Carolina Chocolate Drops - Capitol Theatre - York, PA - September 8, 2010

The Carolina Chocolate Drops played in York once before, as part of the Susquehanna Folk Music Society's York Folk Series. We were excited about their return to our fair city, especially after Mama saw them back in June at World Cafe Live in Philly. We knew they were going to sound amazing in the Capitol Theatre.

Mama: We enjoy listening to Carolina Chocolate Drops, and seeing them live is also an educational experience, because they talk a lot about the origins of the songs they play, which have evolved from traditions of slave songs sung in the fields of the American South, Piedmont blues, traditional Gaelic music, and their own contemporary influence, bridging the past and present into something new that pays reverent tribute to our musical roots.

Dom Flemons. Photo by Digital Ephemera Photography.

Carter: I like their music. They all switch instruments throughout the show and they play the banjo, the fiddle, the jug, the kazoo, and Dom plays the bones. The bones are an instrument that goes clickity-clack. Sometimes when he plays the bones he stands up and dances and it looks like he's using marionette puppets.

Mama: He does that when they play Snowden's Jig - a song they learned on a visit to York. When they were getting ready to play it, Rhiannon talked a little bit about the history of the song, which is fascinating.

Carter: During that song, the whole crowd was stomping and clapping along with them.

Mama: I also liked when Rhiannon got up and did a little softshoe kind of dancing. All the songs are just so different from each other, and since all three members of the band are very talented singers and musicians, they can switch things up for every song and the show ends up being full of all these wonderful little surprises.

Carter: My favorite instrument was the jug.

Justin Robinson. Photo by The Susquehanna Photographic.

Mama: I don't know if I could pick a favorite. I was just so impressed by how good every song sounded, with all the different combinations of instruments and who was playing them.

Carter: This sold-out show was exhilarating. I hope they come back to the Capitol again.

Carter and Dom Flemons. Photo by Digital Ephemera Photography.

Final note: Yesterday it was announced that Carolina Chocolate Drops have been nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for Genuine Negro Jig. Congratulations!

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Rhett Miller at the Capitol Theatre, Spoon at The Forum in Harrisburg, PA, Hoots & Hellmouth at the Mother Earth Harvest Fair, Jason & Grant from Ghost Hunters at the Pullo Center, The Felice Brothers at the Capitol Theatre, Rusted Root at the Pullo Center, Aortic Valve at ourhouse, and Langhorne Slim at the Capitol Theatre.

A Note from Carter

Dear friends, family, and followers:

My mother and I have not been very on top of our blogging lately. We apologize and we will get caught up. Thank you for your patience.

We have still been going to a lot of shows and we will try to write posts about all of them soon.

--Carter

Lee Harvey Osmond - ourhouse - York, PA - August 22, 2010

We first saw the Canadian band Lee Harvey Osmond when they opened for the Cowboy Junkies at the Capitol Theatre on Mama's birthday a few summers ago. Then we had the opportunity to see them play at our friends Pete & Lindsey's house. We kept looking around the room and thinking how awesome it was to be able to see such talented and seasoned musicians in such an intimate setting - I think there may have been less than 25 people there the last time they visited. These guys are the real deal. Big time musicians. We were thrilled when Pete & Lindsey announced that LHO would return to play their living room again.

Carter: The show was awesome. The lead singer Tom Wilson and the drummer Ray Farrugia were there, and also Aaron Goldstein, who played guitar and pedal steel. Tom's son Tommy played the bass. He let me hold his bass after the show. It was red and gold and it looked like an Iron Man bass.

Mama: They had just come from playing the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and had to leave as soon as they loaded out to head back to the Philly area.

Carter: I wonder if they got any sleep?

Mama: I don't know, but I am so glad they fit a visit to York into their schedule. And especially since it was to play at P&L's house.

Carter: Pete & Lindsey's house is a place where you can hang out with all different kinds of people. And they have a birch beer keg. AND a popcorn machine. I know how to work both.

Mama: Pete & Lindsey got a grant from the York City Artist Homestead Program when they bought their house. The program encourages homeownership within the City of York for artists looking for live/work space. Lindsey is an artist and both she and Pete are musicians. The first floor of their house is used as gallery and performance space. Lindsey's work, as well as that of other featured artists, is on display. They host bands who are traveling through or near York while they tour, giving the bands additional performance opportunities, and even a place to stay (their third-floor rock hostel is outfitted with bunk beds to give musicians a night off from crashing in their vans). The house is also set up for recording, if the bands are so inclined.

Carter: Pete & Lindsey also sometimes play music with the bands. So in the middle of the Lee Harvey Osmond show, Tom Wilson called for Pete to come and play his sax with them. It was amazing.

Mama: It was really cool. When they finished their second set, our friend requested their version of John Henry, which Tom Wilson came out into the middle of the room with all of us to sing a capella. It felt like we were transported to some tent revival in the middle of a field in the old south somewhere. It was magical.

Carter: The pedal steel had the name Carter on it. So I told the guy it was mine, and he couldn't say "I don't see your name on it." But he didn't let me have it.

Mama: I really enjoyed getting to hang out and talk with them a little bit while they were packing up.

Carter: This was a great concert. I'm very happy that I get to do this stuff even though I'm a kid.

Favorite songs at this show: Cuckoo's Nest, You Drove Me Crazy Now I'm Going to Stay That Way, and of course, John Henry.

Final note (Mama): Tom Wilson has an amazing head of hair.

