Gonzo goes to Amoeba Music

I've just returned from a trip to San Francisco. While my primary purpose in visiting was a conference and catching up with old friends, I was also stoked to visit the legendary Amoeba Music.


This is actually one of three stores Amoeba has in California, the others being in Berkeley (the original) and Hollywood. Amoeba consistently ranks in those "Best Records Stores" lists, and I've heard years of personal testimony. I never doubted, but now I can confirm that Amoeba Music is a) worthy of such praise b) really fucking big and c) totally overwhelming.

(Note: this image does not include the video department, the 45s, or the new releases).

Prior to entering, a long-time friend, music geek and current SF resident said "it's better if you have a list. Otherwise you'll get overwhelmed pretty easily." I did not have a list, and yes, I was overwhelmed. I would browse for a bit in one section, then think of something to look for somewhere else, rinse, wash repeat.

The prices seemed fair, but not incredible deals nor overpriced (I admit, my price-gauge on vinyl has been immensely spoiled by Jerry's Records in Pittsburgh). I did find some gems, however. It's rare anymore that I come across Prince 12 inches that I either don't have or are out of my price range (limited promos and such). But I filled two gaps there ("Diamonds and Pearls" and "Black Sweat"), as well as a remix 12" for MJ's "You Rock My World" - featuring Jay-Z! Didn't even know that existed. I also found a bunch of nuggets in the clearance bins, which are easy to miss. Mostly funk and r&b stuff (filling many Earth Wind and Fire gaps). The coolest thing that I found was a recent release of an old New York Dolls show:


The label touted it as the best-available recording from the era, plus you got a cd copy with the 180-gram vinyl. Count me in! I listened to the cd on the way home from the airport, and it is pretty great (though Johannsen's vocals are mixed a little low). It's not exactly a bootleg release, but from what I can gather it's a Russian company putting out some excellent reissues and previously unreleased gems from all over the musical map - the Dolls, the Cure, the Who, Stevie, Can, Bob Marley and many more. Something to keep an eye on.

Fortunately, my friend found me amidst the bulging aisles and gestured that we should leave. "I've found it unwise and financially unsound to spend more than an hour in here." Which is probably good reasoning (I did leave my place in line to check for one more thing).

Anyhow, if you're ever in Cali, Amoeba is a must. I can't imagine that being my local record store, though. Living in California is expensive enough as it is!

ICK

Friends - head on over to Ick Music to check out my review of the New York Dolls' new disc 'Cause I Sez So, which streets today.

In addition to all of the other goodies Pete, Michael and all of the other Ickies have for you, you should definitely check out Pete's Springsteen Tour Debut Tracker, to see what surprises the Boss is dusting off at each show as they happen - including links to listen to some of the selections from the "Stump the E Street Band" portion of th shows, which recently have turned up "96 Tears," "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "London Calling!!!!!" Only 2 weeks until the Pittsburgh show!

Of Floods, Funk and Glam

Apologies for the blog slack of late, and for missing the first Friday Funk in a while. But Iowa is flooded, I'm traveling, and the former altered the latter significantly. Fortunately my building wasn't affected by the flood, but large portions of Iowa City were, not to mention our sister city, Cedar Rapids. There are literally hundreds of people from Iowa City alone without Internet, power and sadly, homes. It's been a hell of a week, and my only point of comparison is the tornado of 2006. Midwest weather can be crazy and catastrophic, no doubt. So if you know anyone that lives in the area, give them a ring to see how they're doing, and if it's within your ability to help out in someway, go for it.

----

So I initially planned to leave town on Friday for a wedding in Pittsburgh. I ended up spending thursday night in Moline to escape the floods (of course when I arrived in Moline, I was greeted with a wicked storm and tornado warnings).

This weekend also happens to be the annual Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. Artists selling their wares, more food on a stick than should exist, and my main interest year after year - free music. Years past have brought Sonic Youth, Wilco, Patti Smith, and others I can't recall at the moment. I happened to be in town on the right weekend.

