Posts by Ace Cowboy

As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden. —Chance the Gardner The first time I saw the movie Being There I recoiled in surprised horror at my ignorance of white funk. You mean there’s more out there than 1997 Phish bootlegs, Average White Band […]

If you’ve been following the harrowing immigration saga of the male half of the most impressive acoustic thrash metal guitar duo on the planet, we’re happy to report Rodrigo Sanchez has been cleared for entry into the United States. I guess my wire-cutter and ten-gallon jug of water won’t be necessary after all.

Here’s the latest piece of news from the duo’s website:

Rodrigo Sanchez, half of the ATO Recording artists Rodrigo Y Gabriela, has successfully procured his Entertainment Working Visa from the American Embassy in Mexico City on Friday March 23, 2007. Mr. Sanchez is officially clear to continue Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s highly-anticipated U.S. tour beginning on April 14 in Los Angeles, CA. The band will also perform live on The Jimmy Kimmel Show on April 13.

And the band played on…Good to know this tour will proceed as planned. Read on for some cool Rodrigo Y Gabriela videos and the full spring tour dates.

One of Canada’s finest exports is returning to these United States.

Legendary rock trio Rush today announced a monstrous 62-show, five-month Snakes & Arrows World Tour that’ll take them through North America and Europe, with tickets for most shows going on sale later this week.

I’m excited to hit one of these shows, just to see Geddy Lee and Neil Peart in person and on stage before I die (well, actually, before they die). Relatedly, outside of big Rush fans, is guitarist Alex Lifeson the most unknown third member of a rock trio in the history of music? I vote yes, but I’ll open it up for discussion.

It’s nice to see Geddy Lee get time away from ESPN’s Baseball Tonight studio for this tour. Read on for the full tour dates, which follow after the jump…

See that speck of light down there, like 10 football fields away? That’s legendary Brazilian songwriting guitarist Gilberto Gil. In 1969, the military government arrested Gil and a singer compatriot for anti-state activities and subsequently exiled them from their native country. Today, Gil’s the nation’s Minister of Culture. Gilberto Gil is a series of hiccups, […]

One of the best screenwriters of his generation is teaming up with one of the best songwriters of that same generation for an interesting collaborative effort. EW.com is reporting some strangely awesome news that surely marks the first and only time we’ll ever mention anything eligible for a Tony Award: The Great White Way will never be the same: In […]

Not unusual, the Grand Isle of Manhattan played host to three unique shows that my friends and I spread out across the city to catch: Scotty reviewed the Allmans already, I’ll get to Gilberto Gil later, and my good pals Hal and John caught up-and-coming indie powerhouse Explosions in the Sky at Webster Hall.

Read on for some initial reactions and adjective-laden thoughts about the show…

I wanna dance with somebody. No, I’d really rather feel the heat with somebody. David Byrne is making headlines down at SXSW. Well, to put it a bit more accurately, some editors are making pun-fueled headlines about him. The music industry is abuzz after Colonel PowerPoint presented some obviously maverick viewpoints down at the Austin festival […]

Heads up, Second City: The Chicago Tribune is reporting Eric Clapton will bring his Crossroads Guitar Festival to the City of Awesome Hot Dogs this summer. But as fantastic as that news is for Chicagoans, I’d like to point everyone’s attention to the last line of the Trib piece: “Among the performers to be announced […]

After years of frustrating stagnation, LivePhish is really churnin’ ’em out now. The popular rock band Phish’s organization has made 12/1/95 from the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania available for official download, on both audio and video. This marks the second ’95 show released in the past month, and archivist Kevin Shapiro hints in his […]

Levon Helm’s re-appearance on the public stage stood as the one gig on Earth that could keep me away from the Bustle In Your Hedgerow show at Mexicali Blues on Saturday night. I still think I made the right call, the easy call, but all accounts rolling in from Teaneck point to a blown-off roof and “tightest Bustle show ever.” Oh well, I got Garth’d at the Beacon instead.

Let’s take a look at some photos from Saturday’s Bustle show…

3/17/07 Bustle In Your Hedgerow setlist at Mexicali Blues*
Set I: On the Tiles, The Wanton Song, What Is & What Should Never Be, Custard Pie, All Of My Love > Communication Breakdown > All Of My Love, Four Sticks, Ramble On, You Shook Me, Moby Dick, Kashmir

Set II: The Song Remains the Same, White Summer, Over the Hills & Far Away, In the Evening, Thank You, For Your Life, Heartbreaker, The Ocean, When the Levee Breaks > Bring It On Home > Good Times Bad Times > Bring It On Home

Enc: Immigrant Song

• Read on for another set of shots from Seiden’s point-of-view
• Click here for a separate Flickr stream of amazing Bustle photos

(*Thanks to Mexicali’s lighting dude Piranha for piecing this together)

Last week we expressed sadness at Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s last-second cancellation at Langerado and SXSW. It seems the government won’t let Mr. Sanchez into the country because he shares the same name as an already barred foreigner.

An estimated one million to three million illegal immigrants cross our southern border every year, and yet this guy gets fucked trying to do it right? C’mon!

A renowned Mexican guitarist, member of the ATO Recording artists Rodrigo Y Gabriela, has been hold up here for over two weeks since the United States Embassy declined to renew his P-1 Entertainer Visa. This unexpected situation has led to the cancellation of half a dozen U.S. shows on Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s current tour, and put in jeopardy many other major concerts and promotional appearances.

Now we’re even sadder: On the heels of the duo’s Langerado and SXSW pullouts, this week’s NYC Webster Hall and Philadelphia Electric Factory gigs have also been postponed for about a month. And if the rest of the calendar stays intact, this sets up an April 15th show in Portland, Oregon the night before the Webster Hall appearance. I hope these two aren’t totally exhausted come showtime…

• Click here to watch the duo’s incredible performance on Letterman
• Read on for a full updated schedule of Rod Y Gab’s tour dates

On a typically raucous St. Patrick’s Day evening in New York City, the Levon Helm Band showed us why nostalgia isn’t always a pejorative term.

Saturday night’s festivities — the second of a two-night return to the public eye — was nostalgia at its absolute finest, the very best intention for the word. Levon and sometimes as many as 15 friends formed a tight ensemble that played fantastic versions of Band songs I’ve been in love with forfuckingever. And on certain glances, you could easily forget you weren’t watching 1970s Levon: the same unique monkeydrumming style, the same bone-rattling southern drawl.

Whatever everyone paid for tickets, we all received far more than we ever bargained. In addition to his supremely talented backing big-band, Levon trotted out an all-star lineup of sit-in performers like Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Little Sammy Davis, Warren Haynes, and eventually, an unplanned cameo during a second encore from his former Bandmate Garth Hudson. Garth?! Are you fucking kidding me? I paid $100 for that ticket, and I feel like I got off insanely light.

Read on for some photos and YouTube videos of this incredible evening of music…

We’re celebrating our six-month anniversary this week, even though I have no clue what the official launch date was. Whatever, I love cake. And party hats. This mighta been the best week of the past six months. No “mighta” about it actually, this one tops ’em all. On the bookends, I caught 22 awesome bands […]

Everyone I know that’s attended the High Sierra Music Festival over the past few years swears to everything holy that it’s the greatest thing since bread sliced by width. I’ve never been out there, but I’m tempted to find out.

High Sierra announced its no-frills, no-Coachella-influenced lineup today, and the initial announcement includes Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon, Les Claypool, Galactic, Del McCoury Band, Soulive, Mavis Staples, Tea Leaf Green, ALO, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, JJ Grey & MOFRO, Hot Buttered Rum, The New Mastersounds, Bobby Previte’s Coalition of the Willing, Toubab Krewe, Outformation and Ryan Montbleau Band. Pretty solid. Tickets are on sale.

Read on below for the entire High Sierra lineup…

1. We’ve been updating our Grousing The Aisles: Langeradownloads post frequently since its intial publication yesterday, and we’re up to recordings for 16 bands. If you’re looking for Langerado downloads, that’s your place to be. We’ll continue to add to that list as more come in… 2. My favorite touring band is at it again […]

Your ol’ Ace Cowboy played earwitness to a deadly police shootout in the West Village last night, a gunfight that for a little while was rumored to have taken place inside and outside the Lion’s Den on Sullivan Street. That’s since been retracted; I guess the Predator Dub Assassins on stage just confused reporters. But as I […]

“Yeah, New York, it was an adult portion. It was an adult dose. So it took a couple of trips to get into it. You just go in the first time and you get your ass kicked and you take off. As soon as it heals up, you come back and you try it again. […]

The Lee Boys played an impromptu set at Langerado on Sunday due to the sudden pullout of Rodrigo y Gabriela (the withdrawal method apparently works). The Mexican duo’s website blames new U.S. immigration policies and procedures, saying “guitarist Rodrigo Sanchez’s visa renewal has unexpectedly been delayed.” The visa snafu has also forced the cancellation of […]

The downloads from this weekend’s kickoff to festival season are starting to emerge, and we figured we’d throw them out as soon as they come to our attention. So here’s the first batch of torrents and sendspaces for you to devour, and we’ll update this post as often as we can. My Morning Jacket 3/10/07 […]

New York City’s Meatpacking District ain’t just for drugged-up clubbers anymore. Nope, now it’s for drugged-up music fans as well. The Highline Ballroom — owned and operated by the family behind BB King’s and the Blue Note — will mark its grand opening on May 1. And so far, the bookers have done an incredible […]