Phish Festival 8 - Day One

Here's the first set from Festival 8. I'd make longer posts but I'm super shook up that I'm not there. More setlists to come.

Set I: Party Time, Chalkdust Torture, Moma Dance, NICU, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Stash, I Didn't Know, Poor Heart, Cavern, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Ocelot, Time Turns Elastic
Set II: Punch You In The Eye, Down With Disease > Prince Caspian > Wolfman's Brother > Piper > Joy, David Bowie*, Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus
Encore: Character Zero
* "We're gonna give you a hint about the Halloween album now." -Trey

Show Review: Jay-Z Live At The John Labatt Centre Thursday October 29, 2009

There was a ton of speculation leading up to Jay-Z’s performance on Thursday night in London, Ontario. Having opened game two of the World Series only hours before the show, nobody was really certain as to whether the Paul McCartney of hip-hop would bother to even show up to this low-profile gig. Thankfully, Jigga did show up, and I think everybody was surprised by the massive party he brought with him. I’d argue that this is the biggest concert London has ever seen and I was completely shocked by the energy radiating through the John Labatt Centre. Jay opened the show with “Run This Town” sans Kanye West and Rihanna, but it made no difference to the crowd who was willing to gobble up any banger Jay through at them. Jay came equipped with a massive backing-band that featured two drummers, a scaled-down horn section, keys and the requisite guitars and bass. The backing band simply exploded on the beat heavy “Run This Town”, setting the pace for the night which really never let up.Jay treated the audience to some special guests, bringing out the once popular Memphis Bleek to provide just the right amount of backing rhymes on a good number of tracks. N.E.R.D. member and producer extraordinaire Pharell Williams also guested on a few songs, most of which did not feature him in the originals, while Jay chose to perform real Pharell featured songs solo. Strange but satisfying as the man ripped apart every track he chose to perform. Jigga catered to the iPod shuffle generation, segueing in and out of shortened versions of his songs in order to appropriately sift through his massive song library. A re-worked, horn-heavy version of “I.Z.Z.O.” was really refreshing after this song was played to death on the radio some years ago, while the chestnut “Heart of the City” remained as powerful as ever. Jay chatted with the audience quite a bit, telling us to follow our dreams and remain inspired. He also noted how much love he felt in the air, and wherever he feels love, he feels at home, before launching into the infectious “Already Home” off of his new record The Blueprint 3.0. Jay-Z left the stage only to return for a 30 minute encore filled to the brim with rap-a-long club bangers including a rowdy version “Big Pimpin’” and a mostly a-cappella rendition of his 911 tribute “Thank You”, one of the standout tracks from his new record. Reluctantly leaving the stage just after midnight, it was easy to see that Jay-Z was overwhelmed by his London, Ontario reception, making me believe that our little city could remain a mainstay on Jay’s future tours. It was simply an incredible show from a man who has long surpassed hip-hop stardom and is now a full-fledged mega-star appealing to just about anybody who can appreciate good music, regardless of the genre.

Setlist:
Run This Town
D.O.A.
You Don’t Know
99 Problems
Show Me What You Got
Give It To Me
Jigga My
I.Z.Z.O.
Jigga What
Public Service Announcement
Heart of the City
Already Home
Empire State of Mind
A Star is Born
So Ambitious
Dirt Off Your Shoulders

Encore
Thank You
On to the Next One
Excuse Me Miss
Swagga Like Us
Can I Get A
Big Pimpin’
Hard Knock Life
Encore
Young Forever

