Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell, 5/7/11, Colony Cafe, Woodstock, NY

Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell, 5/7/11, Colony Cafe, Woodstock, NY


Woodstock, NY. Hippies, crystals, tourists, and tie dyes in every store front. The Colony Cafe, a block off the main drag, is a giant, gorgeous, charming building, and smells exactly how you'd expect a random cavernous Upstate NY building to smell. It smells like character. Also, it's DEFINITELY haunted.

It was a casual affair. I showed up early and spent nearly as much time looking around the venue (which was decorated with fantastic artwork) as I did soaking in soundcheck. Yep, definitely a Woodstockian vibe going on.




Aaron finds an offering in the credenza...

that's been in there since February.


A little Billy Joel.

One snag during soundcheck- something mysterious had been shoved into the input jack of Lo's acoustic guitar and the plug wouldn't stay locked in. The main suspect? One Lolo, aka Lil' Lo, aka Lo's youngest Guitar Tech. After some time trying to pry the foreign object out, an easier solution was reached: a 90 degree plug and a strategic amount of duct tape.


Showtime! K, so I missed the opening act because I was otherwise occupied, cursing Kendrys Morales name into the Upstate Night's Sky-- "KENNNNDRYYYYYYYYS!!!!!!!!" Eventually Lo & Aaron took the stage and rocked out a solid set, including the Dos Heteros debuts of Light My Candles and the Meters' Hey Pocky Way ( -> RU 4 Real?). Freakin' awesome.




Other highlights: Epilog, a beautiful Don't Speak of These Things, Big Papa, Tide (w/ Alex Mazur, of Maaze, on keys), Over the Rainbow, Angeline (there is something so crystal clear about Aaron's voice on this tune, he hits a pitch that leaves me with goose bumps and makes me say "wow" out loud, involuntarily, to no one in particular-- EVERY SINGLE TIME), and a positively stellar Nightingale to close out the set. Which was too bad, cuz they definitely could have kept that momentum going.

There was some interesting shit going on in with the crowd as well. A huge crew of Albany Maaze fans had made the trek down for the show (Maaze went on after Dos). These Children of the Corn included but were not limited to at least one Dee Snider lookalike and none other than Albany's very own Wookie Snooki. Weiss said they must have been on "The Jersey Tour". Spec-fucking-tacular! The whole lot of them spent the Lo/Aaron set dancing their butts off and a'hootin'hollerin'. Glad they dug it, cuz that could have gotten ugly! Strange Scenes from Upstate New York, indeed.




Maaze pulled in a good crowd, hit the stage, and the aforementioned Children of the Corn noodled their balls off from note one. The set started off strong, the lead singer has a great voice, horn section, groove, keys, funk. Our boys hopped on stage for a few Dead tunes which was cool/cute, despite not really being my thang, was still fun to watch.



It smelled like wet dog near the fireplace, but I don't think it was the fireplace. Quickly, that aroma became fused into the walls of my sinuses. You know what that means: time to hit the road! Couldn't wait to get home and Neti like there was no tomorrow. Ohhh, the Neti'ing that was Neti'd!

Psyched I headed up to Woodstock for Lo & Aaron. Am soooooo looking forward to the Almost GSW show at Joe's Pub on the 20th. Extra special thanks to the boys for keeping me entertained with preshow shenanigans. Great time had by all!

Lo & Aaron, 5/7/11, Colony Cafe, Woodstock, NY: 8.5 HUZZAHS! Deductions for the 2 mysterious bug bites to my face. Totes lame.

SETLIST
Poor Boy Long Way Home
Epilog
Light My Candles
Don't Speak of These Things
Get On The Train
Straight Line
Big Papa
Molly
Northern Sky*
Tide*
Borderline*
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Hey Pocky Way ->
RU 4 Real?
Wendy
Angeline
Nightingale

** Budke taped & when the link to DL the show from the archive goes up, it will HERE **

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY

Dos Heteros, 4/9/11, Mexicali, Teaneck, NJ

Dos Heteros, 4/9/11, Mexicali, Teaneck, NY


The snoe.down Wook Flu left in it's wake, a monumentally wretched and terrible mood that only lifted with a Magical Curse-Breaking Hug from one Lo Faber.

