Jack White shows his SoCal fans why he’s Hall of Fame material with sold-out performances at Hollywood Palladium & Santa Barbara Bowl

May 19, 2025 by 4 Comments
Jack White - Hollywood Palladium


Jack White at Hollywood Palladium

Photos courtesy of Jack White // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Jack White //
Hollywood Palladium & Santa Barbara Bowl – Los Angeles & Santa Barbara
May 12th-13th & 15th, 2025 //

If you talk to most people across the music industry and those who follow music, you won’t hear a lot of reverence for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Even after being established more than 40 years ago, it has about as much clout as the Grammys do these days and let’s be honest … that’s not saying much.

But every once and a while the RRHOF nominating committee gets it right, and this year’s induction of The White Stripes felt appropriate along with Soundgarden and OutKast (we know what you’re thinking, but the latter actually is far from being the first hop-hop act to earn the honor).

The gritty, bluesy garage rock that poured out of Detroit natives Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals) in the late 90’s and early 2000’s until their parting was unlike anything anyone had heard and seen at that time from only two rock musicians — let alone two who were married to each other for the band’s first few years but publicly presented themselves as siblings before eventually divorcing — playing their respective instruments.

And although he won’t publicly admit this, much of that had to do ultimately with Jack’s creativity and virtuosity as a guitarist. His distinct and unmistakable style that’s often highlighted by his high-pitched, screeching solos has propelled him into elite company with other legendary six-stringers like the late Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen or the great Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.

Since the Stripes called it quits back in 2011 and Meg decided to put down the sticks for good, Jack has continued writing music at a prolific rate as a solo artist first and foremost but also for his other projects that include The Raconteurs and supergroup The Dead Weather with Alison Mosshart of The Kills.

Jack White - Santa Barbara Bowl


Jack White at Santa Barbara Bowl

His sixth solo album No Name, which was surprise released last summer and initially distributed in the form of a free 12-inch vinyl with all purchases made at any Third Man Records location, ranked as one of our favorites in 2024 (see our picks here) and was named in several other “Best of 2024” lists.

Nevertheless, we would have to wait more than six months after first hearing the new material to catch Jack and his new cast of sidekicks in Southern California. Missing out on tickets for his album release shows in more intimate settings such as Lodge Room and the Mayan in October, our next opportunity to see him in the flesh came early this year thanks to the annual NAMM Show in Anaheim. It was on a rainy Saturday night in late January that we saw White perform about half of the songs from No Name during a sold-out gig he announced at the Grove of Anaheim and sold tickets for just a few days prior.

With shows on his “No Name Tour” already booked in LA and Santa Barbara this spring, it was a little surprising to see Jack book another one in SoCal ahead of those dates, but that’s what one of the last remaining guitar heroes continues to do more than three decades into his career whether he’s making new music or playing live: surprise.

The support for this tour has followed very much in the same vein, with Jack selecting a local band from each city he visits and revealing who it will be with only hours to go before showtime. That’s not why we spent two straight nights at the Hollywood Palladium as we did three years ago at LA’s YouTube Theater (read our show review here) — or at the Shrine Auditorium in 2012 — and embarked on another trek up the coast to the Santa Barbara Bowl after witnessing Jack’s debut there in 2018 for his third studio effort Boarding House Reach (read our show review here), however.

A lot has changed for Mr. White since those tours. Outside of bassist Dominic Davis, his backing band has been turned over with Patrick Keeler (The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs and The Afghan Whigs) replacing Daru Jones on drums and Bobby Emmett subbed in for Quincy McCrary on keyboards. He’s also married again for a third time — and we all know how much he loves the number three with Jack White III serving as one of his two pseudonyms — with his wife Olivia Jean growing her own career in the music industry and contributing at times to his, including recently providing bass or drums for some tracks on No Name. And not that it’s any of our business, but it does seem like they are a “good match” for each other in true Motor City fashion (no pun intended). Plus, we would be remiss to not bring up the fact he has moved away from his strict “no phones” policy, which saw him partner with Yondr up until his return to the stage last year. Watching him shred one axe after the next through a sea of phones in LA might have felt a bit different than what we have come to expect after seeing more than a dozen of his shows, but we can’t say it completely ruined the experience for us with Jack on top of his game and the crowd’s energy level never wavering throughout his 90-minute sets.

All things aside not related to his music, the 12-time Grammy winner still remains a must-see every time he comes town and for us that’s anywhere within a reasonable driving distance. Because as his sound expands further into new territory — this time leaning even harder into his garage-rock roots with some punk elements — and his artistry evolves deeper with each album, Jack’s shows never get old no matter how many evenings you have previously spent with him. Sure, there was a decent amount of overlap in the setlists across these latest three concerts we witnessed, yet Jack’s penchant for improvisation in the live space continues to seep into the overall DNA of his performances and offers a level of ambiguity (in a great way) for fans. Of course a place in the Rock Hall is certainly well-deserved for a multi-hyphenate musician whose biggest hit has been heard blasting out of PA systems in arenas and stadiums at major sporting events for almost 20 years now. In fact, when’s the last time the home team didn’t play “Seven Nation Army” at one point during a game? If you really want to understand what makes Jack so special though, you have to experience the magic of his live shows for yourself.

