September 25, 2009

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Tom Petty is about to release a career spanning live anthology containing 48 overdub-less tracks selected by Petty, Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate on November 24. The Tom Petty Superhighway Tour will start on September 29 for digital purchasers of the set in which fans will be allowed to download 24 FLACs (!!!) or MP3s of the Anthology’s 48 songs over the course of the next two weeks with the other 24 coming on the November 24th release day.

As much as I want the Superhighway package, I’m going to hold out until November 22 when the deluxe edition comes out. Not only do you get an additional 14 songs on a bonus CD in the deluxe edition but you get two live DVDs and vinyl from a Petty concert in 1976. Too bad they won’t let people who pre-order the deluxe edition download the Superhighway Tour tracks.

Here’s a look at a few other stories of interest…

• Aerosmith is finally playing those makeup shows in Hawaii, but guitarist Joe Perry warns TMZ that the show may suck.
• As per usual, the list of scheduled performers for this year’s Austin City Limits broadcasts kicks ass. Here’s the full list of performances…

October 3: Dave Matthews Band
October 10: Ben Harper and Relentless7
October 17: Kenny Chesney
October 24: Andrew Bird / St. Vincent
October 31: M. Ward / Okkervil River

READ ON for the rest of the ACL schedule and for more linkage…

The McLovins return to the island of Manhattan tomorrow night where they’ll be performing a mix of originals and covers at Sullivan Hall around 9:30PM. There’s a $10 cover which

Furthur, featuring: Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Jeff Chimenti, John Kadlecik, Jay Lane, and Joe Russo have announced five new shows. The run starts on December 8th & 9th at the

Wednesday night I had the opportunity to attend the first public screening of a documentary about the life and background of Chef/Restaurateur Daniel Boulud called Un Certain Goût de L’Amérique. The screening was held at NYU’s Cantor Film Center and sponsored by NYU’s La Maison Française.

The film was shot in 2008 in French (with English subtitles). It traces Daniel’s background all the way back to his family’s farm in France, to his internships starting at age 15, through his moving Washington DC and eventually to New York City. It is a fascinating look at someone who knew early on what he wanted to do and set about working to be the best at his craft.

Since I have previously lived and worked in France, I followed the film in French rather than reading the subtitles. It was inspiring to see French culinary legends such as Paul Bocuse, Jean Georges Vongerichten and Joël Robuchon speak about their relationships with Daniel. Paul Bocuse for example met Daniel when Daniel was 15 and starting his first apprenticeship in Lyon at Restaurant Nandron. READ ON for more…

Just a friendly reminder that our Phish Joy Box Giveaway ends tonight at 11:59, so if you haven’t answered our eight questions now is your chance. Here’s a recap of

Originally I was going to write about the reeling and rockin’ Dark Star that went down at Betty Nelson’s Organic Raspberry Farm on September 2nd, 1968, but there’s not much to tell. The whole show smokes and it’s easily one of my favorites of the year. 1968 is the year of primal Grateful Dead – the juggernaut of a band finding its footing. Those early Stars, replete with Pig’s keys and lots of shaker and guiro, are fantastic and fun. I have to write about Stars that are perhaps off the radar and ones that take chances.

But I decided, at the last minute, since there aren’t many days of September left, to cover this gem of a show from 1991.

Thursday, September 26th was the final night of a spirited run at the Boston Garden, their first trip to the Gah-den in over ten years. The previous night was released as Dick’s Picks #17. It’s a fine show, but 9/26/91 really outshines it in my opinion.

One of the reasons why I love this show so much is because it was the first tape I ever collected. A friend of mine was there as it happened and she wrote me a long letter, where she described it to me – song by song, note by note. I fired off blanks and postage to a friendly trader in the back of Dupree’s Diamond News and in two weeks, I got a crispy AUD of the second set. READ ON for the rest of this month’s Dark Star Stories…

Saturday Night Live kicks off its 35th season this weekend with host Megan Fox and musical guest U2. Will U2 be allowed to perform the uber-rare third song in addition