Archive: 2008

Was there ever a more polarizing figure in the history of Phish special guests than The Dude of Life? The man born into the world Steve Pollak, a childhood friend of Trey Anastasio from Taft Boarding School, wrote the lyrics to some of Phish’s most popular songs including Suzy Greenberg and Fluffhead. While some loved […]

Everyone who attended Marco Benevento’s January residency at Sullivan Hall came back raving about most of the five shows he played. And according to Neddy last Thursday’s closing gig was the best of the bunch. You can judge for yourself by checking out NYCTaper’s recording of that show. Please keep on spoiling us, NYCTaper — […]

Few Widespread Panic fans are likely to pick their last two studio albums (Ball or Earth to America) are their favorite release, and even fewer Spreadheads would probably suggest their tenth studio album, Free Somehow, as a top pick (those nods are usually reserved for Everyday or 'Til the Medicine Takes). Give or take a few songs, Free Somehow is a surprisingly bold departure from anything the Georgia rockers have previously recorded.

The Breeders have announced the dates of an extensive North American tour this spring. Kim Deal‘s band will hit the road in support of their forthcoming album ‘Mountain Battles’ following their April 25 performance at California’s Coachella Festival. The band will play dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and Portland before heading east for […]

The Whigs are pleased to announce a February headlining tour in support of their 2008 ATO release Mission Control.    The band will be  joining up with Drive-By Truckers in late March for a tour of northeastern cities.   Tour Dates are below Tour Dates February 5th        Horseshoe                Toronto, ONFebruary 6th        Crofoot                  Pontiac, MIFebruary 7th        Madhatter                Cincinnati, […]

Billy Joel will be the last artist to play at New York’s Shea Stadium with a July 16 concert billed as "The Last Play at Shea, From the Beatles to Billy." The show comes in the midst of the New York Mets’ final season at Shea; the team moves into its new home at Citi […]

Tracks from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, Bright Eyes, Serj Tankian and Tom Morello will be found on the two-disc collection "Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran." The set is due March 18 via Sire, with a vinyl edition arriving April 15. The documentary of the same name premiered last […]

Jackie Greene has lined up roadwork behind his forthcoming new album, as well as a few dates with Skinny Singers, his three-man side project, made up of Greene, Mother Hips frontman Tim Bluhm and drummer Mike Curry) It was announced yesterday that Greene will appear with Phil Lesh at this year’s June 12-15 Bonnaroo festival […]

Last Wednesday night The North Mississippi Allstars played like they had nothing to prove but a whole lot to say. In fact, this non-stop two-hour set suggested the trio is entering the prime of their collective career right now in the wake of their January studio release of Hernando.

Most of the Grousing The Aisles columns I’ve written for this rag have had unifying themes that tie together the featured shows. This week I’m struggling to figure out what these bands have in common, besides the ability to drive their audiences crazy. So I’m copping out and calling this a Variety Pack edition of GTA. Don’t let that stop you from downloading any of these amazing recordings of Los Lobos, The Clash, moe., Ryan Adams, Uncle Tupelo and more…

Los Lobos 1/24/2008 DAUD [FLAC, MP3]

Photo by Adam Kaufman

East L.A. rockers Los Lobos surprised the crowd at the recent Voices of Latin Rock benefit show in San Francisco by performing an unannounced closing set. As if that weren’t enough, they also invited some legendary rock stars to the stage. George Clinton and Sly Stone joined the band for rough but ready versions of Thank You Fallentime Be Mice Elf Agin and I Want To Take You Higher. On the other hand, we’re sure the crowd wasn’t surprised when Stone quickly left the stage after banging out a few chords and singing a few lines. You can’t have it all.

Los Lobos, who has just embarked on a two-month tour, started their set with a batch of their greatest hits. For Mas Y Mas, the band invited Jackie Greene, Mic Gillette and Karl Perazzo to sit-in on what turned out to be a blistering version of the aggressively percussive tune. The highlight of the night came towards the end of the show when Mario Valenzuela, Richie Valens’ brother, came out for an energetic La Bamba > Good Lovin’ > La Bamba sequence. Over 30 years after releasing their first record, Los Lobos is still killin’ it on a nightly basis. Read on…