MAY 12TH – HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

Setlist:
Intro Jam
Old Scratch Blues
That’s How I’m Feeling
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Instrumental Jam
Me and the Devil Blues (Robert Johnson cover) (Soap&Skin version)
It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)
Little Bird (The White Stripes song) (with “Me and the Devi Blues” outro)
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
What’s Done Is Done
Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs song)
Why Walk a Dog?
Sixteen Saltines
Cannon (The White Stripes song)
The Union Forever (The White Stripes song) (with “Cannon” outro)
Fell in Love With a Girl (The White Stripes song)

Encore:
Encore Jam
Archbishop Harold Holmes
I’m Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes song)
What’s the Rumpus?
Lazaretto
Underground (with “Me and the Devil Blues” outro)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

MAY 13TH – HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

Setlist:
Intro Jam
Old Scratch Blues
I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover)
That’s How I’m Feeling
Black Math (The White Stripes song)
Bombing Out
It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)
Let’s Build a Home (The White Stripes song)
What’s the Rumpus?
High Ball Stepper
Hello Operator (The White Stripes song)
I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather song)

Encore:
Encore Jam
Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs song)
Archbishop Harold Holmes
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song) (with “You Can’t Get That Stuff No More” by Tampa Red snippet)
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

MAY 15TH – SANTA BARBARA BOWL

Setlist:
Intro Jam
Old Scratch Blues
That’s How I’m Feeling
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)
Little Bird (The White Stripes song)
Love Interruption
Cannon (The White Stripes song)
The Union Forever (The White Stripes song)
Tonight (Was a Long Time Ago)
Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs song)
Lazaretto
The Hardest Button to Button (The White Stripes song) (shortened version; >)
Archbishop Harold Holmes

Encore:
Encore Jam
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
That Black Bat Licorice
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)
Underground
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

First Times: Experiencing a piece of SF history as My Morning Jacket take over The Fillmore for four sold-out nights with no repeats

June 7, 2024 by 1 Comment

My Morning Jacket - disco ball - The FillmoreBy Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
May 27th-28th & 30th-31st, 2024 //

Growing up in Los Angeles, I have always loved going to the Bay Area. Sure, there is definitely no love lost between SoCal and NorCal when it comes to certain professional sports teams and their fan bases, but that hasn’t changed my feelings or how I think of it now — even if I bleed Dodger blue.

With my aunt, uncle and late grandparents living in the City, I have many fond memories of our family trips up north and still consider SF to be one of my favorite towns in the world that I have ever been to (and to be honest, there are a lot I haven’t stepped foot in). But from beautiful parks and breathtaking views to world-class art and innovative cuisine among a plethora of tourist attractions, there’s never a shortage of things to do in “The City by the Bay” no matter where your interests lie or how much time and money (obvious tip: it helps to have a lot) you have on your hands.

Since I began covering concerts more than a decade ago in this space though, my adventures in “music journalism” — if we can call it that — had not yet taken me to the same city where this blog was founded for “work.” I had visited back in 2011 to attend Outside Lands and Treasure Island Music Festival before returning five years later to cover what ended up being a disastrous and largely forgettable 2016 edition of TIMF (read our festival review here). Nevertheless, the right opportunity to photograph any individual shows had not presented itself despite all the years I have lived in the Golden State. That is, until one of my favorite acts in live music announced by early March that it had booked four in the span of five days at the historic Fillmore and promised not to repeat songs.

The first time I saw My Morning Jacket in the flesh, Jim James (lead vocals, guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone, backing vocals) completely blew me away after a three-night run at The Wiltern in LA with a unique opener — featuring Portugal. The Man, Iron & Wine and Shabazz Palaces — and setlist (inspired by fan requests submitted online) each night serving as the impetus for the Louisville-bred band’s “Spontaneous Curation Series.” The five-piece by that point was in between albums, having already released 2011’s Circuital almost 18 months earlier and toured the country in support of it, and the circumstances in the 415 felt similar with 2021’s self-titled marking the group’s last proper studio effort (unless you are counting MMJ’s holiday-themed LP entitled Happy Holiday! that they released in late November comprised mostly of Christmas carols plus two originals).

The weeks in May leading up to The Fillmore were certainly bittersweet. After all, this wasn’t supposed to be the first time I was seeing Jacket since their rescheduled — thanks to Tropical Storm Hilary — co-headlining date with Fleet Foxes at the Hollywood Bowl in August (read our show review here) after two sold-out gigs at Red Rocks (read our show review here). That was intended to be the first week of May instead of the last one, when they were scheduled to lead the third and final day of BeachLife Festival with ZZ Top, Fleet Foxes and Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB also rounding out an excellent lineup. But after covering the event’s first two days in Redondo Beach (read our festival review here), the final four hours were unexpectedly canceled — and many would say prematurely — due to a high-wind advisory.

