 Jeff Tweedy (Photo: Jeremy D. Goodwin) |
 Lauren Ambrose and The Leisure Class (Photo: Jeremy D. Goodwin) |
2010 in review: Pop Music
Published in Berkshire Eagle, 12/31/10
[Note: all links below are to my coverage of the artists this year.]
By Jeremy D. Goodwin
The Berkshires and our surrounding region continues to be an interesting place to go see music. (By "music" I mean popular music. And by "popular music" I mean pretty much anything that doesn't involve a guy waving a baton or a composer who died 300 years ago.) In 2010, there were opportunities to see excellent shows both large and small, featuring national acts and homegrown talent, including legacy performers and up-and-comers.
It was also a year with some encouraging developments on the venue front. The long-awaited Helsinki Hudson came to life as a work-in-progress, first showcasing a series of "soundcheck" gigs before going live with full services. Northampton's Iron Horse Entertainment Group brought to life the new, outdoor Mountain Park venue, which boasted excellent sound, a relaxed vibe and an impressive list of headliners including MGMT, The Flaming Lips, and the authors of one of my favorite shows of the year. (More on that below.) And the Dreamaway Lodge took matters outdoors a few times this summer, expanding its capacity (in the wake of the closure of the original Club Helsinki in nearby Great Barrington) beyond its cramped "music room" by creating a capsule, mini-festival environment in the side yard. (Erin McKeown delivered an excellent show in those festive environs.) And the folks at MASS MoCA cleaned out their back yard and discovered an ample outdoor venue, fit to host a small festival. (Yes, Virginia, the Solid Sound Festival really happened.)
Promoter Jim Benson of Mission Bar and Tapas stepped back a bit with the high profile bookings at his chief venue, but struck notably with twin concerts at the Colonial Theatre bookending the Word X Word Festival, and treating those in-the-know (or Facebook-literate) with “secret” shows featuring The Low Anthem and Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. He continues to take chances in his efforts to build audiences and deliver carefully curated acts who are chosen for their musical acumen as well as their buzz-bin status. Meanwhile, Tea Leaf Productions emerged as local promoters to watch.
The year in pop music included some very relevant, up-to-the-minute experiments from Karen O and Nick Zinner (Colonial Theatre) and Kid Koala (MASS MoCA) that didn't work as well as they could but were well appreciated, as well as legacy artists like Sam Bush, Arlo Guthrie with the Boston Pops and Rosanne Cash, who turned in very fine performances. There was enough good music that we don't mind admitting the less than satisfying outings hosted by much-anticipated acts like Herbie Hancock and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
What follows is a list of my favorite local concerts from this past year. When I look at the list, I'm struck by the variety that's on display, in terms of style, venue type, and the artists' longevity. Honorable mention goes to James Taylor and Carole King, who brought one of North America's best-reviewed tours of the year to Tanglewood; their double-barreled wallop made certain there was nothing routine about Sir James' annual visit to The Shed.
By Jeremy D. Goodwin
The Berkshires and our surrounding region continues to be an interesting place to go see music. (By "music" I mean popular music. And by "popular music" I mean pretty much anything that doesn't involve a guy waving a baton or a composer who died 300 years ago.) In 2010, there were opportunities to see excellent shows both large and small, featuring national acts and homegrown talent, including legacy performers and up-and-comers.
It was also a year with some encouraging developments on the venue front. The long-awaited Helsinki Hudson came to life as a work-in-progress, first showcasing a series of "soundcheck" gigs before going live with full services. Northampton's Iron Horse Entertainment Group brought to life the new, outdoor Mountain Park venue, which boasted excellent sound, a relaxed vibe and an impressive list of headliners including MGMT, The Flaming Lips, and the authors of one of my favorite shows of the year. (More on that below.) And the Dreamaway Lodge took matters outdoors a few times this summer, expanding its capacity (in the wake of the closure of the original Club Helsinki in nearby Great Barrington) beyond its cramped "music room" by creating a capsule, mini-festival environment in the side yard. (Erin McKeown delivered an excellent show in those festive environs.) And the folks at MASS MoCA cleaned out their back yard and discovered an ample outdoor venue, fit to host a small festival. (Yes, Virginia, the Solid Sound Festival really happened.)
