How's My Living? » justin townes earle

CHIRP Playlist: Friday, January 20, 2012

Sarah — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:54:41 +0000

9:53 PM Retribution Gospel Choir Poor Man’s Daughter from 2 (Sub Pop)
9:49 PM The Black Keys Little Black Submarines from El Camino (Nonesuch)
9:45 PM La Oreja de Van Gogh Cometas Por El Cielo from Cometas Por El Cielo (Sony)
9:41 PM The xx Crystalised from xx (Young Turks)
9:37 PM Chris Connelly Classically Wounded from Artificial Madness (Relapse)
9:33 PM Amanda Palmer Runs In The Family from Who Killed Amanda Palmer (Roadrunner)
9:28 PM Doomtree Bolt Cutter from No Kings (Doomtree)
9:26 PM 2Cellos Smooth Criminal from 2Cellos (Masterworks)
9:21 PM Murder By Death Dead Men and Sinners from In Bocca Al Lupo (East West)
9:17 PM The Pines Rise Up and Be Lonely from Dark So Gold (Red House)
9:14 PM The Handsome Family The Loneliness Of Magnets from Honey Moon (Carrot Top)
9:08 PM Brown Bird Shiloh from Salt for Salt (Supply and Demand)
9:05 PM Simon & Garfunkel Somewhere They Can’t Find Me from Sounds of Silence (Columbia)
9:00 PM Cloudbirds Ripples from Cloudbirds (Movings)
8:58 PM Justin Townes Earle Ain’t Waitin’ from Harlem River Blues (Bloodshot)
8:54 PM The Magic Numbers Let Somebody In from Those the Brokes (EMI)
8:51 PM The Mountain Goats Prowl Great Cain from All Eternals Deck (Merge)
8:49 PM John K. Samson Stop Error from Provincial (ANTI-)
8:43 PM Levon Helm Wide River to Cross from Dirt Farmer (Vanguard)
8:39 PM Booker T. Jones Walking Papers from The Road from Memphis (ANTI-)
8:37 PM Andre Williams and The Goldstars Babblin’ Brook from Nightclub EP (Pravda)
8:32 PM Frank Carillo and the Bandoleros Eastern Time from Someday (Jezebel)
8:29 PM Tiger Bones In the Dark from When You Die (Candy Dinner)
8:25 PM The Format She Doesn’t Get It from Dog Problems (The Vanity Label)
8:20 PM Jakob Olausson Engraved Invitation from Morning & Sunrise (De Stijl)
8:14 PM The Wars of 1812 Homestay from Status Quo Ante Bellum (Afternoon)
8:11 PM Wooden Wand & The Briarwood Virgins Wither Away from Briarwood (Fire)
8:07 PM Jessica Lea Mayfield Run Myself Into The Ground from Tell Me (Nonesuch)
8:03 PM Kim Taylor So Black, So Bright from So Black, So Bright (Bulldog Farm)

CHIRP Playlist: Friday, December 9, 2011

Sarah — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:32:20 +0000

I had a week off, but now I’m back. Hear me again, same time next week, on CHIRP Radio, Friday nights, 8-10 pm Central. I even take requests!

