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RSSMartyrhead – July 23, 2010 – Hole in the Wall, Austin TX
Jul 23
Hard Rock, Heavy Metal No Comments
an energetic Motorhead cover band from San Antonio – could be just what you’re looking for if you’re looking for that sort of thing
Christy & the Plow Boys – July 23, 2010 – Museum of Natural and Artifical Ephemerata
Jul 23
they were providing the musical entertainment for a special exhibit at the Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata, an adorable example of Austin quirk – the exhibit was cave-themed and so they played old mining songs – I have become a fat sucker for Appalachian style music and this was a close approximation – I was in love forever when they explained to me that there’s a difference between bluegrass music (finger picking) and “old-time” music (hand strums more like a claw) – apparently what I like is the latter – the band consisted of three hobbyist musicians: a fiddle, banjo and guitar – I’m not sure that they play too often
The Fleshtones – July 14, 2010 – Waterloo Records, Austin TX
Jul 14
guaranteed, this band is quintessential garage rock, the definition of it – but their live show was kind of horrifying – really old men using the same-old ‘we’re-so-crazy’ rock star antics they’ve used for probably some 30-40 years now – one guy looked to have the same haircut he had in the 70s – jumping on the rails and running into the crowd is best pulled off by 20-somethings
The Chapin Sisters House of Blues Boston Jul 1, 2010
Jul 01
The Chapin Sisters can harmonize. They can belt it with the best of them (including Zooey Deschanel). The best of their opening set was Let Me Go which crashed over the crowd like a tidal wave. The worst was their set closer, a creepy song Digging a Hole, which transformed them from Cinderella to the evil step-sisters.
She & Him House of Blues Boston July 1, 2010
Jul 01
That She & Him (Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward respectively) are darlings of the indie circuit is without a doubt. A sold-out all-ages show at the House of Blues Boston and an audience that was down with the duo’s plush, folky arrangements was all the proof necessary.
The first half of the set was rough. Deschanel seemed to have somewhere else to be and rushed through a dozen tracks in nearly as many minutes. They were pitch perfect, sounding just like the album and it was so disconnected, I might as well have been listening to the album. Great studio tracks like Lingering Still and Black Hole came off lacking any sort of warmth. Deschanel channels Peggy Lee like nobody’s business. Waid played his slide guitar with a bottle of Sam Summer, and just about everyone took turns on the keyboard at one point or another. With the Chapin Sisters providing background vocals – and a stellar backing band – it should have been anything but boring.
To be fair, the sound at the show wasn’t great. The backing vocals were hard to hear except when they shouted and given the talents of the Chapin Sisters, they weren’t given much to do anyway. The energy from the stage was lackluster at first and the audience was attentive the way you would be watching television. But it wasn’t until they sent away the band that the remarkable attraction between Deschanel and Waid was apparent. And then sparks flew.
A three-song solo set just She and Him, including a gorgeous duet on Smokey Robinson’s You Really Got a Hold On Me, changed up the energy of the show and proved why people love this band. After that, even with the band back on stage, the entire template for the night shifted. Deschanel seemed to have warmed up, and the audience warmed up to her. Hearing Waid’s unique, muscular vocals was a treat (shame he waited to the last song of the night to take up a lead vocal on a rollickin’ Roll Over Beethoven). They rocked out once or twice too, notably on their singles – a spastic, thumping version of In the Sun and an enthusiastic run through of This is Not a Test. Everything worked better in the second half, including a playful interlude during Sweet Darlin’ where Waid and Deschanel played the same keyboard simultaneously.
The show ended on a proper high. It was a shame they couldn’t capture that energy from the start, but they got there all the same.
She & Him setlist
Black Hole
Thieves
Over It Over Again
Lingering Still
Take It Back
Home
Sentimental Heart
Change Is Hard
I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
Brand New Shoes
You Really Got a Hold on Me
Would You Like to Take a Walk?
