Concert Review : Tommy Womack
Aug 31, 2010 Concert Reviews
Everyone who performs live opens some amount of themselves up to the audience. With some it is a small glimpse with others there is a definite personal connection with all of those watching them. Tommy Womack takes the stage and precedes to take his heart out and place it on the stand alongside his harmonicas for everyone to see. It’s what makes every time you see him a special occasion no matter what the situation happens to be.
A couple of weeks ago I drove up to the Spruce Street Studios to experience one of those nights with Tommy and fifty or so like minded music fans.
Arriving literally five minutes before show time Tommy walked to the stage and did the world’s fastest soundcheck and was ready to perform. That warranted mentioning because a completely road drained, rushed, and probably underfed Womack was about to put on the one of the best shows I have ever seen.
Right off the bat, Tommy set the tone for the night with back to back unreleased songs (this would be the theme of the night). The first I had never heard and I think the name of it was “Play That Cheap Trick, Cheap Trick Play”. It falls right in line with all of his other very introspective and personal songs that he has been writing throughout his career.
The second song of the night was “Bye and Bye”, a track he had played the last time I saw him. Centering around an encounter with an ex-lover in a grocery store, this is one of those songs that allows me and I’m sure everyone else to connect with Tommy. It laments what could have been at the same time recognizing that things worked out for the best in a jaded, sarcastic way that only Womack can deliver in song. I think any of us who still live in the same town with people whom we have pasts reside have had these exact experiences and felt the same way as the protagonist in the song, telling her “Please scan your damn items, please shove them in the bag and get on with the rest of your life”
From there the very long first set went through many of the favorites from There, I Said It, the latest Daddy release, For a Second Time and all of his other releases. Highlights included two epics in “Alpha Male and the Canine Mystery Blood” and “The Replacements”. The latter a personal treat for me because I had never heard him do it live.
Two other moments really stood out for me in the first set. First he played “I Went to Heaven in a Dream Last Night” with just a harmonica and turned into a blend of beatnik and bluesman right before our eyes. The second was his reading from Cheese Chronicles his autobiographical book about his days in the band Government Cheese (more on them later). 
After a very short set break Tommy took the stage again for what I thought would be a short second set. Boy was I wrong. The second half of the evening would end up being longer than the first.
Womack began tearing through the rest of There, I Said It (only neglecting to play two tracks from the album), Daddy’s debut release and more importantly a ton of new stuff. At one point it became obvious that this was one special night as Tommy started throwing out new song after new song. The standout to me was “Over the Hill” a song about he and his wife getting older together.
Somewhere in the second set, He played my favorite Government Cheese song, “C’mon Back To Bowling Green and Marry Me” with an added surprise thrown in at the end… “Fish Stick Day”. I was not around for the Cheese days but from what I have gathered this was a crowd favorite and it still gets a great response from the crowd as a much needed dose of nonsense. The Cheese songs have been finding their way into Tommy’s set lately in anticipation of the up-coming release of the Government Cheese box set.
This box set has been a project a few years in the making and it is obvious that it is close to Tommy’s heart. I for one, am very anxious to hear the results as it will contain all of their released material and a bunch of unreleased tracks. It should be hitting the shelves later this fall.
As the night began to wind down, Tommy busted out a few amusing covers in Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman” and Tom Waits’ “The Piano Has Been Drinking” (reworked as “The Guitar Has Been Drinking”). Also thrown in to the end of the show was the always fun “A Little Bit of Sex” complete with Gene Simmons Sexual Savior story.
Tommy walked off the stage to the expected chant of one more. Never one to let the crowd down he came back to the stage and delivered a three song encore the highlight of which was “A Songwriter’s Prayer” and left again to a rousing round of applause. He quickly turned around and gave us all one more song before the show ended for real.
From start to finish this was the best Tommy show I have seen to this date. He sounded better than ever, and seemed extremely comfortable with the crowd. He did a great job of mixing up the set list with new and old songs and the delivery was superb. Tommy never lets me down as a fan, but this was definitely a special night one that I was damn glad I took the night off work for. Look for the Government Cheese box set soon and if the songs he played that night were any indication an impending solo release that will rival There, I Said It, which is no small order because that is one of my favorite records of all time.
