November 20, 2008

Welcome to the 100th edition of The B List. To celebrate this special anniversary, I’m going to finally finish a list I started writing way back in December 2006. Ah, the good old Hidden Track glory days…

Peanut butter and jelly; mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and crust; bong hits and porn – certain combinations are magical proving that the whole can be greater than the sum of two parts. That’s true in music as well. For this week’s B List, we’re going to list ten song pairings that work great together.

10. Sailin’ Shoes > Hey Julia > Sneakin’ Sally – Robert Palmer

It’s not too often that a musician covers another artist’s song so well that the original artist starts covering the style of the cover in concert. Just this year Little Feat has started playing Sailin’ Shoes with the funky feel of Robert Palmer’s version. For his debut album and in concert, Palmer segue Sailin’ Shoes into his own Hey Julia before dropping the hammer with Sneakin’ Sally. Check out this live version from Wesleyan University circa 1976…

READ ON for nine other perfect pairings from Zappa, Phish and more…

Next month, the Sundance Channel will debut a new 13 episode talk and live performance show hosted by Attractions/Imposters front man Elvis Costello. The hour long show called Spectacle: Elvis

Let me start off my recap of Widespread Panic’s intimate benefit concert at Irving Plaza last night by saying the band was firing on all cylinders and sounded great. But as good as they were, I had the worst concert experience I’ve ever had in my life. The venue was packed so far beyond capacity that the ceiling started falling down. It’s a miracle no one got hurt.

As we waited in line to enter the concert, which was a benefit for the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, I knew we were in trouble when members of the venue’s staff started selling entry to the show for $100 cash. The gig was way oversold already, but I guess when there’s a dollar to be made Live Nation and the foundation intended to make it.

Bill’s sons Alex and David kicked things off at 8PM with a speech about the history and goals of the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation. After about twenty minutes Widespread Panic took the stage to massive cheers from the crowd. I found what I thought was a nice space in front of the soundboard, but within minutes of the Heroes opener the floor was “buns to franks.” The Panic boys were feeling it from the first minute and I did my best to put the logistical shitshow out of my mind to focus on the music.

READ ON for more about Widespread’s return to Irving Plaza…

For the past two years, Umphrey’s McGee has been hard at work on an album of material that hasn’t been played live called Mantis. The band is proud of what