Archive: 2007

But after seeing Van Halen in concert, without all the overdubs and with a "a little space" between the instruments, you are immediately struck by how great they are musically.  Eddie Van Halen is still a guitar-wielding behemoth. Beyond the quotes of "Magic Bus" and "Dazed And Confused," you could really hear a wide variety of influences in their sound, in  particular the blues and Latin elements.  Who knew that a self-described good-time party band had more to them.

Ryan Adams has announced plans to continue his extensive world tour supporting his latest album ‘Easy Tiger’ in the New Year. The singer will play several US shows with The Cardinals in January, beginning with a date in Tulsa Oklahoma on January 16. He’ll then play shows in cities up and down the West Coast […]

Beck gave a rare small club performance at the EchoPlex in Los Angeles last night (November 25). The singer looked dapper in a hat and vest and seemed completely at ease, running through career-spanning hits including ‘Loser’, ‘Devil’s Haircut’ and ‘Strange Apparition’. Famed producer Nigel Goodrich (Beck, Radiohead, REM) joined Beck on stage, playing a […]

It looks as if the Jackson 5 may reunite for what may potentially be the biggest source of Grade-A music-blog fodder since Radiohead “pulled a Radiohead.”

Jermaine’s talking, and he claims the talented one will be involved in some role:

Michael will be involved. We want to tour. We want to touch the lives of everybody who’s bought our records and supported us. It will probably start here first, but it will be sometime in 2008. That’s our plan.”

Our guess is Michael will want to touch more than just lives…we’ll let you know if “scrumptious boycock” is featured prominently on the tour rider. Eh, too easy.

We spent much of our Thanksgiving week hearing about how the pre- and post-holiday tradition of sandwiching live music around a delicious turkey may finally be dead. But sucks to your assmar, pessimistheorists, New York hosted a veritable shitload of live shows from Wednesday through Sunday, providing venues all over the city for hippies and hipsters alike to catch a wide variety of genres.

Your trusty Hidden Track sherpas caught three of these New York holiday shows, one taking in The Duo and Mocean Worker‘s awesome show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg before Thanksgiving, one catching RAQ at the Highline Ballroom on Saturday. And our main man Danfun headed over to the West Side’s Terminal 5 for The Hold Steady and Art Brut on Wednesday night.

Shane over at our corporate parent, Glide Magazine, reviewed The Hold Steady + Art Brut show in Phoenix two weeks ago, so head over here if you’re looking for words to compliment these fine, fine photos. Otherwise, read on after the jump for Danfun‘s view of the proceedings in New York’s newest big venue.

We had some fun at the expense of the popular indie-jam rock band moe. some five weeks ago, taking the piss out of the group’s management after it blasted out an e-mail to fans about the band’s innate potential for corporate partnerships, synergistic sponsorships and customized ad jingles. And while Don’t Fuck With Flo has, […]

If you’ve ever played Guitar Hero you’ve probably noticed the creepy “Oh, sure, this sounds just like the original” cover versions the games often use. Activision tries to save some cash by securing the rights to use a cover of the tune instead of ponying up for the original recording. The cover versions have been coming closer and closer to the originals with each new edition of the game.

Now The Romantics are suing Activision for using a cover version of What I Like About You that sounds a little too close to the original for their comfort. Believe it or not, The Romantics may have a good case. Artists such as Tom Waits and Bette Midler have won previous lawsuits claiming cover versions of their songs were too close to the originals. Read more about the lawsuit here as we move on to check out some of the other stories from the weekend:

• Bono and The Edge shocked fans by playing a surprise set of U2 classics
• Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible web video could be the start of a new trend
• Perez Hilton slyly accuses Eddie Van Halen of falling off the wagon
• Surrender your Internet! French President Nicholas Sarkozy proposes cutting off file sharers’ web access if caught three times
• Willie Nelson isn’t a big Michael Vick fan
• Neddy runs down the shows of the week in New York City
• Brendan Bayliss answers a slew of questions from Jambands.com readers
• Dweezil ends the Zappa Plays Zappa N. American tour on a high note

Finally, My Bloody Valentine plans to “do a Radiohead” with their new release. Great, so there’s more fuel for the Radiohead superiority complex.

Pictures by David Bann of Battles at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA on 11/12/07.

On John Fogerty’s new album Revival the ex-leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival acknowledges the brilliance of his past work rather than deny it. But the wry likes of “Creedence Song” notwithstanding, an air of self-consciousness pervades the album, which begs the question of whether Fogerty’s embrace of his past now overcompensates for that period he boycotted it over twenty-years ago?

The Galactic album that became From the Corner to the Block was originally going to be all-instrumental, and in its initial stages was a little loose on concept. That was two years ago, when the band found itself on tour with Bay Area emcee Lyrics Born as the opening act and nightly sit-in guest, and was really enjoying itself as it figured out the next direction.