Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Schwag jam fan favorites for an Grateful Granada + Wakarusa lineup released!
The Schwag are a full-blown Grateful Dead experience Deadheads travel from all around to see. With Jimmy Tebeau, Grateful Dead bassist led the band in two sets of vigorous jams at the Granada last night, including a number of popular Dead songs that the audience asked for as the concert rocked on. After each long, radiant jam, the crowd roared in approval, overjoyed by the band's energetic spirit.
Any other time of year the Granada may not have been big enough to contain the audience for a show of this prominence. A lot of students are still out of town for Winter Break, however, which left a little extra breathing room in the venue for the hardcore Deadheads, young and old, who came out in their tie-dyes and patchy pants. Still, it was a crowded night and friends and strangers alike came together in happy harmony for what they all knew would be one of the best shows of the year.
The night started without any openers. The Schwag came out full of energy, starting strong with hard-hitting blues rock, rambling into psychedelic jams, the band treated the crowd to heavy doses of professional music-craft. Barely any other active band can compare with The Schwag in terms of sheer talent and experience. Last night they lived up to their established reputation.
With hundreds of songs to choose from, the band never needs a set list and to add to the crowd's pleasure, they took requests, playing some fan favorites to the delight of the full dance-floor. For later songs, the harmonica savant Brody Buster, from Lawrence's own Brody Buster Band, joined The Schwag, humbly joining the veteran blues experts for some smooth, funky jams.
The two sets combined made a full night of Grateful Dead bliss. It cannot be determined which set might have been better, because they were both completely satisfying. The Schwag will be back in their home-base of St. Louis several times over the month, but the best show will be on January 29th. The band is playing a benefit show for Camp Zoe, the scenic campground outside Salem, Missouri, where The Schwag used to host fantastic music festivals multiple times a year. It was recently shut down, and the bands and fans who all love that place are trying to win it back.
Now for an exciting announcement!
The Wakarusa Music Festival's lineup for 2011 was just released this week, and contains a massive collection of great artists, many of whom Lawrence music lovers know and love.
If you've read this column before, you've probably heard of many of the great bands playing this June:
Ben Harper and the Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
STS9
Bassnectar
Umphrey's McGee
Toots & the Maytals
Ghostland Observatory
Shpongle
Galactic
Lotus
Dark Star Orchestra
North Mississippi Allstars
Perpetual Groove
Wookiefoot
Split Lip Rayfield
Cornmeal
EOTO
Big Gigantic
VibesquaD
Peelander-Z
Jay Nash
Dirtfoot
Mountain Sprout
Papadosio
Zoogma
Family Groove Company
The Floozies
Somasphere
The Ben Miller Band
Just to name a few.
Wakarusa used to be held outside of Lawrence, but has moved to Mulberry Mountain, Arkansas, where there is more room, and a flat area where the stages and main campground are, making it easier for most campers to reach the shows. Last year was a blast for all who attended.
Granted, the new set-up includes a "satellite" campground, which is a long LONG hike from everything, but if you are smart and come early, you can secure a good camping spot and enjoy a comfortable, fun weekend of music this June. Expect a full preview in the coming months.
Any other time of year the Granada may not have been big enough to contain the audience for a show of this prominence. A lot of students are still out of town for Winter Break, however, which left a little extra breathing room in the venue for the hardcore Deadheads, young and old, who came out in their tie-dyes and patchy pants. Still, it was a crowded night and friends and strangers alike came together in happy harmony for what they all knew would be one of the best shows of the year.
The night started without any openers. The Schwag came out full of energy, starting strong with hard-hitting blues rock, rambling into psychedelic jams, the band treated the crowd to heavy doses of professional music-craft. Barely any other active band can compare with The Schwag in terms of sheer talent and experience. Last night they lived up to their established reputation.
With hundreds of songs to choose from, the band never needs a set list and to add to the crowd's pleasure, they took requests, playing some fan favorites to the delight of the full dance-floor. For later songs, the harmonica savant Brody Buster, from Lawrence's own Brody Buster Band, joined The Schwag, humbly joining the veteran blues experts for some smooth, funky jams.
The two sets combined made a full night of Grateful Dead bliss. It cannot be determined which set might have been better, because they were both completely satisfying. The Schwag will be back in their home-base of St. Louis several times over the month, but the best show will be on January 29th. The band is playing a benefit show for Camp Zoe, the scenic campground outside Salem, Missouri, where The Schwag used to host fantastic music festivals multiple times a year. It was recently shut down, and the bands and fans who all love that place are trying to win it back.
Now for an exciting announcement!
