy to his work. i really like "badlands" "candy's room" and the title track.

1979 no nukes concert (2021) - are we talking Bruce if we're not talking live music? This is a great encapsulation of his live sound and energy, including some real staples like "Jungleland." It's also a neat hour and a half so more accessible than some of his other live releases. My favorites are "badlands" "the river" and "stay (ft Jackson Browne)"

Covers!

Lucy Dacus's "Dancing in the Dark" - LOVELY voice. An interesting take on the song that doesn't lose the energy!

Patti Smith's "Because the Night" - she owns this. It's her song now. Her voice is just great in it, and what a great rock song!

Pet Shop Boy's "The Last to Die" - this one is a little funny bc PSB are a synthpop band. But I really like their cover. It's a really neat electronic rework!

Johnny Cash's "Johnny 99" - this is a country cover and its really lovely. A very nice reinterpretation, and Cash's voice is just remarkable.

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Bisexual!Ashton Masterlist

7 Minutes (More Like Hours) In Heaven (ao3) - drummer_boy Luke/Ashton T, 3k

Summary: “It’s just a prank. They’ll open the door soon enough.” Luke was about to run out of patience. He’s waited 2 hours already, and he wasn’t sure if he could endure any longer in the dark, small closet, let alone with somebody else crammed in there.

They didn’t open the door. Not until the next morning, when 7 minutes had become 7 hours in heaven.

Or, Luke falls in love with a boy he can’t even see.

Boys/Boys/Girls (ao3) - doplicdrone Luke/Ashton N/R, 2k

Summary: Ashton is bisexual and Luke isn't getting it.

I'll let you have it (ao3) - tinyglitterrose Luke/Ashton M, 3k

Summary: “I don’t want to pressure you, Lukey”, the drummer mumbled, looking up at him almost shyly now, “But if you want it, I’ll let you have it.”

basically Luke is horny and Ashton offers to let him take it out on him.

'I wasn't expecting that' (ao3) - Forbiddenmichael Calum/Ashton G, 10k

Summary: On his sixteenth birthday, Ashton gets his soul mate tattoo, and it's everything he hoped for. Even is his soul mate does sound a little bit sarcastic and snarky. A few months later, on the other side of Australia, Calum woke up on his sixteenth birthday with his soul mate tattoo. And needless to say, it's everything he hoped it wasn't. 'What colour even are your eyes?' 'Wait, you’re a boy? You’re meant to be a girl.’

or when Calum and Ashton have waited for there soul mate tattoos for so long and what they get isn't what either of them expected. they aren't what each other expected either...

Maybe This Time (two wrongs make it right) (ao3) - gravityinglass Luke/Ashton, past Ashton/Bryana M, 33k

Summary: Five years ago, Ashton Irwin vanished from 5 Seconds of Summer's radar without a trace. After five years and a string of unsuccessful drummers, Luke suggests that they track down Ashton and get him to give them another shot. Luke expected Ashton to put up a struggle. The last thing Luke expected? Ashton with twin children.

It'll take awhile to rebuild what they once had, but that's a challenge Luke--and Ashton--are willing to take.

My Respite From Winter (ao3) - spacepixie Luke/Ashton, Michael/Calum T, 4k

Summary: Luke spills Ashton's drink on him, Calum has a party-Angst and Fluff ensue. *I don't own any characters/lyrics used in this work*

Renaming 5 Seconds of summer to Gay-Punk-gay-Rock-gay (ao3) - orphan_account OT4 T, 1k

Summary: Cal: I need new friends cuz mine ones are so gay their brains turned to superwholock fandom, or some other gay shit.

Luke: you said yourself you’d enjoy getting down on your knees infront of Jack.

Ash: I bet Alex would join immediately.

Cal: All time low are shittiest band ever

running from the daylight (ao3) - pnkrckclffrd Michael/Calum, Luke/Ashton M, 5k (WIP)

Summary: before we started it was over

The Drum Major's Always Right (ao3) - ThtGrnGntlmn Luke/Ashton, Michael/Calum T, 10k (WIP)

Summary: Little sophomore Luke has his second band camp, but it's his first being a section leader. He's utterly terrified. Until he catches his eye on a new student in percussion who is seriously gorgeous. Too bad he's a senior.

OR the one where Luke is hella into Ash and drum-major-Calum is done with alto-sax-Michael's shit but there is an unrelenting mutual crush between them that's not so subtle.

when i think of summer, i think of you (ao3) - mimi_reads Luke/Ashton, Michael/Calum T, 2k

Summary: Heat settles over the city and with summer come the thoughts of Luke.