Promoter Jim Benson of Mission Bar and Tapas stepped back a bit with the high profile bookings at his chief venue, but struck notably with twin concerts at the Colonial Theatre bookending the Word X Word Festival, and treating those in-the-know (or Facebook-literate) with “secret” shows featuring The Low Anthem and Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. He continues to take chances in his efforts to build audiences and deliver carefully curated acts who are chosen for their musical acumen as well as their buzz-bin status. Meanwhile, Tea Leaf Productions emerged as local promoters to watch.
The year in pop music included some very relevant, up-to-the-minute experiments from Karen O and Nick Zinner (Colonial Theatre) and Kid Koala (MASS MoCA) that didn't work as well as they could but were well appreciated, as well as legacy artists like Sam Bush, Arlo Guthrie with the Boston Pops and Rosanne Cash, who turned in very fine performances. There was enough good music that we don't mind admitting the less than satisfying outings hosted by much-anticipated acts like Herbie Hancock and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
What follows is a list of my favorite local concerts from this past year. When I look at the list, I'm struck by the variety that's on display, in terms of style, venue type, and the artists' longevity. Honorable mention goes to James Taylor and Carole King, who brought one of North America's best-reviewed tours of the year to Tanglewood; their double-barreled wallop made certain there was nothing routine about Sir James' annual visit to The Shed.
Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend (Photo: David Barnum)
5.) Vampire Weekend at Mountain Park. Before their second album, “Contra,” found its way onto everyone’s best-of list this year, this very generous, hugely satisfying performance was an end-of-summer delight. Their bouncy rhythms, delectable melodies and Ezra Koenig’s elastic vocals filled up the large field of this excellent new venue. The band galloped through much of its catalog with a sense of joy and a delicious precision that made it feel like anything but another night at the office for one of the most talked-about bands in America. [Read the advance feature. Read the show review.]
4.) McCoy Tyner Trio at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. Here’s an overly hasty generalization: jazz innovators ripen to a finer vintage than pop stars. McCoy Tyner could have easily show up, punched his ticket and gone home; instead, he delivered a daring, inventive set of truly relevant jazz. Tyner led his trio through a set that used familiar tunes from throughout his exemplary career as starting-off points for improvisational pyrotechnics that left me both exhausted and exhilarated. He may have cut his teeth re-inventing the jazz landscape in John Coltrane’s quartet, but Tyner showed at the Mahaiwe in February that he’s far from finished with creating innovative music. [Read the advance feature. Read the show review.]
4.) McCoy Tyner Trio at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. Here’s an overly hasty generalization: jazz innovators ripen to a finer vintage than pop stars. McCoy Tyner could have easily show up, punched his ticket and gone home; instead, he delivered a daring, inventive set of truly relevant jazz. Tyner led his trio through a set that used familiar tunes from throughout his exemplary career as starting-off points for improvisational pyrotechnics that left me both exhausted and exhilarated. He may have cut his teeth re-inventing the jazz landscape in John Coltrane’s quartet, but Tyner showed at the Mahaiwe in February that he’s far from finished with creating innovative music. [Read the advance feature. Read the show review.]
McCoy Tyner (Photo: Jeremy D. Goodwin)
3. Lauren Ambrose and The Leisure Class at The Lion’s Den. On a cold Monday night in January, The Lion’s Den became the hottest spot in the Berkshires with this below-the-radar show. The Leisure Class is a sort of all-star team of musicians from acoustic-oriented American roots outfits, who are led on some occasions by the eminently delightful vocals and effervescent stage presence of Ms. Ambrose, better known for her accomplishments onstage and onscreen. Two sets of hot jazz, Dixieland, and swing-influenced dance numbers delighted a capacity crowd. We’ve been treated to word-of-mouth appearances like this one and a debut appearance at Housatonic’s Brick House Pub last December—both tune-ups before “proper” shows at Joe’s Pub in New York City—but the appearance booked for Helsinki Hudson this week was to be the promising combo’s first proper concert in the region. [Read the review of the band's debut performance in November '09.]
