Secret Machines In The Round

The Secret Machines will be hitting the road this fall and I seriously recommend that you go check them out - they put on a hell of a live show. For those of you in the NYC-area we a double dose of them at the beginning and end of the tour with a two, two night runs - one in October at Irving Plaza and the other in November at Warsaw. They will once again be doing each show in the round with the stage in the middle of the venue - even more of reason to go. Here are the dates....

Mon	October 2	New York	NY	Irving plaza
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: 16+
Tue	October 3	New York	NY	Irving plaza
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: 16+
Wed	October 4	Boston	MA	Avalon Ballroom
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Fri	October 6	S. Burlington	VT	Higher Ground
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Sat	October 7	Philadelphia	PA	Theatre of the Living Arts
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Sun	October 8	Pittsburgh	PA	Mr. Small's Theatre
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Mon	October 9	Chicago	IL	Park West
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Wed	October 11	Milwaukee	WI	The Rave
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Thu	October 12	Minneapolis	MN	First Avenue
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: 18+
Fri	October 13	Iowa City	IA	Univ. of Iowa Ballroom
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Sat	October 14	Boulder	CO	Fox Theatre
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Tue	October 17	Seattle	WA	Showbox
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Thu	October 19	Portland	OR	Crystal Ballroom
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Fri	October 20	San Francisco	CA	The Grand Ballroom
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Sat	October 21	San Diego	CA	Soma
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Mon	October 23	Los Angeles	CA	Avalon
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Tue	October 24	Los Angeles	CA	Avalon
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Fri	October 27	Dallas	TX	Lizard Lounge
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Sun	October 29	New Orleans	LA	Voodoo Music Festival
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Mon	October 30	Nashville	TN	City Hall
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: 18+
Tue	October 31	Atlanta	GA	Center Stage
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Wed	November 1	Charleston	SC	The Music Farm
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Fri	November 3	Brooklyn	NY	Warsaw
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages
Sat	November 4	Brooklyn	NY	Warsaw
	SHOW DETAILS: Click Here For Ticket Pre-Sale, Ages: all ages

Music Video Monday

Caught The New Pornographers last Thursday in at Summerstage so in honor of that, here they are with "Use It"....

WSP's New Guitarist

Widespread Panic didn't waste too much time in naming George McConnell's successor in the band. Longtime friend and on-stage collaborator Jimmy Herring will now step up and join the band with his first show being the tour opener at Radio City Music Hall in September - which I'll be at.

Here's the news blurb from Relix....

Jimmy Herring will join Widespread Panic this fall. The Georgia-based guitarist will assume lead guitar duties in Widespread Panic beginning with its Radio City Music Hall performance on September 14. Herring, who rose to promise playing in Aquarium Rescue Unit, also clocked in time with The Dead and the Allman Brothers Band after both group’s lost their lead guitarist. Herring first performed with Widespread Panic in 1991 at Athens’ Georgia Theatre and, as revealed in an upcoming Relix cover story, was asked to join the veteran ensemble after the untimely passing of its original guitarist, Michael Houser. Widespread Panic will perform at Columbia, MD’s Merriweather Post Pavilion on Friday.

Arthur Lee 1945-2006

Arthur Lee lead singer and founder of the 1960s L.A. psychedelic rock band Love died yesterday after battling with leukemia - he was 61. Read the full obit here and do yourself a favor go out and by "Forever Changes" it's a great album.

Elvis Costello Albums To Be Reissued Again

Is it me or has Elvis Costello earned the title of the artist who's albums have been reissued more then anyone else's?? It seems like every six months he's albums are repackaged with bonus tracks, alternate takes, B-sides, new artwork, new linear notes, etc. How many times do his fans need to buy his albums??? How many copies of My Aim Is True does one really need?????

Well it looks like they're going to have buy them yet again as Universal Music has acquired 11 albums from his early years to repackage with promise of them being the "ultimate reissues". Right or until they find some recording of Elvis eating a sandwich during the recording of "This Year's Model". Read about it here.

George McConnell Leave Panic

In the wake of Widespread Panic's NE tour announcement comes the news that guitarist George McConnell is leaving the band. Here's the official statment from WSP....

August 02, 06 -- George McConnell, lead guitarist with the rock band Widespread Panic, has moved on to further adventures.When co-founding band member “Mikey” Houser passed away four years ago, McConnell, along with saxophonist Randall Bramblett, joined forces with Widespread Panic, and the band played on. Longtime friend and producer John Keane has been playing both the pedal steel and electric guitar throughout this recent tour, along with guitarist Sam Holt, founder of the band Outformation- who has been sitting in from time to time. The remainder of Widespread Panic’s summer tour will proceed at full steam. “Bottom line is there’s still songs to be played, music to make, and that’s what’s going to happen,” singer/guitarist John Bell added. “We’ll miss George a lot. I’m very grateful to him for lending us his talent and friendship these past four years, and we wish him all the best.”

Slightly vague, but I'm sure more will surface in the days to come. Thoughts??

Zach Braff Wants To Get You Laid...Again

Zach Braff proved to us all with the "Garden State" soundtrack that he has pretty good taste in music - hey he got a lot more people listening to The Shins (that ain't a bad thing right). The disc was filled with a bunch of sensitive singer-songwriter and indie-pop stuff that chicks dug - a lot - and guys used it to their advantage. So with that in mind check out the tracklisting that Braff has put together for the soundtrack to his next film "Last Kiss"....

