TnJ BEST of 2011

TOAST’s FAVORITE ALBUMS of 2011

10) STOCKHOLM SYNDROME – Apollo

Possibly just too much raw talent to settle down and try to get conventional airplay, this jam band supergroup is largely for the already converted.

HIGH POINTS: Emma’s Pissed, Red Lightning




09) the BLACK KEYS – El Camino

Like the automobile adorning its cover, a collection of songs sounding like and praising what was often dismissed as merely commonplace in the 70s.

HIGH POINTS: Little Black Submarines, Gold on the Ceiling




08) NATHAN MOORE – Dear Puppeteer

I’ll bet even Moore’s unsure at this point how many releases this makes, but it could be one of the highlights of his lowlit career.

HIGH POINTS: Choose Thy Love, Can’t Fly to Heaven





07) TOM WAITS – Bad as Me

Put this one on and be pulled into the warm, familiar, bizarre, occasionally menacing carnival of a supreme storyteller’s mind.

HIGH POINTS: Chicago, Bad as Me





06) GRAYSON CAPPS – the Lost Cause Minstrels

Essentially a contemporary blues album with a bit of a Cajun kick, Capps mines the sound for all it’s worth and delivers one of the most unusual and listenable blues albums of the year.

HIGH POINTS: No Definitions, Ol’ Slac (Joe Cain), Coconut Moonshine


05) BLACK JOE LEWIS & the HONEYBEARS – Scandalous

Down’n’dirty, like James Brown with a punk attitude. Splitting their efforts between rock and funk may make gaining a wide audience difficult (because others have already done it), but they pull it off live in the proverbial spades.

HIGH POINTS: Booty City, Mustang Ranch, Livin’ in the Jungle

04) TV on the RADIO – Nine Types of Light

Sonic architect Dave Sitek has constructed an album both edgy and retro, which may be the musical recording skill of the future. The songwriting and musicianship are beyond reproach. This album might still sound new 10 years from now.

HIGH POINTS: Second Song, Killer Crane, You

03) MY MORNING JACKET – Circuital

Though not as diverse and mind-blowing as MMJ’s “Evil Urges,” this album certainly has its moments. Retro-rocketeer Jim James may not be the mad genius he’s touted as being, but he’s more interesting than most.

HIGH POINTS: Circuital, Victory Dance, First Light, Outta My System

02) the DECEMBERISTS – the King Is Dead

I have a hard time believing a band I had so little interest in could concoct something so delicate, beautiful and gut-wrenching. Until now, their attempts at symphonic indie-folk left me wanting. Now I just want more.

HIGH POINTS: Dear Avery, Don’t Carry It All, Down by the Water, Calamity Song

01) the JAYHAWKS – Mockingbird Time

If this is what every Jayhawks album could’ve been, I’m a little miffed they weren’t. This is a jangly, harmonic, power-folk masterpiece. Maybe every band should break up for 13 years then regroup, if this is the result.

HIGH POINTS: High Water Blues, Tiny Arrows, Hide Your Colors, Stand Out in the Rain, Hey, Mr. Man

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TOAST’S FAVORITE SINGLES of 2011

10) UMPHREY’S McGEE – Hajimemashite

Pleased as punch they finally made a good studio recording of this one. There’s not likely to be a better radio song from these titans of prog-metal-jam.

09) IMPERIAL ROOSTER – Korhn Sirup Sundae

Anytime I find myself singing along (or wanting to sing along) to a song the first time I hear it, it makes the list. Doesn’t happen often.

08) WARREN HAYNES – Man In Motion

The hardest working man in jambandom now also has an old-school R&B project going – when does he sleep? Only the album version of this one will do, by the way: great lead-in and outro eviscerated for the radio version.

07) the DECEMERISTS – Down by the Water

Seems as though when 3 of the Decemberists formed the side group Black Prairie they got to stretch their folk muscles a little. Did they know the tide was turning folky this year? Did the tide turn folky because the Decemberists did? Chicken or the egg.

06) BEN HARPER – Rock n’Roll Is Free

Harper proves he knows how to churn out a by-the-numbers rock song and make it give you goosebumps remembering how much you loved those three chords in the first place. Basic but oh-so-solid, “this might be a good one to learn on,” thinks the fledgling bass player in me.

05) GARAGE á TROIS – Assault on Precinct 13

The lineup lost Charlie Hunter and gained Marco Benevento over the years, but this experimental groove collective has laid down a solid, almost danceable, cover of a John Carpenter film score composition. One of the most addictive songs I’ve heard in a while, but then I’m not obsessed with lyrics. Now, if only they would do an entire John Carpenter cover album.

04) TV on the RADIO – Second Song

Within the first few bars, this song had me convinced I absolutely had to buy the album. Luckily, the rest of the album’s pretty great as well (see album #4 above). They may not be as popular as the Black Keys, but I’ll argue they’re better (at least on this album), no matter how much ink the hipster press gives those Akronites. Of course, I really like the Black Keys, too (see album #9 above). No doubt TVOTR put a lot of effort into making this bubbly, fractured, infectious synth-funk-rock seem so effortless.

