mavis staples 8/19

Mavis is still belting it out, good and strong. A night of soul and gospel. My knowledge of Mavis is limited to say the least - her brilliant performance with the Staples Singers on The Weight with The Band for The Last Waltz, and not again until listening to her 2007 album, "We'll Never Turn Back," which I'd picked up on the strength of its producer, Ry Cooder. That was enough of a taste to get me down to the Lowell Summer Music Series to catch her set at Boarding House Park. The backup singers, which include her sister, Yvonne, pull off some great harmonies, opening with an a capella song, and continuing strong for the rest of the night. Mavis' gospel is heavily mixed with her civil rights activism, and in a rather trendy fashion, she's all PC. I'm not a big fan of politics, especially not in music, so she kind of lost me there. There was one grand moment in the show, and I can't even remember the song - it might have been "I'll Take You There" - Mavis had left the stage at that point, and the band just carried on, driving the music faster, almost in a catatonic fit; all I remember now is the non-Yvonne female back-up singer incredulously playing the tambourine, matching the guitar and its barreling pace that was sustained long past what you'd think possible. With everyone else on the stage contributing to the barrelhouse, it felt like a moment of true grit. Quite awesome.

Opening for Mavis Staples tonight was Jen Kearney & The Lost Onion, local to the area, playing a fusion of Latin and R&B with a nice brass sound.

rickie lee jones 8/12

They've got another top-notch line-up at the Lowell Summer Music Series this summer, and it's hard to pick and choose among them, spreading my music dollar thin. Tonight was definitely a no-miss - Rickie Lee Jones in town for the evening to perform on the Boarding House Park stage.

Occidental Gypsy - a blend of gypsy jazz and modern pop - opened the night. A superb group of musicians, with a special nod to Brett Feldman on lead guitar and violinist Jakub Trasak, who put me in mind of Stephan Grapelli. Exquisite. Check them out on YouTube playing "Gypsy Blues."

It's got to be going on 20 years since I've seen Rickie Lee in concert and I'd lost touch with her music during that time, so this was an excellent opportunity to see what she's up to now. Her voice is still that incredible machine that goes to all the right places. She hasn't lost a beat; in fact, her mature voice is as compelling as it's ever been, only richer.

And what a band. Lead and bass guitars, B3 Hammond organ, drums and three-member brass section, with Rickie Lee alternating between guitar and piano, it's a big sound, doing extreme justice to the songs, most of which were from her early albums, including favorites like "Chuck E's In Love," "Easy Money," "Coolsville" and "Last Chance." It's as though the 20 years in between simply faded away. I love how she effortlessly moves through jazz and blues and folk, and probably a little country and pop in there too, giving them all her sultry-voiced stamp.

Ace singer and ace band. A must-see if you can.

lowell folk festival 7/29 - 7/31

Hard to believe another year has gone by. But it's time for the Lowell Folk Festival again, this year marking their 25th anniversary. Full of a solid lineup of acts on seven stages and an even more solid lineup of food vendors, the festival claims to be the oldest free festival in the United States. Of course it's not really free (if you know what I mean), but you don't have to pay an entrance fee on the day of. I got down to the festival on Friday night and again on Sunday (was going to a roller derby marathon in Manchester on Saturday), and caught just about everybody I wanted to see. It's always an eclectic international lineup, representing musical styles from Quebecois, bluegrass, Irish, Columbian, Inuit throat singing, boogie-woogie, zydeco, blues, polka, Hawaiian slack-key guitar, Rajastyhani, Ethiopian azmari funk, Argentinian tango, honkey tonk and gospel. And I'm sure I've forgotten a few. Yes, I did - the Trinidadian steel drums out on the street - too much music to confine to a stage!