1. Chocolate - Snow Patrol
2. Star Mile - Joshua Radin
3. Pain Killer - Turin Brakes
4. Warning Sign - Coldplay
5. Ride - Cary Brothers
6. El Salvador - Athlete
7. Hide And Seek - Imogen Heap
8. Reason Why - Rachael Yamagata
9. Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
10. Prophecy - Remy Zero
11. Paper Bag - Fiona Apple
12. Today's The Day - Aimee Mann
13. Arms of a Woman - Amos Lee
14. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Reprise) - Rufus Wainwright
15. Paperweight - Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk

If this doesn't get you laid I don't know what will. It hits stores next Tuesdays so start figuring out which girl you're going to invite over to listen to it with you. Good luck and you know who to thank.

It's So Hot Out You Can...

It's hot in NYC. Really hot. Like unbearably hot. It's so hot out you know some idiot weatherman is going to try and do something like this on TV in the next day or so...

Anthology Of Folk Music...Revisited

While I don't actually own Harry Smith's definitive and influential collection the anthology Of American Folk Music (I know it's essential listening and definitely something I've meant to pick up) a four disc box-set called "The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited" will be released on October 24th. The set features selections from several live concerts that paid respect to the man and his work. Some of the artists featured are Beck, Wilco, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle and Lou Reed. Read all about it here.

Smith and his anthology were credited with helping to start the folk revival in the 1960s. Which you can read about here.

Happy 64th!

Jerome John Garcia would have been 64 today - in honor of that here's JGB with "Run For The Roses"....

I Love Tuesdays

Here are the purchases for the week....

Ollabelle - Riverside Battle Songs

Vetiver - To Find Me Gone

For all you Ollabelle fans out there, the band is doing a four night run at Banjo Jim's in NYC to celebrate the release of their new album. Here's some info on that from their website....

Mark your calendars for our upcoming RECORD RELEASE PARTY. Come celebrate Ollabelle's long awaited 2nd record "RIVERSIDE BATTLE SONGS" at the place where it all began. BANJO JIM'S (the old 9C), will host "Ollabelle and Friends" over FOUR consecutive nights starting JULY 31ST and extending AUGUST 1ST, 2ND and 3RD. Banjo Jim's in located on Ave C and 9th St in Manhattan, NYC. Tickets for these nights are $10 each and you can buy them here, on the "Store" page. Our friends such as Liz Tormes, Larry Campbell, Oren Bloedow, Richard Julian, Jimi Zhivago, just to name a few, will be joining us.. And you can offically buy "RIVERSIDE BATTLE SONGS", our NEW record at MIDNIGHT on August 1st...(which technically means you might wanna come on July 31st and hang out til midnight). Aww go on, it'll be fun.

Widespread Panic NE Fall Tour

Widespread Panic will be hitting the Northeast in September for a brief fall run. The tour kicks off with a three night stand at Radio City Music Hall and continues on with shows in VT, NH, MA, CT and PA. Check out all the dates here.



Here's a few shows off their current summer tour...

Widespread Panic - 2006-07-28 - Mid-South Coliseum - Memphis, TN

Widespread Panic - 2006-07-26 - Nokia Theatre - Grand Prairie, TX

Widespread Panic - 2006-07-19 - Snow King Amphitheatre - Jackson, WY

Lollapalooza Webcast

For those of you that can't make it out to Chicago this weekend for Lollapalooza fear not you can watch some of the festivities right on your computer courtesy of the fine folks over at AT&T Blue Room.

Here's the line-up so far....

The Subways - Friday 8/4 - 12:30-1:30 PM

Panic! At the Disco - Friday 8/4 - 2:30-3:30 PM

The Editors - Friday 8/4 - 3:30-4:30 PM

Ryan Adams - Friday 8/4 - 4:30-5:30 PM

Iron & Wine - Friday 8/4 - 5:30-6:30 PM

Sleater-Kinney - Friday 8/4 - 7:30-8:30 PM

Wolfmother - Saturday - 12:30-1:30 PM

Thievery Corporation - Saturday 8/5 - 7:30- 8:30 PM

Wilco - Sunday 8/6 - 6:30-7:30 PM

Remember all times are CST so plan accordingly.

I'm definitely looking forward to watching some this especially after their Bonnaroo coverage which had me riveted to my screen for a good part of a weekend.

"The Beer Situation" At McCarren Pool

Be forewarned if you're going to a show at McCarren Pool this summer be prepared to wait a loooooooooooooooooooong time to get a cold beverage that contains malts and hops. I haven't been out there yet, but apparently there are 2 vendors for the entire place and you have to by drink tickets as well.

Read the Gothamist article about it here.

Host An MMJ Listening Party

My Morning Jacket is inviting it's fans to host a listening party for their new live double album called Okonokos - which hits streets on September 26th and should be a rager. ATO Records will select the first 50 people to email them at - atotours@atorecords.com


All the "hosts" will get an advance copy of the cd, posters, stickers and a t-shirt - so email away, before it's too late.

Music Video Monday

MTV turns 25 tomorrow so in honor of that here's The Buggles with "Video Killed The Radio Star"....

Live Lips

Pyschedelic-pop-rockers The Flaming Lips recently recorded their show at the Hollywood Bowl for a live CD/DVD. The band will also be recording an upcoming show in their hometown for it as well Read about it here.

I've seen the Lips a couple of times and think the DVD would be quite entertaning since they're such a visual band and lots of fun to see. On the other hand Wayne tends to be quite chatty and that could bog down a live CD.

Here's some live stuff for ya...