9:57 PM Peter Wolf Crier Down Down Down from Inter-Be (Jagjaguwar)
9:54 PM Brown Bird Fingers to the Bone from Salt for Salt (Supply and Demand)
9:50 PM Cloud Control This Is What I Said from Bliss Release (Infectious)
9:47 PM Atlas Sound Amplifiers from Parallax (4AD)
9:43 PM Laura Marling Devil’s Spoke from I Speak Because I Can (Astralwerks)
9:39 PM Ani DiFranco Little Plastic Castle from Little Plastic Castle (Righteous Babe)
9:37 PM DRC Music Lourds (featuring Yende Bongongo of Okwess International) from Kinshasa One Two (Warp)
9:31 PM Luke Roberts All American from Big Bells and Dime Songs (Thrill Jockey)
9:26 PM John Prine Angel from Montgomery from In Person & On Stage (Oh Boy)
9:22 PM The Mountain Goats Birth of Serpents from All Eternals Deck (Merge)
9:18 PM Mt. Desolation Departure from Mt. Desolation (Interscope)
9:14 PM Thomas Comerford Dear Stephen Hauser from Archive + Spiral (Spacesuit)
9:10 PM Justin Townes Earle Ain’t Waitin’ from Harlem River Blues (Bloodshot)
9:05 PM Boyd Lee Dunlop Boyd’s Swinging Blues from Boyd’s Blues (self-released)
9:01 PM Mavis Staples Wrote A Song For Everyone from You Are Not Alone (ANTI-)
8:59 PM Hannah Fury Never Look Back from Through the Gash (self-released)
8:53 PM Tycho Coastal Brake from Dive (Ghostly International)
8:50 PM Daniel Bedingfield Wrap My Words Around You from Second First Impression (Universal Distribution)
8:44 PM Nneka Kangpe (feat. Wesley Williams) from Concrete Jungle (Yo Mama’s)
8:41 PM BC Camplight Richard Dawson from Hide, Run Away (One Little Indian)
8:38 PM Korallreven Keep Your Eyes Shut from An Album by Korallreven (Acephale)
8:29 PM DeVotchKa How It Ends from How It Ends (Cicero)
8:27 PM Mar Caribe Pirates of Lake Michigan from Songs From Under the Flight Path (self-released)
8:21 PM Kathleen Edwards Chameleon Comedian from Voyageur (MapleMusic)
8:18 PM Anthony da Costa Heart Without a Home from Not Afraid of Nothing (self-released)
8:14 PM David Vandervelde Corduroy Blues from The Moonstation House Band (Secretly Canadian)
8:10 PM Vampire Weekend Bryn from Vampire Weekend (XL)
8:07 PM Peggy Sue There Always Was from Acrobats (Yep Roc)
8:03 PM Ane Brun Song No. 6 from A Temporary Dive (Determine)

CHIRP Playlist: Saturday, October 1, 2011

Sarah — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:23:58 +0000

Thanks to everyone who tuned in to my inaugural (internet) radio adventure on CHIRP Radio. If you’re interested to know what kind of music I play whenever I get three hours behind the controls of Chicago’s best radio station, then read on. I’ll be back on the air on Saturday, October 8th, from 9 am to noon, Central time.

