Monday, December 31, 2007

Music Video Mondays

Let's end '07 with one of the weirdest and creepiest videos I've seen in a long time. Enjoy the psychedelic sounds of Black Moth Super Rainbow with "Sun Lips"....

Saturday, December 29, 2007

HFTB Year End Wrap

Just thought I'd do some end of the year maintenance around here. In 2008 I saw a total of 58 shows - which is more music then I've seen then any other year. Despite the fact I was hoping to hit the 60 show mark here's what I saw....

2007-01-18 - The Hold Steady - Northsix - Brooklyn, NY

2007-01-19 - Gary Higgins - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY

2007-01-20 - The American Beauty Project - World Financial Center - New York, NY

2007-01-26 - M. Ward - Town Hall - New York, NY

2007-02-05 - Cat Power - Hiro Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-02-07 - Trey Anastasio - 92nd St. Y - New York, NY

2007-02-23 - Matt Mays & El Torpedo / Will Hoge - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-03-01 - JJ Grey & Mofro / Virginia Coalition - Irving Plaza - New York, NY

2007-03-03 - Bright Eyes - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-03-08 - Ratdog - Beacon Theater - New York, NY

2007-03-09 - Ben Kweller / Gomez - New York, NY

2007-03-17 - Levon Helm Band w. Dr. John, Allen Toussiant, Warren Haynes, Garth Hudson / Ollabelle - Beacon Theater - New York, NY

2007-03-24 - Tea Leaf Green / U-Melt - Irving Plaza - New York, NY

2007-03-28 - "Evil Teen 10th Anniversary Party" w. Warren Haynes and Friends - Irving Plaza - New York, NY

2007-04-04 - Page McConnell - Grammercy Theater - New York, NY

2007-04-05 - Dr. Dog / O' Death - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-04-10 - Ola Podrida / Ursula Points - The Annex - New York, NY

2007-04-16 - Ollabelle - Banjo Jim's - New York, NY

2007-04-18 - Son Volt - Fillmore New York @ Irving Plaza - New York, NY

2007-04-19 - Benevento/Russo Duo - Knitting Factory - New York, NY

2007-04-20 - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Green Apple Music Festival - Vanderbilt Avenue, Grand Central Station - New York, NY

2007-04-24 - Fountains of Wayne - Webster Hall - New York, NY

2007-05-05 - moe. - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-05-09 - Magic Numbers - Hiro Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-05-15 - Arctic Monkeys - Hammerstein Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-05-16 - Laura Veirs - Blender Theater @ Gramercy - New York, NY

2007-05-18 - Tapes 'N Tapes - Fillmore New York @ Irving Plaza - New York, NY

2007-05-31 - Bright Eyes (w. special guest Steve Earle) / Gillian Welch - Town Hall - New York, NY

2007-06-04 - Page McConnell - Fillmore New York @ Irving Plaza - New York, NY

2007-06-05 - Kings of Leon - Roseland Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-06-14-17 - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival - Manchester, TN

2007-06-25 - Wilco - Hammerstein Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-06-30 - Sam Roberts Band / Malajube - Prospect Park Band Shell - Brooklyn, NY

2007-07-04 - New Pornographers / Midlake - Battery Park - River To River Festival - New York, NY

2007-07-10 - Ratdog / Keller Williams - Central Park Summerstage - New York, NY

2007-07-24 - White Stripes - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY

2007-08-04 - Tea Leaf Green - Mexicali Blues Cafe - Teaneck, NJ

2007-08-08 - Beastie Boys - Central Park Summerstage - New York, NY

2007-08-09 - The Hold Steady - Prospect Park Band Shell - Brooklyn, NY

2007-08-24 - Camera Obscura - South Street Seaport - New York, NY

2007-09-08 - Tea Leaf Green - Blender Theater @ Gramercy - New York, NY

2007-09-09 - Farm Aid - Derek Trucks Band, Warren Haynes, Counting Crowes, Allman Brothers Band, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Willie Nelson - Randall's Island - New York, NY