03) FOSTER the PEOPLE – Pumped Up Kicks

Any song that takes this long to climb the charts is likely to have the kind of staying power that say, Hootie and the Blowfish, didn’t. Time will tell if this observation will bear out, but this song became ubiquitous so slowly I was like a lobster on a slow boil, unaware my environment was changing at all. I predict this is now the sound all wannabe “indie” music makers will try to ape until the next big thing comes along. I won’t be able to recall 2011 later without this tune tagging along, unbidden, from the morass of my memories.

02) the CIVIL WARS – Barton Hollow

Chilling. Spine-tingling. Toe-curling. Recordings this perfect usually come out months, if not years, apart. It’s definitely a standout on this album. I don’t care much for most of the rest. Some of it I actually dislike. But I’m definitely going to be curious to check out what they come up with next. Huh. That makes them sound like the Woody Allen of folk music to me. “Barton Hollow” is as powerful and soulful as folk music has been since, well, for years, certainly. My memory doesn’t go back that far anymore. If you liked Cash’s take on “Ain’t No Grave,” this is about twice as good.

01) the JAYHAWKS – High Water Blues

An ebullient song to begin with, but the bridge just knocks it out of the park. Possibly the only time this year I actually listened to a song repeatedly during the same sitting. It’s almost 2 great songs in one. I don’t think folk is capable of being more rock than this without crossing the line into punk. On an album saturated with wonderful harmonies and crafty songsmanship, this track is the one I’ll remember most. It’s so good it may be the song I remember most 10 years from now, by anyone.

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Okay, enough with the Casey Kasem countdown format…


LIVE BANDS WHO BLEW MY MIND in 2011:

WIDESPREAD PANIC
TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND
SOULIVE
CHRIS ROBINSON BAND
IMPERIAL ROOSTER
GRUPO FANTASMA
ARCADE FIRE
LOS LOBOS
HYMN for HER
BLACK JOE LEWIS & the HONEYBEARS

HONORABLE MENTION > CRYSTAL METHOD (Playing turntables, sequencing, and sampling isn’t exactly the same as playing instruments, is it? These guys sure tear it up, though.)

“OFFICIAL” LIVE 2011 RELEASES NO JAM FAN SHOULD BE WITHOUT:

GALACTIC – The Other Side of Midnight – Live in New Orleans

Like their original live at Tipitina’s release from 2001, this is a fantastic snapshot of the band as they stand now, and with smoking guest appearances to boot.




PHISH – Live in Utica [CD/DVD]

If only for the epic “Melt > Mercy > Piper > Melt > Slave,” but not even only for that.





INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS – We’ll Do It Live

Impossibly, their jams become more concise the more of a jam band they become. They are the psychedelic Jedi of bluegrass.





TODD SNIDER – the Storyteller

If you like the rambling storytelling of Leo Kottke or Arlo Guthrie as much as their music, you’ll enjoy this album.





WARREN HAYNES PRESENTS the BENEFIT CONCERT VOL. 4

One of the best of the famous “Christmas Jam” releases so far, with memorable turns from Bob Weir & Friends, moe., and Robert Randolph & the Family Band.




“UNOFFICIAL” LIVE 2011 SHOWS WORTH HUNTING DOWN:

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND – 8/12/11 Albuquerque, NM

This combo is incredible. Hopefully we’ll get an official live release someday, and hopefully it will include the Sly & the Family Stone medley!

STRING CHEESE INCIDENT – 3/10-3/12/11 Broomfield, CO

Might go down as a historically great run. Some of the best performances of their career. Even a lot of the “new songs” sound good (^_^)

WIDESPREAD PANIC – 6/22/11 Taos, NM

Second set especially mind-melting during a sit-in by School’s Stockholm bandmate, Eric McFadden. Possibly the best “Red Hot Mama” ever.

PHISH – 9/3/11 Denver, CO

The middle of an epic 3-night run. First night has novelty on its side (all “S” songs), but this one is just so solid it blows me away.

INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS – 3/18/11 Boulder, CO

You will believe a progressive bluegrass band can cover a large swath of the Police’s catalog! When these guys go out on a limb, it usually pays off.



BEST LOCAL ALBUM:

ANTHONY LEON & the CHAIN - the Pistol, the Bottle, and shaded pastures




“LIKES” from the FRESHIES CROP – MORE, PLEASE:

OLD CALIFORNIO
BRUSHFIRE STANKGRASS
DUB IS A WEAPON
HYMN for HER
BUXTER HOOT’N

BEST ROCK DOC SINCE LIKE, the 70s, PROBABLY:

PEARL JAM TWENTY

WTF?:

Dubstep? Is that even a thing? I mean, as opposed to a mash-up of 2 other, previously existing things that hadn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of ever being popular? Is it somehow related to Zumba?

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