Magic Trick
Gonna Get Along Without You Now
In The Sun
Don’t Look Back
This Is Not a Test
Riding In My Car
I Was Made For You
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Sweet Darlin’
Encore
Fools Rush In
Roll Over Beethoven
The Psychedelic Furs – June 30, 2010 – Emo’s Austin TX
Jun 30
College Rock, New Wave No Comments
lead singer’s voice is some mix of Peter Murphy and David Bowie which sounds amazing but they’re not – they never particularly struck me in the 1990s and I figured out why once I saw them live some 20 years later – he’s just too happy – lead singer Richard Butler, looking either very old or wasted from years of drugs, wore a little scarf and danced with little glad-hands on the stage – this is not the sort of behavior I want from Peter-Murphy-voiced musicians – I’m being too hard on them though – lots of their songs are evocative of old times – I don’t know their body of work well enough to be critical (been together since the 1970s!) but they also don’t motivate me to find out more – there’s something one toned/bland about their music
She Wants Revenge – June 30, 2010 – Emo’s Austin TX
Jun 30
Modern Rock, New Wave No Comments
I hear mention of this band a lot but didn’t know their material or even their sound – I can’t stand Interpol and they’re definitely in that vein but I could stand them – sleek, dark and shiny – I always imagined them as a bunch of polished young rock stars but they were 2 pleasingly unaverage looking guys – they ought to be ashamed for ripping off Joy Division but I guess that’s the way of the world
ScatterShot The Skellig Waltham, MA June 26, 2010
Jun 26
I’m a sucker for a good cover band, and ScatterShot was probably one of the better I’ve ever seen. We showed up in time for their second set of the night, complete with a “Sing with the Band” competition (for girls only) and credible takes on Def Lepard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me and Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer. A little Billy Idol, Michael Jackson and Journey found its way into the set. They capped off an hour-long set with The Isley Brothers’ Shout. The crowd was more than happy to oblige.
Cyndi Lauper Memphis Blues Tour House of Blues Boston June 26, 2010
Jun 26
Cyndi Lauper put together a blues band for her tour and stuck to all but a handful of new songs on the setlist. She was fiery onstage (even with the choice of toxic-red wig) and she was clearly enjoying herself.
The opener Just Your Fool was a good example of why Lauper is a fuckin’ pop star no matter what she’s singing. It was a barn burner. The best tracks from the new album, Memphis Blues, shone onstage when they allowed her to use her vocal range. Down so Low and Don’t Cry No More were the best examples, uplifting anthems as powerful as anything from her past catalog.
The show was divided into an hour long set of songs from her blues album, closing with the non-album track Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues (available on digital editions). The second set was a mere five songs deep, but she delivered them with a blues-touch and jammed out for a full forty minutes. Starting with the weepy ballad Who Let in the Rain and then leading into Change of Heart, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and Time After Time, that was it for a run-through of the hits. The songs were fantastic, given a blues treatment and transformed into sing-a-long crowd-pleasing extended jams.
For one last song, she emerged on stage with just her guitarist for a tearful take on True Colors wrapped in a bit of John Lennon’s Power to the People.
Cyndi Lauper setlist
Just Your Fool
Shattered Dreams
Early in the Mornin’
Romance In The Dark
How Blue Can You Get?
Down Don’t Bother Me
Down So Low
Rollin’ and Tumblin’
Wild Woman Don’t Get The Blues
Break
Who Let The Rain In
Change Of Heart
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Time After Time
Don’t Cry No More
Encore
True Colors
David Rhodes House of Blues Boston June 26, 2010
Jun 26
David Rhodes, a recording and touring guitarist for Peter Gabriel for the last twenty-five years, played a thirty-minute solo set ahead of Cyndi Lauper at the House of Blues. The music was good, but the overall performance was a little awkward. It came across like Rhodes didn’t have any more of a clue what he was doing opening for Lauper than the crowd did.
Concrete Blonde Royale Boston June 8, 2010
Jun 08
On the first night of their 20 Years of Bloodletting Tour, Concrete Blonde was ferocious. Playing at the newly minted Royale Boston (a venue that’s been around forever despite a few name changes), the band, Johnette Napolitano, Jim Mankey and drummer Gabriel Ramirez Quezada, walked casually on stage and then launched into a mind-blowing ninety minute set.
It’s been six years since the band reunited on stage, and the key word this time around was: relaxed. The band seemed comfortable, even suffering opening night snafus like forgetting lyrics on the song True or having to convo to decide which key Run Run Run started in. Napolitano claimed, in jest, that they were old enough that it was hard to remember how to play the songs or to even see the setlist at her feet. The first five songs came off the album Bloodletting released originally in 1990, including a extended version of Bloodletting and the band’s only number one single, Joey.
