Friday’ll be a tough day at the ol’ office. At week’s end I’ll be forced to endure a full day of occupational nonsense and anticipatory anxiety before heading out to Brooklyn for
Like the famed postal creed, neither Nor’easter nor visa restrictions nor Justice Department bureaucrats nor transportation delays could stay two badass musicians from excitedly kicking off their spring tour at New York’s Webster Hall.
It took quite a bit of effort for Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela to emerge onto the stage last night, braving inter-government shenanigans, mistaken identity, record rainfall in the Northeast and their own version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The pair began this epic journey in Mexico, moved through Los Angeles, were diverted to Atlanta, then flew up to — where the fuck?, Rodrigo asks — Baltimore, until finally a train brought them into New York proper. For us.
Hype can be a dangerous concept, and self-imposed hype can be even trickier. I couldn’t have been more excited about my first live glimpse of these characters, and not for one second did they let me down in any regard. Read on for more thoughts and pics and videos from an amazing night with Rodrigo Y Gabriela…
It’ll come as no surprise that the best moments on Page McConnell’s solo debut are the ones that sound the most Phish-y.
This morning we linked to the New York Times article about the Last Stand of Tonic, the minimalist Lower East Side performance space with the some of the best acoustics
It may sound like the first line of the critically acclaimed Full House theme song, but What Happened to Television? is actually the new album from the back-in-full-force Greyboy Allstars, and it debuts
Our friend Danfun wants to school you on some cool shit…I’d let him.
You’ll usually catch nothing but blank stares if you mention Roky Erickson‘s name. But the Texan’s story, his music and his behavior are the stuff that legends, and they’ve transformed him into a rock ‘n roll cult icon with an outlaw persona.
So I wasn’t going to miss the chance to see Roky’s first ever New York City appearance, and especially not one on a Friday the 13th. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Roky’s show, since I had heard rumors that he still suffered from mental health issues (read on for more about that).
But the concert delivered way more than I ever could have expected. Roky and his band, The Explosives, just flat-out destroyed Southpaw. The band was tight, Roky’s vocals were awesome and the crowd loved every minute…
Read on for more of Roky Erickson’s story and Danfun‘s photos from the show
HT Contributor Eliot Glazer has tremendously terrible taste in music. But he’s an adroit wordsmith, and he’s gonna try to convince us that the bad is really good.
Even if you’re rooting for Sanjaya Malakar to throw the media mammoth that is American Idol, not everyone involved with the gargantuan show should be equally condemned. Sure, Idol has become an honest-to-god factory in mainstream music, churning out vocalists like Britney Spears does fully developed fetuses.
But aside from salvaging what is left of an industry that possesses a shriveling set of balls resting lightly below the digital-downloading guillotine, there have been a couple of considerable Idol offspring in its seven seasons. Kelly Clarkson’s Since U Been Gone is a certifiable pop classic, Jennifer Hudson gave life to an otherwise mediocre movie, and the adorable Jordin Sparks is poised to be both a tween sensation and perhaps this season’s sleeper.
Make no mistake, the judges’ favorite winner throughout the show’s history is Fantasia Barrino, a powerhouse saaanger whose emotional aptitude and tragic backstory (“Illiterate single mom chases dreams, ends on ‘high note!'”) have earned her adoring fans and critics alike. No, her music isn’t particularly stellar, but her most recent self-titled sophomore attempt was well-received for its march into a less-tread territory in the field of contemporary R&B.
Read on for more of Eliot’s claim that what’s perceived as bad is really good…
Summer tour dates are flooding the Hidden Track Headquarters at a furious pace. Blues Traveler started adding dates after a long layoff. Squeeze returns to the road following a longer layoff, touring the first time in nine years for a string of 11 U.S. dates. George Clinton and P-Funk will play a number of festivals this summer, including a spot at Gathering of the Vibes. And, finally, the Drive-By Truckers aren’t letting Jason Isbell’s departure stop them from adding more shows. But there’s plenty of other linkage to peruse, so let’s do it to it:
And make sure to read on after the jump for a sampling of setlists from this weekend, including the Wanee Festival down in Florida…
Omaha-based neo-wave, synth punk quintet The Faint have announced dates for an early summer tour of the U.S. and Canadian clubs and theatres. The tour kicks off May 21 at
Ex-Beta Band members John Maclean and Robin Jones will release their first album as the Aliens, "Astronomy for Dogs," June 19 via Astralwerks. Maclean and Jones teamed up with their
