Last year, just about this same time in September, hevenerlee and I held the inaugural Avett Brothers pre-game party at our little cabin in the woods.  This was held in preparation for the Avetts show at the Satellite Ballroom on September 21, 2007.  We fired up the grill, put the beer on ice, and gathered the troops together for a blowout.  We blew it out.

As Saturday’s Avett Brothers / Drive-By Truckers show at the Pavilion approached, the plans were finalized for a Pre-Game Round Two.  We made a big pot of gumbo, stocked the coolers once again, pitched a big tent in the front yard, and got down to the business at hand.  The Avett Brothers were returning to Charlottesville and we wanted to be ready.  We thought we were.  Then something crazy happened.  The Avett Brothers took the Pavilion stage.

[Avett Brothers photos by Tom Daly] »Read More

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“Tear down the house that I grew up in / I’ll never be the same again / Take everything that I’ve collected / Throw it in a pile”.  And with those words, sung by Seth Avett, the Avett Brothers’ most recent release The Second Gleam begins.  The six-song EP, which serves as the companion piece to the earlier release The Gleam from 2006, finds Seth and his brother Scott standing at a defining crossroads moment in their career.  As the opening track “Tear Down the House” unfolds, you get the sense that the Avetts are taking an honest and poignant look at what it all means.

Over the course of the last four years, beginning with the band’s debut at Merlefest back in 2004 and rolling through the past 12 months, the Avett Brothers have risen from their status as a regional touring act with a die-hard fan base into a band that now seems poised to make the jump to a much larger national stage.  The Second Gleam also marks the final release for the band on Ramseur Records, the small North Carolina-based indie label that has been home to the Avetts’ music since their career began.  The group recently announced that they have signed on with Columbia/American Records and now have a Rick Rubin produced album in the works for 2009.

It is indeed a crossroads moment for the Avett Brothers and over the course of The Second Gleam’s six songs (eight if you purchase the vinyl or the iTunes expanded download) Scott and Seth Avett, armed only with their voices, a banjo, a guitar, and some of their finest songwriting to-date, take a stripped-down to the soul look at the distances they have traveled and the miles ahead yet to come.

“Park the old car that I loved the best / Inspection’s due and it won’t pass the test / It’s funny how I have to put it to rest /And how one day I will join it”

Listen:
MP3:  The Avett Brothers–”Tear Down the House”

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The Charlottesville Pavilion has just released the announcement for their latest addition to this year’s concert line-up as Robert Randolph & the Family Band will perform at the Pavilion on October 31 (yes, that’s on Halloween night).  Tickets go on sale next Friday, September 26 at 10am.

Robert Randolph & the Family Band last performed in Charlottesville in the spring of last year as part of the Stop Global Warming College Tour. That show, held on April 19, 2007, was a free event and featured guest speaker Laurie David.

With three albums under their belt and a fourth album supposedly in the works, if you head out to the Pavilion on Halloween expect to hear plenty of funk, soul, and sacred steel gospel.  As for costumes suggestions, I’d say Sly & the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, or a church choir would make for great choices.

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I’m not going to lie.  When I saw that the scheduled Dierks Bentley show at the Pavilion had been postponed until 2009 and that Robert Earl Keen was slotted to fill the show date left behind, I considered it a musical upgrade.  No knocks on Dierks, but he’s no Robert Earl Keen.  I’m just calling it the way I hear it.  But don’t take my word on it.

You can hear the Texan-born singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen for yourself tomorrow night at the Charlottesville Pavilion along with special guests The Sons of Bill.  Unfortunately the Wrinkle Neck Mules, who were also scheduled to perform, have been forced to cancel their appearance due to Hurricane Ike.  (at least two of the band’s members currently reside near the Texas Gulf Coast).  Gates open at 5pm, show time is 6pm.  Tickets are still available.  $27.

After the break check out my 5 reasons for wanting to see Robert Earl Keen live.

[Robert Earl Keen photo by Mark Austin]

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To say that I’ve been looking forward to My Morning Jacket’s performance at the Charlottesville Pavilion would be an understatement. This was one show that I was psyched to see!  I wasn’t living in Charlottesville at the time of the band’s last visit to town (at Starr Hill Music Hall in January of 2004) and to be honest this was my first time ever seeing My Morning Jacket perform live in person.  (which is why I started my own My Morning Jacket Lobbying Committee in the first place)

Up to this point I had read all the press reports and I had all heard the first hand accounts about what a great live band My Morning Jacket is, but I needed to see it to believe it.  Well, I’ve seen it and now I believe it.  These guys are definitely worthy of the title of America’s Best Live Band.  [concert recap, along with more photos and the full set list after the break]

 [photo by Tom Daly] »Read More

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What with the Smashing Pumpkins preparing to roll into town this weekend for their Saturday show at the Charlottesville Pavilion, I began wondering where they might be listed among the best bands of the 1990’s.  It’s a tough question to ask, an even tougher question to answer. 

