First you get an expert like Tony Thomas who has done it half a dozen times before for Jerry Lee Lewis. Here he reveals a few other tricks to keep on rockin’.

Oracle and the Mountain

The Whigs

(more…)

Yea. It’s this guy.

“So anyone going to the Disturbed photo pit?”

-”Oh, I’m in!” I reply.

These guys play all super serious, but I’m standing two feet in front of “dude” and giggling uncontrollably. I mean I guess this stuff gets a pass if you’re playing guitar hero, but I thought it was pretty silly in person.

They try to be all intense, but at the end of the day they still play Phil Collins and Tears for Fears covers.

It’s also great fun watching the kids beat the tar out of each other at a show like this.

You guys need to go see Mastodon or Lamb of God or something and just settle down.

Well… I still had fun. I usually do. Till tomorrow.
Cheers.

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.

I was standing in front of the Budweiser Stage, the rain having just subsided after delaying the 9 p.m. acts by more than a half-hour, when a rumble from the crowd turned into an ovation. The stage crew had begun removing the plastic covering from Ben Folds’ piano, and the show would go on, right? As if on cue, the rain hit again, hard all at once this time. The giant white plastic cover went back over the band setup, and those stage hands who were just being cheered were now booed.

With the advantage of being covered, the Tennessee Lottery Blues Tent was standing-room only. Charlie Musselwhite, the harmonica master who is a regular at Music Fest, was probably the only act playing at the entire festival for most of his set, and he delivered. The native Mississippian who saw success in the 1960s playing in Chicago with Paul Butterfield closes the gap between the two regions, showing that no matter where it’s from, it’s all just the blues.

I was too late to catch any of the set featuring Memphis rapper Project Pat and a cast of thousands, but I did hear Pat say that if you want to party with him tonight, he’ll be up there at Senses nightclub. No doubt sippin’ on some of that good sizzurp.

In other news, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts ripped through a crowd-pleasing set on the Sam’s Town Stage, throwing in classic tunes like “Crimson and Clover” and “Everyday People” along with well-known hits like “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” Ms. Jett hasn’t lost a thing up there, and her band is a well-oiled machine. There is simply no substitute for experience in the rock and roll business, kids. 

Rock ‘n’ roll chaos was just orchestrated by the Australian power-rock trio Wolfmother. There were rowdy crowd-surfers, slam dancers, tweens sporting homemade Wolfmother T-shirts, fights, dudes losing their shoes, jerks throwing bottles and cigarettes, women calling the cops on dudes who punched them in the face, security staff deflecting angry concertgoers who’d been shoved into the pit and out the fence, and so much more. There were jokers, thieves and white unicorns.

And there was rock. Lots of rock.

Lead singer Andrew Stockdale looked feral with his halo of hair. Bassist Chris Ross rocked his keyboard/synthesizer back and forth, as if to threaten to chuck it off the stage. Drummer Myles Heskett pounded his way through the entire set, eventually tossing his sticks into the crowd.

To be sure, the crowd at BSMF ‘07 likes the nu-classic rock.

Update: A little taste of Wolfmother for you.