The Flaming Lips - 2006-05-02 - Circus - Stockholm, Sweden

The Flaming Lips - 2006-03-31 - Webster Hall - New York, NY

The Flaming Lips - 1999-08-07 - Stubb's BBQ - Austin, TX

I Love Tuesdays...Sunday Edition

Picked up a couple of things at the Virgin $10 sale....

Cat Power - The Greatest

Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island

For Pete's Sake

For all you Pete Yorn fans out there head on over to I Fuel, You Are Friends for you one stop shopping needs on everything Pete. Heather's got a Q&A with the man himself and tons of live MP3's - including two recent in-store acoustic performances. Check it all out here.



Musicforthemorningafter (the title of his debut album) may be one of the greatest album titles ever, that's just my personal opinion.

His latest album Nightcrawler hits stores on August 29th.

Smog Report

I was at the Golden Smog show last night at the Bowery. I'll try to post some thoughts on it later - I will say thought it was a fantastic show. In the meantime you can read this review that was posted over on Brooklyn Vegan - which is pretty much on par with what I thought of the show.

Gary Louris mentioned during the show that they're going to have an EP coming out early next year before playing David Bowie's "Starman" - which will appear on it - so there is hope that they may play some more dates to support the new material.

Here's the setlist (literally)....

New Dr. Dog Track

I'll spare you with my lengthy pitch on why I'm obsessed with Dr. Dog and why you should A) buy their album Easy Beat and B) go see them live. Instead I will tell you to head on over to Stereogum who has a track off their new EP "Takers And Leavers" - which hits street on September 12th. Check it out here. Their full length drops in February of '07 - so mark your calendars for that now too.


For those of you catching The Raconteurs on tour this fall, be sure to head in early to catch Dr. Dog's set - you won't be disappointed.

Also they'll be playing a free show at McCarren Pool on August 27th with The Walkmen, Human Television and Elvis Perkins.

32 Shows In 30 Days

Village Voice music scribe Robert Christeagu went to 32 shows in 30 days in the month of June - 52 bands in all - and lived to write about. Check it out his review of it all here.

I Love Tuesdays

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

Tom Petty - Highway Companion

Umphrey's Magee - UPDATE

Well looks like the fine folks over at Rock Daily figured out their error - one of them anyway. But they also made plenty of other mistakes in this article including getting the name of their album wrong - it's Anchor Drops - and spelling Jake Cinninger's name incorrectly. Here's how it originally looked...

Umphrey’s Magee ended their two-hour non-stop set at Central Park’s Summerstage in New York last week with an explosive cover of the Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” in which guitarist Jake Cinnenger played Pete Townshend’s percolating synthesizer riff – on a Telecaster, in real-time staccato, saturated in echo. It was a hip trick, and typical of this Chicago-based band’s enthusiastic attention to detail. In fact, Umphrey’s Magee may be the most accomplished jam band in America – able to spin out at length between and inside their songs, but never at the expense of the invention and melodies in the songs themselves.

Like every other jam band in the country, Umphrey’s Magee – Cinnenger, singer-guitarist Brendan Bayliss, bassist Ryan Stasik, keysman Joel Cummins, drummer Kris Myers and percussionist Andy Farag – are still working on the equilibrium between studio and stage. At Summerstage, they played only one song from their fine new album, Safety in Numbers: the snappy, creeping pop of “Intentions Clear.” But the instinctive way Umphrey’s Magee negotiate and fuse punch and finesse was evident in the opening segue, from the extended instrumental prologue “Glory” – with its intricate bursts of biting harmonized guitars and power-chord shine – into the cascading vocal chorales of “Wife Soup,” from 2004’s Anchor Soup. It was as if Radiohead had been born a cheerful Midwestern bar band with brains, rather than bleak and English – a comparison immediately sealed in the next song, “Anchor Drops,” when Bayliss and Cinneger went into a double-guitar frenzy that sounded like (and I actually wrote this down in my notebook) “a cheerful ‘Paranoid Android’.”

The New Orleans instrumental band Galactic were also on the bill, pumping up the funk as the sun set. Their hour went by too fast, but not before they played a couple of timely, torrid covers for their struggling city: a heavy, rolling version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” and Led Zeppelin’s arrangement of the Memphis Minnie blues “When the Levee Breaks,” but with a lot more Meters and Deep Purple.

Here's the mostly corrected version.

David Fricke Loves Umphrey's Magee

Oh David Fricke shame on you. While you might be the only legitimate rock journalist to have positive things to say about the jamband world it might be good to check your ticket stub if you plan on reviewing the band you just saw. Check out his review of Umphrey's Central Park show for Rolling Stone's Rock Daily....

Jam-tastic: Umphrey's Magee In New York

Yes you read that right. I first thought "Ok, maybe it was just a typo in the headline" - but he goes on to misspell their name 5 times in the review. Don't they have fact checkers over there? You would have thought someone over there would have heard of them they did name them one their bands to watch a couple years back. Rock Daily I've been enjoying your content and now this - how sad.

Just for the record - Umphrey's McGee.

Music Video Monday

I know this has been floating around for the last week or so, but it's such a great video. Here's Gnarls Barkely with "Smiley Face"....

Bloggy Goodness

I'm Fuel Your Friends has got some new and unreleased Damien Rice songs. First Ray LaMontagne tracks and now this - Heather's blog is quickly become a new favorite. Check that out here.

Over at My Old Kentucky Blog you can download a bunch of covers by Louisville's own My Morning Jacket - including songs by Elton John, Jefferson Airplane and Bread. Head here.

