Apples In Stereo / Poison Control - Rev Room
AIS rocked me and the Rev Room Sunday night, but they weren't alone. Apologies to all involved - but I had no idea. Shortly after I arrived tonight, Poison Control took the stage, and took the floor in front of the stage, and the audience, and everything else. Let me tell you -- Mute Math has nothing on these guys as far as their acrobatics are concerned. Hailing from Ames, IA, I do believe they fueled up on 85 Ethanol (or at least, corn something) before they came - and they left nothing but fumes for the rest of us to inhale when it was over. They must be one of the hardest working bands touring right now, and they set the stage for or a fabulous show by Apples in Stereo.
The Denver-based Indie/Power Pop group Apples In Stereo had the crowd constantly involved from the opening song off their Electronic Projects For Musicians CD until they closed 2 hours later, and AIS left them wanting more, though the local "Sunday night beer curfew" was used as an excuse for not playing longer. Not realizing that there was a "Sunday night music curfew" as well, though apparently there was, the crowd clamored for at least one encore, but to no avail -- the group was off to another land.
Oh well, I guess you have to stop sometime. And now I must stop as well. It's been a great 6 days, many thanks to those friends that put up with me during this week -- now that's its over, I can say its been a blast, but not one that I want to experience again for a while. To Mary Wilson, may you rest in peace - see you in September for ACL if you can stand the heat (it's the 27-29th btw). Lets go hear Dana Falconberry and Nathan Singleton while we're there. To everyone else, check you next week - at Little Rock's finest Live Music, wherever that may be.
- C
Johnny Rocket @ Juanita's - A Star Is Born
Like a crusty old newshound that witnesses for the first time the young boxer that will eventually take the title, I was fortunate to have been at Juanita's Saturday night. "With the right management and promotion, you can take this thing to the top, kid," the reporter advises, hands jammed in his pockets, cigar crammed in the corner of his mouth, his hat tilted back on his head. And somehow the reporter (and you) just know the kid's going to make it big, right? Or is that just Hollywood?
Only time will tell, but sometimes one must take the bull by the horns and shout it out for himself - "Okay, world, I'm here. Sit up and take notice." That was the sense I felt at Johnny Rocket's CD Release Show -- and Coming Out Party. With an audience half full of extended family and friends, Rocket turned water into, if not wine, then PBR, with a dozen songs that proclaimed the second coming.
I haven't felt this much Karma or seen this kind of charisma since Billy Joe Armstrong and Foxboro Hot Tubs came to Juanita's back in the spring. With influences as diverse as Jerry Lee Lewis and Damien Rice, Elvis Presley and Ryan Adams, Rocket (née Cook) has an original and diverse sound to go along with the good looks and stage presence of the early Elvis himself and -- I know -- that's pretty good company.
Based on the advance poster for the concert posted on Rocket's web page, I was expecting arrogance and flamboyance. What I saw and heard was humility, sensitivity, and a strong confident performance by this 24 year old up and comer. His songs were thoughtful, clever, and tender. The music was easy to listen to -- ranging from folk/country to first class rock and roll. If he wrote these songs himself, he is indeed the complete package, though he did perform one cover, Counting Crows A Long December, accompanied by fiancé and backup singer "LA". His band, Kingsdown, played ably when on stage, but was up and down like a toaster as a number of the songs were performed best as solos or duos. All I can say to them is, hold onto the coattails, fellas - this star is rising.
- C
The Dark Knight, Willie, and BB all fail to make the grade,
American Aquarium Saves the Day
 Okay, maybe I don't deserve a day off. Maybe my group of friends, mainly in their twenties and thirties do, but I don't. After all, they didn't challenge themselves to 6 nights straight of live music. Why, only a fool would do that. But why not just go check out the new Batman movie - relax a little - I mean, who really cares one way or another about your self-imposed challenge.
My sister calls Friday afternoon and says she will be in town tonight with her 10 year old grandson Jack. "Think of something fun to do," she says. "Does he like to go to bars and listen to live music?" I ask, tongue in cheek, but the humor fails to blip her radar. I get the bright idea that we should go to the new Cinema 9 and check out The Dark Knight, and I am able to get everyone tickets to the non-IMAX 7:00 show. I scurry home from work actually looking forward to doing something a little different tonight. Maybe I'll check out some music later on, but no need to pressure myself.
