Click here to see the photos.

Béla Fleck played his banjo back at Bucknell University’s Weis Center in Lewisburg, PA on Saturday, February 27, 2010. The accomplished banjo player, Béla Fleck,  is on tour for his “The Africa Project” which honors the fact that his instrument originated in Africa.

Béla Fleck recently won two Grammy Awards (Best Contemporary World Music Album and Best Pop Instrumental Performance) for his album “Throw Down Your Heart”.  The album and video document his exploration through Africa and tracing the origins of the banjo and stopping to play with some of Africa’s finest musicians while traveling from town to town.  Bela continuea to challenge himself by stretching his musical boundaries and this documentary is proof.

The roughly two and a half hour show highlighted and celebrated some of Africa’s finest musicians:
From Mali – Bassekouyate & Ngoni Ba, n’gonis from Mali
From Tanzania – Anania Ngaliga (Thumb Piano) and John Kitime (Guitar)

After Béla came out and played a song by himself, he let Anania Ngaliga and John Kitime have the stage for a few songs. Seeing Anania Ngaliga play the thumb piano was a sight to behold.  Not only because he made it look so effortlessly and he probably has the fastest moving thumbs I have ever seen, but he is also blind.  The “keys” on the instrument are very narrow so it made for an impressive performance.

After Anania Ngaliga and John Kitime left the stage, Bassekouyate & Ngoni Ba took the stage.  Bassekouyate is the leader of the group and is sort of a Jimi Hendrix on the N’goni (Malian banjo), he even had his hooked up to a Cry Baby Wah pedal for portions of the night.  The members are all family and the singer is his wife.

While the African musicians were the main focus of the show, Béla put on a solid performance as expected.  After the intermission, he played some more songs solo and one of them was played almost entirely notes from harmonics and bending noted using nothing more than the tuning peg on his banjo.   Béla is without a doubt one of the world’s finest banjo players.  Also, to add a touch of traditional bluegrass to the show, Zach Casey is also on the tour playing the fiddle.

Click here to see the photos.

The North Mississippi Allstars played the Abbey Bar located inside the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg, PA on 02-23-2010.  Thanks again to Green Belt Events who booked the band and packed the venue to near capacity.  The City Champs opened this night for the North Mississippi Allstars with an impressive set of instrumental jazz, funk, and psychedelic jams.

Once the North Mississippi Allstars hit the stage, the game was on.  Luther Dickinson, guitarist and vocalist, rolled up his sleaves and got to work on the guitar while Chris Chew thumped on his bass, and Cody Dickinson  pounded on the drums.  The first three songs were fire, especially the fan favorite Shake (What Your Mama Gave You).  There was a big crowd and everyone is into the show so the venue got hot and the band fed off that energy the rest of the night.  

Some of the highlights of the night included Luther played a cigar box guitar that was made for him and given to him by a local maker in that area.  Cody playing his washboard, the woogie board, hooked up to various pedals  and played in ways that made swirling psychedelic sounds that would make Jimi Hendrix proud.  The members of City Champs played with the band through various points in the night adding drums, keys, and an additional guitar to the mix.  Last but not least, Chris Chew provided the comedic highlight when he told his story of a mean woman he encountered while visiting the local YMCA earlier that day.

The setlist for the night was as follows:

Mean Ol’ Wind Died Down
Lord Have Mercy ->
Shake (What Your Mama Gave You) ->
All Night Long
Going Down South ->
Keep the Devil Down
I’d Love to Be a Hippy
Po’ Black Maddie ->
Shake ‘em on Down
Storm ->
Psychedelic Sex Machine*
KC Jones*
ML*
I’m a Ram*
The Ghetto*
Eyes**
Mark on the Bus ->
Soldier
Snake Drive**

LAD (Luther on cigar box)
Let it Roll
Preachin’ Blues

* with Joe Restivo (City Champs) on Guitar, Al Gamble (City Champs) on Organ, George Sluppick (City Champs) on Drums
** with Al Gamble (City Champs) on Organ

Click here to see the photos.

