Some Love for Lake Street Dive

Well, well, well what to talk about this week? Last week I tackled some current events and went on a tangent about racism. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm craving something a little lighter this weekend. I could talk about the recent Supreme Court ruling but I fear I don't have much more to contribute that hasn't been said by everyone else on the internet (but don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about it).

So I've decided to talk to you about one of my favorite music groups: Lake Street Dive.

Lake Street Dive is a quirky quartet that I first saw a while ago on The Mountain Stage in Morgantown, WV. Usually when I see a Mountain Stage show there is one act whose CD I have to buy after the show, and shortly after Lake Street came on I knew it was going to be them. A few months ago (March, I think) they came to Pittsburgh and I went to see them for a second time at Club Cafe. Let me just say that they never disappoint. [Inside joke to my friend, Jodi, who went with me: "Wow".]

I'm not the best at defining music by genre so I'm going to say that Lake Street is a fun mix of jazz, rock, and pop and leave it at that. Drummer Mike Calabrese keeps the group steady with an amazing energy; he's very fun to watch live. Bridget Kearney plays a mean bass while Mike "McDuck" Olson effortlessly plays guitar and trumpet, depending on the song. Rachael Price is the group vocalist who has a powerful voice that is suited perfectly to the songs.

The band's self-titled album isn't their first, they actually had some beforehand when they were still trying to figure out their sound. But Lake Street Dive is the definitive of who they are now and it was well worth the work they put into it. The songs are all sorts of fun, all of them penned by the band members. My personal favorites on that CD includes the fast-paced "Elijah", the cool "Hello? Goodbye!", and the sort-of ballad "Neighbor Song" (penned by bass player Bridget, which also features her sick bass skills).


Their latest album is an EP called Fun Machine which features six cover songs. I love a good cover and thankfully, Lake Street does some awesome covers. My favorites are George Micahel's "Faith", Hall and Oates' "Rich Girl" and Paul McCartney's "Let Me Roll It".

Their recordings are great, but nothing beats seeing them live. They just have such a fun, positive energy surrounding them. The love and friendship between the group is infectious, quickly making an entire room full of strangers feel like they're among old friends. Their songs are fun and clever without seeming stupid or cheesy. They don't get overly political or preachy with their tunes; it's simply great music.

Another awesome thing I can't quit is their youtube videos. Most of them feature the group in very intimate settings. There's a video of them singing "Elijah" on a front porch, while the above "Faith" video was filmed on a sidewalk. They have no problem performing with the bare minimum: a bass, a drum, and a trumpet is all the more they need to blow your mind. It's a refreshing change (at least for me) from music that features a lot of synthesizers and hullabaloo, like the musical guests you see on Saturday Night Live. I'd rather have ten Lake Street Dives than one Kanye West any day.

So what's next for LSD? And do you think their band name is a subtle drug reference? I guess it's possible, I don't know their lives. They don't seem like the kind of people that would be doing LSD but I guess you never know. I digress. At their Pittsburgh show they mentioned working on a third album and played a few songs from it (which, of course, sound great). In the meantime I keep looking for new videos of them breathing life into songs by ABBA or Fleetwood Mac. Such a terrific group.

I'll leave you the same way Lake Street Dive left Pittsburgh: with a balls-to-the-wall playing of their song "Got Me Fooled" that they like to use as an encore. Thanks for reading, I hope you guys will check out the fabulousness that is Lake Street Dive. And no, I don't work for them or anything. I'm just trying to spread some love.

A Trip to Mountain Stage

(Joan Osborne)

Yesterday I returned to my old college grounds, Morgantown WV, to see another Mountain Stage Concert. If you don't know, Mountain Stage is a radio program that is recorded in West Virginia. Concerts feature about four or five different artists in genres like folk, bluegrass, jazz, soul, gospel, and more. Most of their shows are recorded in Charleston but they do a few shows each year in Morgantown. I only got into these shows last year but I try to hit them all up when I can and I subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. While I don't always love everything I hear, Mountain Stage has helped me discover plenty a new artist (or at least, new to me).

The first performer was a young woman named Lera Lynn. She and her band (two boys, one on guitar and one on bass) have been opening for Joan Osborne, who was the headliner for this show. She has a good strong voice and some fun songs as well. She closed with the song "Good Hearted Man" and the link will take you to the music video version of that song, which is quite entertaining.



The second act was a bluegrass group called Leftover Salmon. The lead singer is a WVU alumni and the crowd was very responsive to him. There was some amazing guitar and banjo playing with this group, I was blown away by the rapid fingering of guitar strings. Probably because I have no patience when I tried to learn guitar so I'm impressed by anyone who does.






Next was a folk singer named Sylvie Lewis. This woman quickly became my favorite act of the evening. She performed solo, accompanying herself on the ukelele, piano, or guitar depending on the song. The songs were very pretty, as was her voice. In between songs she would tell funny stories in her beautiful English accent. Not many people could tell a story about someone farting in an elevator with class, but Ms. Lewis sure did. After the show I bought her CD and had her sign it, not something I usually do but what the hell she was there. She signed the booklet of the CD with an "Isaac is fabulous". I loved it.
Here's the music video for her song "The Fish and the Bird".

The fourth act was probably the most popular with the crowd: The Punch Brothers. I had never heard of them, but I did notice their names on a track from The Hunger Games soundtrack, so I feel like they're doing quite well for themselves. I really enjoyed them as well, they have a lot of great songs on their new CD "Who's Feeling Young Now?". There are great vocals and equally good string playing in this young bluegrass band and I hope to hear more from them. Here's them performing "Patchwork Girlfriend".




The final act of the night was blues singer Joan Osborne. If you don't recognize the name, her most famous song is "One of Us" which you've most likely heard. The song was recorded quite a few years ago and she now has this awesome mature blues voice that she really knows how to use. Her new CD is called "Bring It on Home" and all her material was great. Listening to her felt like being in some sort of blues cafe, she was definitely a great note to end the show on. Here's a more recent version of her singing "One of Us". I was going to post a video of her singing something from her new album, but screw it, here she is singing "Ain't No Sunshine".

So yeah, that was my awesome weekend. Gonna go use up the iTunes gift card now...