Archive: 2010

For this month’s Track x Track, welcome keyboard wiz Zac Lasher from prog-meets-jamtronica act U-Melt who will share an anecdote or factoid about each track on the group’s new album, Perfect World.

1) Disclaimer — This album was conceived a few years ago when we were reading a lot of philosophical material. We’d all started writing along those lines independently of each other and thought that was kinda cool, we decided to nurture that instinct and specifically set out to write the songs that would become this album with that in mind. One day while sitting in the van on the way to a show, i was contemplating some of the lyrics i was working on, and i realized that i was spouting a whole lot of bullshit — which isn’t to say i don’t believe in the ideas we were writing about, but, you know… who am i to say “You are the center of the universe” anyway? i decided that it was necessary to put a disclaimer onto this album. I finished the lyrics before we got to the venue, and the music followed quickly, which brings me to…

2) Disillusion — This is the companion piece to “Disclaimer.” the initial intent was that they would always be played together, but we’ve since deviated from that. This was a fun track to work on in the studio as we were able to take what was usually a jam with a bit of structure to it, and turn it into a concise album cut. The fade out at the end is one of my favorite bits of production on the album.

READ ON for more from Zac on U-Melt’s Perfect World…

The latest video from The McLovins features Milktoast Man – the group’s new original composition. Milktoast Man contains a laidback, reggae groove and owes more to The Police than the Grateful Dead. Check it out… The McLovins – Milktoast Man This clip was recorded this past weekend at Nectar’s in Burlington, VT, where the boys […]

The best source for free Widespread Panic MP3 continues to get better. PanicStream’s iPod-Ready Widespread Panic Downloads page grows each week. At this point, you can access Sendspace links for MP3s of every show the sextet played in 2009 along with plenty of performances from the Houser Years and the McConnell Months. If you’re not […]

Our pal Michael Weiss recently uploaded an important piece of God Street Wine history, The Bedroom Sessions, to the Internet Archive. Shortly after signing with Geffen, GSW recorded nearly every song in their repertoire for their new label as Geffen wanted to hear as much of the group’s material as possible before they went in to record an actual album.

Bedroom Sessions #1 features Molly, Bring Back The News, Epiphany and 13 other God Street classics. Bedroom Sessions #2 contains a number of rarities along with fan-favorites Imogene, Into The Sea and Ballroom. The cherry on top is a collection of tunes labeled Ossining Demos and Rehearsals from 1995.

[Photo Courtesy of Michael Weiss]

Lo Faber shared his thoughts on these recordings on the Archive…

First off, this is in no way a “review,” since I obviously have no right to review my own work, but I thought I might add a few thoughts and recollections about the recording of this particular collection, which I am delighted to see up here on archive.org.

The terse description says this material was “recorded in Lo’s Bedroom at the band house in Ossining, NY.” This is true as far as it goes; but it conveys perhaps a misleading impression of intimacy, since my “bedroom” in the Ossining house was a gigantic, brick-floored, cathedral-ceilinged modern addition to a very old house, considerably bigger than the tracking rooms in many major NYC recording studios. How did this monstrosity get to be my bedroom? Well, let’s just say when the rooms were divvied up in the GSW house, I opted for square footage over privacy. Yes, I had space, but I also had a door that was inches from the kitchen fridge, a balcony overlooking my sleeping space that anyone could wander out onto, and huge curtainless picture windows facing out on the lawn. Not to mention those bricks were mighty cold on the feet on winter mornings.

READ ON for more of Lo’s thoughts on The Bedroom Sessions…

Mark Everett is back at it.  His Eels have been quite busy in the last few years, recording a record in each of the last three years if you include the soundtrack to Yes Man, which was comprised mostly of songs by Everett.  For those familiar with Eels music, this latest release, End Times, won’t provide anything new to the puzzle in terms of style or feel, though it may be the darkest release yet.

