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White Stripes in NYC today!

They are here @ Irving Plaza - Tonight!

I didn't get tickets but it woulda been a lot cooler if I did. I just went on craigs list and it looks like the tickets are going for waaaaay more than face. So glad that they lifted the ban on scalpers being able to sell tickets over face. Those poor ticket scalpers just werent making enough money were they? Ughhhhh! So frustrating.

Oh and I just saw that some dude is offering stock tips as an additional incentive to money for tickets. The White Stripes are inciting Insider Trading now. How bizarre. This is such a weird place sometimes.

But anyway on a more positive note...

I love that they are celebrating the release of their Fantastic new album, Icky Thump, here in NYC. That is DYNOMITE! Just wish I could go.

If you got tickets, let us know if it was an ordeal getting them, because I gotta believe that it was. I'm curious about your story. AND how was the show? Did they play any new songs? What did you think of Meg's drumming? And will you take me with you to MSG?

-Alisa

Police Activity at Bonnaroo

Ok so, the Police reunited for this show. But you know what...It didn’t feel that good. (Peaches and Herb - I will reference you for the rest of my life- Thank You!)

So yeah, the Police headlined Saturday. Now as the headliner, NOTHING else is scheduled for that set time. Of course every other set time is a constant battle of choices of what you should go see because your favorite bands are always playing at the same time... at opposite stages. but this doesnt happen with the big cheese. So everyone goes to see the headliner.

But I gotta tell you, The Police were not moving me. And they didn’t really seem to be getting through to most of the crowd either. The only people that were really getting into them were the kids with the glow sticks - you know what I'm saying? & They would have been just as amped for Peaches and Herb - If not MORE!

But so back the the Police debacle - it was weird because you knew almost every song - because who doesn’t know the Police, right? They are a legend. But it sounded very...uh...classic rock. Almost like they were a bad cover band of themselves. And listen, I don’t like to say these kinds of things...really. But it was true. I mean the show was so low energy. No connection between band members - not even a sparring of words between Copeland and Sting. No new versions of old classics... No soul or feeling, it seemed very auto pilot. I don't know. It was just sad to me. Because I love the Police, & I didn’t need to see them that way. It’s kind of like seeing someone in the hospital. and now thats how you remember them. sick. instead of how they used to be. But anyway so yeah, I had to mosey on along to the next show which was the Lips. They were going to be playing right next door at the Which Tent a 1/2 after the Police finished. Oh yeah and by the way - the Police played a very short set. Like an hour and a half. I know because I could still hear them from the "Which Stage" as they call the second stage.

So I get to the Which stage early so I could get a good spot for the Flaming Lips and the field was already packed. So while the Police were playing - people were just camped out at an empty field waiting for the Flaming Lips. AND...at one point the Lips came on and did one song as a sound check and the crowd was more psyched for that one Flips song than they were for any of the Police songs.

The Police situation also became a little bit of a joke too, because while Wayne from the Flips was up on stage he was telling the crowd a story about John Paul Jones. (From Led Zeppelin! He was there playing in the Super Jam ) His guitar was stolen and Wayne was saying that there was rumor going around that Sting stung the guitar. Believe what you will folks, I’m just telling you what I heard.

So any who, in the end I really regret that Police situation turned into what it did. Now I’ve got Tainted Love for them.

I love you though you hurt me so.
now I’m gonna pack my things and go.

BlogaROOOO...recap

Hey there Pals. Alisa Ali checkin in on ya. Just got back from the Roo and I have to say it was another stellar year.

I had such a good time. As always. Honestly I cant see how you could not have a good time... and this is coming from someone who almost passed out from the heat. Yes the heat was intense - but so were the good times, man.

I imagine that most people wanna know what the best show was. Good question. For me it was the White Stripes. No surprise there - I know. But listen you know that the White Stripes are supreme. You know this. So Im not gonna try and pretend that it was this really tiny obscure band that no one knows about. No. It was just as you imagined. The Stripes blowing your mind! Which by the way was bizarre to me that they actually did not headline. Instead Widespread Panic headlined that night. What kind of sense does that make?

Anyway, After the White Stripes another fave was The Flaming Lips. They are so great for the Roo. & Oh man, I have to tell you about this kind of sad situation with the Lips and the Police later. I'll post about that separately though. Stay Tuned.

After those guys, I liked Hot Chip. I danced my blank off at that show! Oh and also On my way over to Gogol Bordello, I heard this band playing and I was like whoa! WHAT is THAT? so I went over and I am so glad I did because they could be my next favorite. They were so good. Funky Rock. A little Screamy. Great southern guitar sound. They remind me of a mix between Kings of Leon and MMJ - whom I ADORE and was so sad that they didnt play this year. But anyway this band I saw was called and probably still is called, Cage the Elephant. I need to find out more information about these guys. So let me know what you know world wide web.

