Monday, February 28, 2011

Serena Ryder: Tearing Up My Voice

Serena Ryder is a Singer/Songwriter from Toronto, Canada.  Her U.S. debut Is It O.K. was released in 2008.  She has a tremendous raspy voice, that I had the pleasure of hearing in person when she opened for Ray LaMontagne and David Gray this past summer.

Here's Serena Ryder performing "What I Wanna Know" at Paste Studios!  Enjoy!

Visit serenaryder.com!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Frontier Ruckus: Lash By Dark Lash

Frontier Ruckus is a bluegrass infused folk band out of Michigan.  They've received a lot of local recognition from their two full length releases The Orion Song Books (2008), and Deadmalls & Nightfalls (2010), and are beginning to receive national attention as well.  Their songs are full of imagery laced lyrics.  Also, they have a musical saw in the band!

Here's Frontier Ruckus performing "Nerves of the Nightmind"!


Frontier Ruckus has a couple of great studio sessions you can access.  Here's one from Paste, and another one from Daytrotter.  Check out the band's website for more info!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Cover Thursdays- All The Lonely People

Soulive is a three-piece jazz band featuring Eric Krasno (guitar) and brothers Alan (drums) and Neal Evans (B3 Hammond Organ).  They are incredible musicians who put on outstanding live performances!

In September 2010 Soulive released an album of Beatles Covers entitled Rubber Soulive.  Here's a live performance of Soulive covering "Eleanor Rigby" and "I Want Her (She's So Heavy)".  The guitar work alone makes this video worth a listen!  Enjoy!


Want to hear more?  Want to catch Soulive in concert?  Click here to learn more, or find out when Soulive will be in a town near you!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Temper Trap: A Dream Aloud

The Temper Trap is a band hailing from Australia.  Their debut album Conditions was released in 2009, to a good deal of commercial success.  They have a very catchy sound!

Most people, myself included, learned of The Temper Trap from their song "Sweet Disposition" (video below) which was featured in (500) Days of Summer.  The album, however, is solid from beginning to end and worth a listen.  On a related note, (500) Days of Summer is a great film, and you might as well check that out too!


Learn more about The Temper Trap at their website!  You can find Conditions just about anywhere music is sold!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Jeff Buckley: Too Young to Hold On, Too Old to Just Break Free and Run

When Jeff Buckley's debut studio album Grace came out in 1994, it was met with critical acclaim.  Buckley received Rolling Stone Magazine, and MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best New Artist in 1995.  Sadly, Jeff Buckley passed away in 1997 in an accidental drowning.  Since his death, Jeff Buckley's music has only grown in popularity.  In 2003, Rolling Stone named Grace as #303 on their list of 500 Greatest Albums.  Rolling Stone also named Buckley on their 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of all time, ranking him at #39.

It's a terrible shame that Jeff Buckley couldn't share more of his musical gift.  However, the music that we do have from Jeff Buckley is tremendous.  You may be familiar with Jeff Buckley's work (especially his cover of Leonard Cohan's "Hallelujah"), but in case you're not, I'd highly recommend taking a listen.

Here's Jeff Buckley performing, "Lover, You Should've Come Over", live in Chicago-1995.


If you'd like to learn more about Jeff Buckley, take a look at his website.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Sarah Jaffe: I'll Be Damned, It's Happening Again

I guess Sarah Jaffe had a decent year.  Well, maybe decent isn't the best word.  The North Texas based singer/songwriter released her debut full length album Suburban Nature in May 2010, and ever since people have been taking notice.  She was all over Paste Magazine's end of the year lists.  Her song "Clementine" was #43 on Paste's list of Top Songs of 2010Suburban Nature ranked #39 on their list of Best Albums.  And Sarah Jaffe herself was listed as their #3 Best New Solo Arists of 2010.  Paste Magazine wasn't the only outlet that was paying attention.  She also made amazon.com's list of Top Albums of the Year.  Pretty high accolades the 24 year-old Sarah Jaffe.  I guess "decent" would be an understatement.

Take a listen!  Here's Sarah Jaffe performing "Stay With Me".


Pretty awesome right?!  You can find Suburban Nature wherever you like to buy your music.  If you'd like to learn more about Sarah Jaffe, check out her website.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros: Home Is Wherever I'm With You

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros most likely were transported here via time machine from the 1960's.  It will seem like a completely reasonable theory when you see the video.  Their 2009 debut album Up From Below was met with wildly positive reviews.  You've most likely heard Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros before, as many of their songs have been featured on commercials and TV shows.

Today's post has two videos!  One comically entertaining, and the other just downright adorable.  First, here's Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros playing their single "Home" for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series.  By the way, I don't think I'm going out on a limb by assuming that most of the 10 band members are stoned out of their minds.  I'd like to enter singer Jade Castrinos' "Good morning everyone!" as exhibit A.  It's past 2PM!


