I Love Tuesdays

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

The Autumn Defense - S/T

Music Video Mondays

I go back and forth on how much I actually like Regina Spektor (I think I do just in small doses), but decide for yourself - here she is with "Fidelity".....

Rumor Mill - Keller Williams Band??

Is Keller Williams ready to lose the loops and actually let other people play instruments on-stage with him on a full-time basis? Well Keller hinted to the fact that he will be hitting the festival circuit this summer and for a possible fall tour with a full band during his appearance on Sirius's Jam-On. He didn't give away any names yet, but he alluded that the people he's been talking to will be familiar to his fans.

The current hot rumor had been that he would be taking over for Bill Nershi - but according to the lasted issue of Relix that arrived in my mailbox today he's quoted saying the following....

"I can't really let myself think like that, especially being in touch with the band and knowing they're not really thinking that. There might be a tour over the next couple of years where we might go and try something out but there's definitely no plans for me taking Billy's slot, that's for sure."

In the meantime Keller is currently on the road - head here for the dates. He also has a new album coming out on Feburary 9th called Dreams that features the likes of Bela Fleck, Bob Weir, SCI, Steve Kimock and more.

American Beauty Project

If you're in New York next weekend you might want to consider going to check the American Beauty Project - who will be performing Workingman's Dead and American Beauty on consecutive nights for FREE in the World Financial Center. Here's the press release (via Jambase)...

Two of the Grateful Dead's greatest albums, American Beauty and Workingman's Dead, both recorded in 1970, will each be honored with its own evening when Arts>World Financial Center presents The American Beauty Project free in the World Financial Center Winter Garden, 220 Vesey Street.

Workingman's Dead, which was recorded in March 1970, will be honored Saturday, January 20 at 8:00 p.m. by a distinctive roster of singer-songwriters, bands and instrumentalists when each performs one of the tracks on the classic album.

The next night, Sunday, January 21 at 8:00 p.m., another group of singers and musicians will perform cuts from American Beauty, which was recorded in August and September 1970.

Performing their own arrangements of the Workingman's Dead and American Beauty songs are Jorma Kaukonen (Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane), Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Gob Iron), Ollabelle, Toshi Reagon, The Holmes Brothers, Sex Mob, Espers, Jen Chapin, Dar Williams, The Klezmatics, Tim O'Reagan (The Jayhawks), Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Phil Lesh & Friends), Teresa Williams, Rob Barraco, Dan Zanes, Railroad Earth, Catherine Russell, Jim Lauderdale, John Leventhal, Brandon Ross, Andy Statman, Tony Trischka and more names to be announced in the weeks ahead.

Putting together The American Beauty Project to celebrate 35th anniversary of these two landmark Grateful Dead albums is Artistic Director and Producer David Spelman, who was responsible for similar tributes to Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. At last year's Nebraska Project honoring Springsteen, The Boss himself spent the evening standing unnoticed with the crowd before jumping on stage for the finale.

"Both Workingman's Dead and American Beauty were ranked on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, 258 and 262, respectively," said Mr. Spelman. "Each was extremely innovative at the time for their fusion of bluegrass, rock, folk and country music."

Workingman's Dead, the band's fourth studio album, was recorded in March 1970, and was voted by readers of Rolling Stone as the best album of 1970, in front of Crosby, Stills and Nash's Déjà Vu and Van Morrison's Moondance.

American Beauty was recorded between August and September of 1970 and was released in November of the same year. It included instant radio favorites such as "Truckin'," "Sugar Magnolia" and "Friend of the Devil."

"The acoustic sound and folk/country tunes of Workingman's Dead would come as quite a shock to many fans, and to the critics as a harbinger of some sort of conscious movement (along with The Band, Dylan and the Byrds) toward country," wrote Grateful Dead biographer Dennis McNally in his program notes for the event. Mr. McNally went on to add that "as usual with the Grateful Dead, the album's origins were serendipitous and synchronistic, involving no plan or program. Instead, their swerve to include country songs in their work began quite accidentally when their lyricist Robert Hunter moved in with the Garcia family in January 1969... In March 1970, they went into the studio to record Workingman's Dead. Hugely in debt to their record company, they were forced to be simple and economize, thinking consciously of Buck Owens' Bakersfield sound. The simplicity served the music perfectly, and the result was a classic, although not the departure many thought it was. They'd enlarged their vision, not changed it."

