Hidden Track

MP3 Boot Camp: Quantity and Quality

Most MP3 blogs post bootlegs one at a time, but our friends at the music-hole have little patience. This week’s music-hole post contains 11 worthwhile downloads, including Pink Floyd at

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Brokedown Palace: Things To Come

Phil Lesh & Friends head out on a mammoth fall tour a week from Saturday with a new, lower budget lineup. Hey, let’s get real for a second here. Just

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Happy Jew Year: Blow That Shofar

Rosh Hashanah begins this evening at sundown, and we’d like to wish our fellow friends of the Jewish persuasion a healthy and happy New Year. My Lawn Gisland-based mother was

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Grousing The Aisles: I Write The Songs

Have you ever sat down with an instrument and tried to write a song? Needless to say, that shit ain’t easy (much like pimpin’). This week’s edition of Grousing The Aisles looks at gigs from four of our favorite songwriters of all-time. We begin with a recent show from Stevie Wonder’s first tour since Bill Clinton was in office. Next we check out what Jeff Tweedy and the boys of Wilco did with their summer vacation. Then we go back to the heady days of the ’90s to pay tribute to the extremely underrated Matthew Sweet. Finally, we finish with a just released soundboard from the legendary Paul McCartney. Less set-up, more grousing…


Stevie Wonder 09/04/2007 DAUD [FLAC, MP3]


Stevie Wonder has returned to the road with a career-spanning show after an absence of nearly a decade. A buncha recordings from the tour have surfaced, but this bootleg from last week’s show in Saratoga, California sounds the best. Wonder gives the people what they want by sprinkling a generous portion of hits throughout the 130-minute set, including Higher Ground, Sir Duke and I Wish.

Little Stevie isn’t a guy that just comes out to play his greatest hits without addressing his audience. Wonder opened the show with an anecdote about why he decided to return to the road, and he proceeded to chat with the crowd throughout the concert. The stories are great, but the music is even better. My favorite part of this show is the relentless sequence of Signed Sealed Delivered (I’m Yours), Memphis and Boogie On Reggae Woman. Wonder’s 11-piece band is so tight that it sounds like they’ve been on the road together for years. Hopefully Stevie enjoyed his brief return to the road and will book a full tour for 2008 so that we can all have a chance to see him own the stage.

Read on after the jump for three more sweet-ass-sweet GTA downloads…

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Nothing Says Farm Fresh Like New York City

We couldn’t make it to Randall’s Island on Sunday, opting instead to watch the Patriots cheat up — er, sorry, beat up — against the Jets. But our friend Some Dude from Hits from the Blog attended the Farm Aid festivities in our stead…

The closest most New Yorkers get to a farm is the produce section at Whole Foods, so the idea of holding Farm Aid in the Big Apple seemed to have many people scratching their heads. But if anything, Manhattan is an island full of foodies and music lovers, so for the first time in its illustrious 22-year history, the organizers chose Randall’s Island to stage a day of music and social eco-activism.

FarmAidScene


In the days leading up to the event, four-packs of lawn seats were being offered at a discounted rate. So the big question really seemed to be: Could a concert headlined by the likes of red state favorites with blue state ethos draw a big enough crowd? The answer was a resounding yes.

We arrived mid-afternoon to find the grounds already packed with concertgoers and a shocking lack of NASCAR gear and beer cozies. I’m pretty sure the words “Dave Matthews” near the top of the bill probably helped along sales to the suburban, visor-wearing set. Read on for much more on Farm Aid…

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Wednesday Intermezzo: Festival Overload

It’s time to fire up the Random Jamband Festival Lineup Generator once again: Umphrey’s McGee, Little Feat, Perpetual Groove and Rose Hill Drive have been tabbed to headline the Bear

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Pullin’ ‘Tubes: In Honor of Joe Zawinul

Former Miles Davis collaborator and Weather Report co-founder Joe Zawinul died earlier today at the age of 75. Zawinul isn’t exactly the most well-known figure in jazz history, but his

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Oh, You Mean Uncle Robert?

Bob Dylan didn’t die of drugs. He’s got a new greatest hits album coming out soon, and he’s got a message for you, Subterranean Homesick Blues style.

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Ryan Montbleau Band: Ready for the Big Time

The Ryan Montbleau Band has spent the last few weeks in the recording studio where it was in control of all the variables. But when the band returned to the stage on the last day of August for a gig on Rocks Off’s Half Moon cruise ship, it didn’t control a thing, including the setlist.

Photos courtesy of Tara Raymond


The band eschewed the use of a planned setlist on this night, choosing instead to embrace the moment and fly by the seat of their pants. Great bands know how to please the audience under any conditions, and the Ryan Montbleau Band showed what they are made of by putting on one helluva show.

Read on after the jump for a full review of Scotty’s trip aboard the Half Moon and a Live Music Archive download/stream of the 8/31 show on the Hudson…

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