Dawes is one of those bands where I have tried for years to grasp the deep, fierce love with which fans of the band approach Taylor Goldsmith’s music, and after three or four shows, I remain perplexed. I enjoy Dawes, but there’s nothing in their songs that snags my heart and flips it over. What…
Tag: guitarists
the front bottoms @ local 506
Back in the summer of 2002, my buddy Lirette and I spent a lot of time driving around Southern Minnesota, listening to the Refreshments’ genius 1996 brat punk record Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy. It’s the perfect summer record, and while that summer was notable for about 17,006 other reasons, some of my best memories…
fall out boy @ 9:30 club ; save rock and roll club tour
I wrote about what Fall Out Boy means to me, and what it meant to me to shoot them on Friday night, for Speakers In Code. Some other things: They played everything I could have hoped to hear, except the acoustic version of “Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner” from the My Heart EP, which…
fitz & the tantrums @ haw river ballroom
I have been to two shows lately that have surprised me; I am sometimes a little snotty about the fact that Triangle concert crowds can be a bit … stodgy. Appreciative, sure. But non-reactive, often. And I don’t what’s been different at these two shows: call it a change in audience demographic, call it drunkenness,…
the gaslight anthem @ the lincoln theatre, raleigh
I wrote about last night’s Gaslight show for Speakers In Code. Brian Fallon is still my favorite forever and ever amen. Charlotte’s Matrimony and Bloodshot Records’ Cory Branan opened; Matrimony was really enjoyable, but a little less electric guitar-y than I expected from a Gaslight opener. Cory was genius as always, and closed with “Girl…
drive-by truckers @ haw river ballroom
I hadn’t seen the Truckers in almost 18 months — Hopscotch 2011 — and when Patterson launched into “The Living Bubba” last night, even as I was deeply exhausted and irritated at the crowd, it felt like a physical relief to see the band. They have meant so much to me for many years, and while…
album review: josh ritter – the beast in its tracks
Josh Ritter — The Beast In Its Tracks. Out tomorrow, but streaming on NPR today. I am in awe of Josh Ritter; I have been for many years, because he’s the most literate songwriter working today, and he’s funny and awkward and genius, and he’s probably sincerely a complete charming weirdo, and he smiles on stage like…
bombadil & the tender fruit @ cat’s cradle
Another magical Bombadil show at the Cradle; a full, sweet, lengthy set, and the new songs sound so fantastic. I can’t wait for their new record in July, and it is always a pleasure and never a chore to shoot their shows. They’re always warm, lovely affairs, full of good people and friends. Had a…
tame impala @ cat’s cradle
I wrote about the Tame Impala show for Speakers In Code. Full set is here. (Credentials courtesy Shelley at Modular People, and I was genuinely grateful for the barrier / photo pit at the Cradle last night, because I didn’t have to fight in the sold-out, hyped-up, very fun crowd to get good shots. I…
scott h. biram @ local 506
I’m slowly working my way through Scott H. Biram’s back catalog; slowly enough that I don’t know the titles to most of the songs that he plays, but fast enough that I love the hell out of everything he does. A “one dirty old man band”, Scott is a great songwriter, and what he does…
brand new kind of photography 