Live Online Review Archive July 1, 2020 As of this writing in late June, we’re still watching the benefit livestream Passim Persists Festival, held from June 24-30. We’ve heard some amazing performances by veterans such as Aoife O’Donovan, Vance Gilbert and Peter Mulvey. Anyone who missed any of the “Persists” shows can see them in the long list of great streams at the bottom of the Passim stream page.  https://www.passim.org/stream/ On Thursday, June 25th, the staff showcased its talent. While the audio varied in quality from one home set-up to another, there were a lot of accomplished performers. We especially enjoyed two acts in particular. The songs and polished vocal performance by Beane (www.beanemusic.com) was emotionally stirring. Apparently a Berklee graduate (or former student), his video of the song “Himself” on the Berklee Youtube channel amplified the extent of his poise in the Passim livestream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RD7oFgFnN6-pc&v=7oFgFnN6-pc&feature=emb_rel_end). We’ve listed the Berklee College Youtube channel link below. There’s a lot there worth watching. Honeysuckle (www.honeysuckleband.com), a duo who played guitar and mandolin and sang tight harmony was also an exciting discovery for me. Honeysuckle has posted 10 one-hour Youtube Quarantine livestreams (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83jVf-BvOr61pbX35DFj_zOf8hWVtCB2). I’d highly recommend looking closely at these two acts from now on. I know I will. Day 3 of the festival had video problems with fuzziness and bitmapping. I particularly enjoyed the guitar work and singing of Tim Gearan, but the haziness of transmission made things difficult to fully appreciate. Day 4 had things back under control and it was easier to enjoy the performances of Margaret Glaspy, Lyle Brewer, Dinty Child and especially Erin Mckeown. Erin killed it with her poetry, singing and stretched-out jazz guitar riffs. Day 6 of the festival was an all-star cavalcade of female performers. Alisa Amador, who I had seen listed many times but hadn't heard, just knocked me out with the sheer beauty of her vocals and the intriguing melodies of her songs. She was joined by long-time faves Edie Carey and Rose Cousins and virtuosic violinist Hanneke Cassel. There’s a lot of livestream activity from Passim. Listening to/watching their efforts would certainly be worthwhile and as would be sending some money their way to ensure their survival. Upcoming Passim streams: https://www.passim.org/stream/ Thursday, July 2 Tony Trischka Sunday, July 5 Boston Celtic Music Festival Thursday, July 9 Rebecca Loebe The Clearwater Virtual Revival 2020 https://www.clearwaterfestival.org/Schedule/ We enjoyed watching the Clearwater Festival livestream on Saturday, June 20 (or as much of it as we could). It ran from 11am to 11pm. We got to it late, so had to scroll back and forth to try to catch up on acts we’d missed. Our favorites included Abbie Gardner, Amythyst Kiah, Noel Paul Stookey and The Mammals plus Mike & Ruthy. Seeing Scott Ainslie again was a real treat. I’d almost forgotten how good he is. The festival video will be posted for six months for anyone who missed it or would like to go back and see it (or parts of it) again. It’s broken up into 12 videos for each separate hour Check out the list below to see which artists you’d like to watch. AND make a donation! Hour 1 The Clearwater idea • MC Sonny Ochs • David & Jacob Bernz • The Scooches • MC Sonny Ochs • Andes Manta • The Parkland Students • Tommy Sands Hour 2 MC Sonny Ochs • Evan Pritchard & Pat Jones • Fred Gillen Jr • Mat Callahan & Yvonne Moore • MC Sonny Ochs • Amythyst Kiah • Geoff Kaufman • Tom Paxton Hour 3 (Children’s Hour) MC Wanda Fischer • Story Grove 1 Eshu Bumpus and Motoko • Bill Harley • Jaeger & Reid (kids songs) • MC Wanda Fischer • Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer • Tom Chapin Children’s set • Dan and Claudia Zanes Hour 4 MC Wanda Fischer • Bob Killian • Judith Tulloch Band • Laurie & Ira McIntosh • MC Wanda Fischer • Thomasina Winslow • Aaron Mair • Noel Paul Stookey Hour 5 MC John Platt • Eli Schloss • Story Grove 2 Davis Bates and the Story Crafters • Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition • The Trouble Sisters • MC John Platt • Food and Water Action • Jay Ungar & Molly Mason • Judy Collins Hour 6 MC John Platt • Melanie DeMore • Arm of the Sea Theater • Scott Ainslie • MC John Platt • Mel & Vinnie • The Chapin Sisters • Magpie Hour 7 MC Jimmy Buff • Walkabout Clearwater Chorus • David Celia • Roland Moussa Hudson River Blessing • Leonard Peltier • MC Jimmy Buff • Sierra