The Nashville Feed

Waiting in the long line for a spot close to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band yielded immediate benefits.

An hour before the doors opened, we caught pieces of the soundcheck echoing through the Sommet Center atrium, with the E Streeters running through a Sam Cooke song several times until they finally locked in step.

When they emerged to begin their epic set, there was no question that they locked it in every step of the way.

Loose, spontaneous and totally in control, Bruce and Co. grabbed the wheel, took turns even they didn't expect and only eased off the gas with their final bow after "Dancing in the Dark" closed a 45-minute encore.

With a few sections in the Sommet Center's 300 level glaringly empty, the E Streeters couldn't have come any closer to a sell out, not in Music City. The crowd more than compensated for the vacant seats. Not a verse went by without some sing-alongs, and Springsteen frequently turned the microphone over audience members in the front row.

Springsteen plucked signs song request signs from the crowd - as well as one declaring "I Love Max" - then proceeded to tear through "Good Rockin' Tonight" before telling us all about that "God damn guitar" in the middle of Greetings From Asbury Park tune "Growin' Up," in which he recounted buying his first guitar.

The more elaborate the sign, the better chance it stood with The Boss - "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" was inevitable once he grabbed one reading "Boys in Their Summer Clothes" with a picture of a younger Bruce playing baseball in 70's-era short shorts.

A few nuggets from Springsteen's non-E Street moments made the cut - the best song ever written about the collapse of the Rust Belt ("Youngstown") and the raucous fiddle tune "American Land" from the Seeger Sessions tour. He also crooned through the first few bars of "Walk the Line" to satisfy a request for a Johnny Cash tune and in honor of Joe Strummer's birthday, effortlessly bashed out The Clash's version of "I Fought the Law."

But that was the beauty. The performances felt effortless. When it didn't - the band huddling to discuss how to play some of the requests - Bruce and Co. provided moments no other band could duplicate.

In a cavernous hockey arena, they connect with their fans. Taking audience requests, shaking hands with fans bunched up against the stage railing, Bruce sitting in a lone chair at the edge of the sage for "I'm On Fire," tossing a harmonica to a kid in the crowd .... those acts make sense of all the white manes in the pit area. Across three-plus decades, Bruce's audience always comes back.

Five hours after getting in line, nearly three after the show started, our common refrain for how many songs they played was, "I lost count." With the band's relentless drive and improvised setlist, keeping pace with the E Street gang was demanding yet constantly rewarding.

Technorati Tags: bruce springsteen, sommet center, set list, nashville

Let me first by saying that I am having a hard time typing this as my face was melted off by the Boss last night...and as you can imagine, a melted face might compromise my vision. Seriously though, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band...amazing. I dare say the best live show I have seen...EVER. We were lucky enough to make it into the pit and snagged a spot just a few people back from the stage. It's hard for me not to gush, but be on the lookout for Bungalow Bill's review.

So...on to the weekend! It looks to be a beautiful one...

Friday!

• Chelle Thomas Benefit w/ John Davis (Superdrag), Brian Ritchey, The Lonely Hearts, Eureka Gold, And the Relatives, Korean is Asian, Oblio, Stephen Belin & Bad Friend at The Basement. 7pm
• Spirit in the Night Springsteen Tribute featuring Wes Floyd and the Daisycutters w/ The Victrolas, Afton Wolde, Lanky and more at Mercy Lounge. 9pm

Saturday!

• The Mattoid w/ Dave Cloud and the Gospel of Power & Ham 1 at The 5 Spot. 9pm
• Nashville Cream Two-Year Anniversary Party featuring The Privates w/ Cortney Tidwell, The Carter Administration and Stories That Live at Mercy Lounge. 9pm

Sunday!

• Stone Temple Pilots w/ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Grand Ole Opry House. 7:30pm

Have a most excellent weekend!
Peace,
j.

Technorati Tags: mercy lounge, the basement, weekend, brian ritchey, nashville

360 Deal Conversations with Josh Talley of Oh Boy Records, Pinky Gonzales founder of Artist Media Group & Steve Keller of iV Music Group.

