March 2, 2005

The rock band moe. hosted a charity concert to benefit Tsunami survivors New York’s Roseland Ballroom, Thursday, February 10. The band raised $75,000. Dave Matthews Band matched that number for a total donation of $150,000. All proceeds from the event went to DMB’s Bama Works Village Recovery Fund.

moe. hit the stage and tore into three moe. fan favorites: “Rebubula”, “Mexico” with John Medeski on keyboards and Sam Bush on mandolin, and “Plane Crash” with Medeski. Former Phish guitar Trey Anastasio then joined moe. and Bush on Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” to end the first set.

The second set included a solo acoustic performance by Anastasio of Phish tunes “Chalkdust Torture” and “Wilson”. The show closed with Frank Zappa’s “Peaches En Regalia” and just before midnight – J.J. Cale’s “After Midnight.”

About moe.

Formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1991, moe.’s tours have taken them from Woodstock ’99 to New York’s Central Park to Japan. moe. is one of the finest in the jamband movement. moe. is also critically acclaimed for its songwriting and studio work; the group’s 2001 studio album, “Dither,” was awarded four stars by Rolling Stone. moe. has released 10 recordings in the last 14 years: Its latest album, “Wormwood,” finds moe. at the top of its game – receiving four stars by Blender Magazine.

About Bama Works Village Recovery Fund

Bama Works Fund (Charlottesville, Virginia) was established by Dave Matthews Band to carry out the band’s commitment to charitable works both close to home and around the world. In the wake of one of the most devastating natural disasters in modern history, Dave Matthews Band has created the Bama Works Village Recovery Fund. The fund will identify an affected village on the east coast of Sri Lanka, partnering with them on a long-term basis to rebuild their community.

Dave Matthews Band will supports its new studio album on tour this summer in North America, beginning June 1 in Maryland Heights, Mo., and running through a Sept. 7 finale in Bonner Springs, Kan. Members of the band’s Warehouse fan organization will get first crack at tickets through March 14; most shows go on-sale April 2 to the general public.

Beyond multiple-night stands at such familiar venues as Camden, N.J.’s Tweeter Center and the Verizon Wireless Music Center just outside Indianapolis, DMB will play an Aug. 12-13 stand at the 41,000-capacity SBC Park in San Francisco and an Aug. 19-21 run at the Gorge Amphitheatre just outside Seattle.

The band’s as-yet-untitled RCA set is expected in May and will likely feature such tracks as “Hello Again,” “Joy Ride,” “Die Trying” and “Old Dirt Road.” Working with producer Mark Batson, DMB has built songs from ideas generated by each member, prior to Matthews adding his vocals.

Before the summer tour, DMB will play the first Australian shows of its career later this month, as well as appear at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in late April. A visit to the Bonnaroo festival is slotted in for mid-June.

Here are Dave Matthews Band’s summer tour dates:

June 1: Maryland Heights, Mo. (UMB Bank Pavilion)
June 2: Tinley Park, Ill. (Tweeter Center)
June 4-5: Burgettstown, Pa. (Post-Gazette Pavilion)
June 7-8: Columbus, Ohio (Germain Amphitheatre)
June 12-13: Noblesville, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
June 15: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
June 18-19: Hartford, Conn. (ctnow.com Meadows Music Theater)
June 22: Scranton, Pa. (Montage Mountain)
June 23: Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
June 25: Hershey, Pa. (Hersheypark Stadium)
June 26: Bristow, Va. (Nissan Pavilion)
June 28: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
June 29: Raleigh, N.C. (Alltel Pavilion)
July 1-2: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (SPAC)
July 5-6: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Center)
July 14: Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheatre)
July 16-17: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Sound Advice Amphitheatre)
July 20: Antioch, Tenn. (Starwood Amphitheatre)
July 21: Cincinnati (Riverbend Music Center)
July 23-24: East Troy, Wis. (Alpine Valley)
July 27: Darien Center, N.Y. (Six Flags Darien Lake)
Aug. 12-13: San Francisco (SBC Park)
Aug. 16: Marysville, Calif. (Sleep Train Amphitheatre)
Aug. 19-21: George, Wash. (Gorge Amphitheatre)
Aug. 25: Chula Vista, Calif. (Coors Amphitheatre)
Aug. 27-28: Carson, Calif. (Home Depot Center)
Aug. 30: Phoenix (Cricket Pavilion)
Aug. 31: Albuquerque, N.M. (Journal Pavilion)
Sept. 2: Selma, Texas (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Sept. 5: Woodlands, Texas (Mitchell Pavilion)
Sept. 7: Bonner Springs, Kan. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)

Source billboard.com.

Coldplay have bumped back their long-awaited third album to June. The as-yet-titled follow-up to 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head was originally due in March, but initial recordings with producer Ken Nelson were scrapped in favor of starting over with A Rush mixer Danton Supple.

A Rush was similarly delayed: It was originally targeted for June of 2002 but didn’t hit stores until that August. “I’d hate to rush the end of the record,” bassist Guy Berryman told Rolling Stone in April of 2002, “because we have to get it in on time.”

