Archive: 2009

Leave it to the folks at Bonnaroo to break a big a story about their lineup mere hours before the festival is set to kick off. After a curious rumor had been floating around that involved an appearance by the king of the Parrotheads himself – Jimmy Buffet – comes confirmation that he will indeed […]

Phish performing the last of three shows at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY on June 5th, 2009.

The first Phish tour since the band reunited rolls into Rocky Top this evening when the quartet plays a huge arena in Knoxville. The boys are off to Manchester after this one for Bonnaroo 2009. Check @YEMblog and @Glidemag for the latest.

Phish
June 10, 2009
Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN

Set 1: Runaway Jim, Punch You In The Eye, Ocelot, Foam, Train Song, Undermind, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, The Squirming Coil, Character Zero

Set 2: Back On The Train, Waves, A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing > David Bowie, Army of One, Reba, Hello My Baby, Julius, Cavern, Harry Hood

Encore: Frankenstein

Glide/Hidden Track reporter Wade Wilby reports the first set was a bit sloppy but the energy was electric thanks to a rockin’ crowd. Undermind in particular was a treat and Wade noted the slower syncopated pace of the live version.

READ ON for song stats from Phish @ the Thompson-Boling…

Wade “Wyllys” Wilby will be reporting from Knoxville live for @YEMblog. Follow @GlideMag for stats of every song as soon as they start.

While Jersey City Councilman and wicked pissah Steve Lipski made a run for the title of Hidden Track’s Favorite Politician, that honor lies with Asheville City Council member “Hot” Carl Mumpower. Mumpower loves going to jamband concerts. Sure, he’s usually only attending RatDog or Panic shows at the Asheville Civic Center to observe illegal drug usage and bitch about it, but it seems Hot Carl actually liked what he saw at last night’s Phish concert.

[Asheville Music Fans Wear Hot Carl Masks to the Civic Center]

David Forbes of local Asheville paper Mountain Xpress spoke with Mumpower who had high praise for the band, their fans and the local officials. Hot Carl even showed a sense of humor by referencing his comment about the Civic Center smelling like an Amsterdam Hash Bar at the RatDog show by writing “tonight, Asheville’s Civic Center smelled more like City Hall than an Amsterdam hash house,” as part of an email he sent out about his experience at the concert.

We’re glad to see Mumpower enjoyed the show and if you see an older looking gentleman slinging Wounded Eagle Deck of Shame playing cards at Knoxville let us know. There’s always a spot in our 1972 VW Bus to bring Hot Carl on Phish tour this summer. You know you want to councilman.

• Previously on HT: Hot Carl Likes the Music RatDog, Hot Carl Sees The Music Widespread

READ ON for the full text of the letter Mumpower sent about Phish…

With each passing year the task of coming up with new and inventive strategies to keep things fresh for the masses of people that annually coming back to Manchester must get harder and harder. Among this year’s additions are an on-site Concert Poster Art Exhibit, Photo Scavenger Hunt, On-Site RV Rentals and Tweetaroo. The one […]

Both A.J. Crandall and Jennifer Kirk will be reporting live from Manchester on Bonnaroo 2009 for Hidden Track and Glide Magazine. We’ve asked each of them to write a preview of what the weekend will hold for them. Today we’ll share A.J.’s look at Bonnaroos past (2007, 2008) and future…

I’ve got some packing to do. I just looked it up. Southwest airlines lets you take two bags free. Last month’s trip to NY, on two airlines that’ll go nameless for now, I got hit at the counter for $15 for my one bag. Another $30 for an aisle seat. I was planning on scaling way back on camping goods I took from home, but now that I have all that extra room with a second bag, I’ll take rain gear etc.

Should be a great weekend. It’s a soundtrack for me and my brother to catch up on a year in the lives. It’s a weekend in early summer containing more live music than most people will see all year, or two. It’s the vibe. It’s the Coffey County sherrifs who roll their eyes and wave you through to the next checkpoint. It’s the country fried steak at the Waffle House, with grits, of course, on Monday morning. It’s why I still do this shit at age 53.

Well, it’s been a year already. And a year before that. And a year before that. And a year before that. This year marks the fifth June in a row that I have ventured east from the relatively safe confines of the Great Pacific Northwest to become a citizen of Tennessee’s third largest city (for a weekend), Bonnaroo.

READ ON for more of AJ’s Bonnaroo 2009 preview piece…

Bonnaroo Week rolls on here at Hidden Track with a feature for the stat geeks everywhere. Now in its eighth year the fine folks at Superfly have again crushed it with a diverse offering that’s sure to please even the pickiest of music snobs. As we took a look at this year’s lineup we were struck by the amount of the ‘Roo alumni that have routed their summer tours to include a stop in Manchester this year. So we figured we’d once again lay out a list of the folks who just can’t stay away from Bonnaroo, followed by a few fun facts to help keep you busy on your way into the festie…

Two-Timers Performing at Bonnaroo 2009:

Neko Case, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Mars Volta, The Decemberists, Ani DiFranco, Andrew Bird, Girl Talk, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, MGMT, Citizen Cope, Kaki King, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Cage The Elephant, Heartless Bastards, Elvis Perkins In Dearland, Allan Toussaint, St. Vincent (1 Solo, 1 w. Polyphonic Spree), Page McConnell (1 Vida Blue, 1 Phish)

READ ON for the rest of the list and some fun factoids to keep you entertained as you make your way to Manchester…

Little Feat – Fat Man In The Bathtub

Phish performing their second of three shows at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY on June 4th, 2009.

