I had an opportunity to chat with the members of Pure Prairie League before their Ark show Sunday, August 10th in Ann Arbor. The original band was formed in 1970 by singer/guitarist Craig Fuller with drummer Tom McGrail and pedal steel guitarist John David Call, musician friends from Waverly, Ohio. They had their final show in 1988 and a decade later longtime bassist and current manager Mike Reilly formed a new Pure Prairie League. Since then there have been countless iterations of the band with countless band member and instrument changes through the years…..so many that PPL has an impressively detailed and very long Wiki page, covering the decades of the group’s roster of 49 former members. The current group features Scott Thompson, Randy Harper, Jared Carmic, Jeff Zona, and John Heinrich. I asked how the band has persevered and continues to tour after all these years. Randy replied “We’re pretty true to the sound. Technology has allowed us to sound a little more modern but, as has every configuration through the bands’ history, our group and new LP represent ours and the bands’ personality.” From Jeff: “We bring our own personality musically. We’re different writers and different musicians but we stay with the tradition of having several musicians also do the songwriting.” Asking how has the original sound maintained with all the changes, Jeff replied “I’ve been told my vocal sound is reminiscent of the vocal sounds of Craig Fuller and Vince Gill (member from 1978-1982.) Jared’s voice is bluesy and gravelly. Scott’s is more of a country sound with high harmonies. We’re still a harmony-based band, which is one of the main components of the band.” I also asked about the band’s DNA, which Randy replied with “It’s not a physical blood musical DNA, but we’re all here because we want to be in this band. It took me four years to get in. I fought my way in! I’m the first keyboard player since original keyboardist Michael Connor died in 2004.” They all agreed that what’s been part of the band’s longevity is that members have continuously reinvented themselves . . . drawing from the past while going forward, evolving but maintaining consistency. By the fourth record the band had interchanging members, with no original members. They also agreed that fans appreciate this current group speaking to the original sound of Pure Prairie League, that they audience “has no complaints!” The Ark was the place to be the evening of August 10th. The air in the theater was full of excitement, as the sold-out crowd eagerly waited for Pure Prairie League to start their show. That energy grew higher and higher through the one-set show, with fans cheering on old PPL songs as well as new. Though the band’s membership has changed hands, literally 50 times in its 55-year existence, the current line-up did a stellar job keeping alive the sound and energy of Pure Prairie League, as the mostly grey-haired crowd were clearly familiar with. As the

I had the great pleasure of seeing Laufey perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Ross Jamie Collins. She performed at the Blossom Music Center as part of her A Night at the Symphony tour circuit. For those unfamiliar, Laufey is an Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter who is known for her jazz-inspired pop sound. She began as a classically trained pianist and cellist before moving into singing, leading her to become the youngest ever recipient of the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy Award. Going into this concert, I was slightly unsure of what the format would be like. Laufey straddles between the worlds of classical and pop music, and although this tour was marketed as a soloist with symphony orchestra, her audience is typically on the younger side. I didn’t know if people would be standing with their phones up to record, or sitting quietly and clapping politely in between songs. It ended up being a pleasant mix! The concert venue is huge, with a seated pavilion area as well as a lawn seating area. Everyone stayed seated, and although people recorded, their phones didn’t rise above their heads. No one sang along too loudly, and it seemed that everyone was very respectful towards the traditional format of the orchestra performance, which I quite enjoyed. Laufey is a truly spectacular performer. She has an incredible voice, and the raw talent of it is only amplified when you realize she sounds exactly the same live as in recording. In addition to singing, she accompanied herself on guitar, piano, and cello. She played songs from across her repertoire, as well as some traditional jazz covers and singles off her upcoming album A Matter of Time. The symphony orchestra added a beautiful lushness to her songs, particularly to “Goddess” and “Promises” (my favorite song). It was so breathtaking I constantly got chills up my arms! She didn’t talk to the audience much except for a few spontaneous moments, like when she tearfully thanked the audience for showing appreciation to her new song “Snow White”, which is a vulnerable description of her insecurities in the music industry.  The walk back to the parking lot and the three-hour drive in the dark were brutal, but I’d do it all again to see Laufey perform live. She’s a once-in-a-generation talent, and I don’t think her sound could be replicated by anyone else. If you have the chance to see her I highly recommend it!