[burlveneer-music]

Elite Terrorism Modulus - s/t LP - noise rock from Dayton, Ohio, out today from Orange Milk Records

There is something about tiny rust belt cities that is charming and mythical and Dayton, Ohio is no exception. Home to some of the best Funk music ever made, Zapp, Ohio Players, and a 90’s renaissance of indie rock, most notably Guided By Voices, Brainiac, Kim and Kelly Deal, with a strong harsh noise scene - Being, Developer, Yes, Collapse, Dan Rizer etc. Dayton is a fertile place for weird and fun music. There are many ways to embrace and channel this spirit. Elite Terrorism Modulus’s first LP lives in this musical geist of its hometown. The band made this record soundtracking a long mythology where buildings are gods and dilapidated malls are places of worship. A sincere subversion in music, they are a jam band influenced by Don DeLillo, private press gospel LPs, Spring Breakers, Naqoyqatsi, Five Starcle Men, Sonny Sharrock and Chrome. The self-titled record possesses the fervor of this music community, endearingly weird, really energetic, and very midwestern. The record spans from free jazz, hardcore, noise, and at times melding into absolutely absurd lo-fi strangeness. It's a great record made in a place that is considered obsolete by many, a demonstration that compelling art is thriving in the flyover states. Drums - Griffin Girard Bass - Danny Berg Vocal, Alto Sax, Programming - Fred Grof Guitar - Chance Berberich Electronics, Cut-up Noise - Matthew "(Property) Developer" Reis Produced by Smiffmaff & The Salesmen Art and layout by Seth Graham

[barricadebabe]

A Night In Fischer Hall - Frankenmuth

Intro

This week I am jumping ahead a little bit to discuss/showcase the first ever show I had a part in promoting, organizing, managing and being a part of. On December 30, 2022 one of my close friends Peyton and I put on a four band lineup at Fischer Hall in Frankenmuth Michigan. This came to be known as A Night in Fischer Hall.

This show took months of planning & organizing and included a lot of really cool features and people. It included the bands Lyons Lane, The Euclid Motel, Loud Thoughts and V*A*S*E. All bands being east side Michigan local.

The Show

Opening the show was the band Lyons Lane from Detroit. Lyons Lane is made up of Mark Leo lead singer, Thomas Thompson bassist and Nathan Gonzales lead guitar. The band was joined by Ramone Cerda on drums and Jarrett Koral on sax. This was the first show Lyons Lane performed together after rebranding. Lyons Lane definitely knows how to put on a performance, gathering influence and sound from 60s rock and roll. I love hearing this type of sound merged with modern day rock, I know I am not the only one who is a fan of this band and what they are continuing to radiate into the air.

Following Lyons Lane was local Bay City band The Euclid Motel. The Euclid Motel is made up of five band members, guitarist & vocalist Connor James, lead guitarist Darrian Loehne, bassist Ryan Seifferly, drummer Nathan Seifferly and keyboardist Tim Cary. The psychedelic rock band added the perfect amount of energy needed to help tie all these fantastic bands together. I know that many of the attendees had never heard of this band before this night and everyone I received feedback from talked about how much they loved their sound, energy and the band members. Drummer Nathan Seifferely talked about how great the night was “if anything, it was the most love i’ve ever felt in a full room. Just seemed like everyone was there for the right reason and that doesn’t happen all the time.” Being able to see what Nathan described first hand both from a fans perspective and behind the scenes, I think he perfectly put into words how the energy felt throughout the course of the night.

Local band Loud Thoughts from Saginaw followed The Euclid Motel’s performance. Loud Thoughts has played many different venues in Frankenmuth, most of the band members originally being from the small town. The band is made of close friends & family, Clayton Singer lead vocalist, Chase Singer lead guitarist, Cade Lambert bassist and David Hansen drummer. Fischer Hall is a venue the band has played before but not at this high level of intensity, love and this many eager attendees.

I got the chance to interview Loud Thoughts before they took the stage, “We are finally sold out at Fischer Hall. We have been here so many times, almost too many times and just now with the help of these people it's been done.” One of the things the band is most excited for this next year is to write and record new music. “I feel like one of the things we have been focusing on is writing a lot of new music and so we have like a couple new songs that will be happening tonight. We have more that we have cooking up right now” said David Hansen. Minutes later David’s words came to life, Loud Thoughts definitely got the crowd going. Clapping, singing, dancing and enjoying all songs old & new. Loud Thoughts is currently working on raising money to help fund the recording of their new album. (Gofundme Link at the bottom of this article or can be reached at the link in my bio).

To wrap up the night the band V*A*S*E took the stage to celebrate and play some of their new songs from their latest EP release. To put into a few short words, V*A*S*E closing out the night was definitely the cherry on top. The band V*A*S*E is joined by lead vocalist Christian Thibodeau, guitarists Drew Kussmal & J.T. Jasinski and bassist Derian Parsons. The band closed out the night with a jumping, sweat dripping, head shaking take on (ICan’t Get No) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones. While members of the crowd joined on stage with the band and closed the night jumping, dancing and singing to the Stones. (Videos on my Instagram @barricadebabe)

Ascertainable Appearances

Peyton and I originally had a vision when planning and organizing this event, I think it went almost perfectly to plan! We were able to have two very cool vendors come out and support the event. This included AwYeah Records and Currency Clothing Company both local to the area. AwYeah Records is a Record company that also hosts a weekly podcast. This podcast was able to come in and record live during the course of the show. Peyton and I were able to speak on this podcast along with many of the concert attendees. Currency Clothing Company also had a table at the show where they were selling all types of Merch.