If for some reason you are reading this and don’t know Tommy’s music check out his website here. Also I took some videos and would love to say I will have them up soon, but if you have followed this site you know it will probably be awhile.
Tags: Tommy Womack
Lists : 5 Great Live Albums
Aug 14, 2010 Lists
A lot of people don’t really care too much for the live album, preferring the polished sound of the studio instead, but not me. I love live records, especially those that aren’t just rehashes of what you can find on the studio releases.
There are few things that I think go into making a really good live record. Song selection is paramount. Yes we probably need to hear what are considered the hits or fan favorites, but please put some tracks on there that deeper fans can appreciate. I also need some or all songs to be worked differently, this can be as subtle as just extending the song or as drastic as playing a balls out rocker as a solo acoustic number. Always nice for me is a cover tune because it is always a pleasure to hear your favorite artist play some of their favorites.
As always this list is in no order, and may not be my favorite all time live records, but every one on here gives me joy. Some of them are retrospective live albums, some released with all new material, some rely heavily on covers and some are all original. Without further delay here are some absolutely great live records….
Tommy Womack : Washington D. C. (2003)
Here is Tommy at his Rock n Roll greatest. This is one of my favorite albums to turn way up and scream along to. There are some songs that only appear on this release and there are some songs from his previous releases. As an added bonus Tommy breaks out some favorites from the bis-quits album. This album rocks from beginning to end without stopping.
My personal favorite tracks on this one are “I Don’t Have a Gun” an “Skinny and Small”. Both songs featuring either avoided or inevitable acts of violence against the people that have wronged the narrator or maybe just pissed him off. While neither Tommy nor myself for that matter would ever commit such acts sometimes it is just therapeutic to sing about doing so at the top of your lungs over top of some hellacious guitar riffs.
Other highlights include : “Betty Was Black (Willie Was White)” and “Sweet Hitchhiker”.
Jane’s Addiction : Jane’s Addiction (1987) 
Staying with the Rock n Roll albums, this debut album from Jane’s Addiction really can’t be beat. While some would argue it is not a true live album (there were some overdubs added) to me it still maintains the feel and energy of a live recording. Adding to the intrigue on this one is that it was their debut record which is always a ballsy move for a band to make, shunning the shelter and safety of the studio and just putting out what has gained them a following in the first place, playing live.
Not only do I love this album, it is by far my favorite Jane’s Addiction record. It has everything you could want from Farrell and company. Some punk rock influenced screachers, a couple of slower more lyrical tunes, Farrell’s ever strange vocals and Dave Navarro destroying a guitar not to mention drummer, Stephen Perkins.
My favorites on this one are “Jane Says”, which is sort of the cliche Jane’s song but who cares, “Whores” a song about the dregs of L.A. and surprisingly enough two cover songs.
They completely nail the two covers that appear on this album. First off is the Velvet Underground’s “Rock n Roll” which Farrell really just kills. Following that is one of the best Rolling Stones covers I’ve ever heard in “Sympathy for the Devil” .
Todd Snider : Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (2003)
Here we have our first acoustic offering of the list. This is a great way to introduce Todd to people who don’t really like to listen to bootlegs. You can never really say you’ve heard him until you’ve seen him live but this is the next best thing.
On this release they did a great job capturing the Todd experience and packaging it on a single disc. He stretches out on multiple tangents between songs and is able to play some songs that leave you laughing alongside some that bring tears to your eyes. And that is, after what a Todd show is all about.
Personal bests on this one, “Tension”, one of my all time favorite Todd songs that always makes me smile, “Broke” a song about the things you will do when are in that predicament, and “Waco Moon” a tribute to the late Eddy Shaver.
Nirvana : Unplugged (1994)
Full of teenage angst and superb covers, this album helped define my generation. I dare anyone to attempt to argue the validity of this album appearing on this list. I still listen to this one on a regular basis which is a lot more than I can say for most of the other things I was listening to at the time.
