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Las Tortugas V | Review | Pics

Words by: Dennis Cook | Images by: Chad Smith

Las Tortugas – Dance of the Dead V :: 10.28.10-10.31.10 :: Evergreen Lodge :: Groveland, CA

Las Tortugas V by Chad Smith

We are pulled through this life by small miracles. One needn’t be religious or even spiritual to understand this. The muck of bosses, bills and bullshit we trudge through would be simply unbearable if not for the oases along our trek. For several years, a nigh-perfect music festival in the lush Yosemite woods has proven such a blessed respite for a growing tribe, and the fifth anniversary installment was far & away the finest outing yet, one of those small miracles that makes all the weary miles fade and invigorates us for the rocky road ahead.

Las Tortugas V, like previous outings, miniaturized and refined all the best aspects of a festival, throwing an incredible four-day party with an extraordinary soundtrack. While other fests may have bigger names and carnival rides, Tortugas focuses on serious musicians who overflow with passion and heartfelt artistry. This is a showcase for some of the best music coming out of California today paired with kindred spirits from around the country, a place where veterans embarking on a new thang (7 Walkers), utter pros seeking one of the most engaged, joyful audiences they’ve ever encountered (Yonder Mountain String Band), workingman’s lifers (The Mother Hips, ALO, Cornmeal) and crazy talented comers (Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Antioquia, Big Light, Pimps of Joytime) mingle. A feeling of creative freedom and smiling connection with all the things that originally got these players into the music game floats in the air.

And this palpable, happy charge buzzes in equal amplitude from the attendees. Perhaps more than any other festival I’ve experienced, Tortugas creates a beautiful crucible that burns hot and bright because EVERYONE throws a pinch or two into the pot (Jam Cruise is the only thing that compares, though each gathering is singular & beautifully strange in its own way, and something any serious music geek should experience at least once, like Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and a handful of others). With most folks bringing different costumes every day and an all-in enthusiasm that hums loudly before the first set kicks off, Tortugans are a rare breed. The near total absence of thievery, sketchiness and rudeness common at most music fests immediately sets Tortugas apart in a big way. It’s not to say that everyone is cool but un-cool moments are quickly defused, and there’s so much obvious love and care bouncing around the tents and trees that even grumps inclined to kick up dust are charmed into grinning contentment. The depth of conversation and generally open-handed attitude that abounds at Tortugas is a glimpse of our better angels, the way the world might be if we shared our bounty and lived with less fear and worry.

If this seems like an overreach for a music festival it isn’t. Las Tortugas is a playground for music loving people with an amiable synergy that relaxes muscles, eases minds and lifts spirits. Scoff if you must – modern cynicism is hard to shake – but four years running I’ve witnessed this vibe grow & grow & grow, seeing it put the zap – in the best way – on the heads of first timers that leaves them pleasantly shaken by weekend’s end. It is why the vets scheme all year long on how we might delight others, tickling fancies and pricking up ears in any way we can dream up, and then sharing that dream with anyone willing to jump through the looking glass with us.

Nestled in one of the most unique, idyllic settings in the United States (Evergreen Lodge), Las Tortugas situates about a 1000 people in a world apart and lets them share in a fully communal shindig. Each year a couple tunes spring into my head during the course of my wooded walks, a few lines that repeat like mantras as I gather up as much Tortugas mojo as I can before heading homeward. This year it was these verses from Jackson Browne’s “Farther On” and the Grateful Dead’s “The Music Never Stopped.”

Las Tortugas V by Chad Smith

Adrift on an ocean of loneliness
My dreams like nets were thrown
To catch the love that I’d heard of
In books and films and songs
Now there’s a world of illusion and fantasy
In the place where the real world belongs
Still I look for the beauty in songs
To fill my head and lead me on

AndÂ…

There’s a band out on the highway.
They’re high-steppin’ into town.
They’re a rainbow full of sound.
It’s fireworks, calliopes and clowns

And everybody was dancing, drink hoisting blurs of color and laughter that convinced one that the world might not be so bloody awful after all.

What follows are some musical highlights, pointers towards sweet new bands, and a whole bunch of great pictures from Chad Smith, heavy on Tortugans and their mirthful ways. Even if every band isn’t mentioned it’s important to point out that EVERY band that graced a stage at Tortugas V was the real deal, dedicated craftsmen born to meld melody and verse. Where one might wonder at other fests why a band made the lineup, Tortugas only presents quality, ranging from the newly born to the well-seasoned. It’s a formula that’s generated a lot of connections between the bands, resulting in some of the finest sit-ins one can find in the festival world. The sense that we’re ALL in this together – both for this weekend and in a much larger sense – is inescapable on both sides of the stage at Tortugas.

Continue reading for Thursday highlights…

Thursday Highlights

See the full gallery for Thursday here

Theme: Gypsy Circus

Lebo by Chad Smith

1. Lebo :: 2:15-3:30 am. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

With a shortened introductory day, it wasn’t hard to stay up for the first rousing late night set in what turned out to be Tortugas’ finest night owl programming to date. As usual, Thursday felt like a Saturday here, and ALO’s guitar shredder and a special rhythm section were the flaming cherry atop everything. Flowing loose ‘n’ heavy, Dan Lebowitz, playing a hollow-body electric instead of his usual axe, gave us a commanding showcase that reaffirmed his place amongst today’s very best guitarists. Backed by ALO bandmate Dave Brogan (drums) and Tracorum‘s jaw-dropping rhythm section, Ian Herman (drums) and Mark Calderon (bass), Lebo stirred up his own Band of Gypsys roar, jamming with impunity and instigating some of the fiercest rhythm work heard all fest. Lebo’s versatility as a singer also shown through, and the obvious camaraderie these guys displayed made for some of the least predictable, most immediate music I’ve heard from any of them.

2. Poor Man’s Whiskey :: 9:15-10:30 pm :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

PMW pulled off a real neat trick: Playing the iconic, deeply held music of Old & In The Way – an obvious root source for their music – while authoritatively putting their own stamp on the material. For one thing, bassist Aspen holds his own against John Kahn’s original bass work, and he’s got a whole new sonic range to explore with drummer George Smeltz, bringing a whole new beat to things. As great as the musicians were in Old & In The Way, they weren’t exactly forthcoming performers. By contrast, PMW boasts two natural born rock stars in multi-instrumentalist/singers Eli Jebidiah and Josh Brough, who have that thing that gets everyone in the room off. Ably goosed by guitar-mandolin whiz Jason Beard, the boys made the well-tread newly furrowed and showed once again that Poor Man’s Whiskey is one of the premiere country-rock outfits today, a wild bunch that could have handily shared bills with the Flying Burrito Brothers, Goose Creek Symphony and Garcia and his picking pals.

Allie Kral by Chad Smith

3. Cornmeal :: 11:45 pm-1:00 am.:: Terrapin Big Top Stage

I like when Chicago’s Cornmeal get weird and they certainly did on this inaugural eve. There’s no doubting their hard strummin’ might – bluegrass doesn’t get more blue or grassy – but like a lot of quality acts lumped into the string band basket, Cornmeal have a LOT more variety in their Crayon box, and they didn’t hesitate to color outside the lines at Tortugas. Especially impressive was their ability to move from incredibly melodic strains to downright psychedelic runs, each feeling a part of the other instead of bordered off segments. The many raised glasses and elevated bonhomie in the tent spoke to their pronounced ability to lift heels, and the whole lot of them is goddamn charming as hell. Extra gold stars for ever-compelling violinist Allie Kral, who seemed possessed in a lovely way at several junctures, and dead-on-it drummer JP Nowak. Also, I’m kind of in love with their easy flowing songwriting and the entire delivery and style of banjoist-singer Wavy Dave Burlingame after this set.

Ones To Watch

Jack Grace Band
Full of good time, bohemian energy of the sort Tom Waits left behind when he grabbed a bullhorn, Grace and his slinky compatriots are a bar band in the archetypal sense, specializing in Latin tinged, gold standard song craft instead of by-the-numbers boogie, but still perfect for tossing back a few. First band to play the Tuolumne Hall and one I came home anxious to explore further.

Dead Winter Carpenters
With members of Montana Slim, it’s no surprise these cats ‘n’ kittens twang a bit, but they do so very winningly, and while their set on Thursday was appropriately uptempo, their recent self-titled debut shows a knack for slower, more meditative fare. They’re still getting their feet fully under them but there’s already some very appealing things happening in this band.

Continue reading for Friday highlights…

Friday Highlights

See the full gallery for Friday here

Theme: Decade Dance (retro looks from TV, history, etc.)

