Written by: Zen Wild

Edited by: Rosemary A.W. Roberts

Photos by: Tony Vasquez

We wait for the start of the Alejandro Escovedo/Peter Buck show at the Taft Theatre Ballroom in Cincinnati. In the meantime, despite the sparse early crowd, a man walks up and stands entirely too close to me.  Instead of getting angry, I strike up a conversation with the man.  It seems he is an ex-record storeowner from Bowling Green, KY, who has driven roughly 4 hours just to see Alejandro.  After some music stories bantered back and forth between the three of us, the man assures us that we won’t be disappointed.  “Alejandro Escovedo,” he says, “is never disappointing, nor is Peter Buck.”  Almost on cue, Peter Buck and his band begin to walk on stage, and there is no time for further conversation on the matter, nor pondering, only listening.

When Peter Buck and his band get on stage, they look like they’re dressed for rock and roll.  They’re all wearing black, including Buck himself in a leather jacket and black jeans, except for bass player, Scott McCaughey, who is dressed in a work shirt, which makes him look a bit like a trucker.  With his wild, white hair and dark shades, he reminds me a bit of Jerry Garcia.  Peter Buck starts his set with a song called, “So Long Johnny,” off his album, Peter Buck.  It has a bit more of a loose, laid-back rock sound to it, which is a bit different than some of the songs they follow up with.  Many of the tracks have hard, driving riffs, which remind me of nothing so much as The Ramones.

Near the end of the set, Kevin Kinney comes up and plays a song, “Honeysuckle Blue”, with Buck and his band, which he wrote as the front-man for the band Drivin’ N’ Cryin’.  Honestly, it’s amazing.  Peter Buck even remarks, “That should have been last,” as they finish.  Kinney, Buck says, “Just happened to be passing through.”  We’re fortunate that he is.  Continuing on, Peter Buck and his band end up closing their set with “(You Must Fight to Live) On the Planet of the Apes,” a song by the Mummies, and then finishing with one of their own, “Outta the House,” which appears on Buck’s new LP, I Am Back To Blow Your Mind Once Again.  My only complaint with the entire set is that over top of the wall of guitar sound, it’s hard to hear the vocals.  Like I said, though, some of their stuff reminded me of the Ramones, and if you’ve ever been to any punk shows, there’s almost always a heavy dose of guitars, and less so of vocals.  Meanwhile, as Peter Buck walks offstage, we sit back and wait for Alejandro Escovedo. 

Alejandro Escovedo walks on stage styling, dressed in a silvery gray suit, flower western shirt and silvery gray vest beneath, and a pair of polished brown boots.  With him, is his violin/fiddle player, Susan Voelz, dressed in a Chinese-styled silk dress and tall boots.  In answer to an earlier question we had as to who would be Alejandro’s backing band, Peter Buck and his band accompany Alejandro and Susan on stage.  Alejandro asks how everyone in the crowd is doing, and his smile is a foretelling of what is still to come.  It’s bright and shining.

Escovedo begins his set with one of my favorite tracks off of his newest album Big Station, entitled “Can’t Make Me Run.”  It’s a brilliant, defiant statement of resiliency, from the beginning until the softly sung final words of the refrain, “Don’t give up on love.”  Even from this first song, a person is unable to deny the beautiful tones he squeezes from his Silvertone guitar.  He follows up with the song, “Tender Heart,” off his album Street Songs of Love, before going into another personal favorite which appears on Big Station, “San Antonio Rain,” an ode to the life he’s lived, and of growing up in San Antonio.  “San Antonio Rain” is heartrending, and the delivery of “Tender Heart” reminds me a lot of early Tom Petty.

The set continues with Alejandro cutting up, and telling stories in between songs.  That is one of the best parts of his performance.  He engenders himself to his audience, like many noted folk songwriters have been known to do.  As he gets back to playing music, he plays some older songs, and some newer songs, including “Sally Was a Cop,” off Big Station, and “Arizona,” from The Boxing Mirror.  It is a testament to the power and energy generated by his persona and his music that I find myself truly energized all the way until the end of his set.  This is saying something, because, as all of the music of the night started, I was dead tired, due to a lack of sleep.  “Who wants to sleep when you can hear music like this?”  That’s what I kept asking myself.  It was really a rhetorical question.

One of the highlights of the entire night was when, for the last song of his initial set (before the encore), Alejandro invites Kevin Kinney back on stage, and along with Peter Buck and his band, they play a blistering version of Neil Young’s, “Like a Hurricane,” passing blistering solos back and forth between three guitars and Susan Voelz’s violin.  I’ve always loved this song, and Escovedo and crew do it absolute justice.  Listening to it, a person is only stuck hoping that it will go on for another 10 minutes, but eventually all things end, and as it does, everyone thanks the crowd and heads backstage.

A few minutes later, Alejandro and Susan return for an acoustic encore.  It is soft and heart-touching, and the stories related in between tracks continue.  When Alejandro decides that it’s time, he invites everyone back on stage, including Kinney, and they play a lengthy cover of The Stooges, “I Wanna Be Your Dog.”  Again, solos are passed back and forth, with a few being taken by Alejandro himself, quivering with vibrato from a repeated use of his guitar’s tremolo bar.  It’s an excellent way to close the show after slowing things down with the acoustic pieces, and as we walk outside, after Alejandro Escovedo, Peter Buck, and everyone have said their farewells, I still have the music running through my mind.  Regardless of what the real lyrics might have been, the words I have repeating internally are: “I have to see Alejandro Escovedo again.”

