Dirty Impound

There’s an aura of mad joy to this photo set capturing two nights at Terrapin Crossroads, the new restaurant and live music venue for Phil Lesh currently in a soft opening. Having his own clubhouse appears to be sitting well with Phil based on these two recent Phil Lesh & Friends performances featuring Lesh (bass, vocals), Warren Haynes (guitar, vocals), Larry Campbell (guitar, violin, vocals), Teresa Williams (vocals), Jeff Chimenti (keys, vocals), and Grahame Lesh (guitar, vocals). These cats were clearly AFTER IT in a big way at these gigs. Once again, Jay Blakesberg has shaped live mojo into music for our eyes.

While ticket prices have been bitch-inducing high for these intimate shows (some shows a whomping $150/ticket), it is a rare chance to see master class musicians let their hair down, and it comes with a grilled cheese sandwich at the end of the night, so that’s something. Tickets for upcoming Terrapin Crossroads shows are available here, including the reunion of “The Quintet” with Lesh, Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Rob Barraco and John Molo.

03.27 Setlist:
1st Set: Here Comes Sunshine, How Sweet It Is, Uncle John’s Band, Millenium Jam, The Eleven, Blue Sky, Brown Eyed Women, Look at Miss Ohio, Sugaree

2nd Set: Passenger, The Wheel, Chest Fever, Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks), Dark Star, Wish You Were Here, Dark Star, Unbroken Chain, Stella Blue, In The Midnight Hour

Encore: Angel Band

03.29 Setlist:
1st Set: Althea, Ship of Fools, Big Railroad Blues, Into the Mystic, Scarlet Begonias, Mountain Song, Midnight Rider

2nd Set: Shakedown Street, Playin’ in the Band, Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, This Wheels On Fire, Little Sparrow, Bird Song, Layla, Fire on the Mountain, Morning Dew, Playin’ reprise

Encore: Liberty

Not many bands have made such a positive first impression or continued to stoke our faith in them over the years as NYC’s Leroy Justice. The essence of greats like The Black Crowes and The Band murmur in their bones, and they look just like we think a rock band should – there’s something of an archetype about them. Judge for yourself in these super sweet photos from Joe Russo captured at the band’s February performance at Brooklyn Bowl with guests God Street Wine’s Lo Faber and saxophonist Michael Kammers guesting. There’s a new performance video of an unreleased track from this show below the photos, too.

Leroy Justice returns to the Bowl to open for the North Mississippi Allstars next Friday, April 6th, along with a handful of opening slots for NMA this week and some other gigs the next – dates & details. And if you haven’t already, y’all need to get familiar with Leroy Justice’s two albums, Revolution’s Son and The Loho Sessions as we wait impatiently for record number three (which we think is gonna be pretty fucking great based on the new tunes they’re doing live).

Set One: Worry Me No More, Blue Eyed Blues, Light Cigarette, Evil K, Bender, So Long, Watch Him Fall, Domino

Set Two: Before I Die > Revolution’s Son, Swingtown *@, Belt Buckle *@, Let’s Go Get Stoned *@, Love The One You’re With *@, Temporary Cure *@, The Ocean *

Encore: Sea Jam > Out To Sea

* – w/ Lo Faber on guitar.
@ – w/ Michael Kammers on sax.

Last weekend, Grateful Dead seasoned vet Bob Weir joined together with a handpicked group of young Brooklyn musicians in an East Coast/West Coast musical and political summit held at Weir’s Marin-based TRI Studios. The HeadCount organized event was put together around the theme of bridging differences and finding common ground. The night also included a roundtable discussion with political heavyweights Buddy Roemer, Mark McKinnon, Jessy Tolkan and John Perry Barlow, and you can read a full report on the happening over here.

The musicians playing with Weir at this Session were chosen by The National’s bass and drum playing brothers Scott and Bryan Devendorf and included The National’s Aaron Dessner (guitar, electric mandolin), Kyle Resnick (trumpet) and Thomas “Doveman” Bartlett (keys) with Yellowbirds’ Sam Cohen (guitar) and Josh Kaufman (guitar, lap steel), The Walkmen’s Walt Martin (keys), and Taka Taka’s Conrad Doucette (drums).

What transpired was inspirational and thought provoking, and against some expectations the musical union of Weir and the indie world players proved really satisfying and a fine fit. A happy surprise to be sure. Check out a few of the performances in the videos – including Weir doing a boffo job on The National’s “Daughters of the Soho Riots” – below this swell action-capturing gallery from DI chum Jay Blakesberg. And by all means pop over to HeadCount and get registered to vote and explore ways to get involved with real democracy!

Setlist

Set I: Help on the Way, Love Thine Enemy, Looks Like Rain, El Paso, Friend of the Devil, Cassidy, Daughters of the SoHo Riots, My Brother Esau

Set II: Me and My Uncle, Fake Empire, Most of the Time, Brown Eyed Women, The Other One, Standing on the Moon, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider

Encore: Ripple, Uncle John’s Band, Brokedown Palace

Railroad Earth wears their souls close to the surface. One picks up on a faint incandescence to them when they inhabit a stage, some internal poetry emerging through their bodies and flowing out of their instruments. Suzy Perler captures this glow nicely in her photos of RRE’s performance at the Best Buy Theater in NYC.

Setlist:
Set I: Mighty River, Saddle Of The Sun > Head, The Good Life, For Love, Right In Tune, The Hunting Song > Hard Livin’
Set II: Happy Song, Seven Story Mountain, Chains, Daddy-O, Elko, Potter’s Field, 1759 > Goat, Any Road, The Green Roofs Of Eireann > Like A Buddha > El Cumbanchero
Encore: Everything Comes Together

Unquestionably, one of the coolest double features to hit the touring circuit in 2012 thus far was beloved comfort rockers Wilco and hard charging up & comers White Denim (who released one of DI’s favorite albums of 2011). You can catch Dennis’ full thoughts on this pairing here, but these bang-up shots from lensman extraordinaire Jay Blakesberg go a fair ways towards showing the pleasure and passion of these two bands. Captured at The Warfield in SF (1/29) and The Fox Theater in Oakland (1/31), these images ensnare the enjoyment and in-the-moment feel of the music offered up these nights. It’s a neat trick to pull off without sound but Blakesberg rolls like that.

These cheerful folks are ALO. Few musicians love their craft as much as these four lads, and honestly, there’s not many of their caliber around. These pictures capture the high spirits in the room near the start of ALO’s annual Tour d’Amour, a February Cali love fest soundtracked by an invigorating merger of pop ‘n’ jam. Folks dress up and hearts swell a few sizes. It’s a reliably neat shindig at each stop on this home state jaunt (which also benefits Music In Schools Today – ALO are good people on top of being great players). Tour d’Amour VI concludes tonight, February 25, at The Fillmore in San Francisco, and will be mixed in Quadraphonic Sound (aka, Surround Sound). If your dance card is open you’d have a hard time finding a better way to spend your Saturday night in SF.

To get folks in the mood for the amorous finale, here’s a boffo gallery from the Mystic Theatre – one of the Bay Area’s coolest venues – shot by Mr. John Margaretten. We’ve said it before but it warrants repeating – John is one of the best live music shooters out there today and we’re lucky he shares his work with DI. This set also includes some choice pics of Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, who warmed up the crowd for this entire tour – a killer pairing that meant for regular, fruitful collaboration, always a winning bonus for audiences.

And if you can’t make The Fillmore hoedown, ALO has just announced a May tour of the East Coast, Southeast and Midwest. Dates and details here.