Coming Soon: Dsoedean’s Continue To Move!

Posted on June 19, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Dsoedean album release poster with Scuffy & The Janitors and Cupcake.

WHO’S PLAYING?  Dsoedean (St. Joseph, MO) Cupcake (St. Joseph, MO) Scruffy & The Janitors (St. Joseph, MO)

WHAT TO EXPECT?  A new addition to your record collection! Get a copy of Dsoedean’s full length album Continue To Move on CD. You can also get some Dsoedean vinyl if you like that sort of thing… I know I do. The 7″ single contains “Daylight” and “Remainder One” on a spiffy looking CLEAR slab of vinyl with cool unique artwork.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to listen to Continue To Move before its release; here is what I thought of it: https://vocalsontop.com/2013/05/18/250-word-local-album-review-dsoedean-continue-to-move/

Dsoedean is the solid rock of St. Joseph. Zale Bledsoe and company are a hard working band that has brought many acts to town over the last couple years and are an important piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is the St. Joseph music scene. They bring a high energy level to each show and this particular show is over two years in the making so they should ramp up the enthusiasm for it.

Scuffy & The Janitors continue to impress St. Joe crowds. Many bands in the town push the same songs and same set on people repeatedly but this young band will have none of it. Each show seems to unveil new songs to their already impressive arsenal. They released their first album Pino just over a half year ago but to the band it was a lifetime ago. The group has moved to greener pastures where the songs are better and the expectations grow with each new jam they write.

Cupcake brings an abstractness to each show. The music might make you uncomfortable or make you wonder what the band is doing. As a veteran of several Cupcake shows I can tell you first hand that everything has its place in their music and if it doesn’t fit where it sounds like it should; it is still every bit intentional. Test your tolerance for different music and take in a Cupcake set.

WHERE IS IT?  The First Ward House, 2101 St. Joseph Avenue, St. Joseph, MO 64505

WHEN IS IT?  Saturday, June 22nd, 2013; 9:00 pm, 21+ $10 ticket and you get a FREE CD or FREE clear 7″ vinyl single)

WHY SHOULD I GO?

  • To get a copy of Dsoedean’s first full length album Continue To Move!
  • To get a copy of Dsoedean’s 7″ single on CLEAR vinyl! (you should probably buy it and the CD)
  • Dsoedean really worked hard on this record, it is over a year in the making.
  • You get to keep your cool ticket stub!
  • You get to see Scruffy and Cupcake battle it out for best opening act of the night.
  • Three of St. Joe’s best bands will be sharing the same stage and they will all look to push each other’s performances to an even higher level.
  • You can chill on the First Ward deck if it gets too awesome inside for you…
  • You can shake your hips, have a cold drink and forget you have a job!
  • It is an important night for St. Joe music; get out and support these guys.
  • RSVP here to show your support and show your friends where you will be on Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/541491899242516/?ref=ts&fref=ts
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250 Word Album Review: Mike Cooley – The Fool On Every Corner

Posted on June 19, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Mike Cooley - The Fool On Every Corner

Mike Cooley - The Fool On Every Corner gets 3 stars

Mike Cooley is one of the founding members of the Drive-By Truckers and many members of DBT nation have long waited for his first solo album. A live album isn’t exactly what they had in mind but it is still a nice addition to any DBT fan’s collection. The Fool On Every Corner is a solo acoustic live album of nearly all Truckers songs recorded among some of the most die-hard fans Cooley and DBT has.

What is really good here are the songs that are drastically different, which not all of them are. Songs like “Pulaski” and “Eyes Like Glue” are a nice inclusion but don’t differ terribly from the Trucker versions. The true jewels are songs like “Cottonseed” that has its heavy southern guitar stomp toned down to just Cooley’s banjo picking. “Shut Up And Get On The Plane” and “3 Dimes Down” get similar treatments with acoustic strums with similar intriguing results. The most appealing part of the record is getting to hear Cooley’s lyrics rise above the music instead of being buried like on the band’s records. The prime example is “Marry Me” with classic lyrics like “Rock and Roll means well but can’t help telling young boys lies” and “Just ’cause I don’t run my mouth don’t mean I got nothin’ to say.”

The Fool On Every Corner only has a couple songs not on other records (the Charlie Rich cover “Behind Closed Doors” and “Drinking Coke and Eating Ice”) and neither of those will blow you away. This record is far from essential but is still unique enough to be very cool to hear.

Key Tracks: “Marry Me” “Cottonseed”

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Concert Review: Colby Walter sings Bob Dylan at Cafe Acoustic 6/13/13

Posted on June 15, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Colby Walter sings Dylan poster

 

It was an ambitious task by local musical talent Colby Walter but one he could handle. I don’t know if any other musician in town could have pulled it off but Walter nailed it. A night covering all Bob Dylan’s songs is such an arduous task that it is difficult to believe it happened right here in St. Joseph.

