My Morning Jacket

The Revivalists live up to their new album ‘Pour It Out Into the Night’ at LA’s Greek Theatre while on tour with Band of Horses

September 13, 2023 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

The Revivalists

By Josh Herwitt //

The Revivalists & Band of Horses with The Heavy Heavy //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
September 10th, 2023 //

It was only a couple of weeks ago when we mentioned that a great co-headline bill on a warm summer evening in Southern California can be a fun and unique way to experience live music. Well, it wouldn’t be very long before our next opportunity arrived in my inbox.

My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes at the Hollywood Bowl (read our show review here) was one pairing this year that we had circled on our calendar, but there have been several others worth catching of late, including The Revivalists and Band of Horses as they proved at LA’s Greek Theatre on a Sunday night.

Hot off the release of a fifth studio album, The Revivalists came into town primed to make memories with their Pour It Out Into the Night material for the mostly capacity crowd that greeted the octet comprised of David Shaw (lead vocals, guitar), Zack Feinberg (guitar), Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar), Rob Ingraham (saxophone), Andrew Campanelli (drums, percussion), Paulet “PJ” Howard (drums, percussion), George Gekas (bass) and Michael Girardot (keyboards, trumpet).

Band of Horses

The 12-track Pour It Out Into the Night dropped in June, and since then The Revivalists have been filling venues — whether it’s the Greek or Red Rocks (read our First Times coverage here) — and performing at major U.S. music festivals such as Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. A solid chunk of the new LP has been featured throughout the New Orleans group’s live show, representing almost half of its gig in LA, as well-executed covers of Radiohead’s “High and Dry” from The Bends plus Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1980 hit “Refugee” punctuated a two-encore performance.

As interested as I was to hear each co-headliner, it was a little surprising to learn that The Revivalists were allotted more time than BoH. I expected that The Revivalists would go last and close things out, primarily because they were listed at the top of the tour’s poster, but BoH have been around longer and have higher metrics across most social media channels as well as music streaming services.

None of that, however, seemed to bother BoH leader Ben Bridwell, who appeared to be in fine spirits when he and his four henchmen — Creighton Barrett (drums, percussion), Ryan Monroe (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), Matt Gentling (bass, backing vocals) and the band’s most recent addition Brett Nash (guitar, backing vocals), who replaced Ian MacDougall at the start of last year — walked onstage around 7:15 p.m. to a roaring applause from the mixed-aged audience, most of which had filed into its seats by the time The Heavy Heavy had wrapped up their 30-minute opening set.

The Revivalists

Being the project’s only continuous member, Bridwell has maintained a sound and vibe for BoH that’s uniquely his. It’s not just Southern rock or indie rock or folk rock — it’s all three thrown into a blender. For me, there is something about his voice that has always captured my attention since the Grammy nominees’ debut full-length Everything All the Time. It’s what helped separate themselves during their early days in Seattle amid a competitive scene that only continues to grow with each passing day as more new indie-folk acts emerge.

Now several records later, BoH are sitting on their sixth entitled Things Are Great that came out more than 18 months ago via BMG and marked their longest gap between releases after Why Are You OK landed in 2016 on Interscope (BoH have signed to several labels over the years). Bridwell has had to account for numerous lineup changes along the way, yet he still knows how to keep things exciting for fans by switching up the setlist regularly and working in a cover, whether it’s INXS, Brooks & Dunn or even The Stooges. This was only the fourth time in 2023, for instance, that “Our Swords” was played, which sees Bridwell swap his guitar for a bass on the deep cut and croon about stepping on toes in a purportedly metaphorical sense.

By the time The Revivalists unleashed their chart-topping single “Wish I Knew You” as we neared the finish line, there was no doubt that packaging them together with BoH on the same tour was a strong move. I have enjoyed ruminating about and discussing which artists or bands should share the stage, and although this wasn’t one that specifically came to mind, it assuredly worked. Was it a total match made in musical heaven? Probably not. Would Trombone Shorty have made more sense to pair with The Revivalists considering his ties to the Big Easy? Maybe so, but any reason to spend a few hours hanging out at the Greek, especially with two bands of this caliber, is a good enough one for me.

THE REVIVALISTS

Setlist:
Good Old Days
Don’t Look Back
The Long Con
It Was a Sin
Down in the Dirt
Catching Fireflies
Soulfight
Otherside of Paradise
All My Friends
How We Move
Pour It Out Into the Night
High and Dry (Radiohead cover)
You and I
Celebration

Encore #1:
Only You
Wish I Knew You
Kid (with The Heavy Heavy)

Encore #2:
Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)

BAND OF HORSES

Setlist:
Is There a Ghost
The Great Salt Lake
Hag
Crutch
Laredo
Lights
Never Tear Us Apart (INXS cover)
Casual Party
Warning Signs
No One’s Gonna Love You
Our Swords
Ode to LRC
The Funeral
The General Specific

THE HEAVY HEAVY

Setlist:
Man of the Hills
Go Down River
All My Dreams
Cherry
Dirt
One of a Kind
Miles and Miles

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Band of Horses, Bonnaroo, Brooks & Dunn, Fleet Foxes, Greek Theatre, Hollywood Bowl, INXS, Lollapalooza, My Morning Jacket, Radiohead, The Heavy Heavy, The Revivalists, The Stooges, Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Trombone Shorty, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

My Morning Jacket & Fleet Foxes don’t let a tropical storm stop them from eventually sharing the stage at the Hollywood Bowl

September 4, 2023 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket & Fleet Foxes //
Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles
August 28th, 2023 //

When I was invited to photograph my first show at the Hollywood Bowl more than seven years ago now (read our review here), I already understood how special it is for those who have the opportunity to play under the amphitheater’s iconic bandshell.

As I explained back then, any artist or band with a headlining date at the historic music venue can officially say that they have “made it” and nothing has ever changed there. But for a group like My Morning Jacket that has been around 25 years, performing at one of LA’s most prized possessions carries a little extra weight.

That’s because the Louisville-bred rockers were so inspired by the place more than two decades ago that they chose a photo of it to serve as the cover artwork for their sophomore LP At Dawn.

“Something about its otherworldly shape spoke such magic,” MMJ recently shared on social media.

My Morning Jacket

And yet, somehow 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) had never taken the stage at the Bowl despite plenty of trips to the City of Angels in the past.

Because as much as things have changed for Jacket since 2001, let’s be real: the three-time Grammy nominees still aren’t popular enough anywhere, let alone Southern California, to fill the 17,500-person landmark on their own. MMJ would be lucky to sell half that number of tickets, especially on a Monday night after Tropical Storm Hilary postponed the event’s originally scheduled date more than a week.

The folks at KCRW fortunately had the answer. Finding a suitable partner in Fleet Foxes to pair with MMJ, the NPR member station assembled a co-headline bill that was one of the most enticing we’ve seen in a while. The Bowl can certainly offer them with its massive capacity, and we have attended a few good ones over the years — from 90’s alt-rock outfits Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden to 2000’s indie darlings Grizzly Bear and TV on the Radio (read our show review here). Nevertheless, we can’t say it doesn’t come with some drawbacks.

There’s something about sitting at a rock concert that doesn’t feel right to me, and fresh off MMJ’s two sold-out shows at Red Rocks (read our review here) over the weekend that saw them surpass the two-hour mark both nights, it was quite a stark contrast to what we experienced in Colorado with most fans there standing from Row 1 to Row 70. The “wine and cheese” crowd in LA, on the other hand, couldn’t be bothered to get out of their seats for much of the night. James and company didn’t let that stop them from closing their 2023 summer tour with a powerful set, though — even if it was only 75 minutes. “Off the Record” and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” got extended outros, and “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)” with Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold was a treat. It’s not everyday that you get to hear two of the best voices in music today collaborating onstage together, and moments like those always feel in retrospect a little extra special to witness.

Fleet Foxes

Speaking of Fleet Foxes, this wasn’t our first time catching them at the Bowl. A co-headline performance with Beach House in 2017 actually served as our first encounter, and it just so happened that it was also the indie-folk act’s Bowl debut.

Pecknold (lead vocals, guitar) and his four sidekicks Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Christian Wargo (bass, guitar, backing vocals) and Morgan Henderson (upright bass, guitar, woodwinds, violin, percussion, saxophone), plus touring member Christopher Icasiano (drums, percussion) and New York-based brass quartet The Westerlies, had no problem filling the stage and the space with their beautiful harmonies and thoughtful lyrics. And after last summer’s sold-out gig at the Greek Theatre (read our show review here), it’s clear that 2020’s Shore has not only offered them more commercial success but also the opportunity to keep the current lineup intact. After all, it’s not very often that you get to see an artist or band perform with 10 musicians due to financial concerns, and Fleet Foxes’ eclectic instrumentation as well as Pecknold’s golden pipes are what really elevates their material in a live setting.

Of course we would be remiss to mention the Buffalo Springfield tune “Expecting to Fly” that Fleet Foxes took on with James a couple of songs before waving goodbye, something that they also did at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Despite their psychedelic tendencies, MMJ have always leaned in the folk direction, and while Grizzly Bear might be the perfect fit for a co-headline situation with Fleet Foxes, MMJ are able to turn up the energy a lot more with their huge sound — no further proof was needed than the finishing punch of “One Big Holiday” and “Dancefloors” from 2003’s It Still Moves as the clock struck 10:45 p.m.

As much as our ears would have liked to hear more, it wasn’t in the cards. A strict curfew of 11 p.m. at the Bowl has always been in place, and that wasn’t going to change this time (or ever). But you could do a whole lot worse than to spend an evening at the Bowl with MMJ and Fleet Foxes before summer in LA finally slips away.

