Orton Park Festival, August 24 - 26

Summer's almost gone, it's the last weekend of August and that means it's time for The Orton Park Festival! Celebrating it's 41st year, the festival this year features aerial dance acts by Cycropia Dance Troupe on Friday and Saturday, loads of music from the likes of:

• Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie from Eunice, Louisiana (Fri/Sun)
  
• Chicago style blues from Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin and Lurrie Bell (Sat)
  
• The Fareed Haque Group melding Asian harmonies and Jazz (Sun)
  

There's yummy food from some of Madison's favorite eateries, auctions every evening (including a Robert Crumb signed print) and tons of activities for all ages. Check out the Marquette Neighborhood Association's website for more details. See you there!

- malliman/AM

Mark Olson at High Noon Saloon

Sun Aug 19, 8pm, 18+, $14 DOS

You liked The Jayhawks, right? . . . Me, too. So I'm going to be joining a few of the crew (and hopefully more of you!) at the High Noon on Sunday night to give Mark Olson a listen.

Mark was one of the founding members of The Jayhawks and was with the band through Tomorrow the Green Grass.

He has recently released his first solo album. Come join us at the High Noon, if you can.

LCD Soundsystem Live on MBE (Video)

Images from Sugar Maple Festival - August 3rd, 2007

Robbie Fulks returned to SMF to give a special performance. Fulks is an American alternative country artist originally from Raleigh, North Carolina but who is a longtime Chicago, Illinois resident. Fulks is known for his disdain of mainstream modern country and the country music industry. His live performances feature improvised arrangments of his original songs, off-the-cuff musical humor. He started the day off with a great set.


The highlight for me was Woody Pines & The Lonesome Two. Woody Pines & The Lonesome Two “Low-Fi sounds from weird America's rural roots. Resonator guitar, high lonesome harmonica, upright bass, stripped-down drums and foot stomping twang.” Woody Pines has been playing and singing since he can remember. He left home with his guitar on his back and made it through 49 states before he was 19. After landing on the west coast, he co-founded a ragtime jug band, The Kitchen Syncopators, which sold thousands of their self-released recordings. The Syncopators performed everywhere from the streets of New Orleans to Seattle’s Folklife Festival to the Oregon Country Fair. After several years of living and playing in New Orleans, Woody headed for the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, playing old time music for dances, busking for tourists, and releasing his first solo cd, ‘Rags to Riches.’ Woody played shows all over the south, including a stop in Nashville for a guest appearance at the Grand Ole Opry with friends Old Crow Medicine Show. Today, Woody continues to find ways to reshape the old music, weaving new stories from timeless threads. He combines freak realism and vaudeville showmanship with the sincerity and grace of the rich, traditional landscape of roots music. Woody plays with foot stomping gusto, but knows when to croon a lazy mountain ballad. The Lonesome Two is Tim Peacock on upright bass and Bram Riddlebarger on his stripped-down suitcase drum kit. The full band sound is featured on Woody’s newest release, Lonesome Shack Blues. Woody is also available for solo performances. Check him out on the web.

Peter Himmelman @ The Regent Annex, August 5, 2007

Peter Himmelman having one of
many audience interactions

Playing with his instrument

This was my fist Peter Himmelman show and while I had made myself familiar with some of his CD's I was not quite prepared for his stage antics... he has a huge stage presence - it literally enfolds the audience out there. Which was not there but at the Patti Smith show at the Barrymore - a point of note that Peter made sure the audience remembered by caustic comments peppered throughout the set... show and tell with his new iPhone... sharing the olfactory nuances of the various microphones on stage (with one of the mic's smelling of cat urine, another of Burning Spear's @#$, a third kicked to the floor in disgust). We were also made familiar with Mr. Himmelman's grandfather's accent, weather announcements on the Interstate and the keyboard player's psycho/sociopath (ex) girlfriend.

Time for the iPhone test

Time to take a bow halfway through the set

Sometime during the show Mr. Himmelman started shedding himself of his belongings (literally) as he warmed up; his jacket - co-opted by a lady back in the audience who claimed she was feeling cold in her sleeveless black dress, his new iPhone which someone from the audience wanted to try out so ended up parking himself on a chair on stage while the band rocked on, and then his wallet to the trusted road manager.

Overall a highly entertaining show, even though I had to leave early to get back to my 'other' job that pays for my ever-expanding record collection. Wicked lyrics, caustic humor (even the camera man was not spared), a tight band and hard rocking guitarmanship marked the unique showmanship of Peter Himmelman.

Being not too familiar with Mr Himmelman's songbook myself, I have neglected to list the numbers from last night so folks if you were there (there were about 60 of you there) please feel free to add a comment.

