Gimme a You, Gimme a Yeah, Gimme a Smokin' Hot

Nathan Moore is perhaps the most underrated songwriter of the last ten years. While lending his talents to ThaMuseMeant and Surprise Me Mr. Davis (his electro-folk band in which avante-rockers The Slip, back him) he still has enough new material to release 2 solo albums in as many years. The latter, You Yeah Smokin' Hot, was released digitally about a month ago. With no physical release yet and little promotion (songs from the album aren't even streaming on his myspace page) YYSH perhaps one of the years best under the radar releases, blending Moore's trademark song craftsmanship with tight, homey arrangements.

I've heard Nathan describe 2008 as his "Gotta Make It" year as he introduced the album's opening track at live shows. The song highlights Moore's studio band's ability to play along masterfully with his dynamics and the tempo change from the verse to chorus. The album weaves between various facets of Moore's life; from new love ("She Made Me Love") to tales of rock excess ("Lost and Found"); acceptance of one's tendencies ("Daydream in the Real World") to searching for a new solutions ("Gotta Be").

"Safe and Sorry" is a perfect example of Moore's ability to put his inner self on display while sounding like he's singing for all of us at the same time. Lyrics like "Still I know these are brighter days, not the kind you just throw away...we already got too much collateral damage nowadays" and "In my heart there is a war, don't know which side I'm fighting for but I'm sure I'm fighting" resonate deeply considering the times we're in.

One of the most melodically soothing songs is the sweet ode to love's little pleasures. Moore's lilting triplet guitar pattern is grounded nicely by his band's steady backbeat. "Tell Me More" is an examination of the mystery of a new love with touching words like "Something 'bout the way you sort of smile and cry at the same time just gets me high" which evoke the feeling of the excitement we get when we love something and don't know why.

Whether or not 2008 is actually the break out year Moore has hoped for remains to be seen. However, with having already toured the country as a solo folkie act or the free wheelin' front man for Surprise Me Mr. Davis, graced the cover of State of Mind Magazine and even won the coveted Telluride Folk Festival's Troubadour Contest (which granted him a main stage slot in front of 10,000 fans on the festival's main stage); the release of his best album since 2002's Sad Songs Make Me Happy is only icing on the cake. As one of his lyrics suggests "I may not be a star but at least I'm not trying", Nathan Moore is out there and doing it the way it should be done, letting the music speak for itself. Now do your part and let that music in to your life – you will not be disappointed.

rating: Home Run

key tracks: "Gotta Make It", "Safe & Sorry", "Tell Me More"

You can find a live review of Nathan Moore I wrote here

"Gotta Make It" Live video from 4/8/08 in Burlington, VT. Video by Cleantone

Dr Dog in Hell

I saw Dr. Dog play at Club Hell in Providence, RI a month ago. I wrote a review of it for JamBase but they haven't posted it yet. So I'll hold out for a little and then post it here if they don't use it. In the meantime here is a video of the band encoring with "Die Die Die". This version features opening act, the Delta Spirit, on various purcussive instruments. Sorry the video is a little dark...I was in Hell after all.

Blitzen Trapper - "Furr"

Check out my review of Pacific Northwest indie-poppers, Blitzen Trapper's new album Furr right here

Mogwai - the Band, not the Gremlin

I reviewed The Hawk is Howling, the new album by Scottish post-rock veterans, Mogwai for tinymixtapes.com - check it out here

Greg Brown : A Man and His Guitar

Greg Brown is one of those artists that not many people have heard of (at least among the people I’ve talked to), but those who have absolutely love him. I noticed this when I showed up to see him play a solo acoustic show at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, MA - a decent sized art space in an old mill building - to see the place was wall to wall packed. Luckily, I live in Rhode Island, a state where everybody knows somebody. Naturally, when I was just about to settle for standing room only in the back of the room, my friend showed up and had a table reserved for us in the front row – I felt like I was in Goodfellas as we made our way up to the stage.


Apparently Iowa had been flooding like crazy and Greg barely made it out of his town to catch the flight (this was a make up show, so he was not on tour). Clad in overalls, no shirt and a blazer – I believed him when he said he didn’t even get to pack. Mr. Brown started the night off with 2 “flood songs” before playing a set filled with highlights from his whole career. From the tale of playing dive bars (“Mose Allison Played Here”) to a stories of the workin man ("Down at the Mill") and perhaps the best song ever written from the perspective of a man reflecting upon his entire life (“Spring Wind”) – Greg showed that he can sing about anything. I wish however, his musical tastes were as broad as his topical ones. He rattled off so many simple blues songs that each song seemed to bleed into the next. He played mostly in the key of D (Greg likes to use drop-d tuning a lot) and doesn’t switch up time signatures or that much.


Greg's candor with the audience showed how comfortable he is in his own shoes. He can weave wonderful stories in with funny anecdotes that set up songs better than anyone I’ve seen. It was a great treat to see one of my favorite songwriters and one of our finest true folk heroes while he's still got it. I suggest you do the same.



