THE FLAME STILL BURNS
  • The Flame Still Burns
  • Just Saying....
  • Rippling Waters
  • Playing With Fire
    • The Listening Room...
    • The Pod
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Gallery

Anders Osborne Lights up the Broadberry

3/27/2019

0 Comments

 
Picturephoto by Brandt Vicknair
03/23/19
Saturday night Anders Osborne took the audience at the Broadberry on a tour through his 30-plus year career, much to the delight of the fans. The show was billed as a solo acoustic show, which, for some artists might indicate a quiet, intimate evening of mellow music. Not this night, not this artist. Osborne came out swinging for the fences, kicking the evening off with a powerful version of “47.” Rocking back and forth like a man possessed he grabbed the crowd by the throat and shook them like a rag doll. His guitar tone was superb and his voice was in fine shape and it was clear from the jump that Anders was taking no prisoners.


Read More
0 Comments

Eric Andersen's Poetic Journey

10/25/2017

0 Comments

 
Picturephoto by Paolo Brillo
Live- at the Tin Pan, Richmond, Virginia 10/17/17


​​Live music has the potential to be any number of things. It can be a pleasant diversion, it can be cathartic, it can be a shared party. And sometimes, with the right artist, it can be transcendent. On the right night, when the artist and the audience are both dialed in, a sort of communal feast happens. The table is set and the artist and audience feed each other energy and, in the best of moments, intimacy. No matter how well you may relate the details of that evening to others, it still gets filed under the heading “You had to be there.”
On this October night I had the same feeling I have about every concert, that gnawing sense of expectation that leads me to hope for a spiritual connection. Some artists know how to curate that moment, none better than Eric Andersen.



Read More
0 Comments

The Steel Wheels Rumble Into The Jefferson

5/6/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
April 28, 2017
The Steel Wheels kicked off their 2017 tour with a rousing cd release show in front of a packed house at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA. The band hit the stage with a truckload of energy and the crowd fired it right back to them, artist and audience pushing each other to greater heights. The give and take felt more like a sporting event at times, with the crowd hooting and hollering, and stomping their feet as if it was a home playoff game.
The band was celebrating Wild as We Came Here, their gorgeous new record, recorded last fall in a renovated Maine farmhouse. During the course of the evening they played the entire album, along with plenty of their well-known tunes. It was evident that the band had been itching to get out and play and they seemed ecstatic at the prospect of sharing new material. The crowd response seemed to liberate the boys, turning their performance into a mountaintop experience.


Read More
0 Comments

Eric Bibb Live at Carnegie Hall  02/24/2017

2/28/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Lewisburg, WV - I had pictured a quaint little town in the mountains of West Virginia, blanketed in snow and looking like a postcard memory. At least, that was the thought when I booked the tickets. I didn't expect a spring-like 60 degree day. By now I should know to never trust a groundhog. And who knew there are five Carnegie Halls in America?

The evening air felt more like April than February, as we walked the short distance from the car to the venue. A feeling of anticipation hung in the air, the hope that a night of good music might cleanse our souls from the division and rancor dominating so much of the airwaves these days.

And we were rewarded, by a stellar performance from Eric Bibb and Michael Jerome Browne, in the music they made, and in the unity they inspired in the audience. Higher truths and aspirations reigned for two hours on a balmy February night, proof that self-serving partisan politics will never be able to overshadow a great song, much less great performers of the caliber of Bibb and Browne. In the midst of fracture, they remind us of the beauty people can create, of what the psalmist lauded about brothers who dwell together in harmony.

The two gentleman settled in to their seats on the stage and set about the task of turning a concert hall into a living room experience. And they made it look effortless. To see Bibb in concert is to see an artist who is comfortable in his own skin, and who treats the stage like his own back porch. 

The show started with the classic blues song, "Going Down Slow." After the tune, Bibb joked that he was happy to be playing in tropical West Virginia. Next up was "Silver Spoon," a song Bibb described as his life story. The lyrics map out the arc of the bluesman's journey, and invite the listener to join him on his path. Michael Jerome Browne embellished the tale with fluid and emotive slide guitar breaks.

Browne provided some more melodic magic on "Bring a Little Water, Sylvie," from Bibb's 2015 tribute album, Lead Belly's Gold. The chiming notes from Browne's mandolin added a joyful spark to a wonderful song, and Bibb's vocals were warm and full of affection for the tune. They would return to mine some more of that gold later in the set.

"Dolla' in my Pocket" served to whet the audience's desire for the forthcoming album Migration Blues. The song was well-received. The Rev. Gary Davis classic, "I Heard the Angels Singing," a staple of Bibb's live show, sparked a Holy Ghost response from the audience as they clapped along and shouted and hollered when the song drew to a close. Bibb, clearly pleased by the response, remarked that he did not realize there were some holy rollers in the house.

Another highlight of the evening was "With My Maker I am One." The intensity of Bibb's guitar playing, anchored by a steady bass line, drove home the point that we all have to serve somebody. Bibb followed this by telling the story of Rosewood, a dark moment of racial hatred and violence sparked by a simple lie.  The centerpiece of the 2014 release Blues People, "Rosewood" is a call for change that challenges us to do better.