On friday, I dragged my family to see Maceo Parker.



This is especially well timed, because a friend of mine gave me The JBs Anthology for my birthday. I saw Maceo once maybe 6 or 7 years ago. It was still funky as hell. He played some classic James Brown grooves (Make it Funky, Lickin' Stick, Papa Don't Take No Mess, Soul Power, Too Funky in Here, among others) and JBs classics (Givin' Up Food for Funk, Pass the Peas) along with some of his solo work. It was a funky time indeed, and he played for a good 3+ hours.

But the real musical highlight of the weekend was the New York Dolls, for their first Pittsburgh performance in 35 years.



I've been trying to see the Dolls since they got back together a few years ago. It never worked out. They were always in Chicago when I was in Pittsburgh, in DC when I was in Iowa, etc. So I was stoked to finally catch them, and for free!

One thing I noticed both with the Dolls and Maceo - I love being outdoors, and I love free shows. But as a fan, I think I get more amped up being in a club or other venue for a show. There's just a certain vibe that being in confines creates (not to mention better sound).

Anyhow, the Dolls were great. My one complaint is that they played far too much from their new album, One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Now I like the album, and especially for a 'reunion' set, it's pretty strong. However, they played 8 of the album's 14 tracks, when I (and I assume most of the audience) was more interested in hearing the early stuff. Of course, they only have three albums worth of material anyway, but I would have liked to hear some of my neglected favorites, like "Subway Train" or "Bad Girl." Along those lines, I thought "Gotta Get Away from Tommy" (one of my least favorite songs from the new album) was a pretty poor choice for a closer. Still, they hit most of the bases, they played great, and I wasn't disappointed by any means. The set (in no order):

Personality Crisis
Pills
Trash
Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory/Lonely Planet Boy
Jet Boy
Babylon
Puss N Boots
Human Being
Looking for a Kiss
Private World
We're All in Love
Fishnets and Cigarettes
Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano
Plenty of Music
Gotta Get Away from Tommy
Rainbow Store
Dance Lie a Monkey
Punishing World
Piece of My Heart (Janis)

The Dolls are one of my top 10 favorites, so I'm glad I got to see them even in this incarnation. I don't think I have any other shows lined up for a while. Medeski Martin & Wood are slated to play Iowa City's Jazz Fest, but who knows what kind of shape the city will be in by then. Mother nature can be a bitch.

L - U - V

It being Valentine's Day and all -

New York Dolls Newsflash

This just in from the glam rock affairs desk:

This Thursday (2/1), the New York Dolls will perform on the PBS program Soundstage (check local listings). Usually the show is geared more towards the VH1 crowd (Michael Macdonald, Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow), so who knows how our beloved Dolls got their high heels in the door. I'm not sure when exactly the show was taped, but it was very recent.

The tragedy is of course, an abbreviated set list. Below is the full set, with asterisks indicating the songs that will be making the broadcast:

Looking For A Kiss*
We’re All In Love*
Puss ‘N Boots*
Gotta Get Away From Tommy*
Take A Good Look At My Good Looks*
Gimmie Luv & Turn On The Light*
Private World*
Dance Like A Monkey*
Plenty Of Music
Pills
Volcano
Lonely/Arms
Punishing World*
Rainbow Store
Trash*
Jet Boy*
Personality Crisis*

It still ends up being a pretty good looking set, but I would switch things around (i.e. Plenty of Music and Pills instead of Tommy and Gimmie Love). At any rate, I'm looking forward to it. PBS is one of the few stations I get!

I still haven't seen the newly reformed Dolls, though I've been wanting to from the time they reunited for the Meltdown festival a few years ago. Granted, only two of the real Dolls remain, but this group has inched its way into my top ten artists over the past few years, and I'll take them any way I can.

Visit their website (see sidebar). If you haven't picked up last year's One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This, I recommend it. Not stellar, but much better than I would have anticipated. More importantly, you should check out two documentaries, the bittersweet New York Doll and the incredibly entertaining All Dolled Up.

Cheers for now.