And that's how this review is gonna start. Instant better. There was some pre-show shmoozing and eventually Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell hit the stage to thunderous applause. The same I imagine, as Charlie Sheen received at Radio City. Dos Heteros started off with the beautiful Blues standard Poor Boy Long Way Home to warm up the room. Then came the sparks. A comforting Weird Dream (niiice!). Gretchen, Electrocute, Ballroom- awesome. It was good to hear the boys again. It's been too long (February). Northern Sky (debut of a Nick Drake song) was sweet and moody. Run To You was oozing with goodness. Edgar's Back In Town was cute.



At some point around now, they wanted to know if anyone had requests and there were numerous shouts from around the room. I've been fruitlessly requesting something for 15+ years, but yelling it at that particular moment was more about having a response to bug them with. "New Eyes!" It's one of my very favorite (and unfortunately incredibly rare) God Street Wine tunes. There's always been a faded hope, but it didn't seem realistic until they broke out Edgar's back at Joe's Pub. I caught at least 1 smirk before someone else screamed for Fortress. Their ears perked, they repeated in unison, "Fortress...", like they had yet to even consider it.

This may have been when they played a wonderful Strange As It Seems (or was all the screaming before Edgar's?). No matter.

The intro for the next song was kept slightly cryptic, but it all added up quickly to me. A song they haven't played in over 15 years. A song they never really learned how to play in the first place. No. It couldn't be. They wouldn't---- as a duo?? A song they were playing for me? My jaw dropped. I believe this is what The Britains refer to as being "gobsmacked". Rendered speechless because Lo & Aaron were about to play NEW EYES. I just stood there in shock. They were gonna play New Eyes. THEY FUCKING PLAYED NEW EYES. They fucking played New Eyes and I stood there smiling like a fool, while actually holding back tears. And it was SO SO GOOD!!!!! It's such a fast moving song, with so many changes- and they fucking nailed it with amazing energy and precision. Like they had even practiced! When the song peaked and they hit the chorus, there was a table full of cheers from the House Right side of the room. It was spectacular.

I'd say that they have no idea how much hearing that meant to me, but the only reason they would ever finally pull that nugget out was because they knew exactly how much it meant to me. So if you're reading this, guys (and Weiss too, cuz I'm sure he had something to do with it) -- again-- thank you. It meant the world to me. I really needed that.

Those bastards. 15+ years of harassment ends in success. What the hell am I supposed to request now? Eh, who are we kidding, I'll keep requesting New Eyes^. In fact, I'd love to hear it at Joe's Pub in May. All quartet-like (though Jason Crosby could shred on it too).

You'd think it'd be a blur from that point on. There was definitely a Post New Eyes Buzz happening, but I was still mentally at the show. Dos Heteros totally ripped through a beautiful Waiting For the Tide and completely tore up a high-energy Nightingale. The dueling guitar section towards the end was absolutely wild and inspired. Crazy good Madness.



They premiered Pancho + Lefty (Lo on vocals), a howling cowboy ballad, written by Townes Van Zandt, but covered by the likes of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, & Emmylou Harris. It's really freakin' cool to see what covers they pepper into their sets. It's both a peak into Dos Heteros psyche and a music history lesson. My Babe (Aaron on vocals) as well, was fun, bouncy, and spectacular.

Wendy rocked. Molly grooved. Thirsty cleansed the palate.

Lizzy Loves from the band Reflections (who were playing the late set) sang backup for the last 3 songs: Dead Flowers (how can you lose?), Dark Hollow (reeeeaaaaally nice to hear Lo sing this again), and Swing Low (mmhmmm).


A round of thank you's, goodbyes, more hugs, and I went back to my sister's Bachelorette Party, which I had very mysteriously snuck out of a few hours earlier. Don't judge me, you won't win.

Aaron's iPad/teleprompter was strapped to his mic stand for the whole set-- it gets closer to his face with every show. However, it seems that the closer it gets, the more they actually "get creative" with the lyrics. So, perhaps leave it at the bar and see what happens?

