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Showing posts from November, 2018

D. B. Rielly - Live From Chester (2018)

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While not quite as compelling as last year's Live From Long Island City D. B. Rielly's Live From Chester is a very good followup and companion piece to its predecessor. Rielly is one of the few musicians who is more effective with just his voice and a guitar or banjo than with a full band. For someone like me who often finds solo, acoustc performances on the dull side that is saying a great deal. He allows no distractions in this sparse setting so you get to know the very personable artist as he makes his songs the stars of the show. "Your Stupid Face," "I'm Your Man," "Your Doggin' Fool," and Don't Think So Much," show off Rielly's pleasingly warped sense of humor but his serious side quickly indicates he is not a novelty act. He proves it with "The Sea" and an encore of "I'll Remind You Everyday," his Alzheimer's love song. "My Ma" is almost a word for word retelling of his spoke...

Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds Tour Featuring Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin at the Xcite Center, Parx Casino, Bensalem, PA, November 3, 2018

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Brian Wilson & Al Jardine at Parx Casino   Brian Wilson is approaching the end of his Pet Sounds tour and if you are among the lucky people who had a ticket to one of these shows you won't be disappointed. The Beach Boys' resident genius took the stage with his outstanding ten-piece band that included his old group's original rhythm guitarist, Al Jardine , and his 1970s bandmate, Blondie Chaplin. Wilson's voice has lost its high end and when he needed to hit the upper registers, his son-in-law, Rob Bonfiglio , took the spotlight. Bonfiglio led the way on "Don't Worry Baby" and several other early hits. Jardine also took his share of lead vocals. The concert opened with a very nice take of the first Beach Boys song I ever heard, "California Girls," so it always holds a special place in my heart. From there they played "Dance, Dance, Dance" followed by more early chartbustng singles and a few deep tracks thrown into the mi...