Guy Clark’s “Dublin Blues” is from the album of the same name and has an unbeatable opening:

I wish I was in Austin
In the Chili Parlour Bar
Drinkin’ Mad Dog Margaritas
And not carin’ where you are

But here I sit in Dublin
Just rollin’ cigarettes
Holdin’ back and chokin’ back
The shakes with every breath

Enjoy the video and add some Guy Clark to your music collection. He’s an amazing songwriter. Happy 4th of July and treat yourself to a Mad Dog margarita.

Video: Guy Clarke w/ Karen Matheson – Dublin Blues

Not sure if I’ll post anything else until after the weekend, so if I don’t, have a great 4th.

Generationals – Angry Charlie

Video: Generationals – Angry Charlie

Bombadil is a band and a word that I was unfamiliar with. I did a quick check on Wikipedia and apparently there’s a fellow named Tom Bombadil that is described in J.R.R  Tolkien’s 1934 poem, “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil,” as a “merry fellow” living in a dingle close to the Withywindle river, where he wanders, exploring nature at his leisure. Oddly enough, that spirit of back-country exploration is a fair description of the band and their recent release, Tarpits and Canyonlands.

Bombadil was formed by Duke University alumni in North Carolina by way of Bolivia, giving them an international flavor on folk and Americana music. Tarpits and Canyonlands will be released by Ramseur Records, which was the first sign that I’d most likely love the album. The second sign was the second song called “Sad Birthday.” It’s an upbeat piano driven, hand-clap accented number that is brimming with musicianship and raucus energy.

“Honeymoon” is the next song and another standout. Much like “Sad Birthday,” they take a serious theme and marry it (pun intended) with playful arrangements as they question “what lies beyond that honeymoon?” Their sound is a blend of Cat Stevens and The Avett Brothers that will have you tapping your steering wheel, bouncing in your chair, skipping in your step, or otherwise drawing a bit of drudgery out of your day.

Tarpits and Canyonlands will be released on July 7th.

Website | MySpace | Twitter | Ramseur Records

Bombadil – Honeymoon

Bombadil – Reasons

Video: Bombadil – Three Saddest Words, from their previous album, A Buzz, A Buzz.

White Rabbits – Empty Bottle – 7/1

White Rabbits – Percussion Gun

Gringo Starr – Schubas – 7/2

Gringo Starr – All Y’all

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks – The Bottom Lounge – 7/2

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks – Baltimore

Drive-By Truckers – Taste of Chicago – 7/4

Drive-By Truckers – Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife (Live)

Buddy Guy – Taste of Chicago – 7/4

Sunset Rubdown – Logan Square Auditorium – 7/7

Sunset Rubdown – Idiot Heart

Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears – Chicago Folk and Roots Festival – 7/10

Magnolia Electric Co. / The Donkeys – Schubas – 7/11

Magnolia Electric Co. – Josephine

The Donkeys – Walk Through a Cloud

Deep Dark Woods – The Hideout – 7/14

Deep Dark Woods – Hang Me, Oh Hang Me

Deer Tick / Dawes – Empty Bottle – 7/15

Deer Tick – Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)

Dawes – When My Time Comes

Cymbals Eat Guitars – The Bottom Lounge – 7/17

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Wind Phoenix

Those Darlins – Schubas – 7/17

Those Darlins – Redlight Love (HearYa Live Session)

Various Artists – Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park – 7/17-19

Frightened Rabbit – The Bottom Lounge – 7/19

Frightened Rabbit – The Modern Leper

Blitzen Trapper – Empty Bottle – 7/19

Blitzen Trapper – Furr

Akron/Family – The Bottom Lounge – 7/24

Akron/Family – River

Elvis Perkins in Dearland / The Dodos – Subterranean – 7/25

Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Shampoo

Obits – Empty Bottle – 7/25

Obits – Pine On

Backyard Tire Fire – Wicker Park Festival – 7/26

Backyard Tire Fire – How The Hell Did You Get Back Here (HearYa Live Session)

Scott H. Biram – Empty Bottle – 7/26

Scott H. Biram – Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue

Toad the Wet Sprocket – Park West – 7/27

Josh Ritter – Metro – 7/30

Josh Ritter – Good Man

What did we miss?

One morning MJ came in with a new song he had written overnight. We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. “here’s the first chord first note, second note, third note. Here’s the second chord first note, second note, third note”, etc., etc. We then witnessed him giving the most heartfelt and profound vocal performance, live in the control room through an SM57.

He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas. he would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills.

At one point Michael was angry at one of the producers on the project because he was treating everyone terribly. Rather than create a scene or fire the guy, Michael called him to his office/lounge and one of the security guys threw a pie in his face. No further action was needed . . .

Read the full thread here.

Video: Justin Townes Earle – Midnight At The Movies

Justin Townes Earle, “Midnight at the Movies” from Bloodshot Records on Vimeo.

Spoon – Got Nuffin

First, from our live session with Horse Feathers:

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Working Poor

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Heathen’s Kiss

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Curs In The Weeds

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Rude To Rile

Download the entire Horse Feathers Session as a zip.

And then the rest:

Throw Me The Statue – Ancestors

Throw Me The Statue – Ship

Throw Me The Statue – Lolita

Throw Me The Statue – About To Walk

Noah and The Whale – The First Days Of Spring

The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You

Joe Pug – In The Meantime

Joe Pug – Dodging The Wind

The Lemonheads – Waiting Around To Die

Rock Plaza Central – (Don’t You Believe The Words Of) Handsome Men

Rock Plaza Central – Panama (Van Halen Cover)

Not really a pic from Wilco’s show at Mountain Winery, but a nice image of the venue.

