Author: Michael Witthaus

The Music Roundup 21/10/21

Local music news & events

• Join together: After a months-long pandemic delay, an evening with Patty Griffin & Gregory Alan Isakov is finally happening. Griffin is the touchstone for many female singer-songwriters, the debut Living With Ghosts has attained near Blue renown, and her eponymous 2019 album won a Grammy for best folk album, coincidentally beating out Isakov’s Evening Machines. The two each perform solo sets. Thursday, Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m., Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord, $50 and up at ccanh.com.

• Soar again: Celebrating 50 years since the release of Blows Against the Empire, The Airplane Family will play the 1971 album in its entirety over two sets, with multimedia accompaniment. The record introduced the Starship moniker, with science fiction themed songs like “Have You Seen The Stars Tonight” and “Let’s Go Together.” It’s a satellite band; only guitarist Peter Kaukonen was an Airplane member at any point in time. Friday, Oct. 22, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $40 and up at tupelohall.com.

• Pre-fright: Both crowd and performers will masquerade at a Halloween Bash in downtown Manchester, with headliner Gaslighter & Martial Law paying tribute to Slipknot in full jumpsuit and mask regalia, after a set of Deftones music done by Girih & At The Heart of It, Bleach Temple playing Vanna, and Hawthorne Heights done by members of Robinwood and Aversed. Come in costume for a $5 day-of-show discount. Saturday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m., Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St., Manchester, $12 in advance at eventbrite.com.

• Local troubadour: Taking cues from Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, singer-songwriter Tristan Omand spent lots of time on the road early on, venturing to Kentucky, Tennessee and other far-flung locales while making spare gems like 2011’s Toiled Stories. He’s more settled these days, though still pursuing the artist’s life with vigor. He made So Low in 2019 and released the all-instrumental treble revisions last year. Sunday, Oct. 24, 5:30 p.m., Spotlight Room at the Palace, 96 Hanover St., Manchester, $19 at palacetheatre.org.

• En Español: On a pair of upcoming dates The Mavericks will feature songs from their first all-Latin album, along with hits that helped cement the band’s country rock bona fides, like “What A Crying Shame” and “Dance The Night Away.” Lead singer Raul Malo called the recently released disc “a whole new beginning … uncharted territory.” It includes seven covers and five originals. Tuesday, Oct. 26, and Wednesday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m., The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, $48 and up at themusichall.org.

Grumpy but grinning

Q & A with Rick Wakeman

Along with his work with Yes and a large catalog of solo albums, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Rick Wakeman has made music with everyone from David Bowie to Black Sabbath. He even played A&R man when he steered theatrical rockers The Tubes to A&M Records. At his upcoming show in Derry, Wakeman will perform and reminisce about his life, often reprising the standup comedy skills that made him a hit at Yes’s 2017 Hall of Fame induction. Wakeman spoke with the Hippo via Zoom from his home in England.

How did things go for you during the pandemic?

Well, it wasn’t good, but having said that, it wasn’t good for anybody…. I played the piano every day, but there were some days I thought to myself, how long is this going to go on for? I’m just playing the piano and I don’t know why…. The thing that brought everything home to me was … I lost 19 friends from Covid. That hit home very hard.

Will these shows be your first live audience experience since shutdown?

Yeah, they are [except for] a few weeks ago. When restrictions lifted here, I phoned my great friends at the Ronnie Scott club in London and said … I need to play in front of an audience, however small. … I didn’t plan anything to say; I walked on stage, went up to the microphone and without thinking I went, ‘Wow, there’s real people!’ [And] somebody shouted back, ‘Yeah, and there’s somebody on stage — it doesn’t get any better!’

Are you really grumpier this time around?

It’s grumpy but actually funny. … It won’t offend. There are a lot of things to be grumpy about [but] I’m not going to make a meal of the whole Covid thing. I want people to have fun. There will be a moment where I remember a few friends. It’s just going to be so great to walk out and play for my friends — pretty much everywhere I go in America I’ve got friends.

Tell me about working with Black Sabbath.

When they were putting Sabbath Bloody Sabbath together, we were in the same complex of studios. … Ozzy said we’ve got some synthesizer, mini-Moog lines we want, would you come and do it? I said I’d love to. So I went into the studio just after midnight. The entire band and engineers were comatose, they were completely out of it, there were quite a few bottles lying around. The taper was there, and was looking terrified. … He said, ‘I can play you the track; Ozzy said you’d know what to do,’ [and] I recorded it. Then Ozzy opened his eyes and looked at me. I can’t repeat the exact words he said, but he basically went, that’s perfect. He actually went, ‘That’s f-ing great!’