Album Review: Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind

What happens when you take The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main St. and extract the sex and the drugs from it? You end up with the dad-friendly, Canadian country/rock band Blue Rodeo’s latest double-album release, The Things We Left Behind. The album is about as ambitious and successful as it gets for a band twenty-five years deep into their career. Disc one opens up triumphantly with the one-two punch of “All The Things That Are Left Behind” which features huge, dominating drums, softened only by gentle strings, and rounded out by an anthemic chorus. The band then picks up the speed with the fast-paced, country shuffle of “One More Night”. Disc one is rounded out nicely by “Sheba” the obvious choice for a radio-friendly single, as well as the most Stones like number on this disc. While the first disc is certainly an enjoyable listen filled with some accessible rockers and piano-driven ballads, disc two is where the band actually hits their stride. I can’t help but hear more of The Stones (this time “Torn and Frayed”), as disc two opens with “Don’t Let The Darkness In Your Head”. The band’s psychedelic rock influences finally shine through as Blue Rodeo let loose on the second, more experimental half of disc two. The slow, jazzy break during “Wasted” sounds as though Traffic was jamming with a freshly moondanced Van Morrison, and segues beautifully into the haunted, country-ballad of “You Said”. Lead singer Jim Cuddy has clearly been listening to a lot of Roger Waters as his plaintive, whisper-like vocals peak through the mellow track. The album comes full circle, ending just as triumphantly as it began with the ten minute, acid-soaked “Venus Rising”. The group loses all inhibitions, jamming with gooey, distorted guitars which are contrasted against beautiful, acoustic piano driven verses. The words on “Venus Rising” are a bit under-thought however, with lyrics such as “If you could learn how to play that guitar, you sure could go far”, but the band more than makes up for it with their instrumental virtuosity. Ultimately, a sixteen song, double-disc album is an undeniably ambitious affair for most bands, at any point in their careers. As a result, it comes as no surprise that The Things We Left Behind feels a bit like a band in a mid-life crisis. The boys in Blue Rodeo were dreaming of a Porsche, but instead came home in a Volkswagen.

3.5/5 stars
Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind will be released on November 10, 2009

Marco Benevento & Friends, Live In NYC DVD

COMING NOV 10th... FEATURE-LENGTH DVD from Marco Benevento & Friends

Pre-order direct from The Royal Potato Family before street date and receive a link to download five additional unreleased videos for your ipod, phone, or desktop, featuring performances from The Sullivan Hall residency.

FEATURING ...
Andrew Barr
Billy Martin
Bobby Previte
Brad Barr
DJ Olive
G. Calvin Weston
Reed Mathis
Joe Russo
John Ellis
Kaki King
Marc Friedman
Skerik
Stanton Moore
Steven Bernstein

Directed by Karina Mackenzie
Executive Producer Kevin Calabro

At the outset of 2008, Marco Benevento set up shop at New York City’s brand new Greenwich Village music space, Sullivan Hall, for a month-long residency. Calling it home for five Thursday nights in January, Benevento invited a who’s who in modern jazz and improvisational rock music to perform with him each week in various configurations. Benevento hauled his own baby grand piano from his Brooklyn apartment to the Sullivan Hall stage to host both musical friends and heroes. Each night he’d lead his musical co-conspirators through two sets of daring and consistently breathtaking improvisations. Whether it was the Bitches Brew-esque sonic explorations of the Benevento-Steven Bernstein-Bobby Previte-DJ Olive collaboration, or the glorious post rock ferocity of Benevento-Brad Barr-Joe Russo, or Benevento’s own trio with Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr celebrating the release of their debut album Invisible Baby, each performance took on a life completely its own. As the sold out crowds from week to week will attest, these shows were the stuff of legend in the recent history of downtown New York City’s music scene. Thankfully, all five nights were shot on high definition video along with multi-track recordings that are now set for a DVD release entitled Marco Benevento (& Friends): Live In NYC: The Sullivan Hall Residency. While it’s Marco Benevento’s name at the top of the billing, what the film portrays is a dynamic family of fearless, faithful, one-of-a-kind artists who are making some of the most vital music of their time.

Brought to you by Shine A Light Productions & Royal Potato Family.

Marco Benevento & Friends - Live in NYC : The Sullivan Hall Residency from Shine A Light Productions on Vimeo.

I had the privilege of working for Karina Mackenzie, President and founder of Shine A Light Productions. I was lucky enough to join her on multiple shoots (filming Marco's solo show at The Stone) and I also got to screen tons of the Sullivan Hall footage before hand. Let me tell you this, it is genuinely amazing stuff. Expertly filmed by Karina and crew and expertly played by Marco and all the amazing artists he had join him during the residency. If you love good music, do yourself a favor and buy a copy of this DVD!

