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- Written by Rachel Lange
"I Put a Spell on You": A Bucketbot is Born
Review and Photography by Rachel Lange.
I know the exact moment I crossed over and became a Bucketbot. It was at Buckethead's September 10th show at Washington DC's 9:30 Club. Halfway through his set, he shuffled over to my end of the stage, stood at its edge, his left hand fluttering along his guitar's fretboard like Anne Sullivan signing furious messages of guitar glory into the palms of Helen Keller, while he reached a ghoulish right hand out over the crowd. The teenage boys surrounding me immediately leaned toward him like iron filings drawn to a giant magnet, but I stood momentarily hypnotized, my hands on my cheeks and a dopey grin on my face. His eyes passed over me for a second and I spent the rest of the show wishing he would hypnotize me all the time. I was in love with every second of his performance; I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun at a show. But it's worse than that: I was doomed. Buckethead — the white mask-wearing, KFC bucket-sporting, toy-distributing, horror-film loving guitar god with the mad nunchacku and robot skills — gave life to a 37-year-old behemoth fan.
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- Written by Bluebird
We caught Ray Mason at the Thirsty Mind in South Hadley, MA, last night. He continues to be a great showman with original songs, funny stories, audience engagement and most importantly, master guitar work. People were smiling, laughing and some toes were tapping as Mr. Mason used his unique vocals with his signature mix of folk, rock and upside down blues themes. His history brings the love of music throughout the years, the Yardbirds, Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, and to me, he sounds like a brighter version of Neil Young with an uptempo guitar style. He has toured with NRBQ and currently plays in the band he's lead for 20 years, The Lonesome Brothers.
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- Written by Bluebird
TRAIN at Tanglewood, MA, August 8th, 2011
Photography by Cheryl Puerling.
Tanglewood Catering by Valerie Jensen-Lefevre at Kitchen Therapy.
This is the second time I've seen Train live. I caught their show at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton last year. It was an in the moment decision, but I'm glad that I went. The show shined with its new album, 'Save Me San Francisco,' mixed with favorites from their multiple records, and added some great covers of classic rock hits from Van Halen and Led Zeppelin. Who wouldn't want a re-run of that?
Read more: Train Rocks Tanglewood - August 8 2011, Promises A New Record
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- Written by Dale Varley Sr Blues Enthusiast
August 23, 2011
by Dale Varley Sr.
Blues Enthusiast
For those of you fortunate enough to be at the Portsmouth Music Hall Tuesday night, Professor Buddy Guy presented his electrified version of Blues 101.
One of the last remaining links of the great Chicago blues men, not only did he bring the enthusiastic crowd through a history of blues classics from the likes of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Albert King, he played his own material as well.
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- Written by Bluebird
The Venue:
I had the honor of attending a private show of Jennifer Batten in Keene, NH, on June 18, 2011. The show was coordinated and hosted by Bob Cummings and Lisa Kendall, with the Musical Admiration Society of Keene, (NH). This group, or 'MASK' as their acronym, are musician enthusiasts who gather in Bob and Lisa's beautiful Colonial home and invite local and nationally known musicians to play for small audiences. Their motto is, "because live music is to be played in the living room." Find out more about the MASK here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Musical-Admiration-Society-of-Keene/171827189509971?sk=wall&filter=12
Read more: Jennifer Batten: Multi-Media Guitar Shredder at the MASK Keene, NH. June 18, 2011
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Review and Photography by Micah Gummel.
On July 25th, I made the rainy drive to Hampton Beach filled with anticipation for the evening. Staind's Aaron Lewis was performing an acoustic show at the Hampton beach casino ballroom!
Picture this: Aaron walks on stage, sporting a black Hatebreed t-shirt, a camo baseball cap and jeans, takes his guitar and sits down on a stool. The setting reminded me of VH1 Storytellers, with a rug in the middle of the stage, a couple of stools, his cigarettes, a couple microphones and guitar cases and several Figi water bottles near by. This was perfect for the ballroom set-up. People were singing along, shouting out song requests with the comedic Aaron answering them back or singing a couple lines.
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- Written by Bluebird
Black Country Communion, "building the foundation of rock!"
Photos and Review by Bluebird.
Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian and Jason Bonham. Elegant and explosive, wild and restrained, professional and engaging, they presented a show to a sold out crowd in New Hampshire on Friday night that exceeded the expectations of some very experienced rock fans of all ages.
They set out to tour the US coast to coast, just days after the release of their second album, BCC 2. Their first album was debuted September, 2010. Each of these musicians with full careers of their own, has pulled together their collective talents and experience to create a new sound that has key elements of classic blues guitar, poignant bass lines, progressive/fusion keyboarding, and legendary drum arrangements. Powerful vocals from Hughes and Bonamassa prevail and are mixed with harmony pieces from the band as well. Experienced listeners can't help but hear the flavors, echos, feel of their favorite bands from which these musicians come, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Trapeze, Dream Theatre, and more, are of influence, yet all the while a modern sound is in your face.
Read more: Black Country Communion LIVE at the Hampton Beach Casino, June 17, 2011