Jazzfest

I know I'm a little late on reporting this, but the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will be taking place this year on April 28-30 & May 5-7. Read the press release here. Definitely some great news for the city of New Orleans as they continue to rebuild from Katrina. Some of the artists that are already confirmed for the fairgrounds are The Meters, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Galactic as well as a ton of local New Orleans acts. No late night shows have been announced yet, but as they do I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy some music from past fests....

Widespread Panic - 1997-05-04 - New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival - Fair Grounds Race Course - New Orleans, LA

SuperJam - 1999-05-01 - The Howlin' Wolf - New Orleans Jazz Festival - New Orleans, LA

moe. 2002-05-02 - Orpheum Theater - New Orleans, LA

Buckethead's Cajun Fried Recipe - 2003-05-04 - Howlin' Wolf - New Orleans, LA

Ivan Neville's Dumpstah Funk - 2004-04-28 - Howlin' Wolf - New Orleans, LA

Funky Meters - 2005-04-27 - Cajun Queen Riverboat - New Orleans, LA

Gov't Mule - 2005-04-29 - The Orpheum Theater - New Orleans, LA

Trey Anastasio Super Jam - 2005-04-30 - State Palace Theatre - New Orleans, LA

Tickets are on sale now!!

Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza will once again be returning this summer to the Windy City. The festival will now be a three day affair with 8 stages and roughly 130 bands performing. Read about it here. The big rumor is that Chicago's own Smashing Pumpkins will be the headliner. Stay tuned for artist line-up and ticket info - which will be coming at some point in the next month or so. Definitely good news for Justin over at LMB.

Heckle & Jeckle

Seems like the Brothers Robinson have put their feuding years behind them for good (or at least for now) and have scheduled a string of acoustic duo dates. Read about it here (via Jambase). Right now the tour will only four cities with multiple dates in each. Here's the dates....

4.13 | Brooklyn, NY | Warsaw (on sale: Fri 2.24 @ Noon)
4.14 | New York, NY | Rose Theater @ Jazz at Lincoln Center (on sale: Fri 2.24 @ Noon)
4.15 | New York, NY | Town Hall (on sale: Fri 2.24 @ Noon)
**4.17 | Austin, TX | Cactus Café (on sale: Fri 2.17 @ Noon)
**4.18 | Austin, TX | Cactus Café (on sale: Fri 2.17 @ Noon)
4.20 | San Francisco, CA | Swedish American Hall @ Café Du Nord (on sale: Fri 2.24 @ Noon)
4.21 | San Francisco, CA | The Fillmore (on sale: Sun 2.26 @10:00 a.m.)
4.22 | San Francisco, CA | Bimbo's 365 Club (on sale: Fri 2.24 @10:00 a.m.)
4.24 | Los Angeles, CA | The Roxy (on sale: Fri 2.24 @ 11:00 a.m.)
4.25 | Los Angeles, CA | The Roxy (on sale: Fri 2.24 @ 11:00 a.m.)


Hopefully my schedule will allow me to hit one of the New York shows. I've become a Crowes fan after seeing them twice last year and this sounds like it's going to something that I won't want to miss out on.

Here's some acoustic Crowes....

The Black Crowes - 1997-02-22 - Garage - Early & Late Shows - London, England [ UK ]

Chris and Rich Robinson - 2005-01-06 - Las Vegas Convention Center, Consumer Electronic Show - Olympus Booth, Central Hall #1447 - Las Vegas , NV

I Love Tuesdays

Nothing that great out this week, but got this to review for Glide Magazine....

The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun

P&F Review

My expectations weren't that high going into the Phil & Friends show on Saturday night. I was a bit disappointed there would be no Ryan Adams appearance and wasn't that thrilled with the line-up he had pulled together - no real lead singer. Despite all that I was ready to hear some Grateful Dead music and to have an interesting cab ride home in a blizzard - which is always a good time.

The first set started off in typical P&F fashion with a warm-up jam that lead into China Cat -> Rider - which was sort of uninspiring. Scarlet with Phil singing wasn't winning me over much either. My mood started to change though as Barry Sless dropped his guitar and moved over to the pedal steel as Scarlet segued into The Wheel, this is when things really started clicking and the band found their groove. They nailed the rest of the country/americana tinged set. Ryan Adams Let It Ride off of Cold Roses fit in nicely and might have been the highlight of the set, until they absolutely nailed Cumberland Blues - a song that may be my favorite of the Workingman's/American Beauty era Dead. The UJB closer put the cap on what ended up being a stellar first set.

As an empty microphone stand on stage went unused in the first set a roadie brought out another guitar during the break and we knew Phil had something up his sleeve for set two. Well as the lights went down the familiar (and a bit slimed down) Warren Haynes made his way to the stage. Probably the easiest of guests to predict to be sitting in during this run, but always a welcomed sight. Set two had more old school P&F show feel - meaning it was much more jammy. Where as Phil was calling the shots in the first set, Warren was at the helm in the second. Set two opened with Shakedown which eventually moved into Viola Lee Blues - the jam vehicle for the set. This set had a more blues-y feel and saw Joan take center stage a couple of times while channeling her best Janis & Pigpen with some great blues raps during Hard To Handle & Caution. Have to admit I was quite impressed with her performance throughout the night especially during these songs. The band weaved in and out of Viola Lee and eventually leading into a sped up version of Bertha. Set finished out with Fire On The Mountain & Not Fade Away which is always the crowd pleaser.

Coming back out for the encore they busted out Strawberry Fields Forever - the venue's proximity to the Dakota certainly made it a fitting selection, plus the Dead always loved playing Beatles tunes too. Warren nailed Comes A Time which has become a love letter to Jerry and they closed out the night with the psychedelic freak-out of The Golden Road leaving us all to head out into the blizzard of '06 with perma-grins on are faces.

Here's the setlist in case you're keeping score at home....

Set I: Jam > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Scarlet Begonias > The Wheel> Let It Ride, Cumberland Blues, Uncle John's Band

Set II: Shakedown Street > Viola Lee Blues > Hard to Handle > Viola Lee Blues > Bertha > Bartering Lines > Caution > Fire on the Mountain, Not Fade Away

Enc: Strawberry Fields Forever > Comes A Time > The Golden Road (to Unlimited Devotion)

Saturday In The Park

Well as New York prepares for it's first snow storm since December (apparently now it's back to being a blizzard) I'm gearing up for what is hopefully going to be a nice little Saturday that I have planned. First up at 2 PM I'll be watching the #8 George Washington Colonials take on the St. Joe's Hawks on ESPN2. I seriously still have a hard time believing that we're in the Top Ten at times. We're finally getting some of the press and respect that this team was lacking all season - hopefully we live up to the hype. We haven't won at Alumni Fieldhouse since 1998, but did beat St. Joe's by 12 earlier this season.