ALO & Friends by Chad Smith

1. ALO :: 2:00-4:00 am. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

What other band could meld Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ In The Years” with snippets of The Four Seasons’ “December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)” with the whole panoply of pop past & future sandwiched in between? Dressed in the outfits from the Man of the World photo/video shoot, ALO lived up to every part of their name at this dawn chasing performance. In fact, keyboardist-singer Zach Gill even got so in touch with his animal side that he started talking to the stuffed birds on the branches decorating the stage late in the set. When these boys are on – and believe you me, this was as ON as I’ve ever seen them – music feels alive and organic, something to be touched and tasted, savored and slathered all over. That its also incredibly tuneful and you can dance to it speaks to their great talent and dedication to making even outside-the-norm music conform to something more sophisticated and thoughtful. After spending the better part of the summer and fall opening up for pal Jack Johnson, ALO played like men balling without a condom for the first time in a LONG time – liberated beasts whose bite set a good many of us free, too.

2. New Monsoon :: 6:15-7:30 pm. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

For a band that doesn’t play out that much anymore, New Monsoon commanded the stage like utter professionals. There’s so much damn talent in this quintet that it remains shocking to me that more people don’t know and adore them. But regardless of stardom, San Francisco’s New Monsoon demonstrated how adept they are at commingling styles and giving all of them rock ‘n’ roll oomph in this early evening set. Filled with rhythm and force, their mix of originals and tasty covers (and a whole lot more well-picked, well-executed covers on Saturday from ZZ Top and more) goes down so smoothly that the many hours of woodshedding and sweat that lay before each performance are invisible. What we got at both sets this Tortugas was a band fully in control of their instruments and material, able to knock it out with aplomb at a moment’s notice. Drinking in electric guitarist Jeff Miller – long a personal favorite – renewed my desire to see him form a Derek & The Dominoes tribute band since he’s one of the few axe slingers who could generate the same guitar magic as Clapton at his inarguable peak.

Pimps of Joytime by Chad Smith

3. Pimps of Joytime :: 8:45-10:00 pm. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

Dressed as ragtag cowpokes, the Pimps offered a master class in funk and its roots, showing equal flair for gutbucket blues, silky soul and myriad other variations on what seem like overplayed, boring forms in lesser hands. This band knows groove, way down in their bones, and they move with harnessed power and abundant natural charisma. Every single time I see the Pimps I like them WAY better. Shooting straight, I haven’t been this wholly charmed by a band in the funk-rock vein since I first saw Prince back in the day. Only Seattle’s Staxx Brothers are competing in the same arena, and rather than play favorites, I’ll just say that anyone who likes to get more than knee-deep as they howl about atomic dogs and funky drummers should get familiar with both. Quickly.

4. Antioquia :: 10:15-11:45 pm. :: The Tavern

With the propulsive energy of Remain In Light Talking Heads and political dance-mindedness of The Clash, SF’s Antioquia turned heads in their Tortugas debut. Admittedly, it wasn’t just their reach-out-and-grab-ya sound alone that did the job. The band set a new fest record for the most exposed flesh by dressing as the cock-socked Red Hot Chili Peppers with lead singer Maddy Streicek dolled up like an actual chili pepper. In their veins flows the sticky stuff that agitated early Brian Eno, the initial wave of jazz-fusion cats, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band and similar inspired wackos. In so many ways, this set showed that Antioquia is exposed, fearless and free of boundaries, and they’ve got the chops to back up the bravado with substance and style.

Continue reading for Saturday highlights…

Saturday Highlights

See the full gallery for Saturday here

Theme: Monsters vs. Aliens

1. 7 Walkers :: 4:00-7:15 am :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

Bill Kreutzmann by Chad Smith

Bill Kreutzmann returned to Tortugas with his new labor of love, 7 Walkers. Hitting the stage in the middle of the night and playing till well after sunrise, Billy, Papa Mali, George Porter, Jr. and Matt Hubbard took us into the thickest, headiest swampland, brimming over with bayou shuffles, primal rock, psychedelic sparks and other rich, earthy textures. The only break any of them had during this three-hour-plus journey – and if you took the whole trip you really felt like you’d conquered a major peak – was when Papa and Matt paired off for some harmonica pierced deep blues and tender balladry followed by a bass-drums conversation between Bill and George. Each is a marvel in their own right but the chemistry in 7 Walkers just bowled folks over during this set, where they offered almost all of their fabulous self-titled debut, Dead & New Orleans chestnuts and fat-free jams that pounced and tore at one like a hungry gator. 7 Walkers feels vibrantly alert, alive in all the ways that count, and this only seems like the beginning of more and better music to come. [The band killed it again on Sunday night, only 13 hours after this set, where they leaned more heavily on Dead tunes like "I Know You Rider" and a great "Sugaree" with George on lead vocals. What's so cool about this band is how the familiar numbers feel freshly washed and ready to be pushed into service in the way they handle them. The final encore of "Iko Iko" lit up the tent with a light that comes from within, steering our ragged conga line into folklore and festivity with sure hands and hearts.].

2. Guitarmageddon:: 3:00-4:15 pm :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

Under the new leadership of PMW’s Eli Jebidiah, this starts-over-the-top celebration of shred science topped themselves with this Prince themed set. Any serious fan of His Purple Mounted Majesty would have stumbled away grinning ear-to-ear after this display that launched with a sizzling reading of “Let’s Go Crazy” but then weaved into killer recent tunes (“Chelsea Rogers,” “Musicology,” “Guitar”), the infamous Black Album (“Rockhard in a Funky Place”) and the choicest medley ever (“Raspberry Beret > Kiss > Sexy MF > Little Red Corvette > 1999″). The core band consisted of Eli (guitar, vocals), absolutely stunning heavy hitter Daria Johnson (drums, vocals), bassist Mark Calderon (doing some primo tough-funk bass faces), Tracorum keyboardist Fletcher Nielsen (the “Doctor” suited up in scrubs!) and guitar marvel Sean Leahy, who also summoned up a host of voices to fill different Prince-ly holes. Guest six-stringers included former Guitarmageddon leader Josh Clark (TLG), NM’s Jeff Miller, Newfangled Wasteland’s Chris Haugen, Tracorum’s Louis XIV-attired Derek Brooker and Big Light’s Jeremy Korpas, with each cameo suiting the songs to a tee and showing off how much amp-rattling guitar talent resides in Northern California today. The material was well rehearsed but not so much so that flashes of inspiration didn’t prevail. The whole gliding, intoxicating set ended in Gold Experience standout “Endorphinmachine.” Let’s hope that tapers were active during this one because the Minneapolis faithful just gotta hear this performance. One of the absolute best times all weekend.

3. Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers :: 4:15-5:15 pm :: Tuolumne Hall

Nicki Bluhm by Chad Smith

It’s a blast to watch an audience be warmed by Nicki and her gifted Gramblers. It starts slow, the potency of their songwriting and their leader’s obvious vocal pow scooping one up, pulling them in close, and whispering sweet, softly wise things in their ears. Once snuggled in, well, they’ve got you and good. Bluhm is a throwback to classics like Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt and other strong women who carved their place in the largely male rock game. She’s a far cry from the manufactured divas and half-talents that pass for “female artists” in the mainstream today, and it’s her abiding quality, natural gifts and good instincts for collaborators that are making her an artist to watch VERY closely. The new songs from her forthcoming sophomore album were uniformly excellent, and as ever guitarist Deren Ney is a haunting knockout, especially when he works a slide. Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers are the full package, and they left Tortugas with a LOT of new fans this year.

4. Sean Leahy Trio :: 12:00-1:45 pm :: The Tavern

Leahy may be one of THE best guitar players you’ve never heard. His cult amongst Northern Cali musicians and serious music nuts is well established, but it probably wouldn’t have taken more than a single tune at this blazing trio set to win over almost anyone with a six-string boner. Lean, fast and highly interactive, Leahy’s trio consists of himself on electric guitar and lead vocals with Tortugas all-star Mark Calderon on bass (only ALO/Big Light bassist Steve Adams worked as many sets) and drummer Daria Johnson, equally fantabulous here as her Guitarmageddon stint earlier in the day. The gal is a real talent and a show unto herself – just watch her face if you want a whole movie to accompany the music. Blues, classic rock, fleet-fingered jazz and more were explored in this set, and all of it packed with thick, ropy muscle. When Leahy lets go and trusts in his abilities, as he did here, he’s positively superhuman and a joy to watch. Johnson and Calderon are perfect foils, and they even made time for a brief M80 Mailbox cameo, a Leahy project with Dave Brogan and Josh Clark, that included a bruising cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of.”

