Posts
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Reflections of a Wandering Jazz Fest Photographer
Years come and go. Jazz Fests do not. They endure. Each seemingly better than the last. Each its own indelible stamp on the soul. Jazz Fest 45 had everything going for it and, man, it did not disappoint. From the time the lineup dropped in January…
Spring Quartet, Royce Hall
February 22, 2014
The stunning collaboration of drummer Jack DeJohnette, saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Esperanza Spalding and pianist Leo Genovese refers to itself as “The Spring Quartet”, and the musical possibilities suggested by…
Anders Osborne + Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, El Rey Theatre
October 24, 2013
Anders Osborne went deep and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe embraced their inner Ray Charles for a wholly satisfying double bill at the El Rey Theatre last Thursday. The two combined for 3 ½ hours of wall-to-wall intensity,…
Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder, Royce Hall
October 18, 2013
Bluegrass is a lot of things. The high lonesome. Bill Monroe. Furious pickin’. Lots of strings. Acoustic instrumentation. What it traditionally isn’t is plugged in, horns, a drum kit, and rarely, a piano front and…
John Scofield Uberjam + Dave Holland Prism Quartet, Royce Hall
October 5, 2013
The 6th annual Angel City Jazz Festival is as unique as the city that bears its name. Multi-venue, multi-media and highly eclectic, predictable only for its unpredictablilty. Not necessarily qualities you would attach to this…