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NEW ORLEANS JAZZFEST ANI DiFRANCO PETER YORN JEFF BECK

H OT D IS CS NEW ART IS T S IN T ERV IEW S LI V E EXT RAS V IP EV ENT S

publisher/ceo Mike Evans mike@livemagazine.com editor-in-chief Tip McPartland tip@livemagazine.com president Michael Banks mbanks@livemagazine.com art director Natalie Taggart natalie@livemagazine.com business development Elena Jaeckel elena@livemagazine.com contributing writers Steve Guttenberg, Marcus Hondro, Kira Cochrane, Aaron Ladage, Tip McPartland, Gian Erguiza, Larry LeBlanc, Lynette Sheffield, GlassPipeMurder, Shawn Perry, Ethan Stanislawski, Will Stewart, Michael Vinikour, Jason Bookman advertising inquiries advertising@livemagazine.com

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THE SHOW REHEARSAL

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SOUND CHECK

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CD Reviews / CD Releases Audiofile

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OPENING ACT

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Emerging Artists

HEADLINERS

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Lady Gaga Ani DiFranco New Orleans JazzFest Pete Yorn Matt Cusson Smoking Popes Jeff Beck Galactic George Thorogood Joshua Radin The Swans

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The Last Waltz

On The Cover

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R EH EAR S AL

COMMUNITY 3

The Milagro Foundation A “Supernatural” success! When musician Carlos Santana began developing his unique style in the clubs along the strip in Tijuana, Mexico in the late 1950s, his dream of success seemed just that, a far-away dream.

Growing up in northern Baja, where the lights of San Diego can be seen after the sun sets, Santana walked dusty streets every day, witnessing the economic constraints an international border -- and the politics on each side of it -- can place on a nation and its people.

Luckily for music fans everywhere, Santana’’s family relocated to San Francisco just as the rock ‘n roll countercultural revolution began to expand into many musical styles. His career culminated in nine Grammy Awards last year for his album “Supernatural,” and this is how most people will remember him. But to thousands success has personousands of children children around aroundthe theworld, world,Santana’s Santana’s success has personally ally touched touched theirtheir lives.lives.

Santana and his wife, Deborah, decided they wanted to help children live culturally enriched, healthy and happy lives. They founded the Milagro Foundation (Milagro means “miracle”) and funded it by dedicating 25 to 50 cents of each ticket his band sells at their concerts to the organization. This year that pocket change resulted in a $250,000 endowment for Milagro -- meaning 23 nonprofit groups have received more than $100,000 in grants so far.

While Carlos and his band are dedicated to social causes, the foundation focuses on grassroots, community-based programs, many of which are located in California (the Santanas and Milagro call San Rafael, Calif. home). The list of grant recipients is long because the foundation typically awards $10,000 or less per group. One of Santana’s favorite programs, according to Brown, is San Franciscobased Loco Bloco - a unique effort that encourages urban youth to express themselves through the arts, specifically music and dance.

Founded fourteen years ago, Loco Bloco began as a drum and dance ensemble that gave immigrant youth a way of connecting with their cultures and with others.

Through a $10,000 grant from Milagro, Loco Bloco has been able to develop and expand its programs.

Tanya Mayo, Loco Bloco’s executive director, says the Milagro grant allowed the group to organize a play called “Speak Their Names,” that deals with different ancestors who were activists in their own right. Children played the part of Crazy Horse, learning about the struggles he faced -- including alcoholism beginning to affect Indian reservations across the nation. They took on the role of the Trung Sisters from Vietnam, who led that nation’s all-women army in the 1800s. And they submerged themselves into the story of Queen Nzinga Ndongo of Angola from the 1600s, whose character talks about dealing with abuse in the home.

“It’s a way for young people to group up and work on the story of their lives, relate to the characters and learn about their history,” Mayo said. Loco Bloco, which means “crazy dance,” was also able to fund Poco Loco (“little crazy”), a similar group geared to children 5 to 11 years old, and is developing a hip-hop component. “Hip-hop is widely popular among youths,” Mayo said. “We will show them how hip-hop bleeds out of jazz.

Brown says word of the foundation’s good deeds has spread so rapidly that they received $11 million in grant requests this year -- 44 times more than the Milagro Foundation can fund. “But we don’t fund any capital projects or any organizations that have big corporations behind them,” Brown said.

“It’s hard to turn down requests, but we try to stay focused on our mission, which is to make grants only to 501(c)(3) organizations.”

More information about the Milagro Foundation is available on the organization’s Web site at www.milagrofoundation.org.

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L OA D I N

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Billboard Top 20 Rank RANK Artist ARTIST

Album ALBUM

LabelLABEL

1 1

AC/DC Taylor Swift

Black Ice Now Speak

Columbia Big Machine RecordsSony Music

Distributor

2 2

Pink Eminem

Funhouse Recovery

LaFace Shady Records

3 3

Soundtrack Rihanna

High School Musical 3: Senior Year Loud

Walt Def Disney Jam

4 4

John Legend Nicki Minaj

Evolver Pink Friday

G.O.O.D./Columbia Sony Music Young Money Entertainment

5 5

Toby KeithWest Kanye

That Don’t MakeDark Me ATwisted Bad Guy My Beautiful Fantasy

ShowGood Dog Nashville Music

6 6

Rascal Flatts Daft Punk

Greatest Hits Volume 1 Tron: Legend (Soundtrack)

Lyric Street Virgin Records

Hollywood

7 7

T.I.Bruno Mars

Paper Trail & Hooligans Du-Wops

Grand Hustle/Atlantic Elektra Records

AG

8 8

Celine Dion & Sons Mumford

MySigh Love: Essential No More Collection

Columbia Island Records

Sony Music

9 9

Snow KatyPatrol Perry

A Hundred TeenageMillion DreamSuns

Polydor/Fiction/Geffen Capitol Records

IGA

10 10

Kenny Chesney Keyshia Cole

Lucky Old Sun Calling All Hearts

Blue Chair/BNA Interscope Records SBN

11 11

Ryan Adams Jamie Foxx& The Cardinals Cardinology

LostBest Highway Night Of My Life

12 12

The Black Eyed Peas Metallica

The Magnetic Beginning Death

Interscope Records Warner Bros.

