Hidden Track Staff

Thursday night laziness ensured our outsourcing of this week’s edition, so it’s Uncle Neddy time once more. The Ned claims to be a little liberal with his definitions here, but allow him to present a set loosely based on the slide guitar.

01 Mississippi Bollweevil — North Mississippi Allstars: Electric Blue Watermelon
02 Concrete And Barbed Wire — Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
03 Wild Mountain Nation — Blitzen Trapper: Wild Mountain Nation
04 Helpless — Fareed Haque: Deja Vu
05 Native Stepson — Sonny Landreth: Grant Street
06 Like a Rolling Stone — Drive-By Truckers: Highway 61 Revisited Revisited

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Halloween’s always a good time for a band to don a musical costume, and the Disco Biscuits knew their fans expected more than just a holiday untzfest for the highly anticipated show at The Orpheum in Boston. So the band complied and busted out the first Jamilia in four years and only the eighth-ever performance of guitarist Jon Gutwillig’s rock opera, Hot Air Balloon. The villagers rejoiced.

The Biscuits’ career resembles a rock opera in itself, and the band’s most rabid and casual fans alike are very much enjoying this third act, with the part of former drummer Sam Altman being played admirably by Allen Aucoin over the past two years. Reports from the Biscuits’ shows have been more positive than at any time in its full history, and Halloween at the Orpheum was certainly no exception.

Our friend and oft-collaborator Nathan Ingraham took in the evening’s festivities from the second row of the venue, and he gladly sent over some photos that captured the scene as well as he could given the enveloping darkness of it all. His gallery of 13 unlucky shots follows after the jump…

Set I: A Night On Bald Mountain* > Down To The Bottom, Jamillia, The Overture, Once The Fiddler Paid, The Very Moon > Voices Insane

Set II: Moonlight Sonata, Eulogy, Bazaar Escape > Mulberry’s Dream, Above The Waves > A Night On Bald Mountain > Above The Waves, Hot Air Balloon

Encore: Toccata and Fugue**, Therapy

*1st time played (Modest Mussorgsky); from Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”
**1st time played (Bach); from Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”

You know how a band can gain rabid fans across the country? You get out there on a Serious Business Tour and just rip shit up. You tear that shit to pieces.

All photos by Francis Zangle (click to enlarge)

That’s exactly what Perpetual Groove‘s been doing this fall. The Athens-based quartet is taking southern rock to a new level by adding elements of trance and funk to the mix. PGroove returned to New York City on Saturday night, where they thrilled the crowd with a varied setlist showing off some of their most popular tunes. The boys also dropped a few fun covers like Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a jaw-dropping take on Peter Gabriel’s Diggin’ In the Dirt.

We sent our newest contributor, Francis Zangle, to capture the action at the Blender. Let’s check out some of his amazing shots after the jump…

Halloween has become one of the most anticipated holidays on the calendar for fans of the usual touring bands (not just for pervs like Neeko on the lookout for Halloween sluts). More and more bands these days uses the holiday evening to play creative sets, and last night was no exception. This week’s lazy edition of The B List brings you 10 hot-of-the-presses setlists from last night.

1. Black Crowes – United Palace Theater – NYC, NY
Word has it The Crowes had planned to do all Ramones tunes for their Halloween gig but Rich Robinson bagged the idea

Set: Give Peace A Chance, Space Captain, Black Moon Creeping, Darling Of The Underground Press, Sister Luck, Another Roadside Tragedy, Nonfiction (w/Patti Smith), Ain’t No Cane On The Brazos, Polly, Girl From A Pawnshop, Jealous Again, Soul Singing, Wiser Time, Thorn In My Pride

Encore: Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’?

2. The Police – Madison Square Garden – NYC, NY

Set: Message in a Bottle, Synchronicity II, Walking On the Moon, Voices Inside My Head > When the World Is Running Down You Make the Best of What’s Still Around, Don’t Stand So Close to Me, Driven to Tears, Hole In My Life, Truth Hits Everybody, Everything She Does is Magic, Wrapped Around Your Finger, De Do Do Do De Da Da Da, Invisible Sun, Walking In Your Footsteps, Can’t Stand Losing You, Roxanne

Encore 1: King of Pain, So Lonely, Every Breath You Take

Encore 2: Next To You

3. Phil and Friends – Nokia Theater – NYC NY [via thephilzone.com]

Set I: Shakedown Street> Loose Lucy, Jackie Tune, Candyman, Put A Spell On You> Jam > Ghost!> Casey Jones

Set II: Phil Reads, Jam > Cryptical > Jam > Boris The Spider > Caution, Voodoo Child, Cryptical > New Speedway > Sympathy For The Devil > Jam > I Know You Rider, Donor Rap

Encore: Werewolves of London

Our intrepid reporter Sleepy Floyd probably can’t feel his face this morning…but he sent in this communication from the Vegoose festival this weekend:

This year’s Vegoose festival surely is different from the two prior incarnations. Sam Boyd Stadium — off the “lovely” Boulder Highway, lying next to a cookie-cutter subdivision that’s infinitely more Phoenix than Las Vegas — is still very much the same. But the lineup and the scene have each evolved in record time.

