January 2011 Recap

Lots of noteworthy things happened while I was on hiatus in January. Here's a quick rundown of what I missed while I was moving and getting settled.

#1. Justin Townes Earle started out 2011 by rocking it on Letterman on January 5, playing the title track from his 2010 release Harlem River Blues. Make sure to note Jason Isbell killing it on lead guitar .

Gary Louris of the Jayhawks.
Photo by Frank at Chromewaves.

#2. I cursed and cursed and cursed when I learned that The Jayhawks were opening their reunion tour in Toronto at the Phoenix, on January 18, only two weeks after I moved. This show coincided with the reissues of their classic albums Tomorrow the Green Grass and Hollywood Town Hall. From everything that I read, the show was pretty great:

Most obviously it was there in their vocals and the way their harmonies interlocked – as good as they sounded individually it was like their voices were meant to be together for always – but also in the way their guitars played off one another, Olson’s acoustic rhythm and Louris’ searing electric leads reminding that they played both sides of the country-rock tag equally and just that undefinable but undeniable chemistry between them.
- Chromewaves.net

The Jayhawks' style has certainly aged well, and the clichéd yet accurate observation that "they sound better than ever" was heard exchanged between more than a few contented concertgoers. - Exclaim!

The Jayhawks really were fantastic. A bit of a slow build but then they got rocking. Harmonies were blissful. The new songs had a very defintie new energy and excitement. They are coming back around in the summer with that tour. - Rad Jen

It was awesome, original line-up. It was fucking epic. I feel rough today. - Kellow

After some address changing issues were cleared up with Amazon and my credit card company, I finally received TTGG and HTH in the mail last week. And let me tell you, they sound so good.

Leave No Gold.mp3
Buy: Hollywood Town Hall (2011 Expanded Edition)

Tomorrow the Green Grass.mp3
Buy: Tomorrow The Green Grass (2011, 2 CD Legacy Edition)


#3. My main man Hayes Carll played on the Tonight Show on January 21, and my cable was installed on January 22. Grumble, grumble. Despite the fact the Jay didn't know what the fuck he was talking about, Carll and his band destroyed it on Leno. Is "KMAG YO YO" not "Subterranean Homesick Blues" on meth? The album KMAG YOYO will be officially released on February 15.




#4. Todd Snider wrote an amazing essay for the Village Voice blog on what he would do if he met Bob Dyaln.

it's hard to think of new ways to consider bob dylan and his work
he's probably the most debated and discussed singer to ever live.
but here's a question. especially for songwriters.
what are you going to do if you meet bob dylan?
.....continue reading here.

Snider released his latest album, the two-disc Todd Snider Live: The Storyteller on February 1. He played an acoustic gig in Boston last night. A review will be forthcoming.

Keep Off the Grass.mp3
From: Tales from Moondawg's Tavern (2000 bootleg)


#5. In Hunstville, Alabama, on January 27th, Jason Isbell joined the Drive-By Truckers on stage for the first time in four years. My blogger colleague AutopsyIV at Nine Bullets has the full run-down. WOW! Even without Isbell, the Truckers remain one of my top five live acts. I'm very jealous of all of you fuckers who were at that Huntsville show!

Remembrance Day

Its Remembrance Day in Canada, Veteran's Day in the US. Having lived in both countries, Canadians take Remembrance Day very, very seriously, much more so than in the US. Perhaps it is because Canada doesn't have a formal Memorial Day like the US does. November 11 is recognized internationally as Armistice Day commemorating the formal end of World War I in 1918.

Most people in Canada don bright red poppies on their left jacket lapel, above the heart. Many will read the poem In Flanders Fields written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in 1915 after witnessing the death of one of his friends. In Toronto, after the formal remembrance ceremonies, people will place their poppies at the war memorial in front of old city hall, similar to the above photo.

Here are a half dozen song about veterans. The first song may be one of the best songs of the year. Kasey Anderson wrote this song about Lance Cpl. James Blake Miller after seeing an article about him in Rolling Stone. Anderson wrote a short essay on why he wrote the song, which was posted on NineBullets.net in July. NineBullets also posted the lyrics today.

Kasey Anderson - I Was a Photograph (Blake's Song).mp3
Buy: Nowhere Nights (2009)

I find this Jason Isbell track to be so remarkable because it tells a story of the realities of war without being judgmental or opinionated. This version is a bootleg from when Isbell was still with the Drive-By Tuckers. I found it on the Truckers message boards. It was recorded live during a Truckers show in fall of 2006 (I think). To me the solo acoustic version is more powerful than the recorded version.

Jason Isbell - Dress Blues (bootleg).mp3
Buy: recorded version appears on Sirens Of The Ditch (2007)

This song isn't all about veterans, exactly. I think its actually more about blue-collar family holidays in general, be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. I saw James McMurtry do this song live in winter of 2007, just him and an acoustic guitar. He did the last verse a capella, and you could have heard a pin drop. It was seriously one of the most moving musical moments I have ever witnesses. Here are the lyrics to the last verse:

Departing Chicago at 9:52
In clean desert camo all baggy and loose
Sits an Iowa Guardsman alone by the gate
The place sure looked different, in 1968
When he traveled with mom, first time on a plane
To visit some kin, he’s forgotten their names
But he remembers the soldiers, still in their teens
In their spit polished boots and their pressed army greens
With the creases so sharp, and their faces so smooth
But their eyes looked so heavy, he wondered how they could move
Now he’s got that same look, like his insides are black
He’s in his mid forties and he has to go back
And he can’t even smoke while he waits for his plane
The uniform’s different, but the mission remains
To do like they tell you, don’t make a fuss
Why’s not an issue, so don’t think too much
Just do what you have to, shut up and drive
If you come apart later, well at least you’re alive
You can get you some help, you can deal with it then
And life will be better, ‘til it happens again

‘Cause there’s something inside us that won’t let us be
In stalks through our days ‘til it’s too dark to see
And it’s damn near as deadly as Texans on ice
Lord don’t they beat all
Y’all have a nice holiday

Gulp!

