Emmylou Harris & The Civil Wars "Evangeline"

I caught the end of The Civil Wars set, when they took a moment to show some very sincere appreciation for the Newport Folk audience.

When you're a band like The Civil Wars, and your performance is all about quiet dynamics and chemistry, well, an outdoor music festival is not always conducive. Hootin' and hollerin' and folks not paying attention can often be the scene.

But folks were there to see The Civil Wars. To listen to The Civil Wars.

I'm sure that after years of playing in small venues, bars, coffee houses, etc, for less than attentive audiences, flashed before them, as they seemed to realize that they had reached a place where, when they sang, the audience paid attention.

But the real moment of joy came an hour later, as Emmylou Harris invited them to the Main Stage, to join her for "Evangeline."

I was on the side of the stage, and I could see Joy Williams sing a line, and then turn toward Emmylou Harris to watch her sing, with this look that was purely ecstatic, a look that said, "I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe I'm so lucky."

Seeing an artist appreciate their audience, appreciate that they are appreciated, and seeing them radiate it back, well that just makes me appreciate The Civil Wars even more.

You can hear The Civil Wars' set and Emmylou Harris' set in the mvyradio archives.

Hey, it's Garth Hudson's birthday, so I thought I'd post The Last Waltz version of "Evangeline." Check him out on accordion!

See the video on Youtube.

Mavis Staples "You Are Not Alone"

I got to indulge myself a bit, during my vacation a few weeks back.

One of the biggest adjustments in my shift from long-time single guy, to father (of two) and husband (of one), has been the recalibration of my entertainment options.

When you blast the stereo at home these days, it really needs to be a consensus artist.

And, between the 4 of us, there are many. We all enjoy listening to The Beatles and the Glee Soundtracks and Michael Franti and Dan Zanes and many others.

Unfortunately, there are many, many artists and albums that I like that aren’t consensus. So many of my punk rock albums and hip hop records and LOUD ROCKING discs don’t get much play on the home stereo.

But for the first few days of vacation, I didn’t have to worry too much about consensus.

My wife had left for Chicago, for the wedding of a friend. And we sent my 3 year old daughter to Gramma’s house, for a few days in that wonderland.

That left me home alone with the boy. And let’s face it, at 6 months old, he wasn’t really going to argue with any of my entertainment choices.

Sunday morning, I put him in his Elmo car---a roll-y walker vehicle---and as I cleaned up the house a bit, I put on “The Last Waltz” DVD and cranked up the sound.

I was in and out of the room, singing along throughout, but when it came to the scene with The Staples Singers, I just stopped, unable to tear myself away.

How many times have I heard “The Weight” in my lifetime? Hundreds?

How surprised was I, to find myself getting goosebumps, as soon as Mavis Staples started her verse?

After all these years, she still has amazing powers.

Vacation week turned out to be a mini-Mavis fest.

Because I didn’t have to get up early, I was able to stay up and watch the late night talk shows. So I caught Mavis and Jeff Tweedy doing “Wrote A Song For Everyone” on David Letterman. And the very next night she was on The Colbert Report, once again moving me, this time with a Tweedy-penned track called “You Are Not Alone."

Good things come in 3s. And it was enough critical mass to make me run to the stacks when I got back to work, and make sure I had a copy of Mavis’ new record, also called “You Are Not Alone.”

Today on mvyradio, we’re giving away copies of her disc, as The Monday Free CD. Tune in to win.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy - You Are Not Alone
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

Check out the interview with Colbert that preceded the performance. I love her answer to Colbert's question, "Do you sing The Devil's Music?"

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

The Band "I Shall Be Released"

PJ is taking some time off for the birth of his second child. Guest Blogger (and Dad) Bill Eville, former mvyradio employee, freelancer writer and Vineyard resident fills in.

It was the last night of the guest d.j. blog. Hardy and I didn’t have a project to work on tonight. We didn’t have ice cream or the ladies joining us, either. We were too busy looking for a song.

Earlier that day, while picking Hardy up at Kindergarten, his music teacher had stopped me in the hallway. She seemed eager to see me, grinning big and walking fast. “Hey Bill,” she said. “Thanks so much for agreeing to be in the talent show?”

“There’s a talent show?” I asked.

“Sure, next month. At the agricultural hall. The whole island turns out for it.”

“You don’t say.”

“Yup. Hardy said the two of you would be doing it together.”

“Did he say what we would be doing?”

The music teacher laughed. “Oh, I’ll let him tell you about it.”

I found Hardy in his classroom wrestling with his backpack. I helped him adjust the straps, then we collected his lunchbox and walked outside, his hand in mine. Halfway to the car, I turned to him. “So, I hear we’re going to perform in the talent show.”

“Yeah. I thought we’d play music,” Hardy said. “Like the guys in the video’s we’ve been watching.”

I felt a surge of admiration for my son. At five and a half he was game to go public, on stage and in front of everyone. He was my hero. But I was also scared to death. Why me, I thought. His mother is the musician. She could whip out a Bach violin concerto easy as passing the peas. Me? I’m a music appreciator. I hide in the basement singing only when no one, save my son, is watching. But I held my tongue. After all, I had invited this influence into our lives.

“Have you picked out a song?” I asked. “Something we heard this week?”

“No. Not yet. What are we watching tonight?”

I thought for a minute. Perhaps we needed variety, a concert video that incorporated a whole bunch of musicians. “I have just the thing,” I said.

That night, as we settled into the basement, Hardy quizzed me about tonight’s choice. “What’s the name of the band?” he asked. I showed him a copy of The Last Waltz, Martin Scorcese’s documentary of The Band’s farewell concert.

“The name of the band is The Band.” I said.

“Oh, come on, Dad.” Recently, Hardy and I had watched some Abbot and Costello bits on youtube. I had to admit, it did sound like a, whose on first, what’s on second, routine.

“Really, it’s true. The band is called The Band. And in this concert a lot of their friends are performing too. You’ll recognize a few.”

We watched a lot of the show in silence. I had forgotten how magical it was. How tight Van Morrison’s pants were, how even Neil Diamond impressed, and how hard The Band rocked. I also watched with apprehension. What if Hardy decided we should do a Joni Mitchell tune. Or wanted to me sound like Pops Staples helping out on The Weight?

In the end, Hardy didn’t choose any of the songs from the concert. In fact, we are still looking. In the meantime I have been undergoing a regimen of vocal exercises while Hardy strums away on his ukelele. My panic seems to be lessing a bit, slowly nibbled away by the pride I feel for my son’s blase approach to his moment in the public eye. Just another type of play, it seems, like blocks or coloring. Oh, to be so free again. When fear was fed mostly by those imaginary creatures that go bump in the night but real life wasn’t scary at all.

As we walked upstairs, the week of concert videos now at an end, Hardy turned to me. “You know what I liked about all the videos, together,” he said.

“What?” I asked, leaning forward to hear what I was sure would be an insightful nugget from the mouth of babes. Hardy thought for awhile. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “I don’t know.”