More closely resembling Lollapalooza than a typical jamband festival, there were more Daft Punk T-shirts than tie-dyes, and Trojan condoms were being passed out instead of free hugs. If a lineup of Mastodon, Queens of the Stone Age and Rage Against the Machine weren’t enough to scare the hippies away, try adding Public Enemy, Lupe Fiasco and M.I.A. And if that didn’t do the trick, maybe invite Muse, Ghostface Killah and the biggest anti-hippie of ‘em all: Iggy Pop.

Gogol Bordello makes people forget about Big Ten football

Although the “scene” itself has changed, the mission is still the same for the folks at Superfly: throw a ton of music our way at the same time and keep us running between stages. Not a bad way to be spending your afternoon, as long as it keeps you away from the $5-a-slice pizza. I love Spicy Pie? Maybe at $3 a slice I’d love you long time — talk about a markup. So read on after the jump for a recap of the festival and some quality photos from our man on the ground…

Papa Neddy is a clever sonuvabitch, and while he’s preparing to take his kids around to collect some Fun Size Snacks, he made us a Friday Mix Tape…

When is a pillow case not a pillow case? When it’s redeployed as a candy sack in late October. So open that thing wide, cause we’re coming at you with bonus tracks. That’s right, boys and girls: a special Halloween edition for all of you. Enjoy!

01 Frankenstein — Phish: October 31, 1994
02 The Boogie Monster — Gnarls Barkley: St. Elsewhere (2006)
03 Dracula — Medeski, Martin & Wood: Shack Man (1996)
04 Monsters — Band of Horses: Everything All The Time (2006)
05 Zombie — Fela Kuti: The Best, Best of Fela Kuti (2000)
06 They Are Night Zombies!! — Sufjan Stevens: September 29, 2006
07 This Place Is Haunted — Devotchka: How It Ends (2004)
08 Ghost — Apollo Sunshine: Apollo Sunshine (2005)
09 Halloween Head — Ryan Adams: June 20, 2007

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We wrap up our photographic coverage of the inaugural Echo Project with our best gallery yet, a fantastic mix of live action shots and backstage portraits. In this last installment you’ll see shit so close it’ll absolutely frighten you, like this first picture, which proves Phil Lesh may in fact be the Cryptkeeper.

We’d like to extend a hearty expression of gratitude and a heaping helpful of praise to the incomparable Dave Vann, who piggybacked on his incredible Hardly Strictly Bluegrass gallery to bring us this top-drawer photo coverage of last weekend’s festival in Fairburn, Georgia. And if you haven’t checked out his ridiculous shots from the action on Friday and Saturday, may you die of gonorrhea and rot in hell (laces out!). Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but shame on you.

Like the previous two days, this final gallery includes a great mix of jambands, indie rock bands, electronic acts, hip-hoppers and more. So read on after the jump for Dave’s full gallery of Phil Lesh & Friends, former Black Crowes lead guitarist Marc Ford, Umphrey’s McGee, RAQ, Spoon, The Bravery, ALO, The Roots, RJD2, Dirty Dozen Brass Band guitarist Jamie McLean and, what would a festival be without the “How youuuu feeeeeelin’?” stylings of Michael Franti & Spearhead.

And remember, if you’d like to fill us in on your own personal Echo Project experience, leave the world a message in the comments section…

On this Friday we turn once again to Uncle Neddy for a little mix action…

There are good guitarists, there are great ones, and then there is Bill Frisell. My hard drive is littered with Frisellevation, so it was a sweet curse to narrow this one down. But instead of limiting myself, I’ll do a second part of this next time, which is not to say next week but next time through the rotation. Chew on these for a bit, enjoy all the badasses Bill calls bandmates, and if you have any requests, recommendations or good Bill treats to share, by all means, do so.

01 When You Wish Upon A Star — Petra Haden And Bill Frisell (2003)
02 [title unknown] — Frisell, Baron, Driscoll: 11 May 1995 (1995)
03 Rambler — Ginger Baker Trio: Going Back Home (1994)
04 White Fang — Bill Frisell: Unspeakable (2004)
05 Graveyard Shift — Naked City: 9 Oct 1988 (1988)
06 Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall — Bill Frisell: 2 July 2005 (2005)

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK’S FRIDAY MIX TAPE

Twenty-four hours ago we posted, and this is a technical journalism phrase, “a wickedly kickass” photo gallery of the inaugural Echo Project’s first day from the masterful Dave Vann. If you missed it, you can click here and make up for your unforgivable transgression…or you can be a stubborn dick about it. As the legendary philosophers from Black Sheep once directed, the choice is yours.

Thankfully the Illustrious Mr. Vann is back with the second of his three sweet galleries. Saturday mixed the usual festival touring bands like Disco Biscuits, moe., Tea Leaf Green and Perpetual Groove with electronica-based acts like MSTRKRFT, Thievery Corporation (above) and Brazilian Girls, adding a touch of hip hop from Common, folk rock from the Avett Brothers and some singer/songwriter shenanigans from Cat Power. Oh, but there’s plenty more as well, so get goin’…

So read on after the jump for the second of three photo galleries from Echo, and hey, if you’ve got some stories from the festival, let ’em loose in the comments.