8.26.2009

Cautionary Tales

mekong T

A belated retrospective of the past week of enhanced musical adventures, starting a week ago tonight when we were thankfully persuaded to make the Mekong scene ostensibly to celebrate the West Broad Vietnamese eatery’s 14th anniversary with a beer-soaked bash to remember, even though mine’s a bit hazy.  The draw was all the Belgian draft beer, wings and spring rolls you could consume, a commemorative glass and t-shirt (above) and the clincher, a beefed-up version of Richmond’s potent Modern Grove Syndicate, with Daniel Clarke back on keys and guest sax solos from Samson Trinh. (A side note:  Samson’s big band take on the Beatles’ Abbey Road, at least what I’ve heard of it, is remarkable…it’ll be well worth the long wait.)  It was a big night on all levels, especially the brew which I wasn’t quite prepared for…the Grande Reserve Chimay Ale for example weighs in at 9% alcohol.  Bottom line…the stuff’ll sneak up on you…it took many of us by surprise…I was grateful to have a designated driver.  Mekong’s selection of Belgian and world beers is said to be the best in town…behold but beware.

r & l dvd 

A healing ride up 64 to Staunton on Thursday meant a rendezvous with sister Robyn who was already headed there for Lee High School’s 40th class reunion, and an intimate evening with Middlebrook residents R & L invite Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group in a cozy black box of a theater on the campus of my sister’s alma mater Mary Baldwin College.  Robin and Linda were taping a live DVD with bandmates Jim Watson, Jimmy Gaudreau and Dr. Chris Brashear.  Robyn and Tim were enjoying re-discovering their old hometown.  The Williamses covered lots of musical turf including a lovingly revived “High Atmosphere,” their mearly r & loving impression of seeing “Maybelle’s Guitar and Monroe’s Mandolin” in the  Country Music Hall of Fame, and some heroic homage to Hank Williams thanks to Robin’s take on “Ramblin’ Man” with his bluesy harp work and a stunning mando solo by Mr. Gaudreau.  The camaraderie and close harmony that ideally comes with more than 30 years of marriage shone brightly and the performance will be worth anticipating…the DVD is due out by year’s end.

We heard a lot of buzz from Stauntonians in the audience that night about the new upscale restaurant/music hall being carved out of an old downtown corner building.  Robyn and I mockingbird music room 8-21 stumbled on the construction zone on West Beverley during a post-breakfast walk the next morning and were excited to find the Mockingbird, billed as offering “Artisan Fare and Roots Music” well underway.  We got to talk with owner/proprietor Wade Luhn who was cagey about the level of talent he’s planning to book, but with a 160-seat dedicated listening room (above) and former Richmond chef Lee Gregory (Six Burner) in the kitchen, my gut says this guy’s gonna do things right and there may be a good many Queen City road trips in our future.  Breaking news…a fire starting in a trash can in the music hall on Sunday did some serious damage that will set back the opening but some hard work and insurance money should keep things on track.  And a chocolate malted for the road from Wright’s Dairy Rite was the perfect postlude.

Dunton_090821_3219 We had to get back to set up for our 7th sold-out JAMinc/In Your Ear Studio Concert in a row, as seasoned PP&M players Dick Kniss and Paul Prestopino made thDunton_090821_3094eir tedious way south on I-95 to join George Turman and Daniel Clarke once again for an emotional tribute to the folk legends who would likely do their last command performance at Wolf Trap the next night, sans Mary Travers.   Enduring friend Libby Dunton was also on hand to add her signature harmonies.  If you missed the music and the memories, stay tuned for a replay on Page Wilson’s Saturday night show down the road.

The finale to our four-day tP1130802our meant another run west up to the Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company near Wintergreen for the 1st annual Brew Ridge Trail Music Festival.   If you remember, Saturday was a bit soggy and a steady drizzle when we rolled in and the realization that you could see and hear the main stage from the terrace of the very nice and dry restaurant nearby, moved us to sit under an umbrella sipping craft brew and nibbling on nachos and wings all day. William WP1130805alter and his guitar man Tucker Rogers, along with Jesse Harper, Darrell Muller & Trey Pollard and the Infamous Stringdusters (right) were in top form as the crowd grew throughout the day and the rain went away.  The solo CD Jesse Harper & His Best Intentions is finally out and in a generous marketing gesture, he’s letting us download it for whatever we want to pay…let your conscience be your guide. Click here for details and follow the golden rule.