Generations: Carter and his Mama with Tom Wilson and Thompson Wilson.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Capitol Theatre, Rhett Miller at the Capitol Theatre, Spoon at The Forum in Harrisburg, PA, Hoots & Hellmouth at the Mother Earth Harvest Fair, Jason & Grant from Ghost Hunters at the Pullo Center, The Felice Brothers at the Capitol Theatre, Rusted Root at the Pullo Center, and Aortic Valve at ourhouse.

Hot August Blues - Oregon Ridge Park - Cockeysville, MD - August 21, 2010

We heard about Hot August Blues a few months ago, when a friend who’s obsessed with Jackie Greene and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears told us both were on the bill for the festival. At some point, Jackie Greene canceled, but by that time we’d had a chance to see the entire line-up, and we were pretty excited. This was the 18^th annual event, and Mama got to interview festival organizer Brad Selko earlier in the week for a story she wrote for Tri State Indie.

Oregon Ridge Park is an easy drive from York – it’s only two easy turns off I-83.

Mama: There was plenty of parking in a field adjacent to the festival. There was an area for food vendors, with an adjacent side stage, an area for non-food vendors, and a main stage at the bottom of a large hill that reminded me of a ski slope.

Carter: There was a corn-on-the-cob vendor. I didn’t try it because I was too stuffed.

Mama: I had an ear of corn with Old Bay on it for dinner. It was delicious. For lunch, I had a crepe stuffed with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. They had the traditional, junky festival food, but also some atypical options from local businesses.

Carter: I had a sausage sandwich and some fries. They had pizza, which was also delicious. At the end, I had an ice cream cone that they dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts when I ordered it.

Mama: It was really hot, even at night, and I didn’t want to deal with an ice cream cone, so I had a root beer float for dessert.

Carter: Now, for the actual show. The Bridge, from Baltimore, was playing when we got there, but I wasn’t really paying attention.

Mama: We caught the end of their set, but I think you were still looking around and getting acclimated to the whole vibe.

Carter: There were other good vendors that didn’t sell food. I got a cool wristband.

Mama: I liked that booth the best.

Carter: The guy was really, really nice.

Mama: He was, and his stuff was cool. He makes all the leather cuffs from repurposed belts and things.

Carter: There was a hula-hoop vendor there, too. I got to try out the hoops.

Mama: After we walked around for a little while, we headed back to the main stage to stake out a good spot for Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, since they were the act Carter was most excited to see. It was pretty easy to find a spot in front of the stage to spread out our blanket. Of course, once they started, we stood up and danced our butts off.

Carter: The day involved a lot of lemonade and water, just like at XPN Fest.

Mama: It was really, really hot. For some reason, I wasn’t expecting it to be that hot. I kept wishing we’d brought those cool packs that go around our necks that we got at XPN Fest. We used a lot of sunscreen and drank a lot of beverages.

Carter: Black Joe Lewis was awesome. They didn’t play “Get Yo Shit,” though. Mama started yelling “Get Yo Shit!” and so did most of the people around us, but they didn’t play an encore.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Mama: After that we saw Keb' Mo', who might be in the top three coolest people on the entire planet.

Carter: #1 and #2 are Chuck Norris.

Mama: [sigh] ...Anyway, he is the Real Deal. His music just feels like the South. It's blues-y, and it's warm and welcoming and lonely and familiar all at the same time. I could have listened to him for hours.

Carter: After Keb' Mo', we saw some people playing hackey-sack.

Mama: I could see you eyeing up the circle, but you were being kinda shy about walking over and joining in.

Carter: So Mama and I went together. They were really nice and everyone was giving me pointers. Mama thought I was good.

Mama: I was surprised by how quickly you picked it up and how well you took everyone’s advice on moves to try. I think you’re a hackey-sack-hippie-hustler.

Carter: It runs in the family!

Mama: I was a little rusty, but I used to hack a lot, back in high school and college. It’s a great way to meet new people.

Carter: They were very, very nice.

Mama: I think all of them were involved in one way or another with the show. One was a guitar tech…not sure what everyone else’s role was, but they were on break and I had fun talking to them while we played.

Carter: Then it got dark and I got my ice cream cone, and we watched Lyle Lovett, and I was happy, and we left.

Mama: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band were really cool. The band was definitely worthy of its name. It was a 16-piece band and they took up the whole stage. They were all really good musicians, and it just felt so cool to hear Lyle Lovett in that big open space under the stars.

Carter: I thought it was a well-organized event. I’m excited to go back next year.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Capitol Theatre, Rhett Miller at the Capitol Theatre, and Spoon at The Forum in Harrisburg, PA.

Counting Crows, Augustana, and NOTAR - Wellmont Theater - Montclair, NJ - August 17, 2010

The renovated Wellmont Theater, a Bowery Presents venue, opened in October 2008, when Counting Crows was scheduled for a two-night run. Mama and her friend drove about four and a half hours in the rain, only to find out as they pulled up to the venue that the show had been canceled because Adam Duritz had the flu. While Mama was extremely disappointed, you shouldn’t feel too bad for her because she and her friend rolled with the punches, scooted over to the Meadowlands and saw Coldplay instead (Carter is the Coldplay fan in the family and didn’t speak to her for two days, but he got over it when she took him to see them for his ninth birthday).

As such, this was the first time either of us had been to the venue. Mama had plans to meet up with and interview the winner of Tri State Indie’s ticket giveaway before the show (read the story and see Brandywine Photography's great photos). We spent the afternoon road-tripping to get there with two of our nearest and dearest, and arrived early enough to meet two other friends for dinner before the show.

