Archive: 2009

8-year old Ryan Bingham sounds like a smoky roadhouse, complete with white whiskers and  gnarly Marlboros  enabling him to sound years beyond the tender late 20's. 

Russ Randolph and Zion Rock Godchaux are donning their creative caps in anticipation of a fall release of completely brand new material. The revolutionary producer/singer-songwriter/DJ/guitarist duo, together known as BoomBox, has amassed legions of loyal fans through their innovative blend of decades of music history and popular culture. On their latest release, downriverelectric, BoomBox are […]

In support of their new album Up Here, Soulive’s fall tour begins on Sept 12 at their festival, The Royal Family Get Down. The line up features Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Charlie Hunter Trio, Nigel Hall and Soulive’s own headlining set with special guest John Scofield. Soulive then heads west for a run […]

Afternoon Records is proud to announce the October 13 release of The Shape of Energy, the sophomore release from the Sioux Falls, SD band We All Have Hooks For Hands. The nine-piece group are giving away an mp3 of the infectious new song "Made Up of Tiny Lights," as well as streaming it on their […]

Cheap Trick were one of the first bands, if not the first, to play what we now know as Power Pop.  Three decades later, you can hear Cheap Trick's sound in countless bands and that could be perceived as gratifying or annoying by someone like Rick Nielsen who did it first, but he sees it as a reflection of the how Cheap Trick operates more than an homage to their sound.

Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor announced today that the band will play a final "handful of shows" in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles beginning August 22. While NIN originally planned to stop performing in the U.S. for good after the tour with Jane’s Addiction that wrapped June 12, Reznor wrote in a post […]

The Black Crowes have announced an additional fall concert leg to support the band’s forthcoming new studio album, "Before the Frost …." Currently in the middle of an early summer outing that continues Tuesday night (7/7) in Des Moines, IA, the second and third legs of the group’s massive "Stuck Inside Utopia" tour gets underway […]

Rothbury has the stones. It sees your Bonnaroos and your High Sierras, your Lollapaloozas and, God forbid, your Schwagstocks, and raises you an unmatched experience of otherworldly grace. A psychedelic smorgasbord teeming with visual stimulation, wrapped in all the mind-bending music you can handle, hand-spun by some of the best musicians of all time (Bob […]

Beck has launched a new interview series on his website, which will feature regular conversations between musicians, artists and writers. The singer’s first interview subject is legendary crooner Tom Waits, with whom Beck discusses various topics including the colourful history of Los Angeles (where they both grew up) as well as their gigs that were […]

For the last three summers Brooklyn’s McCarren Park Pool had been hosting a mix of pay and weekly all-day free shows every Sunday dubbed The Pool Parties by promoter JellyNYC. When plans were announced to turn the long abandoned site back into the legitimate public pool it once was, it left many wondering if and […]

It’s been a crazy few weeks since pop megastar Michael Jackson passed away and we’ve seen everything from people randomly starting dance parties in the middle of the street to U2 paying homage to the Man in the Mirror to people leaving gifts in front of Neverland Ranch. These are all just small examples on just how much Michael’s music touched the world.

We’ve also witnessed a complete 180° on the way the press has treated Michael after his death. Let’s face it – it’s been easy to laugh or make assumptions about someone that’s different than us, particularly Michael Jackson. We’ve seen him go from a healthy, young superstar to the pale, shattered ghost he became in his last years on earth. Regardless of what you think of his life, his choices or his actions – I would like to tell you a story of how Michael Jackson once saved my life.

It occurred in the late 1980’s, my parents had just divorced and I lived with my mother most of the time. Every day after school I would go to my across-the-street neighbor’s house where both my best friend and baby sitter lived. I would stay there all afternoon and into the early evening until my mom got off work. At first, it was great. I had access to a go-cart, Atari, mechanically inclined Legos and a club house that my best friend and I would use to play in all the time. I mean, what more could a kid ask for? It was a great place to play after school.

