The 24th Bridge School Benefit is coming up!  The artist lineups were announced today!

Tickets are on sale starting Sunday, September 19th at 10 AM PST through Live Nation.

Saturday:
Buffalo Springfield
Pearl Jam
Elvis Costello
Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson
Lucinda Williams
Billy Idol
Jackson Browne and David Lindley
Modest Mouse
Grizzly Bear

Sunday:
Buffalo Springfield
Pearl Jam
T-Bone Burnett’s Speaking Clock Revue featuring Elton John, Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley, Neko Case and Jeff Bridges
Elvis Costello
Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson
Modest Mouse
Grizzly Bear

Little Adorable Dar

Dar Williams

9pm show

Kuumbwa, Santa Cruz

Dar performed 2 shows this night and I attended the latter. I am a big fan and have all of her music in my library, so it is always a treat to see her.  At one point she apologized to anyone in the crowd who had seen the earlier show, as she was about to indulge one repeat in her setlist. Wait…so I could’ve seen the equivalent of a 3.5 hour show?!?!?  Ah well, I didn’t have an extra $50 for another couple tickets anyway, but its good to know that is her MO.

As always Dar was awesome, with a beautiful voice and unparalleled wit and storytelling.  She was joined by the very versatile Alan Patchett on keyboards, piano and background vocals for most of her set. Check out the setlist below:

Setlist
1. Calling the Moon – solo
2. Spring Street
3. If I wrote you
4. Buzzer
5. You Are Everywhere
6. The Easy Way
7. Book of Love
8. After all – solo
9. The One Who Knows – solo
10. It’s Alright
11. The Hudson
12. Are You Out There
encore
13. Mercy of the Fallen

Dar Williams with accompanist

Track 1 – Breathing

The title track is kinda like a peanut butter cup.  It is fun and tasty…like a guilty pleasure.  From a  musical perspective I enjoy the panning and stereo image and the layered soundscape thing is sweet. My favorite track of the bunch.

Track 2 – Someone

I’d say Kit Kat for this one.  I like chocolate a lot, so thats a plus, and the layered base gives it substance.  Musically I’m kinda over the techno clap sound, but the filter sweeps and drums are tight.

Track 3 – Crazy

This song kinda reminds me of Runts…you remember the fruity candies shaped like their flavors? The flavors were pretty basic, so some were tart, others sweet, and the rest a mix of the two. This song has the good and the bad and the in between. The filter sweeping pads were a little overkill, but the panned arpeggiator was tasty.

Track 4 – Gone Away

This one has the air of your garden variety mint (red & white, cellophane wrapped).  One the plus side, anytime there is one around, you will want to enjoy it, but its not always that interesting.  The vocals are the easiest to understand in this song, but they remind me of a less intense Linkin Park.  In between vocal sections the sounds are good, but they fade away when the vocals come back.

Overall I have to say that Blair does the single artist looper thing quite well, but I feel that for a mixed recording the layers should each have a little more subtlety and flavor.  Understandably a live gig you just loop, but for a recording you’ve got so much more opportunity to add depth.  Its ear candy alright, but I would love to hear Blair’s next song that recalls the flavor of a Ghiradelli dark chocolate bar…or an It’s It.

Directly from their website:

Direct-to-Fan Monetization in the Digital Era Seminar

Saturday, July 31
1:00pm-4:00pm

SF State Downtown Campus
835 Market Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA
(Powell Street BART/Muni Station)

Free

Join us as we host Michael Fiebach (DJ Shadow Project) and Glenn Goldman (Iris Distribution and BlinkerActive) in a seminar that will reveal a world of opportunity for earning money by creating and promoting quality artistic product through direct to fan marketing. Strategies for understanding existing revenue sources, taking advantage of those sources that apply to you and your fan base and developing the ability to spot new revenue channels before they tip. Music packaging, merchandising, creative digital marketing and the artist-fan relationship will be discussed.

PS There is another one on Sept 11…so don’t fret if you’re bummed about missing this one.

Got my Phish tix for all 3 nights at the Greek!

It shall be epic and awesome.

Doug Benson posing with fans after Pot The Vote tour stop in San Jose

I know this is a music blog, but what the hell, I saw Doug Benson a couple nights ago and I gotta throw it in with my show reviews.

It goes without saying that creator of Super High Me and The Marijuana-logues was unbelievably lit for his set at the San Jose Improv on Monday (July 26,2010).  There were murmurs among some in my circle that he was faking a touch, but those people never saw his movie so I call shenanigans.

Graham Elwood opened.  This guys has the energy of a 13 year old with ADHD.  He kinda roams the stage the way I used to roam around my room pretending I was a T-Rex…but a wee bit funnier than I have ever been.  My friends and I noted that he was really funny for an opener, rolling with a tad bit of drunken crowd yelling, and excelling at calling back old jokes without making it annoying.

When Doug Benson came on the stoner crowd gave him a rousing round of applause.  He was funny.  I was not stoned and he was so funny my cheeks were in pain.  I haven’t laughed this hard since I saw Mitch Hedberg at Punch Line in SF back in 2001.  You do not have to be on drugs to enjoy this guy, though it helps to understand the references.

