The Biscuits Drop The Hammer
Rapid Fire Review Week continues with HT’s favorite Disco Biscuits Diehard Matt Quinn’s review of this weekend’s two Hammerstein shows:
It’s been a long year for The Disco Biscuits. With “new” drummer Allen Aucoin at the kit, virtually every fan of the band agrees that they are playing with the kind of vigor and creativity that’s been absent since the end of 2002.
Sure there were the brief flashes of greatness in the ’03-’05 era. But for the most part it was directionless and unfocused, a band very unsure of where it was going, a band running out the clock on its first incarnation. After an adequete NYE run, a short spring tour and a summer spent on the festival circuit, the Biscuits’ fall tour has seen them firing on all cylinders in venues across the country, and the shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom on 11/24 & 11/25 were certainly no exception.
The first night opened with a section that featured exactly the type of setlist creativity Biscuits fans have been craving. The Overture is normally a tightly composed, classical style piece that features a trance jam in the center of it. In lieu of the trance this night, the Biscuits dropped into a 30-second composed segment of Little Lai, then a 30-second composed segment of Bazaar Escape, then a 30-second composed segment of House Dog Party Favor, then directly into an entire Bach Invention (#13 in A Minor, to be exact), then picked up the end of The Overture where the trance section would normally end.
The entire segment was obviously rehearsed, and rehearsed well. There was no jamming between the segments; they were played as though it were one giant composed piece. Apparently the setlist had this labeled as “The OverBerzerk,” but I’ve taken to caling it “The Berzerkerture.” I just think it rolls off the tongue better. Whatever you want to call it, it was well-planned and flawlessly executed.
Read on for the rest of Quinn’s stellar review and download his recordings from both the 11/24 and 11/25 Hammerstein shows…
Borat's Musical Playlist
We’re more than 90 posts into this blog’s mediocre existence, and not once have we cross-promoted anything from our Glide Magazine parent. I was hoping to make it to 100 posts without doing so, but like Julio César Chávez in his quest for 100 straight victories to start his career, this is my defeat. It’s not that I’m even promoting Glide, it’s […]
Grousing The Aisles VI: Jerry Garcia
That graphic always makes me smile. I’m still waiting for someone to get the reference of the title of this department — come on people, dig deep. Anyway, since last week’s column featured no Grateful Dead or Dead-related projects at all, this edition of GTA is fully dedicated to Jerry Bear, the Godfather of Wook. Let’s get over that Wednesday hump together with some help from Jerome.
In 1987, Jerry hit Broadway for a series of 18 shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Can you imagine the smell in that theater at the end of that run? Just a bit of a different crowd than those seeing Beauty and The Beast, which has been playing at the Lunt-Fontanne for the past seven years.
Garcia’s estate recently released the Halloween show as part of its Pure Jerry series, but we’re gonna focus on the night of the 25th here. Jerry and the acoustic band plays an amazing first set, presented here in all its soundboard glory. For the second set, Mr. Jorts himself, Bob Weir, joined his uncle Jerry for the final four songs of the evening. The second set was clearly taped in the audience, yet the sound is surprisingly good and the performance, while not tight, is interesting. The highlight is the first and only JGB All Along The Watchtower. Other shows from the run newly featured on etree are 10/23 and 10/24…
A Darker Shade of Greyboy
As if anyone in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state area needed an additional incentive to see the quasi-reunited-and-it-quasi-feels-so-good Greyboy Allstars at the Nokia Theater two days before New Year’s Eve, the band has announced a special guest for the evening: We are very pleased to announce the addition of our (everybodys) hero, drummer extraordinare ?uestlove of The […]
Thankful For Wilco
Rapid Fire Review Week continues with Hidden Track senior hipster correspondent Luke Sacks’ account of Wilco‘s 11/24/06 show…
Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy recently decked a fan that happened to be dumb enough to jump on stage, getting a little too close for comfort. That solitary action must have released years of hostility, because on Friday night at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater, Tweedy and his Wilco bretheren soaked up every ounce of fun in the room.
Wilco’s sound these days is a bit like Bob Dylan and Radiohead thrown in a blender and pureed. The lyrics — still as poignant and moving as ever — are now cocooned in building electronics and whirling riffs that flow from the all-shapes-and-sizes guitars of Nels Cline. Where Tweedy’s raspy voice and “angry-musician” personality once dominated, Cline’s assault on his instrument and frenetic body language have moved closer to center stage for an increasing share the spotlight. Pulsating and gyrating with each chord, Cline shakes and twitches and produces a spectrum of sound that spirals every which way before coming to a screeching halt in time to let Tweedy’s voice be heard loud and clear.
Tweedy began the show with two slower songs: the new “Shake it Off” and the similar-sounding “Hell Is Chrome” from A Ghost is Born. Unlike most bands that like to start things off rocking and/or rolling, Tweedy is known for beginning shows with slower, more brooding selections that give the show a more intimate feel. It wasn’t until the third tune, “Handshake Drugs,” that the energy between the crowd and band synched up with each other…
Umphrey's McGee Winter Tour 2007
Can you believe we’re actually talking about shows in the Year of Our Lord Two-Thousand Seven? This year has just flown the fuck by, right?
Umphrey’s McGee this morning announced the beginning of their 2007 touring plans. Read on after the jump for the full list of dates…Bring your helmets, kids!
Have A Cow, Maaaan
Rhino Records is finally starting to recoup some of the mucho dinero they laid out as part of a ten-year licensing deal with the Grateful Dead. Get your Christmas gift cards ready, folks — on January 23rd, Rhino will release Grateful Dead: Live At The Cow Palace as part of a three-disc set.