Club • Paul Richmond • John McCutcheon Hour 8 MC Rik Palieri • The Clearwater Sloop Crew • Tiokasin Ghosthorse • Arm of the Sea Theater • Toshi & Pete Grove • MC Rik Palieri • Lisa Gutkin • Breakneck Ridge Revue • John McEuen Hour 9 MC Bob Sherman • Joe Jencks • Matt Cartsonis • Rik Palieri & Friends • MC Bob Sherman • Ernie Sites • David Amram • Emma’s Revolution Hour 10 MC Bob Sherman • Betty and The Baby Boomers • The Cabos • Manna Jo Greene • MC Bob Sherman • The Rix • Lyn Hardy • Reggie Harris • Erik Fyfe • Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower Hour 11 MC Ron Olesko • Abbie Gardner • The Clearwater idea • James Maddock • MC Ron Olesko • Gangstagrass & Branjae • The Mammals/Mike & Ruthy • Peter Yarrow Hour 12 MC Ron Olesko • Matt Turk • Jaeger & Reid • Kyle Tigges • MC Ron Olesko • RJ Storm & Old School • Guy Davis • Tom Chapin with The Chapin Sisters June 1, 2020 Suzie on Sundays with Susan Werner is a continuous delight. Susan is a consummate musician with a rapier wit and a stylistic range that most singer/songwriters never approach. I found myself thinking, “If I had that level of talent, I’m afraid I would be so unbearably egotistical that other musicians couldn’t get away from me fast enough.” Susan, however, interacts with every guest with a natural ease that allows for an interweaving of personality and style; and it’s all done with off-the-cuff humor. Susan’s compositions can be bitingly, wickedly humorous or heartbreaking. Using both piano and guitar, she handles contemporary folk to the American Songbook and everything in between with fluid grace. She’s beautful inside and out. It’s been over 20 years since I first saw her and I’m still awestruck. I like to refer to Todd Snider’s What it Is, held at noon on Sundays, as the “Church of Todd.” I attend every week. One Sunday, ignoring the red “Beware” flag in my brain that precedes any of my attempts at humor, I posted in the comments stream: “I used to worship at the tabernacle of Steve Earle. I have now accepted Todd Snider as my personal savior.” One other commenter responded: “Amen.” Todd is a Mark Twain-like humorist and a debunker of conventional thought. He tells wide-ranging stories every week, some dealing with what the average mind might call “miscreant activities,” — as in the ones that landed him in jail. On May 24th, he jokingly stated that he’d boxed Roberto Duran and got his ass kicked. He confessed his tall tale and gave props to fellow Nashville singer/songwriter, Paul Thorn, who actually did fight Duran (the video shows), going six rounds, until his corner stopped the fight because of numerous sustained cuts. Todd expressed amazement — “That hardly seems fair” — at how good Paul sings — that he was able to have been that wiry, fearless, 22-year-old fighter, to have then, years later, turned into a really good singer/songwriter. A further check online brought me to a tongue-in cheek performance of Paul singing “It’s a Great Day” wherein certain obnoxious types take a butt-whupping (from Paul, of course). Another video shows Paul humorously expounding in a song about viagra. There’s lots to be learned on the “interweb,” and nice portion of it is from What it Is. Scott Wolfson does not do a stream per week, but when he does (with the Other Heroes), you’d better be there. The most recent one included a parody of TV tropes — announcements and ads — and a (probably prerecorded) performance with the entire band in separate screen splices. Scott and sideman extraordinaire/drummer Chris Kelly (on lead acoustic guitar) performed together in one location. A tip of the hat, Sir Scott! Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys continue to amaze me each week with the level of excellence, both in their musicianship and quality of theirlivepage.apple.com livestream. They’ve been doing this more than two years now and have reached a level that few can match (although there are some solid efforts out there). Before the pandemic, they’d stream during their live Shake Sugaree in-residency show at the Kraken roadhouse in Chapel Hill, North Carolina before a live audience. In some archived shows, the viewer can hear the audience singing along, for example, to their a cappella, handclapping gospel rave-up: “Poor Johnny at the bottom of the lake / The boy went fishin’ and drownded” The trusting trio still performs their Shake Sugaree Americana Residency together, live from the stage at the now (nearly) empty roadhouse. Masked staffers moving about the room provide a changing viewpoint using handheld iPhones. Each week the band launches from a song into an extended