8:56 PM Neil Young Southern Man from After The Goldrush (Reprise)
8:52 PM Jessica Lea Mayfield Blue Skies Again from Tell Me (Nonesuch)
8:51 PM The Jayhawks She Walks in So Many Ways from Mockingbird Time (Rounder)
8:47 PM Tinariwen Tamiditin Tan Ufrawan from Tassili (ANTI-)
8:44 PM Martha Wainwright Jesus and Mary from I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too (Zoe)
8:40 PM Serengeti Flutes from Family & Friends (Anticon)
8:33 PM Andrew Bird Not A Robot, But A Ghost from Noble Beast (Fat Possum)
8:29 PM Brandi Carlile Looking Out from Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony (Columbia)
8:25 PM Milagres Halfway from Glowing Mouth (Kill Rock Stars)
8:20 PM The Bowmans Make It Last from Far From Home (self-released)
8:17 PM Wilco Black Moon from The Whole Love (dBpm)
8:14 PM Justin Townes Earle Poor Fool from Midnight At The Movies (Bloodshot)
8:08 PM Allá Es Tiempo from Es Tiempo (Crammed)
8:04 PM Vienna Teng 1BR/1BA from Dreaming Through the Noise (Zoe)
7:59 PM Active Child Johnny Belinda from You Are All I See (Vagrant)
7:54 PM Gotye Somebody That I Used to Know from Making Mirrors (Ais)
7:52 PM Buffalo Rome Plant White Roses from Obscurities (Merge)
7:45 PM Ohbijou Balikbayan from Metal Meets (Last Gang)
7:41 PM The Avett Brothers The Weight of Lies from Emotionalism (Ramseur Records)
7:37 PM Low Majesty / Magic from C’mon (Sub Pop)
7:33 PM White Mystery Take a Walk from White Mystery (self-released)
7:28 PM Okkervil River Your Past Life as a Blast from I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)
7:25 PM Peter Wolf Crier Beach from Garden of Arms (Jagjaguwar)
7:20 PM Booker T. Jones Representing Memphis (featuring Matt Berninger and Sharon Jones) from The Road from Memphis (ANTI-)
7:15 PM Teddy Thompson Separate Ways from Separate Ways (Verve)
7:07 PM Braid Universe or Worse from Closer to Closed EP (Polyvinyl)
7:04 PM St. Vincent Northern Lights from Strange Mercy (4AD)
7:01 PM Anais Mitchell Hades & Persephone from The Brightness (Righteous Babe)
6:57 PM Dessa Into the Spin from A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree)
6:53 PM The Grey Race On the Chin from Give It Love (Unfiltered)
6:51 PM Tom Vek World of Doubt from Leisure Seizure (Co-op)
6:45 PM Nico The Fairest of the Seasons from Chelsea Girl (Polygram)
6:42 PM Laura Marling Rest in the Bed from A Creature I Don’t Know (Ribbon)
6:39 PM Jeff Pianki Missing Parts from Paper Window. (self-released)
6:35 PM Alpha Consumer The Crown Salesman from Kick Drugs out of America (self-released)
6:30 PM A.A. Bondy Surfer King from Believers (Fat Possum)
6:25 PM Dusty Bibles Wintersong from Sinus Rhythm EP (self-released)
6:20 PM April Smith and the Great Picture Show Drop Dead Gorgeous from Songs for a Sinking Ship (self-released)
6:17 PM Beirut Goshen from The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
6:14 PM Neko Case Runnin’ Out of Fools from Blacklisted (Bloodshot)
6:09 PM The Mountain Goats Psalms 40:2 from Life Of The World To Come (4AD)
6:03 PM Girls Just a Song from Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds)
5:59 PM Ha Ha Tonka Usual Suspects from Death of a Decade (Bloodshot)

This Week in Great Music: 5/30 – 6/5

Sarah — Mon, 30 May 2011 16:14:31 +0000

Monday, May 30
Justin Townes Earle, Andre Williams and the Goldstars; Millennium Park. 6:30 pm, free
Robbie Fulks, Kathleen Keane; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation

Tuesday, May 31
Friendly Fires, Wise Blood; Lincoln Hall. 9 pm, sold out

Wednesday, June 1
Meh.

Thursday, June 2
Teddy Thompson, Melissa McClelland, Luke Doucet; Schubas. 9 pm, $15

Friday, June 3
Brett Dennen, Dawes; the Vic. 7:30 pm, $22
Raphael Saadiq; Park West. 8 pm, $30
Band Called Catch, Jackpot Donnie, Mike Mangione and the Union, The Damn Choir, The Lakeshore Band; Cubby Bear Wrigleyville. 8 pm, $5-7
Ozomatli, Making Movies; Congress Theater. 8:30 pm, $20
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Chamberlin; House of Blues. 9 pm, $25-35
Teddy Thompson; SPACE. 10 pm, $15-28
Thao and Mirah, Bobby, Led to Sea; Empty Bottle. 10 pm, $13
Jerome Holloway, Lauren Frost, simplesinger; Schubas. 10 pm, $10

Saturday, June 4
Las Guitarras de Espana; Mayne Stage. 7:30 pm, $25
Leo Kottke; Old TOwn School of Folk Music. 8 pm, sold out
Bailiff, Secret Colours, Box Jellyfish; Lincoln Hall. 10 pm, $8-10
Kopecky Family Band, Stolen Silver, Wildlife; Schubas. 10 pm, $8-10

Sunday, June 5
Kris Delmhorst; SPACE. 8 pm, $15-25

This Week in Great Music: 2/7 – 2/13

Sarah — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:41:24 +0000

Good morning, internet. Another quiet week here – I’m guessing all the bands are hibernating? I’d sure like to be hibernating. I’ll be at the Justin Townes Earle show on Thursday, and am thinking about heading to Old Town School of Folk Music on Sunday. Maybe. We’ll see.