How are you choosing songs for this tour? 

I’m at the stage right now where I’ve got a short list [of 20 songs, and] 10 will have to go. Having said that … sometimes I can throw everything out the window…. It’s happened on a few occasions. I’m certain there will be a few I haven’t played before. It’s a mixture of certain pieces that people in the nicest sense like to hear when I come along, a few they might not expect, and a few total surprises.

What’s the status of Anderson Wakeman Rabin?

I’d like to think something over the next few years will happen for sure, because none of us are getting any younger and we all love what we do … I mean, I love playing Yes music, it’s my life, so obviously if the offers come in and Jon and Trev are up for it, yeah, I’m sure there will be stuff.

How’d you discover The Tubes?

I first saw them in the ’70s. I think it was Halloween and we had a night off in San Francisco. I went out to this club where the Tubes were playing. … There was a lot of drinking and noise. Not a lot of people were taking notice [and] I thought it was a shame that at the time people weren’t really listening to them. Fee Waybill walked off and I thought, is he gone? He came back on completely naked and sang the next song — yeah, that got their attention. He went, now you’re listening. And I thought, I liked you before, I love you guys now. After, I asked, who are you signed to? They said nobody will touch us, they’re all frightened of us. I said, I’ll get you a deal, I promise you. I flew down to L.A. and saw Jerry Moss [and] he said yeah, we know all about The Tubes. Everybody’s a bit frightened of them. I said they are fantastic, so so good. He said, I’ll tell you what, Rick, we’ll sign them, but the deal is you produce them. … Problem was, I’m solidly on tour with Yes [so] someone else came in. Of course, they had a massive album. We remain friends.

Rick Wakeman – The Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour

When: Thursday, Oct. 14, 8 p.m.
Where: Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry
Tickets: $55 and $60 at tupelohall.com

Featured photo: Rick Wakeman. Courtesy photo.

The Music Roundup 21/10/14

Local music news & events

• Wicked funny: Headlining a standup comedy showcase, Nick Giasullo is a Boston funny man recently re-transplanted from Arizona after moving there a few years back during the hottest time of the year. A schoolteacher by day, he practices his craft on his students, then jokes about them in his set. Giasullo is a past winner of his hometown’s quick retort Snap Battles, so his crowd work is also first-rate; Mike Koutrobis features. Thursday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m., Millyard Brewery, 25 E. Otterson St., Nashua, $15 at eventbrite.com.

• Island dude: After pivoting from baseball to reality television’s Love Island, Josh Goldstein is back home and part of a dance party at Manchester’s newest restaurant/bar. DJ Stixx provides the rhythms and beats, while Goldstein, who played second base for the team that went to the Division 2 World Series in Hawaii, whips up the house energy. It’s unclear whether his love interest from the show, Shannon St. Clair, will join him. Friday, Oct. 15, 8 p.m., Soho Bistro & Lounge, 20 Old Granite St., Manchester, sohonh.com.

• Local lights: An effort from the team that produced events at New England College, Pembroke City Limits offers two stellar area acts, NEMA-nominated Will Hatch & Co. along with rootsy Concord veterans the Dusty Gray Band; Derek Astles of Rippin’ E Brakes opens. It’s the first of many shows in the new space, an old barn with a layout that organizers insist “bleeds fun” — a bonfire is scheduled when twilight expires. Saturday, Oct. 16, 6 p.m., Oktoberfest, 250 Pembroke St., Pembroke, $10 donation requested.

• Celtic circle: The Capital City’s most music-centric location has acoustic Irish music to start the week, with guitars, pennywhistles and bodhrans. Other than trivia on Tuesdays, each day is tuneful, with a midweek open mic night, Thursday drum circle and Saturday afternoon jam. Weekend nights always include local performers — upcoming is blues from Road House on Friday and Mr. Nick on Saturday. Monday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m., Area 23, 254 N. State St., Unit H (Smokestack Center), Concord, thearea23.com.