Conserving sufficient energy for our final stop wasn’t easy, but thanks to my perennially patient road pal, with some difficulty we found Bel Rio on Monticello Road (not Avenue), a new place in the up-and-coming Belmont section of Charlottesville, where newgrass rockers Cadillac Sky were holding forth.  The boys came to play and the crowdcsky weary angel cd was more than appreciative.  They have a new 5-song EP entitled Weary Angel that you can get for free here with a t-shirt order.  And you can watch their latest video, a cover of Death Cab For Cutie’s, “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” here.  We’re working on getting them back to R’town in November.

More breaking news…good news this time:  the Robbin Thompson Band is reuniting for a handful of shows to  rthompson1 reprise their breakthrough album Two B’s Please from almost 30 years ago, starting at the National on November 27th.  RT plus Velpo Robertson, Eric Heiberg, Audie Stanley and Bob “Rico” Antonelli are honing their highly-evolved skills  to perform the best-selling project in its entirety…in its original sequence.  As solid as “Brite Eyes,” “Candy Apple Red,” and yes, “Sweet Virginia Breeze” were back then, it should be a powerful experience to hear what these songs have become with all that accumulated musical wisdom.  We’ll let you know when tickets go on sale.

ibma sammy Here’s a save the date…they’re inducting the inimitable Sammy Shelor into the VFMA’s Hall of Fame at the Chesterfield Fairgrounds on September 18.  It’s a well-deserved honor for Virginia’s five-string stylist who’s guided the Lonesome River Band back into the bluegrass limelight.  Details to come. And don’t miss the cool corn maze that Sam and wife Sue have created again this year up near Meadows of Dan.  It opens September 5th.

sam's corn maze 09

We’re well into our second hundred posts here and we’re grateful for your readership, input and nice words.  They mean a lot…TT

(Turman & Friends photos by Charlie Dunton.  The awesome early Robin & Linda photo from their personal collection)

8.19.2009

Straight Ahead...

Good live stuff in the short term:  tonight, Richmond's Mekong Vietnamese restaurant on West Broad celebrates its 14th anniversary with a big food, beer & music party featuring the all-out ensemble Fear No Beer, whose members you may very well mistake for the seasoned vets of Modern Groove Syndicate.  The roving keyboardist for said group says the suds selection at Mekong is world class...Danny C should know.  There's a $40 tab but food, drink and tunes plus a t-shirt and take-home glass are included.  Deal.

 GT, paul dick & dan The aforementioned Mr. Clarke, back off the road for a few weeks, will also join the venerable George Turman and his other compelling compadres at a sold-out JAMinc/In Your Ear Studio A concert on Friday in the Bottom.  No more reservations...hope you have yours.

Saturday, the Chickahpage wilsonominy Swamp's most visible denizen hosts the Out O' The Blue Stage Revue  once again at Pocahontas State Park with Marna & Macy, L'il Ronnie & The Grand Dukes and of course Page Wilson & Reckless Abandon.  Advance tix are $8 with parking included.  Music starts at 6.  Hot fun in the summertime! 

Further out of town is the new Brew Ridge Trail Music FestiP1090440val up near Wintergreen with the Sons of Bill,  the Infamous Stringdusters, Jesse Harper, William Walter and others...15/advance, 20/gate. Noondark.  (at right, Dusters Jeremy Garrett, Travis Book and Andy Hall)

CSky all wet And later that night, power stringband Cadillac Sky plays Bel Rio in Charlottesville for a 12 buck cover.  Indoors.

Oh, and Saturday night right here in River City, the ever-P1110659 ready National welcomes Drive By Truckers with MerleFest darling Tift Merritt opening.  And it's good to hear the Toad's Place space is back as The Hat Factory...with the National already in fifth-gear they've got a big hill to climb...even with a mechanical bull!  We wish them well.

A non-musical footnote...watched the HBO documentary Resolved on DVD last night.  It's about the academic pursuit of debate at the highest level and it's a most engaging and fascinating treatment of what I expected to be dry and tedious.  Highly recommended Netflix viewing when it's too hot to be outside.

Les Paul is more...TT

(Turman & friends photo by Charles Dunton/Page Wilson and Cadillac Sky photos from their Websites)

8.11.2009

Sweet and Sticky...