I'm sorry, folks, but to me the movie is a bit dull (except for Heath Ledger), and perhaps I feel this way because I'm struggling with sleep deprivation during the 2½ hour ordeal. Mercifully, the flick finally comes to a close. I could just call it a night and go to bed, but I get a TM from "T" who tells me he's heading to White Water, meet him down there. "What happened to Willie Nelson and BB King?" I ask. "That concert sucked," and I think to myself, "I could have told you that on the front end and saved you $35." But I bite my tongue; later he tells me he should have warned me not to go to The Dark Knight, that he could have saved me $8. So I reply that he still owes me $27, but his puzzled expression indicated his radar screen was also on the fritz.
Now - the reason for the column - I arrive at White Water Tavern in time Friday night to hear 4 or 5 songs from performer #2 of 3, Mat Mahar. The Conway native and thirty year-old entertainer, whom I had not heard before, performed very ably, but you could sense the anticipation for tonight's headliner, American Aquarium.
As AA took the stage, lead singer BJ Barham, in reference to the three times they have played the WWT in the past few months, intros his group by saying that they might be from Raleigh, NC, but they feel even more at home in Little Rock, AR. While there's a lot to be said about this Lucero-laced alt-country southern rock band, time and space (well, time at least - and lack of sleep) prohibit me from doing it tonight. Just suffice it to say that we're glad you guys are here, BJ; feel free to come back home any time.
From the Ethereal to The Real,
Dana Falconberry and Chris Denny Double-Team the TavernFor what is becoming the place to be in Lotta Rock for all forms of alternative, indie, and alt-country music, White Water Tavern served up 4 more hours Thursday night of non-stop good times to an overflow crowd. With the return of Dana Falconberry along with Chris Denny and his band, those attending not only came expecting a lot, but they got even more than they bargained for.
The dainty, waifish Falconberry opened the night with an array of her delicate and quite beautiful songs, which matched very nicely her diaphanous countenance. The noise in the room proved a bit of a hindrance and could have been overcome with more volume through the sound system, though in a way this actually seemed to add to the ethereal quality of the performance. I would love to see her in more of a coffee-shop setting. Falconberry brings to mind Regina Spektor, though much less quirky, and while I was disappointed she didn’t perform her song "love will never leave you alone" (see below), she showed prudence in sticking to those songs that work best for her in a live performance. Having been disappointed with Spektor’s set at the ACL Music Festival last fall, I think that would be a practice that she, Spektor, might well want to investigate.
Dana Falconberry is a Michigan native and Hendrix graduate, and now lives in Austin, TX. We anxiously await her return performance in Little Rock, as well as the release of her new album which is due out September 30.
From the empyreal to the earthy, the night suddenly changed as Chris Denny and the Old Soles took the stage -- and once again, the audience bestowed its appreciation for a most worthy performance. Previously deemed demigod of everything musically holy and good (by none other than Philip Martin himself), Chris Denny is really beginning to create quite a buzz, at least regionally if not yet on a national level. The band will be performing at the Austin City Music Festival in September, and their live performances never leave you feeling short-changed.
Nearing the end of the show, Denny turned the reins over to the local legendary rocker of Parachute Woman fame, Michael Goodrich, who combined with lead guitarist Judson Spillyard for a lengthy and high-energy version of the classic Kansas City. It was very entertaining, but while Trini Lopez found “crazy little women” in KC back in the sixties, Goodrich apparently has found, in his words, “funky smelling women”, which is a bit disconcerting, at least for me, not to mention the potential effect upon the upstanding citizenry of that fair city.
All in all, it was another night to remember, and that’s something that seems to be occurring more and more around town. A special shout out to Matt White for continuing to bring in some great talent and props to Brandon for his aid in kind at the Thursday night gig.
