Three out of the five members of God Street Wine came together with a few of their friends for a Jon Bevo’s Love Orchestra performance this past Saturday night at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, New Jersey. Guitarists Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell and keyboardist Jon Bevo were joined by drummer Dave Diamond, bassist Tom Pirozzi and multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby for both sets, which also featured guest spots from Todd Pasternack of the Ominous Seapods as well as Angela Ford Pasternack, Lizzy Friel and Frank Messina. JBLO mostly stuck to God Street Wine classics.

[All Photos by Jeremy Gordon]

HT photo editor Jeremy Gordon was on hand to capture this first JBLO performance of the century and has shared a gallery of his photos. Here’s the setlist…

Set One: Get On The Train, Souvenir, Bring Back The News, Goodnight Gretchen, Driving West, Imogene, Upside Down & Inside Out w/Lizzy Friel, vocals, Stone House w/Lizzy Friel, vocals

Set Two: She Comes Up Softly (Lo Acoustic), 6:15 (Lo Acoustic), Epiphany, Waiting For The Tide w/Todd Pasternack, guitar & Angela Ford Pasternack, vocals, Hollow Frog w/Frank Messina, Henrietta, Hammer & A Spike > Epilog > Hellfire

Encore: Nightingale w/Lizzy Friel, vocals

• Audio:  Yossi Pollak’s SBD Matrix
• Video: Six Songs Shot by Tyler Curtis

Check out this full gallery of Jeremy Gordon’s Jon Bevo’s Love Orchestra pics…

READ ON

Back in the ’90s when God Street Wine wanted to play a venue that was thought to be “too small” for them, the group performed under the moniker Jon Bevo’s Love Orchestra. The “secret name” helped the band return to rooms such as The Nightingale Bar and Wetlands Preserve long after they outgrew them. This Saturday night GSW members Lo Faber, Aaron Maxwell and Jon Bevo will team up with drummer Dave Diamond, multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby and Ominious Seapods bassist Tom Pirozzi to resurrect JBLO at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Just as with past Jon Bevo’s Love Orchestra performances, Saturday’s gig will feature songs from God Street Wine’s repertoire. In fact, Faber is taking requests through the Bring Back GSW Facebook group. He describes the show as, “A GSW like show with GSW members and all GSW songs plus very special guests” and adds that “rehearsal sounded great.” Pirozzi and Faber go way back as Lo produced the Seapods’ Jet Smooth Ride LP in 1997 and the bassist was a member of the Lo Faber Band.

Tickets for the return of JBLO are currently available through TicketWeb.

Four-fifths of God Street Wine will take the stage at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, New Jersey on January 28 under the moniker Jon Bevo’s Love Orchestra. Guitarists Aaron Maxwell and Lo Faber, keyboardist Jon Bevo and bassist Dan Pifer will be joined by Dave Diamond on drums and multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby for this special performance. Crosby and the CS Grey Band (featuring Bevo and Pifer) are set to open. Tickets are available through the venue’s website.

Here’s a look at what else is happening as we start the week…

• Bill Nershi filled JamBase in on SCI’s plan to record a new album
• Art Garfunkel is open to making new music with Paul Simon
• List Time: Jim DeRogatis lists his “biggest turkeys” of 2011
• Stereogum enlisted Feist to take and share Polaroids from tour
• What would a Hanna Barbera Sex Pistols cartoon look like?
• Fugazi is set to launch an online archive of live recordings on 12/1

Finally, moe. welcomed two guests to the Terminal 5 stage on Friday night when roots guitarist Andy Falco and Dumpstaphunk keyboardist Ivan Neville lent a hand for a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ at the end of the first set. Falco also guested on Waiting For The Punchline earlier in the set. Take a look at a quick clip of Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’…

moe. w/ Neville and Falco – Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’

For this week’s B List we found ten videos on YouTube featuring just the guitar players from some of our favorite bands without any accompaniment. When we sat down to put this together, we thought it would be easier to find clips of just the axe-slingers in action without anyone else but it didn’t work out that way. Thankfully, after a few hours of digging, we did find ten gems worth sharing.

1. Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey of moe. – Summer Camp Guitar Clinic

The dual lead guitar players for moe., Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier, jammed out by their lonesomes on May 27, 2011 at the Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Illinois as part of a Guitar Clinic. Over the past 20 years these guys know each other’s style like the back of their hands and you can see that connection in this clip.

READ ON

One week ago, God Street Wine guitarists Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell took the stage at the famed Iridium Jazz Club for two shows filled with GSW classics. The duo have been honing their acoustic sets since the beginning of the year and continue to mine the ol’ repertoire for additional nuggets.

[Photo by Joe Madonna]

During the first show, Lo and Aaron welcomed GSW keyboardist Jon Bevo for part of the set as well as fiddler Jason Crosby. For the second show, Crosby returned and Pete Levin (Blind Boys of Alabama) sat in on keys. While I didn’t get a chance to make it out for this one, Scott Bernstein’s recording puts you right there. Our pal Joe Madonna also shot a clip of the Hellfire jam featuring Levin, Crosby, Maxwell and Faber…

For much more on Lo & Aaron’s sets at the Iridium, check out Lynn Guppy’s informative and hilarious review. Next up for the pair is a show with their friends–including Crosby and RatDog’s Kenny Brooks–at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ on September 30.

Last Friday night four out of the five members of God Street Wine – birthday boy Lo Faber, guitarist Aaron Maxwell, bassist Dan Pifer and keyboardist Jon Bevo returned to Joe’s Pub in New York City for the lineup’s second gig at the small venue of the year. Once again, the quartet was joined by former GSWer Jason Crosby on violin for most of the show.

GSW @ Joe’s Pub Video Playlist

While I wasn’t able to make it out to the 4/5ths of GSW performance, taper Scott Bernstein was in the house and captured the music for a surprisingly good recording. Why is it surprisingly good? Scott explains in the notes attached to his recording at the Live Music Archive...

Special thanks to “that guy” who decided he HAD to be the only person in the room clapping, as loudly as possible, just below my microphones. I would have had this posted 2 days earlier if not for him. Please ask him for the 4-5 hours of my life he took away due to the time I had to spend removing his loud claps. …and also to the guy who decided he needed to scream like a 12 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert 3-4 times during the show (which I was also able to minimize through processing).

Certainly the enjoyment of those at home comes second to those at the show, but if you’re the only one in the room freaking out…you just might be “that guy.” Besides Scott’s tape, there’s also a video of the performance via LiveStream, a collection of YouTube clips and a soundboard recording of the festivities. You can also stream Lo & Aaron’s set from last Sunday at the Mighty High Festival through UStream.

Yes, it’s been quite a while since our last God Street Wednesdays column, but we’re back this week to tell you about four shows on the docket for GSW guitarists Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell.

The action starts on May 7 when the duo perform at the legendary Colony Cafe in Woodstock, NY. On May 20, Lo and Aaron team up with fellow GSWers Dan Pifer and Jon Bevo for another gig at Joe’s Pub in NYC. Later that weekend, the pair head up to the Mighty High Festival in Tuxedo, NY on the 22nd. Also on the slate for Faber and Maxwell is a set at Gathering of the Vibes on July 22. Keep your eyes on their Facebook page for more details and future announcements.

In other GSW news, a recording from the Jam Room of Jam Cruise 9 featuring Maxwell jamming with Bill Kreutzmann, George Porter Jr., Marco Benevento, Adam Deitch and Steve Kimock has surfaced. While no track listing is available, there was certainly a Mustang Sally in there. Head to the Live Music Archive to stream or download this recording.

Last month, four out of the five members of God Street Wine teamed up with one-time GSWer Jason Crosby for an enthralling set of music at Joe’s Pub in New York City. The gig went so well, the unnamed quintet is doing it again on May 20. Tickets are currently available for $15 for the 90-minute set that’s scheduled to run from 7PM to 8:30.

Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell w/ Jon Bevo, Dan Pifer and special guest Jason Crosby @ Joe’s Pub, February 25

Joe’s Pub isn’t exactly like the ramshackle bars and clubs where God Street Wine cut its teeth two decades ago in New York City. Guitarist Lo Faber, who was performing with three of his four GSW band mates at the high-end venue, alluded to the difference after the Borderline opener by mentioning how weird it was to have food served to the tables in front him as he was performing the tune. “They didn’t have food service at the 712 Club,” Faber said before the quartet launched into Thirsty.

[All photos by Vernon Webb]

Over the course of the hour-plus set, Faber, Aaron Maxwell, Jon Bevo and Dan Pifer offered a mix of God Street classics and rarities in front of a crowd filled with family and friends. For most of the show, Maxwell and Faber performed on acoustic guitars as they have for the handful of shows the duo played over the past few months. What made this show different was the addition of Pifer and Bevo.

While the presence, skill and chemistry that GSW drummer Tom Osander brings to the group can never be replaced, those in attendance weren’t focusing on what was missing. Instead, the Winos lapped up the rare opportunity to see the songs they love in such a plush setting.

READ ON for more on last night’s show…

A dream came true for the author and other Winos around the country, when God Street Wine came back for four shows last summer followed by two sets aboard Jam Cruise 9. While the group’s fans held out hope that GSW would continue to perform the occasional show, an announcement from the band posted on godstreetwine.com crushes that dream.

Here’s the complete announcement…

The past twenty months have been an amazing journey for God Street Wine. In the spring of 2009, the tragic and untimely passing of a dear friend brought us together for the first time in eight years. Then in the summer of 2010, we had the chance to do four amazing shows in our home city of New York, raise a lot of money for a very worthy cause, and reunite with a fan base whose lasting support was absolutely breathtaking. Finally, this January, we got on a ship to Mexico and back, for Jam Cruise 9: simultaneously a family reunion, a music fan’s dream, and two great sets with guest appearances from some of our longtime idols.

Unfortunately, our families, careers, and geographic locations won’t allow us to keep doing GSW on the regular or even semi-regular basis that our fans might want. But as we return to a status of indefinite hiatus, we would like to express to the many people who have made this unexpected, prolonged reunion such an unforgettable experience, how thoroughly grateful we are for your generous support. There are too many who deserve individual thanks to start listing them here, but please rest assured that we treasure working with you, love performing for you, and are honored to know you. And for the fan base–really a family–that waited nine years for a GSW reunion, we stand humbly in awe of your faithfulness, your enthusiasm, and your energy undiminished after all these years.

Until next we meet, please continue to support honest, creative live music wherever you can find it.

Peace – Lo, Aaron, Dan, Jon, and Tomo – February 2011

Look, six God Street Wine shows over the past 12 months were six more shows than we ever dreamed of when we started the God Street Wednesdays column, so we’re thankful for what we got out of the short-lived reunion. The gigs gave Winos the chance to reconnect and brought the band’s music to the attention of many who may not have heard of GSW if not for the reunion. Also, guitarists Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell continue to perform and will even play with Dan Pifer and Jon Bevo at Joe’s Pub on February 25th, so the reunion is still paying dividends.

We wish the best to the band and thank them for an incredible ride.

Following up on today’s God Street Wednesdays column comes the announcement that keyboardist Jon Bevo and bassist Dan Pifer have been added to the lineup for GSW guitarists Aaron Maxwell and Lo Faber’s acoustic show at Joe’s Pub in New York City on February 25th.

If you recall from today’s post, Lo and Aaron used to perform acoustic shows as Dos Heteros. We mentioned the addition of Bevo at last weekend’s Mexicali Live gig was the birth of Tres Heteros. Therefore, we’ll get the long-awaited debut of Cuatro Heteros on the 25th. Tickets to catch 4/5ths of God Street Wine in action are currently available for $15.

Back in 1988, soon-to-be God Street Wine guitarists Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell gigged on Cape Cod under the name Dos Heteros. The pair worked plenty of jazz-oriented material into their sets as they honed the skills and communication that would pay dividends the next decade. Lo and Aaron have revived Dos Heteros in what has now turned into regular gigs with the last one taking place at Mexicali Live this past Saturday evening.

