Video jams, upcoming concert: Dandelion Snow / "The Grand Scheme Of Things" and White Wives / "Hungry Ghost"

Artist: Dandelion Snow
Song: "The Grand Scheme Of Things"
Album: The Grand Scheme Of Things
Label: Big Bullet Records
Released: June 1, 2010

Dandelion Snow is the stage name of singer/songwriter Roger Harvey, who has laid claim to NYC, Portland and Pittbsburgh as home towns. I somehow stumbled on his blog/website a couple months ago, and then saw that he was on the bill for a local show I was definitely attending and got pretty excited. I'd been jamming this track periodically since finding it. The guitar twang and throbbing organ and buried banjo lines and rollicking drums . . . it's fucking perfect for tapping your finger on the steering wheel as you coast down an empty highway. And that's what I'm thinking about as I listen to it, tapping my toe on the floor as if I were pushing down on the gas pedal and staring at the white walls of my bedroom like it's a window to the flat, corn-filled skyscapes of Kansas. Wistful and wishful thinking, I know, but anything that can remind me of the greatness that is On The Road earns a place in my mind and heart. The lyrics do wonders to help this comparison, too, discussing a cross-the-country-and-back-again road trip slash musical tour full of truck stop sleeping, violent rednecks, record shopping, the fuzz, drinking, gambling, awesome times, etc. And the video has some old-timey, grainy footage of driving and a little boy who's running around looking for his place in . . . well, the grand scheme of things.



[I thoroughly enjoyed his live set at the Lava Lounge last week, too. Stay tuned for a show review; live video here: part 1 part 2]

Dandelion Snow's website mentions another band he is now a part of, and I've done some internet searching and figured out that White Wives is a punk band featuring Roger Harvey (DS), Chris Barker and Chris Head (from fucking Anti-Flag!), Andy T. (bassist of The Code), and Tyler Kweder (drummer of American Armada). The band has been on a November tour with The Lawrence Arms, and they will be playing in Pittsburgh on December 28 at Garfield Artworks. The lineup looks to be heavy on the in-your-face punk, which is quite different from Dandelion Snow, but I'm looking forward to seeing what that's like. See ya there. Here's a live White Wives song called "Hungry Ghost":

///WHITE.WIVES\\\ HUNGRY GHOSTS. INITIAL HAPPENING. Sept. 3rd 2010 from White Wives on Vimeo.

Dandelion Snow
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Album reviews of The Grand Scheme Of Things: 1 2

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Concert review: Big Hurry / The Slow Reel / Lauren Zettler

Thursday, October 28, 2010 at Lava Lounge

I'd only seen one show at the Lava Lounge prior to this one and, interestingly enough, that was also a Big Hurry show (back in August 2009: Big Hurry, Landline, Nik Westman & the Central Plains). I recall thinking, at the time of that first show, that I was in the bowels of a volcano and had trouble seeing the musicians. Since then, I've been back to the Lava Lounge and its bowely volcano-ness many times (spelling bee on Monday nights, w00t!) and based on that reconaissance, I was sure to snag a front row spot for the musicians this time around; that way, I could see and hear everyone really well. I'm glad I did; there were three sets of music from three bands/musicians with markedly different styles and it was super cool to see them up close.

First up was Lauren Zettler. I'd actually heard/seen her name before somehow via the whole Allison Weiss / Bess Rogers / Lelia Broussard / Jenny Owen Youngs / etc. female singer-songwriter circuit that I've kinda fallen into lately, much to my own (and others', I suppose) surprise, but they've all been pleasantly surprisingly enjoyable for me. I hadn't heard or seen LZ before, but roughly knew what to expect based on her association with the above group, and I was quite pleased with the result. Her voice is incredible, I have to say, and the guitar stylings were a nice deviation from the usual "girl with an acoustic guitar belting out tunes about love" kinda deal, especially since she had another electric guitarist along with her, and he was really good. Lauren would sing her heart out and play the main chords on her acoustic guitar, and the other guy would fill in some great solos and such with his electric guitar. It was really solid and tight and lovely and endearing and everything else wonderful. I do look forward to hearing her songs again, somehow. (Download a live set of hers in L.A. here.) Here's a video of her playing "Out Of My Mind" live in NYC in September 2010:



