One of the most notable music producers of the 20th century, Phil Spector, has died. Spector had been serving a 19-year prison sentence for the murder of Lana Clarkson, for which he was convicted in 2009. He died of natural causes in the California Health Care Facility, state prison authorities announced Sunday.
Born Harvey Philip Spector on December 26, 1939 in New York City, Spector’s family moved to Los Angeles in 1953, a few years after his father committed suicide.
Spector had number one records in three consecutive decades – 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and had his first hit song while in high school with The Teddy Bears, “To Know Him is To Love Him.”
Soon after Spector would produce a wide range of hits – The Righteous Brothers “You Lost that Lovin’ Feeling,” “Unchained Melody,” “You’re My Soul and Inspiration,” The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” and The Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel,” among others.
Spector had a long association with The Beatles, producing their final album, Let It Be, and tracks “The Long and Winding Road” and “Get Back,” as well as the title track. He continued to work with John Lennon, producing solo work “Instant Karma” and “Imagine,” and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and 1971’s The Concert for Bangladesh.
A producer as well as creative director, Spector wrote or chose material for musicians, supervised arrangements, conducted vocalists and session musicians, and mastered all phases of the recording process. Spector would pave the way for genres of art rock, dream pop, shoegaze and noise music.
In addition to a litany of producer credits, Spector is credited with developing the “Wall of Sound” technique, which involved overdubbing scores of musicians for a fuller sound. The effect creator a “roar,” which Spector one described as “a Wagnerian approach to rock’n’roll: little symphonies for the kids.”
He last produced an album in 1980, with The Ramones’ End Of The Century. Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Of note, Spector played a cocaine dealer in the 1969 cross-country drama “Easy Rider” and appeared on the 1960s sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie.”
According to the Phil Spector biography “Wall of Pain,” he sometimes kept a gun on the studio recording console, fired a shot during an acrimonious recording session with John Lennon and pressed a pistol barrel to singer Leonard Cohen’s neck.
Spector has been in California State prison for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson. Spector said Clarkson’s death was an “accidental suicide” and that she “kissed the gun.” His first trial ended in a hung jury, but was later convicted of second-degree murder in 2009.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, “Inmate Phillip Spector was pronounced deceased of natural causes at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, January 16, 2021, at an outside hospital. His official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner in the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.”
Acclaimed singer/songwriter Mike Younger has just released a new single just right for these carnivalesque political times, “Lord of the Fleas.” And while the lyrics for this tune were just penned to reflect today’s tumultuous climate, its rhythm track, an all-star powered slice of pure Americana, is a remarkable story of its own, one dating back 20 years, and featuring none other than Levon Helm.
In January 2001, Younger was working with producer Jim Dickinson (Big Star, The Replacements) on sessions for what was to be his second album, the follow-up to his Rodney Crowell-produced 1999 debut, “Somethin in the Air.” Dickinson conjured a powerhouse band including Muscle Shoals’ legends David Hood (bass) and Spooner Oldham (keyboards), North Mississippi All Stars’ Luther Dickinson (guitar) and Levon Helm, the heartbeat behind The Band (drums). Unfortunately for Younger, his record company folded while he was finishing the recording, and the rights to the tracks were tied up in a legal battle… until now.
“Lord of the Fleas” features a stately New Orleans style swing and funeral march horns, accenting Younger’s pungent lyrics about the culture wars, the war on refugees and so much more. Sounding much like a track one of the The Band’s classic era albums, Mike Younger has found memories of the session, and the contributions Levon Helm gave to them in sound and spirit.
“Working in the studio with Levon was one of the most important musical moments of my life,” says Younger. “I had been listening to his music since I was about 13 or 14. It was both thrilling and intimidating to me to get to work with someone I admired so much. But it was a real joy to strike up a friendship with him.”
“It was equally crushing to have the music swept away from me for almost 20 years, for reasons beyond my control,” laments Younger. “So it is immeasurably gratifying to have found and completed the project we started together, in spite of all the years and obstacles thrown in my path.”
