Ben Harper will play two shows at LA's Orpheum Theatre on Nov. 8-9. Tickets are $50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 25.
He also headlines Day 1 of the Sunset Junction Street Fair in Silverlake on Aug. 18.
New studio album "Lifelines" is due out on Aug. 28.
Last Tuesday, I saw Crowded House do a splendid showcase gig at the intimate Troubadour in West Hollywood. After the ill-fated Coachella performance, where they had to deal with rude Rage Against the Machine fans, it was cool to be among devoted fans. I can’t remember the last time I saw the band in a venue so small.
The guys sounded tight and were in great spirits. Finn’s son Elroy supplemented the group on the occasional acoustic guitar and backing vocal. His dad bantered about a water purification plant built near bassist Nick Seymour’s home in New Zealand after a fan shouted “hydration” (the Troub was sold out and like many places in L.A, not known to crank up the AC when people are packed in like sardines). Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling was apparently in attendance.
There was an impromptu version of Mary Hopkins’ “Those Were the Days (My Friend),” plus some joking about Mark Hart’s ancestry. The 1 hour, 45-minute show kicked off with a rocking “Locked Out” and touched upon each of the old albums. Finn dedicated “Fall at Your Feet” to wife Sharon. Hart was busy moving from guitar to keys to pedal steel.
Half of exquisite new album “Time on Earth” was played. Many of these songs gained new resonance live, especially “Don’t Stop Now,” “Nobody Wants To” and “She Called Up.” One of the newbies was described by Neil as being about the brother of a New Zealand footballer who got lost at sea. A few rarities cropped up – “Throw Your Arms Around Me” (a fan request during the encores) and “Recurring Dream,” which Finn said was the first time they’d played it properly in 15 years.
Later, Neil mentioned the Pomona gig they did prior to Coachella and said those people could do a great sing along. He asked if anyone was the from the city to much laughter and a quip from drummer Matt Sherrod. Overall, a memorable evening. They return to play the Greek Theatre on Aug. 28.
The setlist:
Locked Out
World Where You Live
Heaven That I’m Making
Those Were the Days
Nobody Wants To
Recurring Dream
Fall at Your Feet
Don’t Stop Now
Pour Le Monde
Four Seasons in One Day
You’re the One to Make Me Cry
When You Come
Silent House
Distant Sun
Something So Strong
ENCORE #1
Pineapple Head
She Called Up (Neil on keys)
Weather With You
ENCORE #2
Fingers of Love
Throw Your Arms Around Me (Nick forgets chords; Mark tries to demonstrate)
Don’t Dream It’s Over (full band)
Here are some excerpts from my interview with sax man Euge Groove who plays on Sunday, July 22 at Jazz Fest Fest in San Dimas:
Question: Seven of the tracks on your latest CD were recorded live in the studio. Did those end up with a more spontaneous vibe?
Answer: Yeah, when there are four or five other musicians you’re cutting with at the same time, you don’t want to be the guy making the mistake. So there’s a different intensity level from everyone. As someone is creating, that might spark something, so you’re a little freer to change the arrangements. All the basic tracks were cut live then we’d go back in and add strings and put the sax on later.
Q: Master percussionist Lenny Castro appears on some tracks. Were you pleased with his work?
A: He’s amazing. I’ve used him a couple times before on recordings. He’s like the final piece of glue that cements the tracks all together…he comes in and adds the right little sweetening stuff. There are little things he does with his grooves that give everything this wonderful flow.
Q: You have the Donny Hathaway cover on "Born 2 Groove." Elliot Yamin did a few Hathway songs on “American Idol” the season before last. It got more people interested in the back catalog.
A: We actually reached out to (Yamin) to possibly sing it on my disc, but he was the middle of doing his own record. They weren’t sure and we didn’t want to wait around. Ultimately, I’m so happy we got Ali (Ollie Woodson). His performance is just stunning. You hear so many influences in his voice – so much control and finesse. At the end of recording that, he left and Paul Brown turned to me and said, ‘now that’s a performance you’ll never hear on ‘American Idol.’” I thought, ‘that’s true.’ It is the real deal, not some kid trying to imitate.
Q: It’s great to hear Jeffrey Osborne on the new CD's final track. How’d he enter the project?
A: That's another classic right there too. I had written it originally to perform on sax. It didn’t quite feel right...Paul Brown was working with Jeffrey at the time. He liked it, wrote the lyrics, put it down and I was grinning from ear to ear. It sounds like something from his old LTD days. That era of soul. The positive wooing songs. So much fun to do.
Q: Did you listen to his LTD stuff in high school?
A: Absolutely. I grew up in the D.C. area and the station I listened to played that stuff.
