Back in 2002, the large-scale music festival landscape in the United States was virtually nonexistent. So when Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment announced plans for a multi-day, jam-friendly fest, named
Last night, the National Academy Of Recording Arts & Sciences hosted its 53rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony, handing out trophies in 31 categories ranging from Song Of The Year to Best Hawaiian Music Album to Best Album Notes. While we generally don’t take much stock in who they had hand out awards to, there were a handful of noteworthy performances from last night’s telecast – Cee-Lo dressed like Elton John circa 1973 with The Muppets, Mick Jagger honoring the late Solomon Burke and John Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urban paying tribute to Dolly Parton with a cover of Jolene.
HT’s most anticipated performance of the night though was the impressive trifecta of Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan. The two rising stars of the roots-Americana scene each got to show off just what makes them must see live acts, as Mumford & Sons tore through a raucous version of The Cave, while the Avetts delivered a powerful crescendo building take Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promises. The performance climaxed with both acts backing Dylan for a ramshackle, foot-stomping take on Maggie’s Farm, with Zimmy front and center…
We’d like to congratulate HT faves The Black Keys, Ray LaMontagne, Mavis Staples, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Jeff Beck, Paul McCartney and Them Crooked Vultures for taking home Grammys, as well as Arcade Fire, who were the big winners of the night, walking away with Album Of The Year honors.
READ ON for a full list of winners from last night’s ceremony…
While the New Porns went with a fake biopic as the basis of their new music video, The Black Keys upped the ante with their faux-movie trailer inspired clip for
With the Black Crowes once again on an extended hiatus, minus the handful of European dates the band scheduled this summer, Chris Robinson isn’t wasting anytime in getting back on
The lineup for this year’s Coachella dropped early this morning and it’s no joke. Goldenvoice put together a well-rounded bill that starts with headliners Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, The Strokes and Kanye West and includes HT faves The Felice Brothers, Tame Impala and Trampled By Turtles.
Here’s a look at the lineup in poster form…
Coachella 2011 takes place at Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA on April 15 – 17. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 AM PST.
READ ON for an A to Z (or ! to Z) rundown of the bill…
With the runaway success of the film Once, it’s really no surprise that it would eventually be adapted for the Great White Way. The stage version of the 2006 flick,
Since we’ve spent the entire week recounting our favorite albums of 2010, and quite frankly you’re probably tired of reading about them, seemed like a no-brainer to end the week
For the second consecutive year at Hidden Track, we concocted our innovative little experiment for the year-end Best Albums list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.
To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of well over 100 nominees, whereby most everything our contributors recommended made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently and blindly vote on the whole list on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees as some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we deployed our egghead algorithm for rating albums: (two times the average rating) + (the total number of votes). At that point, we took the top 25 highest scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2010. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.
We’ve come to the end of our week long countdown, let’s check out our Top Five…
5) LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
Sounds Like: Dance Yrself Clean, I Can Change
Key Tracks: Modern spacefunk, Talking Heads with an indie twist
The Skinny: James Murphy and company’s third full-length finds the eccentric front man exploring the benefits and trappings of stardom accompanied by the funky dance-pop we’ve come to know and love. Not at all a departure from the first two records, This Is Happening takes the LCD sound in a slightly more laid-back, introspective direction. Gone are some of the dancehall sounds in favor of a more organic, live band-sounding approach which brings the seemingly more personal material to life beautifully. Murphy’s impassioned vocals are direct and honest, particularly on the monstrously catchy single I Can Change. This record has all of the things we love about LCD – the Talking Heads-esque bounce, Murphy’s staccato delivery, thick, ever shifting soundscapes – but with a maturity and comfort that shows Murphy growing as an artist and a person.
READ ON for the final four albums in our countdown…
December 31st is the biggest night for live music of the year. An argument might be made for Halloween, but I’m not buying it. Your non-live-music-loving-friends don’t say things like, “Halloween is the most anti-climactic day of the year” while you sit there and just snicker. We’ve been a little Phish heavy this week so let’s take a look at how 24 other bands rang in 2011.
Side Note: This was my first time using embedded images from setlist.fm and I must say it looks super slick. That site has really got it going on, I hope the quality of data improves as more people use it, because with better information – statistics like “What songs did LCD Soundsystem play in 2010” will be really useful to have for a wide variety of bands.
READ ON for lots more New Year’s Eve Setlists
moe.down 11 @ Gelston Castle, September 3 – 5
While some things have changed this year at the 11th annual moe.down, some things will always remain the same. From the mayor of moe.ville to Al.nouncements, it sometimes seems like the past ten years blended together, but this year the move an hour down the road to Gelston Castle in Mohawk, NY shook things up for even the most seasoned moe.ron. From amazing sound magnified by the natural amphitheater to the light show on stage enhanced by beautifully glowing lanterns and spectacular firework show, the entire weekend played off of the beautiful surroundings of the Mohawk Valley. While the castle itself was a bit smaller than expected and all but in ruins, this site surely had many things going for it.
[All photos by Jeremy Gordon]
Musically, the weekend followed the standard moe.down set up with the host band’s handpicked favorites. With the new site this year, one of the biggest changes was a true second stage – named the Buzz Stage – which replaced the Beer Tent. As in past years, a few up and coming bands were given the opportunity to play multiple sets on the second stage which gave fans more than just a short taste of these stellar acts.
The Macpodz started things up for fans by keeping the funky jazz flowing on Friday, while Turbine – who also played a 5am stealth set among the RVs – took over during the day Saturday. Monkey Wrench, former tour mates of moe., had fun onstage playing to covers like Yellow Submarine and Escape (the Pina Colada song). Orgone, who was still unknown to most fans, took everyone by surprise with Fanny Franklin just bursting at the seams with enough energy to keep everyone moving and staying warm as the evening winds whipped up the hill.
READ ON for more of Carla’s thoughts and Jeremy’s photos from last weekend’s moe.down 11 at Gelston Castle in Mohawk, NY…
