concerts

“You can’t make art with business in mind. You have to make art first.”—Jay-Z

One Fan’s Quest to Get Closer to the Music

By James F. Broderick, Guest Contributor

They jam it in the basements
And crank it in the cars
It’s on the Voyageur
On its way out to the stars
—From “Do You Rock and Roll?”

It’s a crisp spring Saturday afternoon in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada, and the lead guitarist of the greatest band in North America is gingerly pushing his 1978 Mesa Boogie amplifier up a slightly inclined concrete sidewalk. About a block ahead, a small crowd has begun gathering inside the bar on the main floor of the McGibbon Hotel, a scrubbed-brick structure dating back to the mid-1800s that would be at home in a Civil War movie shoot. The din of the dimly lit bar room and restaurant, a homey hybrid that is part hunting lodge, part small-town wedding hall, rises appreciably as a local music promoter pulls raffle numbers for a local charity from a glass bowl and announces six-digit numbers to the crowd of Molson drinkers, who check their tickets and cheer or groan, bathed in reflected faded neon and jostling to get a little closer to the stage.

Back on the sidewalk, I offer to help, and position myself behind the vintage amplifier that sits aboard a set of wheeled planks. I push even more slowly than he did, pausing when I get to a noticeably large crack in the sidewalk. I’m wary of going too quickly, of knocking this deceptively heavy box off its casters.

“Good man,” I hear over my hunched shoulders, and I look up. The guitarist is nodding, apparently grateful for my caution, my reverence for this piece of irreplaceable sonic furniture.

Guitars will also shortly be unpacked from car trunks, basses and keyboards unloaded from another car. But they’ll be carried in the nonchalant style of seasoned musicians, more like appendages than appliances. But this piece of equipment requires special care.

I get to the door, and there’s a steady flow of people coming and going from the bar room. The guitarist is well known here, and he gives the bouncer a wave and enters the bar. I straddle along behind, still pushing. In a clearly redundant gesture that I just can’t keep from making, I look up and tell the ticket-taker, “I’m with the band.” Read more…

Rob Gibson, executive and artistic director of the Savannah Music Festival, announced earlier this evening the lineup for the 2010 edition of the two-week, multi-venue musical celebration in March, and it’s arguably the most impressive, and diverse, roster of artists yet in the festival’s eight years.

After attending my first Savannah Music Festival last year—five concerts in about ten days (mostly of the classical music variety) that surpassed even my exceedingly high expectations—I didn’t think it could get much better. Until tonight’s lineup announcement, which will likely result in a severely depleted bank account by tomorrow afternoon (tickets go on sale Friday morning). But, as the 2009 experience demonstrated, it’s worth every penny. Read more…

Can music change the world?  The answer is, of course, a resounding yes.

Music possesses a power—to a greater extent than any other art form—to bring together people of diverse backgrounds, varying religions, opposing political views, and other typically divisive issues. Whether on a front porch in Appalachia, a New York City subway station, a street corner in Los Angeles or New Orleans, on a park bench, in an arena or stadium, or anywhere at all, music attracts a crowd that can, at least temporarily, agree—a group willing to unite, whether they realize it or not, in the moment. Read more…

The Dead, in an innovative spin on the concert souvenir, have partnered with on-demand publisher Blurb to offer custom, collectible photography books for each show during the band’s current 2009 tour. Read more…

The Dead are back on the road again. Are you?

The current tour, which began on Easter Sunday in Greensboro, N.C., continued last night in the nation’s capital and on to Charlottesville, Va., tonight—then 19 other stops through mid-May, culminating with the Rothbury Festival in July. Did you attend the kickoff in Carolina? Share your experiences and stories from the show—or any other during this run—with The Madness of Art.

E-mail us your thoughts, opinions, experiences, stories, photos, and reviews.

He’s Gone, but the Music Never Stops

As the witching hour arrived, bringing Easter Sunday to a close, the message was clear: The Dead have risen! Read more…

Surviving Grateful Dead Members
Kick Off Tour Tonight in Greensboro, NC

In less than seven hours, my wife and I are headed to the promised land—Greensboro, North Carolina. That’s where the Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann (original members of the Grateful Dead), along with guitarist Warren Haynes and the keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, kick off The Dead’s 2009 tour—a reunion of sorts, consisting of 20-plus shows, after a five-year hiatus.

Read more…