"Each Betrayal Begins With Trust" from Katy Tur to Jake Sherman, The Dead & Co. begins Summer Tour, Unlimited Devotion Event, Big Noise Festival, Jared Goff, Umphrey's McGee, Sea.Hear.Now and overall, News is too fast and furious these days!

The news and whatnot would come in so fast and furious that anything I wrote about was old news after 18 seconds. 

I had to give writing about everything a break. 

By mid week which BTW, this was a very odd week but setting that aside, it seems that mentality is out there because on Thursdays Morning Joe show, the panel addresses it. Mika was promoting a Joe Scarborough written article in the WAPO which I will try to post/share here below if I can find it and if they allow me to share it. Eugene Robinson also said that he used to write articles for days leading up to it but now he begins an article that same day.

I am assuming it is this one (I have no time to read the entire piece, I must get to dinner ASAP; I will read it later on tonight).

Also, we had a rather sweet Katie Tur and Jake Sherman 'Phish bomb' this week. 

It was perfectly executed and the other three people on the panel did not even flinch or think for a second that it had anything to do with anything but whatever subject they had finished up. At the very end of an exhaustive conversation about something Trump did I am sure, she (Katy Tur) responded to Jake merely saying that 'Each Betrayal Begins With Trust' to which Jake of course agreed.

I saw the Dead & Co. last weekend. They were exceptional. I will go over that later on. I watched the simulcast of the first day up in Mansfield and that was great too.

I then got to see this Unlimited Devotion event at the Ardmore Music Hall with Natalie Cressman playing in one of the bands set up this Friday evening to commemorate The Grateful Dead. 

Or, so I thought because that band she was in is called the Everyone Orchestra which was just mish mosh at it's best. I can only see their audience being whomever is still raging late night after the Late Night shows which is after the Festival Shows which is before the Night Shows at Jazzfest. That Matt Butler guy is a character. I am not even sure what to make of it or him (he was the supposed conductor). I feel like I know that guy somehow. I was thinking there was some Butler on that old GRP Records label where I did the deal memos for them and every deal at MCA. All of those names are still ingrained in my head, however, I cant piece some of them together aside from seeming to recognize the names. Which in some cases I may transpose the name with say a father or something. Especially with the old GRP artists but this guy looked way too young to be a GRP artist now that I am thinking about it and as I am done writing this sentence. It could be the same goof up I had with Natalie Cressman (I had thought she was someone I had seen at Jazzfest in the 90s but in reality, she was barely born in the 90's I think Besides, those were the 90's. It was not for the faint of heart back then and I just found all of that out last year. I just realized lately she was in her twenties. I am assuming that I am thinking of her dad or something (Chainsaw Cressman is maybe his nickname).

Anyhow, ironically, when they announced this thing at that time early in the year, I was more psyched to see this event than I was to see the Dead & Co.

Then the Dead & Co blew me away last week. 

That John Mayer is a sick guitar player and the Dead & Co. are the best band out there right now. They totally rival if not surpass Phish but talk to me after Phish Summer tour begins next month.

These guys are a bunch of men amongst boys. They are rolling like a machine. Everyone is singing and playing and most of all, they are so psyched right now. They have such a great thing going.

I wonder if John (Mayer) will ever do (if they have not done it already because I have NOT seen every set last after camden) his own song. I had heard that his latest solo album was very good if not described even as being great. 

One of the shows in Camden last week was cut short because of the weather. In the middle of Uncle John's Band and they maybe even had been getting into The Other One, they pulled the plug on the band. Playing in the Band BTW, was the second set opener. 

At first, they pulled everyone in from the grass and then about forty minutes later they told everyone that the show was cancelled.

I definitely need more Dead & Co. I am leaning towards doing Lockin' this year because the band is playing one night with Branford Marsalis. I am going to bite the bullet because I am doing Curve ball the week before it. It could be a gruel and dealing with missing that much work will be an issue. But I am gonna do it.

Which means I may blow off CitiField. I am no doubt blowing off Friday's Citi Field show. I may go Saturday. I am on the fence though.

Yesterday, I was able to go this music event called the Big Noise Festival with David Bromberg's Big Band, Los Lobos, Railroad Earth, Bettye LaVette, Amy Helm, David Wax Museum, The National Reserve. I am assuming that Amy Helm is Levon Helm's daughters band, I missed the earlier acts unfortunately (I forgot my wallet and I had to turn around losing about 40 minutes total), but I also did get to see a few acts that played on this makeshift side stage if you will which happened to be set up literally behind me about 3 feet tops from where I sat on this bench.