We also offered concert goers the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets. These raffle tickets could be purchased for four different types of raffle baskets we strategically put together to feature each of the bands. While also including a lot of really cool things in each basket. I personally custom painted four different vinyls for each of the bands as well as two A Night in Fischer Hall vinyls. Each of the baskets contained these custom vinyls, donated records from AwYeah Records, custom A Night in Fischer Hall totes & shot glasses (made by Peyton & I’s good friend Jill), custom made band cups and additional goodies. Even the bands donated merch items such as picks. T-shirts, drum heads and CDs to each of their baskets.

Finality

Words can’t describe how well each and every one of these bands performed this night. Fischer Hall holds up to 250+ people standing room, the place was packed with people of all ages. All of these bands were so deserving of the night they had and collectively everyone came together for a great night of love and music. As of right now we have been speaking of hosting another Night in Fischer Hall. Until next time, see you at the barricade!

[saint-soap]

hi im the girl that obsessively keeps up with new music releases. lemme drop some 2024 stuff

cakes da killa makes insanely hype dance-rap influenced by ballroom & runway music, constantly calls attention to house's origin as black music. this dude is Gay and this music is Gay and it bops unreasonably hard. his new album Black Sheep owns

nia archives is a UK artist blending pop & breakbeat, sorta like if pinkpantheress went harder on both the pop elements and the breakbeat elements. catchy as hell & very straightforward

1010benja is a kansas city weirdo whos music is rap & r&b influenced but takes a much stranger angle at it, my partner described him as "singing like an anime protagonist" and i do get it. reminds me of hearing frank ocean for the first time, it sounds expensive and well put together but also really out there. also his voice kinda sounds like justin timberlake

she popped off earlier this year so idk if she counts as obscure anymore but rachel chinouriri just put out her debut album and it's absolutely killer guitar pop that throws it back to uk stuff from the 2000s

lustsickpuppy is a new york artist who straddles lines like industrial & breakbeat & hard electronic & rap & hardcore, their stuff isnt for the faint of heart but if you love to go stupid & crazy to stuff like machine girl or black dresses or death grips or ministry then you will dig on this for sure. they shouted "dont forget to always kill your rapists" when i saw them live

baltimore synth-funk wizard dude nourished by time just put out a new EP on xl recordings, synth funk has sounded the same for so long that its super cool to hear somebody like them pushing the genre forward in DIY ways. this is dance for ur soul

baby rose is an r&b/soul singer with the smokiest, bluesiest, prettiest voice, it's so unique in the current landscape. the instrumentals for this EP were done by jazz group BADBADNOTGOOD so if you want pretty singing over lush sax and piano this is where to get that

uk rapper john glacier is hit or miss for me but her whispery, ice-cold style is really identifiable and a ton of people i know love her. this new EP is her best work yet imo, lots of very different instrumentals on here

brittany howard, formerly of southern rock band alabama shakes, has her second solo album out and its AMAZING i cant rec this enough. crazy mix of soul & psychedelic rock

like black people are present in every single fucking genre and scene and popularized and straight up created several but people are so fucking hell bent on finding every possible excuse to not engage with their music because its easier than trying to confront their own racism. like okay well if its truly just a disinterest in most rap music then surely you listen to black artists in other genres right? who am i fucking kidding. of course you dont.

[thebowerypresents]

Sturgill Simpson Dazzles over Three Hours on Saturday Night at Forest Hills Stadium

Sturgill Simpson – Forest Hills Stadium – October 19, 2024

Sturgill’s back. And with a vengeance. “Sturgill,” as in Simpson, the what-do-we-call-this-progressive-country (?) singer-songwriter-guitar man with an aces collection of music that refuses to let itself be pinned down, from traditional honky-tonk and outlaw sounds to sprightly bluegrass to synth-y psychedelic rock to tender folk. 

“Back,” as in welcome: Simpson on Saturday played his first proper headlining show in New York City since 2019, back on the road at long last after a 2021 vocal cord hemorrhage made some observers wonder if he’d ever regain full performance strength. 

“Vengeance,” as in pow-pow-pow: Like other shows of this gloriously rambling, full-tilt tour, Sturgill Simpson went long and heavy, roaming all over his own catalog and a boatload of covers over a protracted set that lasted three unbroken hours at Forest Hills Stadium. It felt full, not composed or scripted. The stage itself was lit more like a club than a stadium bowl, and the chugging and-piece band was the attraction, dialing in the music. 