Fastball @ Stickeys,
Dexter and his Sister Sara rock White Water
Okay, perhaps I have made the wrong choice. Perhaps I have gone with my head and not my heart. Perhaps I have given in to following the crowd, and perhaps the allure of a million selling song by 90's rockers Fastball filled my head with thoughts of fraternity parties and pretty girls. Perhaps I use the word perhaps too much - perhaps that's the problem. Make a decision and go with it.
Not that Fastball wasn't good - they were, and enjoyable. An interesting study in how young men proceed down the road of life, which reminds me -- hey, fellas, take a detour. Perhaps tonight was a promotion for the upcoming movie The Rocker, about one drummer's second-chance at stardom after being kicked out of his band 20 years earlier, which too reminds me -- wonder if sweet, sweet Connie was there tonight? But hey, the hooks were good, the Coronas were two dollars, and we still had time to make it to the White Water.
But just barely - the problem being that Dexter Romweber and his sister Sara (comprising the DR Duo) were about done, literally and figuratively. Let me add, though, that the five songs I did hear by this legendary psychobilly blew away the twenty or so I had heard earlier in the evening at the Chicken Shack -- by a long shot. With their revved up style and his roughed up voice, there was some real music going down here tonight. And like a scene straight from David Lynch's Blue Velvet, you could just feel the risk when you walked in the place. Romweber looked like he'd just as soon spit in your face as say hello, and his no-holds barred panache told me he didn't give a damn if you liked his music or not - and everyone seemed to sense it. Folks, two artists came to Little Rock tonight and I almost missed the whole thing.
- C
Macon Greyson @ the White Water, with Morgan Smith
The week starts off with a bang at the White Water Tavern. I arrive at 10:15 to find the opening band just beginning their set – and already a good percentage of the crowd of some 150 people are on their feet and dancing. This is particularly interesting considering the fact that the group had been birthed just 48 hours earlier. Stage center is band leader Morgan Smith, a recent arrival (and now LR local) from Chicago, though one of WW’s dancing sirens tells me Smith has performed quite a bit in Fayetteville (many of those in the audience definitely know his music). And while I eschew comparisons, eschew this -- his sound is a little reminiscent of local favorite Chris Denny, who will be the opener at the White Water on Day 3 of TITWTI. Smith’s repertoire is strong, he is ably backed by some of the former members of the band Silverton, and the group’s sound belies their short time together. The crowd is invited to submit possible names for the band, and while a possibility comes to my mind, I quickly decide against shouting out “The Morgan Smith Investment Firm”, thinking it carries too much of a corporate and 60’s stigma, like Big Brother and the Holding Company, or Quicksilver Messenger Service. But if the reaction of the crowd to tonight’s performance is any indication, the lack of a name will not inhibit the band’s success – in fact, they’ll earn it. Sorry, just couldn’t resist.
The headlining band, Macon Greyson, follows suit shortly thereafter. No, Macon Greyson is not a person; the quartet was dubbed that by none other than Sir Ray Wylie Hubbard, who also produced their first album way back in 2000. The group lists Uncle Tupelo and Neil Young among other influences, and at first that comes through loud and clear – the title track off their recent release, 20th Century Accident, has a strong Jay Farrar flavor, as does the opening number, John Q Blues, which also sounds as though it could have been written by Young. But Greyson, I mean lead singer Buddy Huffman, et al, really get the place cooking with solid licks born more of progressive Southern rock. Hailing from Dallas, the group at times shows its Texas roots as well in both its music and politically-charged lyrics. Lead guitarist Harley Husbands (I am not making that name up) just might be kin to Billy Gibbons, and Huffman’s song writing reminds me of the no-nonsense approach of say, Jerry Jeff Walker, or Hubbard himself. Eschew some more.
After a little more than an hour the band takes a needed break; it is a warm night, and they have worked hard for their money. Even though the music of MG is more intense than MS, the crowd has seemed to mellow since the earlier dancing frenzy, and is now a little less into it than I would like to see. Were it not for Jet, always diligent in guarding the back door, and the overzealous inebriant who has been two-stepping with his chair all evening, there would be no dancing going on at all.
Though the performances have been very enjoyable, it’s getting late, and there’s a long week ahead. I decide to skip MG’s second set and head to the house. Day 1 is in the books.
- C
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You can find out about more music happening this week in the “Concerts” section of the LRLM web site.
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Check out the Day 1 bands at:
Macon Greyson - www.myspace.com/macongreyson
Morgan Smith – www.myspace.com/piecefulmind
For those in NW Arkansas, you can also catch Smith Thursday, August 7th at the Boom Boom Room in Fayetteville.
If your Monday night involved anything other than attending the Magpies show at White Water, you just might have made a mistake. The successor band to Roger Hoover & the Whiskeyhounds didn't just blow through Little Rock on their way someplace else. They came to stay awhile. And at the end of their almost 40-song set, some three-and-a-half hours after they began, when the tavern crowd, Hoover, and his gang, finally came up for air, no one regretted their decision to skip whatever it was that primetime television had to offer that night. It was indeed a remarkable show.
An indie, folk rock band from Cleveland, the heart and soul of the outfit are Justin Gorski on keys, accordian and vocals, and Roger Hoover on guitar and vocals. Dave McKean covers drums and contributes on vocals, and Chris Yohn rounds things out on bass. Gorski is a phenom on the keyboard, with a wicked and furious style that somehow manages to look both smoothly professional and almost epileptic, his free hand hanging in mid-air and twitching to some inner beat before dropping back to the keys for the next punctuated note. He seems to feel every measure of the music in his bones and project it through his expressions and mannerisms. He makes good use of dissonant sound when the song calls for it, but without carrying it to excess.
Hoover is a consummate songwriter, with a skill for interesting lyrics and clever turns of phrase - "tomorrow wears a thorny crown." He's a machine on guitar as well. There were several points in Monday night's show that his hands became a blur and I thought I saw smoke rise from the fretboard. What's more impressive is that Hoover and Gorski -- and the whole band, for that matter -- are able to pull off these theatrics and still create a tight sound, remaining acutely aware of exactly what each of the other band members is doing at any given second and synchronizing their contribution to whatever's going on almost perfectly.
Currently touring on their album Eastern Standard Time, White Water has apparently become something of a regular stop for The Magpies, who played here as recently as a few weeks ago. It seems that the band and the White Water staff comprise a sort of mutual admiration society, which is understandable. The band's sound and style fit the tavern like a glove.
The new album got a full airing Monday night, along with plenty of material from the Whiskeyhounds albums and several covers. The crowd was impressive for a weeknight, with a full floor and people lined up the stairs next to the stage as well. As the night wore on, particularly after a half-hour break late in the set, beer and shots continued to be offered up on the musical alter by worshipful tavernites eager to quench the Magpies thirst and loosen whatever musical inhibitions -- I didn't detect any -- may have existed earlier in the show. Not wanting to appear ungrateful, the band accepted and the lights kept burning until well past one o'clock. You would have thought they were about to go all night long when Hoover somewhat sheepishly announced last song.
There's lots more that could be said about these guys, but there's just one more thing I'll add. They can hold their whiskey. Check them out here.
-G
 Most people's first experience seeing Jeff Coleman and the Feeders may be the band opening for groups like Cracker, Sonvolt, Old 97's, Candlebox, Big Head Todd, Jack Ingram, Marty Stuart, Ian Moore and Pat Green. My first experience involved a 55 year old bald-headed, overweight, giant of a man suffering from major heat stroke at Riverfest's Triple-S Alarm stage back in '07. Jeff Coleman and the Feeders were about halfway through the set when my buddy pointed out the guy sitting by himself, beet-red on a bench on the north side of the stage. Now normally a guy suffering through some intense heat-stroke would not be amusing but Jeff Coleman was right in the middle of the song, Pterodactyl. With every Cah! Cah! Cah! Pterodactyl!!! of the song the guy seemed to be getting worse and worse. Nobody else seemed to be noticing the intense irony of what was happening on-stage versus the guy completely out of it off to to the side. We were about to search around for some medical help when the guy finally started to calm down. One of his female friends came up and got him on his feet.
