Mendocino Seasonal Oatmeal Stout Review

Mendocino Brewing Company has been on the craft beer scene for a long time. They have a stable of ales with bird themed names - such as Red Tail Ale and White Hawk IPA - that are good quality, affordable beers, though none are especially bold or adventurous. Their new seasonal release for 2013 is simply titled "Oatmeal Stout." (Fans of feathered animals will be glad to know that even though no birds are used in the name, a bevy of birds adorn the label and six-pack carton.)

The Oatmeal Stout is a worthy addition to the Mendocino lineup. Heavy on the oatmeal, this is a thick and rich brew. The other flavors, mostly chocolate and coffee, are well balanced. There is a hop presence, neither under nor overwhelming. Every bottle we poured had a tan 1/4 - 1/2 inch head. If you are tiring of all the spiced beer seasonal offerings, this dry stout is recommended as a pleasant change of pace.

ABV 6.0%

Southern Tier 2XMAS Seasonal Beer Review

An onslaught of seasonal brews is upon us. Just a few short years ago, it seemed that only a handful of craft breweries came up with special seasonal releases for the winter holiday season. Now, it seems like every brewery does. Finding the diamonds in the rough can be a tough challenge. Southern Tier Brewery's seasonal ale is 2XMAS. The label notes that it is brewed with figs, orange peel, spices, two hop varieties and four different malts. It's a nice balance between all of those; the spices -cardamom, cinnamon and clove - are at the forefront, but hops and the other flavors have a strong presence. Highly recommended as a good sipping ale for cool winter evenings.

ABV 8.0%

Review of Tedeschi Trucks Band: Live - Everybody's Talkin'

The Tedeschi Trucks Band is a musical review along the lines of circa 1970 touring bands such as Joe Cocker Mad Dogs & Englishmen and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The sound and attitude of the band draws heavily from that era. They pay tribute to the past without simply repeating it, unlike several current revivals of 1960s bands. Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB) is an eleven piece group with a horn section, two backing vocalists, and twin drummers. It is led by Susan Tedeschi, who has the most soulful voice found in a white woman since Bonnie Raitt, and her husband Derek Trucks. Trucks has been unequaled on slide guitar since he started playing with the Allman Brothers Band in 1999, if not before that, building on the foundation laid down by Duane Allman in that band's beginnings.

TTB is a melting pot of blues, R&B, soul, jazz, blues, and rock, much like those 70s bands mentioned above. It was a time when musical boundaries were crossed much more freely, and in many cases, dissolved altogether.

Everybody's Talkin' was recorded during the tour that followed the release of Revelator, TTB's debut release from June 2011. It features a mix of songs from that record, several covers of 1960s and 70s tunes and at least one previously unreleased song. Most tracks are in the ten to twelve minute range, with long solos that build slowly from quiet beginnings to full band frenzy. Trucks and his distinctive guitar style, where he balances restraint against a tone that usually sounds about one decibel shy of rocket launch, are featured in many solos, but almost everyone in the band gets their turn front and center.

A riff-based version of “Everybody's Talkin'”, the classic Fred Neil song made most popular by Harry Nilsson, opens the record. Tedeschi plays with the melody and as the groove heats up, Truck begins to fill in with his slide guitar. It's nice to hear a reworking of this song, but some of the other covers are more rewarding.

“Uptight” is every bit as funky as the original version by Stevie Wonder. The first solo break features Saunders Sermons on trombone with Oteil Burbridge laying down mile-a-minute bass support. Oteil gets most of the second break to himself, with a long bass and vocalizing buildup before he hands off to Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson for a drum/percussion duet.

“Darlin Be Home Soon” was a Lovin' Spoonful song, also covered by Joe Cocker on his second album. It's perhaps the most melodic song on this record, with a soft trumpet solo and a lovely extended solo from Derek for the full second half of the track.

“That Did It” is a classic-sounding blues song with a tasteful and gritty guitar solo from Tedeschi. “Learn How to Love” is also in the blues mold and has Trucks and Tedeschi trading riffs during an extended guitar breakdown.