Monday, February 7
Robbie Fulks; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation

Tuesday, February 8
SongCircle: Chicago Showcase, featuring Rachele Eve, Eiren Caffall, Joe Grazulis, Peter Manhart, Seth Glier, Byron Zanos, Nick Miller and the Neighbors; Schubas. 8 pm, $10

Wednesday, February 9
Meagan Hickman, Seth Glier, 3 in Counting; Schubas. 9 pm, $10

Thursday, February 10
Rooney, Eisley, The Chapin Sisters; Lincoln Hall. 7 pm, $16
Justin Townes Earle, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Tom Schraeder; Metro. 9 pm, $16

Friday, February 11
Robyn, Diamond Rings, Natalia Kills; the Riviera. 7:30 pm, sold out
Graham Colton, Daphne Willis, Ashley Arrison; Lincoln Hall. 9 pm, $14

Saturday, February 12
Interpol, School of Seven Bells; the Riviera. 8 pm, $30
Chicago Clarinet Conglomerate; Elastic Arts Foundation (2830 N Milwaukee). 9 pm, $10

Sunday, February 13
Carrie Rodriguez, Erin McKeown, Mary Gauthier; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm, $18-22
Innerpartysystem, The Passing; Subterranean. 8:30 pm, $12

Favorite Tracks of 2010

Sarah — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:53:36 +0000

While the rest of the world was out enjoying themselves in drunken year-end debauchery, I was home making a best of 2010 mix. That’s basically the story of my life.

Check it out below, via this handy little Grooveshark widget. Happy new year, all.

This Week in Great Music: 9/13 – 9/19

Sarah — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:07:54 +0000

Sometimes, I feel like I’m the only person on the internet who doesn’t care about Pavement.

I’ll be at the Justin Townes Earle show on Saturday, and may try to hit up his solo set at Reckless earlier that day.

Monday, September 13
Robbie Fulks, the Hoyle Brothers; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
Pavement, No Age; Millennium Park. 7 pm, $15-40
Jenny and Johnny (Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice); Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $20

Tuesday, September 14
Meh

Wednesday, September 15
Meh

Thursday, September 16
April Verch, FitzGerald’s (6615 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn). 8 pm, $15
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, Judson Claiborne, the Field Auxiliary; Empty Bottle. 9 pm, $5-8
David Bazan, The Mynabirds; Lincoln Hall. 9 pm, $15
Crooked Still; Schubas. 9 pm, $15

Friday, September 17
Dave Matthews Band, Jason Mraz; Wrigley Field. 7 pm, sold out
Mark Olson, Cory Chisel; Schubas. 7 pm, $15
Owen, Savoir Adore, Streets on Fire; Empty Bottle. 10 pm, $12
Mittens on Strings, Daniel Knox, Magic Gloves; Hideout. 10 pm, $8

Saturday, September 18
Justin Townes Earle, Reckless Records (3126 N Broadway). 5 pm, free
Dave Matthews Band, Jason Mraz; Wrigley Field. 7 pm, sold out
Aimee Mann, Old Town School of Folk Music. 7:30 pm and 10 pm, $34-38
Titus Andronicus, Best Coast, Free Energy, Male Bonding; Metro. 9 pm, $17-19
The Shams Band, Fatbook, Cole DeGenova and the People’s Republic; FitzGerald’s. 9 pm, $10
Justin Townes Earle, Jessica Lea Mayfield; Lincoln Hall. 10 pm, $13-15
Chris Buehrle Band; Cubby Bear Wrigleyville. 10 pm, free

Sunday, September 19
Aimee Mann, Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm, $34-38
Matt and Kim, Metro. 7 pm, $19
Margot and The Nuclear So and So’s, The Lonely Forest, Cameron McGill and What Army; Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $12-15

Newport Folk Festival: July 30 – August 1

Sarah — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:50:36 +0000

You can tell that summer is rapidly approaching, given the number of festival line-ups that are tumbling in. The Newport Folk Festival, in (where else) Newport, Rhode Island, has announced its lineup for its 2010 festival.

