Couple of weeks ago I went tand saw JTE at a packed out Factory Theatre in the People's Republic of Marrickville which was great but it wasn't enough so I ponied up the considerable ticket price for an intimate "secret show" at Gardel's Bar in Surry Hills. Gardel's is above Porteno, an Argentinian eatery which is the current it joint of our Harbour city (praised by Anthony Bourdain the other day.) I need to go back and eat there one day, it looked very cool going up the stairs to the bar. Finger food was included in the price and was definitely a higher class than your average party pies, the meat in the wee hamburgers in particular was deliciously smoky and richly flavoured.

The crowd definitely went with the location. I was the only one gauche enough to be wearing a JTE shirt and to turn my head when he walked through the crowd. The word "hipster" is pretty played out at this point but this is my scientific breakdown of the attendees by sartorial category.

He has come a long way in four years, that's for sure.

What hasn't changed is the presence and as usual he had everyone eating out of his heavily inked hands.

Here's a video I took.

Got a few new 8tracks mixes up ...

This Week's Mix #41: I Must Live Until Morning from flopearedmule on 8tracks.

Went to see John Hiatt at the Metro last Tuesday night. As previously lamented here that meant I had to miss Lucinda Williams who was a few blocks up the road at the State. It was a difficult choice but I chose the ability to get up the front and rock out at the Metro over having to sit and clap politely at the State. I haven't seen any big reviews of Lu but I can't possibly imagine it was anything less than sublime. So there can hardly be a higher compliment to JH to say I didn't regret missing Lu at all. It was a real greatest hits show, pulling out all the favourites (although alas not MY personal favourite 'Icy Blue Heart") and most everyone around me seemed to know all the words to all of them. I was in my preferred spot on the rail, front row centre. The vocal was a bit low up there (I always choose proximity over audio fidelity) as you'd expect but the band sounded great. It was a fantastic night.

I really wish I could leave it there but then dear old Bruce Elder had to go drop this pile in The Age/SMH and I am forced -- positively FORCED, I say -- to conduct a good old fashioned fisking. On one level it's just the usual tossed off nonsense, but on another whenever women have their existence in a public space so casually written off -- and our newspapers of record chuck it up as their official record of events -- we have a real problem.

Usual tossed off nonsense first! Bruce has a lot on his plate. He has to review books and music. He has to sniff out the pros and cons of various Southern Highland B&Bs so Fairfax readers can plan their long weekends. He is BUSY, y'all. So it's unreasonable to expect him to have a decent grasp of the canon of every act he gets paid to see. But then if you act like you do, you risk looking a fool.

John Hiatt plays music for blokes. He writes, sings and plays about those things that certain blokes relate to: electric guitars (no accident that the opening song was Perfectly Good Guitar and that for most of the 90-minute performance the band configuration was three guitars, bass and drums); the awfulness of being a male eager to escape the boredom of small-town life (Damn this Town), cars (Detroit Made and Drive South) and, when he occasionally gets around to love, it's the kind of tough love that blokes have to deal with - like the unexpected departure of his "baby" in Crossing Muddy Waters where he describes the event as "She let out this morning / Like a rusty shot in a hollow sky". Great imagery, but not exactly a sweet lament for lost love.

Jesus where to start. "Perfectly Good Guitar" is a tongue in cheek response to the habit of certain 60s/70s rock stars to smashing their guitars. Only blokes may note and wryly comment on this cultural artefact! Um, OK, whatevs.

"No coincidence the band configuration was guitars, bass and drums." Indeed it's not a coincidence since he was playing rootsy rock music and this is a common, indeed ubiquitous, rock configuration. Here's the most recent live stuff of Lucinda Williams' I can find from SXSW this year AND OH MY GOD ITS NO COINCIDENCE SHE HAS GUITARS AND DRUMS IN HER BAND. That's what rock musicians (and blues and country) do, why do I even need to say this?

"Damn This Town" is, like, not at all what he describes except in the most superficial way. Indeed the "damn this town" refrain refers to wanting to you leave your town (a peculiarly male life experience? SIGH.) but there's a line at the end "I'm 58 years old, still live at home like a kid/Damn this town/Damn this town" tips some of us off to a bit of irony happening. Maybe only "literate chicks" listen to the last verse of a song.

