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Warren Haynes Christmas Jam | 20th Anniversary, Lineup

Andrew McMahon — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:52:12 +0000

The hardest working man in music, Warren Haynes, is back with the 20th year of his annual Christmas Jam. Though I’d pay a lot of money to go back in time and see all of the canadian tuxedos that people wore in 1988, this year looks like it could be a great event. This year’s X-Mas Jam will span two nights for the first time in its history and as always proceeds from the shows will go towards Habitat for Humanity, a great cause.

The event will take place on December 12th and 13th down in Asheville, a wonderful little city full of like minded people. The lineup consists of a great blend of blues, rock, bluegrass and folk including the headliners Gov’t Mule and the Allman Brother’s Band. On top of the bands slated to perform each day, there are a whole slew of special guests who will no doubt join in on the fun. I promise that no one plays with more people than Warren, the “sit-in” is his go-to move and always a Christmas Jam staple. Read on for more info and the lineup.

On top of the night time show, the festival will hold a X-Mas Jam by Day, which includes extra performances, art & film. There will also be some comedy for those of you in need of a laugh. Pre-sale tickets have already gone on sale and they’ll run you $55 each night. There are VIP tickets available for a whopping $499; with a price tag like it must include something fancy. It’ll certainly be a great two nights of music and a great way to celebrate the holidays.

INITIAL LIST OF PERFORMERS (listed alphabetically)
Allman Brothers Band
Del McCoury Band
The Derek Trucks Band
Steve Earle
Ruthie Foster
Michael Franti Acoustic Featuring Jay Bowman
Audley Freed
Gov’t Mule
JJ Grey
Col. Bruce Hampton
Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
Robert Kearns
Kevn Kinney
Eric Krasno
Joan Osborne
Mickey Raphael
Marty Stuart
Travis Tritt
Johnny Winter
+ Additional Performers, And Each Days Schedule, To Be Announced Shortly

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Photos: Fleet Foxes @ Metro, Chicago 10/12/08

Andrew McMahon — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:50:09 +0000

A few Sundays back, I was among the lucky few to attend the Fleet Foxes show here in Chicago. It was a perfect a show for a Sunday – tangible energy from the crowd and melodic music from the band. Yet, I caught Fleet Foxes back in July at Pritzker Pavilion and was a little underwhelmed with the direction of their live show. They would hit on some amazing sections and I would be in folk heaven but rarely would they stay in that place. It was like listening to CSNY if Crosby had ADHD. In Fleet Foxes’ case the potential was there and that’s all I need to give a band a second chance.

This second live show affirmed the group as the force many claim them to be musically; they quickly enveloped me in an array of sound and I found myself lost — in a good way — for the first half of the show. But they failed to put together the entire package a great live show must claim. The second half was more stage banter than music, which I can’t endorse as a way to maintain a concert. The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves and there were a lot of laughs but it was somewhat lost on me. Some of the band even seemed annoyed at these numerous misdirections.

Over the course of the night I took some photos from the bird’s eye view I found myself in but I was lucky enough to have any view at all because Metro was packed with people. If you’ve seen Fleet Foxes before let us know what you think about their approach to the onstage conversation. Follow the jump for some more photos from the night.

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Giveaway: Crystal Castles, Lymbyc Systym @ Metro

Andrew McMahon — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:01:27 +0000

Earlier this week we let you know about some great things we’ll be doing at Metro here in Chicago to help get more and more readers to see great live music. For this Saturday’s show featuring two pairs of musicians, Crystal Castles & Lymbyc Systym, we’re offering two pairs of tickets. For the first two comments that appear on this post, we’ll get your name on the list over at Metro with a +1 and you’ll be all set to go for the show.

Both of these bands are truly fantastic, they definitely have different sounds and their live shows are nearly at two extremes but collectively it will be an amazing night of music. Lymbyc Systym has just finished a new split LP this past summer and the new stuff is great. Crystal Castles has been riding the wave of support for their eponymous debut that released earlier this year.