13 13

KidJason Rock Aldean

MyNKinda Party Rock Roll Jesus

Broken Bow RecordsAG Top Dog/Atlantic

14 14

R. Kelly Jennifer Hudson

Love Hudson Letter Jennifer

AristaInterscope Records RMG

15 15

Keri Hilson Ne-Yo

NoOf Boys Year TheAllowed Gentleman

Interscope Records IDJMG Def Jam

16 16

T.I.Cure The

NoDream Mercy 4:13

Atlantic Records Suretone/Geffen

IGA

17 17

KidGaGa Rock Lady

Free TheBorn Fame

Atlantic Records Interscope

IGA

18 18

Michael Bloc Party Jackson

Michael Intimacy

Epic Records Atlantic

AG

19 19

Ke$haW. Smith Michael

Cannibal A New Hallelujah

RCA Reunion

20 20

Wayne Lil Lil Wayne

NotII A Human Being TheI Am Carter

Money Entertainment CashYoung Money/Universal UMRG

Zomba

J Records

Top 20 Concert Grosses RANK Date

ARTISTArtist

Venue

1 10/20-21

RogerCeline Waters Dion

$2,477,559 General Motors Place - Vancouver

10/27-28

2 Dave Celine Matthews 10/24-25 Dion Band 3 Eagles

AVG TICKET PRICE Gross Sold/Capacity $125.71 $3,587,340

34,348 / 34,348

Rexall Place $1,487,955 - Edmonton

$69.50 $3,105,627

32,958 / 32,958

Celine Dion

MTS Centre - Winnipeg

$2,586,462

29,062 / 29,062

10/30-11/01

AC/DC

Allstate Arena - Rosemont, IL

$2,485,415

27,770 / 27,770

10/18

Celine Dion

4

Usher

5

Michael Buble

6

Shakira

10/14 7

Dion Justin Celine Bieber

$1,182,275 $1,013,833 $893,445

$98.39

$73.81

$84.35

Tacoma Dome - Tacoma, WA

$1,765,386

20,665 / 20,665

ARCO Arena$692,570 - Sacramento, CA

$1,442,044 $52.58

15,213 / 15,213

$885,613

$82.29

10/16 8

Celine Dion Brad Paisley

Rose Garden$576,680 - Portland, OR

$1,247,473 $47.03

18,001 / 18,001

10/24 9

Vicente Fernandez Trans-Siberian Orchestra

American Airlines Center - Dallas, TX $574,597

$1,125,485 $46.20

13,874 / 13,874

10 10/15

RascalJanet Flatts Jackson

$553,479 Verizon Center - Washington, DC

$41.25 $1,077,846

9,720 / 10,389

11 10/21

Muse Neil Diamond

BOK Center $546,115 - Tulsa, OK

$$48.66 901,545

11,113 / 11,113

Izod Center - East Rutherford, NJ

$ 883,472

10,865 / 14,247

12

10/17

13

10/19

AndreJanet RieuJackson Toby Keith

$41.90

Ford Center - Oklahoma City, OK

$ 850,700

10,678 / 10,678

Amway Arena - Orlando, FL

$ 846,610

10,757 / 10,757

Coldplay, Stars

Scotiabank Place - Ottawa,

$ 839,710

12,121 / 15,082

Palace of Auburn Hills - Auburn Hills, MI $367,274

$$73.79 837,962

13,434 / 13,434 12,792 / 12,792

15

Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles

16

Carrie Underwood

10/25 17

$545,127

$77.16

Neil Diamond

Furthur

10/20

$546,115

Neil Diamond

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10/28

18

AVG GROSS

New Kids On The Block Gorillaz

$447,180 $436,531 $415,279

$41.90 $69.88 $49.36

10/10-11 18

Kids On The Block Dane New Cook

HP Pavilion -$278,668 San Jose, CA

$$53.77 831,900

10/11 19

The Allman Brothers So You Think You CanBand Dance

Chastain Park Amphitheatre - Atlanta, GA $243,031

$$52.06 772,937

9,887 / 13,372

20 10/19

JasonNew Aldean Kids On The Block

$218,171 American Airlines Center - Dallas, TX

$$34.72 738,310

11,397 / 14,039

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SOUND CHECK

JACKSON BROWNE: Going Home This live concert production is tight and immaculately produced. Like many of his 1970s singersongwriter comrades, there is an attention to detail when Brown performs that makes you appreciate the professionalism of the artist. However, Browne is also one of those artists who knows how to connect with his audience, making each concert unique. So, whether in front of 20,000 or for a small number of fans, it never feels like he’s going through the motions.

WEEZER: Hurley Casual fans of Weezer, the ones who only really know their pop hits, should love Hurley. The new album, their first since parting ways with Geffen and signing with indie label Epitaph, is a strong collection of pop rock/punk songs that will make the grayest autumn days ahead seem much sunnier. Everything about Hurley feels as big and burly as the photo of “Lost” actor Jorge Garcia (a.k.a. “Hurley”) on the front cover.

THE ORB: Metallic Spheres When the Orb first broke through into somewhat mainstream appeal with their 1991 epic The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, some critics immediately drew comparisons between the ambient house outfit and classic prog rock of the 1970s. So while it’s kind of surprising that David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame is working with the ambient-house legends, its even more surprising is that it took this long.

THE POSIES: Blood/Candy The Posies deliver their first album since 2005 here, and it’s a mixed bag. There’s a handful of songs that rival the Seattle-rooted band’s best work on Frosting on the Beater, their 1993 alternative-era classic. Big melodic hooks, vintage gear, soaring vocals with depth, rich harmonies; these are great to hear in 2010. It’s a fine line, but the bottom line is that it’s still great to hear Auer and Stringfellow working together again.

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SOUND CHECK

March 1 Dropkick Murphys

Going Out of Style

John Popper & The Duskray Troubadours

John Popper & The Duskray Troubadours

Lucinda Williams

Blessed

Anna Wilson & Friends

Countrypolitan Duets

March 8 Buffalo Tom

Skins

Bruce Cockburn

Small Source of Comfort

Sara Evans

Stronger

Marianne Faithfull

Horses and High Heels

Avril Lavigne

Goodby Lullaby

Charley Pride

Choices

R.E.M.

Collapse Into Now

March 15 Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi

Rome

Al Di Meola

Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody

Green Day

Awesome As F**k

March 22 Acid House Kings

Music Sounds Better With You

Assassin

Breaking the Silence

Ray Davies

See My Friends

Robin Zander

Countryside Blvd.

March 29 Peter Bjorn and John

Gimme Some

April 5 Robbie Robertson

How to Become Clairvoyant

April 12 Alison Krauss + Union Station

title TBA

Paul Simon

So Beautiful or So What

April 26 Dirty Vegas

Electric Love

May 24 Lady Gaga

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SOUND CHECK

MODEL HOME

By Steve Guttenberg

T

he Sony BDV-E770W is the company's flagship Blu-ray home theater for 2010 and it's outfitted with just about every feature you could think of. It can stream media for a ton of online sources (including Netflix, Amazon VOD, Pandora, and Slacker) and it comes with a USB Wi-Fi dongle so you don't need Ethernet in the living room. A wireless rear-speaker package is also included, which is a welcome plus now that many manufacturers don't include this even on high-end systems. You can connect an iPod directly to the BDV-E770W's USB port, and browse your music using the onscreen display. The built-in Blu-ray player is even 3D-compatible.

With all that functionality, it's surprising that the BDV-E770W lacks a major feature available on competing systems like the Samsung HT-C6500, and even much cheaper systems like the LG LHB535: HDMI inputs.

That's a shame, because the BDV-E770W combines the rest of its functionality with excellent sound quality, stylish design, and fast disc-loading speeds (for an HTIB). If you can get around the lack of HDMI inputs, the BDV-E770W is an impressive Blu-ray home theater system even at $600. Still, buyers should definitely check out the competing Samsung HT-C6500, which offers slightly better sound, two HDMI inputs, and a lower price tag.

Sony's home theater systems find the sweet spot between the overly glossy look of Samsung's and the ho-hum drab of Panasonic's systems. The overall aesthetic is a muted, matte-gray finish, with some gloss added to the AV receiver/Blu-ray main unit for a refined feel. All of the speakers are 22

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small enough so that they don't intrude on your living room, coming in at 3 inches wide by 8.88 inches high by 2.88 inches deep. The subwoofer is on the large size (10.88 inches wide by 16 inches high by 10.88 inches deep) and needs to be wired to the AV receiver/ Blu-ray main unit. The front panel buttons on the main unit are just tiny nubs that run along the crevice on the bottom; think of them as a happy medium between touch-sensitive controls and physical buttons. Looks are subjective, but we like the Sony's style the most out of systems we've seen this year.

The included remote is cluttered, as is the case with many all-in-one systems. We liked the inclusion of button rockers for volume control, although they're placed too far down for such important controls. The directional pad is centrally placed, and we appreciated it being surrounded by important Blu-ray buttons like "top menu" and "pop-up menu."

Playback controls are well-placed, but the buttons are small. If it was up to us, we'd dump the number pad to focus the remote on the more-important functions.

Like nearly all Sony products these days, the BDV-E770W uses a version of the XMB interface. We're fans of the design, although there's a slight learning curve up front to get the logic of the layout. Different media types (music, photos, videos) are laid out horizontally, along with the setup menu. The most important thing is that navigation feels zippy (although not as quick as on a PS3), so you can quickly get around the menu.

Blu-ray playback is lumped in with all streaming-media services under the Video icon. Our biggest gripe with the video section is that Sony didn't use a lot of discretion when picking services; there are a lot of nonessential streaming-video services that would be better grouped into a folder like "more services." On the upside, main services like Netflix, Amazon VOD, and YouTube are grouped at the top for easy access. Sony also has an icon for Qriocity, which is Sony's own on-demand video service. Sony includes a cross-platform video search function, but it doesn't work with Netflix, Amazon, or YouTube, which dilutes most of its utility.

