Monday, September 25. 2006
The Junction
Peterborough, Ontario
Sept 22, 2006
Local radio personality Al Kirkcaldy loves the blues, and as such has been instrumental in bringing some of it's greatest touring acts to Peterborough. To the world at large most of these acts are relative unknowns but to the blues fan they are it's biggest stars.
I have to admit that I began my exploration of the blues relatively recently. Especially modern blues. Al's series of local concerts have been great course material for me.
The latest class in the blues took place on September 22nd at the Junction in Peterborough. The instructor that night was Lucky Peterson.
Lucky was a blues prodigy, recording his first single by the age of five. He is often referred to as a "triple threat" as he sings, plays guitar, and also plays the hammond organ. Lucky, now in his Forties, is a commanding stage presence able to paint with a broad palette.
Lucky's guitar playing goes from clean blues standards, to Soul - R&B, and on to fire breathing Hendrix inspired riffing and solos. His vocals are deep and powerful as evidenced by Lucky strolling into the audience and belting out the blues sans microphone while the bass and drums laid down a soft backline.
I'm a guitar player, but I also have a love of that warbling Hammond Organ. Damn, Lucky can play that thing! A good portion of his first set was dedicated to to it, as was part of his second. I wish I'd gotten some photos of Lucky playing the organ, but the stage lighting was so poor at that point that he was pretty much sitting in the dark while on the keys.
After breaking a string on his guitar during the second set Lucky also switched to Organ while work was undertaken to get his guitar back in shape. I'm not sure what exactly happened but he ended up the set with a stratocaster provided by an audience member.
I won't profess to know every song Lucky played but I do remember Got My Mojo Working, Killing Floor, Mustang Sally, Sweet Home Chicago and a short Jimi Hendrix medley.
All told a great evening of the electric blues. Special thanks to Al Kirkcaldy for putting on this show, and for allowing me to photograph it.
More photos can be seen in the Gallery
Thursday, September 21. 2006
 Bradford Beach Club
Milwaukee WI
Saturday September 9th 2006
An Eternal Farewell
40 oz. Fist
New Society of Anarchists
Ahhh the pleasure of this "job" is unless I am being sent somewhere, I get to pick and choose where I go. So when I hit The Exclusive Company for CDs, I check the fliers. I came across one for a hardcore show. Hot damn, people are still making that stuff? Well, the reason I happened to go to this show was primarily because of the recommendation of one man. A man I met briefly in 2003. A man who is a living legend. A man named Billy Milano (See my bio for my brief encounter with Billy). Anyhoo Billy said it was good. I followed his lead. It's been ages since I have seen a good hardcore band and damned if I was going to pass up this chance. There were several bands playing, one had to be good. Off to MySpace to check out and see what I was looking at. The show got a two hour late start, so we did miss one band.
Been a very long time since I have even seen a show at the BBC. And that was a mid-evening show of a friends band. BBC has remodeled some. They have a nice set up in the upper level for shows now. Small yes, but hell, its a great place to get a start and get a following. And for the most part it sounds a helluva lot better than some places.
 First up is a group of younger kids in a band called An Eternal Farewell. Self described as "Brew City Mosh Core," they sound somewhat Pantera-esque. They are having their second show of the day (first being a pig roast) and it's their third show with their new bassist. Not bad over all, the singer really got into it, and the band as a whole is a very high energy group. A little thrash, a dash of some hardcore sounds, a splash of death in the vocals at times. A very nice mix.
This is where it gets hard to describe. Hardcore is a hard thing to explain. The sound is definitive. Angry, hostile, forceful, and glorious all at once. You need to scream for hardcore. You need some anger somewhere in your soul. But you need to also have some talent. It's a very working class guy type of music (or in my case working class broad). It's a mix of punk, thrash, speed, and hostility. It works the aggression out of your soul and you leave a show pumped up. Then you get home and you have a Zen-like relaxation. Ok, maybe its just me. But that's why I've always liked hardcore. Music to work your anger out on. I have music for moods. Hardcore is my aggression killer. It helps me work it out.
 40 oz Fist was pretty darned cool with the dual vocalists. One high and one low. I really did enjoy the dueling vocalists, gave them something different to entertain me with. A six-piece band from Milwaukee, that is something that is a standout. This is hardcore. Almost had a big guy fall in my lap running up to the window sill from the pit. Tables knocked over. Small crowd, but they were into it. A few songs the guys did were "Lesser of Two Evils," "What's Yours is Mine," "Come Get Some," and "Break Free."