Ones To Watch

Five Eyed Hand
The Tavern seemed wonderfully afloat when this SF unit unleashed their energetic, free flowing music on Saturday night. For sure there’s a foundation of rock ‘n’ roll but things sizzle and switch around with the technically possessed feel of Weather Report taken down to “Shakedown Street.” Mix in the phased dynamics of Bill Frisell, the swerving violin of Mahavishnu and more than a dollop of quality space rock and you’re getting closer to the ballpark. Five Eyed Hand showed being hard to place is a virtue, and jam kids looking to do some traveling between their ears should definitely investigate their self-titled album and fine live show.

Continue reading for Sunday highlights…

Sunday Highlights

See the full gallery for Sunday here

Theme: The Masquerade Ball – Halloween

1. The Mother Hips :: 5:30-7:00 pm.:: Terrapin Big Top Stage

The Mother Hips by Chad Smith

Having seen a ludicrous number of Hips shows (quickly approaching triple digits and spread over the group’s entire history), it’s heartening and more than a little shocking that these guys can still completely blow me away. That’s what happened at this late afternoon set that began with a surprising cover of “Long Black Veil” and seemed like it was going to be one of the band’s cozier, country-tinged daytime sets (“Whiskey On A Southbound,” “Later Days”). Then, they took a wide left turn with a stunning reading of “Young Charles Ives,” fired up the over-thrusters and charged into the unknown, unleashing all the brilliance they possess in a rock show that knocked far more than me back on our heels. Other highlights included “October Teen,” “Chum” and “Precious Opal,” but for sheer audacity and skill it’s hard to beat the rush from “Mission In Vain” into Grateful Dead classic “The Other One,” which the Hips made their own, layering on hard guitar and limber rhythms in a way that nailed the original and infused it with newness. After The Mother Hips recent barnburner at The Fillmore, it’s clear this band is on a very nice tear right now – one more reason to fully commit to one of America’s best bands, as if folks really needed more inducements with the Hips!

2. Yonder Mountain String Band :: 11:00 pm-12:45 am.:: Terrapin Big Top Stage

A couple things struck me quite poignantly at this Yonder performance: 1) What a massively satisfying sound, and 2) how little this music relates to bluegrass despite the stupid label they’ve been given. For just four guys, playing rather quietly, YMSB generates voluminous waves of music, each player accenting and commenting on the lead lines in a clever, unobtrusive way that nonetheless supports the main thrust at all times. In about two hours, one heard echoes of small group jazz from the 20s/30s, 60s modal exploration, hardcore traditional folk, good ol’ fashioned rock, early country music and some of the free-ranging stylistics Oregon introduced to acoustic music.

Yonder Mountain String Band by Chad Smith

There was none of the showy, dick measuring, spotlight grabbing qualities one finds in most actual bluegrass bands, and even when they took solos, they didn’t go on endlessly or freeze out what everyone else was doing. Where at times I’ve found some of Yonder’s selections a little jokey, today’s YMSB came off as relatively serious and considered, but not too much so. There’s no being overly stuffy when you’ve got a natural born court jester like Jeff Austin dancing on the needle’s head, and though a touch jet-lagged, Austin didn’t disappoint. He makes everyone feel welcome and serves as the chief ambassador to Yonder Mountain, though never staying so long in the foreground that the other three guys are overshadowed. Like most aspects of their music, there’s a hearty balance that’s refreshing and worthy of a lot of respect and genuine enthusiasm.

And jeezus can these guys play! As pickers, each is a blast and perfectly attuned to their brethren. A delight in all ways and one of the best closing night exclamation points ever at Tortugas.

3. Tracorum :: 12:45-1:45 am.:: Tuolumne Hall

Sometimes we listen to music without really hearing it. However, when we’re ready to open up and experience a thing as it truly is, well, it can feel like a baptism. Such was my experience with Tracorum on Sunday night. Having enjoyed them at previous Tortugas, this time I got it in a huge way. What they do is rock ‘n’ roll but done so fundamentally right it makes you want to kiss them when they power down their instruments. This night, as the festival raged like we’d never seen before on a Sunday eve, Tracorum embodied our collective high spirits and unspoken ache at this experience coming to a close and put those elements to work in some of the best boogie-minded, straight-great rock heard all weekend. Comparisons to The Band and studio aces The Wrecking Crew flitted through my brain as I danced to the heart of this fleeting makeshift town next to my loose-limbed sisters and brothers. Every aspect was right on the money and every man showed himself a massive talent on their respective instruments, pouring soul into every note, their conviction becoming our own. While they display a lighter hand and more Latin-y hips on their new album, The Lesson, live this band exudes legend-making magic.

4. Big Light :: 12:45-2:00 pm.:: Tuolumne Hall

Big Light belongs on big stages. They are rapidly outgrowing small spaces, pushing their already appealing material into skyward reaching constructs that need room to breath and cavort. A modern rock band to be sure, Big Light betters the majority of the Pitchfork darlings by being able to deliver in a salacious, snarling way live, which is exactly how they charged at folks on this afternoon. A guest turn from Izabella keyboardist Jeff Coleman stirred up the best “Panther” to date, and nothing else was less than excellent. An ever-forward arching NEED to be better is what’s fueling Big Light’s rapid growth. Seeing them onstage in a set like this is to watch evolution take place in real time. It’s exciting and more than a little fun to behold. Based on showings like this, only expect more and finer music from this quartet in the future.

Ones To Watch

Kate Gaffney

Gaffney is a real emerging talent, filling The Tavern with songs that were easy to like but filled with nuances that make you want to hear them again right away. She’s got an instantly likeable voice that’s only growing more subtle and powerful the longer she plies her craft. She’s surrounded herself with top-notch players and keeps adding interesting material to her songbook. So, in short, there’s nothing not to dig about this Bay Area lady.

Newfangled Wasteland

A Beck cover band is a clever idea. Better still is a Beck cover band that plays nearly unrecognizable versions of Beck’s tunes. Dave Brogan, Chris Haugen, Steve Adams and TLG’s Trevor Garrod hit a sublime groove in their Sunday night set, showing that the longer they toy with these mutations the more they become their own. Said it before but it bears repeating: Festival bookers need to pay attention to this band.

The Hydrodynamics

The Hydrodynamics are the new project of former Blue Turtle Seduction chief songwriter/singer/guitarist Jay Seals. While his old band gave folks warm fuzzies in their festival one-off reunion, it’s clear this is where Seals’ heart is. Filled with hooky, bouncing melodies and abundant female energy, The Hydrodynamics were a touch ragged in their Tortugas debut but it was still evident that this is catchy stuff, pulling from the pop side of The Clash and marrying it to smoother vibes. A young band worth putting on your radar.

Epilogue

There’s no real way to say goodbye to Las Tortugas. Life over these four days is so wonderfully intense and happy that disconnecting from it and returning to time sheets and business calls is inevitably a shock to the system. Still, it’s incredible that Tortugas exists at all. What one finds at Tortugas is the sheer capacity for human beings to share and cavort is FAR greater than we might imagine. This feeling stays with us if we’re conscious about it and nestle away a portion in our breast for the long haul that awaits us beyond Evergreen Lodge. Everywhere one turns at Tortugas is evidence of human ingenuity and compassion delivered with melody and harmony. If you didn’t get kissed, bear hugged or otherwise lovingly groped it’s because you didn’t open your arms. But, as we revel, we’re given chances for revelation, too, and these deeper currents make Tortugas more than just a good time. The idea that we might be better citizens of the world – more loving neighbors, more welcoming strangers – is writ large at Las Tortugas, interwoven with the notes hanging in the air, ephemeral but real all the same.

Continue reading for Thursday/Friday pictures…

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”16″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=166″);}); 10/28/10 – 10/29/10 – Las Tortugas Dance of the Dead (Evergreen Lodge) (Groveland, CA) View Photos

Continue reading for Saturday pictures…

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”25″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=167″);}); 10/30/10 – Las Tortugas Dance of the Dead (Evergreen Lodge) (Groveland, CA) View Photos

Continue reading for Sunday pictures…

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”60″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=168″);}); 10/31/10 – Las Tortugas Dance of the Dead (Evergreen Lodge) (Groveland, CA) View Photos

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Brian Eno: Small Craft On A Milk Sea

AVAILABLE IN CD, DOWNLOAD, LIMITED EDITION AND COLLECTORS’ EDITION BOX
SET


Small Craft On A Milk Sea

Small Craft On A Milk Sea, the new album from Brian Eno, will be released
November
2 on Warp Records. The album was recorded alongside Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams.