READ ON to find out how Michael Jackson saved Jen’s life…

Words: Carla Danca
Images: Jeremy Gordon

It has been over 6 years since moe. played the water-logged field at Waterloo Village in Stanhope, NJ. With that venue now all but closed to concerts, bands had to find some new places to play outdoors in Dirty Jerz. Luckily, Create a Vibe has again stepped up, establishing a great new spot at beautiful Vasa Park in Budd Lake, NJ. For the second year in a row, day long events are being held in this Northern NJ park, a quick ride from the City, but far enough to leave all the congestion behind.

Fresh off of their 2nd annual July 4th weekend stint at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, moe. had fun with their Sunday setlist. Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come – which they haven’t played in over 2 years – was resurrected when Ryan Montbleau and Yahuba Garcia of the Ryan Montbleau Band sat in during the first set, followed by Wicked Awesome. The second set jammed with some great segues, and finished strong with Al rocking his tele-mando/double neck guitar for a Rebubula that really got the crowd dancing!

It was great to enjoy a sunny day out in the park with so many moe.rons and their kids, as this was definitely a family-friendly event. moe. was even kind enough to encore with two requests from creative kid-fans in the audience, though Rob declared it would never happen again “even if you’re my kid.” They repeated BJP and Spine from the previous two shows, what other band does that for even their littlest fans?

07/05/09 Vasa Park, Mt. Olive, NJ
Set I: Crab Eyes, All Roads Lead to Home, The Harder They Come1 2, Wicked Awesome> Wormwood> Okayalright, The Road> Tubing The River Styx> The Pit
Set II: Moth> Jazz Wank> Yodelittle> Moth, Rebubula> Cathedral> Rebubula
Encore: Blue Jeans Pizza, Spine Of A Dog, Wind it up
1 Last time played 01/13/07 (199 shows)
2 w/ Ryan Montbleau (vocals) & Yahuba Garcia (percussion)

[via PT moe.]

READ ON for more of Jeremy’s photos from moe. at Vasa Park…

As longtime readers of this blog may know my sister really helped foster my love of music. Of course she was way into alternative and wasn’t exactly pleased that I went the Phish/Grateful Dead route but during the early and mid ’90s she exposed me to a ton of incredible music from the likes of […]

Johnny Cash – Big River

The second incarnation of the Rothbury Festival seems to have gone off without a hitch this past weekend in Michigan. Mike Greenhaus details the highlights from each night over at Jambands.com while Jambase.com has three days worth of Rothbury photos available for the viewing. Rothbury producer Jeremy Stein of Madison House Presents told Billboard’s Gary […]

While out on vacation in San Francisco last week, I had the opportunity to take in a blistering show at The Independent from the Providence-based country-folk-rock act Deer Tick. The band, who is one of Brian Williams’ new favorites, tore through a raucous, two-plus hour off the cuff set that included loads of tracks from […]

Over the past few years, HT favorites Umphrey’s McGee have padded their summer schedule with co-bills featuring the likes of the Disco Biscuits and STS9. This year, the prog-jammers are teaming up with Hasidic reggae rapper Matisyahu for a quick jaunt through the northeast that kicks off tomorrow. The two acts have crossed paths in […]

Camera Obscura’s show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. on June 21 should have been phenomenal: a series of tight, precise readings drawing largely from the band’s last two – and strongest – albums.

But sometimes, great songs just aren’t enough. There’s something to be said about what stage presence can mean to a show. Someone needs to tell Camera Obscura. The sextet’s lack of energy during the 65-minute set kept their performance from reaching anything more than a pleasant collection of tunes.

Simply put, it felt like you were at home listening to a record, until you remembered you were in a rock club. Some people certainly enjoyed it, and the band didn’t disappoint, playing the crucial tracks from its four-album output. But there was just something missing — an unmistakable quality that separates a great performance from an adequate one.

READ ON for more of Rudi’s take on Camera Obscura’s recent concert…

Chromeo – Bonafide Lovin’ (Live at Rothbury)

It’s a good week for great music on the late night talk shows when you have David Letterman welcoming Connor Oberst’s newest project (Monday) and Levon Helm (Thursday). Death Cab for Cutie (Monday) and Andrew Bird (Tuesday) will hit Conan O’Brien. Jimmy Fallon will air a repeat from June 2 on Thursday featuring Paul Simon. […]