In new Pat Metheny news, and new music to my ears, comes the collaboration of Metheny and his Orchestrion playing John Zorn’s klezmer inspired music.   This past weekend the NY Times had a full article with both artists.

To quote the NY Times article:

“The audacious result is … an album of six compositions culled from Mr. Zorn’s Jewish klezmer-influenced Masada oeuvre,” says the New York Times music writer Nate Chinen, “and performed almost entirely by Mr. Metheny, on various guitars, keyboards and other instruments, including the Orchestrion. (The only other musician on the album is Mr. Metheny’s regular drummer, Antonio Sanchez.)”

Read more of the article to get an indepth look at this newest collaboration. There is another article on Nonesuch Records where they are interviewed for BBC which gives even more insight.  (scan to approx 57:00)

The new album, TAP, drops today and is availabile on Amazon and iTunes

File this under RADAR ALERT: “Brand New Festival”  

What do you get when you cross the one of the Northeast’s biggest promoters, Peter Shapiro (Brooklyn Bowl, The Capitol Theater, Wetlands) with H.O.R.D.E’s co-founder and longtime Blues Traveler manager Dave Frey?

They call it The Interlocken Festival.

Relix Magazine alerted me to Interlocken’s Facebook page where I found this:

“When something ends, another begins”… Interlocken’s two main stages will feature full (2-hour) sets and run seamlessly from one into another without breaks between performances, giving the audience a unique and singular experience. This passing of the baton will ensure that music on the two main states will be continuous or “interlocked” throughout the weekend.

The town of Arrington in Nelson County, VA , is 35 miles south of Charlottesville on Highway 29, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The area is known for its local wineries, some dating back to Thomas Jefferson’s day, along with craft breweries and two new hard cider distilleries.

Oak Ridge is a 4,800 acre private estate, originally deeded to two Bristol merchants by the King of England. The concert area will feature food and vendor villages, maintaining an emphasis on locally sourced, sustainable fare. In addition to on-site camping options, we will offer packages at Charlottesville & Lynchburg hotels, local B&Bs, and the neighboring ski resort, Wintergreen Mountain Resort.

I look forward to the press release and finding out who is on the bill.  In the meantime, we can sit quietly and wait for them to figure out all the details, including an arrangement with Amtrak to bring festival goers into town.

“Hopefully, this will become the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival of Central Virginia,” Frey said. “That’s our goal.”

Jazz Fest in Virginia?  If there is a crawfish monica there, I’m so there….

The evening began with Alexander Lonquich’s performance of Mozart’s Fantasia for Piano in C Minor. Mozart’s starts in C minor and modulates throughout almost chromatically until finally coming back to C minor. As in the impromptu, the Fantasia form is all about improvisation and Mozart give us this dynamism with unexpected turns reflecting a variety of emotions on his journey. This is Mozart freeing himself from the restraint of classical music. It is an excellent introduction to contrast in that there is a lot of wandering without losing a fundamental structure.

Composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann’s, 24 Duos for Violin and Cello, Book II followed, gamely performed by Christian Tetzlaff and sister Tanja Tetzlaff. The two siblings squared off in these elaborate, truncated arguments, with their simmering tensions marked by extensive use of tremolo and pizzacato only to break off suddenly into sweet reconciliation as in Petit ballet mecanique (Pas de deux) and Valse bavaroise. It was so heated that Ms. Tetzlaff broke a string on her cello. There were moments when the call and response quality reminded me of Tom terrorizing Jerry with cat and mouse appeal.

After all this aggression we drifted lightly into the old world led by the delicate arpeggios at the beginning of Mozart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major. The graceful theme and its’ poetic variations are all in stark contrast to the emotional outbursts of 24 duos. Mozart plays with the sonata form which is typically three movements of fast slow fast instead starting with a romantic adagio followed by a short allegro. The result is that we arrive at the third movement much quicker. A profound lyrical quality presides. For now, we leave behind the modern, German angst of Widmann, and dash through the rain barefoot on plush green grass. This is music that brings a smile to your face from a lightness of being.

Following intermission we stayed in the joyful mode with Mozart’s Variations for Piano Four Hands, again in G major. A short, trifle of a piece, probably composed to pay a debt, was nonetheless appropriate to the program at hand. The theme is presented in andante followed by five variations. Here the contrast is inherent in the variations themselves and the two performers playing the same instrument, elaborately coming together while losing each other at the same time. Mr. Lonquich and Cristina Barbuti played hide and seek very well.

The light quality of the Variations was replaced with darkness literally with Widmann’s original composition Nachstück (Night Piece). This foreboding, droning arrangement is much more tonal than lyrical. The clarinet holds the note for seemingly an eternity while at other times the instruments blend together seamlessly. The composition is held together more by intensity than anything else and hints at jazz with its’ be bop and hustle and bustle. It is very urban. In the end the piano repeats an ominous phrase that makes me think of the suspense of Hitchcock.

The program ended with the soothing elegance of Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano. The Kegelstatt (which means bowling alley in German) was the first chamber music composition of it’s kind for these three instruments in 1786. The combination, which is still rare, sounds beautiful.

What do we learn from a night of contrasting music? For me, I realize that conceptual boundaries or structure in music can always be pushed, augmented and redefined while our perception of the said boundaries can likewise grow. Expansion of any given vocabulary always fosters greater depth, resonance and understanding.

I didn’t know what I was in for. -Ed.

Pre-show: The Wythe Hotel/Reynard Restaurant

It was me and a stool at the bar, at The Wythe Hotel’s Reynard restaurant, which is directly across the street from The Brooklyn Bowl.  I had a cocktail, and after looking over the menu, I decided to nosh on some delish french fries while checking out the decor.  The Reynard has a very hipster, ‘Brooklyn-esque’ feel to it. Exposed brick, tiled floors, dark woods, large windows.  Gorgeous.

The Wythe Hotel is partly owned by Marlow & Sons owner, Andrew Tarlow.  I personally love Marlow & Sons, Marlow & Daughters, and DINER and their whole holisitic stance on food and clothing – it is not a wonder that I loved the vibe in Reynard.  The other two owners are Jed Walentas and Peter Lawrence, a real estate man and a restaurant/hotel guy.  Put these two guys alongside a Brooklyn restaurant guy, and voila! You have an amazingly hip hotel, conveniently located across the street, to rest your weary bones after shaking them hard at The Brooklyn Bowl. Seriously – check this place out at least once on your way to The Bowl.

Opener: The Alecia Chakour Band

photo by: MarcMillman Photography

As I listened to the beautiful Alecia Chakour (Warren Haynes Band) sing with her band – including a three piece horn section – I was, with conviction, convinced that Ms. Chakour is a blues singer.  A sultry, heavy blues singer.  I was pleased with myself and my new found adjective to describe her.  Until she switched to a jazz song, where she sounded more like Etta James or Ella Fitzgerald.  So, there goes my new adjective – she just sings so strong, so tough, she leaves goosebumps upon your arms and neck.  Yes.  She’s that good.

Set Break: “No!” to the fried chicken, and  Crowd-gazing

I went to say hello to some friends, and waited with them until their fried chicken arrived.  I was strong and said “no, enjoy your dinner” to them and was pleased with myself for not having a piece.  I then sat on the leather couches, and crowd-gazed. I saw friends reacquaint with each other.  People had spilled out of the restaurant into the front room, happily eating fried chicken and french bread pizza.  But there was one special lady in the crowd that got my attention. I believe it was her 5 inch heels that attracted me first – 5 inch heels, and she was jumping up and down in them like she was wearing sneakers. It is my personal jealousy to wear stilettos again in my lifetime – hence my keen interest.  Then she took off her coat, and from my vantage point she had on a backless unitard.  Shiny spandex, 5 inch heels, a backless shirt looking like a spandex unitard.  She was too hip for me. I was immediately feeling akward with my jeans and woolen coat.  I got another drink and found my way to the dance floor.

Show:  The Revivalists 

photo by: Vernon Webb

Crowd:  5:1 male to female ratio (EXCELLENT odds for the female’s in the audience)

The Revivalists, coming off a wildly successful run down at SXSW, are not strangers to NYC, or Brooklyn for that matter.  This is their second show at The Brooklyn Bowl, and they also played a gig at Mercury Lounge.  This is, however, my first chance catching them, and I went to check them out, because “those who buzz about such things were buzzing.”  It was time for me to make my own assessment.

The Revivalists are from New Orleans.  They are a relatively new band – formed in 2007, consisting of Dave Shaw – Vocals/Guitar, Zack Feinberg – Guitar, George Gekas – Bass, Ed Williams – Pedal Steel Guitar, Rob Ingraham- Saxophone, Andrew Campanelli – Drums, Michael Girardot – Keyboards/Trumpet.

