Vetiver were in town this Tuesday for an early show at the High Noon (a 7 p.m. show mid work-week is wonderful) and left the reasonably well attended crowd wanting more by the time they packed up after a couple of hours of solid Americana and Folk… the band is headed by Andy Cabic, with cellist Alissa Anderson, drummer Otto Hauser, violinist Carmen Biggers, guitarists Kevin Barker and Sanders Trippe, and bassist Brent Dunn. We didn’t have the entire band on stage but that did not diminish the soothing and warm sound of the band, which can also rock pretty mean! As a side note, Andy is also a keen lover of minimal techno in its vinyl format and often writes his songs to the rhythms of minimal music. We also traded notes on where we could get some of the hard-to-find-in-Madison-and-elsewhere minimal on vinyl.
Check out their live performance the next time in town (or wherever you can). I picked up some of their 12″ LP’s from the merch table for my listening pleasure and they sound delicious. Pick up their tunes on vinyl – also available locally at Strictly Discs in store or through this link here. And some pictures from the show. Enjoy!
From the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali to The Windy City
Tinariwen played to a sold out show within the quaint and intimate walls of Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. They formed in 1979, and then rose to prominence in the 1980s as the leaders of a new political and social conscience in the southern Sahara, and the icons of a generation of young Touareg living in exile in Algeria and Libya. In the early 2000s they started to gain a following outside Africa, first in the world music community, and then in the rock scene, thanks to frequent tours and appearances at major festival in Europe/ USA and backing from such artists as Robert Plant and Thom Yorke. After releasing their second CD album ‘Amassakoul’ in 2004 they had become one of the most successful African groups in the world, and even won several prestigious awards. They sing about the suffering and exile of their people of the southern Sahara, and about their beauty of the desert home. I was lucky enough to catch them performing in a small, sold out venue on a Saturday night. Please take some time to check out the photos.
Justin Townes Earle made his way through Madison with Chicago’s Joe Pug. It was a grand ol’ evening of singer/songwriter and old time country. A great show overall. Check out some of the images.
The duo were back at The High Noon in Madison Thursday night once more searching for a Eurotrash girl… Here are some pictures from last night’s show.
Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog made their way through Madison last night to play to a sold out show at the High Noon Saloon. The band ripped through most of the material from their last two releases and even debuted a few new songs from their upcoming spring 2010 release tentatively titled “Shame, Shame”. One the songs “Mirror, Mirror” was amazing – check it out here. Dr. Dog was full of raw energy and beautiful harmony throughout the entire evening. If they come around to your town, they should not be missed.
Opening act, The Growlers were a nice treat as well. Their psychedelic concoction of ”western surf punk” was a nice compliment to this show.
Check out of the photos.