Then later on tonight hitting P&F at the Beacon. Here's the setlist from last night....

Set 1:
New York New York (Barraco singing, RA tune)>
Jam>
Playin' In The Band> Jam>
Cold Roses (RA tune, Joan singing)
West LA Fadeaway (Joan)
No More Do I (Phil & Joan)> Jam>
Love The One You're With (Joan)
Lovelight (Joan)

Set 2:
After Midnight (Joan)> Jam>
Magnolia Mountain (Joan)>
Birdsong>
Unbroken Chain
The Rescue Blues (RA tune, Joan)>
Good Lovin' (Joan)
Help On The Way>
Slipknot>
Franklin's Tower

Food Drive rap
Donor rap
Intros

Encore:
Casey Jones

I'm certainly not as excited as yesterday now that the possibility of Ryan Adams joining them is out, but still should be a good time and maybe Phil has got something special up his sleeve for tonight. Find it weird that he's doing this tour without a big time lead singer. Sure Joan was great singing back-up with The Dead a few years back, but not sure if she can carry the show. I'll give you my review tomorrow.

Bonnaroo Additions

Well it doesn't come as that much of a surprise, but Oysterhead has been added to the Bonnaroo line-up. Superfly is basically responsible for getting this super-group together in the first place during JazzFest '00. This will be the first time the group has played together since '01, but there had been hints about them getting back together for some time now. Hopefully this won't be a one off and they'll do a national tour.


Also Umphrey's McGee and the Disco Biscuits will be playing a special joint late-night show, offering interlocking sets - should be quite the throwdown.

Unfortunately it looks like the most buzzed about jamband around, Tea Leaf Green, won't be making a return appearance to Manchester this year. TLG offers this explanation from their message board....

In the spirit of keeping you all informed so you can plan accordingly, we must announce that Tea Leaf Green will not be performing at Bonnaroo this year. Rest assured that we made every effort to secure an invitation to return to the scene of last summer's spectacular set. Understand that our good friends at Superfly have a policy to try and not have back-to-back performances by the same band two years in a row. Applying this policy, we have been deemed ineligible to play this year. We'd be lying if we said we weren't disappointed. But even though we do not agree with the decision, we must respect it. The fine folks at Superfly have been supportive of us and our music over the years and we look forward to working with them again and again in the years to come. If you are headed to Manchester this year, come a day early and catch our show at the Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga, less than an hour east on June 14. Chins up, Leafers! We'll rock the 'Roo in '07!!!

Here's some music to enjoy. Oysterheads debut, UM breakout set from the '04 'Roo and TDB from the inaugural edition of Bonnaroo....

Oysterhead - 2000-05-04 - Saenger Theater - New Orleans, LA (DSBD)

Umphrey's McGee - 2004-06-11 - The Other Tent - Bonnaroo Music Festival - Manchester, TN

Disco Biscuits - 2002-06-22 - Bonnaroo Music Festival - Manchester, TN

Enjoy!!

Cold Rain & Snow

I'm going to be catching Phil & Friends tomorrow night at the Beacon and I'm quite excited about it - definitely need my Dead fix. Haven't seen any Dead related bands in quite awhile and haven't seen a Phil & Friends show since '01. I got a bit tired of their endless noodling jams that didn't seem to go anywhere, but I'm ready for tomorrow night. Phil revealed his band for the New York run today (from Relix)....

Hours before he is set to begin his New York residency at Manhattan's Beacon Theater, Phil Lesh has revealed his band's lineup. The bassist publicly announced on Sirius Radio that singer Joan Osborne, keyboardist Rob Barraco, pedal steel guitarist Barry Sless, guitarist/fiddler Larry Campbell and drummer Jeff Sipe will join him at both the Beacon Theater this weekend and at the Hammerstein Ballroom next week. Since reviving his Friends band in late 2004, Lesh has rotated players each tour, shuffling over a dozen musicians in-and-out of his lineup in the past two years. With the exception of Sipe, tonight's lineup will mirror the band Lesh used for his San Francisco New Year's Run. Sometime "Friend" Ryan Adams, who first performed with Lesh at the 2005 Jammy Awards, also made a surprise appearance with the bassist on New Year's Eve, as many fans hope he will tonight.

Hoping for Ryan tomorrow night, but would by happy with Chris Robinson as well. Or maybe Phil will deal us a wild card - Trey does live in NYC now.

Oh also there is supposed to be a blizzard that is going to hit NYC tomorrow - though I've heard conflicting reports.

Here's a few shows with some different line-ups.....

Phil Lesh and Friends w. Ryan Adams - 2005/12/31 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium - San Francisco, CA

Phil Lesh and Friends w. Chris Robinson - Winter Tour 2005 - Soundboard Sampler

Phil Lesh and Friends w. Al Schnier - 2005-05-13 - Warfield Theater - San Francisco, CA

Phil Lesh and Friends w. Warren Haynes - 2003-09-25 - Warfield Theater - San Francisco, CA

I Want My MTV!

You have to love this brilliant article from MTV.com about Sly Stones appearance at the Grammys last night. Who Exactly Was That Weird Guy With The Mohawk At The Grammys? I think my favorite line might have to be this one....

A young person today might know his songs only from oldies radio or the long-running Toyota commercial that used his 1969 anti-racist hit "Everyday People"

And this one is a close second, just for the inclusion of the last name in the sentence...

His band's contribution to funk music is every bit as enduring as James Brown's, and Parliament-Funkadelic, Rick James, Prince, D'Angelo and Jermaine Dupri.

Despite how pandering the first few paragraphs are the article does do a good job in giving in giving a quick course in Sly 101.

Go Back Into Hiding

I think Ace Cowboy and I are mentally linked today. I was going to post my thoughts on Sly Stone at the Grammys last night, but Ace literally said just about everything I was planning on down to the title of his post and his description of Sly - 'Oh My' - I used that last night when im'ing with someone to discuss how I felt about it. So read his post here, and if you didn't get to see what he looked like see below.....


I think the best part of the whole thing was when Sly walked off the stage after performing for about two minutes. Seemed like everyone was expecting to come back on, including the people in the control room who kept going to a wide shot of the stage. My other thought is that they actually had rehearsals for this with Sly - if I was producing the Grammys I think I would had told him to go back to whatever hole his was hiding in because this is no way for people to see him again. It was just plain sad. He makes Brian Wilson look like a perfectly functioning member of society.

A Whole Bunch Of Nothing

Not really feeling to inspired today to write about any in particular. I did see Nada Surf last night at the Merc - it was a warm-up show for their tour that starts tonight in Baltimore. This was the first time I've seen them after being obsessed with Let Go for about the last year or so - I seriously recommend picking this album up. Thought it was a really solid show and the band was very loose as well, seemed like were playing to a room full of their friends. I'm sort of considering going to see them again when they come back to town to play Webster Hall in March just to see them play a more polished show.

