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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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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Words by: Kayceman | Images by: Susan J. Weiand

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

It’s amazing how little has changed in six years. In 2004, I was in Europe with Stockholm Syndrome (read about it here). I was documenting the band’s first tour, carrying amps and selling t-shirts. While it was a great time to be around the band, watching them learn the material and wrestle their way into a hierarchy of sorts, it was not a cool time to be an American overseas. When Obama took office it became a little easier to wear your American pride outside our borders, but inside the confines of our 50 states, it’s still a shit-storm. We may have voted for change, but not much has changed.

Rock & roll is comfort food in times like these, and this band dishes it out in plentiful portions. Whether magnifying our demons on songs like “American Fork” and “Empire One” or helping us forget the pain for a minute with “Bouncing Very Well” or an uber-funky, Clav-heavy “Couldn’t Get It Right” (that sounded like it might drop into “Superstition” at one point), the power of a great song or inspired jam can medicate.

Few of us have known leaner times than today and there are few artists alive who channel struggle, pain and frustration as well as Jerry Joseph. Regardless of what configuration we find him in (Jackmormons, solo, Denmark Veseys, etc.), Jerry always charts a path to open hearts. But, he is never more affective than with Stockholm. Backed by bassist Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), drummer Wally Ingram (David Lindley, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne), keyboardist Danny Louis (Gov’t Mule) and the inimitable Eric McFadden on guitar, there are not many bands that can match the intensity and sheer power of SS.

Jerry Joseph :: 03.05 :: San Francisco

Mixing songs from the band’s 2004 debut, Holy Happy Hour, with new tracks off the soon-to-be-released sophomore album and Jerry’s solo work, Stockholm Syndrome also decimated a few huge covers on their first night in San Francisco. Coming out of a sprawling “Kind Of Place,” a Jerry song with a huge sing-along hook that should have charted on the radio years ago, the band closed set one with the late Vic Chesnutt’s “Flirted With You All My Life.” A song about death by a man who recently took his own life, there is no heavier subject matter, and they paid homage by taking it into very dark terrain. But what was so remarkable about this song was the transition from pitch black despair into something with a slight reggae influence and upbeat conclusion. Together it was a musical reminder that there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if we have to cross over to find it.

The other bust-out cover came mid-way through the second set with Dylan’s “Where Are You Tonight?” Beefed up on testosterone and delivered in classic Jerry style, they latched onto the original’s gospel roots and turned it into a rock burner. Even folks familiar with the song were scratching their heads for the first few minutes. You could almost read their minds: “I know this song… but what is it?”

More than any specific song, what makes this band so fun is watching them lock horns. Each member is a true Alpha Dog and if they don’t take some space, they won’t get any. This is what makes Danny Louis such an asset. The original keyboard player, German star Danny Dziuk, was more passive, Louis is not and he knows when to really lean in. The same could be said for McFadden. A more talented guitarist you will not find, and though he is at times overshadowed by Jerry’s massive stage presence (not to mention his often overlooked guitar work), McFadden is a powder keg ready to explode. His solos are always over-the-top, but it’s when he and Jerry rub against each other, harmonizing their guitars and weaving notes, as they did on “Ray Of Heaven” and “Conscious Contact,” that the sparks really fly.

McFadden & Schools :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

Alas, one would be remiss to not make prominent mention of Dave Schools. Playing a bit more of a traditional bass role than in Widespread Panic, Schools utilizes a four-string here to devastating effect. From heavily dubbed out sections that would set Jerry up for surprisingly strong white-boy reggae (not easy, and Jerry does it better than just about anyone) to expansive bass solos, mean power rock and spot-on vocal harmonies, Schools is the not-so-secret weapon of Stockholm Syndrome.

It can be a dicey situation with Jerry Joseph as the bandleader. He can’t do it any other way. He has to be the frontman, and the more confident and loose he is, the better the performance. But this is not the Jackmormons and every player needs room to shine or they’ll grow bored (or worse, they might get angry). Finding that balance is the key to Stockholm Syndrome’s success, and longevity.

