phil lesh

Review: Halloween Midnight Ramble

Originally, the purpose for The Midnight Rambles at Levon Helm’s Woodstock home-recording studio – otherwise referred to as The Barn – was to serve as a way for the legendary drummer of The Band to recoup money from his mounting medical bills after battling and overcoming throat cancer. Helm’s iconic and unmistakable voice was down to barely a raspy whisper after radiation treatments which forced him into resting his vocal chords.

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While he had to rely on his capable band to provide the vocals, Helm was able to return to his signature perch behind his drum kit for what must have provided a cathartic release till he was ultimately able to sing again. Over the years the legend of the Rambles have grown, with everyone from Elvis Costello to Dr. John to Donald Fagen to former bandmate Garth Hudson showing up and sitting in with Levon.

When an invite was extended to head upstate to take in a night at The Barn, as a monster fan of The Band I was salivating at the opportunity to see Levon in such an intimate and undeniably unique setting. Since I couldn’t make it out to Indio for Festival 8, a Halloween Midnight Ramble was the next logical choice. Pulling into the sleepy town of Woodstock in the late afternoon on an overcast and rainy late fall day, we were greeted to a full-on Halloween parade by the locals in the streets of the small downtown area that helped to set the tone and atmosphere for the rest of the evening.

READ ON for more of Jeff’s All Hallow’s Eve experience…

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Cover Wars: A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall Edition

Navigating traffic on the way to Phish at Jones Beach last Friday, myself and four friends in the car started naming a bunch of great “rain” related Phish songs that could be played in honor of the impending weather. They didn’t play any of our ideas. Though I did take away my next selection for CW and that is this song off of the 1963 album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

Cover Wars

Every webpage out there supplying information on this song is quick to point out that the structure of the lyrics is based upon an old Scottish ballad titled Lord Randall. Have a look at the first verse…

O where hae you been, Lord Randall, my son?
O where hae you been, my handsome young man?
I hae been at the greenwoods, mother, make my bed soon.
For I’m wearied wi’ hunting, and fain would lie down.

The Contestants:

Bill Frisell: Leading off this week we’ve got our only instrumental rendition and it’s from one of the greatest living guitarists, Bill Frisell. Bill has got a lot of great folk/rock instrumental covers out there, I am particularly fond of his performances of I Heard It Through The Grapevine and Have A Little Faith. Source: East/West

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/hardrainbill.mp3]

READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

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Black Crowes Ramble Up A New Album

The Black Crowes ended an extremely busy and successful 2008 with a bang in San Francisco last night. Chris and Rich Robinson’s band of brothers finished a five show stand

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Phil Lesh and Friends: Bank of America Pavillion, Boston, MA 6/21/08

There is nothing like a Phil Lesh and Friends concert on the night of the summer solstice in the balmy air on the water in Boston. Little wonder, after the conclusion of his two hour second set June 21st, the bassist of the Grateful Dead pronounced Beantown one his three favorite places to play.

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Jackie Greene -The Prince of Americana (INTERVIEW)

With four albums, Jackie Greene, 27, hasn’t really come out of nowhere, but he reached a whole different level of visibility when he joined Phil Lesh and Friends in the summer of 2007. Greene’s diverse skills have allowed him to become this group’s de facto front-man, a role to which he has conveyed a commanding stage presence as he sparks both his band-mates and the audiences who come to see them.

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Rob Barraco: The Delicacy of The Dead (INTERVIEW)

With a music career that includes extensive classical training, a Bachelors Degree in Music from the State University of New York-New Paltz, member of the house band for The Cosby Show, tours with Freddy Jackson, and ten years performing with the Zen Tricksters, Rob Barraco has now solidified himself as a vital element of Phil Lesh and Bob Weir

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