2. The Silk Road Ensemble at Tanglewood. Can it be true? Despite Yo Yo Ma’s high profile in the Berkshires and regular appearances over the years at Tanglewood with assorted collaborators, this tenth anniversary concert by his genre-bending Silk Road Ensemble was the group’s first full-on, in-season concert at The Shed. Combining the Classical musics of India, China, and other stops along the historical Silk Road, Ma and company delivered a thrilling performance that managed to be cerebral yet celebratory. Ma was generous with the spotlight, deferring to various composers and featured soloists, but exerting his masterful presence through the construction of the Ensemble itself. Bravo.
1. Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA. This is so obvious, I may as well have listed this first as default and then just constructed a Top Four list for the year. In addition to the musical triumphs over its two-and-a-half days—unsurprisingly, led by performances from Wilco and a solo set from frontman Jeff Tweedy—this event tops the list because of its importance to the region. The band’s Tanglewood show in 2008 was a revelation, but this year’s development is of much greater future import. Who knew that North Adams (and, specifically, the ever-ambitious folks at MASS MoCA), could play host to a mostly-outdoor music festival headlined by arguably the best rock band in America? (Wilco’s claim to that title has loosened in recent years, but they’re definitely part of the discussion.) Perhaps best of all, the festival was conceived to take advantage of the museum’s facilities and its collection, featuring art installations created by band members, and introducing many of the 4,000 attendees not only to MoCA but to North Adams and the Berkshires. A seemingly universal observation was that the festival was particularly well-run, with swarms of eager volunteers on hand, and little details (from ample, free water to excellent wireless internet service) adding up to a hugely satisfying weekend that rocked pretty hard but treated its patrons like adults. And now that “Joe’s Field” has been christened as a performance space, who knows what non-Wilco happenings could be down the road? [Read the advance feature. Read the music review. Read a response to the overall event.]
2. The Silk Road Ensemble at Tanglewood. Can it be true? Despite Yo Yo Ma’s high profile in the Berkshires and regular appearances over the years at Tanglewood with assorted collaborators, this tenth anniversary concert by his genre-bending Silk Road Ensemble was the group’s first full-on, in-season concert at The Shed. Combining the Classical musics of India, China, and other stops along the historical Silk Road, Ma and company delivered a thrilling performance that managed to be cerebral yet celebratory. Ma was generous with the spotlight, deferring to various composers and featured soloists, but exerting his masterful presence through the construction of the Ensemble itself. Bravo.
1. Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA. This is so obvious, I may as well have listed this first as default and then just constructed a Top Four list for the year. In addition to the musical triumphs over its two-and-a-half days—unsurprisingly, led by performances from Wilco and a solo set from frontman Jeff Tweedy—this event tops the list because of its importance to the region. The band’s Tanglewood show in 2008 was a revelation, but this year’s development is of much greater future import. Who knew that North Adams (and, specifically, the ever-ambitious folks at MASS MoCA), could play host to a mostly-outdoor music festival headlined by arguably the best rock band in America? (Wilco’s claim to that title has loosened in recent years, but they’re definitely part of the discussion.) Perhaps best of all, the festival was conceived to take advantage of the museum’s facilities and its collection, featuring art installations created by band members, and introducing many of the 4,000 attendees not only to MoCA but to North Adams and the Berkshires. A seemingly universal observation was that the festival was particularly well-run, with swarms of eager volunteers on hand, and little details (from ample, free water to excellent wireless internet service) adding up to a hugely satisfying weekend that rocked pretty hard but treated its patrons like adults. And now that “Joe’s Field” has been christened as a performance space, who knows what non-Wilco happenings could be down the road? [Read the advance feature. Read the music review. Read a response to the overall event.]
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Glenn Kotche of Wilco (Photo: Jeremy D. Goodwin)