MY MORNING JACKET

Setlist:
Wordless Chorus
Off the Record (Extended outro)
Spring (Among the Living)
Gideon
Wonderful (The Way I Feel) (with Robin Pecknold)
Steam Engine
Circuital
Love Love Love
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2 (Extended outro)
One Big Holiday
Dancefloors

FLEET FOXES

Setlist:
Sun Giant
Sunblind
Can I Believe You
Ragged Wood
Your Protector
He Doesn’t Know Why
Third of May/Ōdaigahara
Phoenix (Big Red Machine cover)
Bedouin Dress
White Winter Hymnal
Mykonos
Montezuma
Blue Ridge Mountains
Grown Ocean
Expecting to Fly (Buffalo Springfield cover) (with Jim James)
The Shrine/An Argument
Helplessness Blues

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Beach House, Big Red Machine, Buffalo Springfield, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Hollywood Bowl, Jim James, KCRW, My Morning Jacket, Nine Inch Nails, Robin Pecknold, Soundgarden, The Westerlies, TV on the Radio

First Times: Covering a concert at Red Rocks as My Morning Jacket return to sacred ground for two awe-inspiring nights rain & shine

August 31, 2023 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket with M. Ward
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
August 25th & 26th, 2023 //

No matter where you are from, a trip to Red Rocks should be on every live music fan’s bucket list. The mile-high, open-air amphitheater only a short drive from Denver in Morrison, Colo., has over the years become a destination venue for live music fans all around the globe with its otherworldly rock structure and stellar natural acoustics.

Red Rocks’ annual attendance numbers certainly prove that to be true, too. Just a couple of years ago, it received the distinct honor of being named the top-grossing and most-attended concert venue of any size in the world. For a lot of artists and bands, having the opportunity to perform in such a unique and sacred space ranks up there with playing other famous sonic sanctuaries like The Gorge Amphitheatre, Radio City Music Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

That’s some elite company to be included with, but ask anyone who has been and they will say Red Rocks is worthy of such acclaim. It’s why the 9,525-person amphitheater also holds a special place in the hearts of so many performers, including one of live music’s absolute best: My Morning Jacket.

Since opening in 1941, Red Rocks has been home to quite a few noteworthy performances from U2 to Widespread Panic, with the latter holding the venue’s record for most consecutive sold-out shows at 69 after their latest three-night run in June. And though MMJ hasn’t nearly reached that high mark, there’s no doubt that some of their most important moments over the past quarter century have taken place in between “Creation Rock” and “Ship Rock.” So it shouldn’t be a surprise that fans travel from all corners of the country to catch the Louisville-bred outfit there.

Jacket’s very first appearance at the amphitheater, in fact, came in 2007 opening for the legendary Bob Dylan, but it only took another year before they were being offered their own date to headline. It wasn’t until 2012 for their “Spontaneous Curation Series” when MMJ started booking two nights “on the rocks,” with this year marking the quintet’s fifth time doing so for its 14th and 15th shows.

Nevertheless, it was a pair of performances at Red Rocks in 2019 that ultimately helped reignite the band and inspired 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) — with James coining the venue as “the birth canal of the universe” that year — to get back in the studio to record their ninth full-length album. Even the cover artwork for the ensuing, self-titled My Morning Jacket directly paid homage as you can see here. That’s how much one of Colorado’s most prized possessions has meant to the group’s success and longevity.

So after making the short pilgrimage from LA for two nights of MMJ at Red Rocks last August, I wasn’t about to miss them when it was announced that they would be returning for two more gigs in 2023. This time would be a little bit different, though. Not only had the supporting act changed with M. Ward slated for both shows, but being granted a photo credential for Friday and Saturday had finally afforded me the chance to capture a concert (or two) at the one and only “RR” with my camera equipment.

Red Rocks has always been one of my favorite places to witness live music. It’s somewhere that I have found myself going back to time and time again for almost two decades because there’s really nowhere else like it. The sound, atmosphere and fans all make it a one-of-a-kind experience and one of the best spots anywhere to watch a concert. From the first to the last row, there’s truly no bad seat in the house. Plus, the tailgating in the Lower South Lots alone is worth going for — and why you should always plan to arrive early before the doors open. You might even make some new friends in the parking lot!

For a band that rocks as hard as MMJ does, it only seems fitting that one of their beloved venues to visit would be Red Rocks. Friday’s show would see James and company not holding back as they performed their 2003 LP It Still Moves in its entirety, enlisting M. Ward to sit in on “Golden” and “Steam Engine”. As elated as I was to hear “Master Plan” again however, it was also the first time since 2018 that “Just One Thing” and “One in the Same” had been played. Thanks to an extended encore with deep cuts such as “Honest Man” from 2001’s At Dawn and “Smokin’ From Shootin'” off 2008’s Evil Urges, the evening still finished a lot better than it began after heavy rains put a damper on any pre-show partying and soaked plenty of us from head to toe.

Saturday’s forecast, on the other hand, proved to be quite the opposite. With clear skies and sunshine setting the stage for MMJ’s second night, we were treated to a setlist that was well worth hopping on a plane for. There was another sit-in from M. Ward — this time on “At Dawn” and “Off the Record” — but there was also the debut of Cat Stevens’ “The Wind” as well as a cover of Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright?” for only the second time ever with surprise guest and Colorado native Nathaniel Rateliff on vocals. Those were definitely two of the biggest highlights (no pun intended) amid the light motif that MMJ signaled to us with “At Dawn”, “First Light”, “It’s About Twilight Now” and “The Dark” coming consecutively midway through their set, but it was the encore centered around a four-part “Cobra” — the track, after all, runs more than 24 minutes long on 2002’s Chocolate and Ice — with “Highly Suspicious”, “Off the Record” and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” interspersed in between, leaving the sold-out crowd mostly speechless. It was a setlist technique that you would see a jam band like Phish or Umphrey’s McGee employ, but not MMJ. The three-time Grammy nominees have always lived in the jam-adjacent space, even if they have been booked for some of the same music festivals you might find other jam bands at, including Bonnaroo, Hulaween and Peach. But ever since forming in 1998, MMJ have never presented or considered themselves to be a jam band and the same applies today.

Regardless of how you want to label their music, James, Blankenship, Hallahan, Koster and Broemel looked and sounded at Red Rocks as locked in as they ever have. A sincere joy emanated from all five members that was palpable the minute they walked onstage, and by the time MMJ had wound us down after more than two hours with “Love Love Love” to wrap up their two-night stand, nothing but immense gratitude and a genuine love for what we had just heard remained inside.

It’s safe to say that you can’t tell MMJ’s story now without referencing Red Rocks at some point along the way. The band knows that, and many of its most loyal enthusiasts have come to understand what’s there, too. Because if recent history serves as any indication, rocking out to MMJ under the stars while being surrounded by some red sandstone monoliths is like nothing else. Quite simply, it’s magical.

AUGUST 25TH

Setlist:
Mahgeetah (>)
Dancefloors
Golden (with M. Ward)
Master Plan (>)
One Big Holiday (>)
I Will Sing You Songs (>)
Easy Morning Rebel (>)
Run Thru
Rollin Back (>)
Just One Thing (first time since 2018)
Steam Engine (with M. Ward)
One in the Same (first time since 2018)

Encore:
Victory Dance
Least Expected (>)
The Way That He Sings
Honest Man
Feel You
Slow Slow Tune (>)
Smokin’ From Shootin’ (>)
Gideon
Wordless Chorus

Editors’ Note: “It Still Moves” 20th anniversary show; portions of “Wordless Chorus”, “At Dawn”, “Butch Cassidy”, “Feelin’ Alright?”, “Highly Suspicious” and “Cobra” were played during soundcheck.

AUGUST 26TH

Setlist:
Anytime
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1
Spring (Among the Living) (Beatles “Dear Prudence” outro)
Evil Urges (>)
War Begun (>)
At Dawn (with M. Ward)
First Ligh
It’s About Twilight Now (>)
The Dark
Lay Low
Only Memories Remain
Butch Cassidy (>)
The Wind (Cat Stevens cover) (first time played)
Regularly Scheduled Programming
Circuital
Feelin’ Alright? (Traffic cover) (with Nathaniel Rateliff)
Wasted

Encore:
Cobra (Pt. 1>)
Highly Suspicious
Cobra (Pt. 2>)
Off the Record (with M. Ward) (>)
Cobra (Pt. 3>)
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2
Cobra (Pt. 4>)
Holdin on to Black Metal
Love Love Love

My Morning Jacket with Nathaniel Rateliff

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, First Times, Show Experience Tagged With: Bob Dylan, Bonnaroo, Cat Stevens, Hollywood Bowl, Hulaween, Jim James, M. Ward, My Morning Jacket, Nathaniel Rateliff, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Phish, Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Spontaneous Curation Series, Suwannee Hulaween, The Gorge, The Gorge Amphitheatre, The Peach Music Festival, Traffic, U2, Umphrey's McGee, Widespread Panic

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2022

December 30, 2022 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

After seeing what the live music industry endured the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was certainly a step in the right direction. For many artists and bands, this year marked the first since 2019 that they had the opportunity to step onstage — and that was a victory in and of itself.

While we aren’t completely out of the woods yet considering the coronavirus is still very much a part of our lives, there’s no signs of us returning to those dark and dire days of 2020. The shows simply must go on, and we are all better for it whether you’re a musician or just a fan.

