Friday, July 18, 2008

Ollabelle show last night.







Caught a great Ollabelle free concert last night @ Manchester, NH's Veteran's Park hosted by intownmanchester.com. Beautiful sunny & warm evening complimented by an amazing performance. Mike Morris of NH & TX opened w/ a very lively & interactive set.
Besides our sincere appreciation for Ollabelle's music, we have an increased appreciation for the band member's work ethic as they are very involved w/ the stage set-up, breakdown & merch sales. Poor Fiona McBain (wearing the dress) was desparately seeking change for merch seekers after the show.
We had the fortunate experience after the show to meet drummer & vocalist Tony Leone (also sits in on drums during Levon Helm's Midnight Rambles - saw him @ the March 29th Ramble), keyboardist & vocalist Glen Patscha (who told us he & his wife have a child on the way) & guitarist, bassist & vocalist Byron Isaacs. We unfortunately did not meet mandolin & vocalist Amy Helm (Levon's daughter) who left right after the show as she seemed a bit tired (probably from busy touring w/ Ollabelle & Levon, as well as being a new mother) even though her performance was spot on & bassist, guitarist & vocalist Fiona who was busy w/ merch sales. All of the band members are warm & welcoming.
In our photos, going from left to right: Glen, Amy, Fiona, Byron & Tony.
The band mixed up its set w/ both originals & covers. Many highlights, including a cool harmonic version of The Band's Ain't No More Cane. Ollabelle is reminiscent of The Band in that it contains multiple lead singers who play more than one instrument.
Definitely worth catching this very talented band!
Set list:
Veteran’s Park – Manchester, NH
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Opening: Mike Morris

Set List for Ollabelle:

1.) Gone Today
2.) John the Revelator (Traditional Folk Song – Blind Willie Johnson)
3.) Fall Back
4.) High on A Mountain – Tony did a great job on the vocals!!
5.) Ripple – Grateful Dead – Great rendition sung by Fiona
6.) You’re Gonna Miss Me (When Your Gone) – Not sure if this is the correct title
7.) Ain’t No More Cane (On the Brazos) – Very nice performance with great piano by Glen
8.) Brotherly Love – Not sure of the title, but it was written by Byron Isaacs
9.) Northern Star
10.) Elijah Rock
11.) Get Back Temptation
12.) Unsure of Title – A Taj Mahal Song sung by Tony
13.) Riverside
14.) Unsure of Title Chorus goes how long?

Encore:

1.) Fare Thee Well (not one hundred percent sure)
Thank you to intownmanchester.com & its sponsors for putting on such a wonderful event w/ such amazing artists.

Newport Folk Festival.

Great lineup for this yr's Newport Folk Fest, including Levon, Jakob Dylan, Calexico, Trey Anastasio, Steve Earle, Jim James of My Morning Jacket & many more beginning Aug 1st.

http://www.festivalnetwork.com/

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Tammy Jackson Band show.

Caught The Tammy Jackson Band last night in Sunapee (NH) Harbor & it was wonderful.

http://www.tammyjacksonband.com/

Ollabelle show tonight in NH.

Looking forward to tonight's Manchester, NH (Veteran's Park) Ollabelle show starting @ 7 PM.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

New Ben & Jerry's Elton John-themed ice cream.

Ben & Jerry's just released its new Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ice cream in honor of Sir Elton John. He is scheduled to perform in VT @ the Champlain Valley Expo this coming Monday.

Upcoming Ollabelle dates announced.

Checkout the upcoming Ollabelle live performances in New England & NYC:

http://www.ollabelle.net/

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Maria Muldaur new album w/ special guests.

July 22nd is the release date for Maria's new Yes We Can album w/ guests such as Joan Baez, Odetta & Pheobe Snow. Music inspired by great song writers such as Bob Dylan.

http://www.mariamuldaur.com/

Joni Mitchell tribute performance.

At the Washington, DC located Strathmore, a tribute performance by a number of musical artists on August 14th @ 7:30 PM will be held for Joni Mitchell. Tributes have been held there in the past for The Band, Neil Young & Nils Lofgren. Joni is not expected to be in attendance.

www.strathmore.org/eventstickets

New Joni Mitchell book.

Lloyd Whitesell has written a new book called The Music of Joni Mitchell, an exploration of her wonderful music.

jonimitchell.com

Photos from July 4th Woodstock Playhouse Bow Thayer performance.

Link to photos posted on Bow Thayer's site opening up for Levon:

www.bowthayer.com/photos.html

New Bow Thayer album.

The self-titled new album Bow Thayer & The Perfect Tranwreck is on sale now. The VT native recently performed w/ Levon Helm in Woodstock, NY for two July 4th wkd dates.

http://www.bowthayer.com/

Tribute band The Band to perform at the Colony Cafe.

The tribute band The Band will perform July 19th @ Woodstock, NY's Colony Cafe located on Rock City Rd (next to the Woodstock Cemetary where Rick Danko was laid to rest):

www.colonycafe.com/Calendar.html

John Hammond Bearsville Theater upcoming performance.

Great upcoming live performance July 18th @ the Bearsville Theater w/ John Hammond & Bruce Katz:

www.bearsvilletheater.com/events-calendar/john-hammond-with-special-guest-bruce-katz

Widespread Panic inducted into Georgia Music Hall of Music.

The great jam band Widespread Panic, who recorded an awesome version of The Band's Chest Fever, was recently inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

www.jambands.com/News.phtml?newsfile=redesign_news375.html#7-14-21

Garth & Maud Hudson's whispers, wails & rotlings.

Keep tuned in w/ Garth & Maud's individual blogs that tackle many points of interest. Always interesting....

www.garthandmaud.com/index.html

Pre-sale for Levon Helm tix @ Nashville's Ryman.

Pre-sale tix start tomorrow for Levon's September 17th performance @ the Ryman Auditorium. His performance occurs during Americana Music's festival & Levon is nominated for three awards for his Grammy-winning Dirt Farmer album. Pre-sale tix can be purchased @ www.levon.helm.com.

http://www.americanamusic.org/

Monday, July 14, 2008

Folk artist Pete Seeger to perform in VT.

Pete Seeger, 89, reknown folk musician will join his grandson (Tao Rodriguez-Seeger) & bluesman Guy Davis September 13th in Brattleboro, VT to aid New England farmers. The New England Farm Relief Concert is to be held @ Latchis Theatre & will raise money for a new micro-loan program organized by the Somerville, MA The Carrot Project.

Grammy Museum to open in Fall '08.

The new Grammy Museum (interactive) to open Fall '08.

www.grammymuseum.org/index.php

Free Ollabelle concert in Manchester, NH this week.

One of our favorite bands, Ollabelle, featuring Levon Helm's daughter Amy Helm, will be performing a free concert @ Manchester, NH's Veterans Park this Thursday, July 17th @ 7 PM.

intownmanchester.com

ollabell.net