They came out with a yellow flag with a smiley face on it, which I thought could be a good sign.  They were fun.  More than fun. I can’t describe the type of music. They start like a fun beat rock and turn into deep dark funk-land.  At first I was mesmorized by the guitars – the pedal steel and the singer dancing around the stage, being brought to his knees, and also jumping on monitors, and wailing/singing-into the mic.  After about a few songs of me just getting attuned to what I was hearing, I realized how amazingly funky and strong their bass player is.

They are funky, poppy/punk, head banging, great dancing all around band.  Take a bit of reggae, a bit of funk, smash it with some punk rock riffs and a singer that is a bit “loco,” dancing on monitors, jumping on the pedal steel seat while the guitarist is still playing.  Shaw’s gyrations on the stage, his singing in the mic, he walked the ledge around and on the side of the stage – almost looked like he would’ve dived in, if not for the security guard who was not too impressed.

That girl with the unitard? Somehow she made it on stage, making all the boys on the stage drool at the hot go-go girl with the heels and spandex dance around.  It was a crazy party!  Wild and great, people loving it, I had a blast, the music was new – exciting, dancable, smilable.  It was a great show.  I highly recommend you catch these guys if you can.  Wherever you can.

They ended with a homage to Lettuce with “Madison Square,” making me feel a bit like I was at the Knicks game, and then closing out with The Allman Brother’s “Whipping Post.”  All in perfect time for Questlove’s weekly Thursday Bowltrain.

Late Night: BowlTrain

I have not spent too much time at Questo’s BowlTrain DJ sets lately.  I don’t know why.  Probably because it is on a school night for me, and I am on my way back to the city by then.  But not this night.

Questo DJ’s some serious seventies albums.  Old favorites from Chaka Khan, The Bee Gees, Barry White, Curtis Mayfield, serious 70s songs.  With Soul Train clips playing on all the monitors.  It was a dance party.  On the monitors there was soul train, 70′s polyester dance offs, and on the dance floor there was dance offs happening in a circle.  In one area people are getting close and sexy, public displays of affection and making out all around, and then in another part of the dance floor you see men and women alike dancing down to Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.”  Fun, like you wouldn’t believe fun.

And I broke down and had a piece of fried chicken.  I’m a sucker for them, I truly am.

High level notes:

• The Bowl was packed – sold out, line out the door and holding because they were at capacity.
• I did not have the fried chicken this time – I had the BBQ Wings. Still just as delicious.
• I did not bowl this time. Last time I bowled a 43. I will not bowl there until I have practiced sufficiently to bowl over 43!
• There was a bachelorette party in the crowd, I saw a blowup penis, bouncing up and down in the crowd. I tried to see if there was a reaction from Dumpstaphunk, but I think these guys have seen it all. No blow up penis is gonna change Dumpsta’s funk factor.

Opener: The London Souls

These guys are high on the radar. They rock it down with their old school rock (shredding guitars, hard beats of the drum – think Led Zeppelin with a Lenny Kravitz vibe – that’s The London Souls.  I just saw them last week at Bowlive IV.  They never disappoint.

Dumpstaphunk

Nick Daniels III – Bass, Vocals
Tony Hall – Bass, Vocals, Guitar
Nikki Glaspie – Drums, Vocals
Ian Neville – Guitar, Vocals
Ivan Neville – Hammond B3, Clavinet

You know about the whole two bassist’s thing right?  For a funk band, the more bassist’s you can get on the stage the better.  It works.  It’s deep – it’s nasty funk.  In a very good way.

Did you know they all sing?  That their songs have lyrics – that it isn’t a jam fest where you go deep into one song for 20 minutes?  (You all know I love a good 20 minute jam, but sometimes it’s not for everyone)  Did you know they are releasing a new album in June?  This will be their second album – they played a few songs from the new album on Saturday night, and from what I could tell around me – everyone was diggin’ it.  I was diggin’ it.

photo by: Vernon Webb

I didn’t have my notebook, I wasn’t taking notes – I was trying to observe the crowd around me but I have to tell ya’ll – it was a party.  It felt like Dumpsta brought the party with them all the way from New Orleans.  They have an energy that gets everyone moving, up, dancing, laughing, smiling, hootin’ and hollering.  The Brooklyn Bowl in itself has magic – great club, food, atmosphere, music and then Dumpsta comes in and throws a bit of Louisana charm all over the walls and it just becomes one big dance party.

The night ended with a dance party – no joke – a dance contest that lasted well throughout the night.  The Dance Contest, billed as “Soul-Clap” started at 1am, and danced well into the night.  The dance floor was full.  My friends were still bowling.  It was another beautiful night at The Brooklyn Bowl.