The second video just might be the cutest thing you will ever see!  Jorge Narvaez and his 6 year-old daughter Alexa perform "Home" on The Ellen Show!  It's adorable.  There's a home video version too, but I chose this one because she wants to give the audience high fives! I guarantee it will make your day better!



Thursday, February 17, 2011

Cover Thursdays- Release Me!

This week we have an amazing cover!  Chris Thile (formally of Nickel Creek, currently of Punch Brothers) and his band cover Radiohead's "Morning Bell."

Radiohead songs are incredibly complex, innovative, and layered.  Chris Thile and his band put a Bluegrass spin on this Radiohead staple, while keeping the elements that make Radiohead great.  Enjoy!



Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Martin Sexton: Driving Tonight Just To Ease My Mind

The first time I saw Martin Sexton was in the Student Union Ballroom at Geneseo my freshman year of college.  The show was free, and maybe 75-100 people were in attendence.  Last summer, Martin Sexton opened for the Dave Matthews Band in front of tens of thousands of fans.  I think he's doing something right.

Martin Sexton has been releasing cd's since his self-produced debut in 1992.  You know the music world is completely upsidedown and backwards when a songwriter with the voice of Martin Sexton is not a household name and so many teeny boppers are.  The man is pure talent.  It's obvious he's passionate about what he does.  With Martin Sexton it's all about the music.  Sometimes he'll be supported by his band, but Martin Sexton performing solo is something to behold.

This gem is called "Can't Stop Thinking Bout You" and it features some great guitar work by John Mayer.  I love John Mayer's comment at the end... he sure does like good shit!


Check out Martin Sexton's library of records at his website.  I highly recommed his live cd's Live Wide Open and Solo

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Concert Review: Josh Ritter @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC- 2.14.2011

Last night, while jumping up and down and chanting "I thought I heard somebody calling/In the dark I thought I heard somebody call!" as Josh closed out his set sometime after 11PM on a Monday night, I had just one thought in my mind:  How on Earth could anyone in this room not be having the time of their life right now?!  And after three previous Josh Ritter concerts, I feel that I am now qualified to proclaim that it is impossible to have a bad time at a Josh Ritter show...Impossible!

Let's start with the whole premise of the evening.  I first heard about this particular show some time in November or December via email from Josh Ritter's website.  The email dubbed the show and the three preceeding shows as a "Valentine's Day Brawl."  Instantly, I had my Valentine's plans, as I knew Josh and the band would have something special up their sleeves.  They didn't disappoint.

The night started with Scott Hutchinson (from Frightened Rabbit).  Having just been introduced to Frightened Rabbit a couple months ago, I was very much looking forward to his performance.  With only his acoustic guitar Scott Hutchinson had the early arriving crowd's attention with his stripped down arrangements, his straight forward and frank lyrics, and his Scottish sense of humor.  For me, the highlight of his overall outstanding performance, was him singing "Backwards Walk."  Hutchinson's steady repetitive strumming coupled with his heart wrenching lyrics about letting go of a relationship instensified throughout the song!  As with any crowd during and opening act, the audience was a bit chatty.  However, during this particular song you could sense their attention progressively being drawn to the stage, until virtually all ears were tuned in as he repeated the song's knockout line, "You're the shit and I'm need deep in it."  Hopefully he'll be returning soon with his entire band.  I'll be in line for a ticket.

Now on to Josh.  As advertised, Valentine's Day was the muse of the evening.  The microphones and stands were wrapped in roses.  On a table to the left of the stage candles were burning.  Josh Ritter came out by himself, almost to the surprise of not only the audience but also the light and sound technicians.  As he started the first song of the night, "Come and Find Me," the lights still hadn't been brought down or his mic turned on.  But after a quick restart, and a whispered, "If I could trace the line that ran/Between your smile and your slight of hand/I would have guessed that you put something up my sleeve" the evening had officially started.  After his intimite opening, the rest of the band joined Josh Ritter on stage for "Good Man", and "Lillian, Egypt", both of which picked up the tempo of the show.

Now, like I said, this night was full of surprises.  The first surprise came 5 to 6 songs in when Josh introduced the "Cupid" for the night.  Josh Ritter and the Band asked their fans to submit dedications to be read aloud at the "Valentine's Day Brawl" shows.  Out came Cupid with a hat full of dedications!  This was a very creative and thoughtful idea to get the audience ever more involved.  The dedications included the hilarious (a love letter to Bassist Zack Hickman's handlebar mustache takes first prize), heartfelt (one particular message from a soldier overseas comes to mind) and a marriage proposal (she said yes)!  You won't find something like this at many shows these days!  Reason #1 you'll have a great time at a Josh Ritter show.

