February 26, 2008

Yesterday we kicked off a new feature called Tour Diary with the first of four entries from the Umphrey’s McGee crew about their recently completed West Coast tour. Here’s UM Lighting Crew Chief Wade Wilby with a behind-the-scenes look at the Portland and Ventura shows, and their day off in Sacramento:

02/09/08 Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR
Dub Trio opened
Set I: Nothing Too Fancy> Roulette, Much Obliged> Eat> 2×2> Eat, Syncopated Strangers> Jimmy Stewart> Syncopated Strangers
Set II: Plunger, Kula, August> End of the Road> August, Wappy Sprayberry> Resolution> Nothing Too Fancy
Encore: London Calling¹, Wizard Burial Ground

1 First Time Played (The Clash)

All photos by Matt Ziegler

Portland is starting to become one of those cities in Umph lore that brings out the best in the band. Could be Brendan’s brother Pat’s overwhelmingly positive attitude (he lives in Portland), could be the Northwest air, who knows? One thing is for sure; the boys came and brought it once again, this time at The Roseland Theater. Nothing 2 Fancy got things fired up right from the get go, and from Much Obliged till the end of the first set things didn’t let up. The same can be said for set 2, with Kula igniting the packed and sweaty dance hall. Jake nailed the vocals on the night’s new cover of London Calling by The Clash. After the show we hung tough with the Portland Family, and were excited to travel to Sacramento for a day off. Read on for more from Portland, Ventura and a well-earned trip to The Beat…

Widespread Panic’s John Bell recently spoke with Glide’s Shane Handler about a variety of topics near and dear to the guitarist’s heart. Check out Tickling The Truth With JB to

With 92% of the precincts reporting, Hidden Track can now project that Umphrey’s McGee will carry the first volume of Cover Wars with 64% of the vote. String Cheese Incident and Trey Anastasio finished officially tied each with 18% of the vote. Now let’s move on to the next battle.

This week features six artists competing for the best cover of Stevie Wonder’s Boogie On Reggae Woman. This song comes to us off the 1974 record Fulfillingness’ First Finale. Here’s a look at the contenders:

Addison Groove Project: As you may recall, this now retired (but is any band ever really retired?) funk-fusion outfit from Boston has previously been mentioned on Hidden Track, by me, and about this song. AGP got a mention in my Top Ten Big Red sit-ins.

Legion Of Mary: LoM was Jerry Garcia’s side-band from 1974 to 1975 and featured Garcia, Merl Saunders (Keyboards, Vocals), John Kahn (bass), Martin Fierro (Saxophone, Flute) and Ron Tutt (Drums). This track comes to you from a ’74 show in Berkeley, Merl takes vocal duties, but Garcia’s guitar work starting around the 6 minute mark is definitely worth hearing. Read on for more Boogie On…

As many of you prepare to head down to “Hippie Spring Break,” we thought we would check in again with Ethan Schwartz – one of Langerado’s founders and promoters – about the move from Sunrise to Big Cypress, late-night sets, and two bands that his mom has actually heard of plus so much more…

Some Dude: Sunrise had been home to the festival for the past three years, why did you guys decide to make the move to Big Cypress? Was the switch in sites in hopes of being able to secure it for the long term, like Superfly has done with Manchester?

Ethan Schwartz: We were limited to 15,000 attendees at Markham Park, and last year we reached that. We’d been in discussions with the Seminole Tribe for a few years, and last year they came out, loved what they saw, and invited us to our new home. We’ve got a lot of room to grow at the new site, but at our own pace.

SD: What will the new site offer that you weren’t able to in the past?

ES: It’s actually a lot easier for the attendees this year. Besides offering on-site camping for everyone, the late night shows will take place on site this year, so that will keep people from having to drive 30 minutes to downtown Ft. Lauderdale to see a late night show. Plus, there’s no chance the late night shows will sell out, so no one misses anything. It’s actually cheaper to attend Langerado this year, camp and do the late nights than it has been in the past. Read on for more of Some Dude’s interview with Ethan Schwartz about Langerado…

Despite what their moniker might lead you to believe, Canada’s No Kids new release, Come Into My House provides another slightly dopey, yet strangely lovable album of sing-a-long tunes. While the No Kids have their own unique sound, they conjure up a concoction that calls to mind a mixture of one part Napoleon Dynamite background music, one part Kimya Dawson, and one part 1987 Casio. In what seems to be an emerging trend that kicked into high gear with the success of the Juno soundtrack, No Kids continue on the path of quirky, catchy, youthful compositions.

I know what you are probably thinking, “Great, another fucking hipster Juno knockoff.” But that’s not the case here at all. This is more the case of some well-versed Canadian music school students stretching their legs, and making a solid album that is only a half hipster. The other half is a sort of self-deprecating, simplistic, goofiness that makes you realize that while this album is catchy, and at times kinda dumb, they are aware of it and cater to it. The result might not be the best album you will hear in 2008, but it’s a damn fun one that is worthy of a spin and will most certainly grow on you.

The best tune on the album is probably Bluster in the Air. A descriptive title indeed, this clunky song provides a good theme for a stroll on a windy day. The Beaches Are Closed rocks a little harder with a more charging beat and staccato chord progression that could probably be best classified as sex music for your white ass. Another favorite, Four Freshman Locked Out as the Sun Goes Down, feels like a fifties throwback to a Hawaiian vacation. And finally, I Love the Weekend provides a nice backdrop if you are interested in teaching a salsa course at the local retirement castle. Read on for a download from No Kids’ new album…

The reviews are starting to come in from the Blind Faith reunion concert at Madison Square Garden, and it looks like Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood aren’t mailing it in.