Carter: The Wellmont felt like a really big Capitol Theater, without seats.

Mama: I’d agree with that description. It was a pretty cool place. The Capitol, in some ways, is a little better preserved.

Carter: There were nets on the ceiling to catch debris, which made me scared.

Mama: The nets were so you didn’t have to be scared. If anything would have fallen, the net would have caught it.

Carter: The show was awesome.

Mama: It was really good. Counting Crows played “Anna Begins," which I’ve only heard live a few times, and guitarist Dan Vickrey sang lead on a song – something I don't ever remember seeing. I really liked Augustana’s newest songs, like “Steal Your Heart Away,” during which all the members of Counting Crows joined them onstage. It was also fun to see NOTAR perform so close to home. He had some friends and family that came out to show him some love, and it seemed like he was having an especially good time.

Carter: I wore my Toy Soldiers T-shirt and I got about 15 stains on it at dinner, so I got a NOTAR shirt and put it on over my dirty one.

Mama: So you were totally THAT GUY.

Carter: No, I wasn’t! I think that rule doesn’t count if you have the dirtiest shirt ever.

Mama: I think it was all a big trick to get me to buy you a NOTAR T-shirt.

Carter: You would have bought me one anyway.

Mama: Yeah…that’s probably true.

Adam Duritz, NOTAR, and Jason Gallagher

Carter: After the show, Mama went to talk to the lady who won the tickets, and I was in the parking lot with our friends. The backstage area was right by the parking lot and a crew member gave me a setlist. So I ran out front and found NOTAR and his bandmates. He was getting a picture taken with someone else and when he saw me, he remembered me from the Musikfest show and said, “Hey bud, where’s your mom? Have you been practicing your trumpet?” I got everybody to sign my setlist and we framed it.

Carter with Jason Gallagher from the band Leroy Justice. He's been touring with NOTAR.

Mama: When I was walking out of the show, the two kids walking behind me were talking about how much they liked NOTAR. I’m really excited to see what happens after his album comes out (EP drops September 14!).

Carter: I love NOTAR’s song “Matador,” and in the car ride home, I was singing “minotaur” instead.

Mama: We were a little delirious on the way home. Next time we go to a show that far away, we really need to make plans to stay overnight. It was so late when we got back home.

Carter: It was totally worth it.

Mama: It was another great adventure in live music.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Hot August Blues in Cockeysville, MD, featuring Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Keb Mo, and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Capitol Theatre, Rhett Miller at the Capitol Theatre, and Spoon at The Forum in Harrisburg, PA.

Deer Tick with Mountain Man - Capitol Theatre - York, PA - August 12, 2010

So we’ve seen Delta Spirit. We’ve seen Dawes. But we had yet to see their friends from Deer Tick. They played in York last winter, but it was at First Capital, and since Carter’s 21^st birthday is still 11 years away, we didn’t get to see them. We listen to them quite a bit (there are several excellent Daytrotter sessions with Deer Tick), and have heard what a great live act they are, so we were really looking forward to this show.

Mama: The CapLive show was the last night that Mountain Man would be opening for Deer Tick. The only thing I knew about Mountain Man before that night was that it was a group of girls. I had no idea what kind of music they played.

Carter: It was three girls singing a capella. They were awesome.

Mama: We talked to a lot of people who, like us, hadn’t known what to expect, but the crowd was very receptive to them. They sounded beautiful in that room. My favorite was when one of the girls, Amelia Meath, did a solo a capella cover of Tom Waits’ “Green Grass” similar to the version recorded by singer Cibelle, but slower and about 100 times more melancholy. I actually cried. I tweeted about that song and got a reply from Amelia’s mother before their set was even over.

Carter: I didn’t. You know why I didn’t? Because Mama won’t let me have a Twitter page. They said very funny things, too.

Mama: The girls came out into the audience during Deer Tick’s set. They were singing along, dancing, and having a great time.

Carter with Amelia Meath of Mountain Man.

Carter: Deer Tick was awesome. The music was an all-out rock type of thing, which I enjoyed.

Mama: I really liked them, too. They’re such great musicians and the show was nice and loud.

Carter: Mountain Man went back up and sang a song with them. It was pretty good.

Mama: My favorite Deer Tick song is “These Old Shoes,” so I especially enjoyed when they played that.

Carter: The guy from Deer Tick sounds a little like the guy from Delta Spirit.

Mama: Yeah, they do sound a little bit similar. But his voice has a grittier kind of thing going on. It’s very distinct. His name is John McCauley, and he has a side project called MG&V with Matthew Vasquez of Delta Spirit and Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes. The song that Mountain Man sang with Deer Tick that night is an MG&V song called “Daydreaming.” It’s a really great song.

Carter: I saw my band director at the show. Hi, Dr. Moyer!

Mama: I wonder how he liked it?

Carter: I’ll bet you he did.

Mama: I know I did.

Carter: I did too.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at the Wellmont Theater, Hot August Blues in Cockeysville, MD, featuring Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Keb Mo, and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, and Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, PA. Next week's a big week, too: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rhett Miller, and Spoon! How's that for variety?

Counting Crows, Augustana, and NOTAR - Musikfest - Bethlehem, PA - August 6, 2010

We had never been to Musikfest (*GASP!*). Even though Mama went to nearby Kutztown University and we have family in Bethlehem – Carter’s cousin actually plays Musikfest every year – we had never gone before. There is no excuse. We’ll be going every year from here on out.

