Hampton Phish – 2009 Hampton, VA Phish Video and Audio Clips

Words by: Justin Gillett | Images by: Eric Lawson

John Butler Trio :: 02.20.10 :: Great American Music Hall :: San Francisco, CA

Last year John Butler started a new chapter in his storied career with the induction of two new musicians into his Trio. The new lineup signaled a change for Butler, who had been playing with his longtime bandmates bassist Shannon Birchall and drummer Michael Barker since 2003. While changing the dynamics of the band must have been a decision that required a lot of thought on behalf of Butler, the move almost seems like it was necessary to keep the vitality of the Trio alive. The new guns Butler brought aboard, Byron Luiters (bass) and Nicky Bomba (drums), have given the Trio a much needed shot of energy. The different skills Luiters and Bomba bring with them has helped brighten the band’s overall sound and remind people why, years ago, they fell in love with John Butler Trio in the first place.

Considering this was the Australian act’s first North American tour to feature Luiters and Bomba, when they touched down at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall all three musicians seemed intent on proving themselves individually as well as validating the strength of the band’s current incarnation.

It took a few songs for the band to truly lock in, but once they found the sweet spot the Trio was playing as tight as any previous incarnation of the band. Butler wailed on his assortment of guitars – using distorted effects to add an extra push to his acoustic solos – while Bomba kept impressive time on the drum kit. Opting to keep more of a focus on toms rather than cymbals, Bomba’s playing had a distinct tribal quality and further contributed to the Trio’s alternative roots rock sound.

John Butler Trio :: 02.20.10 :: San Francisco, CA

While it was refreshing to see Luiters start off the set with an upright bass (a mainstay of the Trio’s old sound), he quickly changed to an electric four-string Fender Precision. Because the Trio’s erstwhile bass player predominantly used an upright, the changing of instruments caught some people off guard who were not expecting piercing, metallic sounding electric bass tones. But Luiters’ delicate touch and fondness for playing in a song’s pocket worked well with the Trio’s heady sound and furthered the band’s new approach.

Though it was easy it get lost in some of the band’s Afro rhythm melees, focus couldn’t be shifted from Butler and his impressive manipulation of the various instruments he played. While he was positioned stage right, Butler’s commanding demeanor and musical dexterity held the audience rapt as he shifted between six-string acoustic, banjo, 11-string acoustic (which is really just a 12-string model with the high G string removed), six-string electric and lap steel guitar. The way Butler changed guitar tones with his myriad of effects pedals further complimented his range and innovation as an instrumentalist. His intricate, ever changing sound was a testament to Butler’s development since bursting on the scene back in the mid-90s.

As the show concluded it was apparent that Butler is now venturing into unknown territory with his new band and is in the process of truly embarking on a new musical path. He’s come a long ways from busking on the streets in Western Australia, yet somehow Butler’s enduring qualities remain intact. John Butler proved with this San Francisco show that he doesn’t need to turn his back on his roots to grow and evolve as a musician.

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John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio

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Baaba Maal

Legendary Senegalese singer and star of the world stage Baaba Maal will head out on a coast to coast U.S. tour this spring, marking his first stateside dates in four years. The master musician will also make his debut on the Bonnaroo stage this June, bringing his signature blend of electronic dance elements and timeless West African musical tradition to this year’s festival. These upcoming shows will be the first opportunity for Baaba’s adoring American fans to hear tracks live from his new album Television (Palm Pictures), released last year to critical acclaim. Joining Baaba onstage are Aliou Diouf on drums, Massamba Diop on talking drum, Mbara Cisse on bass, Ibrahima Cissokho on electric guitar, Hilaire Felicien Chaby Hary on keys, Cire Sall on hoddu and Mouhamadou Lamine Sarr on percussion. The U.S. leg begins April 8 in Wisconsin and wraps May 7 at the Lake Eden Festival in North Carolina.

Television is a collaboration primarily between Baaba Maal and singer Sabina Sciubba and keyboardist Didi Gutman, both members of New York’s Brazilian Girls. The result is a stunningly beautiful and diverse record that meshes two genres, generally unfamiliar to each other, to produce an eclectic and romantic sound. The enigmatically named title-track refers to a relatively recent phenomenon in Africa – ubiquitous TV screens. “The television set is like a stranger you didn’t ask for coming into your living-room,” explains Baaba. “You don’t care about who he is: he just seems to come from nowhere and gives you information.”

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Words by: Josh Klemons | Images by: Gretchen Murphy

Dawes/Cory Chisel :: 02.23.10 :: Iota Club & Cafe :: Arlington, VA

This was a night of button-down shirts, tight pants and big shoes. This was a night of Telecaster electric guitars, rolling bass lines and rocking drums. This was a night of great vocals and solid songwriting. This was a packed house at the Iota, where Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons played a set followed shortly thereafter by headliner Dawes.

