Monday, November 30, 2009

Sullivan Hall 2 Year Anniversary Party

In 2008, a famous New York City concert venue called The Lion's Den was transformed into Sullivan Hall. The new club is marking its 2nd anniversary with a special concert featuring one-time Sullivan Hall resident Marco Benevento. Benevento will be performing with his trio which will include special guest drummer and musical hero, Billy Martin. What's more, Benevento's new Surprise Me Mr. Davis band mates, The Slip will also be performing in another one of their one-off shows. Tickets will be available to the public on December 1 via ticketweb.com and the show will take place January 2, 2010.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know things have a been a bit slow around here lately, and they will continue to be until the new year most likely. That's not to say I won't be putting together posts from now until then, they will just be a little bit shorter. Anywho, I'm going to leave you with a piece of music from a band that has been a big part of my life since the day I stumbled upon their music. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Furthur Tour Dates

Furthur, the band made up of Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Jay Lane, Joe Russo, John Kadlecik and Jeff Chimenti, have just announced a major tour that spans the month of February and goes into the first week of March

February 5 Miami, FL Bayfront Park Amphitheatre
February 6 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
February 8 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
February 9 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
February 10 Charlotte, NC Bojangles Coliseum
February 12 Hampton, VA Hampton Coliseum
February 13 Faifax, VA Patriot Ctr George Mason Univ. February 14 Ithaca, NY Barton Hall Cornell University
February 15 Lehigh Univ. Bethlehem, PA Stabler Arena
February 17 Buffalo, NY Shea’s Performing Arts Center
February 18 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena
February 19 Amherst, MA Mullins Center Univ of Mass February 20 Utica, NY Utica Auditorium February 22 Newark, DE Bob Carpenter Ctr Univ of DE
February 23 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
February 24 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
February 26 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
February 27 Atlantic City, NJ Trump Taj Mahal @ Estess Arena
March 2 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre
March 3 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre
March 8 Portland, OR Portland Memorial Coliseum

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Phish: Live In Detroit - Wednesday, November 19, 2009

As I tweeted yesterday, I was unable to make it to the Phish show in Detroit. Thankfully, my good friends over at http://dogoneblog.wordpress.com/ were able to make it and have given me permission to post their show review. I recommend heading over to Dog Gone Blog for more pics and sound clips.

On a cool, rainy night in the Motor city, Phish opened their fall tour with a show that hinted at what will come as the tour progresses. Phish got started with some standard rock, bringing Cobo Arena back to its roots, one last time.

The first set flowed like one from a past era, sprinkled with new songs to add an original flavor. The setlist was surprising, and carried the night into a more of a rock-concert feel than a Phish show. However, certain moments saw a combination of the two which made for a perfect tour starter. “Sample in a Jar” heard Trey deliver one of his best standard rock solos this year, as he shed some of his edgy tone, and at the same time, brought back licks we have not heard in years. So many Phish fans have negative feelings for anything that isn’t wildly outside jamming, but this “Sample” reminded us how great, and diverse, Phish’s musical catalog is. Such a simple song, when played well, can have an incredibly powerful impact. “Kill Devil Falls” picked up on this vibe, carrying into an extended jam that continued to heat things up inside Cobo. “It’s Ice” came as a very welcome treat, and was executed fairly well. “Ice” is far better suited for arena shows, and as the tour progresses, will hopefully make a dive toward the depths it saw this year at Hampton.


“46 Days” was one of the highlights of the night, as the band took the song into a deep, percussive groove. Page initiated an ascending pattern that has been present in many jams in ‘09, and Trey quickly latched on, syncopating his notes amongst the rest. As the song risked being dragged into an extended guitar solo, Trey kicked back into the chorus to add some additional power to the song. Upon reentering the jam, the band diverged into a syncopated layer of crawling funk-filled notes that brought the show to a new level. Coupled with Kuroda’s psychedelic light show, Cobo Arena came to life, as legend had told. “Bowie” closed the set, as expected, and though we hoped to see it reach into its potential depths, it only hinted at greatness before coming to a close.

The second set saw the first dark “Disease” of the year, showcasing the band’s tight new form, and unimpeded new direction. The jam flowed perfectly into “Free”, another ultimate arena rocker. Trey, who in the past has referred to his guitar pedals as his “safety mechanisms” has slowly been using them less in his playing (has anyone else noticed?) as he becomes more comfortable and confident leading his old band.

Distortion pedals and effect pedals allow guitarists a certain forgiveness that Chet Atkins described quite elegantly. Known for playing in his high school bathroom to achieve a natural reverb, Chet simply said when asked about it, “it just made me sound better than I really was”. In March, and much of the summer, Trey’s sound was dominated by his effect-laden tone, with heavy use of his new favorite toy, the digitech wham II. After 8, as a natural energy took over, and Trey no longer required his safety cushions to falls back on, we saw him slowly return to a cleaner, less effect-heavy style of playing. Last night followed in this new development, as we heard him incorporate a greater use of his licks from the ‘98-’99 era.


