John Hiatt put on one helluva show

Last night we saw and heard one of America's songwriting treasures, John Hiatt. He performed with is new band, billed as John Hiatt & The Combo, and they were truly fantastic as Hiatt plowed through one classic after another. Starting with "Slow Turnin'" Hiatt had everyone into it from the start. "Cry Love" was next. Two songs and two classics...and they'd barely warmed up. He launched into some of the new songs then and, if memory serves, performed the first cut off of the new LP, "The Open Road", this song being the title cut, followed by "Homeland".

Then, for this blues enthusiast, things got REALLY good. The band followed up with "Like A Freight Train" which reminds me of a Muddy Waters number and "My Baby", a new classic if there is such a thing.

We heard many of the favorites including "Tennessee Plates", "Your Dad Did", and "Have A Little Faith In Me". The crowd loved it and the band clearly enjoyed the crowd's enthusiasm.

The band came out for an encore and performed two songs, one being "Riding With The King", a song BB King and Eric Clapton covered a few years back and one of the best songs of the last 30 years in this blues enthusiast's estimation. In fact, it occurred to me that this was one of those rare shows where I could identify each and every song the band played with the moment in my life when I'd first heard it. It was a truly special night.

I'm writing this as a "flow of consciousness" thing before I lose certain details, so I'll add additional details as I recall it. One thing is for sure, I will never feel more at home than I felt last night listening to the soundtrack to my life.

Go see John Hiatt if you have not already. It's quite a feeling. The new album is called "The Open Road". Go buy it.

Another favorite...John Wicks and Paul Collins

Enjoy...

A favorite Buzzcocks song/video.....

Tommy Hoehn Passes On

Memphis musician and power-pop scene staple Tommy Hoehn has died.

Hoehn, known for his solo work and collaborations with Big Star members Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, had been battling cancer for the past year. The 55-year-old Hoehn died on Thursday night at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis.

The Importance of the Sex Pistols

They reminded us that Rock and Roll didn't have to be pretentiously deep, that it could be fun again....and slightly dangerous. That's what was truly great about The Great Rock n Roll Swindle that was the Sex Pistols. I was reminded of this after a brief conversation I had with a co-worker today (okay, actually she's my boss).

The Sex Pistols are only slightly less responsible for Rock N Roll's return to the masses than The Ramones (and maybe Screeching Weasel). They almost single handedly returned us from the musical wasteland known as Prog Rock and the tedium known as the Grateful Dead.

Too bad it had to end. In the eternal words of John Lydon, "Ever feel like you've been cheated?". Indeed.
Thank You, boys.