We saved some of the best for last in 2006, as our New Year’s plans brought us to Atlanta for Drive-By Truckers on 12/30 at Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points and then Susan Tedeschi co-headlining with her husband Derek Trucks on 12/31 at the beautiful Fox Theater on Peachtree NE in Midtown.
Susan and Derek kicked butt last night and I could go on here about how tremendous they are, but I’ve seen them both perform several times, whereas the DBT show was my first. So my mind is on the band of rogues from northwest Alabama.
I grew up on a band that went tit for tat throughout their performance…Jerry/Bobby, Jerry/Bobby, and on a good night they’d throw in a song from Phil. Drive-By Truckers complicate the math considerably by having not two but three singer-songwriter frontmen–Mike Cooley on stage left, Patterson Hood in the center and Jason Isbell holding down stage right. The men take turns moving the song selection down the line and back as if the setlist was taped not to the floor but floating on an invisible short-order wire.
The band swigs from a top shelf bottle throughout their performance. Fittingly, that sweet caramel taste of bourbon is palpable in the band’s music. Like Lucero and Widespread Panic, their sound is whiskey soaked. At the same time, there’s a lucidity about it and a high-mindedness. Yes, their songs are often painful renderings about poverty, loss and violation. But in the hands of artists with skills like Drive-By Truckers these topics transcend the ordinary and become poetry.
There’s also a fearlessness to the band’s approach, a willingness to lurk in the darkness that some critics might label Southern Gothic. Take “Aftermath USA” off the latest release Blessing and A Curse. The subject of the song is frightening as hell, like something from a Harry Crews novel. Yet, when listening to the song you’re not scared, you’re entranced.
We dabbled in delicious wines over the Christmas weekend. Mostly from Oregon. One stood out from the pack. Rockblock from Domaine Serene—a syrah from the southern part of the state, hundreds of miles from the Willamette Valley.
Grapes for Rockblock are sourced entirely from Del Rio Vineyard in the Rogue Valley appellation of southern Oregon, just north of Medford, overlooking the Rogue River. The vineyard is planted to the Noir clone on 101-14 and SO4 rootstocks. Soils are rocky clay loam, very well drained and planted 1088 vines per acre.
We found it on the wine list at Bateaux on Lady’s Island and ordered two bottles. Now, I’m going to have to ask Claude, our local wine retailer, to bring it in for us.
Peter Kann made a list of 10 disturbing trends in mass media today. Kann is chairman of Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Here are two that stand out for me:
The blurring of lines between news and opinion. Newspapers have a format that helps maintain the distinction. The Internet, TV and most magazines have neither that format nor that tradition. The result is a blending of news and views. The two are not ingredients to mix together for a tastier meal, they are different courses. Part of the problem here lies in fashionable new philosophies that argue there are no basic values of right and wrong, that news is merely a matter of views. It’s a dangerous philosophy for our society and a dagger at the heart of genuine journalism.
The blending of news and advertising, sponsorships or other commercial relationships. The resulting porridges may be called “advertorials” or “infomercials”; they may be special sections masquerading as news, news pages driven by commercial interests, or Web pages where everything somehow is selling something. Without clear distinctions between news and advertising, readers or viewers lose confidence in the veracity of a news medium. And advertisers lose the business benefit of an environment of trust.
Clearly, Mr. Kann is a purist. And there aren’t many of those left in our mashup culture.
Miriam Jordan, a Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reporter published a feature last week on illegal immigration’s adverse effects for entrepreneurs. The story takes place on Hilton Head Island, which is why I’m featuring it here.
About five years ago, the journey of Starletta and William Hairston from the underclass to the upper class hit a roadblock.
Both were born to poor black Southern families. William, a stucco subcontractor, built a thriving business beautifying houses in the gated communities on this resort island, a magnet for wealthy retirees seeking a laid-back lifestyle by the sea. Starletta, a former flight attendant, won accolades for her community activism.
Then Hilton Head suddenly saw a wave of illegal immigrant workers from Mexico. Mr. Hairston, 54 years old, initially hired the Hispanic newcomers for his stucco business, helping it flourish. But soon, some of those same workers splintered off to form their own businesses, undercutting Mr. Hairston with lower bids to capture jobs.
The Hairstons’ saga shows that the issue is not just about low-paid workers, but also entrepreneurs who set out to make their own fortune.
William Hairston has since moved his business to North Carolina. Meanwhile, his wife, Starletta Hairston is a Beaufort County Council member actively working to stem the tide of illegal immigrants in the county. Naturally, the business community opposes the actions, for it would place hardships on construction companies and the service sector.
The two sides hammered out a compromise known as the “Lawful Employment Ordinance.” Final vote on the ordinance takes place at a special meeting of the council on December 27th, just days before six new council members will be sworn in on Jan. 2.
Six weeks ago, Bill Sagan opened a virtual treasure trove of classic rock concert recordings on his Web site, Wolfgang’s Vault.
Some of rock-and-roll’s biggest names went to court yesterday to close that vault until Sagan gets their permission to stream their concerts from his site.
Members of Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Grateful Dead, and Carlos Santana sued Sagan and Wolfgang’s Vault for copyright violation yesterday, saying that although the site is streaming the concert recordings for free, it is making money based on the sale of related and unauthorized concert posters and rock memorabilia.
Grateful Dead member Bob Weir said “we have never given permission for our images and material to be used in this way.”
Weir alleged that Sagan “is stealing what is most important to us — our work, our images and our music — and is profiting from the good will of our fans.”
Glen Falls Post Star reports that former lead singer of Phish was charged today with misdemeanor drug possession, driving while under the influence of drugs and aggravated unlicensed operation after a 3:30 a.m. traffic stop in the village of Whitehall.
The singer/guitar player was traveling alone in a black 2004 Audi sedan and told police he was headed to Burlington, Vt.
He failed field sobriety tests, and was found to have a bottle that contained three different types of prescription drugs, including two powerful painkillers, Whitehall Police Chief Richard LaChapelle said.
He also told police he had smoked hashish and taken prescription drugs before he was pulled over, the chief said.
A prescription bottle containing about 60 prescription pills of the painkillers Percocet and hydrocodone and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax was found, but he told police he did not have prescriptions for them, the chief said.
The chief said Anastasio was “very remorseful” and accomodating to police.
“He’s a real nice guy,” LaChapelle said. “He said ‘You know what, I’ve got a problem and I’ve got to take care of it. Everything happens for a reason.'”
I finally caught up with The Faint in San Diego and Los Angeles last week. I was particularly interested in doing so, given that they’re Omaha boys like me.
The Faint are on Omaha’s Saddle Creek Records, the label responsible for placing the city on the music industry’s map. A seminal moment of that mapping came in March 2002 when Time magazine ran an article called, “Cornfield Cool” on The Faint and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.
While I’m not inclined to become a huge fan of synthpop just yet, The Faint are incredible live. Their energy alone is impressive. But I’m even more wowed by the eclectic mix of styles fighting for a voice in the band’s music. On a rock solid foundation–care of Joel Petersen’s funky bass and Clark Baechle’s steady drums–punk, ska, pop, electronic and dance music all find a comfortable Midwestern home.