Now as we turn to 2023 with cautious optimism, it’s time for us to share our annual “Best of” lists as we have done since this blog first began (see our 2021 picks here). We’ll be quick to admit we didn’t catch every show or hear all of the albums released in the past 12 months, but looking back on the year that was can not only be fun but also challenging with so much great music to consider.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2022.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2022:

Tool at Viejas Arena // Photo by Josh Herwitt

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. My Morning Jacket at Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO – August 26th-27th
2022 will go down as easily one of my favorite years for live music. So many of the artists and bands I love toured after being forced to sit on the sidelines for at least two years, and as I look back on all of the shows I was fortunate enough to witness, it would be a shame to not mention the ones that aren’t already included here, whether it was Eddie Vedder, Baroness, Royal Blood, Interpol and The Shins at Just Like Heaven, Jack White (two nights), The Kills, Puscifer on my big day, Fleet Foxes, Big Gigantic Telefon Tel Aviv, Moderat, Khruangbin and Arctic Monkeys — plus Lorde — at the debut of Primavera Sound LA, The Mars Volta, Bonobo, Foals, Modest Mouse performing The Lonesome Crowded West from start to finish to celebrate the LP’s 25th anniversary or The Smile closing out their North America tour. But this year’s No. 1 spot once again goes to My Morning Jacket, which have become my top live band over the last decade among some very stiff competition (see the rest of the bands listed below to get a better idea). With back-to-back dates in SoCal at the Santa Barbara Bowl and Hollywood Forever (read our review here) serving as a preview for what would come the following week, the Louisville-bred rockers left no stone unturned in their return to Red Rocks. If there was ever an act to catch — not once but twice — at the legendary amphitheater after visiting it more than a dozen times in my life so far, this was the one for me and MMJ proved it over two sold-out gigs with no repeats as always.

2. The War on Drugs at Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles, CA – February 26th
3. Pearl Jam at The Forum – Inglewood, CA – May 6th
4. Tool at Viejas Arena – San Diego, CA – January 19th
5. Nine Inch Nails at Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA – September 13th

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
It wasn’t until last year during a surprise performance for the concert video “Live at Worthy Farm” when we first learned of the latest side project from Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. But after putting out six singles off their debut LP that came out back in May, it was clear the three-piece wasn’t messing around. Across all 13 tracks on A Light for Attracting Attention, it’s safe to say there isn’t one worth skipping, reaffirming why Yorke remains one of the best songwriters out there in the last 30 years. And with him and Greenwood switching off between guitar, bass and synthesizer among a bevy of other instrumentation including vocoder, piano and harp, their talents are as palpable as they have ever been before. After all, hearing Yorke croon “Don’t mess with me” toward the beginning of “The Smoke” is an edict — literal or not — many would have a tough time disputing at this point.

2. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
3. Jack White – Fear of the Dawn
4. My Morning Jacket – MMJ Live Vol. 2: Chicago 2021
5. Bonobo – Fragments

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. The Mars Volta – “Graveyard Love”
For fans of The Mars Volta, it has been a long wait since Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala hit the studio to record new material. Even with the project’s two constant members on good terms these days, it took more than a decade before anything would enter our earholes. But despite many of the prog-rock tendencies it demonstrated on earlier albums dating all the way back to 2003’s seminal De-Loused in the Comatorium, the duo’s seventh studio effort delves unexpectedly into new sonic territory. With a pop aesthetic running through it that surprisingly sees no song surpass the five-minute mark, The Mars Volta will undoubtedly be looked at as a departure from the days of “Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus” and “Cassandra Gemini” when Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala were captivating At the Drive-In fans as well as new listeners. Nevertheless, its second single “Graveyard Love” stands tall as some of their best work to date and reminds us that these guys haven’t lost what made them so uniquely special.

2. The Smile – “Thin Thing”
3. Jack White – “Eosophobia”
4. Interpol – “Toni”
5. Moderat – “EASY PREY”

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. Yard Act at Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA – April 21st
Funny story about this show … I had been hearing a lot of buzz about Yard Act, and I had only listened to one song played a few times on KEXP, which I really dug. I had been on the Rickshaw Stop’s email list, and the venue ran a contest for free tickets. I happened to win so I took a chance and opted to see Yard Act’s show that same week. Wanting to familiarize myself with their material more, I immediately dove head first into their album and was totally hooked, so I felt really good about this turn of events. I hadn’t been to a gig at Rickshaw Stop in many years and was eager to visit again, so it felt great to be back in a packed room again for an intimate evening of punk rock. The opening act Buzzed Light Beer fell a bit flat in my humble opinion, but once Yard Act took the stage, the room started buzzing with life. Lead singer James Smith’s command of the crowd is very nonchalant, but he also knows he has you hanging on every word. The set was fun and well-executed, and the UK quartet was clearly on its “A” game after a lengthy run of shows and in between weekend performances at Coachella. Much to the chagrin of those in attendance, Smith kept referring to the audience as “San Diego” (LOL), though he did tell us that he had some mushrooms the night before, so … you know. To round things out, Smith offered to do a magic trick during the last song of Yard Act’s set before their encore and coaxed fans to hand over any loose bills they had, which he pocketed and took backstage. As it turns out, he actually gifted the money to the bar staff, which I felt was a nice touch and very much on-brand.

2. THE FEST 20 – Gainesville, FL – October 28th–30th
3. Coheed & Cambria at Greek Theatre Berkeley – Berkeley, CA – August 14th
4. Bauhaus at The Masonic – San Francisco, CA – May 22nd
5. The Velvet Teen at Arlene Francis Center – Santa Rosa, CA – June 17th

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. Pilot to Gunner – Hail Hallucinator
Brooklyn indie rockers Pilot to Gunner hadn’t put out an album for a decade, and to be honest, I hadn’t really paid much attention to them prior to Hail Hallucinator. The name was always out there and I had friends who were really into them, but I never got around to checking out their music for one reason or another. And not unlike many other bands that came before them (i.e. Seaweed, Far, The Murder City Devils), I am bummed that I was so late to the party. They are absolutely fantastic, and this record was easily my most listened-to during 2022. From start to finish, the 10-track LP hit all the marks for me in terms of stellar songwriting, original-sounding guitar work that still feels familiar and vocals carrying the torch of the early 2000’s indie/emo revival sound ala Hey Mercedes and Jimmy Eat World all while not completely aping either group. “Drop the Sun”, “We’re Blasting to Masses”, “Total Rager” and “Escape Season” are among its best tracks, but I simply love all of them from beginning to end.

2. Thee Sacred Souls – Thee Sacred Souls
3. Yard Act – The Overload
4. Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems
5. High Vis – Blending

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. 3rd Secret – “I Choose Me”
The supergroup 3rd Secret surprised the music world when their debut self-titled LP arrived in mid-April. Comprised of members from Nirvana, Soundgarden, Hater and Giants in the Trees, the album is a tour de force brought to you by grunge and alt-rock royalty. Its lead single “I Choose Me” turns things up and right out of the gate you can’t help but feel a little washed over with nostalgia from guitarist Kim Thayil’s signature riffage in addition to the thundering cadence courtesy of bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Matt Cameron. What makes the song — and the album — stand out to me, however, is the work of co-vocalists Jillian Raye and Jennifer Johnson. The pair deliver gorgeous singing atop the otherwise gritty instrumentation, harkening back to what made so many 90’s albums awesome with a beautiful balance of dark and light. I kept coming back to this song a lot throughout the year, and it made me really reflect on just how incredible the music that came out of the Pacific Northwest was when I was growing up. To hear this collection of musicians conjuring up those aural ghosts through a contemporary filter was not only refreshing, but also something that I was really looking for in 2022.

2. Yard Act – “The Overload”
3. Thee Sacred Souls – “Can I Call You Rose?”
4. Cave In – “New Reality”
5. High Vis – “0151”

Animal Collective at Greek Theatre // Photo by Rochelle Shipman

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. PUP at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – April 21st
Two years and one full length after this show was originally supposed to occur, LA finally got to see PUP perform on their “Thank Fucking God” tour. Worth the wait would be a major understatement here as the Canadian punks transported us back to pre-pandemic times like nothing had ever happened — we were touching, we were screaming, we were moshing again! The night had such an innocent air to it. Despite the delay, 2019’s Morbid Stuff felt fresher than ever (and it still does).

2. Yaya Bey at Cafe Erzulie – Brooklyn, NY – June 16th
3. Animal Collective at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – May 20th
4. Vince Staples at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – August 23rd
5. Bright Eyes at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – June 23rd

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. Lando Chill – if im being honest
The multi-hyphenate who’s based out of LA quietly dropped this mixtape early in the year, and it stood strong in my top spot from the start. With a sharp wit and silky delivery, Chill tears through pages of his diary without cutting a single corner. Thank God for vulnerability.

2. Smino – Luv 4 Rent
3. Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry
4. Yaya Bey – Remember Your North Star
5. Open Mike Eagle – Component System with the Auto Reverse

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
An earworm for the ages! This impossibly catchy tune took over TikTok and catapulted Mr. Lacy into the spotlight that he was born to occupy, whether he was ready for it or not. The cherry on top of his banner year was the singer-songwriter’s old iPhone (aka his instrument) landing on display in the Smithsonian.