Alright well I could really go on and on about bands at the Roo, but I also want to say that the Bonnaroo experience is actually much more than then bands. One of the main reasons that Bonnaroo is so much fun is that you ALWAYS meet really cool people. The folks are just so open there its like they shed all their shyness and inhibitions - This is clear from the random naked people you see walking around. FYI - yes, you are still naked even though you have glitter all over your body. And even though there was your random naked person walking around, people werent perverted about it, you know. It wasnt skeevy. But apparently I have a high tolerance for this. Ehem. Moving on.

One of the best experiences that I think almost everyone shares @ the Roo is when you randomly find your friend on a crowd of about 20,000 people. That is such a great feeling, isnt it? Its chaos & fate with a great soundtrack.

-A-Roo, signing off for now.

Rita Report: Bonnaroo Friday

Ryan Shaw was the musical kickoff for me at Bonnaroo, and a great start it was! He's such a natural, strong performer who gets the crowd right away. And he def Bonnaroo-IZED his set adding extended bass, drum AND guitar solos! Pretty cool.

He opened with "A Change Gonna Come" and closed with a very Sam Cooke-like version of "If I Had a Hammer." At first that seemed like a hokey choice but in the end he made it work into a big folklike singalong. It reminded me of Odetta. I wonder if Ryan Shaw has ever seen Odetta. I'll have to ask him one day.

Here's the video - a golf cart ride and a bit of Ryan:
- Ryan Shaw at Bonnaroo

Plus there's a new (air conditioned) jazz tent I can give you a peek at, and some of the Rodrigo & Gabriela set from late late last nite:
- Jazz set & RodGab

I tried to eat at Holsten's, but it was mobbed

The little neighborhood restaurant where the last scene of The Sopranos was filmed -- near the corner of Watchung and Broad in Montclair, NJ -- has seen a dramatic spike in popularity. T-shirts with a picture of the place and 'The Final Episode' are for sale at the 'homemade ice cream' counter. I love New Jersey.

- fuvwebgirl

Holsten's at chowhound.com

Bonnaroo - We're Here

About 90 something sunny hot degrees here in Manchester Tennesee--it was very nice to wake up here this morning at a quiet Bonnaroo! I have a video camera with me which is probably bad news for you--as i'm the WORST with a camera. However, I will do my best to deliver some of the flavor of the sights and sounds and not bore you toooo much like it's some wedding video. Like i said, I'll try. My first offering is up now at You Tube.
Bonnaroo Backstage 1
look out Demme....

check it

Sunblock, check.
Floppy Hat, check.
Crocs, check.
Laptop, check.

OK, i'm set...off to bonnaroo!
morelater
Rita Houston
WFUV Road Trip/Bonnaroo!

Prine Time

Ollabelle first came together as a group through Sunday night jams at the Lower East Side club 9C, now known as Banjo Jim's. Last night 4/5's of Ollabelle was back there for a tribute to John Prine, curated by Tony Leone, the drummer of the band. In addition to Tony, Byron Isaacs, the bass player, and Glen Patscha, the keyboard player, formed the rhythm section of the house band for the evening. Fiona McBain was also there, only Amy Helm (who was reportedly in Woodstock helping dad Levon with his new CD) was missing.

The proceedings got off to a "pretty good" start, with Tony singing that Prine song. Fiona did a sweet version of "Hello in There," and Byron tackled a more obscure tune, "Far from Me." Some of the guest artists included members of the Brooklyn roots band Yarn doing "Illegal Smile" and a couple of the Demolition String Band doing "Flag Decal" and "In Spite of Ourselves." (Didn't realize Elana Skye was originally from Chicago, where she quite rightly says John Prine is a hero!)

Also dug hearing old pal Heather Eatman do "That's the Way the the World Goes Round." She's got the distinction of once being on John's Old Boy Records label, and she told a funny story of a fan requesting that "happy enchilada" song...meaning in reality "half a drink of water" from "That's the Way..." Surprise highlight for me was the version of "Sweet Revenge" by a guy I didn't recognize, Chris Berson (?).

It being a "school night" and all with a busy Friday on tap for me, I didn't hang around for the second set, so I missed Glenn doing "Sam Stone," Laura Cantrell doing "Unwed Fathers with Larry Campbell, and the whole gang doing "Angel from Montgomery" and "Paradise."