Other highlights of the night include solo performances of "The Temptation of Adam" and "Girl in the War" as well the performance of "Harrisburg."  For those not familar with "Harrisburgh", the band usually slows down about midway through and interludes into a cover.  Past renditions include "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and "Wicked Game".  This time Josh sympathized with us singles in the crowd by discussing the irony in the advances of Western Civilization and our inability to understand human courtship.  Probably the funniest quote of the whole night came when he said, "It's a world in which man has touched the moon... but there are soooo many other things men would like to touch."  Then he sequed into "Once In A Lifetime" by the Talking Heads before returning to racous end to "Harrisburg."

Surprise #2 came when Josh Ritter's introduction to the song "Kathleen" started with the statement, "Now it's time for things to get awkward".  What followed was a slow dance accompanied by a stirring sax solo and enhanced with dim lights and a disco ball.  As you can imagine, it was a pretty cramped dance floor, as the show was sold out.  However, Teresa and I managed.  We even utilized Teresa's beer!  "Kathleen" is about Josh's prom in his home town in Idaho.  It's a fitting song for a slow dance.  Apparently, boys outnumbed girls by so much, that the boys would stand in line to dance with the girls.

Surprise #3 followed shortly after.  Prior to the show, folks at 9:30 club handed out glow sticks to everyone in attendance.  As the band performed "Lantern" the lights were dimmed, and everyone held their glow sticks high as Josh sang, "So if you've got the light/Hold it high for me."  I can only imagine what it looked like from the stage or the balcony.  It must have been an amazing scene.

The main set closed with "Change of Time" which highlights Josh Ritter's lyrical genious.  I can't believe I've gotten this far in the post without mentioning that Josh Ritter may be the best lyricist on the music scene.  Nearly every song is pure poetry.  This was a great closing to an amazingly diverse main set.  The encore began with a solo version of Josh Ritter's new song "Galahad" and ended with the band's energetic version of "To the Dogs or Whoever."

The two hours and change of music was a blur.  It was a great way to spend Valentine's night.  If you get a chance to see Josh Ritter live, I'd highly recommend it.  I can't phathom a situation in which your mood doesn't improved during the show.  If you could bottle Josh Ritter's enthusiasm and sell it as a pill, I'd guess the cases of mood related disorders would sharply decrease.

My concert fix has been met for now, but I'm already looking forward to the next show.

Thanks for reading!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Brawl!- Josh Ritter: My Eyes Get Washed Away In Chain Reactions

It's only been two weeks, but Josh Ritter is already reappearing on the blog, and for good reason! A concert!  I can't think of a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with a good concert!  I'm lucky enough to be attending Josh Ritter's show at the 9:30 Club tonight in DC.  It will be my 4th time seeing Josh Ritter, and he always puts on a good show so I'm very excited.

To share my excitement, here's a video of probably the best apocalyptic love song ever written! Not only is it my favorite Josh Ritter song, but probably in my top 5 songs of all time.  The lyrics are just amazing from beginning to end.  I wish I could write like him.  Here's "The Temptation of Adam"



Stay tuned for a concert review!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Colin Hay: If I Lived Till I Was 102...

Well, it's Valentine's Weekend again.  Most people either love or hate this holiday.  I, myself, am a hater.  But, regardless of your feelings, this day always comes.  It's unavoidable.  I found the best way to celebrate/combat Valentine's Day is with music.  So, for today's post I tried to find a song that both parties could enjoy.  It's a love song, but it's a heart breakingly sad love song.

Here's Colin Hay (Yes, the former lead singer of Men At Work) performing "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You"


While most people are familiar with Colin Hay's material from his Men At Work days (ie. "Land Down Under"), he's been quite successful in his solo career as well!  Colin Hay has contributed music to the TV show Scrubs.  He's even made appearances on the show.  Also, the above song was featured in the movie Garden State.  I highly recommend taking a listen to his solo work.  It's great!  Colin Hay will also be touring the US and Canada starting in March and running through May.  Check out his tour page for dates!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Cover Thursdays- Cause After All... You're My Wonderwall

Happy Thursday!!! This week's cover appears via a suggestion from my good friend and concert buddy, Teresa!

Here's Ryan Adams and the Cardinals covering "Wonderwall" by Oasis.  Thanks Teresa!


Have a song or a band you'd like to suggest?  Leave it in the comments section, and you just may see your suggestion appear on the blog!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Teitur: Too Much Doubt, And Not Enough Dare

It's been over seven years since Teitur's debut album, Poetry & Aeroplanes was first released.  Since then he's released several others, including one in Faroese, his native language (Faroe Islands).  However, for me, it's hard to beat Poetry & Aeroplanes.  Purchasing that album was one of the best music buys I've ever made.  I listened to it all the time my senior year of college, and it's still in my rotation today.