2007-09-23 - Rilo Kiley - Webster Hall - New York, NY

2007-10-06 - Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem - Randall's Island - New York, NY

2007-10-18 - Vampire Weekend - Other Music - New York, NY

2007-10-20 - Umphrey's McGee - Nokia Theater - New York, NY

2007-10-24 - New Pornographers - Webster Hall - New York, NY

2007-10-31 - Phil Lesh & Friends - Nokia Theater - New York, NY

2007-11-03 - Josh Rouse - Blender Theater @ Gramercy - New York, NY

2007-11-05 - Phil Lesh & Friends w. Ryan Adams - Nokia Theater - New York, NY

2007-11-07 - The Black Angels - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-11-09 - Dr. Dog / Delta Spirit - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

2007-11-10 - American Babies - Ace of Clubs - New York, NY

2007-11-19 - Bright Eyes - Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY

2007-11-21 - The Hold Steady / Art Brut - Terminal 5 - New York, NY

2007-12-07 - Yo La Tengo / Todd Barry / Endless Boogie - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ

2007-12-11 - Fountains of Wayne - Stuyvesant Town Holiday Tree Lighting - Stuyvesant Oval Park - New York, NY

2007-12-27 - The Word - Terminal 5 - New York, NY

Number of Shows: 58

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Bloggy Goodness

End of the year is kind of slow, but let's check in and see what some other people have going on....

Catch up on the 12 Days of Mixmas over at You Ain't No Picasso with a numbers inspired mix by Josh Grier from Tapes 'n Tapes - check his and more here.

Gimme Tinnitus offers up their End 'O The Year Dump featuring a hodgepodge of MP3s and YouTube videos - head here.

Looking for something to spin at your New Year's party well you may want to grab All Things Go Instrumental Vol. II curated by folks at All Things Go and features the likes of Daft Punk, RJD2 and Justice - go and download it here.

Manic Street Preachers are Quick Before It Melts Led Zeppelin - find out why here.

Looking for another Year End List? How about Top 10 Covers as according to Let's Sexy Fighting - see who made the cut here.

Finally The Weight created their first ever mostly music-inspired crossword puzzle - give it a shot here.

And as always head on over to Hidden Track for their daily distractions and check in with Uncensored Interview while you're at it too.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

I Love Tuesdays

Picked up a few things over the course of the last week or so, here's what I got...

1990s - Cookies

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

The Parson Red Heads - King Giraffe

Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story

The Virgins - The Virgins EP

Monday, December 24, 2007

Music Video Mondays

There is only one choice for today - here's Run DMC with "Christmas In Hollis"....

Sunday, December 23, 2007

50 Moments Quiz

Looking for something to kill some time over the next few days? You might want to take a shot at Live Nation's 50 Moments That Revolutionized Music quiz - it's loaded with great Google map shots of historic music-centric places from around the globe - head here.

And not to brag, but 48 out of 50 right!

Happy Holidays From Phil

Looking for that last minute gift for the Deadhead in your family well fear not as Santa Phil has come through by offering up free soundboards of seven of his ten night stand at the Nokia Theater - unfortunately the November 5th show isn't a part of this set, but that one was a monster and worth tracking down just for the second set with Ryan Adams.

You can find them at a couple of sites - so head here, here or here and start downloading, and head here for some great pre-made CD covers.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Sticks & Stones May Brake Your Bones, But Will Also Get You On Stage With moe.

Sticks & Stones the latest studio offering from indie-jam-rockers moe. (hey they call themselves that, not me) hits stores next month, but here's the cool thing if you pre-order the album you'll get a chance to sing with the band on-stage. Here's the details...

In celebration of their release of Sticks and Stones, moe. is offering something very exciting exclusively to those who pre-order the album through the moe. store: a chance to sing with the band on stage! That's right, pre-order the CD beginning December 17th and you will also receive a special limited edition laminate which entitles you to come on stage with moe. and be part of the chorus to one of their new songs, "Raise a Glass", during the encore. This unique and rare opportunity will only happen during moe.'s tour from January 17th until May 15th.

