A Bloy and his Blog

Orchestra Baobab plays a laid back, Afro-Cuban style, and their show last night at the Barrymore Theatre was almost perfect for a beautiful summer evening. The band from Senegal has nine members: three guitarists, two saxophonists, and four people who spent their evening singing, and taking turns at the three percussion stations.

Orchestra Baobab sings in their native languages (Wolof? Mandinka? and some French) and I’m sure most of us in the audience didn’t have a clue what they were singing about. But that didn’t matter with the easy going groove their music had.

read the rest of: Orchestra Baobab’s laid back groove

Last night I went to one of the best concerts I’ve been to in years, when I saw Kathleen Edwards and her band put on an amazing show at Madison’s beautiful Majestic Theatre.

The concert began on a somber tone, with Kathleen playing the haunting “Alicia Ross” “Mercury” (from her debut album). She started by herself, accompanied only by her acoustic guitar. As it continued the other band members gradually chimed in, until all five musicians were playing in full force. By the end of the song I knew I was going to be in for a real treat. Just as that thought was in my head, the band confirmed my instinct and launched into the rousing and jangly, “In State,” a song from my favorite Kathleen Edwards album, Back to Me.

read the rest of: Kathleen Edwards and band amazing

Last night I went to see The New Pornographers perform at the Orpheum Theatre here in Madison. While the absence of Neko Case was disappointing for me (get better soon Neko, we missed you!), the concert was a good one. But I’m not going to talk about the whole show, if you’re interested Muzzle of Bees has a good review on their website. I want to talk about the encore the band performed.

After a good long set of music, The New Pornographers thanked the crowd and left the stage. Here it comes, I thought. It’s such a cliché, the way rock concert encores happen these days.

read the rest of: The perfect encore

From the African country of Senegal, Youssou N’Dour is perhaps the most widely known afro-pop musician performing today. He has achieved superstar status virtually everywhere outside of the United States. I have been wishing to hear him perform live since 1990 when I first read about him, and purchased his new CD at the time, Set. Last night, Youssou and his band, the Super Etoile of Dakar, finally played a show close enough for me to attend. Seventeen years of anticipation is a lot to live up to, but the charming master of mbalax (a blending of traditional Senegalese music/rhythms, afro-cuban music, and popular western music) exceeded my high expectations.

read the rest of: Youssou N’Dour performs in Madison

I’ve been looking forward to seeing Ryan Adams in concert since I first heard his outstanding release, Gold back in 2001. Last night that six year wait was over, when Ryan Adams and the Cardinals played a sold-out show at Madison’s Barrymore Theatre.

The band started the concert with a amazingly tight version of “Goodnight Rose.” Toward the end of the song, they jammed a bit, started fading out and sang the word “goodnight” in an almost mantra-like manner. I expected the song to continue to fade out and finish, when the band crescendoed and launched into the final chorus of the song. Wow! This is going to be good, I thought.

read the rest of: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals in concert

I’ve been to five concerts of the band Wilco, and every time I see them, they never disappoint. Perhaps my fondness for their music clouds my judgment, but with each concert I go to, they seem to get better and better. Last night, I was at Madison’s Overture Center where Wilco performed an outstanding show to a sold-out theater.

The band touched on every album from their career last night, playing more tunes from their back catalog than I expected. Some of the best songs of the night were older ones: “Too Far Apart” from their first album, A.M., and “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” from Being There. I also enjoyed the songs from my favorite Wilco disc, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” “War On War,” and “Jesus, Etc.”

read the rest of: Wilco’s live shows keep getting better

When the band Tragically Hip plays in their native land of Canada, they are so popular they have to play in arena-sized venues. Here in Madison, they cannot fill a small venue like the Barrymore Theatre. At last night’s show, the theater looked to be about half full to me. More’s the pity. I’ve seen Tragically Hip several times, and from my experience, I believe the band would play their hearts out whether they were in front of 20,000 or 10. They certainly did last night.

The Hip (as their fans call them) opened last night’s concert with the first track from their latest, and very strong release, World Container. “Yer Not The Ocean,” an ode to Lake Ontario, very much in the style of The Who, was a perfect way to begin the show.

read the rest of: Tragically Hip plays Madison