It’s your last chance (at least for a while) to see Improv Nashville perform their longform improv show. Tonight, 9:30 PM, Bongo Java After-Hours Theatre (their website says 9 PM, but I’m pretty sure that’s incorrect). Admission is $5, and you can make seating reservations either by email or by telephone (615-418-0905).

Yesterday, we received an e-mail inviting us (and you!) to a free screening of The War Tapes, a documentary filmed by three US soldiers during their time in Iraq. I’ve heard a few different interviews with the makers of the documentary, and was touched by their sincerity and unbiased, truthful and balanced treatment of the situation. Here are all of the details:

Hi there!

Hope you can make it! You definitely won’t be disappointed!

Here’s the invite:

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The Jake Leg Stompers are performing at the Station Inn TOMORROW, Saturday, July 29th, at 9 PM. Cover is $10, which is a bit ritzy at first glance, but the show will be well worth it, we promise. The Stompers, out of Murfreesboro, offer a rowdy, soulful old-time sound. I’m excited that they’re local, and I hope that they’ll book many, many many more shows around town. My favorite bands of THE ENTIRE EARTH, FOREVER are the Old Crow Medicine Show and the Asylum Street Spankers, and the Jake Leg Stompers definitely exist in that same class - so authentic and raucous and energetic that you can really tell they put every ounce of their hearts into what they do. Like I said, I’m excited to find an excellent local band that produces the kind of music that I love the most, and I hope that y’all will all be smart enough to get out and see them while the gettin’ is good.

You can head over to their myspace or CD Baby to hear tracks from their albums.

Happy weekend!

I got so excited about the Katies tonight (at the Basement! 9 PM, $5) that I neglected to post a few other notable happenings around town:

- Tonight at the Radio Cafe, in East Nashville, you can catch the first annual Buster Fest, led by Kevin Ball and the Busters. It starts at 7 PM, and is free. The party promises a few special guests: Julie Zeitlin, Cindy Greene, Tim Carroll, Kenan Boyle, Jeremy Baldwin Trio, Brian Pepper, Don Shaw Trio and Chris Griffin are scheduled to appear, but the most fun you’ll probably have at the Radio Cafe tonight will be during the alt-country, revved up set from Nashville’s The Coal Men. They have sweet Jayhawksian (is that a word? It is now, I just invented it.) harmonies and shimmery, soulful tangy guitars - perfect alt-country fare.

They have a few MP3s to sample from their website:

The Coal Men: King of Letting Go

Duane Jarvis and Dave Coleman: New Madrid (from an Uncle Tupelo tribute album)

The Coal Men: I Tell You

If you have to miss this show, you can catch them again on August 1st at 12th and Porter. There are a few other opportunities after that - add them to your myspace to keep up to date.

- Venus Hum, an electro-pop band that we haven’t exactly heard a lot of lately around here, is playing an in-store performance at Grimey’s record shop at 6 PM.

- AND! Porter Hall Tennessee plays a show tonight at the End, sharing a bill with local bands Bullets to Broadway, Tall Over Tokyo, and Gainesville rock/ska band The Know How. The show starts at 9 PM, cover is $6. Porter Hall TN seems (to me, at least) to be kind of the odd man out on the bill, as they are grounded in more of an insurgent country sound.. But there can definitely be an edge to it. If you can only check out one clip from their myspace, please let it be “The Miracle Woman,” sung from the point of view of the Miracle Woman (Norma Jean White), about her (now infamous) husband Jesse “Jesco” White, the Dancing Outlaw. With a tap-dance worthy intro and segues in and out of Wildwood Flower, Porter Hall sings the story of Jesco White: They say he is three people: Jesse, Jesco and Elvis.

Those who have missed out on the story of Jesco White might try plumbing the depths of YouTube, as pieces of the documentary have turned up here and there. It used to be posted in its entirety, but I think it’s since been taken down. Dancing Outlaw was part of a larger documentary series featured on PBS in the late 80s/early 90s that features slightly eccentric people (okay, very eccentric) on the fringe of society. There’s been a lot of talk about how Dancing Outlaw and its sequel, sponsored in part by Roseanne Barr/Arnold’s production company, only served to exploit Jesco and strain the already tenuous ties between him and his neighbors, community and family. Not only that, it gave many people a lot of fuel to fire the already negative views of the stereotypical redneck hillbilly mountain man, which I believe is detrimental to the South in general. At any rate, it’s a very interesting documentary. Humorous stuff, yes, but also a little pathetic. If the documentary doesn’t do it for you, and you’re interested in a more authentic Jesco experience, you can always head over to West Virginia and attend the Jesco Fest 2006, a fundraising event for Jesco himself.

I didn’t mean to rant about Jesco. Go see Porter Hall play tonight! It’ll be a fantastic show.