Set List: Flood Song?, Evangeline, Blues Go Walkin', Like a Dog, Mose Allison Played Here, Ever Sinced the World Ended*, Hey Baby Hey, If the Holy Spirit Moves Me**, Backslider, Oily Boys, Treat Eachother Right?, River Will Take You, Down at the Mill, Driftless, One Wrong Turn, Kern River***, Nothing in Rambling?, Fat Boy Blues

E:Who Woulda Thunk It, Spring Wind, Hobo's Lullaby****

? not sure of title. * Mose Allison cover. ** SOn House Cover. *** Merle Haggard cover. **** Woody Guthrie cover.

Pearl Jam wraps up tour in Mansfield

So last week I finally crossed out one of my top “bands I need to see live before I die” at Great Woods (now the Comcast Center – but not in my book) with Seattle rockers Pearl Jam. I’ve always loved Pearl Jam since Ten came out when I was 11 years old, but lost touch with their music in the middle years (Yield, Binaural). I got back into them when Riot Act came out but never had a chance to see them live. I figured they were the type of band that hits the road and plays the crap out of whatever album they are supporting and maybe throw in some older hits. Boy was I wrong.

As the lights dimmed before 20,000 screaming fans at PJ’s final show of their summer tour, I started to get giddy. I haven’t seen a massive show (one at an arena, amphitheatre type place with over 10,000 people) since my days of following Phish. It’s really an amazing feeling to been in the same “room” as 20,000 people – the energy makes you feel alive. When the first chords of “Wash” ( a old gem that appears on the band’s Lost Dogs compilation and hasn’t been played live in 2 years!) delighted the screaming fans, I knew I spent my $70 wisely.

Eddie and company launched into an eclectic, energetic set mixing an equal amount of songs from ALL their albums. Present were the monster hits like “Better Man”, “Alive” and “Elderly Woman…” but they also treated fans to rarities like “Bee Girl”, “Footsteps” and “Garden”. The band was tight, the sound was great for a huge shed but most impressive was the ragin’ light show they brought that you don’t often see in the rock world (what I mean is not just a huge stage production, but a cohesive light show that feeds off every sonic crest and trough, every musical turn...and vise versa). The only thing I could have done with out was Vedder's preachiness about Bush and the war in Iraq. I totally agree with his viewpoint, but I don't really know why being a great singer gives him the right to rant about politics. But hey that is kind of his M.O. and that was probably the 2 bottles of wine (that he drank on stage) talking. So I'll let it slide.

In this day of hyped up indie bands that can’t fill a 60 minute set to save their lives, it’s refreshing to hear a band with over a dozen albums (including live releases) celebrate its entire repertoire with attentive, participating (sing-a-longs, synchronized hand gestures etc) fans that know and love that whole repertoire. It gives me hope that music lovers are still willing to grow with a band and not leave them for the next best thing. I’m now a full convert into the genius and superior rockademics of Pearl Jam. They are perhaps America’s greatest candidate to represent us in a worldwide battle of the rock and roll bands. You better believe I will be making every attempt to see PJ next time they're in my area. Check out the set list and some vids I found on youtube below



Set List: Wash, Last Exit, Save You, Severed Hand, Animal, MFC, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, 1/2 Full, Corduroy, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Education, Satan's Bed, Whipping, Glorified G, Do The Evolution

encore: Bee Girl, Who You Are, Better Man(Save it for Later), Garden, Why Go

encore 2: No More, Once, Footsteps, Alive, Rockin' In The Free World

I have seen the Light...and it is Big!

A new wing of the ever growing White Thighs music collective has just spread its wings. Some of my good friends and band mates have released a brand spanking new 7 song EP on reapandsow records. With a couple reworked White Thighs west coast staples ("Heavy" and "Separation Anxiety"), a Nathan Moore cover ("Safe and Sorry") and some delicious new gems; the EP will have you humming their indie-rock melodies all day long. Although 4 guys in the band are among the dozen or so members of the bi-coastal cult outfit, the White Thighs, don't expect any cheeky hijinks here. Big Light is quite a departure from the White Thighs patented goofball motifs as Torphy explains in new verse of "Heavy" that "We lost our funny but we found our sound".


San Francisco's Big Light is the brainchild of Fred Torphy, Jamie Fordyce and Bradly Bifulco and with the addition of keyboardist Colin Hoops (Kanvus), bassist Steve Adams (ALO), multi-instrumentalist Dan Hurley (Two Out Rally) and percussionist Cochrane McMillan they are now a 7-ball wrecking crew. Check out their music here then go by their new EP and go see them live this summer (if you happen to live in California). They are about to head out on the road with Surprise Me Mr. Davis after 2 sets at the wonderful High Sierra Music Festy this weekend in Quincy, CA. In the famous words of Al Cerrone "You'll be glad you did!"

The Dead's Power Trio

I wrote a review for a recent Kreutzmann-Burbridge-Murawski (KBM) show in Providence on jambase.com - check it out here