July 3, 2010 • 10:48 pm 0
The new Mountain Park venue in Holyoke has already seen and scheduled some of the premier jam bands, with moe. kicking off the venue’s summer concert schedule and artists like My Morning Jacket, Gov’t Mule and The Flaming Lips carrying the torch strong throughout the coming months.
September will now see The Disco Biscuits come to the venue to play an early 6 p.m. show. Tickets will go for $27.50.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music
June 21, 2010 • 8:07 pm 0
Jam band Tea Leaf Green will play a show at the Daniel Street Club in Milford, Conn. on July 21 in support of their latest album Looking West.
Looking West is the band’s sixth full length studio album and second since the addition of bassist Reed Mathis, who came to the band from his longtime partnership with Brian Haas and the ever-evolving Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey.
Via TeaLeafGreen.com:
Tea Leaf Green is thrilled to announce the release of their first studio album since 2008. Looking West is set to be released on June 8th and will be available on iTunes, in the band’s online store, and at all their upcoming shows.
“We’ve been waiting a long time to make this record” says Trevor Garrod, “In a band like ours we have so many songs that we play and love but never had a chance to record in the studio. It’s almost as if we’ve loved these songs too much and were afraid to encase them forever behind the iron bars of a vacuum sealed, shrink wrapped studio album.” Garrod sums up the band’s change of attitude with these final thoughts, “We have come to realize that we can only truly set these beloved tunes free by putting them all down on a record. We are releasing them into the wild. We are casting them out to sea. We are ‘Looking West’ into the setting sun and launching them into outer space. These songs are messages in bottles washed up on foreign shores, alien transmissions from distant worlds, memories from our fading youth, and reminders of our endless and repetitious search for love and freedom.”
Tickets ($18) for the 21+ event are on sale now. Showtime is 8:30.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Daniel Street Club, Tea Leaf Green
June 20, 2010 • 2:58 pm 0
King Crimson guitarist and lead singer Adrian Belew will make a stop at Cafe Nine in New Haven, Conn. on June 25. The show will be part of Belew’s one-man show tour that also will make a stop at Northampton’s Iron Horse Music Hall on June 27.
Belew is probably best known for his work alongside Robert Fripp in the legendary progressive rock band King Crimson, but he has also made his name through work with Frank Zappa, David Bowie and Talking Heads.
The concept for the tour, labeled the “Painting with Guitar” tour, is interesting. The tour will feature new compositions, artwork from Belew himself, loop improvisations and according to Belew himself, some of his most fiery guitar work yet. Belew also noted that he will take questions from the audience to personalize the show.
Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are on sale now for $20.
Synopsis:
Painting with Guitar is a new, personal, up-close, improvised multi-media presentation of the best state-of-art music Adrian has to offer. It would be a shame to hear about it later when you could witness it in person now. Adrian will perform some new music which includes the Tenori-On. In fact he has been careful to present a brand new more personalized show which highlights music not normally played with King Crimson or the Power Trio
Dates:
Adrian Belew Solo Tour
June 18 – Pawling, NY The Towne Crier
June 19 – Albany, NY The Linda
June 20 – Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theatre
June 22 – New York, NY Joe’s Pub
June 23 – New York, NY Joe’s Pub
June 24 – Londonberry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
June 25 – New Haven, CT Café 9
June 26 – Fall River, MA Narrows Center for the Arts
June 27 – Northampton, MA Iron Horse
June 28 – Cotuit, MA Cotuit Center for the Arts
June 30 – Teaneck, NJ Mexicali Live
July 1 – Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Adrian Belew, King Crimson
June 19, 2010 • 5:21 pm 0
Phish’s two-night run in Hartford came and went with many memorable moments being logged into the Phish history books, including a Friday night encore feature Sleeping Monkey and a double Tweezer Reprise.
