Take off the Slide!!... TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, TWICE! - Warner Theatre, Washington, DC & Pier Six Pavilion, Baltimore, MD - February 20th & August 1st, 2015

So I have several excuses for not writing in over 2 months...too much life living, a new job at Hill Country Barbecue in DC, no big deal. My posts have been more out of order than a VA hospital's records (too soon?). Anyway, I'm back.

Do you ever feel like you've done something so right that you are so happy with yourself because you literally couldn't have done better if you tried? Yeah - it doesn't happen to me much either. But there WAS that once in a blue moon time it happened in February when me and Dan the Man saw Tedeschi Trucks Band at Warner Theatre. AND on Saturday when we saw them AGAIN in Baltimore.

Tedeschi Trucks shows have been my good luck charm for arguably the best seats I've ever had at any concert. I've had the privilege of being able to see Tedeschi Trucks twice this year during 2 separate tours. My dad and I typically try to get each other gifts that involve some sort of activity: concert, travel, skydiving - ok maybe not skydiving, but definitely music. The first show in February was my belated birthday gift to Dan the Man in February during Tedeschi Trucks' recently annual winter tour of playing some of the most beautiful old theatres in the US. They played a 2 night stand at Warner Theatre, selling out both - I guess everyone else wants to see Derek Trucks rip as much as me. The seating was rather tight to a level of uncomfortable, but whatever - it's Warner Theatre. Dan the Man and I were about 10 rows back from the stage, center stage. Never had such good seats ever. Tedeschi Trucks is an 11-person monstrosity of rock, blues, soul and funk. Derek is a rightful heir to rock n' roll stardom, his uncle, Butch Trucks, a founding member and drummer of southern rock sensation the Allman Brothers Band. His bandmate and wife, Susan Tedeschi, is an angel of soul music - her voice is reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt. One of my favorite songs she does is a mashup of Angel from Montgomery (John Prine) and Sugaree (Grateful Dead).




The February show definitely offered fans more songs of note from their past two albums, but this August show was my resounding favorite for so many reasons.

Dan the Man again scored us fantastic seats, a little right of the stage. This time it was an outdoor pavilion show in Baltimore, and it was 85 degrees with little humidity. Anyone who lives in the DMV or has seen me play soccer or dance at Bonnaroo knows I'm no stranger to sweating. 85 degrees with no humidity = my friend. This was the Wheels of Soul tour, so naturally, soul legend Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings opened the show with a nice combo of gospel-soul-funk. Sharon Jones had the energy level and style of a young Tina Turner, but she was 60 years old. #lifegoals. The Dap Kings sported full suits which made Dan and I cringe.

Tedeschi Trucks started about 9:30 and played about an hour and a half set (I could have listened to them for 4 hours but whatever). They were definitely promoting their new album, to be released at the beginning of 2016 (title unknown) and played quite a few songs from that new album. One of the most exciting things about the night was a few new members of the band/standins. There were two major music festivals going on this weekend - Gathering of the Vibes and Lollapollooza - so I figured a few of their members might be playing other gigs. One of Dan and my favorite singers right now, Alecia Chakour, sang backup! She usually plays with Lettuce so it was very cool to see her and her constantly shaking hips in this setting.



They played Dan and my favorite song, Midnight in Harlem, as well as my personal fav, The Storm (mostly because it showcases Derek Trucks' crazy guitar playing prowess - minus the guitar slide). Dan waited all night for him to take the slide off and really rock, so he got his wish. 

The encore was probably the best thing I've ever seen. They brought Sharon Jones & Dap Kings back out for a total of 23 people on stage, and proceeded to play a melange of Sly & the Family Stone songs. If you know anything about me and my funky self, Sly is probably my favorite of all time. So I FREAKED OUT. I think it reminded me of the 2014 Superjam at Bonnaroo, which was my favorite show I've ever seen. Dan was up dancing and jammin' to Sly by the end of the night and I was on Cloud 9 for the next several hours. Well done, Dan the Man. Always a funky time :)

We had another musical adventure in mid-May of this year - the Chesapeake Bay Blues Fest - featuring Buddy Guy, Mingo Fishtrap, Jonny Lang, etc. More details about our fun-filled day at Sandy Point State Park to come soon.