Friday night's line-up was all on the Boarding House Park stage, three acts, starting with the Quebe Sisters, doing western swing and Texas fiddling. Great harmonies and great fiddling! Followed by the highlight of my weekend - Dervish, from county Sligo, playing traditional Irish music with a whole lot of gusto. Lead singer Cathy Jordan, with the voice of an angel, also played bodhran and clappers to keep time with her feet. Fiddle, piccolo, accordion and two bouzoukis rounded out the band. Highlight of the set had to be her cover of Bob Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather," absolutely spellbinding. The rain began to fall in the open-air venue during Dervish's set (the irony of it did not escape Cathy, especially as the rain left at the end of their set). The headliner for the night was Shemekia Copeland, with a good set of lungs and huge audience appeal. They put Shemekia at the Dance Stage for Saturday night, and I'm sure she rocked the night away.

Sunday was more food and drink and much more music. I was really pleased to see Leward Ka'apana from Hawaii, playing guitar and ukelele, and I also caught a bit of polka from Stanky & The Coal Miners (making me miss Yosh and Stan Schmenge, the fabulous Schmenge Brothers). I caught the tail end of Eden Brent, from Greenville, Mississipi, who plays boogie-woogie on the keyboard, reminiscent of Marcia Ball. I caught Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas, good dancing music for sure, at the expense of missing Nukariik, the Inuit throat singers - it was a tough call, but you can't see them all. I am enthralled by throat singing, but I love zydeco dancing. Lots of downtown to wander around in, catching bits of music here and there, more food, more drink, but got back to JFK Plaza in time for Dervish's Sunday performance and another great set. Followed by Le Vent du Nord, from Quebec, mining the same Celtic vein as the Irish band. Very talented and vibrant band, and much to my delight, in an absolute no-brainer, Le Vent du Nord extended their set, bringing Dervish on to accompany them for three numbers to close out the set and the festival.

taj mahal 7/27

Back to Portsmouth, this time to Prescott Park to see Taj Mahal, who was playing as part of the park's Arts Festival. Lovely little park on the harbor, and with the show starting at 7:30, it was ideal for family picnics and a laid-back evening in the setting sun. Joining Taj onstage were Bill Rich on bass and Kester Smith on drums, for an evening that started with "Fever" and just went with the 12-bar blues pretty much all night long. Such that, nearing the end of the show, he introduced "Sitting on Top of the World" with "We'll take it down a notch," at which point there was a round of boos. "OK, then, if that's what you want, as Frank Zappa said, 'Commence to bleed, commence to bleed, commence to bleed.' " It was pretty funny, especially since it wasn't close to a Frank bleed, but nonetheless, it had everyone up dancing. He squeezed his show into 90 minutes, ending with everybody's favorite, "Corinna." Terrific to see him. He hasn't changed much over the years, just keeps doing his thing.

k.d. lang 7/12

It was off to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to catch k.d. lang at the Music Hall. It's a nice venue, almost intimate, with no bad seat in the house. I've been enjoying k.d's voice and music since she arrived on the music scene in the late 1980s. I think I first saw her in a tribute concert with Johnny Cash that was filmed in black and white and aired on TV. In k.d's duet with Cash, they sang "Crying," and I was hooked. You can still see a lot of Cash in her mannerisms and style today. In '92 she came out with the album Ingenue, a collection of pop tunes that veered away from anything country, and she's continued to explore different musical veins ever since.

Her show tonight was a cornucopia of all her styles, dipping into the backlist frequently, but with a huge dollop from her new album with her band Siss Boom Bang - the album's called Sing It Loud and she does. I was glad to hear the old ones, too, "Miss Chatelaine," "Constant Craving" and "Hallelujah" - it was like Singalong Jubilee in the room on all of the old tunes, plus a lot of respect for the newer songs.