They did a little or a lot of everything, from the outlaw-leaning country tunes of the older days (“Railroad of Sin”) to comfortable saloon gallops (“Long White Line”), elegant and stately weepers (“Juanita”) and crunchy rockers heavy on the choogle (“Some Days,” “It Ain’t All Flowers,” “Life of Sin,” “Call to Arms”). There was also plenty from Simpson’s new album, Passage du Desir, and his recent Johnny Blue Skies persona, including the gorgeously tender “Mint Tea,” easy-grooving “Scooter Blues” and starry-eyed “Jupiter’s Faerie,” an ethereal, folk-fable kind of tune that’s among his more cosmic-sounding stuff.

This version of Simpson’s band lands somewhere in balance of how he's previously structured his touring bands, which have been as large as seven members and as slim as four, with Simpson for a time handling all the guitar workload himself. But here, he had alongside the amazing Laur Joamets on lead guitar and steel, heavy on the string pyrotechnics but also leaving plenty of room for Simpson himself to scorch (taking lead in spots like “One for the Road”). 

Everyone in the band was a standout, in fact — Simpson’s longtime rhythm corps of bassist Kevin Black and drummer Miles Miller had it all locked in, while newer Simpson band addition (former Deer Tick keyboardist) Robbie Crowell had full and spicy keyboards, also occasionally playing sax. 

The cover tunes similarly ranged — Procol Harum, the Allman Brothers, Prince — and were at their best when they emerged from segues out of sprawling, unhurried jams on Simpson’s own material. Maybe best of all was a sequence featuring “A Good Look,” which drove hard, like a countrified version of pre-pop Fleetwood Mac, and then saw the band careen from its 10-minute rendering right into the Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” producing a guitar battle so fierce everyone onstage was rocking out as hard as the crowd. 

This show was full of those moments. That they came chained together and rolled right from one to the next, vs. in a more composed pattern, felt precisely the point. —Chad Berndtson | @Cberndtson

(Sturgill Simpson plays Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va., on 11/15.)

(Sturgill Simpson plays the Anthem in Washington, D.C., on 11/21.)

Photos courtesy of Jenna Murray | @jennamurray

[parkerbombshell]

Cobwebs And Strange Radio Show #378

Cobwebs And Strange Radio Show  Mondays 12 noon EST , 5pm BST , 9am PDT Archival Shows: bombshellradiopodcasts.com COBWEBS AND STRANGE #378 - Salford Jets - Who You Lookin’ At? (Single, 1980) - The Boomtown Rats - Lookin’ After No. 1 (The Boomtown Rats, 1977) - Primal Scream - Ready To Go Home (Terry Farley & Wade Teo Remix) (single, 2024)* - The Monkees - Porpoise Song (Head, 1968) - Keeley - Forever Froze (Beautiful Mysterious, 2024)* keeleyband.bandcamp.com - The Stone Roses - Waterfall (The Stone Roses, 1989) - Gary Numan - Down In The Park (with The Skaparis Orchestra) (When The Sky Came Down: Live at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 2019) - The Passage - XOYO (Degenerates, 1982) - Erasure - Dream Like State (24 Hour Technicolour Mix) (Singles: EBX 3, 2001) - The Rude Awakening - Plastic Friend (single, 2024)* - Propaganda - p: Machinery (A Secret Wish, 1985) - Swansea Sound - Toxic Energy (single, 2024)* swanseasound.bandcamp.com - Chumbawamba - More Whitewashing (Pictures Of Starving Children Sell Records: Starvation, Charity And Rock & Roll - Lies & Traditions, 1986) - The Zeroes - Sophisticated (The City of Dreams, 2019) - Fea - Feminazi (Fea, 2016) - Go Betty Go - You Want It All (Nothing Is More, 2005) - The Plugz - A Loss - A Gain (Electrify Me, 1979) - Virgins - g l i s s (single, 2024)* bandofvirgins.bandcamp.com - Rudy De Anda - Take Me For A Little While (single, 2024)* rudydeanda.bandcamp.com - The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (2023 Mix) (Magical Mystery Tour, 1967) - Xposed 4Heads - Tricked Out Tailspin (Internal Combustion, 2024) xposed4heads.bandcamp.com - Fleur East - Sax (Love, Sax and Flashbacks, 2015) - Inca Babies - Spacewalk (Ghost Mechanic Nine, 2024)* incababies1.bandcamp.com - Invisible Head Band - Poppin’ Spit (single, 2024)* lostentakills.bandcamp.com - Third House - Inside Outside (Inside Outside EP, 2024)* thirdhouse.bandcamp.com - The Ron Grainer Orchestra - The Prisoner (Main Title Theme) (Original Television Soundtrack, 1967) - Joe Geni - Cities Where The Sky Subsides (Cities Built Upon Cities, 2024)* joegeni.bandcamp.com - Pink Floyd - Crumbling Land (Zabriskie Point (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), 1970) - All Seeing Dolls - That's Amazing Grace (single, 2024)* - Zoe Ko - DIRT(ier) (single, 2024)* - bbno$ - two (single, 2024)* - Monsieur - Turn On Da Lite (1, 2024)* - Stevie Wonder - I Wish (Songs In The Key Of Life, 1976) - The Hard Quartet - Hey (The Hard Quartet, 2024)* thehardquartet.bandcamp.com - The All Night Workers - Why Don't You Smile Now (Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65, 2024)* - The Calamatix - Still Rudy (The Calamatix, 2024)* - DoM - Anarchy in the UK (ska version) (SEX PISTOLS vs DUBMATIX) (unreleased, 2024)* - Librarians With Hickeys - No More Goodbyes (single, 2024)* bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com - Abstract Crimewave - The Longest Night (The Longest Night, 2024)* abstractcrimewave.bandcamp.com - Cinéma Lumière - Wishing It Was Sunday (Wishing It Was Sunday, 2024)* cinemalumiereph.bandcamp.com - JJ72 - October Swimmer (JJ72, debut album 2000) - Juliet McLean - We Girls (The Dance EP, 2016) - The Errant Hair - A would be king (single, 2024)* theerranthair.bandcamp.com - Kris Kristofferson - Me And Bobbie McGee (Kristofferson, 1970) - Brotherhood Of Man - Oh Boy (The Mood I'm In) (Oh Boy!, 1977) - Joaquin Phoenix - True Love Will Find You In The End (Joker: Folie à Deux, 2024)* Read the full article