2. Lando Chill – “guess”
3. Leggy – “Lipstick on the Mic”
4. Pusha T – “Brambleton”
5. Channel Tres – “Acid in My Blood”

Filed Under: Best of 2022, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: 3rd Secret, Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys, Arlene Francis Center, At the Drive-In, Baroness, Bauhaus, Big Gigantic, Bonobo, Bright Eyes, Buzzed Light Beer, Cafe Erzulie, Cave In, Channel Tres, Coheed & Cambria, Eddie Vedder, Far, Fleet Foxes, FOALS, Giants in the Trees, Greek Theatre, Greek Theatre Berkeley, Hater, Hey Mercedes, High Vis, Hollywood Forever, Interpol, Jack White, Jimmy Eat World, Jonny Greenwood, Just Like Heaven, Just Like Heaven 2022, Kendrick Lamar, Khruangbin, Lando Chill, Leggy, Moderat, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Open Mike Eagle, Peaches, Pearl Jam, Pilot To Gunner, Primavera Sound LA, Primavera Sound LA 2022, Primavera Sound Los Angeles, Primavera Sound Los Angeles 2022, Pup, Puscifer, Pusha T, Radiohead, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Rickshaw Stop, Royal Blood, Santa Barbara Bowl, Seaweed, Shrine Auditorium, Smino, Smithsonian, Soul Glo, Soundgarden, Steve Lacy, Telefon Tel Aviv, THE FEST 20, The Fonda Theatre, The Forum, The Kills, The Mars Volta, The Masonic, The Murder City Devils, The Shins, The Smile, The Velvet Teen, The War on Drugs, Thee Sacred Souls, Thom Yorke, Tool, Trent Reznor, Viejas Arena, Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl, Vince Staples, Yard Act, Yaya Bey, YouTube Theater

Ahead of their Red Rocks shows, My Morning Jacket are firing on all cylinders after rocking the Santa Barbara Bowl & Hollywood Forever

August 22, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket //
Santa Barbara Bowl & Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Santa Barbara & Los Angeles
August 16th & 17th, 2022 //

When My Morning Jacket made the “deeply painful” decision to cancel their three-night New Year’s run at the Mission Ballroom in Denver last year with the COVID-19 pandemic still wreaking havoc thanks to the rise of the omicron variant, it was a gut punch for the Louisville rockers and their most diehard fans, many of whom were traveling from out of state to see them.

But more than six weeks later, the five-piece would announce its 2022 tour encompassing 33 dates with most of the venues booked, not surprisingly, being at outdoor amphitheaters and/or open spaces with a lawn. Keeping everyone’s safety in mind has always been the band’s priority first and foremost, and with the spring and summer bringing us the warmest months of the year, there was no way MMJ were going to further risk experiencing any cancellations during what we’ve dubbed as “outdoor concert season.”

And yet even with all the precautions that had been taken by everyone, it still wasn’t enough to prevent more COVID misfortune when frontman Jim James tested positive in June, just a day before the band’s two hometown shows — its first in six years — were scheduled to take place. While the news had MMJ fans once again feeling bummed about the state of live music after the last two-plus years, James (lead vocals, guitar) and his bandmates in Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone, backing vocals) have certainly put that behind them now after taking more than a month off from touring during July and part of August.

Believe it or not, MMJ in many ways sound better than they ever have after witnessing two of their three performances in California, starting with a return to the Santa Barbara Bowl last Tuesday only 11 months after their last visit (read our show review here) and continuing the following night in LA among the many celebrities now deceased — even “Toto” from the “Wizard of Oz” — at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

James, for one, has always sounded great at the mic and with a guitar in his hands, but he’s also never looked more at ease onstage despite his recent bout with the virus, shedding the big pair of sunglasses he once donned (as you can see here) for the naked eye — a clear sign that MMJ’s primary songwriter isn’t hiding from us if he ever was trying to previously.

Arriving in Santa Barbara two days after making a stop at Frost Amphitheater on the campus of Stanford University, the clock hit 7:30 p.m. and MMJ went to work, diving straight into their self-titled LP that came out last October with “Never in the Real World”. James and company didn’t wait long at all to turn up the volume, however, with “Lay Low” subsequently sending the crowd into a frenzy early on. The six-minute track off 2005’s seminal Z has always been a personal favorite of mine to hear live and would quickly set the tone for the rest of the evening.

For a band that has always put an emphasis on mixing up its setlists and will rarely perform songs in the same order though, it was a couple of cuts on its debut album The Tennessee Fire that were surprising to hear midway through its standard 2 1/2-hour set. In fact, it was the first time this year — and just the fifth over the last five years — that MMJ have played “I Will Be There When You Die” while the acoustic “If All Else Fails” has been heard on solely a handful of occasions so far in 2022.

While other highlights in Santa Barbara included an extended version of “Steam Engine” with Broemel trading his axe for the sax at one point and just the third time “I Never Could Get Enough” has made it onto a setlist, it was the Hollywood show that grabbed more of the MMJ fanbase’s attention. Of course, the heightened interest around it was somewhat understandable considering that it’s not every day you get to catch a concert inside a cemetery, let alone one where rock icons like Johnny Ramone and Chris Cornell are buried, but the setting was, at most, half the story on The Fairbanks Lawn as day eventually turned to night.

Breathing life into “What a Wonderful Man” and James’ own “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” for only the second time this year and first since the jam-adjacent group’s three-day “One Big Holiday” destination event back in March, we had hoped that MMJ would be setting up for a special finish down the stretch and that’s exactly what they gifted us with a 17-minute “Dondante” that conjured up some major disco vibes. With the Z finale serving as one of several tunes MMJ has been known to stretch out when they perform live, it felt rather fitting to hear what James wrote after the passing of his late bandmate Aaron Todovich while being surrounded by a bunch of tombstones.

Even though MMJ had more music lined up for us before hitting the road for New Mexico, that was all many of us needed to hear to be satisfied. After waiting almost a decade for another “Dondante” in LA since their epic, three-night run at The Wiltern, everything else that ensued — from the one-two punch of “Wasted” and “Dancefloors” to a more abbreviated encore featuring “Wordless Chorus” and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” that ended things on a spooky note — was gravy. After all, this is an act that has always kept its fans on their toes, and as MMJ gear up this weekend for their most significant shows of the tour with two sold-out nights at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, there’s no telling what’s in store when James steps into what he has coined “the birth canal of the universe.” Call it whatever you want Mr. James because either way, we’ll be there for it when the lights go down and the first note is struck.

SANTA BARBARA BOWL

Setlist:
Never in the Real World
Lay Low
Compound Fracture
Least Expected
Mahgeetah
Feel You
Victory Dance
Gideon
Holdin On to Black Metal
I Will Be There When You Die
If All Else Fails
Tropics (Erase Traces)
Spring (Among the Living)
Steam Engine
I Never Could Get Enough
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1
Love Love Love
Complex
One Big Holiday

Encore:
In Color
Circuital
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2
Wordless Chorus

HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY

Setlist:
Feel You
What a Wonderful Man
Off the Record
I Will Sing You Songs
Victory Dance
Evil Urges
Golden (dedicated to “Toto” from “The Wizard of Oz”)
I’m Amazed
Spring (Among the Living)
Complex
One Big Holiday
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.) (Jim James song)
Love Love Love
Least Expected
Circuital
Dondante
Wasted
Dancefloors

Encore:
Wordless Chorus
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2

My Morning Jacket at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Chris Cornell, Frost Amphitheater, Hollywood Forever, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Jim James, Johnny Ramone, Joy Oladokun, Mission Ballroom, My Morning Jacket, One Big Holiday, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Santa Barbara Bowl, Soundgarden, The Ramones, The Wiltern

The War on Drugs prove in Adam Granduciel’s new hometown why they deserved to win a Grammy more than four years ago

March 4, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

The War on Drugs //
Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles
February 26th, 2022 //

What can you say about Adam Granduciel that hasn’t already been said or written?

Let’s just cut to the chase then: the guy keeps getting better and better with age. And though he might give off the impression that he’s a tad bit older than the 43 years he just turned last month thanks to all of those late nights writing songs in his bedroom or at the studio, Granduciel has continued to push the band he formed in Philadelphia more than 17 years ago to new and greater heights.

The War on Drugs’ foray into music’s mainstream has been a slow churn dating all the way back to 2005 before it culminated four years ago when they beat out a number of hard-rock heavyweights in Metallica, Mastodon, Queens of the Stone Age and Nothing More to win the Grammy for “Best Rock Album” at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.

It was a career-defining moment for the group that’s heartland sound has centered around Granduciel’s fascination with Bob Dylan — an enthusiasm for the legendary folk singer-songwriter that he and fellow Philly-bred indie rocker Kurt Vile shared when they first started playing together in each other’s projects — and continued with his love for Bruce Springsteen. (There’s also a hint of Rod Stewart and Tom Petty in Granduciel’s work for good measure.)

Six months prior, I had caught The War on Drugs at Apogee Studio for KCRW’s Apogee Sessions (read our review here), and after hearing them preview a few songs off A Deeper Understanding that evening, it was right then and there that I knew the album was well deserving of some significant hardware.

But following 2014’s seminal Lost in the Dream — the band’s third album which might be arguably better than its award-winning follow-up — with another 10-track masterpiece, Granduciel had done what only a few are capable of these days, particularly in the rock space, by creating an emotional, yet timeless gem for our earholes to bathe in.

With little room to go up from there, Granduciel certainly had a challenge on his hands when it was time to make another LP. It wasn’t just that he had become a father to his son Bruce (yes, he really is named after the Boss) in 2019 and officially moved to LA’s San Fernando Valley shortly thereafter even if those were two major life changes, but the expectations surrounding The War on Drugs’ next studio effort had only grown even more since the last one.

For Granduciel, it didn’t matter. He went back to the grind and delivered once again. What resulted after hours at his Burbank rehearsal space with engineer and producer Shawn Everett was I Don’t Live Here Anymore, which arrived back in October and peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200. It’s another record worthy of high praise — in fact, I ranked it my favorite album last year (see our 2021 picks here) — and at the same time more accessible than its predecessors.

What makes The War on Drugs’ albums so great, however, is that you can just let them run. There’s no need to skip a track as one flows right into the next, and I Don’t Live Here Anymore follows suit much in the same way Lost in the Dream and A Deeper Understanding do. And as Granduciel seemingly settled into his new environs with music videos filmed in California for “Living Proof” and the title track featuring Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, I was eager to hear the new material with an audience on hand.

So when The War on Drugs announced a tour for 2022 last summer and scheduled only one show in 2021 at Desert Daze, I knew their gig in LA at the Shrine Auditorium would feel even that much more special given Granduciel’s story but also because it was the final U.S. date before the band heads to Europe for a month. While that fact wouldn’t completely hold up with The War on Drugs replacing My Morning Jacket at Innings Festival the ensuing day, they made sure to offer quite a proper 2 1/2-hour concert experience for the nearly capacity crowd inside the landmark venue of 6,300.