Highlights: 

1. Tony Hall took off his bass at one point, to where he was playing this gorgeous blue guitar.  (Or was it a bass?)  If anyone has a picture of this, I’d love to see it.  It was absolutely amazing.
2. Ivan Neville got up from behind the keys to play guitar with Tash for the last couple of songs.  That was smoking, I do hope the tapers caught that.  Five guitars – Ivan, Ian, Tash, Nick Daniels and Tony Hall.  Sickness.

photo by: Vernon Webb

Set List:

Blues Wave
Gasman Chronicles
Water
Take Time
Color Blind
Dancing to the Truth
Quazar
Deeper
Put It In the Dumpsta
Meanwhile… (w/Tash)
Living in a World Gone Mad (w/Tash)
Lt. Dan
Nikki Glaspie drum solo madness
Shake Your Money Maker (Ludacris cover)
Public Service Announcement (Jay Z cover)
Vivrant Thing (Tribe Called Quest cover)
Do Ya
One Nation Under a Groove

Here’s a great YouTube from last year’s Jazz Fest with Dumpsta and The Neville Brothers.  Kids, it doesn’t get any better than this.  Enjoy!

photo by: Marc Millman

Preshow: Got to the Bowl a little late – it was a snowy day in NYC, perfect for lounging, horrible for motivation. I had also been out late the night before, seeing the Drive By Truckers at The Capitol Theater, and then late night at B. B. King’s to see Berry Oakley Jr.  Tired indeed – yet one happy lady.

Opener – Alecia Chakour Band: I missed the whole set except the last song.  She blows me away everytime I see her.

Bottom line is: The Alecia Chakour Band is one you must go see.  Alecia’s voice is, well, just incredible. See Chakour with The Warren Haynes Band for a sample, find The Alecia Chakour Band for a full show.  Trust me on this, she is amazing, Neal Evans is on keys, there is a plethora of horns and it is just a great band, great lyrics, great vocals.  Yum.

Setbreak:  The usual – bathroom break, try to get to the bar and get a drink, find a place to settle in, say hi to the Bowl Family. Check out the sold out crowd.

Random Thought: The Bowl was amped.  You could feel the electricity in the air.  People were psyched, and since it was St. Patrick’s day weekend, it has an extra special twinge of Party on this closing night of Bowlive.  I saw a bridal party, complete with bride and groom come in and celebrate..kind of a cool after party show, Bowlive IV!

Set 1: Soulive w/ The Shady Horns & The London Souls

It was great to see Soulive up there, doing their thing, seemingly relishing the last night of Bowlive IV.  Soulive is a strong band, they get fuller, stronger, funkier when there are horns.  The Shady Horns including James Casey (sax, Trey Anastasio Band), Eric Bloom (trumpet), Ryan Zoidis (sax, Lettuce) with special guest Cheme Gastelum (sax/flute, Dap Kings).  Again, you can’t go wrong with horns on the stage.  Ever.  They hit their staple songs, “Uncle Junior,” the Beatles’ “Come Together,” and the low/funky tune, “One in Seven.”

The London Souls also got up there and played the last couple songs of the set.  The lead guitarist, Tash Neal, was in a pretty serious accident last year, but no one would have guessed by seeing him play on Saturday night.  I heard the same thing about them about Friday night’s Bowlive – they crushed it.  I’ve always liked these guys – check out my old Bowlive reviews.

Photo by: Jen Bernstein

Random Thoughts:  Sirius XM was broadcasting from Bowlive for their Jam On station and I saw fellow press people Scott Bernstein, editor, Glide Magazine/Hidden Track; Jen Bernstein (no relation), editor, High Times and Ari Fink and Steve Brandano from Sirius.  The booth looked like it was a party in amongst itself.

photo by: Marc Millman

Set 2:  Soulive w/ George Porter Jr.

You can not beat any set with George Porter Jr.  Period. The man is funk and soul and he brings it wherever he goes.  It was the last night, I was dancing my poor tired legs and hips to Porter’s funky bass line.  There was room to breathe and dance, smile and laugh.  I felt a twinge of sadness, realizing this is the last night of Bowlive.

Random Act of Kindness:  Peter Shapiro, co-owner of The Brooklyn Bowl, came on the stage to thank Soulive and recount that this was indeed the 40th show.  (10 shows the first 3 years, 8 shows this year, plus 2 Kid Bowlive shows.)  Shapiro has given some great gifts to the audience of Bowlive – free shot of tequila (2nd year), sprigs of Rosemary (last year), and now this year we all received Bowlive shirts, with “40″ on the back – obvfiously for the 40th show.  I’ve been to about 35 of those 40 shows.  They are always a frikkin blast.