SIRIUS XM’s Jam_On to Broadcast Festival 8

Thousands of lucky fans will be heading out to Indio, California to catch Phish's first ever Halloween festival, 8. Of course, countless fans will be unable to make the fall trek out to beautiful California and will obviously be missing the show right? Wrong! Thanks to Sirius XM and Jam_On we'll all be able to listen to the entire weekend and the long awaited cover album set. SIRIUS XM will broadcast 8 beginning Friday, October 30. through Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 am EST, featuring all eight of Phish’s festival sets. Additionally, before and after the “classic album” set on October 31, Jam_On host Jonathan Schwartz will take calls from SIRIUS XM listeners about the performances at “Festival 8.”

Jay-Z To Perform At World Series

Wednesday night Jay-Z and Alicia Keys will be at Yankee Stadium for game one of the World Series to perform "Empire State of Mind" one of the standout tracks off his new album, the Blueprint 3.0. Jay-Z will then be heading to London, Ontario to perform at the John Labatt Centre for possibly the biggest hip-hop show this city has ever seen. Opening the show will be N.E.R.D., DC rapper Wale and newcomer J.Cole.

New Vampire Weekend Single

Just stumbled upon a video of Vampire Weekend playing the new single "Cousins" off of their upcoming sophomore release Contra. It's a jangly tune with some great guitar fills and some nice lyrical phrasing. It's also quite a bit punkier than the band's previous work.

Surprise Me Mr. Davis

Back In 15 Minutes favourites, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, have finally given the public a glimpse into what they've been up to as of late. While the group has released two albums in their six year career and toured extensively, the band has had pretty limited exposure. Previously comprised of folk troubadour Nathan Moore and jazz/indie rockers The Slip, the group has recently added a new member to the delight of many die hard fans. The recent addition of pianist extraordinaire Marco Benevento (of the Benevento Russo Duo) illustrates the group's push towards some much deserved exposure. The new demo tracks showcase a more song-oriented version of Surprise Me Mr. Davis as opposed to their more experimental songs released on their first album. Check out the band's brand new website www.surprisememrdavis.com to listen to some demos and to learn more about this amazingly under-appreciated band.

Warren Haynes Xmas Jam 2009

The 21st Annual Christmas Jam will return to the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, NC on December 12. As always, there will be a pre-jam at the Orange Peel. This year's show will feature moe., Ani DiFranco and Counting Crows with many more acts yet to be announced. In addition, numerous guest musicians will participate, with confirmations thus far from Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, DJ Logic, Audley Freed, Eric Krasno, Col. Bruce Hampton, and Robert Kearns. VIP Tickets, which include early admission to the Civic Center and admission to the Pre-Jam go on sale this coming Monday, with a general pre-sale on Tuesday. As with past years, the event will benefit for Habitat for Humanity. Go to www.xmasjam.com for more information regarding the event.

Free Album Feat. Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz

Radio Soap Star Opera was recorded in seven days over three years. The tremendous musicians include: Joe Russo (drums, percussion, glockenspiel, vocals, producer of tracks 2, 3, 5-9), Stuart Bogie (clarinet, alto saxophone, jaw harp, bass harmonica, producer of tracks 1, 4), Don Piper (lap steel, vocals, harmonica, engineer and mix), Andrew Southern (bass 2, 3, 5-9), Kevin Kendrick (vibraphone 1, 4-7, 9), Colin Stetson (tenor and baritone sax on 1), Jon Shaw (trumpet on 6), Nick Movshon (bass on 1), Dave Dreiwitz (bass on 4), Marco Benevento (organ on 2), Sean Bones (guitar on 6), Ryan Thornton (tambourine).

