Cloaca Melodia

World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA post continues.... Listen to the Zee Avi set here . Listen to Marshall Crenshaw's set here . Setlists: Zee Avi 1. Poppy 2. Traveler 3. Honey Bee 4. First of the Gang 5. Bitter Heart Marshall Crenshaw 1. Fantastic Planet of Love 2. Live & Learn 3. Someone Told Me 4. There She Goes Again 5. Someday Someway 6. Stormy River 7. Passing Through 8. Right On Time 9. Never Coming Down

World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA post continues.... sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA post continues.... sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA post continues.... Listen to the Rhett Miller set here . Listen to the Avett Brothers set here . Listen to the Pete Yorn set here . Setlists: Rhett Miller 1. Dance With Me 2. If It's Not Love 3. Question 4. Caroline 5. Rollerskate Skinny 6. Sometimes 7. Come Around 8. I Need To Know Where I Stand 9. Timebomb Avett Brothers 1. Laundry Room 2. Paranoia in B-Flat Major 3. I and Love and You 4. Kick Drum Heart 5. Murder in the City 6. The Perfect Space 7. Bella Donna 8. St. Joseph's Pete Yorn 1. For Nancy 2. Life on a Chain 3. Shotgun 4. Last Summer 5. The Man 6. For Us 7. Bizarre Love Triangle 8. On Your Side 9. Don't Wanna Cry 10. Strange Condition

World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA post continues.... Listen to The Derek Trucks Band's performance here . Setlist: 1. I Know 2. Done Got Over 3. Down In The Flood 4. Already Free 5. Get What You Deserve 6. Get Out My Life

World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA post continues.... Listen to Hill Country Revue's set here . Listen to Cracker's set here . Setlists: Hill Country Revue 1. Alice Mae 2. Hill Country Revue 3. Georgia Women 4. You Can Make It 5. Growing Up In Mississippi Cracker 1. Turn On Tune In Drop Out With Me 2. Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey 3. Hey Bret (You Know What Time It Is) 4. Friends 5. I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right 6. Happy Birthday 7. Gimme One More Chance

Thunderbird Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA The "Wes" in "Wes and Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders" is John Wesley Harding, touring with his stand-up comedian friend Eugene Mirman in an ad hoc cabaret, with local/regional musicians, comedians, and poets invited to each stop of the festivities. post continues.... JWH began with a poem about the Cabinet (or the "Mini-Cabinet," as he dubbed the club-sized version of the show instead of their usual theater setting), and then he brought the ensemble up on stage and introduced them each in tongue-in-cheek verse. This version of the show included PGH-based poet Terrance Hayes, Chicago singer/songwriter Chris Mills, Rusted Root frontman Michael Glabicki, Philly singer Megan Reilly, PGH garage rockers The Cynics as an acoustic duo. JWH started off the show with a brief solo set, including the terrific "Top of the Bottom," a track off his latest album ( Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead ). Then he began mixing it up, ...

Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA One of the most unexpected--and unexpectedly great--shows of this year has be seeing Tony Clifton. Before the show, I had no idea what to expect; was this going to be a lame cash-in? Was the joke going to be on the small audience for attending? Regardless, of the answer I didn't want to miss this one. Clifton, as you may be aware, was a character created by the late performance-art comedian Andy Kaufman. Clifton was partially a satire of a D-list Vegas-style lounge singer with somewhat of a drinking problem and an even greater politeness problem. The character had little in the way of social graces, and was sure to offend nearly everyone in whatever room he happened to be in (those not in on the joke, at least). But Clifton was primarily another tool for Kaufman to act as agent provocateur both on stage and on TV. In the early days, no one knew Clifton was a Kaufman character and in his appearances audiences and those sharing the stage with Clifton were...

