Archive: 2008

Photos by Dave Vann of Phil Lesh and Friends' Mardi Gras show, held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA on January 26th, 2008. You can see more of Dave's coverage over on our Hidden Track blog

On March 4, Mood Food/Outpost/Geffen/Ume will re-release Whiskeytown’s "Strangers Almanac" as a double-disc deluxe edition. The newly expanded version will include previously unreleased Whiskeytown tracks plus several classic covers. The first disc includes the original album, produced by Jim Scott, plus five live public radio performances. Acoustic demo versions of "16 Days," "Avenues" and "Excuse […]

Eels have announced a tour of the US and Canada, beginning with a warm-up show on Valentine’s Day in Santa Ana, CA. The band then head to Europe before returning to North America where the dates will pick up March 28 in Philadelphia and wind up mid-April in Los Angeles. The dates will support the […]

Kanye West has announced that he will head out on the road this year on a jaunt called the ‘Glow In The Dark’ tour. The rap superstar whose ‘Graduation’ album last year famously won a head-to-head in album sales against 50 Cent’s ‘Curtis’, posted the announcement on his blog revealing that Lupe Fiasco, NERD and […]

Dan Bejar & Destroyer are preparing for the March 18 release of Trouble In Dreams, and have just announced their North American tour dates. The band first heads to Austin for SXSW, where you will find them at the Merge showcase at the Parish on March 14th. Tour Dates  03-14 Austin, TX – The Parish […]

April, the new album from Sun Kil Moon, is Mark Kozelek’s first original record since the acclaimed 2003 Sun Kil Moon debut Ghosts Of The Great Highway. 11 songs at almost 74 minutes, April is a collection of songs recorded between March and August 2007 in San Francisco (Hyde Street Studios) and Seattle (Well Recording). […]

Recorded comfortably in the Zebra Ranch studio operated by Luther's and brother Cody’s father Jim Dickinson, Hernando temporarily postponed the release of a documentary on NMAS. All Stars Front-man Luther Dickinson has recently joined the Black Crowes, appearing on their anticipated Warpaint release, making himself one of rock's most prolific guitarists.

Last weekend I finally caught up on organizing all of the amazing shows I’ve downloaded since I started this column 16 months ago. One thing that blew me away was how many incredible sounding (and looking) Steely Dan bootlegs that I’ve grabbed from the torrent and MP3 bootleg sites. I thought instead of being a selfish chazer (Yiddish anyone?), I’d take this opportunity to compile all of the kickass Dan recordings for those who may have missed out in the past.

We’ve got links to 10 of the best Steely Dan bootlegs you could possibly find. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I am. Let’s check ’em out:

Steely Dan 03/20/1974 FM (FLAC, MP3):

After listening to one of Steely Dan’s rare live gigs from the ’70s, I’m just confused as to why these guys didn’t tour behind any of their legendary albums. The Dan absolutely tore it up in the live setting with a band that included Michael McDonald, Denny Dias and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. To see what I’m talking about, download this crispy-as-fuck radio show Steely Dan recorded on March 20th, 1974.

I’ve had a copy of this show for years, but the hiss on the analog tape made it unlistenable. But last week a pristine copy of the set made its way to the torrent sites. My old copy has now become my new coaster. The show begins with a high-energy romp through Bodhisattva that features Baxter and Walter Becker trading mind-blowing licks. Do It Again is a little more groovin’ than the album version thanks to McDonald’s work on the Rhodes. Other nuggets on this recording include the nasty solos in Rikki Don’t Lose That Number and a soulful version of Any Major Dude. We can only hope that more crispy recordings from the Dan’s epic 1974 tour surface soon. Read on for much more GTA…

ESPN’s tapping one of our favorite new(ish) bands for Sunday’s big game: “With anticipation high for Sunday’s big game, Rodrigo y Gabriela are honored to be featured on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown on February 3rd. The fast-fingered, acoustic heavy metal duo from Mexico via Dublin, have produced exclusive video segments for the show, which will air Sunday (11 am-2 pm ET).” ¡Viva!

Dave Vann and Margaret Pitcher danced among the crowd of 8,000 at a non-New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration — Dave shoots, Margaret writes…

In what could become a resurrected tradition, Phil Lesh & Friends threw an epic Mardi Gras party in San Francisco on Saturday, the group’s first since February 2005, when the friends included Chris Robinson and members of Railroad Earth.

P&F is rightfully regarded as an ever-shifting and evolving unit, which makes the experience of their live shows both an exciting and risky prospect. On this night the band was definitely on, delivering an amazing performance that unexpectedly brought us into the wee hours of the morning.

Read on for more of Dave Vann’s amazing photos from the Mardi Gras event, more of Margaret’s great review and a great recording for stream or download…