Cory Chisel took the stage looking a bit like James Franco and a lot like an indie rocking singer-songwriter. It was quickly apparent that his small stature and unassuming nature belied his powerful voice and immense songwriting abilities. His drummer played lines that were one part Americana and one part the Killers. His bassist sat on top of his amp, looking like an excited kid in a playground. In the front, Chisel was wedged between his keyboard playing female harmony vocalist and his lead guitar player, the latter wearing a Russian styled black fur cap, large rimmed glasses and a black sport coat.

They opened the set with “See It My Way” and they never looked back. Although most in the crowd professed, when prodded, to having never seen the band before, everyone was excited, creeping towards the stage in the tiny club within the first notes of the set. Early in the show, Chisel broke a string on his guitar. He clearly was not prepared for this and had to ask if anyone had a guitar that he could borrow. Fortunately someone did. While this mystery guitar made its way forward, Chisel apologized, saying, “I didn’t expect to acoustic rock this hard.” While he was tuning his new guitar, he got his first request of the night, from a girl right up front, and with a smile, he graciously acquiesced. He played a beautiful love song, “Home in the Woods,” full of imagery of the forests of his Midwestern youth, real or imagined.

Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons :: 02.23 :: Arlington, VA

For the next track, the band did not exit the stage, but the rhythm section relaxed and Chisel played a stunning track called “It Won’t Be Long,” in which he sings, “I’ll take you with me wherever I go/ Singing your sweet songs I know so well/ Halfway to heaven, still halfway to hell/ I’m going home to you now, home to you now/ Oh it won’t be long.” Adriel Harris sang desultory harmonies while his lead guitarist picked notes to match the melody. Then his bassist, still sitting atop his amp with his legs swinging to his own beat, took a surprisingly soulful harmonica solo. This was one of those songs that reminded you that sometimes a little can go a long way.

Later in the set, Chisel told a story about getting drunk and singing along to Bob Dylan songs, substituting his own lyrics for whatever words he could not remember. Apparently when he is drunk, that is about all of them. Harris had the foresight to write down one of these drunken substitution rants, and the world is a better place for it. The song was no drunken parody, no mere tribulation; this was pure, inspired folk rock gold. Despite the fact that only occasionally throughout the solo piece did he attempt – always successfully – to emulate Dylan (he actually sounded more like Colin Hay), he played a song that could have come straight off of a best hits album of the legendary songwriter. The refrain was, “I never meant to love you, but it’s too late now,” and it was heartbreaking while also being surprisingly fresh and funny. I guess the world can always use more freestyling, drunken Dylan impersonators.

Headliner Dawes took the stage and showed us what happened to ’70s garage rock. It got itself educated, learned how to play, and hit the road running. These guys are a force. Guitarist Taylor Goldsmith is a firecracker. When Chisel was finishing up his set, he made a comment about not knowing how Goldsmith still had a voice after weeks on the road. It took about one refrain from their opener to understand what he was talking about. Goldsmith holds nothing back. Ever. He sings with his whole self, he plays guitar like it matters, and boy can he dance. Picture something along the lines of Yosemite Sam with ants in his pants at a rodeo competing for the last beer of the night. If you can do that you’re somewhere in the vicinity. He jumps and stamps his feet and rolls around. He takes a sip of water from a bottle, and then rather than putting it down somewhere, he throws it. Not violently, simply because there is too much going on to worry about where it lands. He rocks when he sings; he shakes when he solos. The guy is a dynamo. And he is fiercely talented.

And so is his band, made up of younger brother Griffin Goldsmith, Wylie Gelber and Alex Casnoff on drums, bass and keys, respectively. Everyone but Gelber sings and they do killer harmonies. If it is immediately clear that Taylor grew up listening to Neil Young, it is equally clear that these guys schooled themselves on the ways of Crosby, Stills, Nash AND Young.

Dawes :: 02.23 :: Arlington, VA

Others songs played, both new and old, included “If I Wanted Someone,” “Love Is All I Am,” “Time Spent in Los Angeles” and the hauntingly beautiful “So Well,” the tale of a women who could save the different male protagonists in the story, but only for a short while.

At times Taylor sounded like Jeff Tweedy, at others Robert Earl Keene. At one point, he took on the Warren Haynes southern rocker persona and did it well. On the last track of the set, he suddenly yelled, “Sing it!” and the audience jumped right in on “When My Time Comes,” a song that is part rocker and part Irish drinking song. The audience knew the words and they gave Taylor’s voice a rest, if only for a moment. Then the set was over and the band walked to the side of the room, as there was no backstage.

They came back up, with plenty of prompting from the capacity Tuesday night crowd that was still ready to dance, and opened the two-song encore with a cover of Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money.” During the song, people started throwing rolled up dollar bills at the band and telling them to take it off. It was late and the crowd was still in on the fun of the night. Dawes clearly did not expect such a turnout on a Tuesday and they were vocally and visibly excited to see so many friendly faces so far from home. The final track, “Peace in the Valley,” began with just the brothers playing guitar/vocals and sparse drums. Then the band came in and closed out the song, and the night, with gusto.

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