With poppy hooks and an alluring voice, Lisa Donnelly has created a charming solo debut, We Had a Thing. Donnelly, who admits she’s a “writer who sings,” often shows a hint of sass in her lyrics, delivering lines like “Open your heart and close your legs/ They only want what makes ’em beg” on the opener, “Laugh.” There’s a slick attitude that encompasses all 10 tracks, and while there is nothing groundbreaking, there are certainly enough funky surprises here to keep you interested and smiling; a solid start for Donnelly.

Though perhaps not so startling a work as its predecessor, the Grammy-winning Dirt Farmer, Levon Helm’s new album nevertheless extends its authentically rootsy earthy themes.

THE BLACK CROWES will release their new studio CD,  Before the Frost… on September 1, 2009. A second album, titled …Until The Freeze, will be given away for free  exclusively through a unique download code which is included in Before The Frost…  as a “thank you” to their fans for two decades of continued support. […]

Bat for Lashes have added another round of dates to their tour of North America, which continues tonight in Seattle, WA. The band, which is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Natasha Khan, will return to the US in August for a slot at Lollapalooza, and will continue to tour following the festival. The current run wraps […]

Our pal Mark Wilson will be tweeting live from Asheville tonight for @YEMblog and if I can keep my eyes open I’ll live blog @GlideMag

Phish
June 9, 2009
Asheville Civic Center
Asheville, NC

Set 1: Kill Devil Falls, The Moma Dance, Sample In A Jar, Stash, Dog Faced Boy, Gumbo, Tube, Lengthwise, The Divided Sky, When The Cactus Is In Bloom, Bold As Love

Set 2: Backwards Down The Number Line, Ghost > Fast Enough For You > Halley’s Comet > Maze, Alaska, Theme From The Bottom, Golgi Apparatus, Possum

Encore: Loving Cup

[via @YEMblog]

Lots of banter from Trey throughout the middle of the first set about Fish’s journals. Fishman kept a journal while the band toured in the early years and Trey would “steal” Fishman’s thoughts and put them to music.

READ ON for stats on the songs played tonight in Asheville…

With Scotty, myself and the rest of the HT crew taking in most or all of Phish’s first six shows of their Summer tour we almost let the fact that Bonnaroo kicks off in a mere few days slip past us. Fear not folks now that we’re back in front of our computers screen full […]

The hoards of people surging towards the gates of the venue at Camden – who knows the amphitheater is called this year – were ready for the show. They were screaming and whooping in waves, overcome with anticipation and the spoils of a glorious, sunny day on the lot at a Phish concert.

[All photos by Jeff Volckhausen]

It was the sound of the circus come to town, and it brought with it a smile – it was a sound missing at Jones Beach, despite how truly excellent those three nights were. Inside, the place was packed from the stage lip to the fences as Phish hit the stage running with Chalk Dust Torture, followed by a stellar version of Fee during which Trey flubbed the lyrics, started laughing and then joined with Page for a rich, deeply hued jam that grew and glowed organically, reds and purples across the stage and ember colors creeping from behind the cloud cover over the Philly skyline. It was unique, and a sign of things to come.

To start the improv in Wolfman’s Brother, Fishman set to dancing brightly, drawing everyone else into his groove. The guitar was lacing between Mike’s slapping lines, a clavinet spilling over top it all, and eventually Trey swung the lead up and cut loose, wailing to a shattering peak – the second in what would be a night of stellar thematic jams.

READ ON for more of Dan’s thoughts on Phish @ Camden…

Navigating traffic on the way to Phish at Jones Beach last Friday, myself and four friends in the car started naming a bunch of great “rain” related Phish songs that could be played in honor of the impending weather. They didn’t play any of our ideas. Though I did take away my next selection for CW and that is this song off of the 1963 album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

Every webpage out there supplying information on this song is quick to point out that the structure of the lyrics is based upon an old Scottish ballad titled Lord Randall. Have a look at the first verse…

O where hae you been, Lord Randall, my son?
O where hae you been, my handsome young man?
I hae been at the greenwoods, mother, make my bed soon.
For I’m wearied wi’ hunting, and fain would lie down.

The Contestants:

Bill Frisell: Leading off this week we’ve got our only instrumental rendition and it’s from one of the greatest living guitarists, Bill Frisell. Bill has got a lot of great folk/rock instrumental covers out there, I am particularly fond of his performances of I Heard It Through The Grapevine and Have A Little Faith. Source: East/West

READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

As we previously mentioned, this summer two powerhouse classic rock acts from the ’70s – Aerosmith and ZZ Top – will join forces for a lengthy summer run playing a mix of amphitheater and arena dates. The venerable Boston blues-rockers have something special planned as they will take a page out of the hipster handbook […]

SCI keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth posted this clip of his band rehearsing for their upcoming appearance at the Rothbury Festival… String Cheese Incident – Outside & Inside