Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Dawes’ Category

An evening with Dawes (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, April 13, 2025)

Posted in Dawes, McCarter Theatre, Parenthood, Princeton, NJ on April 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2025] An evening with Dawes

My wife and I first encountered Dawes in 2013 when they (inexplicably) appeared on Parenthood, a show we watched pretty regularly.  I thought they were a fictional band, but indeed they are not and had two albums out at the time.  I can’t recall at all what their plot line had to do with anything, but Dawes became something of a punchline for us.  The AV Club (who loves Dawes and the episode) jokes that the main character says the word Dawes so much it’s like he wants to be in the band.

And yet, over the years, we heard more and more songs of their that we liked.  It seemed like every new album brought at least one or two songs that we thought were really catchy.  I hadn’t really considered seeing them live until they announced that they were playing at McCarter.  I mean, a show that close to my house?  Sign me up!

So I got us tickets and wondered who the opener would be.  Well, it turned out there was no opener.  So we were given two full sets (20 songs… evidently the typical how on this tour got 17 songs, so I guess it wasn’t a huge difference (except that we got to go home earlier).

This show also happened a few months after the band announced that everyone except the two brothers: Taylor (vocals, guitar) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums) was out of the band.  I had actually wondered if they were going to play just the two of them.  But they didn’t–it was a full band, and they sounded great.

I think we were both a little surprised at what the band looked like, since I clearly never looked at them (since Parenthood).  This tour was for their new album Oh Brother, which I didn’t really know, although I did know and like the song Still Strangers Sometimes–a perfect catchy song from them.  But they started with The Game, a deep cut that I didn’t know but which I thought was quite good.

But I was really psyched when they played Living in the Future, and even though When the Tequila Runs Out is kinda goofy, it was really fun live.  Speaking of fun, this crowd was really really rowdy.  More so than the band, I’d say,  I had no idea that Dawes had such a devoted fan base (one guy was overheard saying he’d seen them a dozen or so times).

And the crowd went nuts for songs that I didn’t know.  I knew a few songs from Good Luck with Whatever, but I didn’t know Me Especially or Didn’t Fix Me.  Nor did I know Right on Time from the album All Your Favorite Bands (which I think we owned).

But that was just a few songs I didn’t know before they played Most People, a ubiquitous song that sounded great live.  They ended the with the mellow A Little Bit of Everything and then finished up the set with  Someone Else’s Café/Doomscroller Tries to Relax from Misadventures of a Doomscroller.  I felt like I knew the song, but it seems like an unlikely radio song–but that guitar riff was really cool.

After a little break, Tyler came out by himself and played a pretty, acoustic Moon in the Water. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Newport Folk Festival Recap (Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI, July 27 & 28, 2019)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Amanda Shires, Amy Ray, Benmont Tench, Billy Strings, Bob Boilen, Brandi Carlile, C., Chris Funk, Colin Meloy, Courtney Marie Andrews, Crosby Stills & Nash, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, CSN, Dawes, Dolly Parton, First Ladies of Bluegrass, Fleet Foxes, Fruit Bats, Hozier, Hurray for the Riff Raff, J.S. Ondara, Jade Bird, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Jim James, Judy Collins, Jupiter & Okwess, Lake Street Dive, Lucy Dacus, Maggie Rogers, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Molly Tuttle, Muppets, My Morning Jacket, Native Americans, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, Nilüfer Yanya, NPR/PRI/PBS, Our Native Daughters, Pete Seeger, Portugal The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, S., Sheryl Crow, Susto, T., The Decemberists, The Highwomen, The Milk Carton Kids, The Shins, Trey Anastasio, Vacation, Wilco, Woody Guthrie, Yola on July 28, 2019| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27 & 28, 2019] Newport Folk Festival

Back in 1998, I won a radio contest (not through luck, I knew the name of a song and couldn’t believe no one else did!) and scored a ticket to the Newport Folk Festival.  It was in a lull back then and also, I believe there was only one stage (it’s hard to remember).  Now it is at full power, selling out before artists are even announced.

