Greetings dutiful readers of the LMB. I’m going to put together a full recap of Mountain Jam when I get back to the City. Until then, I figured I’d check in, let you know what’s gone down so far.
Mountain Jam’s first day was, thankfully a dry one. The history of this event doesn’t bode well for the rest of the weekend, however, and today is going to be a wet one, I fear. However, the forecast for Sunday is much better.
The biggest surprise for me was Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. They brought some serious stank to the mountain. Some thick grooves being laid down here, folks. Great music for a festival.
Before Ivan Neville, we made it to the mountain in time to check out Jim Weider’s Percolator Project followed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Each time I see Grace I’m more and more impressed. She brings a great vibe to the scene with her heartfelt, soulful, vocals.
After the Phunk, Umphrey’s McGee played an hour and a half set leading into Gov’t Mule’s two-set show.
“Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam” featured an band-led, audience-sung chorus, led by Brian, Warren’s guitar tech, holding up cue cards.
Well, that’s about all the time I have for now. The wife and I are getting the rain gear packed up as we get ourselves together for day two.
If any of you are here along with me, let me know!
Summer in the city of New York can be a fickle, fickle mistress.
Day after day of sweltering heat, tempered only sometimes by a blast of cold air in a crowded subway car. When that subway’s A/C unit is busted you begin to understand what Dante was talking about.
There is another side to summers in New York though, a better one, a special one. Summers in New York mean a full slate of great, usually free, outdoor concerts. The big promoters on the scene, Summerstage and Celebrate Brooklyn, have been booking great shows for a long time now. But in recent years every live music loving New Yorker’s schedule has been jam packed with the River to River festival and JellyNYC’s Pool Parties at McCarren Pool.
This year is definitely no different, so I’ll be looking at a few of the gigs I’m more than willing to brave the heat for.
You may have noticed that we missed our regularly scheduled Phish Friday last week thanks to a bit of ill planning on my part. This week we’re back with a recently uploaded gem from the man that seems to be pumping Phish onto the YouTube masses in a way that we’ve only seen from, well, the hardcore taper types. Don’t let the name fool you; silverchair97 is actually a pretty big Phish fan. Folks like this really, really impress me. The kinda guys were the glue holding the scene together before the internet prolifierated, and they continue to put out great, usable content for all of us bloggers long after Phish has been long and gone for quite a bit. Kudos, phriendly phan of phine Phish phvideos.
Who knows, though — maybe they will finally be reuniting once and for all, given Trey’s recent return to the stage after his drug problems turned into legal troubles. For now we’ll enjoy the prospect of it, and let’s hope this turns into reality at some point if the band can bring the heat like they used to.
As for today’s selection, I was always a fan of the darker side of Phish. There were so many songs that the band seemed to melt together into a set to go from bluegrass, rock, funk, etc. Some songs are absolutely unclassifiable, and I think “Spock’s Brain” was one of them. Phantasy Tour has the play count on this song clocked at nine times played only, which means that they clearly dug deep when putting together the setlist for the epic two-night Vegas run that helped send the band off on their initial hiatus. See for yourself; Cactus really owns this song front to back.
A few weeks back, a bunch of my buddies in Chicago got to sit in on a stealth Death Cab for Cutie performance that was being taped for an upcoming Sound Opinions show. I was bummed to have to miss it as I don’t really have any experience seeing this band up-close and personal, but I also delighted to get to send a friend or two in the name of LMB because I really think they enjoyed it. I’m told my one, non-bloggy friend sat jaw-dropped and in awe of “the” Ben Gibbard — she’s been a fan of the band for a while so it makes sense for her to fall in love when finally fan-to-band — and my other friend got some special press treatment and got to get up front for the photos that you see here. I forgot to post these when I got them but it’s fitting now that the show is finally airing this weekend (the podcast featuring the performance is already up, too).
Death Cab for Cutie made it from Seattle to the O.C. to the top of the charts. Now they’ve made to Sound Opinions. Tune in to hear Jim and Greg’s conversation with Ben Gibbard and Company, plus a special performance in front of a live audience.
Dear readers of the LMB, Martin Dosh is a marvel of a musician and an even greater gentleman. Harken back to Bonnaroo 2006 when, drenched in sweat from the Tennessee sun, I yelled through the wire fencing that separated the artists from the crowds, “Hey! Were you the guy drumming with Andrew Bird?” Dosh indulged my boyish fandom and left the comforts of the back stage to have a conversation with me, explaining that yes, he was the drummer that accompanied the Birdman. He also told me that he toured on his own and that he was anticipating the release of a new album that would become The Lost Take (2006). That album pulled off the rare feat of properly displaying the virtuosity of an experimental percussionist that often only presents itself in a live setting.
Then, mid-week of a drowsy SXSW 2007, I catch wind that Dosh is playing an outdoor show sandwiched between Buck 65 and a hip-hop act I cannot recall at the moment. This is what happens to Anticon artists – no one knows how to categorize them, so they all slowly congeal in the eclectic showcases. Regardless of the odd lineup, I was excited to see how these layers of sounds I had been listening to on repeat for four months would play out live from the hands of one man. Plus there is always the rumor that Bird would slyly step on stage.
Dr. Dog has just announced a new album called FATE, the follow up to their last release, We All Belong, which I quite enjoyed. They’ve got a big tour lined up to help promote the album release set for July 22, and you can sample a track called “The Old Days” over at their MySpace page.
I’ve heard people say great things about this band live and I’ve heard other say they were so-so. My only experience with them has been their opening slot at Wilco’s Millennium Park concert in Chicago late last year, and I personally thought it was fantastic for an opening set. Read on for the tour dates and let us know how they fair live if you’ve seen them recently.
After a few technical difficulties, our full review of the Jammys. Better late than never.
Had I studied Cultural Anthropology in school rather than Architecture I would have been fascinated by the scene outside Madison Square Garden last Wednesday night as the hippy masses and Jay-Z fans stormed the gates. Actually I was fascinated by it, but I didn’t have time to revel in the moment because the Jammys were set to start at 7:30.
And start on time they did. By the time LMB photographer extraordinaire Paul and I made it inside, Jammy hosts Grace Potter and Warren Haynes were already on stage playing with an all-star group including Joe Russo on drums, Will Lee on bass and the legendary Booker T on the keys. On television they call it a cold open but it was a pretty hot open for the 7th Jammys. As the musicians on stage wrapped up “Take Me To The River,” I settled in towards the back of the floor and prepared for my first awards show.
For the West Coast fans in the room, the tickets for Treasure Island Music Festival will be going on presale in about a half hour.
These $99.00 early bird 2-day passes* will be available beginning on Thursday, May 29th at 10am. Tickets to the general public go on sale on Friday, May 30th at 10am. Please click here to purchase presale 2-day passes. (password = sunset)
I’ll definitely be going to this and it’s not often I’m watching the presale passwords closely, so consider this a rare occurrence.