In dealing with the merits of the Smashing Pumpkins any discussion (in my opinion) begins with their debut album Gish and the EP follow-up Lull, both of which were released early in the decade (1991).  These two recordings for me are the heart and soul of the Smashing Pumpkins sound that I love.  I’m not denying that Siamese Dream isn’t a really good record, but I’ll take the two aforementioned albums before their big hit record any day of the week.  By the time Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was released in 1995, the Pumpkins were on their way to becoming one of the top-selling album bands of the entire decade.

But do they make the list?  That’s the eternal question.  I’m sure we will debate the merits of the Pumpkins and other bands in the coming days, but before we do so, I should remind again you that the Smashing Pumpkins are in Charlottesville on Saturday (August 16).  Gates open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm.  Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.  My Top Ten Bands of the 1990’s can be found after the break. »Read More

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My Wednesday night in Charlottesville was a busy one.  I had already planned on making it a late night, what with Keith Morris & The Crooked Numbers and special guest Panter Burn performing at The Box (which started at 10pm on a school night), but what I hadn’t planned on was a last minute opportunity that arose to go see B.B. King at the Pavilion.  It was a full night indeed and one jam packed with great music.  That’s not to say that I didn’t pay for it on Thursday, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

I had never seen B.B. King perform before so I have to admit that this was really a great last minute addition to my night.  As a music fan you always hope to get a chance to see one of the legends perform live and there is no denying that B.B. King is a legend.  Sure he’s getting up there in age (he’s 82 years old) and there’s no denying that Lucille (his trusty guitar) sits in King’s lap silent more than she gets played, but know this:  B.B. King is still an incredible performer and both vocally and musically he can still dig down deep and belt out the blues.

[B.B. King photo by L.Ann]

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The latest concert announcement from the folks at the Charlottesville Pavilion is a big one as The Smashing Pumpkins will play in Charlottesville on Saturday, August 16th.  Ticket go on sale this Friday (07/25) at 10am.

It was almost fifteen years ago to the date that the Smashing Pumpkins made their big splash in the music world with the release of the band’s second album Siamese Dream on July 27, 1993  (although I still think their first album Gish is the band’s best album to date).  Between 1993 and 2000, the band, led by frontman Billy Corgan, sold over 18 million records before breaking up in 2000.

Over the next six years following the break-up Corgan would continue to record and perform, briefly forming a new band, Zwan, with Pumpkins’ drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, performing as a member of New Order, and releasing a solo album, TheFutureEmbrace in 2005.  In 2006, Corgan announced that the Smashing Pumpkins were reforming and in July 2007, the band, comprised of Corgan, Chamberlin, and new members Jeff Schroeder (guitar), Ginger Reyes (bass), and Lisa Hamilton (keyboards), released their new album Zeitgeist.  It debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts.  The four-song EP American Gothic followed in January of this year.

And now they’re coming to Charlottesville.  I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on this latest Charlottesville concert announcement.  Excited? Underwhelmed? Indifferent? For a little taste of the Smashing Pumpkins from back in the 90’s, I’ve included the video for “Tonight, Tonight” from the band’s third album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness after the break.  Enjoy.

[Smashing Pumpkins photo from the “Tarantula” video]

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In case you haven’t heard already, the Charlottesville Pavilion has added yet another performer to its concert calendar.  Alanis Morissette will be performing at the Pavilion on Thursday, September 18th.  Morissette is of course best known for her debut album Jagged Little Pill which sold somewhere close to a gazillion copies and the album remains the highest selling debut album in the world in music history.  So maybe that’s two gazillion copies.  Her seventh and most recent album Flavors of Entanglement was released on June 10.  Quick show of hands.  Who’s going?  Who’s passing?  Who knows all the words to “Ironic”?  Who could care less?

One other quick note regarding the Pavilion line-up.  The My Morning Jacket show originally scheduled for September 2 has now been changed to September 4 due to a scheduling conflict.  So just make note of that one…MMJ on Thursday, September 4.  I’ve circled this one so many times on the calendar that the ink has bled all the way through to December.  Can’t wait.

Tickets are currently on sale for the My Morning Jacket show.  No ticket sale date has been announced yet for the Alanis Morissette show.  How bout a video?  (Sure Shaun, we’d love one!)  Alrighty then…here you go.  No, really, you don’t need to thank me.

[promo photo]

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Phil Lesh and Friends are on their way to Charlottesville once again and for longtime Deadheads here in central Virginia, the countdown to showtime is just a little more than 24 hours a way.  Gates for Tuesday’s (07/08) show at the Charlottesville Pavilion open at 6pm.  Show time is 7pm.    Tickets for the show are still availabe.  For more info, click here.

Tuesday’s show marks the second time is less than eight months that Phil & Friends have played at the Pavilion, with their last performance taking place on October 13th of last year.  I’m almost positive that many of those who attended last year’s show will probably be heading to see this year’s show as well.  So for all you Deadheads out there, here’s my question:  What songs are you hoping the band pulls out this time around?  Let’s hear your wish lists for Tuesday’s Pavilion show! 

[And to help remind you what Phil & Friends played at last year’s show, we’ve included the setlist for that 2007 October show after the break.]

[photo:  www.phillesh.net]

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