Dr. Dog played the State Theater in State College, PA on 02-13-2010. Dr. Dog is out on tour road testing their new material on their yet-to-be-released album “Shame,Shame”.  Dr. Dog are natives of Philadelphia, PA.  The opening band was the Growlers from Los Angeles.

Dr. Dog has been one of those success stories that you love to read about.  Hard working kids that grew up playing music together that constantly toured and honed their craft.  Now, they are playing all the major markets and all the major festivals around the country including: Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam, and Sasquatch Festival this year which means their music will fall on hundreds of thousands of people this year alone.

After a week of tough winter weather conditions and getting cabin fever, someone needed to call a Dr. and thankfully Dr. Dog responded with a healthy dose of rock’n roll as the prescription.  The packed theater was in great anticipation of Dr. Dog taking the stage and enjoyed the opening band, Growlers.  Once Dr. Dog took the stage, no one on the floor sat in their seats.  Dr. Dog has an infectious stage persona and their upbeat rhythms and 60’s psychedelic sounds keep everyone moving.  The fans were dancing all up and down the aisles, and rocking out to the music these guys.  A few times during the performance (as you will see in the photos), a member of the opening band came out on to the stage wearing a Joe Paterno mask which always got an applause!

Dr. Dog’s music is often compared to that of the Beach Boys mixed with the Beatles because their two and three part harmonies are really what set this band apart from their peers and gives them their own sound.  The new album, “Shame, Shame”, is promised to be more like their live shows and their live shows are have been building their solid fanbase over the years.  The live shows are more rocking and more soulful than listening to an album.  Several of the people around me had taken the 4-hour trek from Philadelphia (Dr. Dog’s hometown) to see the show, that is the fan dedication that they are building. 

The setlist for the night was as follows (if you know what the 3rd song was, let me know):
Worst Trip
The Old Days
Anscituts????? (that is what it looks like on the setlist)
I Only Wear Blue
The Ark
The Breeze
Later (new song)
The Ways The Lazy Do Lazy
Alaska
Mirror Mirror (new song)
Hang On
From
My Old Ways
Stranger (new song)
My Friend
Fate
The Rabbit, The Bat, And the Reindeer

Click here to see the photos.

The Growlers opened up for Dr. Dog at the State Theater in State College, PA on 02-13-2010. The Growlers are out on tour in support of their album named “Are You In Or Are You Out?”.

The Growlers are an interesting concoction of the 60’s psychedelic scene, a little old school garage rock, and a heavy dose of Jim Morrison vocals.  Their opening set was a pretty big hit for most of the packed house.  Their songs had rhythm, lots of reverb, and a great retro feel to them.  They name their sound “beach goth”

Interestingly enough, the lead singer likes to dress in costume for the stage.  This night, he wore a blue and white (PSU shout out?) polka dot dress, a white wig, a hat, and a scarf.  The results were a cross between Raggedy-Anne and George Washington.  Backup percussionist and backup vocalist sat on the floor banging on his wooden box bohemian style and wore a raccoon hat which drew comparisons to the villain in the Christmas Story movie.

Interesting music made by an interesting group of people.

Click here to see the photos.

Ani Difranco played the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center in York, PA on 02-03-2010.  The opening band was Gaby Moreno which are on Ani’s own Righteous Babe Records.

Ani played an acoustic set full of feisty social and political songs throughout the night.  By the end of the night when she performed her most famous song, 32-Flavors, the aisles were already full of people dancing and singing along with Ani.  Ani is a great acoustic guitar player with a very firm staccato strum and numerous odd tunings and keys.  Ani’s guitar tech handed her a newly tuned guitar for nearly everyone of her songs she performed.

The Setlist for the night was as follows:
Which Side Are You On?
Educated Guess
Swan Dive
Next Bold Move
Paradigm
Fuel
See See
Rain Check
Promiscuity
Napoleon
As Is
Gravel (solo)
Shameless (Solo)
Red Letter Year
Alla This
Splinter
If You’re Not

Encore
Untouchable Face
32- Flavors

Click here to see the photos.

