2011

Growing up in and going to school in New York City, there was simply nothing more exciting for me than opening up the Village Voice to a colorful page of upcoming music events in the 1990’s. Before the age of Twitter and Facebook and the boom of social media, I got my fix by carefully planning my schedule off of this single calendar of events. And, more often than not that revolved around “jambands.” While the term has morphed over the years, and many of the old staples have since faded away or simply play sporadic, reunion shows nowadays, it got me thinking about whether the hey day of the almighty jamband had come and gone in the ’90s and early ’00s.

For a snapshot of exactly what I mean, let’s simply look at the city of New York during the 1990’s. After the punk and new wave movements of the late ’70s and ’80s at places like CBGB’s, for any suburban hippie kid searching for the next mind-altering rock improv band, there were a plethora of venues ot choose from – many of which catered to this type of act. Places like Irving Plaza and the Roseland Ballroom hosted mid-and larger sized acts that were well-known names in this circuit, but almost all cut their teeth in places like The Wetlands Preserve, just a stone’s throw from the Holland Tunnel downtown.

While I have traversed this country in search of the greatest musical experiences and have attended concerts in some of the most majestic venues ever built, there is still something in my heart of hearts that may rank The Wetlands at the top of that list. From the anything goes, cozy vibe (often oversold) to the free Dead Center Tuesday night sessions to the complete lack of air-conditioning (The “Sweatlands” or “Sweat Glands”), The Wetlands, as it is simply and affectionately known, opened my eyes, and more importantly my ears, at over roughly the 400 shows I saw there from ’94 through September 2001, when its final schedule was thrown off by the 9/11 attacks and its close proximity to the Twin Towers. It was due to close anyway after a lease dispute, but the “official” final show taking place on the evening of September 10th made the venue’s legacy even more magical after DJ Logic, Mike Gordon and friends played until near sunrise and actually saved a few of my friends lives who missed work downtown that fateful morning. READ ON for the rest of Postcards From Page Side…

Taj Mahal Trio @ Brooklyn Bowl, Sept. 20 Photo and Words: Grace Beehler With a 50-year musical career under his belt, Taj Mahal and his band – Kester Smith on

Trey Anastasio’s first solo show of the season took place at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont on Saturday night and as of press time no audience recordings have surfaced.