The BDV-E770W is well-appointed with features. It includes the TA-SA200WR wireless surround amplifier, enabling you to use the rear speakers without running wires from the front of your home theater to the back; that's a feature that missing from the competing Samsung HT-C6500. The BDVE770W doesn't have an iPod dock, but you can connect an iPod directly to the USB port using the standard USB dock connector cable included with iPods.

Blu-ray features are a strong point for the BDV-E770W as well. The big advantage is 3D compatibility, which means your HTIB will be future-proofed if you ever decide to get into the new format. Wi-Fi is included, although note that you'll need to use the included dongle. The need for a Wi-Fi dongle is a hassle, when competing systems offer WiFi built-in.

Listen to your soul.

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OPENING ACT

G R E

G N I

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CHRISTINA PERRI

At just 23, Christina Perri has already lived more than a E Mhandful of lives. She toured the world as a rock band’s assistant, spent a year at a college, became a wife -- then an exwife, produced popular music videos, made olive oil in Italy, even worked as a barista in Beverly Hills. The big break that catalyzed her meteoric rise came the summer of 2010 when a raw, defiant break-up song Perri wrote called “Jar of Hearts” aired on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance as a backdrop to a memorable piece choreographed by Stacey Tookey.

MUMFORD & SONS The four members of Mumford & Sons came together in 2007, united through a common purpose: to make music that matters, without taking themselves too seriously. And tight-knit crew Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane definitely have enough romance in their hearts and rapture in their masterful voices to realize their self-imposed challenge. The foursome quickly bonded over their love of country, bluegrass and folk, and decided to make music that sounded loud, proud and live. The sound that came out of the passionate ensemble was not only lively but is as pretty and delicate as it is enthusiastic, courageous and confident.

THE SCRIPT The Script has been a household name in Ireland since 2008, opening for the likes of U2 and Paul McCartney. But, it took the Irish pop-rock trio a couple of more years to start making waves in the U.S. with the release of their global chart-topping, self-titled debut. If you think a couple of years seems too long for a band that sold 1.5 million albums with powerhouse singles like “Breakeven” and “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” to resonate in the States, you don’t know the global journey it took the members of The Script to break into the music landscape.

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If you asked this seven-piece band from Austin, Texas what their sound is all about, Alpha Rev would say they’re just, “Seven people pouring their souls into rock ‘n’ roll music they truly believe in.” Apt description for a band whose name in half Greek, half Latin loosely means the start of something new, according to frontman Casey McPherson. Inspired by experience and tragedy, McPherson mixes a range of musical influences from Beethoven to Pink Floyd. And singer/songwriter McPherson brings that vast musical taste to this pop-rock project.

ANGEL TAYLOR Despite having her debut album, “Love Travels,” named “Album of the Year” by iTunes in 2009 and receiving three out of four stars from “People Magazine,” 21-year-old Angel Taylor, along with her coffee shop-inspired sound, has not hit the music scene quite as big as one would expect. After signing with Aware/Columbia Records, the up-and-coming singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, Calif. released her debut album “Love Travels” on iTunes The album’s first single, “Make Me Believe,” received over 500,000 iTunes downloads, but the rising artist has yet to reach the status of other artists in her genre, such as Colbie Caillat, and Corinne Bailey Rae.

DANIEL MERRIWEATHER Aussie crooner Daniel Merriweather was influenced by music mavericks Stevie Wonder, Prince and Jeff Buckley, but this Melbourneborn singer/songwriter is his own musical free spirit. Armed with an R and B timbre, Merriweather burst on the scene after DJ/producer Mark Ronson heard his demo and invited him to New York City, eventually signing him to Allido Records. This partnership led to 2007’s U.K. smash “Stop Me”. Merriweather soon relocated to New York where he spent 18 months working on his 2009 debut “Love and War.” .

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LADY GAGA

A MONSTER OF A BALL

By Marcus Hondro

L

Whenady the topic of music and themonster direction the indusGaga is getting cheers try is taking comes up, Ozzy insists, “Well that’s a good from her little monsters as her Monquestion, because I’m f**ked if I know. There are times ster Ball Tour continues, offering up a when I walk around with my head in my rear end.” monstrous helping of theatrical pop.

He recalls, “I was out on Sunset (Strip) a while ago The show is athere’s movable feastwhere of art and with Sharon, where a bookshelf, I always song. former Stefani lascivget the The British newspapers.

AndGermanotta I said, ‘Let’s go to Tower iously struts about the stage all the while Records and see if they’ve got the new Sheryl Crow resinging (no here) breathing cord.’ So I go in,lip and syncing it’s empty at, like, 3and o’clock, 4 o’clock into mic aI torrent in thethe afternoon. said, ‘Do of youpop havesongs. the Sheryl Crow?’

And he said, ‘Yeah I’ve got lots them; how many do you The Twitter Queen - of she passed Britney want?’ I didn’t he was trying to get on at.

Spears as understand the mostwhat twittered woman Then the following week, it was gone.

That’s what’s hapEarth last week - gets the biggest cheers pening.

Everyone’s gone from reality to unreality the for hits like Alejandro, Poker Face inand respect that they all want to sit in their f**king houses Just Dance, but there are monster cheers now on their computers. So everybody has gone inward throughout for the woman who has married into their cave, if you like. We have to go to the f**kin’ pop art and pop music. Fans dress for the 28

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JC Penney andgive all that s**tGaga and toacoffee shops now to shows and Lady rapturous audibuy music, which is kind of sad. It’s probably a similar ence to play to. thing when silent movies went over to talkie movies. All “She was absolutely amazing and I saw of the sudden, it kind of disappeared.”

Madonna last year and Gaga totally blew her On the other hand, Ozzy lends a sympathetic tone to away,” fan said. was totally enthralled musiciansatoday.

“I was “I also shocked to find out what for the whole two hours.

Her performance young bands have to do now when they get signed to a was and she came across as such recordincredible company. They take part of their publishing, their a great human.” concessions, their gig money. It’s, like, ridiculous.” He reOne“Atstriking Lady Gaga flects, the same thing time I’veabout been soalucky to have my career. I’veabout had such good fortune.

I’m just plodding on, crowd, her little monsters is how you know.

People say, ‘Are youLady retiring?’

Butthey the thing they come to play.

Like Gaga are is, I’m not getting any younger.

And if the crowd starts dressed in all manner of costume - and like to thin, diminish, thendressed I’ll see it as sign- that time to her some barely ata all andit’s you can hang up my microphone. pass a group of seven costumed fans who look totally different from one another and yet all look just like Lady Gaga.

HEADLINERS

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Indeed clearly pop fans get what Gaga’s about and celebrate being a part of the worldwide phenomenon she has become. Francois Marchand of the Vancouver Sun said “...

Gaga’s brand has gone global, borne by a singular style of performance pop-art.”

The performer from New York who just purchased a $5 million home in L.A. is a global hit with record sales and live audiences to prove it. She climbed these heights in a short time: in December of 2009 she did three sold-out shows in Canada to a total of about 7500 fans. Seven short months later her shows in the same city sold 40,000 tickets.

She does write poignant songs, like Speechless which she has said was written for her Dad who was ill at the time, but some songs do not achieve lyrically what they do rhythmically. But while the words of songs like The Fame, Money Honey and Monster are not as compelling as the music, each song overall is a great creator of melodic movement.

Somehow as she sings, dances and plays instruments Lady Gaga managed to easily 10 elaborate costume changes on a colorful and theatrical set that is a New York scene complete with a yellow cab, the hood of which pops open to be a piano. She has with her a squirming and leaping band of dancers that she cavorts with and, unlike Britney or Madonna, Lady Gaga is a virtuoso musician, her piano playing, her everything playing, of a quality rarely heard in pop in music.

