The Run Down - Wednesday February 27, 2008

Well well well Wednesday...some good shows indeed. If you didn't catch Wilco at the 9:30 club last night, then try again tonight for their second show. Philly has two winers tonight. First there's The Spinning Leaves, Hezekiah jones, Macgregor Burns Band, Monadnoc, The Low Down, and Nu Cultures at The Fire. Finally you can stroll over to First Unitarian Church to see St. Vincent and Foreign Born.

mp3: Wilco - I'm A Wheel --> website --> buy
mp3: The Spinning Leaves - Bridges For Free --> website
mp3: Hezekiah Jones - Nothing's Bound --> website --> buy
mp3: Macgregor Burns Band - Drink Anything --> website
mp3: St. Vincent - Your Lips Are Red --> website --> buy
mp3: Foreign Born - The Entryway --> website --> buy

The Run Down - Tuesday February 26, 2008

Tuesday is here and there doesn't seem to be any shortage of shows. DC is where it's at tonight! You have the choice of seeing Wilco at the 9:30 club, St. Vincent and Foreign Born at the Rock and Roll Hotel, or Barton Carroll and Dave Ihmels and the Red and the Black. If you're up in Philly make sure you check out Bowerbirds, Phosphorescent, and Ginmarco Cilli at Johnny Brenda's. Have a good one.

mp3: Bowerbirds - Slow Down --> website --> buy
mp3: Wilco - Hummingbird --> website --> buy
mp3: St. Vincent - Paris Is Burning --> website --> buy
mp3: Foreign Born - Union Hall --> website --> buy
mp3: Barton Carroll - Certain Circles --> website --> buy

Toofer Toosday - Voodoo Style

After hearing evilhomer's escapades at Voodoo for the last few days, I decided to dedicate this "toofer" to two bands that I wish I was there to see myself. Spoon and Wilco. These guys pretty much sum up what happens when music goes right(not wrong).
Britt Daniel of Spoon writes songs that breathe from the heart. This allows him to really push and pull with different arrangements of drums, vocals, guitars, and keyboards. Sometimes it's just guitar and drums. Sometimes it's a full band with horns. Either way it never seems too much or too little.
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco puts his soul into every note, every lyric, and every croon of his voice. What more can you ask for from a musician. Enjoy!

Spoon - Back To The Life.mp3
Spoon - The Beast and dragon, Adored.mp3
Wilco - Theologians.mp3
Wilco - Jesus, Etc.(live).mp3

more Spoon --> website --> buy
more Wilco --> website --> buy

==========



Also tonight be sure to check out The Go! Team at the 9:30 club

The Go! Team - Huddle Formation ( RJD2 mix).mp3

more The Go! Team --> website --> buy

Sunday at Voodoo - Gravy Day

Sunday at Voodoo was gravy day; Anything good today was just a bonus. Arriving around 5:00pm, the crowd was noticeably smaller then Saturday's. I assumed many locals just bought day passes for Saturday, and choose to forgo Sunday.

First up were the Black Crows. I had never had the pleasure of catching these guys, though the Birmingham crew speaks highly of them. And I can say that in this case, reports were accurate. The Black Crows rocked for 90 minutes, playing songs that made you feel like you were watching a festival act in the 70's. The Crows just have that classic rock feel that is extremely rare nowadays. I couldn't tell you the name of a single song they played, but it really didn't matter. Very entertaining.

Next up was Common. Now I'm not really a hip hop guy. I leave that up to JB and Laurent the Laurent, but enjoyed the set. Common performs with a a pair of keyboard players and a bad ass drummer, along with a DJ. It's refreshing to see an MC who doesn't just rap over recorded music. The first half of the set rolled by with what I assume were some of Common's hits. The crowd certainly went nuts for a few of them. The second half was what I really enjoyed. Common did a 10 minute hip hop medley that included everything from Biz Markie to NWA. He followed that up with a freestyle session that played to the home crowd, mentioning the Saints and Bourbon street. I dipped out after this to get a good spot for Wilco. Overall, Common was good stuff, and a nice change between the Black Crows and Wilco.

Poor Wilco. I've had a few chances to see them, including at Bonnaroo this year, but they were up against the Decemberists and a good spot for the White Stripes, so they kinda lost that fight. That said, I was happy to hear they would be at Voodoo this year. And I have to say that they were the perfect closer for the festival. Their folky jam style really fit. The crowd had dwindled even more by the time they took the stage, but that only made it more intimate. Jeff Tweedy leads Wilco with an awesome voice and a great stage presence. He talked to the crowd somewhat casually, at one point saying, "Man, this is awesome. Its fairly awesome." Fairly awesome, aside from being quite hilarious at the time, would be a great description for Wilco. Their lead guitar player broke into some amazing solos, but was just as noticeable for his antics. At times he shook like he was having a seizure. And once he was playing his guitar by rubbing it on the back of his head.

Another highlight occurred when Tweedy started a song by dedicating it to Yuri from Mike. Soon, on the big screen, an image appeared with the message, "Yuri, will you marry me?" After the song the crowd discover that she said yes, causing a huge ovation.

Wico rocked for another half hour or so, closing with a great jam that included a lovely segment of dueling guitars. And with that, Voodoo 2007 came to a close. It was a great weekend with a bunch of good performances, especially RATM, Spoon, and Wilco.