In totally random Jersey News, Snooki Lohan's mom was there, doing what looked to be a photo shoot for the cover of Steppin' Out.

Budke's kids were sick (way to go, Budke) and he couldn't go, so there's currently no archive DL link to direct you to. There is rumored to be a single recording of this show, but I haven't seen or heard anything yet. It would be a damn shame if it doesn't exist, but this show could then become the Stuff of Legend. Or I could totally be lying about the whole fucking thing-- you'd have no idea, YOU FOOLS!

The boys were totally busting to play, I think the 6 weeks off was too much for them. You could tell they felt great up there. Seeing them on a regular basis is like eating really good pudding. When was the last time you had great pudding? WTF do you have against pudding anyways? Get over it.

Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell (aka Dos Heteros), 4/9/11, Mexicali, Teaneck, NJ: 10 HUZZAHS!!!! NEW EYES, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

SETLIST
Poor Boy Long Way Home
Weird Dream
Gretchen
Electrocute
Ballroom
Northern Sky
Run To You
Edgar's Back In Town
Strange As It Seems
New Eyes
Tide
Nightingale
Pancho + Lefty
My Babe
Wendy
Molly
Thirsty
Dead Flowers*
Dark Hollow*
Swing Low*

* w/ Lizzy Loves on vocals

Thank you to Weiss for the setlist and for whatever he had to do with the New Eyes.

UPDATE: DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!! WOOOOOT! Thanks for securing this, Weiss, etc.!
http://www.archive.org/details/lfam2011-04-09

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY!



^ and 6:15, and Dirty Little Secret, and Watcha Gonna Do About It?, and Miss Leonardo.

Almost God Street Wine, 2/25/11, Joe's Pub, NYC

Almost God Street Wine, 2/25/11, Joe's Pub, NYC



"It was like being in a womb. It was fucking awesome!"
-Rhonda Lieberman
Sweet Baby 211, there was so much fucking traffic on the way to this show that I nearly had a heart attack! GAAAH! I finally made it to the SOLD OUT Joe's Pub with a few minutes to spare. Phew! So, I had a lovely mojito, ran into a ton of folks, and made my way over to the little nook where Mark and I landed at the Todd Snider show last month.

Dos Heteros + 2! Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell + Jon Bevo & Dan Pifer! ALMOST GOD STREET WINE!!! Fuck yeah!

First of all, there was a fucking Grand Piano on the stage- let's start with that. Yes. Sweet.

The boys (still poppin' fresh from Jamcruise) hit the stage and welcomed us with a bouncy Borderline. Thirsty was beautiful. Jason Crosby joined them on violin for Bevo's catchy-as-hell Beautiful Lies. -> Stranger. Wow. This was Almost God Street Wine. I kept expecting Lo to open the drawer to the onstage credenza and our Live Tomo 3D Hologram would jump out and play. Like the size of Mike Teevee. "Can you hear me? Am I coming in clear?"



Upside Down & Inside Out was stunning. The crowd even started to join in--- ahh, gotta love those 2 drink minimum tables at a short show! Molly was nothing short of brilliant and featured Lo absolutely fucking ROCKING OUT on the guitar solo! Hot damn! Then an awesome Chop!, which Tomo may not remember, but I've been wanting to hear again for a decade. AWESOME!!! Funny Kinda Love-- also AWESOME!!! Then, by far the most random of all historical GSW song resurrections over the past two years--- Edgar's Back In Town! (<-- hey man, it's purple.) Wow! This was probably the first time I've ever heard it live! That makes me feel less old! Totes rockin'!


Jason came back on for the remainder of the show. Lo switched to an electric for a beautiful Epiphany. With the electric guitar, Bevo, & Jason, the twirly-ness of the song remained solidly intact. Awesome. -> Angeline, which Aaron & his lungs totally nailed (again). His voice is unreal right now. UN-FUCKING-REAL. And then a super-happy Nightingale to close out the set. Having the other two guys and Jason on this, adds so many more dimensions. It's just wonderful. They encored with Straight Line, our last chance to hear Aaron show off for at least a few weeks.



