Marc Broussard @ the TLA in Philly, PA 11-12-08

I guess I need to put out a disclaimer 1st. I am not a huge fan of Marc Broussard. I do own an album and have listened to him, but have never found him super compelling.


A good friend of mine, who does not get out much and loves live music asked me to go and I went more for her then anything else as she is a huge fan.

I was mildy surprised by his performance.

The man has talent and there were those in attendance who were moved to tears during the show. Even though the TLA in Philly is one of my favorite local venues, tonight the music quality was subpar. Many of the instruments; including Marc's voice did not play out to the crowd well and were not blended all too well.

The show was nowhere near soldout and the crowd sparse for a national act playing in such a small venue, even though it was a Wednesday nite.

Marc started the show acoustically and solo which to me was the highlights of the nite.

Setlist
Evie Rose
Lonely Nite
Rock Steady
Man 4 Life
Love & Hap (Happiness)
Save Me
Come in Fr. Cold
Booty
Another Nite Alone
Real Good Thing
Come Round
Home
__ENCORE__
Gavin/French
Goin Home

Highlights were the cover Love & Happiness were Marc seemed to cut loose quite a bit. This is a hard song not to like, Marc's voice was on key and the song was well performed.
Rock Steady, Home and Booty were also exceptionally well performed.

The concert just never seemed to really get started and the lack of "good sound" really hampered the event even though some hardcore Broussard fans were in attendance which usually makes for some good chemistry.

Ray LaMontagne @ the Keswick in Glenside, PA 10-13-08

Ray LaMontagne Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA 10/13/08
Ray shared the stage with his band members exhibiting his humility by performing stage left giving the entire band the spotlight and showing his strength with his voice.
Few known performers can get away with performing a set of new, unreleased songs. Ray still can. Therein lies his strength and yet his shyness. Frankly I could have listened to him perform just about anything. I can't really describe what it is other then pure musical ability. The way he weaves a tune musically and lyrically is mesmerizing and I don't think this was one of his better shows although I thought it was outstanding. The stage crew had commented that after doing Boston, Chicago and a radio performance the day of this show, that the band was bit tired as indicated by Ray during the show as he commented on his vocals giving out.

When he started playing Empty I got goosebumps. The song is mystical and the lyrics are downright chilling, but it was a major highlight as were many of the new tunes that I was totally unfamiliar with....yet....they rang true as he sang them.

Watching Ray perform was like watching someone confess all of their hopes and failures. Something we all fail to do. When Ray interacted with the crowd it was great....Ray can laugh at himself! He talked about how when he always looks pissed off and even his baby pictures show a him as a pissed off baby and how when a heckler yelled out to get Ray to get the bar re-opened Ray just told him to drink some f-ing water! Water is supposed to make you feel like a million bucks, yeah right!

Set List
1. You Are The Best Thing
2. Hold You In My Arms
3. Empty
4. I Still Care For You
5. Let It Be Me
6. Henry Nearly Killed Me--
7. Roses & Cigarettes
8. Meg White
9. Burn-Solo
10. Winter Birds- Solo
11. ??days short nites long??-Solo
12. Sarah- Solo
13. Hey Me, Hey Momma
14. You Can Bring Me Flowers
15. Trouble
Encore
16. Shelter
17. Three More Days
18. Jolene
19. All The Wild Horses

If I were to put comments next to each song I would be telling you they were all great and they were. Shelter was especially a work of beauty as was Burn. I would have to say of all the new songs, Winter Birds was excellent.

They had sold out of the new CD @ the merch table so I ordered it from Amazon for 9.99 today---a steal!

Ray LaMontagne is not to be missed....just sit back and listen to whatever he plays.

The Swell Season Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA 5/20/08

WOW!
From the opening song---Say It To Me Now performed at the edge of the stage without a mic or amp Glen's passion was of a nature that is rarely experienced as he shouted the lyrics and strummed his guitar to reach the last row of the 3,100+ seats, did I say no mic, no amp????

The story of Glen Hansard is the story of someone who does what they love. From his days of quitting school and busking in Ireland to performing sold out shows across the land it is apparent that he is doing what he loves...period.

A man who has taken the roots of his success and brought them all to the forefront of what he does by including his hometown band of the Frames and a band of musicians that gave him his inspiration, Interference to open for him. This was a show of rock and roll family.

The Tower is one of my favorite Philly venues as it has old world charm. great acoustics and an intimacy that few modern day venues can encompass.

Glen spoke a lot during the show sharing his passion and love for life and people in a spiritual way and then backed up his words with his music and lyrics.

Musical highlights- "Leave" performed solo and with a crescendo till the screeching end. Marketa's humility, innocence and honesty were eye opening as her timid demeanor shone through to the lyrics and musical performances. Every note of every song was played with honesty and passion. A new song was played prior to the encore---"Happiness". Again a song that expresses Glen and Marketa's love of life and their joy.

This was the last nite of this leg of the tour. And the touring entourage was all going their own way. Glen took full advantage of this by bringing all of tour particiapnts on stage for the last jig. An old Irish tune in which Glen brought even the bus drivers up to sing a chorus. It was a moment of fun and family that I shall not soon forget.

I had a chance to talk with one of the bus drivers after the show and he said that he drives tour buses for a living and he had never encountered anyone quite like Glen and crew. This was a family and every member of the audience left feeling they were now family.

One can only anticipate the follow-up album and until then those of us that didn't know the Frames stuff....now do!