Artists appearing include:

AA Bondy, Andrew Bird (in his only summer appearance in the US), Ben Solle and Daniel Martin Moore, Brandi Carlile, Calexico, Corey Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, John Prine, Justin Townes Earle, Nneka, O’Death, Punch Brothers (with Chris Thile), Richie Havens, Sarah Jarosz, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, Tao Seeger, The Avett Brothers, The Felice Brothers, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Swell Season, and Yim Yames, among others.

Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday.

BRB, trying to figure out how to get to Rhode Island! WTF, summer, you are not helping me tame my desire to travel long distances for music.

Concert Review: Justin Townes Earle and Joe Pug, Lincoln Hall

Sarah — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:48:20 +0000

Justin Townes Earle is a bit of an anachronism, with his suits and suspenders and old timey stage presence. That’s not even getting into his music, which would sound right at home in a mix of other classic country stars. I’m not talking twangy my-dog-died-and-my-truck-broke-down stereotyped country, either; this is rough and dirty honky-tonk, complete with hooting and hollering. (Or would that be hootin’ and hollerin’?)

Joshua Hedley on fiddle and Bryn Davies on upright bass made up Earle’s band, but they were more than just background accompaniment. Both were ample, if silent, sidekicks. Davies in particular impressed me; I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone play the bass with quite so much gusto before. The show belonged to Earle, though, and he made the entire affair seem a bit like a party. Earle is loud and enthusiastic, a charming Southern boy to the very core, with more “well, shiiiit“s and “oh my damn!”s than you could possibly count. His guitar playing is fast and hard, leading him to break a string early in the set.

Earle’s been saddled with a name full of tradition and promise, and he lives up to both of his namesakes (father Steve Earle, and the legendary Townes Van Zandt). Indeed, watching him perform, you get the feeling that you’re watching someone who was destined for greatness. You’d hardly know that Earle is just 28, if you weren’t looking at him. Like an old school performer, Earle paused between nearly every song to introduce the next one or to chat with the crowd. Earle’s slower songs entranced the audience, giving them pause for just a few minutes, before he launched into another blistering song.

Song selections included “Midnight at the Movies”, “What I Mean to You”, “They Killed John Henry”, “Mama’s Eyes”, “Poor Fool”, “Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This”, and a few new songs, including one with a working title (according to the internet) of “Woman, You’ve Been Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed Too Long”, and “Workin’ for the MTA”, which was inspired by, who else?, an MTA conductor with a thick Louisiana accent.

Now, I’ll admit that prior to this show, I’d only heard maybe one or two Joe Pug songs. I’d heard his name, of course, as he is widely acclaimed in the music scene here in Chicago. I’ve got no real reason for not searching him out earlier, given that his style of music is right up my alley. Well, consider myself properly chastised for not making that effort, because I was hooked from the very first song.

While the comparisons between Pug and Bob Dylan are kind of inevitable — young, gravelly-voiced singer-songwriters crafting highly literate songs — I found myself reminded of a few other men with guitars and harmonicas: Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. Regardless of which classic artist you choose to compare Pug to, the bottom line is that those are big shoes to fill, and I’m pretty sure that Pug is capable of doing just that.

Performing both solo and with a band, Pug looked like a man having the night of his life. And really, why shouldn’t he? He was celebrating the release of his first full-length album, performing in front of a sold-out crowd in his adopted hometown (originally from North Carolina, Pug picked up and moved to Chicago to pursue his musical dreams), and having Justin Townes Earle, an able showman himself, open for him.

While Pug has just a short discography behind him already, he headlined this show like a man with a lifetime’s worth of albums. Many of the songs were from Messenger, his newly released album. Some of the songs simply gave me chills, but one of the most poignant of the night was “Bury Me Far (From My Uniform)”, an anti-war anthem as much as it is an eulogy. “Do not bother with Congress, with the rich or with the rest,” Pug sings, “I fought their battles in this world, but I’ll not fight for them in the next.” A haunting, gorgeous song, one that’s stuck with me long after the show ended and I trudged back out into the noisy Chicago streets.

See my photos from the evening here at Flickr.

February in Review

Sarah — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:04:25 +0000

While I fuss about, trying to upload photos and write reviews of the past two nights’ worth of concerts, have a little mixtape of some of my favorite songs/artists from this past month.