RADIO HANNIBAL

Bowie tribute show promises to be magical

Here's how special I think Woody Woodmansey's Holy Holy Bowie tribute show this Saturday night at The Odeon is going to be.  I sold my pair of general admission floor tickets to see Bruce Springsteen on the opening night of his tour in Pittsburgh the same night. 

Mick "Woody" Woodmansey is the drummer and last surviving member of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era group, or as I like to call them The Spiders From Mars.   Holy Holy, named for an obscure Bowie song, also includes his long time producer and early bassist Tony Visconti.  Bowie had given his blessing to this rock ensemble before they kicked off the tour in Europe late last year.  It's now on an east coast run of the United States. 

I had reservations about changing my plans as I thought that maybe those two integral people in Bowie's life might be called away to attend to personal matters in the wake of his death.  Woody informed fans that Bowie was a believer in "the show must go on" and he confirmed that to me in a Tweet yesterday. 

Woodmansey and Visconti were the rhythm section on the album The Man Who Sold The World which they'll be playing in its entirety along with other Ziggy era classics Saturday night.  Lead vocals are being handled by Glenn Gregory, lead singer for Heaven 17.  The rest of the large band consists of top-notch players and vocalists.  And reviews of the show have been great.  They played Toronto Tuesday night, David Bowie cover band Holy Holy plays sold-out tribute show in Toronto.

It's going to be a surreal night in so many ways.  Including the fact that it's at The Odeon, a long closed club that was just reopened last year.  Quite a coup booking for the new owners. 

Paul McCartney spins a concert circle around Cleveland

Paul McCartney has taken a lesson from Bob Dylan's tour philosophy.  That is to never really stop the tour.  Dylan's has been called the "never ending tour".  McCartney's is similar but with fewer dates. 

The last time McCartney played was at the Hollywood Palladium on September 30 and before that he headlined Lollapalooza on July 31. 

Now he begins a short segment on his version of the never ending tour with a string of shows that literally circle around Cleveland.  The first show is tonight in Columbus followed by shows in State College, PA., Toronto, Detroit and Buffalo.  All over the course of 10 days. 

One time the Rolling Stones had a few shows in surrounding cities and they made Cleveland the camp even though they had no gig here, flying to the various cities and returning to the north coast.  There's a reason Cleveland used to be called the best location in the nation.  I wonder if McCartney might do the same. 

Van Morrison's tour as cantankerous as the man

While I was enjoying yet another gorgeous day in Cleveland along the shores of Lake Erie listening to Harvest, a local Neil Young cover band, a good friend of mine boasted about her upcoming trip to Toronto to see Van Morrison.  I didn't know he was on tour, I told her. 

So this morning I checked out his website for tour dates.  It appears his live show schedule is as frustrating as Van the Man himself.  Toward the end of the month he plays three shows in northern Ireland before traveling to Canada for three, which includes two in Toronto.  That's where she's going to see him at the Sony Centre.  And there's still tickets available for Sunday, September 20.

That's it for North America.  Three concerts north of the border and then back to Europe for a handful of shows.  Some of those dates in November look intriguing.  They include intimate shows in Belfast and arena spectacles like the one in London at O2 where he shares the bill with Tom Jones.  Now that is tempting. 

Laibach performs Sound of Music in North Korea

Here's an odd one.  Laibach, the Slovenian prog rock band, Just played a concert in North Korea, their first time in the communist country.  The kicker is that they performed the songs from The Sound of Music.  You know, "I am 16 going on 17" and "doe a deer a female deer". 

I'm not too familiar with Laibach but a cursory look and listen to their Spotify page shows no plays higher than around half a million which shows that I'm not alone in my ignorance.  They have a new album out this year called Spectre Deluxe.  It's an interesting listen.

Here's the story on the North Korean concert, Slovenian rock band perform songs from The Sound of Music in first North Korea concert.  And here's John Oliver's take on it.  

Scottish film critic waxes nostalgic about concert scene of old

Jeanette Catsoulis is a film critic for The New York Times and NPR.  She also loves rock and roll.  

The Scottish journalist wrote an essay in yesterday's New York Times reminiscing about her first rock concert, The Beatles in Glasgow in 1964.  It's a wonderfully written account of a girl coming of age in the rock and roll era and how her concert experiences have left an indelible mark.

In the end she contrasts those innocent and seemingly clandestine concerts to the present day rock show where everyone in attendance is documenting it in real time to the rest of the world.  It reaffirms my belief that I was lucky enough to grow up in an amazing time. 