Whether or not the lengthy jams produced by the band stand tall next to classic jams or the best of 2009 is an insignificant argument to those who were in attendance and sharing in the groove Thursday and Friday night.
Courtesy of Dave Vann and Phish.
Night One:
06/17/2010 Comcast Theatre
Set 1: Punch You In the Eye, Ocelot, Dinner and a Movie, Stash, Esther, Walk Away, The Divided Sky, When the Circus Comes, Sugar Shack, Alaska > Golgi Apparatus
Set 2: Party Time > Down with Disease -> Sand -> The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Guyute, Farmhouse, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove
Encore: Shine a Light
Night one will be remembered for a second set featuring a fantastic 17 minute Down with Disease jam that led into a Sand, that while not on par with the one played in Camden last year, was still a meaty version.
But that wasn’t all the band had in store for fans, as they played extended versions of Walk Away and Farmhouse, the former being a scorching Tweezer Reprise-inspired jam and the latter coming off as nothing more but a nice treat.
Phish began the show the same way they did Hartford’s only 2009 show with Punch You In The Eye. It worked so well last year, and set the tone once again for a memorable two nights.
Set one had much to be proud of, with a “Stash” jam that was highlighted by impressive play from Page McConnell. The jammed out Alaska was one of the best versions I’ve heard yet and Dinner and a Movie was an enjoyable bust out.
The band also touched on the circus theme scene outside of the Meadows. With Cirque du Soleil in town, the band played When The Circus Comes, a cover of the Los Lobos song.
Mike’s Groove closing out the second set was your standard amplified 3.0 material and certainly a welcome closer.
Finishing up the night was a beautiful rendition of The Rolling Stones’ Shine a Light, a tune the band has worked into its cover arsenal ever since their Exile on Main Street set at Festival 8.
Highlights: Down with Disease > Sand, Alaska, Stash, Walk Away.
Night Two:
06/18/2010 Comcast Theatre
Set 1: Fee > Rift, Wolfman’s Brother, Summer of ‘89, Foam, Possum > The Moma Dance > Julius, Reba[1], Cavern
Set 2: Halley’s Comet > Light -> Billy Breathes, Tweezer > Theme From the Bottom > Harry Hood > Wading in the Velvet Sea, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan
Encore: Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer Reprise, Tweezer Reprise[2]
[1] No whistling.
[2] Played a second time, for Hershey
Phish’s second night in Hartford began smoothly, with a megaphone-less version of Fee, a song that I hold special as one of the songs that got me into Phish. The band followed that up with a raging Rift and Wolfman’s Brother, two songs that really helped set the night’s tone.
The band then debuted the Trey Anastasio written Summer of ’89,”which slowed the pace down substantially, and wasn’t one of the band’s better slow ballads. But things did proceed to pick right back up with a flawless version of Foam and a version of Possum that was absolutely killed.
Halley’s Comet was a nice treat as set two began, but that would soon be second fiddle to a terrific run of Light -> Billy Breathes, Tweezer > Theme From the Bottom > Harry Hood. Light became a Phish 3.0 vehicle jam in 2009 and it’s nice to see that theme continue in 2010. Billy Breathes was a classy, slower touch to a set that would begin to melt audience members faces shortly.
Then came the Tweezer, lasting just over 16 minutes, would be the basis for the memorable encore, but that wouldn’t come until after the band teared through Theme From the Bottom and played a more patient Harry Hood. Before leaving the stage for the encore, they played a knockout Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, one of the band’s better new songs in my opinion.
The band went on to play Sleeping Monkey for a fan who had, as Trey claimed, a beautiful request sign. In a chilling moment Trey had the audience sing a few lines of the song towards the end. But this wouldn’t be the most memorable item of the encore.
As expected came a Tweezer Reprise. As unexpected came a second Tweezer Reprise to make up for the one they didn’t play in Hershey last week. The second version wasn’t your regular Tweeprise either, as Trey and the rest of the band really laid into the tune the second time around. Morphed in “Rock Star Trey”, the band’s leader was moving around the stage, face full of smiles, jumping on and off of amps in what would be a moment that sent the entire venue into a frenzy.