During second set standout “Shinning Path,” I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if this band was the full-time priority for all five members. An older Jerry song about the brutal Communist Party of Peru, the band gave Jerry as much rope as he wanted, and he tied a knot around The Independent, pulling us deep into his world. A slow building, explosive rocker, when Jerry screamed, “You said that you’d die for me,” while McFadden blazed a solo and Schools dumped heavy bass over the top, it was everything rock fans dream about.

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Set I: Red Lightning, Couldn’t Get It Right, These Grey Days, Sing Bird, In Your Cups, Kind Of Place, Flirted With You All My Life

Set II: Ray Of Heaven, Purple Hearts, Shining Path, Where Are You Tonight?, Friendly Fire, Bouncing Very Well, Conscious Contact

E: Wisconsin Death Trip

Continue reading for Dennis Cook’s review of the second night…

Words by: Dennis Cook | Images by: Susan J. Weiand

Stockholm Syndrome/These United States :: 03.06.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

The best rock shows tend to carry a sense of ritual about them. It’s all fine and well for a band to play appealing songs good and loud, but if the instigators have deeper intentions – even if they’re primarily subconscious – then a gig becomes an experience, perhaps first felt in a visceral manner but followed by psychic aftershocks that keep one pondering what occurred. More simply, if musicians build a metaphorical bonfire, bang a drum and wag their talking stick in our faces we respond to the shaman’s call.

While maybe not a full blown pagan revival meeting, Stockholm Syndrome with testifying openers These United States, flirted with this sort of ontological rising tide. For sure, both bands proffer some of the sturdiest, thickest rock out there right now, but both also actively engage in questions of spirit, humanity, politics and ethics. No teenybopper tripe here, and while some of the headier notions got caught in a snarl of guitars, volcanic bass and the sweat ‘n’ heat of the moment, there was no denying we collectively surfed the edge of a deep wave. Sometimes the music held us high, staring out over an ocean, and at others pulled us down into the salt and seaweed to gasp a little.

From their reaction inspiring name through their coiled group energy and increasingly tricked out catalog, These United States long to connect – for good or bad – with any audience they face. Largely unknown to the heavily Panic slanted crowd at The Independent, TUS nevertheless delivered a raggedly right performance that leapt with such joy and happy intensity that I stood dumbfounded at the mostly motionless people around me – dear lord, how can you NOT move to this!?! Watching lead singer/frontman Jesse Elliott leap into the yawning divide between the stage and hangers-back, there was no doubting their dedication to bridging such spaces. From their foundation up, TUS is about connections, all of them – love, hate, envy, history, etc. – just so long as truthful feeling is involved. And their strong playing and cool variety in interpreting their earlier tunes shows the density of shared intentions has grown very strong with this lineup. There’s more than a touch of mid-70s Dylan to them, and their interpretation of Bob’s “Meet Me In The Morning” this night would have put a smile on Dylan’s pancake white face during the Rolling Thunder days. As with every other time I’ve seen TUS, it seemed like they left everything they had in them on the stage. To withhold from one’s calling would be a sin and these boys aren’t sinners in any but the most playful ways.

Dave Schools :: 03.05 :: San Francisco

There are a lot of “what if’s” in rock history. What if Blind Faith hadn’t been undone by ego and friction and managed to make a second or a third album? What if Robbie Robertson hadn’t pirated The Band’s fortunes and instead shared the wealth and creative control with his comrades? There are too many such seemingly brilliant combinations of talents that imploded despite the best hopes of all involved. Which brings us to Stockholm Syndrome, a supergroup of sorts, at least within the cloistered jam community. Jerry Joseph (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Schools (bass, vocals), Wally Ingram (drums), Eric McFadden (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Danny Louis (keyboards) all have their fingers in multiple pies, some high profile (Schools’ enduring role in Widespread Panic, Louis’ anchor role in Gov’t Mule), some cultily adored (Jerry J, McFadden), some relentlessly busy (Ingram’s in-demand studio talents and hired killer status for big name acts as well as collaborator with great lesser-knowns). But, every damn time they assemble as Stockholm Syndrome we I start wishing they’d quit their day jobs and really see what Stockholm can do. It’s usually a few songs into the first set that this feeling hits me, hard, and right on time it whacked my solar plexus as Joseph roared, “I’m a killer, baby, that’s what killers do!” with McFadden prodding his ass like the devil with a new pitchfork and a luxurious, furious undercurrent of Schools, Louis and Ingram creating a rumble you felt in the meat of you.

