Langhorne Slim and the Law @ Detriot Bar (10.17.13)

Langhorne Slim (aka Sean Scolnick) is one of the most energetic, charismatic performers to come through Orange County in a long time.  He's witty, engaged with fans and not afraid to get real when the need arises.

The performer's earlier work is typically rootsy, smooth, introspective and on the whole down tempo.  Adding "the Law" to the mix has created a low-fi caffeinated version of that.  Their newest material skirts the boundaries between country, folk and rock, but live they also have elements blues, jazz, and gospel steeped in the mix.

Occasionally groups will hang around after their shows to meet people. Langhorne is the first performer i have ever seen come out early before the show to visit with fans.  Unlike most, he seems to revel in reminding the audience there's no glass wall that separates them.  He spent the night jumping into the crowd, dancing around and even joked around with specific audience members in seemingly impromptu lyrics.  Most impressively when woman was inches away taping him with her cell phone (it's camera light full on) jarring an otherwise soulful heartfelt song, he wittily shrugged it off.



Still seems surprising tonight's show wasn't a sell out.  This is one of the best bands and performers I've seen in a long time.  If you haven't heard of Langhorne Slim yet, you will be soon.

The Avett Brothers @ The Shrine Auditorium (10.9.13)

The Avett Brothers

If e'er an inkling to see the Avett Brothers strikes, go.  The group is fantastic live, putting everything into their music and making sure the crowd walks away happy.

Scott Avett

The energy and enthusiasm the Avetts display on stage is reminiscent of a punk rock band.  There are even elements of that music in some of their songs and it leads one to wonder what they did before picking up banjos, acoustics and uprights.

Seth Avett

The Avetts are the masters of timing on stage.  Many bands just play all fast all slow or some piss poor mix of either, but these guys know how to sequence their songs to keep the audience with them much like good DJ's.  They hit songs from across their wide range of albums, focusing on the later pieces in the last 1/3 of the show.  This seems a fair way to do it, as some people love them for who they are now, and some really love the songs they have written over the last decade or so as well.

Scott Avett

During the show, both both brothers played fantastic songs unaccompanied.  Seth played "The Ballad of Love and Hate" and Scott Avett came out and played an acoustic version of "Murder in the City" from The Gleam II.



During both of these songs it seemed the entire 6000 seat audience at the Shrine was singing along.

Seth Avett

The band did a fantastic old timey version of "Jordan is hard road to travel:"



Upon looking for the name of the song, I found out it was an old minstrel song from 150 years ago.  The banjo has a strange darker origin story with minstrel shows, one that has mainly been forgotten.  It would be interesting to know if this was why they played it or if it was just because it has since become a traditional song.

Bob Crawford

At one point I looked up during the show to notice Scott messing with some cables mid song.  I found myself wondering why they didn't have a guy for that. Amusingly, I soon realized his brother was attached to the other end inches from my seat.  Good gimmick, but these guys should really look into wireless units if they weren't doing a bit.  Just stay away from the ones they had in spinal tap.

Joe Kwan

There are some bands that can't entertain an audience of 100, there are some bands that can, but loose it at 1000. I feel confident that these guys could do any sized venue and still be an amazing show.  As I said before, these guys are a band everyone should see!

The Avett Brothers

The Lumineers @ The Greek Theater LA (9.27.13)

The Lumineers

I'm not not usually someone who sees a band twice within a year, but as my girl had never seen the Lumineers, I decided to go again. It's amazing where a year can take a band.  The last time, they played The Observatory OC, a 500 seat venue. This time they played the Greek Theater in LA which is a 5000 seat venue and they sold out two nights.

As I had already had a press pass and shot a bunch of great photos of them (click here for that post) I didn't bother with that this time around.  I wanted to actually watch and enjoy them this time.  Sadly I was a bit further away than side stage, but still close enough.  The band seemed to have the same energy and intimacy with the crowd I remembered from their last show, although I think some of it gets lost in a big venue.  At one point they even went into the crowd and played.  As the Greek is so big they even had to bring mic's with them which was pretty cool given the logistics of it for the sound engineer.



Not surprisingly, the band played a similar set to the last time I saw them.  Apparently they have not had a lot of down time to write new material.  In addition to their entire album they played two from their demo EP and the "Falling" duet between Neyla Pekarek and Wesley Schultz.  There was only one new song (who's name eludes me) from last time that they played.  I really hope they take some time out from touring to write new material.  They've got the right energy, sound and feel for the time.  I'd hate to see them loose momentum, by disappointing fans hoping for something new.



To fill out their set, The Lumineers did a number of covers including Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues, which I think they did last time ( I have a vague memory of them playing one of his songs).  I hate to say it, but I prefer the Dylan version albeit sung much better by Schultz   I found their version a bit empty lacking instrumentation.