My Morning Jacket - The Fillmore

In the matter of an hour, the only LA date that MMJ had slated for this year had been completely wiped from the record. The decision had already been made, and with the staff and security being sent home and an earlier curfew for Sunday in place, there was no way all the remaining artists could still perform. Attendees left that day visibly frustrated and angry with the fest’s organizers for calling it off so quickly, considering the wind had died down by 7 p.m. with time left on the clock. Subsequently, we have been wondering in the aftermath why BeachLife doesn’t target a weekend in June or another summer month rather than early May when it’s not exactly “beach weather” — unless you think daytime temperatures that peak in the mid-60’s and high winds of 45-50 mph is for some reason.

Is there any chance MMJ will eventually announce a makeup date for their SoCal-based fans? No one knows right now, but alas, there we were driving along Interstate 5 through California’s Central Valley a few weeks later, excited and gratified to be making the roughly 800-mile trek roundtrip to catch them at least on one occasion in 2024 and use that, on a personal level, as a way to celebrate the beginning of a new decade. Assuredly it helps when the weather in the Bay Area cooperates over the course of your stay, and with warm, sunny days filling the forecast, the stars were finally starting to slowly align after the disappointment we had recently experienced at BeachLife. Because when I walked up those burgundy-colored carpeted stairs at The Fillmore for the first time and was greeted by hundreds of old photos and posters plus a large bucket of apples (we can’t confirm if they were organic even if they passed our taste test), I could immediately feel the history of the place. And in the leadup to these shows, I had curiously spent some time learning more about Bill Graham and became fascinated with his backstory as I dived deeper into it. The legendary promoter whose mother placed him in an orphanage that helped Graham escape Nazi Germany has been credited with hosting some of rock ‘n’ roll’s most legendary musicians — Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, the Doors and Otis Redding — as the counterculture movement in the 60’s exploded all across Western civilization. Whether it’s the iconic Jerry Garcia photo that greets you at the top of the staircase on your way to the Poster Room or the bevy of ornate chandeliers that hang above the hardwood dance floor, there’s nothing quite like an evening at The Fillmore. It has been said that Graham wanted to make patrons believe as if they were hanging out in his own personal living room, and the warm, friendly staff we encountered matched the auditorium’s cozy vibe that he created thanks to entrepreneur and businessman Charles Sullivan, who owned the property’s master lease in 1965 and let him use his dance hall permit to put on concerts.

Holding only 1,315 guests, the former Majestic Hall built in 1912 is easily the smallest music venue that I have ever seen MMJ play. While they have never quite reached the level of an arena or stadium act like other popular rock bands, any room under a couple of thousand folks would be considered an “intimate” setting for them at this point in their 25-year-plus history. Between the live music industry shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing demands of touring upon its resumption however, you also won’t find Jacket throwing down three- and four-night runs with much regularity nowadays outside of their own destination festival One Big Holiday in Mexico and a select few U.S. cities such as Denver and Chicago where some of the highest fan concentration in the MMJ community exists. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty who traveled great distances to arrive at the corner of Geary Blvd. and Fillmore St. on the edge of Japantown. One couple I met, in fact, came all the way from northeast Pennsylvania to catch all four performances, and that’s the kind of dedication you will see from longtime enthusiasts and loyal listeners.

But considering the setlists that were assembled, no one could have asked for much more when the final note of “Wordless Chorus” was struck. After an opening night that boasted a myriad of highlights, including “Master Plan” with a “China Cat Sunflower” tag as an ode to the Dead, a stretched-out “Only Memories Remain” that reached the 14-minute mark, the first “Librarian” since March 2018 and a Bob Dylan cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” during the encore, there were more Fillmore fireworks on Night 2 when James and company broke into Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and later offered up “I Get Around” from The Beach Boys, which we were hoping to hear at BeachLife since MMJ performed the 1964 single last year during the GRAMMY’s televised tribute for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band. Yet, I knew Jacket would save some of their biggest bangers for the last two shows in SF and we can only imagine the 48-hour break between Nights 2 and 3 provided some necessary respite before they dove into another round of jams to unleash only the fourth “If It Smashes Down” ever, extend “Steam Engine” for a whopping 18 minutes, bring back “By My Car” for the first time in almost five years and close with a huge “Phone Went West” that included Journey’s “Lights” interpolated midway through.