SoDangYang with Jim Schwall (on far left)

I almost forgot to mention SoDangYang with Jim Schwall on guitar who started off Sunday evening's musical program with a great sounding set of country/alt/rock ... songs that stood out were Big Rain, You Look Cooler when Your'e Playing Your Guitar, and a superb version of Dylan's With God on Our Side.

Cheers - malliman/AM

Lollapalooza - Day 3

We woke up Sunday to heavy rainstorms, but by late morning the skies had cleared and it was hot! and humid! We started our day at Lolla with Rodrigo y Gabriela. You know - flamenco meets Led Zeppelin. They were a hit.

Grant Park offers some nice shady places to get relief from the sun. It was needed today.



That is Amy Winehouse way up there. OK, so you're going to have to trust me on that. . . I was unfamiliar with her music, but really enjoyed her sultry voice and soulful songs.


Paolo Nutini

The Stooges together again after 30 years. I saw Iggy Pop a couple times in the late '70s / early '80s - including a memorable performance at Headliners. . . Yes, I did sing along with "I Wanna Be Your Dog."



Yo La Tengo was another highlight set for me - but it seems like I say that after every one of their performances. What can I say, I love 'em. Ira Kaplan was unhinged from the get go. They started with Sugarcube, played Pass the Hatchet and ended with a 15 minute Story of Yo La Tengo.


I had my best spot of the festival for YLT, and so took lots of great pictures. YLT fans can check them out here. (I think you will enjoy them!)

Kudos to new friends Laurie and Daniel who came out for a last hurrah before the new baby arrives. (You can't tell from this picture, but she is very pregnant!) Keep on rockin' kids!

TV on the Radio was great. This was their last show of a 14 month tour.


Some say Grant Park offers the best urban festival venue in the nation. I'm now in that camp. Lollapalooza is well run, a nice diversity of bands brings in a great crowd, and the energy was high for most every set I attended. . . I will return.


The crowd begins to amass for Pearl Jam. (Can you see the stage in the distance?). But we head the other way so that we can get home before Monday arrives. . .

Lollapalooza - Day 2

The crowds were much larger on Saturday, making it harder to get decent pictures with the pocket cam. (We were too late in applying to get photo credentials for this festival.) But here are a few images to give you a flavor anyway.

I started the day with Brian, checking out one of his favorite bands - Silverchair. There were quite a few people very charged up to see these guys . . .

Daniel Johns - before he shed his jacket. . .

Don't try too hard to figure out why there is a foot there.
It was part of the backdrop.

(FYI - Others in our crew saw Stephen Marley during this same time slot and raved about how funky and fun their set was. )

Cold War Kids were up next. I caught a few songs before heading out. . .

. . . to catch the last half of Sound Tribe Sector 9. STS9 had the place grooving nicely.
The Roots were definately my surprise set of the day. This was the first time I'd seen them, and they were fantastic. The bass player (Hub?) performed the most amazing solo improv. . . Their live show is highly recommended. (They will be opening for Dave Matthews Band at Alpine later this month.) Can you tell from this photo how the crowd was bumpin'?
When was the last time you saw a hip-hop group include a sousaphone? (Not to be confused with a tuba!)

Spoon was one of my highlight shows. . . As some of you know, this is one of my favorite bands and this was the first time I saw them perform live. I was not disappointed. A great set - raining throughout - but not dampening the energy at all!

I guess I did my share of "dancing" 'cuz this morning my calves were stiff and sore. . . One more day - we're having a blast.

Images from Lollapalooza - Day 1

Polyphonic Spree - 21 people on stage makes a big sound!

G. Love and Special Sauce - my pleasant surprise of the day. Watched the whole set - Great!

With Eric Krasno of Soulive

Sparklehorse



LCD Soundsystem - Off the Hook!

Daft Punk - strange, but cool. Stage and light show was like a fireworks display. Over the top.

Eddie Vedder joined Ben Harper to cover Dylan's "Masters of War" - Intense. . .

For more photos, click here

My Interview with Peter Himmelman, Aug 01 2007

We're excited to have you coming into Madison in the next few days. And I'm excited to get a quick interview with you for Madison Music Review! We’ll get some of our friends excited about it too. How's the tour been going for you so far?
Well, it's going pretty well. . . I sure like playing on stage. The driving around and stuff, I can take or leave sometimes.

