Prior to watching a recent episode of Elvis Costello’s Spectacle, I had never heard of singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester. Winchester’s unique story involved him moving to Canada to avoid serving in
We here at HT Headquarters were completely hooked on the first season of Elvis Costello’s talk show/variety hour Spectacle. From the great guests to Costello’s combination of music geekiness and
It’s been a few months since the HT Crew got together for an old fashioned cookout. With the cold weather creeping in and the holiday season upon us we thought we’d get the gang together one last time this year to throw some large hunks of meat on the grill and crack open a few Troeg’s Mad Elf Ale’s for another rousing edition of At The Barbecue.
It’s hard to believe that 2009 is rapidly coming to a close. Since we’re all live music junkies here, we thought we would share our thoughts on our favorite concerts from the last 12 months. The rules were simple: any show that we attended between January 1 through the beginning of this month were game. So, let’s get at it…
Ryan Dembinsky – Phish – Hampton Coliseum – Hampton, VA
Talk about a no-brainer. Much love goes out to Hartford, Camden, JB3, an intimate surprise Avett Brothers release party in front of maybe 100 people, and a whole slew of great bands I saw for the first time this year, but March 6, 2009 will be branded on my brain forever.
[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]
From the beautiful weather, to taking a much needed road trip away from adulthood, to the friends, to the smothered and covered, to of course the music, Hampton Coliseum pretty much made my year. READ ON for more of the Hidden Track Crew’s favorite concerts of 2009…
Words: Jonathan ” Kos” Kosakow
Video & Photos: Curtis Stiles
In August of 2007, a blue station wagon pulled up to the Rockwood Music Hall on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. After checking to make sure they were legally parked, Jeff Prystowsky and Ben Knox Miller unloaded their own gear and carted it to the small stage. Rockwood, though comfortable and with pristine sound, only holds a handful of people, so it’s not spacious enough to host any large band – or even a small one with a large following. On that night, the room was hardly at capacity, but the two members who comprised The Low Anthem were able to grab hold the ears of every listener in the small, dimly lit brick room. And, based on the post-show conversation, I was not the only one who felt they had a music-making future ahead of them.
I saw them again two years later at The Bell House in Brooklyn, in August of 2009, opening for Surprise Me Mr. Davis featuring Marco Benevento (a welcome addition to the bill). As Miller told me, Surprise Me Mr. Davis was the first band to ask The Low Anthem to tour with them, so it was a comfortable match-up for both (and it made for a nice encore as they joined forces on a couple of tunes). The video below is a gospel standard the trio played that night, Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around…
Though I had seen the Anthem multiple times between these two shows, it was interesting and inspiring to watch the group, now a trio including Jocie Adams, gain popularity while also growing musically.
READ ON for more from the Noise Report…
After a thirty-plus year hiatus from touring and recording the influential Brazilian-psychedelic band Os Mutantes will return to the road this fall to tour behind their first album of new
Ray LaMontagne – Empty (Live)
Last year we introduced you to the lush indie-folk music of Portland, Oregon’s Blind Pilot. While the duo gained notoriety for their bike tour last year, the band will be
In the musical landscape that is my iPod catalog and album collection, the setting is often a bleak and desolate one filled with what I lovingly refer to as “slit your wrists” numbers that encapsulate our angst-filled life and times. It’s funny that I unconsciously lean toward artists who consistently seem to be on the verge of the proverbial “throwing in the towel” since I, myself, tend to be a genuinely happy person. However, my music is often qualified by scorned lovers, heartache, and loneliness. I guess I’d rather have the barren, treeless truth than fluffy, cotton candy mountains dotting my scenery.
Gossip in the Grain, his third offering, finds LaMontagne at the top of his game, with his voice again being his best weapon of choice.
