BFrank

Saw Altschul's Axiom 5 group (John Irabagon, Uri Caine, Mark Helias) at Big Ears this year. An excellent set!

Do you have the "Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions" on Dagger Records? It's literally the rehearsal tracks leading up to the Fillmore shows. They're very loose and the guys are obviously having a lot of fun. But the sound is good and there's some good material.

Happy belated! Photo from Montreux Jazz 1978

That Band of Gypsys "Songs for Groovy Children" Fillmore box set is astounding. Parts of those 4 shows have been released at least 3 times already. But can't you really experience (no pun intended) the sense of adventure and creativity that Jimi and the band laid down until you hear the entire 2 nights.

Oar On, Penelope! by The Minus 5 Linda Pitmon - drums Kurt Bloch - lead guitar Scott McCaughey - vocals, guitar, piano, Farfisa, bass Debbi Peterson - vocals Peter Buck - bass, 12-string

I've always been a huge Jimi fan and have bought most of the major releases, collections and re-releases and many of the minor ones too. But I'm on the fence about this one. It's obviously one of his iconic albums, but I just don't think I need another collection of studio outtakes, false starts, and alternate versions. I would think that anything worthwhile or unusual from the vault has been released already. Look forward to hearing your reviews when it's released.

I only attended one night (Friday) of this festival, but it was very enjoyable. And if it continues, very promising for the future. It took place in the Roscoe Village neighborhood north of downtown Chicago. Pretty accessible by public transportation, too. You can see the lineup in the link above. Much smaller at this stage than Big Ears: evening shows only, small venues, very walkable between venues, and MUCH cheaper (a single night pass was about $100). The crowds were pretty enthusiastic, too. At the Beat Kitchen (a small rock club): 1) Chicago Underground Duo w/Rob Mazurek, Chad Taylor. A high powered set with Taylor's relentless tribal beats supporting various outbursts on trumpet, electronics and wordless vocals by Mazurek. 2) Jeff Parker Expansion Trio w/Ben Lumsdaine (drums) and Jeremiah Chiu (electronics). Another high energy set with some explosive excursions among the trio, but Parker was definitely in charge of this show. I've never seen him as a leader before - very impressive. At Constellation (a larger performance space a few blocks away): 3) Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis Sextet (Patricia Brennan, Nick Dunston, Tomas Fujiwara, Adam O'Farrill, Jacob Garchik, trombone). A typical Halvorson show - interesting and well rehearsed compositions, with professional performances by everyone involved. I've seen this group at least once, and Mary countless times. She somehow seems to be everywhere, all the time. I've seen her more than any other musician in the past several years - either with her own groups or in other collaborations. So, something to keep an eye out for next year. Always a pleasure to hang out in Chicago, anyway.

Oh, that's too bad. I know you're a big fan, Aggg! My first impression of the lineup is actually a little bit disappointing. So many of the acts are returning regulars - not that there's anything wrong with them - but I always hope to see great music that I've never heard or seen before. Most of the acts in the top section of the lineup are returnees who have recently played at BE. It's like the "Best of Big Ears". Zorn is frequently interesting and dynamic, but this is the third time in 4 years that there's been a mini-festival of his work. Again, I haven't begun to research the acts and I'm confident that there will be many GREAT shows. Not interested in the headliner shows (Byrne, Plant, Anderson, Metheny, etc), which will probably require an additional paid ticket anyway. BTW, my friends and I stay at the Embassy Suites, which is probably sold out by now. An added perk to that hotel is that you run into lots of musicians who stay there. Can't WAIT!

Pretty entertaining covers album

Each of the 4 shows in this set include a version of Machine Gun. All amazing, and all different from each other. This is an essential box.

I'll listen to just about anything with Tyshawn. I've seen him quite a few times, too.

Not unlike wondering what Jimi would have done. SO much speculation, but we'll never know.

Good choice! Saw them at Big Ears this year. VERY intense! Now playing ...

YIKES! Those, and the heat, and the haboobs and ... WOW!

Is that because of the heat in your region? 😆

The Plimsouls "Everywhere At Once"

Got mine today. Very excited to see 2 photos and one track (Doktor Pitt) from April 12, 1981 at the Great American Music Hall in SF. I was there👍

Those guys have a good show. The problem for me is that they’re very vinyl-focused and I don’t buy vinyl any more.

Sound & Gravity Festival Interesting festival coming up next month. Very much in the Big Ears mold - small venues, multiple nights, etc. It's their first go-around so it's relatively small and MUCH cheaper, but many of the "usual suspects" you might see in Knoxville will be performing. I'm going to go to one night since I had planned to be in Chicago anyway.

Haven't dug into the music yet. Looks like some good live recordings of this band. Also lots of alt takes and demos (maybe too many, but that's OK)