Cable and Tweed went to see the Cold War Kids the other and taped the show - which he's now offering for download. So all you hipster kids can grab that here.

A new find is B(oot)log which has got a ton of great live music. Right now you can download live sets from Regina Spektor, The Decemberists, The Dears and more - so head there now.

Enjoy!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Ernie threw out the first pitch at the Cubs game the other day and later that night paid homage to it with G.R.A.B. by opening with an audience sing-a-long of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and teasing it later in the show.

Here it is courtesy of YouTube....



Here's the torrent...

G.R.A.B. - 2006-07-20 - Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island - Chicago, IL

Highway Companion Album Stream

Sorry for the lack of posts this week started a new job on Monday and I've just been busy getting adjusted and actually doing working instead of slacking and blogging. So I'll do my best to get some posts up on a more regular basis.

To keep you busy in the meantime head here for to stream the new Tom Petty album "Highway Companion" - it hits stores on Tuesday.


Tom is also on the cover of the new issue of Harp - read the cover story here. I seriously suggest picking up a subscription to Harp it's a great music magazine and you get a free cd with you subscription. This months choices are...

Golden Smog - Another Fine Day
La Rocca - The Truth
Yonder Mountain String Band - S/T
The Replacements - Don't Know Who I Think I Was?
Son Volt - 6 String Belief (Live DVD)
Frank Black - Fast Man Raider Man

So good stuff and it's only $19.95 for a year.

I Love Tuesdays...iTunes Edition

A friend gave me an iTunes gift card for my birthday - oh yeah I turned 30 on Sunday - so picked this up....

Gillian Welch - Revival

I Love Tuesdays

Here's the purchases for the week...

Golden Smog - Another Fine Day

Golden Smog - On Golden Smog

Music Video Monday

Here's Band of Horses with "The Funeral"....

The Music Of Bob Dylan Benefit Concert

On November 9th over 20 different artist will be getting together to perform the music of one Robert Zimmerman at Avery Fisher Hall. The show will be a benefit for the Music For Youth Foundation with each artist performing one song. Here's the line-up so far...

Phil Lesh
Chris & Rich Robinson
Gov't Mule
Medeski, Martin & Wood
Patti Smith
Cat Power
Rosanne Cash
Phillip Glass
Natalie Merchant
Lee Renaldo Project
Al Kooper & The Funky Faculty

More artist to be announced.

Concert Time - CheeseDog Review

Hit the SCI/Ratdog show last night at Radio City and just wanted to give a quick few thoughts on the night. First off just want to preface this with saying I'm not usually into bashing bands - especially jambands. So with that disclaimer out of the way have to say that I was less then impressed with String Cheese last night. While I missed the Tom Thumb's opener (walked in during their second song) the rest of their set was a total bore. They really seemed to just be mailing it in, it lacked energy for the most the part and seemed just lazy. I don't know if they were saving up for their headlining spot tonight or what, but just wasn't feeling it and didn't seem like the crowd was either.

As for Ratdog they came out of the gate swinging opening with Shakedown and delivered a gret high energy set. There were definitely way more Deadheads in the audience then Cheese fans so that may have had something to do with it too. While in the past I've been a little of critical of Bob doing too many Jerry songs and not more of his own - he's really put his own spin on them and I've come to really dig it.

Here's a few pics from last night....

I was in the back of the orchestra so it was the best I could do.

Blind Faith DVD

Definitely looking forward to buying this....

Sanctuary Releasing DVD of First Ever Blind Faith Show

Blind Faith's debut gig was in front of a cool 100,000 people on a warm day in Hyde Park. Since June 7th, 1969, when this concert took place, footage shot that afternoon has never been seen in its entirety. On September 19th the entire concert will be released on DVD for the very first time. Hyde Park 1969 is the only Blind Faith DVD available on the market.

Fusing the psychedelic blues of Eric Clapton and the soulful vocals and keyboards of Steve Winwood, with Rick Grech on bass and the phenomenal Ginger Baker on drums, fans at that historic performance were treated to a selection of timeless tracks including Presence of the Lord, “Can'’t Find My Way Home” and The Rolling Stones' classic Under My Thumb.”

Hyde Park 1969 also boasts archive footage of the various members of Blind Faith performing within their earlier musical guises. Clips of Spencer Davis Group performing “I'm A Man,” Traffic's Hole in My Shoe, Family performing Dim” and Cream performing “Sunshine of Your Love,” acts as an introduction to this phenomenal concert event. Hyde Park 1969 also includes a comprehensive discography for all the members of Blind Faith pre-1969, plus a collection of rare photos set to the sounds of Well All Right.

Often referred to as rock's first “Super Group,” Blind Faith'’s first –and only album topped both the UK and US Charts in 1969, with a sold out tour in support. After the band's last date, they never performed or recorded together again.

Here's a couple of show from this short-lived group....

Blind Faith - 1969-08-16 - Earl Warren Showgrounds - Santa Barbara, CA

Blind Faith - 1969-6-18 - Konserthallen Liseberg - Göteborg, Sweden

And here's a couple of bands doing the much covered "Can't Find My Way Home"....

Umphrey's McGee - Can't Find My Way Home

Zero - Can't Find My Way Home

And seriously if you don't have their album stop what you're doing and go and purchase it immediately.

Concert Time

Off to see Jack Johnson disciple Donovan Frankenreiter tonight at Irving Plaza. I thought for sure this guy was going to be huge a couple of years ago when his self-titled debut album came out. The album was a blend of breezy, summer-y pop songs that you could sing along to and was convinced "Free" was going to the song of the summer. Alas while that song was featured in a Verizon commercial he hasn't become anywhere near at big as his surfing buddy - maybe it's his creepy 70s style porn facial hair. He's got a new album out now which is a bit more funky then his first filled with a lot of B3 and clavinet - so check it out.