Musikfest is a 10-day festival featuring more than 300 performances representing pretty much any musical genre you can imagine. It takes place each year in downtown Bethlehem, PA, on 14 platzes (stages), 11 of which are free. The festival began in 1984, with 182,000 attendees; it now draws over 1 million people.

Anyway, we were planning to see Counting Crows on Musikfest’s opening night on their main stage. A few weeks before, Mama landed a sweet freelance project and had the opportunity to write about NOTAR, the rapper who is on Adam Duritz’s record label and touring with Counting Crows. Over the weeks leading up to the show, the project expanded a bit and the article covered NOTAR, the overall concept of the Traveling Circus & Medicine Show, and the Greybird Foundation, Counting Crows’ charitable outreach arm.

As it turned out, Mama interviewed NOTAR via phone the day before the show. He was very gracious with his time, and Mama was even more excited to write her story after speaking with him – he’s very quotable, but also comes across as very genuine.

On the day of the show, Carter and Mama left early in the afternoon to begin what’s usually a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Bethlehem. When we stopped to get Carter a slushey and some beef jerky (his favorite road trip snacks), Mama checked her email and found out Adam Duritz had agreed to speak with her, but that he only had five minutes. He’d be calling her directly at 4 p.m.

At a few minutes before 4, Mama pulled off the highway, opened her laptop, and the phone rang. When she looked at the clock 45 minutes later, she apologized to Mr. Duritz and explained that if she didn’t get back on the road, they were going to miss the show.

Mama: We got back on the road and Carter had already finished the slushey, the entire bag of beef jerky and half his book. We immediately hit rush hour traffic near Harrisburg, and pretty much everywhere else between there and the Lehigh Valley. Our tickets said the gates opened at 6 and the show started at 7, and I was really worried we were going to miss the first half.

Carter: That beef jerky was good.

Mama: I can’t believe you ate the whole bag while I was on the phone.

Carter: Well maybe you shouldn’t talk so much to famous artists.

Mama: That interview was really a dream come true for me. I’m a pretty big Counting Crows fan. [understatement of the century]

Carter: Yeeeaaah…trust me, I know. We were going to Mama’s friend’s house in Bethlehem to catch the shuttle bus with them.

Mama: There’s a shuttle system to get people to the festival. We got off the shuttle bus around 7:15 and still had to walk all the way through the festival to the main stage at the other end. I was really upset about missing so much of the show. Rather than having an opening act, then the second band, then the headliner, the Traveling Circus & Medicine Show features all three bands playing all evening. When the curtain goes up, everyone is onstage playing Van Morrison’s "Caravan," and from that point on, everyone comes and goes, playing their own songs, sitting in on each other’s songs, and doing covers. I had seen the show several times last summer, and once already this summer, and I knew we should be there from the very beginning, but the phone interview and traffic had made us late.

Carter: I had to pee, and I wanted food tickets [food and beverages at the festival are purchased with tickets rather than cash], but Mama just rushed ahead to get to the stage.

Mama: As we got closer to the stage, I said, “I don’t hear any music.” We arrived to find out that there was a misprint on the tickets, and that the start time wasn’t until 8 p.m. So we hadn’t missed anything!

Carter: I got pierogies and they were even better than the beef jerky!

Mama: I skipped dinner, but after another chain of misadventures and serendipitous timing, I ended up in the pit in front of the stage. The website for which I was writing the story didn’t have any photographers available, so they asked me to take my point-and-shoot camera and try to get a few shots to accompany my story.

Left to right: Jason Gallagher (from NOTAR), Counting Crows front man Adam Duritz, and Augustana front man Dan Layus.

Mama: I ended up meeting a very nice photographer in the pit who graciously offered to send me a photo that Tri State Indie could use as long as they gave her photo credits.

Carter: I personally think the show was amazing. I loved it every time I saw NOTAR come out. I like the song "Matador."

Mama: Me too! I also like watching the people around us as he wins them over. I think many of them don’t think they’re going to enjoy a rapper’s performance, but he’s so engaging, and his band is so talented, that people just can’t help but love it.

Carter: When Augustana sang my favorite song, "Sweet and Low," NOTAR came out with his trumpet. I play the trumpet, too.

Mama: NOTAR told me on the phone that he plays for at least an hour a day. I was really excited when he came out onto the stage with it. To me, it just underscored what reverent musicians everyone on that tour is to see the rapper come out and play his horn like that.

Carter: It was kick-butt. At the end, they sang "This Land is Your Land."

Mama: I always love that part, because everyone sings along, and everyone leaves with a big smile on their face.

Carter: As we were leaving, we saw NOTAR, MGeezy, and some other guys from NOTAR’s band standing outside. Mama said, “Hi, I'm JJ,” and shook his hand. He said, “Nice to meet you, JJ.” Then Mama said, “We spoke on the phone yesterday.” NOTAR was like, “Oh, my God, JJ!!” and hugged her. Then he said, “Where’s your son?” and then he saw me and grabbed my head and said, “You have to practice your trumpet for an hour every day!”

Mama: He was serious, too. That’s good advice and I hope you listen to him.

Carter: I have!

Carter and NOTAR.

Mama: It was really great to meet him. The whole day, everything just fell into place so perfectly. I was so happy. I couldn’t wait to get home and write the story. [You can read Mama's story over at Tri State Indie...it also ended up on the home page at countingcrows.com for several weeks.]

Carter: I slept the whole way home except for a stop at Wawa.