Since I'm going to be starting a new job in about a month and going to be traveling a good amount as a part of it I'm making it my mission to see a lot of music before the baseball season starts in April. Here's some of the shows I'm strongly considering hitting....

Umphrey's McGee - Nokia Theater - 2/17
The Strokes - Hammerstien Ballroom (one of the three nights)
Animal Collective - Webster Hall - 3/23
Stellastarr* - Bowery Ballroom - 3/27
The Magic Numbers - Webster Hall - 3/28

Here's what I have tickets for already....

Phil & Friends - Beacon Theater - 2/11
Tea Leaf Green - Knitting Factory - 3/10
Jenny Lewis - Irving Plaza - 3/18

Anyway sorry for the boring post.

Phova

Two Phish posts in two days - guess I'm feeling nostaglic again. Got this video sent to me today thought I'd share....

Phish w. Jay-Z - Keyspan Park - Brooklyn, NY - 2004-06-18

I Love Tuesdays

Here are the purchases for the week....

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Minus 5 - Minus 5
Jack Johnson & Friends - Curious George: Sing-A-Longs And Lullabies For The Film
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - Living Dream: The Best Of....

Go Me!

Going to post something non-music related that I'm excited about that relates to me. Today got offered the opportunity to work on a show for the YES Network called Ultimate Road Trip - which I'm extremely psyched about. So essentially I'll be combining two of my passions into one job - television production and the Yankees.


So if you're at the Stadium this year or happen to catch a game on the road and see a camera crew odds are I'll be one of the people with the crew so come over and say hi.

Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging.....

Phish Parking Lot Set

Every now and then I'll stumble across what I think is one of those rarities that is a must download. Last night as I was checking out bt.etree came across this one....

Phish
November 19, 1994
Indiana University Auditorium - Bloomington, IN
Post Show - Parking Lot Set

This was a post show impromptu bluegrass jam. Line-up consists of Mike (banjo and electric bass), Page (upright bass), Trey (fiddle and guitar), Fish (mandolin), Rev. Jeff Mosier (banjo), Eric Merrill (fiddle and guitar), and Jeremy (banjo and jaw harp).

Here's the setlist from the HPB....

Cripple Creek, Tennessee Waltz, The Old Home Place, Dooley, Mountain Dew, Pig in a Pen, Sweet Baby's Arms, Long Journey Home, Butter Them Biscuits, I'm Blue I'm Lonesome, Midnight Moonlight, Will The Circle Be Unbroken

It sounds great - there is some audience and band banter between songs as they try to figure out what they are going to play next. Also Trey plays the fiddle, which according to the show, he had just picked up three days earlier. Rev. Jeff Mosier and Cactus basically share the vocal duties, with Mosier singing most of the tunes.

Check it out!!

R.I.P. Al Lewis

Al Lewis better known as Grandpa Munster died today at the age of 95. Read about his life here.


I actually voted for him when he ran for governer of New York back in '98 and damn proud of it!

M. Ward Tonight At Warsaw

I'm hitting the M. Ward show tonight at Warsaw at in Brooklyn. If you're not familiar with him I previously wrote about him for a Bonnaroo preview last year here. If you think it's something you might dig here's his set from last year's 'Roo....


M. Ward - That Tent,Bonnaroo Music Festival - Manchester,TN - 2005/06/11

I think there is still tickets available too - and the Warsaw is a cool place to boot. How many times can you see a show in a place that doubles as a Polish National Home and serves Pierogis and Kielbassa in the bar that's attached to the venue? If that doesn't entice you then I don't know what will.

My On The Go List

I remember reading around the time that Almost Famous came out that Cameron Crowe made a mixtape every month and he had boxes and boxes of them. I thought that was the coolest idea and vowed I'd do the same. Well needless to say that never happened. I've probably made about three mix cds in the last four or five years - I'm such a slacker.

Well that's all about to change - well sort of. I'm going to start a new feature here on HFTB called 'My On The Go List'. I've had an Ipod for about two years now and never really make playlists, though from time to time I'll make use of the 'On The Go' feature since I can do it right on my Ipod. So with that in mind here's the first edition of 'My On The Go List'.....

The Decemberists - The Sporting Life
Beach Boys - Cotton Feilds
The Band - Ain't No More Cane
Bright Eyes - Train Under Water
Calexico - Alone Again Or (live)
Iron & Wine - Jezebel
Jack Johnson - Do You Remember
Wilco - Handshake Drugs
Shout Out Louds - The Comeback
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals f. Norah Jones - Dear John
Ray LaMontagne - Empty (live from Bonnaroo)
New Pornographers - Sing Me Spanish Techno
Nada Surf - Blonde On Blonde
My Morning Jacket - The Way That He Sings
Little Feat - Sailin' Shoes
The Kinks - Picture Book
Kings Of Leon - Four Kicks
Jenny Lewis - Handle With Care
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Do Right Woman
Gary Higgins - Thicker Than A Smokey
Gary Jules - No Poetry
The Hold Steady - Certain Songs
Gov't Mule - Simple Man
The Jayhawks - Blue
M. Ward - Sweethearts On Parade
Dr. Dog - Today
Bob Dylan - Sara

Sort of a long one I know, guess I was a little excited about the idea. So I'll try and do this about once a month or so - we'll see what happens. Let me know what you think.

Linkage

While the Arctic Monkeys are the buzz band on the indie blogs, TLG certainly has to take the honor as far as jamband blogs go. Well I finally picked up a ticket to see them play the Knit on March 10th - really looking forward to seeing these boys live. Here's a review of their January 30th show in Grand Rapids, MI (via LMB).

Here's a review of the Dr. Dog show I was at last week (via Glide Magazine). Seriously if you have the opportunity go check these guys out. The show last week was packed and from reading the review there were about 40 waiting outside just to get in. They put on a great, fun live show and their music just makes me happy - what else can I say.

New York magazine waded through all of Ryan Adams solo material to come up with a list of selected cuts to bring you 'What's Good About Ryan'.

Billboard's got a piece on Bonnaroo which includes SuperFly president Jonathan Mayers thoughts on programming the festival. Read it here.

Finally the Washington Post has got this really interesting article on the reclusive Sly Stone and the rumor of a possible reunion with the Family Stone at the Grammys next week - might actually have to tune in now and see if it happens. This would be Sly's first major public appearance since January 12, 1993 when his group was inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. Read it here.

Buy your Sly Lives t-shirt here (from his little sister and Family Stone bandmember Vet Stone).

Kobe Who?

Remember when Kobe Bryant dropped 81 points about two weeks ago against the Toronto Raptors? Well that's old news now. New York City prep-star Epiphanny Prince of Murry Bergtraum High School scored 113 points in a game Wednesday in a 137-32 victory over Brandeis High School. The 113 points breaks a girls' national prep record previously held by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller who once scored 105 points back in 1982.

