March 19, 2007

Levon Helm’s re-appearance on the public stage stood as the one gig on Earth that could keep me away from the Bustle In Your Hedgerow show at Mexicali Blues on Saturday night. I still think I made the right call, the easy call, but all accounts rolling in from Teaneck point to a blown-off roof and “tightest Bustle show ever.” Oh well, I got Garth’d at the Beacon instead.

Let’s take a look at some photos from Saturday’s Bustle show…

3/17/07 Bustle In Your Hedgerow setlist at Mexicali Blues*
Set I: On the Tiles, The Wanton Song, What Is & What Should Never Be, Custard Pie, All Of My Love > Communication Breakdown > All Of My Love, Four Sticks, Ramble On, You Shook Me, Moby Dick, Kashmir

Set II: The Song Remains the Same, White Summer, Over the Hills & Far Away, In the Evening, Thank You, For Your Life, Heartbreaker, The Ocean, When the Levee Breaks > Bring It On Home > Good Times Bad Times > Bring It On Home

Enc: Immigrant Song

• Read on for another set of shots from Seiden’s point-of-view
• Click here for a separate Flickr stream of amazing Bustle photos

(*Thanks to Mexicali’s lighting dude Piranha for piecing this together)

Last week we expressed sadness at Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s last-second cancellation at Langerado and SXSW. It seems the government won’t let Mr. Sanchez into the country because he shares the same name as an already barred foreigner.

An estimated one million to three million illegal immigrants cross our southern border every year, and yet this guy gets fucked trying to do it right? C’mon!

A renowned Mexican guitarist, member of the ATO Recording artists Rodrigo Y Gabriela, has been hold up here for over two weeks since the United States Embassy declined to renew his P-1 Entertainer Visa. This unexpected situation has led to the cancellation of half a dozen U.S. shows on Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s current tour, and put in jeopardy many other major concerts and promotional appearances.

Now we’re even sadder: On the heels of the duo’s Langerado and SXSW pullouts, this week’s NYC Webster Hall and Philadelphia Electric Factory gigs have also been postponed for about a month. And if the rest of the calendar stays intact, this sets up an April 15th show in Portland, Oregon the night before the Webster Hall appearance. I hope these two aren’t totally exhausted come showtime…

• Click here to watch the duo’s incredible performance on Letterman
• Read on for a full updated schedule of Rod Y Gab’s tour dates

On a typically raucous St. Patrick’s Day evening in New York City, the Levon Helm Band showed us why nostalgia isn’t always a pejorative term.

Saturday night’s festivities — the second of a two-night return to the public eye — was nostalgia at its absolute finest, the very best intention for the word. Levon and sometimes as many as 15 friends formed a tight ensemble that played fantastic versions of Band songs I’ve been in love with forfuckingever. And on certain glances, you could easily forget you weren’t watching 1970s Levon: the same unique monkeydrumming style, the same bone-rattling southern drawl.

Whatever everyone paid for tickets, we all received far more than we ever bargained. In addition to his supremely talented backing big-band, Levon trotted out an all-star lineup of sit-in performers like Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Little Sammy Davis, Warren Haynes, and eventually, an unplanned cameo during a second encore from his former Bandmate Garth Hudson. Garth?! Are you fucking kidding me? I paid $100 for that ticket, and I feel like I got off insanely light.

Read on for some photos and YouTube videos of this incredible evening of music…

Since every blogger and their mother is at SXSW covering 3,000 bands you’ve never heard of, we figured we’d give you a SXSW-free edition of Hors: How a band can reach