#feltonmusichall – The Boring Old Man

Concert Review: BALTHVS at Felton Music Hall, Felton, CA

Once again, we were off to the Felton Music Hall for an epic night of musical mastery with Balthvs.

This was my second time catching the band live and the first for the Mrs. And much to my delight she also thought they were great!

Truthfully, sometimes I think I’ve lost my mind when I get as obsessed as I’ve been with Balthvs. I tell anyone that will listen about them. I turned a guitarist buddy of mine, whom I consider one of the best guitarists on the planet, on to the band and he said he was digging them so I figured there must be something there. But for the Mrs, a non-musician, to see them live and state – they were great – I finally feel validated!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, they were great!

I wrote a review about them the last time I saw them play in Santa Cruz a little over a year ago, and while that review was maybe a little over the top with the gushiness, I stand by it. And this time around they were even better.

The primary difference this time around was that founding bassist Johanna was back with the band. Don’t get me wrong, the bassist on the last tour, covering while Johanna was on maternity leave, was absolutely fantastic and did an incredible job, But clearly, Johanna belongs in this band. The chemistry between the players was obvious from the start and they just flowed. From the first note to the last, it was just seamless and beautiful.

And I will reiterate what I said in my last review – guitarist Balthazar Aguirre is a legend in the making. His style is so absolutely his own, his guitar seems like an extension of his person. I’ve seen a lot of amazing guitar players in my time on this big blue rock we call Earth, and Balthazar is in my not-so-humble opinion the best guitarist to hit the scene in the last 20 years. If not longer. If I were granted a wish to spend a day in a recording studio with anyone, it would be Balthazar Aguirre. He is simply phenomenal.

And I don’t say any of that to diminish the contribution of the rhythm section – they are a well oiled machine. Precise, fluid and eminently groovy. Just an astounding combo.

The band played a fantastic set, old and new material, including ALL my favorite tracks of theirs, as well as a couple surprises. During one song they took a seamless segue way into Blind Melon’s No Rain, which frankly isn’t even a song I particularly care for, but they did it so well and arranged it so beautifully, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Later in the set they whipped out a fantastic version of the Grateful Dead’s Shakedown Street and just knocked it out of the park. These musicians have some serious depth to them!

All in all, I give Balthvs an 11 out of 10 for this show. I’ve had an unbelievably exceptional month of music this October and this show topped them all. I don’t make that claim lightly, I assure you. They really are that good.

This tour is almost wrapped – they played SF tonight, then a couple shows in the PNW and that’s it for this leg. But I’m telling you, put Balthvs on your radar and watch for them to come to your town. You DO NOT want to miss this band. See them now before you need to see them in an arena!!

Thank you Balthazar, Johanna and Santiago for a stunning, spectacular night of music!

And thank you reader, for stopping by!

Concert Review: RJD2 at the Felton Music Hall, Felton,CA

Well folks, last night was an eye opening experience. My entire perception of an entire genre has been turned upside down.

As my repeat readers may have picked up on, I like my music played by musicians on actual instruments. Lately I’ve had a growing disdain for the trend of using backing tracks and other electro-wizardry to fill the sound on stage. Nothing brings joy to my ears more than an electric guitar channeling through a piping hot tube amp (if you know, you know) and digital music kinda leaves me flat.

And don’t even get me started on the whole DJ as Performer thing. I’ve seen few on stage, and every single one of them has been as exciting as watching paint dry. Seriously, watching somebody play records and twiddle knobs? That’s got to be one of the dumbest trends in music ever.

Quite frankly, that’s what I thought I was walking into last night. This show was picked by the Mrs., and I knew a few songs by the artist, but I didn’t have any expectations that I would enjoy the show.

And after the opening act, my preconceived notions were reinforced. I never caught his name. I’ll stand by the ol’ if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything and leave it at that.

But then the main act – RJD2- came out. Right off the bat, I knew something was different just by the gear set up he was using. I’m not going to pretend to know what all he was using up there, but it was definitely not your standard two turntables and a microphone setup. He had two sampler pads in addition to the turntable setup and who knows what else, and he played all those things with all the passion and precision of a master musician. It was extraordinary. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it.

His compositions were extremely complex and deeply layered. His choice of instrumentation was unique compared to his contemporaries in the genre. He somehow took bits and bytes, loops from all directions, and threw it into his digital blender to make it come alive. It was almost as if every finger was its own musician, with his brain as Conductor. It was astonishing. To put it mildly, I was shook.

I really don’t even know what else to say. I don’t know enough about the genre to make comparisons. I don’t know the HOW of it all, what sort of musical sorcery he conjured to make it happen. All I know, is I really, REALLY enjoyed it. And I’m open minded enough to admit, I’ve been wrong to cast such a wide net of derision over an entire genre.

So, big thanks to RJD2 for an amazing night and the eye and ear opening experience. I was unexpectedly surprised and quite delighted with his entire set.

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Magic City Hippies at Felton Music Hall, Felton, CA.

It’s been a minute since our last live music excursion and I’d been sitting on these tickets since October, but finally Monday was the day. And what better way to break the slump than with my favorite live band, Magic City Hippies?

This was our first time at Felton Music Hall, though we’ve driven past it for years, and we’d be happy to go back. Felton is a great little town in the Santa Cruz mountains and I’ll take any excuse to go there! Felton Music Hall is a very cool venue – easy access, nice staff, eclectic patrons and surprisingly great sound. It’s small for a “Hall”, maybe 250 max capacity, but places like that are my absolute favorites for live shows.

The opening band was Supertaste from Brooklyn, NY. I’d only heard one track of theirs previous to the gig and honestly had low expectations, but they were a pretty solid unit. Clearly some guys with some talent and technical skills on their instruments. Overall their sound doesn’t really hit the sweet spot for me, but two of their songs – Power and Supernova – really grabbed me. If you are into dance music made with actual musicians rather than computers and DJs, you can do far worse than giving Supertaste a listen.

For the main event, Magic City Hippies were in OUTSTANDING form. This show was, I believe, the 11th Hippies show I’ve been to and honestly they just keep getting better. I know I haven’t seen everyone, but I’ve been to more than my fair share of live music events and for my money, Magic City Hippies are simply the best live band out there right now. They’ve been touring consistently for a long time now, and it shows. They’re like a well oiled machine, but not in the sense that it is predictable or something. They have a deep catalog by this point to pull from and of course some crowd favorites, but they always seem to change up the arrangements just enough that it always feels fresh. It really is a testament to a solid combination of talent and hard work.

Magic City Hippies lighting up the stage

I really can’t say enough about how good these guys are and at the same time I feel like a broken record because I’ve reviewed them (and gushed over them) many times before on this blog.

So I’ll just leave it at that. Catalog the show for my own records and simply say if you love live music, you owe it to yourself to go see Magic City Hippies. Your ears and your soul will thank you!

Thanks for stopping by!