Archive: 2007

“Yeah, New York, it was an adult portion. It was an adult dose. So it took a couple of trips to get into it. You just go in the first time and you get your ass kicked and you take off. As soon as it heals up, you come back and you try it again. […]

Artists are notorious for harboring a bittersweet affection for their hometown roots, and with Country Ghetto, songwriter JJ Grey gives a gritty glimpse at life in the Dirty South.

The Associated Press reports that the family of Brad Delp, the lead singer for the band Boston, said his death was a suicide. "He was a man who gave all he had to give to everyone around him, whether family, friends, fans or strangers," the family said in a statement relayed by police Wednesday. "He […]

The Lee Boys played an impromptu set at Langerado on Sunday due to the sudden pullout of Rodrigo y Gabriela (the withdrawal method apparently works). The Mexican duo’s website blames new U.S. immigration policies and procedures, saying “guitarist Rodrigo Sanchez’s visa renewal has unexpectedly been delayed.” The visa snafu has also forced the cancellation of […]

The downloads from this weekend’s kickoff to festival season are starting to emerge, and we figured we’d throw them out as soon as they come to our attention. So here’s the first batch of torrents and sendspaces for you to devour, and we’ll update this post as often as we can. My Morning Jacket 3/10/07 […]

Anyone else have that Asti Spumante Nando Wine “Taste the good times” commercial from the ’80s in their head? Just me? Ah, fuck it: Links! Some top-notch Langerado photos from Scott Galbraith Papa Glide Magazine unleashes Version 3.1 Don’t fuck with Levon, ‘cuz he’ll sue your ass A review of NYC’s newest venue: the Gramercy Theater Chicago is letting The […]

The film's score boasts accompaniment co-written by Spoon's Britt Daniel as well as a buoyant new song from the band called "The Book I Write," which fits in nicely with the theme of the movie.

Kings of Leon have confirmed the first leg of a nationwide US tour. The tour is in support of the new record, "Because Of The Times," to be released on April 3rd. Bookended by appearances at the Coachella and Bonnaroo festivals, the tour will start at Coachella and heads to Seattle on May 2. After […]

New York City’s Meatpacking District ain’t just for drugged-up clubbers anymore. Nope, now it’s for drugged-up music fans as well. The Highline Ballroom — owned and operated by the family behind BB King’s and the Blue Note — will mark its grand opening on May 1. And so far, the bookers have done an incredible […]

We’re continuing to recruit new talent to HT in an effort to provide you with more web junk to help you procrastinate at work. Today we offer our first post from Danfun, the photogenius behind the Who’s Driving The Bus? blog.

A sword sallower, a burlesque escape artist and three generations of rock and roll converged on the Webster Hall stage last night for fantastic evening of music.

Damon Albarn‘s amazing new supergroup, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, played its first North American show last night. A far cry from his old groups, this band features Clash bass player Paul Simonon, former Verve guitarist Simon Tong, and afrobeat pioneer and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen.

Read on below for more photos from The GB&Q’s continental debut…

For this week’s installment we turn south once again, continuing the nonstop coverage of Langerado into which we’ve somehow fallen. But, for us, the true beauty of the Interweb lies in the ability to live something in reality and then live it all over again online. And for alla’youse that didn’t get a chance to make […]

I just finished watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and oh my, what a train wreck. The only salvageable parts were REM’s performance and the footage from past ceremonies. Once Velvet Revolver was signed up to play Van Halen songs, I knew we in trouble. Here’s some more trouble, a Tuesday link dump: Past […]

Lucinda Williams has never been shy about being personal in her music and her latest confessional opus – West – is no exception. Almost a carbon copy of 2001’s Essence in melody and lyrics, West is a notebook of slow moving hymns that run through themes of both losing and finding love.