Mama: I was wide awake and couldn’t stop smiling.

Carter: I’m tired just thinking about it. But it was a great show.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Deer Tick and Mountain Man at the Capitol Theatre, The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at the Wellmont Theater, Hot August Blues in Cockeysville, MD, featuring Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Keb Mo, and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, and Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, PA.

Dawes - Capitol Theatre - York, PA - July 29, 2010

After seeing Dawes at XPN Fest, we were really looking forward to their visit to York. At the festival, Mama fell in love with the song “Love Is All I Am,” and played it incessantly during the week between shows. The opener for their CapLive performance was a band from Philly called The Great Unknown, who we also saw at XPN Fest.

Carter: Their drummer had a magnificent moustache.

Mama: He sure did. They were good. I especially enjoyed the guy playing lap steel.

Carter: I think they were very good. And I got to meet them after they played.

Carter with the drummer and lap steel player from The Great Unknown.

Mama: People tend to arrive in time for the opening acts at CapLive shows. The theater fills up nicely long before the headliner starts.

Carter: Speaking of headliners, Dawes was awesome. Personally, I think they were better than when they did their show at XPN Fest.

Mama: I don’t necessarily agree. I definitely liked their show at the Capitol better, but I think it had less to do with their performance and more to do with the fact that they are very well-suited to the more intimate atmosphere you get with CapLive, as opposed to a large outdoor festival. Their songs translate very well to a space like the Capitol Theatre.

Carter: I agree with you and disagree with you; I agree on how great the venue is for them, but I disagree that it was just that that made it the best performance that I’ve seen them play.

Mama: I understand what you’re saying. The CapLive show was the biggest headlining show they had ever played, and you could tell they were feeding off the vibe there. So I guess I agree that perhaps the performance ended up being better because of it.

Carter: When everybody sang along to “When My Time Comes,” I was very excited.

Mama: That’s not my favorite song of theirs, but that was truly a magical moment. That’s exactly the kind of moment that makes me love live music the way I do.

Carter: Which is to say, very much. A thousand “verys.”

Mama: They sounded amazing, and you could tell they genuinely enjoyed playing the show.

Carter: The lead singer and the drummer are brothers and they both make really, really weird faces when they play…no offense to them.

Mama: Ha! Taylor Goldsmith, the lead singer, does have a great guitar face, and Griffin Goldsmith, the drummer, makes faces like he’s playing in a death metal band instead of a folk-y Americana kind of band.

Carter: After the show, Mama’s boyfriend was hanging out with them at Bistro 19 and he asked them if their parents were musicians and made weird faces, too. They said their parents are musicians, but don’t make weird faces, and that they get asked about that a lot.

Mama: They played a song about living and loving in Los Angeles, where they’re from. I didn’t recognize the song, but it made me think of my friend who lives in L.A. While my boyfriend was spending time with them, Carter and I had already gone home and I was googling the snippets of lyrics I could remember, trying to find the song. I couldn’t find anything, because, as it turns out, they haven’t recorded it yet. I sent my boyfriend a message and he asked Taylor about it. Taylor was kind enough to write down the words to the chorus on a napkin and my boyfriend brought it home for me. I took a picture of it and sent it to my friend in L.A.

...You got that special kind of sadness / you got that tragic set of charms / that only comes from time spent in Los Angeles / makes me wanna wrap you in my arms...

Carter: Overall, I think the show was awesome. I would love to go see them again.

Mama: Me too. I’ve heard rumors that Taylor Goldsmith might do some shows in early 2011 with Matthew Vasquez of Delta Spirit and John McCauley of Deer Tick. They’re all friends and have played together as a side project at places like SXSW. I would absolutely love to see them.

Carter: The guy from Deer Tick has a magnificent moustache, too.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show (Counting Crows/Augustana/NOTAR) at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Deer Tick and Mountain Man at the Capitol Theatre, The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at the Wellmont Theater, Hot August Blues in Cockeysville, MD, featuring Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Keb Mo, and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, and Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, PA.

Highlights from the XPoNential Music Festival - Wiggins Park - Camden, NJ - July 16-18, 2010

This was Carter’s first time at XPN Fest. It’s held each year at Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront. The atmosphere is very laid-back. There are two stages – one along the river, with the Philadelphia skyline in the background, and one along the marina – and the schedule alternates between them. Since WXPN broadcasts the performances, nothing overlaps and you get to hear all the bands (more than 30 over the course of the three-day festival). Carter has picked his favorites from each day to tell you about.

FRIDAY

Marina Stage: Toy Soldiers, Dutch, Ben Arnold, Free Energy

River Stage: Alejandro Escovedo, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Big Head Todd & The Monsters

Carter: I loved Toy Soldiers. I already knew some of their music, so I was all set.

Mama: They were the first act of the whole festival, and we were already familiar with them because I’ve booked them before and reviewed their CD for Folktowne.com. It was cool to see how much the crowd got into them.

Toy Soldiers

Carter: I got a Toy Soldiers T-shirt. I needed an adult medium. WHY AM I SO TALL?!?!?

Mama: It’s just the way you are, Carter.

Carter: On the next day, I wore the Toy Soldiers shirt and saw some of the guys from the band while The Felice Brothers were playing and they noticed my shirt.

Mama: Your other favorite band on Friday was Free Energy, right?

Carter: Correct. I liked them because they sounded like a band that I would have liked if I knew them before we saw them.

Mama: I only knew two of their songs because XPN plays them. I really enjoyed them, too. We danced a lot during their set.

