Archive: 2010

Six years after filming their New Year’s show at the Riviera in Chicago, which was released the following year as Wrapped Around Chicago, prog-jammers Umphrey’s McGee will film all three upcoming New Year’s Run shows at the same venue for a future DVD release. [“Settling Into The Riviera” via UM Facebook] The band also announced […]

If the story of Well and Goode sounds preposterous, it is. Midas Well and Upton O. Goode are none other than Brendan Benson and Mark Watrous.

What did Bob Moog do for the history, development, course and future of Music?  His inventions have done no less for music than the inventor of the wheel has done for transportation!

Phish @ DCU Center (The Centrum), December 27th Phish kicked off a five-show NYE Run tonight at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. At the group’s first of two performances at the venue formerly known as The Centrum, Phish delivered two mostly standard sets filled with songs that referenced the previous day’s weather, which made […]

Since 2003, devoted Chicago bluegrass fans have traveled near and far every Tuesday night to catch the city’s resident acoustic outfit, Sexfist. While the name may spark visions of earsplitting metal, sweaty moshpits, B.O. and raging fits of testosterone, fear not! I assure you that the acoustic four-some are devoted bluegrass traditionalists right down to their suits and ties; heck they even share one mic!

Contrary to what their name entails, Sexfist specialize in traditional, finger-lickin’ bluegrass crossed with a steady mix of rock renditions and original compositions. They have a reputation for delivering high-energy performances branded with articulate picking and fluent harmonies. Really, when it comes down to it, very few Chicago bands throw hootenannies quite like Sexfist. These days the band can be found playing every Tuesday night at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago. It was there where Hidden Track caught up with banjoist Chuck Oakton, and eventually bassist Bradley Longwood, to chat about the Chicago bluegrass experience.

Hidden Track: Where do your stage names come from?

Chuck Oakton: They’re porn names. It started off as a basic middle name followed by the street you grew up on. But, occasionally that wouldn’t work out so well, like sometimes it would be perfect. Like James our old dobro player he had the perfect Sexfist name, it was Michael Wildwing (laughs). Most of them are porn names and a couple of them are made up to sound like porn names, because you want there to be a consistency…like some people’s are pretty lame. Like Eric’s (guitar), I forgot exactly what Eric’s was, he’s Clutch Johnson, which is a great porn name but his middle name isn’t Clutch (laughs). So mostly it’s our middle name followed by the street we grew up on but it varies.

READ ON for more of our chat with members of Sexfist…

Dave Schools of Widespread Panic recently spoke with Billboard’s Gary Graff about the bassist’s plans for 2011, which includes touring with Stockholm Syndrome and celebrating the 25th Anniversary of his main band. The article reveals that filming for a Widespread Panic documentary – set to include both newly shot and archival footage – began at […]

While your ears will likely already be filled with plenty of Phish this week, why not add another heaping helping? This week’s Stormy Monday is a mix of vintage Vermont goodness drawn from three show in the early nineties: 4/25/93 in Geneseo, NY; 12/31/92 in Boston, MA; and 5/14/92 in Port Chester, NY. The first […]

With Snowpocalypse 2010 descending onto the a large hunk of the eastern seaboard yesterday, dumping upwards of 20-plus inches of snow and bringing more than a few things to a halt including the cancellation of last night’s scheduled NFL game in Philadelphia. As we wake up to this wintry mess, which here in Manhattan means […]

With just days left in 2010, don’t think that there isn’t still time to discover some albums that may have slipped under the radar over the last 51 weeks. Since it’s part of our unwritten pact with HT readers to make sure that happens, we wanted to point you in the way of one of […]

You don’t have to love metal to enjoy the 2008 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil featuring a Canadian metal band whose best days were behind them, sort of like the genre. The film airs tonight at 10:30PM on VH1 Classic. Monday, December 27 [All Times Eastern] Anvil – The Story of Anvil [VH1C 10:30PM] […]