Highlights: Fee > Rift, Possum, Tweezer, Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer Reprise, Tweezer Reprise.
Filed under: Concert Reviews, Live Music, Hartford, Phish
June 15, 2010 • 9:30 pm 0
Phish’s third show of their 2010 tour took a similar theme found in night one, with the band playing a set of true and tried classics. Check out the setlist below.
Phish – “Hershey Park Stadium”, Hershey, PA
Date: 2010-06-13
Length: 2 hours, 54 minutes, 17 secondsSet 1:
1. Gotta Jibboo (10:13)
2. Chalk Dust Torture (7:59)
3. Fluffhead (15:40)
4. Funky Bitch (6:46)
5. Runaway Jim (9:10)
6. NICU (4:58)
7. Horn (3:38)
8. It’s Ice (7:40)
9. Bouncing Around the Room (3:39)
10. Sparkle (4:29)
11. Split Open and Melt (12:50)Set 2:
1. Drowned > (6:35)
2. Hershey Jam > (5:43)
3. Tweezer > (13:19)
4. Twist (9:58)
5. Piper > (9:43)
6. Free (7:46)
7. Wading in the Velvet Sea (5:53)
8. You Enjoy Myself (22:15)Encore:
9. Bold As Love (6:05)
The soundboard audio showed that Phish is really setting out to destroy America once again this summer. The band is playing tight and song combinations like Set II’s Drowned > Tweezer > Twist > Piper > Free supply nonstop brilliance. Hershey’s strict 11 p.m. curfew supposedly stopped the band from playing its ritual Tweeprise, which generally finds its place at the end of the show when “Tweezer” is played.
Only one more show, tonight’s Portsmouth, VA date, separates Phish from its first two night stand of 2010 in Hartford.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Phish
June 13, 2010 • 11:04 am 0
Phish continued its summer tour with its second show last night, a stop at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland.
Phish – “Blossom Music Center”, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
Date: 2010-06-12
Length: 2:47:52Set I:
01. Look Out Cleveland* (5:01)
02. Ocelot (9:37)
03. Water in the Sky (4:31)
04. Stash (11:44)
05. The Ballad of Curtis Loew (5:01)
06. Sample in a Jar (5:48)
07. Time Turns Elastic (17:47)
08. Mike’s Song > (8:53)
09. I am Hydrogen > (3:12)
10. Weekapaug Groove (9:28)Set II:
01. Rock and Roll > (8:12)
02. Cuyahoga Jam > (5:59)
03. Harry Hood > (15:07)
04. Backwards Down the Number Line (13:39)
05. Twenty Years Later (7:23)
06. Instant Karma** (3:55)
07. The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > (1:49)
08. Suzy Greenberg > (5:33)
09. Waste (5:39)
10. Character Zero (10:37)Encore:
01. The Squirming Coil (8:57)Notes:
* First Time Played – The Band
** First Time Played – John Lennon
The band’s setlist took a different form than the tour opener’s list of heavy classics. This time you had a more noticeable mixture of newer tunes, including the somewhat disliked “Time Turns Elastic.” They also busted out two new covers, “Look Out Cleveland” by The Band and “Instant Karma” by John Lennon. 2010 could be fun if more covers are to surface in the coming shows.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Phish
June 12, 2010 • 8:57 pm 0
Phish kicked off their 2010 summer tour in Bridgeview, IL last night, and played a show full of heavy classics. While the Hartford shows (June 17 and 18) are less than a week away, I’m going to give brief updates on the band’s nightly shows.
