Madison Music Review

Summer’s almost gone, it’s the last weekend of August and that means it’s time for The Orton Park Festival! Celebrating it’s 41st year, the festival this year features aerial dance acts by Cycropia Dance Troupe on Friday and Saturday, loads of music from the likes of:

• Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie from Eunice, Louisiana (Fri/Sun)
• Chicago style blues from Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin and Lurrie Bell (Sat)
• The Fareed Haque Group melding Asian harmonies and Jazz (Sun)

There’s yummy food from some of Madison’s favorite eateries, auctions every evening (including a Robert Crumb signed print) and tons of activities for all ages. Check out the Marquette Neighborhood Association’s website for more details. See you there!

- malliman/AM

Robbie Fulks returned to SMF to give a special performance. Fulks is an American alternative country artist originally from Raleigh, North Carolina but who is a longtime Chicago, Illinois resident. Fulks is known for his disdain of mainstream modern country and the country music industry. Read more…

Peter Himmelman having one of
many audience interactions

Playing with his instrument

This was my fist Peter Himmelman show and while I had made myself familiar with some of his CD’s I was not quite prepared for his stage antics… he has a huge stage presence – it literally enfolds the audience out there. Which was not there but at the Patti Smith show at the Barrymore – a point of note that Peter made sure the audience remembered by caustic comments peppered throughout the set… show and tell with his new iPhone… sharing the olfactory nuances of the various microphones on stage (with one of the mic’s smelling of cat urine, another of Burning Spear’s @#$, a third kicked to the floor in disgust). We were also made familiar with Mr. Himmelman’s grandfather’s accent, weather announcements on the Interstate and the keyboard player’s psycho/sociopath (ex) girlfriend.

Time for the iPhone test

Time to take a bow halfway through the set

Sometime during the show Mr. Himmelman started shedding himself of his belongings (literally) as he warmed up; his jacket – co-opted by a lady back in the audience who claimed she was feeling cold in her sleeveless black dress, his new iPhone which someone from the audience wanted to try out so ended up parking himself on a chair on stage while the band rocked on, and then his wallet to the trusted road manager.

Overall a highly entertaining show, even though I had to leave early to get back to my ‘other’ job that pays for my ever-expanding record collection. Wicked lyrics, caustic humor (even the camera man was not spared), a tight band and hard rocking guitarmanship marked the unique showmanship of Peter Himmelman.

Being not too familiar with Mr Himmelman’s songbook myself, I have neglected to list the numbers from last night so folks if you were there (there were about 60 of you there) please feel free to add a comment.

SoDangYang with Jim Schwall (on far left)

I almost forgot to mention SoDangYang with Jim Schwall on guitar who started off Sunday evening’s musical program with a great sounding set of country/alt/rock … songs that stood out were Big Rain, You Look Cooler when Your’e Playing Your Guitar, and a superb version of Dylan’s With God on Our Side.

Cheers – malliman/AM

We woke up Sunday to heavy rainstorms, but by late morning the skies had cleared and it was hot! and humid! We started our day at Lolla with Rodrigo y Gabriela. You know – flamenco meets Led Zeppelin. They were a hit.

Grant Park offers some nice shady places to get relief from the sun. It was needed today.

That is Amy Winehouse way up there. OK, so you’re going to have to trust me on that. . . I was unfamiliar with her music, but really enjoyed her sultry voice and soulful songs.

Paolo Nutini

The Stooges together again after 30 years. I saw Iggy Pop a couple times in the late ’70s / early ’80s – including a memorable performance at Headliners. . . Yes, I did sing along with “I Wanna Be Your Dog.”

Yo La Tengo was another highlight set for me – but it seems like I say that after every one of their performances. What can I say, I love ‘em. Ira Kaplan was unhinged from the get go. They started with Sugarcube, played Pass the Hatchet and ended with a 15 minute Story of Yo La Tengo.

I had my best spot of the festival for YLT, and so took lots of great pictures. YLT fans can check them out here. (I think you will enjoy them!)

Kudos to new friends Laurie and Daniel who came out for a last hurrah before the new baby arrives. (You can’t tell from this picture, but she is very pregnant!) Keep on rockin’ kids!

TV on the Radio was great. This was their last show of a 14 month tour.

Some say Grant Park offers the best urban festival venue in the nation. I’m now in that camp. Lollapalooza is well run, a nice diversity of bands brings in a great crowd, and the energy was high for most every set I attended. . . I will return.

The crowd begins to amass for Pearl Jam. (Can you see the stage in the distance?). But we head the other way so that we can get home before Monday arrives. . .

The crowds were much larger on Saturday, making it harder to get decent pictures with the pocket cam. (We were too late in applying to get photo credentials for this festival.) But here are a few images to give you a flavor anyway.

I started the day with Brian, checking out one of his favorite bands – Silverchair. There were quite a few people very charged up to see these guys . . .

Daniel Johns – before he shed his jacket. . .

Don’t try too hard to figure out why there is a foot there.
It was part of the backdrop.

(FYI – Others in our crew saw Stephen Marley during this same time slot and raved about how funky and fun their set was. )

Cold War Kids were up next. I caught a few songs before heading out. . .

. . . to catch the last half of Sound Tribe Sector 9. STS9 had the place grooving nicely.
The Roots were definately my surprise set of the day. This was the first time I’d seen them, and they were fantastic. The bass player (Hub?) performed the most amazing solo improv. . . Their live show is highly recommended. (They will be opening for Dave Matthews Band at Alpine later this month.) Can you tell from this photo how the crowd was bumpin’?
When was the last time you saw a hip-hop group include a sousaphone? (Not to be confused with a tuba!)

Spoon was one of my highlight shows. . . As some of you know, this is one of my favorite bands and this was the first time I saw them perform live. I was not disappointed. A great set – raining throughout – but not dampening the energy at all!

I guess I did my share of “dancing” ‘cuz this morning my calves were stiff and sore. . . One more day – we’re having a blast.