jam, showcasing solos on drums by Austin McCall and ZZ Top-esque guitar by Johnny Waken (he also provides saw and mandolin backup). Jon’s songwriting has always contained the essence of the bedrock of living on planet earth. During the most recent episode I watched, May 27th, Jonathan took a brief interlude to express his grief over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. His statement, written that morning —”Because I didn’t know what else to do,” he said — with its recurring phrase, “I can’t breathe” was heartwrenching. For some, the bedrock of living has been habitually denied. It left me on the verge of tears. The reading was followed with a minute of silence. I find myself wondering, at times how he manages to keep the trio together — Austin McCall and Johnny Waken have to be hot properties. It works both ways. Jonathan Byrd, in highest praise, is a monster, an absolute beast. I’m guessing that working with him is a powerful draw and they’re happy as clams. At this point in time, I’d rate Shake Sugaree Americana Residency as the best livestreaming show available. The Folk Alliance International Livestream Concert Calendar has provided me with a chance to discover acts new to me. One of those I recently viewed, Violet Bell, Lizzy Ross and Omar Ruiz-Lopez, was an eye-opener. They do a Livestream Lunch every Thursday at noon. Lizzy is an expressive singer/songwriter vocalist who could ply her trade in the jazz market if she so chose. Omar’s vocal and violin backup provide a wide color palette. His intsrumental prowess extends to viola, cello, guitar, mandolin and banjo as well. He’s more aligned with the music now, he’s said, as opposed to his many years as a busy sideman. For me, Violet Bell is a keeper, a previously undiscovered gem. One upcoming concert worthy of mention is actually a 2019 replay slated for Sunday, June 7th at 4pm — Mara Levine’s CD release show with Gathering Time. Mara’s trancendently beautiful vocals are rock-solid and laser clear, a living testament to folk tradition. We hope readers will gather together, support this show and reward Mara for her talent and the support she’s given this community for so many years. April 20, 2020 The number of avenues for streaming and volume of live online shows has exploded. That said, there are many live streams that leave something to be desired in the transmission of picture and sound. Could be the use of laptops or maybe the positioning of iPhones (or reasonable equivalent). We're sure that most artists will make improvements over time. We've found that shows using the YouTube platform have generally higher quality than Facebook. There are some who have already made the leap into higher end technology. We'd like to recognize a few who have been impressive in overall quality, both in technical presentation and content. Jonathan Byrd has been presenting a weekly livestreamed show for the past few years, so it's no surprise that he's way ahead of the pack. Our first experience with the weekly Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys live stream was a joyous experience (Wednesdays 7-10pm). We were surprised to see all three members of the group (widely spaced) in the same room. Apparently they've all been careful and trust each other. There are staff members wearing masks who are moving around the room with iPhones, presenting different angles of the band. The music was off-the-charts, in both quality and variety. They stretched into jazz at one point. Can't recommend this one too highly. http://www.jonathanbyrd.com/livestream We caught Todd Snider's "What it Is" from Nashville (Sunday 12 noon) this past weekend (4/19). The picture was so clear it was like having a hi-def TV (our TV is supposed to be, but never seems to deliver). After listening to Todd for an hour, I want to claim him for my own personal sociopolitical guru. He sat on a stage, using a chair, a mic and a guitar, and ripped a new a-hole in every outdated (but current) perception of life in these here un-United States. What a show. See you again at noon next Sunday, Todd! https://purplebuildinglive.com/ We'd like to give a shout-out to our favorite funny girl, Carla Ulbrich (Friday 6:30pm). Perceiving her own sound inconsistencies, she began using a wraparound head mic, so we can hear every bit of the Ulbrich zany, with drum rimshots and plastic-hand-thingy (well-earned) self-applause. Her interaction with viewers makes her show an especially inclusive experience. https://www.facebook.com/events/1929930867151758/ There are many others deserving of praise and we'll get around to them in a little bit.