Small Craft On A Milk Sea will be available on CD & high quality download, as well as in a limited edition
and a
collectors’ edition box set. The limited edition box set features heavyweight double disc 12″ vinyl, a high quality
lithograph print, and a CD pressing of the album with four extra tracks. Click here for full packaging details.

Brian Eno
Tour Dates

::
Brian Eno News
::
Brian Eno
Concert
Reviews


Roxy Music: First Tour In A Decade

FOR YOUR PLEASURE


Roxy Music

Art rock legends Roxy
Music
have announced they will hit the road in celebration of their 40th anniversary. The tour will be
traveling throughout Great Britain starting January 25 and into the beginning of February.

The 2011 “For Your Pleasure” tour will feature vocalist Bryan Ferry, multi-instrumentalist Andy
Mackay
, guitarist Phil Manzanera, and drummer Paul Thompson. Former member
Brian Eno, who recently worked with Bryan Ferry on his upcoming solo album, will not be joining Roxy
Music on tour. Tickets are on sale now.

“For Your Pleasure” 2011 Tour Dates:

01/25 – Newcastle, UK @ Newcastle Arena

01/27 – Glasgow, UK @ Clyde Auditorium
01/28 – Glasgow, UK @ Clyde Auditorium
01/30 – Manchester, UK @ MEN Arena
01/31 – Birmingham, UK @ LG Arena
02/02 – Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Arena
02/07 – London, UK @ O2 Arena

Click here to
check out the JamBase Saturday Eye Candy feature on Roxy Music
.

Roxy Music
Tour Dates

::
Roxy Music News ::
Roxy Music
Concert
Reviews


MGMT: Congratulations 4/13

COLUMBIA RECORDS PROUD TO RELEASE CONGRATULATIONS, 
THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM FROM MGMT

Congratulations Available In The U.S. and Canada, Tuesday, April 13

MGMT

Columbia Records has announced the North American release of Congratulations, the keenly awaited new studio album from MGMT, on Tuesday, April 13.

One of 2010′s most eagerly anticipated new releases, Congratulations is the successor to MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular, the 2008 debut album which established the band’s potential as a visionary force in pop music.

Congratulations is a collection of nine individual musical tours de force sequenced to flow with sonic and thematic coherence: “It’s Working,” “Song for Dan Treacy,” “Someone’s Missing,” “Flash Delirium,” “I Found a Whistle,” “Siberian Breaks,” “Brian Eno,” “Lady Dada’s Nightmare,” and “Congratulations.”

Produced by MGMT and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, E.A.R., Spectrum), Congratulations was recorded throughout 2009 in upstate New York, Malibu, and Brooklyn and features Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, MGMT’s core duo, performing with Matt Asti (bass, backing vocals), Will Berman (drums, backing vocals), and James Richardson (guitar, backing vocals), the band’s live lineup.

Congratulations offered MGMT the opportunity to work with a couple of their musical idols and influences including album co-producer Sonic Boom (Pete Kember) and Royal Trux front-woman Jennifer Herrema, who contributed guest vocals. “We’ve been lucky enough to meet and work with some of our all-time musical heroes,” Andrew says, marveling at MGMT’s good collaborative karma. “It’s so great to be around such amazing and unusual musical minds.”

Ben and Andrew first met the mythic Sonic Boom at a Spectrum show in London in February 2009 and wound up onstage jamming with the band on “Suicide,” a vintage Spacemen 3 track paying homage to another light in MGMT’s musical pantheon.

MGMT has become an international festival favorite with performances at South By Southwest, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo in the states and the Glastonbury extravaganza in the U.K. The band has toured with Beck, Yeasayer and Of Montreal, among others, while becoming a headline concert attraction in its own right. MGMT is confirmed to appear at the 2010 Coachella and Bamboozle festivals.

With Congratulations, MGMT unlock a new musical world whirling in its own space/time grid infused with hints of music from the past five decades. Soulful and complex, Congratulations is a surprising and delightful quantum step forward in MGMT’s ongoing pop revolution.

Congratulations will be available for pre-order on the band’s website: whoismgmt.com.


Big Ears: Initial Schedule

BIG EARS ANNOUNCE INITIAL SCHEDULE FOR MARCH 26-28 EVENT

Dirty Projectors

As we reported in December; Knoxville, TN’s Big Ears Festival will take place March 26-28 at venues throughout the city, featuring more than 30 artists and 50 performances.

The initial schedule has been released, with artist and venue information below. Be sure to check the Big Ears website for additional artist and ticket information.

Big Ears Initial 2010 Schedule

Bijou Theatre
Friday, March 26
7:00 p.m. – Terry Riley featuring Gyan Riley, Tracy Silverman and Ches
Smith
10:30 p.m. – The xx + jj + Nosaj Thing

Saturday, March 27
1:00 p.m. – Clogs with very special guests My Brightest Diamond
7:00 p.m. – Andrew W.K. performing with the Calder Quartet
10:00 p.m. – Joanna Newsom + special guests

Sunday, March 28
7:00 p.m. – St. Vincent + special guests

Tennessee Theatre
Saturday, March 27
2:30 p.m. – Dirty Projectors + Bang on a Can All-Stars
8:00 p.m. – Vampire Weekend
12:00 midnight – Terry Riley’s In C, performed by Bang on a Can and special
guests + Terry Riley solo

Sunday, March 28
2:00 p.m. – Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, performed by Bang on a Can + The Books + special guests
9:00 p.m. – The National + special guests

Additional individual tickets for Theatre and Club shows will be available in the coming weeks for many more performances and collaborations including:

- The Ex
- The 802 Tour (Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon, Doveman, with Nadia Sirota)
- Ben Frost
- Tim Hecker
- DJ/Rupture
- Gang Gang Dance
- Gyan Riley
- Iva Bittova
- Javelin
And more to be announced….

Travel packages, including two Inner Ear Weekend Festival Passes, two nights
at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Knoxville, two posters and two t-shirts or
hoodies are available here.


Grammys: Young, Fleck, Trucks Byrne, KOL, Zac Brown, Earle

Neil Young, Derek Trucks, Bela Fleck, David Byrne, Kings of Leon, Zac Brown

Take Home Grammys at the 52nd Annual Awards Show

Kings of Leon

Last night (Monday, January 31) the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles. While most of the performances were not particularly inspiring, the Michael Jackson tribute featuring Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood and Usher was done very well and proved quite moving. After the performance, Jackson’s children, Prince and Paris Jackson, accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award for their father.

Other performances of note included a somewhat interesting pairing of Lady Gaga and Elton John, a nice reading of “You and Me” by Dave Matthews Band, a tribute to Haiti featuring Mary J. Blige, David Foster and Andrea Bocelli, Zac Brown Band singing with Leon Russell, and the show closing combo of Drake, Lil’ Wayne and Eminem. Meanwhile, both the Black Eyed Peas and Bon Jovi were incredibly underwhelming; which is perhaps, not a shock.

And now onto the awards. There were a number of JamBase regulars who took home Grammys. Neil Young won his first ever, taking home the Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for The Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972). Bela Fleck , who has been nominated in the most categories in Grammy history, took home the award for Pop Instrumental Performance for Throw Down Your Heart. Derek Trucks Band won the Best Contemporary Blues Album for Already Free. Phoenix grabbed Best Alternative Music Album with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Zac Brown Band was named Best New Artist, Kings of Leon won for Record of the Year, Rock Performance, Duo or Group With Vocals and Rock Song. David Byrne and Brian Eno‘s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today won Best Recording Package, Booker T. Jones grabbed a trophy for Pop Instrumental Album, Bruce Springsteen for Solo Rock Vocal Performance on Working on a Dream, Steve Earle for Best Contemporary Folk Album with Townes, and Beyonce won more trophies than anyone else, setting a record for most awards by a female artist in a single night with six.

