2012 - Not Off To The Best Start

I was hoping to hear some great music this year but so far after 1/4 of the year passing I am less than knocked out.  I know things will pick up but there hasn't been too much to fire me up thus far, the exception being Wrecking Ball which keeps on getting better.  Two releases in particular have been a disappointment, one from a group that I really like and one that has been hyped to hell and back.

I have to admit that I have not seen the Alabama Shakes live which is supposed to be something special.  The hype made it sound like they are right up my alley music wise but so far...I got nuthin'.  The songs come off as half baked and not ready for prime time.  I've tried a few times but I just can't get into it.  So much for this year's next big thing.

The new Lucero is more of a problem for me as I really like these guys.  It's not that the new record is bad...far from it.  The issue is that it is not great and I want it to be.  This is like a slicker version of 1372 Overton Park (which I really liked) but with too little grit.  Will the songs come to life live, probably (I'll find out next week) but after a bunch of listens I find myself not exactly seeking this one out to put on the turntable.

Maybe my thoughts will change...that happens all the time, but so far I am less than thrilled with either of these releases.

I have some thoughts on Dr. John and Joe Pug coming up some time in the near future. Things are beginning to look up.

New Lucero

Here's a free download from the new Lucero album "Women and Work" which is out March 13th on ATO records.  This is one band that keeps getting better and better (in my opinion).  I like these guys so much I am going to the Webster Hall show on 4/20...I hate Webster Hall.  Hell, I hated it when it was the Ritz.




New Song - Sometimes


Springsteen in the boonies behind the stage was $120 bucks.  Lucero is $25.  Doesn't seem right.

New Lucero Song...

...or perhaps a new Ben Nichols solo album is coming out??? Either way this is a winner.



Here's Hello Sadness and Last Pale Light in the West from the same performance.

Social Distortion with Lucero & Frank Turner

I was really looking forward to this show last night at the Roseland Ballroom.  I have never seen Social Distortion before and I am a big Lucero fan so there was high level of anticipation going in.  My son's favorite band is Lucero (go figure a 16 year old kid on LI loves Lucero) and he also really likes Frank Turner.  These past couple of years have been great going to shows with him, the excitement level is definitely up when he goes.

First up was Frank Turner who hails from Winchester in the UK.  I liked the two albums I had heard (Love Ire & Song and Poetry of the Deed) but I have to say that live he was even better.  Loads of energy, great songs and a band that really kicks.  A short but great set where you can hear his influences from Billy Bragg to the Clash.  Frank Turner wants to rock, we should.  The crowd up front was really into it and more people began to congregate as the set went on.

Lucero was up next.  I love this band, but was disappointed when I saw them earlier this year. I think the whiskey sometimes gets in way.  Last night was a shorter set (about 45') but let me tell you Lucero was really, really good last night.  We got a couple of horns to augment and they tore through the set with a fire that was missing at Williamsburg.  Kiss the Bottle, Sixes and Sevens, Bikeriders and about 7 others made for a short but very tight set.  You had to see the look on my kids face...priceless. 

Social Distortion are truly legendary in the punk world.  In fact they are one of the few bands (Rancid is another) that really carries the torch from the old days.  Hell, they are pretty much the old guard now.  Mike Ness and crew sounded great.  I mean fucking huge.  That might be the problem for me.  They were so tight that it felt a bit...off.  And a bit dull.  I am probably in the minority, and it didn't suck by any means, but it only left me a bit bored.  Ball and Chain was great, Mommies Little Monster, some of the new songs were really good.  Everything was good, just not great.  Bands like this need a shorter set as the genre lends itself to repetitiveness which can wear on you a bit.  At least it does me.  Lucero at 45' was tight and focused.  Lucero at 2 hours was sloppy.  Here it was a case of too tight and too slick.  An hour set full of rage works better than a longer set.  At least for me.  Don't get me wrong, it was far from bad, just not as good as I'd hoped.

Thanks to Larry Dell'erba for the pictures.

Gaslight Anthem Cover Lucero

Gaslight Anthem covering Lucero's The War recently.



As a little bonus here's avideo of Brian Fallon doing American Slang acoustic on Sirius Radio...


I don't know if there is gonna be a backlash that often comes with success, but to me this band is just what music needs. A great rock band playing songs you want to hear over and over. And remember I ain't no kid...

I don't think I've spent a summer playing a record over and over again since Born in the USA came out in 1984. I don't know who's looking forward to the Radio City show more, me or my 16 year old son.

Lucero - Music Hall of Williamsburg

Maybe I am getting old. I really like Lucero and Ben Nichol's solo work...on record. It was just too sloppy last night. Too much alcohol, both for Ben and the crowd. Especially the crowd. Seemed like everyone else was having a great time but for me it was just alright. I think in the future I will stick to the records with these guys. But maybe it is just me, getting old and cranky. Maybe.

Lucero - Do You Gamble

Here's the new video from their stellar album 1372 Overton Park.

Do You Gamble from Lucero on Vimeo.

And one more for the hell of it.

Can't Feel A Thing from Lucero on Vimeo.

Ben Nichols - Solo & Acoustic

I absolutely fucking love Lucero. Just a great, great band. Ben Nichol's solo album was also a stunner last year. Check out some videos.

Lucero - 1372 Overton Park

Oh shit yeah! Rock & Roll is back in 2009. The new Lucero hits October 9th and while this is their major label bow, the music still the same glorious rock & roll that you have come to know and love. It you don't know it and love it get out there now and get some! Replacements meat Uncle Tupelo meet Springsteen. Whatever. This is just a great rock & roll band. This one has some Memphis horns for ya too. Rock album of the year kids. Here's a blurb from Amazon.

Lucero's sixth studio album and major label debut, 1372 Overton Park, is produced by Ted Hutt (The Gaslight Anthem) and featuring horn arrangements by legendary Memphis session player Jim Spake (Al Green, John Hiatt, Solomon Burke, Cat Power), the record marks a decided turn toward the Memphis soul sound that has long informed the band's records from afar. 1372 Overton Park follows the band's 2006 release, Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, hailed by Pitchfork as "the best showcase for the band's taut dynamic yet." The new album's name comes from the address of the Memphis loft in which all four band members lived, practiced and even recorded portions of their 2003 release That Much Further West (the history of the space itself is even more colorful-- in the `70s, 1372 Overton Park was a karate dojo where local resident Elvis Presley, among others, took lessons). Over recent years band members have gradually moved out leaving lead singer and guitarist Ben Nichols the sole resident of the space until word finally came down that the building would be sold and demolished. Almost as if marking the end of an era not only for the building but for the band as well, this record turns the page and signals a strong move toward the Memphis soul sound that has long served as an influence for the group. Nichols explains, "When [saxophonist] Jim Spake put that first horn track down, we began thinking of the record as having a certain sound. We heard pieces of Memphis history being played over our songs and it floored us and we just went with it." While 1372 Overton Park serves as a love letter to Memphis and its musical heritage, the band has far from abandoned the country/rock/punk influences that they've become known for over their previous five records and countless tour dates in front of rabid fans. "I think the fact that we don't claim a genre is very important to what Lucero is," according to Nichols. "There are too many rules in punk rock. Too many rules in country music. We're hard headed and...god damn if we don't do things the way we want to do them." Playing between 150-200 live shows a year, Lucero has come to be known as much for their hard-touring work ethic as for their critically acclaimed records. In addition to his work with the band, lead singer Ben Nichols also released a solo record in early 2009 and co-stars in MTV's $5 Cover, a series about the Memphis music scene.