pilgrimage festival, day one

we got on site at 10 am when the gates opened. the vip lounge was underadvertised, as they had an open bar and gratis carolina bbq buffett, plus a titos trailer. it was going to be a big day.

first group was kingfish. a young blues guitarist who kicked off the day with a buddy guy style onslaught. very talented kid.

it was time to get a good bite to eat, to establish the necessary base for the day, a flank steak and pretzel bun sandwich.

next up was holly williams, daughter of hank jr., and she is worth your attention. most of the songs she played were off her ‘highway’ album.

watched first half of trampled by turtles set, then over to neko case for her set.

back to main stage for iron and wine.

went back to vip lounge for smoked chicken, ribs, low country shrimp boil, cheddar biscuits and some sweet tea (with some tito’s). caught last half of sheryl crow set, mostly just to position ourselves for the next and final act, wilco. managed to get in the front row, on the fence, just in time for the heavens to unload for 30 minutes. but it was worth it. they put on an outstanding show. nels cline was directly in front of us, and he was on fire. more on them later.

iron and wine archive series volume one

this is an interesting release, one that die hard iron and wine fans have been clamoring for recently. It is comprised of sixteen tracks recorded on a four track recorder in his bedroom at the beginning of sam beam’s career. His signature style, namely his half whispered duets with himself, on top of a sparse acoustic blend of guitars, is definitely in play here. it is not hard to envision him writing and playing these songs around the house, as they are full of images of the typical snippets you might see laying around the house all day – birds, weather, trees, and domestic conversations punctuate the lyrics. these tracks are the ones that weren’t used for his debut album, and have been traded by enthusiasts for years. not the first release i would send the inquisitive fan to that is not familiar with his work, but is it a good pickup for someone like me who has been a fan for years. iron and wine is playing at the pilgrimage festival this weekend, and i am sure i will be right up close, as i have never seen him before.

pilgrimage festival

i am going to this fairly new festival in nashville in about 5 weeks with my good friend brad, and as such will be starting a series of posts highlighting some of the bands i will be seeing there. my earlier post on wilco is essentially the start of it, and they will be on the ‘a’ list of bands we will be getting in front of (vip passes, baby!). we may even do some live blogging from there. next up, a review of the new iron and wine release.

http://pilgrimagefestival.com/

lord huron, strange trails

this is a new band for me. i think i found them on my amazon ‘recommended’ list. just took a flyer on them based on the comments section. a little hard to describe (which is often a good trait in my book), so i will begin by taking a stab at who i think might be their influences. on many tracks there is a western feel to it, and there is a little bit of calexico and dawes. good twangy guitars, solid vocals, both of those enhanced by a reverb thing reminiscent of my morning jacket. i hear some nebraska era springsteen, and maybe some buddy holly. this is their sophomore effort, to the best of my knowledge, and i got hooked. i listened to it straight through three times, and only took it out of the rotation because i just got a big batch of new releases and had to move on. there really isn’t a bad song on the whole thing, and i will come back to it. found their first release and have it on order. stay tuned.

sticky fingers, reconsidered

the rolling stones decided to reissue their classic 1971 masterpiece, ‘sticky fingers’, by remastering once again, and then adding a bonus disc comprised of outtakes and alternate versions, plus a half dozen songs from a 1971 gig from the promotional tour. their recent tour focused heavily on this material. it is my second favorite stones album, and the one i think that they came closest to studio perfection. as such, i had to pull the trigger. the original album has been remastered a couple of times, and i have read reviews that are not favorable to this version. many prefer the 1994 virgin records issue instead. i am not enough of an expert to weigh in on this debate, only to say that it does sound different than what i have, which is the original cd pressing. i can say that there is more separation in the instruments, and the sound is brighter and grittier, if that makes sense. i am not sure it is worth the effort to buy this on the first disc alone, but that is not what really prompted my curiosity anyways. the second disc starts off with an alternate version of ‘brown sugar’ and has eric clapton on guitar. you will be happy to own this. the second cut is what they call an acoustic version of ‘wild horses’ which seems to my ear merely to be the original track with the electric guitar stripped off. what is interesting about it is the renewed prominence of the second acoustic guitar part, in the original, but overpowered by the electric. third is a weak sauce ‘can’t you here me knocking’. the original, with the massive coda at the end featuring the seamless interplay between mick taylor, keith, and bobby keys on sax, is just simply one of the finer moments in rock history. no such luck here, and very disappointing. ‘bitch’ is next, and it is a very good alternative, and mick really stands out here, almost james brown like at times. the last outtake is ‘dead flowers’, always one of my favorite all time tunes of theirs, and it is well done and different enough to be worth owning. in my mind the country aspect of this song was a big influence on an awful lot of musicians (seek out townes van zandt’s version, for example), and for whatever reason i hear uncle tupelo and the jayhawks when i hear this version – mick almost sounds like jay farrar at times (or vice versa). the rest is non sticky material played at the roundhouse in 1971, the last gig on the tour i believe. nicky hopkins on piano, keys on sax, jimmy price on trumpet. good stuff.