Addicted To Vinyl » Willie Nelson

Little pink houses for you and me….and children 14 and under

Matt Wardlaw — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:59:44 +0000

Thanks to Cool Cleveland for reminding me of this.....

Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson are back on the road this year for another summer of shows at minor league ballparks across the United States. They're bringing John Mellencamp along for the ride this summer and reports from the early tour dates say that all three gentleman are turning in a fine setlist each night. For those of you that are headed out to one of the upcoming shows, Dylan has a little something for you and your family. Kids 14 and under get a free admission to this year's show, as long as they're accompanied by an adult - one complimentary youth admission for each adult ticket holder....so make it a night out for the whole family!

Snag your tickets here.

Thanks to a friend, it looks like I'll be in attendance to check this one out when the tour hits Eastlake on Saturday night - I've never seen Mellencamp play an actual set (just a few songs here and there,) so I'm pretty stoked!

It's only the second time in 24 years that all three performers have shared the stage together, so chances like this one don't come around very often!

For those of you that can't make the show - Bob Dylan's website is offering setlist recaps for each show, and even a recording of "Forgetful Heart," from Dylan's latest album Together Through Life.

And like everyone else, Bob is on Twitter, which we're guessing will make it easier for you to understand what Bob is saying, for the first time ever.

Here’s a rock and roll tour for ya – Bob Dylan + John Mellencamp + Willie Nelson

Matt Wardlaw — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:56:32 +0000

Bob Dylan is once again revisiting his highly successful summer tour of minor league ballparks, which inspired similar tours featuring Def Leppard and Bryan Adams, and Counting Crows with Live and Collective Soul. Dylan grabs fellow veteran ballpark traveler Willie Nelson and adds John Mellencamp to the bill.

Dylan was so-bad-that-I-walked-out awful a few years ago when he played Classic Park in Eastlake with Nelson, but with the addition of Mellencamp to the lineup, I'd certainly go check this one out again in Eastlake, where the trio will be on July 11th.

I'd love to see a similar tour with Tom Petty - the pairing possibilities are endless, and one possibility that I'd love to see, would be Petty with Roger McGuinn, and....perhaps Stevie Nicks?

via Rock God Cred

Bob Dylan has just announced an ambitious line-up for this year’s summer concert tour. Along with fellow troubadour Willie Nelson, this summer The Bob Dylan Show will also feature John Mellencamp, marking just the second time in the past 24 years that these three performers have shared the concert stage.

All concert tickets are priced at $67.50 and most shows are general admission, allowing fans to grab a seat in the stands or find a place to watch from the field. Tickets will go on sale throughout the month of May (see attachment) and will be available at the local ballpark ticket office and affiliated ticket outlets. *Children 14 and under get in free with each adult ticket holder. Showtime is 5:30pm and gates open at 5:00. There is no baseball game on the day of the show. For more information about the tour and presale opportunities, visit www.bobdylan.com

July 2009
2 - Sauget, IL - GCS Ballpark
4 - South Bend, IN - Coveleski Stadium
8 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Slugger Field
10 - Dayton, OH - Fifth Third Field
11 - Eastlake, OH - Classic Park
13 - Washington, PA - Consol Energy Park
14 - Allentown, PA - Coca-Cola Park
15 - New Britain, CT - New Britain Stadium
19 - Syracuse, NY - Alliance Bank Stadium
21 - Pawtucket, RI - McCoy Stadium
23 - Lakewood, NJ - FirstEnergy Park
24 - Aberdeen, MD - Ripken Stadium
25 - Norfolk, VA - Harbor Park
28 - Durham, NC - Durham Bulls Athletic Park
29 - Sevierville, TN - Smokies Park

August 2009
4 - Round Rock, TX - The Dell Diamond
5 - Corpus Christi, TX - Whataburger Field
7 - Grand Prairie, TX - QuikTrip Park
11 - Glendale, AZ - Camelback Ranch
12 - Las Vegas, NV - Cashman Field
14 - Fresno, CA - Chukchansi Park
15 - Stockton, CA - Banner Island Ballpark