That collection of songs would satisfy most Jacket fans on any given night, but I was sure they would save their best for last — and by “best,” I mean “Dondante” without a doubt. The Z finale has been my favorite MMJ tune for quite a while, and the nearly 22-minute version they uncorked at The Fillmore was by far the best (no pun intended) one I have witnessed out of four. You could tell by the end of it that the capacity crowd, having already been gifted “Cobra” at the onset as well as a cover of George Harrison’s “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” earlier, was officially on cloud nine. Something special had seemingly happened in that moment and nothing could bring us down to Earth from that point forward — only making James’ ensuing “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” all the more powerful to experience live (you would have thought “the power is going out” from the way they played it with such fervor) along with the apropos live debut of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”, which was written following the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival in a Sausalito houseboat the “King of Soul” rented. The three-time Grammy nominees, on the other hand, have always made a point to mix in covers that correspond to a particular time or place, and this was one that couldn’t have been more perfect for the moment. It was just another example of what has us coming back around time and time again … and ultimately why we will have our fingers crossed for that makeup date in LA.

MAY 27TH

Setlist:
At Dawn
O Is the One That Is Real
Master Plan (with “China Cat Sunflower” by Grateful Dead tag)
Mahgeetah
Rollin Back
Run It
Evelyn Is Not Real
Carried Away (Carl Broemel song) (“Just My Imagination” by The Temptations tag)
Only Memories Remain
A New Life (Jim James song)
You Wanna Freak Out
Outta My System
Honest Man
Librarian (last played 3/5/2018; “Let’s Live for Today” by The Grass Roots tag)
What a Wonderful Man (preceded by a Jim solo version on omnichord)
In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)
Holdin On to Black Metal
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1
Here in Spirit (Jim James song)
Love Love Love

Encore:
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
Feel You
Gideon
Dancefloors (with “China Cat Sunflower” and “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” by Grateful Dead transition teases)

MAY 28TH

Setlist:
In Color
It’s About Twilight Now
Strangulation! (instrumental intro due to technical difficulties)
War Begun
Slow Slow Tune
The Way That He Sings
X-Mas Curtain
Never in the Real World
How Could I Know (Oxen)
I Will Sing You Songs
Harvest Moon (Neil Young cover)
Come Closer
I Think I’m Going to Hell
Victory Dance
Aluminum Park
I Get Around (The Beach Boys cover)
Anytime

Encore:
Old Sept. Blues (with “Sleep Walk” by Santo & Johnny during intro)
It Beats 4 U
Spring (Among the Living) (with “Dear Prudence” by The Beatles tag)
One Big Holiday

MAY 30TH

Setlist:
Regularly Scheduled Programming
Compound Fracture
Off the Record
Tropics (Erase Traces)
Death Is the Easy Way
If It Smashes Down (only performed live three times & last played on 3/2/2018)
The Dark
Lowdown
Climbing the Ladder
Least Expected
Penny for Your Thoughts
Steam Engine
By My Car (last played 08/09/2019)
I’m Amazed
Picture of You
Believe (Nobody Knows)
Lay Low
Wasted

Encore:
Sooner
Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) (Elton John cover)
Smokin’ From Shootin’
Phone Went West (“Lights” by Journey interpolation > Phone Went West)

MAY 31ST

Setlist:
Cobra
If All Else Fails
Golden
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) (George Harrison cover)
Circuital
Easy Morning Rebel
Nashville to Kentucky
Like a River
Thank You Too!
Lucky to Be Alive
Evil Urges
Dondante
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.) (Jim James song)
Remnants
Run Thru

Encore:
Highly Suspicious
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2
(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay (Otis Redding cover) (Live debut)
Wordless Chorus

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, First Times, Live Music Reviews, Show Experience Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monterey Pop 50 pays tribute to the Summer of Love & the festival that started it all

June 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Monterey Pop International Festival 50By Steph Port //

Monterey International Pop Festival 50 //
Monterey County Fairgrounds – Monterey, CA
June 16th-18th, 2017 //

Last weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Music Festival, the iconic three-day music fest held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in 1967 that featured such artists as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Grateful Dead, Ravi Shankar, Simon & Garfunkel, the first large-scale performance by Janis Joplin and the introduction of Otis Redding.

To celebrate the occasion, Monterey International Pop Festival’s 50th anniversary featured a lineup of original performers and newer artists alike who all paid tribute to the original event in some way.

Many of this year’s artists covered songs by 1967 performers, such as Norah Jones (Grateful Dead’s “Ripple”), Jack Johnson (Steve Miller Band’s “Joker”; Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady”), Nicki Bluhm & Dirty Dozen Brass Band (Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”), Hiss Golden Messenger (Grateful Dead’s “Brown Eyed Women”) and Booker T. Jones’ Stax Revue (Otis Redding’s “Respect”).

Monterey Pop International Festival 50 - Jim James


Jim James

The three-day stretch featured plenty of sit-ins and collaborations as well, including Father John Misty, Nathaniel Rateliff and Danny Clinch joining Leon Bridges for his encore, Jones dueting with Johnson on a beautiful cover of “I Shall Be Released” and Duane Betts joining North Mississippi Allstars for “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, to name a few.

