Ray LaMontagne's New Album "Supernova" Finally Released! Nora reviews.

I haven't been this excited for a new album in a while - probably since Amos Lee's new record was released. (I realize this makes me an old soul, but I think we've established that already). One of my favorite folk-Americana singer-songwriters, Ray LaMontagne, released his latest album, "Supernova", on April 29th. I had heard bits and pieces of it on iTunes radio and YouTube but couldn't wait to hear the full progression of songs. It does not disappoint.

All of Ray's albums have a bit of a different sound with the same type of Americana roots, which to me signifies a growing, dynamic artist. His earlier works had a more rootsy country vibe with some gripping lyrics, songs like 'Jolene' and 'Trouble'. Even though he had this rootsy sound, he has a unique soulful voice that comes right from the gut. He really showcased that soulful voice on his more blues-inspired album "God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise". Ray shows the funky side of roots music with the opening song on the "God Willin'" album, 'Repo Man'. Most of the other songs had a more country feel, but nonetheless with genuine and intriguing lyrics.

Ray performing 'Repo Man' on Letterman




I was curious to see where Ray would take his new album musically, since he showed a diversity to his sound on the last album. Anxiously awaiting the album's arrival and before writing this post, I did a bit of research on Ray's influences musically. After reading one of his primary influences was Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame), I realized even more why I loved him and his music.

"Supernova" is the ultimate nod to '60s and 70s' folk music and psychedelic rock. The album was produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, explaining some of the psychedelicness. Opening song 'Lavender' has a Jefferson Airplane and the Doors sound (think the drums in White Rabbit). 'Airwaves' is a song I wish was released for me and Dan's epic road trip through the American Southwest - perfect road trip song. 'She's the One' represents the most rock-forward song on the album, showcasing Ray's soulful voice. 'Julia' and 'No Other Way' sound like songs straight off Crosby, Stills & Nash's 1970 album "Deja Vu". And finally, title track "Supernova" has an eerily familiar Joni Mitchell sound.

Bottom line: I love the album. But I also love this type of Ventura Highway driving music. If you are like me, you'll love love love it. If not, give it a listen anyway. Because I told you to.




(Also readers, never fear. The tales of Nora & Dan's Fantastic Arizona-Las Vegas Road Trip of Fun will continue in a second installment. COMING SOON!!)

Music & Baseball, that's what the Thomas' does: Nora & Dan's Fantastic Arizona-Las Vegas Road Trip of Fun - 1st Leg - Phoenix, AZ

After a several year hiatus of any serious father-daughter road trips, we decided it was time to embark on (and continue) our tradition of spring training baseball games and overall adventures. From the time I was in middle school through part of college, we would go to south Florida for Orioles and Cardinals spring training, some R&R and some good times with our friends, the Kinsloes. This year we decided to flip it and reverse it and give Arizona’s Cactus League a try – for a few reasons. We found out that 2 of our favorite artists – Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers and Allen Stone – would be performing at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival, there would be an Arizona D-Backs exhibition game and Opening Day 2014 on Monday. Following that, we would road trip to Sedona and Las Vegas to visit Aunt Lynn and Uncle Tony. This will be an epic week off work.

The trip began at an entirely too early hour of 4am on Friday. Thankfully we didn’t have to function at a high level to park the car and navigate our way to the terminal, as we were dropped off by my mama (BLESS HER HEART). Dropping bags off was relatively easy, but TSA proved to be as reliable and functional as ever (pause for sarcastic laughter), opening the TSA lines late and therefore making many of us late for flights. Since I’m a federal employee possessing a federal ID (not really, but the House of Representatives was irresponsible enough to give me one anyway. Freedom.), I found about a week prior that I could skip the security line by flashing my federal ID. Take note, friends. I got to the gate as boarding began, and Dan the Man made it on the plane about 10 minutes before the plane was to leave. Way to go, Thomas clan. The plane ride itself was fairly mundane, as we both slept a good portion of it and consumed way too many Lorna Doone cookies given the time of day.

We finally landed in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, which basically looks like Las Vegas without the hotel skyline. I was so stoked to not wear a considerable sized coat for 8 days. The forecast while in Phoenix was 80+ during the day and lows of 60s. I considered kissing the ground and thanking Mother Nature for this precious gift of tanning, continuous sunshine and happiness. I restrained myself.

We took the Phoenix Valley Metro light rail from the airport to downtown Phoenix to check in to our hotel for the trip. The light rail is awesome – I wish the one on H Street NE would be that nice, but let’s be honest…. The hotel was the downtown Sheraton convention hotel which meant a sweet location for the baseball games and music festival. To us, it was about noon, but realistically, by the time we got to the hotel, it was only about 9:30am. Luckily, they let us check in that early on the CLUB LEVEL (HOLLA), which meant free food everyday! Awesome! Because all we had eaten at that point was more shortbread cookies than any human should eat before noon. We ate, settled in the room (and by that I mean I attempted to unpack my body bag of a suitcase) and headed to the pool. There was no way I was passing up the ability to get tan before noon in April. After getting sufficiently (and unevenly) sunburned, we regrouped for some quality wandering time. We started by going up to the park where the music festival was to be held – we weren’t going until Saturday, but figured it would be a good idea to have some sense of direction. The park was unassuming, right next to the Phoenix public library and a square teeming with homeless folk. Naturally, we found ourselves at the closest head shop to the festival, the Glass Joint, as they had a solid marketing plan (seen below).