In other basketball news my GW Colonials are ranked #10 in the nation by both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. This is the first time GW has cracked the #10 in 50 years. The Colonials face off against conference rivals Xavier tonight at 7 PM on ESPN2 (read the game preview here). Tune in and see the team that CBS's Seth Davis this past Sunday rated as his dark horse tournament team - predicting them to go to at least the Sweet 16.

Aquarium Drunkard

Wanted to give a plug to a site I've been digging a lot recently Aquarium Drunkard - it's a great place to check out and download some quality music. Over the last week or so they've featured Dylan Covered, live tracks from Colin Meloy's Birchmere show, tracks from the lost Whiskeytown album (here & here), an entire show from My Morning Jacket and MP3s from the Drive-By Truckers and Mofro. So head on over there and check it out and see what you've been missing.

Lots Of Post Today - I Promise

Your friendly neighborhood blogger was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday and couldn't motivate to get another post up, but today I'm feeling a lot better and ready to get back to work.

First up on my to do list my thoughts on the Bonnaroo line-up. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it. While it may be a bit light on the typical jambands you've seen there in the past I think there is a good cross-section of a lot of genres and a lot of bands that will appeal to the jam audience - Bright Eyes, Dungen, Devendra Banhart, Seu Jorge, The Magic Numbers & dios (malos). I'm sure there already is plenty of discussions going on at message boards across the net about the line-up. The jam kids bashing Superfly for not having every jamband in existence on the roster and the indie-kids trying to figure out what the hell a Flecktone is.

The thing to remember is that this is the just the initial line-up and everyone will feel satisfied in the end. Has Superfly let us down yet?? My feeling is that they're trying to expand their audience a bit. They know people that have been there before will want to come back, now their trying to bring a different group of fans to show them what the 'Roo is all about.

Some initial thoughts for the second round of artist additions - SerialPod, The Secret Machines, The Shins and The Flaming Lips.

Back with more shortly.

Bonnaroo & Coachella

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of days. While I was losing money at Mohegan Sun on Monday and watching the Nets hand the Pistons only their sixth loss of the season last night, two major music festival announced their initial line-ups. First up was Monday's Coachella announcement. As you could expect it was a who' who of the indie rock scene with Depeche Mode and Tool headlinings the two nights. Not to be outdone though as had been the rumor for the past few weeks Radiohead and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will headline the fifth installment of Bonnaroo.

Here's the initial line-ups for both....

Coachella

Saturday, April 29
Depeche Mode, Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Ros, Common, Damian Marley, Atmosphere, Carl Cox, My Morning Jacket, Ladytron , Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Tosca, Cat Power, Animal Collective, HARD-fi, Derrick Carter, Devendra Banhart, She Wants Revenge, The Walkmen, The Juan Maclean, Audio Bullys, Lady Sovereign, Deerhoof, The Duke Spirit, Editors, stellastarr, Lyrics Born, Matt Costa, The New Amsterdams, The Zutons, Platinum Piped Pipers, White Rose Movement, Chris Liberator, Colette, Imogen Heap, Joey Beltram, Hybrid, Wolfmother, The Like, Living Things, Nine Black Alps, The Section Quartet, Infadels, Youth Group, Shy FX & T Power, Infusion.

Sunday, April 30
Tool, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, Paul Oakenfold, Scissor Sisters, Matisyahu, TV on the Radio, Sleater-Kinney, Mogwai, Coheed and Cambria, Gnarls Barkley, Coldcut, Phoenix, Digable Planets, Amadou & Mariam, Little Louie Vega, Mylo (DJ Set), Seu Jorge, Wolf Parade, The Go! Team, Kaskade, Metric, Art Brut, Dungen, The Dears, Jamie Lidell, The Magic Numbers, Los Amigos Invisibles, Jazzanova, Michael Mayer, Mates of State, Gilles Peterson, Gabriel & Dresden, The Subways, Minus the Bear, Be Your Own Pet, Giant Drag, Kristina Sky, The Octopus Project


Bonnaroo
Radiohead, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Phil Lesh & Friends, Beck, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Bonnie Raitt, Death Cab for Cutie, moe., Bright Eyes, The Neville Brothers, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Buddy Guy, Damian Marley, Ben Folds, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Dr. John, Matisyahu, G. Love & Special Sauce, My Morning Jacket, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Steel Pulse, Mike Gordon and Ramble Dove, Cat Power, Medeski Martin & Wood, Nickel Creek, Gomez, Atmosphere, Steve Earle, Blues Traveler, Amadou & Mariam, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Dresden Dolls, Son Volt, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Jerry Douglas, Soulive, Rusted Root, Devendra Banhart Band, Donavon Frankenreiter, Mike Doughty, Sasha, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, The Magic Numbers, Bill Frisell, Seu Jorge, Bettye LaVette, Dungen, Shooter Jennings, Rebirth Brass Band, Robinella, Andrew Bird, Steel Train, Jackie Greene, Devotchka, Wood Brothers, dios (malos), Toubab Krewe, The Motet, Marah, I-Nine, Balkan Beat Box, Cat Empire

Seems to be a good amount of crossover between to the fests. My thoughts on all of this and more later on today - so stayed tuned for that.

Music News Wrap Up And Other Randomness

Check out LVM for a round-up of his stories of the week - here.

Jenny Lewis tickets went on sale today for a bunch of her spring tour dates. I'll definitely be at the Irving Plaza show on 3/18 - can't wait for that.

Starting tonight at 7:30 NPR will be streaming Colin Meloy's (of The Decemberists) show from The Birchmere with Laura Veirs - read about it here. They will be offering MP3 downloads of the show as well.

Over at My Old Kentucky Blog you can download the title track from Eef Barzelay's (of Clem Snide) forthcoming solo acoustic disc Bitter Honey. The albums hits streets on 2/21 - looking forward to hearing it - I really dig Clem Snide. Actually got a chance to see Eef do a solo set a few years back opening for Dan Bern and it was great.

Van Morrison has got a country album coming out on March 7th titled Pay The Devil - the album will contain 12 classic country tunes and three originals. Van the Man will do a really short U.S. tour - just five dates - in support of it, before heading back to Europe to finish out his tour there. Read about it here.

Get To Know Your Blogger

Not sure if Justin from LMB posted this on his site, but Muzzle Of Bees (love the name) recently profiled him for their ongoing series Get To Know Your Blogger. Check it out here. Plus he gives HFTB a shout out!!! Thanks for the love!! Now if he would only give me a permalink on his blog ;)

Keep up the great work. And I'm voting for Ace Cowboy to be the next one featured in their series.

