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

Phish Friday came a little early this week. Tune in to http://www.livephish.com/radio/listen.m3u or stream from Phish.com to hear the upcoming live album At The Roxy. The site should be streaming each night today and tomorrow, though I’m not sure how much of the album, or at what points in the day, or if it’s in its entirety or scrambled. Whatever, I’m listening to “FOAM,” how about you?

Track listing and album info after the jump.

Phish - At The Roxy

Brand new 8-CD box set, showcasing three complete shows – fully mastered soundboard recordings, with six sets of music, featuring seventy-eight unique songs with three special guests. Recorded Live February 19th, 20th and 21st, 1993, this run at the intimate Roxy Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia set the stage for many classic tripartite celebrations to follow. With the second show’s near-instant legendary status cemented among fans due largely to a non-stop thriller of a second set which included feats of rock and roll greatness, including a sit-in by a spurious Gene Simmons, At The Roxy captures a magical moment for Phish and their audience during a period of peak songwriting and experimentation.

Over three nights, the band showcased the full spectrum of their talents from ballads to blues, from master composition to fearless improvisation all simmered and served to a small crew of jubilant participants in a near perfect environment. At the same time, the quartet was experimenting with their acoustic, bluegrass side that peaked over the next several years and provided a perfect baffle to the intense, psychedelic rock of Rift-era Phish.

The 8-CD box set is the first complete multiple-show release since Hampton Comes Alive and the 1998 Island Tour. This collection simply must be heard.

DISC ONE
1. Loving Cup (6:39)
2. Rift (6:07)
3. Split Open And Melt (8:49)
4. Fee > (5:11)
5. Maze (8:53)
6. Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > (5:35)
7. Fly Famous Mockingbird > (13:29)
8. Sparkle (4:08)

DISC TWO
1. My Friend, My Friend (6:50)
2. Poor Heart > (2:34)
3. David Bowie/Moby Dick (15:49)
4. Runaway Jim (8:12)
5. It’s Ice > (7:44)
6. Paul And Silas > (3:02)
7. You Enjoy Myself > (21:17)
8. Ya Mar (6:34>

DISC THREE
1. Big Ball Jam (2:55)
2. Lawn Boy (3:26)
3. Funky Bitch (6:36)
4. My Sweet One (3:38)
5. HYHU > Love You > HYHU (9:46)
6. Llama (6:20)
7. Amazing Grace (3:21)
8. AC/DC Bag (6:50)

DISC FOUR
1. Golgi Apparatus (5:19)
2. Foam (8:50)
3. The Sloth (3:43)
4. Possum > (10:21)
5. Weigh > (5:04)
6. All Things Reconsidered (2:48)
7. The Divided Sky (13:33)
8. The Horse > (1:38)
9. Silent In The Morning > (5:09)
10. Fluffhead (14:20)
11. Cavern (4:44)

DISC FIVE
1. Wilson > (7:21)
2. Reba > (13:35)
3. Tweezer > (5:29)
4. Walk Away > (3:41)
5. Tweezer > (1:44)
6. Glide > (4:43)
7. Mike’s Song > (7:57)
8. My Mind’s Got A Mind Of Its Own > (1:09)
9. Mike’s Song > (0:49)
10. I Am Hydrogen > (0:28)
11. Vibration Of Life > (0:59)
12. Kung > (1:38)
13. I Am Hydrogen > (2:59)
14. Weekapaug Groove > (2:58)
15. Have Mercy > (1:54)
16. Weekapaug Groove > (1:01)
17. Rock And Roll All Night > (0:53)
18. Weekapaug Groove (1:32)

DISC SIX
1. Fast Enough For You > (5:09)
2. Big Ball Jam > (2:46)
3. HYHU > Terrapin > HYHU > (12:37)
4. Harry Hood (13:10)
5. Tweezer Reprise (3:51)
6. Sleeping Monkey (6:32)

DISC SEVEN
1. Suzy Greenberg > (6:10)
2. Buried Alive > (2:58)
3. Punch You In The Eye (7:14)
4. Uncle Pen (4:06)
5. Horn > (3:36)
6. Chalk Dust Torture (7:23)
7. Esther > (10:44)
8. Dinner And A Movie > (3:16)
9. Bouncing Around The Room (3:34)
10. Run Like An Antelope (12:41)

DISC EIGHT
1. Axilla (4:43)
2. The Curtain > (6:17)
3. Stash > (10:38)
4. Manteca > (0:45)
5. Stash > (0:55)
6. The Lizards (10:58)
7. Bathtub Gin > (6:16)
8. HYHU > Cracklin’ Rosie > HYHU (9:34)
9. The Squirming Coil (8:44)
10. Big Black Furry Creature From Mars (5:47)
11. Sweet Adeline (3:17)
12. Good Times, Bad Times > (3:55)
13. Paul And Silas > (2:22)
14. Pig In A Pen (3:24)

Preorder at Phish.com.

