Grace Potter Concert Experience

When I decide to write about a show, it's about the experience. It's not a review. I bought the ticket because I like the artist. I don't feel compelled to expound on every show I see. This one was special.

I'm also very aware that I hear music differently from most people and don't experience shows like others. I have a few happy places in my life, but nothing brings me joy like a great concert.

Devon Gilfillian opened. Dude can sing. Opened the show with the song he should have closed with, in my opinion. Was good, but some was not really my to my liking.

Then Grace Potter took the stage and the only time I stopped smiling was when she made us all cry.

A little backstory. Grace Potter had effectively decided not to do music anymore after the dissolution of her band, the Nocturnals, her divorce, and ill-fated solo album Midnight. Then she got remarried, had a kid and got the music jones again, much to our benefit. What came of that was her latest album Daylight and subsequent tour. And we should all be grateful.

Grace gave us a healthy dose of songs from the new album, hit all the high notes of her catalog with the Nocturnals along with a couple of covers. She sounded fantastic, her band was great and the cover of Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind" as a duet with the aforementioned Devon Gilfillian was superb.

She was very personable, engaging with the audience and going off script (i.e. changing the set list on the fly). She went with the flow. One off script moment, she told the band to GTFOH while she did a solo acoustic song. The tables were turned later.

I've been to a lot of shows. This one was top five. It was that good. 90% of that was Grace Potter and her band, but the crowd was awesome as well. In recent memory, this was the least cell-phoned show I've been to. Everybody was there for the artist and into the music. Sure, everybody got their pic or video, but it wasn't constant.

Speaking of the crowd, off script and going with the flow, three songs were played for the encore. After they finished those three, they did their bows, etc. The crowd was going nuts. Grace mouthed "Wow". The band huddled up, apparently deciding what other song they should do. The band decided they were going to GTFOH and left Grace to do a solo. She said that this was going to be great or the band was going to be fired.

Apparently the band talked her into doing "Release" solo. As she was introducing it she told a story about how it came to be. She was listening, in the bath, to Dolly Parton's version of "I Will Always Love You" and thought she needed a song like that. (Before anyone cries blasphemy, she was not comparing quality, just content, and admitted that this ain't no Dolly song.) She cried. We all cried when she sang it.

ZZ Ward Show Experience

Saw ZZ Ward on 5/18/18 in Austin at Emo's.

First of all, never miss the opening act, you never know what you might miss. Opening for ZZ Ward was the trio consisting of brothers from the UK with an American drummer called the Ruen Brothers. They were a blast.

I don't know how to exactly to describe what they did. It was kind of a rockabilly/country/California surf punk/50s/Brit pop mashup. Go figure. I'd never heard any of their songs before, as I'm sure a large percentage of the crowd had not, but they kept everyone engaged throughout their 40 minute set.

To me, that's what separates the good live entertainers from the bad; if no one knows the songs, is the crowd still engaged? They did that.

I'm a recent fan of ZZ Ward since hearing her most recent album The Storm, which I wrote about.

Ward is an exceptional performer, vocally fantastic with her unique voice, playing harmonica, guitar and keys at various points throughout the show. She transitioned smoothly between full band and acoustic, blues and beats.

I'l admit, I'm not fully versed in her full catalog, but the songs I didn't recognize had me just as engaged as the songs I was familiar with. See above, but to me, that's what makes an artist truly great in a live setting.

Ward is heavily influenced by the blues, and that is where she and her band really shined. More blues rock than straight blues, but her set was heavy in that area and the crowd (and I) really dug that.

I understand the draw to recreate the album as close as possible, but the only criticism I have of the show is the use of pre-recorded music for a few songs. She, and her band, are good enough to pull off the songs without it. It was obvious, and they didn't try to hide it. It did not take away from the enjoyment of most patrons, but as a music nerd, it bothered me. I'd rather hear a stripped down version of the song than trying to emulate the album exactly, but that's just me.

Other than that, the show was awesome. She commands the stage. Her band is fantastic. Packed in the music, not much banter, one song to the next. You get your money's worth at a ZZ Ward show.

Show Experience with Dorothy and Holly West

I went to see Dorothy on 3/9/2018 at the House of Blues in Dallas, TX in the Cambridge Room. Why is the name of the room important? Because there are two rooms at the Dallas House of Blues. The Cambridge Room is the smaller room with a capacity of 250. It was sold out.

This was part of Dorothy's Freedom Tour in which she headlined smaller venues and enlisted local artists from each city to open the show. That night's opener was local Dallas artist Holly West, more on her later.

The crowd was diverse, ranging from teenagers to people at least in their 50's. I fall much closer to the latter category. Being that it was at such a small venue, standing only general admission, there was not a bad place to be. The kids crowded the stage while the older folk hung back.

Holly West took the stage with her three piece band spitting fire with their version of blues rock. West was on bass and all the vocals with the accompaniment of drums and guitar. All three are excellent musicians. Holly's vocals were fantastic. The guitar player had some excellent slide guitar mixed in with his bluesy solos. The drummer. Let's talk about the drummer.

For some reason, he reminded me of Jack Black. He was putting on a show within a show. Throwing his stick in the air and catching it with every opportunity. Standing up between songs to incite the crowd to cheer. Using his foot for cymbal crashes. He was a joy to watch.

