Iron and Wine w/ Edie Brickell 1/29/11 Radio City NY

Exciting trip to the big apple had the whole family at this show. We arrived part way through Edie's set. Pop girl Brickell penned the 1988 smash What I Am, married Paul Simon then started a family. She offered a sleepy set with Charlie Sexton on guitar. Headliner I/W is the brainchild of bearded bard Sam Beam. Started out with Beam on acoustic, banjo, and two female backup singers. Playing songs off the new release, and some older tunes, Beam was beaming at the chance to play this hallowed venue. Halfway through he brought out horns, percussion, and electronics which added an awesome twist on some I/W favorites. Songs differed dylanesquely to the point that one audience member yelled "Judas!" Beam responded to the crowd that "Judas was Jesus' favorite" Boy with a Coin, House By the Sea, Lazarus were all stellar. Closed with a a discoey Cinder and Smoke. Thanks to Moe and Rachel for a great concert experience, remember, You Can Do It!

Charles Lloyd's New Quartet 1/28/11 Crowell Hall Wesleyan

Veteran sax man Lloyd with Jason Moran (piano), Eric Harland (drums), and Reuben Rogers (bass) played to a full house at Crowell. Sold out when I arrived, I was lucky to get the first no show (row D center!). Lloyd's music has a spiritual quality and was the perfect antidote for three feet of snow. His warm tone and effortless fills are exotic and familiar at the same time. Moran's wife (opera singer) offered great renditions of "Go Down Moses" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing". Lloyd also played flute for one tune. To close the show. Lloyd recited a beautiful poem with Moran backing. Lloyd's California late sixties residency had his group at the junction of jazz and rock and can be heard on recordings by the Doors and Canned Heat. His group was the first jazz act to play at the Fillmore. Years later at Wesleyan, in his signature hat and dark glasses, Lloyd and company kicked it. He looked in cognito, disguised as himself.

Sharon Van Etten w/ Plume Giant 1/19/11 Bar

Return of the free shows at Bar on Wednesdays not Sundays. Excellent opener Plume Giant sported his and her violinists with acoustic guitar. Close vocal harmonies and imaginative songwriting make me a fan of Plume Giant. Covered a Strokes and Otis Redding song.

Headliner Van Etten is a Brooklyn folkie who had echoes of Beth Orton. Many songs were sombre and had a sameness to them. Group consisted of SVE guitar/vocals, bass, and drums. Odd looking squeezebox-keyboard was not played while I was in attendance.

Joel Harrison Septet: Singularity 12/17/10 Firehouse 12

Jazz meets classical with Harrison as guitar/arranger. Using a palette of cello, violin, sax, piano, standup bass, guitar , and drums, Harrison was able to weave some John Adams style orchestral pieces. This music was challenging but rewarding due to the ability to see the musicians feed off one another. Closing the fall series at Firehouse 12, this concert made me hungry for the spring series lineup. This "serious" material payed homage to Adams, Terry Riley, and Oliver Messiaen. The band flexed its collective chops with a classical take on the Allman Brothers Whipping Post!

Heavy Pets 11/30/10 Cafe Nine

Festival stalwarts Heavy Pets from Ft. Lauderdale brought some jam to the Nine. Kind of Percy Hillish with two guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards were uber-jammy. No cover songs and an annoying light show made the music difficult to receive. Seems as though this band has a formula for song craft: pop hook> faux reggae>noodle>end.

Cornmeal 11/12/10 Toads at Lily's Pad

Tiny upstairs venue with no real stage, presented no problems for off the hook Cornmeal. Saw these Chicago hillbillys at the 09 Vibes and the can really play. Bass, fiddle, guitar, banjo, and drums could not be contained by the small Lily's Pad. Kind of cross between Railroad Earth and Yonder Mtn String Band. Great harmony vocals starts most tunes that launch into bluegrass frenzy. The music has a whirling dervish pace that had the whole crowd moving. Lots of boardies in attendance which is usually an indication that you've hit the right show

Robert Randolph 11/11/1 Toads

Sacred steel guitar virtuoso Randolph never ceases to amaze. Played some standards: The March, People Get Ready, If I Had My Way. With little sister and cousin Danyell helping with vocals, this band had their game on. Randolph had some ladies come up on stage for Shake Your Hips, played an extendo vamp of Thriller. Closed with an excellent Voodoo Chile Slight Return.