The Wakarusa Music Festival's lineup for 2011 was just released this week, and contains a massive collection of great artists, many of whom Lawrence music lovers know and love.
If you've read this column before, you've probably heard of many of the great bands playing this June:
Ben Harper and the Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
STS9
Bassnectar
Umphrey's McGee
Toots & the Maytals
Ghostland Observatory
Shpongle
Galactic
Lotus
Dark Star Orchestra
North Mississippi Allstars
Perpetual Groove
Wookiefoot
Split Lip Rayfield
Cornmeal
EOTO
Big Gigantic
VibesquaD
Peelander-Z
Jay Nash
Dirtfoot
Mountain Sprout
Papadosio
Zoogma
Family Groove Company
The Floozies
Somasphere
The Ben Miller Band
Just to name a few.
Wakarusa used to be held outside of Lawrence, but has moved to Mulberry Mountain, Arkansas, where there is more room, and a flat area where the stages and main campground are, making it easier for most campers to reach the shows. Last year was a blast for all who attended.
Granted, the new set-up includes a "satellite" campground, which is a long LONG hike from everything, but if you are smart and come early, you can secure a good camping spot and enjoy a comfortable, fun weekend of music this June. Expect a full preview in the coming months.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy headline a powerhouse lineup of bluegrass brilliance + Previews!
An extraordinary lineup of musicians built up the party at the Bottleneck Thursday night, filling the venue with a storm of bluegrass energy. The diverse, yet harmonized lineup of artists jammed with all kinds of styles and sounds, playing a huge range of exciting Americana Roots.
Fans traveled hours to be at the show and for good reason. From start to end the concert was a hootenanny of stirring pieces. Tyler Gregory started the night with his one-man act, filling the Bottleneck with his blues and roots originals and covers. The combination of his memorable bard's voice, clever guitar picking and the stomp-box percussion makes Gregory an impressive live performance to behold.
Honky Suckle came up second, taking the energy Gregory built and expanding it. The five-piece roots-rock-grass band jammed out tunes for a lengthy set of powerful rhythms that shook up the bar. The band's sharp, exercised talent pulled a big crowd onto the dance floor, pumping up the positive energy of the audience. The Missouri-based group includes a harmonica, and vocals from all the band members, which added layers of harmony to the inspired melodies of the set. The bar completely filled with the Honky Suckle's energy.
To complete this night of roots and bluegrass Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy took the stage for a long, charged set of punked-out, folk-infused jams. Following the energy and passion of the openers, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy took the audience on a wild ride through their own variety of styles and sounds. Dixieland, circus, showtunes and ska, you can hear all kinds of influences in this Wichita band's work. The trombone added brass to the sounds of this colorful, comprehensive band, alongside a wide range of bluegrass instruments. A banjo, mandolin, guitar, stand-up bass and harmonica all had parts in the five musicians' songs. Ferociously energetic drums and washboard from the percussionist set fast, stomping paces for tunes that rambled and flowed with the distinctive, rumbling vocals of the lead singer and guitarist Jarrod Starling.
The crowd was enthralled with every performance. The fact that this show was on a Thursday night seemed surprising to some. On top of that these great acts played for a total of only $5! Mind blowing. It was a rare treat for lucky music lovers downtown.
Tonight, don't miss the great shows, whether you're in the mood for some fun Grateful Dead jams or House electronica, there are options. See you out there!
Fans traveled hours to be at the show and for good reason. From start to end the concert was a hootenanny of stirring pieces. Tyler Gregory started the night with his one-man act, filling the Bottleneck with his blues and roots originals and covers. The combination of his memorable bard's voice, clever guitar picking and the stomp-box percussion makes Gregory an impressive live performance to behold.
Honky Suckle came up second, taking the energy Gregory built and expanding it. The five-piece roots-rock-grass band jammed out tunes for a lengthy set of powerful rhythms that shook up the bar. The band's sharp, exercised talent pulled a big crowd onto the dance floor, pumping up the positive energy of the audience. The Missouri-based group includes a harmonica, and vocals from all the band members, which added layers of harmony to the inspired melodies of the set. The bar completely filled with the Honky Suckle's energy.
To complete this night of roots and bluegrass Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy took the stage for a long, charged set of punked-out, folk-infused jams. Following the energy and passion of the openers, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy took the audience on a wild ride through their own variety of styles and sounds. Dixieland, circus, showtunes and ska, you can hear all kinds of influences in this Wichita band's work. The trombone added brass to the sounds of this colorful, comprehensive band, alongside a wide range of bluegrass instruments. A banjo, mandolin, guitar, stand-up bass and harmonica all had parts in the five musicians' songs. Ferociously energetic drums and washboard from the percussionist set fast, stomping paces for tunes that rambled and flowed with the distinctive, rumbling vocals of the lead singer and guitarist Jarrod Starling.