Michelle Zauner, the woman that you are! I got the chance to see her in Detroit last weekend at the Fillmore, and perhaps it would be dramatic to call the concert life-changing… but I truly can’t think of a better word to describe it. Her fourth headlining tour for her first studio album, The Melancholy Tour is a treat like none other for both longtime fans, first-time listeners, and anyone who can enjoy some modern indie rock. I don’t think this can come as a surprise, as the album was just as phenomenal as the last three, although it definitely had a different tone. For anyone new just tuning in, Michelle Zauner’s Japanese Breakfast is known for her deeply personal, emotional projects. Although her songwriting is exceptional (and her band even more so), what really stands out to me is the lyrics and their relevance somehow both to the specifics of her life and to anyone listening. Her lyrics mostly revolve around her relationship with grief and time passing, especially as she lost her mother to cancer, and a disconnect from her motherland culture in Korea and growing up in America without learning to speak Korean. Not exactly the most broad topic, applicable directly to very few, but many listeners, and myself included, still find solace in her almost-magical way with words. Psychopomp, her first album, was written after her mother’s cancer diagnoses (and is my personal favorite album). Soft Sounds from Another Planet was written after her mother’s passing, as was Crying In H-Mart, her bestselling memoir (with a sequel on the way?!). Jubilee, the album that really made a splash in the industry and shot her to fame, was about finding joy despite and even within all the pain of life and loss. And now, her most recent album, For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women) is, as the title would suggest, a sort of antithesis to Jubilee. Sorrow is beautiful, and inevitable. I truly enjoyed the album’s release and I can’t say I was disappointed in any capacity. It has a very different sound to it, but her voice is consistent through all her projects, both literally in her singing and in her lyrics. My personal favorites are “Mega Circuit” and “Honey Water,” both of which she included in her performance on The Melancholy Tour. As for the actual performance, I really enjoyed her quite large selection of songs. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of songs she had from her past albums, including two from her first solo album, Psychopomp, when I only expected one based on setlists from Spotify (cheating? I don’t think so). The Fillmore was gorgeous, of course, the set was pretty, and the lights were outstanding and really complemented the performance. Zauner was, of course, the star of the show, killing it on the guitar and the keyboard, switching effortlessly between her serenades where she sat perched on her giant oyster, or bouncing around the stage to songs that I was bawling

If you happened to find yourself on Main Street on the evening of Wednesday the 19th, you may have noticed a line stretching down the block from The Ark. What were all those people waiting for? According to the performers themselves, possibly the “stupidest show” the historic venue has ever seen.  Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. In each episode its two talented hosts, Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino, concoct a totally improvised musical with the assistance of a special guest and “pianist of kings” Scott Passarella (as McKenna and Reino refer to him). Currently, the show is on the road, and they made a stop at The Ark to sing about Michigan and birds. They were joined as always by Passarella, and with them for this show was Ann Arbor’s own Jack Harris on drums! The room was full of people and excitement. A group of old improv friends reconnected in the row in front of me. The show started with Reino and McKenna asking for suggestions from the audience for words. They landed on griffins and soup (the latter didn’t come up much), and their conversation spun into a musical about an insecure sparrow trying to be more like an eagle, a group of park rangers, a guy trying to take his boyfriend on the perfect date by pulling words out of a jar, and the spirit of Pure Michigan. You’ll just have to take my word for it– it was amazing. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.  McKenna and Reino have been making the podcast since 2017, and it’s evident in how they play off of each other. It’s almost as if they can read each other’s minds. The musical talents of Passarella and Harris are not to be forgotten, either– all four are constantly inventing melodies and rhythms on the fly and rolling with whatever gets thrown their way.   For many people, improv is a scary word. As someone who has seen and done their fair share of bad improv, I understand why. There’s a particular kind of torture in watching people “yes, and-ing” each other through something deeply unfunny. However– when it works, it really works. Luckily for all involved, this really worked. 