[dustedmagazine]

Bill Callahan — Resuscitate! (Drag City)

Photo by Patrick Masterson

One could argue a bit of malleability, some openness to interpretation, is a hallmark of any decent song, but Bill Callahan’s songs are more often than not built with loose borders, pockets to be filled with riffing and vamping, space to stretch the legs. While he undeniably releases records of songs — YTI⅃AƎЯ, the album in support of which he was touring for Resuscitate!, was his eighth under his own name and something like his 19th if you count the Smog works — there’s a degree to which they bleed around the edges, unfurling in ways that make you forget where you started and with only a vague awareness that it will eventually end.

Such unfurlings may be less comforting or familiar for the indie-rock audiences from whence Callahan came, but they’re practically de rigueur among jazz and jam band audiences — which, curiously, is whom Resuscitate! seems to propitiate over the course of its 10-track, hour-and-a-quarter runtime. Where Callahan’s records hint at or explore with restraint such reaches, in person, they’re allowed to bloom in full. Songs naturally mutate once they've been laid to tape, Callahan says in the liner notes, but these songs were evolving with a Bruce Banner-esque ferocity and needed to be documented.

It’s hard to imagine a better venue for such documentation than Chicago’s Thalia Hall, a stately former opera house dating from 1892 in the Pilsen neighborhood with excellent acoustics regardless of where you stand or what you’re watching. It’s also hard to imagine a better group of backing players, with veteran Chicago concern Natural Information Society’s Joshua Abrams and Lisa Alvarado and tenor sax man about town Dustin Laurenzi, plus stalwart Austinite guitarist Matt Kinsey, Dirty Three drummer Jim White and Congolese singer-songwriter Pascal Kerong’A (who opened for him on the night in question) all playing their part during the course of the March 2023 midtour set. The results are illuminating.

A word about the tracklist. In an interview for The New Yorker a couple of years ago, Callahan told Amanda Petrusich he has a particular talent for sequencing (“It’s the only thing to do with making music that I think I’m good at,” he laughed), so he presumably gave great consideration to what ultimately got released — and what didn’t. That’s also illuminating: Left out of Resuscitate!’s final tracklist is “Cowboy” (Gold Record), “Bowevil” and “Drainface” (YTI⅃AƎЯ), “Too Many Birds” (Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle) and “In the Pines” (A River Ain’t Too Much to Love). Callahan’s set may have erred on the heavy side of recent material (as much of this tour did), but he was even-handed in what he cut and ruthless in how he ordered what was left; only opener “First Bird” is left untouched in its original place.

He would’ve been fine leaving the sequence as he played it, frankly, but Resuscitate! sharpens Callahan’s considerate cowboy demeanor even whilst songs expand in length and narrative moments stretch out in relatively small spaces, extending into stories that meander, convoluted and beautiful as any bedtime story.

You could see why this would appeal to certain festival folk, and the mood on the ground that night was very much akin to one you’d find at an appreciative Oslo show or a late-hour Bonnaroo set despite a healthy heaping of reverent Callahan faithful. The whoops and hollers are there in the margins of or breaths between as songs unfold like loose unbuttonings, ebullient exclamation marks left in the wake of, say, Laurenzi tearing it up during the nearly 13-minute “Coyotes” or occasionally breaking through the mix as “Naked Souls” hits its groove. Such flavor is endemic to live albums, but it’s interesting how much Callahan has tried to collar it despite the music’s open-world expansiveness. Not that he was ever much one for it, but there’s also minimal banter; the focus remains squarely on the songs’ real-time evolution.