Closing Time... - Brothers Comatose - Gypsy Sally's, Washington, DC - May 21st, 2015

Bluegrass tends to make me happy. It makes me daydream of going somewhere like Asheville, North Carolina, sitting on a porch with some hippies who weirdly like Deliverance-esque bluegrass music and havin' a ho-down. OK - NOT a ho-down, but you get the picture.

You may have noticed a pattern that - SHOCKER - I enjoy music of the funky variety. You know - something where if you're sitting down, you're definitely not getting the full experience. So a bluegrass show is a different experience for me. My concert companion, Amanda, has gotten me to go to a few bluegrass shows - Devil Makes Three, Route 29 Revue, Two Ton Twig. OK, OK - she got me to go to Route 29 Revue because Trombone Shorty was playing (not a tough sell). Anyway, I've had my share of weird experiences at bluegrass shows, namely witnessing a bluegrass moshpit. To me, these two things are conflicting ideas, but whatever.

Amanda and me at Route 29 Revue in Columbia, MD

Brothers Comatose is a bluegrass band out of San Francisco, CA. I learned later that they collaborate pretty regularly with one of my favorite artists - Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers! (More on that later...)

They were playing at Gypsy Sally's in Georgetown for $10! Crazy! Gypsy Sally's is a fairly new venue, trying to find it's place among the DC live music scene. The owners are a Woodstock-era couple (I met the guy, and he's wearing a Grateful Dead shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks - you can't go wrong with this combination in my opinion). They have a venue that can hold around 200 people, plus a side bar and event space they use for open mic nights. They regularly have Grateful Dead listening parties, and use old jam band concert tickets to adorn the bars. I love the Hamilton dearly, but this is as close to live music utopia as it gets. The shows they feature are generally Americana in genre, but also can get funky in their offerings - the first show I saw here was Orgone. FUNKAYYYYY.

I was most proud of myself for actually taking public transportation to this show - anyone in DC knows that taking public transportation to Georgetown is a feat in itself. Gypsy Sally's location is a little tough - it's underneath Whitehurst freeway, probably 3/4 of a mile from the bustling Georgetown waterfront. I thought the Georgetown movie theater was far.

After our Oregon Trail-esque journeys to Georgetown from our respective homes, we got some obligatory cocktails and settled in for Brothers Comatose. A duo named Toka Chase opened - weird but awesome. It was bluegrass with some rap lyrics and flow. The chick was phenomenal - her voice would be welcome in any genre. Their merch set up was the kicker - as they described it, an old suitcase with the lighting of a bug zapper.

Brothers Comatose sounded great live - better than what I heard on Pandora earlier that day in my opinion. Great harmonies, with a bassist whose favorite band was DC's own Fugazi - WHAT?!

I had had several glasses of wine at this point (don't judge) to preface this story. The crowd was relatively small - maybe 40 or 50 people, which in this room, felt incredibly small. The lead singer asked the crowd if anyone know the song 'Morningtime'. Obviously, I heard them ask if anyone knew the song 'Closing Time' by Semisonic. So I yell out ' DUH'. The venue was silent and everyone was staring at me. I was like what? Does no one else know 'Closing Time'? Mid way through this experience, I realized that he definitely DID NOT say 'Closing Time'. Ironically, 'Morningtime' is a song they do with Nicki Bluhm - fail. So when they asked me to come on stage, the crowd was cheering and I had to quiet everyone down to let them know that in fact, I have no idea what 'Morningtime' sounds like and I thought they were referring to 'Closing Time'. They went into a mini bluegrass rendition of 'Closing Time'. One of Amanda's friend's moms actually knew the song and went up on stage and sang with the band to 'MORNINGtime'. It's actually a very lovely song.



