Hidden Track Staff

For today’s GSW-themed Grousing The Aisles column, we’re passing the proverbial mic to longtime taper Scott Bernstein to tell us all about a recording he made of God Street Wine’s

We’d like to welcome longtime GSW stage manager, lighting director and close friend of both the band and HT, Michael Weiss, to share his thoughts on the upcoming God Street Wine shows at the Gramercy Theatre on July 9 and 10. As we discussed earlier, these shows will benefit a cause near and dear to Michael’s heart – the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

[Michael in his familiar position side-stage at a GSW gig]

When I was a kid, I remember all the hype surrounding The ARMS (Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis) Concert for Ronnie Lane. I had no idea what the concert was for, or why it meant so much. I just knew that the music, with Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, John Paul Jones, and more, was great, and that was enough for me. Now, 27 years later, and having been living with Multiple Sclerosis for six years, I understand how much it must have meant to Ronnie to have some of his closest friends come together to benefit, and raise awareness for people living with Multiple Sclerosis.

In 1989, six years after the ARMS concert, and after two years of solid, post-high school Grateful Dead tour, I met Ed Looram at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. That meeting opened the door to a ton of new music for me. Ed introduced me to hip-hop via De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, the alter-ego, psychedelic-pop stylings of XTC via The Dukes of Stratosphere, and what would be the life changing family of God Street Wine via a back yard throw down at Ed’s childhood home in Ridgewood, NJ.

For the next 2+ years, if I wasn’t on Dead tour, I would travel from Dover as often as I could to see GSW at what was the home of the early ’90s NYC jam scene: The Nightingale Bar, The Wetlands, and 712 Club, as well as venues outside of the city like the jam-historic Rhinecliff Hotel and 7 Willow Street. Those trips, and that time with the band, Ed and the rest of the original “Winos”, along with the interaction with the other bands, and crews on the scene, would prove to be the things that lifelong friendships and family are made of. READ ON for more from Michael on GSW’s reunion…

Words: Mike Sherwood

THE BEAST

The Hydra known as Umphrey’s McGee carved its way through the Northeast this past weekend, leaving a path of sonic destruction in its wake. For those who are unfamiliar with Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was a 9 headed beast that Heracles had to slay as his second of twelve labors. In 2010, I don’t think the son of Zeus would stand a chance if he had to contend with the increasingly mythic Umphrey’s McGee.

Umphrey’s McGee – A Day In The Life

Umphrey’s McGee is made up of six musicians (Brendan Bayliss, Jake Cinniniger, Joel Cummins, Andy Farag, Kris Myers and Ryan Stasik), sound caresser Kevin Browning, light magician Jeff Waful and another “head” representing an organization of people who are committed to pleasing UM’s diehard fanbase in fresh and innovative ways. When you couple the collective talents of the band members and the dedication of their support staff, you have the makings of a band that seems destined to make their own mythology in the jam scene and beyond…

THE SHOW

I was fortunate enough this past week to be able to catch three UM shows in four nights. The first of which was at the Nokia Theatre in Manhattan last Thursday. Having lived in Manhattan for eight years prior to moving to Boston last summer, I was very much looking forward to another Nokia show.

READ ON for more of Mike’s thoughts on Umphrey’s at the Nokia…

Words: Jimmy Coulas

With the exception of two arena shows at the U.I.C. Pavilion back in October to support Wilco (The Album), Wilco (The Band) hasn’t played a full show in the Chicagoland Area since the Riviera Residency in February of 2008. When this show at the Overture Center in Madison, WI was added to their seemingly never-ending touring schedule, I knew that I had to go because I wasn’t sure when they would return to their hometown of Chicago.

[All photos by Richie Wireman via WilcoWorld]

My favorite venue in Chicago to see Wilco is the stunning Auditorium Theatre. For a few years, Wilco called the Auditorium home, playing most of their hometown shows at the iconic venue. While the Overture Center is only a few years old and lacks the charm of the Auditorium, it is truly a beautiful venue and the acoustics are marvelous.

As the lights dimmed the band walked on stage to the Olympic March, which is fitting considering most of the shows on this tour are north of the border, and the band recently played an outdoor show in Vancouver for the Olympic’s. Wilco (The Song) kicked off the festivities with the band sounding very fresh and dialed in.

After the chaotic Bull Black Nova, the opening chords to You Are My Face resonated through the venue. The song explodes with a heavily distorted guitar riff by Jeff Tweedy and then once again calms down towards the end. As the song faded out, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and guitarist Pat Sansone added some lullaby like textures as if they were putting the song to sleep. READ ON for more from Jimmy on Wilco in Madison…

We’re expanding our presence in the Bay Area with the addition of music journalist Kyle Fortinsky to the Hidden Track staff. Fittingly, Kyle’s first post is a review of ALO’s Saturday night show at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

An ALO show is the perfect atmosphere to meet the one you’re destined to be with – everyone tends to be forthcoming, social and responsive. An accidental elbow in your back turns into a hand resting on your shoulder and a grinning apology. A sip of beer and a smile becomes an intriguing conversation and, before you know it, a new connection.