As for the new album, Champion says the band has completed fourteen to fifteen tracks — including “Square One,” “What If” and “The Hardest Part” — and is now paring it down.

Meanwhile, Coldplay will perform at radio station KCRW’s Sounds Eclectic Evening in Los Angeles on March 12th before headlining the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 30th. They will then kick off a world tour in the U.K. in June.

Source rollingstone.com.

Live tracks from Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews and the Dead lead the track list for “Bonnaroo 2004,” an audio chronicle of the third edition of the Manchester, Tenn.-based music festival. The double-disc set is due April 5 via Sanctuary.

Among the highlights are Dylan’s set-opening “Down Along the Cove,” the Dead’s “Self Defense,” Steve Winwood’s version of Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” the Black Keys’ run through “The Breaks” and My Morning Jacket’s “One Big Holiday.”

Other artists featured on the set include Gov’t Mule, Kings Of Leon, Ween, Primus, Trey Anastasio, Los Lonely Boys and String Cheese Incident.

As previously reported, the 2005 edition of Bonnaroo will be held June 10-12 and feature performances by Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band, Anastasio, the Black Crowes and the Allman Brothers Band.

Here is the track list for “Bonnaroo 2004”:

Disc one:
“Down Along the Cove,” Bob Dylan
“Trouble,” Dave Matthews & Friends
“Self Defense,” the Dead
“Dear Mr. Fantasy,” Steve Winwood
“Blind Man in the Dark,” Gov’t Mule
“Caleb Meyer,” Gillian Welch
“Crazy Dream,” Los Lonely Boys
“One Big Holiday,” My Morning Jacket
“The Breaks,” the Black Keys
“Trani,” Kings Of Leon
“Nemo,” Umphrey’s McGee
“The Big Eater,” the Bad Plus

Disc two:
“Curfew’s Call,” Trey Anastasio
“Dialog Box,” David Byrne
“Volcano,” Damien Rice
“Frizzle Fry,” Primus
“Zoloft,” Ween
“Evolve,” Ani DiFranco
“Desert Dawn,” String Cheese Incident
“Bright It On,” Gomez
“Best Bit,” Beth Orton
“Nothin’ But Flowers,” Guster
“Not Coming Down,” moe.
“Ska Me Crazy,” Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

Source billboard.com.

Blues legend B.B. King won’t celebrate his 80th birthday until Sept. 16, but a host of events are in the works leading up to the occasion. King is already in the midst of an extensive tour, which rolls into San Diego tonight (March 1) and has dates on tap through July 5 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Later this month, King will begin work on a new duets album, which is confirmed to feature pairings with Van Morrison, U2, Sting and Elton John. The set will be released later this year on a Universal Music Group label to be announced.

It will be King’s first new studio album since 2003’s “Reflections,” which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart.

In June, ground will broken on the B.B. King Museum in his hometown of Indianola, Miss.. Benefit concerts for the museum are in the works for late summer at a venue to be announced and on Sept. 20 in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Also in September, King will be the subject of the Bulfinch Press book “B.B. King’s Treasures,” which follows his 1996 autobiography “Blues All Around Me.”

Source billboard.com.

Until recently, there was one U.S. date on the books for Gang of Four: an appearance in front of the massive crowd at California’s Coachella music festival May 1.

Now the band will be playing the next two evenings at San Francisco’s Fillmore. Gang of Four will also be visiting Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Chicago, New York and Washington D.C., among other cities, before ending things in Philadelphia May 21.

Gang of Four is considered one of the most influential groups of the early 80s. R.E.M., U2, Rage Against The Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers probably would have sounded more like Night Ranger if it wasn’t for this band.

The lineup is the same as it was in 1981: Jon King, Andy Gill, Dave Allen and Hugo Burnham. The foursome released 1978’s Damaged Goods, and 1979’s Entertainment and Solid Gold – three very influential albums from that era.

Gill is currently a record producer, with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Killing Joke, Futureheads and Jesus Lizard under his belt, among others.

A double-disc set of Gang of Four music is expected to be released around the same time as the U.S. dates.

Source pollstar.com.

Wilco, String Cheese Incident and Gov’t Mule are among the acts confirmed to appear at Kansas’ second annual Wakarusa Festival. The three-day jam band-oriented “celebration of music and Mother Nature” will boast more than 50 artists on three stages near Lawrence, Kan.

Presented by Fat Tire Amber Ale, the June 17-19 festival will also feature Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Umphrey’s McGee, Little Feat, Ozomatli, Jazz Mandolin Project, North Mississippi Allstars, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Son Volt, Particle, Neko Case, the Samples, John Brown’s Body and Junior Brown, among others.

Wakarusa also offers a slate of activities ranging from mountain biking and nature hikes to wind surfing and canoe rentals. Organizers have also added a secluded family campground and children’s concerts and activities to this year’s event. A 24-hour general store will provide a full range of food and merchandise.

A limited number of $79 tickets are available through the event’s Web site. All tickets include concert admission, camping and free parking, with camping upgrades and VIP tickets ($295) also available.

Source billboard.com.