I knew John Prine back in the day in Chicago when he was just giving up his gig as a mailman in Maywood, IL and releasing that unforgettable first CD. He and Steve Goodman always had a mutual admiration society...Steve admired John's songwriting genius, and John admire Steve's overall musicianship. They made a great team. John's great gift is writing songs that are deceptively simple, but they really stand the test of time, so it was great to hear them in the hands of some of NY's finest. And considering how packed Banjo Jim's was with fans, it would be cool if they did it again - or, as the owner suggested, maybe do a Steve Goodman night next.
Thanks to Tony Leone for pulling it together and to Rich Rothenberg for hipping me to it (and the complete song list).

Of Memphis, Soulsville & Cabbies

I’m really looking forward to the Whole Wide World this Friday night. I always do. But this time, it’s different. I’m hosting! After Rita’s great Motown show, I thought the southern capital of soul needed equal time. So here’s what we’re gonna do: 3 solid hours of the sounds of Stax, for the 50th birthday of this legendary record label.

The idea for this show started a few months back, over a long weekend in Memphis. My wife Nancy had a conference at the Peabody Hotel, and I tagged along. I’d been to Memphis once, in the late 90s. It’s my favorite address in American music, the crossroads of blues, country, gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, rock and roll.

The Peabody’s a classic old hotel, right downtown, couple of blocks above Beale. Lansky’s tailor shop is in the lobby, “Clothier to the King.” The walls are filled with signed guitars from all kinds of country and rock legends. While I was browsing pork pie hats, the salesman said we’d just missed Johnny Rotten on a shopping spree.

Last time, I did see a few landmarks. Graceland (well, just the car museum), Sun Studios (Sam Phillips happened to be there), and the National Civil Rights Museum. That’s a very moving experience, on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was shot. Moving and creepy.

Ten years ago, downtown Memphis was a hard luck story. Over the decades, they’ve tried to bring people back and turn the city’s deep music heritage into a tourist attraction. The results have been mixed.

There’s a new minor league ballpark, NBA team, a big honking mall has been welded onto the Peabody’s backside, and a crop of new museums. Beale Street’s become a kind of music history theme park. The original BB King’s is there, plus Isaac Hayes’s club, Gibson Guitar Factory and Lounge, and a load of small clubs and restaurants. Then there’s the gorgeous old Orpheum Theater. If you want to celebrate Stax’s 50th on location, Booker T., Isaac Hayes, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Mabel John, Rance Allen and a load of other Stax vets are playing there on June 22. Closer to home, Booker T. and the MG's are playing the River to River Festival in NYC on June 13

Beale has a lot of bustle, but step a couple blocks off W.C. Handy’s famous street and downtown Memphis is still pretty darned desperate. Empty ladies wear and shoe stores with forlorn signs in the windows “celebrating our 75th year in 2006,” an abandoned Hungarian restaurant. Walking deserted streets in business hours, past bombed-out office building shells, I say to Nancy that downtown Memphis looks like Dresden after the bombing. The next day, the Commercial Appeal writes that a city council member has gotten in hot water for saying the same.

Some storefronts are familiar, even if you’ve never been. Places like The Rendezvous (as in “At least we can get us a decent meal, down at…”), or the shell of radio station WDIA, where BB King and Rufus Thomas got their start as deejays. Signs of impending gentrification are mixed in—office conversions to condos, the exclusive new eatery with the pricey prix-fixe and a trendy variation on red velvet cake.

We planned to do a few things together. I wanted to take Nancy to the civil rights museum and Sun Studios, and we had to do Graceland. But I also had some time to myself, and I wanted to get to Soulsville.

I couldn’t have gone there in 1998 if I’d wanted to. The Stax studios were a rubble-filled lot, one of the saddest thoughts in music history. After the label went bankrupt in the mid 70s, the studios became a church, and then were torn down, in spite of community protests. All that was left was one of those cast iron historical markers by the curb.

In the nearly 10 years since I’d been here, people had raised money and created a replica of the old building. This concerned me a bit; more evidence of Memphis as theme park. But I’d heard good things about Soulsville (not to be confused with the Memphis Rock N’ Soul Museum, part of the Smithsonian), so Stax was at the top of my list.

The next morning, I put on my walking shoes, packed a bottle of water, and headed for the concierge to ask for directions. How far? Could I walk? The concierge (also the hotel’s Duckmaster) (don't ask, unless you have kids or a pathological love of the Cute) paused, and looked me up and down. It was a few miles, he said, and he should call me a car. I agreed, and violated my own first rule of taxi travel in any city. Know the fare. But it’s Memphis; how much can three miles cost?

