Ever since we broke the news here on these very pages back in late April, Modest Mouse’s scheduled concert at the Charlottesville Pavilion has been circled in bright red on the summer concert calendar.  This was the first big addition to the Pavilion’s summer schedule after announcing their initial line-up back in March and for a number of local music fans, the announcement was greeted with celebration and aniticipation.  Well at long last the day finally arrived as Modest Mouse, joined by openers The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, tore through the Charlottesville Pavilion on Sunday, June 29.

Folks started lining up Sunday afternoon to get into the venue well before the announced gate time of 6pm.  When the doors were finally opened, there was a line stretching back a good city block, as many fans hoped to get a coveted spot as close to the stage as possible.  By the time Dirty Dozen Brass Band took the stage to open the show an hour later, a rather large crowd had gathered on the Pavilion’s sloping concrete floor.  The Dirty Dozen, for their part, got the evening off to a strong start with a fantastic 45 minute set of New Orleans jazz-infused funk and blues that got quite a few in the audience up and dancing and drew considerable applause from the crowd.

But as the Dirty Dozen headed off and the stage crew began preparing for the arrival of the evening’s headliner’s, the real crush of folks moving to the front began.  By the time Modest Mouse hit the stage shortly after 8pm, the space from the soundboard all the way to the stage was literally packed.  As the crowd roared, the band took their places on stage, and the evening was off and running.

[Photo:  Modest Mouse on the Pavilion stage by Tom Daly]

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[Tonight I’ve got a couple of new songs for you and a couple of older ones.  It’s midnight, I’ve been on the road, driving the highway.  Just thinking about music, listening to it, holding the wheel.  Here are a few songs that have been driving my day.  Any songs been driving yours?]

I love driving at night in the summer.  I can feel the interstate stretching from here to the ocean.  The interstate has a rhythm.  You signal, you pass, one, two, you signal, you return, three, four.  Try counting the broken white lines in sixteens and thirty-twos.  The guardrail posts every eight beats.  The windows are rolled down with that sticky air that feels cool only because it’s moving at 70 mph.  Your light is the stereo, the instrumental panel, and on occassions the moon or the headlights of the car behind you.  Sometimes that when the songs sound the best. 

[After the break I’ve included a few songs heard and a few that would have fit in nicely, while taking a late night drive, heading east on I-64] »Read More

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06/28:  Song of the Day.  Calexico–Ballad of Cable Hogue

One of the new albums I’m looking forward to hearing as we head into the second half of 2008 is Carried to Dust from the performing duo of John Convertino and Joey Burns, better known to the musical world as Calexico.  The new album, due in stores in September, finds Calexico once again teaming up with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine and will also include guest appearances from Douglas McCombs of Tortoise and Pieta Brown.  (Pieta Brown, the daughter of singer/songwriter Greg Brown, is also worth checking out, in particular her 2005 album In the Cool).

I’ve been a Calexico fan for a number of years now and they are one of the bands I’d love to see here in Charlottesville.  The only problem at the moment is I’m not sure where we’d get them to play.  Gravity Lounge seems like a stretch and the Pavilion is much too large.  But I do recall having a discussion in a post back in May about the idea of a Calexico/Andrew Bird co-bill at the Paramount, which would be super sweet.  A guy can dream can’t he?  Whether a Calexico in Charlottesville show happens or not, I can at least look forward to a new album later this year.  Carried to Dust is scheduled to be released September 9, 2008.

For your viewing and listening pleasure I’ve included a video for one of the songs that served as my introduction to Calexico’s music.  From the album Hot Rail back in 2000, check out “Ballad of Cable Hogue” after the break. »Read More

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[Bebeto Matthews/AP]
New York City likes to have art in place just like C-ville but on a larger more expensive scale. The latest installation is called, “The New  York City Waterfalls”. »Read More

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After a brief one week hiatus our Weekend Reminders post returns.  (Apologies for missing out last week, but I was damn busy!)  And speaking of busy…this weekend should be a humdinger!  We’ve got Fridays After Five, Modest Mouse, a birthday celebration for Gravity Lounge, and a big show at the Paramount Theater all coming up this weekend.  And that’s just for starters!  So let’s not waste anymore time talking about it.  Here are your weekend reminders: »Read More

Popularity: 89% [?]