Tonight, all the best stuff is going down over in East Nashville. There are two events that we wanted to mention. First, over at the Family Wash (one of our favorite Nashville hangouts! Try the honey-baked brie! I promise you will like it.), you can see Amelia White perform. The Family Wash is one of our favorite places in town to see live music - the room is cozy and warm, and the room is acoustically sound. Despite the fact that it can often get a little loud, it’s still a very intimate setting and they seem to consistently attract a wonderful lineup of musicians. Paul Burch, Amelia White, Kristi Rose, and The Gypsy Hombres have all frequented the FW, performing for tips (there’s usually not a cover charge, so bring a few dollars to donate when they pass the hat!). They obviously have excellent taste in music over there, and seem to attract a very diverse, friendly, completely unpretentious crowd.

Amelia White goes on at 8:30 PM. She has a pop-infused folk/country sound and a strong, beautiful voice. Be sure to sample some of her tunes over at her site - you can hear many of the songs from her most recent album, Black Doves, in their entirety. There’s no cover charge, but you’ll probably get the fisheye from your neighbors if you don’t dump a buck or two into the hat.

The other East Nashville happening begins at 8 PM tonight, over at The 5 Spot. The East Side Music Scene is hosting their bi-weekly (that’s two times a month!) showcase. Fourteen local acts - songwriters, solo artists, and bands - take the stage at 8 PM. The line-up is as follows:

8:00 PM - Rachel Rodriguez
8:20 PM - Kevin Ball
8:40 PM - Jason Salzer
9:00 PM - Randy Russell
9:20 PM - Tim Carroll
9:40 PM - Jerry Castle
10:00 PM - Justin Earle
10:20 PM - Mellisa Cusick
10:40 PM - Sara Beck
11:00 PM - Chris Moynihan
11:20 PM - Stephanie Corbin
11:40 PM - Laura A & The Bad Grades
12:00 AM - Craig Jackson
12:20 AM - Nick Shelton

This is the last East Side Music showcase that we’ll see until September. If you can only go for a little while, please get there in time to check out Justin Earle (son of Steve, and another performer at this year’s Mucklewain Festival) and Jason Salzer. It looks like it will be a pretty good night of music.

The Friday night show we listed is probably my pick of the week, so I wanted to share a little Spongebath-induced Katies love (sounds dirty, huh?). The Katies are doing an acoustic show at the Basement this Friday, July 28th at 9 PM. Cover is $5.00. For those not familiar with their music, The Katies have a sound that straddles a line between power pop and an edgy, heavier rock and roll. They’ve been around since 1996, getting together initially in Murfreesboro to release their self-titled album. They hit a few bumps in the road, moved to Los Angeles, broke up for a while, moved back to Nashville, but they’re now back together and have been playing shows around town on a pretty regular basis. I’ve got two tracks for you:

The Katies: Noggin’ Pounding (a perennial favorite of mine, and a mix CD staple for friends in all corners of the world), from their self-titled album.

The Katies: Better Than Real Life, from their 2002 EP.

The Katies have all sorts of other downloadable goodies posted at their website, you can zip on over there to hear more. You can also find The Katies on myspace. In addition to their show at the Basement, they’re playing the Mucklewain Festival, in Harriman, Tennessee. Harriman is a couple of hours east of here, but the tickets are cheap (30 bucks) for the music you’ll see. The lineup is pretty incredible (Steve Earle, Lucero, Yayhoos, Katies, Will Hoge, Glossary, etc, etc, etc). Mucklewain takes place August 19th.

I also wanted to share a couple of MP3s that I’ve just discovered this week. I know pretty much nothing about Willa Mae Buckner, except that she’s a little bit dirty. She’s a little bit dirty, but her voice is clean and sweet, and she has a playful edge to her delivery that keeps me on pins and needles. I found a bit of information on here here, but not much more, and I’ve only been able to find two tracks belonging to her, with no full-length releases to be found. She had an interesting life as a performer, first in minstrel shows (at age 14), and then as the star of her own traveling snake show. She eventually settled back in North Carolina and drove a bus for the city of Winston-Salem for a decade. She was eventually rediscovered, made a few recordings and began to perform again. She passed away in 2000. The Music Maker Relief Foundation was instrumental in getting Willa Mae back into the public eye. MMRF, a charitable organization that operates out of NC, gathers donations to help down-on-your-luck, elderly musicians who have been significant in helping to preserve and communicate the traditional music of the South. I keep up with their newsletters and am always touched by the work that they do.

Willa Mae Buckner: Peter Rumpkin

Willa Mae Buckner: Yo-Yo

Last night I missed Rocco Deluca and the Burden at 3rd and Lindsley, and that’s a shame because I’ve been wanting to see them for awhile now. Ever since the Nashville Film Festival actually, when we saw the documentary about their band, I Trust You To Kill Me.