Awards

Record Of The YearUse Somebody – Kings Of Leon

Album Of The YearFearless – Taylor Swift

Song Of The Year – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” – Beyonce

Best New Artist – Zac Brown Band
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – “Halo” – Beyonce
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance – “Make It Mine” – Jason Mraz
Best Pop Instrumental Performance – “Throw Down Your Heart” – Bela Fleck
Best Pop Instrumental AlbumPotato Hole – Booker T. Jones

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance – “Working On A Dream” – Bruce Springsteen

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With VocalsUse Somebody – Kings Of Leon

Best Hard Rock Performance – “War Machine” – AC/DC

Best Rock Instrumental Performance – “A Day In The Life” – Jeff Beck

Best Rock Song – “Use Somebody” – Kings Of Leon

Best Rock Album21st Century Breakdown – Green Day

Best Alternative Music AlbumWolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix

Best Rap Solo Performance – “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)” – Jay-Z

Best Rap AlbumRelapse – Eminem

Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual Or GroupFive Peace Band – Live – Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Five Peace Band

Best Americana AlbumElectric Dirt – Levon Helm

Best Traditional Blues AlbumA Stranger Here – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott

Best Contemporary Blues AlbumAlready Free – The Derek Trucks Band

Best Traditional Folk AlbumHigh Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project – Loudon Wainwright III

Best Contemporary Folk AlbumTownes – Steve Earle

Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music AlbumLay Your Burden Down – Buckwheat Zydeco

Best Reggae AlbumMind Control – Acoustic – Stephen Marley

Best Contemporary World Music AlbumThrow Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 – Africa Sessions – Bela Fleck

Best Comedy AlbumA Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All! – Stephen Colbert

For a complete list of winners and nominees, go to www.grammy.com/nominees.


52nd Grammy Noms: Phish, Béla, DMB, Byrne/Eno

BELA FLECK, DMB, DAVID BYRNE/BRIAN ENO, PHISH RECEIVE GRAMMY NOMINATIONS

Bela Fleck

The 52nd Annual Grammy Nominations were announced last night, including some relevant JamBase artists. To be eligible for an award, artists must have released a recording between October 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009.

Among those receiving nominations were David Byrne and Brian Eno‘s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today for Best Alternative Music Album, Dave Matthews Band‘s Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album, Kings of Leon‘s “Use Somebody” for Song of the Year, Silversun Pickups and Zac Brown Band for Best New Artist, Bela Fleck‘s “Throw Down Your Heart” for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, T Bone Burnett for Producer of the Year, Steve Earle for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Townes, Neko Case earned two nominations for her album Middle Cyclone, one for Best Contemporary Folk Album and the other for Best Recording Package, Mos Def got the nod for Best Rap Album, and Phish‘s Clifford Ball DVD Box Set for Best Boxed or Limited Edition Package.

Beyonce led all artists with 10 nominations, while Kanye West, Jay-Z, Maxwell, Lady GaGa, and Taylor Swift all received a predictably large amount of nods.

The Grammys will be held on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles. Major category nominations are listed below.

Record of the Year:
Beyonce: “Halo”
The Black Eyed Peas: “I Gotta Feeling”
Kings Of Leon: “Use Somebody”
Lady Gaga: “Poker Face”
Taylor Swift: “You Belong With Me”

Album of the Year:
Beyonce: I Am… Sasha Fierce

The Black Eyed Peas: The E.N.D.
Lady Gaga: The Fame

Dave Matthews Band: Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
Taylor Swift: Fearless

Song of the Year:

Lady Gaga: “Poker Face”
Maxwell: “Pretty Wings”
Beyonce: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Kings of Leon: “Use Somebody”
Taylor Swift: “You Belong With Me”

Best Alternative Music Album:

David Byrne & Brian Eno: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Death Cab For Cutie: The Open Door
Depeche Mode: Sounds of the Universe
Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz!

Best New Artist:

Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

Best Rap Album:

Common: Universal Mind Control
Eminem: Relapse
Flo Rida: R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def: The Ecstatic
Q-Tip: The Renaissance

Best Rap Song:

Drake: “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi: “Day ‘N’ Nite”
T.I. and Justin Timberlake: “Dead and Gone”
Jay-Z: “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”

Jay-Z: “Run This Town [ft. Rihanna and Kanye West]”

The complete list of nominations can be seen here.


Radiohead: Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail: CollectorÂ’s Editions

By: Ron Hart

When you talk to anyone who is big into Radiohead and ask them what their three favorite Radiohead albums are, chances are you’ll get something along the lines of The Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A, or perhaps OK Computer, Kid A, and In Rainbows; or you might even have the rare Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK Computer combo plate – rare because most fans of Radiohead today hardly acknowledge the Oxford progressives’ 1993 rote stutter step of a debut album. In any case, many would consider it nothing short of sin incarnate not to include OK Computer when talking about the three best Radiohead albums, regardless of the other two picks.

However, while it is readily established that OK Computer is indeed the band’s best album of the 1990s and one of the five best recordings of that decade overall, there are a select few who do harbor the belief that Computer was merely a launchpad for what would be the group’s true trilogy of creative genius: 2000′s Kid A, 2001′s Amnesiac, and 2003′s Hail to the Thief. And similar to the treatment given to their first three albums earlier this year, the bottom half of the group’s six-album major label run have been repackaged as 2-CD/1-DVD deluxe editions from Radiohead’s former label, Capitol-EMI, in their attempt to squeeze every last dime from their successful catalog act as the band continues to shed the old skin of a creaky, outdated music industry with each download they make available on their digital store, W.A.S.T.E..

Fatigued and disillusioned by the voracious lionization bestowed upon them following the release of OK Computer (brilliantly documented in director Grant Gee’s 1998 film meditation Meeting People Is Easy), the band journeyed inward for OK Computer‘s follow-up, Kid A, the album some arguably consider to be Radiohead’s true singular masterpiece. It has been said that much of the material from Kid A stemmed from a collective bout of writer’s block the band experienced upon trying to work up material that would meet the expectations of both industry brass and their fans following the release of OK Computer. And, rather than kowtowing to critics hailing them as the new Pink Floyd, the band opted to become the new Soft Machine instead, creating an album brimming with improvisational adventurousness and dynamic explorations into their own love of the music emanating from their private stereos back in 1999-2000. Boards of Canada, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Charles Mingus, electric Miles Davis, Brian Eno’s late ’70s collaborations with German experimentalists Cluster, Scott Walker, soundtrack music for Disney nature films, minimalist classical, and mid-20th century computer music were all obvious touchstones that fade in and out across these 10 tracks, signified in the IDM rock of the album’s title cut, the analog Arthur Kreiger samples that flutter and bleep across “Idioteque,” or the free jazz “traffic jam” that kicks in at the height of “The National Anthem.” According to a 2001 article in Wire by noted music journalist Simon Reynolds, Thom Yorke admitted to reading Ian MacDonald’s Revolution in the head, which chronicles The Beatles’ recording sessions with George Martin during their Sgt. Pepper/White Album period, and it certainly shows the daring moves Radiohead made while creating what still remains arguably their sonic Sistine Chapel.

2001′s Amnesiac, meanwhile, consisted of material recorded during the Kid A sessions, which had initially given the album the stigma of being a Kid A outtakes compilation (or “Kid B”, as many wannabe comedians moonlighting as music critics hailed it upon its release).

“In some weird way, I think Amnesiac gives another take on Kid A, a form of explanation,” offered Yorke with regards to Amnesiac in a 2001 post on the now-defunct website Spin With A Grin.

And while Amnesiac might not have been as warmly received in the summer of 2001 by those very critics who hailed its predecessor, time has indeed been kind to the album. Many of the songs have since become live staples, such as “I Might Be Wrong”, “Dollars and Cents” and the simply gorgeous “Pyramid Song,” which seems to have helped the plight of what is definitely the band’s mellowest and most nuanced album to date. In listening to Amnesiac again, it most definitely deserves a space in the Top 3, if only for its soulful closing number “Life in a Glass House,” pretty much the finest New Orleans funeral march ever crafted by English blokes. If any album served as the proper precursor to Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser, it’s Amnesiac.

2003′s Hail to the Thief, Radiohead’s sixth album whose title was widely rumored to be a thinly-veiled swipe at George W. Bush, was released with the promise of a return to the guitar rock of their ’90s era. What we wound up getting instead was a brilliant fusion of The Bends and Kid A eras, where the group ventures into territories that makes the Krautrock sound anthemic, as on the album’s great initial single “There, There.” Elsewhere they explore elements of jungle on the kinetic “Sit Down, Stand Up,” do some Warp Records raiding on “Backdrifts” and “The Gloaming,” and yes, a return to good, old fashioned guitar rock on songs like “2 + 2 = 5″ and “A Punch Up at a Wedding.” If Radiohead recorded The Bends after OK Computer it could have sounded like Hail to the Thief.