Though I usually enjoy a more creative contest in order to get something free, we’re a little late on this one and therefore need to get the names in asap. Please remember to leave an email address and obviously your name so that you won’t get shut out. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

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My Old Kentucky Blog Comes Down from the Mountain

Andrew McMahon — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:33:32 +0000

Over the last month or two, My Old Kentucky Blog has been putting together a series of posts that I’ve been all about, waiting with baited breath for the next. The entire piece of work is called The Ten Commandments Guidelines of Concert Behavior — I guess they opted out of the overt religious reference but not the colonel photo shopped onto Charelton Heston’s face. Maybe I’m getting a little old, but a lot of these ring true for me and constantly piss me off at shows. Just think of the last time you were at a show and someone would not stop shouting, “Play this!” or “Play that!” and you’ll be primed for concurrence. So without further adieu here are the Ten Commandments Guidelines of Concert Behavior:

Number I: Thou Shall Not Puke
Number II: Thou Shall Not Fart
Number III: Thou Shall Not Smoke
Number IV: Thou Shall Not Take Crappy Pictures With Your Phone
Number V: Thou Shall Show Up On Time
Number VI: Thou Shall Not Request Songs
Number VII: Thou Shall Respect the Personal Space of Others
Number VIII: Thou Shall Not Sing Along
Number IX: Thou Shall Not Talk

Number X: Thou Shall Not Act a Fool

So there they are in all of their glory. Some may seem obvious and some a bit Draconian, but if you follow the link it’ll bring to the snide explanation behind each guideline. I personally am a big fan of numbers six through eight and I think Justin may need to take a look at number four — kidding. Thoughts from the LMB crowd, are these appropriate? Are you planning on breaking all ten down in Hampton? Are they missing anything?

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Live Music Blog & Metro Chicago | Crystal Castles, Lymbyc Systym 10/25/08

Andrew McMahon — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:34:01 +0000

The last few weeks have been really exciting for LMB especially here in Chicago where both Mitch and I call home. Not only did the blog get its wish — it has to do with a certain band — but we’ve been ironing out a relationship with Metro Chicago to get more and more great music to this city. And more importantly get more people to see said music. For the foreseeable future, LMB will be promoting shows at the Metro and we’ve got three great concerts on the slate through the end of the year.

What this means for our readers is that we’ll be throwing some tickets around for free — or more accurately for your wonderful comments — showcasing some great bands both old and new on the site, and possibly having some great giveaways aside from the tickets. The three shows that we’ll be supporting in the next three months are Crystal Castles, Lymbyc Systym on 10/25, Calexico on 11/21 and CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) on 12/14. We’re very excited about all three of these shows and if you follow the jump you can hear about the first upcoming date with Crystal Castles and Lymbyc Systym.

Crystal Castles are a force in electronic music these days and takes on a genre that is aptly called “thrash”; it claims all of the energy and dislocation of punk music while holding dear to the fundamentals of house and techno. They border noise rock on one side and new wave on the other. I had the delight to see them way back in March and they did very little to disappoint. LMB is really excited to present such an up and coming band. Fans of electronic music, punk, and the harder sides of rock would be crazy to miss out on the duo from Toronto.

Lymbyc Systym, who opens for the Crystal Castles, are an old favorite of the site. Brothers Jared and Mike Bell meld drums and keys into a rush of sonic energy. The post rock duo has met much critical acclaim for both Love Your Abuser and Carved by Glaciers. Taking advantage of loops and pure exuberance the two build on textures in much the same way Explosions in the Sky and the Benevento/Russo Duo are know to do. The combination of these two bands are a definitive not miss in this fall’s concert season.

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Jamie Lidell @ Metro, Chicago 10/8/08

Andrew McMahon — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:00:47 +0000

Blue-eyed soul has been around forever, white dudes have been trying — sometimes very successfully — to replicate the music that poured out of Detroit and Memphis during the 50’s and 60’s throughout almost every other decade to date. Jamie Lidell may have the most uncommon path to blue-eyed stardom, starting his career as one half of the electronic duo Super Collider. Yet the result is unmistakably smooth and expressive.

Jamie Lidell made a stop at the Metro here in Chicago last Wednesday night and I had the definite pleasure to catch the show. Lidell brought a great band with him, complete with the keyboardists’ version of Keith Richards. The rest of the band, including Lidell, were decked out in Elvis costumes and pajamas; they even brought out a bust of Elvis Presley with them on stage. To say the least, it was quite the night.

The show overall moved really well and he coupled most all of Jim with a few favorites from Multiply. The strength of his voice really impressed me because so many tweaks and touches can be done in the studio yet his voice had no noticeable drop in quality. All of his fellow band members got really into the show and played as if they owned the music as much as Lidell does. The horn player was especially gregarious and check out one of the last few photos to prove it.

