Archive: 2007

Following a series of extensive cross-country tours that have put them in front of big crowds at major festivals like Bonnaroo, Langerado and Wakarusa, Steel Train has been making "serious tracks.”

We’ll be live-blogging the Oscars tonight, so I thought I’d get the week-in-review post up a bit early today. Okay, we’re not live-blogging the Academy Awards. But we are offering this small sample of the nonsense you may or may not have missed ’round these here parts while watching that Anna Nicole Judge weep on […]

Gene Ween’s continuing his (han)solo routine, announcing two new tour dates for some lucky fans in the New York and Philadelphia areas.

On March 22nd and 23rd, Gene will hit Johnny Brenda’s in Philly > Gramercy Theater in the Large Apple, and if he’s anything like me, he’ll make a brief and desperate a stop in Atlantic City between the two gigs. No surprise, Chris Harford and the Band of Changes will open both dates for Gene.

One quick note germane to this post: This will be part of the first batch of live music shows at the newly refurbished Gramercy on the east side of Manhattan. The former Indian-run, Bollywood-themed cinemaplex-cum-off-Broadway theater is now operated and booked by Live Nation. More venues, I like it.

The sixth annual edition of KCRW’s "A Sounds Eclectic Evening" is set for April 14 with appearances by The Shins, Lily Allen, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Cold War Kids, Bitter: Sweet and more. The event will once again take place at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif. More artists are still to be added to the […]

The new Queens of the Stone Age album wlll be called Era Vulgaris and it’s coming out in June.  The new release, the first since 2005’s Lullabies to Paralyze, will feature guest spots from Julian Casablancas, Trent Reznor, Mark Lanegan, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Here’s some new video from the QOTSA in-studio recording.

As reported on Tool’s official web site, the band is rescheduling its North American tour due to an injury in the band.  Drummer Danny Carey tore a bicep last weekend and underwent surgery February 21.  The band said he is recovering well and the rescheduled tour dates will be announced shortly.  The group, which has […]

Billy Martin and John Medeski celebrate their near twenty year long musical relationship by releasing a duets album entitled, MAGO ( May, 2007). The album, which was produced by Martin and recorded over a span of two days in July, 2006 features Martin on drums & Medeski on Hammond B3 organ. Mago’s highlights include expansive free-flowing […]

It ain’t Bobbi Fleckman, but the May 26-27th Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge has announced its own hostess with the mostess: Sarah Silverman. I’m not sure what she’s gonna do while hosting, but I bet she’ll look good and make inappropriate jokes that some people who take themselves too seriously won’t enjoy. (Silverman joins Bjork, Arcade […]

Our associate Mr. Trowbridge just pointed us to these three YouTube videos of Zappa and the Mothers of Invention from the German television program Beat Club. So as we coast into the weekend, coast into a little ambient Frank…  [youtube]ycoppjN10TI[/youtube] When you’re done there, two more videos await: Sleeping in a Jar Medley and Let’s Make the Water Turn […]

Is Pitchfork parting with their trusted brand of elitist indie snobbery, or does someone over there genuinely dig an album that many of us wretched jamband fans have been plugging for some time? Either way, imagine our surprise when the holiest than thou music blog gave the Benevento/Russo Duo’s Play Pause Stop album a 7.6 rating and pretty fucking solid review. […]

We’re welcoming a new weekly contributor into the fold today: Dan Alford’s been an audio guru on Jambands.com since the last millennium, but now he brings his craft to our little pretzel keg. Make him feel at home and download the goods. “Herbie’s electric songbook? A treasure trove of crazy grooves. The first track here features a long and […]

We’ve finally made it to Friday: Happy Weekend my friends. The following links are here to keep you busy when the last thing you want to do is work: Good Friend of HT, TheOtrane, has begun using a peer-to-peer file sharing program called Tubes to distribute tasty Phish jams. Cutting edge shit. So send him […]

From tranquil introspection of “Lifetime Ranger,” to the soaring crescendos of “Merit,” Law digs deep into emotion, and draws out a cycling soundscape of highs and lows; those peeks and valleys that are an inherent part of life.