This is what I call advertising...

Friday night consisted of some further wandering, enjoying walking around in less than a winter coat, and the D-Backs’ last spring training game of the season at Chase Field. This was an addition to me and Dan’s baseball stadium repertoire, and we were particularly impressed with the retractable roof and most importantly, the pool and hot tub in center field! Why isn’t this universal in all stadiums?? We realized that we really had no affinity to either the Cubs or D-Backs teams, as we recognized a total of 2 players on both lineups…we had some learnin’ to do.

Me and Dan at Chase Field

Pool and hot tub in center field?!?!

 At this point, Dan and I had been up since 4am (eastern time) to 10pm (Pacific time). But were we done? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Funk-jazz band Lettuce had played at the festival earlier in the day, and was doing an after-hours show at a local club, the Crescent Ballroom at 11:30pm. We rallied with 5-Hour Energies and musical devotion and headed out. The show eventually started around 12:30pm and it was time to get funky. It was the perfect way to start off the trip and introduce Dan to Lettuce. A DC friend, Kahlil, happened to be in town and met up for some funk and catching up.

Lettuce sounded as good as ever and induced a good amount of groovability. They covered a friendly band of their’s, Soulive’s, song ‘Reverb’ and welcomed a powerful voice, Alecia Chakour, to sing on a few songs. She fit perfectly with the band’s R&B sound. If you take Brittany from Alabama Shakes and add even more soul, you have Ms. Alecia Chakour.

Lettuce @ Crescent Ballroom

Saturday was another beautiful day in Phoenix and also our day for nothing but music. We had an all day ticket for the McDowell Mountain Music Festival with some great acts – Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers, Allen Stone, Dispatch, Slightly Stoopid and Disco Biscuits. It was a very small festival with one main stage and one stage for local acts. It had the typical festival setup of food trucks, hippie garb, and depictions of Jerry Garcia from every angle. After some wandering, Dan and I posted up in front of the stage. Nicki sounded as great as ever with an outfit that I truly envy. They played my favorite cover of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Somebody to Love’ and generally just rocked. Allen Stone brought the soul to this festival (weird dance moves and all) and Dispatch brought the reggae rock (think OAR, but better). I must admit that after a long day in the Arizona sun, we left before Slightly Stoopid and Disco Biscuits, but Slightly Stoopid will be at Bonnaroo and Disco Biscuits…well, I just don’t care that much. The most exciting thing was getting to see long lost Baltimore friend Allison and boyfriend Jimmy who live in Scottsdale!

Me, Dan and Nicki Bluhm!

Me and Allison! Missed you girl!

McDowell Mountain Music Festival - Phoenix, AZ

Allen Stone - Quit Callin'

After napping for 3 hours (yes, it was necessary), it was time for another after-hours show with Allen Stone at the Crescent Ballroom – I was starting to feel like a regular. For a Saturday night, Allen Stone put on a great show, with a great groove and engaging demeanor. I tried to get Kahlil into Allen Stone, but I must admit, it was tough to get past the weird O faces throughout the performance. As fun and warm Phoenix is, it has a serious downside when it comes to ending ALL alcohol sales after 2am – I guess it’s not totally perfect. After searching high and low for any form of alcohol, AND severely annoying the Sheraton hotel staff, we called it a night.

Sunday was the first day we’d had since we arrived that we didn’t have anything specific planned. It was time to get my shop and NCAA tournament on. This was also the first day we had a car, so it was prime for exploring. Dan wanted to take me to Sun Devils stadium, as it’s built into the side of a mountain, so there we went. There just happened to be a Tempe, Arizona Arts Festival the day we were there, so naturally I was on the hunt for some Arizona turquoise. The festival was on Tempe’s Mill Avenue (think Five Points in Columbia or Route 1 in College Park, but better). There were hundreds of artisans and craftspeople, which was like going to Sedona without the sweet red rocks in the background. Before it was too late, Dan and I realized that we needed to catch the end of the Elite Eight games with beers, margs and wings – FREEDOM. Kahlil even joined while his flight from hell was delayed.

As if having a sudden Great Lakes epiphany, Dan realized that the only Ted’s Hot Dogs (Buffalo, New York’s tradition since 1927), outside of western New York is in Tempe, Arizona! Clearly we were making a bee line for Ted’s. As soon as we arrived, it looked like Ted’s had just been lifted and transplanted from Buffalo. There was Buffalo paraphernalia everywhere inside and the menu looked just the same with only a few additions. The best part was eating a Ted’s hot dog outside in shorts in Arizona – what could be better? I think Dan had a religious experience.

Ted's in Arizona!

 At sunset we drove up to Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s pride and joy in Arizona. Although we couldn’t get inside, I was able to see my first desert sunset with saguaro cactus. From there we saw where the other half lives – in Scottsdale. We ended the day wandering around Old Town Scottsdale and playing an embarrassing round of pool. Some mellow sightseeing with Dairy Queen was the perfect end to a great weekend. More baseball and roadtripping were to come.