Smog standby “Keep Some Steady Friends Around” might be the most indicative track for where Bill Callahan was at during this snapshot in time. It’s as domestic as its newer setlist compatriots — and heavier in a way, as though Callahan has deeply observed over the decades what it means to have steady friends around, and what it means to build a gate. What Resuscitate! reflects is where that gate lies: Forever the folk troubadour but now with a more stable home life to lean on, Callahan can afford himself the luxury of opening up that gate and letting more of himself out — though what he lets in remains the provenance of his closest confidants and spiritual tribe. Even at his most open, the gate remains a gate.

Patrick Masterson and Margaret Welsh

[altroottv]

'Hamp's Hump' - Jimmy Vivino from The Extended Play Sessions on Vimeo.

The Extended Play Sessions - March 9, 2024

Jimmy Vivino and Friends perform the song "Hamp's Hump" on The Extended Play Sessions. Jimmy Vivino (aka Jimmy V) has always considered himself “a blues man with a job”. Although best known for serving 26 years as Conan O’Brien’s musical director, guitarist and bandleader, his experience in the music business predates that by 20 plus years. Jimmy V has produced, lead bands and recorded with a countless number rock and roll and blues artists for five decades including the likes of Hubert Sumlin, Warren Haynes, Bob Weir, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Johnnie Johnson, Son Seals, Shemekia Copeland, Levon Helm, Phoebe Snow, Dion, Laura Nyro, Bob Margolin, Lowell Fulson, John Sebastian, Joe Louis Walker and Al Kooper to name a few.

The Band: Jimmy Vivino - guitar, vocals, Hammond Organ Jesse Williams - bass Jerry Vivino - tenor sax, vocals, soprano sax, flute Mark Texeira - drums

Guests Tyler Morris - guitar on 'Feelin' Good' Dwayne Haggins - vocals on 'Inner City Blues'

Production Staff Maribeth Arena - Camera 2 Bill Hurley - Boom Camera John McBreen - Boom Camera Joanne Craig - Camera 3 H Nat Stevens - Cam 1 Remote Connor Quigley - Sound Engineer, Livestream Producer Eric Nordstrom - Front Of House Photographer - Dan Busler Connor Quigley - Post Audio Mix Engineer

The Fallout Shelter is an all ages 100-seat performance venue and state-of-the-art broadcast and recording studio, offering one of the most unique live music experiences in New England. Located in Norwood, MA, just 15 miles from Boston, The Fallout Shelter is run under the auspices of the Grass Roots Cultural and Performing Arts Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and advocating for traditional American Roots music.

Youtube: youtube.com/@thefalloutshelternorwood Website: extendedplaysessions.com Facebook: facebook.com/epsfalloutshelter Instagram: instagram.com/thefalloutshelternorwood

[chrisryanspeaks]

Crumb Unveils New Single “The Bug” and Announces North American Tour!

Following last month's announcement of their new album AMAMA, Crumb has unveiled a fresh preview with the single "The Bug." Along with the new track, the band has released an engaging and playful music video directed by Haoyan of America. Additionally, Crumb has announced a headline North American tour starting in mid-July. The tour will cover 30 cities, including stops in Chicago, Austin, Boston, Los Angeles, and a hometown concert in Brooklyn. L’Rain, Vagabon, and Discovery Zone will join Crumb on select dates. The full tour schedule is available below, with tickets going on sale this Friday, April 26th, at 10 AM local time. Discussing the new single, Lila Ramani of Crumb explains: "‘The Bug’ has been part of our musical journey since the early days, before the Jinx era. It started in a motel in Nebraska where I woke up covered in bed bug bites. Unable to sleep, I roamed the motel humming what would eventually form the outro of the song. As we recorded it years later, it gained a deeper, more tender meaning—the 'bug' isn't just an insect; it can be a friend, a lover, or a persistent late-night thought." Check out “The Bug” below: AMAMA represents Crumb’s most carefree and heartfelt work to date, mixing poetic abstraction with introspective honesty and inventive soundscapes. The album showcases Crumb in a dynamic and lively mode, incorporating elements like glitchy vocals, cell phone recordings, nautical sounds, sax mouthpiece solos, distorted drum samples, and piano strings muted with Silly Putty. Set for release on May 17th through Crumb Records, the album includes the title track "AMAMA," a vibrant homage to Lila Ramani's grandmother. This track is further enhanced by a music video directed by Abraham El-Makawy, which blends Lila’s archival home footage with fan-submitted artwork, creating a poignant mosaic of nostalgia. With its blend of psychedelia, pop, jazz, and rock, AMAMA further cements Crumb's distinctive musical identity. The album, produced in Los Angeles with Johnscott Sanford and Jonathan Rado, reflects on themes of stability, connection, and clarity amidst a nomadic life. In 2023, Crumb released the single “Le Temple Volant” with Melody’s Echo Chamber, earning praise from Pitchfork, The FADER, Stereogum, and others. AMAMA continues the narrative arc from their earlier works, including the self-titled EP Crumb, Locket, 2019’s Jinx, and 2021’s Ice Melt, which Rolling Stone described as "a captivating trek to the metaphysical and back down to Earth.” Upcoming Tour Dates * with L'Rain and Discovery Zone ^ with Vagabon 7/18 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's 7/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater 7/21 - Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival 8/20 - Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl * 8/21 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring * 8/23 - Richmond, Virginia @ The National * 8/24 - Charlotte, NC @ The Underground * 8/25 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre * 8/27 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl * 8/28 - Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe * 8/30 - Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew's Hall * 8/31 - Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall * 9/01 - Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield * 9/04 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * 9/05 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place * 9/06 - Boston, MA @ Roadrunner * 10/03 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst ^ 10/04 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^ 10/05 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades ^ 10/07 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot ^ 10/09 - Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom ^ 10/11 - Dallas, TX @ Ferris Wheelers ^ 10/12 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^ 10/13 - San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre ^ 10/15 - Austin, TX @ Emo's ^ 10/17 - Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theater ^ 10/18 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace ^ 10/21 - Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OC ^ 10/22 - San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park ^ 10/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ^ Read the full article