An on-site art exhibit featured original documents and photographs and showed parts of D.A. Pennebaker’s famed documentary “Monterey Pop”. The Morrison Hotel Gallery also hosted a pop-up gallery, which showcased 50 photographic prints of the artists that performed at the original festival, with several of the photographers in attendance.

The spirit of the Summer of Love could be felt throughout the weekend. Artists were honored as an important part of Monterey Pop’s legacy, and we all left with a sense of gratitude for its impact on contemporary culture and how we see music today.

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Gov’t Mule pay tribute to list of legends at Orpheum

September 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

govt-mule-postBy Josh Herwitt //

Gov’t Mule //
Orpheum Theatre – Los Angeles
September 26th, 2014 //

Warren Haynes may be leaving The Allman Brothers Band for good after this year, but that doesn’t mean the future of Gov’t Mule is in jeopardy. The Southern rock outfit has been going strong for 20 years now, becoming a staple in the jam scene and a household name at music festivals across the country.

But for as many gigs as they’ve tallied over the past two decades, the well-oiled machine of Haynes (guitar, vocals), Matt Abts (drums, percussion), Danny Louis (keyboards, trumpet, guitar, vocals) and Jorgen Carlsson (bass) hasn’t slowed down, releasing their 10th studio album Shout! just a year ago.

govt-mule-81

Hitting LA on a Friday night for their “20 Years Strong” tour, the quartet ripped through a 19-song, two-and-a-half hour performance at the historic Orpheum Theatre that saw Haynes and company pay tribute to a long list of music’s biggest legends — Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Al Green, Ann Peebles, Maynard Ferguson, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, The Allman Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Police were all represented in some shape or form over the course of the night.

With Gov’t Mule only playing three songs from Shout!, it was clear that this night was more about their appreciation for those who had come before them than what their own music embodies. When it was all said and done, Mule left their loyal LA fan base eager for the next U.S. tour — whenever that may be.

govt-mule-71

Set 1:
Mule, Game Face (with “Birdland,” “Mountain Jam” and “Norwegian Wood” teases), Little Toy Brain, Funny Little Tragedy (with “Message in a Bottle” lyrics), Kind of Bird (with “When the Wind Cries Mary” tease), Banks of the Deep End, Captured, Broke Down on the Brazos

Set 2:
Done Got Wise, I Believe to My Soul (Ray Charles cover with Jimmy Vivino and Jeff Babko), Brighter Days, Fallen Down (with “Gimme Shelter” lyrics), The Other One Jam (Grateful Dead cover with “Gimme Shelter” lyrics), Drums, Drums & Bass, I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home (Ann Peebles cover with Jimmy Vivino and Yoshi Yanagi with “Let Me Have It All” lyrics)

Encore:
Effigy (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover), Folsom Prison Blues Jam (Johnny Cash cover) > Effigy, I’m a Ram (Al Green cover)

govt-mule-231

govt-mule-41

govt-mule-131

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First Times: Experiencing Seattle’s music scene

July 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Seattle skylinePhotos by Josh Herwitt & Melissa Herwitt // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Growing up in the 90’s, Seattle always had a special place in my heart.

From my days of listening to Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains albums in my bedroom, grunge music had already produced a profound impact on my musical taste by the time I entered my teens. Unlike so many of my peers, I never became a crazed Nirvana fan, but the rock music I did like — whether I knew it or not at the time — was being born in the Pacific Northwest.

As time passed and my music palette grew, grunge wasn’t the only genre coming out of the region that tickled my ears. In fact, Seattle’s musical history stretches further than it just being the birthplace of grunge. In more recent years, Seattle’s hip-hop scene, for one, has exploded in part due to Grammy winners Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, but even experimental acts like Shabazz Palaces and Blue Sky Black Death have helped build the local scene. And let’s not forget that we’re talking about the city that bred the one and only Sir Mix-a-Lot, of course.

Knowing this, my expectations of Seattle’s music scene have always been quite high. Since the late 60’s when Seattle native Jimi Hendrix took London by storm with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, there has been a musical fabric that has run through the Emerald City. It’s a city, after all, that has a nonprofit museum dedicated largely to pop culture and music, with informative, in-depth exhibits on the history of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Nirvana that include authentic artifacts, hand-written lyrics, used instruments and original photographs of both groups. You never know — maybe someday Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Foo Fighters memorabilia will also find its way behind the EMP Museum’s glass doors.

EMP Museum

Meanwhile, Sub Pop, Seattle’s famed independent record label, has found continued success outside of its home base long after popularizing the grunge movement, with indie contemporaries like The Shins, Fleet Foxes, Beach House, Foals, The Postal Service and Wolf Parade all signed to its current roster. And even more than 25 years after its inception, the label Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman created hasn’t lost its charm in a city where the Seahawks carry as much weight as any local band on the brink of national prominence these days.