You can download the album for free now at:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/u86hrc

The Low Anthem - This God Damn House

The Low Anthem are a quiet band from Providence, RI. Each member of the trio plays a slew of different, unique instruments such as the pump organ, the clarinet, the alto horn and even cell phones. They've toured with one of my favourites, Surprise Me Mr. Davis and re-released their album "Oh My God Charlie Darwin" on Nonesuch Records last year. Here's a wicked video of the group playing "This God Damn House" off of their latest release.

The Low Anthem - "This God Damn House" - HearYa Live Session 8/9/09 from HearYa.com on Vimeo.

Lil' Wayne To Face Jail Time

While I don't usually post this kind of news, I do like me some Lil' Wayne on occasion and I wasn't all too surprised when I came across this tidbit of news today. The Associated Press reports that Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted gun possession in New York this morning. According to the AP, he "expects to receive a one-year jail sentence." Wayne is out on bail right now, but he'll be sentenced in February. The charge stems from a 2007 incident in which Manhattan police raided Wayne's tour bus after smelling marijuana and reportedly saw Wayne trying to get rid of a bag, which contained a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic. Wayne had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge of illegal gun possession. As the AP reports, if he had been found guilty for that, he would have faced a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence (from pitchfork.com).

A Day In The Life of Bon Iver

Check out this video of Bon Iver playing the Oya Festival in Norway.

Show Review: Wilco Live At Massey Hall Wednesday October 14, 2009

It came as no surprise that Wilco, the godfather’s of indie-rock sold out their two night stint at one of Toronto’s most beautiful and legendary venues, Massey Hall. What sounded like a growling siren was really just guitar playing maniac Nels Cline manipulating the hell out of his instrument on the set opener, “Wilco (The Song)”. The band was eager to show off some of their newer tunes, relying heavily on material from their latest release Wilco (The Album). They have a longstanding history with Toronto and the group made sure to dig deep into their vast catalogue of often neglected songs. They pulled out the Spanish-tinged “How To Fight Loneliness” which was surprisingly enough, poorly received, as many fans chose to catch their breath and take their seats during this slow but lovely number. Tweedy, who seemed to be in especially good spirits even took a request from the audience as the band launched into Pot Kettle Black. While usually much more talkative, the shaggy haired front-man acknowledged Massey Hall’s tight curfew and said he would rather fill the set with songs rather than the usual witty banter. “Theologians” saw each axe man singing in ridiculously high, playful register, while Cline graciously gave up the spotlight for a one-footed Tweedy guitar solo during “I’m The Man Who Loves You”. In predictable Wilco style, the band left stage only to return soon-there-after for a characteristically long encore. They brought out show opener (and potential Jack Black impersonator) Liam Finn for a rousing rendition of the uber-poppy “You Never Know” before launching into the grungy, old school rocker “Can’t Stand It”. The group displayed their jammier side as the four song finale of “Walken” segued effortlessly into the garage-rocker “Monday”, then into “Outtamind (Outta Site), before capping things off with a monstrously extended version of “Hoodoo Voodoo” which featured a wild guitar duel between fan favourite Nels Cline and serious underdog Pat Sansone. Both men clearly emerged as the victor judging by the crowd’s cheers. The band set the bar extremely high on night one of the run, but it seems as though that’s all we can expect from Wilco at this point in their careers.

Setlist:
1. Wilco (The Song)
2. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
3. Bull Black Nova
4. You Are My Face
5. One Wing
6. A Shot In The Arm
7. Either Way
8. Impossible Germany
9. I'll Fight
10. Handshake Drugs
11. Pot Kettle Black
12. How To Fight Loneliness
13. Jesus, etc.
14. Hate It Here
15. Theologians
16. I'm The Man Who Loves You
------------------------- ----
17. Heavy Metal Drummer
18. You Never Know (w/Liam Finn)
19. Can't Stand It
20. Walken >
21. Monday >
22. Outtamind (Outta Site) >
23. Hoodoo Voodoo

Bonnaroo 2009 DVD

The tracklist and trailer for the new Live at Bonnaroo 2009 DVD has finally emerged. While some of the artists included came as a surprise to me, others could not have been left off for very obvious reasons. Take a look:

Live from Bonnaroo 2009 Trailer from Bonnaroo on Vimeo.

Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band (“Outlaw Pete”), Phish (“Down With Disease”), Beastie Boys (“Intergalactic”), Snoop Dogg “I Want To Love You”), Elvis Costello with Jenny Lewis and Her Sound (“Go Away”), Ben Harper and Relentless7 (“Fly One Time”), Andrew Bird (“Fitz and the Dizzspells”), The Decemberists (“The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid”), Del McCoury Band (“Moneyland”), Coheed and Cambria (“Welcome Home”), Amadou & Miriam (“Masiteladi”), Santigold (“LES Artistes”), Zac Brown Band (“Who Knows”), Passion Pit (“Little Secrets”), Raphael Saadiq (“Keep Marching”) and Cage the Elephant (“Ain’t No Rest”).

Wilco @ Massey Hall

Just got back from seeing Wilco tear it up at Massey Hall in Toronto. Show review to come soon. Stay tuned!

Even Rats on Rock Band

Our good friend and fellow Slip enthusiast Cleantone just produced a new promo clip made for The Slip's song Even Rats coming to the Rock Band Network and his company The Authority who authored the song for the game. It will be coming this fall to an XBOX near you (and PS3 shortly after that).

Album Review: The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

Only the truly special bands get the opportunity to work with musical legend and producer extraordinaire, Rick Rubin and The Avett Brothers are without a doubt one of those bands. They’re the type of group that you would love to keep your own little secret. You love seeing them in the smallest, dingiest of venues, but deep down you know they should and could be wowing audiences in stadiums all across North America and beyond. I and Love and You is the album that will be winning over legions of new listeners. Between the piano, strings and vocal harmonies of brothers Seth and Scott, the boys from North Carolina cut deep on their latest album. The title track cuts deep, with the strength of a Counting Crows ballad and the imagery of musicians who have clearly paid their dues on the road for far too long. While die-hard fans may be wondering where the Avett Brothers’ punky edge went, they have to look no further than “Kick Drum Heart”. This piano driven rocker features the Avett’s signature screaming that’s sure to surprise new fans and delight old ones. “Laundry Room” is the sleeper hit of the album. It starts off slow and ballad-like as Scott sings “close the laundry door, tip-toe across the floor” but gradually grows into an all out banjo-driven country rocker. The Avett's respond to the likes of two classic rock monsters on the acoustic guitar and organ driven “Ten Thousand Words”. They borrow both chord progression and rhythm that sounds strikingly familiar to both Zep’s “Your Time Is Gunna Come” and Traffic’s “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave”. In true mainstream fashion, Rubin has streamlined the Avett Brother’s signature sound. Gone is the rough, homemade sounding production of the past and prevalent banjo and strings. Instead we have slick pop songs paired with smooth harmonies, textured backgrounds and minimal banjo. Will I and Love and You ostracize old fans? I think it’s rather unlikely. The Avett’s have a loyal following that should be more than willing to share their once perfectly kept secret. Leave it to Rick Rubin to be utilitarian, spreading the joy that is the Avett’s music to millions, while spoiling the old secret for a select few.