Here's some live stuff for ya...

Donovan Frankenreiter - 2006-05-23 - KPRI Hornblower Boat Cruise - San Diego, CA

Donovan Frankenreiter - 2005-06-02 - Executive Surf Club - Corpus Christi, TX

826NYC Benefit Concert

Nothing too exciting to post about today. There is this benefit concert going on next month at the Beacon Theater that has a pretty cool line-up - here's the press release...

826NYC and The Bowery Presents present REVENGE OF THE BOOK-EATERS, a star-studded night featuring some of today's most recognized names in indie-rock, literature, and comedy, including SUFJAN STEVENS (in a rare solo acoustic performance), JON STEWART, DAVID BYRNE (alone, onstage, with a guitar), DAVE EGGERS (best-selling author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), SARAH VOWELL (best-selling author and This American Life contributor), JOHN HODGMAN (Daily Show regular and author of The Areas of My Expertise) and JOHN RODERICK (The Long Winters) and special guests to be announced in an evening that promises once and for all to settle the debate: words or music - which is better?

The evening will benefit 826NYC, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students aged 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. www.826nyc.org

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at noon and it sounds like a great cause.

I Love Tuesdays

Here are the purchases for the week...

Cut Chemist - The Audience's Listening

Phish - Live In Brooklyn

Benevento/Russo Duo - Play Pause Stop

Syd Barrett - 1946-2006

Syd Barrett the long reclusive and oft rumored to be in an acid induced haze founding member of Pink Floyd died at the age of 60. Details about his death are just starting to surface - you can read about it here, here and here.



Barrett only recorded one album with Pink Floyd their seminal psychedelic classic The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - but released several solo albums as well.

Here's a vintage Floyd show with Syd...

Pink Floyd - 1967-11-13 - Hippy Happy Fair - Oude Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Theme Time Radio Hour

On a bit of a baseball kick here so here's the torrent for the baseball episode of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour. This was the first time I've listened to his show and it's great, loved hearing Dylan being a DJ - it gets the HFTB Seal of Approval, so download away. I'm also grabbing a couple of his other broadcasts - Drinking & Summer - I'll let you know how those are too.

Here's the playlist for the baseball episode....

Take Me Out To The Ball Game - Bob Dylan (Acapella)
Take Me Out To The Ball Game - The Skeletons
Baseball Boogie - Mabel Scott
Home Run - Chance Halladay
Baseball Baby - Johnny Darling
Baseball Canto - Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Three Strikes And You're Out - Cowboy Copas
The Ball Game - Sister Wynona Carr
Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball - Buddy Johnson
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio - Les Brown & His Orchestra (with Betty Bonney)
Joe DiMaggio's Done It Again - Billy Bragg & Wilco
Strike One - Teddy Reynolds
Newk's Fadeaway - Sonny Rollins
Say Hey - The Treniers
The Wizard Of Oz - Sam Bush
3rd Base, Dodger Stadium - Ry Cooder
Heart - Damn Yankees (1955 Original Broadway Cast)

Staten Island

Here's some pics from my trip out to Staten Island yesterday - have to say it was a great time. If you've never been on the Staten Island Ferry before I highly recommend it. First off it's free, secondly you get a great view of lower Manhattan, Governor's Island, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn, etc. and third they serve beer - what else could you ask for.

Music Video Monday

Here's The Raconteurs with "Steady As She Goes"....

Take Me Out To The Ballgame....

Heading out to Staten Island (home of the Wu-Tang Clan) to catch some exciting minor league baseball later on this afternoon as the Staten Island Yankees will be taking on the Vermont Lake Monsters.

I've been a New Yorker my whole life and have never actually been on the Staten Island Ferry or to SI for that matter - so I guess that's something to get excited for. The stadium is supposed to have a great view of lower Manhattan so hopefully I'll get some pictures up here tomorrow.

Finally here's just about everyone's favorite baseball song...

John Fogerty - Centerfield

CBGB's Closing

I know this is a bit of old news, but CBGB's will officially be closing it's doors on September 30th. Word is CB's owner Hilly Kristal will be moving the club to Vegas and taking parts of the actual club with him there. Read about it here.

Rocks Off will be booking the run that closes out the historic venue - so keep checking out their site for updates.


Here's some shows from the heyday of the club....

Talking Heads - 1977-03-31 - CBGB's - New York, NY

Television - 1977-03-12 - CBGB's - New York, NY

Blondie - The Complete Blitz Benefits - 1977-05-04/05/06 - CBGB's - New York, NY

The Mumps - 1977-08-11 - CBGB'S - New York, NY

The Ramones - 1977-10-27 - CBGB's - New York, NY

The Feelies - 1978-05-21 & 1978-07-02 - CBGB's - New York, NY

The Band Tribute Album

About a month ago I read that My Morning Jacket had recorded "It Makes No Difference" for a tribute album for The Band - which I mentioned here on this very site. Well here's some info on the whole album which hits stores in January of '07....

According to album's executive producer, Stu Fine, the as-yet-untitled Band project will also feature contributions from Jack Johnson, Los Lobos, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Rosanne Cash, Joe Henry and Bruce Hornsby. Death Cab For Cutie has covered "Rocking Chair" for the album, while Gomez has put its own spin on "Up on Cripple Creek." "Just by word of mouth, I'm getting phone calls from managers saying, 'My artist is begging me to get involved in this,'" Fine says. "We're looking for a repertoire as diverse as the Band's very unique history." (via Billboard)

Read the full article here. Definitely excited to hear the final product.