James McMurtry - Holiday.mp3
Buy: Childish Things (2005)

Ben Nichols of Lucero frequently writes about the experiences of men in the military. In the below song he writes from a perspective of a 19-year-old joining the World War II effort in 1943, and the trials that he goes through, and the regrets that come with war. Also check out "One the Way Back Home" (the narrator sleeps in his car so that his buddy on leave from the army can get laid), and "Joining the Army" (the narrator doesn't feel that playing guitar lives up to his grandfather's accomplishments, presumably in WWII).

Lucero - The War.mp3
Buy: Nobody's Darlings (2005)

In this song Matthew Ryan contemplates how the decisions of rich politicians who have never been in the military effects the families of the men who risk it all.

Matthew Ryan -Veteran's Day.mp3
From: Hopeless to Hopeful (2002, out of print)

My main man Johnny Cash sings from the perspective of a Vietnam vet trying to live in everyday society. He remembers being scorned when returning to the US from the war, tells how he still has nightmares from the 'Nam jungle, and wishes that he could explain his feeling and experiences to his children.

Johnny Cash - Drive On.mp3
Buy: American Recordings (1994)

Cigarettes and Wine

Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, February 4, The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto

After getting off to a rocky start Wednesday night, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit knocked out some serious rock and blues at their show at the Horseshoe, the only Canadian stop on their current tour. Isbell commented that they barely made the show due to trouble crossing the Canadian border, which was, according to Isbell, "mostly my fault." I can picture Isbell and his southern drawl lipping off to a surly Canadian customs agent, but seriously customs, why do you always give bands such a hard time?

It appeared to me that the band got little, if any, sound check before launching into "Seven-Mile Island" from their new self-titled release. But after a few chunky notes, the band quickly found its groove. They played seven or eight tracks from their new release, interspersed with favorites from their 2007 debut, Sirens of the Ditch, plus many Isbell-penned tracks from his time spent with the Drive-By Truckers.

Many in the audience were there specially to hear the songs from Isbell's Truckers era, and they were not disappointed. There was an audible gasp from the crowd when the band hit the first chord of "Danko/Manuel," a song about Rick Danko and Richard Manuel of the massively influential Canadian group, The Band. Man, what a great song. At the end of the song Isbell commented that he was trying to play his guitar in the style of his favorite Canadian musician, and no, he was not talking about Alex Lifeson.

Isbell and his band closed with a ten-minute extended jam of "Decoration Day," which followed a rousing cover of the Rolling Stone's "Sway." I rushed back to buy the new CD along with dozens of other people. I'm pretty sure that Isbell and the 400 Unit converted a few Truckers fans that night. Too much of a good thing kicks ass!

Set List (not really in order, plus four or five other tracks from their new self-titled album who's names I did not know)
Seven-Mile Island - self titled (2009)
Try - Sirens of the Ditch (2007)
Chicago Promenade - Sirens of the Ditch
Goddamn Lonely Love - The Dirty South (2004)
Psycho Killer (Talking Heads cover)
Outfit - Decoration Day (2003)
Cigarettes and Wine - self titled
Grown - Sirens of the Ditch
Danko/Manuel - The Dirty South
Never Gonna Change - The Dirty South
Soldiers Get Strange - self titled
The Assassin (Patterson Hood cover)

Encore
Sway (Rolling Stones cover)
Decoration Day - Decoration Day

Seven-Mile Island.mp3
Cigarettes and Wine.mp3
Buy: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (2009)


Deer Tick opened the show, but I skipped it to watch Lost. And the damn Lost episode wasn't even that good. I suck. So then I felt bad for skipping the opening act and I bought Deer Tick's 2007 self-released album War Elephant, which was reissued in 2008 by Partisan Records. Providence, Rhode Island, native John McCauley originally wrote all of the songs and played all of the instruments on this album. The band is rounded out by Andrew Tobiassen on vocals and guitar, and brothers Chris and Dennis Ryan on bass and drums, respectively.

Dirty Dishes.mp3
Buy: War Elephant (2008)

Dress Blues

I'm headed out tonight to see Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Alabama born and raised, Isbell got his musical break as songwriter/guitarist of the Drive-By Truckers, and wrote some of the Truckers best songs from that time period. His songs appeared on Decoration Day (2003), The Dirty South (2004), and A Blessing and a Curse (2006). In 2007 he set out on his own and released a great album, Sirens of the Ditch. I caught him and his band at the El Mocambo in the summer of 2007, and met him after the show. He's a really nice dude, and loved interacting with his fans. And his show rocked! His new, self-titled album came out on Feb 17. I haven't heard much of it, but my first impression is that it is more rocking, and less bluesy than the 2007 release. I'm really looking forward to seeing him again.

A few Isbell-penned Truckers songs:
Decoration Day.mp3
Buy: Decoration Day (2003)

Danko/Manuel.mp3
Buy: The Dirty South (2004)

Easy on Yourself.mp3
Buy: A Blessing and a Curse (2006)

Solo:
Dress Blues (bootleg).mp3
I saw him do this track with the Truckers in late 2006, and it blew me away. I don't know where this boot is from - I got it off of the Truckers message boards years ago. The song also appears on Sirens.
Hurricanes and Hand Grenades.mp3
Buy: Sirens Of The Ditch (2007)