The Black Crowes- Riverside Theater, November 8, 2013

The Black Crowes are a rock 'n roll band in its purest form with all of the right ingredients to thoroughly entertain their crowd: charismatic lead singer with extraordinary range, lead guitarist with mystique, rhythm guitarist with poise and chops, and a rhythm section who was spot on every note.  Add a repertoire of over twenty-five years worth of music and a vast array of covers, and you have all of the fixin's for a great night of music.

The Crowes began their show with a trio of high energy numbers, "Soul Singing," (off of 2001's Lions), "Sting Me" (off of 1992's masterpiece, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion) and "Twice As  Hard," (the title track off of The Black Crowes debut record, 1990's Shake Your Money Maker).  The set continued featuring songs from across the band's career, with as much energy and passion as if they were brand new tracks.  "Evergreen," (from 2008's Warpaint) delivered a sultry swagger, and "Mellow Down Easy," a Little Walter blues cover (which appeared as a bonus track off of 1996's Three Snakes and One Charm), was well-jammed out with a great boogey rhythm.  

However, the true highlight of the show occurred half-way through the set, when the band broke out a nearly 20 minute rendition of their famous tune, "Wiser Time," (from 1994's Amorica).  When a band chooses to perform any song for a long duration of time, it is easy to lose the audience's attention or become excessively self-indulgent.  This wasn't the case with this version of "Wiser Time," however, which saw each band member take turns soloing.  The guitar work of Jackie Greene and Rich Robinson was precise, soulful and spot on in the jam.  After "Wiser Time" the band went on a roll of well-known favorites to close out their night, including a stripped-down acoustic version of "She Talks to Angels," (from 1990's Shake Your Money Maker), a straight forward, rocking rendition of "Remedy" (from 1992's Southern Harmony and Musical Companion) and a set-closer of The Black Crowes' most well-known tune, their shake-rattle-and-roll cover of Otis' Redding's "Hard to Handle."  For an encore, the band covered "Don't Do It" by The Band, a fitting rock classic that kept the crowd smiling.   

The band's recent trend of touring for about a year, then taking a few years off and then touring again seems to have done wonders for keeping their sound tight and shows full of power and energy. While it had been over 8 years since I last saw the Black Crowes I certainly won't let that much time pass before I see them again.  In summary, during the show, a fellow fan inquired if The Black Crowes were the inspiration behind the band "Stillwater" in Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous, which starred Chris Robinson's then wife Kate Hudson.  I don't know the answer to the fan's inquiry, but do know that The Black Crowes are about as "rock 'n roll" as they come.

Grade: A+ 

Check out the setlist from the concert

photos compliments of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch.

Fort Frances- Club Garabaldi, November 2, 2013

It's pretty clear when you see people doing something they love.  This was evident when the trio of Fort Frances took the stage at Club Garibaldi to a crowd of roughly 50 or so people.  The crowd could have been 20 people or 200 people, and I think the band would have had just as much fun.  Fort Frances exceeded expectations for their live performance, putting together a solid set of folk-inspired indie pop-rock, from three very talented musicians who clearly enjoy playing their music with each other and for others.  

The opening tune of the set, "How to Turn Back Again," off of this year's Harbour EP set the stage with a jammed intro.  From there, the band launched into "Truths I Used to Know," also from Harbour.   A new track, "Habits," from the band's just-released Breaking Room EP followed next, which was more of a lamenting number about choices.  This track, along with others showcased McMillan's strong narrative songwriting style.  When talking with McMillan before his performance, we discussed similarities between some of the Fort Frances' material and Counting Crowes' Recovering the Satellites album. Songs like "Cities in Dust" and set closer, "If The Ocean Runs Dry" definitely showcase this influence in a good way.  

An interesting inclusion to the set was a cover of Prince/Sinead O'Connor's tune "Nothing Compares to You," where the band held true to the original, yet putting their own delivery on it.  While some in the audience, including your's truly, were hoping for the popular cover of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's "Summertime," to be included, the song, as described by drummer Aaron Kiser is "not in season," and, also quoting Kiser, "Hey, it'll make you come back and hear us some more."