Carter: I love that song that goes, “Bang bang pop pop…”

Mama: Me too. The whole crowd was singing along. Bruce Warren [XPN program director] told us that the two bands he was most excited to book for the festival were Free Energy and Dawes.

Carter: They were two of my favorites. Especially Dawes.

SATURDAY

Marina Stage: Birdie Busch, Bobby Long, Joshua James, Diane Birch, Robert Francis, Ben Vaughn

River Stage: Harper Blynn, Nicole Atkins, The Walkmen, Yo La Tengo, Roseanne Cash, The Felice Brothers

Carter: One of my favorite artists on Saturday was someone we already saw before – Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea. So I was looking forward to seeing them.

Mama: Me too. I really enjoyed them when we saw them earlier this year at the Capitol in York.

Carter: I think the best song she has is “Brooklyn’s on Fire.” The crowd sings along and the lyrics are, “Fourth of Ju-ly! Brook-lyn’s on fire!” This was only a few weeks after the Fourth of July. It would have been funny if we saw her sing it on the Fourth of July in New York.

Mama: She’s such a rockstar. She has a great voice, and the band sounds great, and she’s also really fun to watch.

Nicole Atkins

Carter: That night, one of my other favorite bands came out, The Felice Brothers. We were right up front for them, and I got to hit like three beach balls that were bouncing around the crowd.

Carter and His Mama watching The Felice Brothers

Mama: It was a completely different experience to see The Felice Brothers from so close like that than it was to see them the week before from way in the back of the park. You were really into it.

Carter: I loved it. They’re one of my new favorite bands. One of my favorite songs is “Whiskey in my Whiskey.”

Mama: I like that one, too, because the keyboard player comes out front with an accordion and sings it. I think everyone in the band sang a song during their set, except maybe the drummer.

Carter: I like when the fiddle player plays the washboard and stands by the drummer and hits the washboard on the cymbals.

Mama: Yeah, those guys are crazy. They’re coming back to the Capitol for another CapLive show in October, so we’ll get to see them again soon.

SUNDAY

Marina Stage: The Great Unknown, Fool’s Gold, The Holmes Brothers, These United States, Amy Correia, Earl Greyhound

River Stage: Blood Feathers, Dawes, Cowboy Junkies, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Dr. Dog, Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Mama: The line-up on Sunday was awesome. I loved every performance we saw.

Carter: Dawes was awesome. The whole crowd sang along to “When My Time Comes.”

Dawes

Mama: They were really good. We were up front for their set, too. Our friend Dave Simchock, one of the festival photographers, told us he was really excited for them, and it was really fun to see him and everyone else in the pit enjoying the show so much, especially during that song. The whole place went nuts.

Carter: They weren’t even taking pictures during that song!

Mama: I know. Can you imagine what it must feel like to be up onstage playing one of your songs and having everyone sing along like that?

Carter: It would mean you were a superstar!

Mama: One really great thing about XPN Fest is that if you’re a member, they give you a special wristband that gets you access to a members-only area. You get free drinks all weekend, so you can keep going back and filling up your reusable water bottles with cold drinks, and there’s also a meet & greet area. If you opt in, they’ll send you text messages to remind you when a meet & greet line opens.

Carter: The only band we waited in the meet & greet line for was Dawes. When we met Dawes, we gave them an I Love York City Sticker, because they were going to be playing the Capitol Theatre in a few weeks. When I met Dawes I almost flipped out because I was so excited. I got pictures taken with them.

Mama: They were very gracious, and we told them how much we were looking forward to seeing them at home.

Mama: I went back up front for Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, but Carter went to watch from a blanket on the lawn with some of our friends.

Carter: Michaela Mijoun [XPN Morning Show host] came out to introduce them and said that this was the most musicians onstage at a time during the whole festival. I was really excited.

Mama: They were SO MUCH FUN! I thought it was really cool how during Dawes, Edward Sharpe, and Dr. Dog, a lot of the people from the bands that weren’t playing would sit in the wings and watch the one that was.

Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. If he were a cult leader, we'd be drinking his Kool-Aid.

Carter: I kind of didn’t want to stand in the front for Dr. Dog, just because I didn’t know them very well. I like their music, but it’s not really my favorite.

Mama: But did you enjoy it once you were up there and they were playing?

Carter: A little bit. My favorite part about standing up there was the cold necklaces we had.

Mama: We bought those there from one of the festival vendors. They were cotton necklaces filled with expanding icepack gel stuff. We put them in a bag of ice and they got cold and stayed cool for a pretty long time. It was so hot all weekend and we saw lots of other people who had bought them, too.

What was cool about Dr. Dog was the fact that they’re from Philly and the crowd was so supportive. I really enjoyed their set. I had seen them the month before at World Café Live (during the 2010 Non-COMM), and this was completely different, with such a big, enthusiastic crowd. I thought it was an awesome show.

Dr. Dog (with two of the guys from Edward Sharpe watching from the best seats in the house)

Carter: The last band that played at the festival was, I think, the best one. It was Robert Randolph & The Family Band.

Mama: What I didn’t know until he said so onstage is that all the members of the band really are his relatives.

Carter: We sat far away at first, on the bleachers. But we left kind of near the end. When we were in the parking lot, we could still hear perfectly and they were playing Poker Face.

Mama: That was crazy! You were so excited!

Carter: I sang it in the parking lot and people started staring at me.