Now I don't know if it was just the intense energy of the infamous Pterodactyl song or the 95 degree Arkansas summer but it was no coincidence that the guy finally started to come out of it after the song was over. While Pterodactyl at Sticky Fingerz Saturday night didn't live up to the same never-forgotten incident at Riverfest, the song still rocked. Maestro again went nuts with the lighting and made head banging Jeff Coleman look almost like Angus Young of ACDC. Clearly the most distortion drenched song in Jeff Coleman's arsenal of two album's worth of songs, the song was a great end cap to two hours worth of great alternative country, Southern Rock inspired mayhem.
"I'll Never Write Another Song Again" sounded awesome in the first half of the set. With lyrics like "inspiration drier than an Arizona wind" one must wonder how Jeff Coleman conjured up the last two thirds of his "AmericanB" album, independently released a year ago. Oddly enough the next song he wrote was "Running Through Mexico", one of the better of many awesome songs on his new album. Coleman's songwriting is filled with lyrics about the traditional folklore of the modern Southwest and with great songs like "Tango", "Nena Bonita", "Running Through Mexico" and "Gringo" one must wonder if Jeff spent some time down there himself. Uno, Dos, Tres, Quatro! and the band ripped into "Where Are All The Americans", an almost Social Distortion-esque song about traveling through Southern California and not finding any "Americans".
Riverfest was not the last time I saw Jeff Coleman take the stage. I have seen him play in Little Rock as a special guest with the Good Time Ramblers twice in the past two weeks. Given the go-ahead with "All The Whisky In Texas" and backed by GTR's solid backing, Jeff Coleman has become an integral part in any of GTR's energy driven sets. Both bands are good friends and seem to swap talent whenever given the chance. Alex Piazza of GTR took the stage this time for a couple songs in the middle part of the second set. The band basically gave him the song and the key and Alex did what he does best.
Jeff Coleman's '72 style Tele and Mark Chiaro's Les Paul are meant to be played LOUD. The new album AmericanB is probably best listened to at 2am on the way back out of Juarez doing about 95mph down Interstate 30 headed towards middle-of-nowhere Texas. There is not a bad song on the album and whatever producer they had did a great job of capturing their live energy in the studio. If you strip back all the shredding guitars, Jerry Codova's thumping bass and Stan James' driving percussion you will find some absolutely phenomenal song-writing. I just bought their cd about two hours ago and I am already in my second passing through. I can only hope the band gets more of their first album, "Done To Death" in print for their next outing in Little Rock. Check them out on their Myspace page and definitely check them out the next time they are playing in town.
-T
http://www.myspace.com/jeffcolemanandthefeeders
 I've been accused of writing only positive reviews. It's true that many of my reviews are very positive. But that's because I tend to write only about the acts I enjoy. And lately I've enjoyed a lot of what I've heard come through Little Rock. It's always fun to discover some new band when looking at the lineups at the local venues, to like that band, and then to go to the show to see if they're as good live as you think they'll be. Lately many of them have been. Sometimes, they're not. But when it came time to go see Big Smith last night, there was no question but that a good time was going to be had by all who attended.
I last saw Big Smith in Fayetteville back in 2005. They headlined George's one Saturday night after a Razorback football game, and I haven't forgotten the experience. The irresistible "12" 3-Speed Oscillating Fan" is a personal favorite that sticks out from that night, and my memories are of fast-paced, high-energy, free-wheeling musical mayhem, and last night proved that three years have certainly not taken their toll on Big Smith. They were as fresh, fun and raucous as ever.
I was a little worried when we arrived at Rev Room a little before 10:00, just as Charliehorse were finishing their set, and the place was almost empty. I knew Puddle of Mudd were playing at the amphitheatre, but surely they weren't drawing crowds from a bluegrass band's fanbase? My worry was misplaced. Within a half-hour of Big Smith's kick-off, the floor in front of the stage was full, people lined the rails behind us, the tables were full, and everyone was clapping or tapping their feet to the rhythm. The band use guitar, fiddle, mandolin, keyboard, washboard, and lap steel guitar, not all at the same time, but in different combinations throughout the set, always keeping things interesting.
