So last week’s embedded test run with our new friends at imeem went swimmingly, and we see no reason to halt a good thing. Don’t look a gift horse in
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…
Rolling Stone’s David Fricke sat down with John Paul Jones for an exclusive interview about Led Zeppelin’s reunion show. The big news out of the article is that the members
It’s difficult to imagine of a more inaccessible band for small children than Medeski Martin & Wood. In all my years of being the creepy guy in just a trenchcoat and knee high socks at the local playground, I’ve never heard a parent say, “You know what my kid loves? Acid jazz! And he adores five-minutes percussion solos!”
All photos by our main man Danfun
But there I was at 6 pm last night, draped in my weekday business casual in the Time Warner Center’s Borders book store, watching the always-entertaining trio play a bunch of tracks from their new kids album, Let’s Go Everywhere.
A crowd of children sat in front of the band, most of them seemingly digging the music about cats, pirates and choo-choos, while a throng of equal parts hippie and hipster watched behind them, trying their best not to rock out in such a public place. And of all the venues I’ve done the head-bob, right knee-bend and foot tap to live music, Borders may now be a top contender for the strangest of places.
Read on for more of Danfun’s photos from the book store…
We thought the gift-giving season was over, but FestivaLink proved us wrong by releasing a free MP3 compilation of their best recordings from 2007. You can now download eight amazing
YouTube can be great for finding any old music video you can think of, but does anyone really enjoy watching pixelated videos on a small computer screen? Watching high-quality DVDs on the big screen provides a much more entertaining and enlightening experience, and thanks to numerous torrent sites you can choose from hundreds of old concerts to download.
We’re always here to help differentiate the gems from the garbage. Once again it’s time for another DVD edition of Grousing The Aisles featuring quality videos from the Talking Heads, Radiohead, the Jerry Garcia Band and plenty of others.
Did you know pro-shot video of the Talking Heads opening for Television at CBGB in 1975 existed? I sure as hell didn’t until stumbling upon this amazing DVD torrent over at thetradersden. Check out this video for a rare look at the early trio lineup of the band that featured just Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and David Byrne. The Heads deliver a 33-minute set that gives us a peak into the revolutionary force they would soon become.
While the quality on this black-and-white video isn’t the best in the world, this DVD still fits into the Must Download Immediately category. We particularly love the rough version of Psycho Killer that can also be seen here on YouTube. You can sense the tension between the band even at this early stage. Now if only the director didn’t cut between shots every 10 seconds we’d really be in business.
Read on to download a high-quality version of Radiohead’s Scotch Mist and six other DVDs you just gotta have…
Resident Curmudgeon Chuck Myers is back, and he’s returned with a special message for one of the brightest jewels in the Queen’s sac…
Happy birthday, Jimmy Page. I mean that sincerely, because you’re one of the greatest guitar players to ever bless the world of rock music. Sure, back when I was 19 and living in L.A. and striving to be in one of those bands like CoxxRokkitt or Pussykatt Sleaze or Stüpïdfüxx, I lost sight of your brilliance due to a myopic obsession with douchebags named Yngwie or Joe. But I found my way back. I am your prodigal son, Jimmy, and your sloppy-ass fretwork showed me the way home.
The problem is, I learned a lot when I was out wandering through the dark world of bad metal. For instance, I learned that the best players in the world can speak volumes through just a couple of notes, but the guys who sound like a coked-out bumblebee usually contribute nothing to a song. I learned that you don’t need leather trousers or big hair to be larger than life. I learned that all the posturing and props and pointy guitars can’t mask the arrhythmic heartbeat of a soulless band.
And I learned that guitar solos are evil.
Now, let’s be clear about something. I’m not talking about a short break in the middle of a song. Those are generally stupid and pointless, but they’re rarely evil. I’m talking about the 15- or 20-minute interlude, where everyone in the band walks backstage and has a smoke or eats a Tofurkey sandwich. Everyone, that is, except for the guitarist, who stands beneath a single blue spotlight and wows the audience with his technical proficiency and his (cough) soulful chops. Read on…
Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell is the rare professional conservationist who spends years of his life traveling on gas-guzzling planes. Leavell, who is best known to us for his monumental
The fine folks at Brooklyn Vegan certainly caught our attention today when they posted this mind-blowing potential lineup for Thursday night’s Jimmy Vivino/Bill Graham birthday celebration at BB King’s in Times Square.
Thursday Jan 10th at BB KIng’s. “Return To The Fillmore East” With….. THE PRISONERS OF 2ND AVE Featuring: JIMMY VIVINO, RICH PAGANO + JOHN CONTE
Bill Graham Birthday Show!
-and-
A Jimmy Vivino Birthday Celebration!With special guests and special friends …
THE FAB FAUX, LEVON HELM, WILLIE NILE, AL KOOPER, WARREN HAYNES, PAUL SHAFFER, JOHN SEBASTIAN, DAVID JOHANSEN, HUBERT SUMLIN, ROBERT GORDON, CATHERINE RUSSELL, LARRY CAMPBELL
All of these legendary performers has a long history with Vivino, so this certainly isn’t beyond the realm of possibilities. The BB King website listing for the show is playing coy, but a recent press release we received may prove it’s worth: “The evening promises to be colorful and it would be beneath us to advertise the names of current and former lineups who want to celebrate and play.”
Tickets are still available at the moment (half-price with the code ‘OFFER’). Do any of our readers out there have any inside information about this show?
Face it, hipsters: Nothing beats the peak of a red-hot jam. But many of the jambands left on the scene just don’t do it for Some Dude of Hits from the Blog, so he’s here to coach us on which bands we should turn to for greatness…
Let’s face it, folks, the jamband scene is dead and decomposing. The Fat Man isn’t walking through that door; pre-hiatus Big Red isn’t walking through that door. The bands left in the wake of the once-thriving scene of the late ’90s/early aughts have either hit their ceiling, called it quits or are currently cashing in as glorified cover bands. So as we all wait for the next big thing to violently shake up the scene and make it relevant again, it’s time to broaden our horizons.
While some have resorted to labeling bands “post jam” — sorry, I almost threw up in my mouth after typing that — to sugarcoat it, I’m here to tell you there is no such thing (apologies, Mr. Greenhaus). For something to be post-anything it has have been influenced by its predecessor, and I doubt the members of bands like Wilco and My Morning Jacket were slinging veggie burritos and selling homemade blown glass out of a 1987 Chevy Shitbox in the Phish tour lot.
There are, however, exciting bands out there that should appeal to those of us rooted in classic rock and improvised jamming, groups that have opted to jump head-first into the indie-rock pool like the two mentioned above. So without any further posturing, I’d like to introduce you to the musical stylings of Portland’s own Blitzen Trapper. Read on for less lecturing and more music…