Several songs are from last year's Revelator album, including “Midnight in Harlem,” “Learn How to Love,” “Bound For Glory,” and “Love Has Something Else to Say.” These songs have not been significantly reworked, but as might be expected, have extended solos as well as new intros and outros, typically featuring Derek. He displays his Indian raga chops along with a nod to Duane Allman's “Little Martha” as a lead-in to “Midnight in Harlem.”

The album closes with “Wade in the Water,” Staples Singers style, soulful and joyous, with restrained slide guitar, muted horns, and a hammond organ swelling just below the surface. The vocalists trade lines and a fat bass sound holds down the bottom of the mix. It's a musical stew where every ingredient has a chance to shine and the combination of flavors has something for everyone.

Note: this review was originally published at my HubPages site in May, 2012, but has been relocated.

TRACK LISTING:

Disc 1

1. Everybody’s Talkin’
2. Midnight in Harlem (Swamp Raga Intro with Little Martha)
3. Learn How to Love
4. Bound for Glory
5. Rollin’ and Tumblin’
6. Nobody’s Free
7. Darlin’ Be Home Soon

Disc 2

1. That Did It
2. Uptight
3. Love Has Something Else to Say (With Kissing My Love)
4. Wade in the Water

Review of Echo, New Vegan Restaurant in Athens, Georgia

Athens has been both ahead of its time and behind the times with vegan restaurants. In the mid 1990s, Guaranteed became Athens first vegan restaurant. Located on Broad Street, it lasted a couple of years, but there were not enough local vegans to support it, and vegan dining seemed liked a foreign concept to many diners. Now with everyone from Russell Brand to Bill Clinton promoting veganism, Athens has been overdue for a good vegan dining option.

Earlier this year, Broad Street Coffee opened in a tiny location that had formerly housed a BBQ hut. They were an instant success, yet stuck in an undersized facility that could seat only a dozen or so at a time. With the closing of Farm 255, an opportunity presented itself. Owners Juan and Vanessa Molina moved Broad Street Coffee to Farm 255’s former location on West Washington Street. The new restaurant, known as Echo, opened just a couple of days ago.

It has been a soft opening with little advertising. This is probably good, as the transition happened quickly. It will take time to adjust to a larger kitchen, dining room and more ambitious menu. We were there on the second night of operation along with several other diners. The menu features four or five appetizers, the same number of salads, and eight or so entrees. My dining partner had the crabcakes appetizer and a cup of sweet potato ginger soup. It was enough for dinner. The crabcakes are quinoa based - not actual crab, of course - with red pepper, red onion and celery. The two cakes were tasty and, served with a creamy dill sauce, very filling. The sweet potato ginger soup was thick, fragrant and excellent, overall.

The entree selection is not ambitious, but it does contain enough variety to satisfy most folks. Though tempted by a burrito, I had the chickpea and sweet potato burger. It was one of three burger options; they all come with slaw and mac and “cheese.” The burger had east Indian spices and was very flavorful. It was a little overwhelmed by the bread and could have used a smaller bun or been just slightly larger.

To my tastebuds, Daily Groceries sets the gold standard for vegan slaw. Echo’s slaw is headed in that direction, but has fewer ingredients. The pasta in the mac and cheese was overcooked. It was very “cheesy” but needed a couple of dashes of tabasco.

Despite a couple of minor miscues - to be expected with a brand new restaurant - service was friendly and efficient. We were very satisfied with our meal and felt it was reasonably priced. The owner stopped us on the way out and asked for feedback - always a good sign for a new operation.

For vegans and non-vegans, Echo is a welcome addition to the Athens dining scene. Its food, location, ambience and prices should make it highly competitive. Echo has several draft and bottled beers, a good wine list and a full bar.

Founders All Day IPA Session Ale - Review

Founders All Day IPA Session Ale is a seasonal release for the summer months. The idea for a session ale is that you can knock back a couple of beers to feel refreshed without getting overly buzzed. If you are expecting a typical IPA, you are likely to be somewhat disappointed. There is a definite hop character with strong hints of grapefruit, but it is not a powerful hop presence. The yeast variety gives a distinct tart flavor, which becomes apparent after the initial taste of hops. This beer is nicely balanced all around and is a nice choice for a hot summer afternoon.

