Festivals

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Wounded Messenger’s Top 13 Albums and Shows of 2013

Again it’s time to take stock of the year in music as it relates to my life. The leeway afforded by cutesy use of the year for the number of entries – 13 this year – is really coming in handy, as there were a lot of good albums and shows this year. Here we go, in alphabetical order by artist.

TOP 13 ALBUMS OF 2013
Elvis Costello and The Roots – Wise Up Ghost
Foals – Holy Fire
Jason Isbell – Southeastern
Jim James – Regions of Light and Sound
Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze
Lorde – Pure Heroine
Paul McCartney – NEW
Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt
Superchunk – I Hate Music
Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin
Volcano Choir – Repave
White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade
William Tyler – Impossible Truth

TOP 13 SHOWS OF 2013
The Breeders – September 7, Hopscotch Music Festival, Raleigh, NC
Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola – April 5, Billsborough Music Hall, Hillsborough, NC
David Byrne and St. Vincent – June 15, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
Father John Misty – June 13, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
Foals – June 14, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
Jason Isbell – July 2, Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, NC
Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration – June 20, Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC
Mike Dillon Band – March 18, Pour House Music Hall, Raleigh, NC
Paul McCartney – June 14, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
Pearl Jam – October 30, TWC Arena, Charlotte, NC
Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers with Edie Brickell – September 28, IBMA Festival, Raleigh, NC
Tame Impala – June 15, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
Umphrey’s McGee – January 23, Ziggy’s, Winston-Salem, NC

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Recent Music Reviews and Upcoming Warren Haynes Christmas Jam Coverage

Here’s a look at my most recent articles and photos for Glide Magazine:

Show Review: Mike Doughty Plays Soul Coughing at Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC, 11/21/13

Festival Review: IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass, Raleigh, NC, September 2013

Album Review: Mike Doughty – Circles Super Bon Bon….

The 25th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam is coming up, and as always you can look to my twitter feed (@woundedtweeter) and possibly even the Glide Magazine Twitter as well (@glidemag) for up-to-the-minute updates on all the madness in Asheville. Happy trails! Enjoy a few photos from the aforementioned shows below.

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Catherine Popper of Mike Doughty Band

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Mike Doughty

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All Star Jam

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The Infamous Stringdusters

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Steve Martin

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Del McCoury Band

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Sam Bush

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Punch Brothers

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Del McCoury

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Greensky Bluegrass

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Bonnaroo 2013 Photos and Reviews, and more

It’s been almost three months since I have posted here, because I’ve been super busy. Here’s a look at the stuff I’ve produced since then…

Glide Magazine has undergone a wonderful makeover, and you can see all of my Bonnaroo 2013 coverage there. Check out the Photo Gallery and reviews of each day featuring artists like Foals, Matt and Kim, Paul McCartney, Wu-Tang Clan, Father John Misty, David Byrne and St. Vincent, Hip Hop Superjam, Weird Al Yankovic, Bjork, Tom Petty, Tame Impala, and more : Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

I also reviewed and took some photos of the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration featuring Warren Haynes in Raleigh a few weeks ago – see them, along with a video, here.

Looking forward, there will be a beer post soon, and more music reviews and photos at Glide. Here’s a teaser from the Bonnaroo album!

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Wounded Messenger’s Top 12 Albums and Concerts of 2012

If I replace a top “ten” albums or concerts of the year list with a number corresponding to the year, by 2030 I won’t even have to decide anymore.

It’s dangerous and a bit cheesy, just like most popular music. But I will give in to the urge to not have to chop two more albums off this list and roll with my top 12 albums of 2012, in alphabetical order.

Ben Folds Five – The Sound of the Life of the Mind
Choir of Young Believers – Rhine Gold
Diiv – Oshin
Father John Misty – Fear Fun
Hiss Golden Messenger – Poor Moon
Maps and Atlases – Beware and Be Grateful
Matthew E. White – Big Inner
The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
Patterson Hood – Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance
Punch Brothers – Who’s Feeling Young Now?
Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
Tame Impala – Lonerism

What’s that you say? Serve myself? OK, here are 5 honorable mentions, AKA albums 13 through 17….

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
Jason Lytle – Dept. of Dissappearance
Jimmy Herring Band – Subject to Change Without Notice
Titus Andronicus – Local Business
Woods – Bend Beyond

If you follow the Twitter, you know I saw a ton of shows in 2012. Here are my 12 favorites, in alphabetical order.