06/27:  Song of the Day.  Concrete Blonde–Happy Birthday

If you go the Gravity Lounge’s web site and click on the history link you can find the complete list of live performances the venue has hosted over the years and it’s quite a list!  The very first dated show listed took place on June 26, 2003 as the Jan Smith Band performed for the venue’s preview party.  The following day, June 27, things begin in earnest with performances by Paul Curreri, Andy Friedman, and Jeff Romano.  The rest, as they say, is history.

During the first couple of months, many of the artists that performed on the Gravity’s intimate stage were local artists from right here in Charlottesville.  But as the months turned into years, the scope of the performing artists has grown to include musicians, singer/songwriters, and bands from across the country and from around the globe.  And as the Gravity likes to tell you, it’s all taken place in a space the size of your living room.

Well tonight that living room is going to be quite crowded as the Gravity Lounge celebrates its Five Year Anniversary with a line-up that should bring in quite a crowd.  You see, as I went scrolling through the list of live performances over the past five years, I was somewhat surprised to discover that there was one local act that hasn’t graced the Gravity’s stage (although I admit, I may have overlooked it).  While the Gravity Lounge has played host to past and present members of the Hackensaw Boys individually, the group as a whole has yet to pick the place apart.  Well that’s about to change! »Read More

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We’re just about ready to put the first six months of 2008 behind us and the second half of the year will soon be underway.  So in looking back over the musical ground we’ve covered to this point, I want to know what have been your (5) favorite albums so far this year?  I’ve included a small sampling of the albums released so far in ‘08 but really it’s not even the tip of the iceberg.  So let’s hear it folks.  What are the best sounds you’ve found in 2008?

Popularity: 86% [?]

06/26:  Song of the Day.  Wall of Voodoo–Mexican Radio

Today’s Song of the Day choice is inspired in part by the latest book I’m currently reading.  Border Radio:  Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves is a work of non-fiction written by Gene Fowler and Bill Crawford and was published by University of Texas Press.  The book takes a close look at the history and the impact of the behemoth radio stations that began popping up in Mexico in the 1930’s and continued to operate all the way into the 1980’s.

These stations were so powerful (some operating as high as 1 million watts) that they could be heard not only all over the U.S., but also in such far-flung locations as New Zealand, France, and Brazil.  These border broadcasts would over time introduce the world to the Carter Family, the early roots of rock n roll and rhythm and blues, and to one of the most influential rock DJ’s of his time, the legendary Wolfman Jack.  In some ways these stations were the radio equivalent to the internet.  Expect a review of the book in the coming weeks, but for now here’s your Song of the Day.  [after the break] »Read More

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Keith Morris is the pied-piper in reverse.  His music takes you into town, not away from it.  He leads the parade.  He is the grand marshall of a procession of song.  And behind him his band plays in time with clocks that have the most magnificent hands. 

There’s Jeff Romano who has his own float outfitted with guitars, a piano, an organ, and a string of sleigh bells.  There’s Jennifer Morris with angelic voice and Morwenna Lasko with her own angel-voiced violin.  Paul Curreri strums a guitar and sings in tune while Devon Sproule throws candy-coated verse to the folks lining Main Street.  Spencer Lathrop plays drums, Brandon Collins on cello, Sandy Gray on electric guitar, and a choir of singers in robes clap hands and shout in key.  And there’s a rabbit in a human suit or is it the other way around?  And at the end of the line, which is only a glass half-empty way of saying: at the head of the line, is a princess with ruby cheeks and a magical wand who plays the role of Santa Claus in this Macy’s Day parade. 

This is the scene on the cobblestoned streets of Candyapolis, a town where there’s a celebration every day and reverance by night, and it’s Keith Morris who leads us all through the Songs from Candyapolis. »Read More

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Name your price for Girl Talk’s new album, Feed the Animals at Illegal Art.  If you haven’t heard Girl Talk before, he’s a DJ who mixes, literally, hundreds of samples together to create his songs.  He’s known for throwing pretty wild shows.

Two other MP3s to download from his Night Ripper album: Hold Up & Bounce That.

Enjoy!

Popularity: 74% [?]