What happens when you combine the country’s best radio station with a park in lovely downtown Camden? Why, the XPoNential music festival, obvs. The festival expanded to four days this
The Smashing Pumpkins announced today they’ll be playing two separate residencies this summer. The newly reformed band will play eight shows at San Francisco’s Fillmore, which we think totally makes
Ace and I had our minds blown late last year by Beck and his band during their stop in NYC on the Information tour. Everyone’s favorite Scientologist put on a helluva
Wilco’s sixth album, Sky Blue Sky, finally hits stores tomorrow. The band played a warmup gig at Ace’s alma mater Northwestern University on Friday, as they prepare to embark on a long world tour. Most reviews of the album and the show have been favorable, and Jim DeRogatis sat down with Jeff Tweedy to discuss the album and tour — as always, Tweedy has many memorable quotes.
Elsewhere from around the Interweb, let’s check in with some news:
And as always on Mondays, read on after the jump to check out the setlists from this past weekend, including Amy Winehouse, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Perpetual Groove, They Might Be Giants, Elvis Costello and many more…
Umphrey’s McGee and the Disco Biscuits have announced the details of their Caribbean Holidaze excursion to Jamaica in December. Right by ‘da beach. The two bands will play three shows
Unfortunately my 9-5 is demanding some much-needed attention today, so this week’s edition of The B List is gonna be short and sweet.
The Beatles weren’t content revolutionizing music; they also changed the level of creativity put into album covers. Each member of the band attended art school, and the Beatles realized the importance of packaging. Once Revolver and Sgt. Peppers were released, every other band tried to top them, with little success.
So today, let’s take a look at the 10 best Beatles album covers:
10. The White Album (1968):
Read on for the rest of this week’s B List as we reveal the best nine covers…
moe. is the little band that could. Many people predicted the group’s demise back in the mid ’90s when it was rotating drummers faster than Spinal Tap, and again when the boys lost their record deal with Sony a few years later.
But moe. continues to fuck the face of its loudest critics, selling out large shows, hosting sold-out festivals and pulling big-time gigs. Just last week moe. became the second group to play the brand-spanking new Highline Ballroom in New York’s increasingly glamorous Meatpacking District. The band played to five capacity crowds, and as usual, left their most ardent supporters satisfied and their critics stupified.
To give a little background on myself, I fall somewhere in the middle ground between fluffer and hater. My relationship with moe. began in 1995 when I saw an interesting post about the band on rec.music.phish and headed to a church in New Brunswick to check them out. I became hooked on their songs from the moment they started St. Augustine. Over the next few years I saw dozens of shows, and I loved them all. But something happened around that time, a weird situation when the band put an emphasis on jamming more then depending on the songs themselves. For many bands, I’d be happy as a pig in slop to see a 30-minute version of a song, but with moe., I just got bored. The band is full of capable musicians, but I’ve always felt many of their jams meander.
Let’s return to the present and talk about the show Ace and I caught last Thursday night at the Highline. It was moe.’s second night of five, and the place was buzzing with energy as the band started. Timmy Tucker opened the show, the song that most symbolizes my biggest issue with the band. Timmy is a fun tune, but after a 10-minute Chuck Garvey solo I’m a little impatient when Al Schnier starts a 10-minute solo of his own. Within 20 minutes I had remembered what I liked and disliked about this band.
Read on for more of Nate’s great pics and the rest of Scotty’s review…
Sometimes the Law of Unintended Consequences works to our advantage. One of the many unexpected benefits of The Police’s upcoming mega-reunion tour is that many old bootlegs have been transferred to the digital format. The Police’s official website features a message board on which fans of the band are going nuts, sharing old shows like crazy. More than 50 shows have been shared already, with the promise of many more. This week’s edition of Grousing The Aisles presents the best recordings that have been upped so far…
In August of 1977, The Police was in a state of flux. Andy Summers had just joined the band, but he wasn’t content being the second guitar player. Henry Padovani, the band’s original guitar player, had a distinct punk edge to his playing. (i.e. he wasn’t really good at his instrument). The show featured here is from the Mont de Marsan punk festival in France, and it’s the only recording available of The Police that features the band as a four-piece. A few days after the gig, Sting and Copeland gave in to Summers’ request and Padovani was given his walking papers, making this recording worthwhile for its historical importance. Let’s just say Sting and Stewart made a good move picking Summers over Padovani.
Read on for some more incredible downloads of The Police in its prime…
It’ll be more patchouli than pacifiers, blotter than beans. The Deadheads must be much happier than the Biscokids today following Jam Cruise’s initial lineup announcement that includes Dark Star Orchestra and Warren Haynes making their first appearance on the six-day floating party festival at sea.
On January 4th, 2008, Jam Cruise 6 will depart from Ft. Lauderdale with a full boat and a lineup of musicians that mixes heady ship vets with a couple of new additions. Soulive, Toots and the Maytals, Sharon Jones, and The Funky Meters join Warren Haynes and DSO amongst the newcomers. Returnees include Karl Denson, Perpetual Groove, Galactic, and Yonder Mountain String Band. And it’s officially a festival: Michael Franti will be on the boat. How you feeelin? Seasick!
Noticeably absent from the initial lineup are Jam Cruise fixtures Umphrey’s McGee and the Disco Biscuits (no B.D. Eggman Revisited?). Strange, seeing as this is one festival that doesn’t even attempt to book bands outside of the scene. You won’t find Dr. Dog or Kings of Leon chillin’ on the Jam Cruise poop deck.
Rotan, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico — two places we’ve never heard of — serve as the ports of call for this year’s festival. Read on full Jam Cruise 1-5 lineups and an insane amount of downloads from past Jam Cruises…
Michael Franti and Spearhead will be playing a special show for the prisoners at San Quentin on May 19. Hopefully Franti won’t get shanked by an inmate who gets asked “How you feelin’?” one time too many times. Franti also gets heady points for recently visiting and performing for wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Kudos bar. Elsewhere from the interweb:
And make sure to read on to check out setlists from the weekend — this batch includes Arcade Fire, Gov’t Mule, moe., RAQ, TLG, Umphrey’s and many more…