Luckily for the fans, Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux is still on board. Read on to hear what he has to say about the 12/31/76 show and this release…
Pullin' 'Tubes: Scouser Edition
Tuesday begets YouTubes, and lots of ’em. Here’s 45 minutes worth of cool shit to shepherd your boredom while the cowboy earns his wages… Let’s start things off with a video my buddy John sent me of Slash and Jeff Beck dueling on stage at a Guns N’ Roses soundcheck in Paris from 1992. Interestingly […]
Now That's An Impressive RAQ
If the goal of a band on any given night in any given city is to both put on a kickass show for its veteran fans and leave the first-time newbs with an impression that the music’s worth delving into further, then RAQ‘s got our permission to hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner following Friday’s extravanganza.
Vermont’s second most famous quartet played a bona fide house party at Brooklyn’s Club Exit this weekend. The evening’s promoters (Slanted View Productions) swept out the typical Eastern European clientele and transformed the venue into a double entendre-laced “On The L” party, a psychedlic playland deep inside the heart of the eerily quiet Polish neighborhood of Greenpoint.
We walked in just before 9 pm, and it instantly became clear this was not going to be a typical rock show. From the hundreds of bulging pupils (is everyone here that runaway bride chick from Atlanta?) to the enormous Borat-speaking bouncers to the obnoxiously loud house music blasting through PA system, we sure weren’t at The Wetlands anymore. Shit, the silly hot bartenders alone made the show better than any jamband concert in recent memory…
Monday's Hors d'Oeuvres
Thanksgiving’s over, and I’m pretty excited for a full week of work. Okay, not really, so let’s all pretend its not Monday. Check out these links to keep you busy: King Crimson has started to sell shows from their archives — thanks to Clownshoes for pointing out this great show from 1982, which is FREE! Original Black Sabbath […]
Langerado to Hipsters: Stop Whining
For those of youse crying like emo kids that there’ll be “too many jambands” at the 5th Annual Langerado Music Festival, get your ironic T-shirts and cocked mesh hats packed and ready for Florida in March. The festival organizers have announced the exciting addition of five great bands, rounding out a lineup that already looked […]
The Hidden Track Week That Was
Much as ESPN enjoys unnecessarily naming weekends of college football and full weeks of late-season college basketball to give them that tinge of added importance, Hidden Track’s about to enter Rapid Fire Review Week. Thanksgiving provided the live music community an adult dose of top-notch concerts all around the country, and over the next few […]
Download: The Roots' Masters of War
Any blogger — music or otherwise — worth his weight in inflated ego checks the site’s stats about as often as, say, inhaling oxygen. And every single day, I’ve noticed, Hidden Track gets multiple search engine referrals from people seeking information on The Roots’ universally acclaimed performance of Masters of War at the Bob Dylan […]
Bangin' On Shit Can Be Awesome
Nights like Wednesday evening at places like Tonic are what make seeing live music a truly worthwhile endeavor. I know, this post already reeks of condescending uber-headiness, but I can’t figure out how to frame it any other way. What those four guys did up on stage two nights ago reminded me of the dragon […]
Friday Leftovers: Post-Turkey Edition
The Friday after Thanksgiving is all about the leftovers, and today is no exception. If you’re part of the 99 percent of people that are off from work or school today, be thankful. No, I’m totally not bitter I’m working today. Bob Doran interviews Trey Anastasio for the North Coast Journal (I bet he didn’t […]
The B List: Thanksgiving Desserts
The crew here at Hidden Track hopes you’re having a wonderful Thanksgiving. The eats and the family fun/drama maybe be all gobbled up, but there’s still time to enjoy these 10 shows around the country this holiday weekend… moe. — Chicago, IL: Al Schnier makes his trimphant return to playing guitar after a bad bout […]
Tryptophan the Light Fantastic
A wise man once said, “When you think of garbage, think of Akeem.” I’d like to just tweak that lasting quotation slightly today. Thanksgiving, 30 years ago (almost today), The Band said farewell to the road forever with an epic celebration at the Winterland in San Francisco. So when you’re bored tonight, a little sleepy […]
Grousing The Aisles V: The Revenge
Once a year, Grousing The Aisles comes out on the last work day of the week. And that day is today, which means it’s essentially a Friday right now.
Here’s my friendly advice to help you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend: Start downloading these shows now, so that when you get back from your holiday host you’ll have plenty of music to wash out all the Christmas music that will begin to surround you. And with a last name like Bernstein, I’d rather hear a mix of classic rock, funky soul and jambanditry, like this week’s fresh slate of downloads:
This is one of the tastiest-sounding of all soundboards from Heart, which in 1976 was just starting its climb to rock infamy. Not only does this recording feature original hits such as Magic Man and Crazy On You, but the Wilson sisters tear their way through three hotter-than-fuck Led Zeppelin tunes: Lez Zeppelin has nothing on the original female Zeppelin. Cameron Crowe is a lucky man — his wife Nancy Wilson drops guitar solos that offer some serious face meltage. Since this show is a must own, we also offer up the 320kbps MP3 files from sendspace. And, c’mon, check out those sweet mullets. Read on for more great downloads…
Whoa, TiVo That Shit Back…
Has anyone else seen the new supermarket-themed commercial that shows our protagonist playing songs on a hip Samsung/Cingular Sync cellular telephone as he strolls confidently through the aisles? I’ve only seen it once — it’s the anti-Mellancamp — so I’ll accept a “no” answer here. If you haven’t seen this mersh, it’s a mindfuckingly quick-paced […]
Pullin' 'Tubes: Purple Jumpsuit Edition
It’s Tuesday again, that day when my employer feels compelled to tie me up with some of my ties, Ty. I mean, buddy, I’ve got a terrifically shitty music blog to run for no compensation, I can’t be doing your work all fucking day… But alas, I must, and I will. So to keep you […]