I feel completely spoiled having gone to the Ryman Auditorium two weekends in a row for two amazing concerts. Last night we saw Jackson Browne on his Solo Acoustic tour. His performance was truly exceptional. I mean what else would you expect from one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time?

There were no gimmicks, dancers, or headphone mics to be had at this show. There was, however, a legendary songwriter without a set list, about fifteen acoustic guitars, and a piano. His collection of vintage acoustics was impressive. At one point, he made a joke about giving the impression he was competing with George Gruhn who owns the famous Gruhn Guitars shop down the block from the Ryman.

Browne basically took requests the whole night, which made for some interesting renditions of a few songs. Hey, with a catalog as deep and diverse as his, he is bound to forget a few chord changes right? Letting the crowd choose the set was a great idea except there were a few people who really wanted to hear “Free Bird,” (Lynyrd Skynyrd) “Franklin’s Tower,” (Grateful Dead) and “You Light Up My Life” (too many to mention).

Now the “Free Bird” folks can be forgiven. In fact, hearing a request for “Free Bird” at a concert is to be expected, but the other two requests were just plain ridiculous! If it had been Ryan Adams instead of Jackson Browne on stage, these people may have (should have?) been thrown out.

If you haven’t had a chance to see Jackson Browne on any of his solo acoustic tours recently, he has released two live albums full of songs from previous solo acoustic tours. I highly recommend these for anyone who would like to hear stripped down versions of both old and newer Jackson Browne songs. Check out his store.

My post about this show is a little late, but here it goes…
We saw Wilco last Sunday night at the Ryman Auditorium. This was easily one of the best shows I have EVER been to. Definitely in my top 5, more likely in the top 3, and now that I really think about it, maybe even higher. The set list was incredible. As many have commented, their recent 5 night “Residency” at the Riviera in Chicago where they played every song they have released on an official Wilco album, plus some B-sides and Mermaid Avenue tracks, has led to some varied and exciting set lists.

March 2, 2008 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium

Via Chicago
Blood of the Lamb
Pieholden Suite
California Stars
Company in my Back
You Are My Face
Side with the Seeds
Pot Kettle Black
Shot in the Arm
She’s a Jar
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany
It’s Just That Simple
Pick Up the Change
Too Far Apart
Nothingsevergonnastandinmywayagain
Jesus etc.
Hate It Here
Walken
I’m the Man Who Loves You
Encore 1
Someone Else’s Song (Jeff Tweedy without the PA)
Misunderstood
The Thanks I Get
Red Eyed and Blue -> I Got You
Monday
Encore 2
The Late Greats

I started listening to Wilco about 12 years ago when their Album Being There came out. It wasn’t until somewhat recently, however, that I have really begun to appreciate the subtle genius in the songwriting and performance. Many long time fans have said that Wilco has never sounded better live, and that the band has reached a new high point in their career. I don’t have any past shows to compare this one to, but I can say that they were unbelievably good last Sunday night.

On a side note, the night before we went to see Will Hoge and Jason Isbell. Jason Isbell was sitting just a few rows in front of us at the Wilco concert! I also saw James Haggerty, the bass player in Josh Rouse’s band. You know a band is great when there are other extraordinary musicians showing up to see them.

There was also a film crew during the show with tons of cameras. Supposedly they are filming a documentary of this tour to be out on DVD in the future. I can’t wait!

Despite the Ryman’s anti audio recording policy (even if the artist allows it), somebody managed to record the whole concert! Here are a few tracks from the show:

Wilco - Too Far Apart (live)

Wilco - The Thanks I Get (live)

Wilco - Jesus etc. (live)

Despite the fact that I could barely walk yesterday (I threw out my back again) we went out to the Will Hoge & Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit show at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville last night. I think this redefines what it means to be a dedicated fan. Seriously, I had trouble getting in and out of the car, and then standing on my feet for four hours for a rock show…? There are those who pretend to enjoy live music, who would much rather chat with their friends and really only go for the beer and night out on the town. Then there is me, putting up with increasing pain in my lower back just to check out a couple of bands I have never seen live before.

As expected, both Will and Jason put on an amazing show! I think they have been taking turns closing each show on their “co-headlining” tour. Being that Nashville is Will’s home town, it was only appropriate that he closed last night’s show. He played for over two hours and ended the night with a cover of the The Faces classic, “Ooh La La.” The only bad part was the idiot who literally stood on my feet the whole night. There was clearly three or four feet of space in front of him that he could have moved into. During every song this guy would regurgitate some comment or fact about the band to his friend who was also practically standing on my feet. If you are that big of a fan, just shut up and listen to the music.

While I would definitely call Will Hoge’s music rock (whatever rock means these days), here is a live version of “The Highway’s Home,” which is a country flavored song and one of my favorite tracks from his newest album, “Draw the Curtains.” I’ve always thought that a good rock band can do country better than just about any new country band can.

Will Hoge - “The Highway’s Home”

This was recorded at WFPK in Louisville, KY on 9/28/2007

Photo Credit: Drew Gurian

On Sunday night we went out to 3rd and Lindsley for the Sons of William and Need to Breathe show. I have become a huge Sons of William fan over the past few years. They’re a rock and roll outfit from Louisiana that impresses me more each time I see them! My only complaint is that they didn’t get to play a longer set. After all, they were one of the main reasons for me deciding to peel my face from the computer screen and head out to the club.

After hearing Need to Breathe’s headlining set, I was left wondering how I had never heard of them until now. They put on a great show with their blend of melodic, accessible rock that seemed to genuinely impress the packed house in Nashville. The lead singer for this band could seriously double as Kid Rock (he probably gets that all the time and is annoyed by it, sorry). I’m talking about looks only here. He is actually a much better singer than Kid Rock.

