Category: Music

Links to Music

Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Warner Theater, Washington, DC

Posted on by chappyshi

My brother-in-law Ed and I saw the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC, a couple of weeks ago.  It was a good 2.75 hours of tunes.  Mike Madison and some guys with whom I gather he is trying to form a band opened up.  Thanks to Mike they were good, but w/o him they were squat.  Susan Tedeschi dominated the vocals when DT and they rest of the crew came out.  ST sounds like Bonnie Raitt now more than ever.  Mike Madison was relegated to the far right back of the stage behind the brass section, alto sax, trumpet, and trombone (dude also did a good voice solo not unlike Stevie Wonder), with another backup vocalist.

I am listing to Revelator, their newest album, right now and Susan is talking about not wanting to get out of bed.  I would hate to be DT and have my soul mate possibly lay down the “I will be your lead singer or else” rap on me.  But I surely would not sleep w/ Mike Madison.

It was a very interesting concert w/ two drummers, the brass, three singers, etc.  The playlist was mostly based on Susan’s songs including a number of Motown covers that I recognized and knew, but now don’t remember.  She did do a song that Joe Cocker does tho I am not sure it is an original Joe Cocker and I am sure I was one of very few people there that recognized it.

Speaking of Mike Madison, Ed and I ran into him on the back side of the Warner as we were going to the parking garage.  Nice garage, you could get to the Warner from the same street coming out of the garage but had to go all the way back around the building to get back to your vehicle.  So we are around the back side looking one of those tour bus things w/ a trailer on the back, probably band vehicles, when we come around the corner and I see this guy that had to have been Mike.

He was by himself walking toward the bus, no one else was out there, looking at his phone when I saw him and said, “Mike, are you Mike Madison?”  He kind of looked at me like I was a nut for a minute.  I pointed him out to Ed and by then he was walking away and I was looking for the words I couldn’t say like, “Dude you can sing.”  I would have liked to shake his hand or get a picture but it all happened so fast.

Thanks to Ed for driving…especially on the way home in the rain.

Creedence Clearwater “Revisited” at Wolf Trap Last Friday

Posted on by chappyshi

I saw Creedence Clearwater “Revisited” on Friday night at Wolf Trap.  They are a tribute band that includes two of the original members of Creedence Clearwater Revival.  We got there a little before 1800 which was plenty of time to get in line and get good lawn seats near the middle of the amphitheater.  I thought the gates opened at 1800 but they did not do so until 1830 so we had a bit of a wait at the gate and then a longer wait for the music which did not start until 2000.  There was no opening band.

CC Revisited sounded very good…much like the original and covered many of their most popular songs.  Unfortunately they only played for about 1.5 hours.  It seemed like an awful run around and wait for that much music.  Thankfully, Wolf Trap is a great venue where, if you are on the lawn, you can bring in food and drinks of any kind.  Plus it is like a festival atmosphere on  the lawn with people just hanging out, meeting new people, talking,  and dancing.

We also ran into some friends at the show who joined us at my sister’s house afterward for a beer and concert review.  All in all, it was a good time.

Sunday Morning Coffee…In the Afternoon

Posted on by chappyshi

The mid-watches are starting to catch up with me.  I work 0600 – 1800, two on, two off, two on, two off, three on, and three off which isn’t really a bad schedule but it does take its toll.  Life starts to revolve around just sleep and work.  I force myself to get up as early as I can on my off days to have some semblance of a life but it is not easy.

For example, I got home about 0625 this morning, did the Sunday LA Times crossword puzzle and read for a while to wind down.  I went to bed at about 0830 and tossed and turned for quite a bit before getting a mostly fitful sleep.  I intended to get up at 1300 but no later than 1400.  I got a “Restricted” call on my cell phone at 1303 that was a hang up so I decided to get up.

So here I am at 1345 on a Sunday afternoon with bacon in the pan, coffee in hand, George Thorogood on the stereo, and three days off in front of me.  Bonus!  On a side note, I am supposed to be promoted soon but it is not official.  Once that happens, I will return to a more normal Mon – Fri schedule but will be on call.  It is hard to decide if it is better to on the watch schedule where my off time is purely my own or on a normal schedule with on call duties….

Susan Tedeschi and Buddy Guy at Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA, June 21, 2009

Posted on by chappyshi

I just got back from seeing Susan Tedeschi and Buddy Guy at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA.   I couldn’t find anyone else that wanted to go so I dropped $75 and got a 3d row seat right in the middle of the orchestra pit.  The seating was not comfortable…think unfixed metal chair with thin cushion and no arms.  I had two overweight people on the left of me and an asshole on the right of me.  I never could sit all the way back in my seat because I couldn’t scrunch my shoulders together enough.