A challenging interview with Billy Bob Thornton

Matt Wardlaw — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:01:39 +0000

If you haven't seen it yet, I think you'll enjoy CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi's interview with actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton and his band The Boxmasters. The Boxmasters were in Toronto for a pair of shows opening for Willie Nelson at Massey Hall, and Thornton took issue with the mention of the "actor" side of his career. It seems that he was only there to talk music (not surprised by that,) and either the producer didn't pass that information on to Ghomeshi, or Ghomeshi might have decided to go for it and ignore Thornton's wishes.

It all makes for an entertaining interview, and I've got to give mad props to Ghomeshi for pulling it off in the end. I'd say that he wins it.

The 100 Greatest Singer-Songwriter Albums of All Time

Matt Wardlaw — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:16:21 +0000

Thanks to all for your lyrical help in the previous post - the song that I was searching for was "Love Letter" by Bonnie Raitt. Nowhere close to John Parr, but I guess at least I found out from the experience that there is a video for "Naughty, Naughty." Who knew?

I woke up this morning to an email in my inbox from Amazon promoting a list of The 100 Greatest Singer-Songwriter Albums of All Time. It's pretty apparent that I've been on a list kick recently, so I was interested to dig in and check out their choices.

There are some interesting titles on the list - I'm not sure that Ram would have been my first choice for a McCartney album - that honor would probably go to McCartney. P.S. - Check this out, Ram fans.......Ram on!

My man Willie Nelson grabs a justified slot with Red Headed Stranger, and I can't argue that pick because there are hundreds of Nelson's albums that you could have put in that position. It's nice to see a Nelson album featured that isn't Stardust. Although if you ever bump into me on that desert island, you can bet that I'll have my copy of Stardust with me!

By the way, if you're a Willie fan, you'll really want to check out Willie and The Wheel - Nelson's new album collaboration with the members of Asleep At The Wheel. The version of "I'm Sittin' On Top Of The World" is fantastic! Willie and The Wheel also features guest appearances from Letterman keyboard nut Paul Shaffer and Vince Gill.

As long as we're talking Willie, take a listen below to "Hesitation Blues," another one of my favorites from the new album.

Other stuff on the list - Jackson Browne's self-titled disc, known by some as "Saturate Before Using," Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams, and one that I can never ever argue with, the self-titled Indigo Girls disc.

Indigo Girls - Closer To Fine (live)

Check out the entire list here.

You can also rock out with an Amazon list of The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time and the 100 Greatest Romantic Albums of All Time. The Amazon folks are apparently going to create lists like this throughout 2009...and I can't wait. So many lists, so much music, and there's still never enough time to listen to it all...

Speaking of that, let me leave you with this one: Popdose editor Jeff Giles posted a great piece this week titled "Tuning Out The Static" that captures the ever-changing world of being a music fan. You'll enjoy every word, sentence, and paragraph of this one.

Until we meet again.....Cheers!!

(Now playing as I hit submit: Psychedelic Furs - "Heartbreak Beat")

Good Listening: Special Aimee Mann Holiday Edition

Matt Wardlaw — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:21:58 +0000

If you're still searching around a bit for that Xmas spirit, boy do I have something that's going to help out a lot!

First, a quick flashback to last year's holidays: Last year's holiday cheer was provided in my household with the debut of a Christmas album from The Smithereens. You all remember how much I love The Smithereens, right?

Christmas With The Smithereens was the best Xmas release of 2007 that everyone SHOULD have heard, crafted from the same musical thought process that brought us holiday gold like the Beach Boys Xmas album back in the day.

It was that good.

I had heard the hype from plenty by the time I finally brought my own copy home to listen to, and wouldn't you know it, the 'Reens Xmas joint blew my Christmas stockings right off. The neighbors were very unhappy about that last part...something about indecent exposure, or something like that.