My purchase was a 12-pack of cans. 4.7% ABY, 42 IBUs

Independent Baking Company Opens in Athens

The Independent Baking Company opened this week in Five Points, and it was worth the wait. Owner Thom Leonard and crew did a nice job of building up advance buzz with appearances at the Athens Farmers' Market and some pre-opening sales from their storefront. 

The baguettes are excellent: crusty on the outside, chewy, but light and flavorful on the inside. The kalamata olive bread is amazing. Whole olives appear here and there throughout the loaf. We took ours home to slice and ate it with some leftover homemade pesto. These are the kind of breads that can be a meal in themselves with just a little cheese and a glass of beer or wine. 

Independent Baking Company has a half dozen or so types of bread, including whole wheat varieties. There are also croissants, cookies and Danish. Arrive early in the morning if you are after some of the more popular goodies. Coffee and espresso are available to sip at their counter or to go. IBC opens at 7 am.

A word of warning: our loaves were difficult to slice without a very sharp bread knife. You will do just as well to tear off chunks of bread, which is more fun, anyway.

Review of Demons - Cowboy Junkies Cover Vic Chesnutt

It's a risky proposition taking on Vic Chesnutt tunes, especially a full album's worth. Nobody sang quite like Vic – contorting and emphasizing words and syllables so that his lyrics became uniquely his own. Still the Junkies' vibe is a good fit with Vic's tunes. They had all worked together on the remake of The Trinity Session (Trinity Revisited, released in 2008), a session where the Junkies were joined by Vic, Ryan Adams and Natalie Merchant. On Demons, Cowboy Junkies cover eleven of Vic's songs, reaching back to the tile track from West of Rome in 1991, adding several others from his catalog of a dozen or so albums, including three cuts from At The Cut, the last record Chesnutt recorded.

Vic's unusual singing style and playfulness with words served to draw the listener in. In a different way, Margo Timmin's softer and much prettier voice often does the same, most effectively on some of the slower and quieter tunes like “I'll See You Around” and “Supernatural.” The latter is effectively augmented with mandolin and eerie bowed string sounds. Unfortunately Margo's voice is a little lost in the mix on a couple of the louder songs. On “Ladle” the guitar riff and Michael Timmin's fractured guitar solo drive the song along, but it's too easy to miss the mildly suggestive chorus.

For those unfamiliar with the twists and turns of Vic's lyrics, I've Flirted With You All my Life tricks the listener into thinking it's about a school boy crush, before it turns into into a song about death, and despite the sad irony of Chesnutt's own death in December 2009, the Junkies evolve it into an affirmation of life with declarations of “I'm not ready.”

Overall Demons is an effective and worthwhile tribute to a an artist who was known by too few during his lifetime. The record is the second volume of The Nomad Series, a four album release by The Cowboy Junkies over an eighteen month span.

AthFest 2013 Review - Day 3

Lassine Kouyate (aka Adam Klein) - Hull Street Stage

This was a refreshing change of pace. Adam Klein led a quartet through several tunes in the language and musical style of Mali, African. The rhythm was a little ragged on the first tune, but by the second, the band found its groove. The melodic tunes and syncopated beats had some fans dancing enthusiastically and most of the audience tapping their feet. The last couple of songs were in English, but fit stylistically with the rest of the set. Kudos to Klein for bringing this music to Athens.

Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds - Pulaski Street Stage

She is not much bigger than her namesake, but Sister Sparrow has a powerhouse voice with a touch of rasp and a lot of soul. Like Ruby Velle and the Stereophonics the previous day, the Dirty Birds’ sound harkens back to 70s era soul, R&B and funk. The eight-piece, including Sister Sparrow, band featured baritone sax, two more horn players and some wailing harmonica from Sister’s brother. Sparrow flitted, hopped and shimmied around the stage for the full show. The crowd began to build a couple of songs into the set, and soon much of the audience was dancing along with the band.