Depending on how the next three nights go, 2010 may be known as the year the Disco Biscuits got by with a little help from their friends. Nine months after Chris Michetti and Tommy Hamilton came to the band’s rescue when current guitarist Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig broke his wrist, former drummer Dr. Sam Altman and three of the top drummers in the scene will sub for Allen Aucoin, who suffered a severe asthma attack yesterday, at the Biscuits’ Terminal 5 shows on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

When Allen Met Sammy

Lotus drummer Mike Greenfield will be behind the kit tomorrow night, Adam Deitch of Break Science and Pretty Lights and The New Deal’s Darren Shearer will share drumming duties on Tuesday, while original Disco Biscuits drummer Dr. Sam Altman will return to his former seat on Wednesday night. Allen’s doctors have cleared him to perform on December 30th and 31st at the Tower Theater. READ ON on for the statement from tDB’s website…

Pre-Jam of Warren Haynes Christmas Jam at the Orange Peel, Asheville, NC 12.10.10.

Does the world really need another young woman with an acoustic guitar, soulful voice and ear for melody? Yes, it does. Don’t take my word for it, though. Goodnight Company, the third album by Jane Lui, exists because the people demanded it. With half of the album financed by donations from fans on PledgeMusic.com, Lui’s new album is the direct result of making music that the world wants to hear.

Sweetkiss Momma, a five-piece rock n roll band, hails from the Pacific Northwest, (most of the band grew up in the churches of Pullayup, WA) but their sound is straight blues based southern rock.  With a regrettable moniker recalling the comical jam band names of the late 90s, Sweet Kiss is nonetheless a barnstorming sensation according to their press release, selling records across Europe and garnering huge sale numbers on independent music distribution website CD Baby. 

Hard to believe it’s been over 14 years since Bradley Nowell passed away, shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.  If only he had been alive to witness the commercial success his band would later achieve, one that still earns steady radio play, while their catalog has been milked dry with three studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums, three EPs and one box set.  Nowell would also been keen to know that his band would become so popular that it would spawn the popular Sublime cover band Badfish. 

Tomorrow evening at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, HT faves Phish are scheduled to start a five-show New Year’s Run. A major snowstorm involving blizzard conditions is wreaking havoc on the Northeast today with total snow accumulation predicted at 12 to 18 inches by show time. As of now, the show is still on […]

If you’re sticking close to home this New Year’s Eve, you’ll still have plenty of options to hear and see live music from a number of our favorite bands on the 31st. Not only can you watch webcasts from Phish and the Flaming Lips, but Sirius/XM satellite radio will provide live broadcasts from 11 different […]

Every year I make my friends a Best Of Mix. OK, not every year – but I did it last year! And ScottyB asked me if I wouldn’t mind turning this year’s selections into this week’s Friday Mix Tape. Sure – why not. It’s a lot longer than the normal Friday selections, this is 25 […]

With the countdown to Santa’s arrival coming to a close, we thought we’d get into the Christmas spirit around these parts with some holiday music courtesy of HT faves She & Him. During Matt and Zooey’s recent appearance on Conan, the indie-pop duo recorded this web exclusive performance of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas with some assistance from CoCo himself on guitar. READ ON to watch the video…

Joe Satriani @ Chicago Theater, December 19

On Sunday, Joe Satriani and his band rolled through the pristine Chicago Theatre on their 2010 Wormhole tour. Treating the attentive audience to nearly two hours of practically uninterrupted shredding, Joe and the band powered through material spanning the legendary guitarist’s whole career.

From the ’80s classics like Ice 9 and Always with Me, Always with You (the latter of which could have been on the Top Gun soundtrack) through material off his latest album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, the band was tight and well-rehearsed, flawlessly executing Satriani’s (mostly) instrumental arena-shred stylings.

Joining Joe on keyboards on the new record as well as this tour was the incomparable Mike Keneally. One of the best contemporary guitarists on the planet in his own right, you would have never known it by the apparent ease with which Keneally moved around the ivories. Mike added deep textures, as well as furious synth and Rhodes lines – perfectly both complementing and going toe-to-toe with Satriani’s explosive, arpeggio-laden melodies.

READ ON for more photos and thoughts from Joel…