Saturday, December 30, 2006

Year In Review

Well '06 is fastly coming to a close figured I'd do some housecleaning around here and wrap up the year.....

Number of Shows Seen: 52

12.30 - moe. - Irving Plaza
12.29 - Greyboy Allstars - Nokia Theatre
12.16 - Ray LaMontagne - Beacon Theater
12.12 - Damien Rice - Beacon Theater
12.05 - Ryan Adams /The Little Willies - Town Hall
12.02 - Umphrey's McGee - Nokia Theatre
11.30 - My Morning Jacket - Roseland Ballroom
11.25 - Dark Star Orchestra - Nokia Theatre
11.24 - Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood - Bowery Ballroom
11.16 - Bob Dylan - Continental Arena
11.03 - The Decemberists - Hammerstein Ballroom
11.01 - Dr. Dog / Elvis Perkins - Bowery Ballroom
10.20 - Ben Kweller/Sam Roberts Band - Webster Hall
10.12 - Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Town Hall
10.08 - Trey Anastasio - Webster Hall
09.28 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Rumsey Playfield
09.26 - The Raconteurs / Dr. Dog - Roseland Ballroom
09.14 - Widespread Panic - Radio City Music Hall
09.12 - Roger Waters - Madison Square Garden
09.11 - Band of Horses - Bowery Ballroom
09.05 - Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals - Rumsey Playfield
08.24 - Neko Case / Joanna Newsom - McCarren Pool
08.23 - The Shins - McCarren Pool
08.05 - Dave Matthew Band, Gov't Mule, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Yonder Mountain String Band - Randalls Island
08.03 - The New Pornographers - Rumsey Playfield
07.26 - Golden Smog - Bowery Ballroom
07.13 - Ratdog / String Cheese Incident - Radio City Music Hall
07.12 - Donavon Frankenreiter - Irving Plaza
06.30 - Phil Lesh & Friends / G.R.A.B. - Tweeter Center
06.22 - Bruce Springsteen w. The Seeger Sessions Band - Madison Square Garden
06.20 - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers / Trey Anastasio - Madison Square Garden
06.14 - Arctic Monkeys - Roseland Ballroom
06.13 - Widespread Panic - Irving Plaza
06.12 - Starlight Mints / Dios (Malos) - Bowery Ballroom
06.03 - Pearl Jam / My Morning Jacket - Continental Arena
05.31 - Mike Gordon & Ramble Dove / Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Irving Plaza
05.13 - Rana - Knitting Factory
05.13 - Dark Star Orchestra - Nokia Theatre
04.20 - The Jammys - The Theater @ MSG
04.16 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - First Avenue
04.06 - Ratdog - Beacon Theater
03.23 - Lo Faber - Sin-e
03.10 - Tea Leaf Green - Knitting Factory
03.08 - Nada Surf - Webster Hall
02.19 - Phil Lesh & Friends - Hammerstein Ballroom
02.14 - Phil Lesh & Friends - Beacon Theater
02.11 - Phil Lesh & Friends - Beacon Theater
02.07 - Nada Surf - Mercury Lounge
02.03 - M. Ward - Warsaw
01.27 - Dr. Dog / Sam Champion / The Teeth - Mercury Lounge
01.23 - The Affair - Mercury Lounge
01.20 - Dumpstaphunk - B.B. Kings

By far the most music I've seen in a year.

56 different bands seen.
24 different venues.

Shows by month
3 - January
5 - February
3 - March
3 - April
3 - May
7 - June
3 - July
4 - August
6 - September
3 - October
6 - November
6 - December

Band seen the most - Phil Lesh & Friends - 4 times

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Top Ten

Ok I'm sure you're already sick of bloggers telling you about their favorite albums of the year, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't offer up my list too. So without further ado here's my Top Ten Albums of 2006.....

10. Willie Nelson - Songbird














9. Dr. Dog - Takers And Leavers















8. Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller















7. The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America















6. Cat Power - The Greatest














5. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit















4. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood















3. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time















2. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat















1. M. Ward - Post-War


Tuesday, December 26, 2006

2007: The Year of the Nerd

Summer of '07 is going to be huge if you dig comic books and cartoons. Check out the following trailers of movies that are hitting screens next summer....