 Now for the band we actually planned on seeing. I tried very hard not to get to know them or any other band playing. I wanted to go in with no impressions and have the bands make them on me. New Society of Anarchists has been said to be true hard,core by Milano. Well if you remember the old school hardcore, this is the best way to say what this is. I was really taken by the bassist's Zakk playing. It almost has a slap funk undertone. To kinda explain what I heard, if I mention a bassist's playing think Robert Trujillio in his ST/Infectious Days. Robert is my bass GOD and if I mention a bassist the sounds are much along these same lines. The bass was very ST Style. A few songs played, "Conviction," "The Few, The Proud, The Brutal," "Gang Mentality." This is what I remembered hardcore being, and I can honestly say I'm eagerly awaiting writing a review of their upcoming CD For the Forgotten.
I'm glad I found hardcore is still going. While other shows have mosh pits, I've seen that hardcore shows are the only shows where in the pit you can punch someone in the face and get up and then hug that person. Hardcore pits are the only ones I ever avoided.
Saturday, September 16. 2006
 Austin City Limits Music Festival
Zilker Park
Austin, Texas
Friday, September 15, 2006
Ok, as I write this I'm only using one eye, because my other one has shut down and become blurry, something that happens when I am very very tired. This was my first ACL Fest, and actually, my first major outdoor festival since some of the monster shows up in Dallas in the late 70s.
I really really do better inside where there is air conditioning. But ACL Fest isn't likely to be held inside any time soon, so I, like the masses, will have to gut through this thing, bite the bullet, and go forward.
And when I say masses I mean MASSES. I have no idea how many actual people were there today, but I don't think I have ever seen so many people before in one place in my life, certainly not in Austin.
ACL Fest does things pretty well considering how many people they have attending, though certainly some things could have been thought out better. No major waits at any of the restrooms or food or beverage lines, the misting stations were well used, however, planning a single shuttle point dead center in the downtown area, already heavily congested, probably could have been done better. I would have thought that working with CAP Metro more closely to utilize all those "Park and Ride" lots all over town could have provided at least one or two more options. Also by late in the day last year's nemesis, a cloud of dust, could be seen hovering above the crowd, despite all the extra watering. This drought has just been devastating.
I got downtown by 1 pm but it was 1:30 pm before I finally located a parking space 10 blocks away from the shuttle location. Packing up all the "essentials" reccommended by others who had attended, I lugged a cooler, a folding chair, and a blanket along with a camera, an umbrella, a cell phone, 2 liters of water, and other gear. All told I must have been weighed down with 50 pounds of crap. The whole time I huffed and puffed and sweated all the way to the shuttle, Tom Hanks' character in Saving Private Ryan came to mind, stripping his hapless translator of all the un-needed equipment for combat. Most definitely, almost none of this gear is going tomorrow.
 I get to the park and am run through a wierd chain link rat's maze that deposits us all into long lines for the buses. There must be hundreds of us stacked up here. I look down the street, and I can see that they have lots of busses in queue, more than enough to take us all. The wait for the bus was fairly short, 20 minutes or so, and that was simply the time it took to load the buses. The bus trip seemed to take forever, though, and to take a "scenic" route over to the park, although I am sure that was the best for traffic flow control. It sure felt like 40 minutes.
 After locating the front gate, and having to explain to the security guy checking me that four half-liter bottles are the same as two one-liter bottles, and him having to check with someone else, I finally made it into ACL Fest. It s now 3 pm. I set all my stuff down and instantly realize that yes, I do have way too much crap. I get myself oriented with the map, and head off to check out what remains of the Guster show.
To be continued...
ACL Fest 2006 - All Photos - Check For Updates All Weekend
Thursday, September 7. 2006
 The Rollins Band
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
http://21361.com
Rollins Band Concert Photos
X
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
http://XTheBand.com
X Concert Photos
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Stubb's BarBQ (Austin, Texas)
also: The Riverboat Gamblers
The "As the World Burns" tour featuring punk legends X and the Rollins Band ended with a blowout show in Austin, Texas to an audience crowded with both old and new friends. I think all of the Emo's staff was on hand (big fans of X), even the bartenders, leaving one to wonder who was left to serve the brews a few blocks south. I ran into people I knew from high school back some 25-odd years ago, and a few from my recent history too, like the ultra-cute Emily from Georgia that I met at the Hank III show.