Here's Teitur performing "You're the Ocean".  I hope you like it.


If you enjoyed "You're the Ocean" you'll likely enjoy the rest of the record.  You can purchase Poetry & Aeroplanes at your favorite music store/site.  Currently, Teitur is touring Europe, but to keep up with him check out his website.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Frightened Rabbit: I'll Get Hammered, Forget That You Exist

Frightened Rabbit is a band hailing from Scotland.  Lead vocalist and frontman, Scott Hutchinson's lyrics are best described as honest, straightforward, and often hard hitting.  In 2010, Frightened Rabbit released their third full length record, entitled The Winter of Mixed Drinks which Paste Magazine tabbed as #10 on their list of Top 50 Albums of 2010!

This particular track is from Frightened Rabbit's second album, The Midnight Organ Fight.  It's a heart wrenching description of trying to get over someone... and the lyrics nail it!

Here's Scott Hutchinson from Frightened Rabbit performing "Backwards Walk."


Scott Hutchinson will be opening for Josh Ritter on his upcoming tour.  They'll both be in DC next Monday at the 9:30 Club.  I'll be there, and can't wait.  To find out when Frightened Rabbit will be in a town near you, check out their tour page.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Lisa Hannigan: I Assume That Your Heart's Been Bruised

Those not familiar with Lisa Hannigan, may recognize her voice from her work with Damien Rice.  However, she's made quite a name for herself since splitting from the band and starting her solo career in 2007.  Miss Hannigan's debut LP Sea Sew was released in 2009 and she's opened for the likes of Jason Mraz and the Black Keys.  She's received high praise both in her native Ireland and in the States.

On a personal note, there's no voice I'd rather hear sing me to sleep than Lisa Hannigan's. It's angelic.  And in case you couldn't tell from the previous statement, I have a massive crush on her!  Just watch the video... you'll see why.  She's adorable!

Here's Lisa Hannigan performing "I Don't Know".


Currently, Lisa Hannigan is working on her next album in Ireland.  Until then, check out her website.  Or if you just can't wait for the new album, I'd suggest buying Sea Sew to tide you over!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Freelance Whales: The Reason My Insides Are So Swollen

Freelance Whales is a band I only just heard of a couple months ago.  Since then, they've become one of my favorites!  Their debut LP, Weathervanes, features an ecclectic mix of instruments that come together to form a very unique sound.  Paste Magazine included them in their list of The 20 Best New Bands of 2010.

Please enjoy Freelance Whales performing "Ghosting"!


Want to see Freelance Whales live? Their North American Spring Tour kicks off in April.  Check and see if they'll be playing in a town near you by clicking here.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Cover Thursdays- If I Ventured In the Slipstream

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by so far!  I hope you're enjoying the muisc.

One of my favorite aspects of music, is when one artist covers another and puts their own spin on an already established song.  Sometimes a song takes off in a direction that's entirely different than originally imagined.

To pay homage to some of the great covers out there, I now proclaim every Thursday as "Cover Thursday" (at least on this blog).  To kick us off, I picked a cover that blew me away the first time I saw it live!  Here's Glen Hansard (The Swell Season, The Frames) covering Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks."



Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Nathaniel Rateliff: It's Taken Years to Make a Beautiful Shroud

Nathaniel Rateliff was named one of Paste Magazine's Top 10 New Solo Artists of 2010!  With a voice like his, it's hard to argue with the achievement.  Check out Nathaniel Rateliff's, "Shroud"... compliments of Pabst Blue Ribbon?  Nice!

Want to hear more?  Check out Nathaniel Rateliff's 2010 LP In Memory of Loss.  You can listen here, or purchase.... well wherever you prefer to purchase your music!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Josh Ritter: Decibels In The Belfry

Hello, and welcome to "The Music's Never Loud Enough", a blog dedicated to bringing you live music performances with the intention of spreading music to new ears.  Here's the thing, nothing makes me happier than introducing new music to somebody.  However, I can't write music, nor can I perform it.  So, I figured I'd try to spread it instead.

The format will be quite simple.  I'll update with one video of a live performance on a quasi-daily basis, with nothing more than an accompanying blurb about the artist and/or video.  If you enjoy it, GREAT!  Send it to a friend, pass it forward.  If you don't, check back another time for something new.  Feel free to leave suggestions.  Finding new music for myself is right up there with sharing the music I love with others.

So without any further delay, here's Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band performing the song "Rumors", whose lyrics inspired the blog's title.  ENJOY!




If you like what you heard, catch Josh Ritter and his Band live!  The tour starts February 10th in Philadelphia, and continues into March.  Get your tickets here.