Live Online Review Archive

July 1, 2020

As of this writing in late June, we’re still watching the benefit livestream Passim Persists Festival, held from June 24-30. We’ve heard some amazing performances by veterans such as Aoife O’Donovan, Vance Gilbert and Peter Mulvey. Anyone who missed any of the “Persists” shows can see them in the long list of great streams at the bottom of the Passim stream page.
https://www.passim.org/stream/

On Thursday, June 25th, the staff showcased its talent. While the audio varied in quality from one home set-up to another, there were a lot of accomplished performers.

We especially enjoyed two acts in particular. The songs and polished vocal performance by Beane (www.beanemusic.com) was emotionally stirring.

Apparently a Berklee graduate (or former student), his video of the song “Himself” on the Berklee Youtube channel amplified the extent of his poise in the Passim livestream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RD7oFgFnN6-pc&v=7oFgFnN6-pc&feature=emb_rel_end).

We’ve listed the Berklee College Youtube channel link below. There’s a lot there worth watching.

Honeysuckle (www.honeysuckleband.com), a duo who played guitar and mandolin and sang tight harmony was also an exciting discovery for me. Honeysuckle has posted 10 one-hour Youtube Quarantine livestreams (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83jVf-BvOr61pbX35DFj_zOf8hWVtCB2).

I’d highly recommend looking closely at these two acts from now on. I know I will.

Day 3 of the festival had video problems with fuzziness and bitmapping. I particularly enjoyed the guitar work and singing of Tim Gearan, but the haziness of transmission made things difficult to fully appreciate.

Day 4 had things back under control and it was easier to enjoy the performances of Margaret Glaspy, Lyle Brewer, Dinty Child and especially Erin Mckeown. Erin killed it with her poetry, singing and stretched-out jazz guitar riffs.

Day 6 of the festival was an all-star cavalcade of female performers. Alisa Amador, who I had seen listed many times but hadn't heard, just knocked me out with the sheer beauty of her vocals and the intriguing melodies of her songs. She was joined by long-time faves Edie Carey and Rose Cousins and virtuosic violinist Hanneke Cassel.

There’s a lot of livestream activity from Passim. Listening to/watching their efforts would certainly be worthwhile and as would be sending some money their way to ensure their survival.

Upcoming Passim streams:

https://www.passim.org/stream/

Thursday, July 2 Tony Trischka

Sunday, July 5 Boston Celtic Music Festival

Thursday, July 9 Rebecca Loebe

The Clearwater Virtual Revival 2020

https://www.clearwaterfestival.org/Schedule/

We enjoyed watching the Clearwater Festival livestream on Saturday, June 20 (or as much of it as we could). It ran from 11am to 11pm. We got to it late, so had to scroll back and forth to try to catch up on acts we’d missed. Our favorites included Abbie Gardner, Amythyst Kiah, Noel Paul Stookey and The Mammals plus Mike & Ruthy. Seeing Scott Ainslie again was a real treat. I’d almost forgotten how good he is. The festival video will be posted for six months for anyone who missed it or would like to go back and see it (or parts of it) again. It’s broken up into 12 videos for each separate hour Check out the list below to see which artists you’d like to watch. AND make a donation!

Hour 1 The Clearwater idea • MC Sonny Ochs • David & Jacob Bernz • The Scooches • MC Sonny Ochs • Andes Manta • The Parkland Students • Tommy Sands

Hour 2 MC Sonny Ochs • Evan Pritchard & Pat Jones • Fred Gillen Jr • Mat Callahan & Yvonne Moore • MC Sonny Ochs • Amythyst Kiah • Geoff Kaufman • Tom Paxton

Hour 3 (Children’s Hour) MC Wanda Fischer • Story Grove 1 Eshu Bumpus and Motoko • Bill Harley • Jaeger & Reid (kids songs) • MC Wanda Fischer • Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer • Tom Chapin Children’s set • Dan and Claudia Zanes

Hour 4 MC Wanda Fischer • Bob Killian • Judith Tulloch Band • Laurie & Ira McIntosh • MC Wanda Fischer • Thomasina Winslow • Aaron Mair • Noel Paul Stookey

Hour 5 MC John Platt • Eli Schloss • Story Grove 2 Davis Bates and the Story Crafters • Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition • The Trouble Sisters • MC John Platt • Food and Water Action • Jay Ungar & Molly Mason • Judy Collins