Need to Breathe snuck in the third verse of the Counting Crows’ A Long December into one of their encore songs and made my night! It was complete with a beautifully sappy audience sing-along on the chorus. Hearing A Long December again put a big smile on my face and took me back to my high school days.

It was my senior year in high school and I somehow convinced my parents to let me and one of my friends drive four hours to Denver…over two mountain passes…on a school night…in an old borrowed car to see the Counting Crows!!! To top it all off, it pretty much rained the whole time, and we did the four hour drive back home the same night to make it to school on time the next day. We were utterly exhausted but I had such a great time. I love how just a snippet of a song can conjure up old memories.

Since I don’t have any live Sons of William or Need to Breathe mp3s, and since I’m already off topic with the Counting Crows tidbit, AND since my last two posts have had videos, here is video of A Long December. The sound quality isn’t all that great, but Adam Duritz tells the story behind the song.

Alright, I know I just recently wrote about The Felice Brothers and am violating section {52-6RH/8-1} of the Blogger’s Code, but I couldn’t help myself when I came across this video. Besides, you can never have too much of a band that can channel Dylan and The Band and remain original at the same time! This past weekend I was able to get my hands on a copy of Adventures Of The Felice Brothers Vol.1 and have kept it spinning since.

Here is a live video of one of my favorites, Frankie’s Gun. Other than the tall person who keeps getting in the way, it’s not a bad video. The band looks like they’re having a blast!

Don’t you just love it when you take a chance on something and the payoff is much, much better than expected? I can’t say this is always the case with my local Chinese restaurant, which is why I usually stick to the Mongolian Beef, but that’s another topic entirely and perhaps even another blog.

On my recent trip to Florida I stumbled upon the new Grace Potter and the Nocturnals album This is Somewhere while perusing the shelves at the record store. I had never really heard any of their music before and pretty much bought it on a whim, but I was very pleasantly surprised. This is Somewhere is a stew of guitar and Hammond B-3 driven rock and blues influenced music. I was so impressed, I immediately checked their tour schedule and found out that they will be in Nashville at 3rd and Lindsley in a few weeks!

So I did what any music lover would do and bought tickets, which I might add were very reasonably priced at $10. I can’t wait to see them live. In the meantime, here are a couple live tracks off of their newest album from a show they did in Boston, MA at The Paradise on December 12, 2007:

GPNT, Stop the Bus

GPNT, Big White Gate

The entire show is available for download here.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ MySpace: www.myspace.com/gracepotterandthenocturnals

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ Website: www.gracepotter.com

I received my free copy of Big Head Todd and the Monsters’ new album All the Love You Need in the mail a few days ago. If you went to their website this time last month (or maybe even earlier, I can’t remember) and entered the usual contact info, they promised to send out a free copy of their new album to you!

I remember listening to Big Head Todd and the Monsters quite a bit when I was in high school. Their recordings were good, but I really fell in love with their music when I saw them live! I saw Big Head Todd open for the Dave Matthews Band at the original Mile High Stadium in Denver…yes, those were the days, before it was demolished, rebuilt, and renamed Invesco Field AT Mile High.

The memories of this event are ingrained deep as this was my first “big” concert experience. Todd played a white Telecaster and “Bittersweet” and “Broken Hearted Savior” never sounded so good. They also used to do a great cover of Jimmy Page’s “Tangerine.”

If you go to the Big Head Todd website now, you can download the entire new album for free! You have to enter your address (so some may argue that the music isn’t quite free, whatever) but that’s about it. Most bands simply use this information to help route their tours.

Giving your fans the gift of free music is a great way to spur new interest in long time fans, and even win over some newbies. If you aren’t familiar with Big Head Todd, you should check out their new album. To get the full experience, however, I really encourage you to at least check out the two older songs listed above.

Here are a couple of my favorites from the new album All the Love You Need:

Spanish Highway

How Easy

Big Head Todd’s MySpace: myspace.com/bhtm

Big Head Todd’s Website: bigheadtodd.com

I was fortunate to be able to see two Josh Ritter shows in Nashville this past Friday. That’s right, two shows in one night! If you enjoy good songwriting and a contemporary approach to “folk-rock,” and haven’t already heard of Josh Ritter, then I would recommend checking him out. He has been getting a lot of national attention lately and Friday night showed why.

He played a short set by himself at Grimey’s, and for those of you not in the Nashville area, Grimey’s is one of the coolest record stores I have ever been to. The store was packed and Josh seemed genuinely happy to be playing to his devoted fans. Afterwards, we rushed over to wait in line at the Exit In for the main event, where Josh and his band played one of the best shows I have seen in a long time.

Every once in a while I go to a show and I’m reminded (not that I ever forget) why I love music so much. Not only did he sound great, but Josh was charismatic, told stories, thoroughly enjoyed himself, and actually interacted with the audience. I know, audience interaction should be a no-brainer right? But I’ve been to shows where the artist just stands on the stage, puts in their 75 minute contractual obligation and basically just goes through the motions. Josh seemed to truly appreciate the fans who support him.

And not to distract further from the live music (which was really the best part of the show), but Josh also had some really unique merch available as well. In addition to the usual t-shirt/CD/poster fair, he was selling songbooks with chords and lyrics as well as stationary with phrases from different songs on each piece. I haven’t seen either of these items sold at any artist’s show before. I especially liked the song book, which would make a great gift for musicians (hint, hint, for any family and friends reading).

After the show I was thinking about what a great time I had and came to the following conclusion: no matter what the future has in store for the music business, there will always be a place for talented artists like Josh Ritter who 1) write their own songs, 2) play their own instruments, 3) play great in the studio and on the live stage, 4) respect and appreciate their fans, and 5) work hard. Take a look at Josh’s current fall tour schedule to see how busy he and the band are on the road.