I’m a panelist on a podcast called Type II Cast which features a panel of Phish Geeks dissecting the band’s music. Last night we recorded our seventh episode all about
There’s no feeling quite like walking out of a Phish show and finding a tasty dish in the parking lot that immediately kills the hunger pangs you’ve been fighting throughout
Phish has influenced us in many ways aside from depleting our bank accounts. We are Phish fans and not only because we love their music, the tour or the garlic grilled cheeses, but because the music they have introduced us to has helped push us out of the bubble. As Three Grown Men, we have been able to branch out our musical tastes, and we must give some of the credit to Trey, Mike, Page and Jon.
Jonathan Kosakow on Phish’s general musical influence:
I still remember a single moment in high school English class. For some reason unknown to me today, we were discussing the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but everyone was unsure the name of the song. I said Also Sprach Zarathustra and let everyone think I was cultured while they looked at me in disbelief – “This kid knows the name of that tune?” But, I sure as hell wasn’t about to tell everyone, “Phish covers it.” They’d have written me off immediately. Not that it helped anything, though: I was soon knocked out of high-level English and into the remedial class (that’s right you overachievers, look who speaks English NOW).
Bitter resentment aside, it was that moment I realized that Phish was just the frame of an open door to a world of music. I almost hate to admit how overwhelmingly responsible Phish has been for my ventures into that world, but it’s true. And not just because they opened me up to one band, or one album, or one genre, but because of the many random bands I may not have listened to otherwise.
Had it not been for their cover of Peaches En Regalia I may never have dug out my father’s old vinyl copy of Hot Rats, and Zappa’s guitar wouldn’t have ripped me to shreds the first time I listened to Willie the Pimp. I wouldn’t have fallen for Talking Heads like a schoolboy in love either. And, if it weren’t for the fact that Phish covered Little Feat three weeks ago, I wouldn’t have Waiting for Columbus on repeat for the tenth time since then. Somehow, whether I want to admit it or not, those four goofy longhairs from Vermont managed to show me the way.
READ ON for more on how Phish expanded 3GM’s horizons…
It’s been a little while since we’ve heard any Creepfunk around here, so this week let’s check out the newest cover tune in the Steez repertoire, Annie Lennox’s hit, Walking
Roger Waters – The Wall Live, at the Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA 11.18.2010.
Set to touch down in America December 4 in Grand Prairie, Texas for a seven-show run after wrapping their six-country South American tour November 27 in Bogota, Columbia, THE SMASHING
MSG Entertainment announced today that The Allman Brothers Band will return to the legendary Beacon Theatre in New York City and perform eight shows beginning March 10 through March 19,
Another One For Woody @ Roseland Ballroom, November 22
By now, if you have even passing interest in what went down at Roseland last night, you’ve seen the setlists, soaked up the cool sit-ins, watched some video and admired, from afar, that when Warren Haynes puts together a guest-laden benefit event, he means Event. Having spent the near six hours it took to get to the finish line, your humble correspondent can say without hesitation that it measured up to the hype – and the ticket price – and then some. Show of the year, in many respects: not only did the Allmans, especially, clear the high bar of expectations, but most importantly, it’s also something that, yep, ol’ Woody would have loved.
Reviewing shows like Another One for Woody is a tricky business, as there’s not much in the way of continuity or the flow like you’d find at a “normal” show. In other words, you expect anchoring acts, filled with guests and setlists cleverly designed to push emotional buttons, and you’re aware of those constructions going in, during the show, and after. And yet, you find the rare, Last Waltzian blowout that does all those things — then transcends them — on the strength of top-notch playing, warm camaraderie in the name of a good cause and a good man, a terrific, fully engaged crowd, and grace notes (metaphorically speaking) amidst all the power chords. Here are 10 things I’ll keep with me from Another One for Woody, in no particular order.
The First Half Of NMAS
Whiskey Rock-a-Roller was a hoot, and so was the extended Gordie Johnson sit-in. But how much fun was it to see Luther and Cody Dickinson as a duo, kicking up a fearsome country blues racket with just fuzzed-out guitar and hammering drums? Here’s a band that I remember loving a long time ago, when their sound wasn’t so polished and their jams were country-fried and greased up. They were clearly into it, and while bassist Chris Chew – who wasn’t there – is an integral part of what makes the NMAS the NMAS, this was a solid 20 minutes of down-home hill country duo shit, naturally dirty.
READ ON for nine more highlights from Another One For Woody…
Appearing on the 1967 Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Within You Without You was written by George Harrison. While of course technically a song by “The Beatles”, Harrison is the only member of the band that appears on the recording. For an in-depth musical analysis of the musical structure and more, I recommend reading the notes from Alan W. Pollack.
The Contestants:
In 1998, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones were pairing Within You Without You with their own tune Shanti from their ’98 release Left Of Cool. This Flecktones show features sit-ins from Carter Beauford and Dave Matthews, who sang on the track Communication, also on Left Of Cool.
Audio Source: 10-22-1998
READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…
Furthur @ Madison Square Garden, November 20-21
Words: Tyler Curtis
It’s been quite a year for Furthur in every aspect including the size of the venues the group has been playing. Just four months ago, this post-Grateful Dead act offered two performances at the 2,100-capacity Best Buy Theater in New York City. This past weekend, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh brought their latest project to the 20,000 seats at Madison Square Garden for two nights. Both shows were different in everything from the flow of the setlists, to the crowd and band’s energy. It has been said that when the Garden is full of enthusiasm, magic does happen and that was indeed the case for Furthur.
Night one consisted of a monstrous first set that included a Help On The Way, Slipknot! and Shakedown Street combination that shook the entire arena with merciless energy between the crowd and the music. The rest of the set continued the Grateful Dead repertoire’s standard of crisp jams and stellar vocals, though there was a minor flub in El Paso. However, the Terrapin Station Suite closer was the highlight of the set as the 23-minute sequence brought silence and focus from the attentive crowd.
The second set of Saturday’s concert provided a more psychedelic vibe to the atmosphere mainly controlled by bassist Phil Lesh. He seemed to stop and start the songs, leading the way to the next jam or pushing the improvisation to the next level. This was clear on songs like Saint Stephen and from the way Millennium Jam segued into The Eleven, consisting of an increase in the tempo to bring up the intensity of the jams.
READ ON for more on Furthur’s two shows at MSG…