Like everyone else at that showing, we really went to see Kiefer Sutherland, aka Jack Bauer, who co-owns the band’s label and travels with them on occasion. He’s heavily featured in the documentary, which follows their first European tour through dingy clubs in several countries. As the film progresses, we learn more and more about Rocco as well as Kiefer, and it becomes an interesting portrait of two performers at very different points in their lives. It’s really a great movie, and not just because of scenes like this:

Although they certainly help. While I came to see Bauer, er, Kiefer, I left really liking the music, and I’m kicking myself for missing this show.

Anyway, if you’d like to check out Rocco Deluca, give these a listen:

Gift, from Rocco’s debut album, I Trust You To Kill Me

Colorful also from I Trust You To Kill Me

The air conditioner in on the fritz at my office, so it’s a balmy 85 degrees in here right now. Needless to say, meaningful blog postings are not likely under these conditions. However, here’s a rundown of the upcoming week:

• Monday, July 24th, 7:30PM - Improv Nashville is performing their long form improv show at Bongo Java After Hours.
• Tuesday, July 25th, 6PM - Will Kimbrough is celebrating the release of his new album Americanitis with an in-store performance at Grimey’s.
• Wednesday, July 26th, 7PM - Austin Cunningham and the Reluctant Tennesseans are playing at Judge Bean’s Barbeque.
• Wednesday, July 26th, 7:30PM - Anna Wolfe graces the Bongo Java After Hours stage.
• Wednesday, July 26th, 8:30PM - Americana Tonight is at Douglas Corner, featuring Kacey Jones, Buck Jones, Jimmy Barrett, and Stephanie Ryman.
• Thursday, July 27th, 7:30PM - It’s Bluegrass Night at The Ryman, with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and Cherryholmes.
• Thursday, July 27th, 8:30PM - Amelia White plays the Family Wash.
• Friday, July 28th, 9PM - The Katies play the Basement, with Brian Ritchey and Carey Ott.
• Saturday, July 29th, 7:30PM - Hal Ketchum is at TPAC, and if you only know his country radio stuff, you’re missing out.
• Saturday, July 29th, 8PM - Jonell Mosser plays 3rd and Lindsley.
• Saturday, July 29th, 9PM - Will Kimbrough again, this time at the Basement, to celebrate his new CD. With Amy Loftus.

I think the cool air has returned. It’s only 80 in here now, and falling fast. So there you go, a list of events, complete with a happy ending! Not a bad start to a Monday.

Old Crow Medicine Show (aka: one of the best bands ever) sent out an email today about the official release of their newest EP:

We also have our new Crow/Dove T-Shirt for sale on our merch page.

Here are our current tour dates, and as always, you can find out more information at www.crowmedicine.com

BIG IRON WORLD TOUR 2006

August 2006
Wednesday 30 | WFPK Waterfront Wednesday Concert Series, Louisville, KY
September 2006
Sunday 3 | Sugar Bowl Music Festival, Norden, CA
Tuesday 5 | Music Box @Fonda, Hollywood, CA
Thursday 7 | Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
Friday 8 | Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
Monday 11 | Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR
Tuesday 12 | The Show Box, Seattle, WA
Friday 15 | Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
Tuesday 26 | Webster Hall, New York, NY
October 2006
Wednesday 4 | 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Saturday 7 | Tall Stacks Festival, Cincinnati, OH
Friday 20 | Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN
Saturday 21 | Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA

The Big Iron World Tour is scheduled to visit the following cities in 2006: Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Birmingham, Asheville, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Lawrence, and others…

European tour tenatively scheduled for 2007

Thanks
D. Morgan Jahnig
Old Crow Medicine Show
www.crowmedicine.com

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You can sample some of their tracks over at myspace. I heard them a couple of weeks ago on Garrison Keillor and was sorely disappointed.. I’m not sure that I really like the sound that they’re producing these days, but their live shows are still pretty sweet.

I also wanted to post a reminder about a couple of upcoming Improv Nashville shows. Saturday night’s show will be at Bongo’s After Hours Theatre, a venue that I’d imagine is becoming increasingly more crowded as Improv Nashville gains popularity around town. I’m assuming Saturday night’s show (8 PM, 7 bucks! a deal) will be short form improv, where audience suggestions are taken in order to improvise short scenes and play games. Monday’s show, also at Bongo Java’s After Hours Theatre, will be long form improv. Long form improvisation (on the most basic level) develops over the span of a few scenes, with more developed characters and more complete story lines. I am thrilled to see longform improv in Nashville, so I’ll definitely be at Monday’s show. The performance starts at 7:30 PM, and admission is $5.00.

I was elated to find Improv Nashville, as I became pretty attached to comedy shows before I made the move to this great city. Improv Nashville also offers classes in comedic and musical improvisation (as well as sketch comedy writing) that attract a very diverse crowd of students. They’re offering a free workshop for adults on Saturday, August 5th, if you’d just like to have a little sample of what it’s like (check the site for more details, you have to reserve a spot in advance). I took the Level 1 improv class earlier this year and had an absolute blast. We hope to have a more in-depth look at the group over the next couple of weeks, so please stay tuned.