Tibet House US is proud to announce the complete line up of the 20th Annual Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall. This year’s esteemed line up, guided by artistic director Philip Glass, includes Iggy Pop, Patti Smith with Jesse Smith, Regina Spektor, Gogol Bordello, Pierce Turner, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew and Tenzin Kunsel.  The […]

In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, the Guggenheim Museum presents Animal Collective in collaboration with experimental visual artist Danny Perez for a site-specific performance on Thursday, March 4, 2010. In conjunction with Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum and in the context of Tino Sehgal, for which the entire Guggenheim rotunda is cleared […]

Lindsay White's vocal style gets compared to Jewel’s quite often, which is taken as a compliment; however, she believes that her lyrics are just a tad more sarcastic.  For example, her song, “All Damn Day” explains her frustrations with happy people.  As dark and as negative as it sounds, Lindsay uses her songwriting as an outlet.  In other words, she keeps it real.

Ween is not for everyone. It seems that a lot of people can’t get past the silliness, raunchiness, and perceived-offensiveness to grasp the deranged beauty that is Ween. For those of us privy to the Brownness however, the band holds a special place that could not be filled by anything else. There is a delicate balance that is always at play when it comes to Ween. They can make you laugh, want to cry, question everything you know about life and then laugh again – often within the same song.

Often lost in a sea of ridiculousness and loud noises, it was impossible not to notice just how wonderful the songs themselves are seeing them stripped down by Gener with only his own acoustic strumming accompanying. It was also hard to ignore how fantastic a singer Gener is. The man has an incredible range and a full palate of tones that are freakishly similar to the effects-drenched vocals on Ween studio records.

The magnificence and absurdity housed in the Ween catalogue was impeccably on display last weekend as Gener brought his solo tour to Chicago’s new, fantastic Lincoln Hall for a sold out show. From the opening notes of Now I’m Freaking Out through the rousing ending of Buenos Tardes Amigos, Mr. Freeman was all smiles and treated the attentive audience to nearly an hour and a half of Ween classics and rarities.

Setlist:

Now I’m Freaking Out, Tried and True, Stallion Pt. 3, Golden Eel, Flutes of the Chi, Spiritwalker, Don’t Get 2 Close 2 My Fantasy, Ooh va lah, She’s Your Baby, I Don’t Want to Leave You on the Farm, You Were the Fool, The Argus, Boy’s Club, The Grobe, What Deaner was Talking About, The Mollusk, Mutilated Lips, Tender Situation, Oh My Dear (I must be falling in love), Baby Bitch, Oh Yoko, Buenos Tardes Amigos

READ ON for a gallery of Joel’s Gene Ween photos…

As Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB move on from the Northeast leg of their tour onto the Midwest and South, they have left a trail of happy faces in their path. The “anything can happen at anytime” M.O. that Phish lives and dies with is nowhere to be found on TAB Tour, alleviating all the pressure that comes with Phish shows for Trey Anastasio. Big Red and his bandmates are clearly having fun and the happiness is contagious.

[All photos by Adam Kaufman]

What’s most impressive is how well this band has gelled over the first seven shows of the tour. Flubs are few and far-between and the interplay between the musicians ranges from impressive to stellar. TAB newbie Natalie Cressman has filled her father’s shoes with the aplomb of a veteran with Anastasio getting a huge kick out of his first second-generation band member. While the setlists from the shows may look similar, each of the past three shows that I’ve caught (Wallingford, Red Bank and NYC) couldn’t have been more different from each other.

Wallingford was the most button-downed show of the three with Trey and his ensemble focusing on the songs for a large audience that included Cressman’s 93-year-old grandmother. Red Bank was a high-energy affair that featured a slew of jams that kept on peaking. Last night’s show at Terminal 5 was a marathon feast for the senses that included an acoustic interlude at the end of a nearly two-hour first set.

READ ON for more of Scotty’s thoughts on Classic TAB…

We were a little wary on posting another UM article today, but the UM Bowl just sounds way too cool to ignore. Today, the band announced that they will hold UM Bowl 2010 in their hometown of Chicago at Lincoln Hall on April 24. This so-called “full contact musical experience” will feature four hour-long-ish “quarters” […]

This week’s edition of Last Week’s Sauce is being brought to you by the lovely city of Chicago. Three of the area’s best bands are represented in the categories of: Alt-Country, Post-Rock, and Jamband. And one of the groups covered the other on Valentine’s Day, you can probably guess which one.

