Posts
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…
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…
Waddy Wachtel Band, The Joint
November 16, 2013
Some of rock’s most indelible moments are the work of sidemen and session players, most of whom stay in the shadows, some of whom go on to achieve fame of their own. Over the past 14 years at The Joint, you could…
Reflections and Musings of a Jazz Fest Photographer
The 44th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is a few weeks past and my rear view reflections only seem to sweeten the experience. This Jazz Fest, my 10th overall, is best summarized by an exchange between two Festers NOLA bound from…
Robert Randolph presents The Slide Brothers, with the Otis Taylor Band, Royce Hall
February 23, 2013
We’re all told to respect our elders, to learn from the generation before and to pass along tradition. Wise words musically speaking, and fundamental to any jazz or blues playbook where family legacies span generations…
Greg Allman Band, Royce Hall
January 11, 2013
Gregg Allman’s life is a road well travelled for sure. As much thriver as survivor, his blues have the resume to match (40+ years on the road and hard knocks you wouldn’t wish on anyone). Last year’s T-Bone Burnett…
Dragon Smoke, The Mint
December 12, 2012
Certain celestial alignments skip decades, if not lifetimes, or at a minimum, involve covering great distances at greater expense. Think solar eclipses, Comet Hale-Bopp or if you get around, the aurora. Even then, there…
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Wiltern Theater
November 2, 2012
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals played to a packed Wiltern in the midst of her Fall “all request” tour. The generous set was in the audience’s sweet spot with many sing-alongs that had GP working the front of the…
Voodoo Experience 2012
October 26-28, 2012
As an unabashed Jazzfest vet, I approached my first Voodoo with excitement and a hint of fear. The mix of rap, EDM, and the often indefinable, sprinkled with the best of New Orleans contemporary and traditional, on a bed…
The Revivalists, The Mint
September, 11, 2012
Jazz Fest’s surprise moments can happen any time. One of mine came this year when The Revivalists kicked off the Fest from the Gentilly stage before noon on the opening Friday. While the band has played the Fest the…