OK, "Detroit Made" is basically just about cars, I'll give him that one.

But "Drive South"? "Drive South"?????????

"Drive South" is a song about automobiles in the same way "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song about aeronautics.

And then there's "Crossing Muddy Water." It's not expected or compulsory to know the background but this song is actually about the mid-80s suicide of his first wife. So, yeah. Now you don't need to know that but even coming to the song as a blank slate I cannot fathom a moral adult listening to it and coming away with the idea it was some kind of masculine posturing or jesus I don't even know what he's talking about. The sensibilities of a person who DOESN'T think this is a (bitter)sweet lament for lost love is to be forever questioned. I mean, LISTEN TO IT. (written lyrics)

"When he occasionally gets around to love" OHHAhahahhahahahahHAHA. Bruce, all his songs are about love. Here's the setlist cadged from a roadie after the show by my friends Rory and Jane. LET'S TAKE A LOOK!

With YouTubes so you can check my work.

Perfectly Good Guitar -not love
Detroit Made - not love
Crossing Muddy Waters - LOVE
Drive South - love
Cry Love - duh it's right there in the name, LOVE
Paper Thin -- love
Real Fine Love - love
Thing Called Love- love
Feels Like Rain - love
Slow Turning - love
Tennessee Plates - Elvis, bank robberies and grand theft auto ... because of LOVE, well OK maybe more LUST
Memphis in the Meantime - needing to get out of Nashville because everyone knows blokes hate country music
Have a Little Faith In Me- love
Riding with the King - What does this song mean? Well ever since Eric Clapton and BB King covered it it means John Hiatt gets a sweeeeet royalty cheque every year. HA HA.

I trust we don't need to dwell on this further.

Now we move from the stupid and worthless to the offensive and dangerous.

There are women in the audience but most of them are accompanied by their blokes, who sport a beer in one hand, jeans sliding down over a sagging middle-aged spread and hair that is either in short supply or turning grey.

Bruce, the Margaret Mead of Fairfax, has lit on the startling sociological insight that in our society a large percentage, even a majority, of people go to social events with opposite sex partners. (you may speculate on the projection going on in his description of the men, I am above that) I didn't do a head count; I didn't know the data would be required later to prove my existence. It would not surprise me if the demos skewed male, however I did a statistical analysis (oh, yes I did) of the "likes" and comments on the last 5 posts on the official John Hiatt Facebook page and came up with a slight majority 52%-48% of people who appear to present as female.

Perhaps Bruce is basing this extraordinary claim on some personal experience. Perhaps he knows a woman who was there under sufferance with her husband to pay him back for that one time he sat through an episode of Grey's Anatomy with her. But I have anecdotes too. Next to me front row centre were a woman I didn't know who was with her I presume male partner and knew all the words and was right into it. To my left were three women I knew, none of whom were there "with their blokes." Two are long standing Hiatt fanatics and one was not really familiar with him but left a convert. I could also tell you about standing in the long queue for the ladies loo with a bunch of women gushing to each other and counting out decades of their life's milestone by John Hiatt songs.

This is tossed off rubbish too. He's phoning it in, as they say. But as I said above there are serious cultural undercurrents to a man being able to assert so blithely the invisibility of women's experience, and to take for granted they are merely passive supporters to their men's actions. Heaven forbid they could be there as a mutual pleasure.

As above this idea John Hiatt's music is blokey blokeness for blokes is utterly laughable. If you said the same about, say, Bruce Springsteen or Steve Earle or - in particular - Justin Townes Earle I think you would be wrong but you'd have a much more arguable case than John Effing Hiatt whose stock in trade is in fact love songs that border on the soppy but which can just stay the right side of that tightrope which is why he is such a bloody ace songwriter. (I suppose actually if you are one side of a tightrope you fall off, but I can't be bothered to tighten up my similes just for goddamn fracking Bruce Elder.)

It's so WRONG that it is HILARIOUS he quotes "Well I never went to college babe / I did not have the luck / Rolled out of Indiana in the back of a pickup truck" to support his thesis of John Hiatt, Poet Laureate of Dude Nation while ignoring THE WHOLE REST OF THE SONG.

