This is shaping up to be a great summer for music! Touring this Spring and Summer are Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, The Black Crowes, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Further, and The Eagles. I’m sure we’ll hear more announcements, but I’d say that’s pretty impressive, so far!
Also impressive, is the talent of a young guitarslinger whom I recently mentioned here, one Michael Johnson, of Grahamsville, NY! Michael is 17 now, and has been playing guitar since he was 9! Michael’s father has been taking him to open mics since he was 12, where he’s impressed the likes of Slam Allen, John and Chris Reddan, and just about everyone who’s heard him play! Slam Allen said Michael plays better than most adult guitarists!
Michael loves the Blues, and his strongest influences are Jimi, Stevie Ray, Vernon Reid, and similar like-minded players. He can play anything he puts his mind to, and this week performed an acoustic version of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” with his school orchestra, at the orchestra leader’s request! The electric Blues is where Michael shines though, and where he gets to really wail and put his heart and soul into his playing. It’s where he gets to really cut loose and play from the heart!
Alvin Lee first exploded into my consciousness on one of the most memorable weekends of my life! It was August 2nd and 3rd, a Friday and Saturday night. The year was 1968.
Friday night, I had a 2nd row ticket to see a band from San Francisco that was generating a huge buzz, specifically about their singer, a young woman named Janis Joplin. The band, of course, was Big Brother and The Holding Company!
The opening act was a band from England that I was unfamiliar with, but within 10 seconds of their opening riff, I was eager to become much more familiar with them! That band was Ten Years After, and their guitarist was the fastest guitarslinger in the land, up to that point! Alvin Lee was mindblowingly fast, yet always remained tasty and in the groove! I had never seen anyone like him, and I don’t think anyone else had either!
Wow, are we in the middle of a Winter slump! Not that it’s been that hard to find some good live music to check out, but the overall amount of choices have declined massively! Well, things will pick up in March. Until then, hunker down, bundle up, and wait for the guitars and drums to thaw out. It’s only another month or two until Spring!
 Joey Eppard and Chris Gartmann of 3 at UPAC, Kinbgston, 9-13-12 Photograph by C3 Photography, Catharina Christiana |
Fortunately for those of us in the Hudson Valley, the folks at The Bearsville Theater have stepped up their game in recent months, and they’re not letting any grass grow under their feet just because it’s cold outside! Two weeks ago, they had The Wailers and NRBQ in one week, and this week, it continues with THE DUKE MCVINNIE BAND on Friday, February 1, and THE BAND 3 on Saturday, February 2!
I’ve written about both of these bands in past columns. Duke McVinnie Band was my Pick of the Week in my column of 9/4/12 for their last show at The Bearsville Theater on September 7, and I reviewed 3’s show at UPAC in my September 23rd column. Trust me, faithful and loyal readers, these two show are where you wanna be this weekend! Google both bands for more information.
Now of course, if you should happen to be in Manhattan before the weekend, and maybe you’re looking for something to do, Americana darling, KATHLEEN EDWARDS is at City Winery on Wednesday and Thursday, January 30 and 31st.
And next week, after you’ve recovered from your weekend at The Bearsville Theater, GRACE POTTER AND THE NOCTURNALS are at The Egg in Albany on Wednesday, February 6.
So that’s it for this week! What we lose in quantity, we make up in quality, with four great shows this week. Have a good one!
Fred Perry is the owner of Reservoir Music Center on Route 28 in Kingston, and founding member of Alt-Country supergroup, The Brooklyn Cowboys, is from a 3rd generation musical family and lives in the Hudson Valley, where he does what he can to promote live music.
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Th
e Rolling Stones invasion of New York has begun! With their show at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center last Saturday, the British rockers fired the first salvo across the bow of the Big Apple, and it was rocked! It continues this week with their just announced appearance at the 12-12-12 Concert, and two shows at The Prudential Center in Newark on Thursday and Saturday. One can only hope that there will be more to their 50th anniversary tour than 3 shows in New York and 2 in London!
In other Stones’ news, their new documentary, “Crossfire Hurricane”, which has been shown on HBO and in limited theatrical release, is set to be released on DVD in January. The film covers the entire 50 years, and has footage of all former and current members, much of it previously unseen! All reports say it is amazing! Quite a few of my friends watched it 3 times in one day!
And, the other Bad Boys of Rock, Led Zeppelin, have apparently moved into proper society, with their recent Kennedy Center Honors! Go take a look at the picture of Jimmy, Robert, and John Paul, sitting next to The President and First Lady in their tuxes and ribbons and read the story. It’s really cool! Also honored were Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, and ballerina Natalia Makarova.
Finally, Fleetwood Mac have announced plans for a Spring tour. Shows scheduled for this area are Madison Square Garden on April 8, Mohegan Sun on April 20, and Prudential Center on April 24.
I can’t believe it! It’s only 2 AM and I’m exhausted already, so we’re gonna basically go right to the live picks, but before we do, I just wanna say, The Supersuckers were good, but I’ve seen them better, and John Waters, as promised, was hilarious! If you like edgy comedy, John’s your man! Every minute was thoroughly enjoyable!
Eddie Spaghetti and the SuperSuckers. Photo by C3 Photography Catharina Christiana
