2006

Talk about flying totally under the radar. Last year at this time the Noodling Community was abuzz with pre- and post-show chatter about the Warren Haynes Xmas Jam. And maybe it’s strictly the result of the lack of an exotic and limitless Serialpod debut, but this year’s event didn’t even register on most Google calendars, message boards or any of those newfangled “blogs.”

Did a subpar lineup keep the avalanche of buzz at bay? Was it Warren’s refusal to add any acts to the bill after the initial announcement? Or have people grown a bit weary of Haynes’ overexposure? No matter the reason, the 18th Annual Xmas Jam still managed to sell out 7,200 seats and provided the paying audience with hours of music. The Asheville Citizen-Times, not surprisingly, wrote a glowing recap of the event, the only media outlet to cover it apparently.

Branford Marsalis joins a strange balding dude and some homeless guy on stage on the 18th Annual Xmas Jam — credit: Paul Balicky (Asheville Citizen-Times)

Make sure to check out the Citizen-Times article, which contains a ton of multimedia from the show and the first ever Xmas Jam podcast. And read on below for the setlists from each band, many of which include Marsalis, middle-aged American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and Umphrey’s McGee geetarist Brendan Bayliss…

I’ve always been a big fan of incorporating mainstream popular culture into the not-so-mainstream culture, counter- or otherwise. In fact, I thought it was a grave misstep when every so-called

It’s synonymous with summer. And either you’ve got fond memories of a fucking awesome veggie burrito you bought in the lot or you’re making grand plans to see a show there when the popular rock band Phish inevitably returns.

Whichever camp you’re camping in, it seems like Live Nation’s about to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Or a shopping mall. Or a Wal-Mart. Harsh buds.

First they sullied the glorious Deer Creek name when the venue became the Verizon Wireless Music Center, now it looks like the lights may go down forever. Hey, at least it’s for a good reason, reports the Indianapolis Star:

The area around the music center has become one of the Indianapolis area’s hottest sites for new commercial development and Live Nation wants to take advantage of rising property values in the area…

Sweet, it’s all in the name of profit-taking…that’s great news. Here I thought there was gonna be an explanation people would be pissed about. Nick Arterburn of CB Richard Ellis, the real estate company listing the property, apparently doesn’t believe in sugar-coating nor subtlety, so he clarifies the Live Nation position:

“We’re not against selling it to another entertainment group…as long as they are the entity that pays us the most money.”

And we all know that entertainment groups outside of Live Nation and its former parent Clear Channel have plenty of money with which to win a bidding war. So I’m guessing this spells the end of one of the most famous outdoor amphitheaters in the country. Deer Creek, we hardly knew ye…or we knew ye too well.

Read on for an impromptu edition of The B List and links to some of the best Dead and Phish shows in the rich history of the venue…

I sure wish it were next Monday; then I’d be off from work for Christmas. Since I’m not, though, here are a handful of links to keep you entertained: Diane

This week we finally learned the answer to that age-old lot question “Who’s got my pharmies?” Apparently they’re in a black 2004 Audi sedan piloted by a bearded redhead all

Ya know, for all the dreck on Saturday Night Live this season, the show is actually producing at least one quality sketch almost every week. Between the “Bobby McFerrin raped

It’s been two weeks since Tenacious D rocked New York City with its patented brand of fuck-your-face acoustic rock. But since the vibration of death that The D left behind is still reverberating throughout Manhattan, our buddy Hal Hansen decided to retroactively inform you of what you’ve been feeling for a fortnight…

Overheard in New York, December 1^st, 2006

“I check my dipstick, you need lubrication”
“Twas I who fucked the dragon, fuckalize sing-fuckaloo”
“Burrito supreme and a Chicken supreme and a Cutlass supreme”
“When I’m snackin’ on a tasty boosh, right after the show”
“I’m shooting my juice right in your caboose”
“Have you ever been worked on by two guys who are hot for your snatch”
“And then I’ll fuckin’ fuck you discreetly”
—34^th Street & 7^th Avenue

If any of the exclamations above seem a little out of place for a show review, or even the aforementioned and awesome Overheard in New York, please do not fret. They were all majestically sung at the most famous venue in the world, Madison Square Garden, by the greatest band in the world, Tenacious D — an incredibly rare combination of forces that left few asses intact.

Before we continue with the review, it should be painfully obvious by now that this is all just a big joke. Kyle Gass (KG, Kage, Rage Kage) and Jack Black (JB, Jables), who first met more than a dozen years ago as members of the Actor’s Gang troupe in Los Angeles, are undoubtedly actors first and musicians second.

Although Gass does have some serious chops on the acoustic guitar, and Black is arguably the closest thing to a rock star I’ve ever seen live, Tenacious D as the “greatest band in history” cannot be taken seriously. The key to thoroughly enjoying one of these ridiculous spectacles is to just go along with the joke: Accept that they are in fact the greatest band ever and indeed were born from Satan and slayed dragons on their way to this achievement. If you can tweak your sense of humor enough to get this far, you are ready for The D…