Then out of nowhere
and from nothing
You came into my life
I'd seen an angel or two before
But I'd never asked one to be my wife

Well now the babies are all sleeping
And the twilight's givin' in
She looks like you, he looks like her
And we all look a little like him
Well maybe it's just the little thing
The way I feel tonight
A little joy
A little peace
And a whole lotta light.

Fuck yeah, what a brute! I mean, really.

Returning to "Drive South" here's vid of JH doing it which I choose of the various other versions on YouTube because it has audience shots so you can see the women brazenly existing right there. Although it is at a Borders bookshop so perhaps they just dropped in to pick up The Rules revised edn and their ladybrains were ambushed by the wholly unfamiliar sounds of a form of transport being used as a symbol for freedom and renewal.

And here's noted woman Suzy Bogguss doing a version of the same song, which was so transgressive of societal norms that it got to Number 2 on the US country chart. (Oh early 90s music videos, don't go changing.)

By the way the only vee-hick-al refered to specifically in "Drive South" is "this Chevy van." This is a Chevy van. CHICK MAGNET OR WUT??

Another non-bloke who didn't get the memo is Bonnie Raitt whose biggest career hit was JH's hymn to masculinist posturing ode to romantic love between mature equals "Thing Called Love." Here's Bonnie, with Dennis Quaid a ha ha.

Eh, now I'm tired of dealing with this shit. I rest my case.

This is going to be good, Sydneysiders presented by 2MBS radio show Stormy Monday. Starts at 7pm with a film about New Orleans Mardis Gras and then Louisiana Roadshow. $20 in, Marrickville Bowlo February 18th.

This Week's Mix #38: Throwing Good Love After Bad from flopearedmule on 8tracks.

Here is my most recent 8tracks. Also here, I shall talk about some of the folk on it. Isn't St. Gabriel kind of saucy looking in this depiction?

Ndidi Onukwulu
She's Canadian (now based in Paris), sings soul. I can't help but compare her voice to Winehouse but the band is not the punchy Daptone sound. A softer more folky sensibility but still very funky and cool for that. She has a new album out called The Escape under the name Ndidi O, which I think has been released in Europe and Australia but not North America yet.

Creole String Beans
On Twitter, New Orleans music mag Offbeat was listing its 2011 award recipients the other day, one of which was Creole String Beans for Best Roots Rock. I found thave been really enjoying the album Shrimp Boots and Vintage Suits. What this is, is good old fashioned SWAMP POP. What a great genre of music.

Baloji
The album is Kinshasa Succursale - African/hip-hop out of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Guy Clark tribute - This One's for Him
I generally pass on tribute albums for artists I really love, they are largely redundant to me. This one would ordinarily be no different. But it is different in feel though since most of these artists have a personal relationship with Guy, sometimes very close and going back decades and so the friends playing loving tribute to a friend vibe of it is nice and missing from the average star studded tribute which can be fairly sterile. For that reason I find it a very warm experience to listen to, because of that intimacy. Maybe my favourite moment though is Kris K's Hemingway story.

Jo-El Sonnier
One of the best indie labels going in any genre is Valcour which specialises in Cajun and Creole. An excellent thing they've done recently is digitise performances from Festival Arcadiens et Creoles from 2002 with promise of more to come.
Jo-El Sonnier is singing about Amédé Ardoin, father of both Cajun and Creole music (ie the "whiote" and "black" versions of the same music.) I recently picked up a digital copy of Tompkins Squares' Mama I'll Be Long Gone: The Complete Recordings of Amédé Ardoin , most which feature Cajun legend Dennis McGee on fiddle (for fans of the show Treme, in the episode with Davis and Annie at the Cajun mardis gras, the rituals started at McGee's grave) . His death in 1942 (November 3, remind me to post something on the 70th anniversary) was mysterious, violent and possibly racially motivated. I wish i knew what the lyrics to Sonnier's song are saying. Guess I'll have to learn French.

Rebirth Brass Band
It's almost Mardis Gras and the RBB have a new record out. It's really good, naturally.

Direct link here. Only 13 songs so some major culling but it'll do.

And who'd have thought, after all
Something so simple as rock'n'roll would save us all?

And some of the rest that made life worth ploughing on.

Hayes Carll -- KMAG YOYO

Charles Bradley -- No Time for Dreaming Seeing him next March.

