Melvin Seals & JGB @ The Capitol Theater
Melvin Seals & JGB are worthy "Keepers of the Flame"...but preferably in the daylight... Read More
Pickin’, Grinnin’ and Jammin’: The Cosmic Country of Daniel Donato
In concert with Daniel Donato, a unique new hero to both the country music and jam band scenes.... Read More
Billy Strings @ The State Theater
An electric performance by an acoustic superstar: Bluegrass wunderkind Billy Strings live in Portland, Maine.... Read More
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead @ Capitol Theater (“Bertha”)
I didn’t see the Grateful Dead in concert this week. Nor did I see Dead & Company, or Furthur, or even Phil Lesh & Friends or Ratdog, or any of the other Dead iterations or derivations. The question is: Did I see something actually better?... Read More
Ohio Players “Fire” (1974)
Funk. It’s not just the notes and it’s not just the rhythm. It’s the feeling. When you’re listening to a band or a song, you shouldn’t have to do too much thinking to tell if it’s got the funk. You’ll feel it. And if it’s got the funk, ipso facto, it is funky. Funk bands...... Read More
Tedeschi Trucks Band “Midnight In Harlem” (2011)
The stupifyingly amazing Derek Trucks, guitarist and co-leader of the indomitable Tedeschi Trucks Band. What has, at times, actually curtailed my enjoyment of his unreal playing? He's too good.... Read More
My Morning Jacket “I’m Amazed” (2008)
During my years working at Madison Square Garden, I’d occasionally be passing through the arena during the day for one reason or another, and once in a while I caught some pretty cool behind-the-scenes stuff. One of the coolest of those that I can remember was basically witnessing the actual moment a band was seeing...... Read More
Phish “Kill Devil Falls” (2009)
I’m by no means a Phishhead. But over the years I have grown to respect the musical abilities of this unusual 4-piece out of Burlington, VT., and the incredible improvisation, range and versatility they exhibit as a band. Over last years “Baker’s Dozen” run of 13 shows at Madison Square Garden, they played a total...... Read More
Gary Clark, Jr. “When My Train Pulls In” (2012)
In 2013 Eric Clapton presented the last – at least at the time it was announced as the last – of five iterations of what was billed as the Crossroads Guitar Festival, so named because they were events held to benefit the Crossroads Centre, a drug treatment facility in Antigua founded by Clapton (and, perhaps,...... Read More
Little Feat “Dixie Chicken” (Waiting For Columbus) (1978)
What band and album was the most played in your freshman college dorm? Kind of a defining characteristic of the times, right? I arrived at Tulane University in the fall of 1979, and moved into the fourth floor of Sharp Hall, where people were trying to establish their identity, at least in part, by what...... Read More