There’s something about Cincinnati that the members of Phish must love as they keep on coming back to the city for two-night stands. For an example of how good Cincy
[Originally Published August 9, 2007] Steely Dan 03/20/1974 FM (MP3): After listening to one of Steely Dan’s rare live gigs from the ’70s, I’m just confused as to why these
Last Friday was a long time coming. The week seemed to drag on to the point where I spent a great deal of Thursday staring at the clock, doing my best to force time to speed up by the sheer force of my will and failing miserably. There had been deadlines and long work days since Monday morning and it drained me to the core. I needed Friday badly. You see, on Friday, the Mother Hips were coming to town. By Wednesday I was jonesing pretty bad. Friday was a long time coming for certain.
I got to the venue early and grabbed a table by the wall to wait for the right moment to give up my seat. The Doug Fir Lounge in Portland is a very intimate theater with a low rise stage that faces a roughly 30’ by 40’ dance floor. Behind the dance floor is a set of stairs leading to the bar area and merch table on one side, with the sound booth in the middle and a ramp to the bar on the other side. There are a few tables on either wall to the side, but sitting down affords one only a good look at the back of most of the audience. The best place to be at the Doug Fir is on the stairs, leaning back against the front of the sound booth. One or two steps up, with something to lean on behind me to rest my aching back and an unobstructed view of the stage, I try to grab this spot whenever I’m here.
I needed to sit till the last moment to rest up for the show. Triple bill, with Matthew Lindley & Troubadour Deluxe first and Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit in the middle slot. I grabbed the spot on the stair just ahead of a couple who were content to be against the booth, but one step down.
READ ON for the rest of AJ’s review of the Mother Hips…
Our new favorite psychedelic-country-rock band These United States have captured the early ’90s, DIY-spirit reminiscent of Beastie Boys clips for their new video. Here’s The Important Thing… [youtube]2xSUoNVW2y0[/youtube] These United
Seattle rockers Pearl Jam make their Austin City Limits debut this weekend on your local PBS channel. Eddie Vedder and his mates focus on material from the recently released Backspacer
Las Tortugas Festival, held in Yosemite, CA from October 29th – November 1st, 2009.
Don’t be digging into Parke Puterbaugh’s new Phish: The Biography looking for details of who consumed how many drugs and how wasted they were when they did – and shame on you if you do. Move on, my friend; be glad that all hands have returned from the dark side and are smiling once again. I suppose you could say that Puterbaugh’s love for the band no doubt tempered his attack, but there’s not a whole lot left out that we need to know – and what’s here is a good read for those who love the band.
As we head into winter, one thing that should get you through the cold weather ahead is the thought that summer music festival season is right around the corner. To
Ekoostik Hookah bassist Cliff Starbuck, who has held down the low end for the Ohio-based jamband since they formed in 1991, will play his last show as a full-time member of the band on New Year’s Eve. The band will resume playing gigs after a six week break following their New Year’s show at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus with a new, as-of-yet unnamed bassist.
READ ON for Cliff’s statement and the band’s statement…
“I want to tell you, Detroit, that you done set me up for a comeback,” former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said after he was forced to resign last year. Echoing the words of the infamous Detroit mayor, Phish returned for a comeback of their own in the Motor City for this year’s fall tour opener, however, delivering on the comeback would be a different story. Save a few bright spots, (Down With Disease>Free and 46 Days) the show sounded like the first show of a tour, a bit rusty and apprehensive.
The quartet came out to a barrage of roses from someone hopeful for Ween’s Roses Are Free, that unfortunately didn’t come. Most of the first set was fairly straightforward as nothing really found a perfect fit. With the newer songs Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan and Kill Devil Falls, guitarist Trey Anastasio’s, for lack of a better word, Joy, was apparent as he played these new compositions just as noticeably eager as he was the past summer to push the crowd to enjoy them as much as he seems to.
It’s Ice made for an interesting highlight of the first set, but most of the opening stanza was filled with slower tunes such as Mist. Things got slightly more upbeat with Poor Heart and 46 Days would branch out a bit, with Trey pinging notes over a spacey pulsing background soundscape while lighting director Chris Kuroda covered the side walls of Cobo Hall during the ambient improv. Slowly, the space in 46 Days fizzled into silence before it got to any real interesting territory.
READ ON for more of Pietro’s thoughts and photos from Phish…