With that said, while history can’t be erased, it certainly doesn’t mean it will be repeated. The Crocodile, formerly known as The Crocodile Café, has long been a fixture in Seattle’s music scene; the relatively small, intimate club on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Blanchard Street in the neighborhood of Belltown was the place where bands like Nirvana and Death Cab for Cutie first got their start. Even though the 525-person venue closed its doors in 2007, it reopened them a couple years later and has remained instrumental in maintaining Seattle’s reputation as one of America’s best music cities.

But whether it was the Fourth of July holiday or just the band that was booked for the night — in this case, San Francisco’s Geographer, who I have seen a handful of times at this point — I was surprised to see a room only half full of spectators when I walked inside. Maybe Geographer just doesn’t draw in Seattle what it does in SF or LA — or maybe I’m just spoiled. Since graduating college, I have had the privilege of living in New York and Los Angeles while getting to experience both cities’ music scenes for an extended period of time. My concert-going experiences haven’t been restricted to just LA and NYC, though. Over the years, I have made numerous trips to Denver — a city smaller than Seattle, yet one that undeniably eats, breathes and lives for live music — to attend shows at Red Rocks and beyond.

Geographer

At The Crocodile, something felt missing unfortunately. Sure, it was just one show, but there wasn’t the same kind of buzz I found in any of those aforementioned cities. For whatever reason, my native LA often gets vilified by outsiders and transplants for our crowds’ lack of enthusiasm; words like “rude” and “unengaged” are regularly thrown around when it comes to LA’s music scene. But the energy at The Crocodile on that Friday night wasn’t anything better than what I experience on a regular basis in Southern California. If anything, it was considerably worse.

As disappointed and uninspired as I was after the show, my respect for Seattle’s music scene hasn’t wavered. With so much of my youth influenced by the musicians who have called this majestic seaport city home, it will always remain an important place for this music lover. Yet, what it’s made me realize is just how lucky I am to have lived where I’ve lived and been where I’ve been.

Geographer

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, First Times, Show Experience Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Music Tuesday: Jimi Hendrix • How to Destroy Angels • The Men • Youth Lagoon • Rhye • The Cave Singers • Blue Hawaii

March 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Jimi Hendrix - People, Hell and Angels

Every Tuesday, we focus on new music releases by naming our top tracks, album highlights, lowlights and important takeaways for select albums.

Jimi Hendrix – People, Hell and Angels

3-BamsTop Tracks:
“Earth Blues”
“Hear My Train a Coming”
“Somewhere”

Album Highlights: The solo in “Hear My Train a Coming” is quintessential Jimim and it bridges the gap between beginning and end of the song perfectly. This early take on the classic song is quite powerful, and the solo alone deserves a listen. “Somewhere” has Hendrix showcasing his amazing Wah Wah pedal skills, and his stream of conscious style singing makes this song come to life. The album opener “Earth Blues” is probably the most complete song with great lyrics and classic Jimi riffs throughout.

Album Lowlight: I thought the album lost its place during “Let Me Move You,” even though the great Lonnie Youngblood was featured on Saxophone. The track seems out of place on the record, and the same could be said for “Mojo Man.” Also, the album ended with a whimper by picking “Villanova Junction Blues” as the outro song, and it isn’t even two minutes long. While I can’t exactly blame Jimi for this choice, I would prefer to hear a blistering solo to end the record.

Takeaway: It’s just great to hear Jimi Hendrix play guitar, and for that I am grateful this album has been released so far after his untimely death. It definitely helps us see which direction Jimi was going right after the Experience broke up. Most of the recordings are from sessions he played with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, the rhythm section from the Band Of Gypsies. Hendrix was straying from his psychedelic era sounds with the material that ended up on People, Hell and Angels, leaning more toward bluesy rock from Hendrix’s early years.

~Pete Mauch

How to Destroy Angels – Welcome Oblivion

3.5-BamsTop Tracks:
“Keep it Together”
“Ice Age”
“The Loop Closes”

Album Highlights: Welcome Oblivion is a brilliant experiment in collaboration between Trent Reznor and his wife, Mariqueen Maandig (formerly of West Indian Girl), also featuring his usual suspects, Atticus Ross and Rob Sheridan. To take the industrial tension of Nine Inch Nails and have the vocals fronted by the sultry and angelic Maandig is a winning formula. Tracks like “Ice Age” turn down the synths and simply pair staccato strings with soft vocals, throwing the listener for a loop compared to previous tracks. Recently, Reznor has become the master of keeping his fans on their feet, this recently demonstrated by the quick and startling revamping of Nails, all before he’s even debuted How to Dress Angels on stage. Production is heavy on the chiller side of industrial/glitch electronic music, even industrializing the sound of vocals as seen in the beginning of “Too Late, All Gone.” Not all tracks feature vocals, something Reznor is a bit fond of.

Album Lowlight: The inclusion of Mariqueen as lead singer alleviates some pressure from Trent, and it certainly shifts the overall sound and feel away from something that is wholly Nine Inch Nails. With this stated, I would have liked to hear a bit more of Reznor’s characteristic vocal style. “Keep it Together” is a prime example of Trent augmenting Mariqueen’s steamy female vocals, and this would have been welcomed on more tracks.