The whole day was so enjoyable and what was even more amazing is that we did not get one drop of rain. They were calling for rain even though the Weather Channel said it was basically 50/50 and not only that, it was also supposed to rain at very specific times.

The production was perfect.

They had a bunch of food trucks lined up in the back of venue. It was such a great idea. There were also a ton of vendors with everything from shirts to vinyl to craft items.

It was a WXPN event which I did not really know that until I got there. I saw the name but I just thought they were sponsoring it. 

As I people watched and as I checked out the entire set up, I was actually wondering if this thing was like a smaller version of the XPonential Festival they throw here in Camden every year. I am going to see David Byrne there this year. Sturgill Simpson is playing the next night but I am not doing both big Amphitheatre shows. Regardless of that, I know they have a stage set up along the Delaware River in Camden which resembles what I saw yesterday. However the back drop I am assuming is the Philadelphia skyline. This event I was at yesterday is on a different river though.

The sound was exceptional at this festival. The minute I exited my vehicle, I heard the music totally clear. 

The playing was great. Very solid music across the board. 

Amy Helm was great. I never heard her music before. 

The woman after her was OK. It is not my style and she was very 'affected'. She had a designer or something like that because she introduced that person to the crowd. When she left the stage, someone draped her in this robe thing. Bettye Lavette is her name. Like I said, she was fine. Not bad. Nothing groundbreaking and I don't think I heard any mega hits but she does have great vocal chops. Therefore not to say that someone can't write a song for her and it get work huge, but still, not for the likes of me on a professional level and as a potential fan. 

Railroad Earth did like 7 encores I think. 

I had to see them like 8 times when they opened up for Rusted Root back in like 98 and then Los Lobos was solid as ever.

I got some decent pictures of them backstage but I did not get to talk to any of them. I would have liked to have reminded them about us meeting at the Deadicated record release party that had been held in the lobby at the Wiltern Theater way back in the early 90s. I assume that is the only time I ever met them unless I did backstage at a Grateful Dead show. One of them (David Hidalgo) came out to play with the band more than a few times. I may have met him because he kept looking at me in a way where I he was trying to figure out whom I was to him. I forget every one's name though. I think I called the other one Richie Valens which I am pretty sure that is the guy that may have died in that Buddy Holly airplane crash. I forget. I totally forget.

Then, David Bromberg's Big Band played great. 

I think that was the best incarnation I have ever heard him be with although then again, I have not seen him since like 1980. 

I love the horns. I love his vox. Very Tom Waits'y for those people that are not familiar with Bromberg and want to check out a living legend. And speaking of which, the show opened with "Sloppy Drunk." And, David Hidalgo from Los Lobos sitting in on "The Long Goodbye," "Big Road," "As the Years Go Passing By," and a few others.

Here is the band lineup and its a great one:

David Bromberg - Vox and Lead Guitar

Mark Cosgrove - Mandolin/Guitar

Nate Grower - Fiddle

Suavek Zaniesienko - Bass

Josh Kanusky - Drums

Peter Ecklund - Trumpet/French Horn

Gordon Au - Trumpet

Matt Koza - Saxophone/Clarinet

Birch Johnson - Trombone

Kathleen Weber - Backing Vocals

Natalee Smith - Backing Vocals

The encore was "Such a Night."

Overall, there were really no negatives and it was just such a pleasant day all around. The people that produce the event and the city planners did a perfect job. I am trying hard to knock something and again, there is no way anyone left unsatisfied in some way. At the very least, we were outside all day. For me, it was the first time I got to spend some time outdoors in 2018. I mean besides skiing and I mean in nicer sunny weather but yeah, it's been Rainyville USA here in South New Jersey for the last 6 weeks.

Is it me or is being ranked 38 out of 100 something NOT to boast about? 

How many teams are there in the NFL today? 34? Or is it less?

There are 32 teams. I just checked. And, so that would mean that there are at least 7 back up QB's (32 and 6) that rank higher than the Rams starting Quarterback.

Last, did you see this concert that was just announced in Asbury Park, New Jersey in late June? 

It is going to be great. If for anything at all, it is so near my place in Cherry Hill and it is in between here and NYC. Either way, I will try to stay there but the places up there are jacked up price wise. 

I want to stay overnight on June 30th when I see Umphrey's McGee in Asbury Park for their show at Summerstage. It is a block from the beach at the Stone Pony but anyway, houses on AirBnB and at VRBO and HomeAway are not even even close to being less than say $400 a day. I would rather not commute and I would also like a day at the beach. 

Anyway, have Phun and Stay in Touch!