I had pestered and bribed Henry Rollins for months about this show, ever since his SXSW '06 appearance and before the show was even announced, and persistance, or maybe annoyance, paid off. Thanks to Henry and his tour manager Michael I was added to both the guest and the photo pass list, and it really paid off with some great pictures.
Doors for the show opened at a very very early 6 pm, apparently catching many people off guard. I know I had figurerd on a 7 pm gate but was going to arrive early to wait for a friend. I hit the gate and had myself badged and banded by 6:30 pm, and then I made a dumb mistake. I assumed that my buddy who was going to meet me at the show was going to actually show up. I waited. I waited and waited. The openers, The Riverboat Gamblers, hit the stage at 7 pm sharp. I am still waiting. What a great sounding band. Wish I could see em, but I am still waiting. Heard Jone Doe came out and played the last two songs with them. I didn't see it - heard it, didn't see it. Check the cell phone. Nope no call. 7:35 and the music has stopped.
Still no friend, no call. Henry is scheduled to be on at 7:50 and they are running to the minute on the schedule. Well bud, I am not gonna blow this, so you're on your own.
 I bolt through the gate with camera in hand, and rush up to the stage, just making it to the camera pit in time to take a couple of snap shots of the crowd to check my equipment.
One last glance at the cell phone, I am sure now is when my friend will show up. I luck out, no calls or messages. I pick my spot right in the middle, the lights snap off, and it starts.
 The band filters out, Henry standing in front or the drum kit, back to the audience, the band and the lights kick on, and Henry pauses there for a moment showing the crowd his massive "Search and Destroy" tat, before he turns around and just about literally kicks ass.
Stripped down to a pair of black shorts, Henry scowled and growled his way through a blistering set that matched the temperature of the venue. I don't think he smiled once that I saw, but Henry is always mad about something. Tonight he took shots at the Katrina recovery efforts by the Bush administration. He applauded the efforts of Texans for taking in the victims and providing so much support. He also took time out to give props to all the old school Austin bands he used to play with like the Big Boys, the Explosives, Butthole Surfers and more. (I saw Roky Ericson's name on the guest list earlier).
 Tonight I got the first three songs from the pit, then the tour manager had given me permission to take all the pictures from the audience that I wanted. As Henry blasted away, so did I, burning as many frames as the camera could keep up with. It seemed at times from my vantage point that Henry was mad just at me and was ready to come right off the stage and kick my ass, but that's just the way he is on stage. Still it's kind of disconcerting to see an almost naked man glaring and screaming at you from above.
Henry's set list for the show was mostly from his Weight album, but he started the show off with "On My Way to the Cage" as I snapped away from below. By the time I knew it, Henry was finishing up "Disconnect," my three songs were up and we journos were booted from the camera pit. The band fired into "Low Self Opinion" and I wandered my way back to the beer line to get a cold one and review my pics so far.
Heineken in hand, I checked my phone one more time for my MIA friend. Still no word. At this point I give up on him. Note to self: Next time invite girl instead.
 After changing to my telephoto lens, I began to wander around looking for good spots to shoot from while the band continued to rip through their set onstage. The band blasted through "Divine," "All I Want," "Civilized," and "Icon," as I wandered from spot to spot trying hard not to whap the people in front of me with the big-ass telephoto lense.
Working my way around to the corners of the set I found that I could get pretty close to the stage on one side. By the time Henry was wrapping up the set with "Liar" and then "Fool," I found myself back at the entrance to the camera pit. When it was over Henry hooked it offstage in back to his bus rather than back to the green room of the club.
 Waiting in the pit between sets I caught Michael the tour manager's eye and asked him how I could catch up to Henry and thank him personally for the passes. He told me that Henry was on the bus but would probably come out after the show to sign autographs and the like, and that would be the best time to catch him. I endeavored to do so, and then went about swapping out hardware for the X set. Big mistake.
I had been waiting for a good X set for quite some time. Exene's recent trip to Austin with her band at Emo's early in the summer had only partially whetted my appetite. I wanted to see the whole team, the real deal, Billy, John, D.J., and Exene. I wanted to hear them blast through a good old-fashioned X set, heavy on the Los Angeles. I wasn't disappointed. According to Henry's blog, "This is X’s town, when they hit stage tonight, it sounded like an Ozzy concert". He was pretty close to the mark.