Granduciel (vocals, guitars, harmonica, keyboards, samplers) and his cohorts — David Hartley (bass, backing vocals), Robbie Bennett (keyboards, piano, guitar), Charlie Hall (drums, organ), Jon Natchez (saxophone, keyboards), Anthony LaMarca (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and Eliza Hardy Jones (keyboards, backing vocals) — were treating us to “An Evening of LIVE DRUGS” and most were happy to oblige. That meant “Old Skin” leading things off with “Pain” batting second. “An Ocean in Between the Waves” never disappoints, and slotting it third before one of the highlights off I Don’t Live Here Anymore in “I Don’t Wanna Wait” created a huge wave of momentum that The War on Drugs carried through the rest of the set, which boasted “Strangest Thing” and “Red Eyes” back to back, another new standout in “Harmonia’s Dream” that has been extended live and an appearance by Lucius as expected with Wolfe and Laessig leaving their East Coast origins for the City of Angels a few years ago.

When it came time to take things up a notch, Granduciel turned to “Under the Pressure” as still one of the most shining achievements in his ever-expanding repertoire. That’s not to say what came after — the previously unreleased “Ocean of Darkness” that didn’t make it onto I Don’t Live Here Anymore but was debuted during The War on Drugs’ performance on “The Tonight Show” in 2020 — didn’t carry the same weight, because in many ways it did considering the song has only been played live seven times in total so far.

After taking a couple nights off in Portland and San Francisco, “In Reverse” subsequently returned to the setlist and propelled us into a short-lived encore break that only lasted a minute or two. Granduciel, after all, had more to get to before saying goodbye, as he used “Thinking of a Place” to jumpstart a four-song finish that included a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Born in Time” and “Comin’ Through” from The War on Drugs’ 2010 EP Future Weather to mark only the second time fans got to hear it on this tour and since 2019.

Granduciel isn’t one for much stage banter, and after one last thank you, he broke into I Don’t Live Here Anymore finale “Occasional Rain” to take us all home. Even though it has served as The War on Drugs’ closer for several shows on this tour, the title seemed rather appropriate in a city as dry as LA where we haven’t seen a whole lot of precipitation this winter.

People often say the phrase “when it rains, it pours” when they experience a barrage of misfortune all at the same time. In Granduciel’s case notwithstanding, the past eight years have been one big downpour of success for The War on Drugs. Now with the band at an all-time high, it doesn’t appear that the storm Granduciel has been riding will be letting up anytime soon.

Setlist:
Old Skin
Pain
An Ocean in Between the Waves
I Don’t Wanna Wait
Victim
Strangest Thing
Red Eyes
Living Proof
Harmonia’s Dream
Your Love Is Calling My Name
Come to the City
Rings Around My Father’s Eyes
I Don’t Live Here Anymore (with Lucius)
Under the Pressure
Ocean of Darkness
In Reverse

Encore:
Thinking of a Place
Born in Time (Bob Dylan cover)
Comin’ Through
Occasional Rain

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Holly Laessig, Innings Festival, Jess Wolfe, Lucius, Mastodon, Metallica, My Morning Jacket, Nothing More, Queens of the Stone Age, Rod Stewart, Shrine Auditorium, Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, The War on Drugs

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2021

December 28, 2021 by The Bam Team 3 Comments

The past 12 months have been interesting to say the least. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the world after almost two years, 2021 did prove to be a little better than its predecessor on the calendar and a big reason for that was undoubtedly the return of live music during the second half of this year. For so many of us after being locked down at home, just having the chance to attend a concert or festival in person again provided some sense of normalcy to our everyday lives.

But as we look forward to hopefully better days in 2022, it’s time for us to unveil our annual “Best of” lists like we have done since this blog first began (see our 2020 picks here). No, we didn’t have time to catch every show or hear all of the albums released in the last 365 days, but forcing ourselves to make difficult decisions can be a fun exercise that helps us reflect on the year in music before turning the page.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2021.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2021:

My Morning Jacket (Jim James) at Santa Barbara Bowl

My Morning Jacket at Santa Barbara Bowl // Photo by Josh Herwitt

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2021
1. My Morning Jacket at Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA – September 23rd
Almost six years had passed since the last time Jim James and company performed at one of Southern California’s best music venues, but after surviving 18 months without witnessing any live music, the wait for MMJ’s return to the stage felt even longer. Fortunately for us, the Louisville-bred quintet brought its A game to kick off a string of West Coast dates and powered through a collection of 23 songs at the Santa Barbara Bowl that included the emotive “In Color” off the band’s new self-titled album as well as “Where to Begin” from the “Elizabethtown” soundtrack. MMJ have earned a reputation over the years as one of the best live acts still out there, and they certainly validated that claim with a 2.5-hour performance that made the 90-mile drive from LA on a weeknight totally worth it.

2. Modest Mouse at The Theatre at Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA – September 25th
3. Caribou at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – November 15th
4. Lord Huron at Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA – September 30th
5. Primus “A Tribute to Kings” at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – October 17th

Top 5 Albums of 2021
1. The War on Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
What can we say about Adam Granduciel that hasn’t already been said? After composing and producing The War on Drugs’ best material during his previous two trips into the studio with the latter effort winning a Grammy, we knew it would be tough for the Philadelphia native to match that same level of excellence attained in 2014 and 2017 with Lost in the Dream and A Deeper Understanding. And though I Don’t Live Here Anymore doesn’t quite get there, it marks another LP from Granduciel and his cohorts that you can listen straight through from start to finish without skipping a track. Because in an era when our attention spans have been shrunk thanks in large part to technology, that’s something we should all applaud.

2. Modest Mouse – The Golden Casket
3. DARKSIDE – Spiral
4. My Morning Jacket – My Morning Jacket
5. Royal Blood – Typhoons

Top 5 Songs of 2021
1. Royal Blood – “Boilermaker”
The English alt-rock duo comprised of lead singer/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher shared “Boilermaker” in the lead-up to releasing its third full length this year, and the promotional single certainly stands out from the pack as one of the best songs on Typhoons. Produced by Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme, it opens with Kerr’s fuzzed-out riff and quickly builds into a head-banging anthem over the course of three and a half minutes. If you haven’t heard it before, just make sure to also check out the badass music video that’s directed by and stars Liam Lynch. Enjoy!

2. My Morning Jacket – “In Color”
3. Modest Mouse – “Walking and Running”
4. The War on Drugs – “I Don’t Wanna Wait”
5. Bonobo – “Rosewood”

Favorite remix: Four Tet – “Never Come Back” (Caribou)

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2021
1. Kowloon Walled City at The Golden Bull – Oakland, CA – November 30th
Regardless of the fact that I didn’t go to many shows this year, this would have likely been my No. 1 even if I went to more. I had only recently been turned on to Kowloon Walled City, but I was immediately drawn to their heavy sound and they proved to replicate that sonic fury live. The Golden Bull is a nice, intimate setting for live music, and the fact that KWC were able to dial in such a balanced sound at a small club made a huge difference given how BIG they sound on their studio albums. Everyone was fixated on the band throughout its entire set, and I barely noticed anyone looking at a phone — one of the modern-day signs of a great show.

2. Quicksand at Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA – October 15th
3. Bad Religion & Alkaline Trio at The Masonic – San Francisco, CA – November 24th
4. The Slackers & The Aggrolites at Cornerstone Berkeley – Berkeley, CA – December 9th
5. Lagwagon with Red City Radio & Decent Criminal at Bottom of the Hill – San Francisco, CA – November 4th

Top 5 Albums of 2021
1. Quicksand – Distant Populations
During a turbulent time like what we’ve all been collectively experiencing since last year, I think this album resonated with me so much because Quicksand has always been such a solid standby. Distant Populations is heavy in all of the right ways without being abrasive while also effectively showcasing Walter Schreifels’ dynamic song-crafting abilities. Quicksand aren’t necessarily breaking the mold here, but they’re a band that had already set the bar high with their earlier albums and this LP is an excellent continuation of their contribution to the hardcore scene.

2. Turnstile – Glow On
3. IDLES – Crawler
4. Kowloon Walled City – Piecework
5. Snail Mail – Valentine

Top 5 Songs of 2021
1. IDLES – “The Wheel”
I love how IDLES have the ability to take a song about a heavy subject like chemical dependency and turn it into an absolutely infectious banger. “The Wheel” is a perfect example of this, leaving you drawn in and tapping your foot while giving you something to ponder. The way that it can make you feel equal parts uplifted and uncomfortable is part of the appeal to me, and this was easily one of my most played songs of the year.

2. Decent Criminal – “Reap”
3. The Dirty Nil – “Doom Boy”
4. Kills Birds – “Rabbit”
5. Snail Mail – “Valentine”

Adam Schatz at The Gold Room // Photo by Rochelle Shipman

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2021
1. Adam Schatz at The Gold Room – Los Angeles, CA – November 18th
The Landlady frontman actually served as the opener on this night, but armed with little more than his saxophone, keyboards and loops, it’s safe to say Schatz stole the entire show. Fresh off a tour playing with Japanese Breakfast, he stepped onstage and quite literally let loose. It was the most refreshing, freeform, organic set full of wit and wonder, offering a sharp reminder why we need to protect the live music space (and to buy the killer album Landlady put out this year, too).