The Monster Ball Tour is a juggernaut of a 2 hour musical beast that spans four continents and parts of three years and 179 shows. It began on November 27 2009 and then changed in 2010 as Gaga told Ryan Seacrest it was still called the Monster Ball but was now “...more of a musical and less of a concert. It has a New York theme, it’s a story...me and my friends are in New York and we’re going to the Monster Ball and we get lost.”

Even without the music Lady Gaga showed what she’s about on Monday and Tuesday when she spoke to the crowd, often about creating freedom for yourself and supporting everyone else to get to it. “It doesn’t matter if you have money,” she says. “You can be whoever you want to be.”

During the Monster Ball Tour Stefani Germanotta, who started piano at the age of four and hasn’t let up playing since, is a wonderful example of that. www.livemagazine.com

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HEADLINERS

Ani DiFranco One Woman’s Journey

By Kira Cochrane

I

first encountered Ani DiFranco across a sea of empty seats in 1997. I had just finished a summer teaching pottery at a US kids’ camp, and I and a similarly impoverished friend decided to buy tickets to see Bob Dylan play Philadelphia. Our fistful of dollars didn’t run to a seat, just a rug on the grass at the back, me in my charity shop pyjamas, him in his tie-dye T-shirt, the two of us passing Malibu and Coke back and forth in a plastic bottle we’d smuggled in.

There was hardly an audience when DiFranco, Dylan’s support act, took the stage; 12 or so people milling in the 10,000-seater stalls, and about 100 with us on the grass. A small, wiry performer with a guitar, renowned for her percussive style and her intimate and political lyrics, shouldn’t have had the shoulders to heft that leaden space. But DiFranco did. Somehow she not only reached across to us half-drunk, half-stoned folk at the back, she woke us up, shook us down, and filled the arena so thoroughly, we felt as though we were drinking champagne in the front row.

DiFranco started playing bars in her home city, Buffalo, New York, at the age of nine; founded her own record label, Righteous Babe, at 20; has released more than 20 albums in the last 20 years, selling more than 4m records; has been working to a tour schedule just as punishing and “never-ending” as Dylan’s; has made a documentary of her life on the road; and has interwoven all this barnstorming creativity with political feminist activism. She has been ranked in the top 25 most influential musicians of the last 25 years (alongside Radiohead, the Pixies and U2). Oh, and in 2007 she had her first child, a daughter, and released a book of 32

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verse. Would it surprise you to learn that DiFranco is an insomniac?

And how does she explain a work ethic that would make the average puritan look shabby? “I’m searching, as we all are, for ways to feel good about myself. Certainly, looking in the mirror doesn’t do it! We all have our own brand of self-loathing, and, for me, work makes me feel useful and good, so I’ve just been full bore into it.” She suspects that her daughter might change this. “She’s only eight months old, but already I have less time to do my thing, which is good. I have this little boss now, who insists that I step away from work - pretty unique in a boss. Work less! Work less! I think it’s good for me not to get so far inside my own head.”

Given how young she was when she started gigging, it’s surprising to find that her parents weren’t musical.

“Nobody played music in my family, but as soon as I got my guitar, I started making friends with this guy, Mike, at the guitar shop, and he started taking me around to his gigs.” And she was nine? “Yeah. I think for him it was a novelty - it was like, here’s my sidekick. So, through him, I met all kinds of songwriters, folk singers.” She returned the favour to Mike - Michael Meldrum - by co-producing his debut album last year, and releasing it through her record label.

DiFranco is famously anti-corporate, an impulse she traces to having been born in 1970, which means she remembers “an America that was not completely corporately controlled, when music was real, and it was actually a commodity that was at least discovered by corporations, rather than being created by them. And radio was real - there were DJs out there spinning music

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HEADLINERS they loved - and there were Ma and Pa food stores, rather than just chain stores. And so I saw that culture, and I felt the change, and I think that was something that I myself resisted. I just didn’t think that that shift was good - for art, for culture, for people.”

While her parents may not have shaped her career choice, they did influence her politics. “My parents are liberal people. My mother was pretty active when I was young. She was in various ‘Women for Downtown’ groups, trying to revitalise the city. She would campaign for various female candidates, going door to door, handing out flyers, and I would go with her.”

In 2006, the National Organisation for Women (Now), America’s largest feminist advocacy group, honoured DiFranco with a Woman of Courage award. She has always been outspoken about her feminism; in that same Joni Mitchell interview she suggested that her subject, who has been disparaging of feminism, might embrace the concept. Mitchell simply responded, “I prefer the company of men.” DiFranco went on to write that “Either you are a feminist or you are a sexist/misogynist. There is no box marked ‘other’.”

Does it disappoint her that the sole female candidate isn’t more radical? She sighs. “I think it stands to reason, because honestly the practical person in me understands that it can’t be any other way - you can’t get a radical feminist into the White House in 2008. You have to start with a benign female, and just have the concept of a woman in that position, to ease into it. Unless you’re going to have an armed revolution, which I’m considering!”

Are there particular feminist issues that DiFranco would like to see people organising around? She shakes her head. “No. All issues. I think what we need to do is to understand feminism as a prerequisite to saving the environment, to ending war, to ending racism. We need to understand that feminism is not for women, it’s for humanity. Patriarchy does not work for men - they go and get killed in wars. Patriarchy hurts all of us. You know” - her voice takes on an ironic tone - “I hate to sound like some ‘crazy feminist’, but” - she reverts to her usual drawl - “the older I grow, the more I understand peace and stability as a product of balance, and human society is fundamentally imbalanced. Patriarchy is like the elephant in the room that we don’t talk about, but how could it not affect the planet radically when it’s the superstructure of human society?”

Our time up, she bounds off to get ready for her gig that night. She is used to playing much bigger spaces, but the intimacy of the room seems to please her more than anything. “I’m so excited to play a tiny room - I hardly ever get to do that now.” I wonder whether she is optimistic about the way ahead, in general. “Well, yes. I mean, politically, we’ve hit rock bottom. There’s nowhere to go but up!”

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WINNER! - “John Lennon Songwriting Contest” WINNER! - “Maxell - Song of The Year” “Matt can bring passion to most any song leaving listeners yearning for more.” - Broadway World

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HEADLINERS

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Bon Jovi 40

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he 42nd edition of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will take place over two weekends this spring, from April 29 to May 1 and May 5 to 8, and its lineup continues a long trend toward evermore-mainstream rock and pop. The headliners include Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, Arcade Fire, Jimmy Buffett, John Mellencamp, Tom Jones, Wilco, the Strokes, Robert Plant and John Legend and the Roots, festival organizers announced on Thursday.

When the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival heats up this spring its lineup will be a mixed bag of rock and pop (Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, Arcade Fire, Jimmy Buffett, John Mellencamp, Tom Jones, Wilco, the Strokes, Robert Plant and John Legend and the Roots); Jazz (Sonny Rollins, Ahmad Jamal and the Ron Carter Trio); and New Orleans and Louisiana music (Trombone Shorty, the Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Kermit Ruffins, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Buckwheat

the staff of JazzFest announced that the festival was happening, no matter how hard they had to work to make it happen. The 2006 Jazz Fest has been touted as a “New Orleans Homecoming”, celebrating the healing power of music.

Every year, the festival includes pop artists of every stripe on its main stages. What is often overlooked by outsiders is the sheer breadth of the festival, which has twelve separate stages or tents for jazz, blues, gospel, brass bands, zydeco, traditional and other important roots music forms. One could easily attend JazzFest all day, every day and see only top-notch jazz and blues music, going from the jazz tent to the blues tent to the traditional stage and back again.

If you like spicy chicken-and-sausage gumbo, drivethrough daiquiris, and more music than you could possibly take-in, there is no better bargain and no bigger party than this one.

“If you like spicy chicken-and-sausage gumbo, drive-through daiquiris, and more music than you could possibly take-in, there is no better bargain and no bigger party than this one.”

Zydeco, the Rebirth Brass Band, Galactic) and much more. This year’s “JazzFest” (as the locals refer to the event) takes place April 29 to May 1 and May 5 to 8.