I followed your work in the early '90s - and my wife and I loved those albums. And then we lost track of you, as we got caught up in our own family-raising period. So I'm just curious about your path over the last 15 years.
Well, I started doing a lot of scoring for TV and films. I always kept making records - I just slowed down the pace just a bit. And so there was a period with three or four (almost five) years between recordings. Just recently – since about 2002 – I started upping the output a little bit more. Figured I had something to say. When the songs are there, I just go with it; it's not on a schedule.

I read a little blurb about your composition of Imperfect World. It sounds like that just flowed right out of you. How often does that happen? Does it sometimes take you 12 months to collect 12 songs, or is it usually a matter of lightning striking.
Yeah. It's always the lightning. I mean - if ever I feel I want to write, I do it. It's not usually a back breaking process. But sometimes, I just don't really write at all – I don't usually push it. I mean if I wanted to push it – if there was a reason – I could. You almost always need a reason.

Does the scoring give you more of that motivation?
Well the scoring has to be done by Tuesday to earn $20 grand. That's huge. Best reason of all - paycheck and deadline. I mean that ability to produce is really the test- from Michelangelo to God knows who – everybody! Short of that you just have to find your own pace.

Last time in Madison, you played the Annex and I had the chance to be there, and it was really fun. In a way, it felt like reconnecting with an old friend, I have to say. You were joking that night about playing this little bar with a bunch of people that really enjoy your music, but down the street an American Idol winner is filling up a stadium singing clichés. . . Was there a point in your career where you faced this crossroads when you could have turned yourself over to management and had more success.
Yes.

Well what was that decision process like for you?
It really wasn't one. The only decision I made was to have a family and put that first. So anything that kind of contradicted that – probably a number of things may have stymied the fame in the process a little bit.

But I'm always trying to do best shows and the best music I can come up with. People are always saying, "He never sold out." Geez, I’ve been trying to sell-out my whole career. I mean, I'm always trying to write the best stuff I can. It's not obscure or purposefully obfuscated somehow.

I just wanted to do stuff that I thought was cool. I never did any albums that I felt were embarrassing. I have a pretty nice career where I can make records and make a lot of money doing other things musically. I still wish we were playing the stadium, what can I tell you? I'm not going to lie.

I read an essay you wrote about when you got the news of your sister's [fatal] accident. And I saw you touring behind Imperfect World probably not long thereafter, in what I thought was a very powerful performance. Did you find writing those songs - and performing those songs - did that help you with healing your grief?
No, I don't think it did. I don't really think I connected my grief with my performance. Maybe, when I wrote the song. Really, once in a while you write a song that means something to you. Not very often. But then every time you play it, it's merely a recitation of that, you know. It's not the original impetus. The only time I got that connection is when I wrote it. Then after that it's just a reflection, like any other song.

Do you have anything to say about starting your new record label – Himmasongs? Is that something you did to capture a little more of the revenue stream or gain more artistic license?
No, I just did it because no major label would take my records and sell them. If they would, I would do it in one second.

It's a business you are doing to get your music out.
I wanted to make a record. . . The label doesn't mean anything to me. Maybe one day it will, but not right now. Actually, for me it's sort of a sad thing to be frank. And I'm being frank in this interview. It's sort of a sad thing that I'm so undervalued that I have to do this myself. Now someday perhaps I'll be saying "Wow, I’m glad I did that."

But that’s not going to draw more people to the club. You know what I mean? Its just where it’s at. The difference is between the people who do it and the people who throw up their hands in discouragement. It’s how you keep going. But it's not a desirable place to be.

How do you nourish and sustain your creative energy. You’ve been doing this a long time, and anybody that does anything for 20 – 30 years can get a little jaded, which you can't afford to do. How do you keep the creative juice going?
I don't know. . . I always try to be as honest as I can in these interviews. I'm not as flamboyant or sexy as you might like. . . I have really no idea. It's like marriage. How do you keep that going? If you love your wife, like I do, it's not really a big challenge.

I really love music. I never found it that hard to stay "inspired" or something. I guess I only do it when I feel like it. When I'm songwriting, I get all excited. I don't sleep for days at a time. I get all crazy and don’t bathe. But I'm not always prepared to go into that place.

Honestly, I must just take it for granted. I shouldn't, but I don't really worry about it. For me, it's more that "structure" needs to be in place. And I hope I don't sound repetitive or cavalier with "the check and the deadline." But it does mean so much. And it's not as mercantile or as prosaic as you might think. It's almost a mystical thing to have the acknowledgement and encouragement of the paycheck, and the metaphorical acceptance and the love. And deadline allows something that is amorphous to manifest itself. So the closer I can come to those two things the better.

Well I do appreciate your time and I hope to you have a great show at the Annex.
I look forward to it. Thanks for all the kind thoughts.