Jaimoe

Great debut. If you don't have it, or any MMJ albums, this is a great place, and reason, to start: http://exclaim.ca/music/article/my_morning_jacket_treat_the_tennessee_fire_to_20th_anniversary_reissue

And Derek turned 40! I first saw him live when he was 13. Time flies!

Mac's theme song for Curious George's animated series is a favourite of my 5-year-old son's. His music continues to impact newer generations. R.I.P.

Rock 'n' Roll (well, maybe some pre-punk too):

I love that time period, although my era would start in '68-'72, mainly because I've heard some great raw bluesy stuff from '68 that's right up my alley.

Agreed Velvet. Interesting too.

Greg, I have zero recollection of the acoustic set. Maybe Andre will chime in at some point, although he looked three-sheets-to-the-wind at the show? Clearly I was. I have a funny and honest Healey story via my wife, that I've never really shared since I forgot about it. We caught Jeff's jazz band at The Rex (story above), and Vicki is 9-years younger than me, and didn't know much about him outside of knowing he played flashy guitar on his lap, along with his videos. So we are sitting there watching him play cornet, guitar, and interacting with his band and the audience, when she says to me: "Jeff is an odd duck." I said: "What do you mean?" Vicki responds: "Just the way he looks around and moves." I said: "HE"S BLIND!" She goes: "He is?!!!"

Great stories Greg. It was 1991, and I was there, but have only vague recollection of any of it. It wasn't the Seven Turns tour, but the Shades tour. I know Andre/Booche was there with Pete Allen, sitting/standing not far from me on the floor (I was going to Ryerson, so we got our tickets separately). My brain is racing in trying to recall Little Feat and Jeff, but the Allmans were really playing well.

I caught the late great Son Seals at the Dakota Tavern in Toronto, and Jeff joined him for a few songs. Son was in fine form throughout his gig, and Jeff tore it up. Both were gone not too long after the show. It was a thrill to be there. Speaking of Son, his stage banter and music were fun and really positive, which is truly amazing given his wife shot him in the face, had bad reconstructive surgery, lost his leg, and 13 of 14 of siblings died.

That would be an interesting book indeed! I was a big fan of Jeff and his band back in their heyday: The first time I heard the original cut of “See The Light” (as opposed to the more produced and heavier version on his ’88 debut) I was hooked. As most of you already know, the trio broke out during the brief blues revival of the mid to late '80s; I was initially hooked on his flashy chops and trademark (mostly) seated playing. When I moved to Toronto in the early ‘90s, I lost interest in Jeff’s blues-rock (and modern blues-rock in general), but a year or two before he died, I caught his jazz band at The Rex, and was thoroughly impressed by the group's old school ‘20s-‘30s swing, and especially Healey’s honest cornet ability and really impressive jazz guitar work. Using a fat old hollow-body, he wasn’t flashy (no fast hammer-ons and pull-offs); instead, he played a style in-tune with the genre, more reminiscent of Charlie Christian and others of his era. Jeff showed me another level of depth that I wasn’t expecting. Goddam brilliant musician.

Rare video performance from one of the pioneers of North Mississippi Delta blues:

Django's grandson:

I love the late '60s and early '70s Dead, but man, the 1977 band was band-on on fire.

I have their first record. They definitely love The Yardbirds and electric blues, etc. I heard they broke up last year, unfortunately.