The set list for The American Beauty Project is as follows:

Workingman's Dead - Saturday, January 20 at 8:00 p.m.:

Uncle John's Band - Ollabelle with Larry Campbell
High Time - The Holmes Brothers
Dire Wolf - Larry Campbell with Teresa Williams and Rob Barraco
New Speedway Boogie - Catherine Russell
Cumberland Blues - The Klezmatics
Black Peter - Jim Lauderdale with John Leventhal, Brandon Ross and friends
Easy Wind - Tim O'Reagan (the Jayhawks)
Casey Jones - Railroad Earth
Plus instrumental interludes by: Tony Trischka and Andy Statman

American Beauty - Sunday, January 21 at 8:00 p.m.:

Box Of Rain - Toshi Reagon
Friend Of The Devil - Mark Eitzel
Sugar Magnolia - Jim Lauderdale and friends
Operator - Jorma Kaukonen and friends
Candyman - Jay Farrar (Son Volt)
Ripple - Dar Williams and Dan Zanes
Brokedown Palace - Ollabelle with Larry Campbell
Till The Morning Comes - Espers
Attics Of My Life - Larry Campbell with Teresa Williams and Rob Barraco
Plus instrumental interludes by: Andy Statman, Tony Trischka, and Sex Mob

HOST:
John Schaefer is the host of WNYC's innovative music talk show "Soundcheck," which features live performances and interviews with a variety of guests. Since 1982, Schaefer has also hosted and produced the popular new music radio program "New Sounds," hailed as "The #1 radio show for the Global Village" by Billboard magazine. He has been heard regularly on the BBC, the ABC (Australia), Taipei Public Radio, and Radio New Zealand. Schaefer's writings include "New Sounds: A Listener's Guide to New Music" (Harper & Row, NY, 1987; Virgin Books, London, 1990); a biography of composer La Monte Young (in Sound and Light, Bucknell University Press, 1996); and "Songlines: The Voice in World Music" (Cambridge Companion to Singing, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2000). In May 2006, New York Magazine cited Schaefer as one of "the people whose ideas, power, and sheer will are changing New York" in its Influentials issue. First Dead show attended: He's pretty sure it was in 1977... or 1978... possibly at New York's Palladium... he just can't remember all the details.

All events are free! No tickets required. Seating is first come, first served. For information, call (212) 945-0505 or visit www.worldfinancialcenter.com.

The American Beauty Project MySpace page: www.myspace.com/americanbeautyproject.

If I'm not out of town I'll most likely try and check this out - should be fun.

Dispatch's Garden Party

Couple of days late on this, but a funny thing happened to late 90s/early 00s college favs Dispatch when they decided to reunite for a concert to benefit Zimbabwe. First they get asked to play the Word's Most Famous Arena, then they sell out the show in 30 minutes via a MySpace pre-sale, then add a second show that also sells out via pre-sale. They have now added a THIRD show that goes on-sale next Saturday (1/20) at 9 AM.

Pretty damn impressive for a band that hadn't played a full concert together since 2004 for their farewell show - which was estimated to have drawn over 100,000 people - and for a band that hadn't really toured much in the last few years of their career (from '02 - '04 played a total of ten shows).

Read about it all here and here.

Here's some music to check out....

Dispatch - 2004-07-31 - The Hatch Shell - Boston, MA

Dispatch - 2000-06-09 - Wetlands - New York, NY

Dispatch - 1998-09-26 - Hamilton College - Clinton, NY

I Love Tuesdays...Wednesday Edition

Been a slow few weeks in the world of new releases, but finally there was something worth buying this week - also picked up an album that was on a bunch of Best Of's from '06....

Neko Case - Live From Austin, Texas

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

Bright Eyes Tour

HFTB fav Bright Eyes is hitting the road for a brief tour in support of his EP Four Winds out on March 6th and to most likely preview music off his upcoming full length Cassedega which hits stores on April 6th. Here's the dates so far....

02-25 Chicago, IL - Metro
02-27 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
02-28 Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre
03-02 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03-03 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03-05 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03-07 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
03-08 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
03-09 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-10 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-11 Seattle, WA - Showbox

No on sale info yet, but definitely pysched to catch Connor in a small venue like the Bowery.

Music Video Mondays

It's rainy and gloomy today (oh and there's that gas smell too), but this song always manages to put me in a good mood - here's Ben Lee with "Catch My Disease".....

The Police To Reunite?

Ok I've avoided posting about this for a couple of days, but it looking more and more likely that The Police reunion is going to happen. Check out this article from Billboard....

Rumors are swirling that the Police will reunite for 2007 dates in England and the United States, which would be the legendary trio's first since disbanding in 1986. Sources tell Billboard.com the reports are legitimate but would not publicly comment until final details are nearer to completion.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of "Roxanne," the single that broke the Police in the United States. "Discussions have been underway as to how this will be commemorated," reads a post on Sting's Web site attributed to an A&M spokesperson. "While we can confirm that there will indeed be something special done to mark the occasion, the depth of the band's involvement still remains undetermined."