[audiofuzz]

Crumb Unveils New Single “The Bug” and Announces North American Tour!

Following last month's announcement of their new album AMAMA, Crumb has unveiled a fresh preview with the single "The Bug." Along with the new track, the band has released an engaging and playful music video directed by Haoyan of America. Additionally, Crumb has announced a headline North American tour starting in mid-July. The tour will cover 30 cities, including stops in Chicago, Austin, Boston, Los Angeles, and a hometown concert in Brooklyn. L’Rain, Vagabon, and Discovery Zone will join Crumb on select dates. The full tour schedule is available below, with tickets going on sale this Friday, April 26th, at 10 AM local time. Discussing the new single, Lila Ramani of Crumb explains: "‘The Bug’ has been part of our musical journey since the early days, before the Jinx era. It started in a motel in Nebraska where I woke up covered in bed bug bites. Unable to sleep, I roamed the motel humming what would eventually form the outro of the song. As we recorded it years later, it gained a deeper, more tender meaning—the 'bug' isn't just an insect; it can be a friend, a lover, or a persistent late-night thought." Check out “The Bug” below: AMAMA represents Crumb’s most carefree and heartfelt work to date, mixing poetic abstraction with introspective honesty and inventive soundscapes. The album showcases Crumb in a dynamic and lively mode, incorporating elements like glitchy vocals, cell phone recordings, nautical sounds, sax mouthpiece solos, distorted drum samples, and piano strings muted with Silly Putty. Set for release on May 17th through Crumb Records, the album includes the title track "AMAMA," a vibrant homage to Lila Ramani's grandmother. This track is further enhanced by a music video directed by Abraham El-Makawy, which blends Lila’s archival home footage with fan-submitted artwork, creating a poignant mosaic of nostalgia. With its blend of psychedelia, pop, jazz, and rock, AMAMA further cements Crumb's distinctive musical identity. The album, produced in Los Angeles with Johnscott Sanford and Jonathan Rado, reflects on themes of stability, connection, and clarity amidst a nomadic life. In 2023, Crumb released the single “Le Temple Volant” with Melody’s Echo Chamber, earning praise from Pitchfork, The FADER, Stereogum, and others. AMAMA continues the narrative arc from their earlier works, including the self-titled EP Crumb, Locket, 2019’s Jinx, and 2021’s Ice Melt, which Rolling Stone described as "a captivating trek to the metaphysical and back down to Earth.” Upcoming Tour Dates * with L'Rain and Discovery Zone ^ with Vagabon 7/18 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's 7/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater 7/21 - Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival 8/20 - Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl * 8/21 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring * 8/23 - Richmond, Virginia @ The National * 8/24 - Charlotte, NC @ The Underground * 8/25 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre * 8/27 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl * 8/28 - Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe * 8/30 - Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew's Hall * 8/31 - Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall * 9/01 - Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield * 9/04 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * 9/05 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place * 9/06 - Boston, MA @ Roadrunner * 10/03 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst ^ 10/04 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^ 10/05 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades ^ 10/07 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot ^ 10/09 - Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom ^ 10/11 - Dallas, TX @ Ferris Wheelers ^ 10/12 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^ 10/13 - San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre ^ 10/15 - Austin, TX @ Emo's ^ 10/17 - Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theater ^ 10/18 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace ^ 10/21 - Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OC ^ 10/22 - San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park ^ 10/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ^ Read the full article

[sinceileftyoublog]