In two weeks Ace and I will be down in Sunrise, Florida for the 5th Annual Langerado Festival. Ace last attended the festie in 2005, while I had the time of my life at last year’s. As someone who doesn’t get to many festivals, I think the best part of going is the enjoyment I get from checking out artists I haven’t seen before. So for this week’s edition of The B List, Ace and I will look at the five bands each we’re excited to see for the first time at Langerado:

1. Girl Talk: I wasn’t a big fan of the whole mash-up trend that seemed to hit its peak a few years ago, but then I heard Girl Talk’s Night Ripper. Night Ripper is the opposite of every other mash-up I’ve heard that were all ill-conceived and poorly executed. Greg Gillis, the producer who doubles as the one-man gang that is Girl Talk, expertly mashes together killer riffs and vocal samples from tracks’ artists that are familiar to even the most mainstream of music fans.

Gillis uses samples fast and furiously on Night Ripper. My favorite part of the album is the beginning of the track Peak Out, where he throws in samples from 2 Live Crew’s We Want Some Pussy, Pavement’s Cut Your Hair, and Wings’ Silly Love Songs in the span of about 20 seconds. Imagine hearing those three songs on the same radio station, let alone on the same track?

When the Langerado schedule was announced last week there was only one conflict that created a problem for me. Girl Talk’s set is right smack in the middle of Widespread Panic’s headlining set on Sunday. Luckily Langerado is small enough that I can catch the first few songs of Panic before heading over for the brief five-minute walk to the Swamp Tent where Girl Talk is performing. Hopefully I will miss drums and can get back to see the end of WSP’s set. –SB

Read on for nine more great bands we’re excited to see for the first time…

This photo has been making the rounds, popping up all over the headiest message boards and dankest e-mail servers. And while there’s something inherently racist about our visceral reactions to Africans wearing Phish shirts, you gotta admit that it’s a pretty funny image. I like the guy in the middle with the Gin shirt. Admit this too: That’s […]

Critical reviews of retrospectives and B-sides/rarity compilations often carry a common label: “For completists.” Gomez has managed to fit just within that context with Five Men in a Hut (Singles 1998-2004), a double disc exploration of the British band’s work spanning five albums and focusing largely on the singles released in the United Kingdom.

South may not break out of the Brit-pop mold but their recent attempt to make a unique name for themselves is compelling enough to give a listen.

On Monday we posted Podcaster General Mike Newman’s semi-review of Yes’ Jon Anderson playing his band’s old tunes with Paul Green’s School of Rock All Stars at BB King’s. And if you’re counting, by the way, there were five possessive nouns in that sentence — just some terrible grammar on my part. A helpful HT […]

At each of his last two solo shows at the Knitting Factory, Scott Metzger has nailed Richard Thompson’s 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Now I’m hooked. [youtube]AxKTzwaEa2o[/youtube] If you prefer a live on stage version, especially a live on where Thompson wears a ridiculously flimsy teal hat and a sleeveless shirt, here’s a great one from a […]

I’ve always been jealous of those people that know exactly how to tickle the ivories. Playing the piano has always been a dream of mine, yet for some reason I was always drawn to the guitar. This week’s edition of Grousing The Aisle features my favorite piano players, and while all of these men have adept skills at playing the clavinet, synthesizer, and organ, they are true piano men who most often are seen playing a regular ol’ acoustic. Check these shows out:

Stevie Wonder and Wonder Love 07/16/73 SBD (FLAC, MP3):

With his seminal album, Innervisions, about to be released, Stevie Wonder took his Wonder Love band to Europe for a series of promotional appearances. This show comes from Wonder’s appearance on German TV show Musikladen, where Stevie and his band started off by jamming before landing on Contusion.

The Higher Ground that follows is nothing short of intense, as Wonder pounds the rhythm on his Clavinet with authority. Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing takes the energy down briefly before the show-stopping (literally) closing combination of Living For The City and Superstition. This one’s a must-download…

320kbps MP3 = http://www.sendspace.com/file/0g3k6w

Read on for more piano greatness from Bruce, Herbie and Billy…