Gallery Links:

Alejandro Escovedo: http://jamsplus.smugmug.com/TonyVasquezPhotography/Alejandro-Escovedo/

Peter Buck: http://jamsplus.smugmug.com/TonyVasquezPhotography/Peter-Buck/

Umphrey’s McGee–The Riviera Theatre—Chicago, IL—02/22/2014

Written by: Cassidy Maley

Edited by: Rosemary A.W. Roberts

There is nothing like seeing a great band in their hometown. I was lucky to see the last night of a three show run by Umphrey’s McGee in the city that first fell in love with them: Chicago, IL. Umphrey’s threw a great three night party February 20, 21, and 22^nd at the Riviera Theater. Seeing Umphrey’s back in Chicago brought back some great memories of the days when every show was in the Midwest.

Umphrey’s McGee is originally out of South Bend, Indiana, forming in 1997 at Notre Dame. After a lot of small bar shows around South Bend, and eventually into Chicago, this band has grown to something larger then life. The six member rock show features lead guitarist and master rock soloist, Jake Cinninger. To me, Jake brings that characteristic shred, rock style that is what makes Umphrey’s something unique. Singer and guitarist Brendan Bayliss is a brilliant writer and his unique voice adds just the right amount of sentiment to the band’s sound. Drummers Andy Farag and Kris Myers play seamlessly together and are the steam engines of this band with the support of Joel Cummins (keyboardist and pianist) and Ryan Stasik (bassist), with his charismatic stage presence and heavy bass lines. In my opinion, after 6 years of seeing this band play together, they are on the top of their game.

Per usual, the perfectly composed set list was accompanied by the amazing light work of Jefferson Waful. The band took the stage that Saturday night with a brand new song called “Bathing Digits.” The Riviera was packed wall to wall, this show had been sold out for several weeks, and every face was lit up with a smile. The band went on to play “Phil’s Farm” and “Miami Virtue > 2^nd Self” before treating the crowd to something special. The second half of the set featured Brendan and Jake on acoustic guitars. They went on to play “The Weight Around” and “Bullhead City” featuring Chicago singer and songwriter Daphne Willis accompanying vocals with Jake.

The second set featured some of Umphrey’s McGee’s great staples like “Believe the Lie” and “Divisions” and also a great cover of the Cars song “Just What I Needed” played for the very first time. The night came to a close with a great twist. Drummer from the Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Chamberlain sat in to play the Smashing Pumpkins original “Cherub Rock.” The night came to a close in epic rocker fashion with the lights flashing at ultra speed and perfectly in sync with every change of tempo. It was a night to remember as the crowd spilled into a beautifully clear Chicago night, and hugs and smiles were passed from friend to friend.

If you can’t get enough of Umphrey’s McGee, check out their website and follow them as the head out West to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. www.umphreys.com.

Gov’t Mule – Mark C. Smith Concert Hall at Von Braun Center–Huntsville, AL– 2/11/2014

Written by: Adam Gilliam

Edited by: Rosemary A.W. Roberts

With the second phase of Winter Storm Pax quickly approaching the southern town of Huntsville, AL the certainty of Gov’t Mule’s concert at the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall of the Von Braun Center was up in the air. The storm had already dumped snow on a typically snow free city the previous night; yet the weather would not win out. The band, known for its relentless fervor for touring, did not cancel the show and provided a great night of southern jam rock for the fans.

Starting as a side project of Allman Bros. band members, guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody in 1994, Gov’t Mule has become a staple on the festival and concert circuit for two decades. Even after Woody’s untimely passing in 2000 the band has remained a constant in the jam rock scene. This could be attributed to Warren Haynes’s amazing work on the guitar and unmatched vocal ability. These were instantly on display when the band opened with “Slackjaw Jezebel” off their 2004 album Deja Voodoo. The upbeat tune got the crowd ready for an excellent night ahead. Shortly after the band slowed things a bit and let Warren, as fans like to say, show off just how sultry his voice and guitar can be in “Worried Down With the Blues”. The sometimes less than energetic crowd finally all came to their feet when keyboardist Danny Louis began to rock out to the song made famous by Rufus & Chaka Khan, “Tell Me Something Good”. The clav intro to that song is impossible to hear without having a smile on my face. Hayne’s incredible songwriting was displayed next when the band tore into “Soulshine” which is probably his most famous original and one of my personal favorites as well. The set ended with nicely with two more originals “Banks of the Deep End” & “Thorazine Shuffle”.

With the threat of snow still looming Warren let the crowd know the setbreak would be brief in hopes the roads would be passable afterwards. The deep, driving guitar riff of “Streamline Woman” cut through the air to kick off set number two. Another song written by Stevie Wonder was briefly touched on when “Higher Ground” came in for a little over a minute segued with Howling Wolf’s “How Many More Years”. Gov’t Mule is excellent at paying homage to the greats of music history. The show slowed down again nicely when “Far Away” allowed Warren to shine some more. The next portion of the show was a highlight of the night. Steppenwolf’s “Don’t Step on the Grass Sam” was unveiled with giant flash cards for the audience to help sing along with the band and I could not help but ponder the name Gov’t Mule while chanting about Uncle Sam. The band managed to squeeze in a shortened version of the Mountain classic “Mississippi Queen” before finishing up “Don’t Step on the Grass Sam”. Matt Abts took the show over next and displayed incredible talent with a six minute “drums” . The set ended with an amped up “Whole Lotta Love” sandwiched inside the original “Mule”. This Led Zeppelin theme would continue as “Since I’ve Been Loving You” was the only encore of the night. Warren’s beautiful guitarmanship was left engraved on the audience with this cover. I for one am glad the snow and ice held off just long enough to allow North Alabama to enjoy a much needed escape into rock ‘n roll with Gov’t Mule.