The crowd was enthralled with every performance. The fact that this show was on a Thursday night seemed surprising to some. On top of that these great acts played for a total of only $5! Mind blowing. It was a rare treat for lucky music lovers downtown.
Tonight, don't miss the great shows, whether you're in the mood for some fun Grateful Dead jams or House electronica, there are options. See you out there!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Bluegrass, Jam bands and DJs pull music lovers downtown this week!
The end of this week is packed full of brilliant music in Lawrence and beyond. Whatever your taste, there is something for you. Two great shows on Friday night will pull people in different directions, making for tough decisions.
Thursday: Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy are playing at the Bottleneck with Honey Suckle and Tyler Gregory. Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy are a hip bluegrass band that play with a touch of the blues, brought out by the trombone mixed in with their country instruments. Their performance at the L-town Throwdown last April was impressive and the well-practiced band promises more of the same quality tunes tomorrow night. Tyler Gregory has made his way up from a street busker with a sonorous voice to a professional musician, sometimes playing with a band. Alone, he fills a venue with sound, his talent on the guitar, memorable vocals are inspiring and sometimes he plays with a board under his feet, which he can stomp on to provide percussion too. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Friday there are at least a couple of fun shows to choose from, so music lovers will have to think carefully about what they are in the mood for that night.
The Schwag will be playing at the Granada at 9 p.m. for just $8! The Grateful Dead bassist Jimmy Tebeau leads this band in their Dead-esque jams. With countless songs of their own to choose from and no set list, The Schwag jam their fun, funky tunes regularly all across the country, and no two shows are ever the same. The band used to headline their own music festival, Schwagstock, several times a year at Camp Zoe, until it was recently closed for such events. Lawrence Deadheads who miss that cool, chill jam scene will get their fill Friday night.
At the same time, DJ Mark Farina will be spinning his psychedelic hip-hop hits at the Czar Bar in Kansas City. This experienced musician started his career with a fascination in House music and techno. Now he's spinning jazzy grooves with a new style to them, something you may not find elsewhere. Only 100 tickets are available for this show. It's $20, so if you can afford an exclusive music experience, this is worth checking out! DJ Brent Tactic will open this show up at 9 p.m.
These are just a few of the exciting upcoming shows. There are plenty more big bands and awesome concerts coming around this month, stay tuned for more!
Thursday: Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy are playing at the Bottleneck with Honey Suckle and Tyler Gregory. Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy are a hip bluegrass band that play with a touch of the blues, brought out by the trombone mixed in with their country instruments. Their performance at the L-town Throwdown last April was impressive and the well-practiced band promises more of the same quality tunes tomorrow night. Tyler Gregory has made his way up from a street busker with a sonorous voice to a professional musician, sometimes playing with a band. Alone, he fills a venue with sound, his talent on the guitar, memorable vocals are inspiring and sometimes he plays with a board under his feet, which he can stomp on to provide percussion too. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Friday there are at least a couple of fun shows to choose from, so music lovers will have to think carefully about what they are in the mood for that night.
The Schwag will be playing at the Granada at 9 p.m. for just $8! The Grateful Dead bassist Jimmy Tebeau leads this band in their Dead-esque jams. With countless songs of their own to choose from and no set list, The Schwag jam their fun, funky tunes regularly all across the country, and no two shows are ever the same. The band used to headline their own music festival, Schwagstock, several times a year at Camp Zoe, until it was recently closed for such events. Lawrence Deadheads who miss that cool, chill jam scene will get their fill Friday night.
At the same time, DJ Mark Farina will be spinning his psychedelic hip-hop hits at the Czar Bar in Kansas City. This experienced musician started his career with a fascination in House music and techno. Now he's spinning jazzy grooves with a new style to them, something you may not find elsewhere. Only 100 tickets are available for this show. It's $20, so if you can afford an exclusive music experience, this is worth checking out! DJ Brent Tactic will open this show up at 9 p.m.
These are just a few of the exciting upcoming shows. There are plenty more big bands and awesome concerts coming around this month, stay tuned for more!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The Floozies rage in the New Year with a dance party at the Bottleneck!
A Happy New Year was guaranteed for all the folks partying with The Floozies at the Bottleneck last night. The night got exponentially wilder, with a wide array of music from jazzy funk, to electronic dub, finishing with The Floozies' slick style of electric funk, a.k.a. Alien Disco.
