I think when anyone pays to see someone like Henley, Springsteen. U2, R.E.M., Nugent, Steve Earle, etc. they know full well what they're getting into going in as far as the politics of the performer are concerned so it shouldn't be a surprise. Plus, my paying to see them doesn't mean I get to dictate the content of the show. It's their concert, not mine. That said, I realize it can get pretty annoying but for the most part the majority of performers tend to keep that kind of rhetoric to a minimum. Then there's some like Earle and Nugent where you think you're at a political rally.

Do you mean "Sarah McLachlan"? If so, I don't have a problem with her music at all. As for worst concerts, I guess I've had pretty good luck there as I've only been witness to a few. One was the Raisin Band, the opening act for Kiss on their Rock n' Roll Over tour, though I kind of got the idea they were bad on purpose. Then there was the Spin Doctors on the H.O.R.D.E. tour, truly horrendous. Finally, a group called Head of Femur from Chicago that opened for Wilco at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach a couple of summers ago. For the most part I've had good experiences with the various headliners I've seen over the years (including Rush and Dylan).

It's not really a "show" per se but it's been broadcast in past years on XM's X-Country channel.

Don Dixon & the Jump Rabbits Friday, June 13th Berkeley Cafe Raleigh, NC

Concert of the year so far and one that will be extremely hard to top. Tonight it's Don Dixon in Raleigh, next week AthFest and R.E.M. in Atlanta for the last stop on their current U.S. tour. R.E.M. w/ The National & Modest Mouse Tuesday, June 10th Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre Raleigh, NC Harbor Coat Living Well's The Best Revenge Bad Day Whats the Frequency, Kenneth? 1,000,000 Man-Sized Wreath Welcome To The Occupation Accelerate 7 Chinese Brothers Hollow Man Imitation of Life Houston Electrolite Walk Unafraid The One I Love Final Straw Find The River Let Me In Horse To Water Auctioneer (Another Engine) Orange Crush I'm Gonna DJ Encore Supernatural Superserious Losing My Religion Pretty Persuasion Fall On Me (w/ Johnny Marr) Sitting Still (w/ Mitch Easter and Don Dixon) Man On The Moon REMhq.com Tour blog for Raleigh (photos, video, commentary) Review from Durham, NC's Independent Weekly Review Raleigh, News & Observer Review

It's for Americana. Yet another term used to describe "alt.country" or "No Depression". In other words, the flipside of what people normally associate with "Nashville". This shit ain't Rascal Flatts. The cover of the final issue of No Depression (the unofficial "bible" of Americana music) with Buddy Miller on the cover that went out of print earlier this year. However it will continue in a new concept called a "book-a-zine" that will be published twice a year. If you're interested in knowing more check these links: Americana Music Association No Depression magazine

My Morning Jacket Jonathan Cohen It's 4 a.m. on the last night of South by Southwest, and Jim James is belting out Rod Stewart's "You're in My Heart." A few hours earlier, the My Morning Jacket frontman dazzled an intimate crowd at an Austin church with a mostly solo acoustic set, and the full band's three other performances during the week were some of the most acclaimed of the industry confab. But of all the places James could be right now, it's a cozy terrace suite at Austin's famed Driskill Hotel, surrounded by a few close friends, a bucket of Miller Lites and an iPod, singing and analyzing songs into the wee hours. As he says the following week, "Music is everything." Click here to read the rest of the feature.

I already mentioned this but I'll mention it again. If it's anything like the Eagles album (that was also an "exclusive" to Wal-Mart) local retailers will purchase copies from Wal-Mart to sell in their own stores.

