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As we mentioned, Revolution Hall in Troy hosted its last jam show last week and writer/photographer Andy Hill was there to document the evening…

This was it, the last Revolution Hall show – the last real show anyway – before the comfortable room was to close as a live music venue, reportedly, to become a banquet hall. So, as one might expect the mood was one of lament and nostalgia as people slowly filed in and exclaimed their thanks to the staff that had helped to make Rev. Hall such a great place over the years. Conversations of fun times and great shows were overheard at every turn. Although inevitably those conversations would quickly devolve into the frustration of the loss of a stomping ground that had become a home away from home for so many of us.

When the McLovins took the stage though, all conversation halted and jaws quickly hit the floor. These kids, and I hesitate to call them kids as their musical maturity is astounding, played an amazing set that surprised even those of us that have seen them a couple of times. It is clear that they are no novelty act and will be around for a long time to come. Their music is as forward thinking as it is virtuosic. Even Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne, of the headlining act 7 Walkers, gave them props in saying that he couldn’t get the rest of his band (Matt Hubbard, Bill Kreutzmann, and George Porter Jr.) to come onstage for their set as they “were afraid to follow the McLovins.” That is a compliment that the McLovins will not soon forget.

No one seemed to have any idea what to expect from the unique mix of players that 7 Walkers consists of, we just expected it to be good. The two-set show had set lists that were mainly comprised of Grateful Dead favorites. Although there was a couple of traditional blues tunes and couple of new songs whose lyrics were written by Robert Hunter thrown into the mix. From the looks of the crowd, they did not disappoint. Rev. Hall’s dance floor was packed one last time and it seemed that all of the prior lamenting had been replaced with jubilation until 7 Walkers feted the end of Revolution Hall’s concert days appropriately in their second encore with an abbreviated version of And We Bid You Goodnight.

READ ON for more from Andy on the final show at Rev Hall…

iClips’ Couch Tour 2010 continues this weekend with three days worth of broadcasts from the sixth-annual Mountain Jam starting Friday. We’re most excited to see that the Levon Helm 70th Birthday Jubilee set – featuring Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, Paterson Hood, Warren Haynes and plenty of other guests – will be webcast on Sunday night at 7:30PM EDT. Other acts getting the webcast treatment include Dr. Dog, Dave Mason and ALO.

READ ON for the full Mountain Jam webcast schedule…

As if there wasn’t enough news to share today, the initial artist announcement for Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival has been released. Headliners for this truly varied festival include Bob Dylan, The

With last week’s announcement of the details behind Arcade Fire’s new studio album, The Suburbs, we figured that tour dates couldn’t be too far behind. Today, the group added a batch of U.S. headlining shows to its docket including dates at Madison Square Garden, Merriweather Post Pavilion and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Fellow indie big-wigs Spoon will open for Arcade Fire at Philadelphia’s Mann Music Center, MSG, Merriweather and at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre near Atlanta.

READ ON for a full list of Arcade Fire tour dates…