A big nod to Lucy Wainwright, sister to Rufus, daughter of Loudon, who opened the show. Very charming, very personable, and a delightful performer. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

manzarek rogers band - 5/6

Kudos once again to the folks at Tupelo Music Hall for continually booking the place with great acts, like Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers. It was a four piece band, with Kevin Hayes on drums and Steve Evans on bass (the latter two having one song where only they played an instrumental - tremendous musicianship, and you can see why they're in the band). Manzarek Rogers pretty much rocked the place, playing a lot from their most recent album, Translucent Blues - it was the blues all night long, swamp blues, 12-bar blues, even "Greenhouse Blues." Glad I got to see them, especially Roy Rogers, who first came to my attention with the album he did with Shana Morrison - Everybody's Angel. He plays a mean guitar. It was thoroughly enjoyable to get the chance to see him play this night. I see they've got a couple of dates at the end of October - worthwhile checking them out. You can check out their website, and listen to a few clips from the new album here: http://manzarek-rogersband.com/

neil young 4/20

To think I almost didn't go to the show. I was going to skip it, not because I didn't want to see Neil - but last time I saw Neil, in December 2006, I got permanent tinnitus in one ear from all his thrashing around, and I don't think an hour and a half of Le Noise is quite what the doctor ordered. But when Dennis mentioned he wanted to go, it all seemed so silly to miss it. If my other ear was going to go, what better way to go out?

We got tickets for the Wednesday night show - the second of two shows he did at the Wang Theater in Boston - April 19 and 20. What's not to like? Neil's shows are always a piece of art - he's always doing something different, and no matter what it is, it's always got his enthusiasm. And it's infectious.

But first - Bert Jansch. A case of better late than never for me. All I can say is what a delight; what an honor, really, to listen to him play guitar for 45 minutes. A master craftsman - technically superb, with the ability to play two guitar parts simultaneously, picking out bass and rhythm or rhythm and lead like people do this all the time; stylistically reminiscent of Doc Watson; and artistically, he puts the notes together in a continuum of beauty. I felt humbled. A Scottish treasure.

Neil's show was a treasure too. The whole package, from the stage setup to the lighting to the song choices and their order, it was another brilliantly executed piece of Neil art. The stage was glorious - an upright piano stage right, a baby grand on the left, and back center, up a few steps, a pipe organ. The two pianos were lit by hanging Tiffany lamps and the organ by a spotlight, islands of light lending a softness to the dark. It was somber, but it was gentle, home-like. Kudos to the person doing the lights. The back wall had four vertical panels that would adjust for color and texture for each song, very evocative.

And there comes Neil walking out on stage, with his harmonica apparatus strapped on, white jacket that gets progressively more crinkled as the night goes on, his somewhat disheveled hair under a white fedora, and he wanders over near the Indian, straps on his acoustic, takes a seat, dips his harmonica in the cup of water, and we're off into "My, My, Hey, Hey" followed by "Tell Me Why" and "Helpless." Simple little "Tell Me Why" from After The Goldrush - taking me back 40 years to high school days. And "Helpless," gently taking me back to Canada more than any song can.

He moved it up a level for the next three songs, playing a black acoustic with a pickup. The first of them was new, "You Never Call," with its in-and-out burgers, and the other two giving us our first taste of Le Noise distorted live. As the set unfolded, it was the songs from Le Noise that so captured my attention. Probably the newness factor has a lot to do with it - it's always fun to see what Neil is up to next. In Le Noise, it's the same Neil, singing the same songs about life and love, the human condition, reflections from the road of life. All of them are told through what is virtually one long guitar solo after another - he had three electric guitars and he used all three for the Le Noise songs - two songs on the black acoustic with pickup, two on Old Black, and two on the Gretsch white falcon. While Neil was working distortion tricks on the guitar at hand, he was also distorting his voice in echo. It wasn't all about distortion, but that was the telltale mark. Sometimes making it sound like a cry in the dark in "Love and War," sometimes just pounding noise in "Rumblin," and sometimes a soaring anthem, like in the closer for the night, the seriously good "Walk With Me" - think Jimi Hendrix at Monterey.

Throw in "Down By The River," "Ohio," "After The Goldrush," "I Believe In You,""Cortez The Killer" and "Cinnamon Girl," and once again, it's Neil at his ever-loving best.