The promotional video for new single emerges as an American news reel – illuminating the great contradiction of the modern patriot. “Lord of the Fleas” is the first single and video to be released from Nashville-based Younger’s highly-anticipated long-player, entitled “Burning the Bigtop Down,” slated for release in 2021.
Many bands have found it difficult to find ways to connect with fans in new and interesting ways during the COVID-19 pandemic but the alt-rock band PVRIS has found a way to do with it’s live performances of it’s albums in their entirety. They took to the virtual stage to perform AWKOHAWNOH on January 9, 2021 in its entirety for the first time including performing two songs off the album that had never been performed live before broadcasting live from Arizona.
PVRIS is an alternative rock band from Lowell, Massachusetts. The band formed back in 2012 under the name to Paris and eventually changed it to PVRIS for legal reasons. They got their big start in Warped Tour’s battle of the bands finalists in 2013 and have since grown into the the band that’s known today.
Before this virtual concert I personally have seen PVRIS perform twice in person and once virtually for their previous album White Noise. Every time they have killed it. As a big fan of listening to full albums in their entirety the bands decision to perform all of their albums in their live was extremely exciting and intriguing for me and the performances have lived up to the hype.
AWKOHAWNOH, also known as ‘All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ is PVRIS second album and was originally released on August 25, 2017 and included 10 tracks. The live-stream series is being presented by Pillar which is the platform that is hosting the series. PVRIS is selling tickets either for $15 for a one time ticket or a monthly subscription for $10 a month which gives special insights and allows the viewer to re-watch the live-streams. They are also selling merchandise specialize for each album and meet and greets with the band for each show. A part of the proceeds from the AWKOHAWNOH live-stream went to The Ally Coalition to benefit mutual aid organizations in the US.
The performance featured original members Lyndsey Gunnulfsen or more commonly known as Lynn Gunn and Brain McDonald and newcomer Denny Agosto Vega. Lynn Gunn is the powerhouse behind the band and is it’s lead singer, guitarist and is also known for playing keys, bass and being the main writer behind the bands discography. Brain McDonald is the bassist and is also known for his photography as well as his guitar and keys skills. Denny Agosto Vega has been standing in as the drummer and also performed with the band during their live version of their White Noise album back in November of 2020. The noticeably missing member was EX-guitarist Alex Babinski who parted ways with the band earlier this year after Sexual Misconduct Allegations were made against him and the band made a statement saying he would no longer be associated with the band.
The show was supposed to start at 8PM EST but as people waited on the stream to start as 8PM came and went. The anticipation grew in the group chat that accompanied the stream. Music videos from PVRIS’ newest album Use Me played and then eventually everything went dark. The stage appeared with a floor full of fog and iridescent lights. Lynn Gunn on Keys, Brain McDonald on Bass, and Denny Agosto Vega on drums opened with “Heaven, the first song on AWKOHAWNOH. It opened with Lynn’s Voice and keys for the first half of the first verse and then the rest of the band came in. Although it was just streaming onto my TV it felt just as strong of an entrance at any live show I have been to and brought the same adrenaline and excitement.
Throughout the album Lynn Gunn and Brain McDonald continually switched playing bass and guitar taking turns and highlighting their musical abilities. With Alex Babinski no longer playing lead Brian McDonald filled in that position for some of the songs which was different than the last stream. On the White Noise live stream Brian McDonald stuck to bass the entire time as well as playing on the keys occasionally with Lynn Gunn playing keys and guitar. Most of the lead guitar parts were pre recorded in the last live stream though so having a fuller live sound was great during this performance.
One of my favorite moments was when they performed “No Mercy” which is a fan favorite and Lynn Gunn introduced the song saying, “We got a one-way ticket to shred-ville, this is your captain speaking.” The band were really in their element with this song and just having a good time jumping around and playing and dancing together. Denny Agosto Vega was even standing while playing drums and Lynn Shredded on the guitar like her life depended on it.
Another one I really enjoyed was when Lynn Gunn performed “Separate” stripped with just her vocals and keys. Coming after all the hyper-ness of “No Mercy” it was the perfect way to follow up a song that would be hard to follow with another upbeat song. It slows everything down and brings the focus back to Lynn Gunn’s unique and powerful lyrics.