The set was entirely too short, but I savored every second of it, I tell you whut.

Man, I love Dos Heteros, but Almost God Street Wine is so fucking awesome too. The guys were smiling the ENTIRE time (as was the rest of the room). Dan held down the groove all goddamn night. It was so wonderful to see him bouncing in the back, hearing his voice, and then disappearing mysteriously into the night. Bevo totally killed it on the Grand Piano, it was great to see/hear him again so soon. Jason's violin is such a natural compliment to the mix, it's a pleasure whenever he pops up at a gig. And of course, Lo & Aaron fucking rule.



Joe's Pub was a great venue for this gig, except that we all got booted out of there immediately after the show, so they could set up for the 2nd (Primetime) show of the night. That kinda blew cuz there was no time to celebrate with the Winos. We must take over Joe's for the full night next time! Yes! And perhaps add an Afterparty?

In the back room after the show, the exchange of a Giant Red Suitcase took place. The scene itself was reminiscent of Pulp Fiction. However, we did learn what the contents of this particular giant red suitcase were: a chunk of The Paul Ducharme's tape collection. I felt honored to hold one of his old cassettes. One particular was from the Rhinecliff Hotel in '88 or '89 with a dementedly sick setlist. There was a familiar sort of old tape cassette residue on it that stuck to my fingers long after I'd put it back with it's brethren. Perhaps I've absorbed some of it's powers? These will hopefully make their way onto archive.org very soon.





This show felt like being embraced in a great, big, warm hug. See Rhonda's quote up top? She got the same feeling from this truly special evening. I really really really really really REEEEAAAAALLLY hope they break out this lineup some more. Even if it's only every few months. Or twice a year. Too greedy? The thing is if I say "at least once a year", it'd be a lie, because I'd really really really really REEEEAAALLLY like to see it again, at least once more, this year (and every year). Or like, every (remaining) month (left on Earth). Can I freebase Almost GSW?

Almost God Street Wine, 2/25/11, Joe's Pub, NYC: 10 HUZZAHS!!! AWESOME.

UPDATE: Macky has posted the links to some of Linda Phillips' footage of the show in the comments section below-- check 'em out!! Thanks Macky & Linda!

Oh yeah, and there's a Jackson Diner in Union Square now! WOOOOT!

SETLIST
Borderline
Thirsty
Beautiful Lies->*
Stranger*
Upside Down Inside Out
Molly
Chop!
Funny Kinda Love
Edgar's Back in Town
Epiphany->*
Angeline->*
Nightingale*

E:
Straight Line*

* with Jason Crosby

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW! Thanks, Scott Bernstein! http://www.archive.org/details/gsw2011-02-25.tlm170.flac16

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY



^ This is exactly why I will remain hopeful for a New Eyes... someday.

Not Trey, 2/19/11, Red Square, Albany, NY

Not Trey, 2/19/11, Red Square, Albany, NY


Yah, so I was planning on going to Albany to see Dana Monteith / Lo Faber / Aaron Maxwell and had no idea Trey Anastasio was playing the same night (conflicting with Dana's set) til like the week before. It didn't matter. I don't have nearly enough Monty Roberts in my life at the moment, so at no point was a mere thought even given to checking out Trey at the Palace instead. Fuck no. DANA 1 / TREY 0

Still in the cloud of phlegm that was a Post Winter Carnival Bug of some sorts, the days leading up to the 19th were spent: eating homemade chicken soup, neti'ing 3 x day, & popping Mucinex-D like Skittles-- cuz there was *NO WAY* in hell I was missing this lineup.

Around 5:45pm, I snuck into Red Square for a taste of soundcheck, where Dos Heteros +++ was happening. Sitting in with Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell for a portion of the evening would be: Zabeth Chase (Henry's House, Friday Night Freakshow, Alex Mazur (Maaze), & none other than Tom "The Old TP" Pirozzi (Ominous Seapods, Deoro, Lo Faber Band, The Holiday Ramblers, Shark Sandwich) on bass. Let the mutation continue!