According to the Rock n’ Roll Daily blog over at Rolling Stone, the upcoming movie based upon Grateful Dead roadie Steve Parish’s book, Home Before Daylight, is starting to take shape.  Though first announced in summer 2007, Rock Daily reports that the movie has some potential actors on board as well as a preliminary soundtrack:

The Grateful Dead biopic adapted from Home Before Daylight already has a shortlist of hot directors including Oliver Stone, Sean Penn, Jonathan Demme and Larry Charles. “Those are the guys that would really knock it out of the park,” producer Stephen Emery tells Rock Daily.

Several musicians, including Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, have already signed on for the soundtrack, with guitarist Bob Weir as the music director. “I’m very proud to have Bob on board,” says Emery. “He wants to write new stuff for the film, too.”

While I read Phil Lesh’s Searching For The Sound, I haven’t had a chance to plug through Home Before Daylight.  Anybody think it’s a good adaptation for the screen?  I’m wondering how they’re going to integrate the live Dead experience into the movie in a realistic fashion, and how much this movie is going to focus on Jerry’s health/drug problems through the 80’s and into the 90’s.  It should make for an interesting piece; let’s hope they treat it with the respect it deserves.

moe. will hit Denver, New York and Chicago with 2-night stands in each city beginning January 30th, 2009. The Winter tour will consist of ONLY these six shows, and pre-sales start Wednesday, November 5th through moe.ticketing. General on-sale begins on Saturday, November 15th through Ticketmaster. More details to follow - stay tuned!

Part of me really just wonders if this is a band that is a clear example of one that is running its course. Even though the band can support themselves and the infrastructure that they’ve built on, they don’t seem to be breaking out at all past the mold that they’ve been living in for the past couple years. Has their music really gotten progressive and interesting past their 25-minute jams and/or solos?

Jan 30
Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
1510 Clarkson St 303-837-0360
with Special guests Tea Leaf Green
pre-sale begins 11/5/08

Jan 31
Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
1510 Clarkson St 303-837-0360
with Special Guests Cornmeal
pre-sale begins on 11/5/08

Feb 13
Terminal 5 New York, NY
610 W 56th St 212-582-6600
pre-sale begins 11/5/08

Feb 14
Terminal 5 New York, NY
610 W 56th St 212-582-6600
pre-sale begins 11/5/08

Feb 27
Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
4746 N. Racine Ave 773-275-6800
pre-sale begins 11/5/08

Feb 28
Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
4746 N. Racine Ave 773-275-6800
pre-sale begins 11/5/08

I was really hoping Wednesday night’s Apollo Sunshine show at Mercury lounge was going to be one of those gigs. I hadn’t actually checked out much of Apollo Sunshine’s music prior to the show, but I had heard enough people sing their praise that I was really looking forward to checking out a new band. When I heard that in the spirit of the season they would actually be appearing as The Apollo Sunshine Experience, donning costumes straight out of Hair and playing Hendrix covers I was totally sold.

Unfortunately it was the spirit of Wednesday that owned the night. I’m not entirely sure if it was a lack of energy from the crowd that through the band off, or if their was something slightly off with Apollo Sunshine that led to a weak crowd. Whatever it was, something wasn’t quite clicking at Mercury Lounge.

By the time the threesome took the stage, The Apollo Sunshine Experience seemed more myth than reality. Vocalist/bassist Jesse Gallagher, vocalist/guitarist Sam Cohen and drummer Jeremy Black came out not in the garb of the ’70’s but in the uniform of the indie scene and broke into some decidedly un-Jimi tunes.

The Sunshine set was uneven, following the high of a great psychedelic freakout with a failed attempt at an old song off their debut album Katonah. The band never quite hit a groove, and the crowd in the room never got there either. At one point Gallagher had to decry even the lack of hecklers. It’s a shame too because the band is obviously talented, mixing one part pop with one part indie rock and a whole heaping pile of psychadelia. Cohen’s guitar work especially stood out on extended, distorted solos.

After a 60 minute set of originals, the band took a 15 minute break. When they returned it was full on afro time. The Apollo Sunshine Experience tore through a few Hendrix tunes including “Foxy Lady” and ending with “Are You Experience?” After a brief conference in the middle of the stage they called it quits, an abrupt finish to the gig, but it was clear that Wednesday had gotten the better of us all.

Any time you’ve got a touring band that hits the road the way Apollo Sunshine does, there are bound to be off nights. When the Experience hits the Iron Horse on Halloween my bet is it will be a different story.

I’m quite psyched to be heading out in a few hours to catch Umphrey’s McGee and The New Deal play here in San Francisco at the Warfield, even if I’m totally and completely lame by deciding to just skip dressing up in a costume this year. I’m just not feeling it. I’d be faking it too much — I guess that’s the point — but I just couldn’t come up with something that I was cool with that I felt was fun and original. So I just said fuggit. I knew my plans were revolving around the show tonight anyway, so I’ll go and people watch and dance my butt off to the band that I’ve seen more than any other. I think the opener is going to help us get the party started right, too.