This performance was by far the best in MTV’s series and is probably my favorite Nirvana album as well. It really showed that they were musicians and not just a bunch of anger driven post adolescents. I love everything about the sound on this one from Cobain delivering fine vocals, the acoustic arrangements and the appearance of the members of the Meat Puppets. Not only did it shed new light on their own songs it showed that they were aware and appreciative of people that came before them in musical history.
My favorites on this one may be all covers, not because I don’t like the originals but because the covers were so well chosen. “Plateau” and “Lake of Fire”, two of the three Meat Puppets covers are fantastic. In addition to those, the not well known David Bowie song “The Man Who Sold the World” and the very well known Leadbelly tune, “In the Pines” (credited as “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” are both fucking great.
As for the Nirvana songs on this Nirvana album, the standouts are “Polly”, “Dumb”, and “Pennyroyal Tea”
Will Hoge : Again Somewhere Tomorrow (2007)
Here is another rocker of an album. Hoge seems to be on a mission to save live Rock n Roll and this album goes a long way in doing so. The energy Hoge puts out in his vocals on this recording is simply amazing. Hoge is like a mixture or Mick Jagger, Chris Robinson and Otis Redding all rolled into one when he gets going.
As always the band backing Hoge on this album is equally gifted, lifting the songs higher and higher throughout.
Favorites of mine on this one are the Motown infused, “Woman Be Strong” , opener “The Man Who Killed Love” and “Southern Belle”, a longing for a specific type of lover.
Every song on this album is great and it is a damn shame that this is the closest I have yet to come to seeing him live (two plan trips have been stopped due to uncontrollable circumstances) but at least it is a great record.
As always this list could o on forever because there are about a million other live albums that I think are great and I’m sure in ten minutes I will be wishing I would have included some of them instead of the ones I’ve written about. Feel free to comment with your favorite live albums or why you think my choices are wrong or right.
Tags: jane's addiction, Lists, Nirvana, todd snider, Tommy Womack, Will Hoge
Podcast, Episode 4 : Ricky Stein
Aug 13, 2010 Podcasts
After a small, unavoidable delay, here is the podcast we recorded late last month when Austin Texas’ Ricky Stein dropped by the studio. This one was a blast to record. Ricky talks about his new EP release, compares life on the road solo and with a band, and talks about why he loves cemeteries.
In addition to all of the questions that we normally ask at the end of the interview we have added one that I think is quite amusing and should continue to get good reactions in the future. Remember to think about donating if you like what you hear.
On the horizon for the podcast is Tommy Womack, Graham Weber and many more.
Tags: podcast, ricky stein
Concert Review : William Elliott Whitmore and Frank Turner
Aug 12, 2010 Concert Reviews
On Saturday August, 7 the wife and I went to Detroit to see William Elliott Whitmore and Frank Turner at the Magic Stick. Detroit is about four hours away from our house, so it may seem a little odd for us to be driving that far to see the opener of a show. Luckily the show was more of a co-headliner affair and we both thoroughly enjoyed Frank Turner as well.
We arrived at the Magic Stick early in the day before the music venue was open. However, there was a bowling alley, bar and restaurant downstairs. We each had a beer and later returned for some very good food before going upstairs. The actual venue is upstairs and seems to normally cater to heavy music. When we got upstairs I was quite impressed with my surroundings.
There was a large bar that was easily accessible in the back of the room, a bunch of pool tables (that thankfully remained unused during the show), a large dance floor lined with chairs, and a decently sized stage. Wondering outside we found the most impressive part of the establishment. They had a rooftop bar with tons of tables and a cool view of downtown. Other notes on the venue: the staff was very courteous and the sound was quite good throughout all of the sets.
Taking the stage to start the evening off was Flint, Michigan’s Empty Orchestra. They were an energetic Rock n Roll band that seemed to be really happy to be opening this show. Their set was completely original material and they did a good job of getting the crowd riled up. The highlight of their set for me was a song about coming to terms with living in small town Michigan, and I’ll be damned if I can’t remember the name of it. I would certainly check them out again if they make it down to my part of the country.