The set featured an interesting mix of slow and fast tempos, laying the set out in a spontaneous way that all come together by the end. With two slow songs in the second set, I know people will be talking, but the spontaneity is what counts. Going into a Phish show, knowing what is going to happen, is my greatest nightmare. Last night proved contrary, with high and low points of many different kinds. On the first night of the tour, the band delivered a classic rock performance in a classic rock venue peppered with some of their own improvisational force. Almost every note was well played, and there is no doubt the energy has carried over from 8.

This weekend, as the band returns to another storied venue, this time one familiar to the band and their fans, we can only go upward in terms of quality. That has been the trend since Hampton, with every step of the way getting better and better. This weekend will be a significant time, the first two-night stand, in a place that holds a very strong Phishiness.

Bonnaroo 2010 Dates

The ninth annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will take place from June 10-13, 2010. The four-day music and camping festival will once again be held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, TN, 60 miles southeast of Nashville. The festival’s initial lineup will be confirmed in either late January or early February.

A special holiday ticket pre-sale will begin Friday, November 27 on noon. In addition, the festival is making an installment plan available for tickets buyers.

Lisa Go Stick It, I Got My Bonnaroo Ticket by Gary Chardonnay from Bonnaroo on Vimeo.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Phish - Tour Opener: Detroit

Phish @ Cobo Arena: Setlist

Phish
November 18, 2009
Cobo Arena
Detroit, MI

Set 1: AC/DC Bag, Foam, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Bouncing Around The Room, Sample In A Jar, Kill Devil Falls, It’s Ice, Horn. Mountains In The Mist, Poor Heart, 46 Days, David Bowie

Set 2: Runaway Jim, Down With Disease -> Free, Waste, Taste, Bug, Wading In A Velvet Sea, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Cavern

Encore: Character Zero

Friday, November 13, 2009

Monsters Of Folk: Say Please Music Video

It looks like the Monsters Of Folk have released a music video for their single, "Say Please". It's a pretty strange video, starting with three members of the group being found in a ditch wearing WWII vintage uniforms and ending with a roll skating party....see for yourself

The Who: Super Bowl Halftime

According to a Sports Illustrated source (via Spinner), the two surviving original Who members, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, will entertain the millions of viewers of Super Bowl XLIV in Miami on Feb. 7 of next year.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Marco Benevento DVD Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak at Marco Benevento's new DVD. In this excerpt we can witness the trio of Marco, Joe Russo (drums) and Brad Barr (guitar) tearing up a 100% improvised jam of rock and roll madness. Needless to say, the rest of the DVD will be equally as incredible considering the lineup of musicians.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Phish NYE in Miami


As if the beautiful women, sunshine and food weren't enough reasons to head to Miami for Christmas break, Phis has now confirmed rumors that they will be playing a 3 night stint at at American Airlines Arena, December 28-31. A limited number of tickets are now being offered through Phish's online ticketing system at phish.portals.musictoday.com. The request time ends Sunday, November 15 at 11:59 p.m., EST. Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, November 21 at 10:00 a.m. EST.

My Morning Jacket To Appear On American Dad


The members of My Morning Jacket will voice themselves in an upcoming episode of the adult cartoon American Dad. In the episode “My Morning Straitjacket” main character Stan Smith becomes a My Morning Jacket groupie. The show is scheduled to air Sunday, November 22 at 9:30 ET on FOX. The episode is believed to be the first time the members of the group have portrayed themselves in a prime time animated series. My Morning Jacket is currently off the road while Jim James tours with Monsters of Folk. (from jambands.com)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

BlakRoc Music Video

Here's the new music video from The Black Key's hip hop project, BlakRoc. The song's called "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo). Personally, I think the track feels a bit too busy with 3 different voices on it. Mos Def's singing also a little off key, but to be fair, he is a rapper and not a crooner. Anyways, judge for yourself.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Sharon Jones Interview Cancelled

Alas, somethings don't always work out. Due to scheduling issues I've had to withdraw from the Sharon Jones interview I previously reported on. Sorry folks, I'm in the process of arranging an equally as thrilling read so check back for an update on that.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Upcoming Sharon Jones Interview

It looks as though I will be interviewing Sharon Jones sometime next week for Jambands.com. The focus will be the new Daptone Gold release, the forthcoming Dap-Kings disc and her recent sit in with Phish at Festival 8. Stay tuned it should be a great interview.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Phish Festival 8 - Day Two

NOON ACOUSTIC SET
*Water in the Sky, **Back on the Train, ***Brian and Robert, Invisible, Strange Design, Mist, The Curtain With, Army of One, Sleep Again, My Sweet One, Let Me Lie, Bouncin' Around the Room, Train Song, Wilson, McGrupp and the Watchful Horsemasters

ACOUSTIC ENCORE
Driver, Talk, Secret Smile

SHOW NOTES
*Someone in the crowd yelled, "Thanks for last night," and Trey replied off mic "Thank You." **Someone yelled, "Reba," and Trey said, "You're going to have to wait for that one." ***You guys sure you don't want to sit down, huh? It's the last time I'll say it but we are going to be playing a lot of mellow tunes (people did sit down) ... I've never played to a sitting down Phish crowd before."