McLovins – Making of Cohesive

It was a bittersweet way to bring a special era of music in the Capital Region to a close. Thankfully, the 7 Walkers with the help of the McLovins were able to put smiles on our faces and added some sweetness to that bitter end. But still, it is a venue that will be missed and very, very hard to replace. Thank you Revolution Hall and all those that made it the special place it was.

You can preview the LP thanks to this eight-minute clip the band made…

McLovins – Good Catch (Album Preview)

“He seemed like a real quiet guy. We liked him,” Jeff chimed.

Although they say they would be open to including a piano player of their own in the band, it seems they are content as a trio.

“You just have to see the live show to understand,” said Jake.

An unnamed bowler in the middle of his seventh frame turns to a buddy with a puzzled look on his face when The McLovins take the stage.

“Who are these kids,” he asks received only by a shrug.

Jake and Jason being juniors and Jeff a freshman in high school, his question has surely been asked before.

“I think people have a perception that when they go to a show, it’s awkward to see a younger band. Being young helps. We have an open mind and we are still growing. Our frontal lobe hasn’t fully developed,” said Huffman.

In fact, some frontal lobes were about to explode.

The band opened up with Tokyo Tea, a tasty multi-layered groove, which ventures into the unknown, before picking up where they left off with funky hi-hat, slapping and wah-wah pedal licks. Reggae rooted Milk Toast Man followed, allowing the audience to catch their breath, but not before another roller-coaster jam in Deep Monster Trance, a 13 minute experience of sound featuring up and down guitar runs and momentum filled drumming.

“That’s what so important for our show,” said Howard. “It’s a lot of different sounds and dynamics.” Calling Howard, aka AxLovin, a prodigy would be an accurate statement, but it did not start with music. His former babysitter, Melissa Buzzi who was in attendance recalled her experience with Howard when he was only two years old.

“He knew all the countries, the capitals and the flags,” she says. “He has the capacity to be great at everything.”

“I went through phases where all my interests were focused on one random thing.” said Howard, who met Jake at Rock Camp in Connecticut. “I learned all the flags, [laughs] I couldn’t name any of them now.”

The first of two live premiers and, self-admittedly, their most radio friendly track to date, This Town is a simple and fresh tune. Howard wrote the riff on a sick day from school when he had nothing to do but jam. The lyrics Huffman wrote were inspired by the innkeepers they met during their stay in Vermont the weekend they played at Nectar’s.

They rounded out their set with a solid cover of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army sung by Jason and their second world premiere Beadhead Crystal Bugger, a complex arrangement that took them close to three weeks to learn.

“Actually getting it down isn’t as hard as it seems,” said Huffman. “It is our music. We’ll mess up sometimes, but something really great happens from those mistakes.”

After a Purple Trees encore featuring an Another Brick in the Wall tease and a hammed up rock n’ roll finish, it was time to sign autographs and take pictures with fans while the band’s dads break down the stage.

“We’re the McRoadies I guess,” said Greg Ott, proud father of Jason.

Poised, the boys wear smiles and shake hands with fans and family. At no point when you look at them do you forget how old they are, no matter how mature the music sounds making the live experience even more fascinating. They are a band discovered by fans who want to share their music.

“It always feels good to make other people happy.” said Jeff.

It isn’t often they make it down to New York City and rarely do they play All Ages Shows, so this should be a terrific opportunity to see why we keep fluffing their music. Can’t make it out but still want to see The McLovins play? You’re in luck as they will be webcasting a show tomorrow night at 7PM straight from New Vizion.  We hope to see you on Sunday afternoon.

The McLovins – Milktoast Man

This clip was recorded this past weekend at Nectar’s in Burlington, VT, where the boys hung with Phish keyboardist Page McConnell…

The McLovins’ next show takes place at New Vizion Studio in West Hartford, CT on March 6th for a show that will be broadcast live on UStream.

Yo La Tengo – Episode 1 – Currently Available
White Rabbits – Episode 2 – December 2009
Medeski, Martin & Wood – Episode 3 – December 2009
Matisyahu – Episode 4 – December 2009
Jojo Hermann – Episode 5 – January 2010
Erin McKeown & Jill Sobule – Episode 6 – January 2010
Pretty Lights – Episode 7 – January 2010
moe. – Episode 8 – January 2010

Elsewhere, Spinner shares the news that two rare Jimi Hendrix recordings will finally be officially released in January. The first album features Hendrix & the Experience at the  Paris L’Olympia on October 9th, 1967 along with portions of a show from the same venue on January 29, 1968 while the second release will be culled from material recorded in Ottawa on March 19, 1968.

Before we go, we wanted to let you know that the promoters of Coachella have officially released the dates for next year’s festival. Coachella 2010 – which our friends at Consequence of Sound feel that Pavement will headline – will take place at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, CA on April 16-18.

The year isn’t over yet and the Connecticut-based trio has got at least one more trick up their proverbial sleeves. Jake, Jason and Jeff unveiled a “brand raging new” (their term) original called Hell Yeah last Friday night at Troy’s Revolution Hall where they were opening for Max Creek. Hell Yeah veers more dark-prog than some of the boys’ other originals. Check it out…

The McLovins – Hell Yeah

Further Viewing:

• Killing Time
• Virtual Circle
• Bri (In Memory Of)
• You Enjoy Myself

The McLovins – 20 in a 35

This past Saturday was Fan Appreciation Night at The Paradise with The Brew. The band had setlist writing contests, t-shirt design contests, and judging by the crowd noise at the conclusion of these tunes, the fans were indeed very much appreciative. This audio selection features some Led Zeppelin with a little Brew original in the middle. The Brew play tonight with The Heavy Pets in Atlanta.

Some video from the show:

A & T: Cowboy Junkies – Don’t Let It Bring You Down, Working On A Building
Date & Venue: 2009-10-14 The Barns at Wolf Trap, Vienna VA
Taper & Show Download: su6oxone

When I hear a female sing Don’t Let It Bring You Down, I’m immediately brought back to the seduction scene in American Beauty with the Annie Lennox version playing in the background. This one is good too, and is followed by a nice performance of a Cowboy Junkies original. November will bring the Cowboy Junkies all over Canada on their C’est What? tour, starting November 18th at Festival International de Jazz de Montreal.

Artist & Title: McLovins – Purple Trees
Date & Venue: 2009-10-12 Holcomb Farm, West Granby CT
Taper & Show Download: CTDave

Purple Trees, PT – an ode to, believe it or not Phantasy Tour. These HT favorites have definitely upped their touring schedule on nights when, you know – they don’t have homework and stuff. McLovins play next on Friday October 30th at Red Square in Albany.

This video isn’t from Last Week, but it is from this month:

Artist & Title: Ratdog – Crazy Fingers > Take Me To The River
Date & Venue: 2009-10-16 Tower Theatre, Upper Darby PA
Taper & Show Download: Craig Taraszki

Closing out this week’s edition we’ve got Bob Weir coupling Crazy Fingers with the bustout of Take Me To River, which had been played in 99 shows. Ratdog plays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Beacon Theater in NYC.

Some Acoustic Bobby From The Same Show: