Hidden Track Staff, Author at Glide Magazine

B List: 10 Best Music-Related Trends of 2010

Hidden Track Staff December 22, 2010 2 Comments

We continue our look back at the year that was by listing 10 Music-Related Trends We Loved in 2010. Let’s hope all of these trends continue in 2011.

1. When Musicians Stop Being Polite And Start Getting Real

Phil Lesh on the message boards, Josh Clark doing whatever it is that he does, etc. We don’t think engaging your fanbase on the message boards is a WISE decision, but boy does it make for great fodder for us bloggers.

2. Bands Get More Revenue, Fans Get More Music

Gov’t Mule and the String Cheese Incident were among the bands we cover who started archival series in 2010. SCI’s Rhythm of the Road Vol. 1 kicked ass and Mule’s Mulennium brought back fond memories of that group’s power trio days. Most acts keep an archive of old recordings, so why not give the fans what they want by selling some of the gems in their vaults? Let’s have more of where these came from please.

Year In Review: Ten Great Musicians We Lost in 2010, 10 Best Archival Releases of 2010, Best Concert DVDs of 2010

READ ON for eight more music trends we loved in 2010…

Picture Show: 7 Walkers @ City Winery

Hidden Track Staff December 21, 2010 No Comments

2010 was a big year for 7 Walkers as the band, which features Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead on drums, Papa Mali on guitar, George Porter Jr. on bass and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard, set off on multiple successful tours and put out a critically acclaimed self-titled debut album.

[All photos by Rob Chapman]

7 Walkers’ latest tour came to a close on Sunday at City Winery in New York, where photog Rob Chapman was on hand to capture the action. READ ON for a gallery of Rob’s photos from 7 Walkers at City Winery…

Hidden Track’s Holiday Gift Guide

Hidden Track Staff December 20, 2010 2 Comments

For the first time in our history, the Hidden Track staff has put together a list of ten items for the rabid music lover in your life. These are all items with the HT stamp of approval and if we don’t own ’em, we wish we did. So let’s get down to business, ’cause frankly – if you haven’t started shopping yet you’re going to need all the help you can get…

HT Suggests: Logitech Squeezebox Radio

Why You’d Want It: This all-in-one music player allows you to listen to SiriusXM, Pandora, Rhapsody, a whole host of other services, thousands of internet radio stations and any music files you throw at it in any room of your house – no computer required. All you need is a wi-fi connection and you’re golden.

The Squeezebox is the same size as a clock radio and is about as easy to use as it gets once you get past the annoying initial installation. We had a chance to play around with a unit and we loved being able to switch from hearing about the hot stove on sports radio station WFAN to listening to Howard Stern interview Billy Joel on Sirius to streaming Miles Davis’ All Blues over Pandora in just a few short clicks of the click wheel. There’s a handy program guide that makes finding new stations a snap and the color display tells you everything you need to know about what you’re listening to including all the track information from Sirius/XM.

Terrestrial radio might be dying, but the Squeezebox shows that internet and satellite radio are where it’s at for a ridiculously wide variety of listening options.

Grab It At: Amazon.com for $149.99

READ ON for more of HT’s First Annual Holiday Gift Guide…

Camp Bisco 10 Dates Announced

Hidden Track Staff December 16, 2010 No Comments

As my final tan lines from 2010 are finally fading, it’s exciting to see that it’s never too soon to start planning for Summer ’11. Today, we found out that

At The Barbecue: 2010’s Break Out Acts

Hidden Track Staff December 10, 2010 2 Comments

With the year rapidly coming to a close, and the holiday season fully upon us, we wanted to get the HT Crew together for one last hang to talk music before we throw the cover on BBQ for the winter. Since ’tis the season to reflect back on what went down over the last 12 months, we thought we’d invite the gang over to HT Headquarters to warm up by the fireplace, throw some large hunks of meat on the grill and crack open a few Anderson Valley Winter Solsticeses for another rousing edition of At The Barbecue.

muscle-car-bbq-grill-3

This time around, we thought we’d continue our year-end housecleaning by discussing our Break Out Acts of the year, which ranged from new discoveries to some acts that just hit it out of the park with a monster 2010.

Andy Kahn – The Morning Benders

Without a doubt The Morning Benders stood up and demanded to be noticed this year. Particularly on the heels of their sophomore album Big Echo & their relentless touring, the band has proven to be a force in the studio & on the road. The quartet from Berkeley, CA is led by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Christopher Chu, whose impressive songwriting is filled with dreamy lyrics and catchy pop sensibilities. Whether on stage or in the studio the band creates a lush but airy sound tucked into a cool, laid-back vibe.

Excuses, their captivating single off Big Echo, was my song of the year after the first listen and has made it “big” being featured on a television commercial. The band is on a seemingly never ending tour, crisscrossing the States and beyond several times this year alone, opening for acts like Broken Bells, hitting festivals and headlining bills as well. Keep an eye out for these guys there’s a good chance they’re playing your town soon.

READ ON for more of our picks of the Break Out Acts of 2010…

Picture Show: Jorma’s 70th @ the Beacon

Hidden Track Staff December 7, 2010 2 Comments

On Saturday afternoon, we told you about the first night of Hot Tuna’s two-show celebration of Jorma Kaukonen’s 70th birthday in which the band was joined by a cavalcade of guests including Bruce Hornsby, Warren Haynes and John Hammond at NYC’s Beacon Theatre. The second night featured a new set of special guests, namely Bob Weir, Oteil Burbridge and Steve Earle.

[All Photos by Vernon Webb]

For Saturday’s show, Hot Tuna also invited a few former members of the band to the stage to fete Jorma – guitarist Michael Falzarano and keyboardist Pete Sears. The two-set performance started with the group playing four songs unaccompanied before the guest spots started and continued through the end of the show. Weir sat in on Big Railroad Blues, Bowlegged Woman, Walking Blues and When I Paint My Masterpiece as well as Come Back Baby and the Baby What You Want Me To Do? encore.

More on Saturday’s Show: Shakedown Blog, Jorma’s blog and Jambands.com

READ ON for the complete setlist from Saturday night’s performance plus more of Vernon’s stunning photos from the evening…

Review: Furthur @ Madison Square Garden

Hidden Track Staff November 23, 2010 12 Comments

Furthur @ Madison Square Garden, November 20-21

Words: Tyler Curtis

It’s been quite a year for Furthur in every aspect including the size of the venues the group has been playing. Just four months ago, this post-Grateful Dead act offered two performances at the 2,100-capacity Best Buy Theater in New York City. This past weekend, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh brought their latest project to the 20,000 seats at Madison Square Garden for two nights. Both shows were different in everything from the flow of the setlists, to the crowd and band’s energy. It has been said that when the Garden is full of enthusiasm, magic does happen and that was indeed the case for Furthur.

Night one consisted of a monstrous first set that included a Help On The Way, Slipknot! and Shakedown Street combination that shook the entire arena with merciless energy between the crowd and the music. The rest of the set continued the Grateful Dead repertoire’s standard of crisp jams and stellar vocals, though there was a minor flub in El Paso. However, the Terrapin Station Suite closer was the highlight of the set as the 23-minute sequence brought silence and focus from the attentive crowd.

The second set of Saturday’s concert provided a more psychedelic vibe to the atmosphere mainly controlled by bassist Phil Lesh. He seemed to stop and start the songs, leading the way to the next jam or pushing the improvisation to the next level. This was clear on songs like Saint Stephen and from the way Millennium Jam segued into The Eleven, consisting of an increase in the tempo to bring up the intensity of the jams.

READ ON for more on Furthur’s two shows at MSG…

HT Picture Show: The Mike Gordon Band @ The Fine Line Music Cafe

Hidden Track Staff November 18, 2010 No Comments

Mike Gordon Band @ Fine Line Music Cafe, November 16

Words and Images: Joe Ringus

It’s not often a member of Phish graces Minnesota with their presence. Despite the infrequency of band member’s visits, the state’s fans always show their appreciation when one of these performances occurs. This past Tuesday night, the Fine Line Music Cafe in Downtown Minneapolis played host to bassist Mike Gordon and his band as they made a mid-week stop in the bitter north. Fans responded by nearly packing the 769-capacity venue.

The MGB’s first set opened up with the sizzling first track from Moss, Can’t Stand Still, and never let up. Early on, Gordon invited the crowd to make music with him by handing his kaossilator effects pedal to the folks in the front row to pass around. Between lasers and the stage lights, Mike Gordon and company made the most of playing the small bar.

The jams were thick during the second set which included an Alanis Morissette cover, a segue sandwich of J.J. Cale’s Ain’t Love Funny with drummer Todd Isler’s original Kryermaten as well as a staple of the Phish repertoire – a cover of Son Seals’ Funky Bitch. Mike and his band even treated fans to their version of Sailin’ Shoes by Little Feat.

Set One : Can’t Stand Still, Sound, Suskind Hotel, Be Good And You’ll Be Lonely, Middle Of The Road, Walls Of Time, Radar Blip > Dig Further Down

Set Two : Idea, Lit O Bit, Hand In My Pocket, Ain’t Love Funny > Kryermaten > Ain’t Love Funny > The Field > Kryermaten > Ain’t Love Funny, Funky Bitch, Pretend, Somaila, Jones, Sailin’ Shoes, Hap Nappy > Rock Me Baby

Encore : Sugar Shack

[Setlist via Mike-Gordon.com]

Before the night was finally over, the group encored with Mike’s lone track from Joy, Sugar Shack, which sent the fans into the cold Minnesota night with huge smiles on their faces.

READ ON for the rest of Joe’s fantastic MGB photos…

Picture Show: Blues Traveler @ BK Bowl

Hidden Track Staff November 10, 2010 2 Comments

New Jersey-bred jam legends Blues Traveler came to Brooklyn Bowl this past weekend for a pair of sold out performances at our favorite venue in New York City. The shows were a homecoming of sorts for the band, which cut its proverbial teeth at joints like the Wetlands Preserve and Nightingale’s during the late ’80s and early ’90s before finding commercial success.

[All photos by Rob Chapman]

The quintet was joined by quite a few guests over the course of the weekend including Paulie Z from Z02, Lisa Bouchelle, Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors, Matt Whyte of Earl Greyhound and John Cusimano of The Cringe. Even Rachel Ray, Cusimano’s wife, was in the house and left the band some deviled eggs, which we’d imagine were yum-o.

Photographer Rob Chapman was in the house for Saturday’s show. READ ON for a batch of Blues Traveler photos from Brooklyn Bowl by Rob…

Irregular Streams: Gorillaz in Damascus

Hidden Track Staff November 5, 2010 1 Comment

Kevin Smallwood, Jonathan Kosakow and Conor Kelly – aka Three Grown Men – will be contributing a number of articles on different topics over the coming months. One of the

Hidden Track Staff

View posts by year

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter