Ryan Montbleau Band [Photo by Dave McWilliams] A major change will take place with one of the hardest working bands in the scene as the Ryan Montbleau Band annouced violist
This past Saturday night, the Trey Anastasio Band delivered its best performance of the tour thus far at the Palace Theater in Albany, NY. While official recordings from last year’s shows were not made available through LivePhish.com outside of the TAB at the TAB release, we’re glad to see that Big Red has opted to make the Albany sets available for purchase and download.
[All photos by Andy Hill]
Speaking of the Albany show, photog Andy Hill was in attendance and turned in a full gallery of photos. READ ON to check them out…
It’s been over a week since AC Entertainment and Superfly Productions unveiled the lineup for Bonnaroo X and after having seven days to examine the bill, we’ve come up with some thoughts to share on this year’s event. In typical Hidden Track fashion, we’ll lay out our take from A-Z…
A is for Ashley Capps – One of the founders of Bonnaroo and namesake of AC Entertainment gave two telling interviews that help explain where the event’s promoters were coming from when preparing the lineup. Head to Jambands.com and NPR.com to read and hear Ashley’s take.
B is for Buffalo Springfield – Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay reunited for the first time since 1968 at last fall’s Bridge School Benefit. While rumors of a Buffalo Springfield tour have been running rampant for the past few months, Bonnaroo scored the group’s first gig since one of the best reunion concerts in recent memory.
C is for Country Music – The genre, which is quite huge in that area of the country, will once again be on display with alt.country, traditional country, bluegrass and contemporary country acts on the bill such as Mumford & Sons, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Old Crow Medicine Show and Loretta Lynn.
READ ON for our entries for D through Z…
J Mascis is a character. Despite being known as a blisteringly loud guitarist on stage, he’s remarkably soft-spoken in conversation and is notoriously curt. In fact, he once commented that he doesn’t like interviews, because “most of them are boring.” Having been a part of the music industry for almost 30 years and enduring an infamously tumultuous ride since starting Dinosaur Jr. in 1983, it’s no surprise he might be a little jaded, but he’s awesomely jaded. It’s hard to decipher if it’s a persona or a mask, but he’s a true anti-hero, almost like a rock star version of Ignatius J. Reilly from Confederacy of Dunces: an antisocial cult hero genius, disdainful toward popular culture.
Ironically, in March, J. will release his most accessible release since Dinosaur Jr.’s Without a Sound in 1994 with his solo album, Several Shades of Why. While a number of his different projects over the years have essentially been J. Mascis solo efforts – like Dinosaur’s major label albums of the 1990’s and two J. Mascis and the Fog albums – this is his first true solo project in name. Stripped down of drums and electric guitars, and based almost entirely on acoustic singer-songwriter fare, Several Shades of Why is an entirely listenable and moving album. He does receive some support from big hired guns like Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses and Kevin Drew from Broken Social Scene, but this is J. at his most intimate.
Hidden Track: I saw it mentioned that the idea for the new album came about around ten years ago with Megan from Sub Pop. I was curious, what did you play her back then that planted the seed?
J Mascis: Oh, I just played some solo shows in Seattle. I probably played three or four times, and she was really into those shows.
HT: And the idea for going all acoustic, that’s a little different for you. Could you talk a bit about how you came to decide on doing an almost purely acoustic, mellow project for Several Shades of Why?
JM: Yeah, I just wanted to make it sound different than everything else. I like having some limitations to work with. I decided not to have any drums or play any electric guitar. So, that really moves everything in a certain direction. By putting that stuff in, I’d tend to do the same thing and everything would sound similar to everything else I’ve done.
READ ON for more of Ryan’s chat with J. Mascis…
We’ve asked moe.ron extraordinaire Kahlil Katool to cover the moe. beat for Hidden Track and he has kindly accepted. Kahlil will be covering snoe.down for us, but starts by sharing his opinion of where the band is at after the group’s first two tours of 2011…
something new, something cool , something borrowed, something blue…
This line from moe.’s new song Haze rings true as an accurate description of what the band has offered the music world in 2011. Coming off the heels of their 20th anniversary tour in 2010, the members of moe. may have shed the suits they wore all year long to celebrate the benchmark, but have remained all business while barreling head first into 2011.