They must have played for more than three hours, and yet they still left the crowd begging for more. And what a crowd it was. Througout most of the second half of the set the floor resembled something like a bluegrass mosh pit, replete with high-stepping and elbows flying. One guy in the crowd looked like the archetype of a red-head, bearded hillbilly -- the type I used to see on my grandfather's vintage 1970s Mountain Dew bottles (I swear, the motto on the bottle used to read, "Mountain Dew. It'll tickle yore innards!" and it featured a stereotype hillbilly with overalls, long beard and a straw hat). From my description, you'd think it was an older crowd, but it wasn't. Big Smith have broken the Generation Y demographic.
The band never seemed to tire, but after what must have been nearly thirty songs, which included one encore, it was time to call it a night. For those of you who may have missed out and are looking for an excuse for a road trip, Big Smith play George's in Fayetteville again next Friday night.
-G
 Well we at LittleRockLiveMusic.net got split up Friday Night. I knew Big Smith was in town but I decided to keep things local, and in the family, with Kat Hood and The Good Time Ramblers. Read about G's night out on the opposite side of town with Big Smith in his blog above.
My night started with Kat Hood and Chuck Gilbert, putting on an awesome show at Studio Joe's at 7pm. The place was packed and definitely filled out well over the venue's 65 person capacity. That morning, Kat played "Back Home Again" on Good Morning Arkansas. That song along with "Fences" and "Back When" are my three personal favorites she both wrote and recorded with Chuck Gilbert and Eric Nolen as the Kat Hood Trio. "Back Home Again" has been featured on a promotional spot on AETN and also helped earn the band top honors at 2002's Arkansas Acoustic Festival. Never a bad thing, Kat and Chuck played many John Prine songs scattered throughout the show. Her and Chuck did an especially great job covering Prine's "Killing The Blues" recently made popular by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. I would highly recommend downloading the free music available on her web site and buying her cd. Her and Chuck have decided to branch off as a duo and continue to make new music together. She is an incredibly gifted songwriter and vocalist. Her and Chuck are both incredibly nice people and are going to try and schedule a concert somewhere in town each month. We will keep you posted with when and where. I was bummed that I had to leave at the start of their second set but The Good Time Ramblers were about to take the stage at Grumpy's at 9pm.
Grumpy's was absolutely packed and GTR rocked three sets for almost four hours. The band played through all the songs off their current cd and many more off their new one due out in the Fall. From the sampling of new songs I have heard at the band's last two shows, "Bigelow Strange" is going to be every bit as incredible as "Sinners Welcome". Gillian Welch, Springsteen, Skynyrd, The Band, Haggard and Willie Nelson were all covered expertly throughout the band's performance and kept people shouting out the familiar lyrics and the waitresses and bartender's very busy.
After completely amping up the hardly dispersed group of loyal fans, still singing and tapping their feet to "Maggie's Farm" at 1:30 am, Jeff Coleman came up to do his instantly classic song, "All The Whisky In Texas". It was encouraging to see the Mother of lead singer John Lefler, and for my second time of the night, Kat Hood show up with her family and make it out to support her son and his band. She came up earlier in the night to do a few songs and sang John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" with her son and his band. The band added a great new song to their incredibly long list of live music, "Seminole Wind". I just started listening to Donna the Buffalo over the past few months and the song was instantly recognizable from their album "Rockin' In The Weary Land". I really can't emphasize enough how good these guys are live. They have been playing all over town for the past three years and have recently gained some new found momentum. Everytime I see them they are more and more solid. No matter the venue, they always draw a huge crowd and never fail to impress. If you have not seen them live, or bought their cd, you are truly missing out on one of Little Rock's great local acts.
For me, even more than the music, I could not be more impressed by the sincerity and humbleness of both Kat Hood and Chuck Gilbert, the members of GTR, and their incredibly large group of friends, family and fans. They are truly some of the nicest people I have met since moving out here two years ago and Little Rock could not be more lucky to have them.
http://www.myspace.com/goodtimeramblers
http://www.kathood.com
-T
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