Super Tuesday

Mark Copeland came up with the title 'Super Tuesday' for Tuesday, Sept. 12, which is shaping up as THE day this year in terms of major new releases hitting stores. It's an embarassment of riches, with new music by Los Lobos, Barenaked Ladies, Shawn Colvin, John Mayer, Madeleine Peyroux, R.E.M., Brazilian Girls, plus many, many others.

Get ready to max out your AmEx...

Lots of shows have been announcced as well, including Dylan, Yo La Tengo, Randy Newman, Madeleine Peyroux, Paul Simon, and maybe, just maybe, a show (yet to be announced as of this moment) by Van Morrison!

Tom & Bob report

Took this past Monday off to recover from two major shows I saw last weekend: Tom Waits at the Detroit Opera House and Bob Dylan at Fifth Third Ballpark just outside of Grand Rapids.
Waits last played in Michigan a whopping 19 years ago - that '87 show was in A2 at Power Center, and it was astonishingly brilliant - so obviously I had high expectations when he hit the stage at the Opera House last Friday. Unfortunately, the show was more than a little disappointing. For starters, Waits had Duke Robillard on guitar, a fine blues player but way too conventional and unexciting for my tastes. The song selection was too weighted toward his recent albums, which meant we heard one dull, plodding song after another. Many songs seemed underrehearsed, which struck me as odd. You'd think 19 years was enough time for Tom and his band to run through everything a bit in advance of this show. He even started 'Get Behind The Mule' over because the audience's applause threw off his timing - first time I've seen an artist not able to deal with a crowd clapping along to a song - strange.
I'm happy to say that any disappointment about Waits was immediately forgotten after I saw Bob Dylan and his band put on another thrilling show last Saturday at Fifth Third Ballpark.
Opening acts included terrific sets by guitarists Jimmie Vaughan and Junior Brown, with Dylan playing a set that lasted around 100 minutes. No tunes from his about-to-be-released album Modern Times, just classic after classic (It's Alright Ma, Mr. Tambourine Man, Just Like a Woman, etc., etc.). Some of the Dylan's band were fairly new to the group when I last saw them in April of '05 at Detroit's Masonic Temple Theatre, but this ensemble has gelled into something pretty special.

Catching up

Whew, time to catch up after a crazy-busy coupla weeks. 1st and foremost, thanks to all of the fantastic 107one listeners who pledged $7,740 during last week's Ann Arbor Film Festival fundraiser - this amount exceeded all expectations, and we are thrilled at the support given to the Festival by our listeners!

On the sadder side of things, I had just arrived at the station last Friday (Aug. 4) when I read the news online that Arthur Lee of the crucial 60s rock band Love had died. Love's 3rd album, "Forever Changes," is far and away its best, appearing on many critics' lists as being one of the greatest rock albums ever released. If you haven't heard "Forever Changes," rush out and get a copy - you will be stunned and amazed. I feel so fortunate to have seen and met Arthur Lee a few years ago at the Magic Stick in Detroit when he was on a triumphant comeback tour. His death is a huge loss to music.