Archive: 2009

The Coen brothers fantastic flick O Brother, Where Art Thou? (CMT, Wednesday at 9PM) isn’t about music per se, but the soundtrack is a major part of the movie’s appeal. George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson are awesome as a trio of escaped cons in search of hidden treasure. Some of the musical […]

After scrambling through the past decade in music, our staff at Glide narrowed our picks for the 50 best albums of the 00’s Not that our favorite albums are any more important than your favorite, but since we are a music magazine – isn’t that what they do at the end of each decade. Enough said, here they are..

Two crowdmembers have been arrested after attacking Jay Reatard during a gig in Austin, Texas. Reatard had taken to the stage at the Emo’s venue around midnighton Wednesday (December 9) and played a 40-minute set before announcing his final song. He was then reportedly attacked by two members of the crowd, reports Austin360. The first […]

Most of the HT Staff dealt with Severe Post-Tour Hangover Syndrome (SPTHS) this week after the end of Phish’s Fall Tour last Saturday night. We dealt with SPTHS the only way we know how, by keeping busy. While most of our articles had nothing to do with Phish, we did run a series of five […]

It’s time for the finale of our week-long look at Phish Fall Tour statistics. Each day this week we’ve been sharing a new installment of our geekiest column, The Number Line, where we analyze the setlists from Phish’s recently completed Fall Tour. On Monday we examined the Fall Tour one-timers, on Tuesday we looked at the songs played on the tour by studio album, on Wednesday we detailed the covers Phish performed and yesterday we shined a light on the originals. Today, we’ve got a mixed bag…

[Photo by Pietro Truba]

46 – Songs with one word titles
31 – Minutes between last song title tweeted by @Phish and tweet about that night’s LivePhish recording being available (quickest of tour)
29 – Most letters in a song title (Stealing Time, BBFCFM)
25 – Most Songs Played in a Show (11/29 – Maine)
18 – Least Songs Played in A Show (11/25 – Philly 2)
13 – Number of different songs that opened the second set (no song opened the 2nd set more than once)
11 – Different Sources of Audience Recordings of the Charlottesville show (most of any show) available for download on bt.etree.org [via db.etree.org Source List]
8 – Most words in a song title (MMGAMOIO)

READ ON for more Phish Fall Tour stats…

As many of you read last week, I talked about some of the great old-school restaurants around my hometown of West Orange, NJ that have been around for decades. Funny thing is the same day I post this story, a friend sends me a picture of him and Buddy – aka The Cake Boss at Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken. My friend Jeff and I go back to when were kids. I asked him if it was worth taking a day trip out to Hoboken in the rain on Saturday. He said yes, but not to go to Carlo’s but to Fiores’s at 414 Adam Street.

The reason why Saturday was the right day is that every Saturday (and Thursday) they sell their special roast beef sandwich with their famous homemade mozzarella and topped (and dipped) into gravy. There was a “right way” to go about getting your sandwich. The Hoboken Guy who like me was a “Fiore’s virgin” documented his experience so well. Read his posting, it is a fun food trip. Along with my sandwich (pictured below)

I also got a pound of their homemade roasted peppers with garlic & one pound of the hot cherry peppers stuffed with provolone & prosciutto (sorry no pix of these, but they are to your left when you walk in). They also do amazing sundried tomatoes. It is about a 15 minute walk from the PATH Station but so worth it. READ ON for more Friday 4 the Foodies…

Phish could be America’s most tolerant band, and if they’re not, I’d love to see the act that can top their patience. After all they’ve been through over the course of 26 years, that they can still laugh at the occasionally obnoxious antics of those who pay to see them is a testament to their fortitude.

[Photos by Esther Rodgers]

The quartet’s tour-closing show at the glistening new John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville featured, along with plenty of high-octane music, guitarist Trey Anastasio getting pelted with a glowstick and a naked person disrupting the show – things that would likely provoke a petulant frenzy from many artists of similar stature. Ever vigilant of the crowd’s mental temperature, even in a cavernous arena, the band turned the latter incident into another of their career’s many idiosyncratic touchstones, taking someone else’s very brief (and subsequently painful) moment in the limelight and shaping it into crowd-pleasing revelry.

Vermont’s most famous band ever displays the hardiness inherent in those who inhabit the frozen expanse of their home state, and they’ve applied a strong work ethic while knocking off the clumps of rust and ruin that followed their 2004 “breakup.” In 2009, Phish have steadily gotten their groove back. It’s been a slow process, like a springtime thaw, but the latter part of the Fall 2009 tour was awash in the sound and spectacle of a band finally starting to resemble their former, fantastic selves. After a three-night stand at Madison Square Garden, the band opted to close the two-and-a-half week tour in the relatively tiny town of Charlottesville, VA, near the town of Crozet, where their management company and merchandising outfit are headquartered.

READ ON for more from Bryan on the Charlottesville show…

While we may have wished for rap-rock to fade away in the past, we couldn’t be more pleased with the results of The Black Keys’ latest project – Blakroc – that teamed the blues-rockers with some of today’s best MCs. The new collaborative act recently stopped by the Late Show to perform Ain’t Nothing Like You […]

The second season of the Elvis Costello-hosted Spectacle debuted this past Wednesday night on Sundance featuring special guests Bono and The Edge of U2. If you missed the debut, you can catch a re-airing on Sunday at 9PM. Other season two guests include Bruce Springsteen, Levon Helm, Ray LaMontagne, Allen Toussaint, Sheryl Crow and Neko […]

Ticket broker StubHub published their Concert Ticket Annual Report today and Phish is all over it. I recently started a Facebook fan page for my other blog, YEMblog, and I wrote a note explaining my take on the report. Not only did Phish score a spot in the Top 10 Concert Tours but certain shows […]

