Luke Sacks

We’ve given each member of our team a chance to review one of Phish’s Summer Tour shows and this afternoon it’s Luke Sacks’ turn to share his thoughts on last night’s show added by some exceptional photos by our Jeremy Gordon. Be sure to follow the action live from the shows @YEMblog

I hadn’t been to Jones Beach since the last time Phish performed there 14 years ago and despite numerous trips there throughout my North Jersey teenage years, I couldn’t remember anything about it.

[All photos by Jeremy Gordon for Glide/HT]

Go to the food stands and they’ll hit you up $6 for a bottle of water. That I will now remember. The swampy murk to the left of the stage. That I will now remember. But the absolutely sick sound and fantastic show that Phish threw down on Thursday night will be the most memorable aspect of the evening for sure.

After the goofy a capella ditty Grind to open (giving everyone a chance to rush to their seats from under cover), a sparkling Divided Sky with a light rain falling got the show rolling and was played with appropriate sharpness and precision. The new song Ocelet followed and was 10 minutes of pure fun with Trey sounding incredibly sharp. Sounding a little bit like a Grateful Dead song, this song has a whole lot of potential and felt as if they had been playing it for years.

READ ON for more from Luke and Jeremy’s photos…

If you are a fan of the rock/jazz meld, Jeff Beck: Live at Ronnie Scott’s is a must watch. Palladia will air the special, which features footage from Beck’s series

The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens makes the rounds this week as Yusuf Islam supports his new album, Roadsinger, with appearances on The Tonight Show (Wednesday) and Jimmy Fallon

The AP is reporting that former Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett is suing Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract surrounding payment for Bennett’s appearance in the 2002 documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.

[via Rockpalast Archive]

Bennett, who was in Wilco from 1994-2001 and contributed to Being There, Summerteeth, both Mermaid Avenue albums and of course, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, claims in the lawsuit that he was compensated only in “infrequent partial payments” equal to 15 percent of Wilco’s income from sales and performances.

Now, I am certainly no copyright attorney. And I’m equally no expert on how actors and musicians are paid for their work in movies. So I’m not going to pontificate on what Bennett is legally entitled to. But aren’t there clear laws about this? Could the movie have even come out if Bennett hadn’t signed some agreements to determine compensation? What about Leroy Bach, who was also in the band during the filming of the movie but has subsequently been replaced – has he been paid more/less than Bennett for the movie?

READ ON for more of Luke’s thoughts on Bennett’s lawsuit…

This week’s Televised Tune features two Sundance Channel apperances by the legendary Herbie Hancock. On Tuesday at 11AM, Sundance will air Live From Abbey Road featuring Hancock and on Wednesday

Wilco is making a previously unreleased cover of Woody Guthrie’s The Jolly Banker available on the band’s official website, www.wilcoworld.net. The band is asking for a $2 donation (or $100

Jonathan Demme, better known for directing the Oscar-winning Silence of the Lambs and the Talking Heads’ masterpiece Stop Making Sense, documents Neil Young’s two 2005 shows at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium for Heart of

The Sundance Channel will air Loudquietloud, a critically-acclaimed documentary about the Pixies 2004 Reunion Tour on Monday at 4:50 pm ET. The flick contains concert footage, interviews and insights and

On Thursday at 6pm, Ovation will air the awesome documentary Grateful Dawg, which chronicles the musical and personal relationship between Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. The film includes plenty of

After conquering one of their favorite arenas in Hampton, Phish will visit some familiar venues this summer and in the first of a two-part column, we’ll take a look at the band’s biggest triumphs at each place so far…

Jones Beach

Best Show: 7-23-93

I: Buried Alive > Rift -> Caravan, Nellie Kane, Maze, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Punch You in the Eye, Runaway Jim, It’s Ice, Lawn Boy, Cavern

II: Also Sprach Zarathustra -> Poor Heart, Run Like an Antelope, Faht > My Friend My Friend, Uncle Pen, Big Ball Jam, You Enjoy Myself -> Big Black Furry Creature from Mars -> Chalk Dust Torture, Highway to Hell

E: Amazing Grace, Daniel

A solid first set, sprinkled with classics off of Rift, paved the way for an aggressive second set that opened with a typical-for-1993 length 2001 but exploded from there. Run Like an Antelope is especially ferocious with Trey bringing the jam back around with extra oomph. My Friend My Friend and a big YEM > BBFCM also highlight the second set.

Runners Up: 7-15-94, 6-28-95

READ ON for more of Luke’s list of Summer toppers…