You are allowed to do this more than once during the tour, but first-timers will get preference. This laminate is not a ticket, just your pass to sing with moe. on stage. And if you can't make a show, this laminate will still make a great item for your music collection!

Sticks and Stones cannot be shipped until January 20th, but moe.'s hard-working crew will have a list of all the fans who have ordered through the pre-sale at the shows so rest assured, even if you haven't received your pre-sale CD in the mail, they will get you up on stage. Additional information and rules will be included with your laminate and are posted below.

So does this mean they'll be playing that song every night as the encore for the length of the tour?? moe. finishes out the year with two shows in New York for New Years, tickets are still available for their Radio City show - get them here.

Oh and sorry for that way long post title, was trying to be clever.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Bloggy Goodness

Let's see what some other people have going on....

Passion Of The Weiss offers up a list his Ten Best Local Albums of 2007 - which is where I discovered The Parson Red Heads - see what made the cut here.

Heather of I Am Fuel, Your Are Friends fame put together quite the diverse 20 track Christmas mix featuring the likes of The Kinks, The Old 97's and George Harrison - head here to download.

Berkley Place offers up a nice twist on Best Albums lists by offering up Josh Ritter's latest (which charted at #4 there) through live versions of the album tracks - give it a listen here.

The music of Sam Baker is a new find for Radio Cure who thinks he's one of those "first listen" artists - find out why here.

Grocery Store Feet thinks that Pop, Pop is one of Rickie Lee Jones' most overlooked albums - check out why here.

Looking to listen to some new tunes before the year is out? Well Central Village has got you covered with a list of his 40 Best Songs - see what's on the list here.

Finally Best Of lists seem unavoidable right now to get your fix Large Hearted Boy has complied a master list that should keep you busy till next December - head here.

And as always head on over to Hidden Track for their daily distractions and check in with Uncensored Interview while you're at it too.

Live Phish Celebrates Five Years

Boy time flies - has it really been five years since Phish launched it's Live Phish series? It really doesn't seem that long ago since they were at the forefront of the download movement offering up shows basically instantaneously - well within 48 hours - straight to your computer. What would I have given for this service when I was back in college buying box after box of Maxell XL-IIs to send out? But I digress, that's a story for another time.

Well to celebrate this milestone you're going to want to tune into Live Phish Radio at today at 1 PM - EST as Kevin Shapiro will offer up a "From The Archives" show for your listening pleasure.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Music Video Mondays

The heaps on praise that have been thrown upon The National all this year has been hard to avoid. This is a band a band that played 13 shows in NYC this year - moving from Bowery Ballroom to the cavernous Terminal 5, with stops along the way opening for Arcade Fire. It's quite impressive for a band that plays moody, bruting, dark rock. Here they are with "Mistaken For Stranger".....

Saturday, December 15, 2007

The Royal Albert Hall Project

Following in the tradition of the American Beauty Project - that brought together a diverse group of musicians to celebrate the Dead's American Beauty and Workingman's Dead album comes the announcement of The Royal Albert Hall Project which will honor Bob Dylan's much revered 1966 concert.

Here's some info, including the list of performers....

A very special tribute to the music of Bob Dylan, honoring Dylan’s storied 1966 concert—long the Dylan bootleggers’ favorite, and released legit by Sony on CD in 1998. Critic Dave Marsh reviewed it in Creem magazine, writing “It is the most supremely elegant piece of rock ‘n’ roll music I’ve ever heard” The recording includes Dylan’s now-legendary confrontation with a heckler calling out “Judas” from the audience. This concert features distinctive roster of singer-songwriters, bands and instrumentalists perform their own arrangements of the Dylan classics, in sequence from the original show.

All new interpretations of Dylan classics performed by Laura Cantrell, Stevie Jackson (Belle & Sebastian), Marshall Crenshaw, Oakley Hall, Nicole Atkins & Lenny Kaye, Jason Isbell, Jim Lauderdale, Toshi Reagon, Kelly Joe Phelps, Freeman, Harry Manx & Kevin Breit, The Last Town Chorus/Megan Hickey, Jesse Harris, Richard Julian & Jim Campilongo, Chocolate Genius Inc. and others.


