Too Old to Rock and Roll?

Too Old To Rock and Roll?

I've long mocked those who say things like "There hasn't been any good music since .....(insert a year from when speaker was in his/her 20s)". I don't usually care to go see acts who are touring as a legend and not on the strength of their latest work, or even recent work as sometimes I feel like I'm watching karaoke. I pick on fans of bands like The Eagles for getting excited about a new album...nearly 30 years after their last album (see first sentence) as these people haven't bothered to keep up or pay attention to anything happening in the meantime. I myself have fallen victim to that mindset from time to time (my fascination still with the Grateful Dead as an example) making my whole stance on the subject hypocritical. But read on anyway.

I had just been pondering my own guilt in this department when one day, a pretty cool sounding song began playing on the radio. I made a note to pay attention to the artist's name as the intro played thinking it could be something new and exciting. Well, as the intro came to a close and the vocals began, I sadly realized it was Mark Knopfler. I love Mark Knopfler! But I really don't want to become one of the rock and roll geezers I like to pick on all the time and despite continuing to put out good music, he isn't exactly on the cutting edge of anything any more. My initial happiness turned to slight shame, but I did make a mental note to add the knew Knopfler cd to my wish list. I haven't gotten around to it yet but, in the last couple of months I've made a few cd purchases (yes, I realize cd's make me too old for rock and roll). For the most part, they were all from old, or at least aging, farts.
Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis: "Two Men With the Blues" is a jam session. Considering who these two men are, it could have been brilliant, but it was just a good jam session. Nice work, but not exactly anything new. Seeing Willie Nelson last week, I was in admiration of his legend, and came face to face with his song catalog which I have to admit rivals Elvis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan etc. in its importance to the American music scene.  But, like a lot of other legends I've gone to see, Willie seemed a bit tired. No disrespect, it isn't possible to keep up the height of creativity and spirit for as long as Willie has been doing his thing.

Beck: "Modern Guilt". Beck has been one of my favorites since he came out, now roughly 15 years ago. His creativity and ability to do so much with modern technology is amazing. His wit is always intriguing and his infectious grooves can get stuck playing on the ipod (in trying to stay young, I've recently upgraded from the 8 track player) in my head for days at a time. "Modern Guilt" however doesn't match his earlier creativity. It isn't bad by any means, but one of the cool things about most other Beck albums is his ability to work through different genres effortlessly but maintain a theme throughout. Perhaps now he's a little stuck as this one doesn't really hit that mark. I'm still a fan for sure, but I look forward to something a little more inspired in the future.

Mike Gordon: "Green Sparrow". Mike Gordon played bass for Phish, whom I'm not afraid to say I still listen to quite often, but do get those pangs of guilt given my opinions about hanging on to the past. "Green Sparrow", predictably, is kind of funky, kind of quirky and trippy like a Phish album. It has guest appearances by former band mates Trey Anastasio and Page McConnel, and other guests like Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzman. I do like it. I've listened repeatedly, but as mentioned, it isn't anything new.

Mudcrutch: "Mudcrutch". Finally a new band. Not! It is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers before they were Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It features Tom, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. I'm not quite certain about the folklore, but it seems they evolved into the Heartbreakers before releasing an album back in the mid-70s. I haven't really cared for anything new by Tom Petty since "Wildflowers" (in my book, one of the best rock and roll albums ever) but Mudcrutch manages to sound fresh, despite sounding exactly as I expect Tom Petty to sound. It's energetic and a little raw sounding. Part of the reason for that, as the liner notes (yup, I'm old) say, it was recorded live in the studio, even the harmonies, and recorded in 10 days. Nice work Tom and friends! Yet I'm still ashamed of my headlong dive into geezerdom.
Then there was last night!
I had great seats at The Britt Pavilion in Jacksonville, OR for G. Love and Special Sauce, The John Butler Trio and Tristan Prettyman.
Prettyman opened the show. Unfortunately, with everyone settling in, it was hard to pay attention, but I could tell she has a nice voice, and when it was possible to pay attention, something to say. She has some chops on guitar and a cool style of playing. At one point she discussed her outfit, a skirt suit, mentioning that it was different from her usual onstage outfit and she felt like she was in the PTA. An audience member said something about Sarah Palin, to which Tristan kind of laughed. I'd heard Prettyman described as a female Jack Johnson. The Doo-dah Woman suggested she sounded like Edie Brickell. Neither are unfair comparisons or anyone I would think Tristan would be ashamed to hear mentioned.
G. Love and Special Sauce headlined. I've listened to G. Love for about a decade now since hearing them as the house band on Comedy Central's show "Turn Ben Stein On". My best comparison with G. Love and anyone else is The Red Hot Chili Peppers light or a laid back Sublime. He plays groovy hip-hop mixed with rock and blues. G. himself, plays guitar and harmonica and sings usually whimsical lyrics. Special Sauce, his band, is a trio, stand-up bass, keys and drums. Despite liking their studio work, often collaborating with Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, I was never sure if they would be great live. I decided, since they were in the neighborhood I should go and give my support if nothing else.

They were way better than I'd expected. They play laid back but with a little more umph when on stage, and G. Love has a big presence, working the front rows with high-fives etc. They were super tight and tore it up going from pretty acoustic tunes to extended jams to straight up blues and anthems like "Whose Got the Weed" which morphed into a couple of choruses of "Legalize It" with audience participation.

As unheard of as G. Love is, it's hard however to classify him as new. Did you hear that sound? That was the hair growing out of my ears.
That however brings me to my redemption from the dustbin of classic rock oblivion.

The 2nd act of the night was The John Butler Trio.  As announcements throughout the evening went on, John Butler drew the loudest applause from the mostly younger crowd. I had however, only heard one or two songs. It seemed like something I would like. They were described as a roots/jam band. My kind of stuff.

Specifically, John Butler is a virtuoso on the guitar. He plays a slide guitar and can make it sound like Hendrix or Ben Harper and then in his song "Ocean" an instrumental, he plays a 12-string acoustic guitar, picking through all 12 strings, using an open tuning sounding like Leo Kottke, just quite a bit funkier.

Their show had a lot of energy, there is a great message of peace and love and change is his lyrics. He included the audience in chants and call and response sessions which kept the audience on its feet and involved.

Looking at Butler's wiki entry, I find he's from Australia, and that 10 years ago, when most of the bands I still listen to finished their creative peaks, was still a college student....Yes, finally some evidence that I'm not a geezer...yet.
For G. Love's encore, John Butler took the stage again. He and G. played a sweet version of "Blackbird" and then both full bands and Tristan Prettyman joined the stage and did a version of "Sympathy for the Devil".

For those who have been to shows at Britt, I was pleased with the atmosphere. I've been to shows there, such as one by the band whose song was the inspiration for the title of this essay, where they won't let a band play loud enough to sound good. Last night it was great. They also, as if they were going to stop us, allowed people to stand up and dance. I'd like to see more of that there whereas often they make dancers go off to the side as to not block the view from the reserved seats.

Great show, and now, with at least one band I like whose members are not concerned yet with their cholesterol levels, I can say that I'm not too old for rock and roll!