Like the deluxe editions of their first three albums, these versions of Kid A, Amnesiac and Thief all come doubled up with a bonus disc loaded with all sorts of rare treats. Most of the stuff on here many serious Radiohead fans already have in terms of b-sides from each album, but also featured is some great, previously unreleased live material, especially on Kid A and Amnesiac, both of which include a particularly amazing performance at Canal+ Studios from April of 2001 spread equally across both second discs, not to mention a great BBC Radio One session featured on Kid A. Sadly, Hail to the Thief has a bit of a deficit in live material, save for a version of “Sail to the Moon” from a May 2003 edition of the Jo Whiley Show on the BBC and a wonderful take on “Go To Sleep” from DJ Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show. If you shell out the extra dollars, there are special collector’s editions of all three of these albums that come with a DVD filled with the promotional videos that accompanied each release and some pretty great performances from their three separate appearances on the beloved BBC talk show LaterÂ…With Jools Holland promoting each album. Hopefully the next Radiohead-related project EMI rolls out is a complete Radiohead live album from this era (a 2-CD version of I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, perhaps?).

Now we can argue over which three Radiohead albums are their trilogy of greatness until the cows come home, but a strong case can be made for Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief marking the most significant arc of creativity and artistic expression in this band’s career, particularly when you consider the stuff these guys are doing beyond the realms of the group: Thom Yorke’s freshly recruited, as-yet-unnamed band featuring Flea on bass, master session drummer and music industry progeny Joey Waronker on drums, and longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich; Jonny Greenwood‘s soundtrack work on Paul Thomas Anderson’s oil baron drama There Will Be Blood and the 2003 biological documentary Bodysong; and guitarist Ed O’Brien and drummer Phil Selway‘s recent collaboration with the Finn Brothers as 7 Worlds Collide. And when you look at these three LPs in such a context, it’s hard not to consider Kid, Amnesiac, and Thief anything BUT their most prized trifecta of greatness.

JamBase | Heady
Go See Live Music!


Afrobeat Legend Tony Allen New Album Hits 01/12

NIGERIAN AFROBEAT LEGEND TONY ALLEN’S WORLD CIRCUIT/NONESUCH DEBUT

SECRET AGENT TO BE RELEASED JANUARY 12

“At nearly 70 the man Brian Eno reckons is perhaps the greatest drummer that ever lived
is reveling in his heritage, and it’s contagious.” —Q

Tony Allen

Tony Allen — best known for his work as drummer and musical director for Fela Anikulapo Kuti, one of Africa’s most influential artists — makes his World Circuit/Nonesuch debut with Secret Agent, January 12. Following its European release earlier this year, Secret Agent has received generous critical praise. The Guardian proclaimed, “There is no question that Tony Allen is a genius, one of the greatest percussionists in the history of popular music,” while Observer Music Monthly said, “If you’re wondering why Afrobeat is hip, start here.”

Together with Fela Kuti, with whom he played for 15 years, Allen co-created Afrobeat — the hard-driving, horns-rich, funk-infused, politically insurrectionary style that became such a dominant force in African music and is now one of Africa’s most popular styles among international listeners.

Allen produced Secret Agent, which was recorded with his touring band of musicians from Nigeria, Cameroon, Martinique and France. The music is square in the Afrobeat tradition — rhythmic tenor guitar, funky keyboards, call and response vocals, and full-throated horns — with a few twists (including keyboard player and arranger Fixi’s accordion on some tracks). Allen’s playing meanwhile draws on four different styles — highlife, soul/funk, jazz and traditional Nigerian drumming. At Afrobeat’s heart is the beat, even more prominent now than it was in Fela Kuti’s legendary Afrika ’70 band.

Secret Agent is Allen’s first release since he became a founding member of The Good, The Bad & The Queen (alongside Damon Albarn, Paul Simenon and Simon Tong). This association has helped encourage a recent upsurge of interest in Afrobeat. Over the years Allen has appeared on dozens of albums and his continued relevance in 2009 — fans of hip hop, funk and jazz clamor for his recordings — speaks to the staying power of the Afrobeat music that he helped create in the 1960s.


Umphrey’s McGee (S2) | 10.03 | Milwaukee

Words by: Cal Roach | Images by: Chad Smith

Umphrey’s McGee (S2) :: 10.03.09 :: Eagles Ballroom :: Milwaukee, WI

Umphrey’s McGee (S2) :: 10.03.09 :: Eagles Ballroom

Imagine you’re watching your favorite band play, and you’re in the thick of a long jam that’s getting a little… aimless, and you just wish you could send the guys a telepathic message to kick it into a higher gear or transition into a different song or something. Umphrey’s McGee gave its fans a chance to do just that Saturday afternoon prior to a “normal” show later that night with the debut of a new, experimental live project dubbed the Stew Art Series (S2). Reportedly, it would be an hour of entirely improvised music, somehow directed by the audience. An intentionally vague notion, but the very generosity of the concept almost guaranteed some degree of success. Whether it resulted in a sloppy mess or not, it was an unprecedented fan/band collaborative proposition.

Only 50 tickets were sold for the event, and the mystery and intimacy generated some giddy electricity as fans were treated to snacks and beverages while they waited. Shortly after everyone was settled in, production manager Kevin Browning came in and gave us the lowdown: Fans would be texting ideas to the crew, who would relay them to a large screen onstage that everyone could see. After the intro speech, the band members came in and milled with the small crowd briefly, then led everyone upstairs to the Eagles Ballroom to start the insanity; as guitarist/singer Jake Cinninger put it, “We’re all hamsters and gerbils in a cage.”

The first fan-generated message to appear onscreen was “Afternoon bus ride in Jamaica,” setting the tone for an overall laid-back, dub-heavy show, although another text quickly dictated a more chaotic stretch, capped by “Cantina Band,” which prompted a loose interpolation of the Star Wars ditty. As the concept unfolded, I realized that I’d sort of expected this thing to come off forced or stilted, or at least gimmicky, but the reality was that the texts served more to prevent the band from ever losing focus, probably the most common lame tendency in the jam band world. The musicians’ ability to switch gears quickly, combined with their well-honed onstage intra-band language, made the execution seem surprisingly natural.

Umphrey’s McGee (S2) :: 10.03.09 :: Eagles Ballroom

Cinninger had described the concept to me as being akin to Brian Eno‘s “Oblique Strategies,” essentially a methodology for using random suggestions to overcome an obstacle or stagnation, but in this inaugural session, there was no time for stagnation. If anything, prompts came in too quickly to allow any true development most of the time. As any good, improv-based band knows, there’s a fine line between dragging out the jam and letting it develop its own dynamic. However, Umphrey’s has always been more about tight composition and communication than the freefall of the typical jam band, so this experiment was an unusual loss of control. These guys are well versed in so many different genres that they were able to utilize every idea posited without any truly jarring transitions. They threw in a significant “Thunderstruck” (from the suggestion “thunderstorms”) snippet, a goof on “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” (“sexxxxy”), and plenty of danceable funk, until the first session ended with some gratuitous fart noises (“ohhhh noooooo”) and the first Q&A began.

The Q&A was a well-intentioned gesture, but most fans didn’t really take it seriously; I think most would’ve preferred it if the music hadn’t stopped at all. The second set was a little more gimmicky and disjointed, with Cinninger offering some rapid-fire scratching (“drive by”), he and guitarist Brendan Bayliss feigning wah-wah orgasms over a disco groove (“sex in the champagne room”), and a percussion and bass solo followed by the two guitarists being inexplicably ordered to their knees, amicable puppets that they were. The second set (each one was 10-15 minutes long) ended with a dizzying whirl of genres that really brought the energy back, ending with a rendition of the Notre Dame Victory March (“FIGHTING IRISH WIIIIIIIINS!”), and then more Q&A.

Umphrey’s McGee (S2) :: 10.03.09 :: Eagles Ballroom

The third and final segment of music proved to be the most thrilling, thanks to some inspired suggestions and the band pulling them off by the skin of its teeth. Early on, there was the (abbreviated, naturally) debut of UM’s new remix single, “Turn And Dub.” Next suggestion had them play “with a hint of Beethoven.” And responding to “Halloween style mash up,” the guys managed to cobble together “Beethoven’s Fifth” and the theme from the film Halloween. You couldn’t exactly call it smooth, but just to be able to spontaneously put that together on command speaks volumes about the dexterity of this band, and the crowd loved it.

Eventually, “dub bites the dust” got layered over top of this, and the only actual stall-out came with a demand for “one of Jake’s Avalanche [his former band] country songs,” which proved a treat for die-hards all the same. Then, “jazzy WBG (can u do it boys?)” showed up. After a brief huddle, we got a recognizable, un-metallic “Wizard Burial Ground” set to a hyper-swing beat. If only they’d attempted the whole song this way! It was an impressive stab. This led to “RAWK,” and finally “preview of tonight’s show,” which turned out to be the partial debut of a brand new song. All in all, it was a lot more hit than miss, a dazzling display of musicianship, and a gracious gift to the hardcore fans that dished out the $100 to be there. As they get this experiment fine-tuned, look out.