Tom Russell - Mesabi

Eddie Roberts & The Fire Eaters - Burn

The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow Current Americana It duo.

Lindi Ortega - Little Red Boots

The Sheepdogs -- Learn and Burn ROCK

Robert Ellis - Photographs This is a curious album in that a couple of songs are tears in my beer country and others are more low fi-y straight ahead folky. All good.

Cash Box Kings -- Holler & Stomp Not to be confused with Hayes Carll's "Stomp & Holler."

Jimmie Dale Gilmore & The Wronglers - Heirloom Songs The Wronglers include Warren Hellman bazillionaire investment banker dude who bankrolled Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Fran, and who died recently. I hope he provided for it 'cos I've always dreamed of going one day.

Following a link on Twiiter from @crikey_earworm, Crikey's music blog, I came across Australian-only streaming service Songl. Lis the new r in the hipster net app naming stakes apparently. Not sure about the name, several times when I've plugged it into Google I've automatically typed "Songr." I must grow accustomed to our new L overlords.

Songl used to be called Anubis.fm which used to be bandit.fm, got that? I used bandit.fm a few times, and I would've continued using it except they dumped their subscription plan which is the only thing that made it useful for me compared to iTunes. It's probably wise to shelve trying to compete against Cupertino there and move to the currently unoccupied space of music streaming in Australia.

Earworm also mentioned JB Hi Fi has a streaming service now too but I haven't checked that one out yet (the colour scheme of the website is not the same as the shops thankfully.) Both have free trials on right now.

As the Spotify, Pandora etc rage has swept the world (where "world" means Europe and the USA), we have mostly been left out by geographical restrictions, although there undoubtably ways around those. Always eager to feed my music consumption compulsions, I checked out Songlr. Here are the answers I found to my most burning questions about the service.

Is it a hot mess to use?

Songlr is in some kind of pre-launch beta phase so to get a code to join you like their Facebook page, it was a painless process and only took a minute or so til I was in. The interface moves around smoothly and is basically easy to navigate right off the bat. I know some folks hate the white onblack style, but I didn't find it hard to read (red on black, now that's a killer. Yes, eMusic, I refer to you.)

The layout seems oriented more to individual tracks than albums. Adding stuff to my queue was simple, playback was flawless (I'm on ADSL2 in a metro area) and wasn't interrupted when I continued to surf around different pages.

There is also an iPhone (and Android) app, which I've downloaded but haven't used yet.

Is there anything you actually want to listen to?

I signed up for a 30 day free trial but from then, you pay. Which I would consider doing as long as it has enough that I want, which is not so obvious since Top 40 is not what I want. And yes the Top 40 type stuff is right up front (geez those Glee kiddies have certainly pumped out some product, eh?) which is fine, I can click past that as long as there's something for me to click to. I see 3 basic uses for a streaming service for me. To try before you buy, to investigate artists and genres I'm curious about or are gaps in my music mind map but I don't want to buy (and sampling on YouTube doesn't suffice) and because I want to hear something but it's easier to stream than actually go get the damn CD out of the rack in the other room. Less damning of my laziness, this last one also applies to streaming on a portable device. Have anything you want just there is appealing.

SO ANYWAY. It's owned by Sony and has the other majors and, it says, a "strong representation of independent labels." Still very little of what I normally buy - no Screaming Gospel Holy Rollers for Songl! I plugged in the last dozen or so things I've bought and it had none, except for The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams. Based on some quick searches they have Lost Highway (which is a subsidiary of one of the majors anyway) but no Bloodshot, Yep Roc, Rounder, New West or Signature Sounds - which cuts down on the new country/roots releases I seek out.

They did however have the first Frank Fairfield album, who coincidentally I'm seeing tonight at the Basement. That's pretty subterranean stuff.

But it may be unfair to judge it by niche tastes, the catalogue of mainstream acts both classic and contemporary is undoubtably impressive. They have Columbia so a search for "Johnny Cash" brings up 80 separate albums (even if I did count four different repackaging of San Quentin ...) They have everything Dylan has released officially. Ditto Leonard Cohen and Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye. I queued up The Essential Jefferson Airplane as I explored, then the last album by recently deceased soul singer Howard Tate. They have Blue Note and Prestige so the jazz is outstanding (136 albums for Miles Davis!)

