by Brittany Fant, 14-year-old music fan and aspiring reviewer
Showing posts with label Lucero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lucero. Show all posts
Sep 10, 2012
OMG Rant: Modern Country Music
Sep 7, 2012
YouTube Gems: Lucero Live at the Lucero Family Picnic
My buddy Chad got this video of Lucero performing "Downtown" from their current album, Women and Work, when we attended the Lucero Family Picnic a few months ago.
Aug 24, 2012
YouTube Gems: Lucero's First Official Video
14 years in, here is Lucero's first offical video: "Women and Work" from the album of the same name. I coulda shoulda been at this video shoot, but it didn't happen, unfortunately.
Jun 29, 2012
Favorite Albums of 2012: First Half Report
3. Darrell Scott - Long Ride Home
4. Turnpike Troubadours - Goodbye Normal Street
5. Alan Jackson - Thirty Miles West
7. Shooter Jennings - Family Man
8. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - The Lion The Beast The Beat
9. Kellie Pickler - 100 Proof
11. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls
12. Jack White - Blunderbuss
13. Lucero - Women and Work
14. Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur
16. fun. - Some Nights
17. Willie Nelson - Heroes
18. Bonnie Raitt - Slipstream
19. Ray Wylie Hubbard - The Grifter's Hymnal
21. Paul Thorn - What the Hell is Going On?
22. The Shins - Port of Morrow
23. Wrinkle Neck Mules - Apprentice to Ghosts
25. The White Buffalo - Once Upon a Time in the West
May 25, 2012
Lucero Family Picnic: To the Best of My Recollection
I can't give an entirely accurate or journalistic report of my trip to the Lucero Family Picnic this past weekend. I went as a fan, not a blogger, so I didn't bother taking note of every song each band played or how well they played it. Also, some beverages (drank from an Arkansas Razorbacks tumbler because it's a dry county and a long story…) may have come between me and clear memories of the evening. What I can say that it was a lot of fun and an experience I'll never forget.
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First of all, I got to hang out with Shooter Jennings. I don't just mean that I got to meet him for a few minutes or shake his hand after the show. My buddy Chad and I got to spend basically the entire evening with Shooter and his band. To the man, they were all extremely cool and friendly. Shooter was a gracious host, despite FTM's history of general unpleasantness towards him (up until recently). I'm guessing Brantley Gilbert wouldn't be as welcoming.
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| Austin Lucas backed by Glossary |
We talked music for the vast majority of the night. Shooter is very knowledgable about both the past and present of the career he's chosen. I heard some great tales about Jamey Johnson, Hank Jr and Toby Keith. He played me some of the new Fifth on the Floor album he's producing and some rough cuts of the new Hellbound Glory he's working on. Great stuff.
The tour bus was a busy place. Band members came and went, bringing back boiled shrimp and autographed pics with "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart who was announcing some wrestling matches across the park. Somebody brought Shooter a cool "Outlaw Country" cake for his 33rd birthday and then worked on him to get him to do an upcoming show. Alcohol and music flowed. Members of other bands strolled around nearby. It was all very surreal, to be honest. Chad and I both felt like the experience was somewhere between being on a reality show and the movie Almost Famous.
We watched the first act, John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives from backstage. He put on a great show for the small early crowd. His rockabilly meets roots-rock sound should bring him and his band a bigger name in coming years.
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| Hanging out w/Lee Bains III |
Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires were up next. They tore up their short set with their ragged brand of southern rock/punk/soul. I wish there'd been a larger crowd to hear them play tunes like "Dirt Track," "Ain't No Stranger" and "Everything You Took," but this was a late arriving audience. Still, the band played like they were in front of 20,000. I got to meet Lee and a couple of the other members after their show. They were all good guys. Lee came off as a regular guy (with a killer voice) who's thankful to be doing what he loves and eager to get his music out there. You can't help but root for folks like that.
Austin Lucas took the stage after Bains, with Glossary in tow as his backing band. I finally took my lazy self to the front of the stage so I could hear better and wasn't disappointed. Austin sounds great live. His voice is so unique and powerful. There's no doubt about authenticity when you're listening to him. The highlight of his set for me was the charging "Thunder Rail," but it was all excellent. I got to meet Austin and talked with him for quite a while. While the tattoos and on-stage fire might make one think he'd be a forceful, aggressive personality, he was such a laid back dude. We talked music, touring, Brantley Gilbert and Lee Brice (whom he toured with on the Willie Nelson tour last year) and he was more than happy to talk my ear off. I didn't mind it a bit. Such a cool, nice guy… I'd love to hang out with him any time.