Takeaway: Fans of Nine Inch Nails will enjoy this release, furthermore listeners who may have been scared away by the likes of the brutal side of NIN (see “Closer”) will feel it is more palpable, especially to female listeners. Reznor is not a musician who takes much down time, and he has kept himself busy since temporarily dissolving NIN a few years back. This project is not brand new, but has now fully taken flight with the impending live debut coupled with a debut LP. Welcome Oblivion is a satisfying listen overall, taking a great leap in con-temporizing the brilliant industrial sound Trent Reznor and his cohorts have polished over multiple decades.

~Kevin Quandt

The Men – New Moon

Top Tracks:
“The Seeds”
“Electric”
“I See One”

Album Highlights: New Moon is a different album than previous, likely pointing to maturity or fear of being lost in the ever increasing bands that sound akin. It leans more on the poppier side than the noise side of rock, especially when viewed compared to previous releases. Songs like “The Seeds” are a fun romp in folk rock that is becoming evermore popular, as demonstrated by Father John Misty and the likes. “I Saw Her Face” features a heavy, lo-fi guitar lead full of drudge and weight to accompany the lulled-out drumbeat and bass. “Bird Song” lends itself to a more personal side that would make Crazy Horse smirk. One can almost hear old Neil play his harmonica along with ‘em.

Album Lowlight: It feels as if the track order was a total toss-up, and gives the album a lack of direction and flow that is not easy to look past. Maybe they should slow down and take some time with these efforts, as this is the fourth release in four years.

Takeaway: An enjoyable spin on the current state of modern rock, full of hooks and unique tracks placed side by side in no distinguishable rhyme or reason. It’s lighter on the tinges of punk that these New Yorkers have been somewhat known for, but there is a sound for just about everyone on New Moon.

~Kevin Quandt

Youth Lagoon – Wondrous Bughouse

3-BamsTop Tracks:
“Mute”
“Dropla”
“Raspberry Cane”

Album Highlights: Trevor Powers, the boy genius behind Youth Lagoon, has created a sequel to 2011’s Year in Hibernation that continues the dreamy low-fidelity indie rock and succeeds in many spots. “Mute” sounds clear and cheery after the opening track “Through Mind and Back,” and it is the best track on the long player. It starts with a Bradford Cox-like wandering space into, but when the track transitions to it’s second phase dominated by repetitious keyboard strokes and Star Wars destroyer swoosh-byes as part of the conceptual build, the song begins to fly. “The Bath” and “Third Dystopia” are also stand-out tracks.

Album Lowlight: Overall, Wondrous Bughouse could be viewed as a soundtrack to a sinister clown carnival, and only rarely succeeds (“Raspberry Cane”) while looking at the record through this prism. Upon repeat listens, Youth Lagoon’s newest effort is more appropriately seen as a collection of tripped out lullabies. But what holds this record back from greatness is that it feels like an exercise in seeing how many carnival sounds Powers could layer on top of each other while still creating likable pop songs. Creating this sound aesthetic is a tightrope walk, and it often works. It does not work with “Attic Doctor,” “Sleep Paralysis” & “Daisyphobia,” and these tracks push the “trippy lullaby” theme to the edge of the listener threshold.

Takeaway: The most joyous thing Powers established with The Year of Hibernation was a nuanced song structure. Most tracks thrived on introspective, exploratory introductions that thrived on building to a second-half sonic payoff. And it is the second-half building in tracks like “Afternoon” that smacked you out of your wondrous state, creating a contrast that is goose-bump inducing. Overall, this quality is less present in Wondrous Bughouse. However, the record is a grower, one where the nuances present themselves more and more, and most tracks subsequently get better with each listen.

~Mike Frash

Rhye – Woman

4-BamsTop Tracks:
“The Fall”
“Open”
“3 Days”

Album Highlights: The highly anticipated debut album from Rhye, the producer duo Robin Braun and Mike Milosh, is an infectious, soulful, electro-R&B album. Women is highly sensual; this album is perfect for a late night romance or a long drive in the middle of the night. It’s upbeat enough to keep your head bobbing, but mellow enough to fall asleep to. And I say “fall asleep to” in the most endearing way possible.

The vocals are the true highlight of this album. Milosh and Braun’s voices work together in perfect venereal harmony that keeps the listener longing for more.

Album Lowlight: I’m nitpicking here, but I simply want more from Rhye. I can’t wait to see how their sound develops with future material, and I’ll be spinning this record for a while.

Takeaway: Woman has an incredibly developed sound that mixes elements of minimalist electronic with a orchestral components, highlighted by the incredible vocal performance. The album is extremely well produced and mature. For a debut album, it is a sensational effort. Dim the lights, open a bottle of wine and enjoy this album.