A group of New York musicians is planning to do what the Beatles never did — perform the songs the Fab Four might have recorded as their final album had they stayed together just a little longer. The Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux — made up of some of the New York’s leading professional […]

Coming off their critically acclaimed 2006 appearances at the Coachella and Bang Music Festivals, Daft Punk announced they will tour North America for the first time in nearly a decade.  July 21 – Los Angeles, CA:  L.A. Sports ArenaJuly 27 – Berkeley, CA:  Greek Theater July 29 – Seattle, WA: WaMu Center July 31 – Denver, […]

the bird and the bee, the L.A. duo made up of singer Inara George and keyboardist/producer Greg Kurstin, have announced that they will be the opening act for British singer Lily Allen on 22 upcoming concert dates throughout the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada (see dates below). Kurstin, a prolific producer and multi-instrumentalist who […]

For the first time since 2004 and off the heels of the release of their new studio album, "Pocket Symphony," French electronica duo Air will tour North America this spring. The pair–Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin–will kick off the 14-city tour with an April 21 show in Vancouver, and plans include an April 29 stop […]

Listen to enough Bobby Bare Jr., and you start craving the stuff whenever you're in need of a little peace of mind. It's not that he makes music that's necessarily peaceful, just that he's arrived at a cross section of pie-eyed quirk, country musicianship, rocker dynamics and loveably dirty, unburnished romance that's particularly agreeable on any kind of day.

As Widespread Panic referenced New York City during last night’s Bust It Big, I got a little sad that Langerado had come and gone. For the second year in a row it was a flawless weekend at the little festival that could.

And I was so impressed with Widespread’s headlining set, I flashed them as they left the venue behind a Sunrise Police cruiser. I’m sure Schools appreciated that.

There were only two complaints I heard all weekend, one of which is a fair criticism, and the other is just another case of jamband fan idiocy. A few days before the festival an e-mail update went out that mentioned a second exit out of the park that would relieve traffic congestion. Let me know if anyone found that supplementary egress, because I spent all weekend searching for it.

But the other criticism is ludicrous: the people complaining about the lack of an encore from Widespread. Panic walked off stage at 10 pm after playing a 150-minute, greatest hits blockbuster set that maybe contained two minutes of downtime. A large group in the crowd audibly booed when Annabel Lukins came out to announce the show was indeed over when the crowd didn’t leave. She must have been psyched to get that plum assignment.

Langerado has a strict 10 pm curfew. My hotel was three miles from the main stage and you could hear the music clearly from the festival, so I can understand how the organizers weren’t looking to blow through the curfew on a Sunday night. Panic consciously decided that instead of wasting five minutes leaving the stage and coming back for an encore they would just play until the curfew. People should be applauding that decision. We actually got extra music, dumbasses.

Anyway, with the brief lecture over, let’s take a look at some more of my favorite things seen and overheard around the Langerado festival this year…

We’re planning to bring you as much coverage of the kickoff to festival season as possible, just because we can. And if you think we’re gonna play it straight, you’ve got the wrong guys (or you’ve fucked with the wrong Marine).

Some photos are posted below and individual set reviews and downloads are forthcoming, but here are some general news and notes from Langerado…

–I want to resist the massive, ongoing My Morning Jacket bukkake film the music blogs are creating together, but they really are that damn good: They just fuck your face more than any band I’ve ever seen. MMJ’s especially talented at hitting that high peak and wailing on it for a while instead of letting it back down, and every time that happens I picture Kelly Preston in Jerry Maguire screaming “Don’t ever stop fucking me!” Every single time. Um, am I alone in that?

–The Swamp Tent wasn’t all that crowded for Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, and I’m thinking this was probably the biggest mistake many people made during the festival. I’m all for moe., but Malkmus’ band is incredible and the Langerado faithful have fewer opportunities to see his shows. Throw in the fact that he’s an equal opportunity employer –- the chicks in the band are fucking amazing — and this was a must-watch performance. SuperDee turned to me at one point and said, “He really makes me want to do heroin.” I think she was kidding, but I agree.

—Michael Franti really fits in well in South Florida. He asks “How you feeeeelin’?” more than most Jewish mothers and grandmothers I know. If this whole musician thing doesn’t work out for him, I suggest Franti move down there and open up a delicatessen specializing in chicken soup. Franti’s set was enjoyable, the highlight being the cover of What I Got > Sesame Street > What I Got.

Read on for more thoughts and briefs from the weekend that was…