Music & More

Chrissi Poland opened for Suzanne Vega Thursday, April 16th at the Woodbridge Theater. Chrissi played three new songs that are destined for her next album coming later this year. She also played "Angel Weep For Me", a new version of an original song that has been with her for all of her career. The set ended with a slow and slightly sad piano version of the Beatles "Help!", which Chrissi mentioned was the way John Lennon demoed the song for the group. Chrissi's voice and piano have never sounded better. Watch "Help!" Chrissi was warmly welcomed by the Suzanne Vega crowd, receiving a nice reaction to every song. It was great to see Chrissi again. Here is her setlist. 1. Lonely Light - A slow and soulful relationship song on the electric piano; as beautiful a ballad as I've heard her do. 2. Why Lie - Chrissi once said "don't break the heart of a singer-songwriter without expecting to hear about it in her songs." She has su...

Art by Kyle Lambert Mark Knopfler - Tracker Off the top of my head, when I think of current guitar gods, I think Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Eddie Van Halen, and I think Mark Knopfler. Knopfler has spent the better part of the last twenty years establishing himself as a singer-songwriter like a James Taylor or a Jackson Browne, or more precisely in the mold of J.J. Cale. One could make the case that Knopfler's entire solo career has been a tribute to Cale; certainly Knopfler has adapted Cale's laid back style of songwriting. Knopfler's seven solo albums have featured varying amounts of electric lead guitar, but his guitar never seemed to find its rightful place in the mix. And while the albums were all enjoyable, they were often shy of the guitar work that Knopfler's fans crave. On Tracker, Knopfler seems to have finally found just the right mix that incorporates his electric guitar with his standard instrumentation. Whether it's carrying the song or just...

Photo Courtesy of WFUV Respect The Elders. Embrace The New. Encourage The Impractical and Improbable, Without Bias. - David Fricke Last Saturday, Vin Scelsa announced his retirement from Sirius XM The Loft and WFUV effective May 3rd. Vin's last shows on The Loft are Wednesdays and Thursdays noon - 2pm, ending April 30th, repeats Sundays 6-10pm. Vin's last shows on WFUV are Saturdays 8-10pm, ending May 3rd. I just posted the following to Vin Scelas' FaceBook page: Dear Vin - Thank you for accepting my friend request. I want to say that I was sad to hear the news that you are retiring from radio, but I know that for you it has to be as happy as it is sad. As you said yesterday, you are going out without getting fired or dropping dead, plus we get to hear a month of last shows. So let's agree that the ending is bittersweet. I first heard Idiot's Delight back in 1988 or 1989, living north of Philadelphia (I could pull 92.3 K-Rock in on my car radio, ...