Technology Tuesday: iFrogz Boost Speaker
The iFrogz “Boost” is portable speaker with surprisingly good audio quality without the need for cables, docks or Bluetooth. At $30, it is quite a bargain.
The iFrogz “Boost” is portable speaker with surprisingly good audio quality without the need for cables, docks or Bluetooth. At $30, it is quite a bargain.
Affordable microphone, audio interface and software solutions for iPhone 4.
HT photo editor Jeremy Gordon captured the band in action at Central Park’s SummerStage.
Words and Photos: Jason Gershuny
Phish kicked off the second leg of their 2011 summer tour at the picturesque Gorge Amphitheatre, which served as the backdrop to two terrific shows, each with their own share of highlights. This was Phish’s 6th trip to the Gorge in the last 14 years, and I for one have to say that there are few other places that I would rather see this band.
For those who have never been, imagine camping in a sprawling high desert landscape with a visible horizon for miles around. Thousands of travelers from all over the country create their own colorful worlds with whatever materials they happened to bring with them. Friends congregate to create sprawling tapestry villages to get out of the heat. During the day, the sun is merciless and shade is at a premium. But the incredible payoff lies in the beauty of the amphitheater itself.
As you finally find your way out of your makeshift shade structure to head to see the music, you get your ticket scanned and you are faced with a relatively steep hillside that blocks your view. In cresting the pinnacle of that hill, the world opens up before your eyes to an expansive view that covers miles and miles of the wandering deep blue Columbia River carving elegantly through the rock of the Gorge. All this is before your eyes with the stage in the foreground of your view.
- Previously on HT: The Skinny – Night One, The Skinny – Night Two
READ ON for more of Jason’s thoughts and photos from The Gorge…
Governor’s Ball Music Festival @ Governor’s Island, June 18
Words: Carla Danca
Photos: Jeremy Gordon
The inaugural Governor’s Ball Music Festival was held on Governor’s Island this past weekend, proving that NYC can still move with the best of them. The first time festival took advantage of the beautiful grounds and isolated location to call out all the alternative people of the city dressed in their finest freaky gear. From bikini tops to rainbow socks, it seemed that all of Brooklyn traded in their skinny jeans for a day in the sun. Governor’s Ball treated show-goers to amazing sights and sounds from a wide variety of electronic inspired artists.
[All photos by Jeremy Gordon]
With all the necessary items for a party it’s no surprise that acts like People Under the Stairs gave it up for marijuana and beer drawing huge crowds that were happy to sing along with them “If you don’t like it then get the fuck outta here.” Big Boi followed, giving the crowd the hits they craved like Ms. Jackson. The song drew more than just applause from the crowd as hot pink bras found their way onto the stage! But it was Empire of the Sun that won most outrageous act of the night with multiple costume changes and a troupe of dancers that made it hard to take your eyes off the stage for even a minute.
READ ON for more about the Governor’s Ball Festival…
Phish @ Susquehanna Bank Center, June 10
Sometimes you know what to expect from a Phish show. Others, you don’t. Last night in Camden, NJ, at the Susquehanna Bank Center was definitely the latter, and a show that displayed some flashes of brilliance, but overall had an odd vibe and flow throughout. Kicking off with the usual encore tune, Rocky Top, and immediately followed by Mike’s Song > I am Hydrogen >Weekapaug Groove, Friday night was surely off to a start that caught many off-guard.The first highlight of the night was definitely this Weekapaug. With Mike Gordon on bass leading the way, this version had the extra spark that many of the previous years have been missing.
In many ways, the first set felt like it was backwards, eventually closing with The Curtain (With). After some ebbs and flows of the set, The Curtain With punctuated a 90-plus minute opening stanza with one of the most impressive, soaring and soulful solos that Trey Anastasio has laid upon us in some time. As this tune was transpiring, I knew it was something magical and definitely my favorite version of the song in recent memory – and maybe ever. (There’s no mistake that the band released the official vibe of this song from last night.
Watch it here:
While the long first set was an interesting affair, set two is one I’m still not sure what to make of – although I enjoyed huge portions of it as it was occurring. Down With Disease > Free was a welcome, but predictable springboard for the final frame – but that’s about the last predictable thing that went down. When everyone hoped that the improvisational doors had been opened for the remainder of the evening, Trey led the band into yet another Possum, a song played all-too-much this tour. Now, this version was very strong, with above average work by Anastasio, but it was the song’s placement that did it wrong. Like PNC the previous week, an early set Possum is just the wrong spot for this tune to be played. Period. Always fun, but oddly placed. In fact, Odd was a common word that kept popping into my head last night. Just like the Big Black Furry Creatures From Mars that followed and saw Gordon sitting on the ground while singing. I told you last night was a bit weird, right?
READ ON for more on last night’s Phish show…
Phish Summer Tour 2011 is in full swing as the band returns to the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ once again this evening.
