There are some shows that are must-sees. The Melvins opening for Tomahawk is one of them. The tour hit the 9:30 Club recently and proceeded to blow the crowd’s collective mind. Any time a supergroup takes over a decade off from touring, it’s going to be special when they hit the road again. Make it a band fronted by Mike Patton and you amplify that.
Nick Lowe has come a long way from his beginnings as a brash young pub rocker with Brinsley Schwartz and his role as the in-house producer for pioneering British punk label Stiff Records, where he worked with the Damned, Elvis Costello, and Pretenders. The same off-kilter wit and eccentric humor that’s always been present in his songs is still there, so it makes a certain sense that he’s taken on the lucha libre mask-wearing Los Straitjackets as his backing band.
But he’s aged gracefully into more of a smooth, laidback crooner. His recent performance at The Hamilton Live was a delightful, relaxing evening of wonderful songs.
Merriweather Post Pavilion recently hosted CAAMP, the Ohio-based indie folk-rock band that has come a long way since Taylor Meier and Evan Westfall formed the group in 2013. CAAMP has grown from playing coffee shops and bars to filling venues as sprawling as the 19,000-capacity Merriweather.
It seems like there’s something special about seeing Stephen Wilson Jr. in concert. There’s something in the air that’s tangible. Maybe it’s the wide variety of fans he’s amassed. In addition to the SWJ shirts, I saw Alice In Chains, Guns ‘N Roses, Willie Nelson, Pelican (that was me), and more. It could also be that, despite the rocketship he’s riding, he’s a regular guy from Indiana. When he emerged onstage at Pier 6 Pavilion in Baltimore this past July 25, you’d never know his single, Gary, had broken the Top 40 on the country charts and that he’s been writing with Miranda Lambert.
Ethereal, majestic, and just a little impish. Those three words captured Tori Amos recently at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center in Vienna, Virginia.
Pavement’s seemingly never-ending 2022 reunion tour, which is still going strong, made a stop in Richmond last Saturday, marking the band’s first performance in drummer and VCU grad Steve West and hype man supreme Bob Nastanovich’s hometown since the halcyon days of 1995. The band were clearly excited to be playing so close to home (The National’s VIP section was full of Nastanovich’s) and turned in a special show that won’t soon be replicated.
For singer-songwriter Jessie Altman, Thursday, July 23, wasn’t just another concert. It was her first-ever hometown performance.
Altman celebrated the upcoming release of her sophomore album, Lovelight, with a record release party and fundraiser at Songbyrd in Washington, DC. The intimate venue filled with friends, family, former colleagues, and local fans, making the evening feel as much like a homecoming as a concert. Backed by an excellent band, Altman delivered a confident 19-song set that showcased both her growing catalog and the musical direction she’s taking on her new record.
Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide Tour Fills Nationals Park With Heart and Hope
It is not every day that crowds begin lining up outside Nationals Park before sunrise. Yet on Wednesday, July 22, fans started gathering as early as 5:45am, hoping to score a last-minute ticket to see Noah Kahan or snag city-exclusive tour merchandise.
Kurt Vile brought his tour behind his excellent new album, Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me, to the Howard Theater last week, and if you’ve read this blog before, you know I usually talk about KV shows in terms of front-foot chaos and unhinged energy. Not this time. Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me is a decidedly laid-back affair, and Wednesday’s show followed suit — a warm, subdued night that matched the record’s vibe almost note for note.
The thunder and lightning that preceded fans entering Agganis Arena in Boston should have been a sign from the world of what was about to happen inside hours later. Billy Strings and his group of accompanying stringed instrument virtuosos would soon saturate the reverberant room with their modern take on bluegrass. By 7:45pm, the floor was wall-to-wall with faithful “goats,” a nickname for Billy Strings loyal fanbase. This was night two of a two-night stand which more times than not carries a looser, more unpredictable energy, and the band leaned into it early, firing off flatpicking runs that echoed from floor to rafters.