After the opener, William Elliott Whitmore took the stage, much to our delight. We are both huge fans of Whitmore’s and after seeing him live my wife may be contemplating divorce.
If you are not familiar with Whitmore, you should be. The best way I can think to describe him is a strange hybrid of the, the grittiness of Tom Waits, the soul of Bill Withers, the rawness of Roscoe Holcomb, and the attitude of The Ramones. After all of that, my description doesn’t really do him justice. On Stage he plays guitar, banjo and mics his boot for percussion really filling out a solo set. 
Whitmore quickly began his set, playing three songs on the banjo right off the bat. Included in the banjo portion of his show was a favorite of mine “Diggin’ My Grave”. After putting down the banjo in favor of the guitar, Whitmore really began to feed off the crowd.
At various times he commented on how much he was enjoying himself and how great it was that the crowd came to see him play. At one point he led the crowd in blowing across the tops of their beer bottles to create some kind of bar room orchestra. Another amusing point in the middle of the in between song banter was when Whitmore asked about the Tigers, who were playing a home game that night, and the crowd expressed their indifference. Whitmore’s response of “The hell with the Tigers then” was quite funny.
Throughout the show, I was interested to see Whitmore’s mannerisms, he seemed very shy and at the same time completely in control of the situation. I’m not sure if it comes from the fact that he hails from a horse farm in Iowa, but it seemed that Whitmore would have been more comfortable outside just playing these songs to a few people and not the 150 or so folks that were in front of him. Fortunately for us, he has decided to go ahead and play these songs on stage, because damn are they good, especially live.
During the rest of the set, he played songs from all of his releases while focusing on last years’, Animals in the Dark. The high points for me were a rousing rendition of “Midnight”, my all time favorite Whitmore tune “Hell or High Water” and a crowd pleasing “Lift My Jug”. Also of note was his cover of “Don’t Pray On Me” by Bad Religion.
Whitmore had not only met but exceeded our very high expectations. Over all we were completely happy with the hour long set and would have been well pleased had the night ended right there but, we still had another set to go in the evening.
I had never heard of Frank Turner prior to purchasing the tickets to this show. I did some research on him, finding out that he was from England and played a form of punk/ folk. He has been getting a lot of publicity of late in and around the punk scenes on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to this tour he is scheduled to do a tour with Social Distortion and Lucero in the fall. I downloaded a couple of his records and liked what I heard even 
though this is not normally my favorite genre.
Despite the research, we were not sure what we were in store for. Well, out walked Turner and band. From the outset it was obvious that this crowd was full of Turner’s fans as they seemed to sing along to every lyric.
The most impressive thing I saw watching Turner was his complete control of the crowd. He was telling funny stories and engaging frequently in banter with those in the crowd. His energy was very punk rock, Bruce Springsteen. It was amazing. Turner was charming, talented, vulgar and seemed to be having more fun than anyone in the place.
He and his band ran through about five songs together with a highlight of his song “Nashville, Tennessee”. His band then left the stage, so Frank could play some songs solo.
To begin the solo set, Turner brought a woman from the crowd to the stage to do him a “favor”. It was funny to watch as she stood not really sure what she was going to do but being thrilled to be on stage with him. Eventually he handed her a harmonica and told her she was going to play a solo. The ensuing song was high entertainment as he tried to get her to play into the mic and she eventually left the stage to a rousing round of applause.
Turner went on to play a few more songs solo before his band returned to the stage to join him. My favorite part of the solo set was a new song called “I Believe”, a tribute to Rock n Roll that he got the crowd to sing along to.
After reuniting with his band, Turner proceeded to torch the place with crowd favorites. While most of the songs were all new to me, once again everyone else was singing along turning the night into a party. Songs included were “The Road” which got perhaps the biggest reaction of the evening, “The Ballad of Me and My Friends”, and a punk rock infused spit in the face of aging, “Photosynthesis” that closed the show and left me singing it for days.