This is not small-ball rock ‘n’ roll. Stockholm not only aspires to but achieves the dense, intermingled thickness of ’70s progenitors like Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy but with Jerry’s politically and psychologically intense lyrics (which provide the lion’s share of the words thrown out) transforming them into a totally different animal than these classic rock stepping stones. And here’s where that shamanic/cosmic thing comes in. Combined with music that’s not just reaching out but actively snatching one up and slapping them around a bit, the lyrics hold a deep, dark, truthful mirror up. It’s for society in the larger sense, but also for us, personally. Slamming down drinks and numbing the working week’s disappointments, I still couldn’t escape the feeling I’d been psychically depantsed by Joseph refrains like, “It’s good to be alone,” “We see what we want to see,” and other nitty gritty couplets that hit close to home for dreamers and lovers that struggle to do either in the world as it is today.

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

Some sections are strong and uplifting, but even that is hard won in Stockholm’s scheme of things. The work of life, the labor of being better than our past and emerging into the best we can be, floats in their themes and stories, which sometimes offer us “crayons from our childhood/ a 64-pack set” but more often hand us a gun or torch. Personally, I freakin’ love it and welcome any chance to dive deep in this shallow world. It’s clear they won’t be satisfied in the shallows based on the new material played at this show, all of which is promising and worthy of further inspection. It’s hard to get a distinct sense of Stockholm’s catalog or where it’s going because they play together so rarely, but for guys who only gather occasionally they sure exhibit a TON of chemistry that largely overcomes the rough edges. Dressed in jeans and t-shirts, this feels like their “working band,” a project that reconnects them to the roots of their inspirations AND is a total blast to play in. None of these guys is known for oodles of smiles in their other bands, yet they can’t seem to stop grinning in Stockholm Syndrome. That alone is a powerful sign that they should invest whatever time they can in this band. Plying one’s craft with genuine pleasure is the surest way to guarantee positive end results.

The steaming, churning engine inside them was firing on all cylinders by the end of the first set with a blistering takedown of “Crime & Punishment” and especially “American Fork.” Wasting little time with a break – who could deny them a smoke after a set that left one feeling pleasantly wrecked like after good sex – they attacked the second set with enormous vigor, with the highlights, perhaps predictably, being shattering, faith affirming versions of Joseph’s signature tunes “The Jacob Ladder” and “Road To Damascus.” Now, nothing surrounding these two was any slouch, and it’s intriguing how the songs are starting to mingle and morph with this quintet. If nothing else, the relatively intimate Independent allowed one the rare opportunity to perch mere feet over Dave Schools’ shoulder and just let his technically brilliant, he-man-as-hell bass work vibrate your balls and make you feel alive. The man oozes rock power and his presence as much as his playing informs this band in totally positive ways.

Stumbling out onto Divisadero Street, I once again entertained the question that’s followed me from every Stockholm show: What if these guys made this band their priority? My gut says the possibilities are pretty limitless and that they’ve only just scratched the surface. The collective confidence and sheer talent of these five men is staggering and incredibly exciting. I just hope we get to see it come to its full fruition one day.

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.06.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Set I: Tight > Empire One > Easter, Tarantula Hawk, Miranda, Crime & Punishment, American Fork

Set II: Apollo > The Jacob Ladder > Emma’s Pissed, That Which Is Coming, Spy > Road to Damascus, Light Is Like Water
E: Lick The Tears

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Stockholm Syndrome

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