Maybe one of the biggest high points of the show was when they performed “Walk Alone” and “Nola 1” for the first time ever. Both songs have been heavily anticipated by the PVRIS fandom known as the CVLT. Both songs lived up to the hype of being performed live for the first time. “Walk Alone” was one of my favorite’s off the album so hearing it live was a dream come true. “Nola 1” closing out the show was perfectly fitting somehow being one of the most widely anticipated songs to be performed live to wrap up a great night. After the show the band came and “sniffed” everyone watching in their goofy joking way of trying to connect to the audience and said to stay safe and that they loved them. It was a great way to spend a night during COVID-19.
The last album Use Me’s live stream performance is yet to be announced but when it is will also be available to stream on Pillar. For more information visit PVRIS website or their Pillar page.
Whether you know it or not, you’ve all heard the band Focus. You know that tune they spin on classic rock radio, in films, ads and during NBA and World Cup telecasts, the one with the demented yodeling and amphetamine shred guitar breaks, with the relentless riff that’s as memorable as “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Smoke on the Water?” That’s Focus playing one of the most unlikely Top 10 hits of the 1970s, “Hocus Pocus.” And if you think that playful racket of virtuosity is all there was to this band than you’ve missed out on one of the most distinctive and eclectic bodies of work produced during rock’s progressive era.
That’s something that Focus 50 Years (Anthology 1970 – 1976), the lovingly crafted, amazingly researched nine-CD, two-DVD set from Red Bullet Productions, aims to set straight. But first, a little backstory…
Focus commenced in Amsterdam in 1969. It was built around the massive talents of two main musicians, Thijs Van Leer and Jan Akkerman. Van Leer is a classically-trained flautist, keyboardist and occasional yodeler. He was also a talented composer who raided the classics, the works of Bach, Bartok, Haydn, Monteverdi and the like, to create a cannon of tunes, especially the numbered “Focus” titled instrumentals, that are among the most melodic of the prog era.
Van Leer’s foil in Focus was Jan Akkerman. Still going strong today at 74, Jan was one of the most fearsome and versatile virtuoso guitarists of the Guitar God heavy 1970s. This was a man with a jaw-dropping technical mastery of jazz, rock, blues and classical forms, a talent that powered some of the most emotional and exciting soloing and live improvisation ever committed to tape in the rock idiom.
Akkerman could spitfire fusion licks as swiftly as John McLaughlin or slow down to seductively squeeze every ounce of the melody out of a ballad, just like Santana. He could play psychedelic, blues-fired blasts that glowed as brightly as Hendrix and chromatic smears and screams like late ‘60s free jazz Coltrane. He, too, composed distinctive and maybe even more diverse originals than Thijs. Jan’s tunes reflected his own acumen with the classics, from his five years of study at the Amsterdam Lyceum, something evidenced by his lute playing on several Focus tracks. Then, there were those fueled by his love of balls-to-the-wall rock, like “Hocus Pocus,” and funk, like the latter day single, “Crackers.”
Between 1970 and 1976, the Van Leer/Akkerman Focus recorded seven albums and toured relentlessly in Europe, U.S. and Asia, averaging well over 200 shows each year. Led by Jan’s dazzling guitar work, the fiery drumming of the criminally-underrated Pierre van der Linden, Bert Ruiter’s rock-solid bass and Van Leer’s keys, flute and theatrical mugging, Focus pretty much blew everyone off the stage, wherever they ventured.
The proof was in the accolades. In 1973, Akkerman was named “Best Guitarist in the World” by the U.K.’s top music weekly, Melody Maker, over Clapton, Beck, Page, McLaughlin, etc. This was just a year after the same publication named the band its “Brightest New Hope.” Jan’s smiling mug also graced the cover of Guitar Player and, with his bandmates, Circus Magazine. Akkerman’s legion of fans would grow to include luminaries like Carlos Santana, Brian May, Joe Walsh, Chick Corea, Michael Jackson, the Beach Boys (he did unreleased sessions with them while they were recording in Holland), B.B. King and Frank Zappa to name but a few.