• Guitar hero: After a stint in the band Citizen Zero, guitarist Sammy Boller went solo, releasing the all-instrumental LP Kingdom of the Sun in 2020. His playing prowess was established in 2012, when Joe Satriani named Boller the winner in Guitar Center’s Master Satriani competition. He headlines a show that includes Afterimage, Wired for Sound, The New Noise, Defined Perspective, Earthmark and Abel Blood. Wednesday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m., Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St, Manchester, $12 at eventbrite.com.

On the road again

Willy Porter back in NH for two shows

Though he’s a native of Wisconsin, Willy Porter feels a strong connection to the Granite State.

“I think I could easily live in New Hampshire,” he said in a recent phone interview. “I just love the pace of life there.”

Porter returns frequently for shows at The Flying Goose in New London, and this year he’ll be there for two nights to start their live music season.

Porter’s career began around the time Tom Mills opened the restaurant turned brewpub in 1993; his breakthrough LP, Dog Eared Dream, arrived a year later. His ties to the area include a long collaboration with musician and artist Tom Pirozzoli. The two have written together over the years and in 2020 made an album, Reckon by the Light.

“He’s got a great eye as a poet and a painter,” Porter said of Pirozzoli. “He’s one of the guys you want around.”

Porter has made almost a dozen records over his three-decade career. His most recent, mnemonic, arrived just ahead of the pandemic, on Valentine’s Day 2020. With its release, he played a trio show in his home state, then headed to Florida to start a tour in support of the new disc.

When he got there, the world shut down.

After being stranded for a bit, Porter flew back to Wisconsin. He didn’t perform again until June of this year, other than playing for a handpicked crowd last fall to help an Omaha, Nebraska performing arts center stay open.

“It was a strange sort of mummified show … everybody fully wrapped,” he said of the event, which was livestreamed. “I did get to play this extraordinary room; it was like going from my basement to Carnegie Hall.”

Now, beginning with a festival in Oregon and continuing in New England, Porter is finally back on the road.

“I was looking at my luggage and I saw the baggage tag was from the return from Florida on March 12 of 2020,” he said, and offered a baseball metaphor for emphasis. “It’s a gift to come off the Covid bench, get back in it and see some old friends.”

Porter drew from the pandemic and America’s pastime for a single he put out in early summer. “Baseball On The Radio” recalls a trip to Sears with his dad that’s more about time away from his mom than shopping, as the two bond over their beloved Brewers and announcer Bob Uecker calls the game.

“I asked him, ‘Why are we here?’ He said, ‘Because your mother’s not,’ … I just looked at him and then he kind of just smiled, and we moved on. I think that was a time when the garage was just not far enough away,” he said. “I’m lucky that I grew up in a house where my parents always worked it out.”

The hopeful, nostalgic song was also aimed at a reeling country.

“We’re coming out of Covid, and the one thing I’ve always loved is baseball, we can all rally around it. It’s an American thing, it’s not partisan, it’s just fantastic. It’s right up the middle, it’s where we’re from. I just wanted something that was uniquely positive … plus, it’s a lot of fun to sing about the Brewers.”

The song will appear on a new album Porter is working on with Dog Eared Dream producer Mike Hoffman.

“It only took us 27 years to do the follow-up together,” he said with a laugh. The forthcoming disc draws inspiration from his experience revisiting the 1994 record on its 25th anniversary in 2019.

“It was a very hopeful time,” he said. “Going back, you can pull some of that energy out of that music again and reapply it. Not that I’m trying to replicate it, but there’s a mindset, a psychology of hope in both of those records. I’m definitely trying to tap into [that] with this new project.”

Willy Porter

When: Wednesday, Oct. 6, and Thursday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m.
Where: Flying Goose Pub, 40 Andover Road, New London
Tickets: $25 at flyinggoose.com

Featured photo: Willy Porter. Courtesy photo.

The Music Roundup 21/10/07

Local music news & events

• Northern soul: On his NEMA-nominated album Chesty Rollins’ Dead End, Charlie Chronopoulos observes everyday life in his home state of New Hampshire and its challenges among the marginalized — opioids, poverty and other hardships. “Glass Factory” distills the disc’s themes: “I can tell you all about the fragile things we make,” he sings. “They spend their lives about to break … should stay on the shelf.” Thursday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m., Stumble Inn Bar & Grill, 20 Rockingham Road, Londonderry. See charliechronopoulos.com.