I spied Shapiro in the crowd, handing out shirts to the audience members, making sure everyone got one.  He’s a true mensch.  And he’s made this possible for us all to enjoy each year.  Hats off to you Mr. Shapiro, and to the Soulive trio.  Can’t wait for Bowlive V!

Setlist:
Uncle Jr.
Alladin
Come Together
Lenny
One in Seven
El Ron
Killing Floor w/ The London Souls
Set 2:
People Say
Take a Chance
Pocky Way
Jezebel
Out in the Country
Encore: The Dragon
Keep on Marchin
Ain’t No Use

reCAP :: Drive-By Truckers :: 2013.03.15

Written by: Meredith Berke
Photos by: Allison Murphy

photo by: Allison Murphy

Drive-By Truckers drove through The Capitol Theatre including an hour long encore.

Drive-By-Truckers came to The Capitol Theatre last night for a rousing two-and-a-half hour set. This band has gone through multiple iterations throughout the last five years or so, and now the group is touring to show their fans how they have morphed into a new five-piece band, with the recent departure of John Neff.

The new band now consists of: Patterson Hood (guitar, vocals, bass), Mike Cooley (guitar, vocals, bass), Brad Morgan (drums), Jay Gonzalez (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Mike Patton (bass), the newest member who genuinely looked thrilled to be playing with the band.

Read more at The Cap’s site, by clicking here.

Pre-show/During-show/Overall Bowling Notes:  I made it out on a Tuesday, even though I was quite spent from the work day, I went to see Bowlive IV with Booker T. and special unannounced guest David Hildago.

Since I was spent, I decided to get a cup of coffee from the restaurant. I saw a bunch of friends I knew including Eric Kalb (drummer, Deep Banana Blackout/Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings), and he called me a music addict.  “This girl sees a lot, I mean a lot of music.”  I laughed and acknowledged my addiction… and gave him props for the sick, sick DBB set last weekend at The Capitol Theatre.

We bowled, and I threw a horrendous score of 43.  Don’t judge. I am a better Wii bowler than a real bowler. Yes, I know, the amount of time I am at The Bowl does not equal my bowling score. I go to dance and hear music, not bowl.  I am glad all eyes were on the stage, some of my throws down the bowling alley caught air.  Whoops.

So, with the bowling, and the very mellow mood I was in, I relaxed on the couch and listened sidebar…till the end of the show.

Opener:  Have to say, it was a pretty incredible set from Cochemea “Cheme” Gastelum (Dap Kings) with about 1,000,000,000 players on the stage (ok, it was 9 players on the stage, but still pretty incredible.) There was Cheme alternating with a sax and flute and his band playing The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow, which sounded amazing to my ears. It was a mix of jazz/world beat music and it was such a great large sound to my ears.  The world beat brought in a new element from the inundation of funk/jazz we’ve been treated to.  Take my word, if you like horns and you like great percussion (2 percussionists and a drummer) and you like a mix of jazz/reggae/afrobeats, you’d love Cheme’s band.

photo by: Allison Murphy

Set 1 (and only 1, for a full 2+ hours)  I had seen a set list from the Beacon Allman shows, and Hildago was supposed to be there, but instead he showed up at The Brooklyn Bowl.  Lucky for us!

I loved seeing Booker T. in the flesh. He seemed to be having a great time on stage – and who the heck doesn’t like two Hammond B3′s on the stage.  Neal Evans and Booker T. going at it like flies to honey. Oooh boy, it was keyboard explosion on the stage.

Loved The Shady Horns on the stage – this was the first time I’d seen them the whole Bowlive Run.  They have been a staple during the four years of Bowlive, and it was great to see them back at their rightful place.

I also loved the covers of “Born Under a Bad Sign” with Hildago on guitar, giving it a very twangy sound.  LOVED it.  Lauryn Hill’s “Everything is Everything” was also a great special treat – haven’t heard that song in about a hundred years.  Loved the cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.”  It was all kinda crazy, to be honest.

Booker T. played is famous “Green Onions” and ended the Tuesday on a high note.  Early week shows are tough for me, but I’m so glad I made it out to see the legend Booker T. himself.

I took a few nights off this week to rest my weary bones, but you know me – I can’t not get to Bowlive for the end of the run… Saturday Night, the ending night of Bowlive, will prove to be a great show, with special guests galore.