Granddady To Call It Quits

Pitchfork is reporting that indie-pop band Granddady will be calling it quites after the release of their next full length album Just Like The Fambly Cat - which hits streets on May 7th. I fell in love with these guys after I heard their 2003 album Sumday - which is pure California-indie-pop bliss with some quirky Jim O'Rourke-style production thrown in. I'll be sad to see these guys go, but seems like the decision has been in the works for some time now. Read the full article here (scroll down a bit for it).

Their relatively new EP Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla is in stores now.

Dr. Dog @ Mercury Lounge Tonight

If you're in the tri-state area and have nothing to do tonight I highly recommend heading over to the Mercury Lounge tonight to see Dr. Dog. Caught these guys there back in June and was totally blown away by them - great live show and lots of fun.



Check out their MySpace page for some tunes here. The Dog hits the stage at 11:30 with Sam Champion (who I've heard good things about) and The Teeth. Listen to Sam Champion here and The Teeth here. See you there!

Don't Piss Off Lou Reed

Lou Reed is none to happy with a new biopic called 'Factory Girl' - which is the story of the rise and fall of Andy Warhol cohort Edie Sedgwick. Here's what Sweet Lou had to say about it....

"I read that script," Reed said. "It's one of the most disgusting, foul things I've seen -- by any illiterate retard -- in a long time. There's no limit to how low some people will go to write something to make money."

Harsh words. Wonder what he thought of Velvet Goldmine?

Weezer is covering some Velvets tunes for the soundtrack including a version of Heroin. Read the full article about this here (via Spin).

Grateful Dead Reissues & SerialPod

While reading this article from Billboard about the Grateful Dead 70s albums being reissued I stumbled across this line towards the end of it....

it's possible more will be heard from SerialPod, the group drummer Bill Kreutzmann formed with former Phish members Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon. The trio played a few late 2005 shows and Kreutzmann's Web site says only to stay tuned for more info.

Interesting, maybe we'll be seeing their name pop up as the reveal the initial Bonnaroo line-up next Wednesday. Wonder if Justin over at Rock & Reel has any info on his dad playing some more dates with Trey and Cactus.

I Love Jenny Lewis

Since I picked up the new Jenny Lewis cd Rabbit Fur Coat yesterday I must have listened to it about five times already. I'm declaring this the album of '06 so far - not such a bold statement for a year that is not even a month old. But seriously drop what you're doing head to your local music peddler and pick this one up. Plus she's hot to boot. See below....



The album also features a version The Traveling Wilburys 'Handle With Care' with Jenny, Ben Gibbard, Conor Oberst & M. Ward on vocals - which is killer.

This got me to thinking about cover songs in general that appear on albums - I'll get to that in another post though with a list of some more cool ones.

Next Big Blog Band

As a blogger you tend to notice when a band is mentioned a lot on the numerous music blogs out there - a perfect example would be the Arctic Monkeys. I feel like over the last few months I've seen their name thrown out there a ton (a search of Brooklyn Vegan yielded 12 posts with their name in the title since October) . I guess a lot had to do with a number of New York gigs they had played recently, but still that's a lot posts about a band that doesn't even have a full length album out yet. Well Coolfer today ran an interesting post on how big these guys are over in their native England. They sold 120,000 copies of their album in one day and are on pace to sell over 350,000 copies in one week - which would be a UK record. Read the article here.

These guys are being hyped as the new Oasis - and even being compared to The Beatles. You can listen to a few of their tunes on their MySpace page here. Their full length debut Whatever People Say I Am Thats What I Am Not hits state side on February 21st. NME readers voted the album as the 5th best British album of all time - The Beatles Revolver finished 9th. I guess pick it up and decide for yourself.

They'll be back in the states for a short tour in March.

Linkage

If you dig Ryan Adams check out Aquarium Drunkard for some video downloads of his appearance on Austin City Limits. I guess this episode aired already in some parts of the country, but here in New York it's airs on 1/26 at 12:30 AM on PBS - got the DVR set already.

Upcoming episodes of ACL include....

1/28 - Widespread Panic
2/11 - Death Cab For Cutie/My Morning Jacket
2/18 - John Fogerty
3/4 - Polyphonic Spree/Ozomatli
3/11 - Wilco/Bright Eyes
3/25 - Damien Rice/Patty Griffen
4/1 - The Flaming Lips/The Shins
4/8 - Trey Anastasio
4/15 - Jack Johnson/Rilo Kiley
4/22 - Allison Krauss/Kathleen Edwards
5/6 - Ben Folds/Ray LaMontagne
5/13 - The Killers/Spoon

As always check your local listings.

Over at Stereogum they've got the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone with Kayne West posing as Jesus - this is bound to cause an uproar when it hits newstands in the coming days.

Finally over at PopMatters - Drew from Broken Social Scene talks about the Pitchfork effect and how silly it is.

I Love Tuesdays

Here are the purchases for the week, a couple of much buzzed about albums from last year and a really buzzed about one that came out today.....

Feist - Let It Die
Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat

He's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

Just wanted to give a big shout out to the return of Best Show Ever. Chilly hadn't updated in almost two months (he was taking a bit of a break), but he's finally back so show him some love by heading over there. Welcome back!

The Affair

For those of you in the NYC area looking to extend your weekend come on out an check out a great band playing at the Mercury Lounge tonight - The Affair. The play what best can be described as something sounding like Blondie meets Ronnie Spector - interesting combo right?

Check out some tunes from The Affair's upcoming EP Falling Out Of Love Songs on their MySpace page here. You're gonna love it!

They'll be hitting the stage around 8 PM for about a 45 minute set, so get there early. And for all you Radiohead fans out there the headliner is a band called The Section Quartet - who are doing a string band tribute to them playing selections from OK Computer and more.

So beat your hipster music friend to the punch on these guys comes and come on out before they hit it big.

Telluride Bluegrass Fest

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. I'm a big fan of traditional music - whether it be folk, bluegrass, Americana, etc. The Telluride Fest represents it all and more. This year's line-up looks be pretty damn awesome to boot. Check it out....

* Barenaked Ladies * Sam Bush Band * Bonnie Raitt * John Prine * Tim O'Brien Band * Del McCoury Band * Bela Fleck & the Flecktones * Nickel Creek * Yonder Mountain String Band * Peter Rowan * Neko Case * Missy Higgins * Shawn Camp * John Cowan * Jerry Douglas Band * Edgar Meyer* Drive-By Truckers* Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers * The Badly Ben*

Definitely a great mix of both the traditional with the not quite so traditional.

Early bird tickets are available till January 27th.


Here's a set from Gillian Welch from last year's fest (if you don't know her or haven't heard her live I seriously suggest grabbing this - she's amazing)....

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - 2005-06-18 - 32nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival -Town Park, Telluride, CO

Born Again In The U.S.A.

