Concert Sutra Interrogates Vietnam

by terri sapp

photographs taken by terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

After experiencing the underground Georgia legends, Vietnam, at a couple of shows in October (which can be read about in the supporting Concert Sutra write up this month), I felt I must get Stan Satin, David Dean, David Watkins a.k.a. Zod, Laurie G-Force, and John Stun together and explore the depths of these powerhouse rockers!  In the absence of my wonderful and talented Photographer and assistant, Leah Yetter, I enlisted the help of Noel Page, formerly of Valentine Fix, and Salome’s Wish, etc., currently Pop! On Command.  Noel and I were fortunate enough to gather at the house of Davidean, where Vietnam practices on Sunday nights, for a visit, which quickly moved to a local establishment for a fabulously fun interview.  Read on for a full transcript of the festivities.  Also, don’t forget to check out my photo gallery from the last few months with Vietnam, visit the following site, hosted courtesy of Leah Yetter, Photographer: http://www.leahyetter.com/06vietnam/. Read More »

Concert Sutra on Swollen Members

by terri sapp

stock photos from Swollen Members

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

Swollen Members:      Yo, Terri!

Concert Sutra: Hi!  I wanted to first ask you guys how you ended up together?

Swollen Members:      Swollen Members formed about nine years ago.  I met Mad Child briefly while he was living in San Francisco.  I had been living in San Diego, and was on my way back to Vancouver, and decided to stop in San Francisco just to check out the scene and see what was going on for half a day.  I walked into a shop called Extra Large, which was owned by the Beastie Boys, and Mad Child was working there.  We had known who each other were, but had never formally met back in Vancouver, so we started talking.  Struck it off pretty well…didn’t really think too too much about it, but a year and a half later I walked into a house party and he was there.  We sat down across from each other and started rapping in front of about a hundred and fifty drunk people at my homegirl’s birthday party.  We had the entire room silent, which you know it is hard enough to keep drunk people silent, let alone one hundred and fifty of them.  From that moment forward, we knew we had chemistry together.  We took a walk to the corner store together to get some gum, and by the time we got back, Swollen Members was in the studio the next week. Read More »

Concert Sutra Going To The Church

By terri sapp

Photographed by terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

The first person we ran into when we arrived at the Variety Playhouse on August 6, 2006 (my sweet and beautiful Mama’s birthday) informed us that The Church would be going at it acoustic style on this tour.  That’s right, folks, we got the rare opportunity to have this religious experience with no Rickenbackers in sight!  I watched closely as the men around me tensed up with anxiety, but I maintained my cool, as I knew these guys would rock it out, no matter what instruments they were playing.  After close to thirty years of touring, this was my first time seeing The Church play live, but as their studio recordings always reflected, there is nothing if not pure genius running through the veins of every member of this holier than most group of musicians.

I was told by my “The Church concert veteran” (the gorgeous and talented Mr. Noel Page) that they could be expected to open the show with the first song from the band’s latest studio release.  Sure enough, “Block,” from the 2006 Uninvited Like The Clouds record, was first to make its way into every ear of this loyal congregation. Read More »

Concert Sutra Girls Want To Join Willie Nelson’s Family

Written by terri sapp

Photographed by Leah Yetter, Photographer

© Concert Sutra 2006, All Rights Reserved

            For me, the only thing missing from the Willie Nelson show on July 19, 2006 at the City Auditorium in Macon, Georgia was my Daddy!  The crowd at this concert was probably the most diverse I have ever seen.  There were children, teens, young adults, middle agers, and even grandfolk, of all shapes, colors, and sizes, all relishing in the beautiful music playing throughout the night!  We saw one lady dancing down the aisle that could have been rescued from the Titanic!  Even the mix of musicians on the stage spanned a wide range.  The opening act, Willie’s sons Lukas and Micha’s band, Harmonic Tribe, featured one of the most inviting dready boys, Marty Dread, with a fine voice, and smooth moves.  The Harmonic Tribe has three guitars, a bass, drums, congas, and the cute dready boy, Marty Dread, shaking things, along with his ass.  The main attraction, even here, though came when they were joined by Willie Nelson for a few numbers.  The standout collaboration during the Harmonic Tribe’s set was “What Happened to Peace on Earth.”  Lukas Nelson is no doubt his father’s son, and did not fall far from the tree.  His voice has a similar quality to his Dad, and his picking skills are polished and well-groomed.  Lukas’s organic talent really shines on a very bluesy “Sky Is Crying.”  Surprisingly enough, if one was expecting a “Country show” going to a Willie Nelson concert, they would be sorely disappointed, because throughout the night, I kept thinking how the music was deeply rooted in the blues and rock and roll.  Willie even threw in a little bit of gospel music!  Read More »