I found I couldn't get much of what I wanted from the "Genre Playlists" but search turned up the massive catalogue below the surface. The cost will be $9 and $12, both offering unlimited streaming but you pay for 320kpb over 128, to be able to stream on your phone and to cache songs.

It doesn't look like there's a way to buy a track you like, which is quite odd.

So if you want to stream Top 40 releases or have a healthy taste for the major labels' back catalogue (and don't already have it all), that could be OK. Overall it was an easy and useful experience and will probably stump up for it, at least intermittently when the need strikes.

Tickets for Byron players' side shows have started going on sale, and so the Easter bottleneck shuffle has begun.

I haven't experienced any great angst with my schedule the last couple of years but in 2012 Lucinda Williams and John Hiatt are playing Sydney the same night, Tuesday 3rd April. What to Do!!!???

Actually the dilemma was not a big one in the end. My devotion to both is equal, really I can't split them. I've seen both live in the last couple of years and neither seem likely to give up touring or recording in the foreseeable future. So it comes then down to the venue, and that is, as the young folk say, "a no brainer." John is playing the Metro and Lucinda the State. The Metro: smallish, general admission where you can get up the front with a bit of rock and roll in the air versus the State where your only option is to sit and clap politely. Lucinda's ads say "One Show Only" so that is sad but man I am looking forward to "Walk On", "Slow Turning", "Tennessee Plates" etc etc in that venue.

Speaking of no-brainers Justin Townes Earle is at the Factory the night after. Never miss him live.

Steve Earle is going solo at the Factory the following week, through an early offer I got some front row seats and Steve solo is still a worthwhile proposition despite my mostly indifference to his last decade of output.

Also at the Factory in March is Charles Bradley, the latest retro soul revelation from Daptone.

I gather Trombone Shorty is also playing at the Metro but tickets aren't on sale yet. I'll also check out Bettye Lavette and Nick Lowe sideshows to see if I can fit them in.

Before all that in January I'll be seeing the Cambodian Space Project at the Vanguard and Hanggai at the Basement. Cambodian Space Project traverse the same general territory combining Khmer pop and western rock as the better known Dengue Fever. although CSP are actually based in Phnom Penh.

Hanggai play Mongolian folk music with electric guitars and a punk attitude. I find them quite enthralling.

Phew.

Go download.

I went to see Joe Pug at the Vanguard the other night. Technically it was a Wagons show with Joe Pug opening but ... I went to see Joe Pug. He was only out here to do this opening gig so it was a bit disappointing to only get a short set but a short set is better than no set I guess. Below are videos of the encores. Opening for the opener was Faith Lee who I thought was very promising.

Long Black Veil

Lawyers, Guns & Money

It's a month since this event, my blogging mojo is gone but it was still constantly on my mind to get this out. The lag should absolutely not be put down to indifference. Indeed, one can check my twitter feed or last.fm record to see the intensity of my excitement re: Randy.

My anxious desire to see Randy live has evident since the early days of the Flop Eared Mule blog, for instance where I proclaimed he would be one of my "musical Mount Rushmores." (some other blasts from the past here and here and here)

And so here we are.

Randy was with the excellent Sydney Symphony (and equivalent state symphonies in Brissie and Melbourne) which was a suitably grand accompaniment for the occasion of his first visit here in almost 25 years. The Opera House venue showed us off to our best, too. On a further Sydney-chauvinist note I was pleased after several weeks of torrential rain and freezing (for us) Winter temps that his week in Sydney was sunshiny and winter-warm.

The setlist was as above (from the programme) both nights with the exception that "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear" replaced "Kingfish."

No diss to "Simon Smith etc" (which actually was the almost certainly the first Randy Newman song I ever-though unknowingly-heard on a random vinyl 60s compilation when I was ~14) but I must say "Kingfish" is one of my top 10 Randy songs and I woulda loved to hear it. SO HERE IT IS ANYWAY:

I watched a Ken Burns doco on Huey Long - the subject of Kingfish - recently and it/he is truly fascinating. Oh, don't get me started on the issue of the limits of the state in a capitalist economy! In addition, I really like Levon Helm's cover of it, and I say that about very few covers of Randy. Very few would I listened to voluntarily at home, for pleasure. I like this one.