All in all, a great night with good memories, good friends and eventually - closing time.

Landmark Music Festival comes to Washington, DC - September 26th-27th

OK, OK. So it's been a while since the Musical Vagabond came at you with any posts - what can I say? I gotta make a living somehow until this blog becomes so famous I can just go to concerts for a living.

However, this news is monumental - DC finally has a music festival! What's that? A music festival on the tidal basin? In my backyard? I can shower? (sorry, Bonnaroo.) YES.

That's right - DC will host it's inaugural music festival, Landmark Music Festival, September 26th-27th. I mean I guess DC has had some festival-like events on the Mall - the Concert for Valor on November 11th, 2014 and the since-recently annual Global Citizen Day concert. I attended both, and was not super impressed. The first one had an awesome lineup - Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Metallica to name a few - but you had to get there at like 9am to get anywhere near the stage. Sorry. I have a day off from work and its like a mile from my house - this chick ain't gettin' up that early. That being said, arriving an hour before the show meant you could get a spot next to the Washington Monument (for those of you non-Washingtonians,  that means you're literally a mile away from the stage). You could watch on the many big screens on the mall, but I guess I could have just watched on HBO.

For Global Citizen Day, it was much more festival-esque - nice weather, I got a tan, OK music. Thankfully we arrived right at the beginning of the festivities and I got the see the only band I cared about - My Morning Jacket. The downside? They played 3 songs and for an hour between each band's set you had to listen to some self-righteous celebrities talk about global warming and poverty while they were chauffered in their Maybachs to this speaking engagement. I'm kind of over this level of DC hypocrisy.

All of that considered, seems like Landmark Music Festival is an actual music festival! HURRAH! However, this being DC and the capital of charitable events, the festival ain't for nothin'. All proceeds go to the Trust for the National Mall to restore the National Mall to it's once beautiful condition. (If you've seen the Mall lately, looks more like a construction site than a place to hold a music festival, but I digress). So that we don't further destroy the Mall's limited grassy areas, the festival will actually be held in West Potomac Park, that ambiguous area that no one thought actually had a name next to the MLK memorial and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial.

The festival is featuring 40 artists, with your headliners to please mainstreamers, hipsters and music snobs alike - Drake, The Strokes, alt-j topping the bill - and then some of my favorites which basically convinced me to buy a ticket at all - the legend himself Dr. John, The London Souls, Red Baarat, Rebirth Brass Band, Vintage Trouble, The Lone Bellow and hometown boy Wale (well, he's from Gaithersburg, but whatever - I'll let it go, Wale).

Rhiannon Giddens of Carolina Chocolate Drops fame will be there. She's been gaining traction as a solo act, so would be good to catch her show - saw them at 9:30 Club and killed it as a soul-bluegrass act.

Sidebar - Another day-long music festival I'll be attending in July is the Foo Fighters July 4th concert at RFK featuring Gary Clark Jr, Trombone Shorty, Joan Jett, Trouble Funk, Buddy Guy, and LL Cool J - all artists featured on Dave Grohl's HBO special "Sonic Highways".

Back to Landmark - a year without Bonnaroo and Nola Jazzfest will be made a little better with this hometown music festival. Early bird tickets were $100 for both days - CRAZY CHEAP! - and they are now $150. Get yours now!

Landmark Music Festival

February is the Month of DC Music!! - Upcoming Shows

Guys. Amigos. Musical soulmates. I know it's been a whole mess a' time since I last graced you with a Musical Vagabond post. That time has come to an end.