Beans & Cornbread, an eight-piece jazzy funk band threw down with a diverse set of instruments and well-practiced harmonies between the various band members. The sounds of trumpet, trombone and saxophone blared sheer energy, backed up by a brilliant guitarist, bassist and drummer, all working in harmony alongside smooth vocals. Surprisingly the Topeka-based band has never played in Lawrence before, but gave the Bottleneck a shocking first impression. The bar filled up early, with an eager crowd torn between conserving their energy for the midnight hour and dancing their socks off from start to finish. While Beans & Cornbread warmed the bar up, there were not many people braving the dance floor, but not for lack of good tunes. The band deserved a better audience, but they made up for it with their own energy. For the finale, the horns came down off the stage and stood in front of the audience on the dance floor, giving the crowd an up-close dose of funk.
Beans & Cornbread were a tough act to follow, but rather than setting up another full band, inflect came up with his laptop to do a one-man-act of electronica and IDM. To his credit, inflect had some invigorating, bass-heavy beats that drew out the crowd. Despite the reasonably well-lit venue, it started to feel like a rave in the Bottleneck for parts of this thumping techno set. Even if folks were too drunk or shy to dance much, the music was pleasing and charged up the audience like a bolt of lightning. When The Floozies came on stage it became clear the party has only just begun.
The Hill brothers, Matt and Mark have an uncanny ability to work together through improvisational jams, bouncing off each others beats and melodies. They also play fun, funky covers of songs so different from the original that they are like new songs themselves. The creative juices were positively pouring off the stage as The Floozies churned out funky tunes from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. in their first set. The crowd adored the hip rhythms and clever harmonies. The only thing that could top The Floozies first set, was their second. Dropping hot beats, whipping the crowd into a dancing frenzy, The Floozies ended the night on a high note, but the everyone would have kept going if they could have. Sadly the bar had to close at the usual time. Thankfully The Floozies' fans are just as cool as the band itself, so there were plenty of great after-parties around town to keep the night going.
If you missed this show, you may have missed the best New Years Eve party in town, but have heart; The Floozies will be playing around the Midwest the next two months. They have a new album, "Under Another Sun" being released on their website for download the 11th, that's 1/11/11. Most exciting of all, they announced today that they will be playing at Wakarusa this summer!
Beans & Cornbread, an eight-piece jazzy funk band threw down with a diverse set of instruments and well-practiced harmonies between the various band members. The sounds of trumpet, trombone and saxophone blared sheer energy, backed up by a brilliant guitarist, bassist and drummer, all working in harmony alongside smooth vocals. Surprisingly the Topeka-based band has never played in Lawrence before, but gave the Bottleneck a shocking first impression. The bar filled up early, with an eager crowd torn between conserving their energy for the midnight hour and dancing their socks off from start to finish. While Beans & Cornbread warmed the bar up, there were not many people braving the dance floor, but not for lack of good tunes. The band deserved a better audience, but they made up for it with their own energy. For the finale, the horns came down off the stage and stood in front of the audience on the dance floor, giving the crowd an up-close dose of funk.
Beans & Cornbread were a tough act to follow, but rather than setting up another full band, inflect came up with his laptop to do a one-man-act of electronica and IDM. To his credit, inflect had some invigorating, bass-heavy beats that drew out the crowd. Despite the reasonably well-lit venue, it started to feel like a rave in the Bottleneck for parts of this thumping techno set. Even if folks were too drunk or shy to dance much, the music was pleasing and charged up the audience like a bolt of lightning. When The Floozies came on stage it became clear the party has only just begun.
The Hill brothers, Matt and Mark have an uncanny ability to work together through improvisational jams, bouncing off each others beats and melodies. They also play fun, funky covers of songs so different from the original that they are like new songs themselves. The creative juices were positively pouring off the stage as The Floozies churned out funky tunes from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. in their first set. The crowd adored the hip rhythms and clever harmonies. The only thing that could top The Floozies first set, was their second. Dropping hot beats, whipping the crowd into a dancing frenzy, The Floozies ended the night on a high note, but the everyone would have kept going if they could have. Sadly the bar had to close at the usual time. Thankfully The Floozies' fans are just as cool as the band itself, so there were plenty of great after-parties around town to keep the night going.
If you missed this show, you may have missed the best New Years Eve party in town, but have heart; The Floozies will be playing around the Midwest the next two months. They have a new album, "Under Another Sun" being released on their website for download the 11th, that's 1/11/11. Most exciting of all, they announced today that they will be playing at Wakarusa this summer!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)