The first half of the show was very much what you would expect from listening to Jim, heavy on the horns and groovy bass and drums. The different eras of soul music that Lidell’s sound touches on is what is remarkable about his music. There are songs in his catalogue that resemble early Otis Redding but he doesn’t dwell there long. Before you know it he’s dropping a late seventies Steve Wonder-esque tune on the crowd. His range within soul music definitely keeps the show fresh and entertaining.

A few songs into the show, Lidell and his sax player got into a little vocal duel. The sax player had mic fed into some type of electronic horn and they went at it matching note for note until both were rolling around on the ground. It definitely got the energy up in the room and the crowd was moving pretty well for the rest of the night.

Just when I began to get a little antsy Lidell dropped a fifteen minute DJ session into the middle of his set. He looped together his own beat-boxing abilities with samples and analog drums to create a really unique production style. For about ten minutes he had the whole room moving like we were all there to see a DJ down in the Smart Bar (Metro’s downstairs club) rather than a soul review. I really dug some of the cuts he put down and it was definitely an awesome way to break up a show that could have lingered a bit too long.

The second half of Lidell’s set was a bit more comfortable. He has got a really disarming stage presence that relies heavily on his own quirkiness that keeps things light. The band slowed things down a bit and Jamie got up on a stool to really show he wanted to take it easy for a minute. The show finished on a more upbeat note and overall was really well produced with a lot of thought into how the crowd was responding to the music. Lidell definitely plays for his fans and they show love back his way.

The highlight of the evening was during the encore when a young woman jumped up on stage to dance a little with Mr. Lidell. She caught nearly everyone off guard — the music came to a stop — but Jamie Lidell was very cool with it and put his arm around her for a second. Then before security nabbed her she disappeared back into the crowd. She’ll definitely remember that for a good long time, bravo miss for your moxie. There are a bunch more pics below, give them a look.

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Heady Links | New Year’s Eve Preview Edition

Andrew McMahon — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:57:14 +0000

The live music universe is a world filled with ebbs and flows of energy; when things get busy, they really get busy and then there will be a down period. Suffice to say that in Chicago, right when that 90 day limit Lollapalooza puts on its performers finishes, October is busy. Everyone is touring. In addition, there have been a number of announcements of late pertaining to New Years Eve. So gathered here is a pretty solid compendium of who’s playing where on December 31st. The venue link will get you to ticket information for the mentioned shows.

San Francisco may be the queen of NYE this year with eight shows slated for 12/31/08. Tea Leaf Green is setting up at Mezzanine while ALO will be at The Independent. The two heavy hitting shows are Les Claypool and Zappa Plays Zappa at the War Memorial Opera House while George Clinton and his crew will finish what The Greyboy Allstars start at The Warfield. That’s a tough decision.
In CO, Widespread Panic and Yonder Mountain String Band are holding down the Pepsi Center, while Lotus will fill the Fox Theater up in Boulder.
If San Fran’s got quantity then Atlanta has got the quality. STS9 sets up at The Tabernacle for another four night run; this has become the gold standard in NYE shows. Band of Horses has got two nights at the Variety Playhouse. Just up the road in Athens, Perpetual Groove plays the Georgia Theater.
Chicago’s got two nice shows: Umphrey’s McGee moves their annual romp to the Auditorium Theater and at the Congress Theater, Justice will be making sure the hipsters get down — note: this is a DJ set.
Some great jazz acts are heading home for the New Year’s. Soulive will be at the Paradise in Boston, Galactic will “laissez les bon temps rouler” at Tipitina’s Uptown and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey heads home to the Blank Slate in Tulsa, OK.
In New York, the home of New Year’s Eve, the big show is My Morning Jacket at Madison Square Garden. Yet, the Disco Biscuits will drop the heat on Nokia Time Square Theater for five nights and Gov’t Mule is playing the Hammerstein. Late night, the Duo and Surprise Me Mr. Davis will keep you up until the wee hours at B.B. Kings.
The show of the evening may be Brothers Past making their return at The Note in West Chester, PA. Word is that this will be their last show. It is sold out, so have fun those of you attending; I caught a late night NYE show back in ‘05 – ‘06 and it was fire. Still the best cover of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” I’ve ever heard.