Hit songs were well represented, covering almost every album including the 1989 hit God is a Bullet and 1992 single Someday? On Mexican Moon, Napolitano put down the bass and just belted the love song with Mankey on an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. For a brief moment, the tone of the performance softened, letting her incomparable vocals shine through and giving her a chance to work the stage with dance. Concrete Blonde even played two of their many divine covers, Everybody Knows (a Leonard Cohen track that was featured on the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack back in the day) and the Jimi Hendrix tune Little Wing.
Easily the best songs of the night where the hardest played, breathtaking renditions of I Don’t Need a Hero and When I Was a Fool that you felt in your brain and in your bones. This was Napolitano at her very best, reaching out through the songs to enthrall every person in the room. Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man and the main set closer Your Haunted Head seared into your brain. Then the band went back to the album that brought them here tonight and closed the show with a soulful encore of Tomorrow, Wendy.
Setlist
Bloodletting
Joey
I Don’t Need a Hero
Days and Days
Lullabye
Scene of a Perfect Crime
Someday?
Everybody Knows
When I Was A Fool
God is a Bullet
Run Run Run
Little Wing
Heal It Up
Mexican Moon
Happy Birthday
True
Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man
The Sky is a Poisonous Garden
Your Haunted Head
Encore
Tomorrow, Wendy
Jim Bianco Royale Boston June 8, 2010
Jun 08
With a deft mix of theatrics and strumming, Jim Bianco warmed up the crowd on the opening night of Concrete Blonde’s 20 Years of Bloodletting tour. Bianco impressively coaxed a lot of sounds out of his guitar and his vocals, whether he was singing about hillbilly weddings or careers changes. In between each song, he added some backstory in a smoothly sarcastic, self-deprecating manner.
He opened with a barn-burner To Hell With the Devil and stuck mostly to tracks from his 2008 album, Sing. He introduced Painkiller as a ballad (term used loosely) and said of Tennessee Wedding, “I don’t perform this in Tennessee.” Each song told a pretty specific story, embellished by Bianco’s natural hammy stage presence. It was engrossing, and he made the best of his 40-minute set, even getting the lighting guy to help set the tone before I Got a Thing for You. The best of the night was the song Elevator Operator (it’s pretty much about what you think it’s about) and Sing.
The Ponys – May 28, 2010 – Mohawk, Austin TX
May 28
Indie Rock, Psychedelic No Comments
[Chicago, IL] when I hear this band, I hear hugeness, stages, and screaming in my head, and I genuinely thought this band was HUGE – “Double Vision” is one of my favorite songs of the last few years and they sound HUGE and everytime one of their songs come on I think ‘I like this band so much,’ but the crowd was modest and they were just average joes – apparently, this is achieved through the use of voice echoing, distorted guitars, walls of sound, and good musicianship … it’s a little contrived but it’s pretty effective – in person, they’re difficult for me to describe – although I had them classified in my head as garage punk, in person, they made me think of hard shoegaze and indie rock – I don’t know… they were cute and that song inspires me everytime and their sound pleases me immensely even if it’s kind of cheating – I particularly like the guy’s voice and their psychy-pop ethic – plus a female guitarist, always good, and she was appropriately detached and cool without being a hipster at all
A-Frames – May 28, 2010 – Mohawk, Austin TX
May 28
College Rock, Hard Rock, Punk No Comments
[Seattle, WA] so most of the bands tonight ended up being former members of the audience, easily identifiable since the audience started out pretty sparse – this band ended up being the guy next to me who had the shirt I was crushing on (‘No Trends’) and the guy in the ‘NoTV’ shirt – as you might expect, people who don’t believe in trends aren’t necessarily a lot of fun – the music was a distinct departure from everything else, no feedback and no distortion, just clanging slapping-your-face guitar, bass and drums – they intentionally chose notes that didn’t quite fit together and weren’t exactly rhythmic or melodic – more of a marching discordant sound – NoTV was the mid-40s bald-headed singer, and he sang spoken voice a la Henry Rollins – NoTrends was the bassist, proficient, but the theological ringleader from my perspective at least – the band was a cross between Primus and Cake but that’s making them sound better than they were – they were abrasive and unpleasant – so I was all prepared to give this band one of the worst reviews (at least for a group of good musicians) that I have in a long time, until they suddenly changed face and started playing faster and harder and were fantastic – so I conclude that they’re your average intently nihilistic hardcore band, who having aged, can’t turn to country or to writing ballads, so turn to slowed down hardcore that sounds like crap
Jeff the Brotherhood – May 28, 2010 – Mohawk, Austin TX
May 28
Hard Rock, Jam Band No Comments