Wilco made a tour stop at the amazing Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA last night. The show had everything you’d look for in a concert – a great opening act, an amazing set list, a gorgeous venue, short beer lines with Sierra Nevada on tap and a dash of drama between Tweedy and a pesky fan to entertain between songs. It might be the best concert I’ve ever seen.

Led by a fully bearded Will Sheff, Okkervil River opened just before nightfall with a brief 30-minute set as people trickled to their seats. The crowd? Mostly 35 and over professional Silicon Valley types. The folks seated around us hadn’t heard of Okkervil River, but the band slowly won the audience over and sealed it with “Lost Coastlines.” They walked off to a standing ovation.

Wilco took the stage as the sun was setting and played through my favorites, as if I’d picked the set list. I’ve been to several Wilco shows but have never been so fully satisfied with the song choices. The biggest highlight for me was an acoustic “Remember The Mountain Bed” while others included “Forget The Flowers,” “Jesus, Etc,” “Impossible Germany,” “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” and “California Stars.” The night was clear and the moon and stars created a tapestry over the Paul Masson winery and adjacent rolling vineyards. A stunning scene to say the least.

Throughout the show, however, Tweedy and a front row corner stage fan engaged in some banter that the rest of the crowd thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently the fan was upset with Wilco because the vocals weren’t up loud enough. Tweedy’s response was something like: “I’m sorry you can’t hear, but I’m not the sound tech. Do you go to a Who concert and tell them to get new monitors? By the way, I am equating us with The Who right now.”

Another song later, it continued.

Tweedy: “That’s what happens when you come to shows in a place as beautiful as this. There are neighbors and we can’t play as loud as usual. Maybe you could hear better if you would stand up!” The crowd applauds, then Tweedy continues: “When I saw the tour schedule, this was not the stop where I thought I’d lose control.”

You’re getting the picture. It continues throughout the concert and it is awesome.

Tweedy: “Dude, how are you complaining?! Your seat is 5 feet from Nels Cline! You should be happy!”

The guy actually approached the stage at one point and Jeff leaned down to hear what he had to say. Tweedy then jumped back to the mic and said “Whoa, whoa. Don’t blame your wife. LAME!”

Kudos to Tweedy and Wilco for keeping a great sense of humor throughout the dialogue and for continuing to perform like pros. I can understand the fan’s frustration. I’m sure they thought they lucked out with the corner stage seats, but most concert goers know that there’s a good chance the show will sound like shit from that location. I was further back, center stage and found the sound to be damn-near perfect.

All in all, it was truly special night. I was able to enjoy a California summer night with my lady, listening to two of my favorite bands playing my favorite songs, all while drinking my favorite brand of beer. What more can you ask for?

Fan Video: Wilco – Hummingbird, Live at The Mountain Winery. Notice the stage antics.

Here’s a full set list courtesy of The San Jose Mercury News.

Wilco (the Song) / I Am Trying to Break Your Heart / Bull Black Nova / Remember the Mountain Bed / One Wing / Muzzle of Bees / Shot in the Arm / At Least That’s What You Said / Impossible Germany / Forget the Flowers / California Stars / Jesus, Etc. / Handshake Drugs / You Never Know / Hate It Here / Walken / I’m the Man Who Loves You // Ashes of American Flags / Heavy Metal Drummer / Hummingbird // The Late Greats / I’m a Wheel

“Don’t you believe the words of handsome men.”  Conjures up thoughts of politicians, news anchormen and American Idol hosts, however in this particular case it comes courtesy of the third song on Rock Central Plaza’s new album, At The Moment of Our Most Needing (Paper Bag Records).  This is the band’s fourth release and follows up 2006’s critically acclaimed Are We Not Horses—a concept album about, of all things, mechanical horses with real horse feelings.

No surprise, given the subject matter behind their previous release, this Toronto band tends to get the “literary” label thrown its way.  A label like that frankly can be a little off-putting, but also leads to the other common reference…the music of Neutral Milk Hotel.  And yes, at times, this band does sound like NMH partly because of the Mangum tinged vocals of Chris Eaton and the plentiful horn sections throughout these songs.  At other times, the music borders slightly on the baroque, reminding me of Beirut but in a good way.  Eaton’s voice takes a little while to get used to and occasionally takes on the characteristics of a wailing dog, but it adds an undeniable element of strained emotion to these songs.

Some of the notable tracks include the previously referenced third song, “(Don’t You Believe the Words of) Handsome Men” and “Holy Rider,” which has some fantastic string and trumpet/trombone sections while “Them That Are Good” kicks off with something similar to a New Orleans style funeral march and lyrically poses a riddle, “when we fall from the light, will it make our darkness bright?”  One other thing – the sequencing of the tracks appear to be carefully chosen by the band, and meant for an end-to-end listening experience. There are two instrumental tracks that act as interludes or intermezzos.  One occurs following “Holy Rider,” a song that darkly concludes with Eaton yelping “I have lost my way.”  An instrumental follows and eventually slips into one of the more optimistic songs on the record, “We Are Full of Light.”  The instrumental is well placed to transition the emotion of those two very different songs.

There is a time investment required to gain full appreciation of what is some very inspired indie-folk.  Those that are patient enough to understand Rock Plaza Central will be rewarded with something beyond unique.

MySpace | Paperbag Records

Rock Plaza Central – (Don’t You Believe The Words Of) Handsome Men

Bonus cover tune:

Rock Plaza Central – Panama (Van Halen Cover)