Chuck Prophet "Live at the Starry Plough"

I found out he was here one day after the show in Orlando at Will's and I was sorely upset. This is from the same tour and I bet I would have enjoyed this recording more if I had made the concert. Don't get me wrong, this is a fine performance, but I'll stick to my studio recordings. As I said, if I had been there...
What I did find was a New Year's Eve 2008 clip of a song at the same small Irish pub this record comes from. It's a place close to his home that he must have played a hundred times. Damn, now that's a house band! Fans of TP & the Heartbreakers should enjoy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkfdeIZnOKU

Angus & Julia Stone "Down the Way"

This is the type of record I like to find when I go off scouring the international charts. This little gem was found on the Australian-Only chart. This is a brother/sister pairing performing mostly simple, acoustic songs with an occasional faux string passage or three. They trade off lead vocals and subtly back each other up . She has a light, breathy voice, possibly influenced by Kasey Chambers, and a bit of a sssssssssst in some of her endings. His songs come off like a Ray LaMontagne, but one track hinted at the Waterboys. I had originally categorized this album as Aussie Outback country, but let's call it Australiana. They are scheduled for Bonneroo on Saturday, but they are going up against Weezer, Jeff Beck, and John Prine. If I actually get to go this year, I'll be at the Cafe Where? Stage listening to the Stones...

What is it?

I just watched a replay of the Lady Gaga song from "American Idol"......
First of all, I would have been pissed to have to sit there for 90 minutes while she worked out the kinks of the performance. Of course, I wouldn't have been in the audience anyway... I don't watch the drivel on TV, either. But this girl/guy/whatever has patterned her/his/it self after a very successful group of stars. To me, she is a Madonna/Cher/Aguilera compilation that obviously works for a lot of people. But out of those three multi-platinum female artistes, the Rocker vaults has one record out of the bunch. So I'm not a fan, but it's difficult to not watch the train wreck.