2010

Jam In The Dam 2010 – Amsterdam – Day One – March 21

There really is nothing quite like a destination music festival. Why stay in a tent when you can stay in a hotel room? Why be a gross, dirty hippie when you can shower daily? Why stay in a hot field when you can explore a resort or world-class city during the day? Whether you are on a cruise ship, a tropical island, or in one of Europe’s most amazing cities, one thing is certain; events such as these sit in a class of their own. A true fan of live music and traveling owes it to themselves to try and attend a destination music festival at some point in their life.

Events like this one are truly unique for so many ways, but what immediately stands out is the size. There are few opportunities to see bands with such sizable fan bases in such intimate settings for three nights in a row. It is made all the better by the fact that you are raging with the same people for the entire duration. You meet some people on the first night, and by the end you are saying goodbye to dozens of new friends and future tour buddies. There is no experience like a destination music festival, and no live music event quite like Jam in the Dam. Where else can a wookie make a steamroller out of his cardboard poster tube, and walk back and forth from stage to stage begging the bands to smoke it, and in some cases jumping on the stage to instruct?

The festival hit the ground running with an improv-heavy set from Umphrey’s McGee. Umphrey’s is the only band that really brought a significantly sized group of their fan base overseas, so it made sense to have them get things going. Their set was highlighted by a Ringo > White Man’s Moccasins > Ringo Segment that really allowed bassist Ryan Stasik to shine as he took the lead with some incredibly technical slapping. As the crowd filled into the Melkweg and the night got into full swing, the band finished things off with a perfectly placed and executed 40’s theme. The stage was set for a great evening, and the energy continued through Les Claypool’s set right up until he left the stage for a 20+ minute bathroom break drum-solo.

READ ON for more of Jason’s Jam In The Dam review and photos…

At some point during its five year run, The Wire evolved from a lowly rated & unwanted show about the City of Baltimore, to arguably one of the greatest shows

With the 2010 baseball season upon us, we wanted to continue a Hidden Track tradition started in 2007 where we chat with of our favorite musicians about their love for America’s past time. For the first part of this year’s Baseball Preview, we asked them for predictions on the upcoming season, while the second part of our questionnaire got a bit more personal.

[Photo by John Schulze]

Leading off for the 2010 Hidden Track Baseball Preview is Widespread Panic keyboardist – and longtime baseball fan – John “JoJo” Hermann. We spoke with JoJo about his beloved Mets, his thoughts on the upcoming season, his favorite ballpark and many other subjects. Check it out…

Hidden Track: What team do you think will win the World Series and what team will they beat in that final series?

JoJo Hermann: Those Yankees look unbeatable, but they’ll get tired in October and the Mariners will pull the upset in Seattle to go to the World Series. The Braves and Bobby Cox will be the Cinderella-feel-good story of 2010 and take the series from Seattle in 7.

HT: Which pitchers do you think will win the AL and NL Cy Young awards?

JH: Felix Hernandez in the AL will break through big-time for Seattle. I gotta go with Lincecum again for the Giants–he’s the best.

HT: Which players do you think will win the AL and NL MVP awards?

JH: For MVP, going against Pujols in the NL is like betting against Secretariat. For the AL, Mark Texeira in Yankee Stadium might get 200 RBI.

READ ON for more of our baseball-heavy chat with JoJo…