Cat Power sounds great on a cover of These Eyes (Are Crying). Then she goes into a major deal introducing the band as they solo while a number of fans play air guitar. Some recognition for the air guitarists, please.
Feel-good troubador Muck Sticky kicked off the BSMF doings at the Cellular South Stage on Saturday. Here’s a personal message just for you and a bit of his show, about as much as we could publish on a responsible family Web site.
What is sticky muck? So I’m this old dude trying to figure out the music festival. Last time I was at something like this the Grateful Dead was playing and everyone was doing a field of wheat dance - arms waving kind of mellow in the breeze like Kansas on a good day. Something tells me times have changed. But when I check out this act called Muck Sticky, the first thing that happens is two giant reefer torches start smoking on stage. That looks familiar, but it’s been a long time. Muck Sticky comes on stage between the monster joints looking like an annoying leprechaun who got into his kid sister’s wardrobe. I asked around about him. Listen to the audio. Click here. What is sticky muck?
Here’s some of the Turkish band Duman blending Turkish folk and modern rock Saturday afternoon, but it sounds more rock in this take.
I just caught some of the first of two Music Fests by Turkish rock band Duman. The Memphis in May honored country’s musical representative attracted a smallish but fast-growing crowd as the chilly evening began, drawing appreciative cheers from the throng that included at least a couple dozen people singing along to the Turkish-language lyrics.
A Mediterranean melancholy pervades many of Duman’s tunes, and some of the dueling guitar lines have a distinct Middle Eastern flavor. But, reflecting Turkey’s position as a bridge between East and West, they also are heavily influenced by ’90s American alt-rock bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. Front man Kaan Tangöze is a brooding yet charismatic figure along the lines of Bono, but his dynamic vocal style has the range of Jeff Buckley or Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson.
If you missed Duman today, you can catch them at 4 Sunday on the Sam’s Town Stage, warming up for Jerry Lee Lewis.
Bluesman Preston Shannon sure knows how to keep his guitar happy.
Stopped by the Al Kapone show and he’s no Harry Belafonte. The weather’s pretty cold so crowds are down all around. But a small appreciative crowd howled when he began. Many knew the words and more danced. If connecting and communicating are part of the art, Al is the real deal.
Okay John and I are over 50. So as we entered the park we immediately noted the proximity of the restrooms to the stages. (We briefly thought about the portable restroom biz as a second career but we’re done trying to move up in the world.) We noticed that most of the facilities were marked for men or women. What ever happened to any port in a storm? Then John noticed that some had no gender designation at all and decided that those were for the undecideds.
Seems that last night’s storms may have put a damper on the Beale Street Music Festival’s attendence. While it’s still early, after walking the grounds of Tom Lee Park end to end, it’s clear that there’s less traffic than in years past. But, with a grade A list of performers - Lou Reed, Santana, Bettye LaVette -slated for tonight, expect the numbers to grow.
The Blues Are Alright is how the song really goes, and on Friday night they were alright because they were under a freakin’ tent, relatively safe from the mud and rain.
The lure of shelter insured that the Tennessee Lottery Blues Tent was packed all night even if the performances did not always warrant it. Former Memphian Charlei Musselwhite, who should be popping up a new release later this year jamming with the North Mississippi Allstars, Jim Dickinson, and Alvin Youngblood Hart, was backed by a particularl hard-charging blues trio. And while Musselwhite has never been the greatest vocalist (a sort of more reticent Mose Allison) he siwely stepped back from the mic to let his own harmonica and the solos of his guitarist do the singing.
Headliner Keb’ Mo’ ended the night on a way too laid back note. Backed just by a drummer, his mid-tempo set is more appropriate for a Sunday afternoon not a beer soaked Friday night. In all his performance turned the hot and sweaty blues tent into a mild and tame Starbuck’s.
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