• Pop crop: On their new EP Angus Soundtrack 2, Donaher stays in a solid mid-’90s groove — the title is a nod to the 1995 teen comedy that featured Weezer, Green Day and Goo Goo Dolls. “Courtney” is a cool update of the film’s high school angst theme, with the line, “every text I get, my forehead gets a bead of sweat/wondering what comes next/an emoji you can soon forget,” clocking in at a genre-appropriate minute and 52 seconds. Friday, Oct. 8, 9 p.m., Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St., Manchester. See facebook.com/donahertheband.

• Duo delight: Taking electric and concert grand harp in bold new directions, the Harp Twins are identical sisters Camille and Kennerly Kitt. Their two were featured guests on last year’s PBS special Celtic Heart, while the pair’s newest release, Harp Attack 4, is billed as “velvet harp rock and metal.” They cover everyone from Kansas to Metallica, and their spirited version of Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” is a gem. Saturday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., Franklin Opera House, 316 Franklin St., Franklin, tickets $14 at franklinoperahouse.org.

• Burt & Hal: Inspired by classic Hollywood, Deep Blue C Studio Orchestra is a regional ensemble bringing the music of Leonard Bernstein, Burt Bacharach & Hal David and other greats from film to stage. On Composers and Their Songs, the Doc Vose-led ensemble performs selections from soundtracks, Great American Songbook classics, and pop favorites ranging from Goffin & King to Ashford & Simpson. Sunday, Oct. 10, 4 p.m., Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, tickets $20 at palacetheatre.org.

• Pond crossers: Grounded in L.A. during the pandemic, English rockers The Struts went into the studio empty-handed to create and record the aptly titled Strange Days. They recruited an impressive supporting cast, including Phil Collen and Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, guitarist Tom Morello for “Wild Child” and Albert Hammond, Jr. of The Strokes on the lead single, “Another Hit of Showmanship.” Wednesday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, tickets $26.50 at ticketmaster.com.

The Music Roundup 21/09/30

Local music news & events

• New light: Known for playing bluegrass in Twisted Pine, Rachel Sumner is gathering new accolades as a solo artist. The singer-guitarist’s “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)” was awarded grand prize honors in the folk category at this year’s John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Sumner performs with her wide-ranging band Traveling Light at a show presented by Symphony NH in a beloved downtown Nashua venue. Thursday, Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m., Riverwalk Café, 35 Railroad Square, Nashua, $20 at eventbrite.com.

• Purple one: Get down and funky with LoVeSeXy, New England’s top tribute to the music of Prince. The six-piece act covers the Prince-related Morris Day & the Time and Maceo Parker while offering classics like “Little Red Corvette” and “Let’s Go Crazy.” With guitarist and backing vocalist Jodee Frawlee doubling as Sheena Easton and Sheila E, they tackle “You Got the Look” and “Love Bizarre.” Friday, Oct. 1, 9 p.m., Stumble Inn, 28 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 21+. See facebook.com/LoVeSeXyband.

• Blues crew: Channeling the spirit of a ’50s Chicago juke joint on their latest album, GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It… You Might Like It, the Boston blues rockers cook up a raucous stew of throwback sound, driven by guitar slinger Matthew Stubbs and a rhythm section of bass player Pat Faherty and drummer Tim Carman. The three members are gear aficionados and named their band after a vintage Gibson amplifier. Friday, Oct. 1, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord, JD Simo opens, $25 ($12 livestream) at ccanh.com.

• New joint: A just opened downtown Portsmouth club offers Christian McBride & Inside Straight for four shows; two early ones are sold out. The Philadelphia-born bassist has backed jazz greats from Freddie Hubbard to Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea and played on pop, hip-hop and soul songs with the likes of Paul McCartney, Celine Dion and Queen Latifah. Friday, Oct. 1, and Saturday, Oct. 2, 10 p.m., Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, 135 Congress St., Portsmouth, $35 to $75 at jimmysoncongress.com.

• Old school: A mix of NYC borough attitude, leathery intellect and rumpled angst, Eddie Pepitone is a comedian beloved by his brethren. In Bitter Buddha, the 2013 documentary titled after his nickname, fellow standup Dana Gould likened him to “the guitarist that all the other guitar players go to see.” He’s now on tour with Austin comic entrepreneur JT Habersaat, who runs the Altercation Punk Comedy Festival. Wednesday, Oct. 6, 8 p.m., Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St., Manchester, $20 at rubyroomcomedy.com, 21+.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!