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Transformers

Spider-Man 3

The Simpsons

The Year of the Nerd begins in 5 days! Can't wait.

First Bonnaroo Artist Confirmation

While we will have to wait for the first full list of confirmed artists for next year's Bonnaroo we do have confirmation of one act so far. Indie-music-blog darlings the Cold War Kids have spilled the beans in a new Jambands.com article that they will in fact be playing the festival. Here's the excerpt....

MG- 2006 was the first year Cold War Kids hit the festival circuit. What were your initial impressions of that environment?

JR- That’s a good question. I had never been to a festival, even to watch, until we got to Lollapalooza to play this year. I always imaged that they’d be a real anxious environment, full of sweaty, sunburnt people and plastic Bud Light bottles [laughs]. I always imagined--- what a nightmare! I have fair skin and I always passed on Coachella. I never even did the Warped Tour thing. Growing up, I remember people going to Lollapalooza, but as I got a little older and cooler, I learned a little more about the modern festivals. We are actually going to play Bonnaroo next year, which is really exciting. It seems like a really cool festival, with a pretty cool vibe. I’ve been reading about it in magazines and it seems like it’s been changing a lot in the past years in terms of the lineup, but I like where its roots are. It seems to give it a different feel from the other festivals, which is nice. I’m not the biggest jamband fan, but I’d definitely pick a jamband environment over a K-Rock or Hard Rock environment. I think I will feel more at home there.

So will the jamband kids be pissed again this year that indie-rock will once again be the focus? Or will there be the usual balance that will make everyone happy? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

I Love Tuesdays...Hannukah Edition

Finally celebrated Hannukah with the family yesterday and got this as a gift.....

What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)

Monday, December 25, 2006

R.I.P. James Brown

The music community suffered a great lose today with the passing of the Godfather of Soul - James Brown - who died today at age 73. Read his obit here. In 2003 Rolling Stone ranked Live At The Apollo number 24 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time - buy it here, it's a must have.

Here's a live show from the hardest working man in show business.....

James Brown - 2002-07-04 - The Meadows - Steamboat Springs, CO

Music Video Mondays

Merry Christmas! Here's David Bowie and Bing Crosby with "Little Drummer Boy"....

Friday, December 22, 2006

5 Nights of Arcade Fire

Well as '06 is coming to an end very rapidly one of the most highly anticipated concerts of the '07 just got announced. Montreal's own Arcade Fire's will be playing a 5 night run here in New York at the Judson Memorial Church taking place on February 13-17. Tickets will be going on-sale on January 9th at 9 AM via the internet only - head here for some more info. Last week tickets for their 5 night hometown run sold out in three minutes - so start saving your pennies now tickets won't come cheap if you get shut out.

Info is already coming out about their forthcoming album as well, it's will be called Neon Bible. YANP has got an MP3 of the song "Intervention" off the album - head here for that.

Since Justin over at LMB is already talking about Bonnaroo line-up rumors I'm going to throw Arcade Fire out there into the mix with his pick of Pearl Jam.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Bobby D. vs. Factory Girl

First it was Lou Reed who was pissed about the new Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl, now it's Bob Dylan. Zimmy is threatening legal action against the studio for making it look like he drove Sedgwick to suicide despite studio claims that the character Billy Quinn is not solely based on him and contains elements of Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger. If you believe that after watching the trailer (which is linked below) I've got a nice bridge to sell you.



Read about it here and watch the trailer here.

If I Had A $1,000

Check out this ridiculously awesome line-up for a party to honor the new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi....

On January 4 Tony Bennett, Carole King, Wyclef Jean are scheduled to perform with a house band that features four Grateful Dead alumni (Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bruce Hornsby) along with Warren Haynes and Mike Gordon. Richard Gere and Amy Brenneman are also scheduled to appear at the big ticket fundraiser ($1,000+) which will take place at the National Building Museum.

Who knew Pelosi was so heady? I digress to Ace who's got a great write-up of this over at Hidden Track.