You guys thinking about New Years Eve yet? Drop a comment about the shows that are making you giddy with anticipation. Keep each other informed and we’ll pick up the slack. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

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My Morning Jacket @ The Greek Theater, Los Angeles 9/21/08

Andrew McMahon — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:21:22 +0000

After hearing of Jim James’ unfortunate fall in Iowa City, its a little tough to write about the great time I had catching My Morning Jacket at the Greek Theater a few weeks back. Jim James has such energy and is totally in command when on stage, it is awful to think that he hurt himself doing what he so seemingly loves to do. Those of us who live in Chicago should know that MMJ is fully committed to its fans, the band will come through Chicago to redeem the postponed shows and burn the house down.

While I was in LA I got the chance to spend “An Evening with My Morning Jacket,” as they so aptly named their concerts on this tour. My Morning Jacket understands the concert experience well, something that they probably learned through ten years of exploits. The show had few down periods of energy unless the band seemed to want it that way; they were constantly in control. They played for a good two and a half hours complete with a five song encore. It was fantastic, I was lucky to see them in such a wonderful venue and for those of you feeling a bit bummed because of no MMJ this weekend, believe me, they’re worth the wait.

The Greek Theater is a wonderful little pavilion set up in the Hollywood Hills. The sound was really great, it never became too crowded and the surrounding trees made the equation simple: just you and the band. MMJ came out around 7:45 and broke right into the big rock sound everyone now knows them for.

The band opened with the spiraling “Evil Urges,” the kick drum mimics a heartbeat in the opening measures and quickly got my own beating in time. Then Jim James jumped in and lit up the night with his amazing vocal spectrum. The song almost beckoned the crowd to give in to the eponymous feelings they themselves were having. From “Evil Urges” the band played a string of harder songs from the new LP and Z that proded the crowd.

“Anytime” was definitely the highlight of the opening three or four songs because it was the first of the extended jams that would dot the night. MMJ would roar into these crazy rock jams throughout the night — as they always do — and really used them well to push the energy to a peak before bringing the crowd back down to earth.

The band rolled into a more tame section for nearly half a dozen songs touching on a number of the great mellow tunes from Evil Urges. The new album has grown on me quite a bit and its 70’s feel is incredible. Some sections of the album are Astral Weeks meets Champagne Jam and I love it. “Sec Walkin” is the epitome of this sound and it showed big time in the live setting. From here, the midsection of the show was nearly all older songs like, “What a Wonderful Man,” “Phone Went West” and “Mahgeetah.” Heavier stuff that was all well played and gave the crowd a good dose of classic MMJ.

My Morning Jacket has these amazing transition songs in their catalogue that they use to either ease the crowd in or out of a typically high energy section of a show. “Gideon” is the king of these songs, the music is big and hard but Jim James’ ringing solos throughout the song keep it emotionally in touch. The song appeared after the string mentioned above and led into some slower songs perfectly. If I ever learn how to play something well on the guitar its gonna be that riff.

Three mellow tunes helped to wind the show down including a favorite of mine, “Smokin from Shootin.” The band finished the main set with the incredible “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Pt. 2″ complete with Jim James on the omnichord and let it ride out for a good while . This song has such a dark side and it was too fun to get into it live.

My Morning Jacket encored with a number of favorites and threw in “Highly Suspicious” for good fun. Personally the song “Golden” really wrapped up my trip out west, it served as an epilogue and for a number of reasons I was perfectly happy for those few moments. Check out the setlist from LA below and I’m sure everyone shares this sentiment when I say: get better quick Jim James, the music world isn’t right without My Morning Jacket on the scene.

Greek Theatre, Los Angeles 09/21/08
1. Evil Urges
2. Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt.1
3. Off The Record
4. Anytime
5. I’m Amazed
6. The Way That He Sings
7. Two Halves
8. Thank You Too!
9. Sec Walkin
10. I Will Sing You Songs
11. What A Wonderful Man
12. Mahgeetah
13. Lay Low
14. Phone Went West
15. Gideon
16. Dondante
17. Librarian
18. Smokin From Shootin
19. Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt.2
———-
20. Golden
21. Wordless Chorus
22. Highly Suspicious
23. Run Thru
24. One Big Holiday

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Ticket Giveaway: Jamie Lidell @ Metro 10/8/08

Andrew McMahon — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:40:35 +0000

A happy Monday to everyone! Just spent a full weekend in Chicago for the first time in some time and I am smitten with this city all over again. I saw a great show Saturday, ate some amazing food and though the Cubbies lost, there is a lot of excitement and energy in my surrogate home. In honor of the mood the town is putting out, we’re gonna give a away some tickets to a show here in Chicago.

