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Author: Nik Havert
Live: Buddy Guy and Quinn Sullivan – Elkhart, IN – September 09, 2017
My wife and I caught Buddy Guy at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart, Indiana. It was our first show at the Lerner, even though we’ve lived a 30-minute drive from Elkhart for over 20 years. I don’t know how this happened, but we got some good seats (after a ticket mix-up at the box office) and settled in for the opener – 17-year-old blues guitarist wunderkind Quinn Sullivan.

Sullivan first played on stage with Buddy Guy when he was seven years old. He shreds like he’s been playing for far longer than seventeen years. He played a few cuts from his three albums, as well as a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.”
Buddy Guy came out to meet a rowdy crowd (many of whom had done plenty of pre-game drinking) and got right down to business by breaking a guitar string on the first note.

Once a replacement guitar was brought to him, he proceeded to shred through “Damn Right I Got the Blues” and then played around with classics like “Rock Me Baby,” “Fever,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “Who’s Making Love to Your Old Lady?”
Guy had plenty of fun stories as well, including one lively rant about genetically engineered chickens and tomatoes (“When I was a kid, a tomato was like cotton. You could make a sandwich out of it. Now you get a tomato and you could play baseball with it.”) and how you should buy produce that still has bugs on it (“Because it hasn’t been sprayed with stuff you shouldn’t eat.”).
One wild part of the show was when he played a guitar solo using a drum stick and a shirt.

Trust me, it worked. It worked quite well, in fact. He was flailing his guitar with a T-shirt and playing Cream riffs while doing it. He also walked through the crowd, shredding and singing the whole time.
He brought his son, Greg Guy, and Quinn Sullivan back onstage for the end. His back-up band was, just like the last time I saw him, killer. They can play seemingly any tune and stop on a dime. Greg Guy and Sullivan played along during Buddy’s hit “Feels Like Rain” and then tore through Clapton and Hendrix covers to end the show.

The show was close to three hours total, and a fun performance that had everyone cheering and hollering. Buddy Guy is eighty-one years old now, so don’t miss him if he comes close. He’ll probably tour until he drops dead, but make sure you see him shred. There aren’t many living legends anymore.
Keep your mind open.
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Levitation Austin festival to return in 2018.
File this under: Best News You’ve Heard Today. Austin, Texas’ annual Levitation Festival returns April 26-29, 2018.
The flagship Levitation festival (the others are in Chicago, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Angers, France) was cancelled this year after the organizers, the Reverb Appreciation Society, took a heavy loss due to the 2016 Austin festival being cancelled due to storms and flooding. Make up shows were quickly scheduled, but many attendees got shut out of those thanks to ruthless ticket scalpers. The RAS bounced back a bit this year with their Angers festival, but fans hoped the Chicago, Austin, and Vancouver shows would return soon.
There’s no word on the Chicago festival (which is usually the first of the four and held in early spring), but the announcement of the Austin festival’s return is great news and a good omen for the other Levitation shows.
Tickets for Austin aren’t on sale yet, but don’t wait too long to score them. The demand will be greater than normal. See you there.
Keep your mind open.
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Goodbye Honolulu – No Honey
Toronto garage / psych-rockers Goodbye Honolulu (Max Bornstein – drums, Fox Martindale – guitar and vocals, Jacob Switzer – guitar, bass, and vocals, Emmett Webb – guitar, bass, and vocals) bring infectious energy on their debut EP No Honey.
The EP is five fast tunes starting with the catchy, bass heavy hit “Back to Me” – a clever song about the lead singer realizing everyone he knows hates him. He’s on a quest for the good ole days when he wasn’t such a hipster elitist, even if that means he’ll just be “drinking beer and smoking lots of weed.”
“Mother to a Brother” hits hard like a long lost Weezer B-side. The guitars on “Where You Wanna Go” somehow blend garage rock with a bit of reggae chops during the verses.
The title of “Bloody Hands” seems appropriate for how hard the entire band plays on it. It reminds me of early Wavves tracks with its slight surf-vibe. “Typical” closes the EP with jangly psychedelia as the singer laments his routine of loser behaviors such as drinking too much and then calling a former lover.
No Honey is too short, but so are all good EPs. They leave you wanting more. Say hello to Goodbye Honolulu (Am I the first to make that bad joke?).
Keep your mind open.
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Elephant Stone’s “Remix of Fools” now available for pre-order.
Montreal’s Elephant Stone have a remix album of their Ship of Fools record, entitled Remix of Fools, now available for pre-order. Two of the tracks are instant downloads once you pre-order the full album.
PRE-ORDER the EP today and get instant downloads of both singles: http://smarturl.it/RemixOfFools
WATCH ‘Love Is Like A Spinning Wheel’ (Xavier Boyer Remix) here: https://youtu.be/teO4UmdGLLQ
WATCH ‘The Devil’s Shelter’ (Young Galaxy Remix) here: https://youtu.be/_cpXRAjRT-U
Don’t forget to catch them on tour across Europe! Paris, Leicester and an Acid House Ragas (check out this live recording) London date just added!
9/17 Paris, FR @ SuperSonic FREE/GRATUIT FB EVENT
9/25 Leicester, UK @ The Soundhouse
9/26 London, UK @ The Social FREE | FB EVENT (Acid House Ragas only)
9/28 Arta, GR @ Miles Bar