Hour 6 MC John Platt • Melanie DeMore • Arm of the Sea Theater • Scott Ainslie • MC John Platt • Mel & Vinnie • The Chapin Sisters • Magpie

Hour 7 MC Jimmy Buff • Walkabout Clearwater Chorus • David Celia • Roland Moussa Hudson River Blessing • Leonard Peltier • MC Jimmy Buff • Sierra Club • Paul Richmond • John McCutcheon

Hour 8 MC Rik Palieri • The Clearwater Sloop Crew • Tiokasin Ghosthorse • Arm of the Sea Theater • Toshi & Pete Grove • MC Rik Palieri • Lisa Gutkin • Breakneck Ridge Revue • John McEuen

Hour 9 MC Bob Sherman • Joe Jencks • Matt Cartsonis • Rik Palieri & Friends • MC Bob Sherman • Ernie Sites • David Amram • Emma’s Revolution

Hour 10 MC Bob Sherman • Betty and The Baby Boomers • The Cabos • Manna Jo Greene • MC Bob Sherman • The Rix • Lyn Hardy • Reggie Harris • Erik Fyfe • Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower

Hour 11 MC Ron Olesko • Abbie Gardner • The Clearwater idea • James Maddock • MC Ron Olesko • Gangstagrass & Branjae • The Mammals/Mike & Ruthy • Peter Yarrow

Hour 12 MC Ron Olesko • Matt Turk • Jaeger & Reid • Kyle Tigges • MC Ron Olesko • RJ Storm & Old School • Guy Davis • Tom Chapin with The Chapin Sisters

June 1, 2020

Suzie on Sundays with Susan Werner is a continuous delight. Susan is a consummate musician with a rapier wit and a stylistic range that most singer/songwriters never approach. I found myself thinking, “If I had that level of talent, I’m afraid I would be so unbearably egotistical that other musicians couldn’t get away from me fast enough.” Susan, however, interacts with every guest with a natural ease that allows for an interweaving of personality and style; and it’s all done with off-the-cuff humor. Susan’s compositions can be bitingly, wickedly humorous or heartbreaking. Using both piano and guitar, she handles contemporary folk to the American Songbook and everything in between with fluid grace. She’s beautful inside and out. It’s been over 20 years since I first saw her and I’m still awestruck.

I like to refer to Todd Snider’s What it Is, held at noon on Sundays, as the “Church of Todd.” I attend every week. One Sunday, ignoring the red “Beware” flag in my brain that precedes any of my attempts at humor, I posted in the comments stream: “I used to worship at the tabernacle of Steve Earle. I have now accepted Todd Snider as my personal savior.” One other commenter responded: “Amen.”

Todd is a Mark Twain-like humorist and a debunker of conventional thought. He tells wide-ranging stories every week, some dealing with what the average mind might call “miscreant activities,” — as in the ones that landed him in jail. On May 24th, he jokingly stated that he’d boxed Roberto Duran and got his ass kicked. He confessed his tall tale and gave props to fellow Nashville singer/songwriter, Paul Thorn, who actually did fight Duran (the video shows), going six rounds, until his corner stopped the fight because of numerous sustained cuts. Todd expressed amazement — “That hardly seems fair” — at how good Paul sings — that he was able to have been that wiry, fearless, 22-year-old fighter, to have then, years later, turned into a really good singer/songwriter. A further check online brought me to a tongue-in cheek performance of Paul singing “It’s a Great Day” wherein certain obnoxious types take a butt-whupping (from Paul, of course). Another video shows Paul humorously expounding in a song about viagra. There’s lots to be learned on the “interweb,” and nice portion of it is from What it Is.

Scott Wolfson does not do a stream per week, but when he does (with the Other Heroes), you’d better be there. The most recent one included a parody of TV tropes — announcements and ads — and a (probably prerecorded) performance with the entire band in separate screen splices. Scott and sideman extraordinaire/drummer Chris Kelly (on lead acoustic guitar) performed together in one location. A tip of the hat, Sir Scott!

Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys continue to amaze me each week with the level of excellence, both in their musicianship and quality of theirlivepage.apple.com livestream. They’ve been doing this more than two years now and have reached a level that few can match (although there are some solid efforts out there). Before the pandemic, they’d stream during their live Shake Sugaree in-residency show at the Kraken roadhouse in Chapel Hill, North Carolina before a live audience. In some archived shows, the viewer can hear the audience singing along, for example, to their a cappella, handclapping gospel rave-up: “Poor Johnny at the bottom of the lake / The boy went fishin’ and drownded” The trusting trio still performs their Shake Sugaree Americana Residency together, live from the stage at the now (nearly) empty roadhouse. Masked staffers moving about the room provide a changing viewpoint using handheld iPhones. Each week the band launches from a song into an extended jam, showcasing solos on drums by Austin McCall and ZZ Top-esque guitar by Johnny Waken (he also provides saw and mandolin backup). Jon’s songwriting has always contained the essence of the bedrock of living on planet earth. During the most recent episode I watched, May 27th, Jonathan took a brief interlude to express his grief over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. His statement, written that morning —”Because I didn’t know what else to do,” he said — with its recurring phrase, “I can’t breathe” was heartwrenching. For some, the bedrock of living has been habitually denied. It left me on the verge of tears. The reading was followed with a minute of silence.

I find myself wondering, at times how he manages to keep the trio together — Austin McCall and Johnny Waken have to be hot properties. It works both ways. Jonathan Byrd, in highest praise, is a monster, an absolute beast. I’m guessing that working with him is a powerful draw and they’re happy as clams. At this point in time, I’d rate Shake Sugaree Americana Residency as the best livestreaming show available.

The Folk Alliance International Livestream Concert Calendar has provided me with a chance to discover acts new to me. One of those I recently viewed, Violet Bell, Lizzy Ross and Omar Ruiz-Lopez, was an eye-opener. They do a Livestream Lunch every Thursday at noon. Lizzy is an expressive singer/songwriter vocalist who could ply her trade in the jazz market if she so chose. Omar’s vocal and violin backup provide a wide color palette. His intsrumental prowess extends to viola, cello, guitar, mandolin and banjo as well. He’s more aligned with the music now, he’s said, as opposed to his many years as a busy sideman. For me, Violet Bell is a keeper, a previously undiscovered gem.

One upcoming concert worthy of mention is actually a 2019 replay slated for Sunday, June 7th at 4pm — Mara Levine’s CD release show with Gathering Time. Mara’s trancendently beautiful vocals are rock-solid and laser clear, a living testament to folk tradition. We hope readers will gather together, support this show and reward Mara for her talent and the support she’s given this community for so many years.

April 20, 2020

The number of avenues for streaming and volume of live online shows has exploded.

That said, there are many live streams that leave something to be desired in the transmission of picture and sound. Could be the use of laptops or maybe the positioning of iPhones (or reasonable equivalent). We're sure that most artists will make improvements over time. We've found that shows using the YouTube platform have generally higher quality than Facebook.

There are some who have already made the leap into higher end technology. We'd like to recognize a few who have been impressive in overall quality, both in technical presentation and content.

Jonathan Byrd has been presenting a weekly livestreamed show for the past few years, so it's no surprise that he's way ahead of the pack. Our first experience with the weekly Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys live stream was a joyous experience (Wednesdays 7-10pm). We were surprised to see all three members of the group (widely spaced) in the same room. Apparently they've all been careful and trust each other. There are staff members wearing masks who are moving around the room with iPhones, presenting different angles of the band. The music was off-the-charts, in both quality and variety. They stretched into jazz at one point. Can't recommend this one too highly.

http://www.jonathanbyrd.com/livestream

We caught Todd Snider's "What it Is" from Nashville (Sunday 12 noon) this past weekend (4/19). The picture was so clear it was like having a hi-def TV (our TV is supposed to be, but never seems to deliver). After listening to Todd for an hour, I want to claim him for my own personal sociopolitical guru. He sat on a stage, using a chair, a mic and a guitar, and ripped a new a-hole in every outdated (but current) perception of life in these here un-United States. What a show. See you again at noon next Sunday, Todd!

https://purplebuildinglive.com/

We'd like to give a shout-out to our favorite funny girl, Carla Ulbrich (Friday 6:30pm). Perceiving her own sound inconsistencies, she began using a wraparound head mic, so we can hear every bit of the Ulbrich zany, with drum rimshots and plastic-hand-thingy (well-earned) self-applause. Her interaction with viewers makes her show an especially inclusive experience.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1929930867151758/

There are many others deserving of praise and we'll get around to them in a little bit.