Hidden Track

The folks at iClips have announced a series of free webcasts from some of this summer’s jam-friendly festivals dubbed The Couch Tour. The Couch Tour starts on May 14th-16th with

Colorado’s big festival aims to get bigger in year number three as the Mile High Music Festival returns to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park outside of Denver on August 14 and

SLM, The Hue, Fatbook @ the Miramar Theatre – March 18, 2010

Words: Cal Roach

Milwaukee should be very grateful for the return of the Miramar Theatre as a live music venue; not only is it a great sounding little room, but they serve quality beers at a good price. The place brings in a wide variety of local and national talent, but it has become known primarily as a haven for jambands and metal. In a somewhat curious triple bill on March 18th, fans got a chance to experience both specialties, with mixed results.

[Photos of The Hue by Joel Berk]

The first act of the night was Fatbook, based in Appleton, WI, but drawing members from Minneapolis, Chicago and other Midwestern hubs. You’d expect such a far-flung collective to have little opportunity for rehearsal and thus lack cohesion, but these guys gave no such impression. The first few tunes were lackadaisical, with no real excitement from the three-piece horn section. Singer/guitarist Harjinder Bedi was giving off a lazy Jack Johnson-meets-Jamiroquai vibe, and nothing original was going on via lyric or music. But as the show progressed, the band unveiled some pretty terrific horn arrangements, jazzy but melding unscrupulously with Police-style Caucasian reggae. The motley band began to show remarkable synergy, whether crafting a murky moodscape or generating a kinetic dance groove. No long jams, short and purposeful, often integrating the horns really well into the improv.

Ultimately, Fatbook (Bedi in particular) needs to develop a more original sound, something to set it apart from the pack stylistically, but the pieces of the puzzle are all there. Above all, these guys have the togetherness to create that magical swell of intensity as well as hold together in the mellower stretches, and a horn section that can carry the whole band through its more generic moments. That’s worth your ten-dollar ticket price right there.

READ ON for more of Cal’s thoughts on this triple bill…

The sweet sounds of Zooey Deschanel and M Ward’s She & Him can be found on the Jimmy Kimmel Show tonight with the pair fresh off their recent tour. The

Those who weren’t lucky enough to score Phish tickets through the presale are left with the public onsales today and tomorrow. With both legs going up for grab this weekend,

Jam In The Dam 2010 – Amsterdam – Day Three – March 23

Judging from the amount of empty store-bought mushroom containers on the floor over the past two nights, it is reasonable to assume that many people will be exercising the option of sleeping in late, in beds, on the final day of the festival. It is so nice to have this option, but it is a shame to waste a day in Amsterdam.

So what does one do on their last day in Amsterdam? For most of the Jam in the Dam attendees it probably includes some more coffee shop visits, some cheap food, a stroll through Dam Square or maybe a visit to one of the many cultural/artistic/historic hotspots where a tourist can be touristy. For those on a budget there are American fast food establishments on every block, but for those who want to take in Dutch culture there is always FEBO. FEBO provides customers with the fast food equivalent of watching yourself get into a car wreck with no ability to stop it. You can order a few things at the counter, but for the most part it is an entire restaurant of glorified microwave vending machines, yum.

Jam In The Dam Reviews & Photos: Pt.1, Pt.2

Thanks to Yonder Mountain, the final night of Jam in the Dam kicks off in fine fashion. Yonder picks up right where they left off with the same high-energy, raucous, style of the night before. The night mainly features Jeff Austin and Ben Kaufmann on vocals. Banjoist Dave Johnston barely sings a note but more than makes up for it all night with stellar picking. The set closer is arguably the highlight of the festival, a Piece of Mind > Ruby > Follow Me Down to the Riverside > Ruby > Piece of Mind palindrome that is literally played for the “Kinfolk” that came out from the states, mostly Colorado. The band feeds off of their energy, and these dedicated fans get down harder than anyone else gets down to anything all week long. The room might as well be empty with the exception of the true Yonder fans.

READ ON for more of Jason’s thoughts and pics from Day Three…