[Thanks to Jesse Hurlburt for this week’s photo]

Artist & Title: Furthur – Unbroken Chain
Date & Venue: 2010-02-14 Barton Hall – Cornell U., Ithaca NY
Taper & Show Download: Tim Burke

Furthur dropped this 15+ minute rendition of Unbroken Chain at Cornell’s Barton Hall, a room steeped in Grateful Dead history. The Grateful Dead scene continues to have the most tapers of any band, look through the Live Music Archive and you’ll see multiple sources for basically every show. Furthur plays tonight at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo NY.

Video of a great Morning Dew, also from Barton Hall:

READ ON to stream the rest of this week’s selections…

In  an effort to focus our attention on something besides Phish for a change, we’ve decided at HT headquarters to (hopefully) drum up some good chatter about the final season of the greatest television show in the history of the idiot box. Check in on Wednesday of every week  during Season 6 to share your […]

There was positivism in the chilly air for Umphrey’s McGee’s latest show in Charlotte. With the end of their tour in sight, the band stopped at the familiar Neighborhood Theatre, a venue that was facing closure until two weeks ago. Rather than risk losing one of the city’s most adventurous musical hotspots, the community responded and the unusual 900-capacity venue has been saved for now. The sold-out show carried an aura of celebration, and it just happened to be a special night for the band as well, with present and future family members in attendance. The result was a show that dwarfed their last Charlotte appearance in every possible manner.

[All photos by Esther Rodgers]

There is no better opener for an Umphrey’s show than Get in the Van – not even the Star Wars Imperial March that played as the band took the stage. Get in the Van’s menacing twists and turns set the tone for a show heavy on Brendan Bayliss’ guitar and vocals, and not just because Jake Cinninger had some technical issues during an important twin-guitar section of the song.

In the first set, one song after another featured Bayliss’ endearing croon – the emotional August in spot two, the legendary live burner Plunger after that, and the set-closing combo of Morning Song and 1348. Cinninger, normally a more frenetic guitar personality, helped add a unique, mellow feel to the set, especially during the dramatic Morning Song, in which he wrung heaving, swollen notes from his rig with articulate passion.

READ ON for more of Bryan’s take on UM in Charlotte…

Last week, Bob Dylan played the White House for the first time in his long and celebrated career as an invited performer for PBS’s In Performance At The White House: A Celebration A Music From The Civil Rights Movement. Let’s check out Dylan’s performance from that evening of his signature socio-political anthem The Times They […]

As promised, Glide has posted Chad B.’s interview with Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks. Chad talked with Butch about changing NYC venues, Moogis and just how close Dickey Betts was to joining the band during their 40th Anniversary Run at the Beacon last March… How close was Dickey Betts to appearing with the band […]

Fans at Terminal 5 were treated to a super-sized portion of Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB this evening in New York City. The ensemble took the stage at 8:30, snuck a quick setbreak  nearly two hours later and then returned for 70 minutes worth of music. All in all, Trey and his band were onstage […]

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are pleased to announce an extensive US Tour highlighted by two record release parties at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City in support of their upcoming release, I Learned the Hard Way.  Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are already well known as one of the most exciting acts […]

The Allman Brothers Band returns to…well, not the Beacon this March for the first time in many a moon, having been forced from their usual haunt by Cirque de Soleil.  Thirteen dates are on the books — and according to Butch Trucks, selling briskly — at the United Palace, 100 blocks uptown from the Beacon. The return of the residency will also bring the return of Moogis, the live music video streaming service Butch Trucks unveiled for last year's 40th Anniversary run of Beacon shows. Glide/ Hidden Track caught up with the drummer earlier this month to talk Moogis, the United Palace, and plenty of other subjects both comfortable and uncomfortable. Say this for the man — and we said it last year, too — he doesn't hold back.

Rounder Records is excited to announce the release of Kaki King’s bold and thrilling new record on April 13, 2010. Entitled Junior, it is the highly acclaimed singer/songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire’s fifth record, and first for Rounder. Junior delivers twists-and-turns: lyrically from exuberance and anger to heartbreaking melancholy; and sonically from experimental pieces to accessible […]