As the band walked off, the crowd began the chant of one more song. Not wanting to let the fans down out walked Turner again. He then said, that because he had previously canceled a show in Detroit he was going to break his protocol and actually play an encore. Not only did he play an encore, it lasted four songs.
Needless to say, I walked away a Frank Turner fan. His energy level and just flat out fun songs had won me over and in the following week I have been constantly listening to his album, Love, Ire and Song.
We made it back to the hotel around one in the morning completely spent from the day and absolutely satisfied in the trip. I had a chance to talk to both performers after their sets and they were both quite personable. I am hoping to have both of them on the podcast in the future and videos from the show will be on Youtube as soon as I can get around to posting them.
Tags: concert review, Frank Turner, william elliott whitmore
Artist of the Month, August 2010 : Graham Weber
Aug 1, 2010 Artist of the Month
I have read or heard Weber compared to the likes of John Prine, a young Bob Dylan, Todd Snider, and an early Wilco era Jeff Tweedy. All of those comparisons are fair enough but they really fall short of accurately describing Weber. All that needs to be said about Graham is that he is a great songwriter who has digested the catalogs of all the greats and came through with a voice and a sound all of his own.
Weber began his musical journey in his native Ohio early in this decade. Starting out a little later in life than some, he cut his teeth in various bands in the area before embarking on his solo career. After recording and releasing the mostly acoustic, Naive Melodies in 2003, Graham decided to make a bold move and departed Ohio for the overcrowded songwriting scene of Austin, Texas.
When I asked him a few years later why he decided to make this move at a time when he had begun to develop quite the following in Ohio, Weber replied, “I could have stayed and made enough money in Ohio as a medium sized fish in a small pond (I would argue that most of Ohio’s music scene is just a mud puddle, unfortunately), but I wanted to see if I could make an impact in the ocean that is Austin.” Quite the undertaking indeed, it did not take long for Austin to begin noticing that this guy was not just another wanna be Prine.
The Texas community seems to have embraced Weber and rightfully so. Long time Austin resident, Slaid Cleaves almost immediately took Graham under his wing and has served as a mentor since his arrival . Graham quickly made his move up to playing all of the best venues in the Austin area both as an opener for greats like, Snider, Guy Clark, Ellis Paul etc. and as a headliner.
I personally got turned on to Weber’s music on accident. I received a song swap that Graham had played shortly after the move to Texas with Adam Carroll and was completely floored by the depth of the songwriting that was coming from this unknown artist. After a little research, I was disappointed that he had come from Ohio and that I had never had the chance to see him here. At the time Naive Melodies was his only release so I bought it to see if this one live recording was a fluke or if this was the real deal.
I got the disc in the mail and put it in my car stereo that day, there it stayed for a solid two weeks. Although Weber himself is now disappointed in his debut, I to this day feel that it is one of my favorite records perhaps of all time. The emotional honesty that flows out of all the songs on this record serves as a great introduction to the seemingly complex simplicity that Weber has a way of portraying in almost all of his works.
Naive Melodies displays the heartache that Weber was feeling after a failed relationship, the insecurities of starting a new relationship and his biting sense of humor.This ability to channel such contrasting emotions is the thing that makes Weber stand out among his peers and makes a live show a must see appointment.
“Tight Rope Walking” is still one of my favorite songs in his catalog. “I know your nose caught the smell of whiskey, and I know I came in seven hours late, I can’t believe that you even missed me, tight rope walking that thin line between love and hate”, he sings in this song chronicling the difficulty of finding balance in a relationship.
Inspired by the late Johnny Cash and rapper Snoop Dogg (trust me it works just listen), “Late Show Someday” captures that animosity towards someone who has scorned you and infuses the anger with a sensational amount of humor. This song is completely over the top and that is exactly where it should reside.
I don’t think you can talk about this album and not mention “Oh Roberta” the song that so impressed Slaid Cleaves that he included it on his Unsung release, an album of covers written by his favorite unknown writers. Weber’s song holds its own against a collection of songs from really great songwriters. “Do you still see my silhouette when your lashes start to close, I’d like to know oh Roberta where have you gone?” is my favorite line in this song, sang to the one who got away.