Bloodkin - Pulaski Street Stage

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Lera Lynn - Pulaski Street Stage

Lynn has the perfect voice for her classic and alt-country sound and songwriting chops to match. Her performance during AthFest last year at the 40 Watt  was memorable. Maybe it was the drive down from Nashville or the mid-set rain interruption, but today’s performance seemed a little lackluster. Her song Whiskey began to build some momentum, but there were only a couple songs left at that point.

Patterson Hood & the Downtown Mystic Ramblers - Pulaski Street Stage

The headlining act started off fairly low key and laid back. The crowd in front of the stage actually thinned out a bit after a few songs, about the same time as the energy level began to pick up. Unfortunately, some of the band’s efforts were lost in the mix. The Campbell sisters could only faintly be heard; the cello was completely inaudible. They would have added another layer of richness to Hood’s slice-of-Southern-life characters and songs. 

AthFest 2013 Review - Additional Observations

Department of Local Stalwarts - Part 1

Cracker delivered an energetic set late Saturday night at the 40 Watt to a packed house. After twenty years and ten or more albums, the Athens-based band has a large catalog to draw from. They included their most well known songs in the setlist; a series of catchy tunes delivered at rapid pace with little time for banter between songs. David Lowery started on acoustic guitar, but strapped on his electric a few songs into the set as the show took on a harder edge. Johnny Hickman provided an almost continuous series of guitar fills and solos as a counterpoint to Lowery’s vocals.

Department of Local Stalwarts - Part 2

Much the same could be said for Bloodkin on the Pulaski Street Stage late Sunday afternoon. These AthFest veterans can always be counted on to satisfy old and new fans with their dependable stable of well written, radio ready songs. Their performance was solid, and if not always inspired, was still enjoyable.

Beyond Maximum Capacity

Demand far exceeded available space at World Famous Saturday night for Cicada Rhythm. Nobody was monitoring the main entry or the single door into the performance room. New arrivals tried to edge their way into an an already uncomfortably packed space, an almost impossible task. One young woman, after squeezing her way out of the room, said, “You don’t want to be in there.” We believed her.

AthFest 2013 Review - Day Two

A selective and subjective review of AthFest Day 2, June 22, 2013

By the second day, AthFest can become an endurance contest. The music starts at noon and lasts past 2 am. Do you start in the heat of the day and see how long you can last or wait until evening, sacrificing some of the outdoor stage events? As it turns out, some of the best bands at AthFest make appearances during the daylight hours.

Highlights of AthFest 2013, Day Two, included Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics on the Pulaski Street Stage. If it wasn’t for the shaved patch on the side of Ruby’s head, you could swear you were watching a soul/R&B band from the mid 1970s. Ruby is much younger than her sound; her powerful voice leads a seven-member band, including a three-piece horn section. Though she gave ample time to the band, allowing for keyboard, guitar and horn solos, it was her voice and enthusiasm that ruled the show. There was much dancing under the mid-day sun.

Sons of Bill at the 40 Watt also had a strong showing. The five-piece band from Virginia is led by three brothers. Choose your favorite alt-country-Americana label. Their melodic songs are guitar-based and easily flow from quiet, country moments to full-tilt rock. Brother Sam’s guitar solos heated up as the band got deeper into their set. By the end of the extended set, brother James, the primary vocalist and front man, was drenched in sweat, as was much of the enthusiastic crowd.

Good, but not great sets were heard from Shonna Tucker & Eye Candy at the Pulaski Street Stage and Blue Blood at the Georgia Theatre. Shonna Tucker’s sound is somewhat more on country side of things. The strongest songs were when that twang came to the forefront. Blue Blood has been pieced together from several other bands and still needs time to fully develop.

The Michelin man raises a hand for Zoogma

Electronica ruled the late afternoon and evening on the outdoor stages. Ghost Owl and Zoogma, both on the main stage, relied extensively on sequencers and synthesizers. The presence of live drums, along with the digital, did add some warmth. Heavy on the bass and the beat, both bands were popular with the younger members of the crowd. There was much moving in place, fist-pumping and arm-waving near the front of the stage.

