Concert Review: Dia de los Deftones at Petco Park

I’ve limited myself to a single live music event during my second honeymoon in San Diego.  But man, what a show!  Dia de los Deftones, a festival curated by hometown heroes Deftones, was held just beyond the outfield of Petco Park and spilled over into a street adjacent to the baseball stadium on Saturday, November 3.

Complications with a rideshare caused me to miss the opening act Vowws, but Vein’s ferocious attack on the secondary stage made me feel a lot better about skipping the 2018 edition of Warped Tour.  The cool kids insisting that Vein is one of rock’s best hopes may be right.  Ho99o9, an industrial rock/rap trio in the style of Death Grips and Injury Reserve, was even better.  Failing to get hurt after getting swept into the mosh pit a couple times confirmed my sense that I’m living the life of Riley.

I’ve never managed to get into Rocket From the Crypt.  The veteran San Diego band received a cold shoulder from Deftones fans who shared my indifference.  I felt sorry for Mike Shinoda.  Not only did the music of the cofounder of Linkin Park ironically resemble second-rate Twenty One Pilots, his tribute to his late bandmate Chester Bennington was a major buzzkill.

The set by Future was easily the best effort I’ve witnessed by the rap superstar.  He’s floundered the past couple times I’ve seen him but Future did his best to engage the audience of approximately 5,000.  Unlike Future, Doja Cat didn’t have any baggage to overcome.  The immensely likable Cardi B knockoff gamely delivered her risque material including the hilarious novelty hit "Mooo!".

I had so much fun bouncing between the two stages for six hours that I forgot to eat.  Unfortunately, I remembered to down three Belching Beaver lagers introduced at the festival.  Overcome by a sudden wave of hunger when Deftones hit the main stage, I couldn’t enjoy its headlining appearance.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

David Murray: An Appreciation

Although the designation doesn’t have any impact on my estimation of the man, I’m glad that Henry Threadgill won a Pulitzer Prize yesterday.  In his self-congratulatory report, Howard Reich notes that Ornette Coleman was awarded a Pulitzer in 2007.  David Murray could be the next titanic jazz saxophonist and composer to be similarly honored.  Perfection, Murray’s new collaboration with pianist Geri Allen and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, is the latest entry in a massive discography that was already loaded with thrilling music.  Unlike the output of most supergroups, Perfection doesn’t disappoint.   With a previously unrecorded Coleman composition as its centerpiece, the album shot past Logan Richardson’s Shift as my favorite jazz release of 2016.


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I reviewed a concert by the Bad Plus Joshua Redman at the Gem Theater.

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The most recent rounds of the weekly music previews I write for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine are here and here.

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I wrote an extended show preview about the Tedeschi Trucks Band for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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The Kansas City rapper Gee Watts created a video for ”Grammys”.

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Gib Guilbeau, an integral part of the West Coast country-rock revolution, has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Phil Humphrey of the Fendermen has died.  The group’s version of “Mule Skinner Blues” was a  hit in 1960.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Loyalty is good.  Nostalgia is bad.  That’s why I don’t entirely trust my affection for Deftones’ Gore.  Combining Boy-era U2 and Disintegration-era the Cure with thrash elements makes my heart go pitter-patter, but I’m inclined to dismiss the approach as a cynical parlor trick.  Pals who suggest that I need to get in the “right frame of mind” to properly appreciate Gore are undoubtedly right, but I’m on a straight-and-narrow tip at the moment.  Here's "Prayers/Triangles".

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Hayes Carll’s Lovers and Leavers is a spot-on evocation of the moment in the 1970s when Billy Joe Shaver, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and Guy Clark were at their artistic peaks.

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The Black Sabbath cover that serves as the colossal title track of Charles Bradley’s Changes is the album’s best song.  RIYL: O.V. Wright, emoting, Wilson Pickett.

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Yeah, I like Aesop Rock.  Wanna make something of it?  Here’s a live reading of ”Lazy Eye”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Silent Movies Make More Money

I bought a $15 ticket to be a part of the in-crowd at Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear’s joyous concert at the Midland theater last week.  The audience of 1,500 was the biggest I’ve seen for any single locally based artist in the past three years aside from Tech N9ne, the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Joyce DiDonato or the Kansas City Symphony.  Here’s Tim Finn’s review.


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I reviewed last night’s Incubus, Deftones, Death From Above 1979 and the Bots concert.

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I reviewed Radkey’s Dark Black Makeup for KCUR.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Samantha Fish to KCUR.

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I play the role of Debbie Downer at the Charlie Parker Celebration.

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Even with the lousy sound on some of the later stuff, Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 serves as a spectacular survey of jazz history.

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Nicholas Payton plays a lot of keyboards on the engaging Letters.  RIYL: Kamasi Washington, grooving, Stanley Cowell.

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I can’t decide if Tunde Olaniran’s Transgressor sounds more like an indie-rock version of Beyoncé or a pop version of TV On the Radio.  I also can’t decide if I like it.

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Omar Souleyman’s Bahdeni Nami is my kind of party.

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The Foreign Exchange’s Tales From the Land of Milk and Honey is RIYL: Soul II Soul, grown-and-sexy music, Bobbi Humphrey.  Here’s the video for the somewhat unrepresentative “Asking For a Friend.” 

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Oleta Adams, Chaka Khan and Nancy Wilson are among the guest vocalists on Terri Lyne Carrington’s The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul.   Here’s the EPK.

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I listened to Luke Bryan’s new album.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Chelsea Light Moving

Chelsea Light Moving is a flawed album.  The self-titled release by Thurston's Moore's new band is loaded with cringeworthy moments.  Then why do I keep listening?  It's not because of Moore's lyrics.  Seemingly intended as an homage to Patti Smith and Lou Reed, Moore's good intentions frequently go awry without the editorial guidance he must have received in Sonic Youth.

But those guitars… 

In the same way classic rock and technical metal fans adore the exhibitions of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, I relish hearing Moore's scuzzy post-punk constructs.  More than nostalgia is at play.  Sure, I bought Evol as a new release in 1986 and saw Sonic Youth a few months later at the Outhouse.  Moore's riffs may be recycled, but they're timeless.

An 18-minute performance for KEXP captures the Chelsea Light Moving aesthetic.


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I didn't know that George Jackson co-wrote "Old Time Rock and Roll" until I read his obituary yesterday.   So "Down Home Blues" is an answer song to the Bob Seger hit?  Mind blown. 

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Chi Cheng of Deftones has died.

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Farout, the bearded dude in Brett Gretzky, may be Missouri's next hip hop star.  The duo's "Crows" is available as a free download.

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I'll listen to the new albums by Kid Cudi, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Flaming Lips, Ghost B., Ghostface Killah, Volbeat and Mel Waiters, as soon as I get my fill of the latest dispatch from Willie Nelson.

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Kansas City Click: The RecordBar hosts The Mowgli's on Tuesday.

Fear Factory is at the Riot Room on Wednesday.

Spooner Oldham (!) supports Pegi Young at the Riot Room Czar Bar on Thursday.

Flux Pavilion will light up the Midland on Friday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)