In the meantime here's some people covering The Band live (with a few different versions of The Weight thrown in since so many people have covered it)....

My Morning Jacket - It Makes No Difference

The Grateful Dead - The Weight

Phil Lesh & Friends - Arcadian Driftwood

Assembly of Dust - Up On Cripple Creek

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Umphrey's McGee - Ophelia

Leftover Salmon - The Shape I'm In

moe. - The Weight

Burt Neilson Band - Stage Fright

Leftover Salmon - When You Awake

Paul Barrere And Fred Tackett Acoustic Duo - Tears of Rage

Phil Lesh & Friends - This Wheel's On Fire

Little Feat - Rag Mama Rag

The Radiators - Strawberry Wine

Tishamingo - Chest Fever

O.A.R. - The Weight

Phil Lesh & Friends - Life Is A Carnival

Ray's Music Exchange - Long Distance Operator

Enjoy!!!

Farm Aid In The Garden State

The Tweeter Center in scenic Camden, New Jersey will be the host of the 19th installment of Farm Aid on September 30th. Apparantly the sight was picked due to the high amount of famer's markets in the area - clearly this people haven't visit the actual city recently.

So far on the bill are Farm Aid founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and The Coug. Also scheduled to appear is Dave Matthews. Tickets go on-sale on July 22nd.

Here's some sets from past versions....

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 2000-09-17 - Nissan Pavilion - Bristow, VA

Neil Young - 1998-10-03 - New World Music Theatre - Tinley Park, IL

Guns 'N Rose - 1990-04-07 - Hoosier Dome - Indianapolis, IN

The Eraser - Album Stream

For all you Radiohead fans out there who can't wait till next week for the new Thom Yorke album The Eraser to hit stores you're in luck NME is currently streaming the entire album for your listening pleasure. Check it out here.

Here's a live show for you from 2002's Bridge School Benefit....

Thom Yorke - 2002-10-26/27 - Bridge School Benefit, Shoreline Ampitheater - Mountain View, CA

ACL Festival Preview

If you're heading down to Austin this September for the ACL Festival you should definitely head over to Out The Other for her preview of the over 100 artists that are performing at this year's fest. She's in the process of doing write-ups on each artist and offering up some MP3's too - so check it out here.

Check out the full line-up here.

Tom Waits Tour

From Billboard....

Iconic singer/songwriter Tom Waits will hit the road in August for a rare string of live performances. The eight-date tour will take Waits to some cities he hasn't played in three decades. The details of the artist's touring band are still being worked out, according to a spokesperson.

"We need to go to Tennessee to pick up some fireworks, and someone owes me money in Kentucky," Waits said in a statement about his motivation for touring.

Waits played a handful of shows in 2004 but prior to that had not toured widely since 1999, in support of his album "Mule Variations."

And while there's no word of a new album from Waits, Anti- Records is at work on a long-awaited boxed set. No release date has been nailed down, according to the artist's rep.

Waits will also be seen in two dramas set for theatrical release next year: "The Good Heart" alongside Ryan Gosling and "Texas Lullaby" with John Malkovich and Josh Hartnett, which is loosely based on William Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

Here are Tom Waits' tour dates:

Aug. 1: Atlanta (Tabernacle)

Aug. 2: Asheville, N.C. (Thomas Wolfe Auditorium)

Aug. 4: Memphis (Orpheum Theatre)

Aug. 5: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)

Aug. 7: Louisville (Palace Theatre)

Aug. 9: Chicago (Auditorium Theatre)

Aug. 11: Detroit (Opera House)

Aug. 13: Akron, Ohio (Civic Theatre)

Here's some live stuff for your downloading enjoyment....

Tom Waits - 1976-04-07 - Eisner & Lubin Auditorium - Loeb Student Center - New York University - New York, NY

Tom Waits - 1978-11-21 - Warner Theater - Washington, DC

Tom Waits - 2004-11-15/16/17 - Theater des Westens - Berlin, Germany

I Love Tuesdays...Wednesday Edition

Picked up a couple of cds today....

Kings of Leon - Day Old Belgian Blues

Los Lobos - Kiko

I didn't even know about the KOL disc - it actually came out a few weeks back - it's a live EP recorded at the AB Box in Belgium from a show back in October of 2004.

Happy 4th!!!

Here's a few songs that popped into my head for today....

Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Paul Simon - American Tune

ZZ Top - Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers

Sly & The Family Stone - Hot Fun In The Summertime

Wilco - Summer Teeth

The Grateful Dead - Ramble On Rose

The Beach Boys - Country Air

Enjoy!!!

I Love Tuesdays

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

Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways

Music Video Monday

Here's Josh Rouse with "Quiet Town"....

Land Of The Lost

Stumbled on a great blog today - I Am Fuel, You Are Friends - and I'm sure glad that I did, apparently we share the same enthusiasm for the music of Ray LaMontagne. I've seriously been obsessed with him since the first time I saw him on Conan over a year and a half or so ago and have pretty much preached about him to anyone that would listen. Well Heather has posted a treasure trove of Ray's early albums and demos for download. She's gives some background on each as well - check it out here.

She's also got some other great content, so spend some time checking it out.

Top 6 Of The First 6

I guess it's now in vogue if you have a music blog to not only just offer a year end list on your favorite albums, but also to give mid-year list as well. Well who am I to not go with the trend so here are my Top 6 of The First 6....

6. Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon














5. Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions














4. Josh Rouse - Subtitulo














3. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit














2. Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time














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














Best of the rest in no particular order:
The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics, Calexico - Garden Ruin, The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers, Sam Roberts - Chemical City, The Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops, Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Ben Harper - Both Sides Of The Gun, Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, Ghostface Killah - Fishscale, Loose Fur - Born Again In The USA, Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light, Gnarls Barkley - St. Eleswhere

Next Stop Camden

Headed down to scenic Camden, New Jersey shortly for Phil & Friends/G.R.A.B. show. Looking forward to what I hope will be a great night of music. This will be only the third time G.R.A.B. will be playing in front of an audience, but I loved what I heard of their 'Roo performance and really looking forward to it.

Here's their set from the tour kick-off....

GRAB - 2006-06-28 - Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek - Raleigh NC

Trey & Mike Vs. Page & Fishman - Steel Cage Match

Not to be out done by their former bandmates Page McConnell and Jon Fishman will be joining forces along with Adam Zimmon, Bob O'Dea and Jared Slomoff to perform at this summer's moe.down - so take that GRAB. The Chairman of the Boards has pretty much been in hiding since Coventry so it'll be great to see him out playing live again. According to Jambands.com he's currently working on a new studio album too.

moe.down 7 is happening from September 1 - 3 in Turin, NY. Here's the line-up so far...

Mike Gordon & Ramble Dove
Umphrey's McGee
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
The Avett Brothers
U-Melt
Toubab Crewe
Pat McClimans Group
Before Cowboys
Mike Rocklin

More bands to be announced soon.

Odds and Ends

Glide is featuring their 15 Artists To Hear This Summer - while they do offer up suggestions of songs to download they don't actually have MP3s.

Rolling Stone's Rock and Roll Daily has classic YouTube clips from U.K.'s Top Of The Pops - Nirvana, John Lennon, Beck and more. Check that out here.

Head on over to The Late Greats for MP3s from Gomez's recent live webcast on NPR. Download away here.

Yeti Don't Dance has picked his Top 5 albums of 2006 (thus far).

I've saved the best for last you must (that's an order!) go to Trees Lounge for The 50 States: 4th of July Compilation. So far he's got 700+ MP3s of songs about the 23 of the 50 states - everything from Bruce Springsteen's "Mary, Queen of Arkansas" to Kings Of Leon "California Waiting" to Neko Case "Train To Kansas City" to well you get the idea. It should keep you busy for awhile. Enjoy!!!

More Free Music

Between Summer Stage, the River to River Festival, Prospect Park shows and now Asser Levy Park out in Coney Island you seriously don't have to spend any money (well except for the subway or bus) to see some great music around town.

Every Thursday night from July 13th to August 24th Asser Levy Park will host the Seaside Summer Concert Series. Here's the line-up...

July 13 - Al Green
July 20 - Franki Valli & The Four Seasons
July 27 - Julio Iglesias
Aug 03 - "Hippiefest" - Dr. Hook, Mountain, Country Joe McDonald, Mitch Ryder, etc.
Aug 10 - The B52's
Aug 17 - Liza Minnelli
Aug 24 - "Salsa by the Sea"

Might not be the hipest line-up, but hey it's free.

Return To Cookie Mountain Album Stream

For those of you out there that dig TV on the Radio and can't wait for their new disc to hit stores you can head here and stream the whole thing now on the NME website. There a band that I haven't really listened to, but my friend Chilly Jackwater has raved about their live show. The album hits stores on July 11th.

Spider-Man 3 Teaser

I admit I'm a total dork when I comes to comic book movies. I get really excited when I see the trailers for them even when the movie doesn't come out for a year. Well with that being said check out the teaser for Spider-Man 3 and tell me that this doesn't look awesome!! Mark you calanders now May 4, 2007 is when Spidey 3 hits theaters.

Self-Promotion

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

Shooter Jenning - Electric Rodeo

I Love Tuesdays

Here are the purchases for the week....

Josh Ritter - The Animal Years
Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light





This also came with the Brightblack Morning Light album....











Prismatic eyeglasses, gotta love hippies.

Music Video Monday - Ok Tuesday

Going to start a new feature here on HFTB called Music Video Monday - since I didn't post anything yesterday it's going to start today. This is pretty self-explanatory, but basically just going to post a great music video new, old or long forgotten. So here we go with The Flamings Lips and "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"....

Pool Parties

On top of the all the great shows going on there check out the initial list of FREE shows going on every Sunday this summer at McCarren Pool...

JULY 9 Curated by Ice Cream Man and Stereogum
Les Savy Fav
Beans with Holy Fuck
Dragons of Zynth
DJ: Finger on the Pulse

JULY 16
Details soon…

JULY 23 Curated by TheTripwire.com
Details soon…

JULY 30
OF MONTREAL
Enon
More details soon…

AUGUST 6
Detroit Cobras

AUGUST 13
DEERHOOF
Beirut
Apollo Sunshine
The Harlem Shakes
DJ: Questlove

AUGUST 20
Details soon…

AUGUST 27 Curated by ASCAP
The Walkmen
Dr. Dog
Human Television
Elvis Perkins
DJ: Mikey Palms

SEPTEMBER 3
Spank Rock
Gang Gang Dance
Shy Child
DJ: The Rub

Here's the ones you'll have to pay for...