JazzFest began in 1970 and was intended to promote New Orleans, the city that has given more to American music than any other. The first year, it was attended by about 350 ticket-buyers... there were twice as many musicians! Today it has grown to be one of the largest festivals in the United States, drawing as many as 650,000 people throughout the week.

Anyone not living in a box knows that Hurricane Katrina, and, to a lesser extent, Hurricane Rita, all but destroyed parts of the city of New Orleans in September of 2005. However, shortly after the hurricane occurred,

Here are a few JazzFest tips: If you stay in or near the French Quarter, take a taxi— but be ready to pay cash.

When you get ready to go home at the end of the day, bypass the long taxi line and catch the bus. You’ll be surrounded by festivalgoers still jazzed about the great music and food.

Choose comfortable shoes and clothing you don’t mind getting wet and dirty in case of rain.

Take only the essentials—sunscreen, photo ID, cash, tickets, camera, and a cell phone—in a small, over-theshoulder travel pouch.

Get a map as you go in and mark all the acts you want to see and the stage they’ll be on. Some of your favorite www.livemagazine.com

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acts might overlap—but, if you’re up for it, you can catch the first half of one and then run across the festival grounds for the last half of another.

If you plan to stay in one area most of the day with a large group of folks, you might want to bring a flag to fly as a landmark.

The food at JazzFest is just what you’d expect... mouth-watering Cajun, Creole and Soul Food dishes.

There are, of course, vegetarian options, but for meat-eaters, be sure to try some boiled crawfish and boudin (a rice and pork sausage). Expect long lines for food, particularly during mealtimes. Also, low-carb diets be darned... eat a couple of pralines and beignets. Don’t worry, you’ll sweat it off.

Folk Art, Jewelry, Clothing, Musical Instruments, Photographs.... the list goes on. Remember to make any large-sized purchases toward the end of the day, or check with the vendor to see if they’ll hold onto it for you. You don’t want to lug it around. A random note: if it’s extraordinarily hot (as it often the heat made my fingers swell.

JazzFest can be hot. Really, really hot. So hot that even the locals can be uncomfortable. Remember to drink plenty of water, and also eat plenty of salt if you’re sweating. Who says that parasols and paper fans are 100 years out of style? Umbrellas work great for instant shade and fans can provide you with momentary relief. Wear hats, loose and light-colored clothing and lots and lots of sunblock. Trust me, JazzFest is NOT the place to get a tan.

The New Orleans JazzFest is held at the New Orleans Fairground Race Course, basically a big wide open field inside a dusty racetrack. It lasts for 10 days (the weekdays in between, there is nothing at the fairgrounds, most attendees hang out in the French Quarter or go tour other parts of Louisiana).

JazzFest celebrates New Orleans’ cultural heritage, which means a lot of things to a lot of people.

Therefore, traditional music of numerous cultures, including Cajun, Zydeco, Caribbean and African music are well-represented, as those genres had huge influences on the early and modern music of New Orleans.

There’s truly something for everyone at JazzFest.

For more info check out www.nojazzfest.com www.livemagazine.com

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HEADLINERS

Pete Yorn

An Artistic Journey

By Gian Erguiza

Pete Yorn’s self-titled album has everything you’d expect from Pete and more. Great minds usually come in with material in mind, bounce off ideas spontaneously, spark fire from nothing and basically create magic in a short period of time, and that’s what Pete Yorn and Frank Black (Pixies) did for this record.

They stripped it down to its bare core and got down to business. Leaving out the multi-layered arrangements that Pete’s known for and breaking it down to the simplest factors make this record triumphant in it’s own right. The thing that most differs about this record and why it sounds as good as it does is that you get to experience Pete at his most raw state. His voice jumps out like it never has before and there’s this certain warmth to the record that older music afficionados would truly appreciate. The other reason why this record differs is that the imperfections, guitar leads, missed notes, missed keys and such, were all left in which is a ballsy move but a rewarding one at that.

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There’s a certain pop rock sensibility that Pete touches on for this record that is not usual for Pete; sort of like stepping aside of his comfort zone and taking a leap of faith.

There’s so many pop rock gems on this record but ‘Precious Stone,’ ‘Velcro Shoes,’ ‘Sans Fear,’ ‘Always,’ ‘Future,’ and ‘Wheels’ are some of the cream of this crop. My fave so far is the uber cool ‘Rock Crowd.’ It’s one of the coolest songs I’ve heard all year long and I’m sure you’ll agree once you hear it for yourself. Pete Yorn really takes his character singing to another place with that one.

It’s interesting to think that Pete might be in an exploration period or on an artistic journey as the past three albums he’s released are contrast to each other. But the best part of it all is the fact that no matter where Pete decides to take his music next, it’s going to be successful, inspiring and highly notable. This self-titled record is another successful notch under his belt and true to the artistry of Pete, it’s as eclectic as you’ll ever hear him.

“His trumpet playing and singing are world class! Throw in his 16 piece Big Band and you have something very special!” - Smokey Robinson “Joe is a young man w/an old soul and a classic voice. And don’t forget, he plays a hell of a trumpet!”- Clint Eastwood “I love listening to Joe perform because he has a marvelous connection with the music he plays and sings. His innate understanding of interpreting classics is something that you can’t learn, it’s natural.” - Michael Feinstein

AVAILABLE AT

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HEADLINERS

MATT

CUSSON “He’s the complete package, a star in the making”

By Tip McPartland

H

e’s a star in the making, a singer/songwriter, with a Voice- sexy, soulful, rich and poetic. He can play anything from the classics to his own originals and blow listeners away.

Those are just a few things being said about Matt. People are not only singing the praises of this incredible young musician, but are quickly becoming devoted fans, ready to tell everyone they know about Matt.

Thousands of fans waited breathlessly for Matt’s debut solo CD, which was just released December of ‘08, showcasing Matt’s incredible songwriting ability, stunning arrangements, tremendous vocals and ability as both an artist and arranger/producer. This album is receiving fanfare and recognition from fans all around the world, along with fellow musicians and talented artists! It holds true for people like James Taylor, Brian McKnight, “Today” host Meredith Vierra and “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson – all of whom say the same thing: Matt Cusson is an extraordinary musician, a remarkable singer, a gifted piano player and a star on the rise.

Most musicians fit nicely into one genre. Matt does not. He’s that unique sort of talent that can do it all, with a musical ear only a handful of musicians are born with. His style contains a breadth of influences – from R & B, soul and gospel to jazz, pop and rock. A self-taught piano and guitar player, Matt can breeze through songs with his soothing 48

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style leaving listeners yearning for more. He can sing with enough soul to woo Brian McKnight or even slip into a jazzy number with the coolness of Harry Connick Jr. Matt practically came out of the womb ready to be a musician, singing at age 2. Soon after, he was soaking up the music of Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Nat King Cole, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, The Beatles, Djavan, Take 6 and numerous others.

His passion for music led him to the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he played with John Mayer, among other well known artists.

While studying at Berklee, Matt was selected to be a part of the Singer Showcase, which highlights the school’s best vocalists.

It’s with that education, a deep sense of history and unmistakable talent that Matt is beginning to make his mark on the music world today. Currently, Matt is touring around the world with Brian McKnight – who discovered Matt in 2000 and has been a mentor ever since. Matt was chosen to tour with Christiana Aguilera and has shared stages and studios with James and Livingston Taylor, Stanley Clarke, Babyface, Bebe Winans, Jon B. and Jessica Simpson, as well as many others. He’s performed live on “The View” and “Live with Regis and Kelly.”

He’s the complete package: rich musicianship, awesome voice, incredible range, plenty of charisma and most importantly, truly amazing songs.

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HEADLINERS

Smoking Popes “It’s Been A Long Day” Tour

By GlassPipeMurder

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he core of the Smoking Popes are brothers Matt Caterer, Josh Caterer and Eli Caterer. The Caterer brothers were raised on rock ‘n’ roll and crooners like Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. In 1980 Matt got a guitar, Josh a bass and Eli a drum set and they began to play together.