2. Foxx Bodies with Suzie True & Lando Chill at Resident DTLA – Los Angeles, CA – November 7th
3. Islands at Lodge Room – Los Angeles, CA – September 9th
4. Spoon at Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA – September 28th
5. Armand Hammer & The Alchemist at Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA – September 19th

Top 5 Albums of 2021
1. Foxx Bodies – Vixen
The raw emotions that come through Foxx Bodies’ debut on indie label Kill Rock Stars grabbed me by the ankles and knocked me off my feet the first time I heard it. For an album that explores everything from mental illness, sexual abuse, eating disorders, gender fluidity and beyond, it’s equally shocking how upbeat and uplifting it comes off. It’s part empowering riot grrrl and part rollicking surf punk, full confessional. Trigger warning: it will change your life.

2. Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
3. Tyler, the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost
4. Backxwash – I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
5. Noga Erez – KIDS

Top 5 Songs of 2021
1. Hiatus Kaiyote – “Red Room”
This song is the antithesis to 2021. It’s so warm and beautiful, so intimate as though it was conceived in a world where social distancing doesn’t even exist. Nai Palm’s soft, raspy vocals envelop you, and the uncharacteristically subtle sounds (for Hiatus Kaiyote) deliver perhaps the most consistent semblance of peace felt this year.

2. Olivia Rodrigo – “Brutal”
3. Foxx Bodies – “BPD”
4. Yaya Bey – “fxck it then”
5. Little Simz feat. Cleo Sol – “Woman”

Favorite remix: Kari Faux feat. J.I.D – “While God Was Sleepin’… (Remix)”

Filed Under: Best of 2021, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: A Tribute to Kings, Ace Hotel, Adam Schatz, Alkaline Trio, Armand Hammer, Backxwash, Bad Religion, Best of 2021, Bonobo, Bottom of the Hill, Caribou, Cleo Sol, Cornerstone Berkeley, Darkside, Decent Criminal, Echoplex, Four Tet, Foxx Bodies, Golden Bull, Great American Music Hall, Greek Theatre, Hiatus Kaiyote, Hollywood Forever, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, IDLES, Islands, J.I.D., Japanese Breakfast, Kari Faux, Kills Birds, Kowloon Walled City, Lagwagon, Landlady, Lando Chill, Little Simz, Lodge Room, Lord Huron, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Noga Erez, Olivia Rodrigo, Primus, Quicksand, Red City Radio, Resident DTLA, Royal Blood, Rush, Santa Barbara Bowl, Snail Mail, Spoon, Suzie True, Teragram Ballroom, The Aggrolites, The Alchemist, The Dirty Nil, The Gold Room, The Golden Bull, The Masonic, The Slackers, The Teragram Ballroom, The Theatre at Ace Hotel, The War on Drugs, Turnstile, Tyler the Creator, Yaya Bey

My Morning Jacket spotlight the long-awaited return of live music to SoCal with a powerful performance at the Santa Barbara Bowl

September 28, 2021 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket with Durand Jones & The Indications //
Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
September 23rd, 2021 //

The past 18 months have been hard to say the least. No matter how you’re feeling at this moment in time, the COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably created additional issues and stressors for many folks while also taking away some of the things we enjoy most about life.

And for those of us who love live music, its absence has been quite a blow to the psyche.

If anything, being locked down at home for more than a year has only made us long for the thrill of watching an artist or band command an audience’s attention and completely mesmerize its fans.

Yet with so much uncertainty still in the world, it’s almost surreal to think that concerts have finally made their return. Yes, you’ll need to offer proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status or a negative test within 48-72 hours, but it sure beats tuning into another livestream from your couch.

So when My Morning Jacket announced a 23-date jaunt across the U.S. for the second half of 2021 that included a stop at the always-exquisite Santa Barbara Bowl where we caught them nearly six years ago (read our review here), I knew that was one show I couldn’t miss and boy, am I glad that I didn’t.

The Louisville-bred rockers are back on the road touring in support of their forthcoming self-titled LP — and ninth studio album — this October after releasing The Waterfall II in 2020, and they wasted no time reminding us of that fact by beginning with its first single “Regularly Scheduled Programming” to follow what was an upbeat and soulful opening set from Durand Jones & The Indications.

But this headlining performance on the second day of the fall season was as much about the quintet’s new material, including the slow burn of “In Color” for our very first listen of the My Morning Jacket cut, as it was a golden — pun intended since the It Still Moves track by the same name made it onto the setlist this night — opportunity for 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) to put their expansive catalog on display.

MMJ, after all, gifted us not only both parts of “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream” but also hair-raising renditions of “Lay Low”, “One Big Holiday”, “It Beats 4 U”, Spring (Among the Living) and “Anytime” while James belted out the lyrics to songs like “Wordless Chorus” (with the disco ball in full effect), “Circuital” and “Feel You” that reaffirmed why he has had one of the best voices in rock, if not all of music, for more than two decades now.

When it came time for the encore though, James and company once again delivered the goods to a crowded amphitheater that was already brimming with excitement. Starting with fan favorite “Victory Dance” before transitioning into “Off the Record” from their seminal record Z, they offered “Where to Begin” on the “Elizabethtown” soundtrack for the first time since 2015. Nonetheless, that brief respite was quickly countered with a final rush of blood to the head that featured “Wasted”, “Run Thru” and “Dancefloors” as the clock struck 10 p.m. to mark the Bowl’s early curfew time.

Cruising back down U.S. 101 to Los Angeles later that evening, I reflected on the last year without live music and how rough it has been to not see some of my favorite acts in the flesh. But after witnessing more than two hours of pure sonic bliss at one of the best venues along the West Coast, I am beyond grateful that there’s MMJ to welcome us all home again.

Setlist:
Regularly Scheduled Programming
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1
Wordless Chorus
Circuital
Lay Low
I’m Amazed (Jim and Carl solo, then full band)
Evil Urges
Golden
Feel You
Climbing the Ladder
One Big Holiday
In Color
It Beats 4 U
Love Love Love
Spring (Among the Living) (>)
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2
Anytime

Encore:
Victory Dance
Off the Record
Where to Begin (last played 11/25/2015)
Wasted (>)
Run Thru (End>)
Dancefloors

Durand Jones & The Indications - Santa Barbara Bowl

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Durand Jones, Durand Jones & The Indications, Jim James, My Morning Jacket, Santa Barbara Bowl

Ohana Festival adds ‘Encore’ weekend for 2021 with Pearl Jam, Beck, Brandi Carlile & more on the bill

July 19, 2021 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

Ohana Encore //
Doheny State Beach – Dana Point, CA
October 1st-2nd, 2021 //

Well, Ohana fam … if you thought this year’s event was shaping up to be something special, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

The music festival founded by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder in 2016 has already shared an updated roster for its fifth installment in September after postponing the festivities 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that’s actually only half of the fun now.

Yes, that’s right. Ohana Festival has announced a second event for 2021 that will take place the ensuing weekend and follow what’s sure to be an epic three days in Dana Point. And if you happen to be a Pearl Jam fan, then you’re in for a real treat.

Who’s staying for the Encore? 🌴 Tickets on sale Friday 7/23 at 10am PT at https://t.co/EXskNAnoPQ pic.twitter.com/I6bKYW6ZjO

— The Ohana Fest (@TheOhanaFest) July 19, 2021

Leading the way will be the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band for two more days at Doheny State Beach, headlining a lineup that will also include Beck, Brandi Carlile (who is already slated to perform Sunday at Ohana Festival), Lord Huron, Sleater-Kinney, White Reaper, Margo Price, ZZ Ward, NHC (a supergroup featuring Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and bassist Chris Chaney as well as Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins), Pluralone (former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer’s project), Amythyst Kiah and a few more acts.

The “Encore” session, as you can see from the poster above, plans to once again lean heavily in the direction of rock ‘n’ roll but will still showcase flashes of indie folk, alt-country and even punk to round out an eclectic edition that boasts must-see sets by My Morning Jacket, Maggie Rogers, Sharon Van Etten, Durand Jones & The Indications, Mac Demarco, Wild Belle and Real Estate the week prior.

While three-day GA passes for Ohana Festival sold out months ago, weekend and single-day tickets for Ohana Encore will go on sale this Friday, July 23rd here for $275 and $138.50, respectively, plus fees. VIP, furthermore, can be purchased for $950 and $499.50 unless you’re willing to drop a small fortune of $7,000 for the Ultimate VIP+ Admission Pass. If you haven’t seen Pearl Jam before or you missed out on getting tickets to Ohana Festival, this is a great opportunity for fans of the Seattle grunge outfit to end their summers on a high note after spending most of 2020 at home.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Amythyst Kiah, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Chris Chaney, Dave Navarro, Durand Jones & The Indications, Foo Fighters, Jane's Addiction, Joe Wong, Josh Klinghoffer, Lord Huron, Mac Demarco, Maggie Rogers, Margo Price, My Morning Jacket, Naked Giants, Navarro Hawkins Cheney, NHC, Nite Creatures, Ohana Encore, Ohana Encore 2021, Ohana Fest, Ohana Fest 2021, Ohana Festival, Ohana Festival 2021, Pearl Jam, Pluralone, Real Estate, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sharon Van Etten, Sleater-Kinney, St. Panther, Taylor Hawkins, Vanillaroma, White Reaper, Wild Belle, ZZ Ward

Ohana Festival reveals updated 2021 lineup with Brandi Carlile, Spoon, Black Pumas & more

May 12, 2021 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

Ohana Festival //
Doheny State Beach – Dana Point, CA
September 24th-26th, 2021 //

Oh how we have missed you, live music! If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything over the past 15 months, it’s that the concert experience should never be taken for granted.

But with U.S. vaccinations increasing and summer right around the corner, music festivals are preparing to make their return all over the country, including up and down California, which has the lowest COVID-19 infection rate in the country now.

So why not escape to Doheny State Beach for a long weekend this September where you can rock out to Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder and Kings of Leon at Ohana Festival?