Q: For “Religify,” I had to consult the dictionary.
A: Was it in there?
Q: No.
A: (Jokingly) You have to go to the urban dictionary. That’s where all these phrases are. "Religify" is when you take something that’s not necessarily religious and make it (that way). It was probably the fastest song we did. The guys just nailed it. Unbelievable. If you concentrate on Tracy Carter’s phenomenal piano playing, it’s straight out of church. You couldn’t teach someone to play that way unless they grew up in the church.
Both the Hyundai Pavilion and Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre box offices will be open Friday from 9 am-4 pm to give away free OzzFest tickets for July 21. The Hyundai box office will also be open the day of the show at 11 am until all tickets are claimed.
High desert rock band Waiting for Decay will perform at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 21 at the Offroad & Boat Expo, held at the National Orange Show Fairgrounds in San Bernardino. Check out nosevents.com or myspace.com/waitingfordecay for more info.
Here are some excerpts from my interview with Brett Scallions, who plays bass with Circus Diablo on July 21 at Hyundai Pavilion for OzzFest and sings with Riders on the Storm on Aug. 11 at the Pacific Amphitheatre.
Q: Are you planning on catching some of the other acts at OzzFest, like Hatebreed, Static-X, etc.?
A: Of course. Those guys are all staples of the OzzFest Tour. And of course Ozzy himself is going to be great to hang out and watch.
Q: What is your take on the whole free tickets thing at OzzFest? Was it a bold move by the Osbournes?
A: It was a very bold move. Even though it’s a free show, there’s a lot of money being passed around. Of course the Osbournes are making the bulk of it, if not all of it. It’s hard enough for bands to tour these days anyhow, so to have to play for free is tough. At the same time, it’s a good opportunity for a lot of young bands to get their name out there.
Q: Was the recording process very far along when you were asked to join Circus Diablo?
A: Yeah, they had most of the record done. (Forming the band) was pure accident on their part. They just wanted to get together and do some jamming and see if they could write a song or two together. Next thing you know, they had nearly a dozen songs.
Q: Switching gears, I wanted to find out how you hooked up with former Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger in Riders on the Storm after Ian Astbury went back to The Cult.
A: My manager (handles both) Riders and Diablo. He called me up one day and said, "I got the perfect gig for you if you’re willing to do some singing." I said, ‘of course.’ At the time, I was living in New York. He said, "hop on a plane and come out to LA and jam with Ray and Robby for a couple of days and see what everybody thinks."
I came out, we jammed and had a blast for a couple days. At the end of the second day, they were like, "do you want to come out and do some touring with us?" The awesome thing is they’re really excited about doing some writing and trying to make a record - hopefully next year.
Not sure if it will be with the Riders on the Storm name. They’re still fighting to get The Doors name back. It’s really an awful shame. You got Ray, who runs into Jim Morrison on the beach (in the '60s) and they start the band. Robby Krieger wrote the hits that the band had. Then you’ve got a drummer like John Densmore who never wrote anything for the band; he just played the drums. Yet he’s got so much control over it that he can keep Ray and Robby from using the legacy’s name that they’ve worked so hard to make.
Q: Those songs are classics and Morrison was the ultimate frontman.
A: He was the epitome. Ian Astbury was always one of the first to admit that he really looked toward Jim Morrison as an inspiration. You can really see it in Ian - which was good when Ian was doing that gig (in Doors of the 21st Century). A lot of people really enjoyed the fact he was there because of his similarities to Jim Morrison. Other people were offended by it – sort of a Catch 22. The pros far outweigh the cons.
Perry Ferrell gave quite the intriguing performance at the recent Coachella Festival with his latest project Satellite Party; now he's apparently scheduled to play the Hudson Theater in San Bernardino on Oct. 2 (guess the venue is still booking shows after all).
No word on an onsale date or prices yet.
Get to OzzFest early on July 21!
Last week, Sharon Osbourne told media outlets that approximately 3000 tickets will be held back to provide upgraded seating in reserved pavilion and stage locations.
An on-site sponsor booth will allow fans the chance to enter a lottery for ticket upgrades throughout the day.
Tickets are still available through sponsor sites like www.monsterenergy.com.
Check www.ozzfest.com for more info.
John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats will do an in-store performance at Rhino Records Claremont on July 22 at 5 p.m.
The prolific indie rock singer/guitarist is a Pitzer College grad; he formed the group in Claremont. The Goats' latest album on 4AD Records is "Get Lonely."
Rhino is located at 235 Yale Ave.
Tickets for Rascal Flatts' Sept. 25 show at Glen Helen Hyundai Pavilion in Devore go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 4. The price range is $34.25-$73.75.