A little while later, a late model Explorer pulled up out front. My driver, Faye, would have made a very convincing R&B singer from the early 70s. Great style (black to match the Explorer), talkative, lots of southern warmth. Faye picked up a couple of passengers at a nearby hotel, and we headed for the interstate. We got to talking about Soulsville, and I mentioned that I thought I could walk there. She told me the concierge probably didn’t want me walking there on my own. “I grew up there, and that’s the hood, baby. Memphis is better these days, but we still have a lot of murders down there." O-kay.

Faye pointed out the house where Aretha was born, and wheeled around a couple of corners to pull up in front of 926 McLemore Avenue. Overall, the street looked pretty tired. Empty lots, a rundown market across the street (I remember this as the "Wu Tang Superette"). Soulsville was definitely off the tourist trail.

There it was—that iconic marquee. Sure enough, this was no lot full of bricks, but an exact replica of the old theater that Jim Stewart and his sister/partner Estelle Axton bought in the 50s. (After Estelle refinanced her house to pay for it, they rejiggered the movie house into studios. Estelle took over the candy stand for the Satellite Record Shop, after the label’s original name. Satellite became Stax, STewart + AXton = Stax in 1959.)

Faye asked if I wanted her to pick me up in a couple hours. I said sure, and pulled out my wallet. 42 bucks. Huh? Plus tip. (It was $26 for two from the airport to the Peabody.) I got in the door, thought the better of it, and called Faye to cancel. Thanks, I’ll grab a bus.

The teenager who was taking admission charged me $8.50 with an AAA membership. I would have paid 42 bucks for this. That cab fare sting was starting to wear off, and the museum began grabbing my attention. It wouldn’t let go for three hours, and I could have stayed a week.

It started with the usual museum history video. But from there on, it was like going to church. Literally. After the video, you step into a 100 year-old Mississippi country chapel they’ve jammed whole into the museum. Photos, videos and sound take you into that church and trace the roots of soul in the black churches and Jubilee gospel quartets. I couldn’t stop watching a video loop of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, electric guitar rockin’ the congregation on 50s black and white TV.

This was just the start. Outside the doors, McLemore Ave might have looked pretty desperate. But inside Soulsville there was a party going on (at least during museum hours), and all the ghosts of Memphis’s high times were dancing.

The collection is rich, full of soul artifacts. Room after room of tributes to Stax greats-- Otis, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Booker T, the Bar-Kays. Stage outfits from Mavis and Otis. Isaac Hayes’s Cadillac on a turntable, forever spinning like some immense LP. Saxes and trumpets from the Mar-Keys and Memphis Horns. It’s just mind blowing to think about how much music came out of this building. Or a building that looked like it. Does it matter? It’s fun, but also melancholy, to stand inside the rebuilt Studio A in front of Steve Cropper’s fender amp and Booker T’s Hammond, listening to control room talk and outtakes.

Soulsville U.S.A. mixes this single label focus and a general history of Soul. There are exhibits on Motown and Muscle Shoals, but I only had so much time, and after all, when in Memphis... If all this doesn’t convince you of Stax’s importance, the record room will finish the job. Every Stax 45, every album, arranged in release order. A bit of an obsessive-compulsive nightmare. But also a reminder of how wide the Stax catalog was in the 60s and 70s-- Big Star and Billy Eckstine, Richard Pryor and Black Oak Arkansas.

The icing on this slice of red velvet cake was a temporary photo exhibit by the late jazz bassist Milt Hinton. Hinton always had a camera with him, and that they gave him access to relaxed shots of the unbelievable people he played with over the decades. Classic, exquisite shots of Diz and Bird, Miles, Cab Calloway, Coleman Hawkins, Sinatra. Billie Holiday in all the sadness of her last sessions. Musicians on the road, enduring Jim Crow laws at restaurants, water fountains, motels.

I browsed the gift shop, where Estelle Axton’s old Satellite Record Shop used to sit. The young woman at the front desk called me a cab. I waited under the marquee, watching life on McLemore Ave, thinking of all the music history that passed through those doors. School let out next door at the shiny new Stax Academy, a music charter school. Quite a while later, a rickety City Wide cab pulled up. This time, the driver took local streets through the neighborhood south of downtown. As we passed Danny Thomas Boulevard, I thought out loud about how I didn’t associate him with Memphis. The driver was incredulous. “Danny Thomas? Father of Marlo?? Why sir, of course he’s associated with Memphis. He endowed St. Jude’s children’s hospital.” Sooo-rrry. It’s just that I don’t think of Danny Thomas and Memphis. More like Rufus Thomas. He still wasn’t having it.