Shortly after settling in Austin, Graham set out to record his first Texas album. With a lot more instrumentation, a great studio band and some impressive guest musicians the result was Beggar’s Blues. Hitting the streets in 2006, this release shows the growth Weber’s song crafting had undergone in just a short time and further established his ability to conduct the emotional roller coaster that is his albums.
Starting off the album is the fast paced, lyric filled “After All”. This song really represents Weber’s mastery of word play. “Self proclaimed soothsayers say they know what no one else knows” , it’s lines like that make this song memorable.
“Love and Money” once again shows Weber’s sense of humor in this song about the impossibility of mixing the two things we need most in life. Along with Weber’s strumming on the acoustic this song features a killer horn section almost giving it a Vaudeville feel. It’s a departure from what he normally does and man does it work.
Inspired by his first Texas Independence Day, Weber wrote the amusing tale of trying to make it in the music business, “Stars and Circles”. While the narrator may not have what it takes to “make it” he is happy enough eking by in the Texas sun.
Perhaps my favorite track on the album is “Avenue A”. The story of a road weary musician trying to find a drink on a Sunday morning in Lower Manhattan. Weber’s vocals in this one really give the lyrics their depth and meaning. He almost sounds like this was recorded after a day like which is described in the song. “They won’t serve Bloody Mary’s til twelve hours til Monday, so I’m shaking and waiting on Avenue A” , the chorus pretty much sums up the song.
2008 saw the release of Weber’s most recent album release, with his most ambitious recording project yet, Door to the Morning. The production value on this one really ratcheted up the quality of the record. Employing more of a pop sensibility and a little bit of Rock n Roll feel, this album is Weber’s best yet. It’s always nice when a great songwriter begins to really find his way in the studio without losing what made him great in the first place and that is what Door to the Morning accomplished for Graham. 
The opening track, “Snow in July” is the prime example of the improvement in the recording. Backed by a full band with great piano and organ parts, Weber is able to maintain the lyrical mastery while really delivering an upbeat rockin’ number. “Sometimes your friends turn to foes and it snows in the dead of July” is just one of the great lines that Weber drapes over the musical backdrop the studio band lays down.
Following the upbeat feel of the opener, comes the piano and slide guitar ballad, “Candle So Close”. Included in this song are very good backing vocals by Graham’s wife, Michelle Keffer. You can tell those two have spent many a night singing together, because her voice beautifully compliments his tired drawl in this one.
My favorite song on this one is the acoustic and pedal steel based, “Bite Your Tongue”. This one finds Weber at his lyrical best in a song of a lover leaving.
In addition to the three studio albums I have discussed, Weber has released two live samplers that feature unreleased material and the in between song banter that makes his live performances so much more than just a guy with an acoustic guitar.
What amazes me about seeing Graham live is that he is constantly writing songs. Some writer’s see the process of writing a song as work and with Weber they just seem to fall out on the paper. He is consistently writing better stuff that he has already released. He is one of those guys you wish lived in the studio, because he forgets so many of the great songs he has written. One of my favorite things to do is request a song I have heard him play prior and see if he remembers it. If you go see him anytime in the future ask him to play “The Hooker and the Hitman” , an eight minute song of an unlikely love, and tell him Adam told you to do it.
Perhaps the most telling thing I can say about how great I think Weber is, is that I have had to purchase all of his records at least twice each because I have given them away to share them with others. I found out that he is currently working on the follow up to Door to the Morning. Tentatively titled, Women, it is going to feature a mostly female backing band and harmony vocals in addition to a co-write with Slaid Cleaves. I know I am looking forward to this release which will hopefully come later this year.
Weber will making his first trip back to Ohio in two years in a couple months and I hope to catch a show or two and have him on the podcast. In the meantime you can visit his website www.grahamweber.com and find links to buy his records and such. Later this week I will post a live Weber show to download.
Here is a video of Weber playing “I’ll Take Texas” an ode to his adopted home:
Tags: adam carroll, Artist of the Month, bob dylan, Graham Weber, john prine, slaid cleaves, todd snider
