BFrank

You better hurry. Hesitation can be fatal when Mosaics start "running low"! gregmo I picked up Artie's "Self Portrait" box that he assembled several years ago and got great reviews. I still haven't listened to it much, but am glad it's in my collection.

Kevin (or anyone else), how is the Akiyoshi/Tabackin set? I picked it up because I really didn't know anything about them, actually. I liked the clips and figured it would be a good way to get into them. I've only been through it once, so far. There's a diversity of music, but it all seems pretty interesting.

You're too easy to please, Erik!!

I'd have to agree with that. This IS a great collection!

Saw King Crimson the other night - VERY entertaining show. Can't say it was amazing, because I don't know their music all that well - mostly just the old stuff. But I really enjoyed seeing and hearing Fripp and the rest of the band negotiate all of that difficult music. I WAS amazed at '21st Century Schizoid Man,' which I thought would sound dated after all these years, but seeing it live was a whole new experience. They're pretty strict about no photography and even have a humorous audio introduction to the show about why you should put your phones away and just enjoy the music. Very effective. Interestingly enough, Tony Levin has a camera with him and is documenting different parts of the tour, including audience shots from the stage at the end of the show. You can see that stuff HERE.

Saw Lucinda Williams tear it up at Slim's (a smallish club here in SF) last night for a solid 2 hours. Excellent show and the band is tighter than ever. Her new album is sounding pretty great, too. Here's a bad iPhone image.

"Kicks" was one of the first singles I ever bought. I wouldn't say they were a great group, but they had some better than average hits.

Those look like bad seats. :) Actually, they're amazing seats because you're literally sitting right on top of the band and get to see them work from a unique perspective - especially the rhythm section. I couldn't take my eyes off of Billy Hart all night! You also get a great view of the piano player (George Cables at this show), because usually you have to see them from the back. I've seen these guys a number of times, so being able to see the horn players from the front was not critical. One perk of sitting up there (I would say about 10-15 feet above the stage) is that many of the musicians look up at you and wave or smile.

They have various price plans - monthly and annual. It's strictly 'cash' now - not number of songs or albums. Their 'gimmick' is that their albums are around 30% cheaper than iTunes or Amazon. It looks like Concord/Fantasy is gone.

Tonight: King Crimson

I'm still a subscriber. It's definitely not the great deal it once was, but it's still cheaper than iTunes or Amazon if you get an annual subscription. I'll probably keep it indefinitely, because I like getting 3-4/month. It's an incentive to stay involved and continue to try out new stuff.

Another change for eMusic: Emusic Returns To Indie Roots Amid Shift in Online Market They dropped all the major labels as of today. Will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Very helpful. Thanks, guys! FYI, Sidewinder - for these dates there are 2 shows/night, no opening act. I don't if this is typical or not.

Nice piece about Slugs' that was posted on Facebook by Jack Bruce today. Thanks, Jack! ‘It Was a Joint’: Jazz Musicians Remember Slugs’ in the Far East

Thanks for the insight, Head Man! One question: when you say 'get there early' - how early for a 7:30 show?

Larry Young - disk 2

The Cookers cookin' at SFJAZZ tonight. Great show!

You work for the Department of Redundancy Department? Nicely, nice!

Now you're just being redundant.

Getting a chance to see the Mingus Big Band at Ronnie Scott's next month. Needless to say, my first time there and looking forward to it! Anything I need to know beforehand - seating, arrival time, etc? We bought "Standard Seating" tix for a Wed early show, are not eating there, and were thinking of sitting on the right side.

Yes, of course.

Not surprising considering the unfortunate circumstances.

I saw them in New York tonight and it was really a great show. I'm old enough to have seen the band with Belew, Levin and Bruford live (when in college) and I really liked it but to me, this was on a whole other level.....perhaps because they played a lot of the material from the original band(s) and that is my favorite material and they really played the shit out of most of it. Starless was incredible and it was a thrill to hear it live. Some of the other hits came off great but it was the newer tunes that really showcased the band the best (except for Starless). The three drum thing worked well for the most part (except for Red, which was still great to hear but the drum thing really didn't work well here). I wasn't familiar with most of the band except for Tony Levin and Mel Collins but they were really strong. So, if you are a fan of the band, it is certainly worth checking out. They really bring it and sound great. To stay on my high school guitar hero kick, after the show I walked over to Iridium and heard Alan Holdsworth. He was great too actually and about halfway through the set, most of the King Crimson band and crew (sans Fripp) walked in to check out the show. I had a free seat next to me so I offered it to Mel Collins. Nice guy..... Great review and Iridium story, David. I'm looking forward to the Cookers on Friday, too!

I've given up on trying to correct Genres. It's a losing battle. I'll stick with artist names and album titles.

I know Shawn's been pushing the new Opeth album for a while. I finally got it and it IS pretty amazing - covers a LOT of ground. I hear a little of everything from Porcupine Tree to electric Miles in here. Worth checking out for SURE.