Lo, Aaron, Bevo and Jason – Epilog

Lo and Aaron presented a nice mix of originals and covers for the occasion. The set started with the guitarists working through five songs as a duo including Goodnight Gretchen, Run To You and a fun take on Fats Waller’s Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.  Next, the pair welcomed GSW keyboardist Jon Bevo to join them for a sequence we’ll call Tres Heteros (thanks Lynn). Aaron, Lo and Bevo covered Brooklyn by Steely Dan, B.B. King’s Sneakin’ Around and delivered a tender rendition of Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits plus GSW classic Driving West and the rarely played Bevo original Wall off GSW’s self-titled effort. Former GSW utility player Jason Crosby came out for conclusion of the set, namely a gorgeous Epilog, Dear Prudence and Mile By Mile -> Nightingale. Next up for Dos Heteros is a late-night set at Red Square in Albany that just so happens to start around the time Trey Anastasio’s show ends at the nearby Palace Theater.

We’ve got one other note for this week’s column. While transcribing my interview with God Street Wine from Jam Cruise has been an extremely slow process, 16-year-old journalist Tyler Curtis didn’t have that problem. Curtis spoke with Lo and Aaron at Mexicali Live on Saturday and posted his interview the next day on The Shakedown Blog. Lo and Aaron talked about the circumstances that led to last year’s reunion, the role of the GSW fan community, Jam Cruise highlights and more. Check it out.

Hey Jude was the B-Side to the 1968 single Revolution by The Beatles. This single was the Beatles first release on the Apple label. Originally titled Hey Jules, the song was written by Paul McCartney in reference to John Lennon’s son Julian. One of my favorite online Beatles resources is Alan W. Pollack’s site, click here to read all the musical (and other) information you would ever want to know about Hey Jude.

The Contestants:

Leading off this week we’ve got The Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival courtesy of a great recording from That Tent at Bonnaroo. Source: 6-15-2008

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Video from the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise January 2009:

READ ON for more nine more covers of Hey Jude…

For the first time in nearly a year, there are not any scheduled God Street Wine performances on the calendar. Alas, Lo and Aaron continue to book gigs as an acoustic duo. Next up for the GSW guitarists is an opening set at Brooklyn Bowl on January 19th supporting former God Street Wine multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby and Friends. Also on the agenda for Faber and Maxwell is a show with American Babies, Crosby and James Maddock on January 29th at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ. Tickets are currently available for both shows.

[Photo by Michael Weiss (Nice Shirt, Tomo!)]

If you missed my reviews of God Street Wine’s guest-laden performances on Jam Cruise 9, be sure to check out A Letter to 16-Year-Old ScottyB about the Pool Deck show and Day Four, Pt. 1, which includes my thoughts on the theater set. Plenty of videos have emerged on YouTube from each of the sets and we can look forward to watching the pro-shot footage filmed by the iClips crew in the future.

Here’s some of the best clips we’ve come across…

God Street Wine w/ Anders Osborne – Goodnight Gretchen

READ ON for more GSW videos from Jam Cruise 9…

Thanks to our pal JRapp, we can premiere a number of fantastic clips from throughout Jam Cruise 9, which finished yesterday upon the MSC Poesia’s return to Fort Lauderdale. We start with Living Colour front man Corey Glover, who was on the boat with Galactic, singing Glamour Boys with ALO…

ALO w/ Corey Glover – Glamour Boys

Next, we’ve got a short clip of a George Porter Jr.-led version of Sneakin’ Sally from the Jam Room which featured Pete Levin, Ian Neville, Raymond Weber and Tony Hall on bass…

Jam Room – Sneakin’ Sally

READ ON for more videos from Jam Cruise 9 including Bobby w/ GSW, Brock’s LCD Soundsystem cover, Lotus on the Pool Deck, JHa joined by Butler and Berg on Dawes’ When My Time Comes and much more…