Last night at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, Cake performed as part of the Late Show with David Letterman Live on Letterman concert series. Our fearless leader and E-I-C Scott Bernstein was lucky enough to get to see the band play a nearly hour-long set. Scott was on the @Hidden_Track twitter feed while Cake ripped through choice cuts from their new album Showroom of Compassion and other fan favorites, sending out 140 character updates and several snapshots from his front row seat as well as a brief clip of the The Distance closer.
READ ON for Scott’s updates and images…
At last weekend’s Solid Sound Festival, Wilco debuted a number of tunes which will be released on the band’s forthcoming album, The Whole Love. Today, we learn that The Whole
Well kiddies, here we are, just a few days away from Phish’s ninth festival since 1996, Super Ball IX, which kicks off this coming Friday. With the greatest of Phish factors coursing through my head – anticipation – the possibilities are endless, especially considering that this is the band’s first festival in the Northeast since the debacle that was Coventry in 2004. Also factoring in is that this is the band’s first summer festival since then as well, so the stage is clearly set. For today’s Postcards From Page Side, I figured I’d take a look at snippets of festivals past, while getting you ready to blow it out this weekend.
Now, to fully grasp the past 15 years of Phish, and the previous eight festivals they have hosted, there are several important points we must first understand. With the Clifford Ball at Plattsburgh in ’96, the modern festival as we know it was born. There was no Bonnaroo, no Outside Lands or the like. There simply was PHISH. The wonder and amazement that something of this magnitude could simply take place was mind blowing. Is it a coincidence that the band has named this upcoming ninth installment Super Ball? The first time that joyous, celebratory word has been used since the inaugural year? Maybe, but I think there’s more to it. I feel that the band is back, comfortable and ready to cast some magic the likes that we haven’t seen in some time. And that, my loyal readers, reaches far more than the music created on stage.
From the Clifford Ball’s artwork, Ball Square (which again will return this year), and the fact that things were taking place on a decommissioned airforce base (a theme that would continue in latter years and festivals), the sheer scope and ambition that went into the first festival was unprecedented and never seen before. Ending a short, but ferocious Summer ’96 U.S. Tour, the band arrived just across the river from their Burlington base at the time ready to deliver, and boy did they. From the often praised “best set ever” of 8.17 II, which included a Slave to the Traffic Light that is many fans’ favorite version, the band was razor sharp. But, Phish had more in store, including what would become another staple of their festivals: playing a secret set at a random time during the weekend.
READ ON for much more on Phish Festivals…
This past weekend alt.country-experimental-folk-rock, ugh fine…just Wilco, returned to MASS MoCA in the former industrial town of North Adams, MA to host their second annual Solid Sound Festival. The 140-year-old-plus site, which was formerly the home to a textile plant and an electronics factory, offered fans a chance to not only see a variety of bands, which included healthy doses of Wilco side projects, and a full slate of comedy curated by John Hodgman, but also some truly fantastic thought provoking art.
The weather seemed to be a dominant story throughout the weekend, as some torrential rain storms blew through the area on both Friday and Saturday. The large puddles strewn throughout the museum’s campus and a muddy main field, didn’t prevent Wilco from throwing down two lengthy headlining sets that marked their only U.S. shows of the summer. The group treated fans to nearly 50 different songs, spanning their entire catalog – a feat that perhaps only a jamband is capable of doing.
READ ON for more on Wilco’s sets…
Mixing footage from their New Years Eve performance at the Haunt in Ithaca, NY with footage of their recent Colorado spring tour, Jimkata put together this whimsical ride along their
We had some pretty interesting results yesterday in the first part of our survey results about the first leg of Phish Summer Tour 2011. In addition to results on everything from fan perception of the songs, the shows, the runs, the prices, the stream, the jamming, who’s going to IX and many others, Hidden Track was thrilled to be recognized by fans so highly. Only Phish.net, Phish.com & YEMBlog ranked higher as a go-to source of information about Phish. So while we recognize the inherent advantage we had by running the survey, thanks for reading and recognizing the coverage Hidden Track provides.
[Photo by Kenny Pusey]
Now on to the business at hand…
The questions from the survey that remain to be answered are perception of the venues, three words to describe tour, general thoughts about tour and favorite moments and jams.
Three Words to describe Tour
As we did last summer, we created a Wordle from your responses. The larger the word, the more often it appeared in results. Though of course if someone answered “not much jams”, that would make “jams” a larger result. So while not scientifically accurate, this is fun nevertheless. We have included the individual responses below the graphic.
[Click To Enlarge]
fun but songy
Intense, Powerful, Funny
improved guitar playing
Rock And Roll
Blissful. Funk. Long-haul.
Pretty kick ass.
page rage
Brought the steam!
Brought Fire Fast
Shorten the setlists!!!
Too many repeats.
God Shit Man
READ ON for the rest of our survey results…
"Tessie" has been a fan-favorite at Fenway Park for years, becoming the anthem for the Red Sox as they ended the so-called curse by winning the World Series in 2004.
Disappear is a soundtrack for purposeful living in an often seemingly purposeless world. Jared Falcon’s songs, discovered on cassettes in a storage locker in 1988 after he was institutionalized, inspired singer-songwriter Neil Rosen (vocals, guitar) and his friend/band mate Shannon Ferguson (lead guitar) to record their junior-high school chum’s compositions.
Deciding to add a second leg to their Time Machine Tour was a brilliant idea. Rush are selling out venues left and right and they appear to be having fun, which is a plus for a band that has been together over thirty years. Playing for approximately two hours with a brief half-hour intermission, you can witness the talent firsthand as Peart, Lifeson and Lee give their instruments a work-out; including Lee’s high-pitched vocal chords.
This past weekend, thirty-nine bands gathered for three days in Atlantic City for the first ever Dave Matthews Band Caravan. The festival, which will travel to Chicago, New York, and George, Washington in the coming months, features three days full of folk, rock, and electronica concluded with a three-hour Dave set every night. Graced by the backdrop of the beach and AC’s famous casinos, the Caravan provided thousands of fans with the unique opportunity to hear a variety of bands new and familiar with the pleasure of knowing that Dave Matthews and his incredible showmanship would culminate every evening.