For those of you that have a grand to drop head here to buy your ticket.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Happy Sips & Sounds

The fine folks over at SCI Fidelity have teamed up with heady brewers at Magic Hat to offer you up some free tunes. Head here to download a 14 track sampler of SCI Fidelity artists, which include - SCI, Umphrey's McGee, Tea Leaf Green, the Disco Biscuits, Keller Williams, Rose Hill Drive and more. It will certainly the perfect soundtrack to plug into your Ipod as you head to the mall for last minute gifts.

If the free music wasn't good enough, five lucky downloaders will win all 14 albums. So what are you waiting for!

Stop Stealing From Bob Weir

You might want to listen to as much music as you can over on Wolfgang's Vault - seems like some of the artists that the site is currently streaming are none to happy with them at the moment. When groups with names like Led Zeppelin, Santana, The Doors and the always curmudgeonly when it comes to stuff like this the Grateful Dead are suing the you claiming you are "illegally selling recordings and merchandise" it might not be a good sign of things to come.

Here's a statement released by Bob Weir on the topic...

"We have never given permission for our images and material to be used in this way...What Sagan is doing in stealing. He is stealing what is most important to us - our work, our images and our music - and is profiting from the goodwill of our fans."

Read about the whole story here.

Listen away here.

And buy Huey Lewis gear here and other cool retro-band t-shirts here.

Endless Entertainment

On April 9th of next year the new Bright Eyes album Cassavaga hits stores - but since it's the holiday season Connor is offering up a taste of what's to come. Head on over to what will be his new home on the world wide web This Is Bright Eyes - which will launch officially next year - to listen to a track off the album called "Endless Entertainment".

Head here to read some more details about the album - which is bound to land on Best of for '07.

Also here's his set from last years Bonnaroo (via dimeadozen)

Bright Eyes - 2006-06-16 - Which Stage - Bonnaroo Music Festival - Manchester,TN

Monday, December 18, 2006

Music Video Mondays

This just seemed like the most appropriate video for today. Here's The LeeVees with "How Do You Spell Channukkah"....



Happy Hannukah!

Saturday, December 16, 2006

I Love Tuesday....Tower Records Closing Sale Edition

Pick up a few things today at the Tower clearance sale....

The Jayhawks - Sound of Lies

The Spam Allstars - Contra Los Roboticos Mutantes

Caitlin Caey & Thad Cockrell - Begonias

Ambulance, Ltd. - New English

Jonah Smith - Jonah Smith

Bloggy Goodness

I promise more posts this week, but here's what other people have going on....

The Pop Eye has a weekly series called Forgotten Classic Video - check out classics by Squeeze, Billy Squier and Fresh For Lulu.

Gimme Tinnitus loves The Willowz and has an MP3 from their upcoming album - head here.

Are you listening to Philly's own Devin Greenwood? No, well Some Velvet Blog thinks you should be - you can give him a listen here.

Rewriteable Content is offering you the holiday present of Camera Obscura b-sides - enjoy their gift you here.

If you love a good end of the year list head to Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands for his Top 20 Songs of 2006 which is full of video and MP3 links.

XTC is England's Beach Boys or at least that's what The Runout Groove thinks and has Five Singles from them to prove it to you.

Phish & Chips is undecided on who's version of I Shot The Sheriff he likes best, but offers a number of interpretations of the song - so pick your favorite here.

Finally Ace Cowboy gives his thoughts on Ernie's recent arrest over at Hidden Track.

Enjoy!

Friday, December 15, 2006

Busted

Read about it here.

Get your "Phree Trey" merch here.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Taper's Section

If you haven't been over to the Dead's under-construction, website lately - they've recently started a great new feature on there called the Taper's Section. Here's some intro info from the site...

In this space, every Monday, you will find information on the recorded history of the Grateful Dead’s music as it pertains to that week, specifically focusing on the shows for that week, through the band’s 30 year performing history, that reside in the Grateful Dead’s storied tape vault. Although not everything is in there, with more than 1,600 of the band’s 2,400-odd shows represented, there is plenty about which to talk. Check back weekly for new entries and insight into the vault, as well as exclusive audio clips relating to that week in the Grateful Dead’s recorded history.