Although they seemed to bring out the best in each other, the Van Leer/Akkerman partnership grew stormy over time. It finally fractured when the road weary guitarist left (or was fired) on the eve of a U.K. tour in early 1976. Since then, Akkerman would go on to record two dozen, genre-leaping solo albums that are the height of the guitar art, all while choosing to remain happily out of the international limelight in Holland. Van Leer continues to revive Focus from time to time, with a rotating roster of guitarists who, while sometimes excellent, can never match Jan’s wholly unique musical aura and skill.
With the dawning of the web, a global cult of “Focus fanatics” coalesced, devotees who trade and post audio and video of live gigs and TV performances, rarely-seen concert posters and other ephemera. Unlike some stars, Jan, Thijs and their bandmates proved more than happy to engage with their fans via social media. For these folks, and anyone who loves great music of original intent, this brick of a boxed set will seem like Christmas morning.
Curated by longtime Focus/Akkerman archivist Wouter Bessels, “Focus 50 Years” starts with 24-bit remasters from the original tapes of the first seven Focus albums, plus single, alternative and raw studio mixes, demos, unreleased live recordings and some real oddities, such as the quartet backing other artists in their early days. Add to this two additional CDs of more unreleased live performances from 1971 – 1975, including the first official release of their fantastic “BBC In Concert” performance from 1973.
The package also boasts two DVDs featuring the complete “Focus At the Rainbow” concert film from the live album of the same name, restored and remastered from the original 16 mm film, two BBC “Old Grey Whistle Test” broadcasts from 1972 and “BBC In Concert” from 1974. There’s also “Focus Live in Dublin” 1973, the “Goud van Oud” reunion from 1990 and the 1997 “Focus II Classic Albums” documentary. To guide you through the riches, Bessels has compiled an 80-page booklet with band history, liner notes, press clips and memorabilia.
The band’s debut album, “Focus Plays Focus,” finds the newly formed band still searching for an identity, with a few vocal tunes like the jazzy “Happy Nightmare (Mescaline)” in the mix. This was something that would be quickly abandoned in favor an all-instrumental approach, along with their original bassist and drummer, Martijn Dressden and Hans Cluever. This version of the album is notable for its opener, the stately instrumental “Focus I,” the first of this numbered series of classically informed instrumentals by Van Leer, and the two bonus tracks. The first, Akkerman’s flute-driven “House of the King,” became their first chart hit in Europe, one often mistaken for Jethro Tull. The other bonus is a sizzling 37 minute live performance from 1970, an in-development version of “Eruption,” the suite which would be the side-long centerpiece to their classic follow-up album, “Focus II/Moving Waves.” It includes some of Jan’s most fiery riffing, and in a spot where the band falls away for six minutes, he dazzles with slashing, quicksilver lines in exotic modes like the Hungarian minor and Indian scales.
The band’s sophomore effort commenced their prime era, with Akkerman’s former partner in the bluesy band Brainbox, the jazz-inspired Pierre van der Linden, now in the drum chair. The album kicks off with “Hocus Pocus,” an Akkerman/Van Leer composition born out of a jam session at the band’s rehearsal home in a Dutch castle. This unforgettable fusion of manic speed metal, yodeling and jazzy drum solos became a surprise hit. It was the first smash for Sire Records in the U.S., pushing global awareness of the band and inspiring legions of nibble guitarists to come like Yngwie Malmsteen and Eddie Van Halen. Akkerman’s “Le Clochard” is a melancholy solo piece spotlighting his Segovia-like technique, while his “Janis,” a gorgeous ballad dedicated to Janis Joplin, highlights Van Leer’s multi-tracked flutes.
