The local, all-girl, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE cover band, "Take The Power Back," is playing tonight at The Basement w/ the Jompson Brothers, and Black Patch. $5, 9 pm, check it outtttttt! –Deli Staff

Check out

Musicians Corner will be inaugurated with a series of free Saturday afternoon lawn parties in Centennial Park, featuring live performances by local Nashville artists. The series will start July 10 and continuing every Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. through October 16. The July 10th lineup will include Mikky Ekko, Sam & Ruby, The Dynamites, Damien Horne, and Mindy Smith. Go to www.musicianscornernashville.com for more details!–Deli Staff

The PJ Harvey Tribute show served up some major sassiness on Monday night at Springwater, compliments of several local ladies, including, but not limited to, Murielle Rae of The Grayces, Thelma & The Sleaze, and The Deli’s own Erin Manning. The show was organized by Taco Party owner, Lauren Gilbert, in order to raise money for the new local art store at the Little Hamilton collective. Unsurprisingly, the show was successful, just like Gilbert’s previous shebangs, such as the Nashville Femme Vegan Cupcake Calendar show, benefiting Planned Parenthood. Even for people who wouldn’t be considered “die-hard PJ Harvey fans,” the songs and performers were wildly entertaining.

Decked out in all black and strutting their stuff on stage, the girls had the common sense and decency to showcase a wide variety of Harvey’s expansive material, opening with favorites such as “Big Exit,” (click the links to see some low-quality iPhone videos) and, “Down By The Water,” before barreling into some deep tracks, such as the Nick Parrish collaborative, “Black Hearted Love,” which was sung by Murielle Rae. The girls clearly specialized in garage/grunge, judging by the downright raunchy renditions of “Rid of Me,” “50ft. Queenie,” and “Long Snake Moan.” Lauren Gilbert and Amaretta from Pushy Lips took turns with lead vocals, and were backed by Jackie Mackree and Emily Zimmer of Thelma & The Sleaze, and JoJo Jackson from Xpia. Things simmered down a bit during the middle of the set with some PJ Harvey ballads, including “Grow, Grow, Grow,” and, “The Devil,” which were performed by Erin Manning on keyboard/vocals, as well as an acoustic-guitar-accompanied, “C’mon Billy,” sung by Olivia Scibelli.

Seeing such true fans engaged in the on-stage exploration of the in’s and out’s and eccentricities of PJ Harvey’s sick-ass songs was a sight to see. Rumor has it that the gals might go for round two of the tribute show because it was that good. This would be quite fortunate. (Let’s hope they do).—Deli Staff

The gods must’ve smiled upon me when my body was transported to chick folk/rock heaven on Saturday afternoon, where I found myself backstage at the Brandi Carlile concert. I’ve probably seen her perform about six times, but not since she has released her third album, “Give Up The Ghost,” risen to top 40 artist status on the Billboard charts, and teamed up with an all-star full band. She was joined by the usual duo of twins, Phil and Tim Hanseroth on bass and guitar, Josh Neumann on cello, a new electric guitarist (who was super cute, but whose name I didn’t catch), and renowned drummer in the badass-lady-musicians-category, Allison Miller.
The audience was immediately satisfied with the usual crowd pleasers and past singles, such as, “The Story,” “Closer To You,” and, “What Can I Say.” The energy and good times were maintained with up-beat, yet lesser known songs that will probably be promoted as singles at some point, including, “Looking Out,” and “Dreams.” (You can watch a low-quality, iPhone video of “Dreams,” here, which I took from backstage). I was thrilled, yet unsurprised, by the amazing vocal capabilities of Miss Carlile, which have been known to make a listener tear up with tenderness, and then shatter that listener’s grip of reality with her monstrously powerful belt, and raw, chilling voice cracks.
With all of that being said, I expected to hear all of the popular songs and the screamers, since the audience was compiled of thousands of drunken festival-goers, but there were a few tricks up ol’ Brandi’s sleeve. A raucous rendition of the Johnny Cash classic, “Folsom Prison Blues,” took the audience from pumped, to downright hysterical, especially when Brandi took the melody up the octave. (The WOW FACTOR equaled 100!) The most memorable moment was when Brandi, the twins, and the cellist sang “Oh Dear,” acapella with four-part harmony, which was absolutely gorgeous. (It is a rare and impressive feat to give such a compelling performance that the audience shuts up for a full 3 ½ minutes, so a firm pat on the back to Brandi and her band).
As if one set wasn’t enough, Brandi offered some words of wisdom at a panel discussion with the lead singer of Weezer and some other industry dudes, and then actually performed a second acoustic set later on that day. (Naturally, I attended all of these events with extreme enthusiasm). It also seems as if she has delved into her folk-country sound with a little more vigor and intention on this go-‘round, and it suits her well, so everyone should look forward to what will come of Brandi Carlile’s future material and performances. She is on tour for the rest of the month, and is actually playing a show in Nashville this evening at the Loveless Barn. It’s probably sold out, but maybe you can sneak your way in. (That’s what I’ll be attempting).—Erin Manning