Continue reading for more images of Umphrey’s McGee’s new Stew Art Series…

Fans Texting Directions to Band

Question and Answer Session

Yoda is watching

Stew Art Series Guests & Band

JamBase | Freeballin’
Go See Live Music!


Tues Double Shot: Trower

SUCH A LOT OF FEELING IN THIS GUITAR HERO!

Robin Trower

In the tradition of ’70s FM radio, JamBase’s new Tuesday offering presents readers with a pair of fab tunes from an artist worthy of the Double Shot treatment. Last week we rocked out with Brian Eno, and this week it’s Robin Trower‘s turn.

While never as feted as fellow Brits like Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page, especially in the States, amongst a certain crowd Trower is equally revered. He briefly made the U.S. charts in the 1970s with his extraordinary trio and from that stretch we offer up the title cut from 1974′s Bridge of Sighs. Besides Trower’s amazing, emotive guitar work, note the killer lead vocal from bassist James Dewar, one of rock’s largely undiscovered treasures. Not every man can sell a line like, “Cold wind blows and gods look down in anger on this poor child.” And the second half of Trower’s double shot is the incendiary “Whiskey Train” from his Procol Harum days. Stay calm and rock on, children!

Robin Trower is still an active force, hitting clubs and theatres worldwide. Find his tour dates here.


Phish: Festival 8 Band To Play Last Record Alive

Phish Festival 8: Band To Play Last Record Alive

Phish‘s Festival 8 site has released a list of 99 albums of which the band will pick one to play on Halloween.

Several albums have already been “killed off” and a note on the site indicates that Phish will “play the last record alive.” See below for a complete list, including those that have already been “killed.”


Special thanks to jamtopia.com for compiling the potential albums list below.

Possible Phish Halloween Cover Albums

Phish

1.AC/DC | Back In Black

2.Aerosmith | Toys In The Attic

3.Allman Brothers Band | Eat A Peach

4.Arcade Fire | Funeral

5.Beastie Boys | Hello Nasty

6.BeeGees | Saturday Night Fever

7.Black Sabbath | Paranoid

8.Blind Faith | Blind Faith

9.Bob Dylan | Blood On the Tracks

10.Bob Dylan & the Band | The Basement Tapes

11.Bob Seger | Against The Wind

12.Boston | Boston

13.Brian Eno | Before And After Science

14.Bruce Springsteen | Born To Run

15.Chicago | The Chicago Transit Authority

16.Creedence Clearwater Revival | Green River

17.Curtis Mayfield | Superfly Soundtrack

18.David Bowie | Hunky Dory

19.David Bowie | Ziggy Stardust

20.David Bowie | Scary Monsters

21.Devo | Freedom of Choice

22.Duran Duran | Rio

23.Eagles | Hotel California

24.Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

25.Elvis Costello (nee Declan McManus) | This Year’s Model

26.Eric Clapton | 461 Ocean Blvd

27.Firehose | Flyin’ the Flannel

28.Fleetwood Mac | Rumours

29.Frank Zappa | Apostrophe

30.Frank Zappa | Hot Rats

31.Genesis | The Lambs Lie Down On Broadway

32.Grateful Dead | American Beauty

33.Guns & Roses | Appetite For Destruction

34.Hall & Oates | Private Eyes

35.Huey Lewis And The News | Sports

36.Jane’s Addiction | Ritual de Lo Habitual

37.Jimi Hendrix | Are You Experienced?

38.Jimi Hendrix | Electric Ladyland

39.John Lennon | Plastic Ono Band

40.Modern Lovers | The Modern Lovers

41.Journey | Escape

42.KISS | Alive II

43.King Crimson | Larks’ Tongues In Aspic

44.Led Zeppelin | I

45.Led Zeppelin | IV (Zoso)

46.Leonard Cohen | I’m Your Man

47.Love | Forever Changes

48.Manu Chao | Clandestino

49.Medeski, Martin & Wood | Shack Man

50.Metallica | Master Of Puppets

51.MGMT | Oracle Spectacular

52.Michael Jackson | Thriller

53.Michael McDonald | If That’s What It Takes

54.Miles Davis | A Tribute To Jack Johnson

55.Minutemen | Double Nickels On The Dime

56.Neil Young | Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

57.Neil Young | Tonight’s The Night

58.Nirvana | Nevermind

59.Pavement | Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

60.Pearl Jam | Ten

61.Peter Gabriel | So

62.Pink Floyd | Meddle

63.Pink Floyd | The Wall

64.Pixies | Come On Pilgrim

65.Pork Tornado | Pork Tornado

66.Primus | Sailing The Seas Of Cheese

67.Prince | Purple Rain

68.Queen | A Night At The Opera

69.Radiohead | Kid A

70.Rage Against The Machine | Evil Empire

71.Rolling Stones | Exile on Main Street

72.Rolling Stones | Sticky Fingers

73.Rush | Moving Pictures

74.Steely Dan | Pretzel Logic

75.T.Rex | Electric Warrior

76.Talking Heads | Fear Of Music

77.Television | Marquee Moon

78.The Band | The Band (aka Brown Album)

79.The Beach Boys | Pet Sounds

80.The Beatles | Rubber Soul

81.The Clash | London Calling

82.The Doors | The Doors

83.The Police | Ghost In The Machine

84.The Ramones | Ramones

85.The Roots | Phrenology

86.The Who | Who’s Next

87.Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes

88.Tom Waits | Rain Dogs

89.U2 | Joshua Tree

90.Van Halen | Van Halen

91.Van Morrison | Astral Weeks

92.Velvet Underground | Velvet Underground And Nico

93.Violent Femmes | Violent Femmes

94.Ween | White Pepper

95.White Stripes | Elephant

96.Wilco | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

97.X | Los Angeles

98.Yes | The Yes Album

99.ZZ Top | Tres Hombres

What album do you want them to play? Tell the world on the JamBase Forums.


Tues Double Shot: Eno

TWO CLASSICS FROM THE GLAM AGE

Brian Eno

In the tradition of every great ’70s FM radio station, JamBase kicks off a new Tuesday series, where we’ll blast off a pair of killer diller tunes from an artist worthy of the Double Shot treatment. We begin this weekly offering with some early rockin’ goodness from Brian Eno. Fresh off his boa and glitter days with Roxy Music, Eno cranks up the guitars in 1974 and digs into some shimmering gold with “Blank Frank” from Here Come The Warm Jets and “Mother Whale Eyeless” from Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy, both albums released that year. As always, JamBase strives to share the best sounds around and these cuts certainly rate!


The Warlocks | 08.14 | NYC

Words & Images by: Alex Borsody

The Warlocks :: 08.14.09 :: The Bowery Ballroom :: New York, NY

The Warlocks :: 08.14 :: NYC

The Warlocks have been playing for over ten years, surviving lineup changes with the one constant being frontman Bobby Hecksher. I caught the band just off the U.K./France leg of their tour, supporting their new album, The Mirror Explodes (released May 19 on Tee Pee). What’s in a name? In this case, at least, something. The Warlocks was the original name for both the Grateful Dead and The Velvet Underground, two bands which helped define 1960′s music yet existed at opposite ends of the cultural spectrum. The Velvet Underground was similar to The Doors in rejecting the hippie lifestyle, preferring a darker, more urban mystique. Brian Eno sums up their influence on modern music: “Despite hardly anyone buying this album [The Velvet Underground and Nico] on its release, everyone that did buy it seemed to have formed a band.” On the other end, the earthy Grateful Dead were equally influential, being responsible in large part for the entire jam band scene.

So, the band name The Warlocks has quite the legacy and is evocative for many people. You only need see The Warlocks perform to notice the Velvets influence; their dark sunglasses and somber expressions bring back memories of NYC’s original hipsters. Songs off this night’s setlist that were most obviously influenced by VU include “Song for Nico,” “Shake the Dope Out” and “The Dope Feels Good.” The link can be heard clearly in their live sound, which evokes the dark, bi-polar landscapes of Live at Max’s Kansas City.

The Warlocks :: 08.14 :: NYC

The Bowery Ballroom is one of NYC’s many strange and beautiful venues. There is a bar downstairs with the concert hall upstairs, and the clientele are low-key rocker types who wear a lot of black. The opening band, The Morning After Girls, put on a powerful performance, projecting a very genuine energy. The band obviously cared a lot about their live show, and the lead singer was incredibly engaged and seemed to deliver music from his own private world. The sound was a familiar indie rock formula, but darker and with greater emotion.

