Jim Brock Photography | Eye on the Music

Nov 27

by Jim Brock in Reviews 0 comments tags: Anders Osborne, concert photography, Duane Betts, Eye on the Music, J.J. Grey, Jim Brock Photography, Luther Dickinson, Marc Broussard, Mofro, music photography, New Orleans music, Regent Theater, Southern Soul Assembly, Voice of the Wetlands

Southern Soul Assembly, Regent Theater, Los Angeles

November 18, 2014 The Southern Soul Assembly is not the horn laden, Stax driven sound the name could conjure. Southern, yes, with Mark Broussard, Luther Dickinson, J.J. Grey and Anders Osborne covering that geographic territory. The soul is of a more personal nature. Four stringers and singers, trading songs, telling stories and swapping licks. The Assembly’s individual voices and playing are usually heard at higher volumes, often accompanied by furious soloing (Osborne), frets both foreign and familiar (Dickinson), swampy blues (Grey) and straight up blue eyed soul (Broussard). But in this configuration, they are songwriters first, just sharing tunes in a chill musical setting. The SSA was wrapping a western tour when they arrived last week at the Regent Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. The Regent is a 100-year old gem freshly reopened after 8 years by Mitchell Frank and his Spaceland crew, and perfectly suited to the occasion It’s bigger than your living room, but not by much (for this seated show, maybe 20+ rows of chairs plus a horseshoe balcony), and your bar isn’t as well stocked. Step outside, and you’re in the middle of downtown’s new golden age. So, as big a fan as I am of […]

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers + Steve Winwood, The Forum

October 10, 2014 Tom Petty has been an L.A. boy for 40 years. You can say he’s more than adopted the city as his hometown and the feeling is mutual, the crushing goes both ways. Petty and the Heartbreakers are pretty much synonymous with this town. So, it was completely fitting that his current US tour ended here with two nights at the spectacularly renewed Forum. The evening proved to be a master class in garage rock (meant in the best way) featuring just about every iconic guitar and classic guitar tone imaginable. From the dueling Tele shredding on a tribute to the late Paul Revere’s “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” to the twin Thunderbirds tearing at the throat of “You Wreck Me”, guitar geeks everywhere were drooling from start to finish. Vintage Les Pauls, classic SGs, Flying V’s and Rickenbackers, teardrops of a few shapes and sizes, a bright red Gretsch with more odd angles than an AP trig test, to name a few, all made appearances before the evening was out. But the Friday night show I attended was so much more than just the compadres Petty and Mike Campbell flashing their collections. Petty made himself right at […]

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Oct 10

by Jim Brock in Reviews 0 comments tags: concert photography, Eye on the Music, Hollywood Palladium, Jim Brock Photography, Led Zeppelin, music photography, Robert Plant, Sensational Space Shifters

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Hollywood Palladium

October 7, 2014 Few voices in rock stand as tall and as memorable as Robert Plant’s. Whether it’s the reverb drenched “aahs” in “Black Dog” or the screaming howl that caps “Whole Lotta Love”, that voice is embedded into the brain of any fan born before 1965, and then some. But Plant has rebooted himself more than a few times since the salad days of his old band and continues to challenge himself as an artist, while neither running from, or towards, his legacy. Many of Plant’s musical contemporaries will roll along familiar ground until the wheels come off. But not Plant. In his solo career, the Staffordshire born Brit has embraced Americana and roots in recent years with the likes of T-Bone Burnett, Allison Krauss and Patty Griffin, and now turns the planet on its ear fusing world beats and African sounds with his Sensational Space Shifters. Forget reinvention. This is career forged exploration from a man still trying to live the “golden god” moniker down. No phoning it in. Musical bravery, if you ask me. Plant scheduled a handful of US dates for his “lullaby…and the ceaseless roar” tour, and I was fortunate to catch the start of his […]

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Way Over Yonder Festival, Santa Monica Pier