Album Review: Monsters Of Folk

The comparisons have been made to death that the highly-anticipated, super-hyped Monsters Of Folk sound like a new-age Traveling Willburys. While the Monsters of Folk is made up of some of indie-rocks most influential artists, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, M. Ward and Mike Mogis, the only similarity I see between the Monsters and the Wilburys is that they are both super groups with a shit ton of potential. I think this debut album is good, but it’s not great. The collection of songs from this four-headed monster (no pun intended) feels a little too scattered to be called great. Firstly, Oberst leads so many of the songs that the rest of this super talented group ends up feeling like a backing band for Mr. Bright Eyes. Anyways, the album opens with “Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.), while the title of the song is super lame, the use of drum machine, dream like harpsichord and crooning from Jim James is much worse. Not to mention that the each lyrical phrase begins with “Dear God”. The lyrics are far too literal and really not my cup of tea. The album is really up and down from here. “Say Please”, the obvious radio single is quite catchy and showcases each member of the band nicely. Not an overly original sounding tune, but its infectious none-the-less. A few songs down the line we get “Baby Boomer” which nicely contrasts M. Ward’s dusty voice with Oberst’s shaky singing style that I simply can’t help but dig. Next up is the twangy, country tale of “Man Named Truth”, which I believe is the highlight of the album. The song is full of psychedelic imagery. Oberst takes you on a trip (no pun intended once again) to the Middle East. With lyrics like “And I fell in love with identical twins, they lived 34 summers between the two of them. I gave one my ego and one my id, I gotta get back to my pretty little twins”, it’s clear that Oberst has been reading up on his Freud. Things get really strange as he belts out “I met a black skinned man with an ice cream grin, and a blonde Afghan with that heroine. I moved to the mountains where the highway ends, and I got myself that ice cream grin” amongst a whirlwind of telecaster guitars, banjo and windy sounds. “Goodway” is another quick, weak tune that easily could have been left off. Perhaps my real issue with this album is that its potential greatness is hindered by too many songs. 15 tracks could have been cut down to a manageable 10 in a heartbeat. The album does grow the more I listen, but I’ve had to go out of my way to listen instead of wanting to listen. I’ll give the band the benefit of the doubt and assume the mass amounts of blogger hype freaked them out. Ultimately, the only thing that's scary about these Monsters is their lack of song discretion.

Bon Iver Live Podcast

Radio Milwaukee released a podcast of Bon Iver’s 10/11/09 show from the Riverside Theater. You'll be hard pressed to find a better sounding live recording. Enjoy. http://radiomilwaukee.podbean.com/2009/10/12/bon-iver-live-at-the-riverside/

Phish Announce More Dates

From jambands.com: Earlier today, Live Nation jumped the gun by a few minutes in listing a pair of pre-Thanksgiving Phish shows on its website. Initially the site confirmed two gigs at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on November 24 and 25. However the band has now announced a 13 date tour that also will include two nights in Cincinnati at the U.S. Bank Arena, two dates in Albany at the Pepsi Center and three shows at Madison Square Garden on December 2-4, with the full itinerary below.

Phish November/December Dates

November 18 Detroit, MI Cobo Arena
November 20 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena
November 21 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena
November 22 Syracuse, NY War Memorial at Oncenter
November 24 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
November 25 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
November 27 Albany, NY Times Union Center
November 28 Albany, NY Times Union Center
November 29 Portland, ME Cumberland County Civic Center
December 2 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
December 3 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
December 4 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
December 5 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena

Wilco Announce 2010 Tour Dates

Wilco is the band that just never stops. Continuing to tour in support of last year's Wilco (The Album) the band will be making some unusual stops in 2010. Most notably, the group will be playing the moderately small Centennial Hall in London, Ontario which is obviously great for me. The rest of the dates are as follows:

Feb. 7 Adams Center – Missoula, MT
Feb. 9 Arlene Schnitzer Hall – Portland, OR
Feb. 10 Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
Feb. 13 Live City Vancouver @ David Lam Park^ – Vancouver, CA
Feb. 15 Northern Jubilee Auditorium – Edmonton, AB
Feb. 16 Southern Jubilee Auditorium – Calgary, AB
Feb. 17 TCU Place – Saskatoon, AB
Feb. 19 DECC Auditorium – Duluth, MN
Feb. 20 Overture Hall – Madison, WI
Feb. 21 Wharton Cobb Great Hall – East Lansing, MI
Feb. 23 Hamilton Palace Theatre – Hamilton, ON
Feb. 24 Centennial Hall – London, ON
Feb. 27 Olympia De Montreal – Montreal, QC
Mar. 1 National Arts Centre – Ottawa, ON
Mar. 3 Halifax Forum – Halifax, NS
^ – Free show as part of The 2010 Winter Games

Here's a great video of an early version of "one Wing" off of Wilco (The Album)

