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Picture Show: Pretty Lights @ the Park West

Hidden Track Staff October 29, 2009 3 Comments

Words and Images: Tim Hara

As we exited our cab outside of the Park West in Chicago, we were immediately approached by a fan asking us if we had any extras for the sold out Pretty Lights show. Then another, then another, then another. Dozens of kids braved the miserable cold and rain with their fingers raised high in the air with hopes of scoring a ticket to what seemed like the hottest show in town. Sadly, almost all of them would get shut out.

Yonder Mountain String Band was playing at the House of Blues Chicago, but you wouldn’t have known it. All people were talking about for weeks was whether they had a ticket for Pretty Lights and how they were going to get in if they didn’t have one. Desperation led to some fans offering up to five times face value for a single ticket. I hadn’t seen this kind of pandemonium for a show in this city for a long time. We passed all the unfortunate, ticket less fans and entered the venue knowing that the evening was truly going to be something special.

Derek Vincent Smith, AKA Pretty Lights, creates infectious beats that seem to appeal to a wide audience. His music is so unique that even his biggest fans have a hard time describing exactly what it is that they are listening to. He blends a heavy electronic sound that walks the line of glitch, electro or even dubstep with a combination of samples that run the gamut of soul to funk to rap. The result is a live performance of non-stop dance music that truly provides something for everyone.

READ ON for more from Tim on Pretty Lights in Chicago…

Countdown to F8: Costume Contest

Scott Bernstein October 28, 2009 7 Comments

Earlier this month we ran a virtual costume contest where folks submitted ideas for their best Phish-related costume contests and now that Festival 8 is finally upon us we’re asking

Review: CMJ The Greatest Music Marathon You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of

Hidden Track Staff October 28, 2009 6 Comments

Words: Jonathan “Kos” Kosakow

Each year, the CMJ Music Marathon descends upon New York City for five days in October. For bands, it is a chance to be discovered. For journalists, bloggers, photographers and the recording industry, it is an opportunity to stumble upon the next big thing. And for the fans, it is a chance to discover new music, a chance to witness the origins of a band, and perhaps more importantly, a chance to run around New York City for five days without a plan or a clue as to what they will find.

CMJ 2009

There is no “right” way to get through CMJ. Of the almost 1,100 musical acts who performed over the five days at this year’s marathon, even those fans heavily immersed in the music scene were familiar with only a small percentage. Some choose to see only the bands they already know and are familiar with. Some choose to pick a venue and stick with it for an entire evening. Others choose to pick bands based on their names, and still others just go to an area with the highest concentration of shows (generally the Lower East Side of Manhattan), and bounce around between venues. But no matter what method you choose, you are bound to find something you love, something you hate, or something completely weird.

As I am just one man, I was only able to see a (very, very, very) small percentage of the music played. But of the bands I was able to see, here are my recommendations.

These United States bring a sound similar to a combination of The Black Crowes and The Band, with vocals slightly reminiscent of the Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz. Comparisons aside, this quintet had a sound too big for Piano’s, the small bar that played host that evening. By adding a steel pedal guitar to the classic southern rock, they are allowed much greater diversity of sound and can bring in many more influences. And that may be their only true drawback – the lack of a definitive sound. Give them a little bit more time to find their true sound, though, and I’d put some money on seeing these guys in much larger venues.

READ ON for more of Jonathan’s recommendations…

Wednesday Intermezzo: Rod-Less Faces

Scott Bernstein October 28, 2009 1 Comment

The Faces reunited on Monday night at the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London for a one-time charity show with Simply Red front man Mick Huchnall, Kiki Dee and Mel

Review: The Avett Brothers @ Terminal 5

Hidden Track Staff October 28, 2009 3 Comments

Words: Daniel Schneier
Pictures: Will Porter

It’s taken The Avett Brothers 9 years, 11 albums and a tireless touring schedule to abandon the indie label cradle and enter the musical mainstream, though one evening with this North Carolina foursome leaves no doubt as to why they have courted the interest of big city suitors. The group is currently in the throes of a touring and promotional blitz in conjunction with the late September release of I and Love and You, their major-label debut, recorded in collaboration with acclaimed producer, accomplished beardsman and recently minted Columbia Records co-helmsman, Rick Rubin.

