a duover

September 22, 2006 at 3:06 pm · Filed under music

i didn’t get this posted right after the show on september 8th, so i’m doing it now.

putting politics aside for a moment, i thought i’d post a sample from the recent benevento russo duo show at the independent here in san francisco. the duo’s set was great, as were the opening sets by apollo sunshine and the jacob fred jazz odyssey.

keep an eye out for apollo sunshine. they’re a pop/rock trio (bass, guitar and drums, but with keyboards, pedal steel and laptop thrown in for good measure) that manages to conjure up about a million influences over the course of a single tune. their headlining set a few months back was a better showcase of their full range; the 45-minute set on september 8th suffered a bit from trying to do too much in too short of a time. here’s a better representation of the apollo sunshine experience.

but back to the original reason for this post: here’s the benevento russo duo doing their song “becky.”

 

 benevento russo duo: becky [5:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (296)

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free music

August 24, 2006 at 5:30 pm · Filed under music

it’t that time again. the incredible free event known as hardly strictly bluegrass is coming up in about six weeks. it will be held october 6-8 in golden gate park. this will be the event’s sixth year and it just seems to get better and better. last year’s event was occasion for my second post on big microscope; i hope to provide a bit more detail before and after this year.

in the meantime, here’s a sample from the gourds’ set. this was their encore song, officially unreleased, but available for purchase as a kev russell solo demo here. it’s called weaponized virus musket. sadly, the gourds won’t be back this year… but folks like elvis costello will.

 

 the gourds: weaponized virus musket [6:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (295)

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cracker, anyone?

August 17, 2006 at 10:37 pm · Filed under music

so i’m going to see cracker this sunday at the independent and i must say i’m pretty psyched. watching johnny hickman play guitar behind david lowery’s songs is like being served the perfect rock and wry by two of your favorite bartenders.

over the years, the rhythm section has been a pretty fluid thing, but the current band reprises the lineup that first came together in 1996 save for a new bassist who apparently played with roxy music at some point. weird, i know.

anyway, i’ve seen cracker many times and it’s always a fun, rocking show. i should have an audio sample from the show posted some time next week.

coming up on the horizon: apollo sunshine, bettie serveert, golden smog, and the knitters. what a great year for live music so far.

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all those dayglo freaks

July 26, 2006 at 4:06 pm · Filed under music

last night steely dan proved why they have one of the most amazing catalogues of music in the pop/rock pantheon. they’re currently on tour promoting nothing except their badass selves, and last night they stopped at the shoreline amphitheatre in mountain view.

i’ve been a huge fan forever and was fortunate to see their first ‘reunion’ tour back in 1993. at that time, they hadn’t been on the road for almost 20 years. since steely dan is really just becker and fagen, keeping a touring unit together didn’t make any sense. but since ‘93, steely dan have made touring an integral part of their master plan. and it’s a welcome thing indeed.

more thoughts (yeah, yeah, i know.. i’m always promising more details) later on song selection, performances, etc. for now, here’s the setlist followed by a sample from the show, “deacon blues.”

jazz instrumental intro (everyone but becker and fagen)
bodhisattva
time out of mind
aja
i got the news
hey nineteen
deacon blues
josie
green earrings
black friday
dirty work*
funk instrumental/band introductions
show biz kids^
do it again
peg~
don’t take me alive~
kid charlemagne~

FM~
my old school~
jazz instrumental outro

* bonnie raitt on lead vocal
^ michael mcdonald on lead vocal/keyboards
michael mcdonald on co-lead vocal/keyboards
~ michael mcdonald on keyboards/background vocals
 
 steely dan: deacon blues [8:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (376)


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os mutantes!

July 26, 2006 at 3:36 pm · Filed under music

okay.. so this post is just a placeholder right now… but i’ll add a sound sample and some more details about the INCREDIBLE show these guys played on monday night at the fillmore.

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