Loretta Lynn - Konocti Harbor - Classic Concert Showroom (Kelseyville, CA)
It took me a lot longer to get to rural Kelseyville than I thought it would. When I finally entered the Konocti Harbor Classic Concert Showroom, a fight had already broken out and been subdued. The comedian had finished his impressions and taken his bow. The last new-country strains
Bob Dylan / Van Morrison / Lucinda Williams - Rose Garden Arena (Portland, OR)
Watching Lucinda Williams step on the Rose Garden Arena stage as the crowd of 14,000 filed in, I recalled the first time I saw her perform, in 1989 at a small club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her tentativeness that night and almost Sally Field-ish reaction to the
Virginia Dare - Hardly hard work
In the atypical little world of the Makeout Room in San Francisco's Mission District, Virginia Dare is in heavy rotation. Their music is always playing between bands' sets, and their shows there attract a lively crowd. But don't chalk up such popularity to a hard-
Star Hustler - Not your steppingstone
Star Hustler's Jason Hatfield may be a springboard for rising starlets. The brother of alt-pop/rocker Juliana Hatfield, he began playing music in Boston with Mary Lou Lord in the band Chupa when she was strumming in subways back in the early '90s. Lord left to
Robert Earl Keen - Straight outta Bandera
In pondering the uniqueness of Robert Earl Keen, let's compare him with his fellow Texan Lyle Lovett. College buddies and fellow Aggies, the two co-wrote "The Front Porch Song", which each recorded early in their careers. They shared a circle of formative acquaintance and influence
Golden Smog - Shelter From The Storm
Most bands, the good ones anyway, are formed between friends. The motivations to do so, especially in the case of young men, can be as simple as "It'll be cool" and/or "It'll make it easier to get girls." Bands are also