East Hundred played the Abbey Bar located inside the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg, PA on 01/31/2010.  This very successful show was put on by Green Belt Events and the venue was at capacity crowd by the time I showed up, East Hundred was the headlining band for a lineup that also included: Pan.A.Ce.A and …soihadto…  I unfortunately missed the opening bands including …soihadto… which features Duff from Ace of Cakes (a show on The Food Network).

I was drawn to the music of East Hundred after hearing their song “Slow Burning Crimes” on WXPN.  Airy keyboards, a low rumbling bass, and great vocals kick off the song.  Later a melodic keyboard phrase begins and becomes the song’s centerpiece which bookmarks the choruses. The song builds up to a solid rock song.  I was happy they made the trip from the snowy and icy Philadelphia to a capacity crowd in Harrisburg.  The band has a retro dream-pop shoe-gaze sound which is very popular right now.

The band has interesting dynamics within itself that usually make bands implode on their own.  The Drummer and guitarist are brothers and if you have ever followed Oasis, Black Crowes, Stone Temple Pilots or countless other bands you’d know that alone could be a recipe for disaster.  On top of that, the singer is the guitarist’s ex-girlfriend so the fact that they are still together shows a lot about their professionalism (for destructive relationship bands see Drive By Truckers, Fleetwood Mac, etc).  The band is comprised of:

Beril Guceri – vocals
Brooke Blair – guitar
Will Blair – drums
Dave Sunderland – bass
Susan Gager – keys

Click to enlarge.

Last night, the Derek Trucks Band won their first Grammy award for “Best Contemporary Blues Award” with their album Already Free.  Congrats to the members as well as everyone else that worked on the album.  Other nominations for this category included Derek Trucks’ wife Susan Tedeschi which was nominated for her album Back To The River. 

Now you may be asking yourself why I might be posting about this…. Well for one, they have been one of my favorite bands since the first time I saw them a decade ago but also because I had the great opportunity of having one of my live concert photos used in the album and my name mentioned in the liner notes as a contributing photographer. 

I have been following this band for a long time and have seen them countless times live.  I have seen the strides the band has taken and the continual musical growth that they all have had over the years.  To watch Derek Trucks growing up from a shy and skinny little kid with long hair to being one of the most proficient guitarists in the world, a great band conductor, and an amazing music writer has been an awesome experience for everyone.

Congrats to the Derek Trucks Band!

Click here to see the photos.

Mike Doughty played the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (HMAC) on 11-24-2009  in Harrisburg, PA as part of the Question Jar Tour.  

Mike Doughty and Scrap Livingston were on tour promoting the new Mike Doughty solo album, Sad Man Happy Man.  The last time Mike and Scrap were in Harrisburg they were just a few blocks away at the Appalachian Brewing Company but this time the promoters, Greenbelt Events: http://greenbeltevents.com/, used HMAC for the venue.  It was a cool venue, they were set up with a bar but it had more of a relaxed coffee shop look and feel with small round tables and a cozy setting,

It was a stripped down intimate tour which Mike Doughty and Scrap Livingston play an acoustic set of music and allow the audience to write questions and put them in the “Question Jar”.  Throughout the evening Mike and Scrap take the questions out, read them, and then answer them in front of the audience.

Though it was a stripped down arrangement, the duo had enough substance that the songs are still really well structured and performed well.  Their big hits such as 27 Jennifers, Madeline And Nine,  White Lexus, Looking At The World From The Bottom Of The Well, Tremendous Brunettes, Busting Up A Starbucks, etc were all played.

The questions from the audience ranged from the mundane, technical, ridiculous, and not quite suited for the PG-13 crowd.  A lot of the answers provided were made up and humorous but at times bordered the territory of: If you are not going to answer them seriously, what is the point of us asking?  But after seeing several of his shows, I was prepared for Mike’s sarcastic/dry humor so it did not really bother me.