I caught 90% of Glossary's show from the front of the stage next. They were bad ass. I've heard that you have to hear Glossary live to truly appreciate them, and it's true. They were intense. I talked to a few people who'd come to the picnic just to see them. They played tunes like "Little Caney" and "Save Your Money for the Weekend" and generally just blew me away. Happily, the picnic grounds had filled up with people a good deal by now.
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| Photo by Jamie Darling |
Shooter Jennings came on next and played for an hour and a half. It was a great performance, with his Brooklyn-ite band sounding every bit like they were born and raised in the town where they stood. Shooter and the boys played old favorites like "Fourth of July" and "Some Rowdy Women" along with some Waylon covers and tunes from Family Man. He also played 2 new songs from his Fall '12 album The Other Side that sounded as good or better than anything on Family Man. If I hadn't already been converted to a Shooter fan, this show probably would have done the job.
Farce the Music's unofficial house band, Lucero, finished the night with a blazing 2 hour+ set that had the entire crowd singing along. There's really no point in saying how good they were; I've never seen them play a bad show, or even heard of it …and this felt like a particularly passionate performance. Their current album Women & Work along with the album Tennessee got the most action, but they played a little something from their entire catalogue. Even if we'd only driven through the boonies of Arkansas just to see them, it would have been worth it.
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| Lucero rocks the Lucero Family Picnic |
After the final note played, we hung out a while longer with the bands. I met Joey Kneiser of Glossary, but I think I unnerved him a bit for some reason - I can be a bit socially awkward at times so that's probably it. Also met John C. and Roy of Lucero and they were both very cool, and very drunk. Glossary pulled out their mascot fake skeleton for some jokes and pictures. I believe Shooter shared a passionate kiss with it (don't tell Drea!). Shortly later, I met Lucero lead singer Ben Nichols. I'm a man-fan and probably acted as such, but he took it in stride and was funny and friendly.
All in all, the Lucero Family Picnic was a winning experience. Saw some great bands, heard some awesome tunes, met some really good folks. I couldn't have asked for a better time. A special thanks goes out to Shooter Jennings for welcoming us with open arms and being such a cool guy to hang out with!
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| That's not very nice, Shooter. |
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| Glossary |
May 18, 2012
YouTube Gems: Lucero Family Picnic
This weekend, I'm ridiculously excited to be attending the Lucero Family Picnic in Batesville, AR featuring Lucero, Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires, Shooter Jennings, Austin Lucas, Glossary, John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives and Guy Venable. Here are some select videos from the artists.
May 13, 2012
Mar 13, 2012
Out Today: Shooter Jennings and Lucero
Mar 8, 2012
Album Review: Lucero - Women and Work
I can't give a Lucero album the review it deserves, so I won't even try. Since I'm too much of a fanboy to be unbiased, I'll just write what I think and let the words fall as follows.
If you didn't like the direction the band went on its previous release, 1372 Overton Park, you probably won't like that they have continued that progression. Horns still reign aplenty, though I didn't notice them as much this time; they've been integrated into the fabric of Lucero's sound. Soul music is still a strong influence on the band… the Memphis sound and whatnot. Springsteen is still in the mix, though less so this time around.
Personally, I don't think Lucero is getting away from its signature sound - no, they're settling into their rightful place.. or at least where they are in the world at this point. This is Lucero, the rock n' roll band. Not the punk band with a country flavor, not the country band with a punk flavor, not the Americana band… the rock band.
The themes haven't changed, though they may be a bit more focused now. Women, whiskey, broken hearts, hanging out downtown - Lucero never strays far from their source material. Write what you know.
The highlights here are the bar-room rocking title cut, the rollicking, piano-intro'ed "Like Lightning" and the gospel-heavy closer, "Go Easy." "When I was Young" is another great cut, heavy on nostalgia and longing.
The lowlights are… well, there aren't any so dim as to take away from the album as a whole. I wasn't big on "Juniper" at first but it's grown on me. If I had to axe one, that'd be it, I guess. I do wish there was a bit more energy present on Women and Work at times, but Lucero haven't in any way settled into the Drive-by Trucker's "sad bastard" songs rut.
Happily, the whole album is a grower. My favorite records of all time are nearly all growers. I wasn't sure how to feel about Women and Work at first, and maybe still don't, but I know that I like it more every time I play it - and I'm over a dozen spins in.