I believe I hit a record for myself - no concerts in the month of January (unless that reggae band at my work event counts...). That being said, I have about 5 shows in the coming weeks, including one this Wednesday (happy birthday, Andrea!) and 3 the week of February 16th! The 3 in the coming weeks are extra exciting for 2 reasons: 1. Two of the three bands I've never seen before - JJ Grey & Mofro/London Souls and Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and 2. Tedeschi Trucks Band at Warner Theatre. 'Nuff said.

Many of my go-to bands are either on the international stretch of their tour, or holding out touring until closer to the summer - makes it easier to work their schedule around summer festivals. This timing has worked out well since I'm savin' up some dollars for my trip to Paris in April. (SIDENOTE: IF ANY OF MY FOLLOWERS HAVE TIPS ON GOOD LIVE MUSIC VENUES IN PARIS, I'M TAKING SUGGESTIONS!). There has been a perfect storm of concert activity in DC in February, however, and for that, I'm grateful because I was beginning to go through withdrawal.

For the show this week, Jason Isbell is playing Lincoln Theatre on February 4th. I'm embarrassed to say I've never seen a show at Lincoln Theatre, but it's a revitalized venue on U Street. I can't believe I didn't know when these tickets when on sale, but nevertheless I was late to the party and Dan the Man and I will be vulturing some tickets outside of the venue from some generous ticket scalpers. If you're not familiar with Jason Isbell's work, he was previously the frontman for the Americana band with a cult following, Drive-By Truckers (can I use the term 'frontman' for a someone who isn't Mick Jagger, Bono or Trent Reznor? Oh well.) He's since released a few solo albums, including his latest, Southeastern. I saw him open in the early summer for singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne and he was fantastic. Some of the songs in his arsenal are a little depressing, but all have a great story. My favorite is his song about his dad, 'Outfit'




Next on the docket is a show I've not yet bought tickets to yet - I'm hoping to find someone as obsessed with the Black Crowes as me to come with (who am I kidding? I'll go by myself and make friends.) In some recent sad news, The Black Crowes have officially broken up, as brother band members Chris and Rich Robinson have moved onto other musical pursuits. The Black Crowes are my definitive favorite band - gritty rock n' roll in a time where Rolling Stones-esque rock n' roll was being replaced by grunge and adult contemporary - those genres have their place, but nothing beats pure rock n' roll. Anyway, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood will be at 9:30 Club on February 11th. They still have a reminiscent Black Crowes sound, and have tapped more into their Georgia roots with some more southern rock sounds. My favorite - and their best known - song is Rosalee:



The week of February 16th is gonna be jam-packed with great music. My dear boyfriend, Brandon, bought me tickets for February 17th to see Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Hamilton - what a guy :) Time for pizza, sushi, my man and New Orleans brass - I love that I've found a place where all of those things can be mentioned in one sentence without being weird.

Brandon & I at the Hamilton - No BS Brass Band

The following day I'll be headed to 9:30 Club for JJ Grey & Mofro, with openers The London Souls. I would describe JJ Grey's music as dirty, swamp music. They are from Jacksonville, FL and I think their albums would be a great soundtrack for driving through the Everglades. But it's also great for jammin' to on a Wednesday night. The London Souls are a trio that play some great modern rock - they've opened for some of my other go-to's, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Trombone Shorty.







The grand finale will be on Friday, Feb. 20th. Tedeschi Trucks Band, arguably one of the best funk and soul bands right now, will be at Warner Theatre. I got these tickets for Dan the Man's birthday and as far as I understand, we are front and center!! The only live music show I've seen at Warner is Trombone Shorty a few months ago. Susan Tedeschi is the lead singer and sounds eerily like Bonnie Raitt. Her husband and lead guitarist, Derek Trucks, is the nephew of Butch Trucks from the Allman Brothers Band. He's one of the best guitarists out right now - he's played alongside some of the best. They have about 8 other members of the band, so they always do some exciting jamming. Can't wait!




Check back for another post soon, where I give my official Musical Vagabond opinion of this year's music festival lineups. Get out there and see some live music!