Concert Sutra Wallows In Wackiness With Ween

Written by terri sapp

Photographed by Leah Yetter

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

In a 1984 junior high typing class, in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met, called themselves Gene and Dean Ween, and started playing and recording music.  They came together like brothers from another mother, and have been doing their thing, THEIR WAY, ever since!  Even though they have been associated with such major projects as cartoons “South Park,” “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Crank Yankers;” TV show “Grounded for Life;” movie “It’s Pat;” and powerhouse band Queens of the Stone Age; released at least twenty recordings (studio, self-produced, and live); launching their own internet radio station, WeenRadio; and even forming their own label, Chocodog Records, their live show is by far their most sought after accomplishment.  In addition to the dynamic duo, Gene Ween (a.k.a. Aaron Freeman on lead vocals, guitar, etc.) and Dean Ween (a.k.a. Mickey Melchiondo on lead guitar, vocals, etc.), there are Dave Dreiwitz (on bass), Claude Coleman, Jr. (on drums), and Glenn McClelland (on keyboards) backing them up with style! 

When I think of Ween, I first think of their lyrical shenanigans!  These guys have been cracking me up for years, and the one thing I have always wanted is to experience them on a tour all their own.  Up to now, every time I was fortunate enough to catch them live, they had been part of a festival, or group tour that did not allow them to properly spread their wings for, and show what a REAL Ween headliner show was all about.  UP TO NOW…  April 10, 2006 at the Tabernacle here in Atlanta, Georgia was no doubt a full ON Ween show!  They did not even bother with an opening act!!!!  You know that when an audience is lucky enough to have the actual band they paid/came to see all to themselves all night, everyone is in for quite a time.  This was a prime example.  Fun for all ages.  Leah even spotted a little old lady!  Read More »

Concert Sutra & Dinosaur Jr, Going Back In Time

written by terri sapp

photographs by terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

When I was just a wee lass, fresh out of Brunswick High School in the Summer of 1993, a friend of mine and I were fortunate enough to make it down into the great state of Florida for this little tour called Lollapalooza.  We were outside in the hot Orlando sun, and loving it!  This day was a very special day for me, as it would be my first live experience with many of my most revered acts such as Tool, Fishbone, Alice In Chains, Rage Against the Machine, Arrested Development, Front 242, PRIMUS, and Dinosaur Jr.  Even though it was a festival, and many acts were cut short, in my opinion, I was still able to develop a deeper appreciation for the rock band in general.  Ever since that day, I have made it one of my many goals to see all of the aforementioned bands live in concert as many times as possible.  I lucked out on some of the groups and have been able to grab many chances with, but had to wait until 2006 for Dinosaur Jr to directly cross my path again.  Fate brought me to this show, with the help of a couple of friends (Dottie Blount and Seth Weiner, THANKS GUYS!)  who were able to make it happen, and I loved every loud minute of it.  Not even an old friend blowing me off forever could knock me from the cloud I was on at the end of this bit of rock and roll heaven! Read More »

Concert Sutra Cheers Modern Day Bluegrass!

by terri sapp

Photographs by terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

Smith’s Old Bar in Atlanta, Georgia has been hopping with the latest and greatest bluegrass acts of my generation.  On January 12, 2006, I was pleased to have my first live show with CX-1, and Blueground Undergrass, whom I have been pleased to have seen many times before, on January 14, 2006.  Putting these two acts in the same place so close together helped me remember just how much fun I have at a show where there are so many boys pickin’ and a sangin’!  My appreciation for bluegrass music has grown over these recent years, with acts like Donna the Buffalo, Snake Oil Medicine Show, and Blueground Undergrass coming into my life.  However, when I first heard the Snake Oil Medicine show a few years ago, I was made aware of the potential for fun and crossing genres that bluegrass offers.  Most of the boys from the Snake Oil Medicine Show, who unfortunately broke up recently, have branched off and joined with their close friend and former Acoustic Syndicate band member and revived CX-1, formerly Cygnus X-1 Blackhole Bluegrass Boyz.  CX-1’s innovative approach to bluegrass touches my very soul with the flavors of reggae that are peppered throughout their songs.  This joining of Snake Oil Medicine Show and Acoustic Syndicate has produced a world beat, reggae, rock, Americana, newgrass, electronica, dance, hip hop, funk jazz, “modern fusion music,” “most closely resembling bluegrass,” sure to claim the affection of all who hear.  Read More »