The 23-minute, side-long “Eruption” is one of prog rock’s most acclaimed epics, perhaps the most original fusion of classical themes and rock vigor. It is a hard rock version of the myth of Orpheus and Euridice, an update of Jacopo Peri’s opera “Euridice.” An uncredited melody from Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” opens the suite, and a later segment includes the haunting ballad “Tommy,” named after its composer, Tom Barlage of the Dutch fusion band Solution. It’s a show stopping ballad that Akkerman continues to perform in concert to this today. The Zappa-inspired “The Bridge” is an all-out jam session, culminating in some blazing guitar soloing reminiscent of “Hocus Pocus” and Zappa’s “Willie the Pimp.” “Euridice,” penned by Eelko Nobel, is a classical lied which segues into the Gregorian chant of “Dayglow,” then van der Linden’s drum solo, “Endless Road.” The suite ends with a reprise of its opening themes, then concludes with van der Linden’s freeform percussion effectively evoking the sound of fireworks for the finale. In live performance, the band also included quotes from Bela Bartok’s “Concerto for Orchestra,” something they were denied use of during the recording by his family. Too bad…
The double-disc album “Focus III” followed. It featured more gorgeous melodies including Akkerman’s “Love Remembered” and Van Leer’s “Sylvia,” which spawned another surprise hit, a #4 in the U.K. charts. Van Leer’s “Carnival Fugue” continues the fusion, with a bit of Bach, some cool jazz and even calypso all in the mix. The keyboardist’s “Focus III” and “Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!,” written by Akkerman and new bassist Bert Ruiter, are showcases for Jan’s way with stating a melody and the improvisational dexterity of the whole band. Like “Eruption,” they would become ever-evolving improvisation stoked workhorses of the band’s live sets including their fourth release, the live album “At the Rainbow.” Akkerman’s solo on this live disc’s version of “Answers?…” is one of his finest. It’s a study in melodic development and tension building that I have listened to hundreds of times over the years, one which you can view on the boxed set’s first DVD volume.
More blazing jamtastic is on display in the third album with Anonymous II. This is a re-recording of a track from their debut disc, which covered a side and a half of the vinyl of this release. The album closes with Akkerman’s first showcase on the medieval lute, “Elspeth of Nottingham.”
There’s a New York groove, or at least birthing, in the album that followed their live fourth disc, “Hamburger Concerto.” Akkerman’s rocking refrain in this side-long epic was written while watching cartoons and eating a hamburger and Junior’s Cheesecake at a NYC hotel. It’s a power chord stomp drenched in watery, swirling Leslie speakers inspired by their then touring partner, Joe Walsh. Together with Van Leer, he fashioned another powerful multipart suite, with quotes from Haydn, Brahms and Bach’s “St Matthew’s Passion” and plenty of room for burning flute, organ and guitar soloing. Another chart success, the disc featured a quasi-follow-up to “Hocus Pocus” called “Harem Scarem,” another dreamy Van Leer melody in “La Cathedrale de Strasbourg” and “Delitiae Musicae,” another lute outing by Jan adapted from a work by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. By this time, drummer van der Linden was gone, replaced by Brit Colin Allen of Stone the Crows fame, who keeps it all anchored with a firm, rock steady beat.
With the studio album “Mother Focus,” the band sort of heads off track, shedding some of its European classical spice for an almost soft jazz, easy listening vibe. All said, the album still has some standouts. Another New York connection comes with “My Sweetheart.” The upbeat Akkerman tune served as the theme song for commercials for popular NYC radio station WPLJ-FM for years. There’s also the Bert Ruiter penned “Hard Vanilla,” where Akkerman solos at length with a talk box, ending it all, and maybe his time with the band, with a laughing guitar.
The seventh album, Ship of Memories from 1976, is a collection of tracks done for an abandoned studio album around the time of “At the Rainbow,” along with some intriguing singles and leftovers. This album includes more beautiful melodies and spectacular guitar work, on the tunes like Van Leer’s “P’S March,” “Focus V” and the duo composition “Red Sky at Night,” with one of my favorite Akkerman solos on the outro.
The version of this album in the boxed set includes eleven intriguing bonus tracks. Featured are “The Shrine of God” and “Watch for the Ugly People,” where the band backs Van Leer’s onetime employer, Dutch cabaret artist Ramses Shaffy, along with rough mixes of “House of the King.” The former were recorded around the same time that the fledging group was serving as the pit band for the Dutch production of the musical, “Hair.”
Archivist/curator Bessels will spin the heads of the Focus know-it-alls with the two live discs in the package. He has unearthed a truckload of never-before-released radio and television performances and concert board tapes to present this improvisational monster jam band at the peak of its powers.
