Welcome back (briefly), Stephen Colbert!

Less than 24 hours after his Late Night sign off, Stephen Colbert popped back up on Michigan public access television to guest host Only In Monroe. With musical director Jack White. And other special guests. And an IRL dumpster fire.

 It was a perfect coda to an emotional week. And you know what? It also felt like a little gift from Colbert to everyone who has perhaps worried about him since it signals he's going to be just fine.

Now if only  I only been paying more attention on the labels on the power boxes (pictured above) during his Late Night series finale...

Good night, Stephen Colbert.

Stephen Colbert has left the late night landscape, and it is a huge loss for all of us. If you didn't watch his full, uncut "Worst of The Late Show" episode, earlier this week spotlighting much of his talented staff, I highly recommend watching the entire thing.

And in last night's series finale, Stephen explored metaphysics and commiserated with his Strike Force Five compatriots.

And the final moments of the finale were so fully "Stephen Colbert" it left me sobbing, and laughing, and feeling all the warm fuzzies.

Bongo dongo, y'all.

The kids are alright.

When we were recently in New York, one of the more delightful surprises was stumbling across the Escanaba Marching Band (from the UP!*) playing a truly enjoyable lunchtime performance at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park. It was so entertaining, and the song selections were so satisfying, we stuck around for their entire set. Their rendition of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" was a particular highlight for me (even if I missed the very beginning of it with the entire ensemble vocalizing the "Ay! Ay! Ay!" intro in a most excellent manner).

*That's the Upper Peninsula in Michigan for you non-Midwesterners.
 

Sweaty, funky soul.

Photo by Whitney Pelfrey

While it’s true I did clear The Note of the more adult contemporary funk and jazz groups that played there prior to my stint as talent buyer, it’s also true that I love both funk and jazz music, particularly the styles that feel closer to the ground and gritty versus the glossier flavors of those genres. 

One funk band I did book frequently while I was there was Sugarman 3, a sax- and organ-driven trio that delivered what I considered in the early aughts to be “real funk.”* Their shows were always something I looked forward to, and I enjoyed working with them. 

The organist from the Sugarman 3, Adam Scone, currently plays in Parlor Greens, another trio mining old school soul and channeling it into the modern era while embracing many of the sonic (and production) indicators that hang off the music more like dripping sweat than reflecting a glossy sheen.

Parlor Greens recently dropped their sophomore album Emeralds and I found it creeping back into my listening rotation more often that I expected, which means it's probably pretty dang good and worth sharing with you. Lemme know if I'm right,

*This is a very subjective measure, to be sure.

How sweet it was!

Photo by me.

I’ve seen Bob Mould dozens of times (and we were once blogroll buddies waaaay back in the early aughts) and I love all his solo work. But if you asked me which of the non-solo bands he’s been in that meant the most to me, you might be surprised that I’d pick Sugar over Hüsker Dü, and I never got a chance to see Sugar over their far too short (but jam-packed) early-'90s run. 

When it was announced Sugar was getting back together for the first time in 30 years and playing Webster Hall I knew I just had to go. At the time, only 4 shows had been announced, 2 in New York and 2 in London, and after a few nail-biting minutes of connectivity issues I secured my tickets to night 2 of Webster Hall and decided to make a whole vacation to New York out of it. (Hence the relative silence here for the last week. Betcha were worried I’d dropped off posting again, but never fear, I’m here to stay!)

The show was amazing. The setlist was nigh perfect (though I would've died on the spot had the played "Needle Hits E" but maybe that'll be a later tour thing...). And night 2 seems to have been the right choice, since the first night sounded like it was a teensy bit less ferocious, and night 3 (added later on) featured numerous guest stars (that would have annoyed the hell out of me…it was a nice gesture but I would’ve been pissed to see other people singing Sugar songs in stead of Bob and Dave. But that’s a “me” thing; everyone else seemed super stoked.)

And Webster Hall was awesome! Great staff, we had tickets in a great section of the balcony with a riser, so I had plenty of personal space and an excellent sight line. No complaints, would absolutely go there again. Hilariously, the VIP section probably saw less of the show that we did, despite being closer to the front of the room, if that tells you anything. 

Here's the night 2 show-closing "If I can't Change Your Mind" just for a taste.

Please feel free to check out a few photos and other videos I took at the show over on Instagram and you can get an even better taste of what it was like. 

And if Sugar is coming your way sometime this year, jump on those tickets!