The year 2009 was a jamband renaissance. Phish, the Dead and the String Cheese Incident all reunited after parting ways for indefinite periods of time for varying reasons. However, unlike Phish and the Dead, who came back with the pedal to the metal in terms of their workload, SCI made a decidedly more cautious return to grace.
[Photo by Jason Gershuny]
Hoping to appease even the most persnickety of fans, while balancing personal lives and other responsibilities, the band has yet to tour or record an album, instead focusing on sporadic runs of blowout shows at monumental locations. SCI’s venue selections since their comeback have represented a short list of fan favorites including Rothbury, Red Rocks, Oregon’s scenic Horning’s Hideout, and soon, the famed Hampton Coliseum.
The String Cheese Incident seems to have found a common ground business model that works for everybody. Periodic destination getaways afford the members flexibility to entertain the seemingly endless side projects they’ve birthed in recent years while the SCI camp has focused on releasing archival music to fans via various channels. Yet, some wonder if there are elements of a Favre, Shaq and Jordan comeback in that, yes, some greats are playing again, but is their head in the game? Can they still bring it? The answer is seemingly, yes. READ ON for Ryan’s interview with Billy Nershi…
Under African Skies is the seventh track off Paul Simon’s classic 1986 album Graceland. We have previously done The Boy In The Bubble Cover Wars here at Hidden Track, but because of stupid IMEEM shutting down, a lot of those old editions no longer have audio embedded in them, rendering them a bit useless. At some point in the future we will go back and fix these old posts with direct audio embeds. But enough about that, on to the covers…
The Contestants:
Brock Butler, who also appeared in The Boy In The Bubble Edition, kicks us off with a killer solo rendition. Source: 12-30-2005
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/brockskies.mp3]Video from Amberland 2008 with a little help from Ayinde:
READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…
String Cheese Incident @ Horning’s Hideout, July 30
Words: Jason Gershuny
With the opening ceremonies behind us, the Horning’s Hideout festival fully hit its stride on Friday afternoon with workshops of all types and multiple stages locked into different pockets of diverse music. A couple of notable workshops included an audience participation drum session with the Toubab Krewe and 50 audience members on their own drums as well as a couple of different morning yoga sessions that have participants stretched out all over the expansive lawn by the Caldara Stage at the scenic site.
[ 360 Degree View of Under African Skies @ Hornings via Coventry Music]
Musically, we were treated to a wide range of styles that spanned from the soothing Americana sound of Bill Nershi and Scott Law, who showed off some of their acoustic and songwriting chops, to a funky-soul infused dance party of the Pimps of Joytime and lots of styles in between. The groove of the Pimps’ set closer, Keep that Music Playing, virtually created its own dust cloud formation that rose high above the Saw Mill Stage.
- Horning’s Hideout: Update #1
Yet even with all of these incredible daytime options, the real reason most honed in on this wooded paradise is for the Northwest’s first taste of String Cheese Incident in three years. And man were the fans ready for this one.
SCI opened up with the always apropos Smile which through the years has almost become a Horning’s Hideout theme song. The first set really got going when SCI launched into Born on the Wrong Planet, which with some of the intergalactic getups that folks were adorned in – one may just have to agree. An extended version of Paul Simon’s Under African Skies followed which led to the rare treat of the infrequently played Climb. The funky dance party of Miss Brown’s Teahouse brought out the Soul Rebels Brass Band to close the set. It was great to add a little New Orleans spice to the delicious mix of music. READ ON for more from Jason about Horning’s Hideout…
I had a horrible nightmare, I dreamed that we went…back in time. It was terrible. Well…We’re safe and sound now, back in good old 2010. We’ve got a nice collection this week, opening up with long instrumental exploration, members of The Grateful Dead, a jamband’s first show in over a year and some topical humor dedication from our friends from down south.
[Thanks to Craig T for this week’s photo]
And we continue to take all the selected tracks, normalize them, create some simple fades and put it into one easy to download MP3 for you.