Los Angeles-based musician AM has been invited by French electro-pop kings Air to open their first North American tour in three years. Kicking off March 13 in Miami, the jaunt will serve as the perfect launching pad for AM’s forthcoming sophomore album, Future Sons & Daughters, produced by Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields) and due […]

With the purchase of select featured new releases at independent record stores, buyers will receive a free RED Best of 2009 sampler CD.  The 17 -track CD sampler contains music from  some of the years’ biggest break-through artists  (and some that will be breaking through in 2010)  including Phoenix, White Rabbits, Cage The Elephant, The […]

Medeski Martin and Wood have never enjoyed themselves so much in Vermont as on their Higher Ground appearance December 3rd. Perhaps it's a comfort level arising from nearly annual visits to the Green Mountains for a decade or more, but just as likely, the trio's obvious delight derives from  a sense of renewed pleasure in playing together in the wake of the recently-completed 'Radiolarians Series.'

HBO musical-comedy series "Flight of the Conchords" will not return for third season. After months of speculation, co-creators Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement and James Bobin broke the news on their Web site. "We’ve noticed the less we say about the future of the show, the more people want to talk about it, so in an […]

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve probably realized that it isn’t often I don’t like a concert I attend. I know what I like and I generally do a good job avoiding shows I wouldn’t enjoy. Last night, I entered NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom for Furthur with no expectations. A few hours later I left the venue wishing I had my $75 back and shaking my head in disgust.

There are three main elements that made for my bad experience – the crowd, the music and the venue, all of which were terrible. Now, let me start by saying I generally enjoy post-Jerry bands involving Phil Lesh, so this isn’t the opinion of someone who can’t enjoy a post-Jerry Dead-related concert. From the minute the band took the stage I sensed something was amiss. We’re talking about six quality musicians, but at no point did they hook up to create interesting music.

My biggest gripe is with guitarist Bob Weir who took his “forget the lyrics” shtick to a whole new level last night. Bobby struggled with the lyrics for a number of tunes that he’s been singing for decades which just killed any flow the band tried to develop. Keys player Jeff Chimenti and guitarist John Kadlecik also biffed a number of segments especially on parts of songs the sextet decided to rework. I have no problem with an artist reworking one of their songs, but when the whole crowd sings the coda to Mississippi Half-Step and the musicians on stage are still repeating a line that comes earlier, you’re looking for trouble. READ ON for more on Furthur…

Each day this week we’ve been sharing a new installment of our geekiest column, The Number Line, where we analyze the setlists from Phish’s recently completed Fall Tour. On Monday we examined the Fall Tour one-timers, on Tuesday we looked at the songs played on the tour by studio album and yesterday we detailed the covers Phish performed. Today, we’ll look at the originals the quartet performed on the 13-show run.

[Photo by Jake Krolick]

1991 – Days after the release of Undermind that Tomorrow’s Song was first played
283 – Times Llama – the most common song not played on Fall Tour – has been performed
78 – Shows since last Meat
67 – Shows since last Crimes Of The Mind
33 – Songs Played on Leg Two of the Summer Tour but not on Fall Tour (Grind, While My Guitar, Middle of the Road, Anything But Me, Billy Breathes, Bittersweet, CTB, Catapult, Forbin’s, Crosseyed, Mockingbird, Crowd Control, Destiny, Drums, HaHaHa, Harpua, Highway to Hell, HYHU, How High The Moon, I Didn’t Know, I Kissed a Girl, Icculus, Llama, Makisupa, Mound, Paul & Silas, Psycho Killer, Rift, Roses, Sleep, Sloth, Waves, Windy City)
25 (out of 26) Sets that closed with an original song

READ ON for more Phish Fall Tour Stats…

The weather can’t get much colder here in NYC, so I’m incredibly jealous of all those who are enjoying the gorgeous tropical weather down in Jamaica for this year’s Caribbean Holidaze. The Holidaze action begins this afternoon and our buddy Drew Granchelli will be blogging from the resort over at The Irie Report. Drew promises […]

2009 couldn’t have worked out much better for our friends The McLovins. Not only did they play their first gigs in New York City and Boston, they also scored a spot at Gathering of the Vibes and released their first album. The year isn’t over yet and the Connecticut-based trio has got at least one […]

A few weeks ago, we told you that U-Melt had signed with Harmonized Records to put out their latest album, Perfect World. Shortly after signing the deal, guitarist Rob Salzer quit the band to attend to “medical needs and new personal endeavors” leaving his mates to find a capable replacement. Today, the band has announced Salzer’s departure and have confirmed that long time friend Kevin Griffin will join the quartet starting in February.

[Photo from 12/4 Soundcheck by Jeremy Gordon]

Griffin comes to U-Melt from stints in NYC-area jambands Reckoning and The Point. Not only does Kevin rip on guitar, but he’s also known for his sax and vocal abilities. It’s never easy to learn a six-year-old band’s repertoire, but Kevin has sat-in with U-Melt on multiple occasions and Salzer will work with him on the in and outs of the group’s music.

The Perfect World National Tour kicks off on February 12 in Ithaca and features an album release party at The Bowery Ballroom on February 20th in the band’s hometown – NYC. For a taste of the new album, head to the U-Melt MySpace Page which will be updated with a new track from the album each week. READ ON for the press release announcing the guitarist switch including the tour dates for the Perfect World tour…

When The Police first hit the reunion road in May of 2007 they reworked a number of their classic songs. Some worked and some didn’t including a half-speed Truth Hits Everybody that was good in theory but feel flat live. By the time the group got to Rio they sped up the song with fantastic […]