(Further segue: This reminds me that Randy Newman needs to be on Treme. As a devoted fan of the first two seasons I keep waiting but the closest they've got is a quote from "Rednecks" in second season about "LSU, go in dumb, come out dumb too." Since every other muso who even vaguely thought about ever using a rolling left hand piano line has got a gig it seems natural. As for what he would perform. The NOLA songs are obvious. "Louisiana 1927" is perhaps/hopefully TOO obvious. I'm thinking more "Dixie Flyer", "New Orleans Wins The War" or the above mentioned "Kingfish" which might lead the race as the "Standard Oil" business plays unironically into David Simon's politics and the end of the last season (spoiler) seemed to foreshadow the Deepwater spill. Or something, anything unrelated to New Orleans. I digress. But make it happen, someone!)

But still: Dixie Flyer makes it all OK.

And "Real Emotional Girl" !!

SO ANYWAY. Randy played some songs on piano with the SSO, played some songs on piano solo and conducted a couple of film scores. He joked, everyone laughed (including the orchestra), he got standing ovations. It was a lot of fun. He was very generous about the SSO and encouraged everyone to go see them. I would, probably, if you didn't have to flog off your kidney to afford it. Classical music is one of those things I vastly prefer live than on record; I like the visual quality of watching the orchestra, all the bows zipping up and back together or some beats apart, hearing a something and looking to see where it has come from. On the first night at interval I snuck up from way at the back to one of the boxes over the stage (after a decade or so of getting the rail at Dylan gigs, no Opera House usher is going to out seat-sneak me) - and this was a an excellent spot to get a panopticon view of the orchestra. (On the second night I was in the second row and got a tremendous view of the side of a Steinway & Sons. Learning the lesson when I see Allen Toussiant and the "Legends of New Orleans" show in the same room later this month I got one a bit further back and to the side on the floor.) I enjoyed the orchestral score part, even though my devotion rests on the singer-songwriter work - you can't not be moved by a full orchestra belting out The Natural theme in person, can you?

As you can see from above, I was able to meet Randy after the show (actually, after both nights.) This was arranged through the official fan discussion list, they take names from there to go backstage after every show. Thanks to Susan from the list and Cathy, his manager for arranging it for me! The first night there were a Swedish couple he had met at a restaurant, the second night a couple who had flown up from Melbourne for the show but happened to run into Randy and his wife on Manly ferry that day. So not only does he generously let folks from the "fan club" come backstage via official channels but he also picks up strays for the door list as he goes about his day.

The first night it was me, the Swedes, Glenn A. Baker and some bloke Glenn A Baker brought with him. So it was a small group. G.A.B naturally started in with some anecdote involving his BFF Ray Charles and what Ray told him was the definition of soul. This went on for a while. I was just sort of standing there being a bit pathetic and staring. Randy on several occasions made a point of including me in the "conversation", asking me about what I thought. What a mensch. We had a brief chat, and of course the photo. Our chat was mainly about Faust - Glenn A. had brought it up first, natch -- and he asked me if there were any songs I wanted him to do that he didn't. I think I blurted out "Guilty" and "My Country." He said he would try. Of course he did neither but that is OK! The second night there were a bunch more people - I don't know where most of them came from - and I had already had my chance so I just lurked awkwardly in that special way I have and chatted a bit to manager Cathy and his helpmeet (he probably has a more official title) Beau, who were both super super lovely. So Randy was lovely, a very warm manner and super nice all round.

On the way home I thought I should have requested "I Want You To Hurt Like I Do" or "New Orleans Wins the War" (shockingly, not on YouTube.)

On the second night backstage some guy was pestering him about doing "Rednecks" (I gather he had yelled it out as a request at the Melbourne show) and Randy's like "yeah, no." Which is completely understandable but having seen the orchestra show I'd love to see a solo show, in a more intimate venue where he could stretch out a bit on the song list without necessarily having to satisfy the SSO crowd. He did end the second show saying he would be back, and it wouldn't take another 23 years -"I can't do anything that takes 23 years!" So I hope I might yet get to see that kind of gig, but even if not I am exceptionally grateful for these ones.

Coda: Earlier the week before Randy was on The Circle on Channel Ten. If you have ever wanted to see Ding Dong Drysdale hit on Randy Newman, all your Christmases have come at once.