If you've tried to get into Lucero before and haven't been able to get past some indefinable stumbling-block, this may be the best album for learning to love 'em. It's their most accessible work yet. Still no hits on the way, but Ben "sings" (as opposed to his usual full-on, cigarette-throated rasp) a lot more on this disc… that's probably the most jarring thing to me, but it works.
I'm happy to say that FTM's unofficial house band (and my favorite band) is still yet to release a bad album. If I've gotta give Women and Work a rating, I'd say 8/10.
Mar 7, 2012
Favorite Songs of 2012 So Far
Some of these haven't been released just yet, but Lucero, Delta Spirit and Shooter Jennings all come out next Tuesday. Paul Thorn's new album of cover songs, What the Hell is Goin' On?, is due for release May 8th.
These are in no particular order of preference, though my early fave is "Dance in the Darkness."
Click to read...
These are in no particular order of preference, though my early fave is "Dance in the Darkness."
Mar 3, 2012
YouTube Gems: Ben Nichols
From their awesome album coming out a week from Tuesday, Women and Work, here's lead singer Ben Nichols with a great version of the title cut.
May 5, 2011
Beale Street Music Festival: A Look Back
I enjoyed a full three days of music this past Friday through Sunday at Tom Lee Park on the banks of Old Man River. We started the weekend with nice temperatures and blue skies, an almost unheard of combination for the Beale Street Music Festival, whose name has become synonymous with rain, mud and rain. Still, the mighty Mississippi was swollen and forecast to spill over its banks within days so our watery backdrop was immense and threatening.
FRIDAY
CAGE THE ELEPHANT
The first show we went to was Cage the Elephant. They were loud, obnoxious, young and pretty ragged, sound-wise. Of course, that fits their punkish persona and it worked well. The lead singer told us he was spaced out on pain pills due to a tooth extraction a couple days previous, but it didn't show. He was nuts, all over the stage and screaming his lungs out. We listened to about 8 songs, including "In One Ear," "Around My Head" and "Aberdeen" before departing to catch the end of Everclear's set the next stage down.
B
EVERCLEAR
I'll never claim to be a huge fan of Art Alexakis and company, but I did enjoy several of their songs from the late 90's and early 00's. I can't say Everclear sounded especially enthused Friday night, but the band was tight and Art's voice sounded good. It was a greatest hits set-list, thankfully leaving out some of their dreadful cover songs. Curiously, their sound was a lot lower than other bands we heard and the mix was kind of flat. Still, they did a solid job with favorites like "Wonderful," "Everything to Everyone" and "Santa Monica," which Art said had bought him a couple of houses and a couple of divorces.
C
SLIGHTLY STOOPID
We took a beer break after Everclear, not caring to journey back down to see MGMT or B.o.B. and far from enthused by Slightly Stoopid. However, Stone Temple Pilots, the night's headliner was after the aforementioned stoner band, so we eventually pushed our way through beardy hippies and smoke-clouds to get a good spot for STP. While obviously a musically talented band, as evidenced by a couple of rocking songs, including a spot-on cover of Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings," Slightly Stoopid stuck to the Sublime-meets-jam band sound that they've obviously built their career on. I'm sure for tokers and diehards, the band is great, but I didn't care for their set at all.
D-
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
I'm an unabashed fan of STP. They weren't exactly on my "must see bands" list, but still, I don't see them as the faux-grunge garbage band as many rock snobs do. I didn't know what to expect from the recently re-formed group, given Scott Weiland's sketchy history on and off-stage. I'm happy to say they rocked Tom Lee Park. Sprinkling three songs from their newest self-titled album in with a ton of hits like "Plush" and "Interstate Love Song," STP was tight as they could be and sounded great. Scott Weiland was pleasantly weird, dancing around like tribesman by a fire and interjecting odd statements and prayers at a moment's notice. And despite a couple of audience members trying to bait him into a meltdown, he maintained his composure and vocals throughout. I'd have to count them among the best live hard-rock bands I've seen.
A
SATURDAY
True to the rep of the Beale Street Music Festival, the rain came Saturday. Not much, but it continued a streak.
PAUL THORN
This was my first highly anticipated artist of the festival and Paul did not disappoint. He was funny, humble, soulful and a helluva entertainer. Peppering in self-deprecating jokes and homespun wisdom, Paul had the crowd engaged for the full set. Besides being a great singer and songwriter, he came across as a genuinely down-to-earth guy with an almost innocent appreciation for the attention he was being given and the artists he was sharing the stage with. His set included my favorite of his, "Love Scar," along with others like "A Lot of Good Reasons" and "I Have a Good Day." He and his band tore the place down with the rollicking closer "Mission Temple Fireworks Stand," leaving everybody wanting more than an hour and a half festival show could give us.