Click here to download the Last Week’s Sauce Podcast
Artist & Title: Geoff Scott’s Public House – Unknown
Date & Venue: 2010-07-20 Atwoods Tavern – Cambridge, MA
Taper & Show Download: Andy Murray
I often write in this feature about one of Boston’s best kept secrets – Club D’Elf. Another one is Geoff Scott, guitarist formerly of Miracle Orchestra, that heads up Tuesday Night gigs at Atwood’s Tavern in Cambridge, MA. Geoff pulls from a similar pool of musicians that show up at Club D’Elf, and this 20-minute segment of music – which we are all having trouble figuring out song titles for – illustrates what this ensemble is all about. This past Tuesday’s performance featured Mike Rivard of Club D’Elf (Bass, Sintir, Kalimba), Johnny Trama (Guitar), Timo Shanko (Saxophone) and Brian Sayers (Drums). It’s not the most organized pickup jam, so I can’t even point you to a website that tells you when the next gig is.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/geoffsauce.mp3]READ ON for tracks from String Cheese Incident, the Rhythm Devils and Widespread Panic…
String Cheese Incident “fucked with the stars” last night at Red Rocks where they debuted covers of MGMT’s anthem for the youth, Time to Pretend, and Joe Walsh’s ode to
Whoops! Looks like we have entered into some type of wormhole because something seems funny about this edition of Last Week’s Sauce. Our President is William Jefferson Clinton and Elian Gonzales has been recently returned to his native Cuba. Gas prices are continuing to rise, we’re currently looking at $1.46 a gallon up 25% from last summer’s average of $1.17. And of course, there is a jamband show on every block. Let’s have a listen in!
[Thanks to kb for this week’s photo]
And we continue to take all the selected tracks, normalize them, create some simple fades and put it into one easy to download MP3 for you.
Click here to download the Last Week’s Sauce Podcast
NOTE: This one clocks in at over two hours.
Artist & Title: Derek Trucks Band – Rastaman Chant
Date & Venue: 2000-07-16 Pittsburgh Blues Festival – Pittsburgh, PA
Taper & Show Download: Unknown
21 year-old guitarist Derek Trucks continues to be a musical force to be reckoned with. Trucks was officially made a member of The Allman Brothers Band last summer and in between playing Red Rocks earlier this month and picking up the second leg of ABB tour now, Derek snuck in a few gigs with his solo band.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/dereksauce.mp3]Susan Tedeschi joins the Derek Trucks Band for Valentine’s Day earlier this year. Call me crazy but I think she might have a thing for young Derek:
READ ON for tracks from Agents of Good Roots, Billy Bragg, the Disco Biscuits, Living Daylights, Phil Lesh, Phish, SCI, Soulive, Kimock and Ween…
Emmitt Nershi Band is a newly assembled outfit that is comprised of two of the founding members of Colorado’s biggest acts on the jamband circuit, Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) and Bill Nershi (String Cheese Incident). On their studio debut, New Country Blues, they deliver a slice of breezy Rocky Mountain Americana complete with their blend of pickin’ and grinnin’.
There hasn’t been much to cheer for if you’ve been a fan of the New York Knickerbockers over the last decade or so. While the once mighty franchise has struggled,
Sweet Virginia is the sixth track off the 1972 Rolling Stones Album Exile On Main St. On the studio cut, Mick Jagger is backed by Keith Richards, Clydie King, Vanetta Fields, Dr. John, Shirley Goodman and Tammi Lynn on vocals. Thanks to Keno’s Rolling Stones Website for all that info.
Allow me to quote a bit of James Hector’s, The Complete Guide to the Music of the Rolling Stones…
The nearest the Stones ever got to a round-the-campfire song, through Baden-Powell probably wouldn’t have appreciate the refrain. “Got to scrape the shit right off your shoes” suggested that the song may have been an obscure slant on the old standard ‘Walking Blues’, but the blues (& the reds & the greens, for that matter) referred to the song were in tablet form. If one Stones’ song was written by Keith and Gram Parsons up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, ‘Sweet Virginia’ must have been it.
The Contestants:
Camper Van Beethoven: Leading off this week we’ve got this cover from Camper Van Beethoven during their first incarnation as a band. Camper Van Beethoven disappeared for the majority of the 1990’s only to reappear in 1999 and have been touring and recording sporadically ever since. Source: 11-12-1989
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/cbvvirginia.mp3]READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…
If you’re not familiar with the story of Daniel Johnston, then immediately stop reading this post and find yourself a copy of the riveting documentary The Devil And Daniel Johnston.