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA.... You know, I often wonder whether a band feels cheesy doing this sort of a show, where the concert is a value-added freebie tacked on to a ballgame ticket. If you're Me First & The Gimme Gimmes or The Clarks , probably not. Playing a baseball stadium is a thrill in its own. But if you're in Lynyrd Skynyrd? I dunno. But I am sure that the band doesn't usually have a massive fireworks finale to accompany the coda to "Freebird," and the band didn't have to pony up a dime towards the cost of the pyrotechnics. To back up, after the Pirates finished what was only their ninth sellout of the season with a win (what? did he say "a win"???) in front of 36,621 people, the players dashed off the field and the stadium crew set up a stage at 2nd base. With an enviable efficiency (just a 20 minute or so turnaround), the ballpark was switched into concert mode and the archtypical Southern rock band began playing. Skynyrd played a cro...

Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, PA...... Cracker agreed to headline WYEP's 3rd annual "Rock the Block" event, where we block off the street in front of the radio station and have a concert and general party. After I gave the introduction for the band, David Lowery stepped up and say, "Good evening, we're Cracker. We're from Cleveland." Obviously, he was very aware of the football-inspired long-standing rivalry between the two cities. And then he quickly added, "Just kidding!" Following "The Riverside," David mentioned that that song and "Gimme One More Chance" were from their latest album Greenland . He told the audience, "I know we're supposed to get mellower and more public radio-y as we get older, but we did not get the memo." Then later (following "Mr. Wrong"), David introduced Johnny Hickman saying, "We should let Johnny talk. One of the reasons they don't let me talk is that I do things lik...

Johnstown Folk Festival, Johnstown, PA.... I've been wanting to see Jason Ringenberg & The Nashville Scorchers live for more than 20 years. At my college radio station in 1985, '86, '87, we used to play "White Lies," "Golden Ball & Chain," and the band's take on "Absolutely Sweet Marie" quite a lot. And I remember my friend John Webber going to see them live and enjoying the hell out of it--despite being nearly deaf for days afterwards. So I wanted to see them, too. But eventually, they stopped playing out of Nashville much. I did see Jason Ringenberg solo live back in 2003 , which was a great time. But I still wanted to see the band. When I saw they were going to be appearing at the Johnstown Folk Fest, I thought that the stars were aligning; I've always meant to go to the Fest since moving to Pittsburgh in 2003 (close enough, although still a more than 90-minute drive). Plus, Del Castillo was also on the bill and performing im...

South Side Works, Pittsburgh, PA.... New American Music Union festival The festival was two days long, featuring a lot more bands than listed above, but due to childcare these four were the only ones I was able to see. Of them Gnarls Barkley and Spoon were terrific. The Raconteurs and Bob Dylan not so much. Gnarls Barkley was already on stage when Betsy and I arrived, running through their great cover of Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone." Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo were wearing tan jackets over a white uniform (Cee-Lo quickly removed his, due to the summer heat) and their band all had maroon-looking vests over their dress whites (the drummer gussied up his uniform with a bowtie). Other highlights were "Run," a set-closing "Smiley Faces," and even their ballad (which I'm not as into on record) "Who's Gonna Save My Soul." Naturally, "Crazy" was great to hear live, but I was a little surprised that the crowd didn't go, well, c...

WYEP Community Broadcast Centervenue, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Mellon Park, Pittsburgh, PA.... Forbert performed on a flatbed at the park hilltop before a crowd of several hundred out enjoying the summer evening. It was a perfect show for those with a 7 month-old kid in tow (like me and my wife!). Songs performed included "My Stolen Identity," "You Can't Do That" (Beatles cover), "Settle Down," "Good Planets Are Hard to Find," "In the Jailhouse Now" (Jimmie Rogers cover), "It Sure Was Better Back Then," "Mexico," "What Kinda Guy?," and "Yellow Submarine">>"Romeo's Tune." (not a complete setlist, but close) His latest album was Strange Names & New Sensations .    

Great Blue Heron Festival, Sherman, NY...   Happy Heron! sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!