The free show kicks off the New York Guitar Festival on January 12th at the World Financial Center Winter Garden at 8 PM.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Bloggy Goodness

Here's what some other people have going on....

The folks over at Pitchfork have named their 50 Best Music Videos of 2007 - check out who made the cut here.

It's day 13 at Bag Of Songs for their Christmas Song Of Day feature, today's pick Rilo Kiley's "Xmas Cake" - give it a listen here and check out the other 12 so far too.

The Screen Door wants you to listen to and go see Will Hoge - find out why here.

Feeling a bit nostalgic for a certain band from Vermont? Fear not their is new blog to serve all your needs by collecting the nets best videos - aptly named Phish Videos: Moments In A Box.

NYC Taper offers up night three of Yo La Tengo's eight night Hannukah run at Maxwell's - which included a sit-in from Jim James - head here to download.

And finally Zeon's Music Blog offers up some covers of Joni Mitchell's "River" by the likes of Travis, Tori Amos and Madeleine Peyroux - head here.

As always head on over to Hidden Track for their daily distractions and check in with Uncensored Interview while you're at it as well.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I Love Tuesdays...More Free Downloads

'Tis the season for free downloads apparently, here's a couple more on the heels of yesterday's recommendations....

Cassettes Won't Listen - One Alternative EP

Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers - Happy Holidays - 2007: Summer Concerts with The Noisemakers

The Cassettes Won't Listen download features all alt.rock covers songs from the mid-'90s - featuring the likes of Liz Phair and Sebadoh. While the Hornsby one is pretty self-explanatory. So enjoy!

Bonnaroo To Sort Of Get The Led Out

Well we have our first official confirmation for '08 as WSMV in Nashville broke the news that Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will grace the Manchester grounds - so much for hipster music blogs.

The unlikely duo put out the critically acclaimed Raising Sand album earlier this year - which you should definitely pick up. You can also tune in to WXPN on Monday, December 24th for the re-broadcast of their appearance on the World Cafe - or just head here and stream it from their archives now.


So no Led Zep, but this is a start.

Thanks to Hidden Track for the heads up on this and for more on all this Bonnaroo be sure to head over to my Bonnaroo blog.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Complete Wilco - Update

Here's a little bit more info on Wilco's 5 night residency at the Riviera....

"Over these 5 nights the band will endeavor to perform every song in their now extensive ouvre (or is that canon)? This includes all the studio recordings and their contributions to the Mermaid Avenue records. Plus, who knows what else? To further clarify, the plan is NOT to do the material sequentially or chronologically. Rather, they're just going to attempt to cover it all over the 5 shows. It'll be a real blast, we're certain."

Pre-sale begins tomorrow - December 12th - head here.

I Love Tuesdays

The end of the year is usually pretty thin with new releases and especially those for indie-music fans. So with that in mind I figured I'd point you in the way of two great free downloads that you should grab...

Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop And Roll!!!

Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities: Mix Tape

All signs point to the Foxboro Hot Tubs being a spoofy side-project of '60s infused garage rock from Green Day. While the Okkervil River download is mix of cover tunes (plus one original Christmas song) recorded live on the road over the last year.

Read about the releases here and here.

Monday, December 10, 2007

The Complete Wilco

Very cool news coming out from the Wilco camp as they announced the following about their hometown five-show run at the Riviera Theater....

“Over the five nights, we will attempt the ‘complete Wilco’ and try to clear out the dusty corners of the catalog that we haven’t attended to in a while.”

Jeff has mentioned in several interviews that now that this incarnation of the band has been together for awhile now, that he wanted to go back play some of the older material that his "new" band mates hadn't learned yet.

Now if they can only add a New York date or two to their Spring run - hint, hint.