The Warlocks took the stage around 11:30 p.m. and did not miss a single change or beat. Their sound was raw, and despite all my impulses to say otherwise, unpretentious. The singing was high energy, with tactful use of back-up harmonizing. The group had solid vocals, creating a sound that was very clean and exact, at times even giving things a studio mastered effect. The solos were experimental and unpredictable, and at one point I felt like one of the guitarists was channeling John Cale (the violinist/multi-instrumentalist for The Velvet Underground) with distorted and ambient screeching effects. Three guitarists, a bass player and a keyboardist are usually hard to keep so perfectly in sync.

The backstage area had a case of PBR on the floor across from a bottle of Makers Mark on the table – the art school combo. I asked the band why they chose their name and it seemed not to be too big of a deal for them, a simple nod to The Velvet Underground’s inspiration. I came to the show wondering if the band had known about the Grateful Dead connection but realized how narrow my taste in music had become. I had been overtaken by Phish/Dead mania and completely forgot about my childhood hero Lou Reed. The Warlock’s lead singer Bobby Hecksher is a soft spoken, androgynous character who seemed to be somewhat anxious, possibly due to the fact that he was one of the only ones not drunk in a room full of intoxicated people. As he came out from behind his dark sunglasses, I asked him if he had ever met Lou Reed. He said, “It would probably be a weird conversation.”

The Warlocks :: 08.14 :: NYC

The Warlocks and other similar sounding art rock bands are sometimes categorized as psychedelic rock. Wondering where this label came from, I asked people at the concert if they had ever done psychedelics, or if they thought that was a part of the culture surrounding the music. The resounding answer was no, so this appeared to have little to do with it. It seemed ironic on the 40th anniversary of Woodstock that a band with the Grateful Dead’s original name was billed as psychedelic rock. To top it all off I had skipped a local Phish show to see something new at this concert. The band talked about being from the West Coast, where the real hippies actually listen to art rock. Today’s psychedelic rock often sounds like U.K. pop bands from the 1960s, and the guy who coined the term “psych rock” came from Texas, so the roots of the sound are hard to pin down or understand anyway.

There was an accepting and non-egotistical atmosphere at the concert. Fans were standing around looking somber and subdued, which seemed perfectly normal. No one was jumping up and down in catharsis as a musician’s fingers began to start a fire on the fretboard. Because of this, The Warlocks, especially in their later work, have been described as shoegazers, a genre named after people who go to concerts and stare at their shoes while nodding to the rhythm. In the end, music is music, and by dividing genres and subcultures into target markets it only suppresses artistic expression.

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Friday Playlist: Covers Edition

IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

A well-executed cover tune serves the two-fold purpose of illuminating one’s influences and bowing respectfully towards the source material, often sparking greater appreciation for the original version in the listener. However, the perfect balance of homage and a band’s own distinct flavors is tougher to pull off than most think. This week the Playlist inaugurates a spotlight on covers that have achieved this happy yin-yang, and we’ll circle back around periodically to present y’all with more killer interpretations.

We begin this super-sized Playlist with Swiss heavy metal legend Celtic Frost‘s WTF attack on Wall of Voodoos’s early MTV hit “Mexican Radio,” followed by a similarly raucous cover of Brian Eno’s “King’s Lead Hat” by magical punk noise purveyors The Dirtbombs. Next, it’s Oneida with a ballsy take on Creedence’s “Sinister Purpose.” Stick around after the false ending for about a minute for a blazing, crazed organ and abused electric guitar jam that pours out for a nearly 15-minute instrumental jam. Back into proper song territory, Joan Jett gets down on all fours for a spirited take on The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” which is followed by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder backed by Zeke on The Ramones’ “I Believe In Miracles.” Then it’s Mogwai‘s cheeky take on Sabbath’s stoner anthem “Sweet Leaf,” The Replacements moaning a remarkably sincere version of Kiss’ “Black Diamond” and Big Sugar putting some big beat behind Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy.”

The last section of our baker’s dozen shifts gears for a pair of reggae interpretations, namely Burning Spear‘s liberal reworking of the Grateful Dead’s “Estimated Prophet” and Sly & Robbie‘s cool take on The Police’s “Walking On The Moon.” One good Police cover deserves another, so we give you new kids Kicksville shining an “Invisible Sun” before the nervy final jolt of the Flying Lizards‘ beloved New Wave version of Barrett Strong’s much-covered “Money (That’s What I Want)” and Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry doing Dylan proud on “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”

And check out last week’s highly energized Playlist with Mott The Hoople, Super 400, Boston and more!



The Aliens (Ex-Beta Band): New LP & 50 Page Book

The Aliens (Featuring Ex-Beta Band Members)

To Release Special Edition 50 Page Book Along with New LP This Fall


The Aliens

Ladies and gentlemen, The Aliens have landed. Armed with a bottomless bag of psychedelically inclined rock and acid dipped electronics, The Aliens bring a freedom of spirit that sets them out from the current crop of guitar slingers. Inspired by Sergio Leone and Serge Gainsbourg, Brian Eno and Brian Wilson, Larry David and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, their songs reference the past whilst belonging resolutely to the future.

The Aliens are creating a special limited-edition 50-page hard cover book, all color, and pop-up book which will also house the still un-named record. The book will include drawings, poems, film stills, photographs and interviews all done in the standard Alien manor. The book will be available for pre-order in September.

Formed in 2005 these Aliens have history – between them they have been behind some of the most enthralling British music of the last decade. John Maclean and Robin Jones where members of the Beta Band. Gordon Anderson was a founding Beta Band member who went on to record two albums under the Lone Pigeon moniker.

In March 2007 they released their first album Astronomy For Dogs to a hearty round of applause from the critics scoring 4 and 5 stars across the board. It’s a rich and vibrant carpet ride that crosses almost every musical genre one can imagine. Woven from the threads of Gordon’s genuine heartfelt songs and created on a loom of laser-light fibre-optics.

In September 2008 they made a welcome return with the release of Luna on their own label Petrock Records. They managed to deliver an album that manages to outshine their widely acclaimed debut.

The Aliens are always a thrilling proposition live, expect the unexpected…. it’s an unmissable, fist-in-mouth experience that showcases the band’s infectious energy and their frontman’s magnetism.


Eno on his moon-inspired album

Former Roxy Music member Brian Eno is known as the father of ambient music. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, he will introduce the first live performances of his 1983 composition Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks at the Science Museum, London, on 20 and 21 July

In 1983, Brian Eno released an album inspired by Apollo 11. It has now been reworked for its first live performance. Here he talks to Roger Highfield, the editor of New Scientist, about the project.

You were 21 when the moon landings took place. What do you recall?
I remember it very, very well. I watched it in the house of my painting tutor at art school, and I remember the very eerie sensation of watching on his little black and white television and then looking up at the moon and being absolutely shocked at the idea of what was happening there at that moment in time. It was one of those strange moments when time closes up on you and something that seems fictional and fantastic suddenly becomes real.

You are credited with inventing ambient music. How do the Apollo moon missions fit in with its development?
Around the time of Apollo I was listening to a lot of film soundtracks. What I liked was that they represented a form of incomplete music, where the missing element was the visual element. I liked making music that somehow allowed the listener to imagine a visual element themselves.

How did you feel when London’s Science Museum approached you about the concert?
It was their suggestion to make a performance. Apollo was only ever made in a recording studio, and I said it would be difficult to perform. It does not exist outside of the studio and would have to be rewritten. We hit on the idea of getting a young composer [Korean Jun Lee] who would take Apollo as a starting point for a new composition. It is a remake, not a half-hearted facsimile, performed by amplified ensemble Icebreaker with BJ Cole on pedal steel guitar.

Why is there pedal steel guitar in the Apollo composition?
When director Al Reinert approached me about doing the Apollo music – which ended up in the 1989 film For All Mankind – he told me there was music on the moon shot. Every astronaut was allowed to take one cassette of their favourite music. All but one took country and western. They were cowboys exploring a new frontier, this one just happened to be in space. We worked the piece around the idea of zero-gravity country music.

Would you like to go into space?
I would love to. But not yet. I would prefer others to do the exploratory journeys [laughs]. My friend Jeff Bezos of Amazon has set up a spaceflight company, Blue Origin. I am sure that if it comes up I can get a seat for an appropriate sum.

Prize draw

Would you like to see Brian Eno’s Apollo performed at the Science Museum in London? New Scientist has five pairs of tickets to give away. Email your name, address and phone number to competition@newscientist.com. The first five entries out of the hat will win. You must make your own travel arrangements. The closing date is 5pm on 16 July. For terms and conditions see http://www.newscientist.com/info/in312

This interview appears in the latest issue of New Scientist magazine

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