They're got some great stuff up so far, here's a sample....

Run Rudolph Run - 1971-12-04

Feels Like A Stranger - 1980-12-30

Looks like their deal with Rhino is already paying off.

Monday, December 11, 2006

'Roo 6.0

Not to be outdone by the recent rash of festival announcements Superfly has confirmed that Bonnaroo will once again return to Manchester, TN for it's sixth year from June 14 - 17. Early-bird tickets can be purchased starting December 13th which is before the line-up is even announced.

Music Video Mondays

Here's M. Ward with "Chinese Translation"....



In related news Matt has some solo dates planned for '07....

Jan 26 - Town Hall Theatre - New York, New York
Jan 27 - Mod Club Theatre - Toronto, Ontario
Jan 29 Park West - Chicago, Illinois
Feb 2 El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, California
Feb 4 Bimbo’s 365 Club - San Francisco, California

And if you don't already own Post-War what are you waiting for go buy it right now!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Welcome Back

Taking a quick detour from the usually postings content to just welcome Andy Pettitte back to the Bronx - we definitely missed ya. Yanks signed Pettitte to a one-year deal for $16 million with an option for a second. Sports pundits already have fellow Texan and mound-mate Roger Clemens signing up for a second tour of duty too - which would give the Yanks quite the formidable starting five of Clemens, Pettitte, Wang, Mussina, Johnson.



Read about the deal here, here, here and here - baseball season can't come soon enough.

Friday, December 08, 2006

26 Years Ago

Twenty six years ago today we lost John Lennon.....

As I was searching for some music to post I stumbled across this interestingly labeled torrent over on Dimeadozen....

John Lennon & Friends - 1971-10-09 - "Let's Have a Party" - Syracuse, NY


Here's some info that was posted with it....

John Lennon
Yoko Ono
Ringo Starr
Phil Spector
Eric Clapton
Klaus Voorman
Allen Ginsberg
Jim Keltner
Mal Evans
Neil Aspinall

This recording dates from John's 31st birthday on October 9, 1971. Recorded in a Syracuse, NY hotel room with the above guests strumming acoustic guitars, shaking tambourines, ringing bells, and singing inebriated versions of some old Beatles, Lennon and traditional songs.

If you're looking for great music, please DON'T expect anything of the sort here. This is a very informal recording of some drunken friends having a good time celebrating a birthday. There aren't any great Clapton solos (in fact, his presence here is not 100% confirmed), though you do get to hear Ringo in 1971 trying in vain to remember the words to "Yellow Submarine".

Phil Spector is pretty loud and annoying, trying to lead everyone while sounding like a cross between Paul Schafer and Jerry Lewis' Nutty Professor. Still, this download should be very interesting to Beatles and Lennon fans -- especially to hear them tackle a mocking version of the recent Paul McCartney hit "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (!!!). Lennon seems to be quite familiar with the song and does a respectable approximation of the verses, despite the tongue-in-cheek intent.

I transferred this to CD from an old vinyl LP I had (very clean copy with no audible surface noise). I made some artwork based on some jpegs I found online, and it's included in the torrent.


10K Fest

'Tis the season for festival announcements apparantly. The initial line-up for the 5th installment of the 10,000 Lakes Festival has been announced here's what they got so far.....

Bob Weir & Ratdog, Trey Anastasio, Umphrey's McGee, moe., Gov't Mule, The Derek Trucks Band, Little Feat, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, The Everyone Orchestra, Trampled By Turtles, WookieFoot, Moses Mayes

Read the official press release here.

Here's some music from last year's festivities....