Back in November I got to catch Jeff Tweedy play a solo show at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. If it wasn't awesome enough to see him just up on stage with just a guitar, during the encore both Jim O'Rourke and Wilco drummer Glen Kotche (who opened the show) joined him on stage to run through a few new Loose Fur tunes.



Well Billboard is reporting on the details of the new album. Read it here. Also over at the Glide Magazine blog Each Note Secure they've got up some MP3s of a couple of the songs appearing on the new album. Check that out here.

That may be a record number of hyperlinks for a post this short.

Hullabalooza

Word on the street is that Billy Corgan will be getting the Smashing Pumpkins back together to headline the '06 version of the hipster music fest Coachella before heading out on the road for a full tour.

Read the NME article about it here.




Homer: You know, my kids think you're the greatest. And thanks to your gloomy music, they've finally stopped dreaming of a future I can't possibly provide.

Corgan: Well, we try to make a difference.

If you're feeling the jones for some gloomy music....

The Smashing Pumpkins - 1995-10-23 - Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL

Movie News

Today's New York Post has an running article about the movie Chapter 27 which is currently shooting some scenes here in NYC - and has Yoko Ono up in arms. The movie is about Mark David Chapman and the days leading up his assassination of John Lennon. Read it here.

Chapter 27 refers to what Chapman called 'the missing chapter' of Catcher In The Rye - which he wanted to write in Lennon's blood. Slightly eerie.

The movie stars Jared Leto (a.k.a. Jordan Catalano) as Chapman and everyone's favorite party girl Lindsey Lohan a fictional character that befriends Chapman in the days leading up to the murder.

R.I.P. Wilson Pickett

Soul legend Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack yesterday at age 64. Here's the Washington Post's well written obit - which includes a great slide show set to some to his music.


Download this vintage Pickett show....

Wilson Pickett & The Midnight Movers - 1969-02-10 Konserthuset, Stockholm 2nd Show

GnFnR

Every six to eight months or so there is a new story about how GnR's long awaited album The Chinese Democracy will be released in the coming months. Well here's the latest on the much delayed and costly album (rumored to be at around $13 million in production costs) from Rolling Stone.

Would I be wrong to compare this to the Beach Boys lost classic 'Smile' in some ways? Check out what Axl is looking like these days (slightly scary he's still rockin' those cornrows).....


Here's some vintage GnR....

Guns N' Rose - 1987-10-30 CBGB's - New York, NY

Guns N' Roses - 1991-08-19 - Copenhagen Forum - Copenhagen, Denmark

Guns N' Roses - 1992-05-28 - Stuttgart, Cannstatter Wasn

Linkage

As has become commonplace here I'll be once again be stealing something that Ace Cowboy posted over at Slack LaLane - this one I'm quite excited about because it's so damn cool. The Grateful Dead appeared on Playboy After Dark in 1969, which is something that I had always read about but never seen. Well thanks to the magic of the internets (and Ace) I finally got to see it today and it's quite cool. The rumor had always been that they wanted to dose Hugh Hefner - they tried to dose everyone back then. Not sure how many people they got to that night, but it does look like Mickey is tripping his face off.

Anyway without further ado....

Grateful Dead on Playboy After Dark (1969) (stream)

Download the whole thing here.

Enjoy!!!!

Also if you have a copy of the book 'Living With The Dead' you can read all about that night - it's on pages 158-161.

100th Post!!!!

Well HFTB has reached it's first milestone - this is my 100th post. Go me! I Rule!!

Ok enough of that, on to some business. In the file under 'I Can't Wait To See This' category former Police drummer Stuart Copeland is set to make it directorial debut at Sundance with the premier of "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside And Out". The film was culled from Super 8 footage that Stewart himself shot from the bands early days through the mid- '80s. Apparently Les Claypool had a hand in getting it submitted to Sundance as well. Read about it here.

Also here's a synopsis of the movie from the Sundance website....

Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out is not another documentary about a band. Rather, it is a first-person account of what it feels like to rise from obscurity to international superstardom, a priceless glimpse at the making of legends from the inside. Comprised completely of Super-8 footage from Stewart Copeland, the drummer of the band turned filmmaker, the film shows the Police from a perspective never thought possible. The film begins with an overview of the band's early, less glamorous days in London; it then follows them on a small tour to the U.S., where Copeland begins shooting and their music starts to catch on. By the time they return home, "Can't Stand Losing You" has become a hit, and their lives change forever. From joking around backstage and in hotels, to playing concerts and doing recording sessions–including when Sting first plays the baseline for "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"–the film captures divine moments of creation that will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Copeland should be commended not only for having the foresight to film everything but also for his terrific job at assembling it into a one-of-a-kind documentary. His candid narration guides the audience as it takes the ultimate ride from the bottom all the way to the top.

Here's some live stuff as well....

The Police - 1979-04-09 - Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia, PA

The Police - 1979-10-26 - Gusman Auditorium, Miami, FL

The Police - 1983-10-06 - Cologne (GER), Sporthalle

I Love Tuesdays

January is slightly a slow month for new releases, but did managed to find two albums worth grabbing - both that came out back in November....

Seu Jorge - The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
Brokeback Mountain Soundtrack


The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is previewing some of the this year's 'most anticipated' releases. Read it here.

Linkage

The Washington Post may be a little late on writing an article on the guy Johnny Cash described upon first meeting as 'a hobo dressed in clothes that would make a wino proud' in uber-producer Rick Rubin, but it's definitely an interesting read. Check it out here.

It's amazing that this guy can go from producing System of a Down to Neil Diamond to the Dixie Chicks and now Justin Timberlake.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

Live Music Blog has the initial line-up for the 2006 edition of the Wakarusa Festival. Check it out here. Wakarusa is happening the weekend before Bonnaroo so this might be an early indication of who will be there as well - though thier line-up leans more torwards the jambands. Besides the usual suspects my bet is on Andrew Bird who will be this year's sensitive singer-songwriter that will blow everyone away like Ray LaMontagne last year and Damien Rice did the year before.

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

Matisyahu 2005-06-17 - Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival - Campground Stage - Lawrence, KS

Wilco 2005-06-18 - Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival - Sun-Down Stage - Lawrence, KS

Tea Leaf Green 2005-06-18 - Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival - Revival Tent - Lawerence, KS

Rose Hill Drive 2005-06-18 - Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival - Sun Down Stage - Lawerence, KS

Hot Buttered Rum String Band 2005-06-19 - Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival - Revival Tent - Lawerence, KS

The Hackensaw Boys 2005-06-19 - Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival - Kids Tent Stage - Lawrence, KS

Indie Rock Fest Doc

A documentary which chronicles the history of the hipster music fest Coachella is set to premier in theaters this month. Some of the acts appearing in the film are Radiohead, the Pixies, Flaming Lips, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire and scores of hipsters who's only time in the sun the whole summer consisted of being at this festival - so bring your sunglasses to shade your eyes from their pasty whiteness.