[Photo by Balaji Mani from 5/31]
@alliedise will be reporting live from Holmdel for @YEMblog, so be sure to follow along for the latest. READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…
This week, we get an early dose of Postcards From Page Side from our featured columnist Brian Bavosa as he recounts Phish’s tour opening weekend at Bethel Woods in Bethel, NY…
After five months off since their triumphant New Year’s Eve run at the DCU Center in Worcester and NYC’s Madison Square Garden that seemingly saw the band turn a musical corner, Phish returned to the road this past weekend for a three-night run at Bethel Woods in upstate New York. After the holiday run, fans were very interested to see what might be in store for the band’s most aggressive and longest tour in nearly 20 years this summer – broken down into two legs, 30 proper shows and a 3-day festival over the 4th of July weekend in Superball IX.
[Photo by Dave Vann © Phish 2011]
Bethel Woods is a venue that fans (and the HT staff) have been hoping for years Phish would play. Sitting just atop the hill where Woodstock was held, simply put, the place has good bones. It is also the nicest ampitheater in the northeast in my opinion, if not the country. The sightlines and sound are awesome from any vantage point, and the lush, green lawn is as comfortable as they come. While ample trees and a full-fledged museum dedicated to Woodstock on-site (which is a site to behold on itself, and highly recommended), Bethel is the quintessential place to see the band, with plenty of space to move around and get down.
- Setlists, Recaps and “The Skinny” – Phish @ Bethel: Night One, Night Two and Night Three
- Audio, Videos, Reviews and More: YEMblog.com
When the band finally hit the stage on Friday night, any question of proving a point was made with a bombastic Tweezer > My Friend, My Friend opening sequence. In fact, from start to finish, the first set of Summer Tour 2011 was as high energy as they come and sure to be a favorite of the weekend for many. Boasting a super-funky Wolfman’s Brother that slid effortlessly into Walk Away, one of the strongest tunes for Phish 3.0 on a consistent basis, any doubts of practice, or easing into the weekend were quickly dissipated.
READ ON for more on Phish’s tour-opening run in Bethel…
To say the Felice Brothers marched off the edge of the map on their latest album Celebration, Florida would be a stretch, but the band definitely veered away from their well-worn path. Foregoing the straightforward folk romps for which they have become known, the Felice Brothers took their core acoustic song structures and morphed them into ambient, sonic departures. The distinction relative to band’s previous albums is dramatic, however, the reliance on elements like organs, drum machines, synthesizers, ambient sounds and found objects for percussion did not drive the material, but rather gave the band opportunities to learn, and ultimately build on their abilities as studio musicians.
[Photo by Nolan Conway]
“The skeletons of the songs themselves were written outside of that kind of influence,” lead singer and songwriter Ian Felice explains. “I wrote them with just an acoustic guitar or piano and a voice. When we moved into the space, we had a vision to depart and experiment with different kinds of instrumentation and sounds, so we got a couple different organs and beat making machines, and it was a big learning process, because we actually had to learn to play a lot of these things. It didn’t really inform the record or the songs that much, A lot of it has to do with keeping ourselves interested in the music.”
A “reinvention album” so-to-speak like this will probably take fans by surprise, but to the band, it just felt like growth. They didn’t want to make another album like Yonder is the Clock or the previous self-titled album. The Felice Brothers succeeded, as this time around they are more likely to hear references to Brian Eno than The Band. The process was intentional; they wanted it to sound different.
READ ON for more of our chat with Ian Felice of The Felice Brothers…
Yeah THEY Right!!! aka The Funky Meters @ Brooklyn Bowl, 2/15-17
FIVE YEARS. Seems kind of crazy but when somebody said to me the other night that it had been five years since the most popular version of N’awlins’ original Funk band had played New York, I had to think about it for a minute. And then I responded with what any true fan would say: “Yeah, you right.”
[Photos by Marc Millman]
The Meters formed at the tail end of the ’60s. They released Cissy Strut and Sophisticated Cissy in 1969. And with those songs, the four original members of the group (Art “Poppa Funk” Neville on organ, George Porter Jr. on bass, Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste on drums and Leo Nocentelli on guitar) helped to create a new genre in American music. Funk was born out of James Brown’s shift in style in the mid ’60s. And The Meters along with Sly & the Family Stone, George Clinton and other seminal acts like Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, the Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang brought a whole generation to the dance floor by getting people to dance “On the One,” as James used to shout at his band.
The Meters were THE backing band in New Orleans the way the Funk Brothers were at Motown or Booker T & the MGs were at Stax. But the band broke up in the mid ’70s during a dispute over recording contracts. Just over 10 years later, Porter decided to put a new version of the band together that would feature himself with Neville & Russell Batiste on drums. Guitar would be played by Brian Stoltz and sometimes by Nocentelli. And this is the version of the band that most of us grew up seeing regularly in the ’90s and beyond. But then…IT HAD BEEN FIVE YEARS!
READ ON for more from Marc on The Funky Meters…