With Power Patriot, the realigned Garage a Trois attempt to answer the musical question: "Is there life after Charlie Hunter?" The seven-string samurai has been part of this band's lineup since its inception a decade ago and his replacement by Marco Benevento fundamentally alters the sound of the quartet. This music is definitely less dependent on groove though it carries just as much visceral impact (and in your face, not through insinuation).
After two completely different shows in Albany, Phish kept fans on their toes once again tonight at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, ME. While there weren’t the crazy
When you have a group of Phish-loving friends, you find all sorts of differing viewpoints on what and how Phish should play. Among the camps, you have those Phish fans who like anything the band does, you have those who are only impressed by the bust outs and those who couldn’t care less about the songs and just want the band to jam. Outside of a few instances of far-reaching improvisation – namely the Susquehanna Sand and the Merriweather 46 Days – Phish hasn’t strayed too far off script since their return in March…until last night’s second of two concerts in Albany.
Following a fun first set that contained a number of rarities and well-played originals, the band started the second set by jumping into the deep end of the pool – two 20-minute-plus songs that contained more peaks than the Alps. The set started innocently enough with Seven Below. After jamming on the main theme of the tune for a few minutes, drummer Jon Fishman changed the beat he was laying down while the other members of the band went off in different directions as well, leading to a bit of spacey dissonance. I thought the Seven Below jam had just fallen apart and that the quartet were about to end the tune, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
After a few quick minutes of each member traveling their own path, guitarist Trey Anastasio linked up with bassist Mike Gordon on a few gorgeous patterns of notes that got Fishman’s attention. What had been a dark, minor key jam had been transformed to a pretty major key jam as only Phish could do. At this point, Fishman, Gordon and keyboardist Page McConnell started to follow Anastasio’s lead, patiently building the gorgeous “butter jam.” That’s not to say the other members of the band rolled over, they each added all sorts of dark accents to add some depth to what Big Red was laying down.
READ ON for more of Scotty’s thoughts on Phish in Albany…
As I mentioned about Wednesday’s show, Phish concerts come in all different shapes and sizes, and that’s what makes them so appealing. What made last night’s show so great were all the curveballs thrown at various points in the show. Whether it was dusting off Jimmy Dale Gilmore’s My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own, busting TV on the Radio’s Golden Age to the delight of the indie segment of the fanbase or debuting the reggae-tinged original Tomorrow’s Song; the quartet kept fans guessing all night long.
As soon as guitarist Trey Anastasio barreled through the solo in AC/DC Bag it was clear he was firing on all cylinders and extremely excited to be on stage. Maze gave Anastasio a chance to channel all of his pent up energy for good as he delivered one rapid-fire run of notes after another. The first bust out of the evening came after a long discussion by Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon which ended with the band settling in on the first My Mind’s Got A Mind Of Its Own since 2004. The other bust out of the set was Two Versions of Me off of Undermind, which hadn’t been played since November 28, 2003. The line “no more Phish in the sea” was met smiles instead of groans as the state of the band couldn’t be better…for now.
There’s no doubt the first set was good, but the second set was where the magic happened. The fan-favorite My Friend, My Friend was met with cheers and hugs. The ensemble impressively nailed the tune. Out of the chaotic conclusion of My Friend came a song that had most scratching their heads at first. Then, many in the crowd started putting it together that Phish was covering TV on the Radio’s Golden Age. The band made the tune their own adding a light, happy jam at the end that had everybody pumping their fists.
EMI/Credential Recordings is excited to announce that Patty Griffin is set to release Downtown Church, a gospel-inspired set on January 26, 2010. It is Griffin’s seventh album and was produced
For his latest effort, Future Sons & Daughters, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, AM, found inspiration while mining the crates of his extensive 1960s record collection – ranging from obscure Brazilian music
After a spectacular two-night stand in Philadelphia, Phish returns to The Knick tonight for the first time since December 1, 2003. Phish first played the Knickerbocker Arena – currently named the Times Union Center – on December 9, 1995 and has returned to the venue a total of nine times leading up to tonight’s show. I’ll be offering my thoughts on the both Albany shows @YEMblog starting immediately. Other options for experiencing the concerts from home include Phishtwit and Hoodstream.
In the three years since U-Melt released their last album, The I’s Mind, the New Yorkers have debuted – and road-tested – a batch of inventive compositions that are just
You got to hand it to KISS. They have been living the rock and roll life to an almost cartoonish degree for 35 years. They are in the middle of a tour that encompasses most of North America as well as most of the fourth quarter of 2009. They recently released their umpty-dozenth cd, Sonic Boom.
The marketing typhoon that sells KISS, the product, has been out in force, selling everything from the $1,200 Live 35 box set, featuring every minute of every concert on the current tour, to $1,000 meet and greet premium packages to KISS g-strings, panties and key chains. Is everything in between included, you ask? Damn Skippy, partner.
I have to admit that when tickets first went on sale, I had dismissed the idea of seeing KISS 2.0; Gene Simmons on bass and Paul Stanley on guitar are the only original members with sporadic members Eric Singer on drums and Tommy Thayer on lead guitar. I last saw KISS when I was in college and, as was the custom of the time, had become quite inebriated by the time the curtain went up.READ ON for more from AJ on catching KISS…
Just in case you haven’t heard, the Mimi Fishman Foundation has launched another charity auction. The auction includes a whole lot of Phish posters (mainly signed posters from late summer