Check out this list to find a theater near you.

Million Dollar Idea

The Pet Rock, Whacky Wall Walkers and now comes this story from the Washington Post about a guy who created the Million Dollar Home Page. Basically the idea was to create a web page with a million blank pixels and then sell the pixels for a dollar a piece. In a mere five months this guy had made a million dollars - not to shabby. Read the full article here.

Stub Hub

Wondering what to do with your concert tickets after the show? Well apparently someone else was wondering the same thing and came up with this interesting idea to preserve your stubs....

Basically it's a clear lucite frame you insert your ticket into that has magnets on the back. Not a bad idea to keep your stubs from getting mangled.

Check out their site Ticket Stick-It.

Self-Promotion

Here's my latest review for Glide Magazine....

The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike

Buy it here.

'Roo Predictions

So before the initial artist announcement hits I figured I'd take the time to play the role of Jimmy The Greek (without the racists remarks) and throw out some odds on who will be performing for the '06 incarnation of Bonnaroo.

We'll start off easy with some of the obvious jamband-y acts...

Widespread Panic
My Morning Jacket
Allman Brothers Band
Trey Anastasio
Umphrey's McGee
moe.
Galactic
Gov't Mule
String Cheese Incident
Jack Johnson

All these bands have been there before and no reason to think they won't be there again this year - they have all become staples of the festival.

Odds: Even

Phil & Friends
Ratdog

Not really a surprise - some members of the Dead will be playing this year.

Tea Leaf Green

Most buzzed about band on the jamband circuit right now - I'd say these guys are all but a lock.

Matisyahu

He's career is hotter then a Hannukah menorah right now with the help of his appearance from last year.

Disco Biscuits

Now that they've finally found a new drummer I'd expect them to make their return to the 'Roo for a raging late night set.

Odds: 2:1

The Secret Machines
The Shins
Drive-By Truckers
Flaming Lips

These guys all have albums coming out later in the year and Flaming Lips, TSM and DBT have been to Manchester before - so I'd pencil them in. The Shins seem like a perfect fit for the fest as well - plus thanks to the Garden State soundtrack their a familiar name to most.

Odds: 3:1

Broken Social Scene
Bright Eyes
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Magic Numbers
Arcade Fire
Stellastarr*
The Hold Steady
Spoon

Any of these indie-rock acts would be great. I think BSS would blow people away with their live show. Arcade Fire & Magic Numbers have already had a taste of things with their Vegoose appearance. Due to their schedule Brights Eyes couldn't play last year - so maybe Connor can squeeze in an appearance this year.

Odds: 5:1

Animal Collective
Sufjan Stevens
Devendra Banhart

These acts are part of the new psych-folk movement and should fit right into the friendly hippie vibe.

Odds: 8:1

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Neil Young
The Who

There will be a classic rock act there. Early word on the street is it's going to be Tom Petty, but The Who have a summer tour planned and Neil Young rocked Manchester before.

Odds: 10:1

Ryan Adams

Ryan has endeared himself to the jamband fan by playing the Jammys and touring with P&F, but will he have a meltdown and just be a no show? Or get 'food poisoning' a couple days prior to the fest??

Odd: 25:1 (he's on the bill), 100:1 (he actually shows up)

George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars

Can't you imagine 70,000 people chanting 'We Want The Funk, Give Up That Funk'. How awesome would that be??

Odds: 30:1

Oysterhead

The guys from SuperFly helped form this super group, so no reason to believe they couldn't get them back together again.

Odds: 50:1

The Strokes

Love to see these guys on the bill. They'll probably be on tour promoting their album, no reason they can't schedule a stop in Tennessee.

Odds: 100:1

SerialPod

Trey, Mike & Billy reunited for another one off - think it would one of the more buzzed about performances if it happens.

500:1

Arrested Development

Just to come up on stage to open up the festival to play 'Tennessee' - who wouldn't love to see that??

Odds: 1,000:1

Sly Stone

Sly's my wildcard for the Artist In Residency spot. If anyone can lure him out of hiding my bet is on the guys from SuperFly.

Odd: 1,000,000:1

The big rumor is Radiohead is set to headline so I avoided giving odds on that. I'm sure I missed out on a ton of bands so feel free to post your own odds in the comment section. Looking forward to seeing what they actually announce in the coming weeks.

I Love Tuesdays...Hipster Buzz Band Edition

Here's the lone purchase for the week.....

We Are Sceintists - With Love And Squalor

These guys are the latest in the line of indie-rock buzz bands that the cool NYC kids are listening to. Looking forward to giving it a spin and seeing what all the hype is about.

Alone, Jealous & Stoned

No the title of the post is not how I spent my Saturday night it's the first single off the new Secret Machines album Ten Silver Drops. The album is tentatively set to hit the streets in mid- to late March. You can download the the song here (via Live Music Blog). First impression - it's everything that you've come to love from them.

The New York Sound That's Hitting The Tri-State Area

New York magazine's got a interesting and rather lengthy article about The Strokes. The article covers a lot of ground and it's definitely worth checking out. Read it in it's entirity here.

No update on the rumored January 17th show at Hammerstein yet - I'll keep my fingers crossed though.

Buy their new album here.

Here's a show off their recent European tour, where they debuted a bunch of their new material.....

The Strokes - 2005-12-05 - Maria Am Ufer, Berlin, GER

Worst Game Ever

The title of the post explains everything. Probably the worst Giants game I've ever been to - I guess now I can just focus my attention on GW Basketball till the baseball season starts in a few months. The Colonials managed to pull out a squeaker in overtime last night versus Marshall. Definitely too close for comfort.

Go Colonials!!!

Go Big Blue!

I'm up at 8 am on a Sunday and it's not because I'm still awake from last night. I'm off to the Giants playoff game and should have the my first beer in less then two hours which is either a good or a bad thing - guess it depends on how you want to look at it.

Think it might be all up to the guy on the right here if the Giants are going to win. The need to score early and get the ball into Tiki's hands as often as possible. Oh and they are also going to need to stop Steve Smith. Anyway got to get ready to head out should be a great game.

The Post Show

Wanted to give a quick plug to a great site - The Post Show. If you guys haven't check this out yet it's friggin' hilarious and has the HFTB seal of approval. It's is the brainchild of my friend over at My Blog Is Poop and his roommate, so if you enjoy his site your sure to fall out of your chair laughing from this sketch comedy show. Also if you're in New York this weekend come out to the Season 1 DVD release party happening tomorrow night at Croxley Ales. See you there!!!

Linkage

Been have some major computer issues over here at the home office of HFTB so that's why there has been a lack of posts over the last few days. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out what the hell is wrong with my computer soon - it's frustrating the hell out of me.

So while I've been dealing with that their have been some posts I figured I'd link to in the meantime...

