Mandolins On TV - Advance Notice

[journeybear]

How are they being dumbed down? Are you watching the show? What are you talking about?

Listen. The more people see and hear mandolins, the more likely more people are going to learn about them and hopefully like them. That would be just fine with me. That's one of the main reasons for this thread - putting the word out, in some small way - and while it may pale in significance with what others may be doing to further public awareness of the mandolin, at the worst it's innocuous. I don't see what is to be gained by negativity.

[journeybear]

Almost missed this - Little Big Town on Jimmy Fallon tonight. Assuming they'll do their current single, which features a lot of mandolin. Also, Hunter Hayes on Jimmy Fallon Friday night. Finally Neil Young on Letterman tomorrow night - chat only, but could be interesting.

[journeybear]

OK - Probably no MC, but the musical guest listed for Letterman tonight is Jamey Johnson with Alison Kraus. I don't believe JJ uses mandolin much, and while AK could fiddle around with a mandolin if she wanted I've never known her to - but I expect it might be worth tuning in anyway.

Heads up - next weekend Bonnie Raitt wil be on Austin City Limits, splitting it with Mavis Staples.

[journeybear]

Almost let this one slip past me - The Lumineers on Letterman tonight.

[journeybear]

Oh yeah - Punch Brothers (and Civil Wars) on Austin City Limits this weekend. MC guaranteed! Or I'll eat my hat. And it's a Mandolin Café ball cap, worn daily for months, so it will be extra tasty. And tender.

[mandolinlee]

journeybear - Recorded the Austin City Limits, listened today. Would like to hear some thoughts and comments about Punch Brothers, 'specially Mr. Thile's performance. I will reserve my comments, as they may not be too popular!
Lee

[journeybear]

I ain't sayin' nothin' 'bout it, 'cause I probably agree with you. I'm not a traditionalist, mind you - I play electric more than acoustic, for one, and am all for working atonal, non-musical sounds into the mix, though always in the service of the song - but I am song-oriented, which would be traditionalistic in this context. Whoops! I said I wasn't going to say nothing ... darn them double negatives!

Interesting pairing them with The Civil Wars. Some people over the CMAs thread have wondered why they were even nominated for awards in country music - whether what they do is country rather than folk, whether they get any airplay on country radio - and I see their points. They too seemed more interested in producing extravagant harmonies woth overwrought performances rather than just singing songs with recognizable lyrics and clear melodies and harmonies. A lot of overdone fussiness and a triumph of technique over content. Wait - which band was I talking about? I'm confused ...

But I taped it anyway; it's in the archives. I may return to it any time I want. And tastes do change.

[mandolinlee]

Interesting that the Punch Brothers were introduced as ?Bluegrass?
Lee

[journeybear]

Actually, the introduction was, "a quintet that takes a progressive approach to bluegrass." And that's from the show, not the band. May or may not have been approved by the band. That's as much a nod to the instrumentation as anything else. An acoustic band led by a mandolinist must be bluegrass. Right?

[Mike Bunting]

Alabama Shakes, Carolina Chocolate Drops Bonnie Raitt in Austin City Limits right now. And
Performers included in this very special broadcast are some of the best and brightest rising stars of Americana, as well as legendary icons who helped define the genre: Bonnie Raitt, Alabama Shakes, Booker T. Jones, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Hayes Carll with Cary Ann Hearst, Guy Clark, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, John Hiatt, Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson, Tom T. Hall with Lee Ann Womack and Peter Cooper, The Mavericks, Richard Thompson, and an all-star finale tribute to Levon Helm.
Damn, that's fine!

[Mike Bunting]

Is that Shawn Camp playing mando with Guy Clark?

[journeybear]

Damn, that's fine!

Lucky you! We had a repeat here. Hope we get that episode next week.

[Mike Bunting]

Even had another mandolin on it too, some guy named Sam Bush.

[J. Galoshes Esq.]

The soundtrack for Ken Burns' new documentary "The Dust Bowl" is like 90% mando

[journeybear]

Punch Brothers on Conan tonight. 'Nuff said!

That's all I see for mandolin this week, though I haven't checked in a few days. Bonnie Raitt on The View Wednesday.

[journeybear]

I see Bonnie Raitt is on Fallon tonight, too. Also, since going country, Darius Rucker has had mandolin in his band sometimes. He'll be on Leno tomorrow. Oh, and if The Polyphonic Spree show up again - Last night on Leno, the berobed ones included a mandolin in their rendition of John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)."

Apropos of nothing, just in case anyone finds these thing interesting: One of our local PBS stations is running something called "Simon & Garfunkel: America," a show that dates back to 1969! I have no idea whether that will be aired anywhere else, but that should beat the pants off of any of the reunion/nostalgia shows they are so fond of bradcasting during pledge periods.

[journeybear]

A bit off-track here, but ...

9 CBS 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors: Buddy Guy, actor Dustin Hoffman, comic David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova, rock band Led Zeppelin; Caroline Kennedy hosts.

I don't think them Zep boys will play, and even if they do, I seriously doubt JPJ will break out a mandolin, but there should be a good brief retrospective.

[JEStanek]

I caught some of Jack White on Austin City Limits last night after Downton Abbey. There was mando featured. It was lost in the loud low-fi mix that is Jack white but it was there. In Blunderbuss you could hear it...



Jamie

[journeybear]

Now that the week of reruns that constitutes most talk show offerings while hosts are on vacation at the start of the year have passed (diagram this sentence!), a few interesting appearances are coming up.

1/9
O'Brien: Imagine Dragons (I think they have a mandolin)
Letterman: Ray Wylie Hubbard (rare TV appearance by this venerable Texas singer-songwriter
1/10
O'Brien: ZZ Ward (some people around here like her, forget why at the moment)
1/11
Leno: Rodriguez (focus of the fascinating documentary, "Searching For Sugar Man;" recorded two albums late 60s/early 70s that are forgotten almost everywhere but somehow revered in South Africa; possibly being lured out of self-imposed retirement, just a bit)

[Pasha Alden]

Thanks Journeybear

Good to hear about these shows, even though I can't watch. I actually think I have come across some of the names of mentioned musicians here in the cafe.

Best and hope the show is a good one - sure it will be.

Vanillamandolin

[journeybear]

If you can't get these shows streaming on the internet, look for clips to show up a day or two later on youtube. If they're on NBC (Leno and Fallon) they will only be at hulu.com - NBC is very proprietary about their products. That restriction may be relaxed outside US jurisdiction, but I'd be surprised.

[j dik]

Trampled by Turtles will be on Conan O'Brien tonight, Wednesday the 16th. They've been on Lettermen and Craig Ferguson so far this year, where they played their songs Alone and Walt Whitman, respectively. I hope this time they play their most popular song, Wait So Long.

For those who haven't heard of them, they're a band from Duluth, MN. They're not really a bluegrass band, but most label them as such due to TBT's choice of instruments. Check em out!

[journeybear]

I have felt ambivalent about them, till now. Now I think they are annoying. At least their performance of this song was. I felt just like the Archduke of Austria in "Amadeus" - too many notes! This is the most frantic, overplayed performance I can recall. I am not impressed by people slinging lots of notes around. It's a song, not a race. This would have been so much better in half time. At least it was over quickly.

[Mike Bunting]

What a load of nonsense! (That "music" not JB's post.)

[keebler]

so melodic... I'm surprised that banjo player didn't bust into some fingertapping