July Is Behind Us Now...Let's Keep Groovin'
Live Music Offerings and 2 New Albums
Winter is here in Naarm.
Temperatures have dipped into the single digits. What else can you expect from July? Hope you are staying toasty if yer down here or if yer up above the equator that you are not on fire.
I hope you are eating ice cream wherever you are. What is your favourite flavour?
Some sort of ugly bug has knocked me on my ass for a few days, and I am typing this at 1 AM because my sleep patterns have been disrupted, shredded, so to speak. Not letting it stress me because my schedule is not that tight. There are things ahead….more to come on that.
In the short term, over the next few weeks, I look forward to communing with old friends and children in the warmer climes of Sydney in late August.
“Just A Moment # 1”, the Zoom Connection Call, was not a success recently, but I know it is hard to round people up. I am going to continue to set calls up, and you will be getting notified of the next one very soon.
July was filled with me listening to live recordings. But I did enjoy two new albums.
(Playlists at the bottom!)
The Rolling Stones released a brand-new album in 2025. You would have to be living under a rock if you had not heard about it. Mick and Keith have been on Conan and Howard Stern; I even think I saw Ronnie chat with Heather Cox Richardson. That last one may have been a fever dream, mind you.
Paul McCartney, who once called the Stones a ‘blues cover band’, even plays bass on a track. Steve Winwood is all over the place on keys. Charlie Watts even makes an appearance, and that is saying something.
IMHO the best studio album the boys have released since Some Girls. We can all debate that at length if you like. We shall see how often I come back to this one.
From the boogie of Rough and Twisted with Ben Waters hammering the keys, the vocals of Mick on Jealous Lover (and throughout the album) this record has been on high rotation.
Bring on guests like Bruno Mars on cowbell, Robert Smith on backing vocals and the overall production is simply a delight for my soul.
If this is the last time....they did it well. One more tour of Australia....I seriously doubt it. They will probably do a residence like at Madison Square Garden....
Alela Diane-Who’s Keeping Time?
Beautiful, relaxing folk album. This woman was heavily influenced by Michael Hurley. The song Spring Is A Fine Time is dedicated to him as he passed in 2025. Nothing fancy, but a sweet sound and voice. Recorded in her attic in Portland, Oregon. And with a song titled Piss, Coffee, Blood Or Wine? it’s worth your ears for a moment.
There are so many LIVE MUSIC recordings in my Music Collection that I decided to drop into my Hard Drive and re-visit some of them.
Electric on the Eel is a live album by the Jerry Garcia Band. It contains three complete concerts on six CDs. The shows were recorded on August 29, 1987, June 10, 1989, and August 10, 1991 at French’s Camp in Piercy, California, near the Eel River. If you love Jerry and haven’t heard this…get to it.
While we are on The Grateful Dead….these are the Dead Shows I listened to this month:
Hamburg 1972. This was released on Europe ‘72 Vol. 10. Fabulous Dark Star>Sugar Magnolia , Mr. Charlie, and Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks) of course, with Pigpen.
Alongside that, I listened to The Dead at Kiel Auditorium in St.Louis (10-20-1973). Fabulous Eyes Of The World>China Doll and Truckin' -> Drums -> The Other One -> Wharf Rat -> Sugar Magnolia.
And I took a dip into Dick’s Picks Volume 21. Recorded in Richmond, Virginia in 1985 it is one of the better shows I have heard from that era. High Time/He’s Gone/Spoonful/Comes A Time/Space are some of the highlights.
And one more: Dick’s Picks Volume 31- recorded on August 4 and 5, 1974, at the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and on August 6, 1974, at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was released in March 2004. AMAZING 4 hours of The Good Old Grateful Dead.
Staying with the jam bands, up next was The Chris Robinson Brotherhood-Betty’s Blends Volume 1. Betty Cantor-Jackson recorded and mixed the CRB tracks, and she is well known for her work with The Grateful Dead. Chris Robinson Brotherhood came together around guitarist Neal Casal, drummer George Sluppick, bassist Mark Dutton, and Black Crowes keyboard player Adam MacDougall. They were amazing live and Neal Casal is truly missed. RIP.
It was not all JAM BANDS….but that is my JAM…..
Wilco has some fabulous soundboard gigs you can find on their Roadcase Series online. (https://wilcostore.com/collections/roadcase).
Re-visited 2 Wilco Shows that I am always drawn to because they are so fucking special.
Wilco-Roadcase-Enmore 2007-My first Wilco Show…..still amazing…
Wilco Roadcase 2024-12-5 https://wilcostore.com/products/roadcase-105-december-5-2024-austin-tx Worth the 9.00 dollars if you like this band at all…and yes, I did listen to this gig in April of this year if you are keeping up.
Bruce and The E Street Band 2026/04/29-Chicago-With the state of the United States so messed up, this dude from New Jersey (and his mates) bring their most political show to the stage. This one made me cry. It made me hurt. America, America….
You can officially download live Bruce Springsteen concerts through Live Bruce Springsteen, which is powered by Nugs.net.
Did I say I love Jam Bands? Well, New Years Eve seems to bring out some priceless recordings and here are a few:
Greensky Bluegrass-2017-12-31-Yet another New Year’s Eve gig. Billy Failing on banjo and Billy Strings join them for some NYE picking. Worth a listen.
Dub Side Of The Mule from The Beacon Theatre was recorded on December 31, 2006, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Clocking in at 3 hours and 48 minutes you get Toots Hibbert doing some Maytalls, some Radiohead and Otis Redding. If that is not enough, throw in Gregg Allman and Friends to close out the start of 2007, and it is a dream show. The last 75 minutes is a must-hear for Dreams, It Hurts Me Too, and Goin’ Out West. Gov’t Mulllllle!
My Morning Jacket from New Years Eve 2017 @ The Bank Centre in Bloomfield, Colorado is a high energy gig with some dynamite covers from Springsteen to Sly to Burt Bachrach. A whole bunch of love in the room!
Halloween, 17 years ago, the Mule broke out with 14 Rolling Stones numbers in the first set for 90 minutes. The second set is classic Gov’t Mule with Brighter Days into a spooky Blind Man In The Dark, making up 30 minutes of the set. A++ gig with Jackie Greene along for the ride.
TTB and Leon Russell and Others-Mad Dogs Re-visited…excellence all around. Find it on streaming services near your home. TTB=Tedeschi Trucks Band
Fantastic Negrito-Alive! Just released in July of this year, Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz is amazing live. This is a selection of songs culled from several concerts. Negrito is amazing live and don’t miss him when he comes anywhere near you.
https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/67451442 This is the QOBUZ Link for some faulous live music.
And Spotify below….QOBUZ pays artists more and sounds better!
See ya next month with more Music….probably less Jam.