In the end the band was great, they still had the energy that made them what they are, and I had a great time.  I probably won't go see them again until they release another album or two though.

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Side Note:

Something that sort of mystifies me is the tie ins between the Lumineers and The Band. Last time I saw them right before they went on they played a song from the band and then closed the night with a sing along to "The Weight."  This time they played songs from the band right before and after as well.  Given the age and fashion tastes of those at their shows, I wonder how many have picked up on this.  If I ever get a chance I definitely have to ask them.

Junip @ The Troubadour (5.30.13)

Tonight's Junip show was the second of two nights at the Troubadour.  Kind of a nice mellow evening, which is sort of to be expected given the tunage. Band didn't seem super tight or together and struggled to improvise.



I found myself hoping for a bit more, but still enjoyed it.

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Side note:  The sound was bad at the Troubadour.  I haven't figured out if its just the engineer who's ears are bad or if he just never walks around in the crowd after setting the levels.  I have NEVER heard good sound there...

The Rolling Stones @ The Honda Center (3.18.13)

Mick Jagger

If ever there was a concert miracle I had one tonight at the Rolling Stones at the Honda Center.  A crew of people I went with all went in on the $85 dollar ticket raffle the Stones are running.  Essentially they place pairs of two randomly throughout the stadium from the nosebleeds to the tongue pit.  Our group ended up in the nose bleeds in two separate sections.  In an attempt to all stay together we tried to discuss with the ushers a way to get "upgraded."  In the last hour before the show we heard that there was someone near our section handing out tickets.  By the time we got there they had finished handing them out, HOWEVER, one of our crew happened to see someone she knew, AND THEY HOOKED US UP!!!  We ended up just off the floor about 30 feet from the edge of the tongue pit.  I can not sufficiently explain how excited I was to see the band.  The phrase perma-grin comes to mind. 


The Rolling Stones

As my regular readers know I have a list of the bands to see before they die.  A sort of bucket list for bands as it were.  Recently, I became a bit alarmed that the Stones were celebrating their "50 and counting tour" and decided it was finally time to see them.  While enjoying the show, it occurred to me that a child conceived at the concert would be at retirement age able to claim an association with a band that was founded 120 years before.

That said, Mick Jagger was prancing around the stage like an anorexic teenager.  If it weren't for the advantage of being close enough to see wrinkles you would have thought you were watching a show from 40 years ago.  Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts were a bit less animated, but they still have their musical chops.



Mick Jagger

One of my all time favorite Stones albums is "Let it Bleed," and I think they must have gotten my note, because they played over half the songs from it!  In truth, I suspect it was just because Mick Taylor was guesting with them!


Mick Taylor With the Current Rolling Stones Lineup

 Didn't seem Taylor and Wood had any animosity or rivalry on stage.  They were just on big happy band rocking out and getting mad bank from the ticket sales.  "Honky Tonk Women" and "Midnight Rambler" were pulled off without a hitch.  "You Got the Silver" was pretty solid but Wood had a bit of an issue on the slide parts. 

"Gimmie Shelter" was the female back up singer's chance to shine, prancing around on stage singing with Mick only to be stuck in the backup singer spot the rest of the night.  The USC Thornton Chamber Choir shared the stage for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" as well as a surprise French horn player for the intro.



The Rolling Stones

 Usually when I bring a camera to the show, the lighting is crap I have to push the ISO way too high and the photos come out dark and grainy.  This was not the case.  In addition to the elaborate (and mysteriously disappearing) lips from the beginning of the show and the tongue pit, the stage was awash with rapidly changing colors and spotlights.  So while my photos were not taken right at the stage, they are some of the better looking ones I have shot in a while.

Dave Grohl wth The Rolling Stones

 So far every show they have done has had a local guest.  For us it was Dave Grohl!  He sang a verse and played guitar on "Bitch."  At this time I should mention that my concert neighbors not recognizing one of the most famous musicians from two pivotal bands of the grunge generation, leaned over to ask who it was.  I started chatting with them in the gap before the next song and discovered they had bought $40 counterfeit tix, then bought "cheap" nosebleed seats at the door and by some miracle got upgraded.  I wish I had taken a photo of the counterfeit tix.  They were way off from the original coloring.  Considering it's a Ticketmaster event you think they would have tried harder at the duping.  In any case, I was blown away by the fact that they spent the entire night SITTING with people standing all around them.  What's the point of getting upgraded if you aren't going to watch the show???

The band played so many famous songs it's probably best just to look at a set list.  Songs that really stuck in my head are "Wild Horses," "Friend of the Devil" (probably for the crazy poofy jacket Mick wore), and "Paint it Black."