September 26-27, 2014 Day one of Newport Folk Festival’s little sister, Way Over Yonder, at the Santa Monica Pier had familiar headliners, solo strummers and new discoveries, true to the Newport spirit. The perfect weather, great beer and ocean setting didn’t hurt. Lucinda Williams delivered a career crossing set to tee up crowd faves, Local Natives. Drums/guitar duo Little Hurricane lived up to its name, Moses Sumney claimed his buzz. The Far West got all honkytonk-abilly, Joe Fletcher spun road weary tales. Bootstraps and straight outta Indy Houndmouth were both personal and energetic, and the Wild Reeds played well with the carousel crowd. This sophomore effort was off to a good start. Day 2 was a keeper. The music was as sparkling as the weather. Missed The Barr Brothers, but heard great things. The Main Stage was strong from start to finish, but the stunner for me was The Lone Bellow. Soulful, punchy, grounded with stories to tell and the tunes to match, only to be followed by Jamestown Revival who didn’t miss a beat and kept the energy and emotion high. Joe Pug at the Carousel Stage […]

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Yes with Syd Arthur, Greek Theatre

August 24, 2014 Sure prog rock is so 1974, yet, the stuff holds up. Hear me out. The bongs and headphones crowd may have moved on to second wives/third mortgages. But, long before World of Warcraft and GOT, stoner nerds nursed their souls to music that was complex, epic in scale and classically influenced, inasmuch the twain ever met (confession, first time I really heard Stravinsky was the recorded opening of 1972’s “Yes Songs”). Emerson, Lake and Palmer may have grabbed my head, but Yes had me at “Your Move/All Good People”. Steve Howe’s 12-string laud, Jon Anderson’s lilting vocals, Chris Squire’s rowdiness pushing all the niceties out of the way. I even bought into the grandeur of “Tales from Topographic Oceans” the 1973 double album comprised of four sides/four tracks based on Hindu scripture (and clearly Jon Anderson’s dive into the deep end). And then there was Roger Dean’s cover art that seemingly made the other worldly accessible. Alas, by the late 70s, new wave and punk spat on such indulgences and Yes along with their prog brethren strove for the middle and drowned in the rebel yell of the time. Not that prog every really went anywhere. Bands […]

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Aug 04

Newport Folk Festival 2014, Day 3

July 27, 2014 Few festivals conjure up historic page turners like Newport Folk. Dylan’s 1965 plugged in performance is the stuff of legend that only happens to be true. But by the time the 70’s rolled around, the event fell on harder times and went dark until resurrected in 1985. These days, there still is nothing like Newport. The picture perfect setting, Pete Seeger’s presence everywhere and attendance capped at 10K. This is a Fest just as independent as days of yore, whose acts are not about a paycheck and are on the bill regardless of sales. When asked his definition of “folk” recently, Fest producer Jay Sweet told JamBase that founder George Wein considered folk as “anything that wasn’t jazz”. This Fest has held true to that renegade spirit. In that same interview, Sweet went on to say that acts are booked because “I want them to play…the audience demands that you play…and the artist wants to play”. As Rolling Stone noted recently, talent will often play for less, just to be a part of the Newport experience. So, it was my good fortune that at the end of an East Coast vacation, I was able to wrap the […]

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RatDog with the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Greek Theatre

July 2, 2014 Hard to believe that the Dead offshoot, RatDog, has been at it for almost 20 years. The band, formed by Bob Weir not long after the death of Jerry Garcia, has become the longest running gig for any founding member outside of the Dead. In that span, guitarist Weir has taken on the appearance (and the role) of elder, bringing along a younger fan base that never experienced Winterland, Oakland or MSG. RatDog is a kindred unit, well suited to Weir’s truly unique guitar talents (inspiring legions of kids to be “rhythm” guitarists, myself included). Jay Lane on drums helped get the whole thing going with Weir in 1995, Furthur’s Jeff Chimenti provides the keys, Rob Wasserman is a wonderful bass player and frequent Weir collaborator, and Steve Kimock an important figure in the jam band world and occasional member of other Dead related projects. Brit Robin Sylvester fills out this version of the band on bass, as well. With Furthur on hiatus, both RatDog and Phil and Friends shows take on more importance and delight, each diving headfirst into the Garcia canon, adding a twist on interesting covers and exploring their leader’s compositions with abandon. The […]

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WORDS

Southern Soul Assembly, Regent Theater, Los Angeles

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers + Steve Winwood, The Forum

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Hollywood Palladium

Way Over Yonder Festival, Santa Monica Pier

Yes with Syd Arthur, Greek Theatre

Newport Folk Festival 2014, Day 3

RatDog with the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Greek Theatre

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