Live Music Blog's on Phish's Live Download Series & Late Night Langerado Shows

Brooklyn Vegan's got info on a pontential 'surprise' Strokes show happening at the Hammerstein on January 17th and Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers Tour Dates

Jambands.com is reporting on this interesting show going on in San Fran this weekend....

The Fillmore Acid Test at 40
As previously reported, this weekend the Fillmore in San Francisco will host an event to mark the birthday of celebrated concert promoter Bill Graham. Graham, who died in a helicopter crash on October 25, 1991, would have turned 75 years old this year. On Saturday, Mickey Hart, the Neville Brothers and Jackson Browne are all confirmed to participate at a show which will benefit the Bill Graham Foundation. However, a second performance has been added which, in addition, will mark the 40th Anniversary of the Merry Pranksters’ Fillmore Acid Test. Slated to appear at the Sunday night show will be Tea Leaf Green, Samantha Stollenwerck and Eric McFadden along with members of ALO, Hot Buttered Rum and The Ritual. One can anticipate that some Pranksters will be on hand as well.

Sounds great - if I lived in the Bay area I'd most definitely be hitting that up.

Slack LaLane might have topped all those with the potential Ashlee Simpson sextape (nice work Ace!)

And finally some music to get the weekend started right. As I had the 'Ol IPod on shuffle earlier today Phish's version of 'Sea & Sand' from their recentely released '95 NYE show came on - which Page plays solo acoustic and it's utterly amazing. Well that got me to thinking about The Who when I stubbled across this show on Dimedozen....

The Who - 1969-10-19 - Electric Factory - Philadelphia, PA - Early Show

I've seen them twice - once on the Quadrophenia tour and then doing more of a greatest hits type show, though they dug pretty deep into their catalog - and they were amazing.

Enjoy!

Fallout From The Philzone

I've never really been much of a fan of band message boards (i.e. Phantasy Tour) I look at them from time to time and I'll post something maybe once in a blue moon. For the most part the people posting on them genuinely care about the band and their music, but there are always the people on there that just like to cause trouble and controversies for pretty much no real reason other to just entertain themselves. Well things seemed to have gotten pretty out of hand over on the Philzone.com boards and Phil Lesh himself intervened and asked for the boards to be taken down after one of his employees received a 'threatening email' from a frequent poster. Phil posted about this decision here....

Phil's Response

He also takes the time to talk about some topics that were floating around the boards - Jimmy Herring, the future of the The Dead, Archive.org and Ryan Adams.

Buy the t-shirt here.

I Love Tuesdays Part Deux

So while I was in Tower today multi-tasking - I was both waiting on line to get Giants playoff tickets and cd shopping - I had to buy this as well since I've heard such amazing things about it....

Thelonious Monk Quartet w. John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall

Jazz is really a genre I don't know too much about (especially old school stuff), but figured this would be a good starting point for both these guys. Feel free to throw out some recommendations in the comments section. My roommate owns a bunch of Miles Davis so I'm set with that, but anything else fire away....

I Love Tuesdays

Well here's the first (and certainly far from the last) purchase of the New Year.....

The Strokes - First Impressions Of Earth

NYE Downloads

Check out Live Music Blog for all your NYE downloads....

NYE Downloads & Torrents

There's a bunch up already and I'm sure the list will continue to grow over the next few days.

Enjoy!

NYE MSG

Brooklyn Vegan's got some links to some great picture (like the one below) from the Black Crowes/Trey/NMAS NYE show.

Thought the show was pretty solid. I skipped out on NMAS, but walked in as Trey was ripping through 'Push On Til The Day'. Sticking to exclusively almost all older material - just one song off the new album - Trey came to rock his 90 minute set. As he's said in the past he loves playing the Garden and you could tell he was in high spirits. It was amazing to see how much of a BCs crowd it was - while there were a good amount of people up and dancing for Trey the place went nuts when the Crowes hit the stage. The Crowes set was marred by a bad mix at the get go. Chris's vocals were muddy, the back-up singers to loud and you could really only hear Rich's guitar - the sound did get better as the set progressed, they seemed to finally get it right a few songs in. I'm by no means an expect on the Black Crowes - I've only seen them twice, both times this year. I did enjoy their set though, they're just a great rock n' roll. Go see them if you haven't - they're sure to be on the road more in '06. All in all left satisfied being at my home away from home for NYE - I've spent 6 of the last 10 at MSG.

Here's the setlists....

Trey Anastasio
Set I: Push on 'til the Day, Sand, Tuesday, Plasma, Mr. Completely, Night Speaks to a Woman, Last Tube, Money Love and Change, Come As Melody, First Tube

The Black Crowes

Set I: No Speak No Slave, Sting Me, Lickin', Think 'n' Thin, Jealous Again, Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye, Soul Singing, Space Captain, NYE countdown, Auld Lang Syne*, Will the Circle Be Unbroken*#^, Thorn In My Pride

Set II: Wiser Time, My Morning Song, Ten Years Gone, Wanton Song, Seeing Things**, Hard To Handle**#, Twice As Hard, Remedy
Enc: Street Fighting Man

Notes: * First time played. # With Trey Anastasio on guitar. ^ With Luther and Cody Dickenson. ** With the Left Coast Horns.

I'll get some links to downloads up later.

Happy New Year

Saw this great picture over on Justin Kreutzmann's blog Rock & Reel and just had to put it up here. Check out Justin's blog some great stuff over there.


Happy '06!!

Happy Valentine's Day From The Drive-By Truckers

Well New Year's Eve is over and while you might be still shaking off that hang over next up on the schedule of major holidays you'll need to find a date for is Valentine's Day. So while you try and remember just exactly who you kissed at midnight last night and just who is that new number is your cell phone - enjoy this track from the new Drive-By Trucker's album 'A Blessing And A Curse' (due out in April) Feb. 14 via Stereogum.

ESPN & MMW

I know I'm a bit late on posting about this, but Medeski, Martin and Wood have recorded a version of the SportsCenter theme song that will be used on ESPN this month. You can download here via Ropeadope.




Here's a show from earlier this month for you to enjoy as well...

Medeski, Martin & Wood - 2005-12-2 - Blue Cats - Knoxville, TN

More Year End Stats

After posting about all the concerts that I attended it got me thinking about what else I did in the '05. So after scrounging through some more stubs this is what I found....

20 Yankees home games, including 1 playoff game
1 Yankees away game vs. Baltimore at Camden Yards
1 Mets game
1 Brooklyn Cyclones game
1 Washington Nationals game at RFK Stadium
1 Knicks game
3 New York Giants games
1 GW Colonials Men's Basketball game at the Smith Center
1 TV Taping - Last Call with Carson Daly - Kings of Leon were the musical guest, hence attending the taping

Roughly 120 CDs bought, burned or given to review - damn that's a lot of music. And finally I saw 25 movies in the theater.