Archive: 2007

Ronnie Hawkins pitched Robbie Robertson on joining his band with one undeniable sentence: “Son, you won’t make much money, but you’ll get more pussy than Frank Sinatra.” That’s what most heterosexual males call “a decent offer.”

Some 15 or so years later, Hawkins stood with Robertson and the other four brilliant members of The Band on the Winterland stage on Thanksgiving day in 1976. It’d mark the last time these five performed together as one of the greatest mostly non-American, American rock bands in music history (and probably the most underrated). Just about 31 years after The Last Waltz, we celebrate the greatest rock concert ever and the greatest concert film of all-time. Lotta superlatives today.

There’s no legitimate or acceptable excuse to be a music fan and not own this DVD. But if for some strange reason you “just never bought it,” we’ve compiled just about every single musical clip from the movie after the jump. Spend this fine turkey day with The Band and some little-known friends like Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Van the Man Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Dr. John, Neil Diamond, Ronnie Hawkins and more. Could you imagine if blogs existed back then? The Internet may have exploded that night.

Maybe one day when the time is right, we can finally pull off my Last Waltz Halloween Party. It’ll be better than Vegoose. Anyway, read on to really enjoy your Thanksgiving…

The Thanksgiving holiday is finally upon us, and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers for wasting their time with us. We’re changing the schedule around a bit due to the short week, so Grousing The Aisles and The B List will both take a spot on the bench until […]

The Silver Jews yentas over at Pitchfork always seem to have the Berman-related scoop, and today they’re reporting the title of the band’s forthcoming LP will be Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. The album hits some time in April 2008, but so far there’s no confirmed information, speculative rumors, innuendos, hints or allegations about either a […]

One of the interesting side effects of the upcoming Led Zeppelin reunion gig is that any time Jimmy Page gives an interview people analyze every single detail for clues about what will go down on December 10th. Page yesterday let it slide that the band has been rehearsing a song written between 1968 and 1980 that has never been played before. Jimmy played it cool when pushed for further details, but apparently he mentions they plan to play For Your Life in memory of Ahmet Ertegun in an interview that will run in the next issue of Guitar World.

Speaking of people that can’t keep a secret, Ian Astbury told a stunned crowd in Cincinnati that The Cult will be opening for Led Zeppelin during what’s shaping up to be the biggest tour of 2008. Be sure to save those holiday bonuses, because tickets won’t be cheap. Alright, what else is out there?

• Bruce Springsteen ends one tour and announces another
• Wolfmother is working hard on a new “cinematic, epic” album
• Dweezil Zappa pwns Project Object
• Silversun Pickups book holiday dates across the country
• Japan just says no to Velvet Revolver
• Looking into Skynryd’s motivation behind writing Sweet Home Alabama
• Concert photographers now get much less time to take their shots
• Chris Michetti explains RAQ‘s hard driving sound to the Diamondback Online
• Vince Iwinski talks about the business behind Umphrey’s McGee
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers have sued Showtime over the use of the name Californication

Finally congrats to Queen’s Brian May for being named Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, paving the way for Rock Star Astrophysicists everywhere.

Although Le Concorde has only been around since 2003, they sound like pop rock veterans on their newest EP, Suite. Stephen Becker, the mastermind behind the band from Chicago, gets how to write a catchy song—and this new batch brings plenty of energy. The gem here is “All These Fragile Unions,” which uses Becker’s rhythm and wonderfully awkward sense of melody and sounds to form almost three minutes of suiteness. The bar has officially been raised for their next full-length album.

Not only is Led Zeppelin going back on the road in 2008, but they’ve selected the Cult as their opening act. That’s according to Cult frontman Ian Astbury, who blabbed the news Saturday (Nov. 17) during a show in Cincinnati.According to an MTV.com report, Astbury told the crowd, "We’ll be back next year because we’re […]

"For over 30 years The Residents have been a world unto themselves: madcap jesters, video innovators, rock’s very own devil’s advocates” – The Mirror UK THE RESIDENTS’ announce the release of a brand new album, "The Voice Of Midnight," out on November 20th and the follow up to 2006’s  "Tweedles." With a long history of […]

Surprises at a show are a mixed bag. Most often they're of the unpleasant sort when the band you go to see doesn't live up to your (often over-hyped) expectation. Every now and then though, there's a good one. On Monday night at Rams Head Live, I got three of them.

The Walkmen have announced a slew of dates, kicking off January 16 in Pittsburgh. The band will play just over a week of shows in the US, finishing up January 23 in Philadelphia. Brooklyn-based six-piece White Rabbits will open on the outing, in support of their debut ‘Fort Nightly’ album. Meanwhile, The Walkmen have been […]

The dates and the initial lineup of San Francisco‘s 2008 Noise Pop Festival have been revealed. Magnetic Fields, Cursive, The Mountain Goats and The Gutter Twins are among the bands set to play the week-long festival running February 26 to March 2. The gigs will be held at several venues throughout the city. Additional bands […]

Here’s a little reminder that Phish’s Vegas ’96 went onsale today, just in case you’ve missed any of the 80 emails they sent announcing the release. Vegas ’96 finds Phish at their absolute best, the band putting on a well-rehearsed show filled with rarities, intense jamming and an insane 30+ minute encore featuring a group […]

The truth about that “song from Fenway” hath been revealed: “Neil Diamond held onto the secret for decades, but he has finally revealed that President Kennedy’s daughter was the inspiration for his smash hit Sweet Caroline.”