Here's her story, The Beatles Awaken a New Sensation.

Jeanette Catsoulis

Any night in NYC offers too many concert choices

It's no surprise that New York City, the largest city in the United States, should have more things to do.  There's more people looking to be entertained.  Simple supply and demand.  But when you actually look at the offerings it's kind of an embarrassment of riches. 

For example, I was looking at what bands one might be able to catch on a random night in NYC.  Let's say it's tomorrow night, a Tuesday.  I'm only going to highlight acts that would be fairly popular to some degree.  Ready?

Just across the East River in Brooklyn the stoner rock band High On Fire are playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg.  In Manhattan you could catch Rick Derringer at BB King's Blues Club or Cleveland's jazz great Joe Lovano at Birdland.  There's also more jazz with Ron Carter at The Jazz Standard.  How about Willie Nile at City Winery or Albert lee at Iridium Jazz Club.  Two bands who played Cleveland separately earlier this year are on a double bill at Irving Plaza, Psychedelic Furs and The Church. While the summer outdoor concert series at Pier 97 features Counting Crows and Citizen Cope.  Mac DeMarco's at Webster Hall and if you really need a reggae fix you can head out of the city to the Westchester County Center to catch Maxi Priest and Shaggy.  

Phew, that's a lot of choices.  And, mind you, that's just a Tuesday night in the big city.  It'd be easy to become jaded by this plethora of musical riches and for someone like me would lead too much frustration over who to see on any given night. And, really, would I ever get a break?

Some Phish photos from Blossom

Getting a fix of Phish

When I read the news yesterday that the rumored union of John Mayer and members of The Grateful Dead was true and that they were touring this fall I felt a bit betrayed.  The headlines were misleading though as Phil Lesh is not in the line up.  Add to it the revelation that Mayer first turned onto the Dead in 2011 through Pandora and, well, you realize he's no Trey Anastasio.

Leading up to those Grateful Dead shows in Chicago there was a strong debate amongst the Deadheads on whether Anastasio was the right choice to fill in for the late Jerry Garcia.  I even heard that in the stadium during the shows which had me scratching my head.  Weren't these people hearing what I heard and saw on stage?  Trey filled in admirably and, in fact, shined on many occasions during the five show Fare Thee Well run. 

I'm not a huge Phish fan.  In the 90s I dismissed them as novelty due to some of their goofball antics and certain cheesy element to some of the songs.  I'm still not a fan of Gordon and Fishman.  But for me McConnell and Anastasio make it worth embracing the band. 

In 2000 a friend of mine burned me a CD of his favorite Phish songs.  It was filled with the good stuff and not the hokey.  I was hooked and found a true appreciation for the band. 

Phish are playing Blossom Music Center tomorrow night.  I've seen them there twice before and they've been a blast.  It's the closest one can get to that Dead scene which I got to re-live in Chicago in July.  Now I need that fix again and Trey is the perfect conduit. 

24th annual Mid West Reggae Fest begins tonight

For all you early bird reggae fans the 24th annual Mid West Reggae Fest actually begins tonight as the gates open to campers.  Maybe you've got that perfect spot in mind at Clay's Park to pitch your tent and you're afraid it'll be gone by Friday night.  That's reason enough to head south for an extra long weekend of mellow vibes. 

Promoter Packy Malley had initially intended this year's fest to be a shorter affair, but the man can't help himself.  So now the live music begins Friday and doesn't stop until early Sunday evening.  That includes The Mighty Diamonds on Saturday night and a slew of regional reggae acts from Carlos Jones to Flex Crew. Here's the line-up. 

Former Slam Bamboo member heads home to Cleveland for show

No, I'm not speaking of Trent Reznor, who was a member of local Cleveland band Slam Bamboo in the late 1980s.  Tim Kirker was also in that band who scored a local hit with "House On Fire". 

Kirker then moved to New York City to further pursue his musical career, even playing with other Cleveland musicians who'd made the move to the east coast.  

His musical output continues with the release of a new album Shallow End of a Deep River and a tour stop here this Friday at the Beachland.  Even without knowing his roots one could guess he was from Cleveland due to the rather unique musical influences our town offered back then. 

The show at the Beachland will be a reunion of sorts with bassist John Papa and drummer Michael Cartellone returning home.  They'll be joined by local musicians like Shannon Dolan on vocals and Tara Hawley on cello.

Photo courtesy of Shannon Dolan during practice sessions this week.