Second up was The Slow Reel, a.k.a. "the Pittsburgh band formerly known as Small Cities". I think I'd seen their old name tossed around the blogosphere, but didn't really know their music. Based on this one set, I think it's safe to say they play in a kind of 70s Southern-roots rock revival style reminiscent of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tom Petty (especially since they played the intro to "In The Air" during their sound check, and I found them playing the full cover version during a set on the WYEP Third Thursday's podcast; download that entire set here and subscribe to the podcast while you're at it). The lead singer was the male bassist, interestingly enough, and there were two female backup vocalists, one of whom played keyboards (but she looked completely bored the whole time, as Jim pointed out, which was kinda weird). Then there was a lead guitarist and a drummer, making for five band members crowded onto the main volcano platform. I enjoyed their songs, all originals (I believe, save for the sound check), and they fit into a nice genre niche that doesn't seem to be addressed by other Pgh bands. The singer did some funny- and fancy-looking toe-tapping dance moves along with the songs, and he said the word "pants" over and over to do the sound check. Funny. And he had a sweet beard. Here's a video of them playing at Howlers earlier this year:



Third up was Big Hurry. I've seen them a handful of times now, and I'm always impressed. Every set is pretty tight and controlled, never too sloppy (not to say they don't have fun onstage; I think I saw a missed intro or something at this show and the guitarist was laughing it off with the others), and their songs are just so damn good. Dani's drumming is incredible, Andy's guitar solos are beauteous, and with Lenny's bass lines they form a perfect backdrop for Kelly's voice. They played a couple of new numbers at this show, so I'm definitely looking forward to a new release from them in the near future. Here's a video of one of those new songs from the show. Audio quality isn't great, sorry:



Lauren Zettler
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The Slow Reel
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Big Hurry
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Concert review / upcoming show: Big Snow Big Thaw

Sunday, October 24, 2010 at a cozy house in East Liberty



Okay, this is partly a joke and partly serious :-) Big Snow Big Thaw is actually my buddy Jim (from Draw Us Lines) and his friend Dave, who I've met a few times now. I forget which one is Snow and which one is Thaw, so they'll have to set you straight on that. This wasn't quite a "concert" in the sense of the shows that I usually attend; this was an informal gathering of friends and acquaintances on a beautiful Sunday morning in the fine autumn time for some pancakes and coffee and a serenade of songs from the two aforementioned gentlemen. I have to say I wasn't entirely thrilled at the prospect of bussing to East Liberty at 10:00 a.m. after a late Saturday night, but in the end, I'm really glad I did. This place was at the end of the street in a quiet neighborhood with a fenced in yard so the extremely energetic puppy dog could run around freely. There were a dozen or so folks there, in all, with a few faces I recognized and some new people to meet. We were served vegan banana pancakes and maple syrup from an old rum bottle, plus a spread of delicious fruit, and a plate of bacon for the meat-eaters. Oh yeah, there was a big jug of coffee, too, thankfully. Neil Young's Harvest was playing on the stereo and I could hear the leaves rustling in the wind outside through the porch screen door. It was the perfect setting for some folk music.

After milling about for a while and chatting with folks, we settled into our chairs for an intimate performance from Jim and Dave. Jim plays banjo and Dave plays acoustic guitar and they both sing, and they do all of it well. With no other accompaniment or effects, they really filled the living room of this place with lovely sounds and heartfelt tunes. The first song they played was a cover (forget who, sorry) and then they played a bunch of originals that one or the other or both had written, plus one other cover song (a sweet version of local band Boca Chica's song "Lake Erie"). The banjo/guitar combo works really well for them and they have good vocal harmonies, with Jim hitting more of the high notes and David staying in the lower range. They had soft, melodic songs and quiet moments mostly, but they could really bust out a rockin' riff if they had to, and they did that a few times; in fact, this was the first time I'd seen an audience member tell a musician that his folk song was "badass". All in all, it was a really good time. I don't want to spoil the surprise too much because their first show is coming up rather soon: Thursday, November 18th, 2010 @ the Lava Lounge on the South Side. They're playing with other locals Dandelion Snow and the Justin Andrew Band. Lava Lounge is a fairly intimate venue with a small stage, so I think it will suit them all well. See yinz there!