10-30-11 - "Wanna Be Loved" ~ dc Talk

Listened to a few old favorite albums on this weekend's road trip.  Here's a head-bobber from a band I listened to quite a bit back in high school, DC Talk.  These boys evolved from a rap / hip hop group in the late '80s - early '90s to a more rock / pop sound by the late '90s, but managed to work in a lot of different styles along the way, as evidenced by this track, which contains elements of funk, soul, and pop.  My favorite part is probably the funky, crunchy bass line, which anchors the song as the harmonies and freestyle vocal riffs flow.

"Rainy monday afternoon;

there's a funk over the city..."

10-21-11 - "Oh Dear Diary" ~ Sloan

Alt-rockers bring a funky twist on high school drama, complete with Hammond chording over a saucy beat and a ratchet.

"If you're found on the ground of the school I'll be dead,

I hear them chanting off with his head..."

8-9-11 - "Treat Me Right" ~ Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

OK, so Hartwood Acres free* summer concerts are pretty flippin' sweet.  Josh Ritter and David Wax Museum were great back in June, and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals brought it this past Sunday.  Here's a video I shot of one of the most rockin' songs I've ever heard played solely on acoustic guitars (x3!)!

(yea, they segued into another song and I just kept filming... a cover of Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands"... it's all good stuff so roll with it!)

And here are a few photos that hopefully capture some of the energy Grace and the band brought to the show (oh yea, she plays a Flying V AND a Hammond B3 ~ my kind of woman!)

Wow, could I have used any more parenthetical exclamations in this post? (I think not!)


"I'm at the end of a tunnel but there ain't no light..."
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* - except, of course, for the hassles of driving there, sitting in traffic, and parking... if you go, go EARLY and take a picnic and just enjoy the evening.


PS - sorry for the late post; Youtube took forever to upload my video so I had to go to bed.  But hey, it's still August 9th in Hawaii... or at least somewhere in the Pacific Ocean near the International Date Line... I think... anyway, sorry.

1-25-11 - "Medicine" ~ Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

You're getting a live video tonight.  Grace Potter & The Nocturnals hail from Vermont, which is a pretty awesome place.  And their music is just plain fun and crazy, which is always a plus.  And Grace's voice is dynamite.  And the drummer's 'stache and expressions are sweet.  What's not to like?

"I stole her bag of rattling bones,
her fast-luck oil and her magic stones;
I swept up her magnetic sand,
I took her love potion and her mojo hand..."