Zach Deputy is actually one man and many digital devices. Funky beats and soulful vocals got the crowd boogying at beginning of his Hull Street Stage set, but his shtick became tiring to some listeners after a few songs.

A more soulful performance was happening at the same time a couple of hundred feet away by the corner barbeque restaurant. Athen’s Hands of Time, with an equal number of band members and instruments, had a small, but appreciative, audience for their Motown and soul covers. Pedestrians on their way to and from the official AthFest stages would stop for a song or two and listen. Some frat boys waited patiently while their dates danced flirtatiously with each other, crowd members and the lead singer.

AthFest 2013 - Day One Review

A selective and subjective review of AthFest Day 1, June 21, 2013

“Listening for the Secret, Searching for the Sound”*

AthFest is always fun and interesting. If you are not enamored with a particular band during the day or early evening, there are a couple of dozen artists booths to explore. The quality of the art seems better this year. Listening to AthFest bands on Day 1 became an ongoing quest for a performance that could fire on all cylinders and ignite the crowd. With thirteen club venues that gear up for over fifty different acts as the outdoor stages wind down, it’s a challenge that cannot always be successfully met.

Quiet Hounds - Pulaski Street Stage

The set starts off well with a marching band style entry through the crowd. The band is heavy on percussion and guitars for the first couple of songs. The vocals are strong and the band is tight. Lots of “whoo-hoo, hey-ho” singing in the style of the Lumineers, which seems to be the current trend. For the third song, instruments are switched; a bass, trumpet and trombone add more depth to the sound. It has just a bit of a 60s - 70s soul/pop feel, but it doesn’t last for long.

Twin Tigers - Hull Street Stage

The vocals have a touch of Jim Morrison, but nothing really stands out. The sound of this quartet is full and dense.

Modern Skirts - Pulaski Street Stage

Modern Skirts and an almost full moon

It’s billed as Modern Skirts’ final show, and there is a big crowd for the popular, hometown favorites. The band has good energy and an 80s pop-rock sound. Usually, it’s keyboard-driven, with bass and drums, plus vocals, though a guitar is sometimes brought into the mix. The PA system is different at the main stage this year. To these ears, the sound is not as crisp and clear as in the past.

Don Chambers - Caledonia

Chambers is leading a guitar, bass and drums trio. Dissonant guitar loops are overlaid with loud distortion. The songs are brief; the idea seems better than the result. When Chambers’ songs, band and ambitious approach all come together, the results are worth hearing.

Tia Madre - the Green Room

This is a new venue for Athens and AthFest. It must be a new band, too, and this sounds like rehearsal. An idea is started; everyone picks it up and as it gets going, suddenly, it drops. The band asks for a five minute break and leaves the stage. Did they know they were going to playing at AthFest tonight? Time to check out something else.

New Madrid - 40 Watt

Two guitars, bass and drums; what more do you need? New Madrid sounds like a lightweight hippy band at first, but during instrumental breaks, a heavier, driving sound emerges, showing signs of promise. The loop station for one of the guitars, when used sparingly, enhances the sound. Sometimes it’s the fifth band member that’s in the way.

The 40 Watt is crowded. With constant chatter from the crowd, you have to be close to stage to really hear what’s going on.

Caleb Caudle - Little Kings Shuffle Club

Competent singer-songwriter leading a country-rock quartet.

Buxton - 40 Watt

The 40 Watt is about 40 minutes behind schedule. Buxton has good stage presence. Wilco comes to mind as the lead guitarist is obviously influenced by Nels Cline’s efforts in that band. It would have been worth hearing a couple more tunes, but other venues are calling.

Thayer Sarrano - Caledonia

Dark, moody and atmospheric immediately come to mind. Many songs in minor keys. Sarrano has a nice voice. It’s not powerful, but with the band behind her, there is force and presence. It was worth staying for the full set.

Day 2 will be long; sleep is needed.

*Unbroken Chain, by Phil Lesh and Robert Peterson