Posts
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Greek Theatre
August 16, 2019
If you have ever been into the Dead, and written off JRAD as just a Dead cover band, you are so missing the point. For me, this band goes places I haven't been, fueled by the Dead's musical canon. If you…
NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL 2019, FORT ADAMS, RHODE ISLAND
July 26-28, 2019
As the sun dipped to meet Naragansett Bay a few Sundays back, the 60 years since the first Newport Folk Festival seemingly came full circle. The Fort Stage crowd serenading Rambling Jack Elliott, and the…
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Wiltern Theatre
November 8, 2018
A quick interweb search shows more than 500(!) Dead influenced or tribute bands. Yup, the reach of the Dead is just staggering, whether the generation is golden or newly spawned. To whit, “songs are like fairy tales,”…
Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles
September 15, 2018
My handy wiktionary tells me “throw down” is “to accomplish or produce something in a grand, respectable, or successful manner; to "represent"”. Well, when it comes to the travelling New Orleans road show billed…
Arroyo Seco Weekend, Brookside Golf Course, Pasadena
June 23-24, 2018
Arroyo Seco Weekend is not fussy. The beer is thick with local crafts, the something for everyone eats abundant with vegetarian options, and, yes, it felt like a day in the park with a rich soundtrack. The inclusive, relaxed…
Newport Folk Festival, Ft. Adams, Rhode Island
July 29-30, 2017
"These songs are a living language”, Billy Bragg told the crowd early in his Harbor Stage set with Joe Henry at the Newport Folk Festival on Saturday. Six words that pretty much sum up the heart and soul of this legacy…
Arroyo Seco Weekend, Brookside Golf Course, Pasadena
June 24-25, 2017
Festival behemoth AEG and Goldenvoice are at it again, launching the inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend after years of negotiations with the City and citizens of Pasadena, securing a 10-year deal at Brookside Golf Course, adjacent…
REFLECTIONS AND MUSINGS OF A JAZZ FEST PHOTOGRAPHER – 2017 EDITION
Heading home from Jazz Fest 48 it seemed I'd passed through a lifetime's worth of sounds, tastes and bonding since arriving in New Orleans a few weeks back. Friendships deepened, the palette was bathed in constant indulgence, the liver took…
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 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…