2008

Armed with a new record and a new guitarist, The Black Crowes brought their “One Night Only” tour to a capacity crowd at the Park West on Friday. For seven nights across the country, the Crowes will perform the new Warpaint record in its entirety along with a brief set of classics and covers.

In times of change, the band always seem to revert back to a club tour to get their bearings. They had a similar setup on the East Coast to kick off 2005’s reunion, and this run proved to be a similar situation – allowing the band the comforts of intimacy while road-testing the material before delving into their usual outdoor summer plans.

These shows also provide a means for new recruit, Luther Dickinson, to ease himself into the mix – a transition that is more than already under way. Luther’s stamp is all over Warpaint, making it a surprisingly focused record whose weak link appears to be Chris Robinson’s lyrics. The songs themselves are the most interesting to come from the Brothers Robinson since 1996’s Three Snakes and One Charm, something which Dickinson and bassist, Sven Pipien can be given a lot of credit for. Pipien finally seems comfortable in his role, and is downright assertive on the new material – a welcome change from his playing during the awkward By Your Side days. Read on for more…

Forget about the buzz that has surrounded Vampire Weekend, because if music blogs had existed back in the mid-90s Radish would have become a household name rather then a footnote in the career of Ben Kweller. At the tender age of 15, Kweller and his grunge-based trio found themselves at the center of a major label bidding war – all of whom were looking to sign the next Nirvana (a band they were heavily influenced by, check their video for Pink Little Stars).

Radish eventually landed on Mercury Records, appeared on Conan, Letterman and even The Weird Al Show, but hype doesn’t necessarily led to success and their debut album Restraining Bolt was a commercial flop. The band’s sophomore effort was recorded, but never released and Kweller fled to New York City to pursue a solo career – all this by the age of 19. While many could have easily faded in obscurity, Ben decided to do things his own way and slowly built his solo career from the ground up. Read on to hear more about his slacker-infused indie-pop…

It’s been a long while since Stormy Monday has featured a single, long track, so this week we have a special treat I’ve been hanging on to for a while.

On again, off again, on again funk-groovesters the Greyboy Allstars have been in the midst of a career renaissance – touring relentlessly and even releasing their first new studio album

It’s been more than a month since I abdicated my daily editorial responsibilities at the helm of this here rag, and in many ways I miss it terribly, as I miss you all terribly down in my loins. But these days I’ve been busier than an indie rock band’s PR team, and I can’t have you right nobs bringing me down (Brrrrruuuuce).

Hidden Track has sprung me to great heights since my disappearance. In the past month I’ve won a Tony for writing and producing roles on my off-Broadway one-man show called Once Upon a Belding: From Principal to Vice President, a 237-minute comic romp starring acting and karaoke genius Dennis Haskins; I’ve written the world’s only known social commentary on Vampire Weekend’s education, appearance and historical significance (seriously, haven’t seen anything like this out there); I’ve gnarfled the garthog; I’ve played stellar goalkeeper for second-division Barnsley FC in their giant-killing victories over Liverpool and Chelsea on the way to the FA Cup semifinals; and just last night I had my head exploded by the series finale of The Wire. Busy as fuck, mang.

So there hasn’t been much time for love, Doctah Jones. I managed to catch a power poppy short set from Favours For Sailors at a cool little East London rock club that had Pete Doherty on the docket. It then hit me that I have never heard a note of this supposedly famous rock star’s music in my life. I can’t even name the genre of music he plays. Is it me? Have I just missed it? Fuck it; I’m ’bout to start smoking crack rock on video, possibly on a sex tape. It’ll be hot, I pinky swear. Then I’m putting drugs in your drinking water.

I also managed to catch up with Levon Helm and his friends at the Beacon Theatre on Friday night. It wasn’t nearly as good as last St. Patrick’s Day’s unbelievable throwdown hoedown, but it still had its world-class moments (horn section = total sickness!). Among my observations: Jimmy Vivino came dressed as Stevie Ray Vaughan in the Hamburglar’s get-up, and Levon at this point in his life could probably pass for Willem Defoe’s great aunt. One thing is for sure-as-shit — it doesn’t get better than The Band’s catalog.

I’ve not got a point to all this. But Scotty’s returning from Langerado and I’ve been called upon to stall you lot until he lands safely and securely. So after the jump I’ve embedded some fantastic videos, and I urge you to take a few moments and check out the pickings while they’re still going good…