Wilco, Ryan, Jake & The Kids...

The last 8-10 days or so have been a blur, burning the candle at both ends. Work hard, play hard, whatever other appropriate cliches apply. This job, being a PD, can be frustrating, rewarding, satisfying and exhausting, simultaneously. But I wouldn't trade it for anything at this point...

Last Friday, (6/22), WBOS hosted a special private show with Boston Hardcore Folk revivalist Jake Brennan at First Act Guitar Studio on Boylston St., site of numerous private 'BOS shows over the past couple of years. The show was the culmination of Jake's "Pop-Ed" series on www.boston.com, in which he wrote a song a day, based on a story in that morning's Boston Globe. The song was recorded, a video shot & edited, and the entire thing posted on Boston.com by 4p same day. Quite a feat, and Jake nailed it for the 2 weeks it ran. WBOS was the radio partner, playing the day's song in George Knight's "After Dark" show. Anyway, the private show was the grand finale for this iteration of the concept.

First Act, which comfortably holds just over 100 people, was packed with WBOS listeners. Jake, a major talent who's suffered some career setbacks in the last few years but by all rights should be a nationally-recognized artist at this point, stepped up and delivered to an audience that only partially knew who he was or his style of music. Think Woody Guthrie meets The Clash, the sensibilities of indie/punk rock fused to traditional folk structures, synthesized into a completely unique solo style. His 30 minute set included songs from the Pop-Ed series, such as "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (a diatribe against the Hollywood summer blockbuster garbage that we get hit with annually) and "She's My Baby," Jake's take on the Anna Nicole Smith saga and perhaps his most Dylanesque song in it's melodic structure. Turning up the distortion on his acoustic, Jake ripped through "My Duct-Tape Prom Queen," a funny, wistfully romantic song based on the true story of a high school prom king & queen who made their outfits out of said all-purpose Home Depot staple. Closing the set with his incendiary "Do You Remember What Joe Strummer Said?" brought the guitar house down and sent an ecstatic crowd home to spread the gospel of Jake. I've been a big supporter of Jake's music for several years, and hope you'll become one too. Discover for yourself at www.myspace.com/jakebrennan.

On Thursday, WBOS joined our sister Greater Media stations in the first annual Camp Harborview Radiothon, which raised money for the camp of the same name. The camp, a nonprofit entity founded by the Connors Family Foundation in conjunction with the City of Boston, will take 600 kids off the streets of Boston for 4 weeks (300 kids per session, 2 4-week sessions). It's a great thing, giving a bunch of good kids who live in some of the city's worst neighborhoods, an opportunity to see the wider world, get three good meals per day, and learn leadership skills, team-building, and play sports. We are all very proud to support the cause, and to help the communities that we are a part of. However, the actual execution of the Radiothon, behind the scenes, was challenging. It's the first time 5 stations have done this, so despite the 5 weeks of preparation that went into it, we were all nonetheless flying a bit blind. Coordinating breaks, adjusting for guests running late, getting out of songs in time, etc.-it made for a stressful day for all involved, although in the end, we raised a lot of money and felt the experience was quite rewarding. Next year will be much smoother, for sure. But all of that stress & frustration melted away Thursday night when Wilco took the stage at the BOA Pavilion...
Wilco, one of those bands that people think they know & like but perhaps aren't as well versed in as they'd want you to believe, is the rare creature that lives up to the critical fawning they've had since their inception in the 90's. They've made great records, gone thru numerous lineup changes, endured record company battles (which they won!), and been the subject of a fascinating documentary, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart." But through it all, they've remained a GREAT band, especially live. Their 2005 live CD "Kicking Television" belongs in the pantheon of seminal live albums like Live at Leeds and Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out (Lou Reed's Rock & Roll Animal belongs too). Wilco's most recent CD, "Sky Blue Sky" is my favorite record this year, and as such, I was looking forward to this show for months. And man, did they deliver...
I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere between "Hate It Here" and "Jesus, etc." I felt my world return to its proper balance. The stress of work, the constant worry about what's next, how to get the ratings up, all of it, just faded away in the midst of another Nels Cline guitar solo excursion. Nels is a jazz guitarist by trade, joined Wilco a few years back, and brought the whole thing to a new height. His playing reminds me greatly of Jerry Garcia, full of melody, no wasted notes, just beautiful sounds enveloping the shed, even into his fuzzed-out bursts with Tweedy. Jeff Tweedy, head Wilco, singer, songwriter, guitarist, was in fine voice all night, from the psychedelia of "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" thru the beautiful country of "California Stars," from their collaboration with Billy Bragg. This is a great American rock band, one with an indelible connection to their fans, and rewarding those fans by channeling their energy back into the show as it's happening. There's no lasers, no backdrops, no fancy staging, just a band at the peak of their abilities playing their collective asses off. It was being there, watching this concert, that reminded me (at a time I sorely needed it) that it's the music that moves me, that matters most, that drives me at all times and why I do what I do for a living. Thank you, Wilco. I owe ya one.
Friday morning, exhausted, overslept a little, but got to work excited anew. Still aglow from the Wilco show, and excited for Ryan Adams' visit to Studio 7. I've met Ryan a few times, several years ago, and I'm sure he doesn't remember. This is a new Ryan Adams, a clean &sober musician who just dropped another fantastic record, Easy Tiger. A true alt-country gem, "alt" being the definer in that this is really a traditional country record, made without the pop sheen of contemporary Nashville. That stuff is just pop with a twang. This is a record that stands comfortably next to its forebears, like Willie Nelson's Troublemaker and prime Waylon Jennings. Anyway, Ryan arrived, a bit late, but clear-eyed, friendly, and in good humor. His interview with Dana Marshall is an instant classic (we'll post the audio on www.wbos.com very soon), a free-association rant/ramble touching on everything from Fergie to The Ghost Whisperer to failures of the mainstream media. It all added up to deep anticipation for his show that night at the Somerville Theatre...and a standing offer to Ryan to come on & do a radio show anytime he wants...he's a natural and I'd put him on the air in a second.
The word on the show was that it would be 90 minutes, starting at 7:30 sharp, and Ryan won't be playing guitar (as he's recovering from a broken wrist suffered skateboarding a few months ago). In typical Ryan fashion (typical meaning "you never know what will happen"), the show started promtly at 8:20, with The Cardinals (his band, which he considers himself a part of rather than it being a backing band) sitting in a half-circle onstage, all sharply dressed in black sportcoats, ties, and crisp white shirts. It was a semi-acoustic affair, with an upright piano, acoustic guitars, electric bass, minimalist drum kit, and a pedal steel guitar...and Ryan on guitar too, for the first time on this tour. Opening with "Cold Roses," we were all struck by how well Ryan sang, how clear and strong his voice is, what a singer he's become. Flipping thru a pair of notebooks on a music stand in front of him, the band pulled out a variety of chestnuts to go along with nearly the entirety of the new record . "Let It Ride," "Carolina Rain," "Magnolia Mountain," "Two," "I Am Learning How To Grow Old," "Tears of Gold," and "Goodnight Rose" were all standouts...during his 2 & a 1/2 hour show. In between, he consistenly engaged the crowd, playing off repeated catcall song requests (the Ryan of old would've reacted far differently, one thinks), creating a warm, ingratiating vibe that was highlighted by a surprise birthday tribute to his pedal steel player, the aptly nicknamed "Slider." After a while, it felt like I was sitting in the intimate confines of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, watching a classic Country band completely in their element. It was a warm, wonderful night of music, a tremendous return to form of one of music's brightest talents, and hopefully a precursor to new heights for a career artist that follows the muse wherever it takes him-and us.
See ya soon.