Dave & Tim's Vegas Weekend

The amazing but occasional acoustic duo of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds will play 3 nights of shows from December 10-12 at Las Vegas’ Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Tickets may be requested by members of the Warehouse, the official Dave Matthews Band fan association, beginning Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 12:00 noon ESP through Monday, October 19, 2009 at 12:00 Noon EsT. Warehouse member confirmations will be issued by the end of the day on Friday, October 23, 2009.
Here's the duo playing one of my favourite Dave Matthews Band songs "Pay For What You Get"

Temple of the Dog Reunite at Pearl Jam Show

Last night Pearl Jam played another sold out show in Las Vegas' Gibson Amphitheater. The highlight of the show clearly came once Chris Cornell stepped on stage to take over some vocal duties. The performance unified all the principal members of Temple of the Dog — Cornell, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Matt Cameron, Mike McCready and background vocalist Eddie Vedder — for the first time since 2003.
Here's the reunited Temple of the Dog playing their standout hit "Hunger Strike"

Another Taste of The Avett Brothers

The late night television appearances just keep on coming for The Avetts. They played Craig Ferguson last night and performed another song off of I and Love and You, this time a tune called "Laundry Room". It's nice to see the boys sticking to the original 4 members and playing a more up beat, punkier song than they played on Letterman.


The band also just announced a string of New Years shows
The Avett Brothers will ring in 2010 with a performance at Knoxville, TN’s Tennessee Theatre on December 30 and a gig at Asheville, NC’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium on December 31. The band will then make stops in Atlanta, GA (1/1), Dallas, TX (1/3), Midwest City, OK (3/3), Milwaukee, WI (3/6) and Reno, NV (4/18) early next year. The next leg of the group’s fall tour will kick off with an appearance at Baltimore, MD’s Rams Head Live on October 15 and come to a close with a Halloween performance at Nashville, TN’s Ryman Auditorium (from jambands.com).

Surprise Me Mr. Davis & The Land of Talk

Surprise Me Mr. Davis, the avant-folk group made up of The Slip + Nathan Moore and newest member Marco Benevento will be touring with Canadian indie rock group Land of Talk. The latter is led by Broken Social Scene singer Lizzie Powell. Andrew Barr of Davis has drummed for Land of Talk in the past and will be providing drums for both bands during this short tour. The Slip will also play a one off hometown show at Lupo's in Providence Rhode Island this Thanksgiving (November 28).

Tour Dates:
November 18 Cambridge, MA—Middle East Downstairs
November 19 Burlington, VT—Club Metronome
November 20 Northampton, MA—Iron Horse
November 21 New York, NY—Mercury Lounge
The Slip - November 28 Providence, RI - Lupo's

Check out Andrew Barr playing drums on the Land of Talk's "Some Are Lakes"

Here's Surprise Me Mr. Davis playing "Silly Like A Goose" with Andrew Barr playing some wandering drums

Zero 7 - First North American Tour In 3 Years

Zero 7, the electronic/rock duo from Britain will tour the U.S. and Canada for their first time in over three years in support of their new album Yeah Ghost. The duo will be joined by singer Eska and folk collaborator Olivia Chaney as well as long time band members Eddie Stevens, Robin Mullarkey and Tom Skinner. Listeners will probably remember the Zero 7 song "In the Waiting Line" from the flick Garden State.

Tour Dates
10/08/09 Thu Roundhouse London, GB
10/09/09 Fri Roundhouse London, GB
10/11/09 Sun 53 Degrees Preston, GB
10/12/09 Mon Queens Hall Edinburgh, GB
10/13/09 Tue Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham, GB
11/26/09 Thu 9:30 Club Washington, DC
11/27/09 Fri Terminal 5 New York, NY
11/28/09 Sat House of Blues Boston, MA
11/29/09 Sun Theatre of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia, PA
12/02/09 Wed Club Soda Montreal, QC
12/03/09 Thu Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON
12/04/09 Fri Metro Chicago, IL
12/05/09 Sat Epic (formerly the Quest) Minneapolis, MN
12/07/09 Mon Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
12/08/09 Tue Belly Up Aspen, CO
12/11/09 Fri Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
12/12/09 Sat Showbox at the Market Seattle, WA
12/13/09 Sun Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
12/15/09 Tue The Warfield San Francisco, CA
12/16/09 Wed Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA
12/17/09 Thu House of Blues San Diego, CA

