The disorienting sense that my recent reality is actually an extended waking dream was heightened by my experiences in an odd little town at Lake Erie last week.
Soon after I checked into a 1950s-style motel, I heard a band performing nearby. A stellar version of "The Weight" sounded as if it was being played by the Avett Brothers. I quickly made the one-block walk to the biker bar that was hosting the band.
The musicians- a motley crew of middle-aged rockers in sequins and blue jeans- wasn't much to look at. And they didn't sound good in close proximity either. The band launched into a bevy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers Band and Molly Hatchet covers when I grabbed a seat. Several bikers played air guitar to "Dreams I'll Never See". I washed down a sandwich prepared by Chef Mic with a couple beers as I observed the surreal scene.
As I tried to collect myself back at the motel, the band transformed again as it launched into a series of excellent covers of frat-rock songs like "Expressway to Your Heart." Wake me up when it's over.
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I wrote a fall jazz preview for The Kansas City Star.
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Yet another piano trio! I reviewed the Paul Shinn Trio's Reason Pure at Plastic Sax.
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Billboard cites the success of Strange Music.
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Reach's Loosies is available as a free download. RIYL: KRS-One, Gang Starr, Rakim. (Via Tony's Kansas City.)
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D/Will's Lamb & Lion is also available at Bandcamp. RIYL: Kanye West, Gil Scott-Heron, A Tribe Called Quest.
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The Numero Group published the track listing of its new Eccentric Soul: The Forte Label compilation.
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Yeah, I watched MTV's VMA show on Sunday. Pontificating on drummed-up controversies isn't my thing. The fact that not a single rock or EDM act performed at the event is far more interesting to me than the calculated shenanigans of pop stars.
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Buika shines in a Tiny Desk Concert.
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Dent May's Warm Blanket is RIYL: Destroyer, George Harrison, Randy Newman.
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The Akku Quartet's Stages of Sleep album is RIYL: Tortoise, Pink Floyd, Charles Lloyd.
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The new releases of the most interest to me this week include titles by Avenged Sevenfold, Belle & Sebastian, Big Sean, Black Joe Lewis, Devil Driver, Franz Ferdinand, Robbie Fulks, Goodie Mob, Juicy J, Lorde, Maps for Travelers, Dent May (see above), Pieces of a Dream and Quiet Corral.
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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here every Wednesday.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
2 comments:
Where the hell is this mural!? Weird.
Isn't that nuts, Gary? It's on the patio of a (different) bar in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio.
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