The version of “Eruption” from Rotterdam in 1971 features the classic Akkerman, Van Leer, van der Linden and Ruiter lineup and clocks in at nearly 47 minutes. Akkerman’s first solo on “The Bridge” is a little more jazzy than usual, pushed by Van Leer’s Hammond organ. But it’s his solo spot starting at 20 minutes in that goes from gentle classical to slashing noise rock to full whirling dervish Eastern exotica. Van Leer almost gets a solo spot that shows his mastery of the classical and jazz forms on his flute, while van der Linden’s drum solo swings as titanically and surehanded as any in the classic rock era. The live discs also present some interesting performances and jams that I didn’t know existed, from tours of Japan in 1974 and 1975. The 1973 recordings by BBC Radio are naturally of impeccable quality, but Bessels has also done a masterful job cleaning up many of the other live rarities here.
The two DVDs of television performances are another thing that sets this package apart. It’s a real thrill to see this unique band of improvisational madmen in full flight, in their BBC and Live at the Rainbow performances. The second DVD includes rarities like a 1970 spot of Dutch TV with the original quartet and an RTE TV performance from Dublin that hasn’t been seen since its initial broadcast in 1973. Also featured are television performances of “Hamburger Concerto” from Danish TV and the 50-minute “Classic Albums” special on “Focus II/Moving Waves.” Unfortunately, the latter is mostly Dutch, excepting the contributions from producer Mike Vernon.
After decades of being wrongly relegated to the backseat by rock’s critical tastemakers, progressive rock, like that plied by Focus, is gaining a much deserved second look. So the time seems right for this battleship of a collection from Holland’s Red Bullet Productions.
If you already love Focus, you can buy this, enjoy much more of the band you thought you knew everything about, and die a happy man (or woman). If you don’t, you should give this purchase some serious thought. You should also put aside some serious time to listen to, and enjoy live of your TV screen, one of the most underappreciated and uniquely talented bands of rock’s most boundary pushing era.
NYS Music’s Best of 2020 series concludes with a look at the best Tours and Drive-In shows of a year we’d all like to forget. When the music industry shut down in mid-March, it was sudden and continues to last into 2021. Few bands got to go on a ‘real’ tour, given there were roughly 11 weeks in which to tour, and the coldest months of the year, at that. Still, a few bands went out on a Winter 2020 tour, making stops in New York State and surrounding areas. Be sure to check out the best Streams, Covers and Jams.
photo by JD Cohen
Goose announced shows in Williamsburg for late January, 2020, and immediately added a second, and smaller third show, due to demand. Their shows at The Music Hall of Williamsburg were two of the best of their tour.
One band, Twiddle, celebrated their 15th year as a band with a Roots Tour of their own, streaming the multi-week event that looked at the venues they got their start in across Vermont, wonderfully recalled by Ryan Dempsey. In addition to these shows, Twiddle performed at multiple Drive-In shows across the Northeast, including New Jersey and Essex Junction, VT.
All that after a cross-country tour running from January through early March. The band had an impressive 2020, performing shows in Colorado to start 2020 with “Somewhere on the Mountain” in Frisco, CO and connecting with platform LiveXLive for their July Roots Tour.
photo by Dave Decrescente
When it came to Drive-Ins, there were quite a few across the Northeast – Drive-in-Live in Swanzey, NH, Jericho Drive-In in Glenmont, NY, South Farms in Morris Farms, CT, Fingerlakes Drive-In in Auburn, NY, Silver Lake Drive-In in Perry, NY and Radial Park in Astoria, Queens.