Thank the band for this. Members Zach Gill (keyboards, ukulele, accordion, vocals), Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz (guitars, percussion, vocals), Steve Adams (bass, vocals) and Dave Brogan (drums, vocals) execute in a way that ensures communal, familial experiences. Their songwriting is playful and positive, their performances jovial, and their stage presence leads you to believe there’s an ongoing bet as to who can smile the longest. To the unfamiliar, ALO’s moniker, Animal Liberation Orchestra, speaks to the group’s goal of helping fans release their inner groove monster – that “animal” who’s laid dormant far too long and needs to step out for a serious, two hour dance session.

READ ON for more of Kyle’s thoughts on ALO at the Fillmore…

Last night, Trey Anastasio and TAB rocked the historic Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee. For the ensemble’s first Midwest gig, they dusted off one of the gems from the Voltz days, Spin, complete with its heady, ambient jam.

[All photos by Matt Edlhuber]

Also, just as with the group’s previous show at Terminal 5, Big Red ended the first set by donning an acoustic for a selection of Phish songs including the first-ever unplugged performance of Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan and the first acoustic Backwards Down The Number Line since 2008.

Our new pal Matt Edlhuber shot the show for us and sent back a number of fantastic photos. READ ON to check out the complete set of photos…

Words and Images: S. Balaji Mani

Just across the street from Fenway Park, where Trey and Phish kicked off a long-anticipated summer tour last year, Trey and Classic TAB got down to business at Boston’s House of Blues. Coming on a little after 8:30 PM, Trey and company kicked off with the newly-arranged Shine. The brass intro foreshadowed what would be the defining element of the night, TAB’s featured three-piece horn section. The lighting went perfectly with the lyrics, with blazing yellows and whites flooding the room as Trey and the audience echoed the chorus. A bouncy and funky Cayman Review followed, with Trey bouncing up and jumping around, pointing to various fans in the audience.

A calm, dark What’s Done brought the mood down to let people catch their breath – it was also a first for this tour so far. The Birdwatcher showed up in the set as an Elvis-tinged old school rock-and-roll number, a distinct departure from its barbershop arrangement on Party Time.

Trey didn’t hesitate to introduce the newest member of the TAB family, trombonist Natalie Cressman (the first “second generation member of the band,” as her father used to play in TAB). She was beaming the whole night, and also joined Jennifer Hartswick on background vocals for most of the tunes. She really stepped out to shine on Mozambique, delivering a beautifully accented and original solo. While the first set had its moments, including another tour debut with Plasma (which was also supplemented with beautiful lighting work), the true standouts came thereafter.

Drifting led the second half of the evening, with colorful flute work from original Giant Country Horn member Russell Remington. Russell switched fluidly between percussion instruments, flute and saxophones throughout the night. The requisite TAB staple, Sand, sent everyone into a dancing frenzy.

READ ON for more of Balaji’s photos and thoughts on Classic TAB…

There’s been plenty of chatter around the HT Headquarters about yesterday’s Bonnaroo 2010 lineup reveal. We wanted to share a few members of our staff’s thoughts about this year’s bill and then we’d love to hear your take, so please leave a comment after the post.

Kind of an odd mix, at first glance, but makes sense when you consider Bonnaroo’s more recent push to make everybody happy and expand its audience demographics. You have baby boomer appeal with sizable reach (Stevie Wonder), an anchor jamband that has no problem with large crowds (DMB) and the most bankable rapper on the planet (Jay-Z). Not bad, but it’s nothing that’s going to get me to Tennessee as an automatic.

The Lips playing Dark Side will be fun, but boots of their New Year’s performance circulate and they’ll probably repeat the feat at other festivals. It’ll be cool to see Tenacious D back in action, the Avett Brothers and Zac Brown Band are riding a wave of acclaim and excitement, the Kings of Leon are a force to be reckoned with, Phoenix, The National and LCD Soundsystem are your indie attention-grabbers, and whoa, hey, there’s Steve Martin and he’s going to do his bluegrass thing. Throw in Tori Amos and Norah Jones and you really do have something for everyone.

The most intriguing listing, for me, is Jimmy Cliff, who’s said to have a full-blown return tour in the works. Can’t think of a better festival than Bonnaroo to re-introduce the man. Here’s hoping for lots and lots of collaboration, too, though I can’t see anything so far that would rival Springsteen’s Phish sit-in from last year.

I kind of miss the ‘Roo’s jamband/jam-friendly indie roots: it’s always been eclectic, but I feel like it used to have more of a personality all its own (i.e. it looks like Coachella now, whereas Coachella, despite its own continued boomer-baiting, hasn’t gone all hippie or anything). – Chad Berndtson

READ ON for the thoughts of a few other HT Staffers on this year’s bill…