Dan Alford

The Fourth of July is just days away so it’s time for the fourth annual Stormy Mondays’ Battle with the British, this time featuring Warren Haynes as he tackles the

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Phish opened summer tour a few weeks back, but it’s time to move on to something new: Furthur opens its summer tour this week, and to celebrate

Phish began the heart of summer tour, four nights in a row in the Northeast, hitting the stage on a cool early summer night in Hartford with a classic Punch You In The Eye opener, and in hindsight the choice set the tone for the rest of the show: a nice show with no huge surprises, a few inconsistencies and some smoldering highlights.

Page was sounding particularly good on the piano here, as he would throughout the whole night, but everyone had ample chances to shine right from the start. Fishman offered up surprisingly dense drumming while a slow, lumbering Ocelot lazily lurked through the forest by night (this song seems so comfortable and warm now, not as peppy and bright as it did this time last year). Mike was slapping hard and bumping the low end on an excellent, welcome Dinner and a Movie, and carried the beginning of the jam on the following Stash to a low, still space. The movement there began to stretch and push at the boundaries, Page’s piano darting above Trey’s reserved lead which was buried in the core of the sound. But eventually the guitar grew louder and began to dominate, pulling the whole jam with it like some sonic groundswell erupting into hectic madness that literally skidded into the finale–the whole improv was really a single uphill movement.

Esther (complete with a Sing a Random Note secret language tease to which no one responded, and had less to do with the old gag than the enormous circus tent set up down the street) was another treat hearkening back to Phish’s early days, sugary rainbow pop lights coloring the stage while Esther and the puppet were adrift, and shifting to foggy purples as they fell earthward again. The truly stand out moment of the set, though, was Walk Away. Something about Hartford on a summer weeknight begs for classic rock, and the James Gang cover was immediately bristling with energy, Trey shredding in his best form. But when it seemed like the zenith was at hand, he kept pushing the music higher and higher, running over a whole series of ever greater peaks and sending the crowd into wild fits.

READ ON for more on Dan’s thoughts on Hartford…

It’s time the next installment  in the ever-popular and ever-expanding Stormy Mondays Acoustic Mix Series. This is Volume VI if you’re keeping track at home, kicking off with Jorma Kaukonen

For a little beginning of the week boost by way of commiseration, this week’s Stormy Monday is a workingman’s mix of music, kicking off with The Mother Hips’ Raining Gravel,

Wayne Shorter Quartet – Philadelphia Museum of Art – April 23, 2010

Going to see the Wayne Shorter Quartet premiere a new commissioned piece penned by the legendary saxophonist is an odd occurrence. Certainly he is recognized as the greatest living jazz composer, but in fact his band, now celebrating its tenth year (a tenure largely unheard of in the jazz world) has long since moved beyond the concept of songs per se, addressing most performances instead with an organic, suite based approached that has more to do with spontaneous composition than written music, with the closest listening than the defined roles of piano, drums, bass and sax.

As an ensemble, Shorter, Danilo Perez, Brian Blade and John Patitucci are the world’s premier improvisers, delicate and dynamic, ethereal and explosive all at once. Two years ago Shorter wrote a piece for the Imani Winds, and their performances featuring the sax player held tightly to the written form; but to see the Quartet handle a new composition on their own more than piqued my curiosity and sent me running to the Philadelphia Museum of Art three hours before show time.

The commission for the Philadelphia Music Project, entitled Lotus, was a response to the museum’s varied collection and was to be unveiled as part of the free Live at 5 series, a bit surprising considering the world class talent involved and the small space that is used for these events, nestled at the foot of the museum’s main staircase. An hour and a half before the show began, the stairs and gallery above were packed with people, and by gig time, it was a hectic scene with a few thousand people crowded into the institutions first floor.

READ ON for more from Dan on the Wayne Shorter Quartet…

Later this week, guitar wizard Steve Kimock is playing a pair of exceedingly rare solo acoustic gigs at The Stone in Manhattan, a John Zorn performance space. It promises to