Throughout the night, Michael Jerome Browne displayed a particularly deft touch, knowing just where to come in, and where to lay back, in each song. The American-born Browne has lived most of his life in Canada, and began immersing himself in the blues at an early age. The multi-instrumentalist expanded Bibb's already broad emotional palette with turns on slide guitar, mandolin, and blues harp. His knack for knowing what is needed seems to operate on the level of instinct, and Browne's instincts are spot-on.

In true Pete Seeger fashion Bibb had the audience sing along on a couple of occasions. The best moment came when the Carnegie Hall crowd raised their voices on the old spiritual, "Needed Time." In a matter of minutes Bibb had created a sense of community, and all in attendance were aware that something special was happening.
​ 
Eric Bibb's laid back style and easy demeanor has the effect of drawing the audience in, and creating a sense of intimacy among strangers. His passionate delivery of songs like "Angels," or the show closer, "Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down," energize your soul and ask you to believe that we can make this world a better place. I'm on board. Catch this train, it's a ride you don't want to miss.


0 Comments

Dancing in the Dirt

10/5/2016

0 Comments

 
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band brings their 50th Anniversary Tour to Central Virginia 10/02/16
Picture
The Sunday night air was alive with anticipation. The promise of autumn’s cool weather and an evening of splendid music signaled that the dog days of summer were a thing of the past. And who better to celebrate with than old friends Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden, John McEuen, and Bob Carpenter? The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band took the packed house at Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater on a musical joyride, and in the process dispelled the myth that familiarity breeds contempt. In fact, it seemed to breed a deep sense of community, the sort that our current political season could never achieve.


Read More
0 Comments

Straight Whiskey & the Full Tilt Boogie

9/28/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Live at The Birchmere - August 6th 2016
Tab Benoit hit the Birchmere stage the way great artists leave it. He started the night with the intensity of vision and ferocity of attack most performers leave for the second encore. And he built from there.


Singing “Gonna get my friends/we’re going crawfishing,” Benoit began by anchoring his blues firmly in the rich soil of the bayou. And it was from there that everything made sense and connected to the real world; while at the same time transcending the blues that easily besets our mortal souls, lifting us out of our present circumstances into a place where family, food, and music offer a respite from the spiritual ravages of our political and technological world.
​

Disclaimer: There is a basic rule in good writing. That rule says that a good writer should not use the same word over and over again. The hell with that. The word? Tone. With Benoit it is all about tone.


Read More
0 Comments

September 28th, 2016

9/28/2016

1 Comment

 
Graham Nash Still Matters
Picture
Live at The Birchmere - July 21, 2016

Graham Nash took to the Birchmere stage with all the grace of an elder statesman whose body of work and history as an activist long ago marked him as a force for social change. Launching his opening set with “Military Madness,” Nash’s righteous indignation was firmly in place, a testimony to a man whose singular vision that art can transform the world is as timely as ever.
Nash walked the audience through his catalog, a rich tapestry of music spanning more than five decades, accompanied by Shane Fontayne on guitar and vocals. Touring in support of his latest release, This Path Tonight, the strength of the material and the resilience in Nash’s voice made for a wonderful evening. And, as the crowd soon discovered, the new songs were every bit as vital as the classic anthems they came to hear.
In fact, Nash seemed energized by his collaboration with Fontayne, who served as co-writer and producer on the new record. On stage the two men engaged in the kind of give and take that brought out the best in each. Fontayne’s edgy slide guitar added a sense of urgency to “Military Madness,” layering the song’s dread and paranoia with nimble fretwork.
“King Midas in Reverse” and “Marrakesh Express” followed, and the crowd was enthusiastic in their appreciation. Fontayne’s voice complements Nash’s nicely and his guitar statements were tasteful and emotive and never obscured the central focus of the songs.
At one point Nash referenced his sometime bandmates by joking that the advantage of “not playing with the other maniacs is that I get to play songs I haven’t performed in a while.” The song selection reflected each phase of Nash’s career and all the hits were there for the audience to savor.
Midway through the first set Nash unveiled two songs from the new album. The first, “Myself at Last” was a lovely acoustic ballad that featured a solid harmonica solo from Nash. The title track to This Path Tonight followed and posed the question, “Where are we going?” The lyrics seemed all too poignant in this season of terrorism, public unrest, and fractious political salvos.
The highlight of the night was a new number, “Back Home,” written as a tribute to Levon Helm. Heartfelt without being maudlin, the tune honored an original American musical treasure with a very personal expression of love. In all, the half dozen songs from This Path Tonight were as good as anything Nash has ever released.
After a three song encore that included a gorgeous rendition of the Lennon-McCartney gem “Blackbird” the lights came up and the crowd began to file out. But hanging in the air was the knowledge that, at 74, Nash remains a vital artist who continues to create stirring new compositions and to impact the world he inhabits.

1 Comment

    Archives

    March 2019
    October 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

This site proudly powered by Delta Blues, Micro Brews, Blue Suede Shoes and Suzi Q.