Over the last half century Dylan has built a catalog that is so diverse it transcends genres and can’t be matched by any other artist. Still Walter took on the task and did a great job being a chameleon of sorts going from one Dylan era to another. He would tackle the young hunger of the great songwriter with songs like “Baby, I’m In The Mood For You” and “All I Really Wanna Do” all the way through the elder Dylan that has a calm reflective approach to things on tracks like “Most of the Time” and “Mississippi.” In between these two Dylans were playful songs like “Motorpsycho Nightmare” and also the desperately heartbroken Dylan of “If You See Her Say Hello” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

Colby Walter singing the songs of Bob Dylan on 6/13/13 at The Cafe Acoustic in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Colby Walter singing the songs of Bob Dylan on 6/13/13 at The Cafe Acoustic in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Highlights of the tribute show for me were the delicate “You’re A Big Girl Now” the loose performance of “All I Really Wanna Do” and Walter’s first attempt at the heart crushing “Most of the Time.” What may have made this show so good was that Walter didn’t pick off the easy meat; he avoided the obvious Dylan songs that Dylan lovers wouldn’t necessarily want to hear. There was no “Blowin’ In The Wind” “The Times They Are A-Changin'” “Tangled Up In Blue” or “Hurricane.” Only a person who truly appreciates Dylan would do songs like “Shooting Star” “Up To Me” and “Meet Me In The Morning” in place of these giants.

The evening would end with the greatest song ever written; “Like A Rolling Stone.” As Dylan’s best known song, it may qualify as “easy meat” as I put it but is there any other song in history that can change its meaning so much by the many different ways it is sung? It can be sung accusingly, aggressively, passively, whimsically or a ton of different ways and it changes tone every time. Good songs have two meanings; great songs have more.

Colby Walter sings Bob Dylan setlist from Cafe Acoustic 6/13/13:

  • Love Minus Zero/No Limit  (from Bringing It All Back Home)
  • She Belongs To Me  (Bringing It All Back Home)
  • I Want You  (Blonde On Blonde)
  • Mr. Tambourine Man  (Bringing It All Back Home)
  • All I Really Wanna Do  (Another Side of Bob Dylan)
  • You’re A Big Girl Now  (Blood On The Tracks)
  • The Man In Me  (New Morning)
  • Up To Me  (Biograph)
  • Baby, I’m In The Mood For You  (Biograph)
  • Girl From The North Country  (Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)
  • Ballad In Plain D  (Another Side of Bob Dylan)
  • Most of the Time  (Oh Mercy)
  • I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight  (John Wesley Harding)
  • You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go  (Blood On The Tracks)
  • Meet Me In The Morning  (Blood On The Tracks)
  • Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright  (Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)
  • The Gates of Eden  (Bringing It All Back Home)
  • Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance  (Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)
  • It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue  (Bringing It All Back Home)
  • Just Like A Woman  (Blonde On Blonde)
  • Mississippi  (Love & Theft)
  • Motorpsycho Nightmare  (Another Side of Bob Dylan)
  • Shooting Star  (Oh Mercy)
  • Like A Rolling Stone  (Highway 61 Revisited)

 

 

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250 Word Local Album Review: Andy Grooms Living Room – Grateful To Burn

Posted on June 14, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Andy Grooms Living Room - Grateful To Burn

Andy Grooms is a past member of the Memphis band Pawtuckets that made some noise around the year 2000. Pawtuckets were an alt-country outfit that had their share of twang but Grooms has shed most of that for his first solo record.

Instead of country stomp, Grooms has turned to piano balladry to fill this 12 song album. It is all about good songwriting for Andy Grooms with much of the emphasis being directly on the lyrics. The record finds Grooms fighting optimism at points and often embracing being stuck in the doldrums. Their is a strange tone to the songs on Grateful To Burn, it is almost like only a touch of reluctant fight is left and as long as it is there the record will play on. Songs like “I’m Not So Sad” and “Decadent Eyes” lead the record’s dark atmosphere to a world where nothing is exactly as it seems and there is always another paralleled to the story. Like Grooms sings on “Boy In The Bubble”: “I’ve been having some trouble figuring out if it’s real.”

On the carousel ride of “Itch To Scratch” the down times are still at their peak as Grooms slows his tickling of the piano keys while singing “I’d just like to get my good times back.” It is record to play when you’ve had a few too many cocktails, it’s 4 am and you can’t sleep. That is where this record lives. Grooms really sums everything up best in the last line of the entire record on “Master of the Late Night”: “…somewhere tween the darkness and the twilight, that’s where I’ll find all the unspoken truth.”