Soon after, their eyes were opened to the world of the Ramones and punk rock. Other early musical influences included Mel Tormé, Tom Waits, The Replacements, The Smiths, early AC/DC, The Cars, Dinosaur Jr, and many others.

Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer has the best voice in punk rock. Perhaps tied with Ted Leo and Nick 13, and probably someone else I’m not mentioning, the point remains that Caterer has a spectacular voice.

A friend of mine who was new to the Popes’ offered a prim50

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itive and undeveloped impression that actually works well for describing the band to someone who’s never heard it: “sappy, romantic lyrics with electric guitars and the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard.” Of course, there is much more to the Popes’ lyrical content than romanticism, but there’s no doubt that Caterer and the band know how to write a song.

If you’re a Bad Astronaut fan, you’ve probably heard that band’s cover of the Popes’ masterpiece “Megan.” A luscious melody coats the song’s emotive lyrics that are worth quoting, but are relatively nothing without hearing Caterer’s voice singing them.

Caterer’s songwriting dives head-first into the core of humanity, and the music is as good as the best pop-punk you’ve ever heard.

HEADLINERS

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Jeff

B E C K

By Scott Smith

ike all of rock music’s greats, Jeff Beck is good on studio tape but even more stunning in concert.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a solo artist and as a member of the influential British blues band The Yardbirds, Beck has sounded inspired on pretty much all of his studio work, but give the 65-year-old musician a stage and white Fender Stratocaster, and his passion and playing take on a greater, more convincing dimension.

Wearing sunglasses, black pants and a black vest, Beck showed why he’s been christened by many as one of the greatest guitarists to ever live. He caressed the neck of his guitar on quiet numbers like his impeccable cover of “Over the Rainbow,” and for the more venomous numbers, Beck’s right hand wiggled over his brand-new guitar strings and slapped the whammy bar.

Sidestepping the serious, strict reputation that has followed him for 45 years, Beck seemed at ease during the mostly instrumental set that split time between cuts from his new compact disc, “Emotion & Commotion,” and older favorites. He smiled numerous times at the audience, and whenever drummer Narada Michael Walden, bassist Rhonda Smith or keyboardist Jason Rebello took a brief solo, Beck stood to the side of the stage, smiling like a proud father and gesturing for the audience to cheer his colleagues.

Most of Beck’s 115-minute set won standing ovations between songs, and when Beck performed an instrumental version of Curtis Mayfield’s immor-

tal “People Get Ready” - Beck and Rod Stewart scored a hit duet of it in 1985 - a collective gasp escaped the audience’s lungs before the sounds of claps and whistles.

Thirty minutes later, Beck played the start of John Lennon’s vocal line on The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life,” and what followed was an inventive reinterpretation that boasted flashes of punchy jazz and intense psychedelic rock.

Near the show’s end, Beck paid tribute to the late Les Paul by strapping on a Gibson Les Paul for a rowdy, rockabilly-like song. The capacity crowd included teenagers who stared at Beck in silence, as well as older fans who have marveled at Beck’s in-concert magic multiple times.

“This is my first Jeff Beck concert,” said one woman while perched against the stage’s front before the concert.

“Yeah, I’ve seen Jeff Beck before,” said her friend. “He is great. This is going to be a great concert.”

Local musicians like Gary Hutchison and Brad Hyman made the two-hour trip to catch Beck amaze in the wash of red, green, yellow and white spotlights.

“That was just about the best performance of a concert I’ve ever seen,” gushed Hutchison following the show.

“Wow.” Beck’s show at the Brady indeed was as spectacular as his recent concert DVD, “Performing This Week ... Live at Ronnie Scott’s.” It’s still easy to see why Beck was the only guy who could truly replace Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds way back when. www.livemagazine.com

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HEADLINERS

Galactic

By Ethan Stanislawski

O

ver the course of a Galactic concert they pretty much run the course of just about every musical style America has invented over the past 70 years. They serve up a mix of down-home Delta blues, heavy funk, the occasional rock-fusion touches, and backe with a jazz sensibility.

Over the years, the band’s sound has evolved from organic New Orleans funk to a more modern style, incorporating elements of hip hop, electronica, fusion, and jazz. This change has been largely characterized by the increased use of electronic effects on guitar, bass, saxophone, and drums. Drummer Stanton Moore uses phrase samplers to sample a rhythm which he can then play over, producing intricate and layered drum sounds. Ben Ellman, saxophonist and harmonica player, often distorts his instruments to the degree that they sound similar to an electric guitar.

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Galactic, one of those bands that has fallen into the Jazz category for lack of better description, has built one of the more solid careers of any so-called jam band of the last 20 years. While bands like Phish and moe largely ignored the studio and focused on their live shows, Galactic have been consummate recording artists, focusing on both equally.

Like all good fusion bands, Galactic is a band who picks its stylistic moments carefully. Guitarist Jeff Raines hits the distortion petal sparingly, but every time he does it sends a chill up my spine.

Ya-Ka-May, Galactic’s most recent album, was released in 2010 on ANTI-. The album includes guest performances by a range of New Orleans musicians as Rebirth Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Big Chief Bo Dollis of The Wild Magnolias, Allen Toussaint and Walter “Wolfman” Washington, alongside younger performers such as Trombone Shorty.

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HEADLINERS

GEORGE THOROGOOD Still “Bad to the Bone”

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By Shawn Perry

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rends, fads and American Idol — they have no place in George Thorogood’s world. It is now as it was back in the 70s when the Delawarebred guitarist and his band the Destroyers made a few records for a small label called Rounder.

It had been 20 years or more since I’d last seen George Thorogood & The Destroyers. The first time was in or around 1978, I don’t remember. What I do remember is that Thorogood walked out on stage while the lights were still up, drinking a Heineken. Everyone cheered as he set up his own amp, made a few adjustments, grabbed his guitar and slid right into a song.

Sitting 10 rows back at this show, I could see things had changed considerably. The stage was all high-tech and streamlined. Amps were nowhere in sight, seemingly covered by screens with racing stripes and topped off by rows of powerful ever-ready spotlights.

A few roadies made some last-minute checks, and Thorogood was not among them.

I wondered if George Thorogood gone big-top Hollywood on us? Did “Bad To The Bone” turn the brash former minor league ball player into a world-class prima donna?

As soon as the house lights went down and the stirring sounds of Barry McGuire’s “Eve Of Destruction” echoed over the hillside of the Greek Theatre, any doubts I may have had melted away instantly. Suddenly, there he was: George Thorogood, dressed in an auspicious black T-shirt with a little embroidered white stripe running over one shoulder. Black jeans, black shoes, dark glasses (uh-oh!), and his black Gibson

ES 125 TDC strapped on and ready to make noise.

George Thorogood hasn’t exactly gone Hollywood, but he knows how to work a crowd like a consummate pro. He breathed fire into “Who Do You Love” and the audience lapped it up. His in-between-song raps were fat, ferocious, hilarious. “Gentlemen, to the bat poles…” he announced and at once we were rolling into “Night Time.” Thorogood made faces and walked the plank along the front of the stage, while Suhler took a lead. The Destroyers are all about teamwork.

All this time, I took little notice of the overhead graphics and screens for the people in the back. But I saw a caricature of a bulldog and the words, “I Drink Alone,” and it was easy to figure out where we were headed next. Leach got the spotlight for a searing sax solo. The band leader spun around and widened his eyes. It was time for another drinking song, and there was only one I could think of: “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”

“Cocaine Blues” was dedicated to Johnny and June Cash before the group finally tried a couple of new ones from The Dirty Dozen, “Tail Dragger” and “Howlin’ for My Baby.” At this point, it was getting obvious what was left, and that was “Bad To The Bone.”

Back for the first encore, the guitarist got down and dirty on “You Talk Too Much,” then bounced back for a second encore of “Madison Blues.” The slide was slipping, the energy was highstrung and when it was over, everyone knew rock and roll was still something George Thorogood & The Destroyers could do well. www.livemagazine.com

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HEADLINERS

Joshua Radin The Rock and the Tide

By Tip McPartland

Joshua Radin’s musical career started in 2004, and he had learned to play the guitar only two years before that.