Live at the Drive, featuring Buffalo’s Aqueous, was one of the first and the most successful series, with three weekends between Lockport’s Transit Drive-in and Perry Silver Lake Drive-In. Buffalo Iron Works produced the shows, with Josh Holtzman and Grace Vesneske’s new company Twenty6 Productions garnering credit for putting on shows that set a standard for socially distanced shows that were safe, well-run and comfortable for fans and staff alike.
photo by Paul Citone
Goose also hosted numerous Drive-Ins across the Northeast and even ventured safely to Ohio, North Carolina and Maryland, as well as Swanzey and South Farms. Located in Morris, CT, South Farms was centrally located to the Hudson Valley from Albany to NYC, Western Massachusetts and Connecticut itself. As such, Goose, moe., Warren Haynes, Grace Potter, Allman Betts Band, Dark Star Orchestra, Citizen Cope and even comedian Bill Burr. Due to a recent Zoning Board ruling, South Farms won’t have live music for the time being, but they made some memorable moment in the time they were able to, in a key location in the Northeast.
photo by Chad Anderson
moe. and Disco Biscuits each hit the new Drive-In circuit, streaming online and giving fans thirsty for live music the remedy they sought. Shows in Yarmouth, MA became regular stops, with both bands heading to Cape Cod in October. Lafayette Apple Festival Grounds, just south of Syracuse, brought in Dirty Heads and Disco Biscuits, the latter of which performed three nights, culminating their Drive-In shows with a Halloween show and an audience well-prepared for the cold and mud but still got down to dance.
What will come in 2021? Drive-In concerts will surely be a regular feature starting in the Spring, until the pandemic is under control, the population is inoculated with the vaccine, and venues are able to manage crowds of slowly increasing size. Will Drive-In concerts be here to stay? The collective effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 this year and into 2022 will determine the speed at which we can return to having live music back to where it was in early March of 2020.
In 1997, David Bowie threw himself a 50th birthday party at Madison Square Garden and invited an A-list of friends to join him on stage. Billed as ‘David Bowie and Friends: A Very Special Birthday Concert,’ Bowie’s life of music was highlighted with special guests throughout the night.
Bowie was also about to release his 20th album, Earthling, a month later, and would perform a handful of songs from the album throughout the night, including the show opener “Little Wonder.” Following “This Heart’s Filthy Lesson,” Bowie informed the crowd, “Good evening. We’re your rock band for the night. We’re going to get partyfied.”
The sold-out show was also filmed for a pay-per-view TV special, and was later issued on DVD, with proceeds from both concert and broadcast benefiting Save the Children.
Bowie said early in the evening, “I have no idea where I’m going from here, but I promise I won’t bore you.” Along with new material, Bowie played 24 songs throughout the night, including “I’m Afraid of Americans,” “The Jean Genie,” and “Heroes,” but passed on 80s hits “China Girl,” “Let’s Dance” and “Modern Love.” The ever lively Bowie told the New York Daily News:
I wouldn’t have expected to have such an appetite for life at this point. I had assumed, like romantic poetic heroes, that I would burn it all out. But nothing has been quenched. I’m still feeling fiery.
And those special guests? Bowie was joined by The Pixies’ Frank Black, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, and close friend and New Yorker, Lou Reed.
Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Dave Grohl, Robert Smith, David Bowie, Billy Corgan, Pat Smear, Kim Gordon and guests (Photo by Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage)
Bowie’s backing band that night included Staten Island’s Reeves Gabrels on guitars and Mike Garson on keyboards, who helped in a reimagined version of “The Man Who Sold The World” with a sedate reggae tone.
The highlight of the night came in the first encore, when Bowie was joined by Lou Reed, who performed “Queen Bitch” and three of Reed’s own songs from his Velvet Underground days, “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Dirty Boulevard” and “White Light/White Heat.”
photo by Kevin Mazur
Following “Moonage Daydream,” Bowie returned to the stage for a second encore, with Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins joining Bowie for “All the Young Dudes” and “The Jean Genie.” This proved to be a treat for Corgan, who told Lisa Robinson of the New York Post, “When I was 10 years old, growing up in the Midwest, I bought David’s Ziggy Stardust album. I really believed he was an alien. I always have been a fan, and still am a fan.”
(Bowie) kept one eye firmly on the future. Instead of serving up dewey-eyed rehashes of sounds from eras dead and gone, Bowie – aided by an ornery mix of musical friends – shook classic numbers to their core. He also devoted roughly one-third of the show to recent and brand new material.