Phish – “Toyota Park”, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date: 2010-06-11
Length: 181:58Set 1 Tracklist:
1. Down With Disease (9:38)
2. Wolfman’s Brother (10:01)
3. Possum (10:11)
4. Boogie On Reggae Woman (5:15)
5. Reba (13:22)
6. Jesus Just Left Chicago (8:17)
7. The Divided Sky (14:25)
8. Golgi Apparatus (4:41)
9. David Bowie (11:28)Set 2 Tracklist:
1. Light > (13:41)
2. Maze (9:33)
3. Ghost > (15:14)
4. Limb By Limb (10:43)
5. Prince Caspian (7:51)
6. The Horse > (1:18)
7. Silent In The Morning (5:14)
8. Run Like An Antelope (11:14)
9. Show Of Life (7:17)Encore Tracklist:
1. Cavern (4:12)
2. Julius (8:13)Notes (Phish.net):
- After Possum, Trey congratulated the hometown Chicago Blackhawks’ victory over his beloved Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals that ended two days before this show.
- This gig featured the Phish debut of Show of Life.
As you can see, the set was full of fan favorites. The first set was an onslaught of hits and the soundboard audio proves that the band was playing tight and with no rust after their 6 month layoff (their last show was 12/31/09 in Miami). They only played one new song, “Show of Life,” and played just one song off their 2009 album Joy, “Light.”
This is surely a great start to the tour, and should be signs of great things to come in Hartford and in other cities.
Check back tomorrow for a recap of tonight’s show just outside of Cleveland.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Phish
May 28, 2010 • 3:27 pm 0
The Wailers, best known as Bob Marley’s backing band, are set to kick off a solid summer series of concerts for the Fairfield Theatre Company.
Joining The Wailers in FTC’s summer lineup are a number of prolific artists, including Railroad Earth, Zappa Plays Zappa, George Porter Jr. and Runnin Pardners and Psychedelic Furs.
The Wailers will open things up with two shows at StageOne on June 1 and June 2. Both all ages shows begin at 7:30 p.m. with tickets running $52 a piece.
For the complete lineup, check out FairfieldTheatre.org.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Fairfield Theatre Company, The Wailers
May 24, 2010 • 10:35 pm 0
Last week I posted about My Morning Jacket’s newly announced tour that would stop at Mountain Park in Holyoke, Mass.
Mountain Park’s already strong summer concert schedule, which is highlighted by .moe, The Flaming Lips and Willie Nelson, has gotten stronger with the addition of Gov’t Mule.
From iheg.com:
Gov’t Mule did not invent Southern rock, but they do carry the torch into the future. Known as one of the hardest-working bands in music because of their near-constant touring schedule, they’ve simultaneously found success with fans that remember seeing Lynyrd Skynyrd in their prime, as well as with those who were not yet born when Mule was formed. Founded by Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes (who is also a member of the current Grateful Dead lineup), bassist Allen Woody (who died in 2000) and drummer Matt Abts, Mule began in 1994 with the idea of bringing the power trio lineup back to prominence. Their improvisational nature and penchant for long, one-of-a-kind shows has made them a mainstay on the jam band circuit and created a fiercely loyal fan base. Their ninth studio album, By a Thread, was released in late ’09 and features the current lineup of Haynes, Abts, bassist Jorgen Carlsson and multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis.
Mule will play the outdoor venue Sunday August 15 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the show go on sale May 28 and will be priced at $30. Jackie Greene is billed as support for the show.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Gov't Mule
May 23, 2010 • 2:06 pm 0
Bassist Victor Wooten will bring his band by Toad’s Place in New Haven for a June 30 show.
Wooten, highly regarded as one of the best and most influential bassists around, will be playing in a band featuring Regi Wooten, Joseph Wooten and Derico Watson.
The stop at Toad’s Place is part of the band’s east coast summer tour which starts in New York City on June 23 after a few midwestern dates.
Tickets for the 9 p.m. show are on sale now. Advance tickets will run you $20 while day of tickets raise to the price of $22.
Filed under: Concert Previews, Live Music, Victor Wooten