Mama: That was a great way to end our festival experience.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Dawes at the Capitol Theatre, The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at Musikfest in Bethlehem, and Deer Tick at the Capitol Theatre, The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at the Wellmont Theater, Hot August Blues in Cockeysville, MD, featuring Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Keb Mo, and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, and Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, PA.

Hey! We've Got a Banner!

Thanks to Melissa Jones of Honeybee Studios for designing our cool banner. Business cards are on the way, too, so we have an easy way of pointing people to the blog.

We're a little backlogged on our blog posts at the moment, due to some family emergencies this summer - relatives in the hospital. Everyone's on the mend, and we're working a little bit at a time to get caught up on our posts. Our goal is to have everything caught up by the time school starts back up on August 25. After that, we'll be posting within 48 hours of attending a show.

Thanks for following along with us this summer. And don't worry, we're planning to attend lots of concerts through the fall and winter, so you can continue to follow our adventures here as Carter begins fifth grade, fall baseball, and lessons with his new trumpet teacher...we'll always make time for live music!

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: highlights from the XPoNential Music Festival, Dawes at the Capitol Theatre, The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at Musikfest in Bethlehem, and Deer Tick at the Capitol Theatre.

The Felice Brothers - Long's Park Amphitheater - Lancaster, PA - July 11, 2010

Long’s Park, in nearby Lancaster, PA, hosts a great summer concert series. It’s conveniently located for us (about half an hour away and just off the highway exit), it’s family-friendly, it’s free, and their line-up of national touring acts is always great – good variety and a nice mix of seasoned veterans and up-and-comers.

For reasons that elude us, we had never attended one of these outdoor concerts. When we saw The Felice Brothers on the schedule for this summer, we blocked the date out on our calendars and starting planning our picnic menu.

Mama: This was Carter’s first time seeing The Felice Brothers, and my first time seeing them in an outdoor venue. For a change of pace, we found a spot at the back of the park, at a picnic table under a tree. It was a completely different experience from seeing a show from right in front of the stage. My favorite songs were just as good, but less intense from so far away.

Carter: I listened to them, but I couldn’t hear them as well as I wish I could have. So I read my book during the show.

Mama: It was a really laid-back atmosphere. I like that we could spread out, have a big picnic supper on the table, and hold a conversation if we wanted to, all while enjoying the performance. There were a ton of people there that we knew, so people kept stopping by where we were sitting to fill up a plate and hang out.

Carter: Near the end, people went up on stage with the band and we saw our friend up there.

Mama: She’s a big Felice Brothers fan, so I wasn’t surprised to see her up there. The Felice Brothers have a really big fan base. When they played the Capitol Theatre, I met people who had come to town from Philadelphia and from Ithaca, New York, to see them play that night in York. That was the first sold-out CapLive concert.

Carter: I can’t wait for them to come back and do another CapLive show in the fall.

Mama: Me too. I’m going to get our tickets now, because I’m sure it will be another sold-out show.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: highlights from the XPoNential Music Festival, Dawes at the Capitol Theatre, and The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at Musikfest in Bethlehem.

Kate Miller-Heidke - WXPN Free at Noon Concert - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA - July 9, 2010

While trolling WXPN’s website on a Tuesday for XPoNential Music Festival schedule updates, Mama noticed that their upcoming Free at Noon concert would feature Kate Miller-Heidke. Mama called to Carter in the next room to tell him that the opening act from when we saw Ben Folds and a Piano back in April would be playing the Free at Noon on Friday at World Café Live. Carter instantly appeared in the doorway and asked, “well, can we go?” Mama couldn’t think of any reason why we couldn’t, so we reserved our spots, booked some train tickets, and got psyched.

Mama: Philadelphia is a really easy day trip for us, especially by train. World Café Live is less than two blocks from 30^th Street Station, so we planned to go out there, catch the show, grab a bite to eat, and hop the train back home by late afternoon.

Carter: The train is a good place to read because it’s usually silent and if you’re sitting next to a stranger sometimes they don’t talk at all.

Mama: But on that train ride, we got to sit together and have breakfast and talk and read our books. And when we got there, we had some time to kill before the show, so we got to run over to Capogiro at 13^th & Sansom and have gelato.

Carter: Capogiro is the most delicious, heavenly gelato place in the world.

Mama: It's definitely one of my Happy Places. I try to always stop there at least once on every trip Philly. After our mid-morning gelato, we walked up to the Avenue of the Arts and got a cab back up to World Café Live.

Carter: When we got to World Café, the doors to the downstairs venue weren’t open yet, but we got to line up and they checked our names off the list and gave us door prize tickets for tickets to some other show (we didn't win). Then they opened the doors and we went in and I got us seats right in front of the stage.

Mama: Kate Miller-Heidke is already a pop star in Australia, but her recent stateside appearances are her first U.S. headlining shows. She sings and plays the keyboard. She’s accompanied by her husband, Keir Nuttall, who is a fantastic guitarist.

When she came out to start playing, she opened with “Space They Cannot Touch,” which is one of my favorites. She’s a trained soprano – an opera singer – which gives her pop songs a distinct flavor. She’s also incredibly charming.

Carter: When she hits the high notes it startles me because I’m used to pop music more than opera.

Mama: I saw you jump a few times when she sang high notes. It sounds pretty though, doesn’t it?

Carter: Yes it does!

Mama: Carter asked me before the show started if I thought she’d play his favorite song. I told him it wasn’t suitable for radio, and since they broadcast Free at Noon concerts live on WXPN, there was no way she’d play it.

