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 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…
December 28th is traditionally the start of Phish’s New Year’s Run, but with an extra show this year, tonight was the second concert of the five-show jaunt as the quartet
Phish Fall Tour 2010 has reached its final destination – Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Tonight marks the first of three sold-out shows at the venue.
Adam Edelman will be reporting on the show for @YEMblog. Our friends at YEMblog have also compiled a Twitter List featuring over 60 fans tweeting from Atlantic City this weekend. Head over to PhishTwit for the full “Couch Tour” experience. READ ON for the setlist…
Just as quickly as it started, the Greek Theatre run that kicked off the second leg of Phish Summer Tour 2010 in Berkeley, CA has just come to a close.
Lollapalooza 2010 – Day One; August 6, 2010
Follow @BFeldheim for up-to-the-minutes Lollapalooza updates.
Lollapalooza has never been a quick jaunt around Grant Park.
Try to see too many of the 126 bands and DJs performing at the ever-growing festival behemoth, and much will be missed getting to and from stage to stage. But this year, a new addition to the grounds made it easier to trek from north to south with ease compared to past years. The grounds were extended west toward Michigan Avenue, giving all attendees the use of Columbus Drive as a walkway.
So with the welcome drop in humidity on Friday and more room to maneuver on the grounds, Lolla Day One started off with soul. Raphael Saadiq on the south big stage was a good warm up with horns blazing while he sang, but I only caught a minute before jogging up north to see Mavis Staples.
A major force behind 60 years of gospel, blues and soul singing, Mavis Staples rallied the growing Lollapalooza crowd as if she was still teaching The Band how to sing. The group’s harmonies during The Weight brought me chills as Mavis and crew belted out reflections of pain and struggle. Jeff Tweedy appeared to play guitar on a song from the group’s new album he produced, but he knew to just let Mavis do the singing. Her voice still rich and striking after decades kept the crowd focused.
READ ON for more on Day One of Lollapalooza…
Phish returned to the iconic Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA this evening for their second show of three at the venue. Tonight’s performance started innocently enough with Chalk Dust, Guyute
The second leg of Phish’s Summer Tour 2010 kicked off this evening at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA – a venue the band hadn’t performed at since 1993. Possum,
I woke up this morning wondering if what I’d experienced over the last two weeks was real or just a dream like the eighth season of Dallas. Just as quickly as the God Street Wine reunion came, it’s over – for now – as the NYC-based quintet finished the four show run with a scorcher at Irving Plaza this past Saturday evening. These four shows were the rare case of reality living up to the lofty expectations thrust upon this reunion after nine long years of silence from the GSW camp.
[All pictures by Mike Wren]
Friday’s lack of jams was remedied by an improv-filled first set featuring lengthy versions of Driving West, Hellfire and Imogene which showed off the band’s impressive non-verbal communication that comes from playing hundreds of shows together during the ’90s. While last weekend’s minor-key Hellfire jam was on the dark and dirty side, the Irving version went the other direction: a major-key round of improv filled with light and beautiful melodies – a butter jam if you will. Both guitarists got equal time to shine during this most memorable jam of the run. The tight rhythm section of Dan Pifer (bass) and Tom “Tomo” Osander (drums) propelled their band mates to glory in the Hellfire jam like offensive linemen clearing the way for the star running backs.
Irving Plaza, NYC
July 17, 2010Set One: Nightingale, Driving West, Better than You, Hellfire, The Ballroom -> 6:15, Feather, Straight Line, Imogene
Set Two: Good Dream, Snake Eyes, Princess Henrietta, Strange as it Seems, Tina’s Town -> Cheap Utah Blues -> Deep Drag, Diana, Borderline
Encore1: Ticket to Ride, Sweet Little Angel
Encore2: Other Shore -> Into The Sea
Seven sets into the action God Street Wine were still dusting off old songs they hadn’t played yet. Lots of lines hit home in the reggae-tinged Ballroom including “the dancing on the floor has begun,” “so many years have gone by since I looked into your eyes” and “I feel so old” – all of which received huge applause from the attentive crowd. Two of the first-time in ’10 tunes on this night were Feather and Diana off the quintet’s self-titled 1997 release. Feather, an anthemic rocker, was equal parts Tom Petty and Black Crowes and stood out on a night filled with stand outs. Diana also had that rootsy sound typical of songs on the self-titled LP and shined thanks to gorgeous harmonies, Jon Bevo’s electric piano work and Maxwell’s slide work.
- GSW Reunion: #1, #2, #3
- Audio: Scott Brown’s Recording
- Video: Borderline
When listening to some of GSW’s later material like Diana and Feather and comparing it to the early material such as the prog workout Deep Drag, it was crazy to hear how much the group’s sound had changed in just about seven years. You can only imagine how many different phases of evolution the band’s music would’ve gone through had the original lineup been able to stick together through the ’00s. Yet, this weekend wasn’t about focusing on what might’ve been and was more about enjoying what was.
READ ON for more on God Street Wine at Irving Plaza…