Piss & Moan Blues spent my whole paycheck on the goddamn rent and much more i can piss and moan about gonna piss and moan right outta here spent the whole damn day in the goddamn house ain't much more I ramble on about ramble right on out here say you don't know where yer money goes (Lincoln, Jackson, Franklin) I see yer (Abraham, Andrew, Benjamin) wish I had me some of those spent my whole damn wad on food and pot ain't much more that I have got gonna get it and get out of here yoda lay hee yodaoda lay hee yodaooo lay hee hee hee The Gourds from Dems Good Beeble

For those interested, there's more info here: Musicians push for better sound online and on disc

Americana Music Association to Bestow Lifetime Achievement Award on Jason & the Scorchers Band to Reunite for Performance during Ceremony "Wild-eyed rock-and-roll meets the mythic South in the music of Jason and the Scorchers...one of the great rock bands of the 1980's." Jon Pareles, New York Times (April 9, 1985) NASHVILLE, June 9, 2008 - The Americana Music Association is proud to announce pioneers Jason and the Scorchers will receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement in Performance Award at the annual Americana Honors and Awards show Thursday, September 18 at the Ryman Auditorium. Original Jason and the Scorchers members Jason Ringenberg, Warner Hodges, Jeff Johnson and Perry Baggs will be on hand not only to accept the honor, but to perform together for the first time in more than a decade. Directly following the awards ceremony, Ringenberg and Hodges will front a band performing a set of Scorchers' originals at a venue to be announced; more details surrounding the red-letter show will be released soon. It's a mantra – a cliché: "To succeed, you have to be first, different or better." Many pioneers whose music is savored from the moment of conception to generation after generation have fallen under this sing-songy definition of success in one way or another. But Jason and the Scorchers embodied all three prongs of the hypothesis. They were punk. They were country. They were rock. Perhaps most of all, they were originals. Jason and the Nashville Scorchers, as they were originally called, were messiahs for a 1980's American rock scene suffering from a slight inferiority complex and aching for pride and grit. Together, frontman Jason Ringenberg, guitarist Warner Hodges, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Perry Baggs, personified roots music experimentation, boasting an unparalleled respect for and familiarity with honky tonk, while wielding innate punk savvy. It wasn't just how they said it: What they were saying also resonated. Ringenberg's songwriting often drew heady thematic comparisons to Southern Gothic literary giants like Flannery O'Conner or William Faulkner, and Hodges' influential guitar work roared in response as the punk-rock backbone of their euphoric sound's dual-personality. The group's spirited interpretations of traditional country classics by journeymen including Hank Williams were uninhibited celebrations of hillbilly soul. Their arguably unprecedented mix's live translation is now legendary: The Scorchers infused the soul of Gram Parsons with the fury of the New York Dolls, shepherded by a lead vocalist who channeled both Faron Young and Iggy Pop. National and subsequent international acclaim arrived on the heels of major label albums and on the strength of live shows, released in conjunction with and steadily guided by early indie hometown believers Praxis. Instead of shying away from their southern roots, Jason and the Scorchers owned them, and quite simply, they made Nashville proud. It's often said that art's impact is most accurately gauged looking backward, after the silt settles to the bottom and some sort of clear context emerges. Jason and the Scorchers' profound effect on the international music scene and more specifically, what Nashville rock bands felt they could accomplish, was historic, with ramifications still blissfully felt today. Hosted by Jim Lauderdale and featuring a band led by Buddy Miller, the Honors & Awards ceremony will also toast winners in six member- voted categories: Album, Artist, Instrumentalist, New and Emerging Artist, Song and Duo/Group of the Year. The AMA will also recognize iconic troubadour John Hiatt with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Songwriting. Slated for Wednesday, September 17 through Saturday, September 20, the 9th Annual Americana Festival and Conference will offer daily seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Nashville Convention Center. Each evening brings stacked Americana showcases to key venues throughout Nashville. One ticket to the Americana Honors and Awards is included in each conference registration packet. The general public may also purchase tickets for the ceremony for $45 each. In addition, showcase wristbands granting admission to the Jason and the Scorchers venue show and all other evening showcases on all four nights are also available for $35. To buy tickets, learn more about becoming a member of the Americana Music Association, and access detailed conference information and please visit www.americanamusic.org or call 615-386- 6936.

Don't feel bad, lots of folks have no idea. That's the problem.