His first song, “Winter”, appeared on his debut album “We Were Here”. Since that time, Radin has been touring the United States, as well as much of the United Kingdom and Europe. Over the course of his career, Radin has shared stages with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Imogen Heap, and Missy Higgins and has amassed over 75 film and television placements.

This past weekend I was able to catch his show. Radin’s performance was incredible, giving me goose-bumps and tugging on my soft side.

Before each song he explained why he wrote it and how it made him feel, which gave more depth to the lyrics. I 58

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found myself entranced with his sound and very focused on what he was singing. It was amazing how I felt the words he sang--like I experienced it with him.

His opening song, “No Envy, No Fear” is about how we should focus on and enjoy what we have at the present moment. One of my favorites of the night, “One of Those Days,” was about how he dealt with his breakup with his ex who toured with him. Towards the end, the drums were beating heavier and heavier, the guitarist strummed the melody louder and louder, and Radin had a look of purgation, struggling to relinquish every emotional tension he had experienced.

He’s touring in support of his newest album “The Rock and the Tide.” Joshua Radin is an artist not to be missed.

HEADLINERS

SWANS 60

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By Michael Vinikour

ast night I had the privilege of hosting the long-awaited return of New York legends, the Swans. It has been a very long time since the band last toured, and after such a long hiatus, it was looking more and more like the band was done, but thankfully they aren’t!

When the setup for Swans was complete, a loud droning feedback started emanating from the stage and it went on for a full ten minutes before Swans member, Thor Harris, took the stage and started playing the chimes that formed the intro to “No Words/No Thoughts” from the new album, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky. After a couple of minutes of this, the rest of the band came on stage and they continued the song, which opened up into a massive sonic pummeling. The sound was insanely loud and perfectly mixed. The band was super tight, pounding on their instruments to make them emit sounds that were stunning and punishing at the same time.

Michael Gira is an intimidating frontman who demands attention and respect. He often has a stern look about him and at times you wonder if he is going to snap and kill someone. He channels this into his amazing vocals which are equal parts terrifying and beautiful.

When the man starts yelling, it is fear-inducing and gets your attention, when he sings and things get melodic, he will lull you into a sense of peace that will soon

be interrupted by the band breaking out into another sonic pummeling. Twice during the show, Michael Gira chastised a small group of morons in the crowd who were playing human bumper cars by randomly pushing and slamming into the people around them, most of them clearly uninterested in such a ridiculous practice. It was another highlight of an amazing show and more bands should follow suit.

The band played some new material, which is some of the strongest Swans material in years including, “My Birth”, and “Jim”. This was mixed with Swans classics like “Beautiful Child” and “I Crawl”. The greatest moment of the flawless performance came in their amazing rendition of “Sex God Sex” which was so intense it was chilling. All the songs were played incredibly and often extended to make them equal parts fresh and familiar.

They finished their two-hour set with “Eden Prison”, another song from the new album, and it was long, complex, and covered all the emotions, exploding in the middle with a sonic frenzy that was deafening. Anyone not wearing earplugs that night probably suffered a large amount of hearing loss. They came out for a very quick encore and left the crowd sweaty, with ringing ears, and completely satisfied. The rebirth of the Swans is nothing short of awe-inspiring and the world of music has just become a better place for their having returned. www.livemagazine.com

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ENCORE

DEVO “Still Ahead of the Curve”

By Will Stewart

E

ven after 35 years of de-evolution, DEVO’s off-kilter marriage of high concept and low humor still plays ahead of its time.

The band is revisiting its entire, groundbreaking catalog, bringing it all back not to the place where it started, but where it first caught a foothold in the art-rock market.

And it seems as if the band — featuring the classic lineup of Casale, his brother Bob Casale on synthesizer and guitar, guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh and keyboardistsinger Mark Mothersbaugh — was having fun, mixing songs from its fine new album, “Something for Everybody,” with cuts dating back to its first record.

Their performance is multi-media theater of the absurd. With classic DEVO film footage — much of it recut from “The Truth About De-Evolution” — serving as a visual backdrop, frontman Mark Mothersbaugh melded the band’s big ideas about devolution with vaudeville stage tricks and slapstick humor, while the rest of the band provided those trademark pulsating rhythms.

Changing from one iconic look to another — flowerpot hats, yellow jumpsuits — the band covers the “hits,” including “Whip It,” “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Girl U Want” and “Mongoloid,” while offering a healthy dose of the new material, which blended together seamlessly.

From its music to its look to its stage show, DEVO is about juxtaposition: industrial noise next to catchy melodies; synthesizers mixed with analog drums, high concepts vs. mass appeal. Form and function.

Sound and vision.

It seems that DEVO is mostly about finding beauty amid the decay of the modern world. There was an overarching thread of positivism that ran through the show.

As Mothersbaugh, in the guise of the band’s Booji Boy mascot, sang in the show closing “Beautiful World, “It’s a wonderful time to be here / It’s nice to be alive.”

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B AC K S TAG E INDUSTRY PROFILE - Q&A

Charlie Cran David Norman Strawberry Music Festival Jane LeBlanc Cohen and Bob Grossweiner -— BybyLarry

Norman is a veteran accountant he 2011 season marks tour the manager, 30th yeartour of the StrawTDavid and production manager,held who, if hea wasn’t berry Music Festival twice year atworking Camp behind the scenes to make a show happen, would be Mather next door to Yosemite National Park in central part of the show on stage, playing drums in a band.

California on the Memorial and Labor Day weekends.

Charlie Cran, one of the co-founders of the four-day music andplay camping Do you still drums? festivals, oversees them with his IStrawberry haven’t playedMusic in 20 years, but just lastTheresa week, I ordered an amazing Inc. partner, Gluzinski. kit from DW Drums so that’ll be my new relaxation when I’m home.

With a crowd between 6,000 to 7,000 people, and its 350miss acre spectacular Do you being in a band? natural setting, the StrawberNotMusic really. When my parents werethree killed in the accident, itofkilled me ry Festival attracts generations festival inside as well performing-wise. families--which are the foundation of Strawberry.

As do well, has, over the years, attracted Which you Strawberry prefer: tour managing or production managing?

Tour managing so than production managing althoughEmmylou I’m such leadingmore roots-styled acts as Steve Earle, equally strong at both.Cash, I also love tour accounting as I’ve always loved Harris, Rosanne Marty Stuart, Rhonda Vincent, numbers. Settling shows is just so exciting to me for some odd reason.

Sam Bush, Laurie Lewis, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, What do you see as the MacMaster, most pressing issues facing the John Prine, Natalie and Great Bigtouring Sea to industry today? name a few.

Ticket prices are really getting out of hand. Also, being a tour Why have the festival in such a rural spot? accountant, it’s kind of nice to see what Ozzfest is doing this year.

When we started in 1982, there was a bit of a traHow do of youcamping feel aboutfestivals the free Ozzfest? dition in this state (California). I It’s a great idea for the fans, but I’m feeling like everything else in life guess, maybe, it was started by Woodstock. The south-- it’s all becoming too corporate with multiple sponsors involved. All in ern (California) bluegrass festivals, a lot of them, had all, the fans win the most. camping associated with them. So that’s why. We figOn most of your tours, in addition to tour managing do you also ured we could do a festival up in a beautiful area. Who serve as tour accountant? wants to do a music festival Modesto?

Nobody.

It can Yeah, pretty much I do double duty. in Even when I’m the production manager still ask to be the tour as I pretty much have was to be 110 Idegrees there (in accountant the summer).

And there approve and see the laborfestival bills anyway. already a bluegrass in Grass Valley, run by the California Bluegrass Association, is a pretty When you do tour managing, productionwhich managing and tourgood sized festival. accounting, how do you also have time for FOH engineering?

I’mHave retired you from been FOH mixing. ago site that itthrough was killingall meof at theLearned Camp years Mather trying to do everything. the years?