I think I need a nap already!  See ya over at The Bowl!

Bowlive, Night 4, Set List (From Hidden Track):
Outrage
Dig
Hat Trick (w/ Shady Horns)
For Granted (w/ Shady Horns, Binky Griptite and Two Members of Johnny Arrow)
Flurries (w/ Shady Horns)
Hip Hug Her (w/ Shady Horns and Booker T.)
Hang ‘Em High (w/ Shady Horns and Booker T.)
Born Under A Bad Sign (w/ Shady Horns, Booker T. and David Hidalgo)
Crazy (w/ Shady Horns and Booker T.)
Time Is Tight (w/ Shady Horns and Booker T.)
Something (w/ Shady Horns and Booker T.)
Everything Is Everything (w/ Shady Horns and Booker T.)
Encore: Green Onions (w/ Shady Horns, Booker T. and David Hidalgo)
Tuesday Night Squad (w/ Shady Horns)
Blues Jam (w/ Alan on vocals)

Bowlive IV #3 Recap w/ Nigel Hall, James Casey, Igmar Thomas, and More : Tuesday’s 3/12 show w/ Booker T Jones & More

Bowlive alum Alecia Chakour Band opened the evening on this Bowlive Night 3.  Chakour had her own special guests, the stage was filled with musicians including Cochemea “Cheme” Gastelum (sax, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings) and Igmar Thomas (trumpet.)  Chakour’s vocals got the crowd ready for what was about to happen this evening.

By the time Soulive took the stage, it was a little after 10pm, the sold out crowd  loosened up with a funky, ten minute “Steppin.”  Kraz starts to soulfully play The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” before the stage erupts from Neal Evans’ keyboards.  During Kraz’s shredding solo, the audience were singing “All the lonely people” to the band.  What a moment!

Special guests James Casey (sax, Lettuce/Trey Anastasio Band), and Igmar Thomas, (trumpet) both from Bowlive’s past, joined the stage for “Lenny” and “Vapor”, where on Thomas was literally smoking his trumpet.  No Joke.

DJ Logic then joined the stage and spinned with Soulive on “Tuesday.”  Nigel Hall then came out to end the set, and played keys with Neal.  It was more like a Nigel/Neal keyboard showdown.  At first there were three hands on the keys, and that went into a dance, where Nigel and Neal switch sides with each other at the keyboard.  I thought I saw Nikki Glaspie (drums, Dumpstaphunk) peeking behind James Casey and Igmar Thomas with a tambourine in her hand.  The whole band was smiling, the crowd was smiling, it felt like family.  Someone told me it felt like home.  It was certainly beginning to feel that way.

Just when you thought it was setbreak, Alecia Chakour comes back on the stage to sing duet with Nigel.  If you haven’t seen them before, Alecia can sing exactly, on Nigel’s level with her heavy duty pipes and her vixen voice. At one point, Nigel gets on his knees and sings to Alecia, like he’s begging, the crowd goes nuts, the moment had finally arrived at the Bowl.  This was the quintessential Royal Family Records/Bowlive magic that has become commonplace here in Brooklyn in March.

DJ Logic spinned old-school Motown hits while the rest of us got ourselves together for the second set.

The Soulive Trio came out blasting first song from second set with “Upright.”   Neal’s bassy keys gets the crowd pumped for what will become Dance Party USA.  Al just keeps that beat strong and steady, and bounces his head with every beat.  James Casey returned, front and center on the stage, for his incredible sax solo, turning up the heat even more.  And then, finally, Nigel took the stage, his keyboard was placed exactly where Robert Randolph’s pedal steel was the night before.

Nigel was joined with Lettuce’s guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, and we got into a funky fast groove with “Gimme A Sign,” the crowd and the band alike looking like they were just having much fun, beaming at each other.  Hall then dedicated the next song, “Never Gonna Let You Go” to Brooklyn, now that he’s moved to New Orleans, and he voice sounded just like Stevie Wonder, and where Shmeeans shredded his guitar in his first solo of the evening.

Nikki Glaspie takes over Al’s drumkit and Ron Johnson (bass, Warren Haynes Band) for “Leave Me Alone.”  There are now three members of The Warren Haynes Band on the stage, for “Baby We Could Have It All” where Nigel wails into the microphone, then he leaves his keyboards for “Too Much,” while singing and dancing around the stage. Casey plays another crazy sax solo and The Bowl goes nuts.