On Tuesday August 12, 2008 SOLID Nashville held the 2nd of their After Work(shops) featuring conversations on 360 Deals & New Media in the Music Industry. Afterward there was time for networking where I sat down with a few friends and talked about the so called 360 Deal.

Running time is 30 minutes

Show Notes:

Josh Talley - Oh Boy Records

• Thoughts on a 360 from a Labels perspective
• Is it going to work out in the long term?
• Is Oh Boy doing 360 deals?
• What other artists are on the label? Are they 360 Deals?
• Do the smaller acts get better support because of a 360 Deal?
• Costs control
• What's the one thing you learned from the workshop?
• Chip Petr ee- Copyright Exchange, Law Office of Chip Petree
• Benchmarks for Label in a 360 Deal
• Barging power for leverage
• 360 Deal as a partnership
• Labels as venture capital?

Pinky Gonzales - Professional Slacker and founder of Artist Media Group
Steve Keller - iV Music

• What do you think of the 360 Deal in general?
• Leverage in making the deal
• Brand Equity - Live Nation example
• Loss control of distribution
• What happens when the CD goes away?
• Advertising based model? - Peter Gabriel example
• 360 Deal for publishing?
• Artist as a brand to build leverage
• The garage band grows up. It's a business.
• Is being a brand and creating leverage the most important thing?
• Who is the artist? What is their motivation?
• Active dynamic where more is expected of a band
• 360 Deal from a Nashville perspective is it working?
• Live Nation example
• Management is important.
• One more thing...Pinky's final comment
• Find specialists instead of one big solution from one company
• Steps...who to work with and when
• Public companies don't have time to figure out what works.

Song: Radio Song by Everyday Atlas

Subscribe with iTunes

Technorati Tags: music industry, online marketing, podcast, 360 deal, steve keller, josh talley, pinky gonzales, solid nashville, everyday atlas

Happy weekending, y'all! Good stuff going on. Make sure you get to the Belcourt Friday or Saturday at midnight for Dazed and Confused.

Friday!

• The Privates (MySpace) w/ The Turf (MySpace) & Man Factory (MySpace) at Exit/In. 8pm ($7)
• The Booby Benefit featuring Modoc (MySpace), The Telecommunicators, Ethan Swim, Team Illuminati & Supre X (Myspace) at Mercy Lounge. 8pm (Donations requested)
• My Morning Jacket at Riverfront Park. Note: If you are going to see the Jacket, anticipate traffic and parking drama. I recommend a cab.
• The Victrolas w/ the Octopus at Norms. 9pm
• Altered Statesman w/ Cheer Up Charlie Daniels (MySpace) & Talking With Hands at the Basement. 10pm ($5)

Saturday!

• Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Ryman. 8pm
• Nite Nite (MySpace) w/ The Winter Sounds & Happy Birthday Amy (MySpace) at the 5 Spot. 9pm ($5)

Sunday!

Your guess is as good as mine ;) Get outside! Take a hike! Oooh, or take advantage of Rumba's half priced bottles of wine. (Map)

Grimey's Top 10 Album Sales for the Week

Best sellers for the week of Aug 4 - Aug. 10, 2008

1. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
2. Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band - The Whole Fam Damnily
3. Passenger - Wicked Man's Rest
4. Dr. Dog - Fate
5. The Avett Brothers - The Second Gleam
6. Beck - Modern Guilt
7. Randy Newman - Harps & Angels 8. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
8. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
9. Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal

For the rest of the list visit Grimeys.com. Support your local music store and local music. If you can't shop at Grimey's then check out Amazon.com MP3 Store. No DRM, high bit rate, works in iTunes and less expensive than iTunes.

It's Friday which means Amazon.com's Friday 5. Five albums for $5 each. This week, they have picked albums by Amy Winehouse, the Velvet Underground, Paul Simon, Evanescence, and Keith Urban. These albums will only be specially priced through Monday.

Have a great weekend!
Peace,
j.

Technorati Tags: mercy lounge, the basement, weekend, my morning jacket, nashville

What to learn more about 360 Deals direct from the people in the industry who work with this controversial business plan? Want to find out what other directions the industry is headed technologically? You’re in luck because the fantastic organization SOLID Nashville (Society of Leaders in Development) is producing another one of their “After Work(shop) Educational series today August 12, 2008. It’s free and open to the public.