After hearing Fort Frances live, Kiser is quite correct.  This is a great band on the rise that myself and others would love to see again and soon.  With the right exposure and right tour partner, I could see this band gaining some real buzz in the music scene. They already are well on their way with being featured on the Outlaw Road Show at SXSW.  Whether or national buzz happens or not, one thing's for certain, Fort Frances is enjoying themselves, making good music. and having a blast in the process.

This show was as much fun as any show I've seen in a small venue like Club Garibaldi.  While it's easy for me to be biased(after all, Jeff Piper is my cousin), getting texts the morning after seeing the band about folks downloading their material speaks volumes... it isn't just me, these guys are GOOD.

From left to right: McMillan, Kiser, Piper

Fort Frances opens their show

Jeff Piper busts out the drums during the set

Toro y Moi-- Turner Hall Ballroom, November 1, 2013

It is hard to describe Chaz Bundick (better known by stage name "Toro y Moi"'s music).  If you took late 80's-early '90's Prince sprinkled in vintage rock guitar riffs, added a lot of synthesizer, threw in some loops and a dash of funk, combined them all into a blender and hit the "pulse" button and you might get the idea.  Often described as one of the core contributors to the "chill wave movement" (whatever that is), Toro y Moi are a unique act to say the least.  With lots of smoke and a pulsating light show, they certainly were entertaining and got the mostly late 20-something crowd dancing and enjoying themselves.  The show, as expected, drew heavily from this year's release, Anything in Return.  Show opener, "Harm in Change," the first track off of that album, was as energetic and fun as one would expect.  At their best, Toro y Moi jammed out their numbers and lead to some interesting sonic grooves.  At their worst, after about 30 minutes, all of the songs started sounding the same.

Opening for Toro y Moi was Los Angeles electronic duo, Classixx.  Donned in retro 1980's baseball jackets, they did a great job of getting the crowd jumping and dancing to numbers like "Holding On" (which sounds like 1980's pop with loops and samples thrown in).  While many people seemed to really enjoy this act, I had a hard time "getting it" as I really don't understand how electronic music is being performed live.  The guys weren't singing, but there were vocal tracks, and the musicians did more head-nodding and in-place dancing behind their rigs than anything else from my vantage point.  It was fun for an opener though.

The most amusing part of this show was the wacky crowd.  Perhaps the fact that it was the day after Halloween had something to do with it, but from a large man with retro high-tops and glasses that would blink in neon colors to a woman dressed like some sort of Willy Wonka creature, to a beekeeper and a bee, to folks who, to be quite honest, I wasn't sure if they were dressing up for the show or wearing a Halloween costume, this was a good people-watching show to say the least.

Grade: B

Photo courtesy of Stephen Bloch

Little Green Cars- Turner Hall Ballroom, October 20, 2013

My winning ways continue this fall, as I scored free tickets to Little Green Cars.  This folk-rock quintet from Dublin, Ireland played to about 250 people on a Sunday evening at Turner Hall.  Despite being a young band, their fan base was extremely diverse as high school kids to men and women in their 60's came to check out Little Green Cars.

Drawing primarily from their debut record, this year's Absolute Zero, Little Green Cars put on a solid, nearly 90 minute set.  The show started slow, with softer down-tempo numbers, but then picked up quicky.  "Big Red Dragon" was an energetic tune that started a real upswing in the show.


While all members of the band sang, often beautifully, the vocal duties were primarily handled by Stevie Appleby and Faye O'Rouke.  Of the two of them, Faye's lead numbers stood out as stronger tunes, playing off of her powerful, yet not overbearing voice (which echoes the range of Dolores O'Riordan of fellow Irish rock group, The Cranberries).  "Love Took Me Down to the River to Silence Me" was a beautiful number that showcased Faye's range an the band's ability to blend both rock and harmony together.

While I went into the show only really knowing one tune, "Harper Lee," thanks to 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, I found that this was at best a mid-set tune, and that the band has better music to offer.  The overall highlight of the show, was set closer, "The John Wayne," which told the story of Stevie Appleby having a few drinks and "falling in love" with a girl, only to end up back at his parent's house watching The Quiet Man and getting scolded by his "massive pops" for being loud.  It is in Appleby's storytelling that showcase his skills the strongest.

For their encore, the band literally came out into the crowd to perform an acoustic number without microphones.  This is a very fan-friendly, band who is accessible in all ways, especially with their sound.  I see Little Green Cars as a band with a very bright future.


Harper Lee

The John Wayne

Grade: A-