Key Tracks: “Decadent Eyes” “I’m Not So Sad” “Itch To Scratch”

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250 Word Album Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito

Posted on June 12, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito gets 2.5 stars

Let’s get this out of the way: What the hell were the Yeah Yeah Yeahs thinking with this awful, piece of shit album cover? I instantly put it among the worst album covers of all time, possibly in the #1 spot. So many bands misuse a great opportunity to advertise their music, this is one of them. It looks like a crappy, mid 90s computer animated still. It is stupid and makes the band look like they are a bunch of high schoolers. Now; on to the music:

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have gotten progressively more dance oriented over the years. They seemed to really have this figured out on their last album It’s Blitz but they have taken a step back on Mosquito. The album isn’t a whole lot worse, it just fails to really grab your ear. They nail the dancey vibe on the opening track “Sacrilege” and the title track “Mosquito” reverts back to their Fever To Tell indie rock roots. Unfortunately they felt the need to bring in a rapper on “Buried Alive” that not only ruins a potentially good song but taint the album almost as much as the cover does. The closing “Wedding Song” attempts to channel the vibe of their biggest hit “Maps” but falls well short and ends the album without much of a punch.

Their are a couple good tracks here that will adorn a nice greatest hits compilation one day but overall the album is still a bit disappointing. It is still a ton better than the terrible cover indicates though.

Key Tracks: “Mosquito” “Sacrilege”

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Coming Soon: Colby Walter sings Dylan

Posted on June 10, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Colby Walter sings Dylan poster

 

WHO’S PERFORMING?  Colby Walter (St. Joseph, MO)

WHAT TO EXPECT?  A lot of Bob Dylan songs…

Even one Bob Dylan cover is about enough to get me dressed and out the door but a whole night of them? What good have I done to deserve this? Hell Yes! This is going to be awesome!

Colby Walter will be conducting the tribute and he can pretty much dominate any song he attempts. Walter is one of the best (if not the best) musician in St. Joseph and watching him in any of his many projects is a pleasure. This will be an acoustic evening with just Walter and the mic. The concentration will be solely on Walter and the Bob Dylan songbook.

WHERE IS IT?  The Cafe Acoustic, 2605 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph, MO 64506

WHEN IS IT?  Thursday, June 13, 2013; 9:00pm, 21+ FREE

WHY SHOULD I GO? Bob Dylan is the greatest songwriter of all time and it will be an evening of all his songs.

It’s the Cafe Acoustic so that means it is FREE! Even if you aren’t sure just pop in and watch one or two songs; no obligation, no money down, just try it. I’m sure you will find a seat and indulge in a few more songs from the always intriguing Dylan catalog. While you are there get a cold beverage and drop some ones in the waitress’ hand and a few in the tip bucket for Colby.

It is sure to eclipse the Johnny Cash tribute held a few months ago. Walter will honor the songs and not just play the Bob Dylan songs everybody knows as well. Sure he might take on well known songs like “Tangled Up In Blue” and “Just Like A Woman” but you can also expect him to dive dangerously deep into the Dylan vaults and attempt songs like “Motorpsycho Nightmare” and the supremely obscure “Up To Me.” I can’t wait to see what gets played.

One more thing, it’s Walter… not Walters… You wouldn’t call the man of the hour Bob Dylans would you?

See you there.

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250 Word Album Review: Overseas – Overseas

Posted on June 9, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Overseas - Overseas

Overseas - Overseas gets 4 stars

Overseas reminds me of Vic Chesnutt. Not in the fact that the supergroup sounds like Chesnutt a whole lot but the main members of Overseas (Will Johnson and David Bazan) were once in another supergroup together; with Chesuntt and Mark Eitzel called The Undertow Orchestra. The Undertow Orchestra never put out any original music, they just toured but this is the project it could have been.

The stars of this album are the two songwriters: Will Johnson of Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, Monsters of Folk, New Multitudes among others and David Bazan of Pedro The Lion. The album is cohesive and solid; Bazan and Johnson write songs that go very well together. That being said it doesn’t always feel like a collaborative effort. Bazan and Johnson each sing and presumably pen 5 songs each on the 10 track album. The Johnson penned tunes sound like Centro-matic songs and the Bazan songs sound like Pedro The Lion songs. They are very good but don’t sound much like co-written efforts.

The main appeal of this album is hearing the two songwriters’ approaches side by side. Johnson uses a lot of analogies while Bazan is much more straight forward. Johnson’s songs come off ambiguous and mysterious while Bazan’s feel very honest and personal. The two unique vocalists compliment each other nicely and create a very good flow for the record. Ultimately neither songwriter outshines the other here; they run neck and neck for the ten songs and the only thing to hope for is a second Overseas albums someday.