[Nashville, TN] a skinny boy flouncing around in the audience kept catching my eye because he was wearing ridiculously short retro (80s) basketball shorts with the upcut thigh and an old-school sports tank top – by the time he made it on stage there was a foxtail attached to his shorts – silly boy – so they started their set with silly boy on the ground playing guitar and enthusiastic Bruce-Springsteen-drummer on stage (thrashed his head in time with the drumming throughout the WHOLE of their set) – of course, the crowd was moved by this novel approach but their sound kept the crowd in their grip – it was kind of incredible – so intense and full, it seemed impossible that two people were making it – they were channeling the spirit of Tia Carrera (local psych metal band) but were far more upright and composed – they were, in essence, a garage jam band, but the one you wish you’d been – there was a lot of Black Sabbath riffing but, in the end, I’d classify them as a dark Cheap Trick – I predict that punk-power-pop is the wave of the future
Woven Bones – May 28, 2010 – Mohawk, Austin TX
May 28
Hard Rock, Indie Rock No Comments
[Austin, TX] two skinny guys on guitars and a girl on drums – I enjoyed them but don’t have a lot to say about them – I guess they were garage punk but with shoegaze or noise rock overtones – music was minorly intense but felt simple – the bassist did go into nice groovy finger-intensive leads – what defines them to me is the intensity of their lead singer (on guitar) – he spent 10 minutes telling the sound man to turn up the monitors on the vocals and then harped on it in between songs too – amusingly, intense guy kept turning to the drummer girl to start songs with a 4-3-2-1 whatever and she (supposedly suffering from strep throat) messed it up like three times
Heavy Cream – May 28, 2010 – Mohawk, Austin TX
May 28
Garage Rock, Hard Rock, Punk No Comments
[Nashville, TN] I liked this band, partly because I am a sucker for female bands (there was one guy (on bass?)) – so I kept thinking that they were a mix between riot girrrl music (Babes in Toyland) and retro-garage stuff like the Donnas but finally came to the conclusion that they were basically a total ripoff of The Runaways – the girls, very young, were in high-waisted shorts and ugly 80s ankle-boots – take note, little hipsters
Jerry Lee Lewis – May 8, 2010 – Revival Fest at The Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 08
Blues, Jazz, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly No Comments
[Louisiana – he might not live there now but he is forever Louisiana] Oh Jerry – he was the point of this whole weekend (for some of us) – sure I know his hits, but he was never momentous to me – I appreciate his music though and I appreciate his style, especially after weeks of tutelage in his finer moments – so I’m all amped up to see this wild-haired, piano-bench-thrusting guy who made 50s kids writhe like they were possessed, and I’m even prepared for the fact that he has aged since those days, but I wasn’t quite prepared to see a hunch-backed old man helped out onto the stage to sit on his piano bench, where he sat stiffly for the remainder of the show – a lesson in mortality, my friends: age will seriously tame even the wildest of us – where’s his 13-year-old cousin now? – anyway, he actually put on a great show – he can still sing and he can still play – the piano honestly sounded a little muddy to me at times, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen piano, boogie piano at least, live and maybe that’s just the way it sounds – by the late-middle of the show, he was cracking jokes with the audience and telling some rowdy little jokes and it’s clear he’s a man who has enjoyed his time in a serious way – despite that, he has been described as worrying more than other sinners over his post-death fate, what with his fundamentalist religious beginnings (and continuings possibly) which is a pretty fascinating way to have endured through life
The Supersuckers – May 8, 2010 – Revival Fest at The Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 08
Country, Garage Rock, Punk No Comments
[?] I am a fat sucker for this band despite their silly rockstar posturing – they act like pretentious partiers and play like rockers and it works – it’s the over-the-top tongue-in-cheekness of it that makes it hilarious and then suddenly I’m kind of believing it – even falling for the sexy LA sunglasses at night – plus, like other long-playing bands, they’re just so fast and professional and… tight (I don’t know another word for it) – they totally reminded me of The Hellacopters (I forgot they did last time too) which is such a good good thing – if you’re going to rock, then don’t mess around = garage punk
Rick Trevino – May 8, 2010 – Revival Fest at The Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 08
Country, Latin, Rock and Roll No Comments
[Texas] this band was all defamed before the show as a pop-country nightmare but they weren’t all that bad – upright quick-paced snare drum country with loads of Latin influence, particularly mariachi brass – none of us really liked him even so – and he won a Grammy too
Matt Hole – May 8, 2010 – Revival Fest at The Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 08
[Corpus Christi, TX] pretty standard hyped up rockabilly – sure it’s quality but I’ve heard it before and there are new things under the sun after 60 years [I think this review is more a result of my disregard than their musical quality b/c they sound a lot more interesting on myspace tonight than they did that night: psychedelic distortion!]
Buzz Campbell & Hot Rod Lincoln – May 8, 2010 – Revival Fest at The Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 08
[El Segundo, CA] pretty standard hyped up rockabilly – sure it’s quality but I’ve heard it before and there are new things under the sun after 60 years
Asleep at the Wheel – May 7, 2010 – Revival Fest at The Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 07
[Austin, TX] so all the young people and the hip people cleared out before this show, leaving the middle-aged and old people and the genuinely cowboy hatted people, and the mildly embarrassed remains of some young or at least younger people – this band is mildly legendary in Austin but pretty much just among the adult contemporary set – I found out at the show that they’d won a Grammy and was prepared to still not be impressed but they were just so polished and pretty, I couldn’t help it – it was kind of country swing but very sophisticated with hints of old-timey jazz – besides being all shiny, the music was complicated with little surprises at every turn and lots of heart – not to mention that I found myself wildly attracted to the lead guy, a mammoth long-legged old mountain-porch of a man – maybe I was being delusional but I recognized both his name (Ray Benson) and him… past lives
Lee Rocker – May 7, 2010 – Revival Fest at The Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 07
College Rock, Jazz, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly No Comments
[California now] surprisingly probably my favorite show – former bassist of The Stray Cats – he conveniently played some of their stuff and then did a sort of homage to Sun Records’ musicians – while same-old same-old rockabilly bands get tiresome tiresome, hearing his very apt renditions of Stray Cats’ songs reminded me how un-same of a band they were – cool darkness, style, distinctive pacing with the bass lines – they were a great band and he translated that to us all by himself (with a backing band) – and then he reminded me, something I only learned upon moving to Texas, of the pivotal-ness of Sun Records’ musicians, a good lesson for any young person
The Blasters – May 7, 2010 – Revival Fest at Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 07
Country, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly No Comments
[LA, CA] I came into this show all prejudiced because Rockboy (a HUGE fan) links this band back to the 80s LA cowpunk scene and I hear their songs and get disappointed because to me the only thing punk about them is that they hung out with X and Gun Club – you know how people sometimes get confused when they love too much… anyway, their music was as expected, an slightly edgier rockabilly-tinged bluesy country rock with a slightly nutsy lead singer (less famous Alvin brother) – BUT they were just fantastic: guys who have played for so long and so often that they’re astounding simply because they are the definition of tightness – while Alvin was the supposed main attraction in his long red coat, I stared at the bassist and lead guitarist who strummed hard in perfect synchronicity with legs spread, no show, just business – they also had Nick Curran, a local growl-voiced blues singer recovering from tongue cancer, playing with them – he sang one song, his first since treatment, and it was inspiring and heartbreaking all in one
Wayne Hancock – May 7, 2010 – Revival Fest at Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 07
[Austin, TX] retro music bores me more quickly than some of my associates but Wayne was kind of gripping – his voice was so quintessentially twangy and old-timey country, even though he’s not, plus he had an assortment of minor face ticks that kept you watching – very good ‘juke joint swing,’ as he terms it, with lots of Hank Williams in there – will remain forever baffled by the Hawaiian-sounding lap steel accents of country swing music
Two Tons of Steel – May 7, 2010 – Revival Fest at Nutty Brown Cafe, Austin TX
May 07
Country, Rock and Roll No Comments
[San Antonio, TX] we didn’t get to this band ‘til about their last song because of the multitude of logistical problems at this way too expensive little festival – regardless, all of the music was of high caliber – these guys seemed to be pretty standard country rock with some retro overtones – I did appreciate the lead singer’s rock leg kicks and flexibility
Concrete Blonde Tour Dates
Apr 15
Concrete Blonde will tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Bloodletting.
