Solid State

When you were a kid, did your parents ever force you to go to bed in the summer before it was actually dark out? Though I'm sure it must have happened more frequently, I have one such memory that has always stood out clearly. My family was living in Machiasport, Maine, and my brother and I were sent to bed while the sun still shone upon the southernmost end of the Bay of Fundy. As we lay fuming in our bunk beds, we could hear the sounds of children playing outside below our second story window. In our side yard. To an eight year old, that's nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment — I have no idea if we were actually being punished. And if we were, I have no doubt we deserved it.

Anyway, looking back at last night's Steve Earle and Aimee Mann concert at Memorial Auditorium, that's the closest I can come to describing the frustration of being confined to the cockles of Memorial Auditorium, while outside, the Queen City basked in some long overdue late day sun.

It's hard to cast blame in any particular direction — other than maybe God, or Tom Messner (anyone ever see those two in the same place at the same time? Think about it.). Quad organizers, trigger fingers perhaps itchy after the Dan Zanes debacle — that show was initially rained out and then rescheduled for 3 p.m. the following day at MA … sorry, kiddies. — made the decision early to move the party indoors, alerting the press around 9 a.m. yesterday. But given the recent, seemingly unending string of inclement weather and the fact that even a threat of thunderstorms requires them to seek shelter, you can't really fault them. It was the right call, even if it ultimately wasn't. Perhaps if Memorial Auditorium weren't so consumately inadequate as a concert venue, the blow would have been less crippling. (Note to Bob Kiss: doesn't such a highly regarded "arts town" deserve better? Let's implode that fucker.) 

As for the show itself, it was great. I arrived roughly midway through Aimee Mann's set and found myself surprisingly engrossed. I'll admit I've never been a huge fan. But I do appreciate great song craft, and she is an elite talent. There is something innately soothing about her easy presence and casual demeanor that was throroughly captivating. I tend cringe when music crit-types invoke the word "honest" to describe a songwriter. But if I were ever to employ the term, it would be for Aimee Mann. And I think I might have fallen in love during her encore performance of "Red Vine." Simply stunning.

Steve Earle was fascinating, playing a smart mix of originals and tunes from his latest album, "Townes," his heart-felt and tender tribute to his late idol and friend, Townes Van Zandt. He is equally commanding a presence on stage as Mann, though in vastly different way. Earle possesses a sort of scattered, frenetic intensity, both on stage and, as I found out last week, in conversation. He bends the listener to his will. Or sometimes, brutishly clobbers them. One of my favorite moments in a week rapidly filling with them: Earle instructing a loud-mouth near front who insisted on calling out requests during one of the singer's many storytelling interludes to "shut the fuck up." Took the words right out of my mouth.

Earle is master storyteller. Despite preturbed pleas from the gentleman behind me to "shut up and sing," I found the songwriter's tales between tunes singularly entertaining. I even found myself getting a little riled up when he sermonized about his lefter-than-thou politics. Take it to the streets, man.

After close to three hours of standing on a concrete floor, gimpy ankle howling, I left just before the show ended. Though I did feel a little guilty for ducking out early, I left thoroughly (OK, mostly … stupid Memorial Auditorium) satisfied. And not to jinx anything, but the forecast is looking good through next week. Maybe I'll finally have a chance to check out that waterfront tent.   

This just in from our pals at the "crown jewel of Montpelier's arts scene," the Langdon Street Café: Longtime booking maven and all-around mover and/or shaker, Ed DuFresne is calling it quits.

In a letter sent to VT press outlets last night, DuFresne somewhat predictably cites the economic difficulties that apparently leave no one unscathed, including quirky capital city coffee houses. He writes:

In these tough economic times, and with high rent to pay, Langdon Street Café has decided that newest co-owner Ben T. Matchstick will take over the talent coordination duties at Langdon Street Café, so that they can trim expenditures and attempt to make the business more viable for their family.  Though their decision is a disappointment to me, I understand their position and their need to do what they think is best for their family and their business.

Certainly, with alt-theater guru Matchstick at the helm, LSC's calendar appears to be in very capable hands. But during his three-plus year tenure at the cafe, DuFresne has left an indelible mark and a sizable pair of shoes to fill. In addition to a consistent menu of top-notch local fare, DuFresne was also responsible for introducing the state to a number of regional and national acts that have since gone on to wider acclaim. Like, for example, The Low Anthem.

