This fall, Boz Scaggs will release his first new studio album in five years. The set, “Speak Low,” is the Bay Area vocalist’s second consecutive collection of standards and jazz favorites.

His prior outing, 2003’s “But Beautiful,” was a critical and commercial triumph that drew rapturous response from music scribes and managed to top the Billboard jazz charts.

While this jazz swing has represented a new chapter in the recording career of this great singer, best known for such pop hits as “Lowdown” and “Lido Shuffle,” it really hasn’t impacted his concerts. On Wednesday night (July 30) at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, it was the same ol’ Boz, performing basically the same ol’ set of hits that he’s been cranking out for decades.
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July 30, 2008
Wente Vineyards in Livermore, CA

“Lowdown”
“Jojo”
“Slow Dancer”
“Desire”
“Hercules”
“Sick and Tired”
“Miss Sun”
“Street Life” (Sung by Monet)
“Harbor Lights”
“Georgia”
“Lido Shuffle”
Encore:
“Look What You’ve Done to Me”
“Runnin’ Blues”

New on sales from Ticketmaster:

Now on sale:

Todd Paul
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Jackson Rancheria Casino and Hotel
Jackson, CA

Jasscity Jazz Band
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Jackson Rancheria Casino And Hotel
Jackson, CA

On Sale Friday, August 01, 2008 at 10:00 AM

San Jose State Ice Hockey
Friday, September 26, 2008 to Saturday, February 14, 2009
Sharks Ice at San Jose
San Jose, CA

Gwendolyn Mok
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Le Petit Trianon Theatre
San Jose, CA

The Lee Trio
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Le Petit Trianon Theatre
San Jose, CA
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On Sale Monday (8/4) at 10am:

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

With special guest Little Big Town

November 15th at 7:30pm

Oracle Arena

$55, $45 & $35

Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster Outlets, Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 415-421-TIXS OR 510-625-TIXS

Here are some recent jazz CDs worth checking out:

“Seraphic Light,” Sax Summit featuring Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano and Ravi Coltrane (Telarc)
The first version of Sax Summit, featuring Liebman, Lovano and Michael Brecker, released one great album, 2004’s “Gathering of the Spirits.” Sadly, Brecker died in early 2007 before the original trio of sax men could release a follow-up.

Sax Summit 2.0, with Ravi Coltrane now onboard, has dedicated its “Seraphic Light” to the memory of Brecker. The CD features the trio of saxophonists, all of whom rank among the best in the business, exploring the music of Ravi’s father, the late John Coltrane. The emphasis here is on John C’s experimental later period, which was characterized by such things as simultaneous sax solos and tunes that didn’t rely on specific tempos.

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July 28, 2008, at Yoshi’s San Francisco
(An absolutely fantastic show, reminded me why I fell for this great singer-songwriter-guitarist in the first place. Colvin is reportedly recording these three Yoshi’s dates, possibly for release as a live CD. I’d buy it.)

Setlist:
1. Returning to the Wild
2. Fill Me Up (Quote: “That was a song called `Fill Me Up,’ not `Feel Me Up.’”)
3. These Four Walls
4. Polaroids
5. Shotgun Down the Avalanche
6. Wichita Skyline
7. Summer Dress
8. Nothing Like You
9. Tennessee
10. Steady On
11. Sunny Came Home (Quote: “This next tune only goes to show that you have to write a murder ballad once in a while.”
12. I Don’t Know Why
13. Diamond in the Rough

Encore:
E1: I’ll Be Back (Beatles cover)
E2: Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover, great version)
E3: You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Bob Dylan cover, even better version)

Steely Dan setlist
July 26, 2008, at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA
(Courtesy of Shay Quillen. To read his review of the show, click here.)

Everyone’s Gone to the Movies
The Fez
The Royal Scam
I Got the News
Show Biz Kids
Everything You Did
Two Against Nature
Hey Nineteen
Godwhacker
New Frontier
Glamour Profession
Gaucho
Home at Last
Parker’s Band
Black Friday
Josie
Aja
Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart

Encores:
Peg
Kid Charlemagne
Third World Man
Do It Again

If we can accept that there is such a thing as a “chick flick,” a film that appeals most strongly to the female population, then there’s no reason why there can’t also be a “chick concert.”

The ideal candidate to put on one of these shows would be a tall, young, good-looking crooner who specializes in sensitive singer-songwriter material, exudes just enough sex appeal and strikes the right balance between self-effacing humor and undeniable confidence. John Mayer can check all those boxes, which is partly why the ladies love him so.

The 30-year-old idol has seemingly gone to great lengths to try and break free of the stigma that comes from being a dreamboat pop star with principally a female fan base. He went so far as to turn his back on pop music for a period, while leading his own blues-rock trio. He also established himself as a first-rate gunslinger, one who made the cover of Rolling Stone’s “New Guitar Gods” issue.

Yet, none of that has really accomplished the trick _ and for that Mayer should be thankful. His concert on Saturday night (July 26) at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View drew some 21,000 people, which ranked as the venue’s biggest turnout thus far this year, topping even what the Police, Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder drew for their respective Shoreline shows.
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STP Setlist from the Greek in Berkeley, CA, 7/25/08

1 Big Empty
2 Wicked Garden
3 Big Bang Baby
4 Sivergun Superman
5 Vasoline
6 Lounge Fly
7 Lady Picture Show
8 Sour Girl
9 Creep
10 All in the Suit That You Wear
11 Crackerman
12 Plush
13 Interstate Love Song
14 Too Cool Queenie
15 Coma
16 Down
17 Sex Type Thing
18 Sin

E1 Dead and Bloated
E2 Trippin

It’s a pretty sad commentary about the state of popular music in 2008 that the Stone Temple Pilots’ current reunion tour is considered such a big deal.

Sure, the band had a whole mess of radio hits during its ‘90s heyday. Yet, the Pilots were always seen as imitators, not innovators, and their best songs sounded like watered-down Nirvana and Pearl Jam. In the grand scheme of things, was STP ever an important band?

No.

The Pilots’ lasting legacy is the popularization of grunge-pop, which paved the way for Matchbox 20, half of the bad music of the late ‘90s and, possibly, the decline of western civilization. OK, so maybe I’m overstating things a bit _ perhaps they didn’t pave the way for Matchbox 20.
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