My Thermos

I love bands who take advantage of the live environment to do cool and interesting things with their songs. As I see it, just because they capture a song when it is recorded doesn't mean it is necessarily finished, or that it can't continue to grow and evolve as they play it.

Obviously that explains why I love bands like Gov't Mule and also the band I am featuring here today - The Counting Crows.



This version of Rain King features a great transition in to a classic Springsteen number. Taken from a Howard Stern appearance 3/27/08



Enjoy!

SB

If you're a fan of the live music, particularly of the bluesy guitar variety, you may want to wander over to Synclive and check out Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam. They are streaming a live show from the majestic Red Rocks Amphitheater tonight at 7pm Mountain Time.

I've not used this service before and haven't had much chance to look at other content available but it looks interesting - and for a chance to check out Davy it's worth a shot.

If you're not familiar, I saw Davy and Back Door Slam back in November when they opened for Gov't Mule and they just tore it up. Opening acts are hit or miss but this one was well worth getting there a bit early for.

I'm actually not going to be able to catch this live tonight as we're headed out to Lyle Lovett at Ravinia. Hopefully they'll archive it so I can watch tomorrow.

Looking forward to Lyle. He always puts on a great show, I just hope the crowd is better this year.

If you're a fan of Lyle, you may want to check out my Hand Crafted Build Your Own Best Of Compilation.

Cheers!

SB

Via our friends at Music Memoirs:

The Meme Mistress is going to a concert tonight, so that's going to be our theme this week.

If money were no object, what band would you see in concert?
Where were the closest seats you've ever had for a show (that was non-general admission)?
What type of venue do you prefer to see a show?

Hmm - was hoping to have a short and easy one to do tonight but I can get a bit verbose when it comes to discussing concerts. So here we go:

If money were no object, what band would you see in concert?

For many years we traveled to New York to see Gov't Mule's multiple night New Years Eve run. These are historic shows featuring tons of special guests and a three set themed extravaganza on New Years Eve. It's an insane amount of music, typically over the three nights there are no repeat songs.



This year they are doing 4 shows - 2 acoustic shows on Dec 27th and 28th followed by 2 full on electric shows on the 30th and 31st. Once again, 3 full Mule sets on New Years Eve.

I would so love to be there.

Where were the closest seats you've ever had for a show (that was non-general admission)?

I was front row for Rush back in '86 but it was really a miserable experience. I was smashed up against the wall with the stage high in front of me and a crowd of folks pushing me forward even though there was no place for me to go. Marillion opened which actually made the show worthwhile.

A much better experience was 2nd row for The Allman Brothers Band at the Chicago Theater. We were right in the middle of Warren and Oteill and it was stellar. The thing I remember most was hearing the stage sound rather than the PA - brilliant!!

What type of venue do you prefer to see a show?

I'm a big fan of theater shows although I don't mind an occasional large club. I prefer crowds in the 1500 - 2500 range. With the smoking ban here in Illinois I am not quite as picky as I used to be.

I hate outdoor sheds with a passion and am not a particular fan of Arenas either, although I understand they are a necessary evil for some performers.

A stadium show can be fun but I've grown to dislike the large crowds so I usually end up just getting frustrated at the idiots around me.

Well, that actually wasn't as long winded as I thought. How would you have answered?

Today's MuleDay brings with it a great cover of Mountain's Mississippi Queen from 1999. The Leslie West / Mountain influence on Warren and Mule is obvious so it's cool to see them pull out this old favorite for a spin.



Not my favorite Mountain song, but probably their most famous. Is there a better guitar player than Warren Haynes? I don't think so either...

SB

Related:

A clip of how not to cover Mississippi Queen. It's Yuckey.

A clip of the original Mountain version from 1970. It's less yuckey than the Zakk Wylde, but it's still sort of a yuckey version.

Buddy Guy - Born July 30, 1936

A true legend and master, and an inspiration to many a guitarist. I had a blast watching the videos trying to pick something appropriate before settling on this classic from 1981 at the famous Checkerboard Lounge in Chicago. He's got a couple of famous friends up there with him.



Best wishes Mr. Guy.

SB

This year for my birthday, my brother and sister-in-law gave me tix to see Lyle Lovett at beautiful Ravinia Festival. The last couple of years they have gone with us but this year it was just the two tix. I, of course, took my wonderful wife Gina and on Saturday evening we enjoyed a wonderful performance from Lyle and his Large Band.

We've seen Lyle Lovett a bunch of times (I think last night was the seventh) going back to 1992 at Red Rocks in Colorado. Lyle always backs himself with outstanding musicians and the shows are top notch.

His Large Band is aptly named and features horns, strings, backup singers, and other multi-instrumentalists. He is such an unselfish band leader, constantly giving his supporting musicians the chance to step up and solo, and always introducing them by name many times throughout the show.

Lyle gets lumped into being a country artist but that is denying the unmistakable rock, pop, jazz, gospel and big band influence as well. He is all of those things really. If you insist on genretization, we'll just say he is in the Lyle Lovett genre and leave it at that.

It's funny how different a Lyle Lovett show is from other bands that we enjoy, like Gov't Mule who we are going to see this evening. Where performances by Gov't Mule or The Allman Brothers Band are largely improvisational, Lyle Lovett shows seem to be impeccably rehearsed. I imagine trying to synchronize 18 folks on stage would make improvisation difficult. The only hint of unrehearsed content seems to be Lyle's between song banter, which is often hilarious. Continue reading "Lyle Lovett Was Great - Other People Suck" »

I'm a big fan of bands that can take a song and make it their own, and I think Gov't Mule does that better than any band I know. It's always a joy to see what nuggets they pull out and give the Mule treatment. I've seen them do everything from Wasted Time to I'm A Ram to In The Court of the Crimson King, but I especially love when they pull out the She Said She Said / Tomorrow Never Knows Jam.

It's probably one of my favorite Beatles songs and the Mule version is just a killer. I was just mentioning this song yesterday in Nat's Tuesday Tunes about favorite covers of Beatles tunes, so I thought I would share this clip from 3-17-00, just about a month before my first Mule show.

Enjoy!