This was one of the first of many concerts promoted by the great people at http://greenbeltevents.com/.  Check out their upcoming shows on their site to see an impressive list of bands coming up.  Currently on their list: Toubab Krewe, North Mississippi Allstars, Hackensaw Boys, The Heavy, and so many more great bands are already booked.  In addition to the impressive list, I’ve been told there will be a big show announcement coming soon so keep an eye on their sight and bookmark it while you are there.  I hope this Mike Doughty show was a kick off for a successful concert promotion company.

Click here to see the photos.

Pearl Jam played the Wachovia Spectrum on 10-31-2009 in Philadelphia,PA.  Pearl Jam had the great honor to bring the entire building to a close by performing four shows in one week (10-27-09, 10-28-09, 10-30-09, 10-31-09), with the run concluding on Halloween night.  Pearl Jam’s ties to Bad Religion ties have been around since Bad Religion’s album Recipe For Hate, on which Eddie Vedder sung backup vocals on a few songs. Those ties led to Bad Religion the opening slot on 10-30-2009 and 10-31-2009 and their photos can be found here.

I was fortunate to be able to photograph two of the four (but attend all four) last shows ever to be held at the Spectrum.  I photographed Pearl Jam and the opening bands on the nights of the 27th and the 31st.   The Spectrum in Philadelphia has long been holding historical sporting events, concerts, movie moments, and  millions of other memories for a worldwide audience.  One of my earliest memories is one of the most popular moments for the Spectrum was when Rocky boxed to win his first title of the Rocky movie series.

After a blistering set of music by Bad Religion during which Eddie Vedder came out to sing “Watch It Die”, Pearl Jam come out to the stage with the Rocky intro music blasting through the speakers.  The building’s legendary tale was about to end with a finale as part of a historic four night residency by Pearl Jam and friends.

Jeff Ament came out wearing a devil mask for Halloween and Eddie Vedder came out on the stage wearing boxing gloves and raised his hands high while the Rocky theme was playing and then quickly threw them in the audience at the start of the first song.  The first three songs of each night have been rockers and this night was no different.  This night, they opened with “Why Go”, “Last Exit”, “Corduroy” which was an awesome and rocking way to start this historic show.

Rare songs was a theme of the four shows.  Some gems were dusted off after many years of dormancy and some songs were played that have never been played live before.  Ed noted that one fan offered up a large sum of money to a charity if the band would play “Out Of My Mind” and so the band obliged and played it for the first time since 04-06-1994…. Time to pay up!  The band also showed a vulnerable side by playing these live for the first time ever: “Sweet Lew” (with Jeff Ament on vocals and Eddie Vedder playing the basketball as a percussive instrument) as well as the quirky and odd “Bugs” (complete with Vedder on accordion) from Vitalogy.   And of course since it was Halloween, the whole band came out for the second encore dressed as Devo (yellow suits, red flower pot hats, and Eddie carrying a whip) and played “Whip It”.

The crowds during this four night stand were epic and loud, not only for the concerts themselves but the Philadelphia Phillies were also in a battle for the World Series against the New York Yankees.  Many “Let’s Go Phillies” chants took place at random parts of the concert, Pearl Jam embraced the energy by dedicating songs to Phillies players and also providing score updates to the fans throughout the residency which only got the fans stirred up even more.  Eddie Vedder is big Chicago Cubs fan but he knows how to entertain an audience and keep them happy (even though the Phillies lost the series the game this night, and the series days later).  And this is what brings them back four nights in a row.

Before “Rockin’ In The Free World”, the house lights came on as they always do and part way in the song a seemingly endless supply of red, white, and blue confetti filled the air.  The stream of confetti was blown into the air for a few minutes and then red, white, and blue balloons dropped from the ceiling.

It was a party, a finale to a legendary stadium, a rock show, and an amazing night by one of the best touring bands in the world, Pearl Jam.