On Wednesday, Jamie Lidell is playing at the Metro. We have two free tickets to give away and I’m thinking we’ll make this contest another writing exercise. Let us know what is special about Chicago this time of year. Musically and in general, whomever sells Chicago the most effectively will win the pair. We’ll keep the contest up until Wednesday morning and will let the winner know early that afternoon. Post your comments, be creative and don’t forget to leave contact info. Follow the jump for some info about Mr. Lidell if you need the knowledge.

Jamie Lidell is part producer, part blue-eyed soulman. He’s Marc Ronson with some serious pipes and his newest album, Jim, is a history lesson in rhythm and blues. Hitting the festival circuit this summer he has put on great show after great show. The Metro will be grooving this Wednesday and I’ll definitely be there getting down. Peep the video below for a taste.

Jamie Lidell – Little Bit of Feel Good (Live @ One Shot Not) [YouTube]

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Monolith 2008 | Recap, Photos (Band of Horses, TV on the Radio, Justice)

Andrew McMahon — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:43:57 +0000

Sunday at Monolith was not really a full day. After watching my beloved Redskins — they won — and picking my buddy up at the airport it was nearly 6pm and our arrival to Red Rocks was marked by the setting sun. It was a sunny but chilly day for early September, but you can experience all four seasons in Colorado on any given day so I wasn’t complaining. The night was full of energy, there was nearly a full moon and the wind was moving a light fog down the venue from early evening until the festival closed. Read on for some more takes on the evening and a lot of photos.

We arrived at Red Rocks just in time to grab some food and get in the pit for Band of Horses. The South Carolina based group rolled out a nice mix of new and old — if Everything All the Time is old. They even treated the crowd to a few new songs that both leaned heavy on the country. I’m totally into them playing a more country feel because the genre is seriously lacking and they play it well.

Their show was really solid. Occasionally Ben Bridwell relies to heavily on the twangy side of his voice but overall I love his sound. They pulled in a piano player for the show who I believe is full time in the band now. Ryan Monroe accompanies Bridwell’s voice well and adds the much loved keys. The show was good and led well into the next group.

TV on the Radio had quite a time getting to Denver and I’m really, really glad they made the festival. Their bus broke down in Utah on a Sunday, which meant that getting it fixed was near impossible — there’s a lot of church going out there. By the time they got it fixed and were in Grand Junction it would have been impossible for a bus to bomb through the mountains safely. Instead of giving up, they rented alternate vehicles and raced to Morrison to make the show — amazing. What commitment.

The quintet rolled through an hour or so show with the ferocity and soul that I know them for and when they roared into “Wolf Like Me” the crowd return the favor with sensational enthusiasm. The song took its proper place in the evening’s mood with fitting lyrics like, “when the moon is round and full, gonna teach you tricks that’ll blow your mongrel mind.” This is the epitome of things falling into place.

The highlights for me were the first single off Dear Science, “Golden Age” and another track off the new LP, “Halfway Home”, which locks in on a serious drone-y jam at the end. The show here in Chicago at the Riviera near the end of October is one that I am seriously looking forward to; check these guys out on their fall tour, get the new LP and thank me later.

After a bit of a wait the festival headliners, Justice, came out to the ominous timpani drums that mark the beginning of the lead track, “Genesis”, off †. Moving between some serious production the duo pushed the crowd early and often. They really hit the skids though when something blew and the sound cut completely. The show stopped for about five minutes. They were cool about it — they’re cool, period – and the staff got the problem solved quickly but it was a tough blow to the continuity of a show that relies heavily on just that.

The last fifteen minutes of Justice’s show was exactly what I expected from them all night: heavy, distorted, move-your-body music. The final song, “We Are You Friends,” was awesome and left a great taste for whenever I get to see them next. The crowd kept singing the chorus for about five minutes after Justice left the stage, which was seriously cool. The festival overall was great and would recommend the event to everyone. But make sure you get in shape before because the stairs are a workout in that altitude! Take a look at some more photos below.

Band of Horses

TV on the Radio

Justice

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