Avett Brothers

Today I’ve been working on a post about beards for that other blog, Culture Shock. It’s a big hairy story that keeps growing, despite my efforts to trim it. While struggling to untangle my thoughts and comb through the prose, I've been listening to NPR’s live-streaming and archived videos from the Newport Folk Festival held this weekend (the 50th anniversary of that remarkable event). I heard some stunning performances, starting with a reminder of just how great Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are. She writes eloquent songs that sound as if they've been around forever. He accompanies her on a guitar that puts out a tone that I'd recognize in about three notes. Together they sing perfect harmonies. Joan Baez performed too. Half-a-century after her first performance at Newport, her voice is still crystalline and pitch perfect.

This post isn't about the Newport Folk Festival though. Since I began by writing about beards, this post is about the Avett Brothers, who are bearded (as are so many of the young people these days) and who put in a great set at the Festival. I first heard about the Avetts from my sisters and niece who saw them perform at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park a few years ago. They became instant fans, as did I after listening to their recordings.

Here’s the official video of the boys singing “Murder in the City”--a sweet song about family love, and a relatively quiet tune for them. I particularly like the opening lyrics:

If I get murdered in the city, don’t go revengin’ in my name.
One person dead from such is plenty, no need to go get locked away.



I like the exuberance of the Avett Brothers. They just put it all out there. No wimpy, delicate whispering in delicate falsetto--not that there’s anything wrong with that, I just like someone who can belt out a tune with power from time-to-time. If the two real brothers and the honorary brother can do it harmony, all the better. If one is banging on a banjo while stomping on a kick drum, that’s good too. Here's a rambunctious little number called "Talk on Indolence." [Warning: Beards get shaved off in this video].



This next one is from one of those horrible morning news shows, with newscasters who don't quite know what to make of it all. This show is called "North Carolina Now!" The music starts at about 2:10 if you can't bear to watch the interview. The segment ends with the banal question, "What message do you want your listeners to take away from your music?"

Happy 4th: Dave Alvin and The Blasters

I was a big fan of the Blasters back in the early-1980s. Brothers Phil and Dave Alvin and the rest of the boys knew how to lay down a neo-rockabilly beat that was perfect for speeding down the highway. I remember one speeding ticket in Utah that was set to the tune of "Marie Marie." Phil sang most of the leads, but Dave was the better songwriter. (That's Phil’s grimacing face featured so strikingly on the cover of the band’s 1980 eponymous album).

After the Blasters faded from my playlist (never quite going away), I kept listening to Dave’s solo work. He still rocked, but his music had hint of country and blues as well. He even got a little folkie and acoustic with his album “Public Domain” (2000), on which he interpreted songs that are in … well the album title tells it.

Dave Alvin pairs a distinctive baritone voice with really sweet guitar playing. More than that, he writes songs that are great short stories. My son and I were fortunate to see him perform with his band, The Guilty Men, at a Zoo concert a few years ago. I had been teaching Chris to play the guitar and was glad to give him a chance to see a master player up close. The concert was held on a perfect summer evening much like tonight, and we found a spot close to the stage. That night, the band was one of the tightest units I’ve ever heard and Dave Alvin proved himself a masterful band leader. They played most of the classics from the Blasters songbook and many others from the “Ashgrove” album which had just been released.

That night at the zoo, they played this song, "The Fourth of July," which I dedicate to this independence day.


The next video is Dave Alvin singing “King of California.” I particularly like the way this one starts. Last year, I was playing and singing with a hobbyist band, “Bourbon Jockey.” We tried to keep it all loose, fun and not at all serious. We were serious about rehearsing once a week, but spent most of that time drinking wine and trying out new songs we were excited to play, rather than nailing down the list we already had. As the “front man,” it was my job to get us started off in the right key and playing the same song. My two compatriots were very forgiving. It’s nice to see that even Dave Alvin can start off in the wrong key sometimes.



Finally, this video of a live performance of “Out of Control” is long, but is a great example Dave Alvin’s guitar playing and storytelling. (The other guitar player is darned good too). I love the dynamics of the tune—the way the band lays back into the groove, then brings it all back up again. If you don’t listen to the whole thing, at least ff to 8:20 for a little musical surprise.

Moonwalking

I can't remember what spurred me, but many months ago I went searching for video clips of "moonwalking"--the dance move that Michael Jackson famously popularized and is often credited with "inventing." I never got around to finishing my blog post on moonwalking, but the time seems right to do so now.

Michael Jackson was an amazing performer and creative genius, but he didn't invent the moonwalk. He was taught the move--called the "backslide"--by choreographer, Jeffrey Daniel, who reports that it took much practice for Jackson to get it just right. A fascinating NPR interview in which Mr. Daniel discusses Jackson's choreography and influences can be heard here. His recollection is that Jackson first saw the backslide when Daniel performed it at Disneyland with The Electric Boogaloos. Here's a video of Jeffrey Daniel bustin' some moves with Shalamar. The moonwalk comes in at about the 2:00 mark.


Levon Helm, the Band's remarkable drummer and singer (and my favorite member) wrote about gigging with Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks in his early days, and mentioned that Hawkins had several dance moves including a moonwalk. The clip I found on YouTube has been removed for licensing reasons, but I managed to find this excerpt on MySpace. Ronnie Hawkins does a slow version of the moonwalk near the end. That's a young Levon Helm at the drumkit. I'll get around to a Levon Helm post one of these days.



Tap dancer Bill Bailey puts on an amazing performance in this 1955 clip, with a moonwalking exit at 2:05.



This video of Cab Calloway performing "Kickin’ the Gong Around" (1932) is great, great fun. At about 2:00 he throws in some dance steps, including something close to a moonwalk and a Michael Jackson spin.