Concrete Blonde 20 Years of Bloodletting Tour
Jun 8 Boston, MA Royale Boston Write a review
Jun 10 New York, NY Webster Hall Write a review
Jun 11 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall Write a review
Jun 12 Chicago, IL The Vic Write a review
Jun 15 Washington D.C. 9:30 Club Write a review
Jun 16 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse Write a review
Jun 18 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre Write a review
Jun 19 Austin, TX Emo’s Write a review
Jun 21 Arvada, CO Arvada Center for the Arts Write a review
Jun 22 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot Write a review
Jun 24 Seattle WA Showbox Write a review
Jun 26 San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom-Regency Write a review
Jun 28 Hollywood, CA Henry Fonda Theatre Write a review
Concert information is up to date at time of publication
Darren Hoff & the Hard Times – April 2010 – Hole in the Wall, Austin TX
Apr 13
Americana, Country, Jam Band, Southern Rock No Comments
former member of The Weary Boys, a band that never impressed me as much as they did the general Austin populace – I wasn’t feeling moved by this incarnation until I realized I really liked them, I did – they’re founded in harmless country rock but there’s just enough Southern rock and jam band posturing to make them just up my alley
Chelsea Handler Mohegan Sun Arena April 9, 2010
Apr 09
Chelsea Handler was an unbelievable treat. She was raunchy and loud-mouthed and unapologetic. The biggest surprise of her hour-long set was how far away from her show she took her live act. There wasn’t much in the way of celebrity dish (except a rant of all things against Angelina Jolie). Most of her act was made up of stories about people she met on on her book tour, guys she dated, and her family. She would nail a punchline and then pound it into the ground like a spike, often cracking herself up in the process.
Her delivery of the jokes was something to experience. She would tell a story of rubbing cake on her bedsheets and accusing her boyfriend of shitting the bed. But it’s not just the story but her acting out a scene that makes it work. Her boyfriend reaches into the bed with two fingers, rubs the “shit” and puts it up to his nose and yells at her, “It’s fuckin’ cake.” She apparently thought about breaking up with him a lot. The day she did, he told her, “You’re three weeks sober. You’re not thinking right.”
She also told the audience that she refused to apologize for her act because, in essence, she made fun of everyone. And she certainly ran the gamut of targets during her set. She talked about, then joked about, Asian stereotypes, black stereotypes, stereotypes about guys, gays and Mormons. The centerpiece of her act was dissection of the differences between the bathroom habits of men and women. She was amazing from start to finish.
Heather McDonald Mohegan Sun Arena April 9, 2010
Apr 09
For a mid-sized venue, Mohegan Sun Arena is actually a nice place to see a show. Even for a comedy show, it wasn’t so totally cavernous that you lost sight of Heather McDonald standing on stage. But it was good thing the large screens were projecting her act because there were nuances of McDonald’s performance that had to be seen to be appreciated.
I wasn’t expecting the bulk of the show to be impersonations, but McDonald’s take on various Housewives (of VH1 reality fame), the Kardashians (sisters and mother) and Drew Barrymore were dead on. She also bagged on Marlee Matlin (and chided us for laughing then panned, “She can’t hear us anyway”).
McDonald was a laugh riot. As crude as she was at times, she made you feel like just one of the girls. The rest of her 30-minute set was dishing on her family life. She deftly used physical comedy to make her point (a lot of faces, a lot of kicking) and she was amazing.
Still Time – March 20, 2010 – Flamingo Cantina, Austin TX
Mar 20
Bluegrass, Country, Folk, Jam Band No Comments
[San Luis Obispo, CA] no mystery here: boys in plaid shirts and worn jeans from a coastal California town playing party-time jam band country – I would assume, with my own prejudices and on the basis of the row of fancy guitars that outnumbered the people in the band, that they’re well off kids ‘dropping out’ for a bit before they become well-respected businessmen – they were fine musicians but just ordinary, singing songs about 12-pack time instead of 9 to 5 time – amusing part was the guy, who after dozing on the side of the stage before the show, transformed into the band’s showman, jumping into the crowd and then playing from the balcony… like a wicked evil badass