After the show, according to thinwhiteduke.net, a post-concert dinner was hosted by David Bowie and his wife Iman at the downtown space of Julian Schnabel (who had recently directed Bowie as Andy Warhol in Basquiat. Joining Bowie and Iman were a Beck, Moby, Courtney Love, Prince, Charlie Sexton, Fred Schneider, Matt Dillon, Matthew Modine, Jeffrey Wright, Christopher Walken, Michael Wincott, Donna Karan and Naomi Campbell.
Setlist: Little Wonder, The Hearts Filthy Lesson, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps),* Fashion*, Telling Lies, Hallo Spaceboy^, Seven Years in Tibet@, The Man Who Sold the World, The Last Thing You Should Do%, Quicksand%, Battle for Britain (The Letter) , The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (As Beauty), I’m Afraid of Americans$, Looking for Satellites , Under Pressure, Heroes
Encore: Queen Bitch**, I’m Waiting for the Man**, Dirty Boulevard.**, White Light/White Heat**, Moonage Daydream
Encore2: Band intros, Happy Birthday#, All the Young Dudes+, The Jean Genie+, Space Oddity
*with Frank Black ^ with Foo Fighters @ with Dave Grohl % with Robert Smith $ with Sonic Youth # with Gail Ann Dorsey ** with Lou Reed + with Billy Corgan
As we continue to warm up to the new year, there are a few more musical moments from 2020 that merit special recognition. Here’s the best of what last year had to offer for cover songs and jams and what we missed the most.
Best Cover Song
There were a lot of interesting nominations for this category. With bands and artists quarantined at home like the rest of us, that left plenty of time to learn new material and maybe take a stab at some unique covers. The winner this year goes to moe. and their take on “West LA Fadeaway,” from the 1987 Grateful Dead album In The Dark.
This one went down at Big Blue North Recording Studio in Utica, NY. After scheduled shows at Vernon Downs were cancelled, the band scrambled and Plan B was to play the shows where they had been rehearsing. The extra-bouncey effect on Rob Derhak’s bass and Jim Loughlin on percussion give this Dead classic a fun, uplifting vibe that does justice to the original.
Other nominees for Best Cover Song included Silversun Pickups and their cover of Martika’a 1988 hit “Toy Soldiers,” Vaporeyes and their take on the Gorillaz classic “Clint Eastwood,” and a breathtaking rendition of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes” from Lianne La Havas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdbHO_KhCig
Best Jam
The nominations for Best Jam of 2020 were once again varied and spread across far across the musical spectrum. But, once again, the winner has roots deeply established in New York State. Like many other bands last year, Buffalo’s Aqueous had to resort to Drive-In movie theaters as venues to play for any mass gathering. And their second set on June 21 at the Transit Drive-In Theatre in nearby Lockport goes down as the jam of the year.
It was comprised of only one song, an extremely stretched out and versatile “Half In, Half Out.” This particular version reached new heights as it goes on for nearly 68 minutes and showcases the band’s full repertoire. This musical assault seems to have about a dozen different sections that mesh together to form something special. One of the earlier ones is an exact replica of the ending sequence of Phish’s “Sample In A Jar.” The rest of jam features notes of funk, reggae, trance and blissful rock, all while never growing stale. Teases from Rush, Pink Floyd and Red Hot Chili Peppers also abound. Throw in a freshly mohawked Mike Gantzer on guitar and that’s more than enough to bestow “Best of” honors for this one.
Other finalists in this esteemed category were the “Stash” from Trey Anastasio’s Beacon Jams, Vaporeyes’ “Quarantine Jams,” and Yo La Tengo’s annual Hanukkah show.
What We Missed The Most
This contest, predictably, yielded a bit more of a clear consensus. It’s evident from the responses that thing people missed the most in 2020 is the personal and social interaction that go hand in hand with live music. Of course the music is nice (it finished a distant second), but it doesn’t seem to matter as much without the friends and the environment that comes with a show.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that human interactions certainly goes a long way. And one response mentions one of these that undoubtedly anyone who has ever been to show can relate to in saying, “I miss being in a large room with strangers who instantly become your best friends just because you share the connection of loving a particular musician or band.” Whether it’s reuniting with old friends or making new ones, let’s hope 2021 gives us a chance to do both. And the live music can come along too.
