2008

We’d like to welcome photographer/journalist Mike Sherry into the Hidden Track Family to add some much needed coverage of the West Coast. For Mike’s first assignment he headed out to Morrison, Colorado for a wonderful weekend at arguably the world’s most beautiful music venue: Red Rocks.

Red Rocks never fails to amaze the eyes & ears. It’s an iconic music destination, worth planning a visit just to see your favorite act perform, and moreso with a two-day billing of closely-tied bands. This Labor Day weekend I enjoyed two nights of outstanding music and fantastic access to photograph the action. RatDog kicked things off with a subdued Help on the Way, paced too slow for my liking (Bobby stopped Jay Lane’s first tempo) but eventually the energy picked up, thanks bigtime to an infusion of Derek Trucks’ bright slide on Loser & Warren Haynes’ rascally voice on Loose Lucy. Having a guitar sparring parter certainly seemed to fire up Mark Karan, and crowd got more responsive as the evening faded into night. Chants for Not Fade Away echoing between the rocks made the air feel especially nice & warm.

READ ON for more of Mike’s thoughts and stunning photos from Red Rocks…

Traditionally, September has always been a big month for the release of new albums and September 2008 is looking finer than Sarah Palin. For this week’s B List, I’ve put together a list of the nine September releases you’ve gotta hear.

Let’s take a look…

9. Cold War Kids – Loyalty to Loyalty

One of my favorite albums of 2006 was Cowards and Robbers by the unknown at the time Cold War Kids. After seeing them steal the show at MSG last summer, where they opened for Muse, I realized these guys are the real deal: a band that produces amazing albums and bombastic live shows.

The Kids have been touring behind their latest album, Loyalty to Loyalty, and the new songs sound darker and groovier than the previous batch. Loyalty to Loyalty drops on September 23. For a taste of the new album check out the video for Something Is Not Right With Me on the Kids’ homepage.

READ ON for eight more terrific albums coming out this month…

Why are Taddy Porter futures going through the roof? Why was “bunk molly recipe” the third-most Googled term yesterday (behind Lauren Conrad and Kim Kardashian, of course)? And why can’t

The Rolling Stones iconic tongue logo is arguable the famous and recognizable in all of rock and roll. The logo which first appeared on the band’s Sticky Fingers album, and

Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog recently visited the Relix office to tape a Cold Turkey podcast on the roof deck, when the fellas became enchanted with the roof’s electrical room/boiler. Dr. Dog

After two successful warmup gigs with Classic TAB, Trey Anastasio is bringing the troop on tour for a quick jaunt through the Northeast. The presale begins Friday, September 5th at 10:00am (Eastern Time) and ends Thursday, September 11th at 5:00pm (Eastern Time) at http://treytickets.rlc.net.

October 16 – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester NY
October 17 – Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford CT
October 18 – Palace Theatre, Albany NY
October 19 – Higher Ground, S. Burlington VT
October 21 – Lupo’s, Providence RI
October 23 – Orpheum Theater, Boston MA
October 24 – Electric Factory, Philadelphia PA
October 25 – The National, Richmond VA

READ ON for the details via Ernie’s website…

From the day we started this rag back in October 2006, HT Contributor Dr. Neeko has provided us with his wit, wisdom and scorching-hot guitar playing. In a few weeks, Neeko aka Nick will be stepping down from his posts in both Give Us The Money Lebowski and Scarecrow Collection to take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in New Zealand. If y’all ask nicely, hopefully Nick will continue to contribute around these parts and check in from time to time on life with the Kiwis.

Before Nick takes off he’ll be performing one more time with his two bands. On September 19 you can catch the final Give Us The Money Lebowski show at Daniel Street Club in Milford, CT. Meanwhile, Scarecrow Collection plays their final show with Nick this Saturday night at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ. Be sure to check out these bands while you still can.

• Previously on HT: Twelve Ways To Spoil A Phish (reunion), Happy St. Patty’s – Flook You, The B List – Neeko’s Favorite Punk Bands and The Hidden Track Goes Artsy Bohemian

READ ON after the jump for our five favorite Neeko-infused videos…

Once again, Jambands.com’s news page breaks a story of major interest to jamfans. While Phish and The Dead seem to be gearing up for a return next year, Widespread Panic

Last week, HT Contributor Wade Ellis Wilby listed The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner as one of his top fall albums of all-time. Well, it turns out Ben and the