Railroad Earth!

It was nice to hear a good bluegrass band. I guess most bluegrass bands form or revolve around one or two people. It's as though good banjo or mandolin players are prayed upon by average guitar and bass players, with the end result being a sub-par bluegrass band. Railroad Earth is not your typical bluegrass band. Are they a little jammy? Yes. Do they attract smelly hippies? Yes, but that's fine by me. It was an uplifting show. I must say that the songs i prefer don't always emit sunshine and smily faces. But it's impossible to listen to sad bastard music all the time. I'll bet anything that a comatose National fan would have shaken at leg at last night's show.

Long Way To Go - Railroad Earth

Hard Livin - Railroad Earth

Another reason to love Georgia..

Bloodkin's new album is pretty darn solid. What is strange, however, is that all of Bloodkin's albums sound just about the same and I never get tired of listening. Here are a few tracks if you're interested.

Ghost Runner - Bloodkin

Summer In Georgia - Bloodkin

Update

Well, it seems Patterson Hood really was sick during last week's show in Charleston. The guy had/has walking pneumonia, and the Drive-By Truckers just cancelled a week's worth of shows because of it. But i'm still not convinced it would have been a good show but for the illness.

Show recap

What a weird night. First, I walk into the Music Farm to see Bloodkin playing in front of a packed house. Bloodkin plays in front of 30 people, not 500. Even lead singer Daniel Hutchens seemed to recognize something was off (or on). The vibe seemed to move from "we're so lucky to be here" to "this should have been ours."

And maybe it still can be: Bloodkin just released a new album titled "Baby, They Told Us We Would Rise Again." I haven't listened to the album in its entirety, so i will save the shitty review for later. The general buzz, however, is that the new album is damn good. Good enough, I presume, to earn an opening gig for the Drive-By Truckers.

Here is a short clip of the classic "Can't Get High."


Then the Drive-By Truckers take the stage after a very long intermission. It was immediately apparent that lead singer Patterson Hood was off. My buddy and I thought he was hammered, but Patterson later claimed he was recovering from the flu. Either way, he was mentally absent the entire show. And midway through the set he fell straight to the ground. He played it off nicely, the band laughed, and a roadie ran out with a chair, which is where Patterson spent the remainder of the show.


The real band leader of the night was guitarist Mike Cooley. His voice is too dramatic and seems contrived, which is unfortunate because i'm sure it's genuine. So the show wasn't great or even good; it was just interesting.
Here is a short clip that sums it up:

Hall & Oates

You're welcome.

KUROMA

KUROMA is the brainchild of Hank Sullivant. (ex-Whigs, ex-MGMT). He also helped produce the yet to be released Gift Horse album. I remember seeing this guy around Athens when i lived there from 2003-2005. Here is an interesting video. I love NYC, so i love this video.

Kuroma - New Music - More Music Videos

Fleet Foxes singer has solo project

Lead singer Robin Pecknold has launched a solo project called "White Antelope." Check out the myspace page HERE