Concert Sutra:      Arrested Development in 2006

Written by terri sapp

Photographed by Leah Yetter

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

After an extreme roller coaster of a year like 2005, and having gotten into a New Years rut, we needed a major way to bid adieu this year.  When we found out that Arrested Development was headlining one of the largest New Year’s Eve events in Atlanta, Downtown Countdown, we knew that was the one.  Downtown Countdown not only happens in Atlanta, but also in Baltimore, Washington D.C., as well as other choice cities over the years.  This year, I believe that Atlanta brought the party with “Life Music” specialists, Arrested Development.  The Downtown Countdown at Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia was definitely THE place to be this New Year’s Eve, with Arrested Development ringing in 2006 with a spiritual vengeance!

Downtown Countdown in Baltimore consisted of many main event bands, including SR-71, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, Kelly Bell Band, Fools & Horses, Plunge, Jah Works, Crushing Day, Right Foot Red, Dickinson (acoustic), Kim Hall & Jodi Harman (acoustic), And Doug Segree (acoustic). Baltimore offered DJs Kode Bleuu, Retro, & DJ VIP.  In addition, the NFL Baltimore Raven’s Cheerleaders joined the party at Big Night Baltimore!  Baltimore had eleven themed party areas set up for party goers enjoyment, as well as five dance floors!  Balloons dropped around midnight. Read More »

Concert Sutra In The Dark With Bauhaus

by terri sapp

Photographs by terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

Looking back on 2005, there are a select few times had that I can truly think back fondly on.  One of those times was my Thanksgiving holiday.  Puppies at home gorged on table scraps, friends gathered all around, and Bauhaus played “The Near the Atmosphere Tour” at my favorite venue, Atlanta’s Tabernacle!  The Beautiful, Peter Murphy (vocals), Daniel Ash (guitar and vocals), David J (bass), and Kevin Haskins (drums) kept even us turkey eating fools going strong well into the night!  I couldn’t have asked for a better way to give thanks, but in the Dark with Bauhaus.  Even though Bauhaus has been around since the late seventies, made their voice heard in the early part of the eighties, and reunited for touring in the late nineties, their latest tour proves them as fresh and hot as ever! Read More »

Concert Sutra Hangin’ With G Love and Special Sauce

Written by terri sapp

Photographed by Leah Yetter

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

Since the day I started writing these things each month, I have patiently awaited focusing all of my attention on G Love and Special Sauce.  November 18, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia, opening act Blackalicious joined G Love and Special Sauce at the Roxy for one of the highpoints of our time with the Concert Sutra.  G Love is Garrett Dutton (harmonica, vocals, and guitar), and the Special Sauce is comprised of Jimi Jazz (string bass) and Houseman (drums).  Most of the times I have seen these guys play, they seem to invite additional “special sauce” to add to the flava, and the Roxy show was no different.  G Love and Special Sauce have been touring through the Fall, and don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

The first notes of the night that come out of G Love are from his harmonica, which is why G Love has my heart!  When he plays the harmonica, I feel my world is complete.  “Get Ur Shit Together” is just G Love with his harmonica and guitar.  G is the funkiest, flyest, and freshest!  He makes my heart aflutter…  Houseman and Jimi Jazz join in on “Friday Night (Hundred Dollar Bill)” from Philadelphonic, making for the perfect opportunity for an Atlanta (or Hotlanta, as G likes to call it) freestyle.  These boys really know how to make ya shake it!  What a relief to get one of your favorite songs so early in the show, “Give It To You” from G’s album The Hustle hit the spot.  This is the best beat ever!  Houseman really rounds this song out with his backup vocals behind the drums.  Songs like “Give It To You” display the magnitude of which G Love and Special Sauce have been steadily consistent through the years with songs that you wanna hear over and over.  The heavy reggae beat is a sure fire way to my playlist!  Along the same lines, from The Hustle, “Booty Call” offers the crowd a fun sing along with a catchy tune.  And who wouldn’t want a “Booty Call” from G Love???  “Ain’t nothing wrong with a booty call…I can tell that we gon be friends.”  In cases like tonight, the booty call sometimes ends with a bit of the old “Hand Jive…”  Flashbacks rule! Read More »