Sources say in addition to DVD releases, A&M is planning another multi-disc collection in the vein of 1993's "Message in a Box," which featured the band's complete studio recordings and a handful of rarities.

A Police reunion has been the concert industry's dream for two decades, as it is believed the band could play stadiums internationally should it choose to reunite. But besides an impromptu set at Sting's 1992 wedding to Trudie Styler, the Police's only other post-breakup performance was in celebration of its 2003 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

And while Sting has repeatedly expressed reluctance at reuniting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers have kept the flame alive. This summer, Summers told Billboard he was certain the group could have continued on past its 1983 commercial peak with "Synchronicity."

"The more rational approach would have been, 'OK, Sting, go make a solo record, and let's get back together in two or three years,'" he said. "I'm certain we could have done that. Of course we could have. We were definitely not in a creative dry space. We could have easily carried on, and we could probably still be there. That wasn't to be our fate. It went in another way. I regret we never paid it off with a last tour. We snuck out the back door, which is what we were told to do, until it just became too frustrating to lie about it."

"I'm very keen on it," Copeland told Billboard.com of a potential reunion, the day after the Rock Hall induction. "But I absolutely understand why it's not going to happen and I'm down with that. It was really great to be the Police for 15 minutes. If you can think of some other award we can go get or some other good reason, give me a call, and I'll try it out!"

In 2001, Copeland excitedly told Billboard about "one piece of unreleased Police product" which he hoped would eventually see the light of day.

"One of the times when they were working on the box set or something like that, they convened the three of us on the phone. Sting and Andy were in Italy; Andy was visiting Sting at the time, and I was on a DSL line in L.A.," he recalled. "And we went down all the song titles from all of our albums. Song title: 'Can't Stand Losing You.' And we each just talked about the track and argued and shouted and screamed. There was laughter and tears. It was very cathartic. It was almost like a therapy session. It was hysterical. It was so much fun."

"We were really going at it with all the language, straight for the jugular, refighting the battles, laughing hysterically while we put the stiletto exactly where we stuck it last time," he continued. "The engineer said it was like watching a concert. They were in Italy and it's like after dinner, and I'm here in L.A. at 10 in the morning. I'm getting more and more caffeinated as they're getting drunker and drunker."

"It seems like we're in contact all the time, but actually, years go by," Copeland said of his ongoing relationship with Summers and Sting. "It's sort of like whenever we see each other, it's like we saw each other five minutes ago. We don't have any sensation of time going by. We don't pick up the phone every week, but when we do, we pick up from where we left off."

So it looks like it's going to be a big year for fans of '80s rock bands between this and the Genesis tour - though I'd be way more inclined to drop my $80+ on The Police. Now if the Talking Heads would only get back together then I'd really be excited.

Driving Through New York On A Horse With No Name

Well the Ernie Arrest got a bit more interesting today as WNYT in Albany got an exclusive scoop that along with the prescription pain killers our favorite red-head also had herion on him too. Check out the story here and watch the video - thanks to the guys over at Hidden Track for the link.

With the nods to his arrest in recent setlists (busting out Almuni Blues twice and Makisupa) should we be excepting a cover of this VU classic? Too soon??

Here's his recent New Year's run....

Trey Anastasio - 2006-12-28 - Orpheum Theatre - Boston, MA

Trey Anastasio - 2006-12-29 - Palace Theater - Albany, NY

Trey Anastasio - 2006-12-30 - House of Blues - Atlantic City, NJ

Trey Anastasio - 2006-12-31 - House of Blues - Atlantic City, NJ

Lucky Number 13

On Sale this Saturday at 9 AM - here.

More Bonnaroo Confirmations?

So we already know that the Cold War Kids will be in Manchester this year, but it looks like a couple more acts have leaked that they will be headed there too. First up John Butler Trio will be back - confirmed here. And Brooklyn Vegan is reporting that new blog darling Lilly Allen has hopes of being there too.

Got any others?

Update: Uncle Earl (an all-female bluegrass band) is headed there too.

Music Video Mondays

Ok so this is a bit cliche and this will be the only time this band will be featured here, but here's U2 with "New Year's Day"....



Happy New Year!

Year In Review

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

Number of Shows Seen: 52

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

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

56 different bands seen.
24 different venues.

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

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

Top Ten

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

10. Willie Nelson - Songbird














9. Dr. Dog - Takers And Leavers















8. Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller















7. The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America















6. Cat Power - The Greatest














5. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit















4. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood















3. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time















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















1. M. Ward - Post-War

2007: The Year of the Nerd

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

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Transformers

Spider-Man 3

The Simpsons

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

First Bonnaroo Artist Confirmation

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

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

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

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

I Love Tuesdays...Hannukah Edition

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

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

R.I.P. James Brown

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

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

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

Music Video Mondays

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