There was a great banter between Kraz and Nigel when they both went against each other from Kraz’s guitar and Nigel’s voice, Kraz playing, Nigel singing.  Phew.  They played a great “Too Much>Pass It Around>Too Much” together with Kraz also singing along.

Nigel and Soulive end the set their beautiful Tears for Fears song, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” and we all danced until after 1am.  Nigel Hall turned into James Brown for the funkiest James Brown Medley encore and then DJ Logic took over, spinning records till 3am.

Bowlive IV is off the next couple of days, so we can compose ourselves for next week’s 5 Bowlive shows featuring the great George Porter Jr. and Leo Nocentelli of The Meters, Booker T. Jones, John Medeski, Bill Evans, David Hildago, The Shady Horns, and I would bet even more unannounced guests.  Bowlive IV starts on Tuesday, so get your tickets and get your rest until then!

Set I
Steppin
Eleanor
3rd stone
Lenny
Vapor
Swamp
Tuesday (logic?)

Set II
Upright
Gimme A Sign
Never gonna let you
Baby I do love you
Leave me alone
Too much
Rule the world (logic)

Encore:
James Brown medley

Brooklyn Bowl has become one of the top 10 destinations in NYC, and opening locations in Las Vegas and London.  View Skewed has been writing for such great publications like Jambands.com, Relix.com and now for The Capitol Theatre.  It is fitting that View Skewed returns to our roots by covering Bowlive IV.  The reviews of the first Bowlive shows, if your interested, for shits and giggles….

NIGHT 1 Highlights:  (set lists below)
The Bowl was packed, Kung Fu opened, with their amazing 100% in your face jazz/funk fusion fury.  Night 1 special guests were John Popper, from Blues Traveler, and Luther & Cody Dickinson, with an unannounced appearance from Tedeschi and Trucks Band trombonist, Saunders Sermons.

NIGHT 1 Scene:  John Popper, special guest

Packed Bowl.  Packed for a Thursday, the most packed first night of Bowlive I’ve seen in the four years.  Soulive played first set and then brought out John Popper.  Popper sounds gooood, he looks good, and he sounded powerful and strong when he sang his tune, “Mulling it Over.” His signature voice sounds sweet yet tough, and it was great to see him up there. It’s always a treat for me to see Popper.

Second Set:  Luther and Cody Dickinson, special guests

It was all southern twang style with Luther and Kraz going tit for tat against each other, and Cody was playing some electronic drum next to Neal Evans’ keyboard rig.  Then Cody put on his infamous electronic washboard, and made those odd yet fun swishing sounds that I have come to love from the North Mississippi Allstars.  I turned to my friend and said, “This makes me feel like Wanee is close.”  Indeed, The Wanee Festival is about a month away.  Saunders Sermon strolled on stage to finish the last couple of songs with Soulive and The Dickinson Brothers.They played long on the first night, since DJ Questo couldn’t make his Bowltrain set, and we danced until around 1:15pm on a Thursday evening in Brooklyn.

Night 2

Pre-Show: Line to get in, packed house, people milling around for Sister Sparrow.  We got our drink, we said hello to some people, we found our spot near the stage, and watched the opening set.

Opener: Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, a local band from Brooklyn, is made up of 8 musicians on the stage – horns, vocals, guitars, drums, and I have to say they are powerful, the lead singer Arleigh Kincheloe led the group, consisting of brothers Jackson Kincheloe (harmonica) and Bram Kincheloe (drums), Sasha Brown (guitar), Josh Myers (bass), Phil Rodriguez (trumpet), Ryan Snow (trombone) and Brian Graham (baritone sax). She is a sexy number, reminding me of the sultry Grace Potter, and for me, their highlight was AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”

Set Break:  Fried Chicken in the restaurant.  Soulive seemed to wait for us while we ate, as their first set did not start until after 10pm.  I was thinking, if Derek Trucks is really coming, Soulive is stretching out the timeline to make sure he can get here after his Beacon Allman Brothers show.  Little did I realize what was going to go down.

Set One:  Lee Fields

Soulive plays with another Brooklyn amazing singer, Lee Fields.  Mr. Fields is an accomplished singer playing people such as: El Michels Affair, Adele, Liam Bailey, Ghostface Killah, and Jay-Z to name a few.  He has a presence like James Brown, and he just put out a new album which I need to listen to after I publish this post.  He had on a silver suit, and danced, sang and brought the audience up a couple of notches.  The audience threw out their love for Fields, and “it only just began.”  The Bowl was beginning to heat up.