 Billy Zoom came out first, along with a guitar tech, no doubt to tweek his gear one last time, then John Doe, D.J., and then Exene. They looked the same as when I saw them in the early 80s , only older, which can be said about me and most of their audience as well. They sounded great, even better than way back. I don't know whether it was the acoustics, the 25+ years of practice since then, or just the buzz coming from the stage and the audience, but they just sounded tight.
Just then the camera (or camera operator) starts having "technical" difficulties. When I did my hardware swap I exchanged one memory card for another. Not realizing it was my problem, I futzed and adjusted but the camera only wanted to shoot when it was damned good and ready. The shots of Henry weren't like this at all. Frustrated and not knowing where my problem was, I decided to make the best of it and shoot what I could.
 The expected tap on the shoulder never came after the end of the third song, so the other photographers and I looked at each other, shrugged, and kept on snapping. Fourth song, same thing; by the fifth I asked the pit security what was up and he said the band said we could all stay as long as we wanted. A glance over the pit barrier and I see Dottie from Emo's. With a half pissed-off smile she yells "I SHOULD BE WHERE YOU ARE!" barely audible over the band. She was correct, she should have been where I was. She is friends with Exene and she was supposed to be trying to get ME a pass. ;)
Extremely frustrated by now, I back out of the pit and into the crowd to take pics from the audience. If my camera is hosed up I don't want the band thinking I am snapping when I am not, and the space in the pit would be better used by someone without the camera issues.
 I find a spot to swap out to the big telephoto and start wandering to find some unobstructed view of the stage. I take a few snaps, then it starts acting up again. Move, take a few more, crash. Move, take a few more, crash. Exene and the band pay homage to the home teams and dedicate "Los Angeles" to the Big Boys . Take a few more pictures, then crash again. Nuts to this. I decide to see if Henry is signing autographs yet, wander up the hill and out the gate. Around back, next to his tour bus is a security guy and 6-8 disparate fans hoping to catch Henry as well. Henry is on board already and has given no indication of leaving the air conditioning to sign autographs as of yet. After chatting up the security guy for info he doesn't have, after 5 minutes or so I wander back around, through the gate and back into the venue.
 X is still cranking and at this point they have a large group of people onstage as backup singers. A closer look and it appears to be the Riverboat Gamblers. I take a few more pictures and as X kicks into the last song of the night I start heading back to the tour bus.
Now the line at the bus is about 50 people long. People start filtering out after the show and the line gets longer. I hang around for about 20 minutes, then decide to wander down to the afterparty at Emo's, to get something to drink and maybe run into X.
I pay the cover and go in. There is a punk band called " The End" playing. I take some pics and the camera now works flawlessly. Natch. I grab a cup of water and head out to the patio. Out on the patio I find Exene and Dottie engrossed in conversation. I butt in just long enough to thank her for the great show and letting me take photos, then I politely exit the conversation. I had noticed a couple newcomers to the patio were people from the line at Henry's bus, and they had signed CDs. I decide to hump it back over to the bus one last time to try to thank Henry, but by then the line had evaporated. Henry was back in the bus. Considering it a last opportunity missed, and pretty darn close to heat stroke I hoofed it back to the car.
There would be other chances to meet Henry.
 Ray Wiley Hubbard
The Borderline, Soho
London, UK
1 August 2006
Writing for this blog has been good for me. Being based in the UK means I miss out on some of the more interesting stuff from the US, and here I get an opportunity to catch up a little. Reading Cindy’s review of David Allen Coe is a good example; it sent me straight to allofmp3 to get hold of his albums. So, armed with my newfound love of Americana, I was pleased when Jeff asked me if I would like to review Ray Wiley Hubbard at the Borderline Club in Soho, London. I agreed, despite vowing never to set foot in Soho again after I woke up one morning to find I was missing £300 and had only a leopard-skin thong and a photo of a naked girl with a face like a bag of slapped arses to show for it. Damn that strip joint! Making a mental note to stick to the remit, Dawn and I headed for Soho.
We arrived at the Borderline early to be met by Ray’s wife Judy as he himself was finishing up his sound-check. I couldn’t help but notice that the kid on stage with Ray was considerably younger and looked more like he should be in System of a Down. Turns out the kid was Ray and Judy’s son Lucas; and he could play too! After some quick hellos we set off to eat and chat at a restaurant near the club. Getting kicked out of the local metal bar, the Crowbar, was cool, even if it was only because they have a no kids policy. Getting kicked out of the Crowbar takes some doing!