~Kevin Raos

The Cave Singers – Naomi

2.5-BamsTop Tracks:
“Have to Pretend”
“Shine”
“Northern Lights”

Album Highlights: The Cave Singers present a lighter, spring time soundtrack on their 4th album Naomi. The addition of Morgan Henderson on bass/flute (Fleet Foxes, Blood Brothers) and producer Phil Ex (Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Modest Mouse) allows the northwestern folk quartet to stick to their simple yet original and audible recipe while dabbling in some new territories. Front man Pete Quirk also sings in tune…on purpose, throughout the entire album! We can thank Ex for that suggestion.

Album Lowlight: Naomi lacks a certain flow that 2007’s Invitation Songs and 2009’s Welcome Joy possess. “Easy Way” ventures into a generic cookie cutter rock song that pushes Quirk to stressful, at times uncomfortable harmonies.

Takeaway: Fans that are looking for the same dish that The Cave Singers have been delivering will surely be satisfied. The fuller sound and additional band member definitely works in favor for the band. Still, The Cave Singers use the same, simple rifts with very little key chord progression, relying heavily on lyrical melodies. Don’t expect the same foot stomping, glass shattering sensation that “Dancing In Our Graves” delivers. This album will be great for sunny spring time mornings.

~Sam Heller

Blue Hawaii – Untogether

2.5-BamsTop Tracks:
“Yours to Keep”
“Try to Be”
“Sweet Tooth”

Album Highlights: Divided into two separate installments, “In Two” highlight’s the dual nature of this album’s artistic influences and conception. Cowan and Preston are both able to communicate their individual spin on the track in an extended jam, mixed perfectly through electronic dance-style cohesion.

Album Lowlight: Although tight on the mixing and an impressive execution of skill, “Sierra Lift” would have been better without as much editing. Standell-Preston’s vocals are excessively staggered and nearly indecipherable due to the choppiness of the track. The effect audibly is interesting, but becomes exhausting throughout the song’s duration, and album in general.

Takeaway: “Try to Be” is the best representation of what Untogether is aiming to achieve both in sound quality and songwriting. Blue Hawaii, a duo of Raphaelle Standell-Preston and Alexander Cowan, recorded Untogether with the intention to explore deviating genres and the audible patterns that lie between them. “Try to Be” showcases the natural symbiosis of their co-writing capabilities.

~Molly Kish

Filed Under: New Music, New Music Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

25 of the best cover songs ever

November 27, 2012 by 10 Comments

It’s pretty hard to proclaim the best cover songs of all time — there have been so many great covers performed in the studio and in a live environment. So that’s why we’re framing this as “25 of the Best Cover Songs Ever”. This list is not as hyperbolic as we prefer to be, but our top 10 is pretty damn solid.

Some prescribe to the theory that a cover song has to be better than the original to be great, or considered one of the the best. I don’t believe this to be true. There are cases in this list where the cover song does not surpass the original in greatness (see #25 for example). But if a cover song attempts to be different and successfully recreates a track to make it original and timeless in its own way, credit should be granted.

What did we miss? Leave us a comment with a YouTube link.

25. Chromatics – “Into the Black”
Originally by Neil Young

24. Guns N’ Roses – “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”
Originally by Bob Dylan

23. Bob Dylan – “Train of Love”
Originally by Johnny Cash

22. Johnny Cash – “I’m on Fire”
Originally by Bruce Springsteen

21. Bruce Springsteen – “Trapped”
Originally by Jimmy Cliff

20. Birdy – “Skinny Love”
Originally by Bon Iver

19. Sublime (featuring Alex Grenwald) – “Scarlet Begonias”
Originally by the Grateful Dead

18. Grateful Dead – “Morning Dew”
Originally by Bonnie Dobson

17. Alison Krauss & Robert Plant – “Trampled Rose”
Originally by Tom Waits

16. Santana – “Black Magic Woman”
Originally by Fleetwood Mac

15. Sharon Jones – “It’s a Man’s World”
Originally by James Brown

14. Radiohead – “The Headmaster Ritual”
Originally by The Smiths

13. Eric Clapton – “Coccaine”
Originally by JJ Cale

12. Tina & Ike Turner – “Proud Mary”
Originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival

11. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
Originally by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

10. The White Stripes – “Jolene”
Originally by Dolly Parton

9. Joe Cocker – “With a Little Help from My Friends”
Originally by The Beatles

8. The Beatles – “Twist & Shout”
Originally by The Top Notes, made famous by The Isley Brothers

7. Nirvana – “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”
Traditional song; arranged by Lead Belly

6. Janis Joplin – “Me and Bobby McGee”
Originally by Kris Kristofferson

5. Phish – “Remain in Light” LP in it’s entirety
Originally by Talking Heads

4. Talking Heads – “Take Me to the River”
Originally by Al Green

3. Aretha Franklin – “Respect”
Originally by Otis Redding.

2. Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower
Originally by Bob Dylan.

1. Johnny Cash – Hurt
Originally by Nine Inch Nails.

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