[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]
moe. has played 22 shows thus far this year, starting out with the Tropical Throe.down in the Dominican Republic, touring through the Pacific Northwest and hitting the left coast along with the Rockies, and most recently returning to Japan. Dual-lead guitarist Al Schnier, had this to say when asked how the band felt about the past two months: “New Year’s Eve in Boston was a great way to end the 20th Anniversary tour and the Dominican Republic was a great way to kick off this year. I can’t say enough good things about that trip, and we are already discussing plans for a follow up (island excursion). This run has been great one, and (we) are heading even further into 2011 with a lot of momentum.”
The New York-based “ragers of improvisational rock” continue to push the envelope nightly breaking outside of the familiar with over a dozen new songs debuted since last year’s Summer Camp Festival. The band is integrating these new songs in their set arrangements with great fervor. moe. has been taking big chances outside its comfort zone as the band mixes up its setlist writing formula of traditional staple “big guns” (ie. Moth, Recreational Chemistry, Timmy Tucker, meat., Yodelittle, Brent Black, McBain) as being the centerpieces of the energy and flow of moe. sets.
READ ON for more from Kahlil on moe.’s 2011…
Maybe it’s the easy story that Could Nothings is the project of a 19 year-old college drop out, or maybe it’s just catchy music, but the band has quickly become
This week, Hidden Track featured columnist, Brian Bavosa, sits down with JGB lead guitarist, Stu Allen to chat about life, love, this weekend’s Brooklyn Bowl sell-out shows, and of course, all things Jerry…
As the saying goes, “Seeing The Grateful Dead was like going to the circus. But, going to see the Jerry Garcia Band was like going to church.” Nothing could be closer to the truth in my eyes. And thanks to the “Keepers of the Flame,” the JGB, we have a chance to receive the sacrament often, as witnessed this past weekend at Brooklyn Bowl for two, sell-outs shows, and a nice chat with lead guitarist/vocalist, Stu Allen.
Allen was gracious enough to sit down with me on President’s Day over a few casual drinks to talk about the JGB’s shows this past weekend, about what makes him and the band tick, while addressing the most difficult of questions of what it’s like to be compared to the almighty – all answered in his slow, humble way – a fierce contrast to his inspired, emotional and flat-out rocking style of playing that surely channels Garcia, but trust me, he makes all his own. “Everyone’s got their own take on what Jerry and the Dead were doing. Even inside of that, everyone in the band has their own take on what they are doing,” he says. “With us (the JGB), we want to convey that vibe, but I don’t mind stepping outside of that and kind of pushing the envelope outside of that, depending on the crowd or whatever.”
For anyone that has ever loved or been inspired by Jerry Garcia, it’s been tough to get your true fill over the past 16 years. There has seemingly been an overwhelming branching off of bands to cover his music, whether it be your local Dead cover band, or Dark Star Orchestra, who are historically accurate in the renditions of shows, to the Bob Weir and Phil Lesh incarnations and collaborations such as the current touring Furthur. And then there is the JGB, which was founded by Garcia Band alumni and keyboardist, Melvin Seals, shortly after Jerry’s death in 1995.
READ ON for more of Postcards From Page Side…
The Trey Anastasio Band’s Winter Tour hit New York City tonight for a one-off show at Terminal 5. Down With Disease, Camel Walk and Meatstick saw action for the first
Sam Roberts Band is thrilled to announce the release of their new album, Collider. Set for a May 10th release on Zoë/Rounder Records, Collider reinforces the spirit of the band’s
London’s White Lies have announced that they’ll be kicking off a spring run of stateside dates this May with the rescheduled New York City show happening on May 19 at