SOLID After Work(shop) 2: 360 Deals & The Modern Music Business

Join us Tuesday, August 12th at 6:30pm at The Flying Saucer (111 10th Ave. So. - behind Union Station) for a conversation with a prominent business manager, an attorney, and a label executive about the infamous "360 Deal."  Whether you are on the talent or label side of the business, you won't be able to avoid 360 Deals these days.  Learn how these creative minds are making the best of what has sometimes been a very polarizing issue.  Love them or hate them, these deals are quickly becoming the norm in some circles.  Join us for this SOLID continuing education event, presented by the SOLID Education Committee (part 2 in a series of workshops presented by SOLID for SOLID), or risk getting passed by.  (Please validate to receive $2 parking.)

Further Reading:

• Music Labels Becoming More Like Venture Capital with 360 Deals?

Note: Full disclosure, I am a SOLID Alumni.

Technorati Tags: longevity, marketing, music industry, music business models, 360 deals

The new office is where ever you can get WI-FI, plug-in & maybe a little caffeine. Quit a few of my friends are freelancers or entrepreneurs where their office is not in the same spot each day. While I’m stuck in cubical land they are flowing all over. That’s the idea for this months UnSpun, let’s rank the “Best Coffee Shop to Get Work Done in Nashville, TN.”

When ranking consider environment like is WI-FI free or even available, are there places to plug-in a drained laptop, is it quiet or is there a quiet place to retreat to? How about meetings, is it big enough for a group? Also think about prices and is it a place you can go on a regular basis without breaking the bank?

How UnSpun works is that it gives points for each vote, so all you do is click the up or down on a particular item you either add or remove points. The list is then sorted by how many total points each item has. I have added and ranked a few coffee shops. Feel free to add more but make sure they are in Nashville or I’ll removed them. You don’t need an Amazon.com account to vote but you if you want to add comments, new items and other things. Enjoy!

Previous Unspun Lists

Today is absolutely beautiful and from what I understand, the rest of the weekend will be the same. Get out and enjoy it!

Friday!

• Barack the Vote! featuring Jeremy Lister, The Lonely Hearts (MySpace) & Steve Lee (MySpace) at Exit/In. 8pm
• Conor Oberst at Grimey's. 6pm
• Jonell Mosser at 3rd & Lindsley. 7pm
• Chris Freeman and the Unicorn Horns w/ Velcro Stars, Lylas & Seth Moore (MySpace) at the 5 Spot. 9pm
• Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band w/ Evangelicals at Mercy Lounge. 9:30pm

Saturday!

• Night 2 of Barack the Vote! featuring The Sound and Shape (MySpace), Cougar Fight (MySpace), The Hollywood Kills (MySpace) & Future Pilot at Exit/In. 8pm
• Heart at the Wildhorse Saloon. 6pm
• Pat Buchanan at 3rd & Lindsley. 7pm
• Is She Weird Is She White: a Pixies Tribute w/ Modoc at the 5 Spot. 9pm

Sunday!

• Lovenoise at Limelight. 9pm

Grimey's Top 10 Album Sales for the Week

Best sellers for the week of July 28 - Aug. 3, 2008

1. The Avett Brothers - The Second Gleam
2. Dr. Dog - Fate
3. Wild Sweet Orange - We Have Cause To Be Uneasy
4. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
5. Beck - Modern Guilt
6. She & Him - Volume One
7. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
8. Howlies - Sea Level
9. The Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
10. Sigur Ros- Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

For the rest of the list visit Grimeys.com. Support your local music store and local music. If you can't shop at Grimey's then check out Amazon.com MP3 Store. No DRM, high bit rate, works in iTunes and less expensive than iTunes.

It's Friday which means Amazon.com's Friday 5. Five albums for $5 each. Through the weekend of Aug 8-10, 2008, pick up the best of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Roy Orbison, and Hall and Oates for a fiver.

Have fun this weekend!!!
xo,
j.

Technorati Tags: mercy lounge, the basement, weekend, jeremy lister, pat buchanan, barack the vote, nashville