DEVOTCHKA @ the TLA 5/17/08

DEVOTCHKA @ the TLA 5/17/08

Every now and then you see a band and say to yourself--"I will see this band every chance I get". Devotchka is one of those bands, the only difference is...I have done what I said I would do, and caught them every time they have performed in Philly.

I saw them live @ the Northstar Bar opening for M. Ward and then a year or two later headlining the Northstar and for this show they headlined the TLA.

Few bands capture the passion and energy like Devotchka does. This band, when performing is having fun.

Romani, Greek, Slavic, Gypsy, Indie, Bolero, Mariachi, Punk and the list goes on when describing Devotchka's sound. Frankly, I think they have a polka infused rock sound that stretches across Americana and I would describe them as an amazing crowd pleasing wedding/party band if ever there was one.

For the first time Devotchka toured with a more elaborate stage set-up utilizing Day of the Dead type props and by having the opening band's musicians join them for various songs throughout the evening.

If you should have the opportunity to catch them live, prior to the start of the show, start counting the instruments that the four main members will use for their performance, I did once, and the count was 26 different instruments including their trademark banana shaker.

Enough of the background. Nick's passion and Tom's no nonsense approach to music coupled with Jeanie's effervescent smile and Shawn's boy next door attitude and look bring their individual talents forth combining for a melodic enchanting musical parade.

Musical highlights were the song Clockwork Witness which is just a beautifully arranged song, the background base of keyboard will stay with you for days. The remaining set-list was well executed and included some crowd favorites.

The first encore was further evidence of Devotchka's comfort and expansion of the concert experience as they unveiled a giant curtain that fell center stage and a most beautiful young girl (devotchka translated means--young girl) appeared and proceeded to climb the curtain and perform acrobatically before the crowd as the band played. Having read of Devotchka's history this seems typical of their hometown Denver performances that is now bleeding into their touring shows.

Devotchka is a music lovers dream, catch them live.

Santana @ The Borgota Atlantic City, NJ 4/11/08

FRIDAY APRIL 11, 2008

Seeing the legendary Santana was a treat!

His music came alive like the radio cannot begin to portray. His sound, distinct and un- duplicated was beautiful. Having Chester Thompson on keyboards was amazing...the man is as talented as Carlos himself.

Carlos plays the guitar effortlessly and his band a group of accomplished musicians make beautiful music together.

The set list contained no surprises....just new and old distinct Santana sounds. Carlos spoke with the crowd and was humorous and his words were in keeping with the name of this tour---The Live Your Light Tour as he inspired the crowd with the few words he shared. His guitar riffs spoke volumes as did the Latin percussion sounds that reverberated with you after the show.

The venue and small crowd of 2,000 plus left a lot to be desired. The Borgata may live up to it's reputation as a high roller heaven, but for the music lover the concert hall is more of a converted convention center then an musical arena. The concert attendees ranged from people who came from all over to see Carlos and band to those who were casino bound and comped. This does not always make for a memorable show, but in the case of these accomplished musicians....working a crowd with their musical genius was second nature.

To see Santana perform is to attend a party of happiness and undeniable joy. His music is transcending as he weaves the guitar into something that comes across as a building block. The way he builds his music into a climax is mesmerizing.

It is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys Santana on the radio or album to catch his live show. The live sound comes across smooth....and the harmonies are seriously contagious.

Set List Link
http://www.santana.com/frameset.html

Bruce Springsteen @ Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ 7/28/08

7/28/08 East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium



I have seen Bruce in Cleveland for the Devils and Dust tour and in Philly for The River tour and I saw him pop in for a duet with Bono & U2 @ JFK on the Joshua Tree tour to perform Ben E. Kings Stand By Me. This was my 1st time to see him in NJ. Bruce and the E Street Band certainly know how to work an arena crowd.

Bruce is the working man's hero. The traffic to get to the venue was insane and with a scheduled 7:30 PM start time the anxieties were building as thousands of concert goers snaked their way through the maze of parking to get to the stadium. We arrived @ 8:30 and were shocked that the show had not started as it dawned on us that Bruce knew a prompt arrival was an impossibility given the new stadium construction coupled with northern NJ/NY traffic.

Bruce is a love hate relationship--either you love him or hate him and to be gathered with 50,000 plus that LOVE HIM was amazing.

There is so much to share of this show---Many bands today get pestered with requests of their favorites and Bruce's shows were no exception, watching his genuine ability to take the fans homemade signs and pile them up as he determined which of the signs he would honor was pure genius. He laughed and then picked the song the band would play next pleasing the crowd as few could do. By doing this the audience gets treated to some rarities that makes for a memorable concert for even the Springsteen groupies. Songs that were rarely performed that became part of the evening's set list - It's Hard To Be A Saint, Held Up Without A Gun , Because the Night & Sherry Darling.

The set list contained numerous songs from his recent album Magic which the crowd loved. Few established artists can play a good number of newly released songs and maintain a happy sing along crowd and in this case it was accomplished.

Highlights for me were Tunnel of Love with Bruce and wife Patti sharing a song that became a work of artistic beauty. I also thought the band's performance of She's the One was stunning. Other standouts from this Bruce fan were too numerous to document--Badlands and the newer tune Girls in Their Summer Clothes were also performed with heart & soul.

For a stadium venue there is not a whole lot of variations and Bruce and the E Street band were right at home. The performance was like being at a backyard kegger with everyone laughing and enjoying themselves. People of all ages were in attendance and the closing Beatles cover Twist and Shout was done family style with Bruce & Patti's daughter singing background vocals with her friends. Life is good.

I don't think you get a bad performance with Bruce. His storytelling lyrics combined with musical abilities are hard pressed to find an equal.

Just regular people....doing regular things.