In other Wilco news Sky Blue Sky was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album - going up against the likes of Bruce Springsteen and the Foo Fighters. This marks the fourth time the band has been nominated and the fourth different category to boot.

Music Video Mondays

For some reason this video from The Go! Team really reminded me of the intro for the zany 1970s Saturday morning staple The Banana Splits - check it out for yourself, here's "Doing It Right".....

Friday, December 07, 2007

Lost & Found

I guess stumbling onto "lost" Woody Guthrie material shouldn't come as too much of a surprise considering the amount of it that has surfaced over the years, leading to a number of releases - including the fantastic Mermaid Avenue albums. What has alluded Guthrie fans though has been any actual live recordings of the famed folk singer in action - that is until now. Check out this great story about how Live Wire: Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949 came to be - head here.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Bloggy Goodness

Here's what some other people have going on....

Rolling Stone recently unveiled Breaking their new music blog to help introduce you to some up and coming bands - head here to check it out.

Looking for some live holiday music to spin over the next few weeks? Well you're in luck The Late Greats went digging for some - here's what they found.

Fresh Bread has some fantastic pictures from last week's Grace Potter show at the Highline - check them out here and here.

In the latest installment of Quit Your Day Job - Stereogum nominates Laura Veirs - find out why here.

Speaking of the Ms. Veirs, CYSTSFTSS thinks if you dig her you'll probably like Sarah Blasko - find out why here.

And finally if holiday songs aren't your thing Speed of Dark has just plain 'ol December songs - give them a listen here.

As always head on over to Hidden Track for their daily distractions and check in with Uncensored Interview while you're at it too.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Elevator Music For Headbangers Returns

After roughly a three year hiatus the vastly underrated instru-metal-jazz-rockers the Om Trio announced through their MySpace page that they will make it's return to the stage in February. The band will offer up a three night run in their former home base of San Francisco opening two nights at the historic Fillmore for their friends Umphrey's McGee and playing the show after party at the Boom Boom Room on the third night.

Here's a couple of shows to check out to get you ready for February (via Archive.org).....

2004-04-09 - Om Trio - Martyrs' - Chicago, IL (w. Jake Cinniger)

2003-05-29 - Om Trio - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA

Welcome back guys, here's hoping for more shows down the road!!!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Langerado Schedule Revealed...Well Sort Of

If you're heading down to Langerado, or even just entertaining the notion you can now check out the day that your favorite bands are playing. Here's the lowdown....

Friday March 7th

Beastie Boys - 311 - The Roots - G. Love & Special Sauce - Umphrey's McGee - Built to Spill - Mickey Hart Band - The Wailers - Ozomatli - !!! - Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars - Indigenous - Sam Bush - The Walkmen - Vampire Weekend - Brett Dennen - The Spam Allstars - matt pond PA - Bassnectar - American Babies - Earl Greyhound - the Dynamites - The Heavy Pets - Backyard Tire Fire - School of Rock All-Stars

Saturday March 8th

R.E.M. - Matisyahu - Thievery Corporation - Ben Folds - Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood - The Disco Biscuits - Robert Randolph & the Family Band - Citizen Cope - Antibalas - Ghostland Observatory - Arrested Development - Benevento Russo Duo - State Radio - Dr. Dog - the New Mastersounds - the Bad Plus - the Avett Brothers - Railroad Earth - Yard Dogs Road Show - Blitzen Trapper - Pelican - Dan Deacon - RAQ - Pnuma Trio - the Wood Brothers - Trevor Hall - American Bang


Sunday March 9th

Phil Lesh & Friends - Ani DiFranco - Gov't Mule - Keller Williams - funky Meters - The National - of Montreal - Minus the Bear - Martin Sexton - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - Blind Melon - Ryan Shaw - Felice Brothers - Shout Out Louds - Josh Ritter - the Lee Boys - Will Hoge - Steel Train - Pete Francis - Balkan Beat Box - Jonah Smith

Thursday March 6th (no Single-Day tickets available)

Les Claypool - Dark Star Orchestra - Perpetual Groove - the New Deal - Busdriver - Phix - Golem - That 1 Guy - Awesome New Republic - the Postmarks

Ticket are on-sale now, while single-day tickets go on-sale tomorrow starting at noon EST.