Kauf’s new single, “Limestone,” is out now.
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ORB releases new single, “A Man in the Sand,” ahead of upcoming album due October 6th.
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Rewind Review: The Moonlandingz – Expanded (2015)
The Moonlandingz started as a bit of a joke between Sean Lennon and members of Fat White Family when then created a fictional band. That band got so much hype that art turned into reality and the Moonlandingz released Expanded in 2015.
The EP starts with the instrumental “Exorcise Your Mammary Eyes,” which I think is code for “Stop staring at my tits.” A Sean Lennon “de-mix” of “Sweet Saturn Mine” (one of the Moonlandingz biggest hits so far) is next, and the slowing of what is normally a fast, brash tune only highlights the creepiness of the lyrics (which are mostly about having sex while you’re high). “Lay Yer Head Down on the Road” is almost a carnival midway song about getting high to escape reality, even though such an action might be a bad idea.
“Blow Football with J. Carpenter” sounds like something John Carpenter would brew up on his home synthesizers. It’s creepy and futuristic at the same time. “Psych Ersatz” is equally strange, mixing images of spooky things in the shadows with psychedelic loops, beats, and echoed vocals.
The EP ends with “The Man in the Lyfe Suite – Parts 1, 2, and 3.” It’s a wild trip full of fuzzed out guitars, frantic vocals, and rollercoaster beats and loops.
Expanded was a nice appetizer for their full-length follow-up, Interplanetary Class Classics (one of my favorite albums of 2017 so far). Both are well worth your time.
Keep your mind open.
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Dion Lunadon – self-titled
As the story goes, Dion Lunadon, known to many as the bass player and co-mastermind of A Place to Bury Strangers, was feeling restless during a break in APTBS’ tour schedule. So, he poured that restless energy into his first solo album and gave the world a frantic, wild piece of noise-punk that has some fun surprises in it.
The album’s opener is a raging piece against something we all have to deal with – “Insurance, Rent, and Taxes.” The song flattens you with squelching sound and Robi Gonzalez (who used to play for APTBS). Lundaon sings, “Much too young to get any older.” on the swinging “Reduction Agent.” Lunadon reveals his love of dirty juke joint blues in the track in both the rhythm and lyrics (“I’ve got the mark of death. It won’t leave me alone.”). The organ and bass on “Fire” burns as hot as its namesake, building to a crazy blender-like frenzy. “Com / Broke” is your new favorite song for trying to beat rush hour traffic. Just be careful, as Lunadon’s lyrics do involve car crashes, fires, and self-destruction.
“Hanging By a Thread” is a post-punk (and nearly instrumental) surprise with guitars that sound like industrial saws. The industrial grind continues on “Move,” and Lunadon’s vocals sounds like the Borg has assimilated him. The drums blast the doors off the song around the 1:30 mark and you’re holding on for dear life by that point.
“Eliminator” is fierce noise-punk, and “Howl” is about Lunadon’s joy in expressing himself in the spotlight. It’s like something Lou Reed blasted out of his speakers when getting ideas for Metal Machine Music.
Believe it or not, “Ripper” is a psychobilly cut and Lunadon and crew have a blast on it. I couldn’t help but grin through the whole track. “White Fence,” on the other hand, is more fine post-punk with weirdly angled guitars and desperate vocal stylings. The closer, “No Control,” brings Lunadon’s album back into weird psychedelia before a quick, distorted fade out leaves you gasping for breath.
This debut solo record is quite a statement. It’s powerful, brash, and even fun. More debuts need to be this self-assured.
Keep your mind open.
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Rewind Review: Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006)
The second page of liner notes for Neko Case’s brilliant album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood have her name above the words “DANGEROUS TO MAN: WILD ANIMALS – A Definitive Study of Their Reputed Dangers to Man.” Ms. Case’s lyrics are often brutal in their honesty and her voice can both soothe and cut to the bone. She’s like a panther – lounging in the sun one moment, and then tearing out the throat of an antelope the other.
The album begins with “Margaret Vs. Pauline,” a tale of two girls. One, Pauline, has it made. “Everything is easy for Pauline,” Case sings. Margaret, however, has to scrap for all she can. Case has written an anthem for girls everywhere to never forget their strength. “Star Witness,” with its simple yet slick drumbeats by John Convertino, is a stunning display of Case’s vocal prowess.
“Hold On Hold On,” with the Sadies on backing vocals, is another plea from Case to stay strong in tough times, especially in matters of love. “I leave the party at three a.m., alone, thank God,” she sings at one point. It’s a haunting lyric, especially when the echoing song “A Widow’s Toast” follows it. It’s nothing but Case’s vocals and guitar, Paul Rigby’s guitar effects, and reverbed beauty.
The liner note art for “That Teenage Feeling” is a jackknifing semi-trailer with a transmission shaft shattering from the force. That, and the shuffling guitar (by Dexter Romweber, no less) backing Case’s voice, is a perfect expression of teenage emotions. The title track is about the beauty of things all around us that we don’t notice until they are gone. “John Saw That Number” is a great floor stomper spiritual with sizzling guitar by Dallas Good.
“Dirty Knife” is an ode to a murdered man and the type of song that Case does so well – a tale of death, love, violence, and rural landscapes. “Lion’s Jaws” belongs in David Lynch’s next Twin Peaks reboot. Dallas and Travis Good team up for lovely guitar work, and Kelly Hogan is listed as contributing “lovely backing vocal” to the track (which is true). “Maybe Sparrow” is one of Case’s greatest hits, and it’s easy to hear why as her voice peaks multiple times during the second verse. “At Last” is nothing but Case’s voice and three guitars, and “The Needle Has Landed” is beautiful power pop tinged with outlaw country.
Case is dangerous because her vocals and lyrics are like a hardwood staff. You can lean on them to get you through a rough patch or they can hit you in the ribs like a ball bat and bring you to your knees. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is no exception.
Keep your mind open.
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