Townspeople,
Tell me what you know about North Mississippi Allstars. Tell me more than the band contains the offspring of Jim Dickenson and some other 12-rate survivor of the Southern soul circuit. I’m going to see them with a friend in the neighborhood tomorrow night. My friend is a good guy, and he was looking for a music lover to join him. I’m terrified, Townspeople. Not of my friend’s company – hanging with him is a breeze – but because I’m terrified this band is going to push all my 21st Century Bluesphobe buttons. I’m terrified I’m going to get that look on my face. You know the one, the judgemental, 99 things are wrong with this picture look. It sucks getting into that mood around an innocent friend, a friend who may not be used to me and more gut-wrenching reactions to things I don’t like.
All that said, I had the same fears midway through Marie Antoinette with him and his wife. I figured I’d hear it from my wife when she saw me with that look after the movie, but our friends disliked it as much as we did and had been storing up as much bile. So who knows? Maybe this show will work out either way. In the meantime, please tell me all you know, short of AMG blurbage. Thanks.
I’m sure I had that Look on my face for Soul Asylum playing at House of Blues of Chicago in 2005. Good luck, Townsman Mr. Mod. Sorry I know nothing of the North Mississippi All-Stars! Take deep breaths, and enjoy. I will be rocking out on the other side of town for You Am I.
I’ve never seen them, but a friend caught them in New Orleans a few years back, and raved about it.
ps, I just bought the Dickinson’s collab with Jon Spencer, cleverly monikered Spencer Dickinson last week. It’s good.
good luck.
I have their first album, and I like it quite a bit. It’s got good guitar playing, lots of slide, and they do some sampling/editing/looping hoodoo that I thought was very cool, almost Beefheartian. They also mix in some of that strange fife and drum corps stuff too. I have no idea how much if any of this stuff I like can translate to a live setting.
I had heard a song from this album played on the local community radio station, and I actually called the station when I got home to find out what it was. So you can color me impressed. I’m not sure why I haven’t kept up with them since that first album.
And I don’t know what that clip is, but that’s not them playing the band in whatever it is.
Keep an open mind, Mr. Mod. The blues is your friend. Without it there is no rock & roll. Just don’t expect short tight songs with no improvisation. And don’t judge the band by their audience, which I’m guessing will skew towards the jam bad/hippie wannabe end of the spectrum.
I appreciate the support you are providing. I will keep an open mind and a level head. I do think I’m going to be surprised.
BigSteve, that band in the video is Blues Hammer, a fictional, bad blues band in the movie Ghost World. That scene kind of represents my anxieties over tomorrow night’s show.
You at rock town hall on your high horses are the worst kind of music snobs! There’s nothing fictional or bad about BLUES HAMMER!
Show us the GOODS Shawn! 🙂 🙂
Townsman Shawn’s got their German import live album, I bet.
Is that the picture disc one?
Let’s ask Paul Simon if he’d rather be Blues Hammer or the Nine Inch Nails.
So true, Steve, that it’s a wonder it needs to be said. But around these parts, it probably does need to be said.
I haven’t heard any North Mississippi All-Stars, so I do look forward to Mr. Mod’s report, although I can’t say that I expect it to be glowing. But I’m always interested in new bands that try this territory.
That said, playing the blues well is really fucking hard. Same for rock and roll. So I agree with Mr. Mod to this extent: Just because you say you’re crossing the two, that doesn’t mean you automatically know much about either one.
Find a player you can enjoy and focus on that guy as a way in. They’re not a bad band.