I popped my Bonnaroo cherry by arriving a day and a half late, being crammed into Camp Katinka—the campsite furthest from all Bonnaroo festivities—and completely missed The Gossip, She and Him, and Tori Amos. My struggles were rewarded, however, with the ultimate consolation prize: Steve Martin and his fabulous four-piece bluegrass band, the Steep Canyon Rangers. I must admit that I didn’t go to hear him perform for the music; I went to feed my obsession. He was actually quite capable for someone who has been primarily recognized as an actor/comedian since the early 1970’s, so I was pleasantly surprised to listen to some truly entertaining bluegrass.
The majority of the songs performed came from Martin’s Grammy-winning album, “The Crow,” including, “Wally On The Run,” “Pitkin County Turnaround,” and, “Hoedown At Alice’s.” Martin plucked the banjo, an upright bassist served as the rhythm section, and two others played acoustic guitar and mandolin. It was a relief to see that Martin’s supporting instrumentalists equally contributed to the band’s success, and they even performed without Steve Martin a few times, wooing audience members with an acapella, barbershop quartet-style number. With my limited interest in dosie-do’ing music, my observations of these “standard” bluegrass tunes were mainly that there was lots of clapping on 1 and 3, rapid banjo picking from Steve, and frequent fiddle solos. The standouts were less bluegrassy in nature, and hinted at some varied, but (unfortunately) unknown folk, blues, and old soul/RnB influences. The standouts also included some “novelty songs,” from Martin’s SNL days, including, “King Tut,” (the audience fav), which was originally performed by Steve Martin & The Toot Uncommons. (I liked this song especially, because it reminded me of the singer from the B52’s—you know, the way the guy speaks all of his lyrics as if he’s talking right in your face).
Audience members expecting some comedic relief in addition to an upbeat, cheerful set of bluegrass songs were certainly not disappointed, and as if the performance wasn’t already enough of a giggle fest, Jack Black showed up backstage after finishing his Tenacious D set, sweating profusely, but with an admiring and determined gleam in his eye. Apparently he and Steve Martin have been collaborating on a film called, “Birdwatching,” although I have yet to verify whether or not Martin was just making things up onstage. That’s probably the case. Regardless, it was funny. –Erin Manning

Get ready Nashville. Tonight the Exit In has a bangin’ lineup. Mattoid (your favorite Nashvillian from Helsinki), Frank the Fuck Out and Quintron with Miss Pussycat will all bombard your ears and eyes with lyrical fantasies of love and sex and adventures! Get there for an ass-kicking good time! – Deli Staff

Three artists left their bands at home Thursday night and went solo before a modest crowd at The End. A Breakfast Club assortment of weeknight showgoers was more than receptive of the two out-of-towners Jesse Rifkin of the Wailing Wall and Tim Fite. Both came from Brooklyn to rock the venue with something a little unexpected. The only local in the lineup, Simon Kerr (above photo), preceded the New York performers with a brief acoustic set. He is one of the singer/songwriters who lists all the right influences behind his pretty melodies. Kerr has an ear for those, fingerpicking stories of past girlfriends who have songs named after them and a ballad about a grandfather lost in WWII. – Jessica Pace

Tennessee’s beloved festival Bonnaroo is fast approaching, and if it’s anything as good as it was last year, then you’d better hurry up and buy tickets while they’re still on sale.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the best few months, the headliners include Dave Matthews Band, Nashville’s Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z. Nashville has more than Kings representing at the festival. Other Nashville bands set to play are Space Capone, The NCOs, Caitlin Rose and John Prine, as well as several other Tennessee bands from Knoxville and Memphis.

Over the course of the festival we will be posting up our favorite acts of the day – which is always a difficult process, considering there are three or four great bands you have to miss in order to see one you know is going to be great.

Bonnaroo is a great festival, and if you haven’t been, then we highly recommend it. It’s more than 80,000 hippies listening to 100 hippie bands. There is much more to do than listen to music. There’s a Silent Disco: a gigantic covered dance floor where everyone wears headphones tuned into the DJs music, so everyone can hear the music loud and clear – no need for bunching up near the front and encroaching on everyone else’s space. The best part is that from the outside a hundred sweaty people are dancing to what looks like absolute silence.