Seriously, Dorothy did a service to everyone by picking Holly West to open the show. Aside from the two deeper cut covers by Think Lizzy and Led Zeppelin that West did, I did not know a single song but was into it the entire time. Her EP Mokita is available on streaming services. Check her out if you like Dorothy.

I'm going to talk about Dorothy's music first before I talk about the show. I have been a fan since first hearing the debut album ROCKISDEAD, a swampy, bluesy, sultry hard rock album. I wrote about it here. Dorothy played a few songs from that album, but more than half were from her upcoming album, of which three songs have already been released. From what Dorothy played live, this new album is going to be more diverse and better than the debut. When I don't know the songs and they move me, there is something there.

Dorothy Martin commanded the stage with the grace of Stevie Nicks, the swagger of Robert Plant and the enthusiasm of Grace Potter. This was an old school rock show. No glitz and glam, just a band belting out one banger after another. And so much fun.

Martin looked like she was having fun, from her bouncing around to her between song banter. And she was in control, telling one person in the crowd to shut of the iPhone because the of the light and telling the bartenders to turn of the TVs at the bar because they were distracting her from the crowd. The crowd ate it up.

You always hear a record with great vocals and then when see them live, eh, what tricks did they play in the studio. Not so with Dorothy. Her vocals live are as good as on the record. I appreciate that.

Martin has also assembled a great band behind her. Two guitars, bass and drums. Theme of the night? Excellent musicians. I really enjoyed the guitar solos that you don't get as much anymore. There just aren't the shredders that used to be on every corner in the 80s. And the bass player was channeling his inner Juan Croucier (look it up kids), I'm sure he would have done spins if the stage were bigger.

Admittedly, I haven't been to as many rock shows lately as I have in the past, but this was one of the most fun and best one's I've ever been to. If you get a chance, go see Dorothy live, you won't be disappointed, unless, of course, you just don't like good music. Kidding. But if you like hard rock, they put on a great show.

Whiskey Myers: Concert Review

I went with my sister and daughter to see Whiskey Myers in New Braunfels, TX at the River Road Ice House with Band of Heathens opening.

While not that familiar with Band of Heathens before, they were really good. Hard to explain, but if you like 70's California rock, you'd like them.

I had seen Whiskey Myers a couple of years ago at a small club. They were good then. Now, they are a rock and roll tour de force.

The east Texas band cut their teeth on the Texas/Red Dirt Country circuit, honing their brand of Southern Rock. They are a jam band at heart. At least live. It doesn't come through as much on their recorded material.

Whiskey Myers is going out on the Carnival of Madness tour with Shinedown, Halestorm and Black Stone Cherry. If the other three aren't on their game, they will be out-rocked by some East Texas boys.

Whiskey Myers would be right at home in the '70's. With either the Southern Rock crowd or the hard rock crowd. They would have fit in the '80's with Cinderella, Tesla and the Black Crowes. You could even argue that they would have been at home in the late '60's with Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, and the Rolling Stones. Oh, and they could also hold their own playing with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

Visually, Whiskey Myers is an amalgam of of many things. Guitarists Cody Tate and John Jeffers could not look more like they belong in different bands. Tate could walk onto a ZZ Top stage and trade licks with Billy Gibbons. Jeffers could step onto a stage with Cinderella and not look out of place. And both shred on guitar. Early and often.

Drummer Jeff Hogg may be Mick Fleetwood reincarnate.

Bassist Gary Brown looks like he belongs on the Texas Country scene, replete with cowboy hat. Then he breaks out the bass line for "7 Nation Army" and you know this ain't your dad's country.

Lead singer Cody Cannon is a combination of Jim Morrison, Billy the Kid, Johnny Depp, Johnny Van Zant and Jon Bon Jovi. Both in looks and sound. I leave that for you to figure out.

Whiskey Myers played a high energy set that rocked more than the last Bon Jovi show I saw. If you go expecting country, you'll be disappointed, it you go wanting some good rock music, you'll leave impressed.

Here is a live version of "Home" recorded in England:

Chicks That Rock: HAIM,Live Is Better

I'm a big proponent of live music. I love going to shows. Rarely have I been disappointed. While it may not be perfect, there is just something special about seeing a band perform their songs in a live setting.

Some bands pull it off better than others.

And right here, we veer off onto a rabbit trail. I'm talking about bands or artists with real backing bands who actually play the music they perform. Not lip synced, not sung to a backing track (although enhancements are forgiven for some stuff), but actual musicians playing actual music.

Conversely, on very few occasions, there are artists who have a live show that totally blows away what they did in the studio. Don't misunderstand. There are a ton of artists who put on a great live show that is better than their studio work. But I'm talking about something that makes the studio offerings pointless.

I found one. HAM. A band that takes their name from the surname of the three sisters in the band.

I caught some of their set on AXStv from Coachella. They rocked. Smoking guitar licks. Rhythmically interesting. And Este's "bass faces". I was excited to check out more from them.

Upon listening to the studio stuff, I was more than disappointed. It was nothing like the live show. Subdued, overproduced, uninspired shclock. But unleashed on stage, they come alive.

I realize this is personal taste, but I will give you the following examples. I also would go see them live.

But would not purchase the album.