July 29
Bloc Party
The Secret Machines
Mew

August 11 & 12
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Sonic Youth

August 17
Iron & Wine

August 24
Neko Case
Joanna Newsome
Marth Wainwright

September 9
Gov't Mule
Wolfmother
Two Gallants

Odds And Ends

Bows + Arrows is declaring Josh Ritter's The Animal Years the best album of 2006 - so far. Read. May have to take his advice and pick this up. I've had it in my hands a few times but didn't buy it.

Live Music Blog is giving away tickets to the 10k Lakes Festival - deadline is July 3rd. Read about how to enter here.

Cable And Tweed has some MP3's of some his favorite moments from the 'Roo. Lots of covers including dios (malos) doing Beck and Beck doing The Flaming Lips. Check that out here.

Burning Oak has a new feature called New Stuff where he's featuring some music from Grace Potter And The Nocturnals and Shapes And Sizes. Here and here - respectively.

And finally Stereogum has a got a great review and pics from the late night Ryan Adams show. Check it out here. As I briefly considered buying tickets to it I also kind of figured that it wouldn't start before 1:30 AM and didn't think I'd find anyone willing to stay out that late for it.

Here's the setlist....

Love Is Hell
This Is It
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Cherry Lane
Note To Self: Don't Die
Peaceful Valley
Wish You Were Here
Magnolia Mountain
Easy Plateau
Hard Way To Fall
Let It Ride
To Be Young
Dear Chicago
Cold Roses
Beautiful Sorta

Encore:
Call Me On Your Way Back Home
Come Pick Me Up
Mockingbird

Bruuuuuuuuuuce

I'm going to try and not gush too much about the Bruce Springsteen show I saw last night at MSG - but damn was it good. First off I don't understand how I've never gone to see this man in concert before last night - I've really been missing out over the last few years when Bruce has basically set up residence in the New York City area. This wasn't your typical Springsteen show though he was showcasing music from his latest album We Shall Overcome with The Seeger Session Band.

There was a total of 18 people on stage playing guitar, fiddle, banjo, accordion, piano/organ, stand-up bass, horns, pedal steel and even washboard - with a sound that could be described at times as New Orleans ragtime brass band, bluegrass, folk and country. They ran through most of the album and even did reworked versions of Atlantic City and Johnny 99 which were stellar and essentially unrecognizable from the original versions.

Unlike the Petty show that I saw earlier in the week and yes enjoyed - this show blew it out of the water (check out this review from the NY Post on Petty show - kind of had to agree with it). I might even go as far as to say this ranks up there in the top ten concerts I've seen - it was that good. Too bad that the 400 level seating was virtually empty, I guess it's hard to sell out MSG when you're not with the E Street Band and playing Born To Run or Thunder Road. If you get a chance and he's coming to your town seriously do yourself a favor and pick up a ticket it's an amazing night of music.

Here's the setlist....

Setlist: American Land/John Henry/O Mary Don't You Weep/Johnny 99/Old Dan Tucker/Eyes on the Prize/Jesse James/Atlantic City/Erie Canal/My Oklahoma Home/If I Should Fall Behind/Mrs. McGrath/How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?/Jacob's Ladder/We Shall Overcome/Open All Night/Pay Me My Money Down
Encore: Bring Them Home/My City of Ruins/Ramrod/You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)/When the Saints Go Marching In

Jason Lytle Solo Tour

Following the breakup of Grandaddy shortly before the release of their final album Just Like The Family Cat, the band's songwriter and frontman, Jason Lytle, will be hitting the road solo in July and August. The tour kicks off July 18th in Baltimore and runs through two shows in Los Angeles in early September. (via Glide)

Jason Lytle Tour Dates.

07-18 Baltimore, MD - Sonar *

07-19 Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live *

07-22 New York, NY - Joe's Pub *

07-24 New York, NY - Joe's Pub *

07-25 Boston, MA - Paradise *

07-29 Chicago, IL - Schubas *

07-31 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line *

08-03 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *

08-07 Sacramento, CA - Harlow's *

08-08 San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord *

08-09 San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord *

09-11 Los Angeles, CA - Hotel Café *

09-12 Los Angelse, CA - Hotel Café *

* with Nik Freitas

Overheard At MSG

One thing you don't want to overhear hear a guy saying at a Bruce Springsteen show....

"I hope are tickets for Madonna are this good"

Granted he was with his girlfriend/wife/sister/escort, but that was the last thing I thought I'd hear from someone.

More on the show later - it was great, can't believe how many empty seats there were for it. Steve Earle walked right past me too.

Lollapalooza Schedule

For those of you headed out to Chi-Town this August for Lollapalooza the schedule is now up - check it out here. Really impressed with the line-up, hadn't looked at it until today. Lots of great stuff going head-to-head so good luck trying to pick and choose what you're going to see and what you're going to miss.

Rolling Stone's Summer Tour Guide

Head on over to Rolling Stone for some web-exclusive content for their 2006 Summer Tour Guide. They've got interviews with a bunch of artists including Jack White, Elvis Costello and David Crosby. Plus they've got blurbs of their "handpicked" tours of the summer - check that out here.

Raconteurs Tix On Sale Tomorrow

The Raconteurs are playing the Roseland Ballroom here in New York on September 26th tickets go on-sale tomorrow at noon. Ecstatic to see that Dr. Dog is going to be opening up for them that night - what a great double bill.

Here's a live show from them....

The Raconteurs - 2006-06-07 - Henry Fonda Theatre - Hollywood, CA

'Roo Downloads

Added a link on the sidebar to for all your Bonnaroo downloading needs. I'll keep adding shows as I see them.

'Roo Downloads List