The Benevento/Russo Duo sets up in Williamsburg on Thanksgiving Eve, a surprisingly rare New York show following years of playing the shit out of this city.

The Duo built up incredible momentum over the past couple years: The jamband crowd praised their individual efforts on the widely (and wrongly) panned summer 2006 tour with Half of Phish, while the hipsters watched as Pitchfork generously heaped kudos all over their sophomore album, Play Pause Stop.

But Marco and Joe covered the brake, going their separate ways for much of the year. Despite a recent tour, nobody knows what the future holds for the twosome nor whether they’ll choose to make their livings with other musicians.

Regardless of the Duo’s long-term plans, both parties are producing fantastic music away from each other. Sir Joe’s teamed up with American Babies and debuted his Anti-Jazz Raygun imprAvant death metal band, while Marco’s making incredible jazz-plus music with equally incredible musicians.

And now comes word into Hidden Track headquarters that HYENA Records will release Marco Benevento’s new solo studio album, Invisible Baby. In addition to Marco, the new album features JFJO and TLG’s Reed Mathis, Matt Chamberlain and The Slip’s Andrew Barr. We’re told this album will be released digitally on January 8th, and the physical CD version will come out on February 12th.

• Stream: The Real Afternoon Party — Marco Benevento [ropeadope]
• Stream: Atari — Marco Benevento [ropeadope]

Many Clapton fans went apeshit when Col. Reunion announced he’d be pairing up with former Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood for three shows at Madison Square Garden in February. A good portion of those fans then went conversely apeshit when they realized a decent seat would cost them at least $145 with fees, all for that ever-elusive taste of nostalgia (and chips). That’s right bollocks.

But if you want a $265 look at the reformed collaborators for considerably cheaper (though, obviously, not live), Rhino today released the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 on a 38-track DVD just in time for the Black Friday rush.

Filmed in HD from every angle, the two-disc set captures the best efforts from a star-studded lineup that included the aforementioned Winwood (for Presence Of The Lord, Dear Mr. Fantasy, Had To Cry Today and Crossroads), as well as B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Jeff Beck, Robert Randolph, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, John Mayer and many more.

Now as part of our Everybody Wins When We Plug Something And In Return They Offer Me Free Shit To Give Away contest, we’ll send you a free copy of the Crossroads DVD and a heady copy of Clapton’s autobiography if you chime in below and answer this query: You are Slowhand, and you’re putting together next year’s big guitar jam — who are the five [living] guitarists you’d want on the festival’s bill? Sound off in the comments for your shot to win.

• View the Crossroads E-Card here or buy the two-disc DVD here
• Sample Video: Presence of the Lord (Clapton/Winwood) — QT or WMV
• Sample Video: Belief (John Mayer) — QT or WMV
• Sample Video: Sweet Thing (Vince Gill) — QT or WMV
• Sample Video: Tulsa Time (S. Crow/Clapton/Gill/A. Lee) — QT or WMV

The reissue of the Grateful Dead’s very first two archive titles, simultaneous with the release of Three From the Vault, reaffirms how endlessly fascinating it is to follow this band. And it’s not just the music, but also the way the group meshed aesthetic and business activities.

The Detroit-based, Electric Six’s fourth and latest release on Metropolis borrows its name from a drawing by the German artist George Grosz which depicts and grotesquely satirizes the gluttony, greed and excess of Berlin between World War 1 and World War II. And although I Shall Exterminate Everything around Me doesn’t focus on 1920s Berlin, it does focus on and satirize excess.

Berklee College of Music announced   hat SIRIUS Canada will present “Canada Comes to Berklee”, a unique  all-Canadian concert event on December 12 featuring The New   Pornographers, k-os, and Bill King’s Saturday Nite Fish Fry.  As part of the 2007-2008 Sovereign Bank Music Series, Canada Comes to Berklee will highlight these Canadian musical exports and call attention to the […]

Everyone Orchestra hits the ground running in its new hometown with an exciting edition assembled from Portland, OR-based all star musicians, including EO founder/conductor Matt Butler, string legends Darol Anger and Tony Furtado,  guitarist Scott Law, bassman Tye North, Dirty Martini’s Stephanie Schneiderman, plus more special guests, live painters, stilters, hoopers, costumed fiends, balloons, dragons and YOU! In a nod […]

Members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers have sued Showtime Networks and others over the new television show called "Californication," the same name used by the band for their Grammy-nominated 1999 album.The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court today (Nov. 19), sets out claims under federal trademark law and state unfair competition law. The […]

White Stripes’ frontman Jack White could be set to record with Bob Dylan. The pair could be set for a new music collaboration after a series of link-ups. White has joined Dylan onstage before and contributed to the legend’s radio show. Most recently White has being recording on some unfinished Hank Williams songs for a […]