Issue No.. 6 - Modern Acoustic

THREEDOM!
With MMW and the Bad Plus, trios are back – in style. Page 3.
Modern Acoustic
WWW.MODERNACOUSTIC.COM
The music magazine for really cool people
SEPTEMBER 2005 - Volume 6
From hot
outdoor
festivals
to cool
indoor
shows,
we were
there
LAST SHOTS OF
SUMMER
FROM THE
EDITOR
Too hot. Not hot enough. Too
much rain. Not enough rain. Too
short. Not short enough? Uh, no.
Every year, especially in New
England, summer gets its share of
complaints. But you never hear
people gripe about the quantity of
music that gets us up and dancing
out of our beach chairs.
This year has been no exception. From the outdoor festivals
to the steamy small clubs, we’ve
enjoyed some great shows. OK,
one complaint: too little time to
enjoy more.
Still, it was great to listen to
artists we love and get aquainted
with those we know little about.
So we gave ourselves a little
summer vacation from writing,
and in this issue bring you four
pages chock-full of some of the
sights we enjoyed as we made
our way sampling the music out
there.
Our team of photographers
fanned out across the region,
checking some of the best shows.
We went to music festivals in
Newport, Falcon Ridge, Boston,
and even dropped in on
Bonnaroo. We visited clubs from
Cambridge to Western Mass.
We saw Patty Griffin (twice!),
Ollabelle, M. Ward and Shelby
Lynne, among others.
But with all these great pics,
don’t think we’ve neglected our
PHOTO BY ADAM KASSIRER
job to give you something new.
Check out The Lists page for a
new feature called MA5. This is
is a Top 5 list, but has nothing to
do with record sales or popularity. It is simply a favorites list – it
could be albums, songs, artists –
that includes anything we could
not live without during the making of this issue. It’s our way of
saying “get ahold of these immediately. It will knock you out.”
THE RAIN, WIND AND CHAOS
IS HISTORY. THE LOSS, PAIN
AND SUFFERING IS HISTORIC.
Please give generously to help the relief efforts
of Hurricane Katrina. Thank you!
Make a $20 or more donation to the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity and receive
this Helping Hand amulet handmade of stoneware clay and hung on a sturdy leather
string. Each is numbered and signed by artist Sue Kassirer. To order or for more
information, send an e-mail to sukassi@comcast.net. Put “Helping Hand” in the
subject field. Make checks payable to either the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity.
Please designate in the memo field “Katrina Hurricane Relief.” Address the envelope
to Helping Hand, 359 Lake Dr., Hamilton, MA 01982.
Rich Kassirer, editor
RED CROSS
www.redcross.org
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
www.habitat.org
For past issues, please visit w w w. m o d e r n a c o u s t i c . c o m / i s s u e s . h t m
2 MODERN ACOUSTIC
From the electric
fusion of Medeski
Martin & Wood to
the jazz expressions
of the Bad Plus, trios
are happenin’ again
Threedom
PHOTO BY MICHEL VONLANTHEN/2004
The ghost of ELP lives!
The music of Medeski Martin &
Wood and the Bad Plus may have
little in common with the bombastic
’70s supergroup Emerson, Lake &
Palmer, but it is nice to see a resurgence in trios and these two are
stellar.
Medeski Martin & Wood have
been around for close to a decade.
They are beloved in jam-band circles but unlike many of their jam
brethren they don’t fall pray to the
trappings of self-indulgent
noodling. To me, they are more
closely related to the top echelon
of fusion bands popular in the late
’70s. The group’s latest album,
“End of the World Party (Just in
Case),’’ is filled with John
Medeski’s keyboards of all sorts
(including a Hammond B3), while
drummer Billy Martin and bassist
Chris Wood add all the necessary
accents. What really makes this
recording fun, is the ’70s sort of
groove that permeates the album.
The Bad Plus is a jazz trio but
doesn’t restrict itself to jazz songs.
On its critically acclaimed “These
Are the Vistas,’’ the band showed
its versatility offering their own
take on Nirvana’s “Smells Like
Teen Spirit’’ and Blondie’s “Heart
of Glass.” Pianist Ethan Iverson,
bassist Reid Anderson and drummer David King play acoustically
but have a rock dynamic that
makes them a fresh alternative to
standard jazz. Their second album
“Give,’’ features covers of songs
from Ornette Coleman, Black
Sabbath and the Pixies, and their
new album, “Suspicious Activity,’’
has just been released.
MODERN ACOUSTIC 3
IN THE
CLUBS
DR. JOHN at the Iron Horse in Northampton, Mass., Aug. 11, 2005
PHOTO BY JORDAN REED
ERIN McKEOWN at the Paradise,
Boston, July 29, 2005
PHOTO BY JEFF WASILKO
4 MODERN ACOUSTIC
As usual time went by way too fast.
But at least we have some cool reminders of
the fun we had and the music we heard.