However, and this is a big however, I have never been that close at a concert and it was well worth it.  I wish I had ignored the “No Photos” rule because everyone else seemed to including the ushers.  Buddy Guy was all in the crowd playing his guitar and the cameras were flashing left and right.  I could have brought my Nikon D60, used no flash, and got some awesome pictures from the 10 feet I was away from the stage.  Oh well.

Susan Tedeschi, who isn’t a big name by any stretch but could be, was awesome.  She  writes some very good songs.  The version of the title song from here 2008 album “Back to the River” was stunning.  She is married to Derek Trucks (nephew of Butch Trucks of Allman Brothers’ fame) and  she appears to picking up a quite a tips on lumbering from him.  She was working that axe!

Buddy Guy was a different story.  He got up there and started wailing on his guitar and put Susan to shame.  But his act was all a show.  He is such a powerful guitarist I justed wanted to hear him crank out the jams for his set.  As it was, we got about an hour and 15 minutes of his “show” which featured way too much audience participation.

As I mentioned, he did go up into the crowd which is apparently a signature thing for him.  He also did some partial covers or imitations of the likes of Marvin Gaye, John Lee Hooker, and Ray Charlies.  He somewhat redeemed himself by bringing Susan out on stage for an impromptu duet of  “Feels Like Rain.”  Buddy put on good show and was entertaining, but I would have preferred he spent his time picking and grinning!

The Derek Trucks Band, Encore

Posted on by chappyshi

I saw the Derek Trucks Band (DTB) when they opened for Santana at Merriweather Post in Columbia, MD, in the spring with my sister Julie, brother-in-law Ed, and Matt Koeniger.  Derek Trucks, nephew of Butch Trucks from the Allman Brothers, was awesome.  I thought DTB was the headliner so I was surprised to see that they were opening and Santana was headlining.  Both bands were outstanding.

I was surprised again to hear that DTB was playing at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD, this past Thursday.  I knew that Joe Satriani was playing at the Warner Theater the same night.  I seriously considered going to that show but when I heard on Tuesday that the DTB was in town I went for it.

Instead of the 45 minute opener they did for Santana at Merriweather, they just jammed for about 2:15 hours plus a 20 minute or so break.  They opened up the second set with two or three sit down, foot stomping Delta blues tunes.  That sent the tone for the whole evening for me but DTB is hard to classify.  The do blues, rock, fusion, and jam.  If you like that kind of variety from very talented artists, check out DTB sometime.

You can see the playlist for the Strathmore concert here and listen to it here.

Pictures from Memorial Day, 2008, Camping at Val and Lawrences on the Shenandoah River

Posted on by chappyshi

I messed up the aspect ratio on a batch resize of these photos.  Everything seems to be a bit wider than it should be.  I am too lazy right now to fix them…

Pictures from Memorial Day, 2008, Camping at Val and Lawrences on the Shenandoah River

Derek Trucks Band and Santana at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD

Posted on by chappyshi

I saw the Derek Trucks Band and Santana with my sister, brother-in-law, and two friends at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, last night. The show was awesome. We had been wanting to see Derek Trucks, who is the nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers Band. Last year they didn’t tour in the States at all that we could find…just Europe. Ed, my brother-in-law found that they were playing at Merriweather and snapped up some tickets. Santana was certainly an added bonus.

April is certainly the earliest I have gone to a pavilion concert. It was good that we had pavilion seats because there was a light rain/mist going on all day. I think that we are having a cool and damp spring. Yesterday was no exception. The temperature never got over 50 degrees and there was a light breeze. We really had to bundle up to stay warm but it was well worth it.

Derek Trucks opened up starting right on time at 7:00 PM. They managed to get in seven songs in 50 minutes or so. You can see the playlist here. I sensed the end was near so I jammed off for a much needed bathroom break. The set did end while I was making my bladder gladder. I came out and there were 100 guys standing line. Merriweather’s restroom facilities suck and always have!

Santana, who has been around for years, but I have never seen, was unreal. I am not sure what those around me thought but, to me, as good as Derek Trucks was, he just seemed to be dwarfed by Santana’s performance. Santana hit his mark at Woodstock while Derek picked up the guitar at 9 and was playing with the Allmans at 11. He started the Derek Trucks Band in 1994. I think that Santana just has a bit more experience…

Derek sat in on a few Santana tunes and certainly held his own though. It was all very impressive. Look here in the not too distant future to check out Santana’s set list. Overall, another great show which was a great way to start off the concert season. BTW, if you are going to Merriweather, I recommend parking in the Columbia Mall parking lot. It is only short walk across Little Patuxent River Parkway to Merriweather and it is a lot easier to get out of after the show.