Bob Log III at the Bug Jar, Rochester, NY April 1st 2003

Can we get any cooler than this man? I highly doubt it. With his one man band set up that consists of a bass drum / tambourine played with the right foot, a cymbal played with the left foot, a guitar played with, uh, both hands, and a motorcycle helmet with a microphone attached by what looks like a vacuum cleaner attachment, Bob Log III does it all, and probably does it better than those 4 piece bands you all dig so much. Stop liking those guys and strip down to the likes of Bob Log- he'll surely welcome you for a Boob Scotch or a Slide Guitar Ride at least (sorry guys, ladies only)... On tour in support of his latest album, Log Bomb, the set consisted mainly of songs from it- Drunk Stripper, Boob Scotch, Bubble Strut, Log Bomb, Slide Guitar Ride Junior and more were featured. Absolutely insane and oh so wonderful. I was very impressed with Bob's guitar playing: a frenetically paced twanging gallop that somehow left room for all of the technical elements as well. I'm jealous.

Teddy Morgan at the Dinosaur BBQ, Rochester, NY April 22nd 2003

I've always said that I'm not much of a twanger and I still don't consider myself to be much of one. However, I've noticed over the years that I've become much more open to the twang that I take in, and it's a good thing that I have. Teddy Morgan is not full out twang by anymeans- just moderately so- so when Frank raved about him, I went to see the man who had gotten Frank going... and he didn't disappoint. Teddy is from the school of pure songwriters- no flash, no disposable substance- just solidly crafted songs with honest lyrics and beautifully complimentary guitar (the fact that it was a Tele in the gorgeous ocean tirquoise finish didn't hurt...). There were rockers and there were mellow twangers, at times some wonderfully distorted vocals, and stellar playing by Richard Medek on drums and Steve (?) on upright and electric bass as well. While we're on it, I might as well rave over the capo, which you don't see in use too much. I feel that the capo brings out an ethereal, jangly effect in guitars that is supreme, and it definitely worked to Teddy's advantage. Good deal. Check him out, now.

The Stratford 4 at the Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY May 2nd 2003

There's something about this band that is inherently cool. Their two albums out on Jetset are perfect below the radar indie staples, and there's actually girls in the band! I remember that when I first heard them last year at Ye Olde WNAZ I commented that their singer, Chris Streng sounded like Jonathan Richman if he (J.R.) weren't as geeky. Maybe it's just my over-active imagination, but it came as no surprise that when I saw them, Chris looked a bit like Jonathan as well. Hmmm... Anyways, the Stratford 4 played for about a half an hour or so as they were opening for Pedro the Lion (um...). While I would've liked the set to be longer, I thought that it was a well put gem of time, giving a taste of what they had to offer. High energy, experimentally inclined, a great blend of everything good to an indie college kid like me and worth the hour's drive.