A
JERRY LEE LEWIS
Do I really need to write anything else besides his name? The man's a freaking legend. While frail of body, a bit weak of voice and fairly rambling between tunes, The Killer put on an awesome show, proving there's still plenty of fire in the tank. He did all the favorites, a few classic covers and, of course, he ended with "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin'." He even summoned up the strength to do his trademark "playing while standing up" towards the end. Wonderful and unforgettable.
A
MUMFORD AND SONS
The band sounded great, performing nearly their entire debut album along with 2 or 3 new songs from the album they're about to record. They were tight as hell and very engaging with the crowd. Their performance is not so much the story here as their audience. It was by far the biggest crowd of the entire event, massive even. A friend of mine who'd seen Dave Matthews Band at Beale a few years ago said it was far larger than DMB's audience. Also, the crowd seemed to know every word and reacted to the songs like The Beatles themselves were on stage. I had no idea they were so popular. In a day and age of segmented tastes and fan-bases, this was the one act that seemed to bring everyone together. We'll see how that holds up in the fickle wind of pop culture.
B+
LUCINDA WILLIAMS
Lucinda was in great voice and her band was tight. Her song selection, however, mirrored my general impression of her most recent work… it was tepid for the most part. She did "Joy," "Can't Let Go" and "Buttercup," among others, which I enjoyed. The rest was fairly bland; certainly not providing much excitement. I wasn't thrilled with the set.
C-
JOHN MELLENCAMP
John sounded awesome and his band was even better. They were thoroughly impressive. The theme of his set seemed to be flipping songs on their heads. The songs from his recent stripped-down album were played with bombast and vigor by the full band, bringing life to tunes that to me were just okay on record. The hits were played either stripped down or with completely new arrangements. It was very cool. The crowd ate it up, and John was funny and conversational. A side-note: I saw the well-known liberal and environmentalist the next day climbing into a massive black SUV to leave his 5-star hotel :).
A-
SUNDAY
The rain came in sheets Sunday, and the river was up another foot or so, now lapping at the sidewalks just beyond the side retaining walls of the park. Despite the weather and the impending flooding, the festival thankfully went on mostly as scheduled.
LUCERO
Farce the Music's house band started without the benefit of a soundcheck due to a tornado warning earlier. I and my listening party had hunkered down in a trolley stop, but we made it safely, but muddily to the concert on time. Ben Nichols admitted the sound was a "clusterf*ck" but it really wasn't bad at all. They were as solid as ever despite the lack of preparation and the weather-diminished crowd. They ran through what Ben termed as "our greatest hits…. or at least uh, local favorites" including "My Tears Don't Matter Much" and "Sixes and Sevens." They also threw in one new tune that will be on their next record called "Women and Work." It was even more in the Memphis R&B direction than most of the songs on their last release. Good stuff. Horn section and everything. Lucero NEVER disappoints.
A
GREGG ALLMAN
Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of Gregg nor the Allman Brothers, but this was a nice show. He performed solo tunes and legendary favorites alike, including "Just Another Rider," "Whipping Post" and an especially moving rendition of "Melissa."
B
Some girls started mud-sliding during the end of Allman's show. It was very entertaining and some people even started a tip cup for them.
THE AVETT BROTHERS
Another huge crowd for another hot band. The Avetts were loose, loud and awesome. The longest soundcheck I've ever endured yielded the best sounding set of the weekend. Seriously, I'm a fan, but The Avetts blew me away. They were energetic and lively and the crowd ate it up. Selections included "Shame," "Will You Return?," the Prine cover "Spanish Pipedream" and the lovely closer "I and Love and You." If you like bluegrass or newgrass or indie-folk, you owe it to yourself to catch the bros. Killer, killer show! (Another side-note: During the set, the crowd gasped as a river boat rolled by virtually right beside us - see photo.)
A+
WILCO
I'm assuredly on the Farrar side of the Jay or Jeff argument. However, Wilco this Sunday night made me stand up and realize the utter talent of the more commercially successful splinter of Uncle Tupelo. They were amazing. Forgive me for not knowing the guitarist's name, but he was stunningly good. I've seen some 80 live acts in my life and I'd count him as the best guitar player I've ever seen live (ahead of the likes of Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Kirk Hammett). Wilco, despite a nearly 7 month break from playing live, confidently crushed a set that included "Shot in the Arm," "Monday," "Jesus, etc." and probably the best tune I've ever seen played live, "Impossible Germany." I'm not a big fan of the band's recent releases, but I'm now a huge fan of Wilco. Tweedy was great, in excellent voice and in harmony with the crowd. His best between-song line of the night was regarding the scent of barbecue and sausage wafting through the air, "We may become the anti-Morrisey after this. We won't play a show unless we smell burning meat." All hail Wilco.