The countdown to #Ohana2021 starts NOW & we’re thrilled to announce some new artists on the lineup! Tickets on sale now at https://t.co/7NVjyrBFlL – secure your spot on the beach before it’s too late! pic.twitter.com/S27wJTZsP5

— The Ohana Fest (@TheOhanaFest) May 12, 2021

The three-day event founded by Vedder five years ago had already announced a 2020 lineup just days before the festival circuit was quickly shut down and now it has updated that roster, swapping in Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, indie-rock veterans Spoon, psych-soul duo Black Pumas, LA punk rockers The Regrettes, Long Beach’s very own Cold War Kids, Salt Lake City four-piece The Backseat Lovers and TikTok sensation Sky McCreery for originally announced acts like The Pretenders, Dermot Kennedy, EOB, Broken Social Scene, Gangs of Youth, Inhaler and Ethan Gruska.

As you can see from the poster above, Ohana Fest has delivered another largely rock-leaning bill after an excellent showing in 2019 headlined by The Strokes, Vedder and Red Hot Chili Peppers, but this year also boasts one of its strongest undercards with My Morning Jacket, Maggie Rogers, Sharon Van Etten, Durand Jones & The Indications, Mac Demarco, Wild Belle and Real Estate all worthy of catching down in Dana Point.

On behalf of Ohana, we extend our deepest love and support to Caleb, Nathan, Jared, Matthew and the entire Followill & Kings of Leon family. Our hearts are with you. In their absence, My Morning Jacket will be playing an extended set followed by Eddie Vedder on Friday evening. pic.twitter.com/qb1GzhrpZq

— The Ohana Fest (@TheOhanaFest) September 23, 2021

UPDATE (September 23rd): Just a little more than 24 hours before they were supposed to take the stage, Kings of Leon have canceled their headlining performance on Friday due to a family emergency. In their absence, My Morning Jacket will play an extended set and Vedder will close out the fest’s first day with an additional appearance.

Three-day GA and Sunday single-day tickets are already sold out, but single-day tickets for Friday and Saturday can still be purchased here for $138.50 plus fees. Don’t wait before it’s too late, Ohana fam!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Amo Amo, Black Pumas, Brandi Carlile, Brandon Niederauer, Brian Fallon, Broken Social Scene, CAAMP, Cavetown, Cold War Kids, Combo Chimbita, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Pandemic, Covid 19, COVID-19 Pandemic, Dermot Kennedy, Durand Jones, Durand Jones & The Indications, Eddie Vedder, EOB, Ethan Gruska, Gangs of Youth, Greer, Inhaler, Jade Bird, Jonny Roundhouse, Kevin Garrett, Kings of Leon, La Luz, Liz Brasher, Mac Demarco, Maggie Rogers, Modern Eyes, Mon Laferte, My Morning Jacket, Night Moves, Ohana Fest, Ohana Fest 2021, Ohana Festival, Ohana Festival 2021, Pearl Jam, Plague Vendor, Pony Bradshaw, Pretenders, Radiohead, Real Estate, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rob Machado, Sharon Van Etten, Shovels & Rope, Sky McCreery, Son Little, Spoon, Taz, The Aquadolls, The Backseat Lovers, The Frames, The Ohana Festival, The Ohana Festival 2021, The Pretenders, The Regrettes, The Strokes, TikTok, Timmy Curran, Wild Belle, Will Dailey, Yola

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Albums & Songs of 2020

December 29, 2020 by The Bam Team 1 Comment

Wow, 2020 … what can we say? This year will certainly be remembered for a lot of things, but none more so than the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged both the U.S. and world over the last 10 months and forced the live music industry to mostly shutter as musicians pivoted to livestreams and drive-in concerts to keep the show going as best they could and however possible. Yet along the way, we lost musical legends who spanned multiple generations from Neil Peart to Bill Withers to John Prine to Little Richard to Eddie Van Halen to MF DOOM — some due to COVID-19 unfortunately — making these past 12 months even more painful to endure than they already were. Ready to officially flush 2020 down the toilet and start anew? Don’t worry … you’re not alone!

In retrospect though, it has been a very quiet year for The Bam Team. You’ll notice there haven’t been a lot of updates in this space, and that’s partly due to the lack of live music on Planet Earth right now. But it’s also been a hectic time for all of us as we try to navigate our way out of these dark days and into some brighter ones, and like any good remedy nowadays, new music has definitely played its part in helping us physically and emotionally cope with the chaos.

It’s why after several months of inactivity here, we decided to dust the cobwebs off Showbams and deliver a modified version of our annual “Best of” lists like we have done since this blog first started (see our 2019 picks here). While that doesn’t mean we had time to hear and dissect every new album or song in the last 365 days — we are still in a pandemic after all — sharing our own individual picks offers a fun and stimulating opportunity for us to reflect on the year that was in music.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite albums and songs from 2020.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2020:

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Albums of 2020
1. Run the Jewels – RTJ4
One might think that after three critically acclaimed albums with some of the most socially and politically charged material since Rage Against the Machine burst onto the scene, it would only seem natural for Run the Jewels’ act to turn a little stale by their fourth time around. But despite the three-year wait for RTJ4, the longest that the hip-hop duo has gone between releases, the final product — like a fine wine — has only gotten better with time. Anchored by stellar production (a RTJ trademark) and provocative rhymes, the 11-track offering sees the two emcees sounding off on everything from corporate greed to police brutality just days after the tragic death of George Floyd. It also boasts a guest list loaded with star power, with DJ Premier, 2 Chainz, Pharrell Williams, Zack de la Rocha, Mavis Staples and Josh Homme each lending a hand while El-P and Killer Mike inject truth serum into our ears with one verbal haymaker after another. In what proved to be a shitstorm of a year, this was the soundtrack a lot of us needed to survive 2020.

2. My Morning Jacket – The Waterfall II
3. Fleet Foxes – Shore
4. Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
5. Caribou – Suddenly

Favorite live album: Sylvan Esso – WITH

Top 5 Songs of 2020
1. Royal Blood – “Trouble’s Coming”
The British rock duo composed of lead singer/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher are gearing up to drop their third LP in 2021 and wisely chose to wet our palette with an absolute banger for its lead single. “Trouble’s Coming” has all the makings of a Royal Blood song — catchy bass riffs that sound like they’re coming out of a guitar, heavy-metal drums and Kerr’s falsetto vocals — while charting a slightly different path for the band, one that conjures up some serious 70’s disco vibes. Just watch this scene from Charlie’s Angels to see what we mean, and if you have a pair of fingerless leather gloves handy, you might as well put those on too. We think Sam Rockwell would approve.

2. My Morning Jacket – “Wasted”
3. Run the Jewels – “JU$T” feat. Pharrell Williams & Zack de la Rocha
4. Pearl Jam – “Dance of the Clairvoyants”
5. Sylvan Esso – “Ferris Wheel”

Favorite remix: Bonobo – “Final Days” (Michael Kiwanuka)

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Albums of 2020
1. Hum – Inlet
This four-piece’s fifth studio effort came as a complete surprise when it dropped in June, and it was honestly THE album I needed. Being knee-deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, I wasn’t sure what the rest of the year would look like musically, and it was exactly the type of record that hits all the marks for me. It’s sonically huge, it showcases Hum’s trademark ultra-layered, dense instrumentation and it ebbs and flows between energetic and emotive. Inlet was easily my most-listened-to album in 2020.

2. Coriky – Coriky
3. PEARS – PEARS
4. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
5. Run the Jewels – RTJ4

Favorite live album: NOFX – The Decline (Live at Red Rocks)

Top 5 Songs of 2020
1. Run the Jewels – “Walking in the Snow”
Oh man, this track was just the thing I needed during what may have been one of the most tense times in modern history. And like all of RTJ4, it absolutely crushes as El-P and Killer Mike bring their signature styles to full effect on this dramatic, yet bouncy tune. The middle section, which sees Mike taking the lead, is not only effective, prophetic and timely, but it also serves as a reminder that the time for action is now and that history has a tendency to repeat itself if we’re not careful. Check out the song’s brand-new music video here, too.

2. Hum – “Desert Rambler”
3. IDLES – “War”
4. Middle-Aged Queers – “Gary’s Making Biscuits”
5. PEARS – “Zero Wheels”

Favorite remix: Squarepusher – “Pink Maggit” (Deftones)

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Albums of 2020
1. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
I almost feel cheated that my two No. 1 picks went to the same artist, but this year belonged to Fiona as much as it did to Dr. Fauci. FTBC busted us out of our mental prisons and allowed us to imagine our lives were more exciting than they actually were in 2020. It reminded us that we are strong enough to survive anything, to use our voices to speak even louder for what we believe in and that we can work on our own healing even if we can’t quite get outside. Ms. Apple set women free together.

2. Fleet Foxes – Shore
3. Mura Masa – R.Y.C.
4. Kari Faux – Lowkey Superstar
5. Liv.e – Couldn’t Wait to Tell You…

Favorite live album: Dolores Diaz & The Standby Club – Live at O’Leaver’s

Top 5 Songs of 2020
1. Fiona Apple – “Shameika”
This is a badass, “can-do” tune that was inspired by a passing comment made decades ago, one Fiona surely never thought twice about until now. And as she pounds the piano with the strength of RBG, it’s clear that this is the song 2020 needed — not to mention that it came full circle, inspiring Shameika herself all these years later. Sweet.