Dana arrived, sans wooden plank. He would have to find one before showtime or risk being without percussion for his set. The suspense!




We hit up McGeary's for dinner -> Jillian's, to say hey to members of the Stone Revival Band. Our timing was kind of perfect and we were treated to some soundcheck. This included the fabulous Mop-Topped-Liverpudlian himself, Vinnie Amico (moe.) singing lead on Casey Jones.


-> Red Square, where tequila was dranked.

Good news, everyone! Dana found a plank! He took the stage and rocked out his alt-country Truck Stop Love Ballads and a few Ominous Seapods standards. The Old TP came up and played on a few too, including The Holiday Ramblers Theme Song (once proper lightage was provided). Lo Faber got up and joined them on Waiting For Da Bomb. Awesomeness.




The place started to fill in about halfway into Dana's set (shortly after the Trey show let out) and it had started to buzz. Lots of familiar faces in the room. People were singing along. It was an all-around great vibe. Dana was flat-out, fucking awesome! Why did he ever stop doing the solo shows? No matter that now-- Monty Roberts is BACK! You have no choice, he will tenderize your brain and seduce your cockles. TROOF.

What's inside that magic credenza?

Dos Heteros have been on fire as of late! This night was no exception! Highlights: Wall, an amazing amount of sound, a brilliant & dark song. When She Go, cuz it's one of my favorites!! Thirsty, Angeline, Mile x Mile- see below re: Aaron's breathtaking crystal clear voice. Nightingale, cuz it was kickin' and had the room shaking. Hearing Lo nail If I Only Had a Brain, was sweet and sugary good. If you weren't smiling during this song, you have no soul. Totes cereal. More jaw-dropping madness with Aaron on Somewhere Over The Rainbow.







Highlights (cont.): A killer Upside Down & Inside Out, w/ Zabeth Chase on additional vocals. A groovin' Tide, at which point Teep & Alex Mazur were already sitting in. Hellfire (kickin'), Gretchen, Borderline (BORDERLINE!!!!). They did a quickie All Of Me encore, slightly butchered (what on Earth are the teleprompters for?), but that just adds charm.



Despite seeing Dos Heteros on-the-regular, each show is still special. A wonderful little treat that I cherish every moment of. The guys are in the fucking Zone. They are shredding on acoustic guitars, nailing new arrangements for old favorites, having a TON of fun, and are you tired of hearing me talk about how crystal clear and perfect Aaron's voice sounds right now? Goosebumps. The mind, it boggles.

What a great night! Late Night Albany Rock. Old Skool. Would love to see the Seapods & God Street Wine side projects collaborate on some more gigs. Fill a room with friends and enjoy some music together. Shit yeah, let's do this!

[adult swim] seriously needs to adjust their late-night Saturday schedule. Can't the 30 people who tune-in for anime just watch it^ on their computers now? Where's a Venture Bros when you need it?? When I finally passed out, Chrissy was telling Mr. Furley exactly what was inside the envelope. You know hilarity ensued.

Sunday's Breakfast was (as always) positively delightful at the lovely Madison Cafe, but the Waterhole's Bloody Marys are way better.

And *THAT*, readers, is how I had an awesome night of music in Albany on 2/19 and didn't even go to Trey (who I hear was fabulous, btw!). (Stone Revival Band,) Dana Monteith, Dos Heteros + Friends, 2/19/11, Red Square, Albany, NY: 9.8 HUZZAHS!

Dos Heteros + Friends
SETLIST:
Found A New Baby
Diana
Wall
When She Go
Thirsty
Angeline
Mile x Mile ->
Nightingale
If I Only Had a Brain
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Upside Down & Inside Out %#@
Boston Rag %#@
It Starts With a Kiss %#@
Tide #@
Good Dream #@
Hellfire #@
Gretchen #@
Shenandoah %#@
Borderline %#@
Hey Jude %#@

E:
All Of Me

% w/ Zabeth Chase on vocals
# w/ the Old TP on bass
@ w/ Alex Mazur on keys

Thanks to Gabe, for confirming the setlist!

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY!



^ (and rub one out)