Seeing the energy of the show was “through-the-roof,” Matisyahu and his Hanukkah extravaganza gave Boston a performance at the Avalon Ballroom that was more than worthy of a cliché “two thumbs up.”
Has My Morning Jacket ever evoked a negative word from anyone? From a revered late night Bonnaroo performance, to countless year end best of lists for 2005’s Z, to the accolades for 2006's live Okonokos, the Kentucky rockers can’t fathom a “this sucks” from anyone.
By continuously “throwing it all out there,” saturating the market with catchy rock tunes that are driven from the heart, and making more top ten of 2006 lists than can be counted, the Hold Steady are showing the rock world what their fan base already knows. They’re not necessarily going to “save rock and roll,” but they’re definitely giving it a long needed jump-start.
Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam has been around for 18 years, but was a strictly provincial affair up until the late 90’s. WarrenBase, the side project section of the indispensable MuleBase, reveals that it was still a loose gathering of acoustic and electric sets, local bands, and the appearance of only one or two major acts before it began to mushroom. Later it moved to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, and finally the main arena in the Asheville Civic Center, where it'll presumably stay.
he Benevento/Russo Duo rocked their way through a single set at Higher Ground that was heavy on improvisation, but remained focused on the studio takes of their material. Having toured extensively with Phish alum Mike Gordon, Higher Ground has gradually become a second home away from The Duo’s NYC hot spot – The Knitting Factory.
Friday night The Family Band crammed the Roseland Ballroom with all kinds of fans as they say on their new album Colorblind, “Red Yellow Black or White/We all getting down tonight” and get down they did, as the New Jersey natives had a “Homecoming”.
ar from a sellout of the huge arena (complete sections were empty) those in attendance caught a master still on top of his game and with the encore of two of the greatest modern songs ever written – Like a Rolling Stone” and “All Along the Watchtower -few left unsatisfied.
Dropping into Vermont four shows into their 13 show tour, Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood truly gave the goods during their two set performance. They pillaged through tunes from both of the albums they’ve recorded together, 1998’s A Go Go, and the brand new, Out Louder.
The mighty MTV rolled their juggernaut bandwagon into Manchester, hosting four bands with apparently “spanking new music" – The Maccabees, Fields, Forward Russia! and Wolfmother
When Michael Franti summons “how you feelin?” people respond. This was clearly the case at Boston’s Avalon Ballroom as Michael Franti and Spearhead had 1,500 bodies jumping to their rockin reggae rhythms, while fans responded with full lung capacity to Franti’s vigorous calls.