(The next morning, on our drive out of town to see the porcelain monkeys, we got luckier with another City Wide driver. The car was in worse shape, but our driver (about my age) enjoyed talking the finer points of Stax and Memphis music. David grew up near McLemore in the 60s and 70s. He and his friends would see Isaac Hayes driving that gold-trimmed Eldorado around the neighborhood, and Hayes would invite the neighborhood kids into his studio. We got to talking about Johnnie Taylor and his 70s disco period. “But don’t forget,” David said, “that he was a fine singer. After all, remember who took Sam Cooke’s place in the Soul Stirrers when he moved on.”)

The fare back to the Peabody-- 8 bucks. Over the next two days, Nancy and I kept chancing on Faye downtown, as she was picking up fares. “Hi, Chuck. How are you, baby?”

“Who was THAT?”

--Chuck Singleton

My Dinner with Phil

I've thought of Phil Roy as a friend since he became an 'FUV fave back in 2000. But I didn't realize that he's not just a world-class songwriter, he's a gourmet chef...until my sister sent me an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer about his "I'm Not Leaving the House Tour." He's created this evening where a bunch of folks come to his place for dinner, followed by a private concert. What a concept!

The last time he was at the station to be on my Sunday Breakfast show, I told him I'd love to come to one, perhaps with my siblings, who all live in the Philadelphia area. He said, what a great idea, let's work out a date - which is how a host of family and friends descended on Phil's apartment in Center City for "Plattfest with Phil."

The evening began on the deck off his second floor kitchen, with a beautiful skyline view. While Phil's beloved dog Travis kept an eye out for dropped morsels, we gobbled up house-cured salmon on crostini, fresh pearl mozzarella with cilantro aioli on crostini, guacamole with chips, and papaya and brie quesadilla with pica de gallo, washed down by beer and wine. Not bad for starters! If I were a restaurant critic, I was already awarding him 4 stars. But since I could see chicken and shrimp barbecuing, I knew I'd better pace myself.

A few raindrops started falling, and within a few minutes the skies opened up. Fortunately, Phil had set up a circle of chairs and sofas in his living room. He told us we were being treated to the last such affair at his place, since in the future he'll only do them at The Restaurant School in Philly, which is less of a strain on him and his tiny kitchen.

Out came grilled shrimp with garlic and oregano, ginger-soy marinaded chicken, espresso-rubbed flank steak, asparagus in olive oil and lemon, butter leaf, arugula and fennel salad with papaya seed vinagarette, and coconut jasmine rice with toasted sesame seeds. Bon appetit! Phil said that he'd always been interested in cooking and could have just as easily pursued that as a career as music.

After a short break, Phil sat down with his guitar and a small amp and treated us to an hour-long performance, drawing on songs from "Grouchfriendly," "Issues + Options," and the upcoming "The Great Longing," finally due later this year from Universal Music. (Fans can purchase advance copies through his website, www.philroy.com.) Phil's always worn his heart on his sleeve, and hearing him in such an intimate space was truly special.

Talking about Sir Paul

i came across this on Mocean Worker's site and it cracked me up, especially on this Pepper-versary:--Rita Houston/WFUV



Paul McCartney
Posted on May 31, 2007 - 4:03pm

So,

I was just in my local Starbucks buying a grande tazo chai shamma lamma ding dong latte and I noticed a poster for the "STARBUCKS RECORDS RECORDING ARTIST RELEASE" of Paul McCartney's latest opus.

and..........

I was struck with a thought that mde me laugh on the spot.

PAUL.........you are starting to look like a woman from my old neighborhood where I grew up......and her name was Bettie Rosenbloom........seriously........Paul.......Sir Paul.........we gotta do something about how you think you should be photographed and or quaffed or whatever the term is.

Man.......you are cracking me up......I looked at the poster and seriously gasped......YOU LOOK LIKE BETTIE MAN!!!!!!

Im sure the tunes are rockin and the musicianship is high and all that....but I have to say.....you are starting to make me laugh with the suit jacket and turned up collar look. Please do something else man.

Now I know at the end of the day you are a genius and a Lord and Knight of the Round table and you were in that group that completely turned music on its ears..........all well and good.....Im shit compared to you and I admit it.........but the glaring difference between us ..............is.

I DONT LOOK LIKE BETTIE ROSENBLOOM and YOU DO MY MAN!!!!!

So "Roll over Beethoven and tell "CHA"I-kovsky the news" ( See what i did there? )

YOU LOOK LIKE MY AUNT NOW!!!!!!!!

hhahahahaa

be well,

MOWO!™