I’m staring at two foot-high stacks of CDs that need to be dealt with (yeah, cry me a river). Time to revisit ye olde O/CD Tally so I can file some of them away. And, as tribute/thanks to those kind folks who wrote to say that they were sorry to see my WaPo “Live!” column dumped in the redesign, here’s pretty much every album related to upcoming shows in the DC area. They were sent as pitches for possible preview. Those artists that particularly appeal to me - and might well have been "columnized"- are marked with *.
And now that the "Live!" column is in my rear-view mirror, I will reclaim my original, proposed name for it - "Get Off the Couch." Maybe I’ll go to some of these shows anyway. See you there?
Coming to Jammin’ Java, the nicest little listening room in the region and my Home Away from Home:
RICHARD SHINDELL - Not Far Now (Signature Sounds)
Wednesday, November 4. $20 in advance/$25 at the door.
* STEVE MOAKLER - All the Faint Lights (self-released)
Playing with his full band, this Saturday. November 7. Honor by August, a local band that I’ve been hearing nice things about, is also on the bill. Tickets $12.
FIVE for FIGHTING - Slice (Columbia)
This show has come and gone, and an act of this stature was quite a coup for the joint, but you couldn’t have paid me to go. It’s all about the vocals, and I can’t stand this guy’s voice. (And since this is a watermarked copy, I can’t do anything with it. Not even offer it as a premium to you, dear reader.)
The guy who works press at the Birchmere, a larger, sit-down joint (except when the show takes place in the open bandstand area) that’s been the site of many a fine night out, has been sending CDs to tout his upcoming shows. (I fear that gravy train is gonna skip my station in future.) I missed out on a few shows:
PLAYING FOR CHANGE - Song Around the World (Hear Music)
CD/DVD set. Show was on October 20.
CANDYE KANE - Superhero (Delta Groove Music)
Opened for Bill Kirchen & the Hammer of the HonkyTonk Gods on October 30.
The new album is a tribute to her staying power, since she's fought cancer. Good on you, girl! Still, I prefer Kane's older stuff when she was a Bette Midler-style broad, with Sophie Tucker single entendres to spare.
Here's some shows you can actually still see at the Birchmere:
KITTY DONOHOE - Northern Border (Roheen Records)
Opening for Don McLean on Saturday, November 14. Tickets are $49.50, but she’s playing for free at the Kennedy Center at 6 p.m. the previous evening, so you can save money, and spare yourself yet another treacly version of “Vincent.”
The FOUR BITCHIN’ BABES - Diva Nation (Hem and Haw Productions)
Friday, December 4 and Saturday the 5th. Tickets are $35.
In other Birchmere news (sent from various PR peeps):
* CHRIS SMITHER - Time Stands Still (Signature Sounds)
Playing with his band, The Motivators, on Friday, November 13. Tickets are $25.
I’m not the biggest blues fan (maybe my life is too good?), but this guy adds just enough roots/rock power and sly lyrics to pull me in. Includes covers of Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler, so you know he has good taste.
* SID and SUSIE – Under the Covers, Vol. 2 (Shout! Factory)
This album - a generic advance - was a gift, passed on to me by one of the lovely clerks at the CD Cellar a few weeks back, when I was trading my Didn’t Dig ‘ems for others I might. It’s a fun, fun disc and that’s coming from someone who is just OK with Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs as solo artists. The songs they chose to cover are fun to hear again (“Here Comes My Girl,” “Bell Bottom Blues”) and often surprising (“I’ve Seen All Good People/Your Move,” “Beware of Darkness”) and their voices work well together (“Go All the Way” sounds especially good), adding new twists to tracks you might not have thought of in years. Sunday, November 8. Tickets are $25.
And a few more shows I missed:
* PORTER BLOCK - The Gowanus Yacht Club (Engineroom Recordings)
MIKE DOUGHTY - Sad Man Happy Man (ATO)
Block opened for Doughty on October 29. Bet that was a good show. Block’s fourth album is a collaborative effort with a bunch of talented folks in his Brooklyn neighborhood (where I spent many happy years Back in the Day), like Angela McCluskey. Doughty’s still doing his “Question Jar” thing, where he takes requests and answers questions that audience members put in the object mentioned. It’s a concept I wish more artists would try.
* KEB’ MO’ - Live & Mo’ (Yolabelle International)
Played October 27 and 28. (Tickets were $59.50 each - whoa!) I really like this guy’s voice and laid-back - but not lazy - style. He’s on the road through November 23, if you’re reading this from beyond the Beltway. (www.kebmo.com)
* AMONG The OAK & ASH - S/T (Verve Forecast)
New country/folk duo comprised of two touring veterans - Garrison Starr and Josh Joplin. Opened for A Fine Frenzy (Landon Pigg was also on the bill) which is a nice triple play. But the show was on October 31, which meant missing Trick-or-Treaters and a Yankees World Series game. No how, no way.
YTD O/CD Tally:309
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