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 […]