Ain't no mountain high enough...

Just a little proof that not all of the music I see can be traced back to JamBase... some of the best songs I heard this summer rang out between 13,000 - 19,000 feet beneath the Snows of Kilimanjaro (which, since you asked, indeed are receding at an alarming rate...)


With plenty-o-packs on their backs but no musical instruments, the amazing guides & porters of Berg Adventures make the most of their voices in the jam-tastic celebration they offer each day as weary hikers arrive at camp. Despite having tired legs and varying degrees of altitude sickness, it's nearly impossible not to smile when you're greeted with this kind of love...

It just doesn't get any yummier than this.

Good news for New York: Kamara Thomas is on 'Earl Greyhound vacation', albeit a short one, which means that Big Apple denizens are getting treated to a bountiful slate of yumminess as she performs (on a seemingly almost-nightly basis) with her band, 'Larune'.

Thomas performed with Gordon Hartin and Serena Southam in a stripped-down version of Larune in Williamsburg at Sound Fix, and delivered some of the most incredible renditions of songs like 'Texas' and 'You Call Everybody Baby' that yours truly has ever witnessed. (You can sample those songs here...) The crowd in this fantastic new music space was held absolutely rapt as she and Gordon delivered tasty duets. (Sidenote: if you haven't caught Widower yet, you're too late, because they're moving to Seattle, but you can still check out their incredible sound here...)


Last night, Larune had a more robust lineup of happy Honkytonkers as they played to a packed house at The Living Room. Witness crooning at its finest below, featuring the velveteen vocals of Thomas, Serena Jean, Amal Bouhabib, and Suzan Hurtuk, as the lovely ladies share "Novena".




In true Honky Tonk fashion, Gordon Hartin supplies the sweet slide guitar, and Matt Whyte swaps up the Les Paul he shreds in Earl Greyhound for the softer sounds of an acoustic six string and occasionally the keys. Thomas has penned some truly dazzling ditties over the years, and you are as likely to stomp your feet and sing along as you are to wipe tears from your eyes. You can sample two of her finest songs here: My Kentucky and Slow Sally.

Be sure to catch Larune performing this Sunday at The Living Room with Periodic Label-mates Gabe Berezin (doing an acoustic Monuments session), Vaughn Montgomery, and Basement Band. And for that matter, be sure to check out all the incredible acts on the Periodic Label calendar, as this a a family of talented musicians who are well worth whiling away your summer nights with.

Page McConnell at the Fillmore/ Irving

It's a lesson we learn again and again: having expectations will generally hamper the event, and having none will almost always enhance the experience.

I had not even been planning on seeing Page's show on Monday evening at the venue formerly known as Irving, and thus a last minute phone call and generous offer (merci beaucoup, Sir Scotland) prompted me to come into Manhattan to see what Page would offer up.

The first thing I noticed (and loved) was the small but healthy crowd, which made maneuvering the normally-packed main floor a breeze. The next thing I noticed (and loved) was the swirly, shiny announcement raining down from the lightboard... yes, Chris Kuroda was in the house and providing free flashbacks for anyone who had seen that other band Page used to play with back in the day.

With those two factors duly noted, I turned my attention to the man on the keys, did a swift check of his band (all new faces to me), and took in a set that included most of the new material from Page's latest album. Which translates to, I nodded my head, I danced a bit, I yawned once or twice (and truth be told, rolled my eyes a bit during Maid Marion... I mean, c'mon Page, 'I'm not marryin' Maid Marion'? I think you can do better than that...).

But just as I was starting to think the set was going to be nothing beyond 'a pleasant way to spend Monday evening', things got cookin' toward the end of the set. 'Beauty of a Broken Heart' crescendo-ed into a wonderfully aweseome bubble bath of yum, with a peak reminiscent of (yes) that other band Page played with back in the day. Perhaps it was simply a matter of the band members finding their groove, but it sure would be nice if more of Page's new material were engingeered for this kind of peak-potential, because it was truly ear-to-ear-grin great.

Once all that goodness had been unleashed, he closed the set with a song that I can't believe isn't covered more often, 'Monkey Man', and floored the already-jubilant crowd. And then, to cap off that fierce double-header, he encored with his jazzy gem, 'Cars, Trucks, Buses' and cemented the feel-good euphoria we all took home that night. Was I expecting to take home a loot bag of smiles? Hell, no. But I'm glad I went in with the sole intention of being mildly amused, as I left rooting for a musician with whom I felt I'd lost touch. Nice catching up with you, Mr. McConnell. Hope to see you again... soon.

My kind of town.

I was barely two months old when the deal went down, but 5/8/1977 is a date I know. Not because anything especially monumental happened in the crib that day, but because later on my brother would indoctrinate me with the finest of Grateful Dead bootlegs, and Barton Hall was among his most cherished cassette tapes.

Flash forward thirty years later, and far from having eschewed its hippie roots, the town of Ithaca, NY has made itself pretty dang cool by declaring May 8th "Grateful Dead Day" to commemorate that hallowed performance. The event was marked by a concert by Dark Star Orchestra, in which the band covered that classic show in its entirety. Mayor Carolyn Peterson is responsible for the declaration, and she issued the following statement to introduce the show:

Whereas, the Grateful Dead have been recognized by many highly credible organizations, individuals and entities including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as significantly important and integral to the musical and social fabric of our contemporary culture, and

Whereas, on May 8th, 1977 the Grateful Dead performed in Barton Hall on the campus of Cornell University in the city of Ithaca New York, a concert that is widely acknowledged and regarded as a defining and transcendent occasion and example of the art of contemporary musical improvisation, collaboration, musicianship, and performance, and

Whereas, many tens of thousands of individuals who were not in attendance that night in Barton Hall, have become knowledgeable & familiar with the extraordinary nature of the performance on May 8th 1977 through the trading and sharing of recordings of the show, and

Whereas, the cultural identity and perceptions of Ithaca as a community, have been informed and bolstered by the widespread acknowledgment of the magic of May 8th, 1977, and

Whereas, it has been said many times by many people that, “there is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert”,

Now therefore, be it resolved that as Mayor of the City of Ithaca, and in heartfelt recognition of the thirtieth anniversary of the May 8th 1977 concert performance, I declare May 8th 2007 as Grateful Dead Day in the City of Ithaca.

The setlist included treats like Dark Star, Row Jimmy> Dancin' In The Streets, and They Love Each Other. You can download the entire Dark Star show here, or you can head over to Setbreak.com and with one click, add the original Grateful Dead classic to your personalized podcast.

And while we're on the topic of the Grateful Dead, I figured you all would enjoy this unbelievable snippet of Bobby Weir being... Bobby Weir. It came with a personal guarantee that there would be laughter out loud. I pass it along with the same guarantee to you, dear reader: