The Life is good brand will throw another festival bearing its name at beautiful Prowse Farm in Canton, MA on September 24 and 25. HT faves The Avett Brothers, the
Prolific songwriter/traveling troubadour TIM EASTON will release not one, but two new recordings in the near future. BEAT THE BAND, fully-produced with full instrumentation, will come out on Easton’s own
Dinosaur Jr. have announced the reissue of their classic 1988 album Bug on cassette via Joyful Noise Recordings. Slated for release on June 21, the cassette reissue coincides with the
Legendary keyboardist and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bernie Worrell will release a remarkable new album of jazz standards on June 7, 2011 on Scufflin’ Records. The album, titled
Minneapolis band Tapes ‘N Tapes may have just finished a nationwide tour in March, but the band is ready to continue to crisscross the country, playing songs from their most
Leftover Salmon are announcing four Northeast dates for fall 2011. This will be the band’s first tour through the region in 8 years. Founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman
Forgive Chamberlin if their debut album seems to end too quickly. The band seems to be lacking in patience. They had only performed in front of friends before deciding to record an album and had only played a handful of shows in Vermont before going on a national tour with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Though the 9-track album is brief, Bitter Blood sounds like the painstaking work of a veteran band rather than an impromptu recording by new band-mates.
After the critical success of their first album, British quintet Foals are currently touring to promote their sophomore effort, Total Life Forever. The album marks a maturing from their relatively conventional sounding first album, Antidote, to a fully original collection of new compositions. While each song on the album has different textural and rhythmic qualities, lead singer Yannis Philippakis’ haunting voice and the tightness of the ensemble run throughout the entire album. Just as the band is about to enter into a conventional chord progression or time signature, they introduces a new sonic quality or feel that keeps the album fresh and impossible to turn off. Glide spoke with bassist Walter Gervers about “Total Life Forever” and Foal’s current tour.
The Graduation Ceremony grabs the listener from the start with its emotional immediacy, the flow from one beautifully-crafted song to the next. It doesn’t break new ground, specifically; long-time appreciators of Joseph Arthur will find much here reminiscent of past work. For example, the album’s second track bears beautiful memory (and nearly a guitar riff) of his earlier work “Honey and the Moon,” from Redemption’s Son; that song, by this writer’s ear, is a true gem of melodic, folk-inspired pop, and “Horses” successfully follows in its footsteps.
Phish @ Great Woods (Comcast Center), June 7
Phish returned to the venue formerly known as Great Woods – now the Comcast Center – for the 15th time this evening as the quartet’s summer tour continued in Mansfield, MA. Starting on July 21, 1992, a show where Phish opened for Santana, the venue has been a regular stop for the band outside of 1996 – 1998 and 2003.
The band opened up this evening’s show with only the fifth Llama since they reunited in Hampton. Possum reared its head for the fourth time in the tour’s nine performances thus far and didn’t reach the heights of the much buzzed about Blossom version according to Phish.net’s Scott Marks. Later in the set, Instant Karma! saw its first action since the quartet debuted the John Lennon cover on June 12, 2010 in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
Great Woods shows are known for their one-timer covers such as Rita Clarke’s Lit O Bit in 2010, Tuesday’s Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the only electric take on Boston’s Foreplay/Long Time in 1999 as well as a fun take on The Modern Lovers’ Roadrunner in 2000. This time around Al Green’s Rhymes, a song the Mike Gordon Band has performed 15 times between 2008 and 2011, got the call with Gordon handling vocals. Phish closed out the opening stanza with Divided Sky and the Joy staple Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan.
For the second set, Phish came out with Back On The Train and once again used the second slot for a song that provides an improvisational springboard with Rock and Roll filling the role this time around. Wyman noticed “distinct segmentation like [the Down With Disease] from Friday” while adding “[I] can’t compare, but very impressed.” The first Mango Song of the year followed and started a string of three 2011 debuts that also included Bug and Pebbles and Marbles. Fans hoping for another extended Halley’s Comet were disappointed as Phish quickly transitioned into Meatstick. The Run Like An Antelope closer featured Meatstick, Bug and Divided Sky teases before the group encored with a curfew-busting Suzy Greenberg.
HT’s Eric Wyman will provide a full review tomorrow, but in the meantime, READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…