A+
Jeff Tweedy and crew
Feb 27, 2011
Country Doppelgangers 11: Alt-Country Day
Ryan Moore Adams has the whole Harry Potter thing going on.
Roger Clyne of Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers strongly resembles Encino Man era Pauly Shore.
Neko Case reminds me of actress Debra Messing.
I have a feeling Justin Townes Earle will look a lot like actor Harry Dean Stanton in about 40-50 years.
Ben Nichols, lead singer of FTM favorite Lucero, and Sabretooth aka Liev Schrieber.
Sorry, Lucinda...
May 30, 2010
My trip to Little Rock
I'm still too tired from the weekend's festivities to do much of a wrap-up or review, but I had a great time at Little Rock, Arkansas' Riverfest. I made a little fun of the state to my northwest along the way, but the city of Little Rock is a really nice place, clean and aesthetically pleasing. The festival was also set up and run very well. I'd recommend it to anyone.
I was only able to attend Saturday's performances but wow. Lucero more than held their own alongside the legendary Black Crowes who followed. This little band that could sounded fantastic and had the crowd under their spell for the hour to hour and a half set. The Black Crowes were just awesome. I'm so glad I finally got to see them, especially since there's word that they plan to take a long hiatus after their next tour.
A band with a quite Google search unfriendly moniker, The See, was the first band we saw. I'd never heard of them, but I'd like to hear a lot more from them. They were somewhere in the realm of Replacements, older Kings of Leon... uh, I dunno... just punky alternative bar rock or something, but they would have made a great opener for Lucero. Instead, that honor went to aspiring country singer, Kid Rock lite Uncle Kracker (pictured below).
While I was prepared to unleash all sorts of hatred upon his performance, it was actually fairly entertaining. No, he can't sing that well. Yes, he's Kid Rock lite. Yes, half his hits are cover song. But he was better than I expected. His segue into country music is at its apex, as he opened with a Hank Jr. cover, did his Kenny duet (sans Chesney of course) and mixed in Kenny Rogers and the inescapable "All Summer Long" by his buddy Kid R.
Lucero (pictured below) was next and blew us all away. The band rocked through old favorites like "Tonight Ain't Gonna Be Good" while mixing in plenty of tracks from their latest record. They had a horn section that was a great addition after some sound difficulties got worked out. It was really cool to hear some of their older songs with the new horn flourishes. Lucero finished their set with a killer take on their "All Sewn Up," with Luther Dickinson of the Crowes and the North Mississippi Allstars coming on to lend some help with guitars. Ben threw in a little advertisement for his parents' local (Nichols is a Little Rock native) furniture store, much to the crowd's amusement.
The Black Crowes closed out our night, playing what was obviously their "festival setlist" of all their major hits with a few non-hit favorites and one song from their latest album "Before the Frost..." They played long versions of "Been a Long Time," "Wiser Time," "Thorn in My Pride" (the highlight of my night) and others, showing off the musical chops of one of the most underrated bands of the last 20 years. While there was almost no stage banter from lead singer Chris Robinson, he nonetheless connected and interacted with the crowd with his movement, gestures and soulful singing. He was magnetic.
All in all, Riverfest was a great experience and except for a little Waffle House excursion, I had a fun and safe time. I got to hang out with local (local to me, not Little Rock) sports talk host, lightning rod Kevin Broughton and his lady-friend for most of the evening and they were very cool to watch the show with.
An aside, I saw this 18 wheeler as we were headed back to Memphis this morning. Yes, Kix was driving. Poor guy.
Oct 6, 2009
Lucero: Goodbye Again
FTM's favorite band, Lucero, unleashed their major label debut 1372 Overton Park Tuesday. For the uninitiated, Lucero is an emotionally charged Memphis rock band with a country twang and a punk aesthetic (whatever that means) and you should definitely check them out. ninebullets.net has a great review of the new album here and here's the video for the ballad "Goodbye Again." Tomorrow night/Thursday's blog post is a 13+ entry themed album cover day so make sure to make a return visit.
Lucero "Goodbye Again" from Lucero on Vimeo.
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