The setlist for the night was as follows:

Main Set: Why Go, Last Exit, Corduroy, Severed Hand, The Fixer, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, You Are, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Pilate (First since: 2000-10-25), Unthought Known, Daughter/Call and Response/Another Brick In The Wall, Johnny Guitar, Rats, I’m Open (first since: 2008-06-28)/I Got Shit, Glorified G, Out Of My Mind (first since: 1994-04-06), Black/We Belong Together, Insignificance, Life Wasted

Second Set: Just Breathe (w/ Philadelphia String Quartet), The End (w/ Philadelphia String Quartet), Low Light, Speed of Sound, Jeremy (w/ Philadelphia String Quartet), Inside Job, Bugs (w/ Philadelphia String Quartet, first time played live), Spin The Black Circle, Porch

Encore: Whip It! (Devo), Got Some, Crown of Thorns, Satan’s Bed, Sweet Lew (First time played live), Do The Evolution, Betterman/Save It For Later/Call and Response, Smile, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner

Click here to see the photos

Bad Religion played the Wachovia Spectrum on Halloween, 10-31-2009, in Philadelphia,PA.  Pearl Jam had the great honor to bring the entire building to a close by performing four shows in one week (10-27-09, 10-28-09, 10-30-09, 10-31-09), with the run concluding on Halloween night.  Pearl Jam’s ties to Bad Religion ties have been around since Bad Religion’s album Recipe For Hate, on which Eddie Vedder sung back up vocals on a few songs. Those ties led to Bad Religion the opening slot on 10-30-2009 and 10-31-2009.

I was fortunate to be able to photograph 2 of the 4 last shows ever to be held at the Spectrum.  I photographed Pearl Jam and the opening bands on the nights of the 27th and the 31st.   The Spectrum in Philadelphia has long been holding historical sporting events, concerts, movie moments, and  millions of other memories for a worldwide audience.  One of my earliest  memories is one of the most popular moments for the Spectrum was when Rocky boxed to win his first title of the Rocky movie series.  And now the legend of the building ends with a historic 4 night residency by Pearl Jam and friends.

Bad Religion took stage and won over the crowd with their punk rock anthems and sing along vocal harmonies.  They mixed songs of old and new spanning their whole career.  From the old school “Only Gonna Die From Our Own Arrogance” to the newer rocker and anthemic “Los Angelas Is Burning”

Greg Graffin is a university professor off the stage but caries teaching on stage with him as well.  Bad Religion’s music has been called “punk rock for the thinking man” in the past because of the lyrical content.  Greg and Brett Gurewitz have a knack of fitting some words into songs that other lyricists would never be able to (or even know what they mean).

For example:
Ameliorate – “Germs Of Perfection”
Anechoic – “Delirium Of Disorder”
Denouement – “F**k Armageddon… This Is Hell”
Epicene – “Automatic Man”
Ersatz – “The Surface Of Me” 
Inchoate – “1000 More Fools”
Irascible – “Hooray For Me…”
Nascent – “Strange Denial”
Oligarchy – “Oligarchy”
Pusillanimous – “Hear It”
Reprobate – “A Walk”

While the vocabulary in the songs may be impressive, it is not the focus of the songs. The center and focus of many of Bad Religion’s songs is a message of conviction, and stay true to your beliefs, question everyone and anything, and of course to learn as much as you can.  This message is spread out over themes of politics, consumerism, propaganda, religion, and anything else that has lit a fire under Greg Graffin.

As an old friend and a collaborator to the original recording, Eddie Vedder took the stage to alternate verses and sing back up on “Watch It Die” from the Recipe For Hate album.  It was certainly the highpoint for the fans that were not familiar with bad Religion’s music, as soon as Eddie took stage the fans cheered and quickly got on their feet.

The complete setlist for the night was as follows:

Los Angelas Is Burning
Them And Us
Struck A Nerve
new Dark Ages
Suffer
Atomic Garden
Dearly Beloved
21st Century Digital Boy
Anastesia
No Control
Man With A Mission
Watch It Die (Featuring Eddie Vedder on Vocals)
Only Gonna Die From Our Own Arrogance
Infected
Sorrow