Tag Archives: Richmond

Concert Gallery: American Aquarium at the Broadberry

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My recent trip to visit family in Richmond, Virginia happened to coincide with a December 3 concert by one of my favorite bands, American Aquarium at The Broadberry, a club that some Richmonders will remember at The Cellar Door on Broad Street. I’ve been a fan of American Aquarium for a while, now, especially since just after the 2016 elections when they released a song that so perfectly spoke to my feelings that night, “The World Is On Fire,” (See the video at the bottom of this post.) but I’d not had the chance to see them live. They did not disappoint.

The show opened with a low-key, but beautiful set by Tommy Prine, son of the late and truly great John Prine. He has yet to put out an album, but he clearly has inherited a fair amount of talent from this father.

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Statues celebrating the Confederacy must be removed!

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In August 2017, I wrote about the controversy raging over the proposed removal of the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue in my hometown of Richmond Virginia. Now some of those statues are coming down at the hands of protestors. I’m confident the rest will come down eventually, ideally through legislative or judicial action, though opponents to removal are putting up a fight, so we’ll see. This resistance to the removal of the statues baffles me. They should have been gone long ago, and replaced with symbols that unify the city, not divide it!

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Heritage: What to do about Monument Avenue

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I’ve been following the debate over Monument Avenue with great interest. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. I’ve lived in a few places since leaving home for graduate school, but Virginia is, and always will be home.
I’m proud of my state and its heritage, but there’s also a lot to be ashamed of, and there’s no use denying it. Virginia has a sordid and long history of slavery and civil rights violations. There are many who celebrate its role as Capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, but I am not one of them. I am fascinated by the history of the Civil War, but I recognize that it was a secessionist rebellion.
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Four Singer-Songwriters and a minivan: The Parlor Sessions Tour

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This gallery contains 35 photos.

Tomorrow night Eliot Bronson, Dean Fields, Jason Myles Goss and Andy Zipf will wrap up their 15-day, 15-city tour at The Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC. In five previous posts you can read about the tour and what was planned.  … Continue reading →

The Parlor Sessions: Coming Soon to Your Town

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1343Something that’s been getting a lot of play on my iPod lately is the free 12-song sampler for The Parlor Sessions Tour featuring Dean Fields, Andy Zipf, Jason Myles Goss and Eliot Bronson. It’s a 12-song sampler by four young singer-songwriters who are heading out on tour together June 5-15, making stops along the East Coast from New Hampshire to Georgia.  I knew Dean Fields, who’s been profiled in this site, and am a big fan, but Eliot, Jason, and Andy were new, delightful discoveries for me.  I’m a sucker for a good song and, one after another these tracks pulled me in.

You can hear the artists for yourself over the course of the next four days. Each day I’ll be posting a brief profile of one of the artists, along with a track or two and a brief Q&A, or you can download the sampler yourself at any time.  Of course I’ll be at the show here in Boston, so look for a report on that, too.

In today’s post, however, we’ll look at the tour itself. The Parlor Sessions is a great name for a tour by this kind of singer-songwriter, playing these kinds of venues.  It evokes Continue reading →

Bikes of Richmond

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Live Art: Tree of Life-The Most Heartwarming Show I’ve Seen This (or Any) Holiday Season Isn’t Actually a Christmas Show

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LiveArt2013logo-webThe performance of The Live Art: Tree of Life at the Landmark Theater on December 22 had a few problems. Among other issues, a smoke machine set of a fire alarm, more than a few dancers missed their marks, and a pianist was slightly off tempo. Yet the show left me completely spellbound from beginning to end! The problems, with the possible exception of the fire alarm, only enhanced the charm of a truly magical evening that celebrated all forms of the arts, and the joy of participation in them, regardless of skill level or ability. Continue reading →