PJ Harvey and her band, including long time collaborator John Parrish, returned to Detroit this fall. The concert featured mostly music from her newest release, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’. Her new material is more contemplative and introspective. The band members are all multi-instrumentalists, switching easily between guitars and keyboards and various types of percussion. PJ herself even brought her autoharp for one song. She was radiant and very much appreciated her audience. She complimented the city of Detroit and the Masonic Temple venue. The sound and the mix was wonderful. The stage set was almost like a play. She moved to different parts of the stage, sometimes sitting. She had a small desk and chair in the center where she kept some small precussion instruments. Toward the end of the show she played some of her more well know songs from the past, including Man-Size, Dress, Down By The River, and To Bring You My Love. The encore featured C’Mon Billy and White Chalk. It was a remarkable preformance and I’m happy I finally got to see her live as I missed her in Detroit in 1995. Review by Mick T.

After headlining last year’s 47th Folk Festival’s opening night, Old Crow Medicine Show’s energetic founding member and front man Ketch Secor was selected to be MC for this year’s Festival. With his larger-than-life personality, a wit not to be messed with, being accomplished on any instrument he grabs and an ability to interject clever tidbits about our community, Ketch was the right choice for this year’s Folk Festival MC. Besides fronting his wildly popular band, Ketch is a great storyteller who, many times Friday and Saturday, spoke of his deep respect for folk music. He opened Friday night by paying homage to the legends of folk. Grabbing his guitar, he shared that respect with his rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “Howdi Do,” which OCMS covered on the 2013 “Woody Guthrie at 100 (Live At the Kennedy Center)” CD.  Taking the stage as the first of the five Friday night acts was Afro Dominicano, a World Music band from NYC that blends music from the Dominican Republic with Reggae, Samba, and Calypso. The instant they came on stage the group filled the auditorium with their dynamic Cuban/Afro Caribbean soul sound. Heavy on guitar and percussion, three guitars and three percussionists backed up the band’s lead singer-extraordinaire, who played a Cajun “squeeze box” accordion and sang their four numbers mostly in Spanish. The band’s high energy Latin music made me itch to get up and Salsa dance to the music. Come prepared to dance (in your seat!) at their April 12th Ark show! Ketch returned to the stage with this profound Tracy Chapman quote: “Don’t you know they’re talking about a revolution? Sounds like a whisper.” Instead of dwelling on the state of things we’re all trying to not think about, with fiddle in hand, Ketch immediately moved on to honor folk music by talking about the vast instruments played within the genre, spouted: “Folk music is that powerful source of music . . . you don’t even have to see the Bob Dylan movie to appreciate the music!” to much laughter and applause. Wearing aqua and cream-colored two-tone cowboy boots, pink sunglasses, glitter eye shadow and black lipstick, and long blond hair flowing under their cowboy hat, singer-songwriter/storyteller Adeem the Artist opened with a love letter song to a man in the Minneapolis arts district. They then joked about their being a non-binary country musician from Knoxville Tennessee, moving into a song about U.S. patriarchy and there being “two sides of the coin.” Their third number, a political pan-sexual song proved themself to be an engaging and energetically flamboyant performer. Their fourth song grabbed the cheering crowd, who will have that opportunity to do that again on April 26 when Adeem the Artist returns to perform on the Ark stage. When Colorado-based singer-songwriter Jobi Riccio took to the stage wearing fabulous bright red cowboy boots that peaked out under her green-striped jumpsuit, I sensed we were in for a real treat.  And what a treat Jobi was, belting out four songs about