Phil and Friends - 2006-07-21 - 10,000 Lakes Festival - Soo-Pass Lodge - Detroit Lakes, MN

Umphrey's McGee - 2006-07-21 - 10,000 Lakes Festival - Field Stage - Soo Pass Lodge - Detroit Lakes, MN

G.R.A.B. - 2006-07-22 - 10,000 Lakes Festival - Main Stage- Soo Pass Ranch - Detroit Lakes, MN

Keller Williams - 2006-07-22 - 10,000 Lakes Festival - Barn Stage - Soo Pass Ranch - Detroit Lakes, MN

Medeski, Martin, and Wood - 2006-07-22 - 10,000 Lakes Festival- Field Stage - Soo Pass Ranch - Detroit Lakes, MN

Garage Sale Rock

Check out this amazing story about buying a record for 75 cents at a street sale in Manhatten that was labeled The Velvet Underground 4-25-66 that is now being sold on Ebay for over $100,000.

List-Mania

You say you like year-end best-of lists huh well head on over to Largehearted Boy who's been kind of to compile a master list of said lists. There's best albums, top local acts, record labels, children's albums, etc. - check it out here.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Telluride Bluegrass and Rockygrass Festivals

The initial line-ups for the 34th installment of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the 35th Rockygrass Festival have been announced - here's the official announcement....

Planet Bluegrass proudly announces the preliminary lineups for two of the longest-running and most respected music festivals in America. The 34th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 21-24, 2007, will feature Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck, and Chick Corea. Then July 27-29, the 35th Annual RockyGrass Festival, welcomes Nickel Creek, Marty Stuart, and Del McCoury Band to the Planet Bluegrass Ranch in Lyons, CO. Tickets for both festivals go on sale at 8am MST, Wednesday, December 6 at www.bluegrass.com / 800-624-2422.

For the 34th straight year, the greatest musicians in acoustic music, along with 10,000 of their most devoted fans, converge on the tiny mountain town of Telluride, Colorado to spend the summer solstice together. This year’s lineup brings together superstars Krauss and Harris; popular newgrass bands Yonder Mountain String Band and Bela Fleck & the Flecktones; and numerous unique combinations of artists: the genre-crossing of jazz pianist Chick Corea and banjo great Bela Fleck; the inter-generational duets of MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile. Festival royalty Sam Bush, John Cowan, Peter Rowan, and Jerry Douglas all return in 2007, counting over 100 Telluride appearances between them.

All twelve-hundred passes for the popular Telluride Town Park Campground sold-out prior to any lineup announcements. “Festivarians” from 49 different US states and two foreign countries applied for these tickets using a random online lottery system.

Telluride’s slightly older and more traditional bluegrass-focused cousin, RockyGrass, welcomes some of the most lauded bands in bluegrass to Lyons, Colorado. Individually, the RockyGrass lineup boasts numerous Grammy winners and thirteen International Bluegrass Music Association instrument/vocalists of the year. The 2006 RockyGrass festival sold-out two months in advance.

34th TELLURIDE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
June 21-24, 2007 - Telluride, CO
* Alison Krauss & Union Station * Sam Bush Band * Chick Corea & Bela Fleck * Emmylou Harris * Telluride House Band featuring Béla, Edgar, Jerry, Sam, Bryan * Tony Rice & Alison Krauss & Union Station * Yonder Mountain String Band * Béla Fleck & the Flecktones * Chris Thile & How to Grow a Band featuring Bryan Sutton * Jerry Douglas Band * Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile * John Cowan Band * Peter Rowan & Crucial Country * Dougie MacLean Band * Jackie Green * Mike Marshall & Hamilton de Holanda * Sparrow Quartet * Crooked Still * Infamous Stringdusters * Avett Brothers * Greensky Bluegrass * many more still to be announced...

35th ROCKYGRASS FESTIVAL
July 27-29, 2007 - Lyons, CO
* Nickel Creek * Sam Bush Bluegrass Band * Del McCoury Band * Marty Stuart & the Fabulous Superlatives * Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet * Chris Thile & the How to Grow a Band * Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver * Claire Lynch Band * Kruger Brothers * Cherryholmes * Biscuit Burners * Bearfoot Bluegrass * Red Molly * Long Road Home * many more...

Music Video Mondays

Sorry for the lack of posts - no real excuse, just busy at work. Anyway here's one of my personal favorite bands of the last few years Stellastarr* with "My Coco".....