2. Noname – “Song 33”
3. Open Mike Eagle feat. Kari Faux – “Bucciarati”
4. Liv.e – “Lessons From My Mistakes…but I Lost Your Number”
5. Quakers feat. Sampa the Great – “Approach with Caution”

Favorite remix: Thundercat feat. Smino & Guapdad 4000 – “Dragonball Durag”

Filed Under: Best of 2020, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: 2 Chainz, Best of 2020, Bill Withers, Bonobo, Caribou, Coriky, Deftones, DJ Premier, Dolores Diaz & The Standby Club, Eddie Van Halen, Fiona Apple, Fleet Foxes, Greg Nice, Guapdad 4000, Hum, IDLES, John Prine, Josh Homme, Kari Faux, Little Richard, Liv.e, Mavis Staples, MF DOOM, Michael Kiwanuka, Middle-Aged Queers, Mura Masa, My Morning Jacket, Neil Peart, NOFX, Noname, Open Mike Eagle, Pearl Jam, Pears, Pharrell Williams, Quakers, Rage Against the Machine, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Royal Blood, RTJ4, Run The Jewels, Rush, Sampa the Great, Smino, Squarepusher, Thundercat, Van Halen, Zack de la Rocha

Jim James, The Claypool Lennon Delirium take us on a psych-rock roller coaster at The Wiltern

July 8, 2019 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Jim James

By Josh Herwitt //

Jim James & The Claypool Lennon Delirium with Uni //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
July 3rd, 2019 //

Ever since he launched his solo career more than five years ago, Jim James has been trying to bring people closer together.

The frontman and primary songwriter of My Morning Jacket frequently preaches peace, love and equality on and off the stage, but at a time when technology continues to dominate our way of life and our political divides grow bigger by the day, unity has become a challenging proposition to achieve no matter how famous or popular you are — unless you’re Oprah.

It’s not for a lack of effort from James (born James Edward Olliges Jr.), though.

Claypool Lennon Delirium

The Louisville native remains steadfast in his commitment to doing and saying the right things, whether it’s helping to get out the vote or raising awareness and funds around a number of important environmental, climate and humanitarian issues.

Because when James sings “No use waiting and wondering why / Better get together while we still got time” on his third solo album Uniform Distortion that dropped last year, it’s a message that many of us could learn from. After all, actions speak louder than words, and a songwriter with as much talent, insight and creativity as James certainly knows that.

Embarking on a 33-date North American tour that included festival stops at Shaky Knees and Bonnaroo in support of the 11-track LP, the 41-year-old multi-hyphenate was back in LA — the city he now calls home since moving there in 2016 — on the eve of Independence Day for only one night at the always-beautiful Wiltern. The last time we caught James in the City of Angels, he was headlining another historic SoCal venue just a few miles down Olympic Blvd. after the release of his second solo effort Eternally Even. And boy, was that a lot of fun at the Orpheum Theatre as celebrity fanboys like Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka “McLovin” from the 2007 film “Superbad”) showed their appreciation for one of rock’s last remaining guitar heroes.

Jim James

But things were a little different for this occasion, in large part because James would be billed as a co-headliner alongside his psychedelic counterparts in The Claypool Lennon Delirium for much of the tour. Even so, with Primus bassist and lead singer Les Claypool being a legend in his own right and guitarist/vocalist Sean Lennon conceived by a couple himself, we had quite the pairing for a Wednesday affair. Heck, the duo even covered Pink Floyd, King Crimson and The Beatles among cuts off 2016’s Monolith of Phobos and its stellar follow-up South of Reality that arrived in February. So if you like psych rock with an extra dose of weird, then these guys are probably for you.

That said, one could argue fairly easily that James’ songs are a bit more accessible than The CLD’s, and with that in mind, it wasn’t hard at all to understand why the man who has also put out music under the pseudonym Yim Yames assumed the closing duties for this tour. It became even more evident once James took the stage, shredding his way through tracks on Uniform Distortion like “Over and Over” and “You Get to Rome” before going to an acoustic guitar for “A New Life” from 2013’s Regions of Light and Sound of God. James would end up performing almost all of Uniform Distortion, but the real standouts of the show were in fact slightly altered versions of the Marvin Gaye-inspired “Here in Spirit” and the ever-haunting “Same Old Lie” to close what felt like a roller-coaster set full of peaks and valleys — and of course, plenty of screeches and squeals emanating from his Gibson ES-335, too.

James didn’t break for long before beginning a three-song encore with one from My Morning Jacket’s catalog in “I’m Amazed” and then dueting with Amo Amo’s Lovell Femme on “Of the Mother Again”. While it may have been somewhat predictable for him to offer us “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” as a parting gift, it wasn’t as if it came unwanted. If anything, it was a strong reminder of how powerful music can be as a unifying force and a gateway to a more positive and promising future, especially with someone like James serving as a guiding light.

JIM JAMES

Setlist:
Over and Over
You Get to Rome
A New Life
Out of Time
Just a Fool
Throwback
No Secrets
Here in Spirit
No Use Waiting
All in Your Head
The World’s Smiling Now
Yes to Everything
Same Old Lie

Encore:
I’m Amazed (My Morning Jacket song)
Of the Mother Again (with Amo Amo lead singer Lovell Femme)
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)

THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM

Setlist:
Astronomy Domine (Pink Floyd cover)
Blood and Rockets: Movement I, Saga of Jack Parsons / Movement II, Too the Moon
Little Fishes
Cricket and the Genie (Movement I, The Delirium)
Cricket and the Genie (Movement II, Oratorio Di Cricket)
South of Reality
The Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson cover)
Easily Charmed by Fools
Boomerang Baby
Breath of a Salesman
Cricket Chronicles Revisited: Part 1, Ask Your Doctor – Part 2, Psyde Effects
Tomorrow Never Knows (The Beatles cover)
Third Rock From the Sun

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Amo Amo, Jim James, King Crimson, Les Claypool, My Morning Jacket, Pink Floyd, Primus, Sean Lennon, The Beatles, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Uni

Weezer show a sold-out crowd in their hometown that they can still be wildly entertaining

August 13, 2018 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Weezer & Pixies with Sleigh Bells //
The Forum – Inglewood, CA
August 8th, 2018 //

It has always been hard for me to take Weezer completely seriously. Of course, when one of your oldest and biggest hits is called “Undone – The Sweater Song” while others like “Pork and Beans” and “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to” have cultivated their own commercial success, it’s easy to think that the Los Angeles foursome must have shared the stage with Green Jellÿ, Tenacious D or “Weird Al” Yankovic at one point in time over the last 26 years.

Well, one of those whimsical pairings actually became a reality last Wednesday. With a sold-out audience at The Forum welcoming them home during their 30-date, North American co-headlining tour with the Pixies, frontman Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards) and his cohorts — Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards) and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals) — gave many of us exactly what we wanted to hear near the end of a 20-song set: their now-viral cover of Toto’s single “Africa” from the group’s 1982 album Toto IV.

But what we didn’t expect to see midway through the tune was Cuomo introducing “Weird Al” Yankovic, who stepped onstage in one of his patented Hawaiian shirts and accordion in hand to perform the last half of it with the band. The crowd erupted upon the announcement, with many shocked by what they were witnessing. For me though, the surprise cameo only further validated some of those preconceptions I had about Weezer being one of rock’s goofiest acts.

Pixies

That’s not to say that Cuomo isn’t a talented musician. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The Harvard grad shreds without question, something I never really realized until he uncorked a number of guitar solos, whether it was during “Buddy Holly” to open Weezer’s performance or “Say It Ain’t So” (with a snippet of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”) to put a bow on the show. And while there aren’t many lead singers who can do both, Cuomo certainly remains among some elite company, with Jack White, Trey Anastasio (Phish), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) also immediately coming to mind.

Cuomo, however, might have all of them beat in one category: costumes. Appearing first in his preppy sweater-and-tie look, he eventually changed into a soccer jersey before later wearing a classic Nirvana T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. If anything, it was even more proof that Weezer don’t take themselves too seriously, considering that the only rock star who I’ve seen live with more costume changes than Cuomo is Axl Rose (and that shouldn’t be very surprising). It’s all part of the band’s playful attitude at the end of the day, and despite the political state that we currently find ourselves in, many of us could use a good laugh or at least a chuckle from time to time (I know I could).

After watching Cuomo and company do their thing for a little more than an hour, there’s no doubt that I have newfound respect for Weezer now. Selling out a 17,505-person arena in the middle of the week is no easy feat, even if the Pixies, who ripped through their own 22-song set in the same amount of time, were on the bill. But there’s a reason why Weezer have been performing second on this tour, and it’s simply because they’re still one of rock’s most wildy entertaining bands out there today — with or without Mr. Yankovic by their side.

WEEZER

Setlist:
Buddy Holly
Beverly Hills
Pork and Beans
Undone – The Sweater Song
Hash Pipe
Perfect Situation
My Name Is Jonas
El Scorcho
In the Garage
The Good Life
Happy Together (The Turtles cover) (with a snippet of “Longview” by Green Day)
Keep Fishin’ (Brian Bell on vocals)
Island in the Sun (Rivers Cuomo solo acoustic)
Take on Me (a‐ha cover) (Rivers Cuomo solo acoustic)
Burndt Jamb (Brian Bell on vocals; with lyrics from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana)
(If You’re Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to
Feels Like Summer
Africa (Toto cover) (with “Weird Al” Yankovic)

Encore:
Susanne
Say It Ain’t So (with a snippet of “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath)

PIXIES

Setlist:
Gouge Away
Wave of Mutilation
U-Mass
Um Chagga Lagga
Isla de Encanta
Caribou
All the Saints
Cactus
Nimrod’s Son
Mr. Grieves
All I Think About Now
Debaser
Classic Masher
Monkey Gone to Heaven
I’ve Been Tired
Head On (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
Tame
Hey
Gigantic
Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)
Where Is My Mind?
Vamos

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Jack White, Jim James, Josh Homme, My Morning Jacket, Phish, Pixies, Queens of the Stone Age, Sleigh Bells, The Forum, Trey Anastasio, Weezer

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

June 22, 2017 by Stephanie Port Leave a Comment

By 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”).

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.