Couple of good new Cajun releases I'm listening to.

Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys - Grand Isle Stalwart (he's part of Lil Band O Gold too but wasn't in the line up when they were out here last), plus CC Adcock on as producer for the familiar sounds plus an intense rocking-attitude.

There are a couple of songs (apparently, they're in French) about the Gulf oil spill, this being a major theme reinforced by the oily bird on the front cover. Embarrassingly, I didn't recognise it was an oiled-up bird until I read it in an interview; I just thought it was Artistic. My only disappointment was the version of "Non, je ne regrette rien" which I thought they could have done more Cajun-y thingswith; but again I read in an interview it was a deliberate attempt (even getting in vintage equipment) to recreate a 50s sound. So, what do I know.

Jesse Lége, Joel Savoy, and the Cajun Country Revival - The Right Combination
I am really loving this one, a mix of old guard (if you're surname is Savoy or Landry you're basically obliged to be a Cajun player I think) and the Calebd Klauder country band to create a loose and rollicking Cajun sound which emphasises the connections with Gulf Coast honky tonk. You can listen to some here; I really like that version of "Corrina."

(NB if you google them, there is another "Cajun Country Revival" which is a Creedence tribute band rom Queensland .... )

Just got myself a ticket to Bryan Batt's one man cabaret show at The Basement. Batt as you may or may not know is Sal Romano in Mad Men. I really love cabaret although I don't see it that often live, alas. The Mary Gauthier Foundling tour was not cabaret in style of course but a one-person (or one person plus musical accompaniment) style whatever the genre lends itself to an intimacy of experience and a heightened emotion that I like.

Here is poor Sal in a scene from Mad Men which doesn't spoil anything unless you didn't know he was closeted gay and conflicted and Catholic, which you do after a very short time with the series. The "Are you joking?" is a killer.

Batt is also born and raised New Orleans. He and his partner have a shop there still so I assume he lives there outside of work commitments. He has a book out about his upbringing in that special part of the South. So being an New Orleans-a-phile I also think his autobiographical parts of the show will be enjoyable. And the cabaret! Fun!

Neglectful as I've been, I've accumulated a lot of music worth mentioning. So, here they are from the first 4 months of 2011. I've done an accompanying 8tracks of selected tracks. I'll do some more ... later. (I started the draft of this on March 18th, gimme a break.) All of them I recommend - I wouldn't mention if I didn't - but if I had to pick a couple to particularly force on you it'd be Colin Gilmore, Buddy Miller and representing non-country/folk Justin Adams.

Billy Eli - Hell Yeah
Texas country-rock on the looser side of Steve Earle circa 1990 which is fine since I haven't dug much ol Steve's done since 1990 (the new record is OK but dull, I might have more to say once I've settled on that as my response). Got into them when I heard "Cheese Enchiladas" on Freight Train Boogie, that's a fun song.
Video of Tore Down in Texas

Colin Gilmore Goodnight Lane
Quote from Sylvie Simmons's four-star Mojo review quote on website:

I've described him before as a West Texan Nick Lowe for his songs structures and their instant sing-along quality (Circles In The Yard; Goodnight Lane; Hand Close To Mine). But deep Texan roots show here on the fine Llano, a mature piece of country songwriting.

I'd say the Texas roots show through it all but yeah.

Bit of a children of other people whose CDs I have theme to this list. Colin is Jimmie Dale's son.
Video of Running Circles in the Yard and Black Vines

Lukas Nelson Promise of the Real
This guy's dad is named Wiliie, you've probably heard of him. Heck, given the number of collaborations the Red Headed Stranger pumps out you've probably done a duet with him. Lukas, like Colin, is making his way playing in dad's band but also striking out with this own thing. His voice can be kind if startling, undeniably you can hear Willie in there but it's a funhouse mirror version or the slight differences that catch you out with a twin. But anyway, it's a very good album in its own right.
Here's a video of Four Letter Word but you know me, I love the ballads and I LOVE LOVE LOVE "Want Me Around" so here it is: Want Me Around.

Yvette Landry Should Have Known
Yvette Landry is part of the most excellent all-female Cajun outfit Bonsoir Caitin and this is her first solo album of excellent country, cajun influenced for sure but more straight ahead country singer songwriter sound. Her crisp voice has the ability to be both sweet and worldy, like an old friend but one you know will cut you down if you need it. The songs are all terrific, as is the accompaniment, as you'd expect since she's quite a hot player herself.

