2011

Postcards From Page Side: A Snapshot of Stu

Brian Bavosa February 23, 2011 4 Comments

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…

TAB @ Terminal 5: Setlist

Scott Bernstein February 23, 2011 7 Comments

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

The Black Keys Announce Summer Tour

February 23, 2011 No Comments

The Black Keys have announced new tour dates that begin June 10 at Indianapolis’ Lawn At White River State Park. Shows are booked through a July 13 show at Artpark in

American Babies Return With Flawed Logic

February 23, 2011 No Comments

Since 2007, American Babies has been the mouthpiece for Philadelphia musician Tom Hamilton. After a few reunion shows with his successful progressive electro outfit Brother’s Past, Hamilton returned home to

Sam Roberts Band Releasing Collider May 10

February 23, 2011 No Comments

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

Leftover Salmon: Twice in a Blue Moon

Bryan Rodgers February 23, 2011 No Comments

Leftover Salmon's Twice in a Blue Moon DVD isn't a full-fledged documentary like the band’s brilliant Years in Your Ears, but there's still an inherent anthropology to Twice in a Blue Moon despite its focus on concert footage. There's nothing epic about the camerawork or audio quality of the music presentation, and the performance itself is merely above average. More memorably, the release's 13 songs and ample bonus content reveal more about the sometimes hazy legacy of the nation's first and only "Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass" artist.

Conspirator: Peter’s Room at the Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR 2/9/11

Chris Calarco February 23, 2011 No Comments

For only the second time in ten years members of the Disco Biscuits stepped onto the fertile ground of the Pacific Northwest. The sane ones of us here in Portland, Oregon and the Northwest at large have long given up hope of Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner’s titanic livetronica innovators returning to our beautiful corner of the country but for one night at Peter’s Room inside the Roseland Theater we were fortunate to have another chance to dance with their side project Conspirator.

Wye Oak: Civilian

Peter Zimmerman February 23, 2011 No Comments

Civilian feels like the most decisively authentic, relaxed and dynamic expression of Wasner and Stack’s talent thus far. This era is vital for the band, as it may be exactly the time that they break through into indie-rock stardom. If there’s ever an album with which to do it, Civilian is it. Come December when everyone is compiling “Best of 2011” lists, Civilian will no doubt be featured abundantly.

White Lies Plots Spring Tour

February 23, 2011 No Comments

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

Picture Show: Akron/Family @ The Knit

Hidden Track Staff February 22, 2011 3 Comments

Akron/Family @ The Knitting Factory, February 17

Words: Jeffrey Greenblatt
Images: Jeremy Gordon

Last Thursday night, the sounds permeating the air at the Knitting Factory’s new outpost in Williamsburg were full of long improvised jams, yet you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the room discussing Trey Anastasio’s impending solo tour or dissecting Umphrey’s McGee’s setlist from the night before. This night belonged to a completely different breed of “jamband,” as the Akron/Family put its brand of Cosmic American music on display, to a sold out crowd, that enthusiastically danced with abandon during the Brooklyn & Portland-based act’s hour and a half-plus tour opening show.

Declaring that they had lost a coin-toss with the universe, the three-piece act, whose music straddles the line between Animal Collective’s knob turning psychedelic weirdness and the Grateful Dead’s early ’60s primordial acid-drenched material, opened the night with an impromptu acapella cover of the chorus of Marvin Gaye & Tami Terrell’s Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing. With the debt paid to the music gods, the band used the majority of the night to showcase material from the highly recommended new studio album S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT.

READ ON for more on the night and a full photo gallery…

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