No. first on year at a site on Sonora Pass, How do Our you relax andwe offwere the road?

Ha! Onisthenorth road, of I usually take reallynow. long It bath, a too goodsmall meal and which where wea are was plus a nap; off the road, I play with my menagerie of dogs, cats, birds, the owners of the property were difficult. So we found rabbits and turtles. I’ve lots of animals. I also enjoy just sitting on the this carved out of Yosemite. It is really beaucouchspot. or outItbywas my pool relaxing. tiful. We have been here for 28 years.

When a tourfull-time production big?

Youiswork ontoo the two annual festival events?

Once you’re over 12 or 15 trucks, it’s just overkill at that point.

Oh yeah.

Thereto are of usToo who work full time.

People mainly come hear six the music. many gimmicks -- pyro,We have sold our--tickets in-house. humonflying, always moving set pieces are taking away fromWe the have music.aAlthough gimmicks are great for eye appeal and entertainment, the music is the gous mailing list. main thing.

Do you utilize the Internet for attracting people?

No. Weabout do one mail piece year.have We tons do ticket Then what Theregular Rolling Stones or U2,awhich of trucks?online, and that’s a big part of our sales. sales 64 54

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They’re actually bigger than the music.

While on tour, what canʼt you live without?

My MacBook Pro, iPOD, Bose headphones, production cases and lots of bottled water.

First concert attended KissYou withdon’t Uriah Heep the Macon I was almost deaf for a utilizeat Twitter orColiseum.

Facebook? week that show/ No.after I don’t really know what any of that stuff is

myself.

Career highlights Attending two Super Bowls --off Super XL with Jossfestival?

Stone and Super Strawberry started as Bowl a bluegrass Bowl XXXVII with The Goo Goo Dolls; attending the 2006 World Cup Well, it did. We started it as the Strawberry Bluegrass with Toni Braxton; Live 8 in London in 2005 with Joss Stone as her tour Festival.

Ourjustfirst headliner the David Quinmanager and seeing the mass was of people at all of Grisman those events. tet (VI) with special guest Mark O’Connor. Tony Rice had Best left professional decision just (the group).

They came with Mike Marshall (guiTo learn all sides of the business: tour management, production tar/mandola), Darol andpromoter Rob Wasserman management, accounting, Anger backline,(violin) computers, rep. (bass). We didn’t have very much bluegrass and the next Wordswe to live by year changed our name. We always tried to have “Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what bluegrass butdetermines we are all over (musical) today. you do. Attitude how well the you do it.” -- frommap a book of quotes I have.

What is The Strawberry Way? What the entertainers have always noticed is the vibe Most memorable tour experiences of oura festival.

It is during just such a friendly Over the Riding camel in Dubai the Alicia Keys worldvibe. tour and being in the desert -- asking mycame driver totoleave in the middle of the desert years, people who theme festival developed this for an hour andWay enjoying complete silence for first time in my life.

Strawberry thing.

It started outthewith encouraging Truly a moving experience. everybody (to conserve water) because we used to have friends would be surprised learn about aWhat limited water supply.

Take atoshower, butyou just for three That I’m a pretty drummer interested in Asianup. Keep minutes.

Let’sgood make sureand thevery trash is picked philosophy. the noise down late at night. Well, that kind of stuff has If I wasnʼt doing this,atI would be... always happened our festivals, and it became known ...playing drums in a band! as The Strawberry Way.

B AC K S TAG E

SNAPSHOTS

From the Goodbye Big Apple to theto Big2010 Easy Saying

T

2010 broughtFor us aNew wide range was of live music including AC/DC, King &Square JamesGarden Taylor,toDave Matthews Band, he Concert Orleans held on September 20, 2005Carole at Madison support the long-term Therelief Eagles, Mayer, Ladyfollowing Gaga, Metallica, McCartney, Waters.

What better andJohn rebuilding efforts HurricaneMichael Katrina. Bublé, FROM Paul THE BIG APPLE TOand THERoger BIG EASY united the biggest names in music with New Orleans legends to create a poignant musical journey.

The live concert raised approximately way to say goodbye to 2010 but with a few shots from a couple of shows that ended the year; the Black Crowes nine million dollars benefit long-term relief efforts.

“Croweology” tourto and Roger Water’shurricane “The Wall”.

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LOAD O U T

The Last Waltz GeorgeMitchell Shearing Mitch ( 1919 - 2011) ( 1947 - 2008 )

M

itch Mitchell, drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience of the 1960s and the group's last surviving member, was found dead in his hotel NEW YORK -room early(AP) Wednesday.

He was 61.

Mitchell a powerful force on "Are Experienced?" eorge was Shearing, the ebullient jazz You pianist who wrotethe the 1967standard debut album of the Hendrix band.

He had an explosive “Lullaby of Birdland” and had a string of hits both drumming style that be heard hard-charging with and without hiscan quintet, has in died.

He was 91.songs such as "Fire" and "Manic Depression."

Shearing, blind since birth, had been a superstar of the jazz The Englishman had been drumming for the Experience Hendrix world sinceperformed a couple Friday of years after heItarrived thestop United Tour, which in Portland. was theinlast on States in Coast 1947 part fromofhis the West thenative tour. England, where he was already Hendrix died The in 1970.

Noel Redding, bass player trio, hugely popular.

George Shearing Quintet’s first for bigthe hit came died in 2003. in 1949 with a version of songwriter Harry Warren’s “SeptemAn employee at Portland's Benson Hotel called police after ber in the Rain.” discovering Mitchell's body.

He remained activemedical well into his 80s, releasing CD called Erin Patrick, a deputy examiner, said Mitchell aapparently “Lullabies of Birdland” as well as awas memoir, “Lullaby of Birdland,” died of natural causes. An autopsy planned.

Bob 2004.

Merlis, a spokesman for the tour, said Mitchell had in early stayed Portland for a four-day vacation and plannedsaid to leave In a in 1987 Associated Press interview, Shearing the inWednesday. gredients for a great performance were “a good audience, a good "It was a devastating surprise," Merlis said. "Nobody drummed piano, and a good physical feeling, which is not available to every like he did." soul, every day of everyone’s life.

G

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He said he saw Mitchell perform two weeks ago in Los Angeles, and the drummer appeared to be healthy and upbeat.

Merlis said the tour was designed to bring together veteran musicians who had known Hendrix — like Mitchell — and younger artists, as then, Grammy-nominated Jonny Lang, who have “Yoursuch intent, is to speak to winner your audience in a language been influenced by him. you know, to try to communicate in a way that will bring to them Mitchell was asa you one-of-a-kind drummer whose "jazz-tinged" as good a feeling have yourself,” he said. style was a vital part of both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the In 2007, Shearing was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his Experience Hendrix Tour that ended last week, Merlis said. "If Jimi contribution tostill music. honor was announced, he said Hendrix were alive,"When Merlisthe said, "he would have acknowledged it that." was “amazing to receive an honor for something I absolutely love Mitchell doing.” played for numerous other bands but was best known for his work inbebop-influenced the Jimi Hendrixsound Experience, which was inducted Shearing’s became identified with a into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1992. quintet, piano, vibes, guitar, bass and drums, which he put toAccording to the Hall of Fame, he was born July 9, 1947, in gether 1949. More recently, he played mostly solo or with only Ealing,inEngland. a bassist.

HeRedding excelled and in the “lockedheld hands” in which Hendrix, Mitchell theirtechnique, first rehearsal in October to the Hall ofthe Fame's site. the pianist1996, plays according parallel melodies with two Web hands, creating a In anfull interview distinct, sound.last month with the Boston Herald, Mitchell said heGuitarist-vocalist met Hendrix "in this sleazy little club."

John Pizzarelli, who recorded 2002’s “The "We did some Chuck Berry and took it from there," Mitchell told Rare Delight of You” with the George Shearing Quintet, said, “The the newspaper. "I suppose it worked."

Shearing sound is something that lives on ad infinitum.”