Very professionally shot "Can't See Me Without You" (so wish the sound was better), ditto Too Tired More upbeat is 120 Proof. This is kinda a dodgy video (people: use your iPhone HORIZONTALLY when videoing for Bob's sake) but I have to draw attention to it since it features not only Bil Kirchen but my favourite recent songs on his of the great, great "Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods" album of a few years ago.

Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara Tell No Lies
Another cross-cultural excursion that gets it right. Lots of good vids at the above link. I think what really hooked me was the righteous Bo Diddley beat snaking through the thing without sounding like a forced "hey I know! Let's put traditional African and African American music together, hey cool." It works on a higher level on from novelty, and has melodies you can't argue with.

Bei Bei and Shawn Lee Into the Wind
Another for the "world fusion" fans. Shawn Lee is a doof doof guy who did an album of christmas carol remixes which I like to pull out that time of the year. Bei Bei is "an internationally acclaimed Gu Zheng (Chinese Zither) performer." Its got that late night SBS movie soundtrack cool thing and like the combination. Video of "Into the Wind" and "The Master Room"

Buddy Miller Majestic Silver Strings
This was one of the Big League of Americana discs due out this year along with Steve, Emmylou and LUcinda (I like the latter two quite a lot) and it doesn't disappoint. It's sort of redundant with Buddy Miller and that line up to have to do much spruiking. The high point for me is the mesmeric "Dang Me" - I've become quite obsesed with the word "surple."

Georgette Jones Slightly Used Woman No prizes for guessing her father, Tammy Wynette is her mother. Even without the pedigree, being on Heart of Texas record label (Amber Digby, Justin Trevino) you'd know she was selling a solid traditional style of country. And so it is. All eyes will be on "You And Me And Time", a duet with dad and it is a poignant country confessional, and the rest is, well, solid traditional country.

Australia!* You may have all missed his previous tour, just this past November, but the opportunity arises to spare you the #FAIL of missing out twice as Joe Pug is coming back.

Namely:

March 11 Sydney--Notes Newtown
March 12 Port Fairy--Port Fairy Folk Festival
March 13 Port Fairy--Port Fairy Folk Festival
March 17 Adelaide--Grace Emily
March 18 Fremantle--Norfolk Basement
March 19 Victoria--Mossvale Music Festival
March 20 Melbourne--The Toff in Town

Messenger from last year is a stunner and I can attest to the excellence of his live performance. So go, OK?

*Offer applies only to selected states.

So I went and saw Emmylou the other week. I didn't immediately rush to blog with it because of the redundancy of anything I could say. If she hadn't been sublime, that would be news. I'll play fearless citizen journalist a bit and say there was something a bit off about the sound. As we know, I am a dullard at musical perception but my old cloth ears picked up an imbalance to the band, a clattering loudness to the drums at time and a sharpness at times to the mando and an indistinctness at others. Due once again to the herculean incompetence of my nemesis, Ticketmaster, I wasn't in the front row where you expect a certain muddiness, but half way back in the prime position for the mixers.

In any event I shouldn't complain, she did "Goodbye" and "Pancho and Lefty" plus a whole bunch from Wrecking Ball including "Every Grain of Sand." And a new song dedicated to Kate McGarrigle.

I found a lot of great music perusing the various Best of 2010 lists, so much so that 2010 listening is going to bleed way, way into 2011. I also (followed a link from somewhere lost in the tubes of internet time now, apologies) found the Freight Train Boogie podcast a weekly survey of what's new in Americana, roots and country (does that cover everything?) It's hosted by Bill Frater who keeps the commentary personable and informative and still gets in a good 10-15 songs each hour long show and it's a good mix of well known or established artists and a bunch of folk I've never heard of (it even skews a little to the independent since all the tracks are played with permission and they're the most likely group to respond to a request), many of whom have become Must Acquires.

I've been listening religiously the last few weeks, starting with the end of 2010 and first couple for 2011 and going back to download everything in the iTunes archives. This guy is going to cost me some serious money. There's a related blog with each week's new releases. So yeah, can't say enough about it and you should check it out.