Felice Bros, OCMS, Gil & Dave So this walking definition of "lanky" bounds on to the Charlottesville Pavilion stage Sunday night sporting light blue seersucker slacks, a bow tie and white suspenders and declares "It's great to be back down south, where the air is sweet and sticky."  A dramatically more gregarious Justin Townes Earle, as compared with our last laid-back encounter at Barksdale's "Stretchin'" series a few years ago, got things rolling for this Big Surprise Tour stop, two 90-minute sets with Steve Earle's gifted son, NY's Felice Brothers (former subway buskers), the Dave Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch, and the Old Crow Medicine Show, who each had their own time punctuated with frequent cross-pollination.  Although we may have preferred an indoor listening room to D & Greverently take in the all-too-rare Welch/Rawlings appearance, the Pavilion is a fine shed as outdoor venues go and as the thermometer threatened the century mark at showtime, the shade and a dog's breath of a breeze made it tolerable.  And the ice-cold Bud in the 16-ounce aluminum bottles.  Highlights were definitely the chance to hear Dave get his long-deserved share of the spotlight with some new material we hope ends up on a CD.  And James Felice, the hulking accordion player and his whiskey barrel of a voice.  I missed seeing these guys at FloydFest and amP1000473 grateful for a second chance.  An added plus was a nice chat with Robin Williams who's getting ready for a live HD DVD recording session with wife/roadmate Linda and Their Fine Group up in Staunton later this month.  Something to watch for.

Friday we witnessed a diverse night of music in Bruce and Adrian Olsen's Soundog Studios in north Richmond...light was too low for pictures but imagine a spacious barn of a studio with candlelit tables and chairs, Tiffany-style lamps, a grand piano gracing oriental rugs at the far end and one of Richmond's rock legends pulling it back a notchOlsen cd or two but still maintaining his edge and attitude.   It was a CD release party for Bruce's leaner, more earnest and earthy heros kings and lovers, recorded right there with pals Johnny Hott, Bob Rupe, Stephen McCarthy, Steve Bassett, and Joe McGloen with Adrian on percussion.  Original material.  They even did their own earth-friendly packaging.  And thanks to Adrian, we were treated to two compelling musical appetizers, singer/songwriter Keegan Dewitt from Nashville who also scores films, and Annie & The Beekeepers, a delightful acoustic trio from the Boston area comprised of Annie Lynch on lead vocals and guitar & banjo, Alexandra Spaulding on cello and harmony vocals and Charlottesville's Ken Woodward on bass.  They met Adrian at Berklee and with his help, recorded the Squid Hell Sessions EP which is available through CD Baby on their MySpace page.  Fine work. 

Do take a minute to check out Ashland Coffee and Tea's   new Website and a full calendar of music over the next few months, with all our local favorites plus plums like Eliza Gilkyson, Bill Kirchen, Moondi Klein & Jimmy Gaudreau, and in November, Chatham County Line and Chris SmitherJackie Frost and some of her musical boyfriends take the stage this Saturday. 

Dunton-GT, Kniss, Prestopino

If you want to catch George Turman and his friends Paul Prestopino and Dick Kniss plus Daniel Clarke and Libby Dunton at our next JAMinc/In Your Ear studio concert on the 21st, click here quick...we're almost sold out.  It'll be a loving tribute to Peter Paul & Mary and then some...a very special night.  And reservations will be available soon for our two nights at IYE with harmonica/keyboard king Howard Levy on September 24th.  Save the date and check back.

One more thing...a pretty impressive lineup near Wintergreen on Saturday, the 22nd including the Infamous Stringdusters, Jesse Harper, the Sons of Bill and FloydFest faves William Walter and his guitar man Tucker Rogers.  It's called the Brew Ridge Trail Music Festival.  Hard to pass that one up.

Find some shade and some sweet tea and take in some live music...it'll help the dog days pass.  And welcome back down to the sweet and sticky south Wally!

TT

(Turman photo by Charles Dunton)

8.05.2009

Gerloff Sendoff

 gary shirt back It was a hot August afternoon just west of the Boulevard when all Gary's people gathered to celebrate him in the manner by which he'd be most pleased...a sweaty club packed to the walls with good friends and disciples who came to properly fete the whiskered wonder with drink and song.  It couldn't have been a scene he'd have enjoyed more.  And it's a gross understatement to say that there was a lot of love in the room.  Proceeds from merch sales and the door went to an education fund for Gary & Mindy's  two great kids.  Richard Arthur's Cafe Diem was the room and all afternoon, one after the other thanks to typically spot-on stage management by Kevin "McMick" McGranahan, fourteen of Richmond's most enduring bands paid homage to the one who lasted not long enough.  We caught Little Ronnie & The Grand Dukes, The Char0802091959les Arthur Trio and  Billy Ray Hatley & The Showdogs....all doing their beer-soaked best to create the "pull out all the stops" atmosphere that echoed Mr. Gerloff's approach to life.  He leaves us in his wide and frothy wake and we'll surf it for as long as we can and try to be worthy.  RIP GG

gary shirt front