The Smithereens - Christmas with The Smithereens (purchase)
The Beach Boys - The Ultimate Holiday Collection (purchase)

Holiday music had laid pretty low this year in my world, with the exception of a version of "Winter Wonderland" by Jason Mraz that found its way into my ears. I've been planning at long last to make my own rock and roll xmas mix from all of my holiday tunes, but haven't gotten around to it yet. And then all of the sudden, THIS came along.

Perhaps "Christmas cheer" isn't the first two words that come to mind when you think of Aimee Mann, which is something that Mann herself pokes fun at in today's listening material. Aimee released her own Xmas platter One More Drifter in the Snow a couple of years ago, and just completed her third annual holiday tour with a tantalizing list of guests joining her at each of the tour stops. I would have LOVED to have seen Juliana Hatfield and Aimee on the same stage at the Boston date!

Aimee's PA gig at the Keswick Theatre was broadcast by Philly's WXPN-FM and after hearing only a few tracks, I immediately began making mental plans to drive anywhere I have to in 2009 to catch (hopefully) a tour date on the next holiday tour. For the PA date, Aimee was joined by singer-songwriter Nellie McKay, longtime friend and comedian Paul F. Tompkins, Grant-Lee Phillips, and Philly native Amos Lee.

This isn't just friends singing Christmas songs to make a buck - this is a wonderfully produced and comedically dark Christmas SHOW. They're singing some really cool Xmas tunes ("Snow Miser, Heat Miser!") mixed with the staples, and original material.

In costumes (Kinda.)

With a STORY!

And video!

I know you're probably talking to the computer right now to let me know "hey Matt, this is a radio broadcast - that costume and video stuff doesn't translate too well on the radio." And that's what makes this one a magical must hear. Like the old radio broadcasts of the 40s and 50s, the WXPN broadcast of this visual holiday performance translates brilliantly to the airwaves. Hopefully they'll post the videos from this year's show on Youtube. Last year's videos can be found right here. There are a couple of naughty words that make this one a little bit unsafe for airing around the Xmas-loving bambinos, but you'll love this one to pieces, and I guarantee that you'll be sharing it with a few friends!

I was smiling the entire day while listening to this, especially hearing "Willie Nelson's" version of "Voices Carry," which dammit, "Willie" totally nails it!

When I do get around to making my holiday mix, there will be a few tunes from this that will be included without question. And like the Smithereens and Beach Boys holiday discs, I will be pulling this one out for future holiday airings in the Vinyl household.

Happy holidays!

Aimee Mann - Calling on Mary (live in Keswick, PA)

Aimee Mann's 3rd Annual Christmas Show
The Keswick Theatre
Glenside, PA
12/13/08

Broadcast by WXPN-FM

Download full-resolution files of this broadcast from Dimeadozen (free membership required)

DISC 1

complete zipped download

01 - WXPN intro
02 - show intro (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies)
03 - Calling On Mary [AM]
04 - Paul F. Tompkins intro & banter
05 - Sleigh Ride [AM & PFT]
06 - Nelly McKay (wearing a big red corset) intro & banter
07 - Sleigh Ride (cont'd) [NMK-sung in high voice]
08 - Grant-Lee Phillips (in snowman costume) intro & banter
09 - Sleigh Ride (cont'd) [GLP]
10 - Aimee banter & film introduction
11 - ~ Film pt.1 (The Ghost of Christmas Past) [GLP, Michael Penn, PFT]
12 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #1
13 - Snow Miser, Heat Miser [AM, PFT, GLP, NMK]
14 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #2
15 - I'll Be Home For Christmas [AM]
16 - Christmastime [AM & NMK]
17 - Take Me Away [NMK]
18 - Nelly with Rudolph toy
19 - A Christmas Dirge [NMK]
20 - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) [AM]...interrupted by...
21 - ~ Film pt.2 (The Ghost of Christmas Present)