Jake and Elwood Blues put their R&B band back together in an effort to save the orphanage where they grew up in 1980’s Blues Brothers movie. The film’s clearly hilarious,
Tea Leaf Green is the jamband scene’s Radiohead. Before you fume with anger at that analogy, we’re only talking about their ability to regularly provide fans with awesome simulcasts of
Giants Stadium held rock concerts all the time when I was growing up. And whether you’re talking about Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson or Van Halen, there were plenty of acts big enough to fill the enormous football stadiums around the country. But over the past 20 years, the number of performers who can sell out stadiums, or even want to play places that big, has decreased significantly.
While the RIAA might try to find some way to blame file-sharing for the dramatic decline of stadium shows, we think one of the major factors surrounds all of the hassles involved with these humongous shows. Who wants pay hundreds of dollars to deal with all of the traffic, exorbitant prices for food and drinks and poor sightlines? Where’s the freakin’ intimacy?
Yet there are a few acts who could fill stadiums in the biggest of markets. So for this week’s B List, we’ll take a look at 10 bands that almost need to play stadiums to meet the heavy demand for tickets. We broke ’em down into three categories, so read on after the jump for my thoughts and weigh in with your own…
The Disco Biscuits just released a new podcast featuring highlights from the band’s well-regarded New Year’s run. Now you can check out the Run Like Hell from NYE, as well
Ever since those four lads from Liverpool landed at Idlewild Airport, British bands have been a major part of rock history. Honoring the Brits, this week’s Grousing The Aisles honors three of the best acts to emerge from Britain in the ’70s.
We start with the David Bowie tribute from Jam Cruise, which features members of moe., Phish and the Greyboy Allstars among others musically rimming The Thin White Duke. Next, we take a look at Elton John’s legendary Christmas Eve concert from 1974, and, finally, we let you know about an amazing compilation featuring The Police playing blistering versions of all the tunes from their reunion tour.
Oh! You Pretty Things: Jam Cruise Tribute to David Bowie DAUD [FLAC, MP3]
Photo by David Steinberg
The best music to come from Jam Cruise over the past few years has stemmed from the all-star tribute jams that have emerged. On Jam Cruise IV, certain members of Umphrey’s McGee formed the Brain Damaged Eggmen with a few members of the Disco Biscuits to pay tribute to The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Then members of the West Coast bands on board Jam Cruise V combined forces to form the Sounds of San Francisco to honor the bands from that city. This year, a group of musicians channeled David Bowie under the moniker Oh! You Pretty Things. The first tapes from their gig have emerged, and they sound pretty damn good.
Oh! You Pretty Things combined the talents of Al Schnier, Jon Fishman, Jans Ingber, Ron Johnson, Robert Walter, Jeff Austin and a few other special guests who made cameos. During their public rehearsal the band decided to play a short, tight set at the actual gig instead of a solid long set, and the band delivered, dropping fantastic versions of 16 Bowie classics. Some of the songs are played straight, while others such as Let’s Dance are jammed out a bit. Hopefully a soundboard of this classic performance surfaces soon, as the quality of the recording isn’t as good as the quality of the performance — the strong winds which hindered the taper. Read on for much more GTA…
Widespread Panic may not have much in common with Brad Pitt (aside from the equal good looks of Dave Schools and Pitt), but the band and the actor share a
When I headed over to Perez Hilton last night for the latest batch of Britney news, I received a nice shock. Turns out the Queen of all Media had quite
If you’re like me and biffed the onsale for Steven Malkmus’s previously announced NYC gigs at Bowery Ballroom and the Music Hall of Williamsburg, you’ll get one more chance later today. Tickets go on sale at noon for Malkmus and The Jicks’ newly added April Fools’ Day concert at the Bowery Ballroom. Malkmus hits many other big markets in the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast for his two-week jaunt supporting the March 4th release of Real Emotional Trash.
Let’s kill some time until those ducats go on sale by indulging in some linkage:
Finally, a group of Zappa fans have teamed up to write a petition asking the Zappa Family Trust to stop threatening fan sites and tribute bands with litigation. For more about Gail Zappa’s evil ways, read MP3 Boot Camp: Zappa Sues ’em All [via Here Comes The Flood]
Music fans were left in the lurch when the writers’ strike led to the temporary cancellation of all the late night shows. The hosts have returned, and we’re back to
Holy fucking shit. That’s about as clear as I can put it. Last night’s star-studded concert at BB King’s was easily one of the cooler experiences I’ve ever had in all my years of seeing live music. BEST $12.50 TICKET EVER! In all caps!
Photos by Adam Kaufman
Pretty much everyone that ever played with Jimmy Vivino came out to help celebrate his birthday, as well as promoter Bill Graham’s birthday. Everyone who was on the rumored lineup turned up, plus even more legendary musicians. This was one of the many nights that I’m so happy to live in New York City.
I had a hard time keeping track of who sat in on what, but John Sebastian came out for the first two songs. The Prisoners of 2nd Ave played the next few songs, and were joined by Elaine Caswell for the Jefferson Airplane shiz. Warren Haynes then came out for blistering versions of both Had to Cry Today and Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad. At this point Levon Helm came out, and the drawlin’ drummer stayed at the kit the whole night. An old white dude named Robert Gordon also came out to sing a couple of Elvis tunes with the ensemble.
I’d never heard of Willie Nile, but he blew me away. That dude is like a mix of early John Cougar and late Bruce Springsteen, and he sang his tune Hard Times in America to much applause. After Willie left the stage, Vivino called upon his Fab Faux band mates for intense driving versions of I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Warren came out for While My Guitar, giving us the monumental lineup of the Fab Faux, Warren, Levon and Paul Shaffer. I couldn’t believe my eyes. READ ON FOR MUCH MORE, PLUS VIDEOS AND PHOTOS…