SHELBY LYNNE (above and on cover) at the Paradise, Boston, July 17, 2005
PHOTOS BY RICH KASSIRER
MODERN ACOUSTIC 5
AT THE
FESTIVALS
NEWPORT
FOLK FESTIVAL
Newport, R.I.,
Aug. 4-5, 2005. From
left: the Pixies, Patty
Griffin and Richard
Thompson
PHOTOS BY RICH KASSIRER
BONNAROO
Manchester, Tenn.,
June 9-12, 2005. Clockwise
from right: Josh Ritter,
Iron & Wine and M. Ward.
PHOTOS BY DOUG RICE
6 MODERN ACOUSTIC
FALCON RIDGE
FOLK FESTIVAL
July 21-24, 2005,
Hillsdale, N.Y.,
July 21-24.
Above: Dar Williams;
below: the Nields
PHOTOS BY JEFF WASILKO
BOSTON FOLK
FESTIVAL
Boston, Mass.,
Sept. 24- 25, 2005.
Clockwise from top:
Redbird, Lori
McKenna, Patty
Griffin, and Ollabelle
PHOTOS BY
RICH KASSIRER
MODERN ACOUSTIC 7
THE
LISTS
Guy talk
You had to be there
Here at Modern Acoustic we have given a lot
of attention to the women. Here are a couple
of guys we like ... for balance.
Iron & Wine OK, this
“group” is really just Sam
Beam (left), who’s got that
mountain man thing going
pretty good, and whose
“Woman King” just might
be the most interesting CD
I’ve heard this year.
Acoustic guitars mesh with
subtle percussion and
Beam’s mostly hushed
voice. The album is only 6
songs, but every one of them is absorbing and unique.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club The name evokes
a punky attitude, which appears to be part of BRMC’s
past. But the group’s new CD, “Howl,” does all it can to
just say no to those
influences. The band
seems totally comfortable in putting its energy into attacking its
acoustic guitars, adding
harmonica to liven up a
few of the tunes. The
result is songs that fit
nicely into a classic
folk and blues style without losing their rock ’n’ roll edge.
Ray Lamontagne His debut, “Trouble,” is a nice
album that has gotten tons of critical acclaim.
Lamontagne has an interesting back story of a tough
upbringing that the media has latched on to. But the
music carries its own
weight, emotionally wringing itself out. The title
track, which proves his passion, is a certified hit; the
rest of the album stands up
as well. His raspy vocals
are kind of a strange mix
of Americanized Van
Morrison/Tracy Chapman,
which may take some getting used to.
8 MODERN ACOUSTIC
THE EARLY YEARS: A select list of
concerts we have seen, and a few
remembrances (where possible!)
E L O, Boston Garden, Sept. 27, 1978. First
concert. (See The Lists, Issue 2, for de t a ils).
Ye s, Boston Garde n , June 19, 1979.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Orpheum
Theatre, Nov. 19, 1979. This says it all!
Allman Brothers Band and Bonnie Raitt, UMass-Amherst,
May 10, 1980. Two high-school senio rs traveling to Western Mass.
for an outdoor stadium show? Use your imagination.
Grateful Dead, Boston Garden, May 12, 1980.
Jean Luc-Po n t y, Orpheum Theatre, Oct. 18, 1980
B.B. K i n g, Strand Theater, Ithaca, N.Y., Feb. 6, 1981. B.B. blew
us away; a show to remember if possible.
Pat Metheny Group, Brandeis University,
March 13, 1981
Santana, Carrier Dome, Syracuse University,
April 25, 1981
Santana, Cape Cod Coliseum, July 4, 1981
Miles Davis and Pat Metheny, Boston
Common, July 12, 1982. I’m thinking, “ wh o
does this guy think he is, playing with his
back to the crowd?” Now I know better.
Crosby, Stills and Nash, Hartford Civic Center, July 31, 1982
Santana, Boston Common, Aug. 1, 1982
Grateful Dead, Cumberland County Civic Center, Maine, Nov. 17,
1982. Went with my sister and her boyfriend. I got in, they didn’t.
I had a great time inside, they had a pretty good one outside .
Grateful Dead, Boston Garden, Nov. 18, 1982. S e n se a pattern
starting? More to come...
MA5
The albums I couldn’t live without while producing this issue.
1.“Impossible Dream,” Patty Griffin. I’ve written and ranted about this album a lot recently. I
just can’t get enough of it.
2.“Woman King,’’ Iron & Wine. For more, see
top left of this page.
3. “From the Basement on the Hill,’’ Elliott
Smith. How did I miss the boat on this guy
while he was alive?
4. “40 Days,” The Wailin’ Jennys. I just love
their sound.
5. “Cats Down Under the Stars,” Jerry Garcia Band. I’ve had a tape of this
album for years and always loved it. Just got the remastered version and it’s even
better now.