Carter: But they finished the broadcast, and she came out for an encore, and said, “here’s a song that’s not suitable for the radio.” When she said that, I laughed really hard because I knew it was my song.

Mama: You really like songs that use curse words. I thought it was fun to see the people around us react, because most of them were probably hearing it for the first time. They were cracking up. It was fun to watch them have the same response to it that we had when we heard her play it back in April. We already knew the punchline.

Carter: Afterwards they had meet & greet and I got her autograph.

Mama: We brought our CD from home. It was lucky for us that we got an opportunity to meet her, because when we saw her at the Hershey Theatre, the meet & greet area was too crowded to get near her. This was a much better set-up. She was very gracious. She seems like such a lovely person.

Carter: Then we went upstairs for lunch and I had the best burger ever. The bun tasted like garlic bread. Then I looked over and saw Kate Miller-Heidke and her husband having lunch a few tables over.

Mama: World Café Live is such a great, intimate venue. We’ve seen a lot of really great shows there, both in the upstairs area and the larger downstairs venue. It’s become one of my favorite places. Do you remember the first show we saw there?

Carter: Sara Bareilles!

Mama: Another lovely, funny, and talented singer/songwriter. Tony Lucca was the opener at that show. And now I have Tony Lucca lyrics tattooed on me! That was the first time I'd ever heard him.

Carter: Anyway, then we walked back to the train station and went home.

Mama: See? I told you. Easy trip.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: The Felice Brothers, highlights from the XPoNential Music Festival, and Dawes at the Capitol Theatre!

Delta Spirit with The Romany Rye and Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA - July 2, 2010

This was Mama’s first show at the First Unitarian Church, and Carter’s first time seeing Delta Spirit live. We were both really excited about the show.

We also got to have an early dinner before the show at Le Cochon Noir in West Philly (right by the Mann Music Center). Special thanks to Jamal for his hospitality. We HIGHLY recommend this place and can’t wait to go back.

Mama: We got to the venue and found out the show was downstairs in the church basement (the upstairs sanctuary is also used for concerts). The basement looks like…well, a basement. It’s got wood paneling and a very small stage. It was a warm evening, and the temperature went up considerably as we took the stairs down into the venue.

We got a spot right up front and settled in for the opening acts. We enjoyed The Romany Rye, and were very impressed with Ezra Furman & The Harpoons (Ezra Furman is kinda like Gordon Gano + Conner Oberst, with a tiny pinch of Joey Ramone).

Carter: Mama met people standing near us. One of them looked exactly like our friend from home.

Mama: We were comparing notes about other Delta Spirit concerts we’d been to.

Carter: I got so hot.

Mama: We were all really sweating by this point. Delta Spirit started and after a few songs, Carter asked me if he could sit down, but we were all the way at the front, and the place was packed.

Carter: And YOU were being the meanest person on Earth at that second. You wouldn’t let me sit down.

Mama: I was afraid you’d get stepped on!

Carter: Our friend took me outside because I was hot and couldn’t stand it anymore.

Mama: I thought they were going out for some fresh air and would be right back. But I didn’t see them again until the show was over.

Carter: I was hanging out outside. We met and talked to people. I met one of the guys from the Harpoons.

Mama: I thought you guys came back and stood in the back of the room. I didn’t know until later that you never came back in.

Carter: We also went to a restaurant down the street for a little bit. I hardly saw Delta Spirit at all.

Mama: Then I guess it’s up to me to deliver the recap. I’m sad you missed it because I think it was my favorite Delta Spirit show I’ve seen so far.

They played a fantastic show, with a great mix of old and new songs. The temperature really was an issue – I don’t think I’ve ever been that sweaty in my life. The fact that I stayed put for the whole show in that sweltering heat is a testament to how much I love this band, because I can’t stand to be hot.

Highlights for me were two songs off the new album: “Bushwick Blues” and “White Table.” The last time I saw them performed was the first time I’d ever heard them, before the new album was released. Loved them then, loved them even more now that they’ve become familiar favorites.

When they played “Motivation,” Matt Vasquez came out into the middle of the room and made everyone crouch down (“a little bit softer now…”). The place was so jam-packed with people, that in order to squat, you had to hang onto the people around you. We all started to rise as Matt sang, “a little bit louder now…” until he hit the crescendo and the entire room began to pogo in unison (“heeeey-ey-ey-ey!...”). Vasquez shot up out of the center of the room and crowd surfed back to the stage.

Even if this show hadn’t been in a church basement, it still would have been a religious experience.

When the show was over, I was surprised to find that Carter had missed almost the whole thing. The good news was that we had tickets to see them the next night in Washington, DC, at the 9:30 Club. But we were worried that after two nights in a row of concerts (we saw Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears the night before back home) and staying up late, that he wasn’t going to have a good time at the show in DC.

Carter: So I decided not to go, and I was glad because I was really tired and didn’t want to feel like I was going to pass out during the concert. I’ve been wanting to go to that venue, but if I go, no other concerts for a few days before.

Mama: Yeah, three nights in a row would have been too much for you. I was sad you didn’t go along the next night, but I want you to be able to enjoy it. So we still have to get you to your first show at the 9:30 Club, and I don’t think that the First Unitarian show should count as your first Delta Spirit show, since you didn’t really see any of it.

Carter: I love shows with seats and air conditioning. I’ll go see Delta Spirit when they play a show where there are seats and air conditioning.

Mama: Sounds like Delta Spirit needs to play a CapLive show!!

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Kate Miller-Heidke, The Felice Brothers, and the XPoNential Music Festival!