Having sold out two straight nights at the formidable “Fillmore” at Irving Plaza back in June, the Avett’s took on an even larger New York City stage on Saturday, October 17th, delivering a high-energy set of music to a packed house at Terminal 5. The band, consisting of talented multi-instrumentalists, Scott and Seth Avett, longtime bassist Bob Crawford and cellist, Joe Kwon, wasted no time in setting the night’s hootenanny tone, taking the stage around 9:15 to a roar of raucous approval from the audience.

With a swarm of homemade signs and t-shirts pressed up against the stage, and denizens of flannel-wearing, 20-somethings leaning off the venue’s 2^nd and 3^rd story balconies, the Avett’s broke out the ringing acoustical chords to opener, Paranoia in bFlat Major and proceeded to power through a breakneck paced 90-minute set of rock-infused folk and bluegrass.

READ ON for more on the Avetts from Dan and Will…

Video: Marco Benevento & Friends – Trailer

Scott Bernstein October 28, 2009 No Comments

The first-ever Marco Benevento & Friends DVD – culled from footage shot during their Sullivan Hall residency in January of 2008 – hits stores on November 10. Those who pre-order

Dark Star Stories: October Gems

Ben Wiser October 27, 2009 1 Comment

Each month, HT Contributor Ben Wiser will take a closer look at notable performances of Dark Star. If you have any favorite Stars you would like him to cover, send the date over to darkstarstories@yahoo.com

Last month I touched on the great Halloween night Dark Star from the Oakland Coliseum Arena back in 1991. That was the night Ken Kesey showed up and delivered his eulogy to Bill Graham. He recited some e.e. cummings and gave us the great line – “In any given situation there are always going to be more dumb people than smart people – we aint’ many.”

In honor of that and in honor everyone’s favorite holiday – here is a trick or treat bag of seminal October Dark Stars –

10/9/89 “Formerly the Warlocks!”

It’s been twenty years since Virginia heads got a treat when the boys played two hastily-planned nights at Hampton billed as “Formerly the Warlocks”. The first night featured the return of Help on the Way > Slipknot!, but the second night, whew.

READ ON for the rest of this month’s Dark Star Stories…

Countdown to F8: Win One-of-a-Kind Pollock

Scott Bernstein October 27, 2009 1 Comment

Phish’s Festival 8 kicks off on Friday at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, CA and those of us who can’t make it very excited to learn last night that

Tour Dates: Eight Crazy Nights

Jeffrey Greenblatt October 27, 2009 4 Comments

While Yo La Tengo is taking the year off from their regular run of Hannukah shows, New Yorkers will still be able to celebrate the holiday with music as Matisyahu

Review: Vic Chesnutt @ Somerville Theater

DaveO October 27, 2009 6 Comments

In general, when I arrive at a show and learn that I am walking in on an opening act that I was not aware of – I’m not very pleased. I had a timeline in my head of what I thought set times were going to be and realized that now, all of a sudden, every thing had been pushed back an hour. Sunday night however, it only took about five minutes for me to realize that I was going to be catching a great set of music from Clare & The Reasons, a band I had never heard of – in fact I did not know the name of the group until after their set was over and I swung by the merch table.

Clare & The Reasons touring band are a quartet, fronted by Clare Manchon and all four musicians are multi-instrumentalists. There was fiddle, trombone, clarinet, keyboards, guitars and basses constantly being passed around amongst all the members of the band, and while there was no percussionist…Clare had a foot-tambourine setup that added a little extra punch in the choruses of some songs.

They played the majority of their brand new album Arrow including the first-ever performance of the “Japanese Bonus Track”. As her set came to a close, Manchon announced that “You will all know this song” and launched into a great arrangement of That’s All (which is also on the album Arrow). With the signature piano line being played on a clarinet, the crowd – of unfortunately only dozens of people – let out an audible laugh and Clare quickly explained, “It’s not funny” into the microphone. This band is opening for Vic Chesnutt through November 7th, I highly recommend arriving early to check them out. Manchon’s gentle voice is a perfect fit for their type of music which borders somewhere between Twee Pop and gypsy street musicians. As my friend Indie Dan said, “Even though there wasn’t an accordion onstage, I totally could see them having one.”

Here is their music video for the song All The Wine:

READ ON for more from Dave including a review of Vic Chesnutt’s new band and to see the hilarious infomercial for Clare & The Reasons New Album…

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