There are air conditioned tents to watch the NBA finals and the World Cup.

There is a play that repeats several times during the day.

There are comedy tents and celebrity interviews, also air conditioned.

There is delicious food, and endless water tanks to fill up and ward off the heat of the day.

There are showers provided by Garnier™. 

There are awesome people who are ready to be your friend and share their…food…with you.

Be there, go wild and come back with pics. – Deli Staff

Check out The End tonight for a Happy Salmon Productions event, featuring two New York bands Tim Fite and The Wailing Wall as well as Nashville’s own Simon Kerr. Watch Tim Fite’s video above. – Deli Staff

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and a half, tonight, just like every Monday night, the 5 Spot is hosting yet another sock hop. Head on down there if you enjoy 50s boogie, soul, Doo Wop and more.

Gee it’s swell. – Deli Staff

Congratulations Space Capone for making it through to Bonnaroo. We’ll see you there!

June 11-13.

You guys deserve it. – Deli Editor

Last night, four bands and three DJs performed at The Open Lot, and all of them had the right to feel skeptical about the turn out. After all, what is The Open Lot? Where did it come from? How long has it been here? Furthermore, what is JR/SR? Who was behind the party? The whole thing seemed to out of nowhere and nothing.

But after last night I have to say that everyone was convinced that The Open Lot is an awesome venue. There’s plenty of space for a couple hundred partiers to dance and mingle, ample parking (though I suggest they cut the waist-high grass), and a staff that is cooperative and just as excited as the partiers themselves. And best of all, it’s right be the railroad tracks, so noise complaints are nothing to worry about.

So what went down? If you got there when the doors opened at 9, you were lucky enough to be greeted by lights, balloons, dance tunes provided by DJ DigiRob – who not only played from 9 – 10, but provided the jams between band – and most importantly, a short line at the cash bar. (Round of applause for the three bar tenders who cured everyone’s thirst last night).

At ten o’clock, Grass Mountain (shameless plug) played their first show. Donned in white tops, white bottoms and solid black shoes, the group powered through their garage-punk-country-psychedelic tunes at faster-than-rehearsed speeds. It was energetic, and the crowd was receptive and ready to jive.

By eleven o’clock, Fly Golden Eagle jumped on stage and gripped the crowd. The lead singer (also the rhythm guitar player for Majestico) has a great knack for laying a melody over simple rhythms, and the keyboardist compliments him well. At times they were grooving and repetitive (in a good way), and at other times they were loose and free. By this time, the crowd – probably as skeptical as the bands – was beginning to realize how much fun was in store for the rest of the night.

DJ DigiRob provided the crowd with some hits while Fly Golden Eagle tore down and Majestico (above photo) set up. Once complete, Majestico hit us with funky screams and sparkling keys. The lead singer let his hair down (literally) and at times sang along, in full falsetto, to his own solos – hilarious and bizarrely musical. It was a treat to hear the colorful solos and melodies bouncing off the walls and into the respective eardrums of the audience. During their set, the crowd peaked in capacity, and you could begin to sense that this party was for real.

The last band to go on was Secret Name. They announced that this would be their last show – their drummer will be moving to Michigan soon – which is sad because they’re a great band. Only three musicians are in the band, but they know how to fill up a room with sound. Their drummer is technically proficient, showing his skills on a minimal kit; the lead singer has a strong voice and a keen sense for rhythm and dynamics, and she’s also the bass player, often playing non-root notes, which compensates for the lack of instrumentation in the band. And the best part is that they have a keytarist. Everyone loves a keytarist. In jest I yelled to the band, just before they started playing, "Is that a guitar or a keyboard!?" To my left, a large bearded man leaned over and said in my ear, "it’s a keytar." The joke was lost on him.

By two in the morning, DJs Potamus and Justin Kase took over. They took turns cranking out the tunes, inviting people on stage behind them, and taking advantage of everyone’s inebriated nature and need for hard hitting beats. They played for a little over an hour and the crowd ate it up. The two really work well together, maybe we’ll see them working in tandem more often.

In closing, thanks to JR/SR for throwing a great party, and thanks to Open Lot for offering up their venue. Grass Mountain, Fly Golden Eagle, Majestico and Secret Name, as well as DJs Potamus and Justin Kase were all impressed by the turn out, and can’t wait to be a part of next months festivities at another Open Lot presents JR/SR bash. – Fletcher Watson