Indie Rock TV Theme Songs?

So what do Jeff Tweedy and Christina Applegate have in common? Well apparently a lot more then you'd think. Check out this great post over at The Good, The Bad And The Unknown about Tweedy's foray into the world of sitcom theme songs - head here.

Thanks to Heather of I'm Fuel, You Are Friends for pointing it out!

I Love Tuesdays

Clearly I've been on a big Felice Brother kick over the last week, as evident in this week's purchases....

The Felice Brothers - Tonight At The Arizona

Also grabbed the "free" Wilco EP - head here for instructions on how to get it.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Denied.

As quickly as rumors get started they also get squashed just as easily. So before the hellfire from Bonnaroo fans could light up message boards saying how Superfly is ruining the festival with booking Metallica and they'll never attend it again, etc. Q Prime Management - who represent the hard-rockers - flat out denied the report that the band will be in Manchester next June. Read about it here.

Bonnarumor

Just like baseball's Hot Stove I guess it's never too early to get the Bonnaroo line-up rumor mill going. Here's the first big rumor to emerge and it's quite a dandy (via Digital Media Wire).....

An anonymous reader tipped Bob Lefsetz, author of The Lefsetz Letter, yesterday about an interesting development in the live music world: “Zeppelin just confirmed for Bonnaroo. They can't officially announce until after the London gig so pass it on! Also Metallica is confirmed on the bill too!

Anyone who has experienced the unique event that is Bonnaroo (or its younger sibling Vegoose) knows the four-day Manchester, Tennessee show’s trademark is its eclectic mix of bands. Considered “the largest hippy festival in the world,” as Andrew Stockdale, lead singer of Wolfmother said onstage last June, the festival organizers always manage to add plenty of non-hippy artists. In 2007 there was also the addition of a “classic” billing, the reemergence of The Police.

If the anonymous reader is right about Zeppelin and Metallica, Bonnaroo 2008 has a leg up on alternatives like Coachella before ’07 is even finished.

Make of it what you will. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have repeatedly stated that their one-off performance will be just that and their will be no full-blown world tour. Last year around this time the big rumor was Pearl Jam was headlining and then it was The Police - which actually turned out to be true.

As for the Metallica part - your guess is as good as mine. I think it would stir a lot of controversy among the Bonnaroo faithful, but so did the booking of Tool.

Head on over to Rock Daily for more on this story - here.

Music Video Mondays

Since I love this album so much (boy I've been throwing the love around a lot lately huh?), let's go with Band Of Horses and the pillow stealing mayhem of "Is There A Ghost"....

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Frankie's Gun

I honestly can't stop listening to The Felice Brother's album Adventure's Of The Felice Brothers, Vol. 1 - it's pretty much the only thing that's gotten played on my iPod this week. While I love the entire album (and it's sure to be in my Top Ten this year), the album opener "Frankie's Gun" is absolutely infectious and thought I'd share this live version. Enjoy....



While The Band and Dylan comparisons may get on their nerves - well at least according to this article - that song could have been a long, lost track from The Basement Tapes.

The Felice Brothers open for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band next Friday night at Highline Ballroom - get tickets here. Unfortunately I'm already heading out to Hoboken for Yo La Tengo, or else I'd be there, but be sure to grab you're copy of Adventures Of.... - since it's only available at their shows.

The Tower Of Baeble

Just stumbled onto this site today - Baeble Music - wondering how I didn't know about it before since it looks like its been online for awhile now. They've got a ton of great live concerts that you can watch right on their site from the likes of Ben Kweller to Northern State to Blonde Rehead.

There is even something for the jam fans too, here's The Duo from last year at the Bowery Ballroom....



Along with great concerts they've also got album reviews, music videos, a blog, and also something called The Green Room where they do full length features on bands. Check out this one they did about Art Brut....