Set Two:  Robert Randolph

Robert Randolph highlights for me were the Jimi songs, ie: Foxy Lady, his mirrored, sequined mask, and the fact that he jumped on his pedal steel guitar on his first song.  They did a funk medley including “Get on Up”, “Shake Your Money Maker,” “I Got A Thang, You Got A Thang” with Lee Fields singing all the funk tunes.  I later spaced out a bit watching “Crazy Fingers” Neal Evans on his keyboards.  His left hand should be insured, it is amazing to watch this guy throw down the bass line and the keyboard line at the same time.  At. The. Same. Time.  Jeez.

Randolph ends with “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and finishes the second steamy set with “Crosstown Traffic,” where he proceed to lick his steel guitar while playing on his knees  Yes. That’s right.

Set Break

I should have known, and put it all together, but I was only focused on the fact that it had been confirmed, for me, that Derek Trucks was coming.  Although I seemed to be seeing a lot of Muleheads in the crowd, I had not put it together until I saw Haynes coming in that…of course… Warren is coming too.  Call me dense, call me Trucks-focused, call me naive – but it is what it is. They were both here.

The Elusive Third Set

I saw Haynes walk up the back stairs, and I told people, and asked if Trucks had been seen.  No one answered me and for a momentary flash I was a bit confused until Soulive came on the stage and played the first song “One in Seven” with Derek Trucks.  Second song brought out Haynes and he sang “The Thrill is Gone,” with Trucks, Krasno and Haynes taking turns with the lead.  I kind of flew into guitar bliss for the rest of the set, there was a KILLER “Sky is Crying,” with Randolph joining in.  One of my taper friends called it “Guitar Porn,” and it seemingly fit.  At one point it seemed like guitar smoosh, so many guitars going at once you couldn’t even distinguish the players anymore.  Absolutely Fabulous.  Everyone in the crowd had the same look of bliss that I felt.  We were stunned silent.

Jesus, it’s only night 2.  We have 6 more nights.  I highly recommend you hit one if not all of the shows if you can.  You won’t regret it.

Bowlive Night 2 Setlist, and Torrent Link: http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=562677

**Thank you to taper Eric McRoberts**

Set 1:
01. intro/crowd
02. El Ron
03. banter – band intros
04. Dig
05. Rudy’s Way
06. Uncle Jr.
07. banter – introducing Lee Fields
08. We Fought For Survival *
09. You’re My Weakness *
10. Trying To Live My Life Without You *
11. outro/crowd

Set 2:
01. intro/crowd
02. Alladin
03. banter – inviting Robert Randolph
04. Foxy Lady @
05. Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That @
06. ‘C# Funk Blues’ @
07. ?Sure Feels Good? @# ->
08. Sex Machine @#
09. ??? @
10. Papa Was A Rolling Stone @$
11. They Want EFX @
12. Crosstown Traffic @
13. ??? @
14. outro/crowd

Set 3:
01. intro/crowd
02. One In Seven %
03. banter – inviting Warren Haynes
04. Thrill Is Gone %^
05. Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday %^
06. The Sky Is Crying %^@$&
07. Them Changes %^@$&
08. outro/crowd

* w/ Lee Fields – vocals, & the Expressions horns
@ w/ Robert Randolph – pedal steel guitar, vocals
# w/ Lee Fields – vocals
$ w/ Michael Buckley – tenor sax
% w/ Derek Trucks – guitar
^ w/ Warren Haynes – guitar, vocals
& w/ Saunders Sermons – trombone

Bowlive IV, Night 1 Set List & Torrent Link:  http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=562636
Set 1:
01. intro
02. Outrage
03. Hat Trick
04. Shaheed
05. Tuesday Night Squad ->
06. ?Bewildered? ->
07. Tuesday Night Squad
08. banter – inviting John Popper
09. Come Together *
10. banter – Popper speaks
11. Mulling It Over *
12. outro

Set 2:
01. intro
02. Turn It Out
03. Shake Your Mama @
04. Spanish Castle Magic @
05. Bubble @#
06. While My Guitar Gently Weeps @# ->
07. Tomorrow Never Knows @#
08. Someday Baby @#
09. Shake ‘Em On Down @#
10. encore break/crowd
Encore:
11. Manic Depression @#
12. Washboard @#
13. ??? @#
14. Kissing My Love @#$
15. outro

* w/ John Popper – harmonica, vocals
@ w/ Luther Dickinson – guitar, vocals
# w/ Cody Dickinson – electric drum, drums (on tracks 8-9 – Alan on guitar)
$ w/ Saunders Sermons – trombone, vocals