Yakuza, Oxbow, & Sybris Live Show Review: 2/25, Thalia Hall, Chicago

Yakuza's Jerome Marshall & Bruce Lamont

BY JORDAN MAINZER

For two Chicago bands, Sunday night was all about reflection. First and foremost, local metal legends Yakuza were there to celebrate 25 years of existence. They first caught the eyes and ears of listeners with their independently released debut album Amount to Nothing before signing to a label for 2002's Way of the Dead, an album that truly introduced them as a hard rock band with elements of avant-garde and jazz. On Yakuza records, folks like Ken Vandermark and Fred Lonberg-Holm would rub elbows with members of Mastodon; founding member Bruce Lamont, the lead singer and saxophonist/clarinetist, was the tying thread between the musical worlds. Yakuza steadily released records for the next 10 years before taking a decade-long break, while Lamont would stay active, playing saxophone, participating in bands like Bloodiest and Corrections House, and tending bar at Empty Bottle. Finally, last year, Yakuza picked up where they left off with Sutra (Svart), a record that again dipped its toes into seemingly disparate genres--thrash, prog, free jazz--and managed to churn out a cohesive stew.

From left to right: Marshall, James Staffel, Lamont, Matt McClelland

Sunday night, the Sutra songs sounded among the best, standing tall with Yakuza's back catalog. Set opener "Capricorn Rising" gradually built into a chug, Lamont alternating between sax flourishes and a chanted vocal. Matt McClelland's brawny guitar carried "Burn Before Reading". In general, the rhythm section--bassist Jerome Marshall and drummer James Staffel--provided steadily swirling noise to contrast the unpredictability of McClelland's riffs and Lamont's incantations. Perhaps the most moving moment of the night was when Lamont, visibly choked up, dedicated a song to the late Mars Williams, a fellow Chicago area journeyman saxophonist who passed away late last year.

McClelland

Lamont, Staffel, & McClelland

Lamont, Staffel, & McClelland

Sybris' Shaun Podgurski and Angela Mullenhour

Speaking of decades of inactivity, how about Sybris? The local stalwarts, who have released only two records, 2005's self-titled LP and 2008's Into the Trees, played their first Chicago show in 10 years last summer and are now gearing up to release their long-shelved third album Gold on Hold (Absolutely Kosher), recorded in 2011. It's very easy to play "what if?" with the four-piece, as their unique mix of epic, feelings-heavy indie rock and nervy rhythms could have seen them further soar among beloved sounds and bands of the 2010s: the early 2010s emo revival, the late 2010s post-punk revival, Screaming Females, and Hop Along, to name a few. On Sunday, they primed the passionate crowd with clear old favorites, like the jagged "Hurt Hawk", country-tinged burner "Burnout Babies", slow love song "Blame It On The Baseball", and the thunderous "Something About A Darkhorse Or Whatever". As if to whet our appetites for what's to come, they ended their set with two Gold on Hold tracks: the unreleased "Dance" and driving album opener "Watermelon". For music fans all over the globe, Gold on Hold should be one of the more anticipated upcoming releases of the remaining year.

From left to right: Podgurski, Mullenhour, Clayton DeMuth, Phil Naumann

Naumann

Podgurski, Mullenhour, Naumann

From left to right: Oxbow's Dan Adams, Eugene Robinson, Greg Davis, & Niko Wenner

In between the two Windy City phoenixes? None other than San Francisco experimentalists Oxbow, who used the most of their 40-minute set, not limiting the sensory experiences and media to just music. Indeed, for five-plus minutes, they played a short film, whose images, sound-tracked by a droning instrumental, repeatedly cut to black, as if they were pulsating. All this time, they were burning incense. When guitarist/keyboardist Niko Wenner, bassist Dan Adams, and drummer Greg Davis finally entered the stage, they launched into the pseudo funk of Thin Black Duke highlight "A Gentleman's Gentleman". Eventually, vocalist Eugene Robinson sauntered on and did what he does: screech and wail devastating lyrics, his voice raw as hell, and expressively dance and convulse. Similar to Yakuza, Oxbow's most recent songs, from last year's Love's Holiday (Ipecac), sounded the most fresh and urgent: "The Night the Room Started Burning", "Icy White & Crystalline", and "Lovely Murk". The album version of the last one features Kristin Hayter, who Robinson made sure to mention was not there but is playing Thalia Hall in a couple months. Nonetheless, Wenner admirably filled in, emulating her soulful vocal turn. And the band took time to remember another experimental genius and collaborator who passed last year, Peter Brötzmann, but made sure to take advantage of Lamont's saxophone prowess, having him fill in on tempo-changing freak-out "Cat and Mouse". (Though "Cat and Mouse" was released on their sophomore album King of the Jews, their live version with Brötzmann has become well known.) While the three bands who played on Sunday might have constituted an odd group on paper, all share one of the preeminent qualities of good performers: unbridled passion.

Robinson

Robinson & Wenner

Wenner & Robinson