It seems I have much to learn about Americana. Apparently, owning Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits and knowing the words to “Wichita Lineman� aren’t enough to impress Ray, and so he promptly set about educating me. (I’m just getting round to looking up James McMurtry and Cross Canadian Ragweed.) I figured I should listen up, given the look on his face when I mentioned Kenny Rogers, but Ray continued to humour me, despite my faux pas. Dawn and Ray had some common ground, having both worked with Lee Rocker from the Stray Cats which seemed to restore his faith. Inevitably the conversation soon focused on the good old rock and roll topics of snakes, tattoos and more rock and roll.
The title track on Ray’s latest album Snake Farm honours a herper called Ramona who runs the joint. She sounds just like my kind of girl considering we both have tattoos and a love of the Alarm. However, Ray assures me she is just a fictional character, much to my disappointment. I was looking forward to showing her my tattoo of a python constricting a mouse, just like the one she apparently has. Ray himself made a relatively late entrance into the world of tattooing, getting inked only recently after losing a bet with a friend. He proudly rolled up his sleeve to show me his tattoo of a boa, similar to the ones on the cover of the Snake Farm album. Cool ink Ray, perhaps you could post a pic on our tattoo photo forum. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?
The Borderline is a smallish venue that was thankfully not over-packed for the gig. Around a hundred people meant that we could still make our way comfortably to the bar without having to manhandle people out of the way. We’d missed the first support, Linda McLean but arrived just in time to see Jason McNiff play his melancholy set. I was impressed enough to buy his CD so I’ll post a review soon. Watch this space. Also supporting was the comical Darden Smith, again, well worth a peek for Americana fans.
At last Ray took the stage and after a brief banter and howdy, launched into his set. As a newcomer to the genre I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m a frequent victim of one hit wonder artists and regularly buy albums on the strength of one song, only to be disappointed by the rest of the disk. I’d heard a few of Ray’s tracks but I couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of his material was of the same calibre. A couple of tracks later I had my answer. Ray sounded just like I thought he oughta and he certainly seemed to be enjoying enjoy himself as much as we all were. With his guitar taped up with gaffer tape he cursed Delta Airlines every time he had to re-tune. What I found really outstanding, thoug,h were his lyrics. For example, I was particularly amused by “Mississippi Flush,� which is apparently a winning poker hand involving “a revolver and any five cards.� “Ruby red lips and liquid hips� is a phrase I will be using myself at some point soon, too, all credits to Ray of course!
I was really getting into it when Dawn crossed the floor to whisper in the ear of a pissed up couple who were talking loudly in front of the stage. Not one to suffer fools gladly she wasn’t gonna stand this rude and off-putting behaviour. Ray is just too nice to tell them to shut the fuck up, but Dawn is less reserved. I remember hoping that they didn’t back-chat her cos she’d threatened to drag them out of there so fast they got whiplash. She could and she would too! They soon piped down and so it was on with the show. “Crimson Dragon Tattoo� was a particular favourite of mine, especially considering it was “dedicated to Tony, a snake farmer I know!� Time for another round at the bar I thought! “Last Train to Amsterdam� was another blinder from the set. I’ll have to find out which CD it’s on, although I think I may just keep collecting his CDs until I find it.
Soon it was time for the boy wonder to take the stage. Lucas stepped up with confidence and played accompaniment and a solo, finishing to tumultuous applause. “That was for both of us, you know, boy!� said Ray as the applause died down. Lucas just grinned and raised an eyebrow in that way only kids can. The boy was far too cool and unfazed for a 12 year old. Shit, when I was his age I was still playing marbles. Ray looked suitably proud as they saw out the rest of the set together. I hope the kid gets paid. He deserved it.
The set rolled on and over me, much to my approval. I’d come to the gig wanting to enjoy myself, but very conscious of the fact that as a rank amateur, it could all have gone over my head. I was aware that although I thought Ray was a cool guy, this is a review site, not a fan club and so I would write my account honestly. I’m pleased to say that Ray delivered everything I’d hoped for and more.
As a final note I’d recommend you all check out his website. It’s one of the coolest sites I’ve seen and the animated story about the dog at his gig in the seventies had me pissing my pants. Live and die rock 'n' roll!
Ray Wiley Hubbard Concert Photos
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