Mike Gordon Band Live In Toronto

While I wasn't able to make it to Toronto to check out Mike Gordon's show, our good friends over at Dog Gone Blog (http://dogoneblog.wordpress.com/) did attend and had this to say:

Last night, Mike’s fall tour came to a close at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT. With rave reviews coming from a wide variety of sources, it appears the future for the Mike Gordon Band looks bright.

On Friday, Mike performed in a tiny club in Toronto, bringing back the feeling of Phish’s early days of touring the club circuit. In the past, when Phish would travel to Canada, only the most devoted fans would make the trek (read our article The Spirit of the North). The band would reward the fans in these intimate venues, far-off their regular touring path. Friday night was no different with Mike’s band. The energy was brimming from the outset, and in the small quarters of the Mod Club, the band rewarded the fans once again. Feeding off the energy of the crowd, Mike and his band delivered one of the best shows of the tour. Once again the feeling was there of the band and fans both in it together, in a small room, sharin’ in the groove

10.2.09

Unlike some of the previous shows on the tour, on Friday, Mike and his band needed no time to warm-up. The night kicked off with “Traveled Too Far”, one of several songs played off Mike’s new album The Green Sparrow. Mike began by playing with his Korg Kaossilator, an effect box, creating some very interesting sounds. The song was taken for a 20 minute ride which began with a vocal jam prior to the intro. Holding nothing back, an early groove was started which led into the song perfectly, showing the connection Mike has crafted with his band mates. Even the highest expectations were shoved aside as the band launched into one of the best jams of the tour. To be fully honest, this was one of the best jams Mike has had in years, in any band. And to anyone close enough, you could see how much Mike was enjoying it. Featuring noticeable “Sugar Shack” teases, and some alternative picking reminiscent of “DEG”, Murawski and Gordo vibed off each other showing the long history the two share.
10.2.09

10.2.09

Mike has cited Murawski’s other band – Max Creek Band – as one of his favorites, and has sat in with them on numerous occasions. In the 80’s, Phish covered Max Creek’s “Back Porch Boogie”, a funky number that Mike tricked the band into playing the song, claiming it was one of his own. Joking with each other much in the way Mike and Trey do, it was obvious Mike was having the time of his life. The close friendship between the two was shown when a fan held up a “Skin it Back” sign and Mike tapped Scott, laughing, to see his reaction. Unfortunately, the song was not played.

The show was contained to a single set due to the strict curfew, but in that time, Mike and his band made quite an impact. Each song was extended and explored, with some very unique jams resulting. “I’m Deranged” was one of the highlights of the night, appearing in a sandwich between “Andelman’s Yard”. The song featured a heavily syncopated riff by Scott that flowed throughout the song. The jam went very outside before returning to the bright melody of “Andleman’s”. Other highlights were “Another Door” and the GRAB song “Suskind Hotel”.
mgsetlist10.2.09


The feeling of this being a simple side-project was completely absent. The emphasis on the band-mentality, rather than displaying a single musician’s talents, has made for a very different feeling. Showcasing songs from the other band members, it is clear that Mike intends to make this band more than a musical outlet for himself. He has said how important developing this band is to him, and his intense focus during the show made it apparent that he is putting a great deal of effort in to it. The band nailed their noticeably difficult composed sections, and jammed with a growing confidence. Closing the show with the Beatles “She Said, She Said”, nailing the vocal harmonies, Mike and his band left the stage glowing with excitement. Afterward, we caught up with the band at the after party where they shared their feelings on the incredible night. This show was the definite sleeper of the tour, and a treat for anyone who made the trek through the cold, rainy Toronto night.