S. and I have talked about going and finally this year I saw when tickets were announced and I bought 4 tickets for us.  I knew that our son wouldn’t want to go, but I decided to make a long vacation out of it–a couple days in Rhode Island and then about a week in Maine.  He couldn’t say no to going to that.

I didn’t get Friday tickets because three days seemed excessive.  Plus, you never know who is going to appear until long after you buy the tickets. and that actually worked out pretty well.   Turned out, there wasn’t anyone I really wanted to see.

So we rolled in for Saturday.  I was told that if you wanted to get the poster you had to get their very early.  We arrived at 12:30 and they were long sold out.  Oh well. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, Marc Hempel–Re-gifters (2007) [Minx #2]

Posted in Conor Oberst, Dawes, Graphic Novel, Hapkido, Marc Hempel, Mike Carey, Minx, Paul Westerberg, Sonny Liew, Tiny Desk Concert on July 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

regifterSOUNDTRACK: CONOR OBERST-Tiny Desk Concert #367 (June 23, 2014).

conoI’ve never been a fan of Conor Oberst (or any of his many bands). I really don’t like his voice, which I admit sounds sometimes like Paul Westerberg, but I’d just rather listen to Paul Westerberg. But one nice thing about watching the Tiny Desk Concerts is that it gets you to focus on a band for fifteen minutes to really see an artist perform.

I still don’t really like Oberst’s voice, but I like his song construction and he seems like a very nice guy. On this current tour, Dawes is his backing band and for the Tiny Desk Concert Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith from Dawes accompany him. And I think they really help the songs grow.

“Time Forget “ is certainly a catchy song and when Dawes kicks in it sounds really good. “Double Life” features a little too much of just Oberst (his voice is really quite wavery at times here—he says it’s early to be singing), but the parts with Dawes are fuller and meatier. “Zigzagging Towards the Light” has very weird backing vocals from the Goldsmiths–I find them unsettling almost like ghosts.   Although Oberst’s voice sounds better here and by the end the song they come together very nicely. “Artifact #1” is a nice collaborative song (I feel like Dawes’ contribution makes the song really shine).

As the show ends, Oberst presents to Bob Boilen an even Tinier Desk which is very funny, and Oberst says he regrets wearing the heavy coat (which does look uncomfortable).

[READ: July 5, 2014] Re-gifters

This was an interesting story about a young girl, Jen Dickson, who has two things going on in her life: lust for a boy and an upcoming Hapkido competition.

Jen (real name Dik Seong Jen, but Koreans put the first name last so it becomes Jen Dickson or Dixie as her friends call her) is excellent at Hapkido—she is intense and channels her anger and energy into her Ki.  At least she was until she fell for classmate Adam.  Now suddenly Adam is all she can think about and her Ki has gone out the window. Sadly for her, not only doesn’t Adam know she exists, she wasn’t even invited to his birthday party—and everyone was invited to his party.  Jen’s best friend Avril helps her out through most of this—they’re in hapkido class together and hang out all the time.   Avril describes Jen’s personality as spiky.

Jens’ family is not rich, but they value Hapkdio as a traditional sport, so they are willing to pay for her lessons, especially since she is so good.  Her mom makes jewelry and sells it at a local market. One day, when delivering the jewelery she is harassed and called all kinds of racist names by some street thugs. Surprisingly, one of them, Dillinger, comes to her rescue, telling his boys not to pick on the little girl. He sends her running (even though she was about ready to fight). While at the store she sees a beautiful Hwarang Warrior figure. It costs $199, and there’s no way she can afford it.

These stories converge in a painfully obvious way. There is an upcoming Hapkido competition. The entry is $100, so her father gives her the money. Then, it turns out that her invitation to Adam’s party was put in the wrong locker at school. She thinks the warrior would make a great present for Adam, so she uses that tournament money and her own money to buy this $200 item (gasp!). (more…)

Read Full Post »