Modern Acoustic

Favorites of 2011

OUR ANNUAL LIST OF FAVORITES OF THE YEAR FAVORITE ALBUMS / SURPRISE ALBUMS “The King Is Dead,” the Decemberists and “The Harrow & the Harvest,” Gillian Welch In a surprising return to their roots the Decemberists stripped down their sound, mixing a ’70s Neil Young vibe with some R.E.M. guitars and became one of the [...]

An open letter to ‘fans’ who talk incessantly through concerts

Dear Biggest Fan Ever of the Band Onstage, SHUT UP! Why is it you who claims to be the biggest fan never stops talking while your band is performing onstage? Am I the only one who always finds himself trapped by you, who instead of listening to your FAVORITE BAND EVER, jabber on (loudly) as [...]

Breakouts of 2011

THREE ACTS THAT MADE BIG IMPRESSIONS It’s been a good year for Dawes, David Wax Museum and Amy Black. Each had critical success – either nationally or locally – this year and appear to ready to take the new year by storm. We asked them to give us their Top 5 highlights of their great [...]

Issue No. 35, December 2011

To download the full magazine, click HERE It seems like ages ago, but it was actually only 11 or so months when the year began – with a bang. January and February exploded with concerts and new albums like no other year we can remember. We spent time on the tour bus with Josh Ritter [...]

Dawes at Royale on Oct. 28, 2011

Dawes seems to be doing everything the right way. They tour endlessly, they’ve played backup to the great Robbie Robertson, and they treat their fans like their friends. Last night was my first chance to see Dawes live and it was everything I hoped. On album, the band sounds like a California version of the [...]

Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead, April 1970

  I recently came across a new posting on Wolfgang’s Vault of an old recording of a Miles Davis concert from 1970 at Fillmore West in San Francisco. The concert was one of a series of dates from April 9-12 where Miles and his electric band opened for the Grateful Dead. The recording (available at [...]

1/17 “Voyageur,” Kathleen Edwards; 1/24 “Bhiman”, Bhi Bhiman;