On a fateful October night (October 5th to be exact) Jonathan Richman blessed all in attendance with a performance that truly embodied his whacky and unconventional songwriting. Richman and accompanying drummer Tommy Larkins were in the middle of a short midwest run, and stopped in Ferndale, Michigan after playing in Columbus, Ohio the night before. When I realized that I would have the opportunity to witness this rare and special night of music, I bought a ticket right away. The Magic Bag was the perfect setting to enjoy this two-man performance. The venue has a sort of magician theme to it, which provided all of the fantastical wonder and whimsy of a traditional magic show. After much anticipation, and an incessant chanting for JoJo to appear, the tenured musical magician emerged with acoustic guitar in hand. Immediately, he launched into an animated strumming of “No One Was Like Vermeer.” His bewildered wide-eyed stare and intentionally-awkward dancing alluded to The Modern Lovers’ iconic TopPop TV performance in 1978. After a short interlude the two started “Let Her Go Into the Darkness,” a raw and wishful telling of lost love. Jonathan wasn’t afraid to abandon his guitar during this one as he danced around while playing various auxiliary percussion instruments. The audience enthusiastically sang along, and were eager to chant “Laundromat, Laundromat, Laundromat!” as the song came to a close. The next song, “Cold Pizza,” is a newer piece in Richman’s massive repertoire about accepting life as it is: often mundane yet subtly joyful (much like the last cold slice in the box). After this one, JoJo paid homage to his mentors in the New York art scene with “They Showed Me the Door to Bohemia.” In this song, he notes his pretentious art-school portfolio and awkward presence upon arriving in New York that helped him shape his artwork into what it is today. The second half of the set contained some of the artist’s most recognized tunes. After a short cover of “Light My Fire” by The Doors, the audience was jamming to “I was Dancing in a Lesbian Bar” followed by “Pablo Picasso.” The night ended with a reprise of “Cold Pizza” and an unaccompanied a-cappella ballad called “I Had to See the Harm I’d Done Before I Could Change.” There are few artists that still perform today who truly represent the early art-punk scene in New York and Boston. We lost Lou Reed in 2013, David Bowie in 2016, and Tom Verlaine just last year. Richman pays homage to these legends that showed him the door to bohemia every time he gets on stage through his unique and animated telling of life’s absurdities. Jonathan Richman is an artist who stands firm in his artistry and writing prose. Seeing him sing and jive on stage was simply captivating for those present. He could’ve gone up there and sang half of I’m a Little Teapot; the crowd still would have went wild.

Last Monday, Vampire Weekend returned triumphantly with the Cults to the Meadow Brook Amphitheatre in Rochester Hills. It’s been ten years since they took that very stage with the Cults as their opener. There’s just something about hearing the music that accompanied your adolescence live: it’s a callback to the emotions and circumstances of every past listen, and a tribute to every future play. The Monday night show was definitely stirring up emotions in the crowd. I spotted a middle-aged mom and her ten-year-old son in the row in front of me–her son’s first ever concert, and she was shouting aloud every lyric of every song. All the way up at the front of the pit, I kept catching a glimpse of my friend Mitch with his wide grin bathed in the blinding lights of the stage. As Vampire Weekend ages out of their college-era youthful prime, they too are reflecting on the past and their place in it in their new album, Only God was Above Us: Who builds the future? Do they care why? I know you’re tired of tryin’ Listen clearly, you don’t have to try … Too old for dyin’ young Too young to live alone Sifting through centuries For moments of your own This was my first time at Meadow Brook, and the approach to the rather hidden venue through the woods while the Cults were striking up their first chords was an exciting experience. The Cults performed a mix of 80’s synth pop and Japanese Breakfast-like vocals which felt a bit out of place on a Monday night with the sun still out, but they definitely succeeded in getting the crowd settled and excited for the main show. Original members of Vampire Weekend (Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson) came on stage just as the last of the day’s sunlight filtered through the trees by the amphitheater and kicked it off with the recognizable tones of “Oxford Comma.” After this opener, an entire full band including a second drummer, a saxophonist, and a multi-instrumentalist violinist and keys player were revealed from behind the drapes and the real show began. Hits like “This Life,” “Campus,” “Walcott,” and “Holiday” were interspersed with material from their newest album. Although my favorite album, Father of the Bride, received little love at this concert, all of the picks from this previous album had long and extensive instrumental experimentation which was really fun to witness. A definite highlight of the show was a member of the touring crew coming out to dance emphatically on stage for a few moments during the song “Classical”. An ongoing tradition at Vampire Weekend shows is an encore where the band jams on stage to audience-requested songs. This time around, they gave a fair shot to tracks like Bowie’s “Young Americans” and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” These little moments are a true testament to the talented musicality of the band, which was evident the entire night. Vampire Weekend has once again proven themselves to be

The newest iteration of Bad Plus performed at the Detroit Jazz Festival over Labor Day Weekend. In 2021 they changed from a piano based trio to a quartet with guitar and reeds.The newest members are Ben Monder (guitar) and Chris Speed (reeds), both veteran progressive jazzmen. It’s a newer sound for the band and allows for a much wider range of possibilities. Although the original members, Dave King (drums) and Reid Anderson (bass) are the primary composers, Monder and Speed offer some compostions of their own. This was a great return to Detroit for them and they played quite a few few tunes from their soon to be released ‘Complex Solutions’ which happens to be on Detroit’s own Mack Avenue Records. They did bring a few signed copies of the new release on cd of which I was fortunate to get one. The vinyl version won’t be out for another month or so. Historically, they’ve always been adventurous. This is a new chapter and I was impressed by the quality of the new songs and the bands interplay with each other. To be a great musician and improviser, you need to listen. It’s obvious that they do. The original pianists of the band, Ethan Iverson, and then Orrin Evans, are off playing music under their own names. Ben Monder and Chris Speed can be found on many recordings. It’s worth checking all of them out. Review by Mick.

When I walked into Blue LLama Jazz Club last Saturday, I first saw a standard elegant bar setup. Neatly arranged bottles on warm wooden shelves. Pendant lights. A dapper bartender shining a marble countertop. Stuff I knew. But as the host escorted me into the seating area, I felt like I’d been portaled into another world. Indigo light filled the room. Simulated stars winked in the ceiling. A purple striplight snaked with the curvature of the wall. Stagelights, table candles, and sconces added to the symphony of color and mood, and I felt thrilled to be part of it. I was seated at one of the small, round tables by the edge of the stage, where I Shazamed every funky song that blasted through the speakers while waiting for the show to start. Servers garbed in black tended to an audience of big friend groups, families, couples, and solo-goers of all ages. No one wanted to miss out on Grammy Award-winning drummer Adonis Rose and his band, tenor saxist Miles Berry, bassist Max Moran, and pianist Seth Finch. Once the group had settled at their instruments, Rose announced the guest appearance of New Orleans-based vocalist, Phillip Manuel, who wrote their opening song, “Unusual Suspects.” The group’s talent instantly shined. Manuel’s rich voice moved nimbly between styles, from smooth to raspy, sonorous to light, and sentimental to boppy. Rose’s drumming possessed a controlled wildness that enthralled me on its own, but also backboned many of Berry and Finch’s soulful and dynamic solos. Rose and Moran’s constant playing and unrelenting quality served as the core of the quintet’s sound throughout the set. Moran was a performer I kept coming back to. He wore his love for playing on his face, and frequently met eyes with the other artists, nodded at them encouragingly, created moments of chemistry on stage that transcended cohesion in sound. These sparks of camaraderie are what I wanted more of. While no one could deny the sharp technical skill of this quintet, when one of the artists wasn’t playing their instrument, they’d often lose their stage presence. It felt like they were waiting to be part of the performance again – like they couldn’t feel the music in those spaces between playing. During the quintet’s second song, Sting’s “Fragile,” I looked into the audience and saw people more focused on their dinners and side conversations than on the elaborate performance in front of them. Something was missing the mark. But the show grew more spirited as it went on. Between songs, Manuel – looking like he’d just been freed from a spell – said, “woah, I got lost in that for a second.” I believed it. The quintet played the weight of the blues and the joy of bebop; with each song, the audience fell deeper into the spell with them. To keep the momentum going, Rose introduced tap dancer Lisa La Touche, who used the clack of her tapping and the movements of her body to add an