To illustrate: This was part of his Pot the Vote Tour, in which he encouraged all of us to vote for CA legalization of weed on Nov 2.  He mentioned that it is almost too early for such a tour but that we should make a note to remind ourselves (implied short term memory issues) about the date, perhaps with a tattoo, though we would probably wake up on Nov 3rd and wonder why there what we were supposed to do yesterday.  Needless to say its funnier in person…

Regardless of your position on the weed thing I would have to recommend that you go see him…or listen to his podcast…or watch him on Comedy Central.  He is funny.  That’s all.

Jackson Browne & David Lindley during opening acoustic set

Jackson Browne ticket and pass

1. Old people are weird. They venture out with their seat cushions and horrible taste in clothing, chatting with each other about the weather and what its like being old.  They are funny in that way.
2. Old people know how to GET DOWN! These white-hairs started smoking pipes and joints as soon as the music started…drank wine and beer like it was their last day on earth (who knows…).
   
3. David Lindley is fucking cool! This guy can play any stringed instrument, including the LUTE!  He has stark white mutton chops as big as my head.  He tells hilarious stories and has a great sense of humor. He had the loudest pants I have ever seen, as well as the loudest shirt ever…kinda made Wavy gravy look like a square.
4. Jackson Browne is aging well. His voice is in top shape.  His stories are smart, funny and poignant.  He looks good. He can rock.  So what if he admittedly can’t remember much about yesterday DESPITE his vivid memory of hanging out with David Crosby in the Bay Area a few decades ago…
5. My mom is awesome. She got us the tickets and made me go with her.  Not that it is hard to get me to go to a concert, but I had to re-arrange my schedule to make it work.  I am glad I did.  Even if my mom wanted to punch the drunken-offkey-singalong-offbeat-clapping obnoxious lady behind us, it was still a blast!

THANKS MOM!

Jackson Browne with full band for Rock set

Bimbo’s 365 Club, SF $18

Ben Taylor

Katie Herzig

I haven’t been to Bimbo’s since I saw a tiny acoustic Ben Harper show there in ’01 or ’02.  This place is amazing and beautiful.  Pictures don’t do it justice…just go there…I urge you…go there.

Ok, that’s been said…now for music stuff…

Katie Herzig

Katie Herzig on guitar and vocals with cellist Claire

Katie, along with Claire (cello, harmony vocals) and Jordan (guitar, accordian, ukelele, harmony vocals) put together a great set with an impressive chemistry, some crafty wit, and emotional honesty that is hard to come by.

Katie told great stories, with topics ranging from a Nashville songwriter’s panel, touring with the ever-chill Ben Taylor, and driving through a redwood tree earlier in the day.  Being an opening act can be challenging, but Katie tackled it head-on and won over the crowd.  It didn’t hurt that she had a fantastic coupe of girls on her side.  The music never lacked for more musicians and always felt full and fulfilling.  Plus I’m a sucker for bringing out some guests, which happened when she invited out Ben’s trio to join them for the final song.  Well done.

Ben Taylor

Ben Taylor accompanied by bass and cajon

Ben was accompanied by Ben (bass, sunglasses) and Larry (cajon) and also was able to make an impressive full sound with only 3 people.  I had only seen him back in 2003 with his Ben Taylor Band so I did not know if the smaller arrangement would seem lacking…but it was great!  The sound in the room was perfect and you could hear every witty lyric that Ben throw at you, along with the subtleties of the drumming on the cajon (sounded like a simple drumset half the time and a drum machine the other half…all from a wooden box).

I have always maintained that Ben has the voice and talent of his father, but with much more interesting material.  Needless to say, he lived up to my description, not only with his great songs, but also with his own hilarious story-telling.  My favorite was the introduction to the song Wicked Way, in which he talked about listening to the brazen forwardness of rapper’s these days and wondering if he could write a folk song with the sound of James Taylor with the forwardness of Ludacris.  It worked.

At $18 (plus 2 over-priced drink minimum) I felt like I had an intimate concert experience that far exceeded that of most bigger name acts…I got my money’s worth…and walked away with renewed fandom of Ben Taylor and with an exciting new enjoyment of Katie Herzig.  I look forward to seeing either of them the next time they come to the Bay Area.

You are SWEET.

I am financially strapped and you still find a way to keep me entertained and thriving on good tunes.

• My good friend Princess Wench gave me free passes to Left Coast Live in San Jose and I got to see some sweet local bands, a Rube Goldberg machine, the awesome nerdy antics of OK GO, and met a fun girl to boot.
• I got to see Jackie Greene play a free show at the Hard Rock in SF.
• I roamed the beaches of Santa Cruz and went to the Crow’s Nest for their summer beach party series and saw the beachtown-reggae-rock of Ribsy’s Nickel
  

  Fun-Loving Crowd at Crow's Nest in Santa Cruz for BEACH PARTAY!

• I got tix for ALL THREE nights of Phish at the Greek in Berkeley!  I cannot wait for that…I’m not even mad that I have to work one of the nights…sold my ticket to a buddy and got some cash back and still get to catch 2 amazing shows!
• I am going this weekend to spend Saturday night in SF seeing Ben Taylor at Bimbos and maybe catch an the last couple hours of the Bootie-Mashup Party at the DNA lounge afterwards.

Yeah, there is more, and I can wait to blog the highlights…

Thanks summer of Oh-Ten!