Key Tracks: “Lights Are Gonna Fall” “HELLP” “Ghost To Be”

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Coming Soon: Colby Walter sings Dylan

Posted on June 6, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Colby Walter sings Bob Dylan concert poster

WHO’S PERFORMING?  Colby Walter (St. Joseph, MO)

WHAT TO EXPECT?  A lot of Bob Dylan songs…

Even one Bob Dylan cover is about enough to get me dressed and out the door but a whole night of them? What good have I done to deserve this? Hell Yes! This is going to be awesome!

Colby Walter will be conducting the tribute and he can pretty much dominate any song he attempts. Walter is one of the best (if not the best) musician in St. Joseph and watching him in any of his many projects is a pleasure. This will be an acoustic evening with just Walter and the mic. The concentration will be solely on Walter and the Bob Dylan songbook.

WHERE IS IT?  The Cafe Acoustic, 2605 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph, MO 64506

WHEN IS IT?  Thursday, June 13, 2013; 9:00pm, 21+ FREE

WHY SHOULD I GO? Bob Dylan is the greatest songwriter of all time and it will be an evening of all his songs.

It’s the Cafe Acoustic so that means it is FREE! Even if you aren’t sure just pop in and watch one or two songs; no obligation, no money down, just try it. I’m sure you will find a seat and indulge in a few more songs from the always intriguing Dylan catalog. While you are there get a cold beverage and drop some ones in the waitress’ hand and a few in the tip bucket for Colby.

It is sure to eclipse the Johnny Cash tribute held a few months ago. Walter will honor the songs and not just play the Bob Dylan songs everybody knows as well. Sure he might take on well known songs like “Tangled Up In Blue” and “Just Like A Woman” but you can also expect him to dive dangerously deep into the Dylan vaults and attempt songs like “Motorpsycho Nightmare” and the supremely obscure “Up To Me.” I can’t wait to see what gets played.

One more thing, it’s Walter… not Walters… You wouldn’t call the man of the hour Bob Dylans would you?

See you there.

 

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250 Word Album Review: Langhorne Slim & The Law – The Way We Move

Posted on June 6, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

Langhorne Slim - The Way We Move

Langhorne Slim - The Way We Move gets 4 stars

Langhorne Slim has improved with each of his first four full-length albums. The Way We Move is the most recent being released in 2012 and therefor the best in his/the group’s catalog. This album shakes no ground musically and doesn’t take a ton of chances but the result is a finely crafted collection of pop-folk songs that don’t wear on the listener with repeated spins.

Slim’s vocals are the first thing you will notice; if you dig the raspy delivery of the songs you are sure to get into this record. From the first strums of “The Way We Move” you will be hooked. The exuberant delivery of this song and many of the tracks that follow keep each listen interesting. The country twang of songs like “Found My Heart” and “Two Crooked Hearts” show what kind of music is in the group’s wheelhouse but ins’t the extent of what they can do. “Fire” and “Past Lives” show a soulful side to the band’s twang. They even take on slow and intimate songs in “Coffee Cups” and the very heartfelt “Song For Sid.”

What you get in the end is a great record that may not change the way you listen to music but will be something you will be glad to pull out of your record collection and give a fresh spin every now and then. With Langhorne Slim’s track record now; we can only hope the trend continues and the next record ups the anti just a little bit more.

Key Tracks: “The Way We Move” “Found My Heart” “Past Lives”

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250 Word Album Review: The Strokes – Comedown Machine

Posted on June 1, 2013 by VocalsOnTop

The Strokes - Comedown Machine

The Strokes - Comedown Machine gets 2 stars

Sometimes you really want to like an album and you just can’t. I hate being the person that wants a band to just sound like they used to; but sometimes you just can’t help it. After slowly losing interest in The Strokes over the last decade I wanted to really be excited about them again. so I pre-ordered Comedown Machine (something I didn’t do for Angels) and anxiously awaited it’s arrival.

The slab of vinyl that arrived at my doorstep would ultimately disappoint. The group fades even more into electronic territory and seems to be right on par with the crap music dominating radio right now. Comedown Machine sounds like it is standing on the same ground as a new record by fun. or Phoenix. The heavy synth of songs like “One Way Trigger” make me wish it was easier to skip songs on my record player. These same songs make you wonder how this is the same band that wrote “Barely Legal” back in the early 2000s.

There are glimpses of the band that used to be on tracks like “50/50” and “All The Time” but it just isn’t enough to make up for songs like “Tap Out” and “Call It Fate, Call It Karma.” The Strokes fifth album finds them straying even further from the group that everyone fell in love with back in 2002. Julian Casablancas’ vocals are getting higher and sound like he is trying to create dance hits while Albert Hammond Jr.’s guitar is pushed out of the spotlight making for a less than thrilling album.

Key Tracks: “50/50”

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