These lyrics didn't change my life but they are certainly food for thought. This song tells the true story of the late Gregory Dean Smalley who died from AIDs several years ago but continued to play live shows right up until the very end. The Living Bubba I wake up tired and I wake up pissed wonder how I ended up like this I wonder why things happen like they do but I don't wonder long cuz I got a show to do I'm sick at my stomach from the A.Z.T. Broke at my bank cuz that shit ain't free but I'm here to stay (at least another week or two) I can't die now cuz I got another show to do Don't give me no pity don't give me no grief Wait 'til I die for sympathy Just help me with this amp and a guitar or two I can't die now cuz I got another show to do Don't give me no preachin' no self servin' I ain't no angel but nobody's deserving I can dance on my own grave, thank you! but I can't die now cuz I got another show... Some people keep saying I can't last long but I got my bands I got my songs, liquor, beer, and nicotine to help me along and I'm drunk and stubborn as they come chain smoking, guitar picking, 'til I'm gone I ain't got no political agenda Ain't got no message for the youth of America 'cept "Wear a rubber and be careful who you screw" and come see me next Friday cuz I got another show... Some people stop living long before they die Work a dead end job just to scrape on by but I keep living just to bend that note in two and I can't die now cuz I got another show... lyrics by Patterson Hood music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff) ©1998 Soul Dump Music

Or Bennett and Nels, no reason to discount one over the other. Not to mention this is just one person's opinion so it's not really worth getting worked up over.

Actually, it will be so fucking hot I doubt the ice will have much time to do any good, much less the "shrinkage" factor.

Decoration Day is a good place to start but be forewarned they have been through numerous personnel changes over the years and the lineup present on this album was good through A Blessing And A Curse (except for the departure of Earl Hicks, who was replaced by guitarist Jason Isbell's wife, Shonna Tucker). The early records (Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance are much more country but they are also very raw production-wise. These days (sans Jason Isbell) they are back to that more country sound but the production is much more polished. I love all of their records but live is the best way to see 'em.

If you like that, I strongly suggest you check out the clip of My Morning Jacket with Vedder ripping through A Quick One (if you haven't done so already). Surely those on the fence about the others paying tribute to the Who must be moved somewhat by Pearl Jam's take on Who songs. Vedder has always been very vocal about his Who fandom and it comes across very strongly in his renditions of their songs.

I would love to see Obama become President but I have a feeling it's not going to happen because I'm not so sure the world at large is ready for a black man to become President. Perhaps if he names Hilary as his running mate that might deter any assassination attempts.

I plan on fending off the heat by stuffing my shorts with copious amounts of ice. Of course that could lead to some shrinkage of the likes the world has never seen.

No need to apologize as we all have a wide variety of tastes. I don't hate America but for the most part I was never really into that whole soft rock thing in the 70s, though I do have a certain amount of tolerance for some of it. The "country rock" (for lack of a better term) type bands of that period were much more to my liking such as Pure Prairie League, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Flying Burrito Brothers, etc. On the America tip, they were joined by Ryan Adams, Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, also known for composing the music for the movie That Thing You Do!), James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) and others for their latest album which was released sometime last year. Unfortunately, most of what I heard from it simply didn't do much for me. If you're so inclined, here's a clip of them (along with Ryan and Ben Kweller) from the Late Show with David Letterman that aired in January of '07:

Why are you surprised you liked the Drive-By Truckers? By the way, if you liked My Sweet Annette, I'm sure there's lots of other stuff by them you would also enjoy. They can be very country (like on that song) or in your face rock n' roll (despite what you may have read from their detractors in these parts, they obviously haven't heard one fuckin' note of the DBT). Like I said, I like some of the vintage Chicago (aka the original band) but I have never been able to tolerate the latter day (especially the Peter Cetera era) Chicago. You know, the version of the band that couldn't seem to release a song without the word "love" in the title. Not that there's anything the matter with love songs but I always found their brand of love songs to be particularly atrocious. That's not a reflection of your own personal tastes, it's just rather obvious I don't care for latter day Chicago, AT ALL.

It is unseasonably hot here in the Cackalack. I have been looking forward to tomorrow night's R.E.M. concert in Raleigh since it was first announced several months ago but I'm not looking forward to the heat (which is predicted to be in the upper 90s, even at night).

Please pardon me as this doesn't have a damn thing to do with your Little Rascals Trivia Quiz other than the obvious: Buckwheat is dead!