Mick Jagger

All in all a fantastic show.  Amazing music, amazing visuals, and an amazing performance even with their getting on in years (unlike Dylan).  With that I will leave you with a few more great photos from the show!

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

Ronnie Wood shows off a gift from a fan

Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood

Hey Marseilles @ The Satellite LA (3.6.13)

Hey Marseilles

Unlike many band superfans, I tend not to go see a group I've seen within a few years of having seen them.  I decided to check out Hey Marseilles again because I only saw them play half a set and was wondering what would happen when they had their own showcase.

Tonight, it was a bad case of larengitis that happened.  I should have known something was up when half the band was huddled in the corner post soundcheck for like 10 minutes actively discussing something. Shortly thereafter Matt Bishop walked out, and rasped out an appology that he would not be singing in a voice that could have passed for Tom Waits.

Typically in cases like this, the band would not go on, but it seems to have suddenly snuck up on them to close to showtime.  Thus, the band went on sans vocals as interestingly no one else in the band saw it fit to sing themselves.  The one point of the night with vocals was when the crowd belted out the chorus for their hit "Rio" more enthusiastically than usual to fill the void.

It was nice to appreciate what the rest of Hey Marseilles does as they are all particuarly talented at their instrument of choice.  The guys soloed more and improvised on existing parts more, something I hope they continue to do when they're back to 100%.

The band played as long as they could without vox, then eventually had to stop. Slowly they trickled off stage until it was just eg, cello, violin and keys.



Then uncerimoniously, they walked off stage.  Clearly they all felt bad about the situation, and gave free downloads of the new album and signed posters to whomever wanted one. Nice touch, just wish they would have put the word out before the show so people knew what they were getting into.

Hopefully next time that happens, they'll be known enough to do a fun night of Hey Marseilles karaoke.

Buke and Gase @ The Echo (2.19.13)

Buke and Gase

Buke and Gase are non-standard fare for the Acoustic Hodgepodge blog, but their unique sound and instrumentation drew me in.

Buke and Gase (formerly Buke and Gass) are named after their unique instruments. Buke (as played by Arone Dyer) stands for ???  Best I can tell its a similar form factor to a metal terz guitar, guitalele or tenor dobro (sans resonator) with a new neck to hold six strings. The tuning is some form of open chord that I am not 100% sure what it is. Gase (as played by Aron Sanchez) is a guitar bass hybrid. It appears to have the 4 strings of a bass and the two lowest strings of a guitar. Typically when you see 5/6 string base guitars they are going lower rather than higher. Gase was formally referred to in type as Gass but I suspect too many people mispronounced it.

The combination of the two is a fantastic energetic sound, that layers well. At least, I suppose it does live based on youtube clips I've heard.  There was a big sound flaw that delayed their set over half an hour. While this was going on, Dyer came out and played a wonderful solo number, but admittedly was uncomfortable continuing without her gase.  That, unfortunately, was the only song I heard clearly for the rest of the night.

Arone Dyer

Something the reader might now know about the Acoustic Hodgepodge is that I work in audio. I've recorded and mixed bands, worked in live sound and done various things in the pro/consumer audio world for over a decade. So when the sound is bad or something is wrong I have to fight the urge not to step in to help debug. When Sanchez started having sound issues, they really should have stepped back and taken the logical approach to subbing cables/ microphones and jacks. It would have saved a lot of time. In the end they ran a cable from backstage. From that point the change in sound setup resulted in the gase overwhelming everything else. The vox and buke were just gone. There was even one song that all you could hear was the gase DRONING ON ONE FUCKING NOTE.

Aron Sanchez

At the end of the night I decided to be fair and give the sound engineers a chance. I took out my hearing protection (very flat just a few dB down above 5-6kHz relative to the low end) and walked to the back near where they were. The mix was a bit better, and you could hear the buke and vox more, but the gase was still overpowering. I realized that part of their issue was that the gase was just too fucking loud on stage. Even Dyer said she didn't want to hear Sanchez at all in her monitors. But enough about sound...

I stuck around for most of the set because I really wanted to see these guys and because, well they're fun to watch. The two clearly play off each other. Exchanging glances, making faces and expressing how they think they're doing. Clearly two friends making happy noise.  Their sound is quite frenetic. The kick drum that Sanchez plays agressively drives sound.  Combine that with the tambourine Dyer stomps on to fill in the cymbals/snare and they don't even really need a drummer (which is good because they don't have one). There's an intensity in the vox and plenty of effects I'd like to talk about, but I really couldn't hear her very well where I was.

To summarize, very intriguing band but a sideways show resulted in disappointment.  I get it, it happens, but hopefully the next time I catch them their sound will be locked down.