With tongue (mostly) planted firmly in cheek, I've taken credit for breaking that band — now the apple of many a discerning indie-folk fan's eye — in my column. Of course, I didn't really break them. I did write about them on a several occasions before most national press outlets got wind of their sheer awesomeness. But that was only a product of fortunate scheduling. And that fortunate scheduling was only a product of DuFresne's willingness to stand behind a band he truly believed in, even when they were drawing, like, 15 people. And then bringing them back again and again until the rest of us — including yours truly — finally caught on when they started playing places like Higher Ground and the Flynn. It's a story that has played out frequently under Ed's watch.

Though he's stepping aside at LSC, DuFresne will hardly be resting on his considerable laurels. Instead, he'll return to his roots as an independent concert promoter, focusing on events such as his long-running Northeast Kingdom Music Festival (August 7 & 8 in Albany, VT!) and stand-alone shows such as 2007's Gogol Bordello throwdown at Vermont College (see Eva Sollberger's vid from the show, below).

In closing, I'd like to thank Ed DuFresne for all he has done for the VT music community and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors. It's been a pleasure working with you, Ed. Count me among those who can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Oh, and welcome to the fray, Ben. Listings deadlines are Friday at noon. Can't stress that enough …

This just in from Drag City Records: Detroit proto-punkers Death have announced three Midwest reunion shows in September. They are:

Friday, September 25 at Magic Stick in Detroit
Saturday, September 26 at the Empty Bottle in Chicago (I'm thinking about booking a plane ticket right now)
Sunday, September, 27 at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland

This is, of course, incredible news. But it does lead one to wonder whether their Vermont fans will get a taste of the original thing at some point too, since they, you know, live here and stuff. Maybe we should start a petition?

Until about two years ago, 7D ran a weekly music section feature called "Pop Ten," which listed the top-selling albums from local record stores around the state. For a variety of reasons — the decline of the indie record shop, the challenge of culling the charts in a timely fashion each week, the desire to use the space for features people might actually read when not on the can, etc. — one of my first acts as Music Editor was to nix the piece. The downside? Not knowing how the latest Skynyrd reissue was charting in Barre from week to week. The upside? More live reviews, interviews and general flexibility within the music section at large. I think it was a fair trade-off.

Anyway, what wasn't good enough for Seven Days apparently is good enough for Rolling Stone magazine. Go figure. And if you picked up the latest issue featuring the Jonas Brothers on the cover . . . um, you've got serious problems, man. However, you also may have noticed a few familiar faces gracing the back page.

In addition to Billboard and college airplay charts, RS highlights a different indie shop in each issue under the title of "Local Favorites." And this time around they chose our very own Pure Pop Records! Sweet. Here is PPR's chart for the week ending June 16, 2009 (look closely):

1. Mos Def — The Ecstatic
2. Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest
3. Dirty Projectors — Bitte Orca
4. Dave Matthews Band — Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
5. Lowell Thompson and Crown Pilot — Lowell Thompson and Crown Pilot
6. Booker T. — Potato Hole
7. Coalesce — Ox
8. J Dilla — Jay Stay Paid
9. Ben Harper and Relentless7 — White Lies for Dark Times
10. Iron and Wine — Around the Well

That's right. Lowell Thompson and Crown Pilot picked one hell of a week to chart at Pure Pop, scoring some serendipitous love from the national paper (magazine) of music record for their latest self-titled disc — to be reviewed in next week's issue by the illustrious Casey Rae-Hunter, BTW.

Not only that, but they even nabbed a snappy blurb and accompanying pic (left). Here's what RS has to say about our local twangy troubadour (see if you can spot the typo!):

"The Burlington, Vermont, singer rounds up two home-state heros — Phish's Page McConnell and blues rocker Grace Potter — to help out on his latest CD of Gram Parsons-inspired alt-country."

Awesome.

Now, a couple of things jump out at me here. First, it's a bummer Lowell's latest was bested by Dave Matthews Band under a national spotlight — really, Burlington? Second, the first time in years that a VT band not named Grace or Phish gets a pic in RS and it's the "band against a brick wall" deal? *Slaps forehead*

Needling aside, this is pretty freakin' cool, for both Lowell and Pure Pop. And also for 7D's Steve Hadeka (second from left), who looks positively fetching framed by brick, doesn't he?

Seriously though, congrats all around!