Open Letter to the Editors of Richmond Magazine

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Dear Editor,
richmond-magazine-august-2013-coverI am writing to express my disappointment in the August 2013, “Best and Worst ’13” issue of Richmond Magazine, particularly the “Culture” section.  Earlier this week, on August 14, Paste Magazine released it’s list of “12 Virginia Bands You Should Listen to Now,” part of The Paste 50 States Project.  11 of the 12  acts on that list are from Richmond, and yet the “Best Local Band” is a cover band that does hits from the 70s and 80s?  I do not mean to denigrate Three Sheets to the Wind at all.  I am sure they are fantastic, and I also recognize the issue reflects the results of a readers poll.  But should you not have guided that poll a bit more?  Most polls of this kind would ask readers to choose in categories, at the minimum between best cover band and best band that plays original material, but perhaps also best live band, best country act, best rock act, etc.
Why is the Culture section so small, anyway?  Are there not enough performances or people who have seen them to have listed Best Concert, Theatrical Production, Movie Theater, Library, Movie About or Filmed in Richmond, Album by an artist originally from the Richmond area…   I could go on!  This issue is certainly not reflective of the diverse cultural life in Richmond. But bear in mind, patients with ED should to be aware of when buying cialis on line you eat and in what dosage. But if you suffer anxiety then you generic levitra canada will not able to enjoy the sexual activity. No need to get worried due to mentioned viagra generico cialis list of side effects. These first experiences formed levitra canada price your beliefs regarding your capabilities and you merely adhere to those beliefs unconsciously.  In fact, a couple of the categories, “Best Enjoyable Night Out” and “Best Impressive Night Out” seem to deal only with food and beverages.  I do believe that these are important parts constituents of culture, but in the categorization schema of this issue, “Food & Drink” are a separate and much larger section.
Your magazine should play a role in advancing the cultural life of the city, and in making people from here proud of the role our citizens have played on the  national stage.  This issue fails miserably.  It seems clear the real goal is to promote potential advertisers.  That’s fine, but it shouldn’t be your only goal.

Dean Fields Talks about “Any Minute Now,” Arriving Tuesday

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Cover artwork by Brian Thibodeau

Cover artwork by Brian Thibodeau

Any Minute Now is a new EP from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Dean Fields due to arrive… wait for it…. As much as I’d love to type “any minute now” at this point, there is a release date and it’s just days away, Tuesday August 13. The EP follows his 2011 EP Under A Searchlight Moon, a clever and wildly romantic selection of tunes that Fields wrote himself. On this collection all but one of the tracks were co-written with other artists, yet they are tracks that he felt strongly invested, and that he felt spoke for him as an artist. It was a big change for an songwriter who had always worked alone. It may seem odd to follow up an EP with another EP, and in fact, he had planned a full length album.  But a confluence of life circumstances and aesthetic considerations led to the decision to release this collection of songs now, saving the others for a later release. The songs seemed to belong together, and they were ready for release.

I learned about all of this and more in an August 1, 2013 interview with Fields in the Stratton Student Center at MIT, in the midst of a series of concerts in Cambridge, Boston and environs. Now based in Nashville, he grew up in Mechanicsville, VA, just outside of my hometown of Richmond, VA. I’ve been listening to his music for a while, but had not seen him perform. We talked the morning of his show at that institution of the Cambridge music scene, Club Passim. Of course the main topic of conversation was the new record Any Minute Now. Continue reading →

Tim Barry on Why He Doesn’t Want to Be a Rock Star, His Secret City, His First Song and More

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At the Middle East, July 21st

Among the crowd at the Middle East, July 21st

When I asked Tim Barry how he would classify the style of music he plays, he told me, “I just say it’s Rock & Roll with an acoustic guitar.” I’ll buy that.  I know that his solo set during the show at the Middle East Downstairs on Sunday, July 21st   reminded me of what rock and roll is really about as much or more than did any of the sets by artists with full bands and electric instruments.  He had the nervous energy and desire to please that an aspiring artist might bring to an important audition, yet he was confident and a consummate performer.  He established a rapport with the audience that made it seem like he leading a sing along with a bunch of friends at a pub. This was especially true when he took the microphone stand from the stage and put in on the floor in front so he could sing in the midst of the crowd. This was a guy who was working his ass off to put on a great show, but having a great time at it. He told stories and philosophized, but mostly he played his heart out, and the crowd ate it up.

As he recounted in the post Musicians Egos and…, he had been largely responsible for bringing the show together, and several acts expressed their appreciation to “nice guy” Tim, either from the stage of when I talked to them later.  It was a Sunday night show that certainly didn’t feel like it was happening on a Sunday night! I’ll have more to say about the other acts in later posts, but for now let me tell you about Tim Barry, and incredibly exciting artist I had the good fortune to interview on June 17 by phone from his home in Richmond, four days before the show in Cambridge.

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