Secret Monkey Weekend are a unique band from Durham, NC  that I have been following for years. This family band is led by Dad Jefferson Holt, guitarist and singer, with his two stepdaughters, Lila (the youngest one) on drums and

Just like you may properly send a thank you note for a wedding gift up to a year after receipt, this review slides well into the first year of the release of Shufflemania! 

It’s been a while since Robyn Hitchcock

Empire of Light  on HBO

Director Sam Mendes is one of the best now working: starting with the amazing American Beauty in 1999, along the way directing two James Bond films, Skyfall and Spectre, as well as last year’s

This was my first visit to Smiley’s in Easley, and I was pleasantly surprised by this club. Holding a spot in the downtown area, the club was a standard rectangular box with a small triangular stage up front in the

Robyn Hitchcock Live Stream From Tubby’s House March and April 2023 

Robyn’s been on tour in Spain through much of April AND our beloved Mandolin streaming service has decided to be an ex-service. If you are going into the Live

Robyn Hitchcock Live Stream From Tubby’s House February 2023 

2/1/23  Robyn opened by playing a bit of an instrumental, then launched into an energetic ‘Shuffle Man,’ propulsive and fun, he tore through the subject track of his latest album, Shufflemania!

I usually pay no mind to the Grammys. To me, the Rock Hall of Fame is a much better, entertaining show. The Grammys are all about the music business, and by the business, of course I mean the industry. It’s

I’ve missed too many Robyn streams here at the end of the year/start of the new year, so it’s time to get with the Groovers again. Robyn (AND the marvelous Emma Swift) are now streaming on Mandolin, and do shows

I noticed the other day that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2022 was airing on HBO in anticipation of the 2023 ceremony. This made me realize I had not finished my review of the 2021 broadcast. The time

Elvis and Charlie in CLT 10.20.21 

photo by Adrienne Meddock

The last time I saw live music in person was March 7, 2020. The promise of a masked and vaxxed audience in a well-ventilated venue lured me back to see

David Geffen would have to be invented if he didn't already exist. First aired on PBS (American Masters), then on Netflix, this  view of Geffen, agent, record label owner, and movie producer, is mostly from his own words,

Friday July 2: “Insertion Issues” 

Auspicious beginning! The Telecaster is out and ‘Give it to The Soft Boys’ starts us off, with some random video looping courtesy StageIt that lends an unintentional arty, cool effect. It’s a bit of artistic

It’s no secret that Adrienne and I were geeks. We met at a High School Model United Nations conference and I believe life has never been the same for either of us. Both history wonks, we knew that The Open

Questlove's directorial debut is a dazzling contemporary look at a summer series of concerts filmed in Harlem in 1969. The new documentary is based on over 40 hours of high quality video tape made by Hal Tulchin (read his…

This was it for me. My first rock show since the pandemic began. First since my transplant surgery and stroke. The tour: Music is Our Friend.  

And the band was the legendary King Crimson, the band that essentially invented ‘prog-rock,’…

R: Feminist icon Germaine Greer, Alan Davies (QI), Richard Osman (Pointless), some bloke named Jermaine. F: David Mitchell, Rob Brydon, Lee Mack on an episode of Would I Lie to You.

Born  in America, but a uniquely British phenomenon,…

So June finds us well into the parallel arrangement with our Sweet Home being based not only in London (The Scottish Folds, Robyn, and sound reinforcement by Andy Washington) but in Oz, with Our Emma preparing for her Australian tour

5-5-21 RH BY Request

Robyn Hitchcock is sweaty with the new May heat. Declaring he’s in a “clammy paradise,”  because he took a couple of “Nixon pills”  and he's come up with some new compound from Tubby and Ringo rubbing

To acknowledge Judy Garland’s 99th birthday, Rufus Wainwright put together a spectacular streaming concert experience. Since 2006, when Rufus released his own version of “Judy Live at Carnegie Hall,” he has performed the double album in its entirety at a

Who made that request? 

4/7/21 

Welcome welcome to April!  Tonight I scoot in a wee bit late; RH enters my screen adorned in a top hat and playing’ Erasing Your Life’ from the Tromso, Kaptein record, followed by what Robyn

Charlie Higson and Suggs at the London Palladium 

The weekend of March 14, Madness, the stalwarts of the nutty, nutty, second-wave ska sound, hosted a bold streaming event. The ticket price ($24 in the US) was healthy and a real

We have stored up a number of accounts of the fantastic Sweet Home Quarantine Shows given by Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift from their Nashville home. For excellent trainspotting setlists of these shows, see Marcus Slade’s impeccably curated listings at

Lo-res Image of Reg & Em, Sweet Home Quarantine 

So we are a bit late in sharing our thoughts on the marvelous Sweet Home Quarantine shows with Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift. Here are accounts of the February SHQ shows. 

I’ve read dozens of books about The Beatles, and I’m pretty familiar with all the old stories. So, as this book opens up, I got the impression it would be a retelling of many of the same chestnuts. Luckily was