The theme of Judy Collins’ soulful show at The Ark: spellbound. Incidentally, this is also the name of her newest album, her only release of completely original songs in her 60 year career. Collins came out onto the stage at The Ark in a flowy blue dress with a twelve-string guitar hanging on a bedazzled strap. She immediately broke out into her classic hit, Both Sides Now, to much applause from the cozy seated audience. We were astonished at her ability to so deftly cover the range of the song at her age of 85. Collins was accompanied by her music director, Russell Walden, on piano and backing vocals. In a tribute to her childhood spent in Colorado, she performed When I Was a Girl in Colorado off of her new album. This track rivals Rocky Mountain High as a new Colorado state anthem, so I hope that Coloradoans catch on quick! After a few more tracks from more recent albums, we quickly realized that the real stars of the show were the stories and tidbits of her life during the 1960s folk revival scene that she shared between songs. Mentions of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul & Mary, Arlo Guthrie, Leonard Cohen and more were passed around as she recounted the highs and lows of living in New York City while cutting records. A performance of Baez’s Diamonds & Rust was accompanied by a story of how Collins is still good friends with Baez and has some of her art. Similarly, Collins recounted how she first met Cohen in Greenwich Village while he was still just writing poems. Her recordings of some of his poems helped his career take off, most particularly Suzanne which Collins led the entire audience in singing a capella together (one of my favorite moments of the night). Collins has also always been noted for her activism, and although mentions of the suffering in Gaza were not made explicitly, she performed a rendition of Dylan’s Masters of War. This was fortuitous timing, as the night of the show was the last night before the University of Michigan encampment for Gaza was raided and forcefully swept by police. Throughout the evening, Collins deftly moved between emotional ballads and entertaining anecdotes. Her decades of performing showed in her incredible ability to capture the audience. Before the show, we struck up a conversation with the people sitting next to us, who, like many others in attendance, grew up listening to her. Like us, they were impressed to see her still touring. She’s a true star, and it was a privilege to see her in her element. Though she could easily rest on the laurels of a decades-long career, Judy Collins isn’t done yet. As she wryly remarked during the show, “85 is the new 27.”

Last summer I was on a bit of a 90’s nostalgia kick. Even though I’d heard the name before, my introduction to the Violent Femmes’ music was the 1994 film Reality Bites, where a sexually frustrated Ethan Hawke plays an angsty rendition of ‘Add It Up’ to Winona Ryder (my absolute fav). Hawke’s band played in a crowded bar with walls covered in miscellaneous posters and stickers, and a pit full of rowdy 20-somethings. It was exactly the type of environment that most fans at this show saw their first Femmes concert in.  The past 40 years took the Violent Femmes from packed college bars to historic venues like Detroit’s Masonic Temple. We made our way through the venue, snapping pictures of the architecture, and talking to fans both old and new. Suddenly bassist Brian Richey delivered  “PSA” over the loudspeakers  announcing the setlist for the night. The band would play their second album, Hallowed Ground, cover to cover, as well as their 1983 self-titled debut album. Ritchie even mentioned the possibility of an encore. It was clear that this was a show for the fans. Not only did the Violent Femmes keep their sense of humor, but when the band took the stage they had the same twangy folk-punk sound as they always have.  Vocalist and lead guitarist Gordon Gano picked up a banjo, and the band opened with ‘Country Death Song’. (A perfect night to wear my cowboy vest). The trend of band members picking up new and different instruments continued throughout the entire show, as Gano brought out the fiddle for “Jesus Walking on the Water” in true country Baptist fashion. Brian Ritchie switched between a couple bass guitars, including a wacky blue acoustic that he could play like an upright bass, and percussionist John Sparrow drummed on a barbecue grill! .  The beginning Bible quote of ‘Hallowed Ground’ sent the audience into a resounding shout and commotion.  “The prophet is a fool/ the spiritual man is mad/ for the multitude of thy iniquity/ and the great hatred…”  Sparrow’s drumming was expressive and raw, alternating between quiet but unrestful rumination during the verses to the utter anger of the chorus. Gano matched this energy, singing with powerful emotion. The vocalist’s background as a Baptist Preacher’s son heavily influenced the content of their songs, speaking on the conflict and angst that surrounds faith, and belief and unbelief, a topic that has come to resonate well with their audience.  The fan favorite songs ‘Blister in the Sun’, ‘Kiss off’, and ‘Add It Up’ sounded absolutely mind blowing, especially with the BBQ drums. John Sparrow truly channeled the soul of Victor DeLorenzo (original drummer) with his playing. Gordon Gano’s lyrics drip with adolescent maladjustment that VF knows so well. But the most surreal part of the night was when the band played ‘Gone Daddy Gone’. Brian Ritchie made his way from the bass guitar to the xylophone, finishing the song with the elaborate, iconic and vitalizing solo. The Femmes followed