Hopefully I’ll have some updates tomorrow morning or tonight even; I’ve obviously been way out of the live music loop lately and I know it’s been obvious by my lack of posting. The worst kinda bloggers apologize for not blogging, so I’ll just stop and make sure I focus on continuing to work on a quality site with a bunch of awesome and loyal readers. Seeing the band kinda made me nostalgic for some of the writing I’ve done on UM over the years, especially on this site, and I think I need to remember that the blog and this band has really helped me to get where I am today with my career and geographical location. That’s pretty sweet.

Apollo Sunshine Fall 2008 Tour Dates

Oct 29 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge*
Oct 30 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Downstairs)*
Oct 31 - Northampton, MA @ The Iron Horse Music Hall*

Nov 02 - Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND @ Mandela Hall (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 03 - Dublin, IRELAND @ Academy (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 05 - Cork, IRELAND @ Cyprus Avenue (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 06 - Wicklow, IRELAND @ Greystones Theatre (w/Dirty Pretty Things)
Nov 07 - Galway, IRELAND @ Roisin Dubh (w/Dirty Pretty Things)

With Dead Confederate
Nov 08 Austin, TX @ The Mohawk (Fun Fun Fun Festival After Party…w/White Denim)
Nov 11 Tucson, AZ @ Plush
Nov 12 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Nov 13 Las Vegas, NE @ Beauty Bar
Nov 14 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland (Co-headline)
Nov 15 Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door (Co-headline)
Nov 16 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Nov 18 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Nov 19 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Nov 20 Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Nov 21 Park City, UT @ Sidecar
Nov 22 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

*performing as the Apollo Sunshine Experience

Update: it should be noted that Dead Confederate was originally listed in this post as “The Dead Confederates.” Sorry, gang — rookie mistake.

A few weeks back I went to go see David Byrne at the Davis Symphony Center for the first of two nights here in San Francisco and I’m surprised I never got around to writing something up on it. It was an absolutely incredible show for a Monday night affair, and it was my first time getting to see David Byrne perform musically (I saw him speak at SXSW 2007 about the death of record labels; that was pretty cool). On this tour, he’s performing new music from his recent album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today along with some of the classics while being surrounded by a largely nondescript set of session musicians and three performance dancers that improvise ballet pieces around the stage set to the music piping out of the PA. It was kinda weird, to be honest. But then again, it was also incredible. Seeing “I Zimbra” live was straight-up powerful, and they even played a few real bonuses that I never thought I’d hear like “The Great Curve” off Remain in Light. The new stuff sounded pretty good, too.

For the encore, the Extra Action Marching Band came out by playing down the aisles and bringing the crazy drumline / burlesque show to the stage, which culminated into an epic performance of “Burning Down the House” with the full Byrne band. It was a seriously awesome time. Check out this clip from that encore:

David Byrne Burning Down the House [YouTube]

I was so pleased to see Byrne has continued to play with the same boyish enthusiasm that made him such a magnetic figure in the first place. Go catch him on this tour if you’re a fan at all. Great stuff this time around. I need to pick up that new album once and for all.

David Byrne Fall 2008 Tour Dates

October 2008
29 - Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
30 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
31 - Boston, MA - Wang Center

November 2008
1 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Spa Resort and Casino
3 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
5 - Albany, NY - Empire State Plaza
7 - Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
8 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre
9 - Washington, DC - Warner Theater
28 - Buffalo, NY - Center for the Arts
29 - Syracuse, NY - Landmark Theatre
30 - New Bedford, MA - Zeiterion Theatre

December 2008
2 - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre
4 - York, PA - Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center
5 - Mashantucket, CT - Fox Theater at Foxwoods
7 - Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre
8 - Raleigh, NC - Meymandi Concert Hall
9 - North Charleston, SC - North Charleston Performing Arts Center
10 - Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium
12 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Theater
13 - Miami Beach, FL - Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater]

Bonus: here are my grainy cell phone photos from the event. I know they don’t look pretty but they still capture the awesomeness that was occurring onstage.

Rock legends Led Zeppelin are planning to tour and record but without frontman Robert Plant. Bassist John Paul Jones told BBC Radio Devon that a new singer was being sought after Plant ruled himself out.

How can this be anything that fans would even come remotely close to wanting? To go on and suggest otherwise and even suggest that you don’t want to become a “tribute band,” this just seems like weak sauce to me.

Two young Swedes go into the woods and record a cover of “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” by Fleet Foxes. Thus proving, yet again, that Scandinavia is a magical place to which the rest of us cannot relate.

Fleet Foxes - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Cover) [YouTube]

Here’s the version I saw just a month ago at The Independent.

Fleet Foxes - “Tiger Mountain Pheasant Song” (Live @ The Independent, 9/19/08) [YouTube]

I remember getting chills. This is absolutely one of my favorite Fleet Foxes songs. Even if they fail to impress all the time, I just got completely blindsided by how much I enjoy this band. Their music just really infects me and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.