The Grandmothers of Invention – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
The Hold Steady – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
Journey/Pat Benetar/Loverboy – Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
Matthew E. White – Fletcher Opera Theater, Raleigh, NC
Puscifer – Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN
Roger Waters – PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
Rodrigo y Gabriela – Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN
Superjam – Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN
Toon & The Real Laww – Pour House Music Hall, Raleigh, NC
Warren Haynes Presents The Christmas Jam – Asheville, NC
White Denim/Maps and Atlases/Tiny Victories – The Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, NC
Victor Wooten Band/Jimmy Herring Band – Carolina Theater, Durham, NC

Look for live tweets from the 24th Warren Haynes Christmas Jam this weekend, and a review too. Happy Holidays!

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Hopscotch Music Festival Review, Patterson Hood Album Review

There are a couple of new items up at Glide Magazine. Firstly, my review of the Hopscotch Music Festival, which continues to amaze year after year. Then there’s my review of Patterson Hood’s latest, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance. There is so much good stuff on the horizon – The Hold Steady, Jimmy Herring and Victor Wooten, Liquid Soul (in Chicago!), and THE WHO. Stay tuned, and thank you…

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Jimmy Herring Album Review, Perpetual Groove Show Review, and Hopscotch

If you’ve been following the Twitter feed you know that I’m currently embroiled in the Hopscotch Music Festival. Look for a review and lots of photos in a few days.

In the meantime, I wanted to post a couple of my things that went up at Glide Magazine recently: a review of Jimmy Herring’s insanely awesome new album Subject To Change Without Notice, and a review of Perpetual Groove’s August 16, 2012 show at The Lincoln Theater. See below for a few photos from that show!

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Bonnaroo 2012 Photos – Phish, D’Angelo, The Roots, Bon Iver, and more

I left the country after Bonnaroo, so I just got around to posting these. Enjoy!

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Update, Jerry Joseph Album Review, and Bonnaroo Plans

Que pasa?

I’ve moved into working more than full time this year, so the blog has suffered accordingly. You can actually suss out the last 3 years of my life by going back to the start of this page: there’s the post-employment barrage of music news and reviews, followed by the infusion of articles for Glide Magazine, the start of my concert photography dalliances, and the sudden emphasis on craft beer. Now once again gainfully employed, my writing time has significantly diminished. But I’ll still be doing reviews for Glide and going to Bonnaroo every year, and that’s what brings me out of the woodwork today.

My latest album review, for Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons’ wonderful Happy Book, is now up at Glide. On that same front, I’ll be covering Bonnaroo for them again and tweeting like mad at WoundedTweeter, as usual.

From now on, my blog posts will be given increased visibility via Best Thinking. If you’re a blogger or writer looking for new assignments or a new outlet for your thoughts, check them out.

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Wounded Messenger’s Top 11 Albums and Shows of 2011

It’s the most wonderful list-making time of the year, a time when personal playlists and downloads for the last 12 months are analyzed and rated by any number of entities.  That’s what these “best of the year” lists really are – a chance for a particular magazine, website, or blogger to take inventory of the year and make their collective tastes known. You won’t mind if I cheese out and use the year 2011 as an excuse to name 11 albums this year.  I also decided to add a list for concerts this year, since I saw so many great ones.  The lists are in alphabetical order by band.

The Wounded Messenger’s Top 11 Albums of 2011

The Antlers – Burst Apart
Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Hayes Carll – KMAG YOYO and Other American Stories
Dawes – Nothing is Wrong
The Flashbulb – Love as a Dark Hallway
Morning Teleportation – Expanding Anyway
The New Mastersounds – Breaks from the Border
The Roots – Undun
Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What
Wye Oak – Civilian
Yuck – Yuck

The Wounded Messenger’s Top 11 Shows of 2011:

The Budos Band – Hopscotch Festival, The Pour House, Raleigh, NC, Sept. 10, 2011
The Devil Makes Three – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC, July 24, 2011
The Foreign Exchange – Hopscotch Festival, Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, NC, Sept. 9, 2011
Gov’t Mule – Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, Asheville, NC, Dec. 10, 2011
The Hold Steady – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC, August 31, 2011
Phil Lesh and Friends – Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, Asheville, NC, Dec. 10, 2011
Phish – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Charlotte, NC, June 17, 2011
Robert Plant & Band of Joy – Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN, June 12, 2011
Paul Simon – DAR Hall, Washington, DC, May 25, 2011
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC, Nov. 6, 2011
Widespread Panic with Horns and Hornsby – Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN, June 12, 2011